GOD RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF THROUGH CHRIST

IV SUNDAY OF LENT - Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus puts forward the ideal for his disciples: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Lk 6:36). In a way, Jesus’ words echo the proclamation made by God before Moses on Sinai: 

“The LORD, the LORD, 

a God merciful and gracious, 

slow to anger, 

and abounding in steadfast 

love and faithfulness, 

keeping steadfast love 

for thousands, 

forgiving iniquity and 

transgression and sin” (Ex 34:6-7)

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul presents God as the one who reconciles us with Him through Jesus Christ: “It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Co 5:17-21). Being a merciful God, He takes the initiative.

In Jesus Christ, God’s mercifulness is revealed to the full. Then, we should not be surprised that the “tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus”. However, the Pharisees and the scribes could not understand that, and they complained bitterly: “This man, they said, ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.” It was then that Jesus told the parable of the father with two children. The father stands for God, and the children for humanity. Despite God’s love and care, we are never satisfied with him. At any time, we find plenty of reasons to ignore and despise him, turning our backs on him. Both cut ties with the Father. In a way, both killed the father, rejecting to behave like children. 

The youngest one demanded his share of the inheritance as if the father had died. Then, gathering all his wealth, he “left for a distant country”, where he would quench his thirst for freedom, autonomy and independence. He could not stand his father’s house; there, he felt stifling. He needed to breathe different air and prove that he could take care of himself. And his dreams and project of life ended in failure. He proved to be irresponsible. Life is hard enough when we live with others and becomes unbearable when we rely solely on ourselves. We cannot build a meaningful life base on wealth and pleasure. At a certain moment, he realised that his life was a mess leading him self destruction. He needs his father to make sense of his life. Sooner or later, we have to reorient our lives, discovering that God alone gives purpose and meaning to our personal history.

The eldest was completely different: well-behaved, hardworking, and responsible. He was a good man. We might wonder where it went wrong. His self-righteousness brought him down. He accepted his share of the inheritance but continued living in his father’s house. However, he felt as if his father stood in his way to freedom and independence. His heart was set on his property and wealth. Coming from the fields, he behaved like a stranger. He did not rejoice when informed that his brother had returned. For him, his brother had died long ago, and his memory had been erased from his heart. Full of resentment and anger, he refused to enter the house, accusing his father of being unfair. Hurt in his pride, he could not recognise the father who overlooked the misdeeds of the younger son instead of administering the deserved punishment. The father insisted that he enters the house. However, the doubt remains. He might have persisted in his refusal.

The Father respects his children’s freedom. He does not force them to remain with him. They have to make their choice and live with the consequences of that choice. Despite turning their backs on him, he never stopped loving them. Whenever we go back, God accepts us not as servants but as children.

Let us repeat with the psalmist:

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Look towards him and be radiant;

  let your faces not be abashed.

This poor man called, the Lord heard him

  and rescued him from all his distress. (Ps 34)

BE CAREFUL, YOU MAY FALL

III SUNDAY OF LENT - Luke 13:1-9

In the fig tree parable, Jesus teaches that we must bear fruit; otherwise, we will be cut down like the tree that became useless. Being patient with us, God is ready to wait, giving us enough time to repent and convert. Whenever we receive God’s visit, we must present the delicious fruits of justice, mercy and love. Without them, we will be excluded from God’s field. God’s workers must take good care of all the trees in the field, digging around, watering and manuring them. They should not be blamed for them being fruitless. The servants of the Lord must proclaim the Word and call on everybody to repent and return to God.

This Sunday’s gospel begins with a warning to all of us. We are no better than others, and the punishment that fell on them may fall on us. We may think of ourselves as good and just, but in that case, we are being delusional. We are sinners in need of repentance and conversion, and we should not wait for tomorrow to do it. We must become aware of the urgency of responding to God’s call. We should not listen to God’s word in vain.

In the second reading, taken from the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds his readers of what happened to the people of Israel. Despite their extraordinary experiences and the great gifts they received from God, “most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.” That is a warning to all of us. The Old Testament should be seen as a guide that takes us to Christ, calling on us to prepare the ways of the Lord and to welcome him in our hearts and lives. We should never be overconfident: “The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall.” (1 Co 10:12).

REMAIN FAITHFUL IN THE LORD

II SUNDAY OF LENT - Luke 9:28-36

On this second Sunday of Lent, we are presented with the Transfiguration of Jesus before three disciples chosen for that extraordinary experience. Jesus took them to the mountain to pray. In prayer, we come into the presence of God, and for that, we need to elevate ourselves, leaving behind the cares of this world. At prayer, we put ourselves at God’s disposal to be touched by his power, mercy and love. We must allow God to fill our hearts and our lives. On Sinai, Moses was drawn into the cloud that represented the mystery of God’s glory.  And that glory was so overwhelming that people felt afraid. On the mountain of transfiguration, Peter, James and John went through the same experience and were touched by God’s glory manifested in Jesus. It was an experience beyond time and space, which filled them with joy and peace. Still in the body but already in heaven, Peter cried joyfully: “Master, it is wonderful for us to be here!” With Jesus, they saw Moses and Elijah representing the Law and the Prophets for the disciples to understand that the old covenant leads to Jesus, the giver of the new covenant. Sharing the glory of Jesus, Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus about his passing that would take place in Jerusalem. Jesus was ready to offer his life in sacrifice, thus opening the way for us to share in his glory. From heaven, the Father testified that Jesus is the “Chosen One”, the Son. Being the Son, we must listen to him. And we are left in no doubt about that. The commandment is clear: “Listen to him.”

In the second reading, taken from the letter to the Philippians, Paul makes clear the implications of this commandment: Jesus Christ is the Saviour who comes from heaven to transform our bodies in the manner of his “glorious body”. As pilgrims here on Earth, we live in the hope of reaching “our homeland” in heaven.  For us to share in God’s glory, we must remain faithful and follow the same rule of life as Paul, which implies carrying the cross of Jesus Christ.

With the psalmist let us pray: 

The Lord is my light and my help.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;

  hide not your face.

Dismiss not your servant in anger;

  you have been my help.

The Lord is my light and my help.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

  in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

  Hope in the Lord!

The Lord is my light and my help. (Psalm 27)

DO NOT PUT GOD TO THE TEST

I SUNDAY OF LENT - Luke 4:1-13

On the first Sunday of Lent, we are presented with the temptations that Jesus suffered in the desert. The three temptations summarise the great temptations suffered by Jesus as the Son of man. The temptation of selfishness is present everywhere and comes to everybody. If I have power, due to my position and role in society, I should profit from it. Is there anything wrong with that? Most people do that. Then, the craving for wealth and power is in everybody’s heart. And people live for that. A good number will use all means at their reach to accumulate riches and become powerful. That is the way honourable people behave. Is there anything wrong with that? Finally, is there anything wrong with becoming famous? By all means, we need to be recognised and appreciated in society at large and especially in the Church, where we deal with religious matters. To get noticed, some are ready to do crazy things, but does it matter?

The temptations represent the great value of the world proposed to us by the prince of darkness. They sound fair, honourable and good, but they lead to jealousy, envy, hatred, violence, exploitation and oppression. They are not the way to salvation and happiness. Jesus rejected this path and chose the true values that will lead humanity to happiness and true life. Jesus answered with a quotation from the Scriptures to each one of the proposals.

1. “Man does not live on bread alone.” Bread is needed, and we pray for “our daily bread”. Hunger and starvation do not manifest the dignity of God’s children, but we cannot live only for that. We must find purpose and meaning in our lives. Indeed, we need much more than bread. Created in the image of God, who is love, we need to love and be loved,
2. “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.” Only God deserves to be worshipped and served. He is the one who sets us free and accepts us as his beloved children. Nothing can take God’s place and demand total obedience and service from us. Only God is God, and everything else exists to be at our service.
3. “You must not put the Lord your God to the test.” Whenever we use God’s name in vain and try to force him to satisfy our whims, we put God to the test. If we do that, we will suffer the consequences. God cannot be used for us to find influence and power or together recognition. We should not expect God to do for us what we can and should do ourselves.

Jesus came out victorious and showed us the way to remain faithful to the Lord. Let us pray with the psalmist:

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;

  protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you,’

  I will save him in distress and give him glory. (Psalm 91)

PLANTED IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD THEY WILL FLOURISH IN THE COURTS OF OUR GOD.

 VIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 6:39-45

In the first reading and in the gospel, we find several pieces of advice that should guide us in our daily lives and relationships with others. 

• the blind cannot lead blind people. However, that happens time and again in political and religious spheres. Some leaders pretend to be enlightened despite their ignorance and lack of common sense and give themselves the right to show the way. They end up falling into a ditch. They should be unmasked and denounced.
• As true disciples, we must follow in the footsteps of our teacher, Jesus Christ. We must be ready to be rejected as he was. Like him, we must carry the cross.
• We find it easy to point out others’ shortcomings and failures, ignoring and covering up our own. We must be hard on ourselves before being hard on others.
• The goodness of a tree is known by its fruits. In the same way, the goodness of a man is shown in his actions. Good behaviour comes from “the store of goodness in his (a man’s) heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness.”
• “For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.” The first reading, taken from Sirach, stresses the importance of the words as they reveal a person’s heart: “ The test of a man is in his conversation.” And it continues: “Do not praise a man before he has spoken,   since this is the test of men.” (Sirach 27:8).

In the second reading, taken from the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of our sharing in Jesus’ victory. With Him, we will overcome death, being able to sing a hymn of victory:

“Death is swallowed up in victory. 

Death, where is your victory? 

Death, where is your sting?”

“So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Co 15:54-58)

BE MERCIFUL AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL

VII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 6:27-38

Being created in the image of God, we should reflect His inner qualities in our lives and behaviour.

In the Holy Scripture, three passages set forward the ideal proposed to us by God:

• “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev 19:2)
• “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
• “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36)

According to the letter to Ephesians, God “chose us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ep 1;4). Holiness is the goal God established for us. Once we achieve that, we will be perfect, as the Father is perfect. We may think that God is aiming too high, proposing to us something unachievable. Indeed, by our means, we will not get there. However, he will grant us the perfection in Christ. For that, we must become one with Christ, and the image of Christ must be present in us. It is a long way that demands effort and continuous conversion, only possible by God’s grace. Having received mercy from God, we must be merciful to others. God’s compassion and mercifulness are the clearest signs of his holiness.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus presents the path of mercy to his disciples: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.” It is a difficult path because our hearts, moved by a false sense of pride, are set on vengeance. Inside our hearts, we carry Cain, allowing ourselves to be dominated by jealousy and envy that lead us to violence.

In the first reading, we are presented with David as a role model for the greatness of exercising mercy within the political realm. David had done nothing to provoke Saul’s wrath. On the contrary, he had been a faithful servant. He was on the run to escape from Saul’s pursuit. Then, he had the opportunity to avenge himself and kill his enemies, However, with gracefulness, David chose to leave revenge in the hands of God. Vengeance belongs to God:

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Ro 12:19)

Let us learn with Jesus to be merciful, thus imitating the Father who as been merciful to us.

WE PUT OUR TRUST IN THE LORD

VI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20

Within us, there is a profound desire for life, and we never accept death as the end of our lives. Despite being confronted by death, we never get used to it. We pray and hope that death will not have the last word. For those who believe death is the gateway to God’s world, where we will be welcomed by him to share in his glory. However, we may be called upon to face reality and accept inevitable death as the end of our dreams.

In the Church of Jesus Christ, his disciples meet every Sunday to celebrate his resurrection, believing that we will rise to eternal life with him if we pass through death with him. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the nucleus of our faith. We, the followers of Jesus Christ, believe that Jesus rose from the dead and became the “firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18), with us following him behind. As he rose, we shall rise to eternal life in his Kingdom.

Faith in the resurrection of Jesus has been faced with doubts and denial from the beginning. The religious leaders in Jerusalem accused the Apostles of stealing Jesus’ body and then spread the lie (falsity) of his resurrection. When Paul announced the resurrection of Jesus in Athens, people laughed at him, considering it a fairytale. It is no surprise then that many people refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead. That’s why, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul had to reassert this essential point of the Christian faith: “If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?” And Paul concludes: “... if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins.” “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.”

The resurrection implies that our bodily dimension will share in the glory of God. Paul wrote to the Philippians: Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil 3:21). The whole person will be saved, body and soul.

We must strengthen our faith in the resurrection, which is the source of our hope. We know that God will remain faithful to his promise, and he will set us free from the corruption that enslaves us. We put our trust in the Lord. Indeed, “Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.”