5th Sunday of Lent

 The vehemence of St Paul in the Second Reading today when he says "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish," (Phil 3: 8) is surprising. This is even more so when we consider the original Greek meaning of the word "rubbish" is actually "human excrement"! The translator does not find it culturally acceptable to opt for that meaning since this will be read in churches around the world yet Paul, who is most likely dictating the letter, is clearly emotional and not observing social niceties. The key thing though is what has stirred such a repudiation of his former beliefs and life? St Paul says: "... in order that I my gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith." (Phil 3: 9) How much of my behaviour is motivated by a desire to vindicate of justify myself in the sight of others or of God? Do I still think that I can redeem myself? Can I be a good person by observing laws and doing my duty? Such attitudes are condemned by Jesus in the scribes and Pharisees. They think that by condemning the woman caught in adultery and confounding Jesus that they will be vindicated in their righteousness. Their hypocrisy is revealed by Jesus' statement: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (Jn 8: 7) The key thing in our Lenten journey is not what we do but how we acknowledge our sins and open ourselves to grace so that we may be true and humble servants of the Risen Lord in a society that does not believe in God or sin and thinks that thrhough science we can perfect ourselves. St John points out: "If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking the darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself  is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleans us of all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 Jn 1: 6-10)

4th Sunday of Lent

 I am intrigued by the expression in the first reading: "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." (Josh 5: 9a) It reminds me of the question in the minds of the women as they went to the tomb of Jesus on the day of resurrection:  "Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb?" (Mk 16: 5) The entrance of the Israelites to the Promised Land is a form of resurrection as the people are brought back to life after the "death" of slavery and the hardships of the wilderness. In the Gospel we also get a sense of coming back to life: "But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found." (Lk 15: 32) When we repent from sin and know God's forgiveness we return back to the kind of life that God's wants for us. The "death" that serious sin entails no longer has a hold on us. That we have been healed and reconciled doe not stop there. It impels us to share these gifts with others so that the stones which hold them in tombs of darkness, loneliness and fear are also rolled away: "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us." (2 Cor 5: 18-19)

3rd Sunday of Lent

 The Hebrew word for repent (shuv) means to turn around. It is by repenting of our sins that we turn towards God and "in your light we see light." (Ps 36: 9) when we make a special effort during Lent in almsgiving, prayer or fasting we open ourselves anew to what God is doing and we can cooperate more readily with grace. This helps us to live in the present and we are ready for whatever comes for us in life. Like the fig tree that is given more time we have an opportunity to water the garden of our souls so that it brings forth once more the harvest of good works.

2nd Sunday of Lent

 Of the three synoptic gospels it is only Luke that Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah of his "departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." (Lk 9: 31) The Greek word for departure is "exodus." This detail is helpful to us in our lenten journey. All of us will have to undergo the exodus from life through death to eternal life. We may have moments of insight or even of glory in our lives but we are not able to stay there. We have to go down the mountain and deal with the challenge of everyday life which is frequently anything but glorious. Yet, Jesus as the great pioneer of our faith has gone on ahead of us. We need to follow in his footsteps and imitate his virtues as well as praying for his assistance.