Deciding to come to the light

Some commentators on the texts today of the Roman Catholic Lectionary use the words of fear, tension, jealousy and courage. These emotions move through our life experience as a result of the situations in which we find ourselves. Edward Morse comments on the transformation of the fear of the Apostles arrested for their actions, which the text from the Acts of the Apostles states made the Sadducees jealous, into the courage to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit back to the Temple area and to continue preaching about the Good News that Jesus, the Son of God, is inviting people to experience Life in the Love of God through His Way.Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the Gospel of John which today continues the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus is written in a dualistic style which presents the choice of light or dark, Jesus as eternal communion with God or rejection of His invitation as eternal damnation. Our times of self interest, jealousy, greed and suspicion are dark times when we are moving away from being open and available to others. Our decision to move toward the light as we accept humility and practice generosity of spirit and give our time and treasure is a journey more than a destination. In the tension field between good and evil we are drawn toward the light at the best times of love, forgiveness and courage and we slip towards the darkness in selfish, jealous and negative experiences. The eternal life promised by Jesus to Nicodemus is realized now as we turn our journey toward the light and come to know the power of the Holy Spirit to transform our fear to courage to bring light to others.

Of heaven and earth

The theme of transformation is in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Diane Jorgensen uses our experience of human love to point out that we change in our behaviour as a consequence of living in the love of others. The communal life of the disciples which Friar Jude Winkler notes is one of two such description in the Acts of the Apostles is understandable when we see those with whom we share all our possessions as family. We know that personal ownership of material goods in families takes second place to the welfare of family members. Perhaps our hearts are in need of the transformation which allows us to see more of the people we encounter daily as brother, sister, mother, father, child or grandchild. The dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus in the Gospel from John probes the reluctance of the self declared teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, to be opened to the lessons in Scripture which shows Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and the One, Friar Jude comments, who is the Son of Man from the Book of Daniel. We too are reluctant to allow the contemplation of our own experience of Love, human and Divine, to be the sign to us that we have been transformed by the wind, breath and Spirit and healed by the Presence of God, who the Evangelist John proclaims is exalted on the throne of the Cross where the depth of Divine Love is visible to human eyes. Our imagination gazes at the Cross and sees those in our lives who have been Christ to us.

Spirit that separates

Psalm 2 is proclaimed by the disciples of Jesus as Peter and John rejoin them after being interrogated by the Sanhedrin. This episode is told in the Acts of the Apostles from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today.The psalm petitions God for understanding of the stand of Gentiles. Jews and kings and princes against the anointed holy one of God. The cognitive dissonance we experience when the path of light and love is rejected in favour of choices for death and darkness my put us in a similar state of mind to those in the text. The action of the Holy Spirit is shown by Luke to have transformed the confusion of these people to boldness as their prayers for the power to proclaim the healing Word of Jesus are answered with great power.Nicodemus is attracted to Jesus by the works he witnesses which he concludes could only come from God. The Gospel from John tells us he approaches Jesus at night. He moves from the darkness of ignorance toward the light of Jesus. Friar Jude Winkler tells of the wordplay in this passage where two translations are better than one in two parts of the text. Jesus monologue refers to the need for Nicodemus to be “born from above”. Nicodemus responds with the understanding of the same word as being “born again”. The literalism of Nicodemus seems to be unusual in the man who sees the signs in Jesus works. He presents us with a question, addressed by Nate Romano, S.J. about the challenge of being re-born. The task of changing our prejudices and restrictions and reshaping our talents may be quite impossible for us. We may take the job of making these changes on as some misunderstanding that we need to be in charge and control to earn our rebirth. The disciples are transformed to bold witness of the Word by openness to the Spirit which is explained to Nicodemus with a word which should be translated as Spirit, breath and wind at the same time to aid our attempt to understand which may only be fully transformed to belief and trust as we step out in faith as Nicodemus does at the end of the Gospel of John to be known for his role in the burial of Jesus.

Simply overwhelming

What can we say about the Good News as we reflect on the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary? These texts are being proclaimed today to hundreds of thousands gathered around St Peter’s Basilica to be witness to the canonization of two popes. This gathering is set among magnificent surroundings and a gathering of many in ceremonial attire. The pictures from Rome also show the catholic or universal quality of the people assembled. The day and our tradition gives us some cognitive dissonance to contemplate. Simplicity is the quality of the community life of the early Christians described by Luke in the text from the Acts of the Apostles.

Our pomp and ceremony in the square of St Peter is in praise of God through ancient liturgy which stirs our being to attend to the moments of grace we know from God. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the amount of “Lukan exaggeration” there may have been in the idyllic description in the Book of Acts. Deacon Keith Fournier writes in Catholic Online about the deep understanding of Pope John Paul II, expressed at the canonization of Sister Mary Faustina Kowalski, about the mercy and love which is Jesus Good News for the world. Robert P. Heaney reflects on our tendency or need to over complicate the Good News. The proclamation of Thomas described by John in the Gospel “My Lord and my God” as he encounters the physical wounds of Jesus point to the Presence of Jesus in suffering Himself and in the suffering of the many of our brothers and sisters in the world. The simple Truth that the Love, Mercy and forgiveness of God is given unconditionally and that we are already recipients of that grace at the initiation of God is difficult for people who see paying for and earning as necessary steps to create value. Our faith is that we are surrounded by Divine Mercy and our senses need to be attuned to see and hear the evidence of this in the real Body of Christ of which hundreds of thousands are gathered today in Rome.

Keeping Jesus in the tomb

The Sanhedrin realize that the men who are standing in front of them associated with the miraculous cure of the crippled man, in the name of Jesus, appear to be ordinary, uneducated people. The Acts of the Apostles account of this meeting in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today describes their amazement and their conclusion that they will be unable to punish or eliminate these men because of the crowds who are praising this deed as being from God. Friar Jude Winkler notes that when Peter and John pose the question of whether they should obey God or the Sanhedrin they are implying that the religious leaders have lost the authority of the Chair of Moses. The Gospel of Mark has a shorter ending which is attributed to the Evangelist and a longer ending which scholars suggest was added by a scribe at a later time. Friar Jude comments that the Evangelist may have been telling his audience of Roman Christians, many of whom were being martyred, that they would need to accept the evidence of others about Jesus Resurrection because they may not live to see His Second Coming. Chas Kestermeier, S.J. compares the disbelief of the companions and disciples of Jesus to the witnesses of Mary Magdalene that Jesus had risen to a motivation to keep Jesus in the tomb.

We often appear to be more comfortable as disciples of a great man who modeled a way of living which leads to holiness than as members of the Body of Christ, risen and living. When we step up as Peter and John in the full acceptance of the Life in which we live, our ordinary and uneducated appearance amazes people we encounter and we bring healing, acceptance, compassion and charity from Christ to his brothers and sisters.

Transformation and transcendence

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer contemplation on the path and mission of Christians to be transformed and transforming  in our daily encounters with others through the action of the Holy Spirit which enables us to transcend boundaries of our personal limitations. Psalm 118 proclaims the mercy of God within which we celebrate the new day for the opportunity it brings to partake in restoration of stones rejected becoming cornerstones. Peter shows the power of the Spirit to transform as Friar Jude Winkler comments about the passage from the Acts of the Apostles. The crippled man transcends his disability through an act of faith in Jesus enabled by the impetuous action of Peter even though, as Cindy Murphy McMahon notes, he only sought some money from the apostle as he passed by. Friar Jude remarks that Golgotha the quarry where Jesus was crucified contained stones which had been rejected by the builders in the construction of the Temple. He suggests that the Cross was held in a crack in one of these stones. The Gospel from John tells of the encounter of the disciples with the Resurrected Jesus as they wrapped up their fishing as the day was dawning and the water temperature would force the fish to go deep. The person on the beach calling to the the fishers invites them to cast their nets to the other side of the boat. The mystery of why experienced fishers would spent the time and energy in an exercise which their common sense told them was foolish remains. It challenges us to be less quick to judge tasks which we are offered as a waste of time. The great catch which results initiates the possibility that they have transcended the ordinary. Friar Jude explains that the love of the disciple for Jesus is stirred and he proclaims that the stranger on the beach is Jesus. Impetuous Peter, who is often portrayed in the Gospel of John as clumsy and inept, confusingly puts on his clothes to swim to Jesus. This stone which would be rejected for leadership by our modern standards becomes the one who confronts the Sadducees and brings thousands to know Jesus as he becomes the fisher of men of all the nations.

Now encounter others

“What now?” This may be the question which arises in the people who witness the events in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Pope Francis asks us to reflect on the question asked of those who came to the tomb “Why do we seek the living among the dead?” The Acts of the Apostles tells of the exhortation of Peter to a Jewish audience to see that the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in Jesus. Friar Jude Winkler describes Peter’s actions as enculturation of the kerygma (The Kerygma Enigma.) In our witness to the living Christ we need to share our encounters with Him in the ordinary events of our lives.Tom Shanahan, S.J. invites us to recall the deep intimacy of our encounters with Christ and radiate the experience of care, forgiveness and love given and received which becomes the light to the nations which Peter reminds his audience is their ancient mission from God and which Jesus expresses as “and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). The mission may begin with two action plans. We hear Pope Francis and move away from those pursuits of self satisfaction, aggrandizement and success which bring us among the dead and we encounter the people in our daily lives with greater respect and expectation of seeing Jesus in them.

Life process

There are some processes revealed in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Mike Cherney suggests that we will see how our faith in Jesus grows to transcendent action by following the texts in a backward sense from the Gospel of Luke where the two disciples on the road to Emmaus are dejected and depressed by the apparent loss of a beloved leader, through the assurance of the psalmist that God remembers those who seek Him, to the action of Peter in faith to bring healing to a man crippled from birth in the name of Jesus. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the process of evangelization of which the encounter for the disciples in Emmaus is the second stage. After the Resurrection, Friar Jude points out that we hear of Jesus Presence through the word of the “young men” at the tomb. This is our usual first encounter with the risen life of Jesus. Others tell us about Him and encourage us, like Pope Francis in his Easter message to “Come and See”. Like the disciples on the road, we often experience Jesus deeply in Word and Sacrament. Our hearts burn within us as Scripture is opened to our appreciation. We come to the Table and recognize the gift of Himself which makes us what we are in the breaking of the bread, that is the Body of Christ.  The third step in the process, when Jesus appears to be coming from everywhere and everyone as He appears in the Upper Room brings us to the possibility of living with the Truth of the Love of God present in all we encounter. Our relationship, then, with people and Creation itself is transformed and resurrected and we are able to perceive that fullness of  Life consists of our attention, like Jesus, to the Will of God.

Never Too Late

We rush to prepare for a Holiday. The celebration of Easter offers time to be in prayer as community at the Lord’s Supper, throughout the reading of His passion and in alleluias as we proclaim His Resurrection. Between community liturgies there is time for quiet personal reflection as we are invited to know better the person of Jesus. The beginning of the Easter message of Pope Francis declares the kerygma in a short sentence “Jesus, Love incarnate, died on the cross for our sins, but God the Father raised him and made him the Lord of life and death. In Jesus, love has triumphed over hatred, mercy over sinfulness, goodness over evil, truth over falsehood, life over death” The Holy Father quickly directs us to act in the Spirit of the Love which Easter declares by “ leaving ourselves behind and encountering others, being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast” Our holiday preparations are often about family and friends.We organize where and when to get together. The social and secular components of a spring time holiday are the place where Christians live the Love and declare Jesus Presence like Peter in the text today from the Acts of the Apostles in the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The proclamation of the basic message, the kerygma, by Peter, by Pope Francis and by believers places the acts of charity by Christians in the power and will of God and we, like Tami Whitney, come to realize that it is not too late to re commit and accept the invitation  of Jesus to “Come and See”. Our encounter with the risen Lord, like that of Mary Magdalene in the passage from the Gospel of John today, may come after the excitement of finding the empty tomb as we contemplate the events of our Easter Weekend but it is the invitation which never comes too late to join Him in the Galilee of our inner self where both He and we are home.

Holy Spirit Seen and Heard

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today tells us of two of Jesus disciples, Peter and Mary Magdalene.

The impact of the events of Jesus Passover, passion and resurrection have changed these people. The text today from the Acts of the Apostles shows Peter at Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection, as a person transformed to speak boldly of the events of Jesus life while clearly identifying Him as the Messiah who fulfills the Promise of God to David. Peter proclaims that the power of the Holy Spirit is visible and audible to this audience as he tells of Jesus mission and His rising to life after death as One whom the prophets foretold would not be corrupted by death. The Gospel of Matthew was written to an audience of Jewish followers of Christ after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. A USCCB article on this Gospel explains it answers the question how obedience to the will of God is to be expressed by those who live after the “turn of the ages,” the death and resurrection of Jesus. The models of Peter and Mary Magdalene show us that fear is overcome by peace. This is the theme of the reflection of Maureen McCann Waldron today. We can use the season of Spring and the `Great Fifty Days`to seek the peace of our own Galilee to spend time with Jesus so our peace may be apparent in the witness we give through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Run to the beloved

The celebration of Easter today, in the world, may be viewed from perspectives which inquire about Christians who stand on both sides of the trouble in eastern Ukraine, who are unable to reach their “holy places” in Palestine and Jerusalem, who mourn deeply at the tragic death of their children and who gather in the tens of thousands in St Peter’s Square.

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today contains texts to proclaim the message “He is risen”. The consequence of this is part of the daily lives of Christians who try to practice the exhortation of Paul to the Colossians to “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Greek word  kerygma or first teaching is applied to the passage from the Acts of the Apostles where Peter tells Cornelius, who he has been called to baptize, about the basic story of the person, Jesus. who lived, anointed by God, suffered, died and rose again to save us from our sins.The Christian is one in love with the person of Jesus. The basic message the Christian brings is that this Love is for all people and it is offered without conditions. The response to this Love is to seek to live in the service which Jesus models. The Gospel from John is deep in symbolism. When Mary Magdalene tells the Apostles of her encounter with an empty tomb, this initiates a kind of race between Peter and the “beloved disciple” to the tomb. Friar Jude comments that the person whose feet are propelled by love reaches the tomb first. He also notes that the Evangelist has love defer to authority represented by Peter who is the one who enters the tomb first. Pope Francis has expressed the need for Christians to tell the story of Jesus birth, life, healing, suffering, death and resurrection as the starting point which from people who wonder about Christian Life can begin their search.  The Christian life is in intimate relationship with the person of Jesus. The mystery of “Jesus Lives” is the daily propellant for Christians as they continue to run with joy to their Beloved.

Join us at the table of the Lord

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for the celebration of the Easter Vigil offers a rich collection of Hebrew Testament texts, psalms and Christian Testament passages which trace our salvation history from creation to our proclamation of “Jesus lives”. Andy Alexander, S.J.shares his experience of this liturgy when the Church welcomes into full communion new members who have been preparing in prayer and study to join their brothers and sisters in the experience of the Presence of God through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. We rejoice as we accept the invitation of Christ to renew and initiate our Baptismal vows. We open ourselves to the transformation of our hearts of stone to the hearts of flesh with which we commit to be faithful to the piety of our anointing as priest, the truth seeking required in our role as prophet and our presence representing Christ in our role as leader. This celebration of the Presence of Christ is an intimate experience of “bells and smells”, water and oil and light pushing back the darkness which leads to our contemplation that the Risen One lives and we are invited to be the Temple of His Presence. Like many of the big moments in our lives which we approach through ceremony, liturgy, custom, tradition, we need time for the enormity of the change to sink in. “He is Risen!” is our declaration. Our Eucharistic experience of His invitation to live in Him grows with our time spent at the table of the Lord.

Heroic passion and wedding

The Christian Church gathers in the afternoon of Good Friday to encounter again, through the texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary, the deepest of Mysteries about God and the nature of Love and behaviour of humanity in our struggle with power, pride, political position and privilege. Father Larry Gilllick SJ sees the narrative in the texts of the liturgy today in the classic form of “A hero leaves, journeys, and returns with the prize of wisdom gained through the adventure of the facing of mystery” He notes that the The First and Second Readings (Isaiah and Hebrews) for this liturgy speak of two heroes who let go of former identities to become Servants of Suffering. They leave the familiar and obediently surrender to a suffering state of service. Friar Jude Winkler steps into the mystery of how deeply the narrative of the fourth suffering servant of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is Jesus. He also mentions the text of Psalm 22 as description of the Passion of Jesus. In the Mystery and the many symbols which enrich the writing of the Evangelist John about Jesus passion, there is an observation by Friar Jude of the literary structure which uses an odd number of scenes ( 7 between Jesus and Pilate ) to focus at the central scene the crowning of Jesus as King. In John, Jesus reigns as King from the throne of the Cross. The mystery of the apparent contradiction of the King dying as one hated and denied by His people is expressed by Father Larry as “The humanity of Jesus would be searching for validation, support, affirmation. What his humanity experienced is abuse, shame and denial. The surroundings challenge his identity and he is a winner, because he remains listening to something deeper than the voices of his surroundings.” The Will of the Father to have Jesus be, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews understands, both priest and offering to God points us to the mystery of Love in the Truth of the situation which Pilate and the Jewish authorities attempt to use for their own self serving purposes. In the wedding of Jesus to the Church, represented by Mary at the foot of the Cross, there will be a widow, the Church. As Jesus gives Mary to the beloved disciple (to us, the brothers of Christ) we inherit the obligation under Jewish tradition to raise children (with the name Christian) for our brother Jesus. The deep Mystery is where we continue to be reassured of Love beyond human limitations and the constraints of a temporal world.

Setting the bar

Today, the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invite us to begin the Triduum a time when we join the psalmist to pray “I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116.17). These three days will be the opportunity for participation in a continuous liturgy which is rich in the icons and words to draw us together with Jesus at the Last Supper, in His Passion and with His Resurrection. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the text from the Book of Exodus where the liturgy of the celebration of Passover is prescribed. He comments that the Passover is celebrated, not as an historical event, but as a passing today into eternity. This is the experience of the Eucharistic Supper. We join with Jesus and experience the eternity, outside of temporal constraint. The words of the passage from the letter to the Corinthians describe Jesus action in the institution of the Eucharistic celebration. Friar Jude notes that in the Aramaic version of this account Jesus calls on those present to pray for Him. This may initially raise the question of why Jesus needs our prayer? (It is perhaps a question which Pope Francis raises when he so frequently asks for our prayer). The answer for this is in the nature of Divine Love which seeks intimate participation of Creator and creature. The Gospel of John is rich in texts to communicate the Divinity of Jesus as the One who is from the Father and is returning to the Father. These words, especially in Chapter 6 of this Gospel, stand in Friar Jude’s words, as the vertical dimension of the Gospel. The Evangelist chooses the account of the washing of the feet to set the bar for the horizontal dimension of the Good News, loving service of our brothers and sisters. This weekend, as Passover concludes and Easter unfolds, the runners in the Boston Marathon will “set the bar” for human courage and endeavour in their sport. Carol Zuegner writes of how Jesus sets the bar for our action in Love to be servant to others. Friar Jude underlines how part of this Love is to allow others to serve us.The reluctance of Peter to have his feet washed by his Teacher and Lord is a perfectly human response based in traditional respect. Jesus sets the bar for us to be able to give ourselves to others as opportunities for them to live as servants too.

Insult Zeal and Forgiveness

The life of being outcast is offered for our consideration through the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the text from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is the third of four sections of the Book which are written about the mysterious suffering servant.Christian readers of the suffering servant poetry see how the person described resonates with our experience of Jesus   Moshe Gold notes that no other Bible portion has created as much controversy between Christian and Jewish people as the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah (52:13 – 53:12) This person in Isaiah who is humiliated, spit on and insulted is vindicated by God. We can transfer the eyes through which we see the transformation of the suffering servant to those in our society who are insulted and ignored. Amy Erickson invites us to let the poetry of the Suffering Servant texts heal our indifference and neglect of the physically disabled and those on the margins of society. The psalmist today identifies another aspect of character which may set us apart. He proclaims that zeal for the House of God has set him as an outcast to his brothers. It has brought him insult and shame. The Gospel of Matthew has prompted Amy Hoover to consider the action of Jesus toward Judas His betrayer in the light of her reading of books from Henri Nouwen (“The Return of the Prodigal Son”) and (“The Shack”) Wm. Paul Young. The action of followers of Jesus toward those who suffer rejection and those who betray us becomes forgiveness given and sought.

Suffering betrayal Servant

In the Gospel from John today the Roman Catholic Lectionary offers us a view of Jesus understanding of the betrayal which would befall Him at the hands of those closest to Him. The direction to Judas to go and do what he must do is not tinged with contempt or even disappointment. It is in harmony with the sense of trust in the Will of God which is also deeply evident in the commission of the Suffering Servant from the Book of Isaiah and the trust of the psalmist in the Presence of God in his difficult circumstance in relation to those who would be unjust and cruel. Jesus addresses the declaration of complete solidarity by Peter with a reality check which tells us that the great denial of this Apostle will be followed by a return to life in harmony with the suffering servant mission. Dennis Hamm, S.J expresses the how Jesus allows the betrayal and denial to unfold without exposure or confrontation as showing the deep trust which He lives in the Father. This is our invitation to experience a path through the difficult reactions to our evangelism. Friar Jude Winkler notes two aspects of the style of the Gospel of John which relate to the text today. The statement that it was night which follows Judas departure is an example of the dualism of good and evil which are clearly flagged by the Evangelist. Works of the Evil One happen in darkness. The Love of God is visible in the light. For John, the glory of God is in the living of the Love which is the nature of the Divine. This glorification is predicted by Jesus in the text. The Love is most evident as Jesus gives all to His mission on the cross. Our mission to be light to the nations in the Body of Christ is more filled out today as we see how rejection and betrayal may lead to Love.

Servant gives Light

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are paired with a psalm wherein the Lord is praised as my light and my salvation. The psalmist trusts that the power of the Lord will triumph when foes are arranged against him. The picture painted by the Prophet Isaiah of the Servant of God who will give light to the nations is one of gentleness. Why would a response to this approach involve danger to the Servant? The Gospel from John continues the story of Jesus involvement with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. This “family” is viewed as unconventional by some who compare it to families more aligned with the culture of Jesus time. It appears to be practically headed by a woman. Lazarus is silent even though he is the recipient of great love and grace. This “family”, which Jesus loves deeply, are not inconspicuous and would be noticed in the community. In the previous chapter from John, Jesus calls Lazarus back to life after being four days in the tomb.This event raised the profile of Jesus and Lazarus among the religious authorities to the level where both may need to be killed to maintain control. The Light which is so  threatening to the authorities even today is, as noted in a blog by the United Methodist Women, is the ancient invitation from God to Love with all your heart, mind and soul. In this action, we are free from the control of religious and secular authority. Our light shines in the Love which propels us to action which for Nancy Shirley focuses, at this time, on forgiveness. Our living of the direction set by Isaiah to to open the eyes that are blind,to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,and from the prison those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42:7) is likely to draw attention to our action from those motivated by power, privilege and pride who attempt to control people for selfish gain

Palms and betrayal

The morning of the Sunday before Easter begins a magnificent journey for Christians who come to know Jesus better through reflecting in prayer, liturgy and life about the deep mysteries which the Roman Catholic Lectionary initiates today through texts that tell of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the many acts of betrayal He experienced and His death at the hands of His persecutors by crucifixion. The passage from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah resets our expectation of the Messiah as the suffering servant. He comes to speak, listen and live the will of the Father. In living with God, the physical violence and betrayal of friendship does not deter Him from His mission. The text from the letter to the Philippians gives thanks and recognizes the action of the Divine to self limit so that the creature could experience the Presence and Love of Creator in a personal way. We might imagine the slogan which applies to teachers, coaches, and youth leaders (male and female) that reminds us that he is never greater as a man then when he stoops to help a boy. The Gospel which presents the Passion of the Lord this year is from the Gospel of Matthew. For Andy Alexander, S.J. the many betrayals of Jesus in the text offer reminders of how we, in small and not so small ways may betray the hope or confidence or expectations that we have established with others. We may have to try and understand betrayal with the forgiveness and love of Jesus. The featured reflection on the Text this Week web site is by Sara Miles,Director of Ministry at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Her preparation for Holy Week is an invitation to visit with Jesus in these events in the expectation that we will arise and move through our lives becoming Christ to others.

Bring the people together

The theme of returning of the people to a place where the promises of God could be fulfilled and a reign of peace, unity and prosperity could be established is how the prophecy of Ezekiel, which is particular to a Davidic King ruling in Jerusalem over the returned of the diaspora of the tribes of Israel, is a hope within Christianity which is catholic and which requires the recognition of the Body of Christ, the living sons and daughters of God. The Eucharistic message is that God invites all to return to intimate relationship with Him through our life with Jesus. From his place of exile in Babylon, Ezekiel writes the texts which are included in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. Friar Jude Winkler explains how the destruction of the northern kingdom (722 BCE) and the deportation of the people of Judah  to Babylon (587 BCE) had resulted in the destruction of the First Temple. Ezekiel relates how the adoption of practices of idolatry, the placing of other before God, had led to the weakening of the moral fibre of the people and their slipping from practices which had kept them in Covenant with God. In the Gospel from John, the question of whether Jesus, who had been providing evidence through signs connecting Him to God, would be seen by the people as the Davidic Messiah is shown to concern the High Priest and the Sanhedrin. The real possibility of the intervention of the Roman forces to put down any possible rebellion of re-united Jewish people under a Davidic leader allowed the idols of power, prestige and control to be placed before the message of peace and unity with the Divine offered by Jesus to all peoples. Sue Selde recognizes our continuing and present difficulty of seeing Christ in all our human brothers and sisters and placing the idols of wealth, privilege, pride and our unique “betterness” as obstacles in the path of accepting Jesus Way of peace and unity.

The prophet rejected

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today show a similar treatment of Jeremiah and Jesus by the communities to which they presented the will of God to be in relation with people as spouse. The Jewish history blog comments on the use by Jeremiah of marriage imagery to portray the relationship between God and His people. Our Christian understanding of Church is as the Bride of Christ. Rejection by the beloved is the experience with which we can approach the situation of Jeremiah and Jesus. The destruction of Jerusalem and the conquest of Judah are the consequence of the decision of the people to abandon trust in God. Friar Jude Winkler notes that even though Jeremiah suffers in body and spirit for his warnings that the loss of their ties to God will bring consequence, he declares that God will remain faithful and restore life to the people who return to Him. The works of Jesus seem to be unimportant points in the experience of the Jewish authorities who pick up rocks to throw at Jesus, who they accuse of blasphemy in the text from the Gospel of John. These works of Jesus inspire reflection by Marty Kalkowski on the difficulty of seeing Jesus in our brothers and sisters. How do we present to others the love and mercy of Christ and the Jeremiah-like concern that the behaviour of some with whom we live may lead to unwanted and undesirable life consequences. Our assurance rests in trust that God will be Shepherd, with rod and staff, for all and that He will continue to invite us and others to intimate and fruitful lives especially after the consequences of doing it our way have run their course.

Suspend Disbelief

A part of the Book of Genesis where Abram is given a new name, Abraham, and is told of the Promise from God that under the Covenant with His people would result in Abraham having many descendants who would occupy the land is presented today in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the symbolism of a name change in Biblical accounts to indicate a great change from God which is associated with that person. Our practice of having baptismal names and names for religious continues this idea. The faith of Abraham who had only two sons and who ended his life with only the land he was buried in is an example of the level of trust in God to which the spiritual heirs of Abraham, Jew, Christian and Muslim are called. We see from our time that the comment of Marcia Shadle Cusic of Creighton University, echoing the psalmist today, is that God’s Covenant lasts forever. The commentary on Isaac and Ishmael in a Jewish History blog shows how the Arab people and the Jewish people have descended from this common father in faith.As Jesus, in the Gospel from John, confronts the Jewish authorities with the proclamation that He had seen Father Abraham and explains this in His declaration of I AM that this is through His nature as Divine Son, we get a sense of the call to trust like that of Abraham which is associated with accepting this truth. Our suspension of disbelief is the first step to realizing our participation in the Divine Life here and now. Through this truly name-changing transformation to trust in God we prepare for the fulfillment of the Kingdom where we once again bring all people together in the celebration of our common lineage in faith as sons and daughters of God.

Act in faith

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today brings us texts which stress the importance of acting in a manner consistent with the faith we profess. Frair Jude Winkler explains some of the names for God and angels which are used in the passage from the Book of Daniel which describes the survival of the three Jewish young men in the fiery furnace where they had been cast as punishment for maintaining the required action of their faith to have but One God. Steve Scholer of Creighton University encourages us to put our faith in action by taking a picture in our mind’s eye of the good we have provided by living our faith in service to others. He hopes that these memories will be as vivid and as lasting as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Our heritage of faith is the story, as Friar Jude reminds us, of our encounter with the person of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, today, Jesus challenges the Pharisees who claim the heritage of faith as sons of Abraham to act in faith as Abraham and let the Love of God show them who Jesus is. The leap of faith which requires us to reassess and revisit our faith heritage may ironically be very difficult. Our stubborn stiff-necked attitude may be an obstacle to revisit that which we think we have passed by. Let’s look into the the fire and see that our faith in God continues to keep us from self destruction.

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego." 2002. 9 Apr. 2014 <http://asis.com/~stag/heroes/shadrach.html>

Lifting of Love

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today inspire reflection about the grace we receive when our sins are lifted up. Eileen Burke-Sullivan of Creighton University explains the role in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises of admission of the control sin has at times over our lives and our passions. The Israelites are described as grumbling and being very discontent with the  path of their travel away from Egypt to the Promised Land in the passage from the the Book of Numbers. The sin of moving away from trust in God brings death from serpent bites to the people. Their sin is represented by this serpent and healing from their transgressions occurs when the sin is made visible through lifting up on a standard. Friar Jude Winkler explains that the making of totem objects similar to the problem which needs attention is common in the Middle East. He recalls the biblical passage about the return of the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 6)

which is adorned with tokens of the disasters which befell those who had captured it. The sin which the Gospel of John emphasizes is the rejection of Jesus as the Son of God. This rejection is placed before the Pharisees by Jesus in the text today wherein He refers to himself with the name of God, I AM. Frair Jude notes the choice of the evangelist Mark to put the declaration of Jesus being the Son of God in the mouth of the pagan Centurion at the foot of the cross where Jesus is lifted up (.Mark 15:39) The difficulty of Jewish thought to perceive a Divine Messiah dying on the instrument of Roman torture and public shame is sidestepped when the Love of this giving and forgiving establishes the depth to which the Trinitarian Love is given to heal humanity by this lifting up of God who is the Son. The concept of knowing and keeping the vision of our sin before us is helpful to the psalmist in Psalm 51 and is the advice of St Ignatius to be the path through which we seek and know the continuous Presence of the Spirit to call us to be healed with Love.

Mercy Forgiveness and Patience

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me”.(Psalm 23:4) The women in passages in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today will find resonance with these words from the psalmist today. A deuterocanonical section of the Book of Daniel, Chapter 13, tells of the way lust overcomes the reason and righteousness of two old and corrupt judges who wrongly accuse Susanna of adultery. The cultural pressure of judge accusing citizen and elder accusing young woman stacks the deck against justice for this woman. The young Daniel is inspired to speak up against the injustice and through a technique of separating those under suspicion and querying them individually he reveals their false witness. The punishment under the Law for them is that which they sought for Susanna, death. Today, elements of this story illuminate practices in our culture which still require transformation like shoddy investigation, particularly in situations involving judicial authorities and citizens, or women and the powerful.Craig Zimmer of Creighton University compares the judgement of the Book of Daniel with the action of Jesus toward the woman caught in adultery in the text from the Gospel of John. Friar Jude Winkler picks up the absence of the man who was involved in this adultery in the story. He also notes that scholars suggest that this section of the Gospel of John was added after the original Gospel was completed. He comments that the tenor is a little different and the “sin” of the Gospel of John is rejection of Jesus rather than a specific transgression. The psalmist notes that comfort comes to the faithful through the rod which is justice for us when we sin and the staff which is leading us through the mercy and compassion of God to rich life. Jesus shows that mercy and forgiveness is often delivered following patient consideration of how people are seen in the eyes of God. Our vision is limited and we need to pause with the sentiment of Pope Francis and ask “Who am I to judge?”

Lazarus, Paul and Ezekiel for Life

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary open our mind to consider the the nature of our Life. Paul speaks to the Romans about the Life of the Spirit which transforms our bodies, which tend to death through satisfaction of the desires of the flesh, into relationship with Jesus and His Body today.If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you. (Romans 8:11) Mary Lee Brock from Creighton University feels betrayed by Jesus when she imagines Him as one who I love so much but who failed to come in my time of need in the passage from the Gospel of John which tells of the death of Lazarus. Friar Jude Winkler examines this text closely. He ties the Christian understanding of the resurrection of the dead as full participation in our relationship of Life in Jesus which begins when we come to know His indwelling Presence in us through the Spirit. The promise of Ezekiel and the faith of Mary and Martha in the face of the death of their beloved brother show that we move forward when encountering death with the greatly disturbed response of Jesus as we mourn with tears the loss of the physical presence of our beloved and at the same time take consolation that the One who raised Lazarus and evokes our declaration of faith, like Martha, in the Son of God remains with us to our resurrection on the last day.

Our image of God

Mariana Miller of campus ministry at Creighton University reminds that “each one of us makes, throughout our lives, an image of God.  A God that fits in with our own, very human definition of the law and of justice, like Jeremiah, the Psalmist and the Pharisee” who we read about in the texts today from the Roman CatholicLectionary.  Friar Jude Winkler notes two faith evolutions today. Jeremiah asks for retribution and vengeance for justice which only God could bring about. Jesus gives mercy, forgiveness and His whole self to those who persecute Him. The Pharisee Nicodemus goes from fear of Jesus to risking his life to bury Jesus after His death on the cross. Pope Francis urges the Church in his apostolic exhortation ,Evangelii Gaudium, the Joy of the Gospel, to appreciate how popular piety enables us to see how the faith, once received, becomes embodied in a culture and is constantly passed on. We offer people a view of God through our piety. Mariana Miller comments that the humility required to be effective icons of God comes from our knowledge of our fallen incompleteness and the invitation of Jesus to us and the tax collectors and prostitutes to come and follow Him.

Truth and witness

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today takes us to think about the theme of truth and witness. How are we schooled by God in our experience to lead us to truth? The marvelous status of Eucharistic people is that they seek to be what they are. We are the children of God, the Body of Christ. Friar Jude Winkler notes the chutzpah of Moses before God and cites a Jewish saying that God dances and claps His hands every time a creature wins an argument with Him. This schooling is similar to the facilitator urging the learner to self discovery. Truth developed by our experience in the Presence of God is much closer to our being than that which we are told to observe or understand. The Pharisees in the passage from the Gospel of John continue to press Jesus to conform to their understanding of truth. Human beings are expert at the construction of scenarios which complement our self gratifying tendencies to drive iconic experiences of God, who is visible through our works, our situation of life and the study we do of the relationship He is with humanity, into the worship and attention to idols which demand practice which is directed to self sustenance of our own truth in conscious and unconscious rejection of our nature and destiny as people in deep intimate relationship with God.  George Butterfield ofCreighton University tells us that this is the tendency for us to exchange what God offers us for something of lesser value and glory. Jesus directs us and the Pharisees to see the works, hear the Father and reflect on the experience of Moses as the icons which focus our mission to intimate relationship with God through working with and being Christ to our brothers and sisters.

God in feminine image

The feminine image of God which presented by the text today from the 49th Chapter of the Book of Isaiah is rare in the Hebrew Testament according to Friar Jude Winkler. This image calms the fear we sometimes have of being abandoned by God. The will of the creature and the Will of God are sometimes confused. We may even consciously or unconsciously interpret the Will of God in a manner which supports our vision of how things should unfold. The difficulty shared by Daniel Patrick O'Reilly of Creighton University to keep the model of Jesus as our way in life is experienced by many. Other texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today highlight the graciousness and mercy of God as praised by the psalmist today. The Gospel from John features Jesus declaration of His Divinity in three aspects of His Life with the Father. Friar Jude notes that Jesus is telling the Pharisees that He is one with the Father. He is judge of those who choose to accept or reject His call. He will call all, after death, to resurrection of life or condemnation depending on our choice. The image of Isaiah 49 is comforting as we struggle with our actions and motivations which take us away from the Will of God for our peace and security.

We flow out to heal

Friar Jude Winkler notes in his reflection on the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today that Archaeology has enabled a pool at Bethesda in Jerusalem to be identified as the scene of one of Jesus’ miracles. This was the healing of the paralysed man who had waited for 38 years for someone to help him into the pool “when the water is stirred” — an event believed to have curative powers. It is from the Gospel of John and like the healing of the man born blind from the liturgy on Sunday (John 9:1-41) is a situation where Jesus heals a person on the Sabbath when he could have been observant of the Law of the Pharisees and waited until the next day to act. Mark Latta of Creighton University reminds us to hear the psalmist today encourage us that God is our refuge and strength and an ever present help in distress. The Word, which in Jewish tradition is the power of God to transform, is imagined by the Prophet and priest Ezekiel, in exile in Babylon, as bringing to pass a time of great healing and fruitfulness for the broken people of Israel. The life of the people reunited with the Will of God will flow from the Temple to bring the gracious Presence of God to the whole world. We are still challenged to be the Living Water which soaks our environment with the witness of people who rely on the Word and Presence to be our continuous and immediate source of healing for ourselves and those with whom we are brought in contact.