John 8:21-30 Called to Christ

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live forever.”

            A question I hear frequently, especially this Lent is, “Why didn’t the people listen to Jesus since he was God?”  This is a good question.  In reading the Gospel of John for the last few weeks, this idea that the Jews, God’s chosen people simply did not understand.

            This should be nothing new to the Jews or the rest of us.  Throughout the Old Testament God continuously revealed himself as a loving father in many different ways including giving Adam and Eve and all humanity a second chance of life with him; of walking with Abraham and guiding him to a covenant with him and his descendants; to the calling of the prophets in leading the people; the Commandments which he entrusted to Moses; and the leading the people out of slavery not just from the Egyptians, but again later from the Babylonian exile.   These are just some of the many examples of God’s loving guidance as Father.  Yet nevertheless, we know that the Jews continuously rejected him.

            In today’s first reading we are given the image of the seraph serpent that plagues the Jews in the desert as they complain against God wishing for their luxurious lifestyle from Egypt. This serpent is a symbol of pettiness, jealousy and impatience.  As they come to understand that he leading them out of the desert to a better life, and that they shouldn’t complain, they became ashamed and begged forgiveness.  God hear them.  He had Moses fashion a great serpent like image and held it high, like Jesus on the cross, so that all who saw and believed would be healed.

            Today we hear Jesus speak to the Pharisees.  Jesus is continuously pouring out upon the Faithful the Word.  Throughout the Gospel of John Jesus speaks and the believers hear and see, but the Pharisees do not.  Jesus is the Word, and he speaks the Word.  The Word is both a message and a person, in unison with one another, both the physical manifestation of God’s love and compassion.   To the believers who listened, he transformed their entire lives, turning them upside down, and making them fishers of men through their very lives for the greater glory of God. 

            In this last week of Lent before Holy Week, how have our lives been transformed through the Word?  What habits do we need to break to be healed by him as we gaze upon the cross? He gives us the grace we need to transform.  As we receive the Blessed Eucharist, his soul and divinity, we are called to his image and likeness.

Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 The Master of the Vinyard

Pharisees and Sadducees surround Jesus to hear him preach.  What does Jesus present to them?  The allegory of the vineyard master to sends his servants and then his son to collect the rent from the wicked tenants.  Jesus' message is clear in Matthew:  The Pharisees and the Sadducees are those tenants. In reality the talk about having Jesus executed has already begun. 

Wait, what did Jesus say?  Those wicked tenants would be killed and the land rented to others?  Isn't God kind and loving?  Did Jesus really say that?  We could imagine the evangelist writing it down or others invented the story or embellished it to make it more dramatic.  Some people tend to do that to make themselves feel safe with the idea that God wouldn't do that, that he truly loves everyone. 

However, maybe it serves as a big red WARNING sign that hey, you should feel uncomfortable.  Be awake and aware of what you are doing.  One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is fear of the Lord (Timor Dei) and this is what Jesus is invoking in us.  Be on guard, think.  Act righteously.  How can Jesus' words help shake us up and help us get back on track? 

Mark 3:1-6 The Man with the Withered Hand

"Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?" Jesus asks in today's Gospel. 

How very dead and lifeless the Sabbath seems in Jesus' time as it has succumbed to merely following lifeless rules; that the idea of caring for and bringing new vitality to a person would seem so against what the priests ordain as godly, is absurd.  The Pharisees always seems to be plotting against Jesus, trying to trick him and trap him into doing something against their laws.  We get a real sense that the man with the withered hand was placed in the synagogue on the Sabbath to see if Jesus would heal him.  Jesus' words should have had a biting effect and made them feel shame.  They are intolerant of a man who has just healed another on the Sabbath and picked the grain from the field because he was hungry.  Now, they want him to "condemn" himself even more. 

Sometimes in our own lives we feel like this too, that the world is against us, that at moments we feel that we can't trust others.  The Gospel tells us that he felt righteous anger toward them and grieved at their hardness of heart.  Nonetheless Jesus cannot waiver in the love that he has for mankind.  He came to save us from the power of sin and death.  If a withered hand brought a form of death to this man, then he will heal this man and set him free from not only the physical infirmity, but also his sins.  Christ Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.  As Christians we are called to be a pro-life people in all the forms that being pro-life may take, whether it is encouraging a friend, empowering children to be good stewards, respecting elderly persons, or upholding the dignity of the unborn child.  In this year of mercy, have you today followed Jesus by sharing His life with others? If not, what one thing can you do for someone else in God's name?  Remember, it doesn't have to be big, Jesus calls us where we are to work within our circles of friends and families first.  The Kingdom grows from there.