Lent IVC

4^th Sunday of Lent C

Readings: Joshua 5:9, 10‑12   2 Corinthians 5:17‑21   Luke 15:1‑3,  11‑32

            "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."  This Sunday's responsorial psalm (Ps 34) invites us to rejoice in the bounty of God's goodness.  In the midst of our Lenten penance we joyfully remember the goal of our life's journey: the heavenly banquet with God and his children. Today's gospel parable of the father and his two sons issues a twofold invitation.  If we have squandered our Father's gifts, we are called to return home to his loving embrace.  If we resent the Father’s forgiving love for others, we are invited to rejoice in the return of our prodigal brethren.

            The reading from Joshua recalls Israel's first celebration of Passover in the land of promise when our Jewish ancestors ate "the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain," which replaced the manna that sustained them in their forty year wilderness sojourn.  By their repeated sins in doubting the Lord's sustaining power in the wilderness journey (see Numbers 11‑21), the Exodus generation forfeited the privilege of entering the land of Canaan.  After forty years of wandering, a new generation has been born, and they have crossed over the Jordan and entered the land of Canaan under Joshua's leadership.  Their joyous celebration of Passover reminds us Christians of the Easter celebration which is the goal of our Lenten journey.

           In the 2 Corinthians reading, Paul is both celebrating the reconciliation between God and humanity through Christ's death and also appealing to a divided community to "be reconciled to God."  Paul's language in this section is apocalyptic.  Christ's death and resurrection have accomplished a "new creation" for those who are "in Christ" through faith.  At the apocalypse, the judgment of sinners was expected to take place.  But God, in Christ, has now reconciled the world to himself by "making him who did not know sin (Christ) to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God."  Paul and the other apostles are “ambassadors” for Christ, and so he implores the Corinthians in Christ's name: "be reconciled to God."

            Luke's parable of the father and his two sons both celebrates a resurrection victory over sin and offers an appeal to reconciliation.  Jesus speaks this parable, as well as the  Lost Sheep and Lost Coin (see Lk 15:4‑10), to defend his joyful table fellowship with "tax collectors and sinners," who have  turned from sin, and also to appeal to the self-righteous  Pharisees and scribes who are murmuring, “This man welcomes  sinners and eats with them.” 

            The prodigal younger son, like the tax collectors and sinners, once left his father's home for a far country and squandered his share of the estate “on dissolute living.”  But, after a famine has driven him to slave on a pig farm and reduced him to hunger, he comes to his senses and decides to return to his father's house.  "How many hired hands at my father's place have more than enough to eat, while here I am starving."   Although he only expects to be treated as a hired hand, his loving father greets him with "the finest robe . . . a ring for his finger and shoes for his feet."   He then throws the most extravagant of parties with "the fatted calf," dancing, and music, because, as he says, "this son of mine was dead and has come back to life.  He was lost and is found."

            The elder son, like the Pharisees and scribes, has dutifully served his father and never disobeyed his orders.  But now the father invites him to rejoice in the return of his younger brother to life. His complaint to the father expresses the self-righteous resentment in many of us over God's mercy to others. ‘For years now I have slaved for you.  I never disobeyed one of your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a kid goat to celebrate with my friends.  Then, when this son of yours returns after having gone through your property with loose women, you kill the fatted calf for him.’

            The parable ends with the father's assurance of his love for the elder son and a justification of the celebration for the younger brother. ‘My son, you are with me always, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and rejoice! This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life.  He was lost, and is found.’ Jesus leaves the parable open ended.  We are not told if the elder son chose to join the festivities.  We have to hear the parable's call and complete it for ourselves.  Perhaps the greatest challenge Jesus offers us is the invitation to rejoice in God's forgiving love for others.

LentIIIC

3^rd Sunday of Lent C

Readings: Exodus 3:1‑15

 1 Corinthians 10:1‑12 Luke 13:1‑9

            Midway through our Lenten journey, we are challenged by God's call to struggle against oppression and to reform our own lives.  As we listen to this Sunday's warnings to repent, let us sing with courageous confidence the refrain of the psalm: "The Lord is kind and merciful" (Ps 103).

            To understand the terrifying challenge of Moses' call we must recall the bleak situation of both Israel and Moses at the beginning of the book of Exodus.  A powerful and paranoid Pharaoh has cruelly imposed slave labor upon the Israelites and plans to kill all their male children (Exodus 1).   Moses himself narrowly escapes death through the heroic actions of his mother, sister, and the Pharaoh's daughter (2:1‑10).  And, when he attempts to help his people by slaying an  Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew and then tries to stop two  Hebrew slaves from fighting, his efforts are rejected with the retort, “Who made you a prince and judge over us?  Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Ex 2:14).  Realizing that the murder was known to the Pharaoh, Moses flees to Midian where he marries the daughter of the priest of Midian and begins to tend his father‑in‑law's flocks.  His son's name, Gershom, meaning "I am a stranger in a foreign land," reflects his present status as an exile from his suffering people (Ex 2:22).     

            If Moses is to save his people, he must be called and equipped by God, and that is the point of today's burning bush story.  His call begins with an experience of the awful holiness of God.  When Moses turns aside to see the burning bush, God tells him, “Come no nearer!  Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”  After God has identified himself as the God of the fathers, he announces: "I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

            Understandably, Moses doubts that his own people will believe that he speaks for God, and therefore he asks, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”  The old name, “God of the fathers,” is inadequate for this new stage of God's action.  God answers by saying, “I am who I am.”  Moses is to tell the Israelites that “I am” sent him and that the sacred name, “YHWH,” pronounced as Adonai (Lord) out of reverence, is to be his title for all generations.  YHWH is the transposed third person form of "I am who I am."  The sacred name connotes  freedom and unrestricted power to save his people.  Equipped with this new revelation and numerous miraculous signs (Exodus 4), Moses will eventually obey the Lord’s call and undertake the task of freeing his people.

            The Epistle warns us that even those called by God can fall.   Paul reminds the Corinthians, who were tempted to take part in pagan worship services (see 1 Corinthians 8‑10), that even the Exodus generation, led by Moses, fell into the sin of idolatry.  Despite having God's cloud for guidance, passing through the sea, and being given manna and water from the rock (see Exodus 13‑17), many of the fathers "were struck down in the desert" for their sin in making the golden calf (Exodus 32).  Their example is a warning:  "Let anyone who thinks he is standing upright watch out lest he fall!"

            In today's Gospel Jesus uses two recent tragedies and a parable to warn the crowds of the dire consequences of failure to repent.  Both the Galileans cruelly killed by Pilate and the eighteen crushed by the tower of Siloam were not necessarily terrible sinners, but their sudden deaths should alert the crowd to the seriousness of Jesus' call to reform.  Twice Jesus repeats the warning: “But I tell you, you will all come to the same end unless you begin to reform” (Lk 13:3,5).  Jesus' fig tree parable stresses that the time for repentance is running out.  Only the vinedresser's intercession keeps the exasperated vineyard owner from cutting down the tree which has failed to bear fruit for three years.  The crowds, like the fig tree, have only one more chance for repentance.  The vinedresser's words should remind us that during this Lent we too have only this opportunity for repentance from our sins. `Sir leave it another year while I hoe around it and manure it; then perhaps it will bear fruit.  If not, it shall be cut down.'

Lent IIC

2^nd Sunday of Lent C

Readings: Genesis 15:5‑12,17‑18                                         Philippians 3:17‑4:1      Luke 9:28‑36

            On the Second Sunday of Lent the Church's liturgy always presents us with the story of Jesus' Transfiguration.  In the midst of the journey to the cross in Jerusalem, we-- through the eyes of Peter, John, and James-- are given a glimpse of Jesus' ultimate glory as God's Son and admonished to “listen” to his teaching.  As we continue our Lenten journey, let us pray with faith the refrain of this Sunday's responsorial psalm: "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Ps 27).

            The Old Testament readings for this Lent recount the central stories of the history of salvation which lead up to the promise of the New Covenant.  Last Sunday we heard the retelling of the exodus from Egypt, and this week we recall the covenant with Abram/Abraham (Genesis 15).

            This story highlights Abram's faith in God's promises of offspring and land, despite apparently insurmountable obstacles to their fulfillment.  The first is the barrenness of Sarai/Sarah, his wife (see Gen 11:30).  In the lines immediately before our reading, Abram complains, “See you have given me no offspring, and so one my servants will be my heir” (Gen 15:3).  But the Lord promises Abram that his own issue will be his heir (15:4) and then says: “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.  Just so shall your descendants be” (15:5).  Without further complaint, "Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness" (15:6).  A second obstacle is that the Canaanites are occupying the land promised to Abram (see Gen 12:1‑9). And so he asks, “O Lord God how am I to know that I shall possess it?” (15:7‑8).  This time the Lord gives instructions for the sealing of a solemn covenant which Abram dutifully performs.  In ancient covenant ceremonies contracting  parties "cut a covenant" by splitting animals in two and passing  between the halved parts to indicate that they were willing to be  dismembered, if they should fail to keep the covenant.  In this case, the Lord, under the form of "a smoking brazier and a flaming torch," passes between the parted animals and binds himself with the oath: “To your descendants I give this land from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River.”

            The Epistle reading from Philippians continues the theme of faithful trust in the future fulfillment of God's promises and also expresses Paul’s faith in the transfiguration of the body of believers beyond death through the power of Jesus’ resurrection.   While in prison and facing the prospect of death, Paul asks the Philippians, who are tempted to put their trust in the bodily observances of Judaism, especially circumcision and dietary laws, to imitate him by trusting in the cross of Christ and the second "coming of our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."  He reminds them that they have their "citizenship in heaven” and are living in faith for the future when Christ "will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified body, by his power to subject everything to himself." 

            Luke's account of the Transfiguration is closely tied to the beginnings of Jesus' fateful journey to Jerusalem (see 9:22‑62), and therefore emphasizes his coming passion and resurrection.  When Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, appear in glory with Jesus, they speak "of his exodus which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem."  In Luke, Jesus, like the suffering prophets before him, has a destiny to go to Jerusalem to die, then be raised up and pour out the Spirit on his disciples (see Lk 13:31‑35; Acts 1-2; Deuteronomy 34; 2 Kings 2). At this point Jesus' disciples can neither understand this mission nor its implications for their lives.  They will be instructed in the way of discipleship on the long journey to Jerusalem (9:55‑19:27), but only with Jesus' resurrection will they begin to understand that according to the Law and the prophets "it was necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory" (see Lk 24:25‑27, 44‑49).  Therefore Peter, upon seeing the glory of Jesus, Moses and Elijah, wants to build “three booths” to honor them.  We are informed, "He did not really know what he was saying."   When Jesus, Moses, and Elijah enter the cloud, God's voice speaks: “This is my Son, my Chosen One.  Listen to him.”  As they leave the mount of Transfiguration to begin the journey to Jerusalem, the disciples see only Jesus, but they have been told what to do.  They are to listen to the Son and Chosen One as he teaches them about a life of service on the way to his cross, resurrection and gift of the Spirit.

LENT IC

1^st Sunday of Lent C

Readings: Deuteronomy 26:4‑10  Romans 10:8‑13  Luke 4:1‑13

            The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent always recounts the devil's temptation of Jesus in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry.  This year's readings contrast Jesus' trusting faith in his Father with the worldly illusions of the devil.  In this penitential season of Lent, let each of us trust in the Lord by praying: "Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble" (Ps 91).

            A spirit of trusting gratitude marks Moses' instruction for the confession of faith in offering the first fruits of the harvest to the Lord in the Book of Deuteronomy.  Israel is to acknowledge that her very existence as a people is a gift from the Lord.  When the Israelite farmer presents the basket of first fruits to the priest, he is to recite his people's story by praising the Lord for his “terrifying power” in delivering the ancestors from oppression in Egypt and leading them into the “land flowing with milk and honey.” After presenting the first fruits and bowing down in the Lord's presence, the farmer's whole family is to “make merry over all the good things which the Lord, your God, has given you.”

            Paul's reflections in Romans also celebrate faith in God's saving action.  In this section of Romans, Paul is struggling with the fact that many of his Jewish brethren have clung to salvation through the Law and have not accepted faith in Christ (see Romans 9‑11).  Paul is convinced that in Christ's death and resurrection the way of justification and salvation has been opened for both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles). In our passage Paul is doing a midrash, or a "running commentary," on Old Testament texts to convince his Jewish readers that Christ is the goal or end of the Law.  He applies a text from Deuteronomy to Christ.  “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (Deut 30:14).  This leads to the exhortation to “confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. . .”  Paul then continues with a text from the Book of Isaiah: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame” (Isa 28:16).  On the basis of this text, Paul argues that both Jew and Greek (Gentile) can find in Christ “the same Lord, rich in mercy toward all who call upon him.”  Finally, he concludes his reflections on the salvation available to all in Christ with a joyful quotation from Joel: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 3:5).

            Luke's story of the devil's temptation of Jesus in the desert continues today's theme of trusting faith in God.  In the background for Jesus’ trial is the text from Deuteronomy 8:2 in which Moses recalls the testing of the Israelites in the wilderness:  “Remember how the Lord your God led you for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to test you and know your inmost heart‑‑ whether you would keep his commandments or not.”  Unlike Israel of old, Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit” as God's loyal Son and Servant, will pass the devil's tests by being faithful to God.

            The temptations are insidious because they appeal to Jesus’ power as “Son of God” and recall the heavenly voice at his baptism where Jesus heard: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (see 4:3,9 and 3:22).  Each of the devil's temptations offers an alluring worldly prize, but Jesus repeatedly responds with quotations from Deuteronomy which affirm his faithful trust in God.  After his forty day fast Jesus is hungry, and the devil proposes: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread.”  Jesus rejects the devil's appeal to squander his power on his own mere physical sustenance by pointing to the spiritual food that comes from being obedient to God's word: “Scripture has it, ‘Not on bread alone shall man live’” (Deut 8:3).  When the devil offers him the kingdoms of the world in return for his homage, Jesus repeats the first and greatest commandment of his Jewish faith: “Scripture has it, ‘You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore’” (Deut 6:13). Finally, the devil leads Jesus to Jerusalem and challenges him to put his Father to the test by throwing himself from the parapet of the temple anddemanding that as the Scripture says “He will  bid his angels watch over you . . .” (Ps 91:11‑12).  But Jesus rejects the devil's presumptuous challenge to God with the simple statement of trust drawn from the lessons of his people's wilderness traditions: “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” As we begin our Lenten journey of fasting and penance, let the faithful and trusting Jesus be our guide.

5th Sunday C

5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Isaiah 6:1‑2, 3‑8  1 Corinthians 15:1‑11  Luke 5:1‑11

         “Leave me, Lord.  I am a sinful man.”  Peter's words to Jesus in today's Gospel express the sense of unworthiness that he, Isaiah, and Paul feel when confronted by God's holiness.   Despite, or even because of, their deep awareness of moral inadequacy, all three are called to be God's special messengers.   We too are sinners, called to be God's witnesses. Let us take consolation from today's readings as we sing with hope the lyrics of the psalm: "In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord" (Ps 138:1).

            Isaiah's account of his call to be the Lord's prophet describes his being transported to the heavenly court where he experiences the Lord's awe inspiring holiness.  In Hebrew the word "holy" (qadosh) connotes moral purity, transcendence, and otherness. It is the opposite of “profane” or “ordinary.”  When Isaiah sees "the Lord seated on his high and lofty throne" and hears the seraphim crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” he is overwhelmed by his own and his people's sinfulness.   "Woe is me, I am doomed!/ For I am a man of unclean lips,/ living among a people of unclean lips;/ yet my eyes have seen the King,  the Lord of hosts!"  In response to Isaiah's admission of sin God forgives and purifies him.  One of the seraphim touches his mouth with a burning ember and says, “See now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”  Humbled and cleansed, Isaiah can then respond to the Lord's call with the words, “Here I am; send me.”      

            The Epistle continues the consecutive reading of First Corinthians with Paul's response to those who were taking the heart out of the gospel by denying the resurrection of the dead.   For the Corinthians, who were accustomed to the Greek belief in an immortal soul, a resurrected body after death is incomprehensible.  In Platonic thought, the soul was imprisoned in the body, the source of the passions and appetites which kept it from attaining truth and wisdom. In the face of this philosophical challenge, Paul reaffirms his initial preaching of the gospel by insisting that belief in the resurrection of the crucified Christ and the future resurrection of the dead at  Christ's return are central to the Christian faith.  He first lists the various appearances of the risen Jesus: to Cephas, the Twelve, five hundred brothers at once, James, and all of the apostles.   Last of all, Paul mentions Jesus’ appearance to him, "as one born out of the normal course." 

             Like Isaiah and Peter in the gospel, Paul is humbly aware of his sinfulness.  He describes himself as "the least of the apostles; . . . because I persecuted the church of God."  Despite the fact that he does "not even deserve the name" of apostle, God's "favor" to Paul "has not proved fruitless."  The one time persecutor has "worked harder that all the others," not through his power, "but through the favor of God."

            In Luke's Gospel, Simon is the first character to respond positively to Jesus' public preaching.  Even Jesus’ hometown, Nazareth, had rejected him when he announced in the synagogue that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of a Messiah for the poor and outcast (see Lk 4:16‑30).  In contrast, Luke emphasizes Simon's willing, but somewhat incredulous, cooperation with Jesus.  When Jesus asks him to pull his boat out a short distance from the shore so that he may teach the crowd, Simon does so.   But when Jesus finishes teaching and commands Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” the seasoned fisherman is skeptical, and only grudgingly complies.  “Master, we have been hard at it all night long and have caught nothing; but if you say so, I will lower the nets.”  Once Simon Peter witnesses the miraculous catch of fish, he is seized with amazement and a sense of unworthiness.  He falls at Jesus' knees and acknowledges his sinfulness.  Now he is ready to be the instrument of God's work.  Jesus can then assure him, “Do not be afraid.  From now on you will be catching men.”