Easter Sunday

Jesus was dead.  There is no question that He has died.  The Romans put Him to death in a horrible and bloody way. Not hidden from view, but in public.  Beaten, nailed to a cross. The execution reserved for criminals.  To be certain that Jesus was dead, a guard pierces His side with a lance.  The Romans were good at executing criminals.  There was no question that Jesus is dead. 

Death held many views in the minds of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day.  Some believed that there was nothing after death. You lived. You died…. and that was all there was.  Some Jews saw death as a passing from this world to a place of shadows called Sheol. You existed after death, but not as full and complete as when you were alive on earth. There were also those who believed that for righteous people; for good people, there would be a resurrection of the dead at the end of times.  We see hints of this in the Book of Daniel. The Sadducees and the Pharisees argued about this very issue. The Sadducees denying …and the Pharisees accepting a resurrection after death. Others, influenced by the Greeks, saw death as a releasing of the spirit from the cage of the body. The spirit lived on while the body turned to dust. Some believed in a sort of reincarnation. Remember when Jesus asked, ““Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, some say Elijah or some other prophet.

When Mary Magdalen arrived at the tomb to anoint the dead body of Jesus, she finds the stone entrance rolled back and the doorway open. There is no body. No corpse. No Jesus. Mary Magdalen runs to tell Peter and John.  "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." Peter and John run to the tomb. 

If I had just buried someone that I loved and found an empty tomb just days after the burial, I too, would run to get an answer, to find out what had happened.  What would you think? Someone has taken the body! Grave robbers?

 The younger apostle, John arrives at the grave first; looking into the tomb and sees the burial cloths of Jesus. Peter arrives. They enter the tomb for a closer inspection.  They want to find out what has happened. The cloth for the head of Jesus is separate from the other cloths.  And the head cloth is neatly rolled up. Grave robbers?   Wouldn’t grave robbers just take the body?  Why take the time to unravel the burial cloths? Why take the time to neatly roll up the head cloth and place it by itself?

But we’re told that they had, “not yet understood the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” But we know the rest of the story.  That’s why we’re here today. Jesus Christ was dead and now He is alive. The resurrection is that great, “I told you so” moment.”  The words of Christ are solidified by the resurrection. 

Over the years, there are those who have tried to denounce the resurrection.  They say it’s just another in a long line of myths. A myth like the Egyptian’s Osiris, and the Greek’s Dionysius who portray a resurrected life after death.  But these ARE myths. Myths are never set in history. They are not set in some distinct time or place. They begin “once upon a time” or even “in a galaxy, far, far away. “The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection happened in a specific time and a specific place.  Jesus was crucified at the hands of Pontius Pilate; a real, historical person. The real and tangible places of Judea and Jerusalem are noted in the account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. St. Thomas said, “[when] I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, [then I will believe].”  And the physical Jesus presented Himself for Thomas to see the real nail marks and the real tear in His side. 

And finally, no one has ever died for a myth.  There are no martyrs of Osiris. No martyrs for Thor. No martyrs for Dionysius. No one dies for a myth. Yet we know that so many Christians died for the true, historical truth in a risen God. Eye-witnesses attest to Jesus’ life. Eye-witnesses attest to Jesus’ death. And eye-witnesses attest to Jesus’ resurrection.  And the resurrected Jesus doesn’t fit any of the notions the Jews had about death.  When we hear the account of the resurrection of Christ, we hear none of the notions people held about death.  We hear something completely new and different.

The first eye-witnesses maintained that the very same Jesus that they had seen put to death was alive and in their presence. This didn’t happen much later on, at the end of time, but rather, only three days after Jesus’ death. They didn’t give an account whereby Jesus was with God the Father in some vague manner. The resurrected Jesus was not a spirit separated from the body.  He was not reincarnated into another, different person. They were able to touch, see and hear the same person they had seen die earlier. 

The resurrection of Jesus was something new. A new beginning.  

Our belief in Christ brings us into a new life. Do I recognize the gift? Do I recognize the privilege?  

The past is over and before us lies how we decide to treat the Giver of our new lives; and how we deal with ourselves as new creations.  Every day is the ability to begin again, to do better, to get things right. 

The life we have is a gift from God. What we do with our lives is our gift to God. 

Easter Sunday

I wish you all a “Happy Easter”.  Easter is the greatest and the most important feast in the Church. It marks the birthday of our eternal hope.  We celebrate it with pride and jubilation for many reasons:

1) The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian Faith. It is the greatest of the miracles, for it proves that Jesus is God. That is why St. Paul writes: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your Faith is in vain” (I Cor 15:14). “Jesus is Lord! He is risen!” (Rom 10:9), was the central theme of the kerygma (or “preaching”), of the Apostles.

2) Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection. Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will live even though he dies…” (Jn 11:25-26).

3) Easter is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain, sorrows and tears. It reminds us that life is worth living. It also gives us strength to fight against temptations and freedom from unnecessary worries and fears.

4) Easter gives meaning to our prayers: It supports our belief in the Real Presence of the Risen Jesus in and around us, in His Church, in the Blessed Sacrament, and in Heaven and so gives meaning to our personal as well as our communal prayers.

Easter messages:

1) We are to be Resurrection people:  Easter, the feast of the Resurrection, gives us the joyful message that we are a “Resurrection people.”  This means that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits, and dangerous addictions.  It gives us the Good News that no tombs can hold us down any longer – not the tombs of despair, discouragement, doubt, or death itself.  Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the real Presence of the Risen Lord in all the events of our lives.  “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad” (Ps 118:24). 

2) We need to seek our peace and joy in the Risen Jesus:  The living presence of the Risen Lord gives us lasting peace and celestial joy in the face of the boredom, suffering, pain, and tensions of our day-to-day life.  “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19), was Jesus’ salutation to his disciples at all post-Resurrection appearances.  For the true Christian, every day must be an Easter Day, lived joyfully in the close company of the Risen Lord.

3) We need to live new, disciplined lives in the Risen Jesus:  Our awareness of the all-pervading presence of the Risen Lord in and around us, and the strong conviction of our own coming resurrection, help us control our thoughts, desires, words, and behaviors.  Our conviction about the presence of the Risen Lord in our neighbors, and in all those with whom we come in contact, should encourage us to respect them, and to render them loving, humble, selfless service.

4) We need to remember Easter in our Good Fridays:  Easter reminds us that every Good Friday in our lives will have an Easter Sunday, and that Jesus will let us share the power of his Resurrection.  Each time we display our love of others, we share in the Resurrection.  Each time we face a betrayal of trust and, with God’s grace, forgive the betrayer and forget the offense, we share in the Resurrection of Jesus.  Each time we fail in our attempts to ward off temptations – but keep on trying to overcome them – we share in the Resurrection.  Each time we continue to hope – even when our hope seems unanswered – we share in the power of Jesus’ Resurrection.  In short, the message of Easter is that nothing can destroy us – not pain, sin, rejection, betrayal, or death. Because Christ has conquered all these, we, too, can conquer them — if we put our Faith and trust in Him. 

5) We are to be bearers of the Good News of Resurrection power. Resurrection is Good News, but at the same time, it’s sometimes painful because it involves death. Before the power of the Resurrection can take hold in our own lives, we’re called to die to sin, to die to self. We may even have to die to our own dreams, so that God can do what He wants to do with our lives. Resurrection is about seeing our world in a new way. Early that Easter morning, Mary Magdalene did not find what she was looking for, the dead body of Jesus. But she found something better than she could have imagined: the Risen Jesus. Sometimes, the things we think we need most are not granted to us.  What we get instead is an experience of God’s new ways of working in the world. That’s the power of the Resurrection. When those moments come, we must spread the news–just as Mary Magdalene did: “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18)

Palm Sunday

The Church celebrates this Sixth Sunday in Lent as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday.  It is on Palm Sunday that we enter Holy Week, welcoming Jesus into our lives and asking Him to allow us a share in His suffering, death, and Resurrection. This is the time of the year when we stop, to remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation. The Holy Week liturgies present us with the actual events of the dying and rising of Jesus.  These liturgies enable us to experience in our lives, here and now, what Jesus went through then.  In other words, what we commemorate and relive during this week is not just Jesus’ dying and rising, but our own lifetime of dying and rising in Him, which will result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption.  

Today’s liturgy combines two moments seen in contrast: one of glory, — the welcome of Jesus into Jerusalem — the other of suffering: the drama of his trial which ends in his freely accepted and offered condemnation, crucifixion, and death. Let us rejoice and sing as Jesus comes into our life today. Let us also weep and mourn as his death confronts us with our sin. 

Today’s first reading, the third of Isaiah’s four Servant Songs, like the other three, foreshadows Jesus’ own life and mission. The Refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 22), “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” plunges us into the heart of Christ’s Passion. The Second Reading, taken from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, is an ancient Christian hymn representing a very early Christian understanding of who Jesus is, and of how his mission saves us from sin and death. 

The first part of today’s Gospel describes the royal reception Jesus received from his admirers, who paraded with him for a distance of the two miles between the Mount of Olives and the city of Jerusalem.   In the second part of today’s Gospel, we   listen to/participate in   a reading of the Passion of Christ according to Luke.  We are challenged to examine our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the Passion story – like Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Herod who ridiculed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience as he condemned Jesus to death on the cross, and the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus.

We need to answer 6 questions today: 

1) Does Jesus weep over my sinful soul as he wept over Jerusalem at the beginning of his Palm Sunday procession? 

2) Am I a barren fig tree?  God expects me to produce fruits of holiness, purity, justice, humility, obedience, charity, and forgiveness.  Do I? Or worse, do I continue to produce bitter fruits of impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy, and selfishness? 

3) Will Jesus need to cleanse my heart with his whip?  Jesus cannot tolerate the desecration of the temple of the Holy Spirit (which I have become), by my addiction to uncharitable, unjust, impure thoughts, words, and deeds; nor does Jesus praise my business mentality or calculation of loss and gain in my relationship with God, my Heavenly Father.  

4) Do I welcome Jesus into my heart?  Am I ready to surrender my life to him during this Holy Week and welcome him into all areas of my life as my Lord and Savior? Let us remember that we are all sinners who have crucified Jesus by our sins, but we are still able to turn to Jesus again to ask for pardon and mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is through the Passion of Jesus that we receive forgiveness: “with His stripes  we are healed.” (Is 53:5).  

5) Are we like the humble donkey that carried Jesus, bringing Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness, and sacrificial service to our families, schools, places of work, and communities by the way we live our lives? 

6) Do we reread our own story in the characters in Jesus’ passion story as well? What about Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, the Apostles who fled for their lives, Pilate who betrayed his conscience, the High Priests who abused his position, the guards and soldiers who inflicted unbearable pain on Jesus, and/or the people who welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday and then betrayed him during his trial?

Attentive participation in the Holy Week liturgies will deepen our relationship with God, increase our Faith, and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus.  But let us remember that Holy Week can become “holy” for us only if we actively and consciously take part in the liturgies of this week.  During this week of PASSION — Passionate suffering, Passionate grace, Passionate love, and Passionate forgiving – each of us is called to remember the Christ of Calvary and then to embrace and lighten the burden of the Christ Whose passion continues to be experienced in the hungry, the poor, the sick, the homeless, the aged, the lonely, and the outcast.  

St Augustine has a very unique homily on the Gospel of the woman caught in adultery. His puzzlement lay in the fact that adultery is such a great sin, why did Jesus let her off so easily?

Adultery is indeed, one of the big sins; one of the Ten commandments.  Think of the damage this sin causes: it insults the sacrament of marriage, it destroys the relationship between husband and wife. Everyone involved gets hurt: husband, wife, the other partner and even the children.  So much pain and heartache is caused at the cost of this sin.  But Jesus simply says, “go and sin no more.”  Isn’t that a little too easy? Some early Christians were even scandalized at the reaction of Jesus. The penalty due the sin is not applied. 

From Augustine we get a much deeper insight. Jesus’ answer really upholds the law at the same time He demonstrates the fulfillment of the Law as applied with mercy. 

Jesus doesn’t say the woman should NOT be stoned. Right off the bat, this would show that He was not going to hold to the Law and anger the scribes and Pharisees. However, Jesus had no intention of saying “let her be stoned” because He came to save sinners, to reconcile and to relieve our transgressions. Jesus’ response contains truth, justice and clemency in its full measure. 

So, is Jesus giving His approval to immorality? No. However, Jesus does tell her to, “go and sin no more”.  Jesus does pass sentence in the fact that the actions of the woman are evil and against the commandments. So much that he says, don’t do this again. The woman was wrong. Jesus is condemning the sin, but not the person.  If Jesus were showing an approval of the immoral actions, He would be saying, “neither do I condemn you, go on and do as you please.  I give you the certainty that I will overlook all your sins; all your transgressions.”  But Jesus doesn’t overlook the sin. The sin is condemned while he offers the woman the ability to turn away, repent and follow the commandments. In today’s world, sometimes we see this as a sin of presumption; the fact that I can do whatever I want, then go to confession and it will be forgiven. This is not an indication that we are truly sorry for our sins.  However, Jesus is saying that she has no fear of her past. The past is over, now go and don’t repeat sin.  But, in order to gain for yourself eternal life, from this moment on, sin no more. 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation offers us all the same mercy; the past is gone; the past is over. By the forgiveness of our sins, we attempt to sin no more; to fight against evil. The future is to keep trying. Trying our best to conform ourselves to God and thus to attain the eternal happiness with the Father in Heaven.

As we approach the season of Easter, pray for the strength to “go and sin no more”. 

Today’s readings remind us, first, of the horror and the just consequences of sin; second, of the incredible gift of God’s mercy; and third, of what we need to do to receive that mercy. Reminding us of God’s readiness to forgive sin and to restore us to His friendship, today’s readings challenge us to show the same mercy to the sinners around us and to live as forgiven people, actively seeking reconciliation. Mercy and pardon are the hallmarks of a Christian. 

The central theme of all three readings is a merciful God’s steadfast love. Both the verses of the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 126) and the reading from Paul invite us to respond to such Divine graciousness with joy and gratitude.  The readings also encourage us to reflect seriously on the ultimate example of God’s compassionate love for us. They remind us that we cannot self-righteously condemn the lives of others when God is calling them tenderly to conversion. Repentance is not something we do. Rather, repentance is allowing the forgiving power of God to touch our lives and lead us along new paths. 

Explaining how a merciful God forgives the sins of His chosen people and leads them back from the Babylonian exile, the first reading reminds us that we too are forgiven, and that we are saved from our own sinfulness. By having Isaiah remind them of how God had liberated their ancestors from their slavery in Egypt eight centuries earlier, (miraculously destroying the army of the Pharaoh and providing them food and water in the desert), the Lord God assures the exiles that He has forgiven their sins. The reading gives us the message that we, too, are forgiven, and we are, with His grace, walking His Way of Salvation away from our own sinfulness toward Heaven.  In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 126), the Psalmist reminds us of the joy God’s Mercy brings us when we ask for and receive His pardon. 

In the second reading, Paul presents himself as a forgiven sinner who has been completely transformed by his Faith in Christ Jesus. His life is an example of obedience to the Gospel exhortation, “Sin no more.” Paul loves Christ so much that he wants to share in his sufferings and even in his death so that he may share in Christ’s Resurrection. 

The sinful woman’s story of sin committed, and sin forgiven in today’s Gospel also shows the inexhaustible mercy and compassion Jesus grants to sinners. It invites us to recognize and experience in our own lives both God’s Justice and His Mercy. We bear witness to the Justice of God by confessing our sinfulness and determining to avoid sin, and we bear witness to God’s Mercy by accepting the forgiveness of our sins and by determining to forgive those who have offended us.

Hence, the story of the woman caught in adultery helps us recognize and receive the immensity of God’s mercy. That is why Pope Francis in his first Sunday homily as Pope declared: “God never tires of forgiving us…. It’s we who tire of asking for forgiveness.” Then he prayed, “May we never tire of asking for what God never tires to give!” According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, home is the first Christian school where one learns love and repeated forgiveness (CCC #1657), based on the loving mercy of God. The gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin. There is no sin, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive (CCC #982).

1: We need to become forgiving people, ready for reconciliation: Jesus has shown inexhaustible mercy and compassion to sinners by dying for our sins. But we are often self-righteous, like the Pharisees, and ready to spread scandal about others with a bit of spicy gossip. We are judgmental about the unmarried mother, the alcoholic, the drug addict, or the shoplifter, ignoring Jesus’ command: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Let us learn to acknowledge our sins, ask God’s forgiveness every day and extend the same forgiveness to our erring brothers and sisters. We need to learn to hate the sin but love the sinners, showing them Jesus’ compassion and working with the Holy Spirit to make our own lives exemplary so that we can help lead them to Jesus’ ways.

2) We have no right to judge others: We have no right to judge others because we often commit the very faults we condemn; we are often partial and prejudiced in our judgment and we do not know the circumstances which have led someone to sin. Hence, let us leave the judgment to our just and merciful God who reads people’s hearts. We should show mercy and compassion to those who sin because we ourselves are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. The apostle Paul reminds us: “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” (1 Cor 11:31).

Jesus had a sort of “magnetic” power. Most especially recognized by those away from God. But a magnet has two sides; it attracts and repels. “The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain…” Here are the two sides: the sinner and the self-righteously religious. Two responses to God’s love.  In the parable of the Prodigal Son these two sides are represented by two sons.

The younger son approaches his father. ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.” A slap in the face. Inheritance, if any, comes to us after death. “Father, I wish you would die; give me what you have for me now. Many of us, myself included, often want what God has to give…. right now. We want existence, life, good health and success; our inheritance right now. And we pay no attention to the God, Whose existence, (I am Who I AM) is pure giving. Love is willing the good of the other. God will’s our good perfectly.

Ignoring the insult of his son, the father divides what he has. Division separates us from God, our Father, and each other. God freely gives His love; but He never forces or imposes Himself contrary to our free will. It is through our own free will, that we reject or accept. Our free will places us in separation, division from God and each other. 

Then, the younger son “set[s] off to a distant country.” The Greek here is Cora Macra: “the great emptiness”. When I remove myself from God, that’s where I put myself: in “the great emptiness.”  In this Cora Macra, the son “squander[s] his inheritance on a life of dissipation”.  Is there anyone here who has experienced spending your college tuition on beer or spent hard earned money on having a “good time?”

And then, without money, “a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. Here is the basic reality of our life with God; if we squander the gifts we receive from God, that is, we disconnect the gifts we have…. from God… we dry up. Without the Eucharist, without a right relationship with God, famine strikes us, we don’t receive our spiritual food. 

“So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.” What an insult for a Jew; to tend “unclean” animals. “And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed….” The son had become a “pig”, willing to eat the food a pig desires. Finally, like so many of us after our youth, he come to our senses. We come to our senses. We try to warn our children; to protect them from the bad decisions we made in our youth.  But they have free will.  “Coming to his senses [the young man] thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger?” When we return to God afterwards… we are fed. From rich to poor, everyone comes to Christ and is fed. We reconnect to God and “come to our senses.”  “I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned… against you.” 

And, “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” The Gospels are not so much about us finding God as they are about God finding us. The Father is looking for us and runs to meet us. Even though we walk away from God, He is always there, with us within our reach.

The son’s apology is interrupted. Welcome back. Welcome home. We tell God we are sorry because we realize the enormity of our faults, but all through the Gospels, Jesus never requires, “I’m sorry”. He forgives. That’s what God’s existence is, God exists “FOR…. GIVING”. 

In a rather sanctimonious manner, the other son says, “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders….” What do I get? He was constantly getting everything the father offers. In the presence of God, the Father, we are constantly receiving His gifts…. that’s what you “get”.  Have you ever heard someone say, or have you said it yourself……I don’t get anything out of Mass! Really?  We “get” so much, perhaps Mass is a time to “give”.

And when someone comes back to us, back to family, we don’t hold their past against them. God doesn’t hold our past against us. “…celebrate and rejoice, … your brother was dead and has come to life again…”

 God never “needles us”. God never nags us.  God invites us; we, in our free will decide. Is someone away from your family? Away from our family? Don’t preach to them, or get mad, or argue.  Love them, pray for them and welcome them as they are, where they are. Leave your door open and a place at the table. We constantly receive the gifts of our God, Who exists “FOR…. GIVING”. We don’t make these gifts our personal property, but give these gifts away to others. In discipleship we offer our gifts to others. Our joy is found in giving. God gives Himself to us, we give ourselves to others, and we receive even more. The son who went away, in coming home receives the Father’s love. The son who stayed had received the same love. 

But the prodigal son comes into the house;’ or as we say, “back to the Church.”  But now the other son removes himself from the father, from the “house”. He will not go in.  His pride removes him from the Church due to his pride. 

God never holds our past against us and we have until our last breath to come into the house, back to God. So, who really is the prodigal son? The one who sinned but then came back? Or, the son that let his pride remove himself from the father?

The fourth Sunday of Lent marks the midpoint in the Lenten preparation for Easter.  Traditionally, it is called Laetare Sunday (Rejoice Sunday). It is a sign of what liturgical authors call “anticipatory joy”— a reminder that we are moving swiftly toward the end of our Lenten fast, and the joy of Easter is already on the horizon. This Sunday is set aside for us to recall God’s graciousness and to rejoice because of it.  In many ways we have been dead, but through God’s grace we have come to life again; we have been lost, but now we are found.  We have every reason to rejoice.  

Hence, each of the three readings characterizes one of the many facets of Easter joy.  In the first reading, the Chosen People of God are portrayed as celebrating, for the first time in their own land, the feast of their freedom.  Their joy is one of promises fulfilled.  In today’s Responsorial Psalm the joyful Psalmist invites us, “Glorify the Lord with me; let us together extol His Name!” then gives us our reason for rejoicing, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears!” 

The second reading joyfully proclaims the effect of Jesus’ saving act as the reconciliation of all peoples to the Father. He tells the Corinthian converts that they are a new creation, made so through the blood of Christ.  It is the shedding of Christ’s blood that has reconciled them with God and made them righteous, so they have reason to rejoice.

In the Gospel, the joy is that of a young son’s “coming home,” where he discovers and is healed by, his father’s forgiving and gratuitous love.  It is also the story of a loving and forgiving father who celebrates the return of his prodigal son by throwing a big party in his honor, a banquet celebrating the reconciliation of the son with his father, his family, his community, and his God.  It is really the Parable of the Forgiving Father, the story of Divine love and mercy for us sinners, a love that is almost beyond belief.  The common theme of joy resulting from reconciliation with God and other human beings is announced to all of us present in this Church – an assembly of sinful people, now ready to receive God’s forgiveness and His Personal Presence as a forgiving God in the Holy Eucharist.

1) Let us return to our Heavenly Father with repentant hearts: As prodigal children, we face spiritual famine all around us in the form of drug and alcohol abuse, fraud and theft in the workplace, murders, abortions and violence, pornography, premarital sex, marital infidelity, and priestly infidelity, as well as in hostility between and among people. All of these evils have proliferated because we have been squandering God’s abundant blessings, not only in our country and in our families, but also in our personal lives. Hence, let us repent and return to our Heavenly Father’s home.

2) Holy Mass enhances our “pass over,” from a world of sin to a world of reconciliation. At every Mass, we come to our loving Heavenly Father’s house as prodigal children acknowledging that we have sinned (“I confess to Almighty God”). In the Offertory, we give ourselves back to the Father, and this is the moment of our surrendering our sinful lives to God our Father. At the consecration, we hear God’s invitation through Jesus: “… this is My Body, which will be given up for you… this is the chalice of My Blood … which will be poured out for you…” (= ”All I have is yours”). In Holy Communion, we participate in the banquet of reconciliation, thus restoring our full relationship with God and our fellow human beings.

3) We need to accept the loving offer of our Heavenly Father: “All I have is yours”. Faraway hills and forest look green; there are many attractions in life; there are many voices saying to us, “Follow me,” or “Follow your desires and you will find happiness.”  But the best and the only real offer of lasting happiness is from God our Father, “All I have is yours.”  God, our Heavenly Father, stands outside our door waiting for us to open it to Him.  For the remainder of Lent, let us try to make every effort to answer that invitation from our Heavenly Father, “All I have is yours.” Each Lent offers us sinners a chance to return home with a confession of sins, where we will find His welcome and open-armed love.  Such a confession will enable us to hasten toward Easter with the eagerness of Faith and love, and it will make possible the rejoicing which today’s liturgy assures us in our Lord’s words: “There is more joy in Heaven over the one sinner who does penance than over the ninety-nine just who do not need penance.”

In today’s readings we have two plants; a bush and a Fig tree. 

First the bush. Moses is tending to the flocks of his Father-in-law, Jethro and he comes near the mountain named Horeb also called Mt. Sanai. Moses sees a bush on fire. Yet, the fire continues and the bush is not consumed. This is how God, Yahweh, presents Himself to Moses. 

In the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, whenever a god broke forth into the human realm, they appeared in competition…destructively. Something of this realm had to give way to reveal something of the realm of the gods. When a human came face to face with one of these gods in their proper form, they were consumed. But with our God, it’s different. 

The bush represents the realm of creatures. When our God presents himself, we are not consumed. God doesn’t take anything away but rather adds to the reality of the thing He has created.  When God is in us; close to us, we become more beautiful, more fully ourselves. We become more radiant. We reflect the Light of God onto the world, into other people. A burning tree, out in the open, sends light in all directions. And so do we.

Moses, like other Jews, adhered to a multi-god theology; the god of this or that place, this or that people. Remember, their one god theology wasn’t defined until the Law was given to Moses. 

So, Moses wanted to know the name of this particular god. He was asking for clarification: which god are you? But God declines. He doesn’t give a name but merely states, “I am Who [I] am.”  God is telling us that He is not a specific type of being. He is not from this or that place. He is not One among many. He is not a “being”. From this, theologians reflect on God as being itself; pure being. Aquinas’,” Ipsum Esse”, to be itself. We can’t classify God. In order to understand anything, we try to name it and categorize it. Then we can identify. Now we can compare things. God is above all that we know; outside of us. Outside of creation. We can’t compare God to anything. Aquinas goes on to tell us that God cannot even be place in the Genus of “Being”.  That’s the broadest category we have. God is outside all of that.  God is not this, or that, here or there, higher than, bigger than.  God is the act of being itself, the act of existence.  

In our theology, this is very important.  If I move into your space, I compete for your space.  A dog cannot become a cat and still remain a dog. Plants grow and “take over” the space where they grow. We creatures live in competition with each other. 

God, Who is the act of being can enter into us and not consume us or diminish Himself. He can make us radiant and not leave us destroyed. And although we become more, God never becomes less. We can become like the burning bush, more beautiful, more radiant and more alive, but still remain what we are. God doesn’t compete with His creatures in any way. He doesn’t shove Himself on us. He never imposes Himself. He invites.  Remember the picture of our Lord knocking on the door. There is no handle on the outside. We have to open the door and invite God to come in. 

The bush, alive with the radiance of God. Every one of us has a purpose and mission.  To know, love and serve God in this life so as to be happy with Him in the next by being a conduit of God to the world; shining His light reflectively in the world.

Now, the Fig tree.  Growing but not producing any fruit.

 The fullness of God: burning with love. The absence of God: fruitless. 

All three of today’s readings speak of God the Father’s mercy and compassion, even in disciplining His children by occasional punishment in the form of natural or manmade tragedies, while giving them second chances to repent of their sins and renew their lives, despite their repeated sins. God expects us to show our repentance and renewal of life, especially during Lent, by producing fruits of love, mercy, forgiveness, and selfless service, instead of remaining like a barren fig tree in Christ’s Church.

The first reading tells us how God showed His mercy to His chosen people in Egyptian slavery by giving them Moses as their leader and liberator. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v 6) revealed Himself to Moses from the burning bush and assured Moses of His Divine presence with His people and of His awareness of their sufferings in Egypt. God declared His intention to use Moses as the leader who would rescue His enslaved people. Then God revealed His name as Yahweh (“I AM Who AM”) and renewed His promise to the patriarchs (v 8), to give them a “land flowing with milk and honey”.

The second reading warns us that our merciful God is also a disciplining God. Paul reminds the Christians of Corinth that they must learn from the sad experience of the unfaithful Israelites in the desert who were punished for their sins by a merciful and just God. The merciful and gracious God is also just and demanding; hence, the Corinthians, and we, must be free from sexual sins and idolatry. 

Today’s Gospel explains how God disciplines His people and invites them to repent of their sins, to renew their lives, and to produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Citing two tragic events, Jesus exhorts the Jews to repent and reform their lives. One of the incidents was the ruthless murder of some Galileans while they were in the middle of their Temple sacrifices. The victims were probably political agitators, and this was Pilate’s way of silencing them. The other incident was a construction accident which occurred near the Temple during the building of a water aqueduct. Apparently, this building project was hated by the Jews because Temple funds had been appropriated from the Temple treasury by Pilate to finance it. — These two incidents are brought up because the Jews of Jesus’ day presumed that those who were killed were being punished by God for their sins. But Jesus denies this. Instead, he asserts that what really destroys life is our unwillingness to repent and change our lives. Jesus says, not once, but twice by way of emphasis: “Unless you repent, you will perish as they did.” 

With the parable of the barren fig tree, Jesus also warns them that the merciful God will not put up with them indefinitely. Although God patiently waits for sinners to repent, giving them grace to do so, He will not wait forever. Time may run out; therefore, timely repentance is necessary. Hence, one can say, “A Lent missed is a year lost from the spiritual life.”

1) We need to live lives of repentance: (a) We never know when we will meet a tragedy of our own. Let us turn to Christ, acknowledge our faults and failings, and receive from him mercy, forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. b) There is no better way to take these words of Jesus to heart than to go to sacramental confession, and there is no better time to go to confession than during Lent. (c) Repentance helps us in life and in death. It helps us to live as forgiven people and helps us to face death without fear. 

2) We need to be fruitful trees in God’s orchard.  Lent is an ideal time “to dig around and manure” the tree of our life so that it may bring forth fruits.  The “fruits” God expects from us during Lent are repentance, renewal of life, and the resulting virtues of love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, selflessness, and humble service.  Let us start producing these fruits in the family by becoming more sensitive to the feelings of others and by accepting each member of the family with love and respect.  The Christian fruits of reconciliation will grow in the family when each member shows good will by forgiving others and by asking their forgiveness. We become fruit-bearing in the community by caring for the poor, the sick, the little ones, the old, and the lonely.

3) We need to make the best use of the “second chances” God gives us.  Our merciful Father always gives us a second chance.  The prodigal son, returning to the father, was welcomed as a son, not treated as a slave. During Lent, we, too, are given another chance to repent and return to our Heavenly Father’s love.  We are also expected to give others another chance when they ask our forgiveness.  God would like to use each one of us as the “gardener” in the parable to help Him cultivate our families and communities and enrich them with grace.  Let us thank God for using others to help us bear fruit.  Grace is everywhere.  Let us always cooperate with grace, especially during Lent.

In the original Greek, the word for transfiguration is metamorphoo (metamorphisis)  signifying a radical change. Jesus is radically changed so His divinity is brought forth and revealed. Before this event, Jesus has just asked His follows, “who do you say that I am?” There are differing answers and so the disciples surely must have questions as to whether they are truly following the right person. But Peter gets it right. As given to him by the Father, Peter says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus decides to make a physical statement. He takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain (usually stated as Mt. Tabor, but we’re really not sure which mountain it was.) Up on the mountain, the heavy hitters of the Old Testament appear: Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing all of the prophets. Both indicating that Jesus is the Messiah. And to seal all doubt, from a cloud, the Father’s voice is heard, “this is my chosen Son, listen to Him.”

There are many parallels here to Moses on Mt. Sinai. First of all, Moses goes up on the mountain on the 7th day. Not, in today’s passage, but in St. Mark’s account of the Transfiguration, Jesus goes up after 6 days. Moses takes his spokesman, Aaron and his two sons; Abihu and Nedab. Jesus takes the leader of the 12 and two brothers. On Mt. Sinai, God speaks to Moses from a cloud and at the Transfiguration, the Father speaks also from a cloud. After Moses’ encounter with God, his face shown bright. He even covered his face to not frighten his people. Today, not only Jesus’ face, but His entire being radiates brightly. Moses was transformed and today Jesus, Who so far has only provided his followers with His human nature, removes the doubt and conveys His divinity. Both Moses and Jesus are leading an Exodus; Moses from the slavery of the Egyptians, Jesus from the slavery of sin back to Paradise.

Are you in the midst of terrible trials? Are you in doubt about your faith? Why is this happening? What is God doing? How many of us have read a book and in the middle, terrible things happen to the characters? The entire situation seems hopeless. And then we cheat. We flip to the last chapter and read that everything comes out just great. The darkness in our lives may seem terrible, but the last chapter of our lives, our “book”, has a happy ending if we pursue the story, if we hold tight the plot God promises us; to endure, carry our cross, love God and love others. The Transfiguration shows us that Jesus, who proclaimed to Peter that He must suffer and die will finally reach the chapter where He wins because He is God and He will overcome every enemy; death being the last.

The Transfiguration is telling us all that as we face suffering and death, as we carry our crosses, the resurrection and ascension will ultimately follow.

The common theme of today’s readings is metamorphosis or transformation. The readings invite us to work with the Holy Spirit to transform our lives by renewing them during Lent so that they radiate the glory and grace of the transfigured Lord to all around us by our Spirit-filled lives.

The first reading describes the transformation of Abram, a pagan patriarch, into a believer in the one God (Who would later “transform” Abram’s name to Abraham), and the first covenant of God with Abraham’s family as a reward for his Faith and obedience to God. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 27) declares that Faith, singing, “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.”

In the second reading, St. Paul argues that it is not observance of the Mosaic Law and circumcision that transforms people into Christians, and hence, that Gentiles need not become Jews to become Christians. St. Paul urges us to stand firm in our Faith and to live a life of discipleship with Jesus now, so that we may share in a glorious future later.

The Holy Spirit, through Church, invites us to reflect on Christ’s humanity by presenting the temptations of Christ on the first Sunday of Lent, But, on the second Sunday, by presenting the Transfiguration scene, the Church invites us to reflect on Christ’s Divinity. The Transfiguration of Our Lord on this Second Sunday in Lent gives us a glimpse of the coming future glory of Christ on Easter. But it also reminds us that the only way to Easter is through the cross.

The primary purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration was to allow Him to consult his Heavenly Father in order to ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death, and Resurrection. The secondary aim was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of his Divine glory, so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah, and might be strengthened in their time of trial. On the mountain, Jesus is identified by the Heavenly Voice as the Son of God. Thus, the Transfiguration experience is a Christophany, that is, a manifestation or revelation of Who Jesus really IS. Describing Jesus’ Transfiguration, the Gospel gives us a glimpse of the Heavenly glory awaiting those who do God’s will by putting their trusting Faith in Him.

(1) The transubstantiation in the Holy Mass is the source of our strength: In each Holy Mass, the bread and wine we offer on the altar become transubstantiated into the living Body and Blood of the crucified, risen, and glorified Jesus. Just as Jesus’ Transfiguration strengthened the apostles in their time of trial, each holy Mass should be our source of Heavenly strength against temptations, and our renewal during Lent. In addition, our Holy Communion with the living Jesus should be the source of our daily “transfiguration,” transforming our minds and hearts so that we may do more good by humble and selfless service to others.

(2) Each time we receive one of the Sacraments, we are transformed: For example, Baptism transforms us into sons and daughters of God and heirs of heaven. Confirmation makes us temples of the Holy Spirit and warriors of God. By the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God brings back the sinner to the path of holiness.

(3) The Transfiguration offers us a message of encouragement and hope: In moments of doubt and during our dark moments of despair and hopelessness, the thought of our transfiguration in Heaven will help us to reach out to God and to listen to His consoling words: “This is My beloved Son.” Let us offer our Lenten sacrifices to our Lord, that through these practices of Lent and through the acceptance of our daily crosses we may grow closer to him in his suffering and may share in the carrying of his cross so that we may finally share the glory of his Transfiguration.

4) We need “mountain-top experiences” in our lives: We share the mountain-top experience of Peter, James, and John when we spend extra time in prayer during Lent. Fasting for one day can help the body to store up spiritual energy. This spiritual energy can help us have thoughts that are far higher and nobler than our usual mundane thinking. The hunger we experience can put us more closely in touch with God and make us more willing to help the hungry. The crosses of our daily lives also can lead us to the glory of transfiguration and resurrection.

Among all the countries in the ancient world, God chose Israel to be the light of the nations and the center of reconciliation through the instructions of the law and temple sacrifice.  Out of all of Israel, he chose the 12. Out of the 12, he chose the 3; Peter, James and John, to witness the transfiguration. Out of the 3, he would choose St John to receive the visions in the book of revelations.

In the economy of God’s salvation, he invests his revelations in those who will take them and value them enough to share them in such a way, as to move family, friends, the church and culture. Before we complain that God’s not visiting me with any revelations, we must ask ourselves, if he gives them to me, will I take them in and take action?

Some of the greatest spiritual events in the Bible, took place on mountains. Abram took his son to sacrifice on Mt Moriah. Moses received the 10 commandments on Mt Sinai. It was unlikely this was lost on the disciples, when Jesus invites them to the mountain to pray. They had seen powerful things happen many times, through his prayers! In spite of all of these things, the disciples are not praying, they are sleeping! How often is this representative of the times when we are sleep walking through life, unaware of Jesus’ presence?

The disciples are awakened as Jesus is transformed and speaks with Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. Together, the law and the prophets testify to Jesus’ divinity. As Luke explains, they were talking about Jesus’ death in Jerusalem

Having no idea what to say or do, does not stop Peter from speaking. He is quickly made to understand that he’s not there to start building tents, when the Father says: “This is my beloved son; listen to him.”! 

How well are we doing when it comes to quieting ourselves and listening to God? Has our performance based, western culture made us into human doings, instead of human beings? Has it imparted to us the feeling that quieting ourselves in prayer is down time from our productivity?

IF we say: “I do not experience God speaking to me; what am I missing?” Are we failing to get the fact that he is always broadcasting his communication and I’m just not on his frequency?

Who’s voice is it in the readings in the mass? In the Eucharistic prayers, the priest is praying in persona Christi. How can I hear him when I go home, if I do not read his word in the Bible?

What we listen to influences us. Are we listening to church teaching when it comes to matters of faith and morals? Or, am I slipping into the moral relativism of our culture’s secular philosophies about religion and sexual behaviors?

We will do well in our marriages, despite our struggles, if we listen to him. We will work through all the questions about our sexual identify, if we listen to him. We will be the model employee; punctual, flexible and industrious, if we listen to him. We will share our faith without shame or backing down, if we listen to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

Today, let us pray: “Lord, open my ears that I might hear you. Give me the grace to take it in and be that one who moves my family, friends, the church and culture.”.