Complaining

  Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 102 O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you; Jn 8:21-30

As we move along our journey in Lent, heading toward its culmination with the Easter Triduum, we pause at the desert wanderings of the people of Israel. 

We are asked to remember that experience of the people being led out of slavery into the desert toward the promise land.  This image is what lent is about, out of slavery of sin toward the promise land, with our battle cry, "on earth as it is in heaven."

Today our stop in the desert finds the Israelites complaining.  The people's patience were worn out by the journey and they began to grumble against God and against Moses. 

They were complaining about God's gift, gift of food and water, "we are disgusted with this wretched food!"

 They had grown miserable beneath the weight of the Belly-ache.  

How soon they forgot what God' s mighty hand had done.  They had stopped being grateful and thus they had lost sight of grace.  The strength for their journey was gratitude.  Here they were to encounter true strength, and yet they stopped giving thanks and thus became careless with the gifts God gave. 

They had lost focus.  They were all nearsighted, they could not see past their own noses.  All they saw was what was wrong and they failed to recognize what was right and good.  They were free, they were no longer slaves.  They were being cared for by God.  They had witnessed great things and yet they were lost in themselves.

There is an old proverb that comes to mind in light of the Israelite's complaints, "Instead of complaining about the rosebush having thorns, be thankful the thorn bush has roses."

The essence of gratitude is to always keep one's eyes peeled for the gift to behold in all circumstances that abound.  

As we move toward the Easter Triduum, the heart of our Christian identity, we discover one very essential truth.  In those three days, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday, God gives abundantly forever.

In the passion of Jesus, God's gift remains steadfast in all of life's circumstances:  he gives the priesthood, the Eucharist, love that is stronger than death.

No matter what lies ahead in our own desert wanderings, gratitude is always at our finger tips for we have received grace upon grace.  As the prophet Zechariah states so well, "they shall look upon him whom they have pierced," and remember the gift that was given and the price it was paid.

Daniel the detective

Daniel 13; Psalm 23 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side; Jn 8:1-11

We read today from the book of Daniel.  The last two chapters of Daniel 13 and 14 are written like detective stories. 

We have the story of Susanna and then we have the story of Bel and the Dragon.  In all three cases, Daniel, like Sherlock Holmes, Matlock, or Perry Mason, which ever you prefer, steps into the case and uncovers the mystery.

They are beautiful stories to read.  They reveal to us that to be a prophet, to be moved by the Spirit of God, doesn't take away from what we would do naturally but enhances it.  In these cases Daniel's reason and logic become tools for victory and triumph.

The story of Susanna is about many things.  It is about purity, false accusations, the corruption of conscience, lust and perversion, prayer and prayers that are answered. 

As the story unfolds, it is noted that the old men, the judges who attack Susanna, "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."

This is an important truth.  Our conscience is organic.  It needs to be trained, exercised, formed.  Just like all muscles of the body it too can go into atrophy with out use. It can be stunted, stamped out, it can be falsified.  Conscience is a organ not an oracle.  It requires growth, training, and practice.   It can be formed in a negative way away from God just as it can be formed in a positive way toward God.

At each every moment, we have to choose to grow our conscience or suppress it, and ever little thing, thought, word or action becomes that by which our conscience is exercised.  As we read today, it was the smallest thought of lust left unchecked led to the dismantling of the conscience. 

 

feast

Wisdom 2:1,12-22; Psalm 34 The Lord is close to the broken hearted; Jn 7: 1-2,10,25-30;

We read from one part of Chapter 7 from the gospel of John.  Jesus is delaying his trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 

There are three obligatory feast: Passover, pentecost, Tabernacles.

Jesus, though his life is threatened, does not excuse himself from celebrating this important feast. 

 

The feast of tabernacles is a feast of remembrance.  For seven days the people are invited to dwell in booths made of leafy branches in commemoration of the desert Sojourn. 

Here the people were to bring a basket of harvest fruit up to the temple and then recite the saving acts of God who delivered his people from Egypt and gave them the promised land. 

This feast also marks the anniversary of the dedication of Solomon's temple.  Included in the feast was a procession in which the ark was introduced into the Temple.  It may also be associated with celebration of God as King.

On the first night of the feast the temple was illuminated by lamps and torches.  The whole temple area from a distance would look like a flaming torch, brilliant with light.  It would have been reminiscent of the pillar of fire that led the israelites through the desert at night. 

Here Jesus is celebrating this feast to recite the saving acts of God. 

At the end of the gospel, it is noted that the Jews did not kill Jesus for his hour had not come.

At that hour that was too come, Jesus will enter in to the song of remembrance. He will take his place as the God's ultimate saving act.  

Every Friday we enter into that memory.  We recite God's saving act as we recall the passion and death of our Lord.  This is why we do not eat meat.  It is an opportunity for us to remember and recite so that we might live with our true identity, as people redeemed. 

 

day after the annunciation

Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 106 Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people; 5:31-47 

In psalm this morning we read, "Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image; they exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock."

What was the glory they exchanged?

Their glory was the presence of God who made himself known, who journeyed with them, who led them from slavery into freedom.  Their glory was the pillar of fire at night and pillar of cloud during the day.  Their glory was the wonders God had worked for them, with them, through them. 

Yet, they threw it all away.  They had every reason to believe and yet they were too busy building and alibi not to believe. 

Jesus tells us in Jn 17:22 in his prayer for all believers, "I have given them the glory you gave me."

We, like the Israelites have every reason to believe.  But like the Jews in the gospel today we have a choice to make.  Will we search for evidence against God, building our alibi not to believe or will we allow His glory to convince us and lead us deeper into belief?

the mindset that seeks reason to doubt will disbelieve.

The mindset that sees reasons to believe on a daily basis is the mindset that has truly embraced the glory given!  Everything becomes a reason to belief and leads to deeper faith.

Today is the day after the celebration of the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary, to the World.  I wonder what is was like for Mary the day after.  Did she dismiss the experience as a dream?  Did she hide? Did she convince herself it was all a lie?  No!  She picked up her things and took the message to Elizabeth.  Only in carrying the message forth do we truly activate the faith we have received.  Only in bearing the good news in us, do we truly begin to believe ourselves. 

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven."

Let us a build a case for belief by living as believers.

annunciation

Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10; Psalm 40 Here I am Lord, I come to do your will; Hebrews 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-28

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.  

Annunciation simply means to announce.  As we read the gospel story there are two announcements.

First, the angel Gabriel announces to the Mary,the virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, that she was to conceive and bear a child.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you."

The word "hail" in greek means to rejoice.  Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

As Pope Benedict reminds us, the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to Mary, sets the tone for the entire history of salvation. Jesus is inaugurated into history with "rejoicing." 

It is a solemn joy that echoes from eternity and enters into time and leads us all on our journey home. 

"Rejoice!"

The second announcement is that of the Virgin Mary.  She embraced the greeting of Joy and responded to that joy in a manner that is worthy of such a greeting, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done unto me according to your word." 

She said "yes!"  It is most appropriate to respond with affirmation to a word of Joy from God the most high.  Yes, be it done unto me.  Let the joy reign down and may I be an instrument of such grace and favor i so undeservedly received.  What a noble response to such a noble request. 

Mary opens up and allows eternity to enter into time and the child is conceived.  The conception of Jesus marks the beginning of a new era where grace will abound and sin will be destroyed, life will be full and death will be conquered, sadness will give way to joy that is full.

"Then the angel departed from her."

The angel departed but the joy remained.  

May we enter fully into the announcement from on high and the announcement from below and find meaning  between the both, for just as Mary found favor with God, so we find favor through her "yes."

The picture is taken from the altar dedicated to the Annunciation in the Basilica of the Annunciation.  This is believed to be the place where the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary.  The inscription on the altar reads, "Verbum Caro Hic Factum Est," (Here the Word became flesh.)

The place of the Annunciation is a simple abode filled with the daily routine of life.  It can be found in any place and in every place across the globe.  The Angel comes to the ordinary world to invite us to participate in an extraordinary way.  If it can happen in such a humble place, it can happen in us.

May the word become flesh in each of us this day and always.

wellness center

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; Psalm 46 The Lord of Host is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold; John 5:1-16

The power of God never dispenses with the effort of man.  

Jesus encounters the man, the invalid who had been waiting for 38 years to be set in the pool in hopes of being healed. 

Jesus asks him a question, the man realizes his helplessness, then Jesus tells him what to do. 

"Do you want to be made well?"

"Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." 

Jesus responded, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk!"

The three stages who wellness are illustrated in this passage: encounter with Jesus, recognition of helplessness, responding to what Jesus demands with much effort and desire.

Jesus commanded the man to do what seemed impossible, to get up and walk.  The man, rather than react with resentment and wallowing in self-pity set his might on doing the will of God along with Christ. 

Here is the road to achievement: intensity of desire, determination to make an effort, trust in the power of Christ and thus we can conquer what for the longest time had conquered us.

Jesus reveals himself as the true wellness center. 

forgive us our debt

Just read a recent article about the U.S. debt and how it is rising.  It is truly amazing. 

Just a note on how to picture what our debt looks like:

If you stack a $1,000 bill one on top of another , a million dollars would be 4 inches high, a billion dollars would be 358 feet high, to reach a trillion dollars that same stack would be 67.9 miles high. 

This certainly puts the national debt in proper perspective. 

Forgive us our debt is quite a mountain to move..."If you say to this mountain be up rooted and be planted in the ocean with faith it shall be done."

Surely this is not why on our currency we read, "In God we Trust."

But certainly, it doesn't hurt.

I'm not sure if Jesus was speaking about a mountain of debt but with God all things are possible.  May our congressmen and women and president seek the proper wisdom and judgment necessary to move us in the right direction.