delayed reaction

Ezekiel 37:12-14; Ps 130 With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45

Today we encounter the story of Lazarus. This is the longest continuous story in the gospel of John. It is also the story that contains the shortest verse in the bible, "Jesus Wept."

The story is packed full of meaning. Every phrase and every word in every sentence is intentional. John is meticulous in detail. Nothing is out of place, nothing is extra, all is where it should be. With John's gospel, there is always more than meets the eye. There is the literal meaning but also woven beneath is a much deeper spiritual revelation.

Reading requires attentive listening to what the text is both saying explicitly and implicitly.

For instance, john writes is gospel so that anyone and everyone can be part of the tale. JEsus comes in history and acts in time in a particular place with particular people, like Mary and Martha and Lazarus. At the same time, JEsus continues act in our history in our time and place. John wants us to be able to relate, to be part of the story.

This is why, there is the unnamed "beloved disciple." The "beloved disciple" is suppose to be not only John himself but also each and every one of us.

The story of Lazarus is about lazarus but at the same it can be about our family, our experience, our relationship with Christ. These are friends of Christ. They have a history, they have experiences. They know and love Jesus and Jesus knows and loves them.

In fact Jesus would eat with them and spend time with them. In some sense, Bethany was is home away from home. John tries to get us to understand this reality with the words he uses to describe the "one that He loves" as a description of Lazarus the one who is ill.

Pause for a moment. How many times do we see Jesus reaching out to strangers in their time of need promptly and quickly.
People he meets for the first time he cures instantly, no questions asked. Immediate and complete.

Yet here when his friends need him most, he delays. He waits. 2 days pass before he reacts.

This is strange.
Usually love demands an immediate response. Usually love demands the immediate good. Is this not what we desire and what we want.  Is this not what we have been trained to expect?

A few weeks back when my nephew was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was in need of surgery, I immediately got coverage for the masses and within a day I was on a plane to North Carolina. In fact within 24 hours I was sitting in the hospital at his bedside.

This is what we do for loved ones and ones we love. We do not delay we act. We even speak this way when we say, "if you love me then you would..." fill in the blank.

Yet Jesus waits.................

This gives us moment to pause. Why did he delay? How often in the gospel we Jesus act promptly, immediately? How often we see Jesus meet strangers and he does instant miracles for them?

Yet, here with those who love him and those he loves, he waits.

This delay boggles the mind. How often we experience this is our life. How often we experience God's delay, God's silence. We do not like this. we do not like God delaying, we want promptness. We want what want when we want it and yet God waits.

So what is JEsus teaching us.
He is teaching us and important lesson we do not want to learn.
Love does makes demand. But it does not have the right to demand an inmediate response based on what we percieve to be the immediate good or what we percive to be our greatest need.

The only right love has to demand is the highest good. The immediate good we percive is always trumphed by the highest good we don't always percieve.

Here in lies the lesson.
This is why Jesus says this death of Lazarus will serve the glory of God.

There is the highest good that trumphs all other perceptions of good.

This is where love finds its fulfillment; this is where love is purified: God's glory.

Think about Jesus a moment. How much love must he have , knowing that his delay is going to cause Mary and martha were going to have to enter into that grief and suffering we are never truly ready for, the sudden death of a loved one.

How much love must the heart contained to be willing to allow loved ones to enter into suffering so that the glory of God might be made known?


After his delay Jesus finally arrives and we hear those question that often fill our hearts and minds:"Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died." Lord, if yo would have been here this tragedy would not have happened.

Or the other question, "coud not this man who made the blind see have done something to prevent this death."

These are the questions we ask often. If you noice Jesus doesn't discount the questions, nor does he say not to ask. But rather, the question Jesus welcomes and enters into a dialogue of deepen one's faith.

Even our questions can be faith filled and lead to a deepening of our understanding of God's actions and thus increase our trust.

Questions are okay; questions are necessary; question invite faith to grow.
In the questios asked we hear those words, "I am the resurrection and the life; if you believe even though you die will will live."

Then after the dialogue we encounter the shortest verse in the bible. "Jesus wept."

God weeps. Where does God weep. He weeps when men weep.

God enters into our humanity fully. He is not immune to sorrw and suffering. He understands. This is part of the goodnews.

Then Jesus says those words, "Lazarus come out."

The Word that becomes flesh is the word that is stronger then death. Death is no match.

When Lazarus comes out, I assure you no one saw that coming. Everyone was surprised.

Here is the glory of God at work. John in his gospel tells us a few chapters before that Jesus is sent to "amaze us."

God wants to amaze us; God wants to shake us out of ourselves; God wants to surprise us. But in order to recieve this sometimes we must endure suffering, pain, death.

The glory of God is always at work; the glory of God always has more in store.

Jesus reminds us that our life must be about the glory of God if it is truly going to matter most of all.

One thing to notice is that when Jesus calls Lazarus our from death, he does not do it alone.

He need people to roll back to stone. He also need people to untie his hands and feet and remove the burial cloth from his face.

In order for the glory of God to realize, God invites us to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. We must be involved in bringing about the amazement of God.

this is what the lives of the of saints reveal to us. The likes of John Paul II and Mother Teresa show us. They were unafraid to roll up their sleaves and give the glory of God the opportuntiy to shine through into our lives.

Jesus is primary but the work too belongs to us.

The glory of God is the standard of love. This is why we do what we Even  though we encounter God's delay we must remember even in God's delay, hope remains and Glory is to be found.

seek praise

John 5:31-47

There are many words in the readings to today, too many to count. I am often amazed at how many words are brought together in such a small space and time for the worshipers to hear and comprehend.

IT is almost unnatural. This is why it is so important for the faithful to read the readings ahead of time, to prepare themselves to hear proclaimed what they have read. Not to prepare is refusing to let God speak clealry to the human heart.

Today is no different. The first reading from the book of Exodus is fileld with meaning. The gospel is a disocurse Jesus has thar reads almost like a treatise.

So what do we do. We focus in, we zoom our lense to just one phrase.

Jesus in the gospel tells the pharisees, "How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?"

Zero in on this particular question. How can you believe when yo accept praise form one another and do not seek praise from the only God?

Here is certianly a lenten reflection for all.

We like affirmation. We like to be praised and exalted by our fellow man. We like applause. We like to be told "way to go" or "good job" or "well done". Sometimes seeking the praise of men can make us deaf to the praise of God. Sometimes trying to please others can often interfere with our ability to please God.

Sometimes seeking the praise of men can turn us away from God.

We have to make sure we are correctly ordered in our life.

Here is quote from Helen Keller that It think puts it all in perspective, "One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."

Seeking the praise of men is like choosing to creep like bugs and beetles. Seeking the praise of God is truly allowing our spirit to soar as we were created for.

Do we creep or do we soar. One will keep us on the ground, earth bound; the other will lift usand we shall know as St. Paul says, "life on high in Christ!"

come out!

Isaiah 49:8-15; Ps 145 The Lord is gracious and merciful; John 5:17-30

Thus says the Lord, "In a time of favor answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; I have kept you and given you asa covenant to the people, to restore the land and allot desolate heritages, saying to the prisoner: Come Out!...For he who pities them leads them and guides them beside springs of water...Sing out O heavens, and rejoice, O earth break forth into song...For the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted."


JEsus answered, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work."

IT is important to stop every now and then, remove ourselves from the business of life and the many task that are pressing for our attention and simple remind ourselves that The Father is at Work and the SOn is also at Work, the Spirit is at work,

We do not work alone in life. The Blessed Trinity is working beside us each and every day, every moment. Sometimes life makes no sense, things happen we were not ready for, the mystery of tomorrow unfolds quickly and often catches unaware.

YEt God is always aware, attentive and at work. God's providential care not only creates but sustains.

The one who pities us leads us...

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church states about Divine Providence
in Paragraph 302 "creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created "in a stage of journeying" toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call 'divine providence' the dispositions by whch God guides his creation toward this perfection."

In 306 we encounter the following, "God is the sovereign of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of his creatures' cooperation. The use is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God's greatness and goodness. God grants his creatures not only their existence but the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of cooperating in the accompllishment of his plan."

In 314, "The ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God "face to face" will we fully know the ways by which-even through the dramas of evil and sin-God has guided his creation to that definitive sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth."

sunday revisited

1 Samuel 16:1-13; Ps 23 The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

During the Season of Lent the church invites us to rediscover the traditional devotions that are meant to prepare us for the Easter Joy.

One of these devotion is "The Way of the Cross." Every Friday during Lent, we offer the opportunity for the faithful to step in line with Christ and follow in his footsteps, those 14 station to calvary.

Now many people in our society find the stations to be outdated, old fashion or just simply lacking the necessary punch to get them invigorated i their faith. I find this tragic.

How often i wonder what our society would look like if we as church would make the "Way of the Cross" weekly, not just during Lent but every week of the year. How different would we be if we time to follow those 14 stations and prayerfully allowed them ot penetrate our hearts.

We will come back to the stations in a minute.

Now go to the first reading of Sunday. We encounter Samuel on a mission. God has sent him to anoint the next King. The old king has lost his favor with God. Saul was a disappointment or as my nephew would say, "failure." So God decided to choose a another lineage to build this dynasty, this kingdom.

Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse and is told to wait for God would reveal who would be the next King. There Samuel wait with the horn of oil in his hand just waiting for the clue.

In walk's Jesse's oldest Son and Samuel instantly assumes this must be the one. This Son had everything you would want in a king. He was tall and strong and charismatic. Samuel thought for sure this one would win the people over.

Ready jump the Gone and let the oil flow, Samuel hears the voice of God speak those famous words, "not as man sees does God sees; man looks at the appearance and the Lord looks into the heart."

God basically is telling Samuel that it isn't by the standard of man that the king will be chosen. Saul was the people's choice. He was what every wanted. So God let the people have their way and it turned into failure. God was simply reminding Samuel that the people's standard isn't always the best standard.

"Not as man sees does God sees..."

How often do we want God to operate according to our standard. How often do our expectations of how God should act, when God should act, what God should do when he acts interferes with our ability to hear God's call and respond appropriately. HOw often are we like Samuel ready to jump the gun!

Not as man sees does God sees. How often is the man that sees incorrectly you and I.

This is where the stations of the Cross come in. We need our standard to be purified. We need our expectations to be measured by God's way of seeing and acting.

In the way of the cross as we journey with Christ those 14 stations we are in fact invited to see as God sees; we are invited to enter and embrace God's vision. Our blindness is challenged every step of the way. With each step we take our limited vision is stretched to new horizons.

In Christ, we come to face to face with the reality that this one who carries the cross, who is beaten and battered, who falls time and time again, who is stripped, nailed, and dies is not just a man, not just a prophet, but is the son of God.

Here in this disfigured face with the crown of thorns is the one who reveals what the mighty works of God look like.

Isn't that what we seek, what we desire to experience. Do we not want to see more clearly, understand more deeply, and embrace more fully the mighty works of God.

In the stations we come face to face with the mighty work of God in the flesh, God made man.

The love of God in Christ Jesus is the climax of God's way of acting in history, in time.

Does this not shattered our standard, shred our expectations?

What do we experience in the way of the Cross? We experience pain, suffering, loss, forsaken-ness, abandonment, grief, hurt, brokenness and weakness.

Is this not what we seek to avid in life. Yet, this is exactly what god seeks to fill with his presence.

What we seek to avoid God comes to fill. Our standard is purified by the standard of God revealed in the face of Christ disfigured and scarred by the way of the cross.

Should we not have the courage to follow in the footsteps of Christ lest we forget what God's vision entails, lest we forget what love looks like, lest we forget what love can do.

In the stations we experience God's visions. We see as God sees, we judge as God judges, we love as God loves.

In the end the blind man of the gospel doesn't worship God because he is able to see; he worships God because he realizes for the first time that God sees. God sees differently then the scribes and the pharisees. God's visions and judgment is not limited
but rather knows no bounds. God sees differently.

Road to calvary unveils the beauty and strength of God's vision made visible.

The way of cross checks our standard and purifies it and thus prepares us for the journey ahead. As we draw closer to calvary we see God's vision complete.

love too much?

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; Ps 46 the lord of host is with us; our strength is the God of Jacob; John 5:1-16

Today is the anniversary if Kurt Cobain's death. He was the front man for Nirvana. He comitted suicide ad left a note that read the following, ""I still can't get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much."

It is a fascinating insight into this man's thinking: "I think I simply love people too much."

I am sure countless things have been written and rewritten on analyzing these last words. I do not want to analyze then, rather just pose another question, "Can one love people too much?"

Jesus in the gospels invites those who follow him to "hate their mother, father, brother, sisters...etc" if they are to be his followers. (Luke 14:25)

Jesus presents us with an interesting twist on love. One can love in an inordinate way. One can be too attached to people, to places, to things and thus become overly frustrated. It isn't necessarily that we love them too much in fact we do not love them enough.

IT is GK Chesterton who said that we must hate people enough to change them, love them enough to think they are worthy of change.

ORdered love is the issue.

Look at today's gospel for instance. Jesus finds a cripple lying amongst a field of cripples and he ask him if he wanted to be cured. A simple yet direct question.

Jesus heals the man and tells him to pick up his mat and walk.

But the healing doesn't end the encounter. After the man is healed JEsus seeks him out and meets him in the temple area and says these words, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."

Ordered love is what we see in this last statement. Jesus love the man enough to warn him, to guide him, to direct him. He brought about change did not leave him simply with a physical cure but sought to remedy a deeper calamity.

It isn't about loving too much. It is about loving just enough.

Word from St Catherine of sienna

Catherine of Siena prayer to the Trinity:

"How, then, did you create, O Eternal Father, this your creature? [...] Fire constrained you. O ineffable love, even though in your light you saw all the iniquities, which your creature would commit against your infinite goodness, you looked as if you did not see, but rested your sight on the beauty of your creature, whom you, as mad and drunk with love, fell in love with and out of love you drew her to yourself giving her being in your image and likeness. You, eternal truth, have declared to me your truth, that is, that loved constrained you to create her."

Seeking to answer the question why is their something and not nothing, Pope Benedict states the following, 'the world is created not that there might be manifold things in heaven and earth, but rather that their might be space for the "covenant" for the loving "yes" between God and the human family. Creation is ordained to the dialogue of the love of God and his creatures.'

Just a thought for the Third Saturday of Lent.

april fools

Today we celebrate what we are the remainder of the 364 days of the year>>>Mark Twain.

Today is a day of laughter and pranks. Where everyone gets in on the laugh usually at the expense of another, though ideally never harmfully.

Today I tried to teach the three years olds at the school what April fools was all about. It was a task trying to get them to catch on to the days events. They never really got it but they loved to say the phrase "April Fools." Every time they said it, which was random and often, they would laugh. Some times they had no idea why they were laughing , but at three do you really need a reason to laugh?



The phrase itself "April Fools" was sufficient in itself to cause them laughter.

Laughter is important for the soul. Only the man of faith can truly laugh. Faith and humor go hand in hand.

Pope Benedict reminds us that "deep joy of the heart is also the true prerequisite for a sense of humor, and thus humor is in a certain sense, the measure of faith...where joylessness reigns, where humor dies, the spirit of Jesus Christ is assuredly absent. But the reverse is also true: joy is a sign of grace. One who is cheerful from the body of the heart, one who has suffered but not lost joy, cannot be far from the God of the evangelium, whose first word on the threshold of the New Testament is "Rejoice!"

So today be bold in you laughter, be bold in your joy, and be bold in your faith and thus you are not far from the kingdom of God.

WIth true faith we live fuller, love deeper, laugh louder.