Passion (Palm) Sunday

 Saint Paul sums up the readings for today when he says: "And being found in human form, he (Jesus) humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil 2: 7-8) Jesus did not seek to exploit the approval, even celebrity, he experienced during his triumphal entry to Jerusalem. In the period that followed he cleansed the Temple and debated with the Pharisees and others to vindicate the will of the Father. He did not have a death wish, rather he knew that his suffering, as predicted in the First Reading was for the salvation of many, so he said: "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." (Mtt 26: 42) The question is not what Jesus did or why he did it. The question for us at this time is what is our response? Such great love begs a response. If we remain indifferent to Jesus it is we who suffer. If we ignore his sacrifice the fruits of his salvific love will remain beyond our reach.

5th Sunday of Lent

 The raising of Lazarus helps to establish the context for the last week of Jesus' life. When he hears of the death of Lazarus Jesus is found to be in hiding after the Jewish authorities attempted to arrest him. He had traveled to where John the Baptist had been baptizing and remained there (Jn 10: 40) Since Bethany is so close to Jerusalem Jesus is taking a big risk that he may be caught and imprisoned. This shows how important Mary, Martha and Lazarus were to him as friends and the crowd notes: " 'See how he loved him!' " (Jn 11: 36)  The impact of the raising of Lazarus is a threat to the authorities who say: " 'What are we to do? This man is performing signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.' " (Jn 11: 48) Still facing hostility, Jesus subsequently retreats from Jerusalem to Ephraim (Jn 11: 54) but he returns to Bethany six days prior to Passover (Jn 12: 1). The importance of the family in Bethany to Jesus is reinforced by Mary anointing Jesus' feet with costly perfume (Jn 12: 2-7) A crowd of people come out to Bethany attracted by Jesus and the miracle. This, in turn, causes the authorities to plot the death of Jesus and even to consider killing Lazarus (Jn 12: 9-10). The next day the crowd of people who were in Jerusalem for the Passover week come out to Bethany and welcome Jesus as Messiah. Both crowds, that in Bethany and those from Jerusalem, are drawn by the raising of Lazarus as a sign of Jesus' messianic credentials (Jn 12: 17-18). The Pharisees complain: " 'You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone over to him!' " (Jn 12: 19) Jesus goes on to cleanse the Temple and declare himself as taking its place as the mediator between the Jewish people and God. Thus, in addition to the synoptic gospels,  we can see how tense the situation was for Jesus due to his raising of Lazarus. We can better admire his courage in entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday putting himself on collision course with the Roman and Jewish authorities. This we will enact liturgically next Sunday as we recall the events of that fateful week leading to the passion, death and resurrection of the Jesus. He is the One who we encounter in the holy Eucharist  every time we come to Mass.

4th Sunday of Lent

 A sentence that pops out for me in the readings for this week is: "... for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (Sam 16: 7) Much of our Lenten discipline is designed to purify our spiritual vision which has been blurred by self-indulgence and mini idolatries. The way to deal with such things is not to conceal them from ourselves. Rather, as St Paul tells us: "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." (Eph 5: 11) Let us not be found in the company of the Pharisees who in the gospel reading ask: "Surely we are not blind, are we?" (Jn 9: 40) It is by opening our hearts to God that we can be guided by the Holy Spirit to a clarity of vision regarding our deficiencies and our need for the teaching and healing Jesus offers us. That is why coming to the sacrament of reconciliation during Lent is a valuable way of reorienting ourselves towards God's purposes and actualizing our redemption. Acknowledging our blindness is the first step towards regaining full vision. Jesus tells the Pharisees: " 'If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains'. " (Jn 9: 41) 

 

3rd Sunday of Lent

 The Hebrews, afflicted by thirst, complain in the wilderness: "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Ex 17: 7) We see in the Gospel the Samaritan woman, marginalized from her community after a number of failed marriages, saying to Jesus: "I know that the Messiah is coming... When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." (Jn 4: 26) In both cases God is shown to be with his people. In the former the water is brought forth from the rock and in the latter Jesus quenches her thirst for salvation. It is apt to remember here that the throne name given to Jesus is Emmanuel - God is with us. (Mtt 1: 23) At times we can feel that we are in the wilderness when hardships, tragedy or loneliness haunt us. The experience of the cross can lead us to cry out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk 15: 34) One of the worst possible feelings in life is that of being abandoned by God which leaves us in a dark, cold and meaningless Universe faced with the absurdity of our own suffering and death. The readings given us today show us that even in such moments God is with us and his grace is there to help  us. The proof of God's love is given by the cross itself. St Paul states this precisely when he teaches: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Rm 5: 8)