Totally Exposed to the Lord!

In today's first reading, Hebrews 4: 12-16, St. Paul reminds us that the Word of God "is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature," St. Paul warns us, "is concealed from  him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account."

Those are strong words!  You and I are "naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we render an account."   Everything about us--every thought we think, every word we utter, all of our actions and omissions--is known to God! The same is true for people in highest positions of leadership throughout the world.  No one is concealed from God.

Our consolation, St. Paul tells us, in this passage,  is that  Jesus is able to "sympathize with our weaknesses, [for He, too, as a human being,] has been tested in every way  [like us], except sin." Therefore, "we can confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help." My prayer for all humankind is that we do just that so that we receive the help we need to repent, to turn from evil and do good and to believe in the Gospel!  The time is now!

Jesus Becomes Poor for Us

"For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich so that by his poverty you might become rich."

Oh, the greatness of our God, who says to each one of us that He chose poverty--anything on this earth is poverty compared to living in eternity--so that you and I would become rich in grace. He left heaven for earth for each one of us. He took on human nature and all of its weaknesses, expect sin, to save us from eternal death. He assumed death at the hands of wicked men, knowing man's inhumanity to man so that you and I would be redeemed by His generous love, compassion, and mercy.

We recently witnessed a man being brought back to the States in a coma after 15 months of treatment that led to such a horrible fate. Every day, we witness man's inhumanity to man--beatings of toddlers to death because of a bed-wetting problem, children  and youth sold to human traffickers as sex slaves,  children starving to death because of greed that leaves a huge populations without the means to provide adequately for their families, persons condemned to hard labor for stealing a poster and other unjust sentences that leave individuals suffering cruel treatment, and on and on and on as government leaders pass legislation that favors the rich at the expense of the poor.

Jesus, the Son of God, assumes human nature to redeem it, to know human suffering at its worst--being tortured with the scourging, the crowning with thorns, and the crucifixion! Being condemned to death as an innocent man, He knows the pain of persons falsely imprisoned and falsely condemned, punished beyond reason for wrongs committed.  He knows man's lack of compassion and lack of mercy. He came to show us God compassion God's mercy, and  God's love.  Yes, Jesus "became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you [and I] might become rich" in mercy, love, and compassion in how we treat others and that man's inhumanity to man will someday be stopped!

Sequel to "Father Forgive them"

In today’s first reading, Hebrews  8: 6-13, St. Paul speaks about the  second covenant God made with us. St. Paul explains God’s intention:  “…. [T]his is the [second] covenant I will establish with the house of Israel…: “I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people….I will forgive their evil doing and remember their sins no more.”  As I reflected upon the reflections I wrote yesterday, I went to the Lord for feedback. This is what I heard in prayer:

Dorothy Ann, I see a terrified teenager, a distraught mother, entering an abortion clinic. Some of these women are being forced to abort their child.  These women are—many of them—confused and have been convinced that the fetus is nothing more than tissue and that discarding it, aborting it, is not killing a child or ending a life.  They truly believe there is no life there to end, anymore than when their blood flows when menstruating and they are not pregnant. These women, many of them, truly do not know that they are ending the life of a child. They believe that they are discarding tissue and tissue only. 

Judas thought he would see me walk away from danger, as I had done so many times before.  He did not perceive himself being an accomplice in my execution. In the case of an abortion, that is, in many instances,  the position of both the mother and the abortionist physician. They have no idea what they are doing  anymore than my executioners knew that they were killing the Son of God made flesh by participating in an act that would save the world.

As in today’s first reading, I say to every mother and every abortionist: “I  forgive …[your] evil doing and remember…[your] sin no more.” I say the same to you, Dorothy Ann, whenever you engage in evil doing. “I remember your sin no more.” In the words of the priest: Go and sin no more!

Our Vulnerabilities and Weaknesses and God's Strength and Understanding

“…[S]teadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever,” is what we pray in today’s responsorial psalm.   In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us to pray, saying “Father, hallowed (blessed, sacred, holy) be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins (on a daily basis, Lord)….”  In the first reading, Galatians 2: 1-2, 7-14, Paul confronts  Peter for his hypocrisy, as he stops associating with Gentiles when his fellow Jews are around, protecting himself from their criticism. In this case, Peter is unfaithful to Jesus’ example of inclusivity out of fear of his fellow Jews. This is not new behavior on Peter’s part. When the “fire got turned up” following Jesus’ arrest, Peter denies Him. When he realizes his sinfulness, Peter sobs, repents and returns to the Lord for mercy.

God is always faithful to us sinners, is always our Father, always protecting us, always loving us no matter what we do contrary to what Jesus teaches us. This past week I found myself in Peter’s place.  I was unkind, unchristian and rude toward an airline agent who communicated the news that I would not be able to get a flight home (a flight was cancelled on my outgoing business trip and now again on my return home). I reacted poorly, berating the airlines and demanding that a way be found for me to return home that night.  “I had to get home tonight,” I angrily stated. I could have avoided this escalation of my anger had I said to myself:  “It would be nice to get home tonight but that is not possible. Go and enjoy a quiet evening reading in a comfortable hotel room, enjoy a nice meal and relax.”

 As time passed and I got settled in the hotel for the night, I came face to face with my sinfulness, my infidelity to Jesus, my vulnerability to human weakness.  However, not only did I berate the airlines and speak rudely to the agent, I now began to berate myself.  Jesus’ response, once I came to Him (initially I could not pray), was:  Dorothy Ann, you do not deserve to be verbally abused (any more than did the lady working at the airlines’ Customer Service Center). Your expectation of getting home was not met. Humanly speaking you are going to feel disappointed, frustrated….Stop berating yourself. Yes, sin in you rears its head from time to time to teach you your dependence upon Me, that, without Me, left to your own devices, you will succumb to your willfulness and selfishness.  The good you do, at any time, is the Spirit at work in you. The not-so-good-- the unkindness, selfishness, stinginess, the narrow-mindedness, the impatience—is weakness in you. You are vulnerable to that weakness at any time. At all times you are in need of grace.”