5th Week of Lent

Today we face the scandal of death. Martha, a woman of faith and action, struggles with the death of her brother and the seeming indifference of Jesus who arrives too late: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (Jn 11: 21) Yet, in her grief, she holds on to her faith in Jesus: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." (Jn 11: 27) In doing this she sets an examples to us in our own response to tragedy and death. She also reveals what true faith is - in the face of darkness and annihilation, to trust in Christ and believe he is true to his promises. Even then, at the door of the tomb, her mind is confronted by the stark reality of death: "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." (Jn 11: 39) As for me, I may believe that Jesus rose from the dead but do I believe that he wants to share that life with me not just in the future but also here and now?: "I am the resurrection and the life. those who believe in me, even though they die, will live; and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (Jn 11: 2-26) The effect of encountering Christ and believing in him has the power to transform me in this life. The promise is that if I believe I will see the glory of God (Jn 11: 40). St Paul puts it this way: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit fo the Lord is there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Cor 3: 17-18)

4th Sunday of Lent

Today the disciples ask the classic question: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (Jn 9: 2) In other words, why do bad things happen to good people? Sometimes, people are so scandalized by suffering of this nature that they decide that God does not exist at all. The answer of Jesus is: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him." (Jn 9: 3) Evil and suffering a mystery and not a consequence, necessarily, of personal sin. God does not will suffering yet he does allow it. This is so that a greater good may be brought about and God's power is manifest in a fallen world. This is shown most powerfully in Jesus undergoing the crucifixion so that the resurrection would be revealed. From the limitations of our human nature and the created things in general we are invited to strive for a greater and more perfect reality: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Rom 8: 18-21) In his vision of the end times John puts it this way: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw a holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: 'See, the home of God is among mortals. he will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away'." (Rev 21: 1-4)

3rd Sunday of Lent

Sadly, most of us know of people who have suffered multiple marriage or relationship break downs or have been through them ourselves. These leave people feeling broken and demoralised. This is further amplified when a person is judged by society and is marginalised by gossip or demonised and punished by onlookers. The woman at the well was in that position. Jesus, by talking to her and speaking of her value in God's eyes, put his own teaching into practice: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I come to call not the righteous but sinners'. " (Mtt 9: 12-13) In what way do I embody this aspect of Christ's teaching in my life, especially to those who have enmeshed themselves in failed relationships, sometimes through their own fault? Jesus knows that the woman is struggling: "... for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband" (Jn 4: 18) - yet he reaches out to her. Am I like the townspeople who will not even draw water with the woman? Or, like the disciples of Jesus, am I astonished that Jesus would have anything to do with her? (Jn 4: 27) The challenge of the Christian life is to be Christ to others, especially those who are imperfect, and to take his message to them: "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5: 20) 

2nd Sunday of Lent

The vision of the apostles on Mount Tabor was clearly a powerful one. The way they communicate it to us is by using a number of themes and images from the Old Testament. Have you had a spiritual experience? If you were to write it down how would you express it and convey the meaning and impact of this to others especially if it occurred some time ago? We can reply on the Sciptures because they are objective revelation. The Church has also spoken of others experiences such as those of the visionaries of Fatima or St Bernadette at Lourdes. They are spoken of as being "worthy of belief." My own experiences can never attain the reliability of the Scripture but they can reinforce my faith and prepare me for when the going gets tough as I encounter the Cross in my life. They will surely, however, be in accord with who I am and my way of receiving information. Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote: Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur, which means, whatever is received is received in the manner of the receiver. For example, Our Lady spoke to Bernadette in dialect and not French simply because that is the language that she understood. Likewise, Jesus reveals his glory to the apostles in the Transfiguration in such a way that they understand the message that God had for them.