The Challenge of Living Lives of Integrity

In today's first reading, Daniel 13: 1-9, 15-17, 19=30-, 33-62, we are presented with the story of the wicked judges who had a history of  unjustly accusing women of adultery and having them executed for this crime. These wicked men would trap a woman and accuse her of committing adultery unless she allowed them to have sex with them. Susanna,a "beautiful and God- fearing woman", found herself in that situation. Her husband, a wealthy man , owned a garden. "Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments."   They gave into their evil desires and said to Susanna: "Look, the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed her maids because a young man was here with you."   Susanna did not yield to these wicked men. As threatened, the wicked men brought Susanna before the court and leveled an unjust accusation of adultery against her and condemned her to death.  As she was being led out of the court to be executed, God raised up a young man by the name of Daniel to defend her and confront these wicked men with their crimes of "passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty...."  Both men committed perjury that day and were given the sentence they passed on Susanna. They were executed and Susanna saved.

The questions each of us faces is:  Have I, over time, suppressed my conscience and avoided looking to heaven, not keeping the Law of God before my eyes even in small things like lying, cheating, stealing, lusting or whatever wrongful pleasure I may have been entertaining? Have I said to myself  when being tempted to give in to temptation:  "Don't worry!  It's only a small matter"? Like the wicked judges who were in positions of power and prestige, have I allowed an exalted status to sweep me away down a path that is contrary to what God expects of me?

Who am I in this passage: Susanna who does not give into wickedness--have I stood my grounds in the face of evil? Susanna, who calls upon God to come to her aid--do I seek God's help when I feel trapped? The wicked men who unjustly accused Susanna--have I unjustly accused others? Daniel who God raised up to confront these wicked men--has God called me to confront evil?

Set Apart by the Lord for a Special Vocation and a Special Ministry or Profession

In today's gospel, Mark 2: 13-17, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him.  At table dining with Levi in  his house, Jesus hears scribes outside the house asking why is eating with sinners and tax collectors.  His response is that he "did not come to call the righteous but sinners." And furthermore states: "Those who are well do not need a physician."  Sinners, not well spiritually, do!

Many are called be that to marriage, to single life, to religious life, to priesthood,  or to the deaconate. All of us need a physician to stay well, to remain faithful to the Lord, as Levi had even to the point of being martyred for his faith. You and I most likely will not face physical martyrdom but a spiritual martyrdom, dying to sin, to selfishness, to anything that is an obstacle within us to following the will of God for us, especially when the choices God calls us to embrace provoke others to say: Why has the Lord called this person to that way of life, to be involved in that ministry, to marry that person, to be involved in that profession?

Samuel, unlike Levi, was highly praised: "There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulder above the people....When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord assured him, 'This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people'...[Saul anointed him, saying:) 'The Lord anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the Lord's people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout."

Saul, unlike Levi, does not remain faithful to the Lord or to his calling, but get lured into evil ways with others around him.  You and I need to know that fidelity to the Lord is not a given.  We, like Saul, may face challenges to follow others paths. Without keeping our focus on the Lord and remembering that we are sinners dependent on the Lord for our salvation, we, too, could succumb to temptations all around us. 

Lord, help us remain faithful to you in whatever calling you have given us. May we stay close to you and remember our dependence upon grace to do the good  to which you have called us.

Competing for the Faith

In today's first reading, 1 Tim : 2c-11, St. Paul reminds us that "the love of money is the root of evil."  Note that he says "the love of money,"  not money itself.  How does the love of money become the root of all evil in the life of some people? Because in their desire for money some individuals "have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains."  What pains? The pains of being unjust, promiscuous, corrupt, deceptive, narcissistic, hate-filled, envious, conceited, arrogant, divisive, contentious, to name a few of the traps Satan sets for men and women enslaved to money.  Persons whose idol is money will do anything , it seems,  to increase their bank account: engage in human trafficking, slave labor, the sale of  illegal drugs; aborting or killing a child in the womb, cheating the poor of a just wage or not paying employees at all by declaring bankruptcy, engaging in unfair price setting and on and on and on!  Yes, when money becomes an idol, sin abounds and eventually the money lover becomes a slave and slavery eventually becomes extremely painful!

St. Paul says to Timothy and to all men and women of God, to you and to me: "Avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of witnesses."  You and I were called to be men and women of God when we were baptized and confirmed in the faith.

What are you, am I, pursuing: Righteousness? Devotion? Faith? Love? Patience? Gentleness?  In what are we competing?

Righteousness and Faith

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.  As a righteous man, we are told in today's Gospel, Matthew 1: 16, 18-21, 24a, Joseph faced the dilemma of Mary, his betrothed one, being pregnant outside of their living together as husband and wife.  He was struggling with how to respond and decided to divorce her quietly so as not to shame her publicly when, in sleep, an angel appeared to him and said:  "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Mt. 1: 18-21). Joseph carried out the angel's request, risking his personal reputation in the process, just as Jesus risked His reputation for us throughout His ministry and in His being put to death by leaders of the Israelite nation, who, not understanding Jesus' Kingdom, were afraid that he would would usurp their power and authority.  Threatened by Jesus' popularity, he was crucified, as were others who disturbed their positions!

How often do I, or you, take positions that may put us in a bad light, diminish our influence for the good we seek or our desire to spare others any public shaming? Do we, like Joseph, follow the promptings of the Spirit or of our guardian angels, to make certain difficult choices that, otherwise, we are not considering?

Clothed with the splendor of God

In today's first reading, Ezekiel 16: 1-5, 6 63, the Lord makes known to us, through the prophet Ezekiel, the condition of the nation Israel and of all of humankind without God's intervention.  Seeing the pitiable state of His people--born without being washed nor anointed, thrown to the ground, discarded, loathed upon by other nations--God looks upon Israel, and us, with compassion. "....I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you; you are mine, says the Lord God. ...I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with an embroidered  gown, put sandals of fine leather on your feet; I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear. I adorned you with jewelry....You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen. You  were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you, says  the Lord God." 

That description fits us who have been baptized with water and redeemed with Jesus' blood poured out upon the cross for our salvation. In grace, we have been clothed with dignity and made righteous in the sight of our God.  In God's sight, the redeemed, you and I, are "exceedingly beautiful," bearing the dignity of a queen or a king.  We are made perfect in God's sight "because," God says to us, "of my splendor which I had bestowed on you" in Christ Jesus, my Son sent to show you the depth of my love for you!

I believe this!  What is your belief?

Born to be God's Servants

In today's first reading, Isaiah 49: 1-6,  Isaiah speaks of his call: "The Lord called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name.  He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory....[T]he Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!....I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth!"

Today, I believe, we need an "Isaiah" and a "John the Baptist"--"sharp-edged swords" and "polished arrows" to bring our country back to the Lord's ways.  We need an "Isaiah" and a "John the Baptist" to prepare the way for justice to thrive and injustices to be destroyed. We need an "Isaiah" and a "John the Baptist", true servants of the Lord, to challenge those desiring to be treated as gods themselves above all others or those making gods of absolute wealth, absolute power and absolute control at the expense of the poor, of immigrants, of minorities and of the environment itself.

However, let us not forget that God has called each one of us at birth to be His servants, to be persons through whom His glory shines by the choices we make to bring forth a just world, a world of righteousness and truth, a world governed with love! We are called to be a light in the darkness of this world, not persons who darken the world by our selfishness, domination and control of others for our own benefit!

What kind of choices am I, are you, making?

Feast of St.Joseph, the Foster Father of Jesus

God promised Abraham that he would he would be made the father of many nations.  Paul reminds us in the first reading of today's liturgy, Romans 4: 13, 16-18, 22, that it "was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes through faith."  In the Gospel, Matthew 1: 16, 18-21, 24a, Matthew calls Joseph a righteous man.  Joseph, in faith, takes Mary home to be his wife after an angel appears to him in his sleep and says to him:  "'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'"

We, too, are made righteous, not through the law, but through our faith in Christ Jesus and in the Spirit leading us through life's challenges.  Our faith may be tested many times, as was Abraham's when asked to sacrifice his son Isaac and as was Joseph's in discovering Mary's pregnancy, deciding to divorce her privately, and asked by he angel to not let fear dictate his choices. We may find ourselves in many dilemmas, as did Mary and Joseph, as we follow God's will throughout our lifetimes.  To triumph over fears that could block us from following the Spirit's lead, we, like Mary and Joseph, need to recognize God-with-us and develop an intimacy with Jesus.

Turn to the Lord with our Whole Hearts

In today's first reading, Joel 2: 12-18, the Lord says to us through the prophet: "return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping and mourning; rend your hearts," the Lord says, "not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment....Blow the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the people, notify the congregation; assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast....And say, 'Spare, O Lord, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach....'  Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?"

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This Lent, may we as a nation return to the Lord with our whole hearts. Let us acknowledge our sins before God. "Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing." No doubt, in my mind, peoples throughout the world are saying of the U.S.: "Where is their God?" as they witness greed, avarice, narcissism, pride and arrogance, deceit and corruption, violence and hatred erode the values upon which this great nation was built by our forefathers and foremothers.

"Be merciful, O Lord," for we have sinned," we pray in today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 51.

May you and I personally return to the Lord, asking mercy for the ways in which we have succumbed to the sins of hatred, greed, narcissism, pride, lust, avarice, gluttony, selfishness, deceit and/or any others ways in which we are not in right relationship with God, self and others.  During this Lenten season, let us heed the Scriptures above and remember what St. Paul says to us in today's second reading, 2 Cor 5: 20-6:2:  "We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us."
St. Paul asks us to "be reconciled to God" and reminds us that God the Father "made [Jesus, His Son] to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him."

Through Christ Jesus, you and I are "the righteousness of God."  Do our behaviors and attitudes, our interactions with others, reveal this truth?

Behold the Lamb of God

In today's first reading, i John 3: 7-10, St. John says to us: "Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he [Jesus] is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil. No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God's seed remains in him [her]; he [she] cannot sin because he [she] is begotten by God.  In this way the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother [sister]."

The questions that I need to ask myself are:

Am I allowing myself to be deceived?
Am I attempting to deceive myself or others by my words or actions or by my silence or failure to act?
Am I acting righteously, as Jesus is righteous? Or am I unjust/unfair in how I relate to people?
To whom do I belong?

This last question is a hard one but one that I need to consider!   When I involve myself in sinful behaviors and attitudes, I am not acting as a child of God but as a child of Satan, as were Adam and Eve in the act of original sin!  Thank God that Jesus has been sent into this world "to destroy the works of the Devil."  For those who cling to Jesus and who return to Jesus in humility and repentance following a sinful act, "the works of the Devil" are destroyed in them. Unfortunately, there are times when we are deaf and blind to our sinfulness and need prayers that we will grow in our awareness of when we have closed our ears and our eyes to sin at work within us. And that is why St. John the Baptist, in today's Gospel,  John 1: 35-42, says to us: "Behold, the Lamb of God."  May we, like the disciples who heard John, follow Jesus and stay with Him as our Savior, ass they did!

Nudged by Angels, God's Messengers

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary, Mother of God. Joseph, like Mary, is specially chosen to be Jesus earthly foster father, as Mary is specially chosen to be Jesus’ Mother, having conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus during her betrothal to Joseph and before she and Joseph lived together.   Joseph agonizes over what to do, as he does not want to expose her and risk that she be stoned to death by the authorities of his day. So, being a just man, kind and compassion ate, he decides to divorce Mary quietly. “Such was his intention,” Matthew tells us in today’s Gospel, Mt. 1L: 16, 18-21, 24a, “when, behold, the angel of the Lord appear to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’”  On awakening, Joseph does as the angel commanded.

Joseph witnesses to the faith of a righteous man, a man willing to sacrifice for the sake of others!  How willing am I to make sacrifices for others or how attentive am I to the messengers God sends into my life to alert me to an action I need to take to protect others in danger of being harmed by another, whether that harm is death itself or the result of decisive action that could lead to an unnecessary death. Why? Because they might die of an otherwise treatable illness for which they cannot afford recommended medication or treatment for lack of insurance lost by the appeal of the ACA. Or a message to do that which would reconcile one to one’s spouse or children but which is ignored because it “cost” too much for one’s pride to swallow!  Or a choices I regret not making: “If only I had been there for her/him,” “if only had been more attentive, perhaps my son/my daughter would not have run away,” “if only I had helped my son/my daughter get the help he/she needed, things might have turned out differently.” “If only I would not have enabled my son/my daughter to act irresponsibly (I assumed responsibilities that were theirs, as adults to assume), he/she would have begun to make adult choices.”  Is it possible, that, at the end of the day, these regrets, or any others, are part of having ignored the Spirit’s nudges, unlike Joseph?

The Righteous and the Unrighteous

Today’s first reading,, 1 John 3: 7-10,  gives a clear description of those who choose good, following Jesus’ example  and those who choose evil, following and being deceived by Satan, the Father of Lies:  “Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he {Jesus] is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil. No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him [or her]….[N]o one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his [or her] brother [or sister].”

Those are strong words and could be very confusing.  All of us sin! Does that mean that all of us belong to the Devil?  We need to read further, realizing that “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil.”  By our baptism, we have become children of God, begotten by God. Through our baptism we belong to Jesus and through our baptism and the other sacraments, the works of the Devil in us have been destroyed and the seeds of holiness planted.  Therefore, within us is the power to grow in holiness, in goodness, and in grace.  We are not doomed to be slaves of Satan, to act dishonestly, unjustly, or immorally nor out of hatred, prejudice, or bigotry. No!  We will, through grace and in Christ Jesus, become free of sin, free of Satan, free to act justly, honestly, and morally and to love tenderly (cf. Micah 6:8). Through the overpowering of the Holy Spirit in baptism and confirmation and any other sacrament, Jesus in given birth in us.  Through this birth, by Jesus dwelling within us, by our faith in Christ Jesus, sin has no more power over us. Hatred,  bigotry, prejudice, greediness, slothfulness, deceitfulness, or other immorality within  us is deprived of its power  by God’s Presence.

I believe this!  What is your belief? Does your life, and mine,  reflect our belief in Christ Jesus as redeemer and sanctifier

God's Inheritance

In today’s first reading, 1 Cor. 1: 25-31, St. Paul reminds us that we “are in Christ Jesus” and that Jesus, through a gift from God the Father, became for us “wisdom,…righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.”  Those of us chosen, called to become Jesus’ disciples, to live “in Christ Jesus,”  St. Paul reminds us, were not “powerful.” We were not “of noble birth.” No! God “chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those  who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. [In fact, it] is due to [God] that you [and I] are in Christ Jesus.”

How difficult it may be to absorb the truth that before being  and living “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from  God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,” you and I were  weak, foolish,   lowly and the despised of the world, counting for nothing and that there is nothing you and I can boast about, nothing!   Then turn this around and realize that Christ Jesus is your strength and mine, your wisdom and mine, your righteousness and mine, your sanctification and mine, your redemption and mine.   Furthermore, the author of Psalm 33, today’s responsorial psalm , tells us that God has “chosen [us] for his own inheritance.” God’s inheritance! What? You and I are “God’s inheritance”?  WOW!

The Struggle of Good and Evil Within

"In God I trust; I shall not fear" (Ps 56)  had to be David's mantra, as he learns that Saul is determined to kill him. Saul is jealous that David, following his killing of Goliath. The women from all the cities of Israel attribute to "David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship" (1 Samuel 1: 6-9). Saul's son Jonathan intercedes on his behalf, convincing his father not to kill David. Though he does not do so, his jealousy is aroused over and over again, as is that of David's own son Absalom.  David spends a lot of time hiding from those who seek to kill him.   In the Gospel of today, Mark 3: 7-12, Jesus asks his disciples to provide him a boat "because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him".   We also know that eventually the Scribes and Pharisees were so jealous of Jesus' popularity and afraid the people would put Him on the throne that they, too, plotted to kill him and did so.

Jealousy and envy are attitudes that can lead nations, families and individuals into murderous plots and/or other behaviors that bring harm to one's perceived enemies as well as to oneself. What do I do when the "Saul," the "Absalom," the "Scribe," or the "Pharisee" in me dominates my thoughts and actions?

May jealousy and envy within us be transformed by an attitude of thankfulness and rejoicing in the Lord. May we  put "on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" (Romans 13:14) or, in the words of Ephesians 4:24, by our putting "on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness".

"What You See is Not What You Think"

In today's first reading, Jeremiah 23: 5-8, the prophet prophesies that The Lord will "raise up a righteous  shoot to David."   The royal dynasty has deteriorated.  Israel's king sunk into a cycle of corruption, murdering Uriah and committing adultery with his widow.  The royal dynasty also included apostates like King Ahaz (2 Kgs 15) and weaklings like King Zedekiah (Jer 38: 5, 19, 24-26).  The royal house itself had become corrupt.  God promises, however, that out of the stump of Jesse a righteous King shall be be born.  The prophets held on to their belief in God's promises in the most wretched of times, in times of upheaval and darkness.

In the Gospel of today, Mt 1: 18-35, Joseph, who is betrothed to Mary, discovers that she is pregnant and not with his child.  From human appearances it looks as though she has also become corrupt and committed adultery, as did King David.  Joseph agonizes over what he sees and decides to divorce Mary quietly when God intervenes. In a dream an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and says to him: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will  bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"

The prophets, Mary and Joseph, are righteous people living in a world that is corrupt, that is immersed in sin. They cling to God's promises and listen to the Spirit's Voice, directing them to make right choices, even if those choices could be misinterpreted, misunderstood, and/or ridiculed or even could lead to death. Their faith and trust in God was unshakable. Their "house" was built on Rock, the Rock of the Scriptures, the Word of God!

We might ask ourselves:  Upon what is my "house" built? Whose voice do I follow? When I face dilemmas similar to or as baffling as Joseph's, how do I handle them? In what ways does God confront my ways of thinking when they are contrary to what God is asking of me?

Firm in our faith

I return to this ministry after an extended medical leave resulting from having  a "brain bleed" in four areas of the brain.  God spared my life for many reasons and one of those reasons, I believe, is to continue sharing faith with all of you.

In today's first reading, Maccabees 2: 15-29, we encounter Mattathias, a Jew who does not give in to the pressures to worship idols, that is, to obey the king's decree to abandon the faith of his ancestors. He risked his life by confronting "the officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy [and who] came to the city of Modein to organize the sacrifices" to foreign gods.

Every day, like Mattathias,  we are given opportunities to stand firm in the faith of our ancestors. We may be challenged to profess Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior by not lying, cheating, gossiping about our neighbors, berating those who we do not understand, refusing to respond to the cry for help of those fleeing persecution and the violence in their homelands and so on.

Another way to look at this faith challenge is to realize that we might be asked, at any given time, to do for others what we would want others to do for us or to take the time to listen to someone we may prefer to avoid, or, in fact, to go out into "the desert," as Mattathias and those determined to "live according to righteousness and religious custom" did.  It is in that "desert," alone with God, that we are more likely to hear God speaking to our hearts, strengthening us to choose righteousness and reject Satan's temptations to fit it with whoever and whatever is inviting us to "worship idols" or to choose false gods.

Jesus: God with Us

In the first reading of today’s liturgy, Jeremiah 23: 5-8, the prophet proclaims the coming of Jesus, the Messiah raised up from the root of Jesse.  Jesus is a King of justice, of righteousness and of truth. No deceit is found in Him. Jesus is the Son of God made one with us in the Incarnation. He is the one who frees all of us in exile—those exiled from their earthly homes and all of us exiled from our heavenly homes by sin and selfishness, greed and avarice, deceit and rebelliousness, corruption and ignorance, hopelessness and faithlessness.  Jesus brings all of us home who are exiled from our true selves, from our personal integrity, from our authentic freedom.  

Jesus says to us: I will bring you back to Me.  I will restore you to truth and justice, to ways that preserve your integrity, that restore your right as women, as precious little girls and boys with the right to be treated with respect, to be taught rightly. I will free each of My sons and daughters from being the   property which others abuse, mutilate or exploit for personal pleasure and for the accumulation of this world’s wealth.  I am a Just Judge. Those who abuse, mutilate and exploit my children, young or old, female or male, who destroy anyone’s right to be true to themselves, to grow up to their fullest human potential, including those who kill a child in its mother’s womb,  I will bring to justice. I have come to free anyone put into slavery by anyone or by any means.

I am God; there is no other (Is 45:5).

"Made sin for us"

In the second reading of today’s liturgy, 2 Cor 5: 20-6:2, we are confronted with the following truth:  “For our sake…[God] made…[Jesus] to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”  As I meditated on this passage, my heart clung to the statement “He was made sin for us.”  “Made sin!” The Son of God Incarnate, the Holiest of Holy, in His incarnate nature is “made sin” for us. No wonder Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My soul is sorrowful unto death.”   The ugliest of the ugly: sin itself for “one who knew no sin.” 

Recently, in a magazine entitled “The Week,” I read a brief article about George Zimmerman, who killed Travon Martin and was acquitted of that murder. He was bemoaning the fact that he is scorned by society, his life has been threatened repeatedly, he is not safe and carries a hefty financial debt for legal fees.  Jesus was scorned.  Jesus was a hunted man, threatened by the Pharisees repeatedly as they sought  a way to justify killing him. Jesus was not acquitted but put to death for our sakes. “He was made sin for us.”

Every sin throws us into the darkness of shame and guilt.  The more hideous the sin, the uglier are the consequences.  Jesus bore those consequences for us so that we might “become the righteousness of God in him.”  What love! What mercy!

O, God, have mercy on me for the part I played in the burden you carried to the cross for me

Mercy and Generosity

In the first reading of today’s liturgy,  1 Samuel 24: 3-21, Saul, with three thousand men is on a search for David with the intent to kill him.  Saul stops at a cave, rests and falls asleep. Further back in that cave is David and his men hiding from Saul.  David spares Saul’s life that day out of respect that Saul is the Anointed King of Israel and is also that he is like a father to him. As Saul and his men leave the cave David comes out and yells to Saul: “My lord and king!...why do you listen to those who say, ‘David is trying to harm you’?  …[T]he Lord just now delivered you into my grasp …I had some thought of killing you, but I took pity on you instead….May …[God] see this,…and grant me justice beyond your reach.” Saul  acknowledges his wrongdoing, calls upon the Lord to bless David, the future king of Israel.  His jealous rage is defused by David’s mercy and affection for him and his own repentance.

Both men, Saul and David, are blessed by the Lord! You and I, in our best and worst moments, are still precious to the Lord, our God, our Creator and Redeemer.  God’s mercy knows no bounds and His love for us is unconditional.  To communicate that message God needs you and me to be His spokesperson by how we relate to one another both in good times and in bad, when feeling threatened and when being shown mercy. As God’s communicator by my thoughts, words and actions, do I, in fact,  reflect God’s mercy and compassion, His love and forgiveness, His wisdom and fortitude?

The Power of the Gospel

Today’s first readings, Romans 1: 16-25, contains gems of wisdom that each of is challenged to ponder within the depth of our hearts. What are these gems? 

·         That the Gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”

·         That in the Gospel “the righteousness of God” is revealed “from faith to faith”

·         That the “one who is righteous by faith will live”

·         That “what can be known about God is evident to… [the impious and to those who have suppressed] the truth by their wickedness”

·         That what can be known about God is evident [to all of us] because God has made it evident [to us]

WOW!  The question is: do I believe that the Gospel is the power of God for my salvation? And if I do, what is keeping me from reading and reflecting upon the Gospels regularly and, yes, even daily?  That is where my salvation lies, that is where I will encounter Christ, who saves me from my own wickedness: from my own sinfulness, my own vulnerability to give in to temptation.  What temptation? Satan’s deceits, Satan’s subtleness in luring me into gossip, into cheating myself and others of the gift of forgiveness and unconditional loving, of respect and openness to the wisdom of God at work within them and within me, refusing to listen to them or to the Spirit directing me; from responding or not responding because of my prejudices, my fears, my hopelessness, my greediness and/or stinginess.  In whatever sin I engage, I am suppressing the truth of who I am in Christ Jesus, of what I am capable of doing because of the Spirit living within me.   My potential for choosing good instead of evil is contingent upon my relationship with Christ and I grow in my knowledge of Christ through the Scriptures, the Word of God! 

What is holding me back from this Source of God’s power?  Have I, in St. Paul’s words, “exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshipped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever”?

Spiritual Warfare

Today's first reading, 2 Cor 6: 1-10,  opens with: "Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation," Paul says to the Corinthians.  He commends himself and his companions  "as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; through glory and dishonor, insult and praise." There is a saying that goes "No pain, no gain." To reach high honors in school or on the athletic field, one needs to put in long hours, endure the pain of endless practice and challenging hours of tedious study.  The same is true of our growth spiritually.  Purity of heart is not a gift achieved by weak hearted, undisciplined persons but by persons of strong character, willing to endure the ridicule of "friends," and risk being bullied by others.  Knowledge of one's faith, of God, of the Scriptures is acquired by those willing to apply themselves to the work of learning, doing the research and hours of reflective study.  Patience and kindness are developed in a difficult circumstances borne gracefully.  "Weapons of righteousness" are drawn in situations that are unjust, unkind, uncaring, abusive: standing up in those kinds of conflicts takes a woman/man of incredible faith in the power of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we are engaged in a holy warfare day in and day out.    Now is the time to volunteer to be warriors for Christ sake.