LENT3B

3^rd Sunday of Lent B

Readings: Exodus 20:1-17  1 Corinthians 1:22-25  John 2:13-25

This Sunday’s readings continue to proclaim to the Christian community the life-giving power of God’s covenants with our Jewish ancestors, who were delivered from slavery in Egypt, and with the whole of humanity in Christ, who by the folly of his cross has unleashed the saving power and wisdom of God.  We are challenged to reject all idols, even the desire for signs and worldly wisdom, which may stand between us and God’s saving will.  Humbly aware of the saving gift of God’s covenants, we can pray the refrain of the responsorial psalm: “Lord, you have the words of everlasting life” (Ps 19).

The Exodus reading recounts the Lord’s giving the commandments to Israel on Mount Sinai; they are to serve as the new basis for their continued covenant relationship with him.  The Israelites viewed this covenant with its laws as a saving gift from the Lord who had already freed them from Egypt.  In the words of the responsorial psalm: “The law of the Lord is perfect,/ refreshing the soul;/ the decree of the Lord is trustworthy,/giving wisdom to the simple” (Ps 19:8).

Although most of the commandments are worded negatively as absolute prohibitions of certain actions, they actually protect the basic freedom of both God and the members of the Israelite community.  In a polytheistic world which tended to worship the forces of nature and the tyrannical power of kings, God demands the right to Israel’s exclusive worship without the fashioning of idols or the vain use of his name for false oaths (see Lev 19:12).  The Sabbath is to be kept holy, or separate, for the Lord by observing a day of rest from labor.  The last six commands guarantee the basic rights of the Israelites: honor for parents in old age, life free from murderous attack, marriage protected from adultery, property guarded from theft and a neighbor’s covetousness, and reputation preserved from false witness.  Is it any wonder the psalmist can say of these commands: “They are more precious than gold/ sweeter than syrup or honey from the comb” (Ps 19:10)?

In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthians, who are divided by their commitments to various apostles, that the gospel is not a form of wisdom, as philosophers understand it.  In fact, the heart of the gospel is the folly of a “Christ crucified,” a stumbling block to the Jews, who were looking for spectacular “signs,” and “an absurdity” to the Gentile Greeks who wanted worldly wisdom.   In the mystery of God’s plan, the folly and weakness of the cross contain the wisdom and power by which we are saved.

The Gospels for the third through fifth Sundays of Lent in the B cycle are taken from John’s Gospel, and all point symbolically to the life-giving power of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus, in the course of cleansing the temple, announces that he in his death and resurrection will replace the temple where animal sacrifices were offered to God.

In contrast to the other Gospels which place this incident at the end of Jesus’ public ministry, John recounts the cleansing of the temple in chapter two on the first of three Passover celebrations in his gospel.  A major theme in the first part of John is that Jesus replaces the various institutions of Judaism.  In this case, the temple has been corrupted “into a marketplace” where sacrificial animals are sold.  Filled with “zeal” for his Father’s house, Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives out the sacrificial animals and knocks over the money-changers’ tables.

When asked for a “sign” authorizing this action, Jesus replies: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  As often happens in John, Jesus’ hearers misunderstand him because they interpret his language as referring to some earthly, often Jewish, reality.  His opponents think he is speaking of the temple which “took forty-six years to build,” but the narrator reminds us that Jesus “was talking about the temple of his body.”

John also notes that only after the resurrection did his disciples recall and believe both Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple and the saying about his body.  For us as well, the life-giving power of the new temple, Jesus’ body, “destroyed” yet “raised up,” is to be remembered and meditated upon as we progress though Lent toward the celebration of Easter.  The covenant of our salvation has not been won by spectacular signs nor though sophisticated wisdom, but by the folly of a crucified Messiah, who had the courage to reject turning his “Father’s house into a marketplace.”

Lent II B

"Transfiguration" Alexandre Ivanov

2^nd Sunday of Lent B

Readings: Genesis 22:1-2,9,10-13,15-18  Romans 8:31-34 

 Mark 9:2-10

As we continue our Lenten journey toward Jesus’ cross and death, today’s readings give us a glimpse of Jesus’ life-giving resurrection.  On the often dark and frightening road to the cross, we are called to walk in trust like Abraham in the first reading, so we can pray in the words of the responsorial psalm: “I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living” (Psalm 116).

Abraham’s journey to offer his beloved Isaac in sacrifice is the ultimate Biblical example of a test of faith.  Isaac is Abraham’s only hope that God will fulfill his promise of abundant descendants and blessing for the families of the earth (Gen 12:1-3).  In the previous chapter, Abraham was forced by Sarah and God to dismiss his oldest son Ishmael and his mother Hagar.  Now God commands that he sacrifice Isaac, his only remaining son, for whom he had waited twenty-five years (see Genesis 12-21).

Although the narrator never gives us Abraham’s thoughts during the journey, his actions and words indicate that he both loves Isaac and trusts in God’s providence.  When the burdens are divided for the walk to Mount Moriah, Abraham takes the dangerous fire and knife and gently places the harmless wood on Isaac’s shoulders.  And, when Isaac asks his father, “Where is the sheep for the holocaust?” Abraham replies, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust” (Gen 22:7-8).

For the Christian reader, the story’s conclusion foreshadows Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Renewed life and blessing come to the obedient Abraham.  Isaac is restored to his father, who trusted to the point of raising the knife over his son.  And, after the ram has been offered in placed of the redeemed Isaac, the Lord’s messenger repeats the promise of blessing. “I swear by myself,” declares the Lord, “that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.”

The second reading from Romans joyfully celebrates the consequences of Jesus’ cross and resurrection.  According to Paul’s theology, even the Law of Moses was not able to overcome the power of Sin and Death that had enslaved humanity (see Romans 7).  But now in Christ, God has mercifully justified the whole human family by accepting the obedient act of his death as atonement for the sins of all.  By his resurrection, Jesus, the obedient Son of God, has triumphed over Death and now is at God’s right hand to make intercession for us.  Because of Jesus’ victory, Paul has unlimited confidence that no cosmic power can separate the redeemed community from the love of Christ.

The Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent is always the account of Jesus’ transfiguration.  Mark’s version is an anticipation of Jesus’ resurrection and comes at a strategic point in his narrative.  Jesus has just taught his disciples for the first time that he is destined to “suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.”  When Peter refuses to accept a suffering mission for the Messiah, Jesus reprimands him as “Satan” and teaches the disciples, “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mk 8:27-38).  Then he takes Peter, James and John and leads them to a high mountain where he is transfigured before their eyes into his anticipated resurrection glory.  His clothes become dazzling white, “whiter than the work of any bleacher could make them.”  Elijah and Moses, representatives of the prophets and the law-- who had mysterious departures from this world and were expected to return at the end time-- appear and are in conversation with him.  Sadly, Peter again fails to understand and proposes to build three booths to honor them all equally.  God’s heavenly voice corrects Peter by announcing: “This is my Son, my beloved.  Listen to him.”  When the revelation is finished, the disciples see only Jesus, who enjoins them not to announce what they have seen before the Son of Man has risen.  The Church’s Lenten observance is faithful to Mark’s understanding of Jesus.  If we want to share in the triumph of Jesus’ resurrection, we must follow him in trust, down from the mountain and on to Jerusalem and the cross.

Lent IB

1^st Sunday of Lent B

Readings: Genesis 9:8-15                                           1 Peter 3:18-22            Mark 1:12-15

  Lent is a time of preparation for the Christian community’s celebration of Jesus’ triumphant victory

over Sin and Death through his cross and resurrection in the liturgies of Holy Week.  As catechumens

prepare for full initiation into the rigors and joys of the Christian faith, the whole Christian

community readies itself for the renewal of its baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil by again turning

from sin to the joys and demands of the Gospel.  The readings for the Lenten season in the B cycle

will lead us through God’s live-giving covenants in the course of salvation history and deepen our

understanding of our baptismal commitment in an often pagan world.  In the spirit of renewal, let us

pray the refrain of this Sunday’s psalm: “Your ways, O Lord are love and truth,/ to those who keep

your covenant” (Ps 25).

The first reading from Genesis recounts God’s covenant with Noah and the whole created order after

the purifying waters of the flood had cleansed the earth of sin.  It immediately puts our Lenten

observance in a universal and ecological context.  God is committed to the restoration of harmony in

the universe and calls us to live in peace with every living creature.  In contrast to pagan traditions

which understood the flood as the action of capricious gods, the Genesis flood story represents God’s

attempt at a new beginning, a second creation.  In the early chapters of Genesis (1-6), humanity’s sin

disrupts the harmony of God’s original creation and unleashes the chaos of titanic pride, murder,

blood revenge and violence.  Out of this hopelessly rebellious human family, God chooses Noah and

his family to begin creation anew.  His commitment to the new created order after the flood is

irrevocable and universal.  The sign of that covenant is in nature itself and is visible to all. “When I

bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears

in the clouds, I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that

the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.”

The second reading from 1 Peter applies the flood imagery to Christian baptism which is an entrance

into Jesus’ life-giving death and resurrection.  1 Peter was written for Christians in Asia Minor who

found themselves in a pagan Roman environment hostile to the values of the gospel.  It calls them to

live “as aliens and sojourners” in this evil world, but also to give a defense of their faith to

unbelievers.  In the section immediately preceding our reading, Peter exhorts his follow Christians.

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it

with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those

who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.  For it is better to suffer

for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:15-17.

In suffering for doing good in a hostile world, Christians are living out their baptism which was

prefigured in the saving of the innocent Noah and his family by water in the wicked flood

generation.  More importantly, their baptism is a sharing in the saving action of Jesus the “righteous”

One, who suffered for the “unrighteous” and now has triumphed through his resurrection and reigns

at the right hand of God in heaven.

The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent is always the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness at

the beginning of his public life.  In Mark’s very short version, Jesus is led by the Spirit, which he has

just received at his baptism, to the desert, where he is put to the test by Satan during a forty day

sojourn.  The scene is filled with symbolism drawn from the Old Testament.  Unlike his ancestors

who failed the test of trusting in God’s providential care during their forty years of wandering in

wilderness as they came out of Egypt, Jesus trusts in God’s protective care.  The brief statement, “He

was with the wild beasts, and angels waited on him,” is drawn from the imagery of Psalm 91,

promising protection to the one who trusts God. “For to his angels he has given command about you,/

that they guard you in all your ways/.Upon their hands they shall bear you up,/ less you dash your

foot against a stone./ You shall tread upon the asp and the viper; you shall trample down the lion and

the dragon” (Ps 91:11-13).  Having endured his forty day test, Jesus then launches his attack on

Satan’s dominion by going to Galilee and proclaiming: “This is the time of fulfillment.  The reign of

God is at hand!  Reform your lives and believe in the good  news!”

6th Sunday OTB

6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46  1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1  

Mark 1:40-45

This Sunday’s Gospel recounts Jesus’ healing of an outcast leper and restoring him to the community of God’s people.  Let us join the leper who kneels before Jesus and prays: “If you will do so, you can cure me.”  With that humble spirit, we can pray this Sunday’s psalm: “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation” (Ps 32).

The Leviticus reading sets the religious and social background for Jesus’ healing and restoration of the leper in the Gospel.  It is part of a long section treating “leprosy” which rendered persons “unclean” and forced them to dwell apart, outside the Israelite community.  As is clear from the description, “leprosy” is a term for various skin blemishes and fungi (scabs, pustules or blotches), and not Hansen’s disease.  In Israel the priests, the descendants of Aaron, had the responsibility of diagnosing the leprosy, declaring persons unclean, and then pronouncing them clean when the leprosy was healed.  Until the leprosy was healed and the proper sacrificial rituals were performed, the leper must “keep his garments rent and his head bare, and . . . muffle his beard,” and, as long as the sore is on him, he almost must “cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’”.  This, then, is the ostracized condition of the leper in our Gospel reading. 

The second reading is the conclusion of Paul’s long exhortation in 1 Corinthians on the problem of whether Christians were free to eat meat that had been “offered to idols” and to attend pagan banquets (see 1 Cor 8:1-11:1).  Paul’s treatment of these issues is a good illustration of how his ethical teaching is based on the Christian command to love rather than on “knowledge” and “rights” as in a philosophical ethics.  For Paul, love “builds up” the community by being concerned with the physical and spiritual welfare of others.  But “knowledge” only “puffs up” the individual and has no regard for the needs of others.  While sarcastically agreeing with the knowledgeable that the idols have no real existence, Paul asks that they, out of consideration for the weaker brethren who are recent converts, not eat the food that has been offered to idols in their presence (10:23-28).  In the matter of the pagan banquets, Paul forbids participation because the Christian Eucharistic meal is a participation in the body and blood of Christ which precludes participation in pagan sacrifices (10:14-22).  In the midst of this section, Paul offers his own behavior as an example to the Corinthians (9:1-27).  As an apostle he has certain rights, for example, the right to support from his communities and to take a wife in marriage.  But he has freely given them up in order to be of service to those to whom he preaches the gospel.  In the same manner he asks the Corinthians to be willing to give up their liberties and privileges in matters of food for “the glory of God” and their brethren’s spiritual needs. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.  Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.  Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

In his story of Jesus’ healing a leper, Mark continues his twin themes of Jesus opening the kingdom of God to the diseased and outcast in Israel and his desire for secrecy about the miracles. At the same time Mark is preparing for the hostility of the scribes and Pharisees in the next section (see 2:1-3:5) because Jesus’ actions imply God-like power and override the authority of the priests and Temple.  In Mark the simple faith of outsiders brings them into God’s kingdom, while the Temple-bound legalism of the scribes and Pharisees keeps them out.  In contrast to the scribes who claim that Jesus has blasphemously usurped God’s power to forgive sins (2:6-12), the leper humbly recognizes the divine power operative in Jesus and begs for healing and restoration to a state of cleanness.  “A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, ‘If you wish, you can make me clean.’”  Moved with pity, Jesus, with God-like power, simply stretches out his hand, touches the leper, and says, “I do will it. Be made clean.”  As often happens in Mark, the cure is “immediately” accomplished.  In the concluding dialogue Jesus continues to command secrecy about his miracle working (see Mk 1:25,34), but tells the cleansed leper to show himself to priest and offer the sacrifices prescribed in Leviticus for restoration to the community (see Leviticus 14).  But, in typical Marcan fashion, the man goes away and begins to publicize the whole matter.  Despite Jesus’ attempt to avoid the crush of the crowds by remaining outside the towns in deserted places, the people keep coming to him from everywhere.  Mark gives us the impression that, although Jesus wants to wait for the full revelation of the kingdom (see Mk 8:27ff), his healing ministry has thrown open the gates to the kingdom, and long rejected outcasts have coming streaming in, as the prophets had prophesied (cf. Isaiah 35).