First Sunday of Lent

 Our Lenten journey, from ashes to Easter, is a time to reflect upon our purpose in life and reset our priorities.

I remember a preacher who appeared with a cut on his face. He announced that he had focused so much on practicing his homily while shaving that he accidentally cut his chin. He then gave a 45-minute homily. After mass, a listener advised him: “Next time focus on your face and cut your homily!” Good advice. 

Life throws curveballs to keep our balance. Baseball great Babe Ruth, who spent 10 springs in St. Petersburg, had a saying: "Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games." Yes, we have to step up to the plate daily and do our best. 

Last Wednesday we may have heard, “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.” Dust symbolizes nothingness. It’s everywhere, commonplace. Yet God became dust in Jesus. Jesus charged dust with the grandeur of God through his death/resurrection. The triune God abides in us and we in God by virtue of baptism.

The word of God in the book of Deuteronomy focuses on identity and reminds the ancient Hebrews of their roots: they were once at-risk nomads, exploited as cheap labor in Egypt. Then they became free at last, brought into a place of abundance, and grateful to the God who saved them. 

Do we know our Christian identity? In baptism, we were transformed into “new creatures,” sons and daughters of God, called to live a God-like life. That’s our identity.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Christian community in Rome, proclaims fundamental truths: Jesus is our Lord to whom we owe our allegiance; Jesus Christ lives; and because he lives, we live. The same God is God of all. Through the gift of faith, we have eternal friendship with God. 

In the Gospel, Jesus, filled with the Spirit, was tempted in the wilderness.

The devil, as a seductive voice, tempted Jesus to use his divine powers to satisfy his hunger. But Jesus’s food is not bread alone, but also God's word.

Then the devil offers Jesus earthly power if he will only worship him. Jesus brushes the devil aside. To God alone belongs worship.

The devil finally asks Jesus to do a performance to make him famous. Jesus refuses to test God by asking for such a display. God's will be done.

In some form or other, these are temptations that we face: seeking only self-indulgence, or power or acclaim. Jesus remains true to his identity and mission. He will serve God alone and do God’s will which was to proclaim the kingdom of God, a new heaven and a new earth, eternal life with God for humankind through his death/resurrection. 

St. Luke may be asking us how faithful are we to our identity as sons and daughters of God?

Lent invites us to examine again the direction of our own lives. Are we on the right track? If we’re a bit off course, how can we get in the groove?

Three Lenten practices can help us stay on the right track: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

• Yes, let's re-treat ourselves to prayer: a grateful response to an all-good compassionate and forgiving God who gifts us with his eternal life. Prayer simply is connecting with God: bringing to consciousness the presence of God that is around us and within us.

There are many approaches to prayer: the Our Father, this Eucharistic liturgy, prayers of silence or petition. All are windows or paths into the presence of God. How often are we aware of God’s presence each day? Are we participating wholeheartedly in this liturgy, and listening attentively to the inspired Word of God.

• Second, re-treat ourselves to fasting. Fasting and almsgiving are Gospel twins. For the early Christians, foregoing food “enabled the hungry to eat.” But fasting is more than foodstuff. Our Lenten fast can mean doing without anger, impatience, selfishness, negative judgments about others, addictions. Yes, doing without whatever prevents us from living a life of discipleship with Jesus.

* And finally, almsgiving. In early Christianity alms were seen as essential, not only in Lent, but every day. Let's re-treat ourselves to sharing what we have. Our time – stay in touch with friends and loved ones, the sick, people all alone. Our talents - volunteering whenever we can. Share our resources with needy people: how about Catholic Relief Services or St. Vincent de Paul or Catholic Charities. Share ourselves, with a smile and let others know we want them to share joy.

Yes, Lent calls for a change of heart. It’s time to become more aware of God’s presence all around us and within us.

So, I invite all of us to re-discover and re-treat ourselves to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, to refocus during these forty days on what truly matters in life: our relationship with God and our fellow human beings.

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Once again, our downtown streets are humming with the “Grand Prix” race.

And it’s tax season again. I read about a man who stormed into the post office, waving several pieces of mail. “For weeks I've been pestered with threatening letters,” he shouted, “and I want something done.” The postmaster calmly replied. “It's against the law to mail threats. Who's sending these letters?” The man snapped, “It's the IRS.” Moral of the story: don't mess with the IRS.

The word of God takes us back to the second century before Jesus.  The wisdom of Sirach is a collection of advice about how to live well, choosing between right and wrong. 

The author emphasizes that our words reveal who and what we are, for better or worse. He makes his point using three different images: a strainer from farming; fire from pottery; and a fruit tree. And you may be thinking it's best to just keep one’s mouth shut.

Sirach may be asking us: do our words build people up or tear them down? Are we constructive or destructive? Do we try to affirm people or are we just criticizing them? Think about it.

St. Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth waxes eloquently about our future. One day our perishable mortal bodies will be clothed with immortality. In the liturgy for the dead, we hear, “for those who believe, life is changed, not ended.” 

Yes, our faith proclaims that because Jesus Christ lives, we live. Just as God transformed Jesus into a new kind of spiritual embodiment, so too God will transform us in death into a new heavenly life. 

In light of our destiny, Paul urges us to live a godlike life.

In the Gospel, Jesus says: don't be quick to point out the faults of others while blind to your own shortcomings. Don't be hypocrites. Let your attitudes be in sync with your behaviors. Yes, be men and women of integrity, true to that inner voice we call conscience. 

This coming Wednesday we begin the Lenten season (from Ashes to Easter). It’s a time to renew ourselves spiritually; to make sure our priorities are straight.

Leo Tolstoy, the Russian author, can be a good spiritual guide. Many of us had to read War and Peace in school. But he also wrote shorter, profound parables, good reading for Lent.  

For example, A Confession describes Tolstoy's search for purpose in life. He discovered that the simple farm people of Russia found the answer to this question through their lively Christian faith: their relationship with the triune God and one another.

Perhaps Tolstoy’s masterpiece was the 75-page novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Ilyich, in exchange for luxury and status, has sacrificed his authenticity and integrity. The result is a spiritual barrenness. On his deathbed, Ilyich is terrified. 

Most characters in the novel  view what Ilyich's death means for their own benefit. His best friend competes with his widow in seeing who can pretend to be more devastated. The selfishness is obvious.  

Ilyich's servant who attends to him is everything Ilyich is not: humble, poor, devout, and selfless. Ilyich manages to learn just before his last breath the purpose of his life. Tolstoy suddenly bathes Ilyich in light but leaves the reader in suspense about his salvation or damnation. 

This short novel can be powerful Lenten reading because Lent is about asking who and what are our priorities. We follow Jesus who went into the wilderness for forty days to ask the same questions.

The twentieth century novelist Frederick Buechner gives us an examination of conscience in these questions:

 “If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less? Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you would most like to undo? Which is the one that makes you happiest? If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?”

This examination of conscience can be a pretty depressing business, Buechner notes, “but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end.”

As we begin again the Lenten season, let us ask God for the grace to make sure our priorities are straight and pursue them anew. Amen.

 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Once again, our downtown streets are humming with the “Grand Prix” race.

And it’s tax season again. I read about a man who stormed into the post office, waving several pieces of mail. “For weeks I've been pestered with threatening letters,” he shouted, “and I want something done.” The postmaster calmly replied. “It's against the law to mail threats. Who's sending these letters?” The man snapped, “It's the IRS.” Moral of the story: don't mess with the IRS.

The word of God takes us back to the second century before Jesus.  The wisdom of Sirach is a collection of advice about how to live well, choosing between right and wrong. 

The author emphasizes that our words reveal who and what we are, for better or worse. He makes his point using three different images: a strainer from farming; fire from pottery; and a fruit tree. And you may be thinking it's best to just keep one’s mouth shut.

Sirach may be asking us: do our words build people up or tear them down? Are we constructive or destructive? Do we try to affirm people or are we just criticizing them? Think about it.

St. Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth waxes eloquently about our future. One day our perishable mortal bodies will be clothed with immortality. In the liturgy for the dead, we hear, “for those who believe, life is changed, not ended.” 

Yes, our faith proclaims that because Jesus Christ lives, we live. Just as God transformed Jesus into a new kind of spiritual embodiment, so too God will transform us in death into a new heavenly life. 

Considering our destiny, Paul urges us to live a godlike life.

In the Gospel, Jesus says: don't be quick to point out the faults of others while blind to your own shortcomings. Don't be hypocrites. Let your attitudes be in sync with your behaviors. Yes, be men and women of integrity, true to that inner voice we call conscience. 

This coming Wednesday we begin the Lenten season (from Ashes to Easter). It’s a time to renew ourselves spiritually; to make sure our priorities are straight.

Leo Tolstoy, the Russian author, can be a good spiritual guide. Many of us had to read War and Peace in school. But he also wrote shorter, profound parables, good reading for Lent.  

For example, A Confession describes Tolstoy's search for purpose in life. He discovered that the simple farm people of Russia found the answer to this question through their lively Christian faith: their relationship with the triune God and one another.

Perhaps Tolstoy’s masterpiece was the 75-page novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Ilyich, in exchange for luxury and status, has sacrificed his authenticity and integrity. The result is a spiritual barrenness. On his deathbed, Ilyich is terrified. 

Most characters in the novel  view what Ilyich's death means for their own benefit. His best friend competes with his widow in seeing who can pretend to be more devastated. The selfishness is obvious.  

Ilyich's servant who attends to him is everything Ilyich is not: humble, poor, devout, and selfless. Ilyich manages to learn just before his last breath the purpose of his life. Tolstoy suddenly bathes Ilyich in light but leaves the reader in suspense about his salvation or damnation. 

This short novel can be powerful Lenten reading because Lent is about asking who and what are our priorities. We follow Jesus who went into the wilderness for forty days to ask the same questions.

The twentieth century novelist Frederick Buechner gives us an examination of conscience in these questions:

 “If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less? Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you would most like to undo? Which is the one that makes you happiest? If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?”

This examination of conscience can be a pretty depressing business, Buechner notes, “but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end.”

As we begin again the Lenten season, let us ask God for the grace to make sure our priorities are straight and pursue them anew. Amen.

 

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ecclesiastes says there’ a time for everything…a time to laugh. That’s why I reread every now and then the book Disorder in the American Courts. Transcripts have funny moments. 

For example, an attorney asked: “How was your first marriage terminated?”  The Witness replied: “By death.” The attorney went on: “By whose death?” The reply from the stand: “Take a guess.” 

Another lawyer asked a witness to describe an individual. The witness said: “He was about medium height and had a beard.” The lawyer asked: “Was this a male or a female?” The witness said: “Unless the circus was in town, I’m going with male.” Yes, a time to laugh.

A good book can help us live happily. The Power of Meaning explains that happiness results from living an other-centered life. I would like to focus on three of the author’s ingredients for happiness. 

First, we have to have a sense of belonging, with family, colleagues, like-minded pals. A second ingredient is purpose. It can be work, volunteer service or even a pastime. A third is transcendence, living for something greater than oneself, e.g., family, a profession, passion for a cause. Now I believe there's a quest within each of us to seek what is ultimately true and good. To paraphrase St. Augustine: our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O God. Our ultimate purpose is to abide in God and God in us forever.

The word of God carries us back over three thousand years, to the first king of ancient Israel, Saul. He sets out to kill the charismatic David. Here David sneaks into Saul's campsite and spares his life. David refuses to take revenge on Saul. 

David may be challenging us to forgive wrongs done to us, to move forward with life.

Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth contrasts the first man, so-called “Adam” with Jesus Christ. The first was a “living being,” the second a “life-giving spirit.” Yes, we participate in God’s triune life by virtue of baptism, but not yet fully. 

Paul says we were like the first man--corruptible, but we will be like Jesus through the waters of baptism--new creatures, adopted sons and daughters of God our Father, destined to inherit the promises made by God . Paul challenges us to live a life worthy of that calling.

In the Gospel, Jesus asks us to love our enemies. In the Greek text the word for love is agape. It indicates not romantic or emotional love, but unconditional love for fellow human beings, wishing them only good.  

Jesus makes some radical demands upon us: Do to others as you would have them do to you. Love your enemies; if someone slaps you on one side of the face, offer the other; give to everyone who asks.

How can anyone practice these? A few people, say Francis of Assisi or Dorothy Day or Mother Teresa, have tried to live these literally. But most find it impractical. So, how understand these teachings?

First, you don’t have to like someone to love them. The love Jesus asks means, no matter how badly we are wronged, we will never let bitterness close our hearts nor wish others anything but good. 

Agape recognizes the common humanity we all have – and that unconditional love begins with the recognition that we are all created in the image of God, no matter how shabby the appearances, and called to one destiny: to be like God

And that’s why Jesus connects our love of God with our love for one another. Matthew 25 says loudly and clearly: when I was hungry, when I was thirsty, etc. We can’t say we love God and yet neglect the image of God in our needy fellow human beings.

Second, these demands are linked to the mission of Jesus, who proclaimed that the kingdom of God is in our midst. You and I are living in-between the historical coming of Jesus and the final coming of Jesus in glory. We live in the tension between.

Jesus indicates the goal of our ethical behavior may not always be achievable. For example, who can possibly give to everyone who asks. Yet the aim is to be generous with what we have: time, talents and treasure.

To the person who strikes you on one side of the face, Jesus says, offer the other as well. But sometimes we have to stand up against evil in self-defense.

Jesus here indicates the direction of our lives, that is, we should try to be peacemakers, healers, bridge builders, reconcilers.

And so, the teachings of Jesus create a tension between the present and final stages of the kingdom of God.  

The genuine disciple of Jesus lives in this tension by seizing the opportunities to do good today. To quote John Wesley: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” Amen.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Valentine’s Day. Hallmark indicated that 145 million greeting cards were exchanged. And then there were the flowers, chocolates and dining out.  All these and more made for a delightful day.

Happy Presidents Day.  A great president is sometimes deemed so only after years pass. You might enjoy Doris Kearns Goodwin's bestseller “Leadership In Turbulent Times.” The book highlights the true grit of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. 

A friend told me about four of the most highly regarded businessmen in 1923 (Schwab steel, Hopson gas, Cooger a wheat speculator, and Livermore the Wall Street bear). My friend asked, do you know what became of them: two died tragically; the other two, penniless.

But, my friend noted, in 1923, the greatest golfer was Gene Sarazen. He played golf until he was 92, funded scholarships for needy students, and passed away at 97 happy and in relatively good health. I replied: what's your point? “Stop worrying about your job, health and finances and get out and play golf!” You’ll feel better!

The word of God today takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus. Jeremiah contrasts those who trust in God vs those who trust simply in earthly resources. 

Beyond the surface, the scripture reminds me of C. S. Lewis’s observation: “Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose. If love is to be a blessing…, it must be for the only Beloved who will never pass away (i.e., God).”

Yes, we have a choice: trust in God's unconditional love and flourish like a tree beside water. It may not always be easy. The test is: Do we trust in God's love for us, especially when what is happening is the opposite of what we want?

Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth in Greece proclaimed the good news: Jesus Christ, once crucified and now risen, alive, is the protype of our future. Just as God transfigured Jesus into a new kind of spiritual embodiment, God will transfigure us. For the Christian, there is an indescribable heavenly life beyond this earthly life.

Paul challenges us to stay awake to our purpose, the "why" in our life: to be in relationship with God and our fellow human beings forever.

In the Gospel, Jesus describes blessings and also woes. Blessed are they who acknowledge with gratitude their absolute dependency upon God; who seek God daily. Let them rejoice! Heaven will be theirs.

And the woes? Woe to those who have “so much” and yet do nothing for those in need, the hungry, the grieving, the sorrowful.

As I reflect on Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus, and the obstacles they overcame, I think of how often they prayed to God. Yet God sometimes seemed so silent. But the truth was God was closer to them than they were to themselves. 

It’s not always easy to trust in God. We pray for one thing or another and find silence. We’re ill or someone we love is. We feel insecure about our job; anxious about our children. We pray for peace or ask that a wrong be righted. And God seems silent.

We may even feel like giving up on God or thinking negatively about ourselves. So how deal with what seem to be unanswered prayers?

I invite us to enter into silence as something we sometimes need. Try to rise above negative feelings by reflecting on positive faith themes:

Let’s re-examine our image of God. Some people think of God only as a judge who rewards good and punishes evil. However, the bible offers a collage of God-images. A walking companion in Genesis. A passionate debater in Job. An anxious parent and a comforting mother in Isaiah. A forgiving father in the Gospels. And so, what is our image? Remember, God is our ever-faithful companion in our lives. We were made in God’s image!

Remember God’s care for us. How often the ancient Hebrews forgot the wonders God worked for them. Like a skilled pickpocket, God is present in many ways. We don’t always know he’s there until later. He may seem absent, but our faith says God’s in our midst.

Don’t stay angry with God. In his novel The Town Beyond the Wall, holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel describes the anger of a concentration camp inmate who said: I shake my fist at God; it’s my way of saying God is there, he exists…That shout became his prayer.

Prophets and saints have often argued with God. But we ultimately have to let go of our anger and move forward with our lives; otherwise, anger will poison our relationships. Remember the prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

Lastly, know that you are in good company. Many have known the deafening silence of God. Jesus prayed for deliverance in Gethsemane. The point: keep praying. God’s ultimate purpose is to satisfy our deepest longings.

Remember God’s care for us in the past and God’s continuing care, and be grateful, despite disappointments we may feel now.

The great 16th century Spanish mystic Saint Teresa of Avila, gives us a perspective when she wrote this:

Let nothing disturb you;

Let nothing dismay you; 

all things pass;

God never changes;

they who have God find they lack nothing:

God alone suffices for us.