God So Loved the World

                                    4th Sunday of Lent

                                   

Crucifixion
Station of the Cross
Assumption Church
Fairfield, CT*

It is not uncommon for people to question or lose their faith in God because of the evil in the world. Whether it is a great natural disaster, or a personal experience of pain and suffering, they ask, “How could God allow such pain and suffering to go on?” When there is no answer to the question, they either blame God, or claim that God does not even exist.

In today’s reading from the ancient book of Chronicles, it is clear that the Jews blamed themselves for the destruction of their homeland, and their subsequent enslavement by their enemies. Not only had they engaged in infidelity and abominable practices, but also they resisted all attempts to warn them about their misdeeds.

But they mocked the messengers of God,Despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets…

The biblical writer speaks of a compassionate God whose compassion turned to anger when warnings were ignored and despised. I don’t know if anger is the right word even though some use passages like these to imagine a stern, unforgiving God who hurls lightning bolts at those who step out of line. Actually, this is an image of God that comes from the pagan gods.

In today’s gospel St. John presents us with a different vision of God. After being questioned by Nicodemus, one of the Jewish leaders, Jesus predicted his own suffering, death, and resurrection. As we approach Holy Week we might wonder why Jesus had to suffer and die? What did he do wrong? What sin did he commit? It is a great mystery.

This passage from John, one of the most famous in the Bible, indicates that compassion and love rather than wrath and anger are the reason for the Passion of Jesus. He suffered and died so that we would not have to suffer and die. God gave his Son so that we would not have to give our own children. We would not even have to sacrifice birds and other animals. Here are the words.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,So that everyone who believes in him might not perishBut might have eternal life.

Jesus came as a healer. He said his yoke was easy and his burden light. He criticized those who put unnecessary burdens on the shoulders of others. He urged his disciples not to condemn or judge others. He told them to heal the suffering, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry.

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I know of a young man who ridiculed his mother's religious faith because of the suffering that her mother, his grandmother, had to endure at the end of her life. "Where was your God when Nana was suffering?"  The answer to his question was staring him in the face. His mother had taken care of her mother every day and stayed with her throughout her suffering. She was one of those rare individuals who absolutely refused to place her mother in a nursing home. The young man also must have known that his mother, a Catholic, had also spent countless hours consoling a Jewish friend who had lost a young child. Why couldn't the young man see the Lord in his midst in the faith of his own mother?

Just like our Lord she gave of herself for her mother, her friend, and for her son.

In today’s second reading St. Paul, who regarded himself as one of the greatest of sinners, shows that his own personal experience of the Risen Lord made him understand that God was a God of love.

God, who is rich in mercy,Because of the great love He had for us,Even when we were dead in our transgressions,Brought us to life with Christ…

Jesus did not regard pain and suffering as a good thing or even a necessary evil. Wherever he could he healed, and urged his followers to do the same.

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*Image by Melissa DeStefano

Reading 1. 2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23.

Reading II. Ephesians 2: 4-10.

Gospel. John 3: 14-21 (God so loved the world…)

Ten Commandments

                                    3rd Sunday of Lent***

                                    

The Ten Commandments are the subject of today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. Although we think of these commandments as relevant to all people at all times, they were given particularly to the Jewish people on their wandering in the desert after they had escaped from slavery in Egypt. We might want to think of the Commandments not as a spiritual guide but as a practical guide to survival during their journey.

How could this people, made up of different families and tribes, survive during this time of adversity? It is clear that the first step would be to remember that they were all united in the service and worship of one God. Unlike the Egyptians and the other pagan peoples encountered on their journey, they would not have many gods, especially those obviously false gods made of wood or stone.

Moreover, they would have to behave in a certain way to each other in order to survive. On their journey, they would have to set aside one day for rest, a rest that would be shared by all. No one, even their slaves and animals, could be required to work on the Sabbath. This is good practical advice which we would be well advised to follow today.

They would have to remember their obligation to their own parents. How can you have a working, well-functioning society if children don’t respect and honor their parents, or grown children do not care for their infirm parents? If this elemental bond is broken, what other bonds can remain? Moreover, they will have to respect their other tribesman. They must work together. How will they survive if they kill each other, fail to respect their marriage bonds, bring false charges against their fellow travelers, or desire what does not belong to them?

We know that many of them did not keep the commandments. Even their leaders often failed. King David coveted another man’s wife and connived to have her husband killed in battle. King Ahab coveted another man’s property and his wife, the notorious Queen Jezebel, showed him the way to get rid of the poor farmer.

In the time of Jesus it was much the same. Today’s gospel account of the cleansing of the Temple illustrates the anger of Jesus at their failure to follow the commandments. He drove those who sold animals for sacrifice out of the Temple area because they had made the house of God into a marketplace.  The buying and selling of animals had become like the worship of idols.

The most significant part of this passage comes at the end. The evangelist tells us that many had come to believe in Jesus because of the signs he had worked but that Jesus knew they did not understand his message.

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,And did not need anyone to testify about human nature.He himself understood it well.

Sadly, he understood human nature. He knew that his contemporaries as well as the Jews from the time of Moses had often failed to live by the Commandments, and that human nature would make us all today likely to stumble and fall. In his letter to the new Christian community at Corinth, St. Paul had noticed that even these recent converts had trouble living in harmony with one another.

Paul told them to concentrate on Jesus who died to redeem our fallen nature. Just like the Jews of old, we too demand signs or miraculous deeds. Just like the Greek philosophers of old, we look for wisdom or human reason to solve all our problems. Modern culture regards much of what Christians believe and do as superstitious, irrational, or unreasonable.

Jesus expanded on the Commandments. He applied them not just to one tribe but to all people. He told us not just to love our neighbor but to share our love with strangers. He told us that not only was killing forbidden but that anger was just as bad as killing. He told us not only to avoid adultery but to not even think about it. The idols of the Greeks and Romans were nothing compared to the idols we have created. We worship athletes, entertainers, and celebrities. We even have a popular show called American Idol.

Paul’s words to the Corinthians are as valid today as they were 2000 years ago.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,And the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

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Reading 1. Exodus 20: 1-17

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25.

Gospel. John 2: 13-25 (cleansing the temple)

***For the third Sunday in Lent the readings of the B cycle our A cycle may be used at Mass. The above is based on the readings for the B cycle. Sorry for the lateness of this post.

Lent and Transfiguration

                                    2nd Sunday of Lent

                                    

Transfiguration
Stained Glass Window
Assumption Church
Fairfield, CT*

At one point in the gospels our Lord refers to someone, I believe it was Nicodemus, as a "true son of Abraham." It was probably the highest compliment our Lord ever gave to anyone for Abraham was the father of Israel, the people of God.

Later in the story, however, the Lord asks Abraham as a sign of faith to sacrifice his only son in much the same way as he had previously offered animals. Abraham obeyed but  just as his knife was set to strike, the Lord intervened and stopped him. Thank goodness! What would we think of a God who could allow a man to kill his own son?

Instead, we see in today's gospel that the Lord is going to sacrifice His own Son so that our sons and daughters might live. In todays’s gospel St. Mark gives us his account of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Just as the Temptation in the Desert has always been the subject of the first Sunday in Lent, the Transfiguration of our Lord has always been the subject of the second Sunday in Lent.

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Jesus is far along in His mission when the Transfiguration occurs. He has given the Sermon on the Mount, healed the sick, driven out devils, and raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. In Mark’s previous chapter Jesus had fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes. After this incredible miracle, He asks the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answers, "Thou art the Christ," after which our Lord reveals the mission of the Christ:

            The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief

            priests and Scribes, and be put to death, and after three days rise again."

After this startling announcement Mark records the Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountainoff by themselves. He was transfigured before them.

And his garments became shining, exceedingly white as snow, as no fuller on earth can whiten. And there appeared to them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Elias and Moses were two of the greatest figures in Jewish history.

                

Our reading says that Jesus was speaking with them of his "exodus" that He was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. The word "exodus" is full of meaning. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery to the promised land--Jesus was about to do the same for us. Older translations say that Jesus was speaking of "his death, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem." 

Finally, a cloud envelops them and they hear a voice just as they did at the Baptism of the Lord  saying, "This is my beloved Son; hear Him." The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus are linked to the covenant that the Lord made with Abraham and his spiritual descendants. We are the true sons and daughters of Abraham when we hear the Word of the Lord and believe.

In today's second reading from the letter to the Philippians, Paul is telling us to be true to the covenant and conduct ourselves "according to the model you have in us." He knew that in his time as well as in ours, many "conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ."

            Their end is destruction.

            Their God is their stomach;

            their glory is in their "shame."

            Their minds are occupied with earthly things.

But for those who "stand firm in the Lord," they will receive a promise similar to the one made to Abraham:

            He will change our lowly body

            to conform with His glorified body...

When Jesus spoke of  his own crucifixion, he also told his disciples and us that we must also bear our cross.

            If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross         daily, and follow me. For he who would save his life will lose it; but he who loses          his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole   world, but ruin or lose himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of      him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory..."

This is why our little sacrifices during the forty days of Lent are so meaningful. They are a reminder that it is impossible to stand firm in the Lord without sacrifice of some kind.

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Reading 1. Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Reading II. Philippians 3:17-4:1

Gospel. Luke 9: 28b-36 (Transfiguration)

*Image by Melissa DeStefano