Fifth Sunday of Lent - 2023

The Fifth Sunday of Lent gives us yet another of Jesus great signs, the raising of Lazarus. It may seem strange to this generation that the problem some of the Jewish officials were having with Jesus’ signs was that he was performing them on the Sabbath. Today the problem is whether or not they even happened at all. Added to this there is even a further problem. If God who is professed to be a loving and merciful God exists why is there so much suffering in the world? (This is known as the “problem of evil”.) That is not to say that devout believers are not challenged by the suffering they see all around them or that they suffer personally. Meditating on the healing miracles of Jesus builds up one's faith in Jesus and becomes a source of encouragement for every believer. But then there is the Cross of Christ. In this Sunday's gospel, the account of the raising of Lazarus, we see lived out by Jesus' devout believers the challenge of the greatest of all evils, death. It is in this event that the mystery of the problem of evil is revealed. Let us examine the details of Lazarus death and how Jesus leads the people, and us, through the mystery. + Jesus loves Lazarus and His sisters Mary and Martha. If anyone deserves the touch of Jesus' healing hands it is Lazarist. + Jesus is informed of Lazarus' serious illness but deliberately delays going to him, waiting until he knew Lazarus would be dead. Jesus does this because he is going to disarm suffering and death of its power crush faith and hope in God's love. + The Quetion; Jesus, why? "If you had been here ..." Lazarus would be alive. The problem of evil solved. + The Answer: "Lazarus is not dead but sleeping - I am going to awaken him." Physical death is not the problem. Those who believe that all life offers is these few years of mixed blessings and making the best of them is what life is all about find no comfort in Jesus. But it is different for those who allow Jesus to take them into the mystery of why suffering, why death into the fuller picture in which death is scene as only a passage into the fulness of life. Jesus and his revelation now become the whole purpose of life. By calling Lazarus back from the sleep of the death Jesus demonstrates that death is not what is appears to be. Lazarus will again face his natural death but the life he will now be living will be filled with unshakable confidence that the fulness of life awaits him.  Dr. Pitre has an excellent commentary on today's gospel. >>>>> LINK <<<<<

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Fourth Sunday of Lent - 2023

Today's gospel passage is taken from John's gospel Chapter 9:1-41. It is a lengthy reading yet it is so rich in its content, but in some ways confusing. Why does Jesus spit on the ground to make mud to anoint the eyes of the blind man? To help us unpack this text I have added a link to an excellent video by Doctor Brant Pitre. Also, I have added a link to an earlier post dealing with this same passage.

 

Doctor Brant Pitre - Catholic Productions The Man Born Blind So they say "who sinned, this man or his parents?” And Jesus says "neither, neither this man nor his parents, but his blindness in this case is so that the work of God might be manifest in him." LINK to the Video

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From an Earlier Post. 

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Third Sunday of Lent - 2023

Ancestrally, Samaritans claim to be descent from the tribe of Ephraim and tribe of Manasseh (two sons of Joseph, O.T.) as well as from the Levites. They occupied the region of Israel between Judea in the south and Galilee to the north. Some Religious their beliefs: That there is one God, YHWH, the same God recognized by the Hebrew prophets. That the Torah, the Law, was given by God to Moses. That Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by Israel’s God to worship Him. Samaritans were considered unclean heretics by the Jews whom they despised even more than they despised Gentiles. Now the Samaritan woman’s life is a total mess and by engaging with her Jesus is breaking all the conventional norms of shunning the Jews practiced toward Samaritans. The woman is totally surprised by Jesus’ willingness to engage with her and his disciples where dumbfounded when they saw him doing so. But Jesus tells them that he has come not to perpetuate division but to unite all peoples by taking them to a higher state of religious belief and practice. “The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” This proclamation by Jesus is no less relevant for us to hear today than for these in today’s gospel. True religion, true worship comes down from God – it is God acting on the believer – it is a work of the Spirit. The worshipper cooperates by seeking after this outpouring of God’s grace. We create rituals around this “sacred act” of the Spirit. They are intended to help us to recognize and cooperate with the Spirit acting in us. We must never forget that it is not the rituals that make worship true, it is our humble surrender to the action of the Spirit working within us that makes our worship true and fruitful. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that it is not the mountain that makes worship true. During lent we are asked to examine the quality of our worship. Just showing up in church on Sunday is not enough. Merely reciting prayer formulas by rote while our mind is way off shopping is not true prayer. Rituals play an important part, and when they are performed with reverence and devotion, they serve to help us rise up into God’s grace acting upon us. Let us always come to worship with such disposition of mind and heart.

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Second Sunday of Lent - 2023

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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