SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 1, 2015

          In the ancient world, mountains were considered border zones between heaven and earth.  They were places where people encountered the divine.  God tested Abraham on Mount Moriah.  God manifested himself to Moses on Mount Sinai and initiated the Covenant.  Centuries later, Elijah went to that same mountain to renew the Covenant broken by his people's infidelity. 

            In the first sentence of his Gospel, Saint Mark tells us the identity of Jesus.  He is the Son of God.  However, his contemporaries question his identity at every step .  Even his disciples, who recognize him as the messiah, do not understand.  They cannot see or hear beyond his human appearance.  So, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to Mount Tabor.  On that mountain in Galilee, they are given a transfiguring vision.  In this moment, they see the truth about Jesus.  He is conversing with Moses and Elijah.  He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  They hear the voice clearly telling them that this is God's beloved Son.  They are told to listen to him.

            Peter's response is understandable.  He does not want this moment to end.  We can identify with him, especially when we think of those transfiguring moments in our lives.  That moment can happen on a retreat, or on a wedding day, or in a moment of triumph on the athletic field.  In those transfiguring moments, we can see beyond the ordinary appearances of daily life and glimpse the truth about what we are doing.  Like, Peter, we do not want that moment to end. 

            But there is another level to Peter's request.  In wanting to build three tents, Peter is referring to the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles.  That feast is celebrated in the fall, during the harvest season.  To this day in Israel, Jewish people erect tents in the fields, reminding themselves of the tents their ancestors used in the desert on their forty year journey from slavery to freedom.  In doing that, they also remembered the tent of the Tabernacle, where the stones containing the Ten Commandments were kept, representing God's presence in their midst.  The Feast of Tabernacles anticipated the final coming of the Messiah at the end of the ages.

            Peter finally gets it!  Jesus is the promised Messiah who has come at the end of the age to usher in the Kingdom of God.  He wants to build those tents to accommodate that Kingdom.  What Peter does not get is that the Kingdom will not be established without the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.  Jesus leads them down Mount Tabor to Mount Calvary.  Mount Calvary is outside the sacred Temple on Mount Zion, where tradition says that Solomon built the first temple on Mount Moriah. On that mountain, Abraham learned that God does not want human sacrifice.  Abraham offered the first sacrifice centuries before the building of the Temple, the place of animal sacrifice.   Abraham's sacrifice prefigured the Sacrifice of Jesus on the mount outside the confines of the sacred Temple.  On that mountain, Jesus will not be clothed in glory.  He will be not be accompanied by two religious figures.  He will be crucified between two thieves.  The Father will accept this Sacrifice to defeat the powers of sin and death.

            Just as Peter, James, and John were given a glimpse of the resurrection, we know the end of the story.  We know that we will celebrate Easter when these Forty Days are over.  However, we need to learn the lessons of Lent before we can gorge ourselves with whatever we are fasting from on Easter.  Lent reminds us that we too must share in the suffering and death of Christ if we are to share in his rising.  Lent teaches us how to deny ourselves in small ways, so that we can deny ourselves in so many real ways to identify with Christ.  Dying to self is not an easy lesson.  The Devil keeps telling us to take care of ourselves first.  Christ tells us just the opposite.  Trust in God's love for us.  Put others first.  Recognize in our sufferings a share in the redemptive suffering of Jesus Christ.  Trust his victory over death, and keep slogging through Lent!

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

          The Book of Genesis is about beginnings.  In the very first verse, God breaks through the chaos and imparts order by creating the world and making everything very good.  Beginning with the sin of Adam and Eve, human sin affects the goodness of creation and introduces chaos into the beauty of God’s creation.  That chaos culminates with the destruction of the world through the flood.  As we heard in the first reading, God uses the chaos of the flood to wash away sin and recreates everything.  He enters into a covenant, promising a faithful love that will ultimately defeat chaos with order and beauty.

            The Gospel of Mark is also about beginnings.  Jesus begins his public ministry when he emerges from the waters of baptism in the Jordan River, with the Holy Spirit hovering over him and the voice proclaiming that he is God’s Beloved Son.  Immediately, that same Spirit drives Jesus into the chaos of the desert.  It was in that desert that his ancestors had been tested about their identity as God’s Chosen People.  Time and time again, they failed the test.  Jesus is also tested by the devil, who specializes in chaos, in tearing things apart.  Even in the midst of wild beasts, Jesus remains faithful to his true identity and mission.  He emerges from that place of testing to proclaim the Gospel of God.  He will continue to battle the forces of the devil and all who thrive on chaos, until he finally defeats them with his death on the cross.

            The Letter of Saint Peter uses the flood to help us understand our baptism.  Just as the flood washed away the chaos that resulted from sin, so the waters of baptism washed away our sins and made us one with Christ.  That is why the Elect (those preparing for Baptism) are so important in Lent.  As Jesus was tested in his forty day stay in the desert, so our Elect will be tested in this forty day season of Lent, as they prepare for the waters of baptism to wash away their sins and as they emerge one with Christ.  During this season, most of the Rites of the Christian Initiation of Adults will focus on them, as we take them through the three Scrutinies and present the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed to them.  We will also anoint them with the Oil of the Catechumens to strengthen them in their battle with the evil one, just as angels ministered to Jesus in the desert.

            We who are baptized pray for them.  As we walk with them to the waters of baptism at the Easter Vigil, we humbly admit that we have not always kept our baptismal promises.  Having been saved from the chaos of the evil one, we have made choices which introduce new chaos into our lives, affecting ourselves and those around us.  We use these forty days to do penance – through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  We embrace these disciplines so that we can draw near more closely to the Lord Jesus, who has already won the victory for us.  Even though our Lenten penances can become like wild beasts sometimes, threatening to tear us apart, we can keep our eyes open to those angels who will minister to us and sustain us.

            This Season of Lent has the potential to bring us closer to Christ as individuals.  The Lord’s merciful love restores order, no matter how many times our bad choices cause chaos.  But, we are not alone in Lent.  The Letter of Saint Peter reminds us that the ark became the safe haven for Noah, his family, and all the animals, carrying them through the chaos of the flood.  We also have an ark.  We often refer to the Church as the “Bark of Peter,” carrying us through the chaos of this world.  The Letter of Peter reminds us that we are secure remaining in the Church, in that ark.  There is no doubt that there is incredible chaos in our world, over which we have not control.  As we allow Christ to help us deal with the chaos of our individual lives, we trust that he will remain with us all in the ark that is his Church.

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

          The laws in the Book of Leviticus seem very harsh to our 21^st century ears.  When anyone had any kind of skin disease that “appears to be the sore of leprosy,” that person was banned from the community.  Not only did the person suffer terrible physical pain, but also banishment from family, friends, and any kind of a supportive community.  As tough as it was for the individual, the real concern was for the common good, the health of the community.  In a pre scientific age that had no cures for skin diseases, excluding the contagious people was the only way to prevent the destruction of the fabric of a closely knit society.

            In our culture, the opposite dynamic is true.  We so value the rights and freedom of the individual that we sometimes do not consider how our behaviors affect the common good.  In our families, having it my own way can have negative effects on the rest of the family.  We can become seduced by the message of consumerism so much that we do not see how our greed for things we do not need affect the poor.  We can be tempted to become consumers of the good things of our parish and give no thought to those stewards who can burn themselves out by doing all the heavy lifting.  We engage in gossip and slander without giving a thought to the damage done to the reputations of those around us.  There are many examples of making decisions without giving any thought to their impact on the common good.

            That is why we need the Season of Lent.  Lent invites us to take a good look at our lives and examine how our choices have harmed the common good, whether in our families, in our local society, or in our parish.  Lent invites us to take an honest look at the ways in which we have become lepers and separated ourselves from or damaged the communities in which we live. 

            All of us are sinners.  All of us have known the shame which comes from making bad choices.  Like the leper in today's Gospel, we have learned that we can bring our blemishes to the Lord without being condemned.  He reaches out, touches us, and reconciles us to the community damaged by our sinful choices.  He can also heal those smaller, sometimes habitual actions which tear apart at the fabric of the societies in which we live.

            Once we acknowledge how we have made ourselves lepers, the disciplines of Lent have the power to bring us closer to the Lord, whose sacrifice reconciles us to the Father and to each other.  Please take home your packet and resolve to enter into some meaningful form of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  In particular, pay attention to the suggestions for renewing our stewardship of prayer.  It is that aspect of stewardship that is most critical, because prayer not only reveals the ways in which we have made ourselves lepers, but it also reminds us that everything is a gift from God who reconciles us. 

            You would expect me to talk about the importance of prayer.  That's my job.  Please direct your attention to Mary Colbert, who will speak about the place of prayer in her life.

FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

FEBRUARY 8, 2015

          Today we hear Job crying out in pain, because he does not understand why he is suffering so much.  He has lost everything – his possessions, his entire family, and even his health.  His wife has abandoned him, telling him to curse God and die.  His “friends” try to comfort him, but only make things worse.  Convinced that suffering is the direct punishment from God for sin, they try to talk Job into confessing that he is a terrible sinner.  Their narrow perspective and easy solutions cause him more doubt and discouragement.  Throughout the entire Book, Job continues to ask God why he is suffering so much.  However, no matter how much Job complains and asks questions, he never loses faith.  In the end, God poses a series of rhetorical questions asking Job if he understands the good things of life which he has taken for granted.  When he answers “no,” God responds that suffering is also a mystery, something we can never understand.

            In the Gospel today, many people who share the sufferings of Job seek out Jesus.  In response, Jesus shows compassion, heals some of them, and drives demons out of others.  Jesus does not explain the mystery of human suffering.  Throughout the New Testament, he does not provide any further explanation than did the Book of Job.  Instead, he embraced our human condition in every way except for sin.  In the course of his ministry, he endured the pain of criticism and rejection.  Eventually, he would suffer greatly and enter into a terrible death.  As the Eternal Word of God, he would show that suffering can be redemptive.  By his suffering, we are redeemed and freed from the grip of sin, the devil, and death.  When we find ourselves in Job's shoes, we can place our suffering within the suffering of Jesus Christ and trust that our suffering can also have a transforming power, especially in ways we would never expect.

            When Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, he gives some insights into how this mystery affects us.  She is sick with a fever, which not only causes physical pain, but which also isolates her from the community.  Jesus touches her and raises her up, just as the Father would raise him up from the dead.  Not only is the pain gone.  But she is also restored to her family and friends.   Having recognized the Lord's saving power, she waits on them.  Saint Mark uses those words to speak of official ministry in the Church.  She provides an example of a proper response to the healing power of Jesus Christ.  Those who have experienced that saving power respond by giving themselves in humble service to the Body of Christ, the Church.

            Suffering is a part of the human condition, and faith in God does not protect us from suffering.  If anything, faithfulness to the Gospel can open us to more intense suffering.  Jesus does not give us easy answers when suffering invades our lives, causes great pain, and separates us from family and friends.  But we encounter Jesus Christ in the Sacramental life of the Church, just as surely as Peter's mother-in-law did.  He washes away our sins in the waters of Baptism and strengthens us through Sacrament of Confirmation.  He heals us with his mercy when we fail to live our baptismal promises, restores us to the community of family and friends, and heals us in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.  He feeds us with his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.  He strengthens us to live our permanent commitments in the Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders.

            Once we become aware of his healing actions in our lives, we respond as Peter's mother-in-law did.  We give ourselves in humble service to the community.  That humble service allows us to show the same compassion which Christ has shown us.  That humble service renews our faith that he will raise us up with him in the Mystery of the Resurrection.