2018/03/11 & 18 — 4th & 5th Sundays of Lent — Year B

Fourth Sunday – March 11

First Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

Second Reading — Ephesians 2:4-10

Gospel — John 3:14-21

A unifying thread of these readings is God's merciful care for his people. Chronicles concludes with the release of the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity. In Ephesians Paul speaks not of a political captivity but of the spiritual death of sin. The Israelites did not effect their own liberation. It was the Persian king, raised up by God to liberate them for the consequences of their violations of the covenant. In the same way, it is not our own works that save us from the death of sin; it is God's freely given grace. Jesus died and rose, and God has "raised us up with him."

Jesus' dialogue with Nicodemus, quoted in part in this day's gospel, includes the classic text, "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. The passage begins with a reference to the story in Numbers 21:4-9: the Israelites were being bitten by venomous serpents, and God told to make a bronze image of a serpent and mount it on a pole. Whoever looked at the bronze serpent was healed. Jesus, mounted — lifted up — on the cross heals those who look on him with faith. The grace of faith brings us to leave the darkness of our sins behind.



Fifth Sunday – March 18

First Reading — Jeremiah 31:31-34

Second Reading — Hebrews 5:7-9

Gospel — John 12:20-23

In the gospel some Greek believers in Judaism go to one of  the apostles with a Greek name and ask to see Jesus. He gets the other apostle with a Greek name, and they relay the request of those believing gentiles. Jesus' response, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified," seems enigmatic. I think it has to do with the fact that his message is reaching beyond his Jewish followers. His resurrection must take place before the gentile world is evangelized. The text does not say whether Jesus actually met with those Greeks. It is entirely possible that he did. What is important for us is that their request heralds Jesus' death and resurrection. As in the fourth Sunday's gospel, Jesus again speaks of being "lifted up" (like the bronze serpent) and drawing everyone, Jews and gentiles to himself.

Jesus is the epitome of self-abnegation for the sake of producing fruit. He willingly accepted crucifixion and death in order to be "the source of salvation for all who obey him," and invites all to this obedience. But we are also called to share his attitude of "hat[ing] our life in this world." We will not necessarily have to die directly as a result of following Jesus, but our lives must not be ones of self-seeking.

We believe that Jesus inaugurates the new covenant of which Jeremiah speaks. It is a covenant in which our sins are forgiven and God's law is written in our hearts — the Holy Spirit guides our consciences.

2017/04/09 — Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday) — Year A

The first two readings and responsorial psalm of Palm Sunday are the same every year. The gospel is the Passion Narrative of the gospel being read on Sundays throughout the year. So this year we hear the Passion according to St. Matthew.


The first reading — Isaiah 50:4-7 — is the third of four "Songs of the Suffering Servant" in the book of Isaiah. The servant of the Lord undergoes sufferings like those of Jesus, but he has confidence in God that he will ultimately be vindicated.


The responsorial psalm — verses of Psalm 22, with verse 2 as the refrain — is quoted by Jesus on the cross. Like the first reading, it tells of one who is being tormented, but concludes with an expression of confidence in being vindicated by God.


In the gospel — Matthew 26:14—27:66 — we hear of Jesus fully aware of what is about to happen to him. Although he wishes that it weren't necessary, he accepts it as the will of his Father. At the Last Supper, he gives the Twelve his body and "[his] blood of the covenant." "Blood of the covenant is significant because it recalls the blood of the covenant in Exodus 24:8. To ratify God's covenant with Israel, Moses offers a sacrifice and takes the blood of the animals sacrificed and splashes half of it on the altar and sprinkles the people with the other half, Now Jesus' sacrifice establishes God's covenant with his people and brings forgiveness of sins. At Jesus' trial before Pilate, the people say, "His blood be upon us and upon our children," not realizing that his blood is the blood of the covenant. What they are really saying is, "We accept God's covenant through the sacrificial offering of Jesus."

Jesus unflinchingly proclaims his Messiahship and accepts his crucifixion. Others actively seek his death, yield to pressure, betray him (and despair), deny him (and repent), run away, mock him, follow loyally, or come to faith. If we sin, we are yielding, denying, or running away from him, and seeking our own comfort or pleasure. But he will forgive, as he forgave Peter and the other disciples after he rose.

I was at a lecture where someone asked where was Jesus' mercy when he said of Judas, "better for that man if he had never been born." The answer is that all of God's threats are conditional: this is what will happen if you don't repent and change your ways. When Jesus spoke to Judas, it was a warning and a plea: what you are about to do will turn out very badly for you; don't go through with it. But even when Judas led the arresting force and gave the sign by kissing him, Jesus called him, "Friend." He invited him to return to friendship with him. Judas could have repented and been restored to God's grace, rather than despairing. God's mercy remained available to him, as it is to all of us.


The second reading — Philippians 2:6-11 — also speaks of the sufferings of Jesus, putting them in the context of his divinity. As God he was unable to suffer and die, so he became human in order to die for us. His exaltation shows him as Lord, our Savior, deserving of our reverent and grateful praise.

2016/02/21 — 2nd Sunday of Lent — Year C

W. S. Gilbert begins one of the songs in HMS Pinafore with the line, “Things are seldom what they seem.”

Gilbert was writing almost 150 years ago, in a class-conscious England and the singer is hinting that the captain of the Pinafore belongs by birth to a lower class than that of a high-ranking naval officer. But even if social class is not as important to us in America today as it was to the British of Queen Victoria’s day, we can certainly understand that appearances can fail to tell the whole truth about someone.



Jesus’ disciples knew him. They knew him as a great teacher, miracle worker, and man of prayer. The events of today’s gospel reading — Luke 9:28b-36 — occurred, Luke tells us, about a week after Peter professed faith in Jesus as Messiah. Now, as he prays — as he is in conversation with the Father — Peter, James, and John see a truth about him that they hadn’t known: his glorious splendor. It should help them deal with his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and with his crucifixion and death.

The Transfiguration showed the apostles that Jesus was not what he seemed. He was much more than the great man they already knew. And how about us? Nobody knows us fully, so we may be more or less than we seem to others. Are we less than we seem? Are we more than we seem? Hopefully, like Jesus, we’re more than we seem. On Ash Wednesday we heard Jesus’ warning not to do good things just to gain admiration, but to pray, fast, and give alms without calling attention to ourselves. If we do good deeds in order to win praise, we are among the people Jesus calls hypocrites, and we are less than we see. But if we don't care about being admired for what we do, other people may know that we are good people because our outward conduct will give good example, which it should, but they will not all know the full extent of it, which is fine. Often at wakes and funerals, I hear things about a person which show real goodness, but which were done without great publicity. They did the good they did, but didn’t care if everybody knew it or not. That’s part of what I mean by being more than we seem.

Living in God’s promise to us is another part of being more than we seem.

The first reading —Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 — tells of  God's covenant promise to Abram/Abraham. Last week we heard of how the descendants of Abraham went down to Egypt few in number, became a great nation, were liberated by God from the oppression of the Egyptians, and finally took possession of the Promised land, centuries after God made the covenant with Abraham. Meanwhile they were more than they seemed, in the sense that they were the heirs to the promised land. But they were growing into it.

St. Paul tells us in the second reading — Philippians 3:17-4:1 — that Jesus will transform our bodies into copies of his glorified body. We haven't arrived there yet, but we are growing into it, if we let sanctifying grace work invisibly in our spirits. Living in that promise is part of being more than we seem. Just as Abram had to trust that God would keep his promise, we have to trust God’s promise to us. Abram had his vision. We have the Transfiguration and the Resurrection which it foreshadowed.

        During Lent we get ready to celebrate Easter. More accurately, we strive to become more than we seem, by turning away from the evil which always tries to creep into our lives, to grow in love of God and neighbor by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The more successful we are, which means the more we accept and cooperate with the graces God offers us this Lent — the more we listen to the whispered suggestions of the Holy Spirit — the more Easter will be a season of joy.

So as we continue to slog through these forty days, we can always recalibrate, reset our spiritual GPS if necessary. I know as I look back on the first week and a half of Lent, I get the feeling there should be more to it: I should be doing more. We can all ask ourselves: What’s working? What isn’t? Should we be trying harder? Were we completely unrealistic in some of our plans? Should we add something? If it’s going well, of course that’s fine. Basically, we all should arrive at Easter and be more than we seem, closer to the Transfiguration that is promised us, filled with joy.

2015/12/20 — 4th Sunday of Advent, Edited

In today's readings, the focus clearly shifts from Jesus' coming at the end of time to his first coming, his birth into time.


First is Micah 5:1-4a. This was traditionally understood as a messianic prophecy. In the gospel of Matthew, when the Magi arrive and ask King Herod about the whereabouts of the newborn king, he consults the chief priests and scribes who say the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:1. In John 7:40-42 there is a discussion about whether Jesus might be the prophet or the Messiah. Some people say he can't be the Messiah because scripture says the Messiah is of David's family and comes from Bethlehem.

Not only does this passage say that the Messiah comes from Bethlehem, it says his origin is from of old, which we can read in the light of his eternal existence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It speaks of his mother and is birth, which we commemorate at Christmas. It describes him as a ruler and a shepherd for his people. Shepherd of Israel can be used as a title of God — as in Psalms 23, "The Lord is my shepherd," and 80:2, "Shepherd of Israel, listen, guide of the flock of Joseph." So we can take this as at least suggesting the divinity of the Messiah.

Two of the things he does are to bring back his strayed kindred to Israel and to be peace. We could read the former as referring to Jews of the diaspora or, in light of the promise that his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth, to the spread of the kingdom to the Gentiles. With the promise of peace, we are in the"already, but not yet" of the present era. We are already saved, but our salvation is not yet completed; the kingdom of God is here, within us and among us, but not yet fully established. "He shall be peace." he is the world's peace, but that peace doesn't yet reign in all hearts. Our duty is to extend it in whatever ways we can.


In the Responsorial Psalm — verses from Psalm 80 — we begin with the verse I quoted above and pray, in vv. 3, 15-16, and 18-19, for the coming of the Messiah, "the man at [God's] right hand."* Our response is the refrain in verses 4, 8, and 20, including the words, "let your face shine upon us," which recall the words of blessing given to Aaron to bless the Israelites: Numbers 6:24-26.

*In the creed, we say that Jesus has ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.


The second reading — Hebrews 10:5-10 — is related to the other readings in a way similar to the relation of John 1:18 to Matthew and Luke's infancy narratives. Like our first reading and gospel, Matthew and Luke tell of events in time. Hebrews takes a view from outside time as it tells of Jesus' coming into the world, as does the gospel of John. The author uses the Septuagint text of Psalm 40:7-9 to express the mind of Jesus as he comes into the world to do the Father's will. His perfect obedience to the Father is an essential element in making his sacrifice effective for the salvation of the world. He does this in the body which God has prepared for him in the womb of the Virgin Mary through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

Just as John 1:17 says "[W]hile the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ," in Hebrews 10:9 we read, "He takes away the first to establish the second." This raises the question, what is "the first" that is taken away "to establish the second;" and what is "the second?" In context, the first is the sacrifices "offered according to the law," and the second Jesus' doing God's will by offering his body and blood "once for all." For many centuries, there was a theory called "supersessionism" which held that God's covenant with Israel had been superseded by a new covenant, with Christians. But Jeremiah 31:31-34, quoted in Hebrews 10:16-17, says God will make a new covenant "with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." So the new covenant does not exclude the Jews, it is made with the Jews; and the Gentiles, as Paul says, (Romans 11) are grafted into God's people. This is a point which has become clear with the Second Vatican Council, but it is one which we are still striving to understand and express adequately: Jesus and Christianity do not represent a rupture with Judaism but are in continuity with it.


With the gospel — Luke 1:39-45 — we return to a view from within time. The angel Gabriel has told Mary that she will be the mother of the savior who will have the throne of David forever: the Messiah. The sign that this is true is that her old kinswoman Elizabeth has conceived a child (John the Baptist). So today we hear of the Visitation. Mary goes to Elizabeth. John, still in his mother's womb, recognizes Jesus in his mother's womb and rejoices. For her part, Elizabeth expresses the meaning of Mary's motherhood, as it is revealed to her by the Holy Spirit: Mar and her child are blessed; Mary's unborn child is Elizabeth's Lord; Mary's faith makes her blessed.


Today's scriptures present several points for us to consider. God has a plan for our salvation, but he does not do everything instantaneously. He used the events of many centuries to prepare Israel for the birth of the Messiah, and now he takes the necessary time to prepare the world for the Messiah's return. He is working to perfect us. Just as Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John were obedient to God's will, so should we seek to do God's will in our lives to be instruments of his peace.


Edited to add: Another possibility with respect to Hebrews 10:9, in the wider context of the letter, is that the author is thinking of the priesthood of Jesus which replaces the Levitical priesthood. The author goes to great lengths to show not only that the sacrifice of Jesus is superior to the sacrifices under the Law, but also that his priesthood is superior.

2015/08/23 — 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Israelites have heard of the deeds of the Lord in freeing their ancestors from Egypt and seen how he brought them into the land of Canaan. The people following Jesus have heard the Bread of Life Discourse. Now it is decision time for both. There is also a decision time for a man and a woman who love each other.


Joshua 24:1-28 recounts Joshuas final action as Moses' successor before his death. Verses 1-2a, 15-17, and 18b give us the core of it. Joshua recounts the deeds of the Lord in verses 2b-13, and then tells the people that they must choose between the Lord and the gods of Egypt or other nations. There can always be a temptation to look for salvation from someone or something other than God. It is to forestall this possibility that Joshua insists on a promise of fidelity to the Lord.

As the history of Israel unfolds in the books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, we see that people were not always faithful — some began to worship pagan deities. But at this point, the commitment to God is clear.


Once more, as it has been through the Sundays devoted to the Bread of Life Discourse, the responsorial psalm is verses from Psalm 34, with verse 9a as the people's response. We get, once more, the opening verses, 2-3, praising the Lord. These are followed by vv. 16-21, which tell of the Lord's care for the just. We can think of how Israel was brought out of Egypt and into the Promised Land as an example of how the Lord cares for his people.


In the gospel reading — John 6:60-69 — we come to the end of chapter 6. Jesus has identified himself as the living bread that came down from heaven and proclaimed that to have eternal life one must eat his flesh and drink his blood, which give that life to the world. As on earlier Sundays, people object, but Jesus reaffirms his teaching. Faith is a gift. Those to whom it is offered would do well to accept it.

As for the Israelites of Joshua's time, Jesus' disciples are at a moment of decision. Some of them turn away and stop following him because they cannot accept his teaching. Perhaps they never were given the gift of faith or, far worse, they had it but have now rejected it. Peter, as spokesman for the Twelve answers Jesus' poignant question, "Do you also want to leave?" He does so with the affirmation that there is no one else who can give what Jesus gives. "You have the words of eternal life." We may not fully understand Jesus' teachings. We may find them hard to accept. We may find ourselves failing to live up to what he calls us to. But still we recognize that  he is the Holy One of God and we believe in him as the giver of eternal life.


In Ephesians 5:21-32, Paul describes marriage as being an image of the relationship between God and his people, between Christ and the Church. Nowadays people find the word "subordinate" offensive in this context, but implies a heavy responsibility for the husband, and it does not exclude mutual decision making. It certainly does not justify any sort of abusive or domineering attitude or action, since that would be inconsistent with the self-sacrificing love that husbands are called to.

Husbands and wives are in a covenant relationship like that between God and his people (which is why the prophets spoke of idolatry as a form of adultery — e.g., Jeremiah 3:9; Ezekiel 23:37), like that between Christ and the Church. The exchange of wedding vows is, for the husband and wife, as solemn a commitment as that to which Joshua summoned the Israelite. It is a promise not to g to another, that this spouse will help bring one to eternal life. And as with the covenants with God, it is a commitment which has consequences for the living of daily life in fidelity to the covenant partner.


Joshua summoned the people to an assembly in which they would reaffirm their commitment to the Lord. We, too are called to the Church's weekly assembly (Hebrews 10:25), where we explicitly reaffirm our faith by reciting the creed, and we sacramentally reaffirm it by participating in the sacrifice of the New Covenant — by consuming the Bread of Life, the Body and Blood of Christ which give eternal life and sustain us on our pilgrimage to the promised land of heaven.

2015/06/07 — Corpus Christi Sunday

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but it is considered important enough that in the United States (and in some other places perhaps) it has been transferred to the following Sunday. In some countries  it is also a civil holiday, so there is good reason to keep it on the traditional date.

Up to now, the former Latin title of the feast, Corpus Christi has remained in general use. It's certainly more succinct than the current full name.

Although Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, at which the Eucharist was established, it is in the context of Jesus passion, death, and resurrection. This feast focuses only on the sacrament. Juliana of Liege, a nun who had visions telling her that this feast  should be established, persuaded the bishop of Liege to institute the feast for his diocese in 1246. It spread from there, and in 1264 it was declared a feast for the whole Latin Church. St. Thomas Aquinas composed texts for the feast, including the hymns Pange Lingua (whose last two verses are sung separately as Tantum Ergo) and Verbum Supernum Prodiens (from which O Salutaris Hostia is extracted), as well as the impressive sequence for the Mass, Lauda Sion Salvatorem, which has been a favorite of mine for over 50 years.


The readings for this year focus on the blood. (Last year it was the bread/body of Christ.) We see the significance of the blood in the first reading — Exodus 24:3-8 — which recounts the sacrifice at Mount Sinai by which the covenant between God and Israel was sealed. There will be references to it in the subsequent readings. The passage speaks of holocausts and peace offerings. Holocausts were completely burnt, to symbolize total self-giving to God. Peace offerings were partially given to God and partially eaten by the worshipper to symbolize the covenant, or treaty, between them. Blood represents life. The sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifices on the altar, representing God, and on the people, means that God and people share one life. The people now share in the life of God through the covenant. On their part, the people promise to keep all the commands of the Lord


The reading from Hebrews — Heb 9:11-15 — alludes to the rites for the Day of Atonement and for ritual cleansing of those who became unclean through contact with a corpse. The author sees Christ as the eternal high priest who, like the priests of Israel, brings the blood of the sacrifice into the sanctuary. But now the sacrifice is himself, the blood is his own, and the sanctuary is in heaven. The blood cleanses our consciences, that is, removes our sins, making us capable of worshipping God. This establishes a new covenant (which Jesus also speaks of) which promises us an eternal inheritance.


The gospel passage — Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26 — is Mark's account of the Last Supper, with the verses about Judas' betrayal omitted. It occurs at Passover, which commemorates the night when the blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from the death of the firstborn. But when Jesus, having first declared the bread to be his body, says the wine is his blood, he calls it "my blood of the covenant," reminding us of the covenant sacrifice at Sinai, with its sprinkling of blood. This covenant is the one Hebrews speaks of. As in Hebrews, here Jesus concludes his words with a reference to the eternal promise — drinking wine new in the kingdom of God.

The blood of the covenant is not drained from animals. It is the blood of Jesus, which the wine has become; and it is not splashed, but drunk, in ratification of the covenant. The responsorial psalm, verses from Psalm 116 speaks of taking up "the cup of  salvation."

In reflecting on the words of Jesus about his body and blood, the Church came to realize that Jesus shed his blood on the cross, but now that he has been resurrected, body and blood are together. Since the sacrament is the living Jesus, body and blood are both present in each element. Thus one need not actually drink form the cup in order to consume the blood of Christ.


This solemnity reminds us of what every Mass is about and what every reception of Communion is about. The Mass is the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, made present to us. The blood of Christ, which we receive in Communion, effects forgiveness of sins and seals our covenant with God, making us his people (which has moral implications for us — implications about how we must live if we are authentically God's people) with a promise of eternal life.