Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 10, 2024

Gratitude for God’s love and the gift of Jesus

John 3:14–21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,
so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19 This is the verdict:
Light has come into the world,
but people loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light,
and will not come into the light
for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,
so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done
has been done in the sight of God.

Music Meditations

• Jesus the Light of the World—The Rose Ensemble with Time O’Brien
• Sogno de Volare--Christopher Tin (a Stanford grad)
• Ode to Joy--Beethoven
• Goodness of God--CeCeWinans

Opening Prayer

God, You love the world. This is my faith, Lord. Sometimes it seems to be against the evidence when floods, earthquakes, droughts and tsunamis devastate poor people… Central to my faith is the figure of Jesus, lifted up on the cross, knowing what it is to be devastated and a failure, but offering Himself in love for us. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.

Companions for the Journey

GOD’S LOVE IN JESUS CHRIST: 4th SUNDAY OF LENT B

By Brian Gleeson CP <bgleesoncp@gmail.com>

Are you and I being saved? If so, how?

When I was going to Catholic elementary school a long time ago, Christian teaching was taught by the question-and-answer method. One question the catechism asked was this: ‘Why do we call Good Friday “good”?’ It answered in these words: ‘We call that day “good”, on which Jesus Christ died, because his death has shown how much he loves us, and has brought us so many blessings.’ The answer endorses the famous and treasured saying in the gospel of John today: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life’ (3:16) So St Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists, has called the Passion and Death of Jesus, ‘the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love’.

But in telling and re-telling the story of what Jesus did and what happened to him, not everyone has highlighted God’s love. Take the stirring hymn, ‘How Great Thou Art’, which ranks in the top five of nearly every survey of most-loved hymns in the English-speaking world! (It rocketed to fame in Billy Graham’s 1954 London Crusade). I can comfortably join in the singing about wandering through the forests, looking down from lofty mountain grandeur, feeling the gentle breeze, and praising the greatness of their Creator. I can join in the fourth verse about looking forward to the joy of that day, when Jesus will come to take me home to God. But when it comes to the third verse, I have to stop singing the words, because they seem to suggest that Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice for my sins!

And when I think that God his Son not sparing
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in.
That on the Cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.

No! God the Father did not send his Son into the world to die on the cross. Only a monster God would do such a thing. The Father sent his Son to live and love – to show and tell everyone, just how real and deep, how everlasting and unchanging, is God’s love for all human beings, bar none.

On the part of Jesus, his response to God was to be faithful to his mission from God – to make God’s kingdom of truth, love, healing, peace, and joy, happen everywhere on earth. No matter what happened to him, Jesus would not take back his commitment to that mission. But the response of his enemies was to reject God and kill Jesus. So, it was not God who created the cross, but human beings. Human malice, scorn, and hatred put Jesus on the cross. So, the cross is, first of all, a symbol of human sinfulness. In the second place, it is also a symbol of continuing divine love and fidelity. In fact, ‘God the Father both inspired Jesus with courage and love and waited on his free decision to suffer for mankind’ (Gerald O’Collins, echoing Thomas Aquinas).

The response of God the Father to the rejection of Jesus by human beings, and to the fidelity of God’s Son, was to raise him from the dead. So, God remained loving and faithful, despite human infidelity, and hostility. Indeed, in raising Jesus to life and glory, ‘God transforms the brutal and wicked act of crucifixion into an event that brings healing and liberation’ (Denis Edwards) to all who connect to the cross.

It would be a big mistake to isolate the death of Jesus from his life and ministry before it. It must be seen as the climax of the way he lived, the result of all he did and endured for the coming of the kingdom of God. The evidence of the bible suggests that Jesus was expecting both a premature and violent death, the lot of the prophets before him. It even seems that he adopted a kind of ‘bring it on’ attitude when he drove out the buyers and sellers from the Temple. But, as he saw it, what awaited him was not disaster but destiny. He accepted his cruel and unjust death, trusting that not only was it necessary for the kingdom of God to happen, but that his beloved Father (his Abba), would vindicate him, and do so personally. His trust, of course, was richly rewarded, rewarded when he rose in his body from the grave.

Salvation in Jesus may lead us to reflect with Christopher Monaghan CP: ‘God loves us with a love that is so deep that we cannot even begin to plumb its depths… In John’s gospel, Jesus is lifted up to lead us home, not to judge or condemn, but to give us life. We all need beacons in the dark that point us in the right direction, and Jesus lifted up on the cross is that beacon that will bring us safely home.’

Further reflection:

• Sermon for Fourth Sunday of Lent (year B) >>
• Reflections on Fourth Sunday in Lent (B) from “First Impressions” >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

For God so loved the world that He gave His only son…

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• How hard is it for me to get rid of the notion that Jesus had to die to redeem us from our sins?
  What kind of God would demand this?
• “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world”… do I really believe this?
  Do I see the death of Jesus as an indictment by God of my sinfulness?
• Do I see the cross as a symbol of guilt and remorse or as a source of renewal, life, liberation and joy? (Merton)
• Are there places in my heart when light has never shone?
  What can I do to bring the light in?
• Some have said that it is through the cracks that the light gets in. Are there cracks in my armor or in my defenses that let others in?
  That let God in?
• What am I grateful for?
• Has anyone in my life been a mirror of God’s love for me? Have I told her so?
• Have I ever withheld love from someone who clearly wanted my love?
  What was my reason? (I disapproved of his actions, she irritated me, or I like the power that this person’s apparent “neediness” gave over me, or something else)
  Is that what I think God would do?
• How can prayer make me more aware of God’s light in the world?
• How can prayer help me shine that light on others?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

“God rejoices. Not because the problems of the world have been solved, not because all human pain and suffering have come to an end. Not because thousands of people have been converted and are not praising him for his goodness. No, God rejoices because one of his children who was lost has been found.” (Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son, p.114)

God is continually offering us the opportunity to rejoice with him at his holy banquet, if we can tear ourselves away from our own affairs to attend. What in your life distracts you from being joyful in the Lord? What can you do during this Lenten season to slow down and take joy in God’s love and care for you?

How are joy and gratitude related? What are you grateful for this very moment? If you cannot think of anything, ask yourself what is blocking you from the simple appreciation of the good things you do have in favor of bemoaning the things you don’t have. Once you have come up with something (or maybe even many things to be grateful to God for, sit in God’s presence, expressing your thankfulness and joy.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

We all know someone who is not quite satisfied with his/her gifts. Perhaps she wishes to be taller, more athletic; perhaps he wishes to be smarter, a better artist, or to have a talent for acting. Resolve to spend some time this week reinforcing his sense of giftedness, or helping her to see that she is God’s work of art. (from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford)

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

“Before a word is on my tongue you know it, O Lord, through and through. For it was you who created me in my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139)

Think of all the times God’s love and providence has been active in your personal history. Which events stand out? Write them down, then compose your own psalm of gratitude, ending each phrase with “Your love endures forever”.

Literary Reflection

from Denise Levertov, late of the Stanford English Department:
How does this poem look at John 3:16? Does it cause awe? Gratitude? Wonder? Humility?
All of the those emotions?

“On the mystery of the Incarnation”

It’s when we face for a moment
the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know
the taint in our own selves, that awe
cracks the mind’s shell and enters the heart:
not to a flower, not to a dolphin,
to no innocent form
but to this creature vainly sure
it and no other is god-like, God
(out of compassion for our ugly
failure to evolve) entrusts,
as guest, as brother,
the Word.

Literary Reflection:

Read the following poem by Wendell Berry. Does it describe how we as humans generally respond to the gifts God has bestowed? Can you see ways in which our ingratitude for the very life and goods of this world have harmed it?

“Two Questions”

If you provided a marriage feast
and the thankless guests crowded
at the table getting the food
without tasting it, and shoving
one another away, so that some ate
too much and some ate nothing,
would you not be offended?

If, seated at your bountiful table,
your guests picked and finicked
over the food, eating only a little,
refusing the wine and the dessert,
claiming that to fill their bellies
and rejoice would impair their souls,
would you not be offended?

Some more poetry to enjoy:

“JOY”

When it comes back to teach you
or you come back to learn
how half alive you’ve been,
how your own ignorance and arrogance
have kept you deprived—
When it comes back to you
or you yourself return,
joy is simple, unassuming.
Red tulips on their green stems,
Early spring vegetables, bright in the pan.
The primary colors of a child’s painting,
The first lessons, all over again.

—Thomas Centolella from Lights and Mysteries

“Praying”

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones, just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest, but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

—Mary Oliver, from Thirst

Closing Prayer

Lord, we stumble around in the darkness, not realizing that the light of Your love is all around us, if we but open the eyes of our hearts and souls… Let us, as You did on that cross, turn our disappointment and sufferings into love for others

Sermon for Fourth Sunday of Lent (year B)

Are you getting tired of Lent, yet? If this were the fourth Sunday of Advent, we’d be nearly done with the purple of penitence and preparation. We would be anticipating the celebration of Christ’s coming in less than a week – Christmas Eve would be just around the corner!

But this isn’t Advent. It’s Lent. We have a ways to go before the end of this 40-day journey into the wilderness. There are still two more weeks before we can wave palm branches at the entry into Holy Week. We have three more weeks to fast and pray and prepare our hearts for Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning.

Here in the middle of Lent, we could sure use some joy. I think that’s why, centuries ago, someone thought it would be a good idea to make the fourth Sunday of Lent be Laetare Sunday, a Sunday when we get to ‘rejoice in the Lord.’ It’s kind of like that third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, when we light a rose-colored candle instead of a dark purple one. And what better gospel passage to bring us joy, than the third chapter of John? This is where we find the famous verse that sums up the whole gospel message – “For God so loved the world…”

And this brings us to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a rabbi, who comes to Jesus under cover of darkness. Maybe Rabbi Nic comes to Jesus at night to keep his conversation a secret from the other Pharisees. Maybe he doesn’t want to admit publicly that he is in contact with Jesus.

Or maybe he was only trying to speak with Jesus when he had a better chance to spend some significant time in conversation, after the crowds have left for the day. Whatever motivation caused Nicodemus to wait until darkness had fallen, his appearance at night is unusual enough that later, when Nicodemus re-enters the story (7:50), he is referred to as “the one who came to Jesus at night.”

It’s pretty clear that Nicodemus comes to Jesus in a state of confusion and spiritual blindness, and he can’t seem to grasp what Jesus is trying to teach him. Whether he’s being stubborn or simply misguided in his lack of understanding, Nicodemus is completely in the dark when it comes to comprehending how God actually works.

It’s also clear that Nicodemus has been keeping an eye on Jesus. He has seen him teaching in the synagogues, and he recognizes that Jesus teaches with an authority he himself would never dare to claim. The conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus is focused on the idea of new birth, of being born both of flesh and of spirit. When Nicodemus leaves Jesus, we aren’t sure if he has decided to become a disciple or not. We won’t know that for several more chapters.

But after Jesus speaks to him, Jesus turns to us, and begins to speak in second person plural terms. He is addressing all of us when says, “If I tell you all of earthly things, like wind and water, and you don’t get it, how will you be able to grasp heavenly things, like spirit and rebirth?” (v 13) Jesus continues to speak:

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” (John 3:14-21)

Throughout the Gospel of John, we find an emphasis on the contrast between light and dark. In the opening prologue, John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light” (1:5) and a few verses later, “The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light.” (1:10)

And now Jesus says, “this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” (v 19) These are harsh words. They don’t have the same “warm fuzzy” feel of that familiar verse that starts “God so loved the world…” These words sound harsh because Jesus isn’t talking to someone else. He’s talking directly to us.

Here in the heart of Lent, God calls us into a face-to-face conversation. We aren’t hearing a nice story about Rabbi Nic’s encounter with Jesus. Nicodemus has gone home. We are the ones looking Jesus in the eye. He is talking directly to you and to me and to everyone who claims him as Lord and Savior. Ours are the deeds that are being held up to the light in judgment. And ours is the belief that is being called into question. Do we really believe in Jesus as the Son of God? Where is the evidence? How does that belief show itself in the things we do? When our deeds are held up to the light, is it clear that they have been “done in God?”

We don’t like to talk about judgment much. We don’t like to think about those who are condemned already because they have not believed in the Son of God. And we sure don’t like to have our behavior scrutinized for its godliness. Because we know we fall short. Every one of us falls short. We all need God’s grace, that ‘unmerited favor’ God offers to everyone he loves.

If you don’t get anything else out of John’s gospel, be sure you get this: God loves you. These words of Jesus go deep into describing the way God loves us – not “how much,” but how.

• God loves us by lifting up his Son so we can believe in him. (14-15)

• God loves us by sending his only Son to give us eternal life (16)

• God loves us by saving us from our sin (17) – not just our petty little everyday sins but from all our Sin with a capital S.

• God loves us by shining the light of Christ into the dark places in our lives, the places where we try to hide our sin (19)

• God loves us by drawing us into the light, so that what we do is “done in God” (21)

Why would God bother to love us in this way? Why doesn’t God just write us off as a loss? It seems rather foolish of God to waste divine love on our sorry lot. But that’s who God is. God loves us because of God, not because of our worthiness. God loves us because God is love. That’s the primary identity out of which God operates.

God is willing to be a fool for love, giving us his own self, even when we don’t deserve it, can’t grasp it, and don’t love him back. He keeps loving us through it all. He keeps loving us through our rebellion, through our complacency, through our poor attempts to keep control in our own hands. If this were anyone but God, we’d laugh at how foolishly he loves.

For God loved the world in this way: that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

How are you like Nicodemus? What keeps you in the dark, preventing you from turning toward the light? How do you try to keep your faith hidden, or separated from the other parts of your life? What assumptions do you hold onto, that prevent you from experiencing the peace that comes from confessing Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and trusting in his grace alone? What keeps you from naming Jesus as your Lord and being born anew of the Spirit?

Remember the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful because he had many possessions? We never know the end of his story, because the gospels never mention him again. But we do hear from Nicodemus again – twice. The first time, he defends Jesus to the other Pharisees and priests, asking the other leaders to give Jesus a fair trial (7:50). The last time we see him, he is at the foot of the cross, with Joseph of Arimathea, taking down Jesus’ broken body and preparing it for burial with an unusually large amount of spices (19:39).

Did he finally come into the light? Did he eventually experience a spiritual birth? I think so. I think his actions demonstrate an awakening to the light of belief in the Son of God. Nicodemus shows us that sometimes we don’t get a struck-by-lightning experience. Sometimes, the process of claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior takes a while. Some of us can’t identify a single moment when we suddenly realize our salvation is secure, but we still claim Christ’s grace, and we confess Jesus as our Lord.

Is Jesus calling you out of the darkness, into the light of his saving grace? Are you ready to make him Lord of your entire life, not just the part that you think of as “belonging to church”? Are you ready to step out of the darkness, and into the light of God’s love for you? For God loved you in this way: he gave his only Son, so that if you believe in him, you will not perish but you will have eternal life.

It’s no accident that Lent began on Valentine’s Day this year. This is how God loved the world. The cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love. Craig Keener writes, “No where in this Gospel does God say, ‘I love you’; rather, he demonstrates his [seemingly foolish] love for humanity by self-sacrifice (13:34, 14:31), and demands the same practical demonstration of love from his followers.” [1]

Throughout this season of Lent, some of you have been reading Michael Frost’s book, Surprise the World. Each week, we’ve practiced new ways of demonstrating tiny sacrifices of self – from blessing others with words of encouragement and acts of kindness, to giving up our regular eating habits so we can share a table with someone else. These are all ways to lift up the cross of Christ – not in condemnation, but in love. As you leave today, I’d like you to accept a small gift. It’s a pin that shows a cross and heart fused together. You can wear it as reminder of the way God loves you. And you can also wear it as a conversation starter. If someone asks you about it, you can tell them you wear it to remember the way God loves you. Let the Holy Spirit take it from there.

[1] Craig Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume 1, 566-67.

Reflections on Fourth Sunday in Lent (B) from “First Impressions”

Scripture: 2 Chron 36: 14-17, 19-23 / Psalm 137 / Ephesians 2: 4-10 / John 3: 14-21

by Jude Siciliano, O.P. <jude@judeop.org>

Today’s gospel begins with Jesus addressing Nicodemus. Who is Nicodemus? The opening verses of chapter 14 introduce him, and set the stage for Jesus’ words to him. In today’s passage he has nothing to say, he is just a listener. But the passage has, what must be, the most quoted verse from the entire Bible. When TV cameras scan the crowds of sporting events, there is bound to be someone in the stands holding up a sign saying, “John 3:16.”

We hear that verse today, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not die, but may have eternal life.” It is not only a beautiful verse, but it may be the best and briefest summary of our faith. Too bad the next verse is not posted with it, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (v. 17).

Sometimes it sounds like the people who quote 3:16 want to throw in verse 18 as well: “Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has it already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” There, that’s a neat package isn’t it? Believe in Jesus, and you are saved; don’t believe in him and you are lost.

Since the person quoting that verse is usually a believer, they are implying that the other person is not saved, because they do not believe in Jesus. Or, don’t believe in Jesus the way the “quoter” believes in him. This exchange is an example of how dangerous it is to pull a verse out of its context in the scriptures. In this case, that practice condemns 2/3 of the non-Christian world! With you, I believe the world is saved through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We do not believe that everyone who doesn’t believe, or never heard of the historic events, is condemned.

For example, recall the words in our Eucharistic prayer (#2) for the dead, “Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy.” Also remember, Matthew 25: 31--46, the scene of the last judgment. Those who fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, comforted the sick and visited the imprisoned were saved – even though they were not consciously doing their good works out of belief in Jesus.

Some of us are called to know God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and to live his life of service to others. We cannot take credit for that faith, it is pure gift, unmerited. We did not earn it, but we do take pride in it, and are grateful to God for it. We are reminded of that in Ephesians today, “For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you, it is the gift of God, it is not from works, so no one can boast.”

Today’s gospel is addressed to us who have received the call and maybe wonder what to do with it. In that quest, we all like Nicodemus, hesitant, and searching. So we ask again, “Who is Nicodemus?” John told us previously (3: 1-2): he is a member of the Sanhedrin , the Jewish high council. He came to Jesus at night. Maybe because he didn’t want to be seen; maybe because he is spiritually in the dark. He does acknowledge Jesus to be a great teacher and so he has come with questions -- life questions.

In today’s passage, Jesus is addressing the questions Nicodemus put to him about being “born again.” He must have been changed by his encounter with Jesus, because he appears twice more in John’s gospel: he speaks up for Jesus before the Sanhedrin (7:5); with Joseph of Arimathea, he buries Jesus (19:38--40).

We do not know if Nicodemus became a believer in Jesus. Maybe, with others, he was too timid to admit he believed in him. The gospel is written for us believers, called in service to the Lord. We have received the gift of faith. How do we use it? Do our lives witness to our faith. Or, do we shrink back when challenged to speak and act on what we profess we believe? In other words, do we just blend in with the world around us? Do we hang back in the shadows with Nicodemus, afraid to be seen with Jesus? Our faith in Jesus cannot be just in name, especially when living that faith might require difficult change.

John’s gospel describes a person who lives their faith in Jesus as one who, “lives the truth”; or “does the truth.” Creedal statements, just speaking the truth, is not enough – we have to do it. We have to act on what we believe, despite the cost.

That is what Ephesians reminds us today. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance that we should live in them.” We can be become God’s “handiwork” if we let God do God’s work in us. All is a gift of grace. Lent continues to remind us of that. We are called to follow Jesus and take up his cross. In Lent we pray and sacrifice to do just that.

Third Sunday in Lent, March 3, 2024

When is anger wrong and when is it appropriate? / What is God’s house in our time like?

John 2:13–25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me.

At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

Music Meditations

• “Your Words Are Spirit and Life” (composed by Bernadette Farrell and Craig Kingsbury) [YouTube]
• “Give Me Jesus” (sung by Fernando Ortega) [YouTube]
• “Psalm 19 (The Heavens Declare)” (The Psalms Project feat. Chris Heesch) [YouTube]
• The Law of the Lord is Perfect (The Psalms Project feat. Chris Heesch)
• “Christ in Me Arise” (composed by Trevor Thomson) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Excerpted from a Jewish prayer in A Lent Sourcebook from LTP Publications

Master of life and Lord of Lords, we do not rely on our own good deeds, but on your great mercy as we lay our need before you. Lord, hear! Lord, pardon! Lord, listen and act! What are we? What is our life? What is our love? What is our justice? What is our success? What is our endurance? What is our power? To you, most of our actions are pointless and daily life is shallow. Even our superiority over the beasts nothing… for everything is trivial except the pure soul which must one day give its account and reckoning before the judgement of your glory. Lord, hear! Lord, pardon!

Companions for the Journey

We are in the midst of our Lenten reflection and discipline. On our own, our inadequacies and sin seem to stare us in the face. We are looking in a mirror with ourselves looking back. We want to turn away with a sense of incompletion. Will we ever get our act together, we ask ourselves halfway through Lent? But the scriptures won’t let us get bogged down in self pity, or even embarrassment. They reveal a God of mercy and power today, something the scriptures continually do for us.

All four gospels have the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. The threes synoptic gospels have the event at the end of Jesus’ ministry, where it is an affront to the religious authorities. As a result they conspire to have Jesus killed. John has another purpose in mind. He places the story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is Passover time when Jesus drives the merchants out of the temple area. At Passover time Jews traveled to Jerusalem to observe the feast with purification rituals and then festivals. Jesus is performing another kind of purification for a different temple.

What about those merchants doing business in the Temple precincts? They served an important function in the daily activities of the Temple. Animal merchants sold the creatures that were to be sacrificed. Jews could not use the Roman, or Greek, coins in the Temple because they had images on them with captions calling Caesar divine. It would be blasphemy to take those coins into the Temple. So money changers helped convert the “street money” into Jewish currency to pay the Temple tax. While necessary, prophets like Zechariah, yearned for the day when there would be “no longer traders in the house of the Lord” (Zech 14:21)

There are many reasons we build temples and holy places. Some are even erected for vain glory, paid for by the well-endowed and established. They have their name plates on the walls and pews honoring their generosity. There is much to cleanse in our temples that seem to favor one group of people over another. But temples are primarily built to honor the God we worship and who dwells among us. We go to those places, those “holy places,” to remind us how close God is, the God who listens to our prayers and is present among us everywhere, not just in buildings and memorials.

That’s what the Temple was for the Jews, the place where God dwelt in the heart of the community of believers. It drew the devout to pay tribute to God. The First Temple had been destroyed and, from the text, the Second Temple was still under construction in Jesus’ time. In the year 70 it was also destroyed by the Romans. (The main remnant is the outer western wall, the Wailing Wall, where today people from all over the world come to pray.) The physical Temple was destroyed. The true temple of God’s presence, Jesus Christ, would also be destroyed. But, as he promised, he would be raised up after three days.

Jesus referred to his body as a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. We are joined to Christ through our baptism and so the body of Christians is also a temple of the living and present God. Lent offers a focused time to reflect on what makes our “house of prayer,” our bodies, unclean and in need of cleansing? What makes our church body unclean: recent sex scandals; divisions caused by attacks on the pope; local congregations’ attitudes towards newcomers; splits because of economic differences; clericalism, etc.?

The opposition to Jesus asked, “What sign can you show us for doing this? They wanted external proof of his authority. But their faith was not based on faith in Jesus and his mission. Later, in John (6:26-31), the crowds will see the sign of the multiplication of the loaves and will follow him. But they didn’t see the deeper significance of the sign when Jesus explained it to them. As a result his disciples “broke away and would not remain in his company any longer” (6:61).

There’s a Lenten reflection for us. Is our faith just skin deep, needing reassuring signs to keep us believing? Shall we invite the Spirit of Jesus to enter our temple to drive out what is superficial about our faith; what relies on daily reassurance and can even evaporate when life tests us with economic stress, sickness, family strife, aging, social disorder, etc?

Did you notice that Jesus doesn’t refer to his Father’s “temple,” but to “my Father’s house?” What do you think he is suggesting about what our place of worship should be like? Is it God’s house and has an “open door” policy. When Jesus drives the merchants from the Temple grounds his disciples recall a line from the Psalms (69): “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Jesus, a messianic prophet, has come to purify the “house” that is his people. Did you come from a family that welcomed guests and newcomers to your table? Was it a “house” where outsiders felt at home even though they did not have economic or social influence? Where guests were not of your family’s race, or national origins...yet felt welcomed and at home?

Jesus’ opponents want a sign that will authorize his actions. He returned with a challenge, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. The implication is that there are destructive forces already in the temple that would destroy it, like the negative forces that corrode our church. So, what sign will Jesus give them that authorizes his messianic actions? He promised he will raise up the destroyed temple in three days. He is not speaking of stone and mortar, but to the temple that is his body. He is looking ahead to his resurrection and to us disciples recalling his words. Jesus has authority in this “house” because he is resurrected from the dead. Who are we? We, the baptized, are the “home,” that welcome all to his table. We are by no means fully cleansed but, staying in the house of God, we are being cleansed as individuals and a church.

Further reflection:

• Commentary on John 2:13–25 from “Living Space” >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Zeal for your house will consume me

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Does the thought of an angry Jesus make me uncomfortable?
• There were two issues that might have angered Jesus as he saw what was going on in the temple precincts that day. First, people were using a holy, sacred place for commerce, desecrating it for profit; in addition, the prices charged for the sacrificial animals and the exchange rate to purchase coins acceptable in the temple were excessive, and very burdensome for the poor. Which do you think angered Jesus more?
• It takes time to make a whip of cords. What does that say about Jesus’ reaction to the goings-on in the temple precincts?
• Are people measured by what angers them?
• What makes me angry?
  Was my anger appropriate?
  When does anger become sinful?
  What disgusts me?
  Can disgust be sinful?
  How often is my anger the result of someone violating my air space, economic space, my rights?
  How often is my anger the result of mistreatment of others, such as the poor or the homeless?
• What things anger me because I think they anger God?
  What things SHOULD anger me because I think they anger God?
  What things anger me that do not, upon reflection, necessarily anger God?
• What is righteous indignation?
  In what instances do I express righteous indignation?
  How do I do so?
  Are these instances personal affronts or insults to me and mine, or are they caused by persons or situations endemic to our culture?
• What is the connection between anger and violence?
  Are you bothered by Jesus’ violent reaction in the temple?
• How hard is it to deal with anger appropriately?
• Have we ever known of churches or other entities that made a profit on people’s piety?
  What about the commercial aspects of many of our sacraments and Catholic funerals?
• Should personal/corporate profit and religion mix?
• When you see people exploiting others, does it make you angry?
  Can you think of any men or women who called out religious or civil authorities for the ways in which they gouged the poor?
  What sort of price did they pay?
• What is a Temple of God?
  How was Jesus referring to himself when he spoke of the Temple of God?
• In what ways am I a Temple of God?
  What do I need to cleanse from the temple that is my body so that it can house God?
• What do I think was Jesus’ purpose in coming into the world?
  What is mine?
• What do I understand “zeal for the Lord’s house” to mean?
  What can I do to cultivate same?
  Does this “zeal” impel me to action?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination

Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

In imagination I stand in the Temple courtyard, as the young Rabbi from Galilee enters. I notice the courtyard, the sounds, the smells, the rattle of coins on the tables, the reek and cries of the animals. I watch Jesus, see the blood rush to his face. He has come to reverence the temple and to pray. Instead he finds all the focus is on business. Suddenly I sense a whirlwind of anger as he whips the hucksters and scatters their money. This is a new side of Jesus and it shakes me. I stay with it. What drives his anger? Have I ever been angry at a wrong or an injustice? How did I handle it? I speak to Jesus about the times I did not respond appropriately to injustice, either losing control or failing to be bothered enough to speak up for fer of reprisals. I speak to Jesus about the times I was angry but only on my own behalf, feeling dismissed, ignored or criticized harshly. I ask for strength to stand up for causes and people that need defending, and ask for forgiveness when my anger was immature or self serving.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Adapted from a homily by Fr. William Bausch:

Time to turn the tables and set up new ones! Here are five suggestions:

1. Love only what is worth loving. What in my life is worth my love? What is not?
2. Put first things first. What in my life do I prioritize?
3. Cultivate spiritual insight. What are the ultimate spiritual truths for me? Be honest. (Write them down and look at them all week)
4. Strive for integrity of conscience. What compromises my integrity? What rationalizations and excuses do I feed myself?
5. Enlist in a cause that benefits the community or the world, not just my family and friends. Pick a cause (suggestions: CRS, Catholic Worker House, Redwood City, Bread for the World. Your local PTA, Meals on Wheels, to name a few) How wil I support that cause, starting NOW?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read the following excerpts from Psalm 139, expressing that we are also a temple of God. Then write your own psalm, asking Jesus to tell you things about yourself that will help you grow in Him. Ask Him to still your mind and heart so that you can hear His words:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

Poetic Reflection:

Often people use the story of Jesus’ cleansing the temple as an excuse for their intemperate responses to what others do. Mary, Queen of Scots, had a different prayer:

Keep us, O God, from all pettiness.
Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed.
Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off all self-seeking.
May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face,
Without self pity and without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgment, always generous.
Let us take time for all things, and make us grow calm, serene, and gentle.
Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be straight-forward and unafraid.
Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life that create differences,
That in the big things of life we are one.
And, Lord, God, let us not forget to be Kind.

Where do I need to be patient with others who are ruining their lives or the lives of others?

Poetic Reflection:

This is a slightly different take on how Jesus feels about the behavior of humans:

Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the garden
Speaking to the sacred trees
Their branches bear his light
Without harm

Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the ruins
Seeking the lost disciple
A timid one
Too literate
To believe words
So he hides
Christ rises on the cornfields
It is only the harvest moon
The disciple
Turns over in his sleep
And murmurs:
“My regret!”

The disciple will awaken
When he knows history
But slowly, slowly
The Lord of History weeps into the fire

—Thomas Merton “Cables to the Ace” (stanza 80)

Closing Prayer

Keep me, above all things, from sin.
Stanch me in the rank wound of covetousness
And the hungers that exhaust my nature with their bleeding.
Stamp out the serpent envy that stings love with poison
And kills all joy.
Untie my hand and deliver my heart from sloth.

Set me free from the laziness that goes about disguised
as activity
when activity is not required of me,
and the cowardice that does what is not demanded,
in order to escape sacrifice.

And then to wait in peace and emptiness and oblivion
Of all things.

—Kyrie by Thomas Merton in Book of Hours

Commentary on John 2:13–25 from “Living Space”

John 2:13-22

“LIVING SPACE”—A SERVICE OF THE IRISH JESUITS

Today’s reading from John’s Gospel is the account of Jesus cleansing the Temple. The synoptics report this event just before the Passion, but John puts it much earlier, just after the story of the wedding feast at Cana.

We are told Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem from Galilee because the Passover feast was near. When he entered the Temple area he found people selling oxen, sheep and doves to be offered by pilgrims as sacrifices. There were also money changers because Roman currency could not be used in the Temple and had to be changed for Jewish shekels. Jesus was not at all happy about these activities.

He made a small whip of cords and began driving out those selling animals and overturned the tables of the money-changers, saying:

Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace! Of course, what the sellers were doing was not against any law; in fact, it was a necessary service. The problem was that commerce like this should have been done outside the Temple area, just as we would not be happy to see the Sunday newspapers being sold inside the church building after Mass. Hawkers tend to get as close to the action as they can and that is what was happening here – but it was still inappropriate.

Some of the Jews, however, challenged Jesus. “What sign can you show us authorizing you to do such things?” What Jews were these? Were they priests or officials of the Temple who were getting a ‘cut’ on the hawkers’ profits and turning a blind eye to their selling inside the Temple precincts?

Jesus gave them a strange answer:

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

The Jews took him literally saying:

This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days? This was the mighty Temple of Herod which, even after 46 years, was not yet quite finished.

But, as John comments, Jesus was talking about the Temple of his Body. And it was only after the Resurrection that the disciples came to understand the meaning of Jesus’ words. They are words we need to remember today.

In the New Covenant, there is no Temple building. The Temple is now the Christian community which is the Risen Body of Christ. Jesus is saying, “Whoever sees you, sees Me.” So it is important in today’s celebration that we recall who we are, and how we are to be seen to be the Temple of Christ’s Body for the world.