First Sunday of Lent: "Who wins the conversation?"

 

(Ivan Kramskoy - Christ in the Desert 1897)

"One does not live on bread alone."

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030925.cfm

If the devil, the Prince of Darkness, and his legions were to appear to you, what sort of conversation would you have with him?

Trained exorcists tell us that you should never engage in conversation with the demons.  They are intelligent, crafty, and twist what is false, making it sound as if it were true.  Don’t believe anything they say, they advise, no matter how enticing it may seem. He is the ultimate manipulator, more intelligent than we are.

Satan is named, the “Father of lies” for a reason.  Nothing he may say or do should be trusted. His intent is to sow seeds of division, dissent, and destruction. He has no good intentions, particularly against those who believe in God and follow Christ.

However, our Gospel on this first Sunday of Lent, always brings us to a particular conversation between Jesus and Satan.

This conversation, as strange as it seems, grabs us because it is the one and only time, we see such a thing.  Normally, through various healings and confrontations with those who claimed to be possessed by an evil spirit, Jesus would not engage in conversation but would command that spirit to leave the person – and it would.  

Here the devil approaches Jesus at a time when he is especially vulnerable after a 40 day fast in the barren and empty desert.  More than a month without food, Luke makes the point of indicating, would leave anyone in a state of weakness, desperately hungry and likely ready to eat just about anything. Luke states in one translation “. . . he was famished.”

The devil approaches Jesus in this state hoping to take advantage. “Turn these stones into bread.” What would you do or say?  What, if you had the power to do what Satan suggested?  You haven’t eaten for 40 days and, after all, it’s only bread.  Who would care about or even blame you for doing it?  The temptation for satisfaction, for giving in to pleasures of the flesh, for turning away from God’s will would be strong. Here, Jesus identifies with our own struggle against sins of distorted fleshly pleasure.

Our Lord, does not give in but does quote scripture: “Man does not live on bread alone . . . “We do not seek our ultimate purpose in this world, its joys and diversions, though flashy and momentarily satisfying, will never fulfill our purpose for being here but God alone. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee” so St. Augustine wisely reminds us. Can you resist the temptation to buy the next upgrade of your Iphone?  I hear it’s out now and has quite the capability! It’s only $1,000. (not tempting here)

Satan now ratches up the ante by going to a more enticing and clever temptation for power and prestige.  He shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence and then states, “. . . for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.”

What does this tell us about earthly power and who ultimately may be manipulating behind it.  Not position, but where unchecked power and position might lead.  We have seen inspiring leaders, but we have all too often seen dark and evil forces working through those in positions of power who seek nothing but glory and will go to any lengths to fulfill their lust for power. It reminds us that power tends to corrupt.

The fallen angels of Satan and his legions continue to wreak havoc where they can. Hoping that Jesus himself might achieve his end to “save the world” Satan awaits our Lord’s answer to abandon the cross and achieve his goal by being the most powerful man in the world. If he just joins in with the goals of the fallen, with the dark forces, imagine what they might accomplish!

Again, though Jesus confronts this temptation that we all feel at times in less dramatic ways to be the center of attention, to be noticed, to be powerful and influential, to answer to only ourselves, and he again quotes scripture: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.” Would you speak to the evil one in the same way or give in for the sake of personal fame, riches and power?

Finally, still determined, Satan places Jesus in a most dramatic position, on the top corner of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Here he challenges Jesus that the way down would be to simply jump! Yes, but for the sake of knowing the angels would fly in to protect him.  Imagine what the people would see from their vantage point.  Jesus jumps, angels appear and catch him, then gently place him on the ground.  Who is this that heavenly beings would come to his rescue in such a display?

Our Lord again resists by confronting this sin of presumption or daring to challenge the power of God by quoting scripture once again “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

So, in your conversation with the dark one, what would you say? Would you jump knowing that somehow God would come to your rescue and intervene, thereby you have won your challenge of God’s power? Don’t we at times want to be noticed for what we do or say?  What about being popular? Or being the center of attention when we enter a room?  How many times during the day do you look at yourself in a mirror or window concerned about your appearance? What can you answer on this question, on these temptations to old Satan?

The world, the flesh and the devil fight for control over us. In their confrontation for our ultimate destiny, I would take great comfort that we are on the winning side with Christ, who faced these and other temptations for our sake.  Though we still have a weak and flawed nature due to the first among us to eat the forbidden fruit, it is Christ himself who overcame the force of sin and won the battle for us. 

This God of mercy and love reaches out to us in times of temptation, we must decide whose side we want to be on.  That of light or that of darkness? 

To center our lives on the joy, fulfillment and satisfaction that only Christ can offer with the promise of eternal life or on the side of fame, glory, power, control to seek ultimate pleasure in this world, to get everything we can while were here, indifferent to the next. God has given us the power to choose.  

 

 

 

 

 

8th Sunday - Biblical "sound bites"

 

"From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks"

Luke 6: 39-45

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030225.cfm

Grant us, O Lord, we pray,

that the course of our world

may be directed by your peaceful rule

and that your Church may rejoice,

untroubled in her devotion.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who  live and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Today, we live in an age of “sound bites.” We want to know world affairs in a brief five-word statement.  These short and direct marketing brands such as the recognizable green and white logo for the coffee empire, Starbucks.   Since we live in an age of technology and phone texting our far more expressive speech is greatly lacking. Words are replaced by brief letters: “LOL” and “emojis” like a yellow smiley face. I’m convinced that most under the age of 35 sign their name either with a mere scribble or at best simply print (Sorry, personal bias).

In our Gospel this Sunday taken from the end of Luke’s “sermon on the plain” Jesus sits as a kind of wise scholar who offers his disciples brief but meaningful sound bites that cut to the heart:  “Can a blind person guide a blind person? . . . the splinter in your brother’s eye . . . the beam in your own . . . a good tree does not bear rotten fruit . . . every tree is known by its fruit . . . from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. .  .”

Certainly, any one of them spur reflection on the moral state of our lives printed on a banner or t-shirt.  Yet, these are far more significant as we see them in the body of Jesus moral teaching.  Luke collects these sayings of Jesus likely from various teachings he had given and places them in the context of the sermon Jesus gave to the hungry crowds. They are meant to offer all of us a foundation on which to stand.

What strikes me is that our Lord is expecting far more of us than simply pithy sayings.  The demands of discipleship go beyond the surface and speak to our heart.  A beam in the eye and the blind leading the blind challenge us to resist judgment of another.  Humility is paramount.  Christ teaches, we learn, we follow and over time, if we take the Gospel message seriously, we can inspire others to do the same.  Our blindness may indeed be our sense of self-importance and through our own insecurity we constantly puff ourselves up with an exaggerated sense of who we are or what we have supposedly done, or who we pretend to know.  Our position, our education, our experience, as valuable as they are, may lead us to think ourselves above others. We become blind to the truth that our lives, as Jesus followers, are ones of selfless love and service.

What about these trees and the bad fruit?  As obvious as that statement seems, Jesus reminds us that personal integrity is a mark of discipleship.  If we want to be true to our faith, then our heart must be changed.  If our heart is good, the “fruit” we bear will be visible in the good works we do, in the compassion and love we extend; in the good example we set for others.

One might think about our words and our actions.  Jesus berated the hypocritical Pharisees of his day who were bent on their outward show of perfection. 

Very soon Lent will begin. On Ash Wednesday we hear our Lord say that all the Pharisees cared about was their appearance.  So in the end it is not what we say that counts as much as what we do: “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good.” True goodness comes from the heart and not the words.  The popular saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi to “preach without words” is timely here.

So, this sermon of Jesus offers us a guide, a road map as such, and is a good basis as we approach Lent this week.  Are my words and my actions the same? Am I all talk, seeking the attention of others to make an impression?  How do others see me?  How does my own family see me?  Is my faith, my Catholicism only a label, a socially acceptable position, a repetitive motion I go through to satisfy my guilt?  Is all I do just show up, or do I participate for a reason – because I need to.

Do I honestly seek to conform my life to the Gospel of Christ and make a sincere effort to do the right thing towards others who are made, as I am, in the image of God?  Is my participation in the sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation, really making a difference in my spiritual life or do I simply go through the motions, merely living on the surface of things?  When is the last time I thought seriously about the state of my soul?

As priest I do an awful lot of talking and guidance of others yet I too need to ask myself these same questions, in particular about the example I set and how I too am in need of constant conversion.  I certainly don’t have all the answers, and I too struggle at times with understanding.  Yet, Christ calls us to be consistent in the way he shows us.

Sound bites, these brief truths, are valuable for us to live out the mystery of God’s merciful love for us.  None of us lives this way perfectly.  If we did, we would have no need of a Savior.  God knows otherwise of course and offers us his love and grace.

 

7th Sunday: The active nature of Christian love

 

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you"

Luke 6: 27-38

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022325.cfm

 

Our first reading this Sunday from the book of Samuel leaves us perhaps with mixed feelings.  David has a once in a million chance to gain one up on his enemy Saul by killing Saul while he slept. Not only slept but stood over him as he did so! – but he doesn’t do that.  David resists the temptation from his companion Abishai who wanted to nail Saul “with one thrust of the spear” when they find him sleeping.  David resists and takes the non-violent approach as he acknowledges King Saul as the “Lord’s Anointed.” While that may not be the best military strategy, to instantly win the advantage, it certainly highlights the core moral teaching of Jesus we hear in the Gospel from Luke today about the unique nature of Christian love.

While David’s resistance was a momentary response, Jesus invites his disciples to make such behaviour our way of life. For David’s response raised him to a higher level than violence for violence.  He rose above evil with charity. David was hardly perfect and had done sin himself blinded by lust for Bathsheba and a murderous plot of her husband, but such past sin was repented and rejected and he chose the better part with Saul.

The Scriptures this Sunday continue for us Luke's version of Jesus' famed Sermon on the Mount but in his case, the Sermon on the “plain” or really a level stretch of ground from the higher stand of the upper mountain. This Sunday we are reminded about the controversial nature of Jesus' teaching; the fundamental call to non-violence and love of enemies is given a prime place in Jesus' sermon to the crowds. It is what makes Christian love unique and counter intuitive.

Many times, we feel guilty about our anger.  We may confess the natural emotion of anger as sinful. But it's right to acknowledge that anger is normal.  There is no sin in emotion.  It's normal to feel joyful, angry, sad, jealous, or an attraction to things and others, etc.  Emotions are emotions and they in and of themselves have no morality.  Our natural anger rises in the face of injustice, rejection, or being treated unfairly but that's just the feeling.  We may sense a physical attraction to a person, no priest is immune from such either, but the point I make is that this is normal and human. It means we are alive! It's built into our brain and DNA.  And certainly, we may feel we want to seek revenge against another person and that they don't deserve our forgiveness or certainly not our love for what they did to me or to another was hurtful. This is all the stuff of normal life. But it is just emotion based. Our thoughts and our feelings should not be our sole guide to action.

What Jesus speaks of are not emotions but rather actions and reactions.  Did Gandhi feel anger?  Did Dr. Martin Luther King feel like returning violence for violence?  I wonder if St. Teresa of Calcutta ever felt jealous, anger, or was tempted to pride. I would guess they did but did they follow through, act upon their feelings?  No, and that is the point.  To recognize our natural emotions as normal but we resist acting upon them in a vengeful sort of way. In there lies virtue.

I remember hearing a story of the famed Cure of Ars, the extraordinary parish priest in 18th century France whose fame spread quickly as a confessor and holy pastor.  The thousands who came to see him would jostle and push in the crowds around him and at times he would recognize his rising aggravation.  He once said that he kept a handkerchief in his pocket and rather than speak angrily at a soul who would annoy him, he would squeeze that handkerchief very tightly in his hand discreetly and direct his negative energy into that ball of cloth.  Well, it apparently worked!

Rather than seek retribution and put gas on the fire as it were simply to make myself feel justified, I will instead offer a peaceful and non-violent response.  I will raise myself to a higher level of behavior and instead seek to reconcile or at least to offer love in the form of peaceful non-violent resistance and forgiveness. In that way I absorb the violence of the enemy and show them a more powerful way to behave. That love is stronger than hate. Sin is in behavior and not in normal emotion.

 Of course, plotting and scheming a retaliation is sinful since the intent is to carry through. We are then acting upon our potentially destructive feelings by our thoughts and scheming.  We find sin in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds but not in our natural emotions. "I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned in my thoughts, and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do . . ."

Bishop Robert Barron speaks of gift giving as a model for Christian love.  Yet, when we gift someone, we naturally expect some sort of return:  another gift, a “thank you” note, something even better than what I gave.

However, Jesus’ teaching demands far more. He speaks of the difference between and active and passive love. And God, in Christ, is the ultimate model for what this means; to give gratuitously without expecting return.  While giving in this way is in some way contrary to our natural inclination we are called as disciples of Jesus to model ourselves after him; after how God has given himself to us.  If we love only those who love us we will never learn to love as God loves.  Jesus teaches: “Even sinners do the same.”  So, our charity should always be active and not passive:

“Lend expecting nothing back . . . love your enemies, do good to them . . . stop judging, stop condemning, forgive, give . . . for the measure with which you measure will in return be measured be measured out to you.”

Now there in brief short phrases and words is an ideal examination of conscience before confession.  It will surely bring out our personal stinginess, jealousy, pride, and prejudice.  The whole sacramental system of our Church is gratuitous gift, and the holy Eucharist is the greatest of all – Christ himself given to us. Christ himself who actively ransomed us from the darkness of death to the promise of eternal life. Jesus did not sit passively in the sight of evil but through the active power of love, transformed humanity.

While the world might consider such behavior foolish imagine the witness it gives to the call towards love rather than hate, forgiveness rather than retribution, peaceful non-violence rather than active violence.

May we not tire of doing what is right and reach beyond our natural limitations but only by God’s grace given as gift out of love. 

 

 

6th Sunday - Beware of our attachments

 

(fineartamerica.com)

James Tissot: Jesus preaching

"Blessed are you . . ."

Luke 6: 17, 20-26

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021625.cfm

If we were given a choice between being rich or poor, I have no doubt that the majority of us would choose to be rich. It just seems to bring fewer worries in life and having unlimited wealth would create a kind of fairy tale existence. I mean, who needs to drive when someone else can take you where you want to go?  Who needs to live simply rather than surrounded by expensive and beautiful things? Why sit home all the while, rather than travel to beautiful and exotic destinations, flying first class and staying in 5-star hotels.  For some, it appears to be the purpose of life, or at least the norm when they travel. No wonder that the television show “Lifestyles of the rich and famous,” was popular back in the 1980 ‘s and 90’s. Does money make you happy?  Well, it does make life easier, as someone said.

We are saturated with the mantra that wealth is a kind of blessing that everyone should pursue. If someone wins a large lottery jackpot, often they will interpret their win to divine intervention: “Thank you Jesus!”

Our culture is becoming more and more secular as sacrifice, simplicity, humility and sharing for the good of the whole give way to wealth, power, independence and subjective truth. We find multiple substitutes for God and assume all will be well, “if only . . .”

In the time of Jesus the tags of poor and rich were quite different than today.  The poor were powerless to do anything about their lot like orphans and widows.  They lived weighed down by their socially unfortunate fate.  There was no hope for a better future and no opportunity for advancement. If you father was a fisherman, you will be a fisherman and will pass that on to your offspring.

Meanwhile the rich became rich because they had the power to take wealth away from those who were not able to defend themselves.  In the ancient world power was the means of attaining wealth.  Imagine the impact on society.  In ancient Israel and particularly around the Galilee region where Jesus spent so much time, he taught crowds that were living on merely a hand to mouth existence, while the religious leaders looked on from a distance.

Our Gospel this Sunday challenges us on much of this. But is it wrong to be wealthy?  Money is just money it’s we who make choices that affect others for either good or ill. That power of free will is what Jesus may indirectly be addressing in the Gospel.  Unlike Matthew, Luke has Jesus more specific in his accounting of the Beatitudes. The “poor in spirit” become the “poor.” Blessed are the poor and “woe” to the rich!  Jesus comes down from the heights and addresses the crowd on a level stretch.  In Matthew, Jesus goes up and so it becomes the sermon on the “mount.” Luke’s concern for the poor and their condition is one Jesus identifies with.  So, here Jesus comes down to them; he lowers himself to their condition and embraces it as his own.

It has geographical detail since large hills, as the Galilee region contains rather than mountains, we are familiar with, also have lower parts that are like wide open level stretches.  Same “mount” in both Matthew and Luke? Quite possibly. Luke, a gentile, highlights Jesus' care for both Jews and gentiles alike who are particularly in a lower place. But the location is not near as significant as the message.

The popular Bishop Robert Barron, writer, speaker, theologian, historian, philosopher, and pastor, comments on the Lukan beatitudes by speaking more of the spiritual discipline of “detachment.” He paraphrases a few of Jesus’ beatitudes in Luke with that theme in mind. On the theme of “Detachment,” Jesus teaches the true importance of seeking the lasting things of God, rather than the unsatisfying material things:

Jesus teaches: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours”

Which implies: “How lucky you are if you are not addicted to material things”

Material things are often a substitute for God as we seek our ultimate fulfilment and purpose through the pursuit of technology, science, music, human relationships, unrestricted freedom, etc.                                                          

Jesus teaches: “Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh”

Which implies: How lucky you are if you are not addicted to good feelings

To search always for the good feelings, the avoidance of sacrifice and pain – whose life is addicted to pleasure: drugs, alcohol, the pursuit of pleaser in bodily satisfaction.

Jesus teaches: “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man, rejoice and leap for joy on that day”

Which implies: How lucky you are if you are not addicted to the approval of others.

This is the path of spiritual freedom from addictions that can chain us. Status, attention and fame are among the most powerful “false gods” that lure us – promising great rewards, joy and easy life but never satisfying where only God can satisfy in our soul, the inner region of our heart.

A Christ-centered relationship seeks ultimate satisfaction and fulfilment in him.

Our first reading from Jeremiah has the outspoken prophet wasting no words.  He speaks: “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh.”  

Our faith moves us to believe that if I give away a portion of what I have for the benefit of others God will still care for me because as Jeremiah reminds us: “Blessed in the one who trusts in the Lord.”  The sin of indifference is one that the prophets and Jesus himself reminds us is deadly.

At times the Scriptures comfort us and other times they call us to discomfort.  Today’s readings are the latter.  Our discomfort may well be a sign that we need to let go and let God be who he is in my life: our greatest treasure as the Holy Eucharist which we can receive far too casually, for the treasure of our faith is given as gift to bring us to greater holiness.

Jesus offers himself to us in the Eucharist when he gave it all away for our salvation. This one treasure we would pursue, hold fast too, and even die for if necessary.  

Let us Pray

O God, who teach us that you abide

in hearts that are just and true,

grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace

as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity

of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever