A PURE HEART CREATE FOR ME, O GOD

I SUNDAY OF LENT - Matthew 4:1-11

We begin Lent being challenged to have a good look at ourselves, our world and humanity in general. In his Lenten message, Pope Leo invites us “to place the mystery of God back in the centre of our lives”. To do that, we must realise that we have ousted Him from our hearts, our lives and our society. Then, we must repent and convert, turning back to God.

The first reading, taken from Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7, presents humanity as enslaved by sin. And sin is presented as a deliberate choice of disobedience and revolt against God in an attempt to take his place. We may read the narrative of Adam and Eve's sin as a historical fact or as a picture of our actual attitude towards God. Adam and Eve represent us, the whole of humanity. We have torn apart our communion with God, breaking our ties with him and considering him an obstacle to our freedom, well-being and happiness. We want to decide our own future, since we know what better fits us and our needs. Eating from the tree of knowledge, we will establish what is good, that is, what benefits us and gives us life to the full. We become the Creator, and, doing that, we sit on God’s throne. While doing that, we forget that we are knitting the ropes that enslave us. We end up being controlled by the instruments that we devised to master the world.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus is presented with three great proposals that, throughout the centuries, have guided humanity in their search for life and salvation. The satisfaction of our needs is paramount, and it comes before anything else, putting everything at our service. We live for that, and our desires must be satisfied to find relief and feel at peace with ourselves. For that, we are ready to manipulate God, forcing him to do what serves us and enhances our self-satisfaction. In the end, we struggle for the throne, holding power and grabbing wealth to achieve whatever we wish. I don’t need God; I am god.

Jesus rejected all proposals, putting himself wholly at the service of God. He came to do His will, and that is the only way for humanity to achieve life and salvation.

Let us pray with Psalm 51:

A pure heart create for me, O God,

  put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

  nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me again the joy of your help;

  with a spirit of fervour sustain me,

O Lord, open my lips

  and my mouth shall declare your praise.

 HE HAS GIVEN NO ONE PERMISSION TO SIN

VI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:17-37

Nowadays, it is common to hear some people say, “God made me like this.” So, there is nothing wrong with me, and people must accept me as I am. Thus, my flaws become virtues, and I feel proud of them. We justify ourselves and blame God for our failures. The first reading, taken from the book of Sirach, gives a clear answer to that claim: 

“He never commanded anyone to be godless,

  he has given no one permission to sin.” 

Indeed, “If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power.” There are two ways set before us: one leads to life and the other to death. “Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.” (Sir 15:16-21).

We must accept responsibility for our actions. Nobody else is answerable for what we do but us. Whenever we deviate from the right path, we must recognise it and ask for forgiveness, entrusting ourselves to God’s grace and mercy.

In this regard, let us pray with Psalm 119:

They are happy whose life is blameless,

  who follow God’s law!

They are happy who do his will,

  seeking him with all their hearts.

They are happy who follow God’s law!

You have laid down your precepts

  to be obeyed with care.

May my footsteps be firm

  to obey your statutes.

In the Gospel, Jesus advises us to stay away from the scribes and Pharisees. They are very demanding and rigorous in their teachings about the Law, but they ignore the spirit of the same Law. They do everything to be recognised as just and holy, easily finding excuses for themselves. Jesus is concerned with the spirit of the Law, and he makes it clear that the sinful actions begin in our hearts.

And Jesus addressed four areas of human life where people easily find excuses to discard their sense of guilt and the need for repentance and conversion. Relationships among people must be based on respect for life and dignity, and whenever one breaks the bond of communion, they must ask for forgiveness and reconcile. A serious and committed relationship with God implies a serious and committed relationship with others.

Then, Jesus addresses the relationship between men and women, a relationship that must be lived in love sealed in marriage. Adultery destroys marriage, and it is sinful. And everything that leads to adultery falls into the same category. About marriage, Jesus makes it clear that divorce is not in God’s plans. The couple is called to be a sign in the family and in society of God’s committed and faithful love.

Finally, according to Jesus, we must not swear. Oaths are proof that we are neither sincere nor truthful. Thus, we are not trustworthy before God and before society. “All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

WE ARE DISCIPLES OF JESUS, THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST

 V SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

In the Church and in all the communities that claim to be Christian, the cross is present everywhere. Indeed, Jesus’ discipleship is unthinkable without the cross. Over the centuries, we have lost the sense of horror and the tremor of fear before the cross. We have forgotten that the cross was an instrument of punishment and death, transforming it into an object of ornament or into an expensive piece of jewellery. We are blessed and saved by the cross of Jesus Christ, that is, by his passion and death on the cross. On the cross, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, thus reconciling us with God. The cross is the proof of Jesus’ love for the Father and for us. He remained faithful to the end, choosing to obey the Father with all his heart and soul, even if that would endanger his life. Lifted on the cross with stretched arms opened to the world and ready to embrace humanity, Jesus became the model for all those who search for life and salvation. We must be ready to lose our lives for the sake of truth and justice, being assured that dying with Christ is the way to eternal life.

In Athens, Paul made use of his knowledge of Greek culture and philosophy to announce the gospel of Jesus. He suffered a big disappointment since the result was very poor. In Corinth, he used a different approach: instead of using human philosophy, he spoke of Christ in simple, clear and straightforward language: “During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ.”

And we should never forget that to become a true disciple of Jesus, we must carry our cross (Mt 10:38). Indeed, throughout the centuries, the Church has suffered persecution, and many Christians have paid with their lives for being disciples of Jesus. The same is happening nowadays. In many regions of the world, Christians are being persecuted. Being taught by Jesus, we relate to others with respect and dialogue, while they use violence against us. We pray for our enemies and ask God’s blessings over them, while they insult and kill us. For some religions, the cross is anathema and idolatry, and they are ready to destroy it and destroy with it those who accept it as proof of faithfulness to Christ and of fellowship with all those who are overwhelmed by suffering. By doing that, we truly become the salt and the light of the world (Mt 5:13-16).

HAPPY ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

 IV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:1-12a

In the Scriptures, we may find texts that put forward  fundamental truths and establish paradigms of behaviour. On mount Sinai, Moses received from God the Law that points out the way to life, happiness and salvation. Jesus came to establish a New Covenant and with it He proposes the new commandment that will guide the new people of God: Love one another as I have loved you. This kind of love is only possible if we approach life with new attitudes. Like Moses, Jesus went up the mountain, but, unlike Moses who stood alone before God, Jesus sits down surrounded by his disciples. It is to them that He presents his charter of values, the values of the Kingdom of God. This charter is presented at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, giving meaning to everything else. The values of the Kingdom run against the values of this world that strives to acquire power, wealth and fame. According to Jesus, the road to happiness passes through humility, simplicity, sincerity and truth. The powerful and the wealthy are mistaken and they cannot find the happiness of true life in the pleasures of this world. 

The first beatitude sets the path to all the others: “happy (blessed) are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” These words sound like nonsense: how can the poor be happy? Jesus does not proclaim blessed the miserable. He made an effort to alleviate their suffering. But, in order to find happiness, we must have the spirit and the attitude of the poor. Poor is the one who depends on others to survive. He cannot live alone. He recognises and accepts his shortcomings and weaknesses and asks for help. Before God and before the others we are poor and must recognise our dependence on them. The self-sufficient cannot enter the Kingdom of God. We cannot save ourselves; we must be saved by God and our salvation depends on the salvation of others. 

The prophet Zephaniah presents the humble who seek the Lord and finds integrity and justice:

Seek the Lord,

all you, the humble of the earth,

who obey his commands.

Seek integrity,

seek humility:

you may perhaps find shelter

on the day of the anger of the Lord.

(Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13)

THE LORD IS MY LIGHT

III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17

This Sunday, we complete the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which was celebrated under the theme “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4). The second reading of this Sunday's liturgy, taken from 1 Corinthians, deals with the same issue and presents Paul’s worries about the divisions wrecking the community. We should be united in “belief and practice”. And, looking at ourselves, we find all kinds of divisions. There is a great divide between Catholic and Orthodox. Then we have such a variety of groups, practices and beliefs in Western Christianity that it becomes difficult to recognise Jesus Christ’s face in many of them. Looking around, we find confusion, envy and jealousy instead of unity of purpose guided by faith and love. And nowadays, the Catholic Church is falling into the same trap. We find all kinds of groups with self-appointed prophets and evil shepherds that lead people astray.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul points the way out of this problem: Christ is the centre and reason of everything. We can never forget the crucified Christ. We must put aside the cleverness of our philosophy and the cunningness of our ideologies, since everything must be measured and counted according to the cross of Jesus Christ: Paul was sent “to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.”

This Sunday, in the Catholic Church, is dedicated to the Word of God. And we are reminded that the word of Christ should dwell among us (Col 3:16). Jesus Christ is the Word, and, being the Word, he is the Light of the world, a light that dispels the darkness that blinds and enslaves us. Jesus is the word and the light that show the way and bring understanding and purpose; they fill us with hope.

Let us sing with the Psalmist: 

The Lord is my light and my help;

  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

  before whom shall I shrink?

Psalm 27

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

II SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - John 1:29-34

This Sunday’s readings are still connected to the celebration of the Lord’s baptism, making even more explicit the identity of the Messiah as the Servant of the Lord. The book of Isaiah presents four poetic passages about the Servant of the Lord: Isaiah 42:1–9, 49:1–7, 50:4–9, and 52:13–53:12. Last Sunday, during the Feast of the Baptism, we read the first passage; today, we read the second. He was formed in the womb and called to be a servant. He is entrusted with the mission of gathering the people of Israel and bringing them back to God. This servant is destined to be more than a servant. He will have a universal mission: “I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Is 49:6). Jesus is the one who assumed the role of a servant. He is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), and in Him we find life and salvation.

This Sunday’s gospel develops the idea of the servant, stressing his identity and his mission. John the Baptist gives public testimony to Jesus, proclaiming him as the Lamb of God and the Son of God. He came to be the true Lamb of God, offering himself as the sacrifice of the new covenant and accepting to give his life “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:28). In him and through him, we are reconciled to the Father. And all this is possible because he is the Chosen One, the Son of God.

In the second reading, taken from 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, Paul presents himself as an apostle appointed by God to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. He addresses the Corinthians as “the holy people of Jesus Christ”, who pray to Jesus Christ because he is their Lord and our Lord as well. It is from him that we receive “grace and peace”.

The responsorial psalm gives voice to the attitude of the servant who comes to do the will of his master:

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

  but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

  Instead, here am I. (Psalm 40)

Jesus Christ is our Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Let us live this year under his lordship.

THIS IS MY SON, THE BELOVED

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - Matthew 3:13-17

The feast of the baptism of the Lord is part of the great solemnity of Epiphany. In this feast, we are invited to reflect on Jesus’ baptism and our own baptism. Jesus’ baptism reveals the mystery of the Messiah and sets forth the profound significance of our own baptism. 

Speaking of baptism, we must realise that we were not baptised with John’s baptism. He came to baptise in water as a sign of repentance (Mt 3:11; Jn 1:26). We were baptised in Jesus Christ with the baptism of the Spirit. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be “born of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:5).

According to the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the baptism of Jesus was followed by a great theophany that revealed Jesus as the Son of God, being anointed by the Holy Spirit to carry out the Father’s plan of salvation. Jesus is the beloved Son who came into this world, taking on our human nature to reconcile us with the Father, making it possible for us to be children of God.

The second reading presents Jesus as the anointed one, that is, the Messiah or the Christ. All Jews were waiting for the coming of the Messiah. Their expectations were high: they thought of the Messiah as a king and a liberator who would overpower and defeat all those who had oppressed the people of Israel. The Messiah should have a political role, establishing a kingdom of justice and peace. They ignored or put aside the prophecies that announced a suffering servant who would carry our sins and be overburdened by our pains. In his baptism, Jesus accepts his mission and is invested in his ministry. And he will do it as the servant of the Lord announced by the prophet Isaiah.

Following Jesus’ path, in our baptism, we were anointed with the Holy Spirit, and the Father spoke over us, saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.” In baptism, we were born from above as children of God. 

Today, let us give thanks for our baptism, renewing our commitment to be faithful to Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life.