FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT "C"

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Cycle “C” John 8, 1 – 11: The woman caught in adultery.

The compassion and depth of today’s Gospel carry the authority of God’s Word. In what must have been a trap, a wretched woman is dragged out and paraded before Jesus. Only the woman; the male partner is conspicuous by his absence. There was a perverse sickness in the orchestration of this fiasco. Exposing a human being to such indignity and humiliation, using a woman as a human shield behind which they sheltered their own sins; this was cruel and evil. They appealed to the authority of Moses. That appeal was suspect and flawed The Mosaic Law did not prescribe a method of execution unless the accused was betrothed (Deut. 22). Allied to this, the law stated that both the man and the woman should be executed (Lev. 20; Deut 22). They were confident they had Jesus backed into a corner. For instance, if he gave the signal for execution, he would contravene Roman law whereby only the Roman authority could carry out the death penalty. So Jesus would have been arraigned for sedition. On the other hand, if Jesus counselled mercy, he would have denied the authority of Moses and condoned immorality. Jesus’ response to this dilemma demolished the Pharisees’ arrogance and self-righteousness. Confronted with compassionless legalism, Jesus makes no plea for mercy towards the woman but instead enters into a legal tactic. “All right, if the law calls for here to be stoned, let the law be carried out….but…” And with the authority which he consciously owns, he adds one more regulation, admirable in its sense of proportion. The law recognised the responsibility of the witnesses for the fate of the accused (Deut. 17,7). Jesus confronts them with the need to examine their own behaviour.  The one who is without sin is the one who is empowered to begin the legal execution. They skulk away, these people who came with stones in the hands and rocks in their heads.

Jesus transforms a situation of near tragedy into one of ironic justice. The only one who is qualified to punish is not interested in punishing. And he completes this dramatic epiphany of the divine logic by saying to the woman who is legally innocent: “Don’t sin again.”

The teaching of Jesus is that we are children of the same Abba. But we have become disoriented along the way. We may still nod to God the Father, but we too easily displace him with the idol of ourselves. We may give lip service to a common paternity, but we are beset with rivalry. Fraternity should be our posture, but jealousy is our action. we have a vested interest in the subtle inferiority of others. Generosity is the last thing we want because it equalises everything. It takes away our privileges, our basis for being better. We fear we’ll lose our importance if everybody is treated equally. Our anger is the symptom of our competitiveness and envy. We want to desirable, not merely with perfume or money, but also by seeking goodness. If money makes us lovable, then we must keep the others poor. If fame makes us lovable, then we must keep the others out of the limelight. If talent makes us lovable, then we must rejoice at others’ lack of it. If beauty makes us lovable, then we must be pleased with others’ ugliness. And if goodness makes us lovable, then we have a vested interest in other people’s sins. These are subtle temptations.

Those male dinosaurs who picked up stones were only showing what kind of hearts they had. They also proved that they had suppressed the feminine principle within them. That is why they could not reach across to the woman. Jesus showed them what fools they were. Rudyard Kipling said, and I end with him: “Any woman can manage a clever man; but it requires a rather clever woman to manage a fool.”

Let me pray the prayer of St. Catherine of Siena, woman Doctor of the Church, and Patroness of Italy:

O God, it was by your mercy that we were created, and by your mercy that you redeemed us by sending your Son. Your mercy is the light in which sinners find you and good people come back to you. Your mercy is everywhere, even in the depths of hell where you offer to forgive the tortured souls. Your justice is constantly tempered with your mercy, so you refuse to punish us as we deserve. O mad lover ! It was not enough for you to take on our humanity. You had to die for us as well.

 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR "C"

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Cycle “C”: Luke 125, 1-3, 11-32

A certain psychiatrist was once asked whether he read the Bible. “I not only read the Bible but study it,” he said. “If people would only absorb its message, many of us psychiatrists could close our offices and go fishing. If many patients plagued by guilty feelings took to heart the parable of the prodigal son, they could be healed overnight.”

Deep down, we all have a fundamental need. We need to be loved. We need to feel that there is someone who truly understands us, values us and cares for us. Yet for many people there is a problem. We are so burdened with feelings of shame, of guilt, inability to overcome our failings, that we cannot believe there is anyone who could love us in that way. We cannot believe in our hearts that someone could forgive us for all that has gone wrong in our lives. In other words, we cannot cope with God’s love.

 The administrator of the largest psychiatric hospital in London said, “If the patients here only knew that it means to be forgiven, I could discharge half of them on the spot.” Jesus told this parable to illustrate the amazing love of God that makes him long for us to turn to him for forgiveness. Actually God is the main character in the parable. It’s a parable that can have a deep and lasting effect in our lives. It can transform lives. It changed the prodigal from a fearful beggar, starving and excluded, into a beloved son who can join the feast inside the father’s house. Despite the son’s foreboding, the father spoke not a word of reproach against his younger child, even though he deserved a hot tongue and a cold shoulder. The father knew well that the dirty, smelly lad is coming home primarily because he in hungry and needs a place to hand out. That he has wasted his father’s money is of no great moment.

Let me tell you about that one line exchange between a father and his teenaged son. The son asked, “Dad, how soon will I be old enough to do as I please?” And his dad answered, “I don’t know; nobody has lived that long yet.” In today’s parable the younger son suddenly got the itch for independence, form his own party and call the shots. His father gave him enough rope, not tying it round his neck, but his waist. The party was soon over; he had placed his money on slow horses and fast women. The girls kissed him “chiao” and left him in a pigs’ sty where there were only animal rights. The young fellow had been pushed off his pedestal, he hit hard rock – it wasn’t a rock concert, but the hard rock of reality. The rope round his waist tightened and tightened as he began to starve. He would pull himself up because he remembered his father still held the other end.

 Our Lord Jesus is telling us that God places no conditions when forgiving the worst rogue among us. All we have to do is to head in the direction of our Father. Like the prodigal, our motive may not be the purest. How often have we not made our confession out of fear, out of disgust with ourselves; confused and crestfallen, because we thought we were better than that. Then again, when we are walking back to God, we don’t have to finish our journey. God is willing to meet us before our trip is finished. God is among the very few who stoops to conquer. A journalist asked Abraham Lincoln how he would react to the rebels after hostilities ceased. The President answered, “I will treat them as though they had never been away.” Here is another little story. The French forces under Napoleon defeated the Russians at the battle of Borodino. Losses on both sides were heavy. As Napoleon walked the battlefield the next day, taking a count of the dead, he heard a cry of pain from a fallen soldier and ordered a stretcher. One of his aides pointed out that the wounded man was a Russian. But Napoleon answered, “After victory there are no enemies, only human beings.”

A word about the elder bother in today’s parable. He knew his father’s heart was aching over his missing son. Why didn’t he give joy to his father by going out in search of his younger brother? His sibling’s misadventure cost him nothing. As the elder brother, two thirds of his father’s estate was legally his. His money was safe and protected. His brother had wasted one third of the estate. Notice, too, that the older fellow had a nasty mindset. It was he who rubbed in the line “this son of yours”, this son of yours had spent his inheritance on fast women and slow horses.

The younger son had changed; the older had not. It is within anyone’s power to change a thinking process. Thought by thought, moment by moment, it can be done. It’s important to do it if a person wants the quality of life to improve. You can start finding the good inside you and in others by deciding to change. Nothing is more powerfully creative than your own mind and it’s capable of higher levels of thinking than you’ve yet called on it for.

PRAYER: (The St. Hilda community)

O God, we bring you our failure,

our hunger, our disappointment, our despair,

our greed, our aloofness, our loneliness.

When we cling to others in desperation

or turn from them in fear

strengthen us in love.

Teach us, women and men,

to use our power with care.

We turn to you , O God,

we renounce evil,

we claim your love,

we choose to be made holy.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT "C"

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Cycle “C”: Luke 13. 1-9

Let me relate a little incident in the life of Sir Georg Solti. Georg Solti was for five years the much-acclaimed conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra till 1983. One evening he was invited with a friend to listen to a concert. It was an enjoyable evening, especially that the lead singer was a lady who performed very well. As they walked home after the concert, Sir Goerg Solti’s friend asked him, “Wasn’t she good ?” Georg Solti answered, “Yes, she was good. But let something break her heart, and then she’ll be great.”

In our own lives God often makes use of a shock or tragedy or illness to awaken us to something higher and greater. He might allow our heart to be broken so that we may recognize that something is wrong with us. Like a skilled surgeon, God wounds only to heal. Catastrophe, ours and others, can threaten our faith. We are horrified at the sights and sounds of suffering brought home to us by the media. When tragedy invades our own lives, it can shake us to the core. But it is also a summons to greatness, deeper faith and nobility of heart. The people of Jesus’ day had an easy but dismal answer to tragedy, disease and sudden death. It was punishment for sin. Today some pseudo religious people declare that A.I.D.S. is God’s revenge for sin. People who speak like this have the greater sin, since they want importance by intimidation. Jesus demolished that divine vengeance ideology. In today’s Gospel Jesus responds to the news of two tragic incidents. These people were no more sinful than others. The point that Jesus makes is the urgent need for all of us to repent. Our life on this earth is fragile. There’s a sense in which death is always close at hand. It’s a risky business putting off repentance to a later date. Jesus calls his hearers to learn from those untimely deaths that it’s necessary always to be ready for judgement. The parable of the fig tree conveys the message that now is a time of grace. We are given a window of opportunity for repentance. We have no idea how long the moment of grace will last. We need to see our lives in the light of eternity.

Talking about conversion, the late Cardinal Basil Hume said, “It is not a switch of sympathies or the adoption of a different set of ideas. Rather, it is the adoption of a different set of values. It is a change of heart. It leads us to embrace wholeheartedly what the Gospel says and to love him who says it. It inspires us to work for a more just and humane world.”

“A soul without a high aim is like a ship without a rudder,” said Eileen Caddy, co-founder of the Findhorne community. Don’t make the mistake of allowing yourself to be blown aimlessly through life. Do not hesitate to follow the highest dictates of your heart.

The 19^th. century British essayist Charles Lamb described a certain leader in the following lines: “In his life, there were three stages. When he was young, it was said of him, ‘He will do great things.’ As he grew older, it was said of him, ‘He could great things, if he tried.’ Toward the end, it was said of him, ‘He might have done great things, if he had liked.’” Wasn’t it the 18^th. century Scottish poet, George Burns, who said, “ The saddest words of tongue or pen are, ‘It might have been.’” Actually he was referring to a politician who had no more spiritual backbone than a chocolate éclair.

 Let me end with some advice from Margaret Holmes, “Self-denial can make us feel virtuous, but what does it accomplish ? Swearing off something you like to eat means nothing when other people are hungry. Carry those sweets to a rest home, hospital or children’s home. Contribute to a soup kitchen. If you’re giving up entertainment, give away your theatre tickets, treat somebody else to the movies;…..the list of possibilities is endless, the blessings boundless.”

PRAYER (extract of the prayer of repentance of Sir Thomas More who was beheaded on Tower Hill on 6^th. July 1535)

Good and gracious God, as thou givest me grace to acknowledge my sins, so give me grace in both word and heart to repent them and utterly forsake them. And forgive me those sins which my pride blinds me from discerning. Glorious God, give me thy grace to turn my back on the things of this world, and fix my heart solely on thee. Give me thy grace to amend my life, so that I can approach death without resentment, knowing that in thee is the gateway to eternal riches. Almighty God, take from me all desire for worldly praise, and all emotions of anger and revenge. Grant me, good Lord, a full faith, a firm hope and a fervent love. Amen.

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR "C"

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

Cycle “C”: Luke 9, 28 – 36

The Transfiguration of the Lord

High above Jerusalem, on Mt. Tabor, Jesus was transformed and transfigured  -  his human body, suffused with divinity, was a dazzling spectacle. How infinitely splendid Jesus must have appeared during his glorious transfiguration, outshining a million suns in his divine glory. The Old Testament figures of Moses and Elijah appeared by his side, absorbed in conversation with him. The Transfiguration was the meeting place of the Old and the New Covenant. Moses represented the Law, Elijah the prophets; the three apostles, Peter, James and John, were the leaders of the New Testament community. At this point of meeting, the voice of the Father bore witness to his Son, the chosen, the fulfilment of his promises of old and the pledge of life and hope for the future. The Transfiguration of the Lord is charged with promise.

Jesus’ three disciples were bedazzled and ecstatic in their wonderment, privileged, as they were to glimpse for a moment his transcendent power as he prayed to his Father. Peter, confused but desiring to capture the glory permanently, suggested pitching separate tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. It was not to be. They could not prolong this peak experience but had to come down the mountain and resume their tasks in the world. The disciples had to realize that even though they saw the “Beloved Son”, pointed out by the Father, in the glory that was natural to him, that beautiful Son would not get away with glory. He would descend Mt. Tabor to ascend Mt. Calvary.

That’s the kind of God we have come to know  -  a God whose glory is spelled out in wounds, painful cries, darkness, and death. A God pretty much like we are; worse off than we are.

The Bible story is about how God makes himself known and about his dealings with us. His presence is realized in the here and now of human life. Jesus stayed with that human life, was wholly involved in it. In him that human life was transformed and transfigured by a transfusion of the divine. And on Mt. Tabor Peter saw it and knew it. And in his wonder and awe at what he saw and heard, his words came tumbling out, the best he could find: “Master, it is good for us to be here.” We too can expect the Lord to allow us to glimpse and taste the heavenly life to which we are called. This can come in a variety of ways: a blessed time of prayer, an inspired insight into Scripture, the loving closeness of God. Such moments of anointing and blessing are God’s gifts to strengthen us so we too can take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ. Let me tell you the story of Sheila Cassidy, a still practicing medical doctor. She left England in 1971 to escape the “rat-race” of professionalism of British medicine to go to Chile to work among the poorest of the poor. In 1975, Dr. Cassidy was arrested by the Chilean police for having treated the bullet wounds of a revolutionary leader. At an interrogation centre she was stripped, tied to a bead, and tortured with electrodes attached to her body. Then she was placed in solitary confinement for three weeks and imprisoned in a detention camp for another five weeks before she was finally released and expelled from the country. About that horrific experience this is what Dr. Sheila Cassidy wrote in her book, Audacity to Believe, “I did not hate the men who had hurt us…The freedom of spirit we enjoyed was something that our captors did not possess. Incredibly, in the midst of fear and loneliness, I was filled with joy, for I knew without any vestige of doubt that God was with me, and that nothing they could do to me could change that.” 

Any transformation in us  -  any transfiguration  -  has to come from within, by the power of God’s grace. We are all awkward customers, plagued by our own follies and by the very many difficulties of being human in a world that runs to so much inhumanity. We are not easy to work with or to work through.

It is important to handle every experience to the best of your ability now. You may have to practise more patience, strive that much harder, reach inside yourself for a little more strength, muster a little more faith in God and yourself. If after you have given everything you have to give, you still come up short, you will have nothing to be ashamed of. You can experience the inner peace of those who know they gave their all. You will be a success regardless of the outcome. You will be better, not bitter, knowing that in God’s presence you did your best.

So, my dear friends, we can say, and with all others who bear witness to the work of God in the midst of us, we can say with thanksgiving and wonder:

“Lord, it is good to be here.”

PRAYER: One of the best-loved hymns written

 by Isaac Watts of Southampton (1674 – 1748: 74 years)

Lord of the worlds above,

How pleasant and how fair

The dwellings of thy love,

Thy earthly temples, are!

To thine abode

My hearts aspires,

With warm desires

To see my God;

O happy souls that pray

Where God appoints to hear!

O happy men that pay

Their constant service there!

They praise thee still;

And happy they

That love the way

To Zion’s hill.

They go from strength to strength

Through this dark vale of tears,

Till each arrives at length,

Till each in heaven appears:

O glorious seat!

When God our King

Shall thither bring

Our willing feet.

from my Diary
How infinitely splendid you look, my glorious Lord Jesus Christ!
I am ecstatic in my wonderment.
Powerful, glorious, transcendent, ineffable.
And it is your nature as God the Son;
God, as He beholds himself, 
knows Himself in one eternally present act of self-possession.
But God-as-He-knows Himself is going to pass, "go across" ("trans")
from one self-knowledge to another:
an emptying, shattering, utterly crushing self-knowledge.
Here I break down and weep, and I raise my heart to you,
my dearest Lord, for the way you emptied and lowered Yourself
so that you could meet me in my brokenness and misery.

FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT

Cycle “C”: Luke 4, 1 – 13

Introduction: We will never be tempted beyond what we can endure. There may be a tempter but we also have a protector. As the English mystic wisely noted: “God did not say, ‘you will not be troubled, you will not be tempted, you will not be distressed.

But he said, ‘You will not be not be overcome.’” There is no sin in temptation – we can find ourselves entertaining the most outrageous thoughts, fantasies and desires, and feel depressed, not that we would so such things but that even we could think them!

Homily: The key word in today’s Gospel is “temptation”, a word not to be taken lightly. In one of his plays, Oscar Wilde has the main character saying, “I can resist anything but temptation.” That may sound flippant, but at least he admits that resistance is associated with the idea of temptation. We sometimes feel drawn to what seems immediately attractive and momentarily satisfying, ignoring what is of lasting value. At times it takes hard and painful decisions to keep on the right road. When we’re struggling with such moments, we can be assured that Jesus Christ experienced the same. Satan’s temptations were real, with a most beguiling subtlety. Clearly they struck at Jesus at a time of extreme physical vulnerability. Jesus could not shrug them off easily; his resistance entailed personal cost.

Now it is useful to note that, apart from the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted at other moments of his life; in fact, right up to the time of his crucifixion, to the limits of human endurance, when the rabble shouted, “Come down from the cross and we shall believe in you.” Jesus would not satisfy their cheap curiosity. King Herod to whom he was sent by Pontius Pilate during his trial also tempted him. There was Herod, sitting on his throne, surrounded by his prize collection of idiots of the first water ! They wanted Jesus to perform some magic and then be sent back to Pilate with a recommendation. Jesus did not so much as breathe a word in that putrid atmosphere. Again, you probably recall how his family tried to bring Jesus home when they sensed danger for him. So also Peter who stood in his way and was roundly rebuked, “Move out, you Satan !”

The common thread running through all these temptations was the enticement to walk away from the mission entrusted to him by his Father, to take back his obedience to his Father’s command. Turning the stone into bread to satisfy his hunger, leaping from the Temple top in a flamboyant display, seeking authority over earthly kingdoms  -  none of these squared with God’s intent for our salvation. To have succumbed would have made his utterly obedient self-giving on the Cross totally ineffective. As always, yielding to temptation would have had unforeseen and serious consequences. Jesus counters the devil’s lies with three crystal clear answers straight from the book of Deuteronomy.

We men and women, baptised though we are, will continue to be pulled by the fancy of bodily or earthly pleasures, but shall we count God’s word as more important ? We shall feel arrogant and self-sufficient, ambitious and dominating, but shall we acknowledge God as supreme and his will as our way of life ? We crave for human praise; shall we bargain with God and “tempt” him in order to win recognition for ourselves ?  We are faced with so many choices in life. It is in choosing and deciding that we reveal who we are and what we stand for. Our answers will tell of the quality of our faith in Christ tempted, sacrificed and raised.

A John Ruskin tale may help. A certain woman possessed an exquisitely lovely handkerchief. One day by accident she stained it with a large mark. She was disconsolate. John Ruskin the artist took that cloth from her. He incorporated that blot into a wonderfully intricate design with his paints. And the handkerchief became more exquisite. Surely what John Ruskin did with that babushka God can do with our souls if only we allow him.

We are all standing at the starting line. The whistle marking a fresh Lent has just been blown. We are determined to blow Satan out of our lives once and for all time.

PRAYER: Charles Kingsley, reformer, poet and novelist (1819 – 1975; 56 years)

Lift up our hearts, O Christ, above our false shows of things, above laziness and fear, above custom and fashion, up to the everlasting Truth which is thee thyself; so that we might live joyfully and freely, the faith that thou art our king and our saviour, our example and our judge; and that, so long as we are loyal to thee, all will be well with us in this world and in all worlds to come, O Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)

Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is a strange story to 21st century ears.

He is 30 years old. He has just been baptized by his radical cousin John, despite John’s protest that Jesus does not need this practice of ritual cleansing. Jesus insists on joining other ordinary Jews who, through baptism, want to mark their identity and align their lives with God’s vision for the world.

Then a dove descends; a voice announces Jesus’ special status as God’s son.

So Jesus goes to the desert alone for a 40-day fast. A vision-quest.

He is on the brink of an astonishing three-year ministry. But before he can pour himself out to others he must first plumb the depths of his own soul.

I recall a discussion among college friends 40 years ago about Jesus’ preparation for ministry. He didn’t go to college, someone said; he fasted in the desert. That statement was only partially true.

In the desert, Jesus experiences three temptations, each more intense than the last. Three times Jesus deflects the temptation with a scripture applied creatively and with authority. He has been reading, pondering and discussing scriptures since before age 12. Now Jesus draws on those years of learning in his time of need. He is able to reject comfort, security and control as motivators for his life. Instead he will embrace risk, vulnerability and suffering for a cause much larger than himself. He will trust in God, the source of his identity and allegiance.

In the 40 days of Lent, may we each confront our own temptations to pursue comfort, security and control. May we draw on today’s scripture to deflect and transcend those temptations.

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR "C"

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR 3)(Luke 4,1-13)

    The key word in today’s Gospel is “temptation”, a word not to be taken lightly. In one of his plays, Oscar Wilde has the main character saying, “I can resist anything but temptation.” That may sound flippant, but at least he admits that resistance is associated with the idea of temptation. We may sometimes think that because Jesus was divine, this somehow “helped out” his human nature, imparting it superhuman power. Today’s Gospel shows us that his humanity was complete, sharing all the weakness inherent to humankind.

   

    Satan’s temptations were real, with a most beguiling subtlety. Clearly they struck at Jesus at a time of extreme physical vulnerability. There is no sense that Jesus shrugged them off easily. His resistance undoubtedly entailed personal cost. Now it is useful to note that, apart from the temptations in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted at other moments of his life, right up to the time of his crucifixion, when the rabble shouted, “Come down from the cross and we shall believe in you.” Jesus would not satisfy their cheap curiosity. He was also tempted by king Herod to whom he was sent by Pontius Pilate during his trial. There was Herod sitting on his throne, surrounded by his councillors - his prize collection of idiots of the first water ! They wanted Jesus to perform some magic and then be sent back to Pilate with a recommendation. Jesus did not so much as breathe a word in that putrid atmosphere. Nearer home, his family tried to bring him home when they saw the danger Jesus was running; so also Peter who stood in his way and was told, “Move out, you Satan !”

    The common thread running through all the temptations is an urging for Jesus to withdraw his total obedience to his heavenly Father’s plan. Turning the stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, leaping from the Temple in a flamboyant display, seeking authority over earthly kingdoms  -  none of these squared with God’s plan for our salvation. To have succumbed would have made his utterly obedient self-giving on the cross impossible. As always, yielding to temptation would have had unforeseen and serious consequences. Jesus counters the devil’s lies with three crystal clear answers by quoting the book of Deuteronomy.

   

    We men and women, baptised though we are, will continue to be tempted to indulge in bodily or earthly pleasures, but shall we count God’s word as more important ? We shall feel arrogant and self-sufficient, ambitious and desirous to dominate, but shall we acknowledge God as supreme and his will as our way of life ? We crave for human praise, but shall we bargain with God and “tempt” him in order to win recognition for ourselves ?

    We are faced with many choices in life. It is in choosing and in deciding that we reveal who we are and what we stand for. Our answers will tell us the quality of our faith in Christ tempted, sacrificed and risen. We shall not take the risk of entering an area that is spread with moral land mines, or the risk of playing with fire hoping not to be burned. 

    So I want to pray on behalf of everyone here:

    Lord Jesus, you know it feels to be tempted. You also know my weakness. May I be aware of your nearness when temptation comes my way. And with your help may I rely, as you did, on the power and love of your heavenly Father. Amen.
ess is a strange story to 21st century ears.

He is 30 years old. He has just be

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13 (NRSV)

Jesus’ temptation in the wildernen baptized by his radical cousin John, despite John’s protest that Jesus does not need this practice of ritual cleansing. Jesus insists on joining other ordinary Jews who, through baptism, want to mark their identity and align their lives with God’s vision for the world.

Then a dove descends; a voice announces Jesus’ special status as God’s son.

So Jesus goes to the desert alone for a 40-day fast. A vision-quest.

He is on the brink of an astonishing three-year ministry. But before he can pour himself out to others he must first plumb the depths of his own soul.

I recall a discussion among college friends 40 years ago about Jesus’ preparation for ministry. He didn’t go to college, someone said; he fasted in the desert. That statement was only partially true.

In the desert, Jesus experiences three temptations, each more intense than the last. Three times Jesus deflects the temptation with a scripture applied creatively and with authority. He has been reading, pondering and discussing scriptures since before age 12. Now Jesus draws on those years of learning in his time of need. He is able to reject comfort, security and control as motivators for his life. Instead he will embrace risk, vulnerability and suffering for a cause much larger than himself. He will trust in God, the source of his identity and allegiance.

In the 40 days of Lent, may we each confront our own temptations to pursue comfort, security and control. May we draw on today’s scripture to deflect and transcend those temptations.

ASH WEDNESDAY

ASH WEDNESDAY

           

The key to Lent is itself found in the meaning of the word “lent.” “Lent” is an old English word for springtime. It comes from the same root word “length”. Do you see the correspondence between “lent” and the lengthening of the days of springtime? So the word “lent” is bound up with the concepts of growth, new life, sunlight, and fresh flowers, like the mango blossoms.

Lent is a time to enter into ”mystery” not history. Jesus entered and stayed in the Judean desert for 40 days to prepare for his ministry. Even though we recall this 40-day experience of Jesus as we commence Lent, it would be misleading to conceptualise Lent merely as a 40-day desert experience for us. We don’t need to repeat some material-historical action of Jesus. Rather, we are called to follow Christ in the unbreakable bond of the Paschal Mystery: the Christ of both death and resurrection. We celebrate not the historical Jesus but the Christ of the Paschal Mystery, in whose love we are constantly invited to enter through the simultaneous act of dying and rising, even during Lent itself.

Lent is not a time to “die for 40 days” so that on Easter we may “begin to live again.” This is to fracture the mystery, to deny the simultaneity and integrity of the paschal mystery. Therefore, every day of Lent we celebrate both our death (self-denial) and our growth (life) in Christ.

The words the priest used to say on marking our foreheads with ashes, “Remember, man, that thou art dust and unto dust shalt thou return”, are now replaced with the exhortation, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” We are being called in this Lenten season to turn again to our compassionate and merciful Father. As Joel tells us, the Lord is “all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness and ready to relent.” We should be filled with confidence in this mighty God who though all-powerful reveals himself as ready, even eager to forgive us our transgressions. In fact it can be argued very credibly that God shows his greatest greatness in his desire to forgive us and draw us close to him. Thus our prayer, fasting and almsgiving are penetrated with gratitude for God’s love and salvation, not only with the spirit of penitence.

The question to ask is, “How is God calling me to grow in my Christ life? What must die within me in order to ensure a springtime of renewal?” What we are dealing with are the deeper issues of spiritual renewal within us, and the penances we undergo should be the symbols or symptoms of the growing reality within.

Is God calling me to a deeper environment of interiority? Then I must plunge away from superficialities and silly talk. If God is calling me to greater patience, my mortification will be dying to my demands to be served in a hurry. Is God calling me to an indiscriminate forgiveness of others and the humility of asking for forgiveness? Then I must free myself from oppressive anger and hatred or prejudice, low levels of empathy, an excessive focus on oneself, since in order to forgive and ask forgiveness I must be free. I need to examine if God isn’t calling me to greater generosity in my work and ministry; for my death and resurrection, my penance needs to be leaving sloth and egoistic self-seeking behind. Is God calling me to a closer union with him?  Then I must free myself from all attachments to creatures, human and material. And if God is inviting me to a greater peace in him, I must put aside the anxiety that oppresses and prevents me from opening up to the freedom of supernatural faith.

At a given moment of his ministry, Jesus recommended fasting as the means of expelling certain types of evil spirits. He said explicitly, “Such demons are driven out by prayer and fasting.” Why? Because fasting dissolves the trammels that tie down the self. Once the self gets out of the way, God is free to act in us and through us to establish his rule. Fasting lets God into our lives; or, rather, more correctly, it allows God to take over our lives without let or hindrance.

When we accept penances with this attitude,  both death and resurrection, mortification and renewal, occur simultaneously. Lent is spiritual springtime, the heart and goal of which is life, the purpose of its mortification is growth, its spirit of denial is gain.