Monday in the Fourth Week of Lent, March 15, 2021

John 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. 

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.

The Gospel reading for today directly follows the visit of the Lord to the woman at the well in Samaria, which took place after Jesus left Judea, where he had faced opposition from the Pharisees and the Temple authorities.  Now, St John tells us, “At that time Jesus left for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place.”  This sounds odd, since it seems as though John were saying that Judea was the Lord’s native place: Jesus had faced hostility there and now was leaving for the outer lands, as though in a self-imposed exile.  However, we modern readers know from the other Gospels that the Lord was raised and lived in Galilee.  Furthermore, we know from the other Gospels that Jesus testified in Nazareth that “a prophet has no honor except in his native place”, and he had found no faith there.  Finally, it seems very strange that if a prophet had no honor in his native place that the Galileans would welcome him upon his return.  What does this mean?  It seems to me that John was, in fact, recognizing Jesus as a native of Judea, born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem.  Nazareth was his adopted home-town, not his native place.  Thus, when the priests and Pharisees of Jerusalem showed him no honor there, the proverb about the prophet and his native place makes sense.  And, indeed, the people of Galilee who lived in and around Capernaum were glad to have him back among them, especially since they “had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast”.  It was a proud moment for the Galileans to see one they considered of their own making a name for himself in the snobby world of the Judeans.

The story of the “royal official” and his sick son at Capernaum is also found in Matthew 8, 5-13, where we are told that the man is a centurion, which the Greek word John uses allows for.  Matthew quotes the man as saying, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof” (Matthew 8, 8), so that the story is about the faith even a Gentile could show.  John, however, does not emphasize the man’s faith but rather the power of the Lord, who can heal even from afar.  For John, this is one of the seven “signs” which reveal Jesus as the Son of God who has come to save the world, just as John considered the earlier miracle at Cana and the later raising of Lazarus.  The Lord shows in the sign of the healing of this boy that if he will save a Gentile child whom he has not so much as set his eyes on, out of his compassion, how much more he will save those who belong to him through faith, obedience, and love.  

 The Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 14, 2021

John 3:14–21

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. 

On his first visit to Jerusalem during his public life, the Lord Jesus had shown his ownership of the Temple, by right of his Father, in chasing the money changers and animal sellers out of it, and then of defending his actions to the Jewish leadership, who left him alone afterwards.  St. John tells us that the Lord then performed “many signs” — miracles of healing.  And then, while the Lord remained in the area, perhaps staying in one of the towns nearby Jerusalem, as he did later, he was approached by one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus.  John tells us that he came to him “at night”, meaning that he came privately and secretly so that his visit might not become known to the other Pharisees.  It would seem from this that already the leadership at Jerusalem had come out against the Lord.  Yet Nicodemus said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no man can do these signs which you do, unless God be with him” (John 3, 2).  This is precisely the point the Lord will try to make again and again to those who doubted and persecuted him: “Believe the works” (John 10, 38).  But Nicodemus was a true searcher for truth and for the will of God, and when he saw the Lord healing the sick, he knew that he had “come from God”.  

Because of his eagerness to learn the truth, the Lord teaches him: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  Here is no abstract philosophy, no esoteric knowledge, but the plain truth put in terms that a Jewish teacher could understand.  The episode of the serpent to which Jesus refers is found in Numbers 21, 4-9.  The Hebrews were weary and hungry.  They complained to Moses that he had led them out of Egypt only to die in the wilderness.  Because of their lack of faith despite the signs God worked through Moses, God sent serpents into the Hebrew camp, which resulted in much loss of life.  When the people repented, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and to mount it on a pole.  The people who looked upon this recovered from the bites of the serpents, and then the serpents departed.  The Lord compares himself to the bronze serpent in that those who look upon him with repentance and faith will be “cured” from the poison of their sins.  

The story of the bronze serpent stands out among the events of the exodus for God’s commanding the construction of a graven image, and then for ordering the people to look upon it in order to recover.  This would seem to approach idolatry.  God could have simply healed everyone in one instant and sent the serpents away, but he has a sign constructed through which the people would be saved.  The sign is itself a reminder of their own sinfulness, and it was frightening to look at as well as very necessary.  The Lord Jesus speaks of himself, “the Son of Man”, whose glory is prophesied by the Prophet Daniel, being lifted up before the people.  It would be a terrifying thing to see, both to know who this was, and that the sins of the world were graphically displayed in the horror of this innocent man’s cruel agony.  But looking upon him in his agony would save the one possessing heartfelt repentance, and faith that God is true to his promises.  And this time, there is no sign, but the reality: the fulfillment of the sign long ago.  Nicodemus was present at the crucifixion and assisted Joseph of Arimathea in taking the Lord’s Body down from the Cross and putting it in the tomb.  He had looked upon the Son of God hanging on the Cross.  We celebrate his feast day as a saint on August 31.

 Saturday in the Third Week of Lent, March 13, 2021

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Lord Jesus speaks here of two distinct ways of looking at oneself and at God.  The Lord identifies the first man in the parable as a Pharisee.  He need not have done this.  He could have left the man unidentified as to his religious party and attained the same basic result in his parable.  He chooses to identify him as a Pharisee, though, in order to show the weakness of their theology and its essential uselessness in aiding a person to become truly righteous.  The Pharisee in the parable does everything the Pharisees taught was necessary for righteousness: the proper fasting and tithing, and the avoidance of the ritual impurity which they believed sinners such as tax collectors contracted by their sins.  He also observes that he is not “greedy”, “dishonest”, and “adulterous”.  What he highlights, however, are merely outward actions in which he is not engaged.  To look at the Greek text, the man thanks God that he is not an extortioner, which is translated here as “greedy”.  He also is pleased that he is not an “unjust” or “unrighteous” man, translated here as “dishonest”.  And he rejoices that he is not an adulterer, translated here as “adulterous”.  He may very well be greedy, dishonest, and adulterous, but he has kept these vices to himself.  As far as appearances go, he is in a righteous state: he is a good Pharisee.

But that is all he is, a good Pharisee.  In his concern for outward righteousness, he has neglected the inward righteousness essential for salvation.  He has, in effect, chosen the easy way.  He has stayed away from unbecoming conduct without the conversion of heart all of us must have in order to serve God.  Furthermore, the pride to which he feels entitled insulates his innermost self from making a correct appraisal of himself.  Even when he does sin outwardly, his pride will prevent him from noticing, or will provide him a ready excuse for his deed, while looking for a way to blame others.

The tax collector, on the other hand, goes into the Temple (which indicates that he is in Jerusalem for one of the holy days) and he simply prays from his heart for mercy.  He recognizes himself as a sinner, makes no excuses or speeches, and is abject enough to allow us to think that he will make amends as best he can and avoid sin in the future.  Jesus says that this man “went home justified”, or, “having been made righteous”.  That is, by God.  While the Pharisee did no more than confirm for himself his feeling of being righteous — free from uncleanness — the tax collector was actually made so by God.  The Pharisee did not pray to God to be made righteous, but the tax collector did, though not daring to put it in so many words, and God answered his prayer.  In this way, too, the Lord showed how true righteousness differed from how the Pharisees understood it: it is a matter of freedom from sin, inward and outward, and not merely the avoidance of breaking the Law in outward actions.

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  The one who humbles himself before God will be lifted up by God and the one who lifts himself up will be cast down, for the Lord will not hold him up, and he will not think he needs God’s help.

 Friday in the Third Week of Lent, March 12, 2021

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The scribe in the Gospel reading for today’s Mass is not asking his question because he himself does not know the answer.  He is asking in order to start at the very foundation with Jesus in order to understand who he is and what he is teaching.  He does what anyone should do when discussing a matter with someone with a possible different understanding of a subject: he defines his terms.  Here, he does this by asking a fundamental question.  The Lord replies by presenting the commandment in its form at the head of the Torah, the Law.  These are the most important words in Judaism.  They are at once a prayer and a creed.  Answering in this way, Jesus firmly identifies himself as a Jew.  Having established that basis for further dialogue (in the classical sense), he proposes the second law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Indeed, the Ten Commandments are composed of laws pertaining to the love and honor of God, and the rest to the love and honor of one’s neighbor.  And this is true through the whole Mosaic Law.  The actual words of what the Lord calls “the second commandment” are not found directly after the law of the love of God but much later, in Leviticus 19, 18, and they take the form of a comment on a series of laws regrading the treatment of other people.  That the Lord would choose these words to sum up the laws regarding one’s neighbor and to posit this as the second commandment, complementary to the first, is nothing short of genius, and displays an astounding understanding of the law.  Those witnessing this, other scribes and Pharisees, must have realized that this man had to be something far more than an illiterate carpenter from Nazareth.

For his part, the scribe bestowed a rare compliment on the Lord.  His reply, building on the Lord’s answer, shows him to be a man of rare perception, especially for a Pharisee, which he almost certainly was: “And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  The scribe goes beyond the Pharisaical notion that nothing came before the worship in the Temple, nothing had greater importance than the correct burnt offerings and sacrifices, as according to the Law.  In doing this, the scribe lands himself squarely into the Law as fulfilled by the Lord Jesus.  Perhaps in his enthusiasm he did not see what he had done, that he had spoken with “understanding”, but the Lord points it out to him: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”  By speaking with the Lord openly and honestly, the scribe had moved from thinking as a Pharisee to thinking as the Lord.  It stunned him to discover this, and it may well have led him to make a serious reexamination of what the Pharisees held.

The Lord’s words to the man, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God”, silenced all those around the Lord: “And no one dared to ask him any more questions”, which might more clearly be translated as, “And no one was so bold as to question him further.”  The scribes and Pharisees saw what honesty and openness could do and they dreaded it.  They would rather stick with their interpretation of the Scriptures with its smoky sacrifices than breathe the fresh air of the freedom of the children of God.  This reminds us how necessary it is to know the Gospels as they are so we may have the mind of Christ, that one day we may not hear merely, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God”, but “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you” (Matthew 25, 34).

 Thursday in the Third Week of Lent, March 11, 2021

Luke 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” The Lord’s words apply to any kingdom, nation, or organization, including the Church.  While the Church has endured heresies and schisms, these have been recognized as such and fought against through preaching and prayer, and the Church has remained one.  If a competing set of beliefs was maintained by a bishop or a group of bishops and this situation was tolerated by the Pope, the Church would be divided against itself and would fall apart.  Although this has not happened, we ought to pray regularly for the unity of the Church, for as long as the Church exists on earth, the devil will seek to undermine and destroy it.

“When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.”  The Lord warns the Church and its members — the “strong man” — to keep constant vigilance, for its goods are attractive to the wicked and its “despoiling” would lead to the loss of very many souls, as well as to the final wreck of what remains today of civilization.  The Church indeed is strong through its holiness; the spread of its doctrine throughout the world; its apostolic origins, which are clear for anyone to see; and its unity in Christ.  This unity can be lost through the embrace of false teaching by the Church and by the defection of its members into lives dedicated to sin.  By our personal holiness and conformity to the doctrine taught by Jesus through the Church, each of us contributes to the unity and strength of the Church.  The “strong man” fails not because someone becomes stronger, but because the strong man becomes weak.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  We see here our need to “gather” with the Lord.  He teaches us how to do this and he gives us the grace so that we can do this.  By “gathering” he means spreading the Gospel through our deeds and words, and especially by our prayers for the conversion of the world.  In carrying this out, we will ourselves be gathered to the Lord to be with him forever.

Wednesday in the Third Week of Lent, March 10, 2021

Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus tells his disciples that he has not come to abolish the Law or the prophets but to fulfill them, that is, to complete them.  The Law of Moses told the Jews how God wanted them to live in a world before grace.  Thus, the Law was but a sign of the Law that was to come with Christ.  The Lord Jesus completed the Law by surpassing its literal requirements.  For example, he fulfilled the commandment against murder by stating, as the Lawgiver, that we are not to become enraged with one another, or to call one another names.  For us to do so is to murder a person in our hearts.  Likewise, the law regarding adultery was completed by injunctions against lust, and the law of the Sabbath was completed by the example of the Lord doing good works on it. By fulfilling or completing these tenets it would seem that he makes it more difficult for anyone to obey them, but through his Passion and Death he won grace for us, and it is by this grace that we can obey them.

“Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”  The general meaning of this verse is that the Law will remain in its fulfilled form until “all things” which he describes in chapters 24 and 25 of St. Matthew’s Gospel, take place.  The verse is about the firmness of the Law.  It will not change or break down or become irrelevant despite wars, famines, turmoil in the heavens, earthquakes or anything else.  It is a sign of God’s love for us and is a sure guide to eternal life.  “Not the smallest letter” is better translated from the Greek as, “Not an iota”, which is the smallest Greek letter: ι.  Our letter i is equivalent to it.  “Nor the smallest part of a letter”, that is, the Greek κεραία, which we can think of as an apostrophe, in terms of its size.  

“Will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.”  That is to say, the tiniest in the Kingdom of heaven, a way of saying not present in the Kingdom of heaven.   heaven, for not only has a person not obeyed the Law himself, but he has taught others to disobey it as well.  This was directed at the Pharisees who self-righteously were passing off their interpretation of the Law as authentic.  It is also directed at anyone who would attempt to justify his own sins by reinterpreting the Law of God and teaches this to others.

We are also called to “fulfill” the Law, not simply to carry out its letter, but to surpass its requirements by carrying out the commandments with love.   

Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent, March 9, 2022

Matthew 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

Peter poses his question here very formally, in the style of a disciple seeking wisdom from his teacher.  The number seven signifies a complete whole, not a set number of times, as it is the number of days in the week, including the Sabbath, and the number of worlds circling the earth, including the sun and moon.  Peter asks if this is enough times to forgive, that is , a complete number, but also one that is definite.  When the Lord replies “seventy-seven”, he shows that no restriction applies to forgiveness: not in terms of the number of sins to be forgiven, nor in the magnitude of the sins to be forgiven.  

Now, Peter asks his question this way: “If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?”  He is asking about forgiveness between two equals, two humans.  The parable the Lord tells to explain the reason for his  answer is about, first, the forgiveness of a man by God, and then, by way of comparison, the forgiveness of a man by a man.  Attention to the the numbers in the parable, provided in the Greek text, helps us immensely in appreciating the truth.  Now, the first servant, signifying a human being, incurs a large debt with his master, who signifies God.  The debt is beyond fathoming, amounting to nearly a half of a billion dollars in today’s money.  The amount speaks to the master’s — to God’s — outrageous generosity, and to the servant’s — our — negligence or even malice.  It is a sum that no one, how much less a servant, could pay back.  The sale of the man and his family would bring in a couple of thousand dollars, perhaps — an infinitesimal fraction of what was owed.  The servant’s tears result in the master to write off the loss.  The fact that he can do so speaks to the boundless wealth he must possess.  And, in fact, this represents God’s limitless mercy.

The first servant then runs into a servant who owes him the equivalent of a few thousand dollars.  A servant would have a hard time repaying this amount, but it is far more conceivable than that the first servant could have paid back his debt.  The first servant, lacking gratitude for what the master had done for him, now has the second servant put into prison until his debt is paid back.  The master, hearing of this, cancels his mercy and has the first servant put into prison.  That is, if we realized and appreciated the debt we incur with God when we sin, we should be horrified, even without the threat of eternal hell.  God’s forgiveness, explicable only in light of his infinite love for us, wipes out our debt, and out of sheer relief and gratitude we should not even notice the sins others commit against us.  Our reluctance to forgive is a sign that we do not appreciate what God has done for us, and this lack of appreciation is itself a sign of our lack of capacity to receive God’s forgiveness.  If we do not change our ways after God has forgiven us, we show that we have not let his forgiveness affect us: we have blocked it.  We “unblock” it by converting, and by lifting the restrictions we adopt in order to avoid forgiving our brother or sister.