Lent-IV [C] 

Jos. 5:9a, 10-12; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; Lk. 15:1-3, 11-32

Today is "Laetare Sunday".  Midway through our Lenten journey towards Christ's Passion and Resurrection, the Church invites us to rejoice. And in the parable of the prodigal son the Father is rejoicing greatly seeing his son coming back home giving up his resentment for him. The son was also so joyful that his father accepted him back without any scolding or punishment which he could rightfully expect.

Jesus narrated the story systematically. The younger son collected his share and left for a distant country. In the beginning of creation we read when Adam disobeyed God he was sent out from paradise, and our forefathers lost the comfort of paradise and wandered in the jungle. Sin takes man away from God. As we depart from God, we walk away from the light, away from joy and away from fullness of life.

In the distant country the young man squandered all his money, and eventually fell into poverty. As long as he had money the young man had many friends. But with his money gone, his friends vanished. He had never known what hunger was before. Now he fell on hard times. He was forced to work to find food.

The new master put him on his farm to feed the pigs. The Jews were forbidden to have any association with pigs. But the young man fell into that misery. From this stage the conversion of the young man starts. He came to his senses he realized his mistake. The first thing that we require to return to the Lord is to accept the fact we have sinned. True acceptance of the failures should lead to repentance and the resolve not to repeat it or the desire to stay in that wretched life.

A man woke up in the morning deeply repentant after a bitter fight with his wife the previous night. He noticed with dismay the case of beer bottles that had caused the fight. He took it outside and started smashing the empty bottles one by one into the wall. He smashed the first bottle telling, “You are the reason I fight with my wife.” He smashed the second bottle, “You are the reason I don’t love my children.” He smashed the third bottle, “You are the reason I don’t have a decent job.” When he took the fourth bottle, he realized that the bottle was full and still sealed. He hesitated for only a moment and said, “You stand aside, I know you are not involved.”

Contrition must be real and sincere sorrow of heart, and not merely an external manifestation of repentance. The Old Testament Prophets laid particular stress on the necessity of hearty repentance. The Psalmist says that God despises not the "contrite heart" (Ps. I, 19), and the call to Israel was, "Return to me with all your heart . . . and rend your hearts, and not your garments"

Accepting the fact that we have sinned is the most difficult part. When God called Adam to question about his disobedience he put the blame on Eve, and she put it on to the serpent. During the season of Lent the church teaches us that we should accept our mistakes and return to the Father and confess our sins like the prodigal son: I have sinned against you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

 

Jesus told the parable not only to tax collectors and sinners, but also to Pharisees and Scribes. In fact, he told it in response to some of their questions. Now the Pharisees and Scribes were considered the experts in religion; the ones who avoided sin and followed the law perfectly. They were like the older brother in the parable. So maybe we should call this the parable of the arrogant son instead of the parable of the prodigal son. The older brother was arrogant: his heart was like a rock, judging everyone and considering himself superior to everyone, just like the Pharisees. If the older brother had been a loving and forgiving brother he would have been a help to his father in bringing back his lost son.

The younger son was rebellious and he abandons his father. The father has to respect that. He can't force the young man to love and trust him. He can't go out and try to force his son to come back home. He can only wait, hoping that the son will have a change of heart and come back.

But the older brother doesn't have to wait.  He doesn't have to be passive. If he had really cared about his father and his little brother, instead of just caring about himself, he would have gone after him. He would have done more than just criticize and judge him. He would have at least made one or two outings in search of him. And finding him at the pig farm he could have invited him back saying, "We miss you, and we would love for you to come back." You don't have to stay here eating corn husks..." How much joy that effort, even if it had been unsuccessful, would have brought to his father!  How much of an inspiration it might have been for his brother, to come back sooner.  And how much meaning and fulfillment it would have given  himself.

Each one of us is surrounded by innumerable younger brothers who are lost and sometimes sorrowful. They need a different older brother who goes in search of his younger brother than the one we have just seen in the bible. We need to invite them back to the father's house, and tell them how much joy it would spread in the family. Church is the family of Christ and so we have to examine today whether we are the younger brother ready to come back home today with a repentant heart, or older the brother who is arrogant despising the younger brother, or an older brother out looking for his lost brother.

 

LENT III SUNDAY Ex. 3:1-8a, 13-15; 1 Cor. 10:1-6, 10-12; Lk. 13:1-9

All three of today’s readings speak of God’s mercy and compassion in disciplining His children by occasional punishment, while giving them many “second chances” despite their repeated sins. Although God’s love for us is constant and consistent, He will not save us without our co-operation. The first reading tells us how God shows His mercy to His chosen people by giving them Moses as their leader and liberator. Moses was leading a peaceful life of a shepherd. God called him from there and sent to his people with a mission - to redeem God’s people. From a peaceful life he was thrown to a life of struggle. Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro.  

 

Moses was the foster-son of the daughter of the king of Egypt. He was accustomed to a life of luxury. But he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave and had to flee from Egypt into the desert. He had a lot of time on his hands as he tended sheep. He started to recalibrate his life. He started to ask questions. And God spoke to him. He saw that Moses was seeking him. And so he appeared in a burning bush. The bush intrigued Moses, because it was burning but not consumed. He got curious about it. But this was more than idle curiosity. Moses says to himself: “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight.” And that choice made all the difference. [Another man we know is Zachaeus, who had curiosity like Moses, which led him to climb a sycamore tree and that led to his encounter with Jesus which totally changed his life upside down. Curiosity with regard to matters of faith will lead us to deeper encounter with God.] Going back to Moses’ burning bush experience, as he drew near the burning bush he found that the fire was not burning.

The fire symbolizes God's other-worldliness - fire is the least material of all material things. It's like light; you can see it, but you can't touch it. It is burning in a bush, but the bush is not burnt up. That symbolizes that God's way of being is different from ours.

The name God reveals to Moses emphasizes the same thing: "I am who am."  In other words, "I am the one who exists independently of every other being." 

Human existence is dependent: we come into the world through our parents; we are cared for by them, and even as adults, we need the support of a society, the companionship of others.

We are dependent, God is independent. He simply is, from age to age. He has no need of anyone else.

But this far-away-ness of God isn't the whole story.  It's not even the most important part of the story.  He may not need us, but he wants us to be close to him.

Biblical scholars tell us that the Hebrew verb for "being" (used in God's name, "I am") doesn't just mean existence in the abstract.  It also means to be near, to be close. 

God came close to Moses, and drew Moses close to him. In Christ and in the Eucharist, he does so even more. God is far away - because he is God - but he is also close by, because he cares.

 

There’s a profound lesson here for our own lives. Today we’re halfway through Lent, a time God gives us as a journey into the desert. We too need a little more silence and a little more reflection as Moses did, in order to see the burning bush of God’s presence and draw near to it.

And God is hoping that we have the same response as Moses:  “I want to know this God who is not distant but who, in Jesus, has come into my life.”

“I want to draw near him; I want his light that helps me find my purpose in life. I want to hear God call my name.”

Lent is a 6 week intensive training course in holiness. And holiness means friendship with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the burning bush for us. When we see Jesus we see God. When we know Jesus we are touching God. We are touching the happiness we were created for.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: “Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. To visit the Blessed Sacrament is…a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration towards Christ our Lord” (No.1418).

So here’s a take-away for the 3 remaining weeks in Lent. Spend half an hour each week with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Bring to him whatever’s going on in our life. It will change our lives.

When we receive Christ in a few moments we are receiving the real presence of God who calls to us like he called to Moses. The response is up to us. But remember to take your shoes off, shoes of protection, pride and sinfulness away by repenting of them.  

 

LENT II Gn 15:5-12, 17-18, Phil 3:17—4:1, Lk 9:28-36

The main theme of today’s readings is an invitation as well as a challenge to us to do what Abraham did — put our Faith in the loving promises of the merciful God — Who sent His Son to die for us and to transform our lives by renewing them during Lent. Our transformed lives will enable us to radiate the glory and grace of the transfigured Lord to all around us by our Spirit-filled lives. The three readings describe the spiritual transformation experiences of three of our heroes in the Faith, Abraham, Paul and, of course, Jesus.  The Bible is filled with amazing characters who had been saved from many tormenting experiences. There are many Bible stories on faith that can also help us steady our faith while we are going through storm. The story of Deborah’s faith in hard times. Queen Esther’s faith in challenging times.  The Story of Daniel’s faithfulness and the Lion’s den inspire us to keep our faith.

There is a story of a man who lost his way in the desert.     

It was a very hot day and the sands were glittering like gold in a desert. Andrew, who was touring the place lost his way in the desert.

He couldn’t find his way back and the water in his bottle was completely dried. He was in desperate search of water, Otherwise, he will die due to dehydration

As he struggled walking in the desert, he saw a small hut at a distance. Initially, he thought it was just an Illusion. But he continued walking towards it and as he reached clones, he realized it was a real hut.

He opened the door and found nobody was there. It seemed like, the place has been abandoned for a long time.

He was surprised to see a hand water pump that had all connections intact and a pipeline to the ground.

Then he started pumping but there was no sign of water. And he continued his effort and he gave up finally due to exhaustion.

He started searching the hut for any other source of water. Then he found a bottle of water hidden in the corner.

He was very happy and when he was about to drink the water, he found a piece of paper attached to it.

In the paper, it was written “Please use this water to start the pump. It works. After you have done, don’t forget to refill the bottle again.”

After reading the message in the paper, he went into dilemma “Will the pump work, if I use this water? Is the pump in good condition?”

“Can I trust what is written in the paper?  If it is false, then my last source of water will be wasted”.

He paused for a minute and closed his eyes and prayed.

Then he poured the water from the bottle into the pump and started pumping it.

Soon, he heard a bubbling sound and water started pouring out.

There was a moment of relief on his face. He drank the water and filled his bottle. Then he got refreshed and refilled the bottle from the hut.

He stayed in the hut for some time and looked around. Then he was a pencil and a map explaining the direction to the nearby village from the hut location.

He was happy that his faith in the water pump has worked. Similarly, he believed that the map will also direct him in the right direction.

Then he wrote in the paper “Have faith. It works”. And he kept both the bottle and paper to the exact place from where he took. Happily, he left the hut

In our life, there will be times where we need faith to move forward. The moment we start believing, things will fall in our place.

Last Sunday in the Gospel we listened to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. There is nothing in the wilderness except the stretch of barren land. Hence, wilderness is a place of want. Want of shelter, want of water, want of food, want of guidance to keep the location. We go through such conditions in our lives too. We too are tempted in our faith in time of want. In the wilderness of our life, we experience the want of love, want of comfort, want of consolation, want of support, want of material needs, want of financial support, want of emotional assistance, and want of physical help. These are the times we are tempted to give up our faith. We see it clearly in the life of Job. 

In our lives too in time of want the devil will appear in the form of a well wisher, a friend, a family member, a benevolent benefactor and in many other forms.

When Jesus overcame all these temptations it led to his transfiguration. We are destined to overcome all these. It should lead us to our transfiguration. 

During today's Gospel Reading we heard that Jesus went up the mountain to pray with three Apostles, Peter, John and James. While they were on the mountain, the appearance of the face of Jesus changed and His clothing became dazzling white. Then, Moses and Elijah appeared and started talking to Jesus.

The event did not pass unnoticed. Peter and the other two disciples witnessed the glory of the Lord Jesus. They witnessed, as far as it is humanly possible to see with the human eyes, the brilliance that comes with the transforming glory that awaits those who will be changed in the image of Jesus Christ.

When we are able to over the temptations in our lives we too will be transformed like Jesus. The radiance of a man of faith will reflect in us. This season of prayer and fasting should help us to achieve this goal.

 

 

 LENT 1 [C]: Dt 26:4-10, Rom 10:8-13, Lk 4:1-13

Moses gives some interesting advice in our first reading today. He tells the people: when you finally claim the land that God has promised you and have begun to harvest the first fruits of its soil bring these first fruits to the altar and offer them up to God as a gift. And as you do so, testify: testify before the priest and the people. Begin by reminding yourself where you came from; then, remind yourself how your life has changed, the impact God has had on your life. Finally, remind yourself of the good things that you have in your life now because of your friendship with God. [I wish we all could remember to do that each time we walk into the Church: Where we started from, where we are now, and acknowledge the role of God in getting our here].

 St. Paul asks the same from the first Christians in our second reading: ‘By confessing with your lips you are saved’. The English word ‘salvation’ comes from the Latin word ‘salus’ which means health: it is where we get our English words ‘salve’ and salutary from. To be saved is to be made healthy. To be saved is to be made better after the sickness of sin. Ultimately our full healing will happen in the next life when we will become like God as we see him as He really is.

 

On the first Sunday of Lent we follow Jesus into the desert for forty days and forty nights. Like Jesus we go on the front foot and we confront the sources of sin and temptation in our lives empowered by the Spirit and making full use of the tools that the Spirit gives us for this struggle: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. All of these things are meant to help us remember the Lord and his Goodness. These three means of spiritual empowerment are not practiced by the Christians only. These are common to all major religions.  

[Unlike in Islam, the Catholic Church is very lenient in enforcing the fast-rules. We have a lot of exceptions and loop holes. Even on a fast day we are allowed to have two half meals.  Compare this with fast in Islam. They are not allowed to swallow even saliva from dawn to dusk. The fast is broken even if a little water goes in them through any orifice while one is swimming or taking a shower. One ex-Muslim commented on the stench coming out from one’s mouth if he didn’t even swallow saliva for 12 hours. But that is a perfume for Allah, according to Quran. And when they break the fast they eat the most delicacies available in the world. Muslims spend three times more on food in the month of Ramdan than all other months. They are allowed to eat from sundown to dawn. Not allowed to have sex during the day, but allowed at night. And they say they do rigorous fast. One Hindu girl got converted to Islam after being fascinated by the rigorous fasting of Muslims. Of course she didn’t know the full picture.] They certainly read the whole Quran in the month of Ramdhan.  Do we read some extra bible during our lent? Are there some different things that we do during lent?

The Church assigns temptation stories to the beginning of Lent because temptations come to everybody, not only to Jesus, and we seem almost genetically programmed to yield to them. We are surrounded on all sides by temptations, and they have become so familiar to twenty-first century life that we scarcely notice them.

Bible scholars interpret the graphic temptations of Jesus described by Matthew and Luke as a pictorial and dramatic representation of the inner struggle against a temptation that Jesus experienced throughout his public life.

The devil was not trying to lure Jesus into some particular sin — rather, he was trying to entice Jesus away from the accomplishment of his Messianic mission, mainly through a temptation to become the political Messiah of Jewish expectations, to use his Divine power first for his own convenience, and then to avoid suffering and death.

After being unsuccessful with Jesus, the devil departed from him for a time. He left Jesus but would wait for another opportunity. That “time” came at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. It came again whenever people demanded signs from him to prove who he was (Lk 11:16, 29-32; 22:3, 54-62; 23:35-39). Ultimately, it came in Gethsemane with Jesus’ agony (struggle to affirm the Father’s will for him) and on Calvary when Jesus was crucified.

We need to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means he employed: Like Jesus, every one of us is tempted to seek sinful pleasures, easy wealth, and positions of authority, and is drawn to the use of unjust or sinful means to attain good ends. Jesus serves as a model for conquering temptations through prayer, penance, and the effective use of the ‘‘word of God.” Temptations make us true warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. We are never tempted beyond the strength God gives us. In his first letter, St. John assures us: “The One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Hence, during Lent, let us confront our evil tendencies with prayer (especially by participating in the Holy Mass), penance, and the meditative reading of the Bible. Knowledge of the Bible prepares us for the moment of temptation by enabling us “to know Jesus more clearly, to love him more dearly and to follow him more nearly, day by day,” as William Barclay puts it.