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Lenten Reflection Series
Week 3: March 14 - 20, 2004
Click on the date in order to read the Scriptural texts on which the reflections are based.
March 14, 2004 - Third Sunday of Lent
Our God is a “People” God. From the burning bush God declares to Moses, “I am the God of your father the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Asked then by Moses His name in order to have more credibility with the Israelites, God responds “I AM WHO AM.” Unlike other gods our God does not seem to have a proper name, like Zeus, Baal, Vishnu or Gaia; instead He has a name that sounds more like an incomplete sentence, an intransitive plunge into history in search of a person, a people - a real place and time to relate His magnificent being. God’s name is more akin to a Verb, an action towards His chosen people with the purpose He engenders for the world.
To know God fully we need to know the People with whom He dwells, with whom He pitches His tent, whether on a mountain top, in a pillar of fire or in a the eyes of the stranger who seeks our hospitality along the road. And yet both Paul and Jesus remind us: it is not enough to be God’s homeboy, traveling in all the right circles, hanging our hopes on a name, a static identity, whether Galilean, Israelite, Christian or Catholic. Somehow such certainty God does not reserve even for Himself. “God can make Sons of Abraham from these stones,” John reminds the righteous who come to him with their claims of affiliation (Mt 3:9).
Lent is a time to repent, to plead with God, like the gardener of the parable for one more year to work the ground with hopes that it might produce fruit. We all plead, not with smug familiarity, but with fear and trembling that the actions we take in response to God’s call may produce the fruit that gives life to the world. A deeper identity awaits us all as St. Irenaeus assures us: “the Glory of God is the human being fully alive.” As we learn to die to self and make way for the dawn of the risen Christ, we remain ever mindful of Paul’s admonition: “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”
Joe Clark
Senior Employment Program - CSS Family Services Division
Jesus in this Gospel story speaks to the people in the synagogues in Nazareth. He spoke in other synagogues before and “was praised” but this time those listening were “filled with fury.” This reminds me of the places in scripture with sayings of Jesus which people found too difficult to accept, (e.g., the story of the rich young man; the image of a camel passing through the eye of a needle).
We are all asked to speak the truth from our hearts. But part of the challenge we often face in life is having our point of view accepted or rejected by others. Also, many of the children we work with throughout Catholic Social Services have not always been welcomed into the world with great fanfare. Many of them have received only conditional acceptance at best – feeling accepted only if they act in a certain way or perform at a certain level. Such conditional acceptance by those we love affects us very deeply.
Another one of the challenges we face each day is to accept ourselves completely – the good and not-so-good. Developing love and compassion for others begins with hoe we treat ourselves. When we understand ourselves and our need to accept who we are, our compassion for others is deepened. Their failures and their needs are then better understood by us.
“There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it…” (Phil 4:6)
Author wished to remain anonymous
CSS Children’s Services Division
All too often, I find myself behaving more like the servant than the master in this parable. I hold others to higher standards than those to which I am held, and “imprison” them, like the forgiven servant does to his fellow servant, with my harsh criticism or judgmental thoughts.
Doesn’t the Lord’s Prayer succinctly summarize the Gospel reading in the following twelve words: “…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…”? How many times have I said this prayer while still holding on to the debt of my fellow servant (co-worker, family member)?
When I seek forgiveness of these sins through reconciliation, the absolution given is as cool and sweet as the relief Azariah must have felt from his fire. His eloquent prayer in the midst of the flames could be offered today spoken by any group of people: “…we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins.”
How interesting that he should then go on to list what he knew was lacking in his day, the very same that we do have in ours: a prince, a prophet, a leader; a most powerful holocaust, the ultimate sacrifice, the greatest oblation, and the sweetest incense: Jesus, the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Author wished to remain anonymous
CSS Children's Services Division
These readings remind me of the importance of following the Ten Commandants, and how timeless they really are. Everyday life is very difficult and we are met with many problems and challenges. However, the basic tenets of human decency and the way of life taught by these laws are so basic and clearly defined to us that we need to remember the laws, and to practice them at all times.
When we are doing the right thing, no matter how difficult it may be, I believe one can feel the spirit of goodness. Having that feeling reminds us that there is a higher power, God, who has taught us how we should live. If we do this, we will be the “greatest.”
Our work at St. Gabriel’s Hall with the students who come to us provides us with many opportunities to teach “our” children what we know is right, and to model this type of behavior. We have all struggled through many things in this life, and what our “eyes have seen” will not slip through our memory but be passed on to these children. The Christian Brothers teach us how to be patient, vigilant and caring with our students, and of course, teaching our students the right way by following the commandants.
Now I know that this is not easy, and we are not perfect, but forgiveness is a very powerful force, and we are all promised forgiveness if we chose it. It is very liberating and moving, and I think the two readings speak clearly to us about how we should strive to live our lives, as a “wise and intelligent people.”
Robyn Buseman
St. Gabriel’s Hall – CSS Juvenile Justice Division
We find an interesting paradox expressed in today’s first reading. God tells Jeremiah to challenge a people whose verbal expression does not equal their vocational exhibition. They failed to listen to God’s voice and failed to walk in God’s way. We are called by God to participate in an active and actual faith, which displays acts of justice, mercy and humility. An active faith is obedient to the ways of God, an actual faith is a commitment to the balance of verbal profession and vocational performance, and these two are undergirded by the voice of God. Our “faithfulness has disappeared,” (Jer. 7:28a) when our obedience is exhibited as hypocrisy and we become divided persons.
Jesus tells us, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters,” (Luke 11:23). The paradox expressed in both of these readings challenges men and woman of faith today to “practice what we preach!” In order to do this we must first take seriously our relationship with a Holy God who desires heart application and not simply verbal expression. Second, our relationship with God should produce conduct consistent with the character of Christ (feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty and loving the enemy). Finally, it is a combination of a relationship with God and reproduction of this relationship in Christ-like actions, which draws us closer to God through Christ. We then are not scattered but rewarded with eternal life.
Larry G. Patrick
Brother Rousseau Academy - CSS Juvenile Justice Services Division
Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary
St. Joseph , whose feast we celebrate today, was the last in a long line of Old Testament heroes and heroines who trace their spiritual roots to the radical faith of Abraham and David. God who looks into our hearts, knew that this descendent of King David had the heart required of a man who would raise his Son. Saint Joseph 's Heart was filled with mercy because he was “unwilling to expose Mary to the law.” Grace builds upon his natural virtue through the words of an angel and the experience of a dream. St. Joseph awakens like Adam and welcomes Mary – the “new Eve”, into his home. A true son of Abraham, Joseph put his complete trust in God and was rewarded greatly for it. He understood that she and her child were the fulfillment of God's plan for his life. St. Joseph lived his vocation as the man to whom God entrusted the eternal Son and His mother.
Simplicity means having a clear focus on the one thing necessary; and undivided heart (single-minded service of God). Our desire is always that: a desire, an intention. It is never finished but always in process. For us there is only the trying. We must do what we see to do, but more, we must live in trust in the continuing presence of God in our lives. God will reveal what we need to know, show us what we need to see. Little by little, step by step, we let the inside of the cup be washed clean by painful Mercy – and in letting it be done, we are made simple.
Sr. Ursula Egan
St. Gabriel's Hall - CSS Juvenile Justice Services Division
"Turn around; you just missed where you want to go by about two blocks.” As someone who is often challenged to follow the most explicit directions, I frequently find myself being advised by kind strangers to “turn around.” That said, I was surprised to be told to “turn around” in Chapter 6 of Hosea. When reflecting on the way of the Lord, I usually imagine a narrow, but straight, upward path and the concept of reorienting my spiritual trip with an insistent “turn around” in mid course was a powerful insight from these texts. These readings emphatically remind us that we must regularly and carefully evaluate and refocus our energies and activities on the path of the Lord. That this is a most challenging task is evident in Psalm 51 as even David, the renowned King of Israel, is rebuked as being “off course” by the Lord.
Even when we think that finally we are on the correct road, dangers still lurk. Like bright neon signs attracting us to promises of earthly happiness, temptations to sin eagerly divert many fine people along the road. Yet those of us secure in our faith because we attend to the proscribed prayers and rituals, such as Sunday mass and daily prayers, travel past these attractions confident that we are indeed living the good Christian life. But as the potholes we blindly hit do the most damage to the alignment of our cars, so this very piety or the self-satisfaction that we are not “like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous…” erodes our souls if we aren’t alert.
"For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.” is David’s first step on the safe and solid journey of his soul to the “return to the Lord.” For me, the only way that I can safely get to where I want to go is first to acknowledge that I need help with the directions. “He will come to us like the rain” is a most poignant image of the Lord graciously showering His love and assistance on us who, admitting our weaknesses, seek humbly and sincerely to turn around once more to find our way to Him.
Author wished to remain anonymous
