The Name reveals much

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present some of the moral direction which is written in the Book of Leviticus. The text reminds the reader that the laws described are relate to the being and the essence of the Divine. The refrain of I am the Lord repeats. The ancient wisdom contains proclamations like that of the psalmist that there is wisdom, righteousness, enlightenment and truth in the precepts of God. This is a consequence of the necessity of the Law and moral direction of the Divine to glorify action done in the name of God and conversely to indicate those decisions and actions which do not honour the Divine Essence or name. The Gospel of Matthew today is part of a parable of the “final judgement” the actions of humanity are reviewed and among those which honour the Name of the Lord are the acts of love, charity and inclusion which the Gospel indicates were acts for and to Jesus himself.

Tempted to be Selfish

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the 1st Sunday of Lent bring some reflection on temptation. The story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis tells us the awareness they have of their nakedness after they eat of the forbidden fruit of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. Larry Gillick, S.J. of the Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality sees the decision to not listen to God as the a consequence of our great lust for self knowledge coupled with our pride and God –envy to do it by ourselves. The knowledge we acquire through self satisfaction may be unclear and an unreliable measure of our being and we may feel uncertain and uncomfortable with the consequence of following the advice of internal serpents that we do not need the intimate communion with the Divine. In fact, when we lose sight of our Divine connection we understand nakedness and the discomfort of the visibility of our weaknesses. The appeal of the psalmist to be restored to the joy of the relationship with God concludes with the recognition that the spirit broken by disconnection from listening to God is the disposition which precedes the restoration of the communication between the indwelling Spirit and the Divine. Paul addresses the Romans with a magnificent comparison of the selfish act in the tradition of Adam which brought condemnation and the selfless act of Jesus which restored the intimacy with the Father through the free gift to all humanity. The episode in Matthew’s Gospel of the temptation of Jesus in the desert is an example of the grace and power in maintaining the connection with the Divine through which we acquire knowledge of our “real” being. That being finds its fulfillment in the relationship with the Divine and is alert to the false self that will seek development in directions away from listening to the indwelling Spirit. Gillick identifies pride, envy and lust for certainty through power as the temptations presented in the Gospel today.

A Path for Desperate Situations

The text in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today from the Prophet Isaiah outlines the intimate relationship between the Divine and the seeking person who is making selfless efforts to struggle towards living the will of God in desperate situations. Certainly we know that millions of humans daily struggle in the stress of existence. The people experiencing the effects of the earthquake in Japan are added to those contending with war in Africa and persecution in every corner of the globe. The psalmist proclaims the poverty and neediness that too often is the human experience. The psalm is a petition to God to gladden his heart. Between the lines we perceive that the prayer of supplication is and will be answered in the ongoing support of God for his life. Levy, in Luke’s Gospel, struggles as one cut off from his community by the work he does. Jesus sees beyond the image of tax collector and collaborator which the authorities see and invites Levy to join Him. The struggle to survive is greatly reduced for Levy and Jesus joins the liberation celebration to continue to draw the oppressed and marginalized to the intimate relationship of life.

The Fast Response

The people of Japan are experiencing a very large earthquake. The response of the electronic nerve system of the world wide communication networks has been extremely fast. Hundreds of millions of humans now share in the event. The indwelling Spirit moves toward communication with the Divine as we struggle to put the events and live pictures into some frame of understanding. In the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary we hear the call of the prophet Isaiah for a fast that is in solidarity with the impoverished and the oppressed. This morning millions on the planet are the subjects of our fast which brings us closer to them and God. The insignificance of the daily frustrations and aggravations becomes clear as we witness the literal sweeping away of material and temporal existence in the instant movement of the continental plates upon which our entire civilization floats. The Gospel of Matthew relates Jesus response to the lack of outward practice of the religious tradition of fasting among His disciples. The drawing closer to the Divine in the times of compassion, forgiveness, charity, affirmation and struggle with those overwhelmed by events is the fast response.

Choice Matters

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the second day of Lent are invitations to consider the role of choice in our spiritual journey. The paradox of the coexistence of choice and obedience is a tension which requires us to continue to explore this condition of existence. The exhortation of Moses to choose life in the Book of Deuteronomy can be erroneously reduced to the blind following of many laws and religious practices. The psalmist observes the life which is witnessed in the person who makes some choices about how to move through the events of the day. The method of meditation and avoiding situations which produce vexation for the spirit are ongoing choices which are made in communion with the indwelling Spirit or the law that is written on the heart of humanity. The fruit of these choices is peace and joy. The Gospel of Luke points to the choices which are made daily by the faithful to follow the Way of Jesus. The tension between the compassion, joy, peace and attractiveness experienced in this intimacy with the Divine and the acceptance and understanding that the choice is away from self aggrandizement and “my choices” to unity with His Will. This is not the path of the secular society and will likely present internal and external challenges to this “radical choice”.

Alms Prayer and Fasting

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are for Ash Wednesday the beginning of the “joyful season of Lent”. This description tries to present the understanding that the rediscovery of the invitation to live an intimate relationship with the Divine is the theme of the liturgical season of Lent. The first signs of spring may be visible for some and the rhythm of human existence prepares for new growth and relief from winter. The passage from Joel calls for the trumpeters to announce the desire of the Lord God to be restored to deeper intimacy with humanity. Psalm 51, the most elegant plea for forgiveness in the Bible, is the response of humanity to the invitation to intimacy with the Divine. The truth of the words of the psalmist resonate in our hearts. The joy of the anticipation of a renewed relationship is understood in this prayer. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to see that now is the time to accept the grace of the restoration of the intimate relationship with the Divine through the Life of Jesus and the prompting of the indwelling Spirit. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus clarifies the traditional repentance practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The public presentation of these practices is false piety. The personal relationship with the Divine puts these practices as means to act with humility and justice as we listen in prayer to the One who invites us to the relationship.

Trapped by Expectation and Assumption

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary cause consideration of how easy acceptance of the cultural norms or the “way we do it” can take us away from important growth in our journey and add to the inertia which keeps society enslaved to notions that impede development of community consciousness. Tobit is dealing with a disability which has necessitated that his wife, Anna, be the major bread winner in his family. Today, even in the booming economy of China, men have difficulty when their wives earn the income for the family. The International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. The modern phrase for the confusion of Tobit over the reward acquired by his wife might be cognitive dissonance. The mind strives to rectify any disagreement between the sensed reality and the concepts about that reality which are governing our thought process. The distress we encounter in difficulty can be personality changing. The gift of those close who, like Anna, can shake us back to reflection on our state is of immense value. The psalmist praises the virtues of the righteous who remain faithful, like Anna, to the direction of the Divine. They continue to pursue love and justice in spite of conditions which the popular opinion would provide encouragement to abandon. The Gospel of Mark relates another episode where Jesus avoids the trap of “dual thinking” and the pressure of the authorities to reduce His teaching to a yes or no response. The gift of intimate relationship with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit opens our responses to avoid entrapment in “easy choices”, obvious directions and prescribed roles for people.