Jesus: Our Source of Eternal Life

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well

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Each Sunday in Lent reflects on life as in a prism. First Sunday, a hungry Jesus tells the tempter what nourishes life: not bread alone but every word from God. Last Sunday, Transfiguration, the disciples saw the unique and awesome presence of God in Jesus.  They saw the future of Jesus and theirs. And that's ours as well. This Sunday, Jesus is life-giving water for the woman at the well.

Sunday's word of God carries us back to the exodus: the deliverance or freedom of the Hebrews from their oppressors in ancient Egypt. They are wandering and complaining! Our favorite past-time. Where is God, they wonder. Moses cries out to God, and God demonstrates his presence among them. Water suddenly flows from a rock and quenches their thirst.

The life-giving waters allude to our baptism and the promises made to God. Now Baptism is a rite of initiation into a global Catholic faith community of disciples of Jesus. Water can be death-threatening (think, e.g., of a hurricane) or life-giving (imagine, e.g., you're in a desert).  Baptism symbolizes a dying to a self-centered life and a rising to an other-centered, God-centered life. The author may be asking whether we live a God-centered life.

Paul in his letter to the Christian Community at Rome speaks about the saving work of Jesus Christ. Through him we have friendship with God whose love and life is poured out upon and into us in baptism so that we can reflect the presence and glory of God in our lives.

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus asks for water from a woman of questionable character and from a despised people (the Samaritans), only to engage her in a conversation about thirst. Jesus reveals who he is. He is a prophet, the messiah, the source who gifts us with eternal life, living water who can satisfy our quest for meaning in life. In faith, this woman discovers new purpose in life through her encounter with Jesus, and she heralds the good news to her townsfolk.

We all thirst like Jesus and the woman at the well, don't we? But what are we thirsty for? Some simply thirst for a decent livelihood. Others for health, wealth, pleasure, power and fame. Still others, like the Samaritan woman, seem to thirst for purpose.

Today Jesus urges us to live our everyday lives to the fullest. This Lenten season is a time for deciding what we believe to be truly important and meaningful, and then acting upon it today.

We can participate in God’s triune life not only here and now but hereafter by living a life of regular prayer, by fasting from attitudes and behaviors that jeopardize our relationship with God and one another, and by living a life of generous service.

Persevere in Prayer

The Bible Points to Jesus as THE Revelation of God

The word of God takes us back to a defining moment in the life of ancient Israel: the Exodus of the Hebrews from their oppressors. In the wilderness, the Hebrews encountered dangers everywhere. Here they are fighting. Moses, atop a hill, displays the staff of God, a symbol of God’s presence, and extends his hands, almost magically. Every time Moses lifts his hands up in prayer, the tide turns in favor of the Hebrews.

The message is simple: persevere in prayer, because God does hear us.

Paul here emphasizes the significance of the Bible and its importance in our lives. The Bible is the very breath of God which empowers us to be faithful disciples of Jesus.

In the Gospel according to Luke, the widow doesn’t give up in her demand for justice, and the judge eventually yields. The parable challenges us to persevere in doing what we can to right wrongs.

The Bible is a guide in life. Through the inspired word of God, it is a two-way conversation. We should be ever attentive and responsive to the word of God.

Yes, God authored the Bible in the sense that the Bible includes what God wants us to know about God, his relationship to the universe, and his purpose for us.

But the authors of the Bible were real authors, using the languages, images, literary genres, and worldviews they knew to communicate religious truths, not scientific theories. They knew nothing about evolution, the solar system, galaxies, or the International Space Station – which this past Friday conducted its first all-female spacewalk.

Moreover, the Bible is not one book, but a library of books written over 1,500 years by at least forty different authors—in prose and poetry, fiction and history, historical narratives and short stories, etc. The Bible often speaks symbolically, as in the parables of Jesus.

Just as we interpret literary genres differently, we have to interpret biblical literary genres differently, to discover more easily the fundamental religious truth that it is trying to communicate. The creation stories, for example, communicate religious truths. The biblical authors communicated through the cultural images and legends and traditions they knew.

I invite us to read the Bible prayerfully. Not to find specific answers to questions the biblical authors never thought about, but to become the kind of person for our day that Jesus was for his day.

The scriptures point to Jesus as the unique or definitive revelation of God to us. In other words, everything that God wanted to do for us or say to us, God did in Jesus. The Spirit in the global Catholic community guides us along the journey to our heavenly dwelling place, in light of new challenges in new generations and evolving cultures.

I invite us particularly to nourish our spiritual life through the Sunday readings in the Liturgy of the Word. We gather every Sunday in churches across the globe to listen to God in the Liturgy and to presence sacramentally and mystically Jesus Christ gloriously alive in the Eucharist, to become one with Him in Communion, and then to go forth to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ, until he comes again.

Seeking Forgiveness

Nelson Mandela sought forgiveness with one another

In today’s news, we sometimes hear of corruption: for example, funds sent for disaster relief, yet rebuilding seems mysteriously slow.

The word of God today takes us back to Abraham, who is talking/praying with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah: cities symbolizing corruption. Abraham engages in a spirited conversation with God about justice: why should the innocent suffer? Abraham’s openness indicates his close relationship with God.

We know the end of those two corrupt cities. Some scholars say they were destroyed in a catastrophe, probably an earthquake. Anyway, the story challenges us to ask ourselves about our relationship with God. How do we pray? As a close friend? A distant relative? A stranger?

Paul, in his letter to the Christian community at Colossae, speaks of the new identity we have through baptism. We have become sons and daughters of God our Father, heirs to the kingdom of God, graced by God. Paul may be asking whether we live a life worthy of our calling.

In the Gospel of Luke, the disciples ask how Jesus talks to his heavenly Father. Jesus speaks to God like a trusting son or daughter with a parent, like a close friend. Jesus urges us to be persistent in prayer, to go on asking, seeking, knocking, even though our heavenly Father knows what we need. God likes to hear our voice.

There’s a pattern to prayer that Jesus taught us. Here’s a paraphrase:
Our Father, because we are family, heirs to God’s kingdom; Your name be honored and reverenced; May your kingdom of justice and peace and freedom permeate everyone; May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Satisfy our basic needs. Forgive us for the things we do wrong as we forgive those who wrong us. And protect us from evils that jeopardize our relationship with you.
This is the pattern Jesus gave us.

When I think of modern examples of forgiveness, I recall Nelson Mandela. For nineteen years as a political prisoner in South Africa, he was forced to do hard labor, ate little and slept in a six by five cell. That he overcame hardship, that he saw the glory of God in his fellow prisoners and in his jailers was remarkable. When Mandela was released, he asked all South Africans to seek not vengeance but to seek reconciliation and forgiveness with one another.

We are all sinners, Pope Francis reminds us. The third chapter from the book of Genesis, the so-called fall from grace, is a sketch about how we sin: through ingratitude, self-absorption/narcissism, the arrogance that believes that we can get along without God.

It’s interesting that the people who really upset Jesus were not sinners but hypocrites, those who refused to see anything wrong with their own prejudices, those who had no sense of a need for repentance, those who were smug.

But Jesus offered forgiveness aplenty to those who admitted they needed it. May that forgiving hand change us. And may our active forgiveness change our fellow human beings.

Prayer: Conversing with God as a Friend

Rembrandt's Stoning of Stephen

This Memorial Day weekend, we remember again the men and women who died in the wars of our country.  The total number slain is staggering: some 1.2 million killed during America’s eleven major conflicts. Let's pause to pray for these brave men and women who gave the last full measure of devotion, per Lincoln's Gettysburg address. May God grant them eternal life.

The word of God takes us back to the beginnings of Christianity. The question then was: do Christian non-Jews have to observe Jewish practices? Paul and Barnabas discussed this with the apostles. Together they came to a compromise to avoid scandal. Yes, Gentile Christians should observe some Jewish practices, but they don’t have to observe all Jewish practices to be disciples of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus alone through his dying and rising renewed our relationship with God. He is our way, our truth, our life.

How do we resolve tensions or conflicts? Like most things we have to work at good relationships.

The Gospel according to John takes us back to the farewell address of Jesus at his Last Supper. Jesus considers how his community will continue after his departure. The disciples should be faithful to his words, especially his new commandment—to love one another. But the community will need guidance. Jesus promises to send the Spirit, who will energize and guide this community of disciples, the Church, into the fullness of God’s kingdom.

The book of Revelation describes a mystical experience, an awesome new vision of reality.

This Easter season, we have met different biblical personalities. Today we introduce Stephen. A Spirit-filled leader, a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian, Stephen worked signs and wonders and proclaimed courageously that Jesus is the fulfillment of the messianic promises made to ancient Israel. Stephen had a visionary experience of the glory of God, outraged Jewish authorities with his claims about Jesus as gloriously alive, and was dragged outside Jerusalem and stoned to death.

Stephen was the proto martyr of Christianity. His death was like that of Jesus, in the sense that he forgave his executioners and cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Would that all of us could make that cry at the end of our life.

I believe Stephen had an intense relationship with God, nurtured through prayer. Now, what is prayer? We wake up to clock radios, watch TV at breakfast, listen to the car radio; check Facebook, Instagram, iPhones, e-mail, and so forth, all of which distract us from hearing God’s voice in our lives. There’s so much noise we can’t hear ourselves think.

For Jesus and the heroes and heroines of Christianity, prayer was their top priority. Not only at mass or the Eucharist, but quietly and alone as well. As Mother Teresa put it, “God speaks to us; we listen. We speak to God; He listens.” Prayer is a two-way street.

And does God answer our prayers? Put simply: Yes, but not always as we like.

The Spirit-filled Stephen invites us to pray, to converse with God as we would with a true friend, a friendship based on God's unconditional love for us. May we nurture our friendship with God through daily prayer. Amen.

Forever Gloriously Alive

Raphael's Transfiguration

This second Sunday of Lent, the liturgical color at church is purple. But the “wearing of the green” is common as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day today, honoring Ireland’s patron saint and indeed Irish and Irish-American culture. The legends about Patrick are many. The facts are few. But one fact stands out: the missionary Patrick preached the good news, the Gospel, to Ireland. Jesus Christ is alive. And because He lives, we live.

 Perhaps you have read “The Irish in America” or have seen the PBS film. Both begin with a riveting account of the Irish potato famine of the 1840's. An estimated 1 million people died and another 1 million went to America. These “huddled masses” enriched our politics, literature, music, and much more. It's a fascinating story.

The word of God today takes us back almost four thousand years to the land we know as Iraq. Abraham hears the call of God. And because he trusted God, he set out for an unknown land.

Many of us can relate to this challenge. Going off to another state, another nation? We didn’t quite know how things will work out. I’m sure Abraham was anxious. And yet because he trusted completely in God, God made a covenant with him and promised Abraham would prosper.

God also speaks to us and calls us to be men and women of faith, to trust in God, especially as we face everyday challenges.

In the Gospel according to Luke, the disciples experienced the transfiguration of Jesus; they saw the unique and awesome presence of God in Jesus of Nazareth. They saw a vision of the “glorious” Jesus beyond the flesh and blood Jesus of their everyday lives. They saw the face of God in their midst: the Father’s beloved Son.

The Jesus of the Gospels was a real historical person like ourselves. He experienced fatigue, hunger, joy, friendship, disappointment, and loneliness as we do.

But he was more than human. He had a unique relationship to the God of ancient Israel; he was one with God. And what did Jesus teach? That the kingdom of God was breaking into our midst and that you and I can share in this kingdom by living a life of discipleship with Jesus here and now: a life of regular prayer; a life of fasting or giving up attitudes and behaviors that can break or fracture our relationship with God and with one another; and a life of almsgiving or generous service to one another.

And finally, Jesus taught that God is our Father. The God of this magnificent universe, who became flesh in Jesus and is alive in our midst by the power of the Spirit—yes, this triune God--creator, redeemer and sanctifier-- lives and breathes within us by virtue of the waters of baptism.

Let us rededicate ourselves to Jesus the Christ in regular prayer and attitudes and behaviors. Let us live life in generous service to one another so that we can participate fully in the kingdom of God—yes, forever gloriously alive with the glorious transfigured Christ.

Lent: Getting Our Priorities Straight

Rembrandt's Sketch of Jesus in Wilderness

We have begun our Lenten journey. It is a time to slow down and remember our purpose in life and get our priorities straight.

This weekend, many of us heard the Grand Prix cars racing through downtown St. Petersburg. In our high-speed world it’s a challenge to slow down, remember our purpose and get our priorities straight.

Last Wednesday we had our foreheads smudged with ashes and may have heard a prayer,  “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.” Dust symbolizes nothingness. It’s commonplace. Yet God became dust in Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus charged dust with the grandeur of God through his death/resurrection.

Lent tells us that it is time to get our priorities straight. It's a time for prayer; a time for doing without unnecessary things so the needy can have what’s necessary;and a time to reach out with a helping hand.

The word of God carries us back to the early history of ancient Israel. Deuteronomy focuses on identity, reminding the Hebrews of their roots: they were once at-risk nomads; exploited as cheap labor in Egypt; brought to a place of abundance; and now grateful to the God who saved them.

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

Paul, in his letter, proclaimed fundamental truths: Jesus is our Lord to whom we owe our allegiance. Through faith, we have eternal life.

In the Gospel according to Luke, the devil appears as a seductive voice in the wilderness, tempting Jesus with earthly power and prestige. In some form, these are temptations that many human beings face. God’s word may be asking us how true we are to our identity as baptized Christians.

Yes, Lent is time to consider again our priorities. Leo Tolstoy can be a good resource. Many of us know of Anna Karenina and War and Peace. But Tolstoy also wrote shorter, profoundly religious novels. A Confession, for example, expresses his search for meaning and purpose.

Perhaps Tolstoy’s masterpiece was the 75-page novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich. A man on his deathbed realizes he wasted his life. In exchange for luxury and status, he sacrificed his authenticity and integrity. The result is a spiritual barrenness. Now he faces a mortality he never acknowledged, and he's terrified.

Avoiding thoughts about death, in favor of superficialities, is not reserved to nineteenth-century Russians. It's the story of everyone.

20th American writer Frederick Buechner gives us an examination:

 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 to remember? If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?

It can be 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 enter the Lenten season, let us ask God for the grace to pursue single-mindedly the priority in life: eternal life in relationship with God and one another.