THURSDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the book of Exodus (32:7-14)

The Lord then said to Moses, ‘Go down at once, for your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have gone wrong. They have been quick to leave the way that I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves an image of a calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifice to it, shouting, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” ’ 

The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people. Look how obstinate they are! So leave me now, so that my anger can blaze at them and I make an end of them! I shall make you into a great nation instead.’

Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God and said, ‘Why, Lord, does your anger blaze at your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt by your great power and mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “He brought them out with evil intention, to slaughter them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth?” Give up your burning wrath; relent over this disaster for your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom you swore by yourself and made this promise, “I shall make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven, and this whole country of which I have spoken, I shall give to your descendants, and it will be their heritage for ever.” ’ The Lord then relented over the disaster which he had intended for his people. 

After forty days Moses comes down Mount Sinai to be greeted by apostasy among the people. In the absence of Moses they have prevailed upon Aaron to cast an idol of a golden calf, which they have worshipped. Salvation has been attributed to idols, to ‘a bull which eats grass’. God threatens to unleash his ‘anger’, and  offers a covenant to Moses instead. Moses, like Abraham before him, pleads for the people. What will the Egyptians say if God, the saviour of Israel, goes on to ‘slaughter them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Moses recalls the promise God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of a land and innumerable offspring. And God relents.

Psalm 106 (105) The psalm recounts these events in the wilderness. How could they exchange the ‘bull which eats grass’ for God? And yet false gods are always in fashion.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (5:31-47)

Jesus said: 

‘If I bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true;
but there is another who witnesses about me,
and I know that his witness about me is true.
You sent messengers to John, and he bore witness to the truth.
I do not accept human witness;
it is for your salvation that I say this.
He was the lamp burning and shining
and for a time you were glad to rejoice in his light.
But I have a greater witness than John’s:
the deeds my Father has given me to complete,
these same deeds that I do witness that the Father has sent me.
Besides, the Father who sent me himself witnesses on my behalf.
You have never heard his voice, you have never seen his form,
and you do not have his word dwelling in you
because you do not believe in the one whom he sent.
You search the scriptures,
believing that in them you have eternal life;
it is these that bear witness about me,
and yet you are not willing to come to me to have life!
I do not accept glory from any human being,
but I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I have come in the name of my Father and you do not accept me;
if someone else comes in his own name you will accept such a one.
How can you believe, if you accept glory from one another
but do not seek glory from God?
Do not think that I will be your accuser before the Father;
your accuser will be Moses, in whom you have put your hope.
If you believed Moses you would believe me, 
for it was about me that he wrote.
If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?’ 

The words of Jesus after the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5 continue and conclude in this reading. He has been speaking about the work he and the Father do. Now the question is about witnesses to support his case and Jesus refers to three. The witness given by John the Baptist, a ‘lamp shining for a time’, was nevertheless only a ‘human witness’. The ‘greater’ witness is ‘the deeds my Father has given me to complete’. And yet deeds such as the healing of the paralysed man are rejected, because they refuse to believe ‘in the one whom God sent’. They also reject the Scriptures, which ‘bear witness’ to Jesus. They are not willing to receive life from Jesus. They trust in Moses but Moses will become their accuser because what Moses wrote testifies to Jesus.

 Are there any other witnesses to Jesus?

Pray for those whose religion does not allow them to learn new things.

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah (49:8-15)

Thus says the Lord, 
‘At the time of my good pleasure I answer you, 
on the day of salvation I help you. 
I have formed you and have appointed you 
as a covenant for the people, 
to restore the land, to return desolated properties,
to say to prisoners, “Come out,” 
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.” 
Along the roadside they will graze 
and every bare height will be their pasture.
They will never hunger or thirst, 
scorching wind and sun will never plague them; 
for he who pities them will lead them, 
will guide them to springs of water.
I shall turn all my mountains into a road 
and my highways will be raised up.
Look! Here they come from afar; 
look, these from the north and the west, 
those from the land of Syene.’
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth! 
Mountains, break into joyful cries! 
For the Lord has consoled his people, 
is taking pity on his afflicted ones.
Zion was saying, 
‘The Lord has abandoned me, 
my lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget the baby at her breast, 
feel no love for the child of her womb? 
Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you.

This passage could serve as a summary of the preaching of the Second Isaiah, great prophet of the exile, with the basic themes of restoration and liberation. God reestablishes his people, describing them as a ‘covenant’, for they will witness to God’s ‘salvation’. Freedom from captivity and from the darkness are announced. God provides pasture, and hunger and thirst are no more. God will lead them to springs of water. The landscape will be changed to allow for a smooth progress of the liberated people, joined by those ‘from afar’. Heaven and earth, and even the mountains, are called upon to rejoice. The Lord ‘has consoled’ them, and the prophet has faithfully brought this message (Isaiah 40). The lament that ‘the Lord has abandoned me, my lord has forgotten me’ is countered with the image of a mother and baby. The Lord reassures the people: ‘even if a mother were to forget, I shall not forget you.’

Psalm 145 (144) This celebration of the qualities of tenderness of the Lord is reminiscent of the words to Moses in Exodus 34:6, for the Lord is ‘slow to anger, rich in faithful love’.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (5:17-30)

Jesus answered them, ‘My Father still goes on working, and I am working, too.’ Therefore the Jews kept seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but also by calling God his own Father he was making himself equal to God. To this Jesus replied and said to them:

‘Amen, Amen I say to you,
on his own the Son can do nothing;
he can do only what he sees the Father doing,
and whatever the Father does the Son does likewise.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything he himself does,
and he will show him greater things than these,
so that you will be astonished.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
so the Son also gives life to anyone he chooses.
Nor does the Father judge anyone;
he has given all judgement to the Son,
so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father.
Anyone who does not honour the Son
does not honour the Father who sent him.
Amen, Amen I say to you,
whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life and is not brought to judgement
but has passed over from death to life.
Amen, Amen I say to you,
the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear it will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself;
and has granted him authority to give judgement
because he is the Son of man.
Do not be surprised at this, that the hour is coming
when all who are in their graves will hear the sound of his voice
and will come out, those who did good to the resurrection of life.
and those who did evil to the resurrection of judgement.
On my own I can do nothing.
As I hear, so I judge, and my judgement is just,
because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’

Jesus speaks of the continuing ‘work’ of the Father, provoking further opposition: not only has he healed the paralysed man on the sabbath, but he has also called God his ‘father’. Jesus explains: ‘My Father goes on working, and I am working too.’ Just as the Father ‘raises the dead’, so does the Son give life, as has been illustrated by this latest sign. There is no day of rest from good deeds, and the sign worked on the sabbath extends to a wretched paralysed man God’s gift of freedom which is celebrated each week on the sabbath. Jesus goes on to speak of the judgement, which has been entrusted to the Son by the Father. Those who listen to the words of Jesus and believe in the ‘one who sent’ him, have eternal life and are not brought to judgement, but pass over from death to life. Jesus speaks of ‘the resurrection of life’ and ‘the resurrection of judgement’ (Daniel 12).

How can we join our good works to the work of God?

For those who work exclusively for selfish ends, we pray.

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Ezekiel (47:1-9, 12)

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple where a stream was flowing eastwards from under the Temple threshold, for the Temple faced east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water was flowing out on the right-hand side. The man went off to the east holding his measuring line and measured off four hundred metres; he then made me wade across the stream: the water reached my ankles. He measured off another four hundred metres and made me wade across the stream again: the water reached my knees. He measured off another four hundred metres and made me wade across the stream again: the water reached my waist. He measured off another four hundred metres: it was now a river which I could not cross; the stream had swollen and was now deep water, a river impossible to cross. Then he said, ‘Do you see, son of man?’ Then he took me and brought me back to the bank on the river. Now, when I reached it, there was an enormous number of trees on each bank of the river. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good for eating and their leaves for healing.’

A series of visions, marking the return after the exile, brings the book of the prophet Ezekiel to an end. He has been given instructions about the rebuilding of the temple, and has witnessed the return of the Lord (Ezekiel 43). This further vision of the temple, rebuilt after destruction by the Babylonians, shows it to be a source of blessing and fertility, for God is there. The water gushing from the temple, in ever greater abundance, transforms the barren natural environment on the way down to the Dead Sea. Where there were only lifeless minerals new life teems. Fish are now ‘very plentiful’. All along the banks there are fruit trees which ‘bear new fruit every month’, and have healing powers. The water from the temple speaks of God’s transforming presence and prepares for Christian baptism.

Psalm 46 (45) The psalm reflects the vision of Ezekiel, for the ‘waters of a river’ bring joy to the city of God.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (5:1-3, 5-16)

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem next to the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five porticoes; and under these lay many sick people, blind, lame, paralysed. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been there for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ The sick man replied, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am on my way, someone else gets down before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your mat and walk around.’ The man was cured at once, and picked up his mat and started to walk around.

Now that day was a Sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your mat.’ He replied to them, ‘The man who cured me said to me, “Pick up your mat and walk around.” ’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick it up and walk around”?’ The man who had been healed had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared, as the place was crowded. After this Jesus found him in the Temple and said, ‘See, you are well again; do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. Therefore the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did things like this on the Sabbath. 

This is one of several visits of Jesus to Jerusalem in the Fourth Gospel. It seems that the pool was an ancient pagan site for healing, dedicated to the Greek god Asclepius. Jesus is present in Jerusalem for an unspecified ‘festival of the Jews’. The man who has been ill for thirty-eight years is understandably despondent. There is no expression of faith or even of hope. But Jesus puts the man’s well-being first, violating the Sabbath on his behalf. There is no response from the man, so that it is not surprising that Jesus chides him with ‘do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you’. This should not be understood as a threat, but perhaps simply a challenge to gratitude for his new condition. The complaint that Jesus worked the sign on the Sabbath will give rise to a lengthy exchange with certain Jews, and to the ‘persecution’ of Jesus.

Jesus heals this poor man despite his hopelessness.

Pray for those who feel their life is pointless.

MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Isaiah (65:17-21)

Thus says the Lord:
‘Look, I am going to create new heavens and a new earth, 
the past will not be remembered 
and will no more come to mind.
Rather be joyful, be glad for ever at what I am creating; 
for see, I am creating Jerusalem to be joy 
and my people to be gladness.
I shall rejoice in Jerusalem 
and take delight in my people. 
The sound of weeping shall not be heard there, nor the sound of a shriek.
No child shall there be who lives but a few days, 
nor an ancient who does not live the full span of life: 
for to die at one hundred will be youthful, 
the sinner’s death at one hundred, a curse.
They will build houses and live in them, 
plant vineyards and eat their fruit.’

This reading from the final chapters of the book of Isaiah looks forward to ‘new heavens and a new earth’ with a threefold use of the word ‘create’ (bara’). These words of a post-exilic prophet anticipate a new creation, new gifts of God. They are full of joy and delight. The city of God will be rebuilt, not only the historical city, but the definitive place of God among us. Cries of pain will be no more. Children will grow to maturity. The old will expect to live beyond one hundred years. The building of houses and the growing of vines speak of the idyllic environment to come. Such is God’s response to Jerusalem’s cries for help.

Psalm 30 (29) The psalm speaks of the same transformation from weeping to dancing. God raises up his people, both now and for ever.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (4:43-54)

When the two days were over, Jesus left there for Galilee, for Jesus himself had borne witness that a prophet is not honoured in his own country. On his arrival the Galileans received him well, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem during the festival, for they too had attended the festival.

He came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum; hearing that Jesus had come from Judaea to Galilee, he went and asked him to come down and cure his son, as he was at the point of death. Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and portents you will not believe!’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go, your son is living.’ The man believed what Jesus had said and went on his way; and while he was still on the way his slaves met him with the news that his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. They replied, ‘Yesterday in the early afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realised that this was the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son is living’; and he and all his household believed.

This was the second sign that Jesus did, having come from Judaea to Galilee.

After spending two days in a Samaritan town, Jesus travels on to Galilee and is well received. This second ‘sign’ of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel concerns the son of a ‘royal official’ with strong faith in the healing power of Jesus. Being in the royal service, presumably therefore associated with Herod Antipas, the official may be Jew or Gentile. Whatever his background he is a person who is open to faith, and is not put off by Jesus’ initial rebuttal: ‘Unless you see signs and portents you will not believe!’ The official insists that Jesus should come to heal his son, but nevertheless believes the word of Jesus: ‘your son is living.’ Jesus heals even from a distance, and the official brings his whole family to faith. Their traumatic experience bound them together in hope, and now binds them in faith and love too.

Do we appreciate the faith of people of different origins and beliefs?

For those desperate for the health and safety of their children, we pray.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C

A reading from the book of Joshua (5:9-12)

Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’    The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plain of Jericho. On the very next day after the Passover, they ate the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn. The manna stopped the day after they had eaten the produce of the land. From that year onwards the Israelites no longer had manna, but ate the produce of Canaan.

After the forty years of wandering in the desert the Israelites, led by Joshua, have crossed the Jordan river and entered the promised land (Joshua 3). At Gilgal Joshua circumcised those males who had not undergone this ritual during the desert years. Thus ‘the shame of Egypt’ is removed. Living from the produce of the land is another significant stage in the story of Israel. The time of wandering is finished, and there is no longer the need to gather manna in the desert. The Israelites are described as celebrating both Passover, the feast of a liberated people, and eating unleavened bread from the land they have entered. These two actions will become annual observances for them.

Psalm 34 (33) This psalm celebrates ‘tasting’ and ‘seeing’, further metaphors for God’s expected gifts.

A reading from  the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (5:17-21)

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old things have passed away; see, they have become new. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, because God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning their sins to them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is appealing through us: on Christ’s behalf we beg you, be reconciled to God. He who knew no sin he made sin for our sake, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Being ‘in Christ’ brings a ‘new creation’. God has ‘reconciled’ (katalassein) us. ‘Reconcile’ or ‘reconciliation’ appear five times in this short passage. This reconciliation with God brings forgiveness of sin and the entrusting of a mission of reconciliation. Christians are delegated to let others know of this reconciliation, which each person embraces through faith. Christ, who knew no sin, was ‘made sin’ by God, lowering himself to reveal the love God has for us. We thereby become ‘the righteousness of God’ in him. 

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (15,1-3, 11-32)

The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him, and the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable.

‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money in loose living.

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to be in need; so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled himself with the pods which the pigs were eating, but no one would let him have them. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger! >I will get up and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men.” So he got up and went back to his father.

‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he heard music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. The servant told him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to plead with him; but he retorted to his father, “Look! All these years I have slaved for you and never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a young goat for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property with prostitutes you kill the fattened calf.” Then the father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.” ’

The parable of the ‘prodigal son’ illustrates what reconciliation with God means. The father offers his troublesome son a warm embrace, a new robe, and a feast. This is a drama of death and life: he was dead but is now alive. It prepares for the paschal drama. Christ enters into death so that we in him can be raised to the fullness of life. We must remain hopeful that the elder brother, and many like him, will understand the dynamic of love offered to all those who need it. They need a new heart in which forgiveness of the sinner is central. It is for those who begrudge God’s mercy that the parables of Luke 15 were created.

How can we feel the merciful righteousness of God in our hearts?

Pray for those whose religious lives are blighted by rigidity and pride.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR B

A reading from the second book of Chronicles (36:14-16, 19-23)

All the leaders of Judah, the priests and the people too, added infidelity to infidelity, by all the shameful practices of the nations and by defiling the Temple of the Lord which he himself had consecrated in Jerusalem. The Lord, God of their ancestors, continually sent word to them through his messengers because he felt compassion for his people and his Dwelling, but they mocked the messengers of God, they despised his words, they laughed at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath with his people became so fierce that there was no remedy.

The king of Babylon burned down the Temple of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces to the ground and destroyed everything of value in it. And those who had escaped the sword he deported to Babylon, where they were slaves to him and his descendants until the rise of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfil the Lord’s prophecy in the mouth of Jeremiah: Until the country has paid off its Sabbaths, it will lie fallow for all the days of its desolation – to complete seventy years. 

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia – to fulfil the word of the Lord in the mouth of Jeremiah – the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send an announcement throughout his kingdom and also in writing, saying, ‘Cyrus king of Persia says this, “The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him! Let him go up!” ’

This reading, from the final verses of the second book of Chronicles, looks back at the disaster of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC, and the exile in Babylon, which ended in 538 BC. These events are attributed to the ‘wrath’ of God at the disobedience of Israel, though they can clearly be seen as the result of poor decisions by kings of Judah and the aggressive policies of the Babylonians. Kings and priests have disregarded the voices of the prophets. Persistent refusal of the people to heed the word of God, described by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, has led to the experience of God apparently forsaking his people. But God has new plans for new life. Through the Persian king Cyrus, a man of great vision and enlightened policies, God brings about the return to the land of Israel, and a new era in the history of Israel will begin.

Psalm 137 (136) The desolation of being deported to a pagan land, of destruction of all one holds dear and precious, is vividly expressed in this psalm of longing for the return to Sion.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (2:4-10)

God, being rich in mercy, through the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead by our sins, brought us to life in Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus, so that for ages to come he might show the overflowing richness of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, but is the gift of God, not by works, so that nobody may boast. We are what he made us, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Though we were dead through sin God has raised us to new life in Christ ‘through grace’. We are promised a place ‘in heaven’. This grace will overflow ‘for ages to come’. The fundamental teaching of Paul, that salvation comes not from anything we might do but as a grace of God through faith, is clearly stated. Christians are thus ‘created in Christ Jesus’ for good works. The passage is dominated by threefold use of the word ‘grace’ (charis), the free giving of God, by which we are drawn into new life, and by the repeated use of the phrase ‘in Christ Jesus’.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (3:14-21)

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

As Moses lifted up the snake 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 loved the world so much
that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to judge the world,
but so that the world might be saved through him.
One who believes in him will not be judged;
but whoever does not believe is judged already,
for not believing in the name of God’s only-begotten Son.
And the judgement is this:
that the light has come into the world
and people loved darkness rather than light
because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and does not come to the light,
so that such actions may not be examined.
But whoever does the truth comes to the light,
so that it may be clearly seen
that this person’s works have been done in God.’

This important text is part of the dialogue of Jesus with the Pharisee Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night. Later in the gospel Nicodemus will assist with the burial of Jesus (John 19). Jesus refers to the plague of serpents suffered by Israel in the desert (Numbers 21). Like the serpent in the desert he will be ‘lifted up’ to give life. That ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son’, and that we are saved by faith in him, gives great consolation to Christians. It is not God who judges us, for we judge ourselves by welcoming the light and living by it. ‘Doing the truth’ is equivalent to walking in the light.

How do we keep the light shining in the darkness of history?

For an appreciation of the love of God, and God’s light around us, we pray.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR A

A reading from the first book of Samuel (16:1, 6-7, 10-13)

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long are you going to mourn over Saul, as I myself have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have found myself a king from among his sons.’ When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and thought, ‘Surely this is the Lord’s anointed before him now,’ but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ So Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ Then he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ Jesse replied, ‘There is still one more, the youngest; he is looking after the sheep.’ So Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him, for we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.’ Jesse had him sent for; he had ruddy cheeks, with fine eyes and an attractive appearance. The Lord said, ‘Get up and anoint him: he is the one!’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, surrounded by his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David from that day onwards. 

Saul, the first to be anointed king by Samuel, has proved unable to bear the burden of kingship (1 Samuel 15). The choice of David to be king, in succession to Saul, is significant not only because of the importance of David in the history of Israel. When Samuel enters the house of Jesse in Bethlehem the other sons of Jesus appeared more suitable, but God does not choose them. The story told here also teaches that God chooses not the most obvious candidate from external appearance or stature. God ‘looks at the heart’. David’s heart was ready to receive the spirit of the Lord. Anointing with oil is a sign of strength and consecration. David becomes an ‘anointed one’ (mashiah), like Saul before him.

Psalm 23 (22) The Lord, as shepherd, provides for the needs of the people, preparing a banquet and anointing their heads with oil.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (5:8-14)

Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; live as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in complete goodness and righteousness and truth. Approve what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness but rather show them up. For what is done in secret by such people is shameful even to mention; but anything shown up by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated is itself a light. That is why it is said:

Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.

These words of the letter to the Ephesians on light and darkness prepare for the sign of the man born blind, receiving light from Christ. Christian baptism is also known as an enlightenment, and Christians are anointed, as David was, for a special mission. The words are directed to Christians who once lived in darkness but who through conversion and baptism have abandoned their pagan past and been joined to Christ. They are encouraged to remain faithful. We hear about the ‘fruit of light’: goodness, righteousness and truth, while darkness brings only ‘fruitless works’. The passage ends with what is considered part of an ancient Christian hymn referring to the new life of baptism.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (9:1-41)

As he went along, Jesus saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus replied, ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned. He was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him.

‘As long as day lasts
we must carry out the work of the one who sent me.
Night is coming when no one can work.
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.’

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the saliva, spread it on the man’s eyes, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (which means ‘Sent’). So he went off and washed and came back able to see.

His neighbours and people who had earlier seen that he was a beggar said, ‘Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘It is.’ Others said, ‘No, but he is like the man.’ The man himself said, ‘Yes, I am the one.’ So they said to him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made a paste, spread it on my eyes and said to me, “Go off and wash at Siloam.” So I went and washed and could see.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He answered, ‘I do not know.’

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. It had been a Sabbath when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so the Pharisees asked him again how he had come to see. He said to them, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’ Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘That man is not from God: he does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How can a sinner produce such signs?’ And there was division among them. So they said to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him – as it was your eyes he opened?’ The man answered, ‘He is a prophet.’

However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had come to see till they had sent for the parents of the man who had come to see and asked them, ‘Is this man your son whom you say was born blind? If so, how can he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that he is our son and that he was born blind, but how he can see, we do not know, nor who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age: he will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah should be banned from the synagogue. This was why his parents said, ‘He is of age: ask him.’

So the Jews sent a second time for the man who had been blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I don’t know; one thing I do know is that though I was blind I can now see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He replied, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples yourselves?’ At this they hurled abuse at him, ‘You are his disciple, we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man replied, ‘The amazing thing is this: that you do not know where he comes from and he has opened my eyes! We know that God does not listen to sinners, but God does listen to someone who reveres God and does his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of that anyone should open the eyes of someone born blind; if this man were not from God, he would not have been able to do anything.’ They answered and said to him, ‘You were born wholly in sin, and are you teaching us?’ And they drove him out.

Jesus heard they had driven him out, and when he had found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He replied, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and he is the one speaking to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and worshipped him.

And Jesus said:

‘For judgement I came into this world,
so that those who cannot see might see, 
and those who can see might become blind.’

Hearing this, some of the Pharisees who were with him said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus replied:

‘If you were blind 
you would not be to blame,
but since you say, 
“We can see,” your guilt remains.’

This is the second of the three great readings from the Fourth Gospel which prepare for the reception of baptism at Easter. Last week we heard proclaimed the story of the woman at the well, and next Sunday we will hear of the raising of Lazarus. At the very beginning of this story, before he heals the man born blind,  Jesus proclaims: ‘As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.’ The physical healing of the man triggers a spiritual journey into light, which is in contrast to the darkness of those who cannot see the truth. This lively and honest character, who has no name, refers to Jesus as ‘the man called Jesus’, then ‘a prophet’, recognising him as ‘from God’ and finally worshipping him as ‘Lord’. While he is willing to receive the light the religious authorities are not convinced, for Jesus has worked the healing on the Sabbath. They interrogate his parents to no avail. Their pestering of the man leads to his indignant question: ‘Do you want to become his disciples yourselves?’ Despite their abuse he is undaunted and his defence of the man ‘from God’ becomes more strident. They banish him from the synagogue, and remain fixed in their conviction that they themselves know all there is to know, and have seen all there is to see. The tender final encounter with Jesus leads the man to worship him with the words ‘Lord, I believe.’

How effective is light as a metaphor for faith?

Pray for those who begin to sense the light in the darkness of life.

SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the book of the prophet Hosea (5:15-6:6)

‘Come, let us return to the Lord. 
He has torn us apart and he will heal us; 
he has struck us and he will bind up our wounds.
After two days he will revive us, 
on the third day he will raise us up
and we shall live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord. 
His coming is as sure as the dawn. 
He will come to us like a shower, 
like the rain of springtime on the earth.’
‘What am I to do with you, Ephraim? 
What am I to do with you, Judah? 
For your love is like morning mist, 
like the dew that quickly disappears.
Therefore have I hacked them to pieces 
by means of the prophets, 
I have killed them with words from my mouth, 
my judgement will blaze forth like the light,
for my pleasure is in faithful love, not sacrifice, 
knowledge of God, not burnt offerings.

There are two speeches in this reading. The people begin by voicing their determination to ‘return’ to the Lord. The ‘third day’ is a metaphor for the arrival of God’s salvation. The people are convinced that God will come. But is this commitment of the people genuine, or mere words?  A second speech, this time of God, begins: ‘What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you Judah?’ The Lord is anxious both about the northern kingdom, Israel, also known as Ephraim, and about the southern kingdom of Judah. God’s concern is that the people’s love is fickle. God is frustrated by the inconstancy of the people, whose love (hesed) is like mist, like dew which does not last. There has been so much disappointment. Hosea draws on his own personal experience to voice the anxiety that God feels about the relationship. What God desires is faithful love (hesed), and knowledge of God. The offering of sacrifices is worthless without these. God is still anxiously waiting.

Psalm 51 (50) The Miserere is used again with its penitential tones. The verses concerning true sacrifice tie up with the reading from Hosea.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (18:9-14)

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being righteous, and despised everyone else, ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone else, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I possess.” The tax collector stood at a distance, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again justified; the other did not. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, but anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.’

The issue in the mind of Jesus is that of people who ‘pride themselves’ on being ‘righteous’. The parable is for them. At the end of the parable we will be told who was righteous in the eyes of God. The first man, who happens to be a Pharisee, is described as ‘praying to himself’. He is more concerned to denigrate ‘this tax-collector here’, whom he judges unrighteous, and quickly draws attention to his own virtuous deeds of fasting and tithe-paying. The second man, the tax-collector, raises his eyes to God and seeks God’s mercy. All he knows of righteousness is that he stands in need of it. It is not by works that we are saved, and certainly not by pride in our works, but by humble reliance on the mercy of God. The parable should leave no doubt in the minds of the ‘righteous’ who ‘despised everyone else’.

Do good works contribute to being righteous before God?

For those who are trapped in a judgemental mind-set, we pray.

FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Hosea (14:2-10)

Israel, come back to the Lord your God! 
Your guilt was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord. 
Say to him, ‘Take away all our guilt 
and give us what is good 
and we will offer the fruit of our lips.
Assyria cannot save us, 
we will not ride horses any more 
or say, “Our God!” to the work of our hands, 
for in you orphans find compassion.’
I shall cure them of their disloyalty, 
I shall love them freely, 
for my anger has turned away from them.
I shall be like dew on Israel; 
he will bloom like the lily 
and thrust out roots like the cedar of Lebanon.
He will put out new shoots; 
he will have the beauty of the olive tree 
and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade; 
they will grow wheat again, they will blossom like the vine, 
their wine will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more 
when I hear him and watch over him? 
I am like an evergreen cypress: 
you owe your fruitfulness to me.
Let the wise understand these words, 
let the intelligent grasp their meaning, 
for the Lord’s ways are straight 
and the righteous will walk in them 
but sinners will stumble.

Hosea addresses the northern kingdom of Israel, which split from Judah two centuries earlier. Their future is uncertain. Despite this Hosea brings the word of the Lord, who calls the people back. They have trusted for too long in alliances with pagan nations such as Assyria, and dabbled in the worship of idols. The tenderness of God of which the prophet speaks owes much to his own experience as a loyal husband who offers love and forgiveness to his unfaithful wife. God will descend like dew, describing the new condition of the people with rich natural images, such as the lily, the cedar and the olive. God in turn is like an ‘evergreen cypress’. The final words of this reading, which are the last words of the book of Hosea, are an insistent invitation to the wise to heed and understand these words.

Psalm 81 (80) This psalm presents words of God to the people, inviting a new start, and feeding Israel with finest wheat and wild honey.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark (12:28-34)

One of the scribes who had heard them debating appreciated that Jesus had given them a good answer, and put a further question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, teacher; what you have said is true, that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ Jesus, seeing that he had answered wisely, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.

This dialogue with a scribe who was positively impressed by Jesus’ teaching sets a more cordial tone in Jesus’ discussions with religious leaders in Jerusalem. In answer to the scribe’s question about ‘the first of all the commandments’ Jesus quotes the shema and its command to love God (Deuteronomy 6) to which he adds the command to love neighbour (Leviticus 19). The scribe compliments Jesus on his reply, and Jesus, ‘seeing that he had answered wisely’, tells him that he is ‘not far from the kingdom of God’. The encounter of these two minds illustrates the profound accord of Jesus with the tradition, and not surprisingly, at least for the moment, ‘no one dared to question him any more’.

Reflect on the deep bonds of Christian faith with our Jewish roots.

We pray for the wisdom and courage to take up the call to repentance.

THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Jeremiah (7:23-28)

The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: ‘My one command to them was this: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. In everything, follow the way that I mark out for you and you shall prosper. But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed their own devices, their own stubborn and wicked inclinations, and got worse rather than better. From the day your ancestors left the land of Egypt until today, I have sent you all my servants the prophets, persistently sending them day after day. But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have deliberately resisted, behaving worse than their ancestors. So you will tell them all this but they will not listen to you; you will call them but they will not answer you. Then you are to say to them: This is the nation that will neither listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.’

The Jewish prayer known as the shema, with its opening words ‘Listen, Israel,’ is recited twice every day. The word ‘listen’ is found five times in this passage of Jeremiah, either as a command, or in the sorrowful statement ‘they did not listen’. Ever since they left Egypt they have disregarded the voice of God’s prophets. The history of this people is a history of not listening, and their behaviour has worsened as the generations have passed. One might expect that in the dire circumstances of Jeremiah’s day they might change, but the prophet is told that once again ‘they will not listen to you’. The sincerity which comes with listening to the word of God has vanished.

Psalm 95 (94) The psalm contains a similar lament ‘oh that you had listened’.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (11:14-23)

Jesus was driving out a demon and it was deaf; and it happened that when the demon had gone out the deaf man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that he drives demons out.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and house collapses against house. So, too, with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you claim that it is through Beelzebul that I drive demons out. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I drive demons out, through whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if it is through the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has caught you unawares. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil. Anyone who is not with me is against me; and anyone who does not gather in with me throws away.’

Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem, and differences with his opponents are sharpened. Some deliberately undermine the healing work of Jesus, attributing it to the work of ‘Beelzebul’, one of many names given to Satan. Jesus uses the analogy of a divided kingdom, and a divided household to point out the fault in their argument. The one who undermines the work of Satan cannot be said to be in league with Satan. In fact, it is by ‘the finger of God’ that Jesus casts out demons, and such actions are signs that the kingdom of God has drawn near. Jesus goes on to speak of himself as ‘the stronger one’, echoing what John the Baptist said of him (Luke 3:16). With such strength he is able to confront and vanquish Satan.

Do I ever misrepresent the works of a good person in order to undermine them?

Pray for those whose hearts are closed, and whose minds are stuck.

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy (4:1,5-9)

Moses said to the people: ‘And now, Israel, listen to the laws and customs that I am teaching you, so that, by observing them, you may survive to enter and take possession of the land which the Lord, God of your ancestors, is giving you. Look, as the Lord my God commanded me, I am teaching you laws and customs, for you to observe in the country of which you are going to take possession. Keep them, put them into practice, and this will show your wisdom and prudence to other peoples when they hear all these laws; they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation!” And indeed, what great nation has its gods as near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation has laws and customs as righteous as all this Law which I am laying down for you today? But take care, and watch yourselves! Do not forget the things which you yourselves have seen, or let them slip from your heart as long as you live; teach them, rather, to your children and to your children’s children.’ 

The book of Deuteronomy looks back on the giving of the Law and in a series of speeches attributed to Moses encourages fidelity. Moses is known in Jewish tradition as ‘our rabbi’ and ‘our teacher’. In this reading his role is summarised. Adherence to the Law brings life, and wisdom, so that neighbouring nations will stand in admiration. Israel is also warned of the danger of forgetting what they were taught and ceasing to heed the Law. It is the duty of the Israelite to continue to teach: ‘teach them to your children and to your children’s children’. Remembrance of things past ensures a better future.

Psalm 147 The Lord ‘sends out his word to the earth’ and ‘reveals his word to Jacob’. As in the reading it is stressed that he has not taught other nations.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (5:17-19)

Jesus said to his disciples; ‘Do think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Amen I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one dot, not one little stroke, will pass from the Law until everything is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven; but anyone who keeps them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. 

These important words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount emphasise the continuity between Law and gospel. Jesus brings the Law and the Prophets to fulfilment. These words serve as a prelude to the ‘antitheses’ (5:21-48), in which Jesus invites a deeper kind of justice. Those who keep and teach the fullness of the Law will be ‘called great’ in the kingdom. The Law was given to Israel by the love of God; it is proclaimed to Christians as a law of love.

What can I do to bring the Law and the Prophets to fulfilment?

Pray for the Jewish people that they will continue in fidelity to God’s covenant.

TUESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Daniel (3:25, 34-43)

Azariah stood still in the heart of the fire, praying aloud, and he said:
‘For the sake of your name do not abandon us for ever,
do not repudiate your covenant,
do not withdraw your mercy
for the sake of Abraham, your friend, 
of Isaac, your servant, and of Israel, your holy one,
to whom you promised to make their descendants as many as the stars of heaven 
and as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Lord, we have become the least of all nations, 
we are put to shame today throughout the world because of our sins.
We now have no leader, no prophet, no prince, 
no burnt offering, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense, 
no place where we can make offerings to you and win your mercy. 
But in contrition of heart and humility of spirit
may we be as acceptable to you as burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, 
as thousands of fat lambs:
such let our sacrifice be to you today 
and may it please you that we follow you wholeheartedly 
since there is no shame for those who trust in you.
And now with our whole heart we follow you,
we revere you and seek your face once more.
Do not put us to shame 
but treat us according to your graciousness,
according to the abundance of your mercy.
Rescue us in accordance with your wonderful deeds 
and win fresh glory for your name, O Lord.’

The editor of the book of Daniel has added wonderful prayers to the story of the three young men thrown into the furnace by king Nebuchadnezzar. Azariah’s prayer of penance reminds God of the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as acknowledging the sin of the people which has led to their present situation of exile and distress. Azariah provides a list of the things of which they are deprived in their exile in a pagan land, from true leadership to the incense of prayer. Despite this he knows that ‘contrition of heart and humility of spirit’ are a worthy offering to God, as acceptable as the sacrifices laid down by the law. He asks God to show kindness, ‘according to the abundance of your mercy’. In this way God will ‘win fresh glory for your name’.

Psalm 25 (24) May God ‘remember’ his compassion and his acts of mercy shown from ancient times, so that God’s mercy may be seen again.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (18:21-35)

Then Peter went up to him and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother or sister who wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, someone was brought who owed him ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment made. So the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet, with the words, “Be patient with me and I will pay you everything.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now on his way out the servant met one of his fellow-servants who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to throttle him, saying, “Pay what you owe.” His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, “Be patient with me and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow-servants were deeply distressed at what was happening, and they went and reported to their master everything that had happened. Then the master sent for the man and said to him, “You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother and sister from your heart.’

This famous parable of the unforgiving debtor comes at the end of the discourse on community, the fourth major speech of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. It is as if the final and most important teaching that communities must learn is about forgiveness, that we should forgive others as we are forgiven by the Lord. The amount of money he owes to the king is astronomical, but the prayer of this first debtor for forgiveness has the effect of his debt being wiped out. The second debtor, who owes comparatively little, a sum a labourer might earn in a matter of weeks, uses the same words in his prayer:  ‘Be patient with me and I will pay you.’ But he fails to obtain forgiveness. The outrageous behavior of the unforgiving debtor seems almost to justify his terrible punishment.

‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’

Pray for those who are stuck in resentment and cannot forgive.

MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the second book of Kings (5:1-15)

Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master’s respect and favour, since through him the Lord had granted victory to the Aramaeans. But the man suffered from leprosy. Now, on one of their raids into Israelite territory, the Aramaeans had carried off a little girl, who became a servant of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ Naaman went and told his master, saying, ‘This and this is what the girl from Israel said.’ The king of Aram said, ‘Go by all means. I shall send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes. He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read, ‘When this letter reaches you, I am sending my servant Naaman to you for you to cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes. He said, ‘Am I a god to give death and life, for him to send a man to me and ask me to cure him of his leprosy? Just look and see how he means to pick a quarrel with me.’

When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean.’ But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, ‘Here was I, thinking that for me he would be sure to come out, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the part that was diseased. Surely, Abana and Parpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel? Could I not bathe in them to become clean?’ And he turned round and went off in a fury. But his servants approached him and spoke to him, saying, ‘Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, “Wash and become clean.” ’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as the man of God had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.

Returning to the man of God with his whole escort, he went in and, presenting himself, said, ‘Now I know that there is no God anywhere on earth except in Israel.’

Naaman is an outsider, and for two reasons. Why should an Aramean be healed by a prophet of Israel? Furthermore, he suffers from leprosy. It is the voice of the Israelite servant girl that speaks the truth and opens the way to the working of God’s mercy through the prophet Elisha. Naaman, like the king of Israel before him, is at first indignant at having to bathe in the river Jordan seven times. Once again wisdom comes from the servants, who counsel him to do what the prophet asks. Naaman, who has humbled himself, receives both healing and faith.

Psalm 42 (41) Once again the Lord uses water for life and healing.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (4:24-30)

Jesus said, ‘Amen I say to you, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country. In truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these, but only to a widow at Zarephath, a town in Sidonia. And there were many lepers in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time, but none of these was cured – only Naaman the Syrian.’

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, intending to throw him off the cliff, but he passed through the midst of them and walked away.  

These are the final verses of the story of the visit to Nazareth which Luke places at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. In the synagogue Jesus has proclaimed a reading from the prophet Isaiah and identified himself as the one who has been sent to ‘bring good news to the poor’. After initial appreciation the mood changes as Jesus quotes a popular proverb about the rejection of prophets by their own people: ‘no prophet is ever accepted in his own country’. They are enraged when he reminds them that Elijah and Elisha worked miracles beyond the confines of Israel: the widow of Zarephath and her son were fed, and Naaman the Syrian restored to full health. Rage leads to violence against Jesus. The people of Nazareth consider that their honoured place as chosen people has been usurped. The message of the kingdom however cannot be confined to a ‘chosen’ people.

As Christians do we value those of other faiths?

Pray for a heart open to the needs of all, and especially those on the furthest margins.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C

A reading from the book of Exodus (3:1-8, 13-15)

Moses was looking after the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led it to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame blazing from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing, but the bush was not being burnt up. Moses said, ‘I must go over and see this strange sight, and why the bush is not being burnt up.’ When the Lord saw him going over to look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, saying, ‘Moses, Moses!’ He answered, ‘Here I am!’ Then he said, ‘Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ And he said, ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 

Then the Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying for help because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land, to a land rich and broad, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses then said to God, ‘Look, if I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What is his name?”, what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And he said, ‘This is what you are to say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God further said to Moses, ‘You are to tell the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time, and this is my title for all generations. 

This narrative has enormous significance. It is our first glimpse of the holy mountain, known both as Sinai and Horeb. Moses, who has been tending the flocks of Jethro, finds himself in a life-changing encounter with a holy God. And yet this apparently inaccessible God is the God of named ancestors, a God who has become involved in the past and will be involved in a very significant way now. For God knows the pain and suffering of the people of Israel in Egypt. Deliverance from slavery is promised and we hear for the first time in Scripture the phrase ‘land of milk and honey’. An equally significant feature of this reading is the revelation of the ‘name’ of God, in the mysterious formula ‘I Am who I Am’ (’ehyeh ’asher ’ehyeh). This is the God who ‘is’ but who also ‘is’ for people. The name given to Moses is so sacred that it is never pronounced either in Jewish or Christian tradition.

Psalm 103 (102)  That the Lord is ‘compassionate and generous’ suggests that God will indeed intervene in the rescue of his people.

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (10:1-6, 10-12)

I want you to be quite clear, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. And all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and their corpses were scattered over the desert. Now these things happened as examples, so that we should never set our hearts on evil things, as they did. Do not complain, as some of them complained and they were destroyed by the Destroyer. 

Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written down to instruct us on whom the ends of the ages have come. So anyone who thinks to be standing firm should take care not to fall. 

The Corinthian Christians must take a warning from the journey of Israel in the desert. Paul links the cloud and the sea to Baptism, and the food and living water from the rock he considers gifts of the pre-existent Christ. Despite such gifts the Israelites did not please God and perished in the desert (Numbers 14). Paul now gives a stern warning to the Christians of Corinth, who have been baptised and are nourished in the Eucharist, to be especially careful, since ‘the ends of the ages’ are near. They should be careful not to fall.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (13:1-9)

On this occasion some people were present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. In reply he said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, that this should have happened to them? No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, killing them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable, ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the gardener, “For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” In reply he said, “Sir, leave it just this year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.” ’

This unique teaching of Jesus raises profound problems. Jesus recounts two examples of undeserved suffering, one caused by human cruelty and the other by an accident. It is not appropriate to consider as guilty those who are victims of innocent suffering. Jesus is implicitly recalling the teaching of the book of Job. Yet he repeats the call to repentance, which is always pressing. The parable, in contrast, is an enchanting reminder of God’s mercy. The gardener does not hesitate to ask for one more year, trusting in the leniency of the owner of the garden. Yet the conversation ends without revealing this man’s reply. Is this an assurance of mercy, or a stern warning of the urgency of repentance?

How can God be holy and remote, and at the same time involved with people?

Pray for a balance between presuming on God’s mercy and urgent repentance.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR B

A reading from the book of Exodus (20:1-17)

Then God spoke all these words. He said, ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

‘You shall have no other gods before me.

‘You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth.

‘You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and I punish a parent’s fault in the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me; but I act with faithful love towards thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

‘You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

‘Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for the Lord your God. You shall do no work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your slaves, men or women, nor your animals nor the foreigner living with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, earth and sea and all that these contain, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why the Lord has blessed the Sabbath day and made it sacred.

‘Honour your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

‘You shall not murder.

‘You shall not commit adultery.

‘You shall not steal.

‘You shall not give false evidence against your neighbour.

‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s spouse, or slave, man or woman, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.’

After leaving Egypt the Israelites travel to the holy mountain, known both as Sinai and Horeb, where they meet God (Exodus 19). This is the place of the covenant between God and the people. The ‘ten words’ which follow spell out the covenant obligation of Israel. It is God who has brought Israel out of slavery, and who lays down rules for them to live in freedom. There is to be no acknowledgement of other gods. Idolatry is the first and most serious transgression. God is ‘jealous’, for it is this God alone who is real, and who loves and cares for people. Punishment is announced for sins, ‘to the third and fourth generation’ of those who ‘hate me’, but there is no limit to God’s ‘kindness’, his covenant love (hesed), towards the thousands who ‘love me’ and who keep the commandments. The commandments list solemn duties towards God, such as the sabbath, and towards brothers and sisters. They are a basis on which both Judaism and Christianity will build.

Psalm 19 This psalm and its longer counterpart in Psalm 119 rejoice in the Law. It is given for our delight and to assist our freedom; it is more desirable than gold, and ‘sweeter than honey flowing from the comb’.

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (1:22-25)

While the Jews demand signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, we are proclaiming a crucified Christ: to the Jews a stumbling-block, to the gentiles foolishness, but to those who have been called, both Jews and Greeks, a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God. God’s folly is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 

Paul, with his cosmopolitan background, is keenly aware of what Jews and Greeks seek. Neither is satisfied, it seems, with what God offers. The Jews look for signs, and are scandalised by the gospel of death and resurrection. The gentiles search for wisdom, and find foolishness. For the Jews the crucifixion of the Messiah is a ‘stumbling-block’ (skandalon) , never anticipated in their scriptures. For Greeks it is sheer madness (moria). God brings human beings to realise by grace that in the cross of Christ lie both the power and wisdom of God, for death is overcome in resurrection.

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (2:13-25)

The time of the Jewish Passover was near and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting there. Making a whip out of cords, he began to drive them all out of the Temple, both sheep and cattle, scattered the money-changers’ coins, overturned their tables and said to the dove-sellers, ‘Take all this away from here and stop making my Father’s house a market-house.’ Then his disciples remembered that it had been written, I am eaten up with zeal for your house. The Jews in reply said, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It took forty-six years to build this Temple: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the Temple that was his body. When he had been raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words that he had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he did, but Jesus did not trust himself to them, since he knew all people. He needed no witness about anyone; he himself knew what was in everyone.

The action of Jesus in the temple is provocative. He defends the holiness of the Father’s house, where the court of the Gentiles has been taken over for the sale of sacrificial animals and the exchange of currency. The ensuing conversation goes deeper and Jesus offers as justification the ‘sign’ of his own resurrection, a sign misunderstood by his opponents and understood only later by the disciples. He is the sign of a new reality, of resurrection to new life. We should notice the concluding statements of the evangelist, that ‘many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he did’. The signs of John’s gospel present the paschal mystery of death and resurrection in multiple ways, and many will come to faith.

What are the unexpected signs which point to faith?

Pray for an understanding that everything is connected and laid before us by the love of God.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR A

A reading from the book of Exodus (17:3-7)

In their thirst for water the people complained to Moses, saying, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, only to make us, our children and our livestock, die of thirst?’ Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘What am I to do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!’

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, taking some of the elders of Israel with you; in your hand take the staff with which you struck the river, and go. I shall be waiting for you there on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink.’ Moses did so, with the elders of Israel watching. He gave the place the names Massah and Meribah because the Israelites had quarrelled and put the Lord to the test by saying, ‘Is the Lord among us, or not?’

At this point in the book of Exodus the people have crossed the sea and are travelling through the desert towards Sinai (Horeb). The privations of desert life lead them to regret coming out of Egypt. God has provided food for them in the form of the manna and the quails (Exodus 16). Moses is now blamed for the lack of water, and he fears for his life. The place where water sprang from the rock is given the names Massah and Meribah, Hebrew terms which mean ‘trial’ and ‘contention’. This theme will occur again later in the story of the wandering in the desert after the stay at Sinai (Numbers 20). Life-giving water is the theme in each of the readings today.

Psalm 95 (94) also refers to the incident of Massah and Meribah, and proclaims God as the ‘rock of salvation’.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans (5:1-2, 5-8)

So, now that we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; it is through him, by faith, that we have received access to the favour of God in which we are living, and we exult in the hope of the glory of God. Hope does not disappoint, since the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us. When we were still helpless, at the due time, Christ died for the godless. Scarcely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might undertake to die. So God proves his love for us, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 

St Paul restates the situation of the faithful Christian, justified by faith in Jesus Christ, and at peace with God. Furthermore, ‘the hope of the glory of God’ is bestowed on the Christian, since the love of God ‘has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit’. It is no surprise that this love is said to have been ‘poured’ like water: water is essentially life-giving, and baptism is being recalled. The gifts of God in Christ came to us despite human sinfulness. Christians are the recipients of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism, and throughout their lives. 

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (4:5-42)

So Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there and Jesus, tired by the journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon, when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?’ – for Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied to her: 

‘If you knew what God is offering
and who it is saying to you, “Give me a drink”,
you would have asked him, 
and he would have given you living water.’

She answered, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it, himself and his sons and his cattle?’ Jesus replied: 

‘Whoever drinks of this water 
will be thirsty again;
but anyone who drinks of the water that I shall give
will never be thirsty again:
the water that I shall give 
will become an inner spring of water, welling up to eternal life.’

The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or go on coming here to draw water.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Go and call your husband and come back here.’ The woman answered him saying, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right to say, “I have no husband”; for you have had five men, and the one you now have is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, though you say that the place where people should worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said: 

‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming 
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You worship what you do not know;
we worship what we do know;
for salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming – and is now here – 
when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, 
for such are the worshippers 
whom the Father seeks.
God is spirit, 
and those who worship him
must worship in spirit and truth.’

The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah, the one called Christ, is coming; and when he comes he will declare everything.’ Jesus said, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’

At this point his disciples returned and were surprised to find him speaking to a woman, but none of them asked, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you talking to her?’ 

The woman left her water jar and went off to the town and said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who has told me everything I have ever done. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and they made their way towards him.

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, have something to eat’; but he said, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has someone brought him food?’ But Jesus said:

‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me,
and to complete his work.
Do you not say,
“Four months and then the harvest”?
Well, I tell you,
look around you, look at the fields;
they are white for the harvest!
Already the reaper is being paid his wages,
already he is bringing in the grain for eternal life,
so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
For here the proverb holds true:
one sows, another reaps;
I sent you to reap 
a harvest for which you did not labour.
Others have laboured;
and you have come into the rewards of their labour.’

Many Samaritans of that town believed in him on the strength of the words of the woman’s witness, ‘He told me everything I have done.’ So, when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them. He stayed there for two days, and many more came to believe on the strength of the words he spoke to them; and they said to the woman, ‘We believe no longer because of what you told us; we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

Three great Johannine gospels punctuate the road to Easter. They feature: the woman of Samaria (John 4); the man born blind (John 9); and the raising of Lazarus (John 11). The theme today is ‘living water’, the topic of conversation between Jesus and the woman of Samaria. Jesus arrives, tired and thirsty in the middle of the day, and sits by the well, the well of Jacob. The woman is unnamed, she has a chequered history, but she is ready to learn. After a discussion about ‘living water’, the question of the identity of Jesus arises. He is surely a prophet, or perhaps even the Messiah. Jesus declares: ‘I am he.’ This concludes the dialogue, for the woman, having discovered one who can give ‘living water’, leaves her empty water jar, and rushes off to call the villagers. This missionary disciple, the despised woman befriended by Jesus, brings them to faith, and that faith is confirmed by hearing the message from the lips of Jesus himself. They know that ‘this is truly the Saviour of the world’. 

How is the journey of faith of the Samaritan woman like your own?

Pray that on our journey we may be open to the surprises of God.

SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Micah (7:14-15, 18-20)

With a shepherd’s crook lead your people to pasture, 
the flock that is your heritage, 
living alone in a forest, in the midst of a garden land. 
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old!
Let us see wonders, 
as in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt!
What god can compare with you 
for pardoning guilt and for overlooking crime
for the remnant of his heritage? 
He does not harbour anger for ever 
since he delights in faithful love.
Return and have mercy on us, 
tread down our faults; 
throw all our sins to the bottom of the sea.
Grant Jacob your faithfulness 
and Abraham your faithful love, 
as you swore to our ancestors 
from the days of long ago. 

These words from the end of the book of Micah focus on the mercy of God, which will be richly illustrated in the gospel. God who cares for the people is often portrayed as shepherd (Psalm 80). The people are to ‘graze’, as in Bashan and Gilead, fertile land taken over during the conquest of the land. But God is called upon to do new ‘wonders’, such as were worked when they came out of Egypt. God ‘delights in faithful love’ (hesed). God will show mercy and submerge all memory of sin to the bottom of the sea, another allusion to the exodus, when Pharaoh’s armies were drowned. Now it is the greater enemy, sin, which is destroyed.  In this way God maintains the faithfulness promised long ago to the patriarchs and renews it. 

Psalm 103 (102) This great psalm of forgiveness reflects the words of Micah. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger, rich in mercy, removing sins ‘as far as the east is from the west’.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (15:1-3, 11-32)

The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him, and the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable.

‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money in loose living.

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to be in need; so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled himself with the pods which the pigs were eating, but no one would let him have them. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men.” So he got up and went back to his father.

‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he heard music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. The servant told him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to plead with him; but he retorted to his father, “Look! All these years I have slaved for you and never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a young goat for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property with prostitutes you kill the fattened calf.” 

Then the father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.” ’

The parable of the son who was lost and is found, the prodigal who comes back to life, can best be understood from the opening words of the chapter, that the Pharisees and scribes ‘complained’ that Jesus associated with sinners. Unique to Luke’s gospel, this parable contrasts the wild behaviour of the younger son with the dutiful service of his elder brother. The younger son who has the humility to seek forgiveness is welcomed back with a new robe, with music and feasting. It is the older son who has the greater problem. Is it possible for him to open his heart in forgiveness to his brother, whom he angrily dismisses while speaking to his father as ‘this son of yours’. The older boy stands for the religious leaders who are shocked by the mercy shown by Jesus. This ‘scandal’ of forgiveness is a constant in Christian history. That the lost should be found, and that the dead should be raised, these hopes, these realities, lie at the heart of the gospel. Recognising one’s own need for mercy may well be the key to accepting with gratitude the mercy God shows to others.

Why is it so difficult to accept God’s tender mercy shown to others?

For those who see mercy as soft and as a violation of God’s justice, we pray.

FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT

A  reading from the book of Genesis (37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28)

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coloured tunic made for him. But his brothers, seeing how much more his father loved him than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a peaceful word to him. 

His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Your brothers are looking after the flock at Shechem, aren’t they? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

They saw him from a distance, and before he reached them they made a plot to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes that dreamer. Come on, let us kill him now and throw him down one of the pits; we can say that some wild animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’ 

But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their hands; he said, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Do not shed blood; throw him into that pit out in the desert, but do not lay hands on him’ – wanting to save him from their hands and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his tunic, the coloured tunic that he was wearing, and catching hold of him, threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, with no water in it. They then sat down to eat. 

Looking up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balsam and resin, which they were taking to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and hiding his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, then we shall not have laid hands on him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed. 

Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they pulled Joseph out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and these took Joseph to Egypt. 

In this reading we hear the opening stages of the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, a story that covers several chapters. As this gripping short story unfolds, Joseph, despite being sold as a slave, will be raised to power in Egypt and be able to assist his brothers who descend into Egypt due to the famine in their own land. Once he has revealed his identity to his brothers, Joseph himself will proclaim that God turned the evil they did to him into good, sending him before them to be able to save their lives (Genesis 45). Once again, as in the case of the prophet Jeremiah, a figure from the Hebrew Scriptures stands as a preparation for Jesus: Joseph becomes saviour of his people. The passage also illustrates the frequent failure of flawed human persons: the father Jacob who displays preferential love for Joseph (just as Jacob’s mother Rebekah had done in his favour), and thereby provokes jealousy and hatred among brothers. 

Psalm 105 (104) is a historical psalm which covers the descent into Egypt and the exodus. A few verses recall the story of Joseph sold as a slave and then released and given power.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (21:33-43, 45-46)

Jesus said: ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: 

The stone which the builders rejected 
has become the cornerstone; 
this is the Lord’s doing 
and it is amazing in our eyes? 

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the Pharisees realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

Jesus faces hostility from the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They have been poor tenants, reacting with violence to those sent to collect the fruits of the Lord’s vineyard. The owner of the vineyard has even sent his son, who is killed by the tenants. As a result the kingdom of God will be taken away from them and given to a new people, who will produce appropriate fruit. The rejection of the prophets and of the Son will lead to a new dispensation open to people of other lands. Jesus uses a verse from Psalm 112 which speaks of a rejected stone becoming a cornerstone: ‘the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’. This parable is a severe indictment of the religious leaders, which surely added to the danger facing Jesus in Jerusalem. And yet the ‘crowds’ were more wise, and knew him to be a prophet of God.

Reflect on how God uses negative situations to create new openings of grace.

For all who are stuck in their own incomplete righteousness, we pray.

THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Jeremiah (17:5-10)

Thus says the Lord, 
‘Cursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, 
who relies on human strength 
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Such a one is like a shrub in the wastelands, 
living in the parched places of the desert, 
uninhabited, salt land;
when good comes it brings no benefit!
Blessed is anyone who trusts in the Lord, 
with the Lord to rely on.
Such a one is like a tree by the waterside 
that thrusts its roots to the stream: 
when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, 
its foliage stays green; 
untroubled in a year of drought, 
it never stops bearing fruit.
The heart is more devious than any other thing, 
it is perverse; who can pierce its secrets?
I, the Lord, search the heart, test the motives, 
to give each person what such conduct and such actions deserve.’

The prophet reflects on the question of trust. In whom do we put our faith: in human beings, or in the Lord? The strong language of ‘curse’ brings home just how fundamental the question is. Faith in what is human implies turning away from the Lord. This may be in the political context so familiar to Jeremiah, or in the everyday dealings of human life. Such a person is like a weak shrub in a barren wasteland, a waterless, salty wilderness. The contrasting image, for the one who trusts in the Lord, is the tree by the stream, with deep roots reaching the life-giving waters. Even in time of heat or in a year of drought, even in times of political or personal crisis, it still bears green foliage and plentiful fruit. The reading ends with the assertion that God alone reads human hearts and rewards people according to their actions.

Psalm 1 inverses the order found in Jeremiah’s words, beginning with the one who finds delight in the law of the Lord, again compared to a tree by flowing waters. The wicked, by contrast, are driven away by the wind.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (16:19-31)

Jesus said ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there used to lie a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with what fell from the rich man’s table. Even dogs came and licked his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s embrace. The rich man also died and was buried. In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” Abraham said, “My son, remember that during your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to block those who want to cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours.” So he said, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them.” The rich man replied, “Ah no, father Abraham, but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.” ’

A powerful parable, found only in Luke, illustrates the choice human beings must make between selfishness and generosity, raising the perennial issue of the rich man’s disregard for the poor at his gate. The prophets urged people to care for those in need, often accusing them of careless disregard (Amos 6). In this parable Jesus portrays not only the contrasting figures of the rich man and Lazarus, but also Abraham as the arbiter of the case. Jesus emphasises the stubbornness of the rich man, who even after death tries to bully the patriarch Abraham to ‘send Lazarus’, still regarded as less than a slave, to bring water to cool his tongue. But a ‘great gulf’ now separates the rich from Lazarus ‘in the embrace’ of Abraham. It is too late. But the rich man insists that Lazarus be dispatched to warn his five brothers, who, it is implied, are just as bad as he is. They may indeed habitually disregard ‘Moses and the prophets’, but, the rich man pleads, if someone comes to them from the dead, ‘they will repent’. Abraham is not persuaded. There is a sense of inevitability that the five brothers, and countless more like them, will continue through history to disregard the poor man, and whole populations of the poor, at the gate.

What will make us see care for the planet, and care for the poor, as God’s priorities, which we must make our own?

For those who strive to change hearts and minds, we pray.

WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT

A reading from the prophet Jeremiah (18:18-20)

They said,  ‘Come on, let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah, for priests will never be lost for Law, wise men never be lost for advice, prophets never be lost for the word. Come on, let us slander him and pay no attention to anything he says.’

Pay attention to me, Lord, 
hear what my adversaries are saying.
Should evil be returned for good? 
Now they have dug a pit for my life. 
Remember how I stood before you and spoke good of them, 
to turn your wrath away from them.

The ‘confessions’ of Jeremiah contain personal outpourings of the prophet, often similar to the psalms of lament. This short passage begins with words of the enemies of the prophet. Are there not enough priests, wise teachers and prophets? We can surely do without this one! In his prayer the prophet turns to the Lord pleading for assistance. His sense of hurt is compounded, for he has spoken only the truth. They have ‘dug a pit’ for him, though he has constantly interceded for them. Jeremiah 38 reports that the prophet was thrown by his enemies into a muddy cistern.

Psalm 31 (30) has a similar tone to the words of Jeremiah’s confession. The psalmist pleads for release from those who slander him, and expresses his trust in the Lord.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (20:17-28)

Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the road he took the Twelve aside on their own and said to them, ‘Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised up again.’ 

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and worshipped him; and he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ He said to them, ‘The cup you shall drink, but as for sitting at my right hand and my left, this is not mine to grant; that is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’

When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the gentiles the rulers lord it over them, and great men tyrannise them. Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your servant, just as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

In answer to Peter’s question about the reward the disciples could expect, Jesus has already promised they would sit ‘on twelve thrones’ (19:28). So it is no surprise that the mother of the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, brings them to Jesus to make a request for places of honour in the kingdom. They are zealous for the kingdom, and, when Jesus speaks of the ‘cup’ of suffering, they remain committed. But places of honour in the kingdom are not the concern of Jesus, for they are ‘prepared by the Father’. When the other ten disciples hear about the conversation they are annoyed. Jesus speaks of how the ‘gentiles’ crave power and position. For the twelve by contrast there is the call to be a ‘servant’. Jesus understands himself in this way: he came to serve and ‘give his life as a ransom for many’. The suffering servant in Isaiah 53 is the model, for he ‘gives his life as a sin offering’.

It takes time for the full implications of discipleship to sink in.

For those who seek power and position for themselves, and not for service, we pray.