Fifth Sunday of Lent - 2025

Once again, we have in this Sunday’s gospel another image of the face of mercy. “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Jesus has gathered people around himself and is teaching them. His teaching is having a deep and positive impression on people, and the scribes and Pharisees feel threatened and are jealous of Jesus popularity. As a teacher, Jesus is not changing the words of the written law; to do this would be an evil punishable by death. What he does is draw out of the “words” of the law a deeper understanding of the full truth of God’s revelation. In the case of this gospel’s text, it is written that the evil of adultery must be purged from their midst by killing the sinner. But can the “finger of God” compose an intervention that offers another solution, a higher solution - repentance and forgiveness? Deuteronomy 22:22 ..If a man is discovered lying with a woman who is married to another, they both shall die, the man who was lying with the woman as well as the woman. Thus shall you purge the evil from Israel. If there is a young woman, a virgin who is betrothed, and a man comes upon her in the city and lies with her, you shall bring them both out to the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the young woman because she did not cry out though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. The scribes and Pharisees believe they have a foolproof plan to discredit Jesus in the eyes of his listeners. They bring forward witnesses to the very act of adultery and the woman involved. No mention of the man is given, (perhaps he fled or something else more contrived). They drag her out and stand her right in front of Jesus, for all to see. What will become of Jesus’ message of compassion now? At first Jesus says nothing but stoops down and writes with his finger in the dust of the ground. We are not told what he is writing, but it has intrigued readers ever since and many theories have been speculated. Jesus does not respond, so they press him for an answer. It is at this point that an extraordinary thing happens. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sinbe the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. One by one the accusers walk away, silenced. What just happened to them? The text only gives us the words of Jesus reply, nothing more. But something happened on a deep and hidden level. Their consciences were pierced, cut opened and convicted by the sword of Jesus voice. They hear the voice of God who knows each one’s heart. None of them is innocent before God. Now they know that only God, free of sin, can condemn. Now the woman stands alone before Jesus, and hears the voice of God incarnate, the VOICE of MERCY. Neither do I condemn you; I give you, not condemnation and death, but the opportunity of repentance. “Go, and from now on do not sin.”

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Fourth Sunday of Lent - 2025

The Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C, gives us the beautiful parable of the "Prodigal Son". Prodigality is a word that indicates over the top expressions of one's favour; extravagant and lavished. It is the father's prodigality of forgiving love that inspires the title of this parable. It might also be known as, The Parable of “The Wayward Son” or “The Parable of the Prodigal Father” or the Parable of the “Indignant Elder Brother”.          Let us look at the three central figures of Jesus’ parable.          First, the Younger Son – clearly, he has no appreciation or understanding of his father’s love for him. He is in love with himself.   "Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.          A famine breaks out – he is in desperate condition – finally decides to return home – hoping he might get a servant’s job and thus save himself - he fashions a job application he thinks his father might accept and heads home. "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."          In theological terms we might call this “Imperfect Contrition”. “I’m sorry so I can save myself”.          Second, we look at the father – perhaps he has been going every day to the edge of his property, in hopes of seeing his son’s return – and this day he does see him – a retched, miserable mess – coming up the road.          With extreme Prodigality he lavishes his son with unconditional love – the day no doubt that the son realizes his father’s true love for him.          Now we look at the older son – a son to make a father proud – but he too does not understand that the father loves him. For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.          He fails to understand what his inheritance is all about – that it too has been given to him by a loving father.          And he fails to see the younger son as his brother; But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!         Might we not see a similarity with some of today’s older, faithful, practicing Catholics, complaining about Pope Francis and his Year of Mercy – his insistence on our need to extend forgiveness to the wayward in today’s Church? Then the father said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.' "          So here are three models to whom we might compare ourselves – who am I most like? Brant Pitre's Video on the Other Brother's Resentment. * * * VIEW * * *

Third Sunday of Lent - 2025

+ And he told them this parable:  “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,  and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also,  and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;  it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

In the world of politics, the landscape is often divided into two, under the banners of liberal and conservative - the left and the right. The left is often described as being too loose and accommodating in its principles, while the right is held as too rigid and unbending.   This dividing line can also find its way into religion, creating opposing positions on theological interpretations of beliefs and practices. Pope Francis has been considered by some to be too liberal leaning, and they point to his emphasis on mercy and his creation of a special Jubilee Year devoted to God's Mercy. What about God's Justice, they will ask. Are not sinners to face the consequences of their sins? Is there not a hell, or was the Year of Mercy just a "get-out-of-jail-free" year? Scripture makes it clear that the wages of sin is death. (Rom. 6:23). But Jesus confronting the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, who condemn him for the way he deals with sinners, points to the prophet Ezekiel that God does not desire the death of sinners rather their conversion. (Ez. 18:23) Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mtt. 9:13) Clearly, it would be to our pearl to ignore the call to holiness we hear in the gospel. But our hope rests not in our self-righteous, rather it is in God's Mercy, that continues to lift us out of our failures, giving us again and again the opportunity for conversion. In today's gospel, Jesus uses a parable to give us insight into the workings of God's justice and mercy. In the parable there is a fig tree that has failed to produce any fruit for the past three years. "Cut it down", is the correct (the just) action to take. Three barren years is more than sufficient evidence that it has no value. But it is given a fourth year, and in that year positive efforts will be employed to give it a chance to revive.  Its purpose for existence remains the same, to bear fruit - in our case, the fruits of a holy life - the measure of our judgement. The additional year and the intervention of cultivation, add-ons from outside are given - in our case the gift of grace, sanctify grace, the grace of Mercy, continually given to the very last hour of the very last year, the fourth year. Pope Francis is showing us that we are in the "fourth year", the Year of Mercy, the time remaining for us. Can we see any signs of fruit?

"I tell all of you with certainty, since you did it for one of
the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did it for me." Mtt. 25:40

Second Sunday of Lent - 2025

The Second Sunday presents us with the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The word transfiguration comes from a Greek word from which we get the word metamorphosis, meaning a radical change. An example that illustrates this well is the butterfly. It begins as worm like leaf eater, then after a time wrapped in a cocoon it emerges as a beautiful butterfly able fly. So here Jesus appearance is being radically transfigured, radically transformed. And as this happens Peter, James, and John can see Jesus’ divine glory. Remember Matthew gospel was first written to first century Jews. When they heard these details of the transfiguration, they would immediately make the connection with Moses on Mount Sinai. Some of these connections with the Transfiguration of Jesus and Moses’ experience on Mount Sinai are: * Moses goes up the mountain taking three companions – Jesus take with him Peter, James and john. * When Moses went up the mountain of Sinai, it says that “when he came down his face shone with the glory of having been in the presence of God,” * When Jesus goes up the mountain, his face is transfigured and it shines like the sun with its own light - similar to Moses but is greater than Moses, because he's being revealed as the divine son of God. * In the Moses experience a cloud descends upon him; it says that “God spoke to Moses from the cloud.”   * In the Transfiguration of Jesus the voice of the Father speaks from the cloud and says the words, “this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” So, for the first century Jews they would see in the Transfiguration the revelation of one who is even greater than Moses. Jesus is acting like a new Moses, but he's a new and greater Moses, and he's bringing the disciples up that mountain to encounter God, to enter into the mystery of God and to also reveal to them his divine Sonship. What is the meaning of the Transfiguration for us today? As for Peter, James and John Jesus is preparing them for the scandal of the Cross. When they and the other disciples see Jesus’ passion and death their faith will suffer a crushing blow. So for us we also see in the Transfiguration the glory and power of God revealing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour – for  we too must face the crushing blows that our own trials will bring against our faith – faith that for some will be lost. This is why Lent is such an important time because it is during Lent that through prayer and meditation, we seal in one unbreakable bond the glorious Transfiguration with the passion of Jesus. So that we can face our trials with the vision of the victorious Christ - so seared into our memory that no suffering we face will ever separate us from our confident trust in the Lord. May I recommend that this be the way for you pray and meditate this Lent. As you look up at the Crucified Jesus, see also the vision of the glorious risen Christ.

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