Weekly Reflection: Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

Reading references:

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 50:3-4.12-15. R. v. 12
Second Reading: Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel: John 12:20-33

“Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” is the request made by some Greeks to Philip. The Greeks along with many others were very curious about Jesus – they had heard things about Jesus and some had seen the wondrous things Jesus had done.

But was it enough just to see Jesus? Obviously not.

We need to take particular note of this very beautiful Gospel. To see Jesus is one thing, but to follow (or believe in) Jesus is quite another. Ruth Burrows says this in the opening paragraph of her wonderful book To Believe In Jesus:

Faith in Jesus, the Son of Man, is very, very rare. If what I say is true it is a depressing assertion. It would be even more depressing if there were nothing we could do about it. As it is, we are set over a gold mine, a shovel is put in our hands, we are given the strength to dig and the absolute assurance that if we do so we shall find. No special gifts are required, no superhuman effort, only resolution and the taking of trouble. Everyone is given a chance, no one is excluded. What happens? Some of us at any rate set to work and dig but what we find is not at all what we expected. We expected a glistening nugget and instead all we have in our weary hands is an ugly, shapeless lump of metal. ‘It is gold, pure gold,’ we are told. But it doesn’t look like gold, it doesn’t feel like gold. You say you believe in Jesus. He told you that if you dug you would find the treasure. Where is your faith?

What is our reaction to these wise words?

So often when we come to see Jesus we come with our own agendas and our own hardness of heart. We want Jesus to fit into what we want. But when something is asked of us we often reject it – when we are asked to lose the life we know, we say NO – we will not take the risk – we lack faith. We then become like Pharaoh when he was asked to let God’s people go – he wouldn’t.

When we are asked to let our lives go so that God can “create a clean heart in me” we often say NO. When we do this we are effectively saying that we want to remain a grain of wheat and we are too frightened to let it fall on the ground and be transformed into something beautiful that will yield a rich harvest.

What a tragedy this is.

But there is potentially a greater tragedy. Church leadership must do all within its power to nurture the faith of the people – the Church – this is its priority and its mission. Unfortunately, too often the leadership has often encouraged the people to see Jesus but it has neglected to empower and nurture the people to believe in Jesus.

It is a very risky business to nurture and encourage people’s belief in Jesus because this faith/belief in Jesus creates a freedom that will not be contained. We of course saw this most beautifully and powerfully in Jesus.

So the Church leadership must also constantly strive to be faithful to our Gospel today. It must learn to let go of its life and allow the grain of wheat to fall on the ground and yield a rich harvest.

When the Church leadership can really do this then we will see a Church teaming with life and filled with renewed hope in a broken world and in a broken Church.

There are faint glimmerings of this happening but only faint ones. Until the Church leadership can learn to let go of its controls through a highly dysfunctional male clerical leadership system, its increasing centralisation, its unmoveable laws that can alienate and exclude and oppress people, its alienating rigidity regarding the role of women and lay people in the leadership of the church, its denial of the Eucharist to communities without an ordained priest, its insistence on continuing to build the Church around the clerical model etc etc, then it will continue to flounder and become more irrelevant in a world that longs not only to see Jesus but to also believe in Jesus. It is the central most important role of Church leadership to bring this longing to fruition – it is its mission in our world.

Constructive criticism is always important and must be named. But we must also learn to see our own brokenness and come to the knowledge of being able to name that. When we can do this we will become more tolerant and understanding of everything that is before us. It is all too easy to throw stones while excluding our own role or responsibility in this mission regardless of how insignificant we may feel.

WE as Church have such exciting potential before us, but we must work together, we must support each other, we must challenge each other, we must learn to weep with each other,we must listen to each other, we must be patient with each other, but most importantly we must believe in Jesus.

There are many Catholics and many clerics that cry out the words of Jesus: Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour?

But the journey of us all has brought us to this place in this time – our prayer, our response to God’s call, our longings and desires, our faith etc however broken all this may be, have brought us here to this very moment in time. Can we then say along with Jesus: But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!

Do we truly recognize the journey that has brought us to this place and time?

Do we have the courage to respond to what is being asked of us now?

Let us pray in the coming week of our Lenten journey that we will have the determination and the desire to be steadfast on the journey ahead and that all we say and do will truly reflect our belief in Jesus.

Again I leave you with some further wise words from Ruth Burrows to ponder in your prayer:

The most valuable form of asceticism, because it is the actual exercise of love, is the patient acceptance of the hardships and sufferings of life.

Weekly Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B

Reading references:

First Reading: Chronicles 36:14-16.1923
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 136 R. v. 6
Second Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel: John 3:14-21


Our readings have many lessons for us to learn from today. The Chronicles are scathing of the “heads of the Priesthood, and the people too” and accuse them of great infidelity to the point that it is said “there was no further remedy.”

The Psalmist who is experiencing what is perceived as the absence of God begs God to “let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!”

Paul in Ephesians tells us we are “God’s work of art” but reminds us that we have been saved through faith and through nothing we have done. All is gift from God.

Our Gospel reveals part of a conversation between Nicodemus who is a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews and Jesus. In this conversation it is made very clear that belief in God’s son will determine our salvation. This belief in Jesus will be determined by the way in which we choose to live our lives.

Jesus’ life and death shows us how to live – he said to us: I am the way, the truth and the life, and his resurrection is our hope.

Why is it so hard for us to live this truth?

Fundamentalism has always been present within various religious traditions and to varying degrees and perhaps there is an element of it within us all at times. In recent times we have seen a rise in fundamentalism in a number of religions and it is something like a cancer that destroys the goodness that is possible. It possesses a self righteousness that is exclusive and alienating and grossly distorts the truth. It has a mentality of: I am in and you are out. Within Christianity it lives a literal interpretation of scripture, when it suits it. Fundamentalism has little or no understanding of who Jesus is for us. Fundamentalism is a most shameful practice.

Why are so many attracted to this religious practice that is creating havoc in our world?
To trust God and God’s ways requires faith. To proclaim a belief in Jesus will mean that we see every human being as “God’s work of art” and we will have some idea that God embraces every human being in a loving embrace. We can only trust God through faith.

In the time of Jesus so many of these works of art were excluded from the community because they were not considered clean or worthy for any number of reasons by the religious authorities of the day. The mentality being that: I am clean but you are not. And yet the very ones who were proclaiming to be “clean” or worthy, were themselves so defiled but they were totally blind to their sinfulness. Has anything changed?

Fundamentalism is a cop out – it buries its head and runs away from what Jesus is really asking of us – to love one another. It claims credit and puffs itself up to be saved while proclaiming that others are not.

Jesus spent his time with the social outcasts of his day and he loved them. He attracted those who were not Jewish and he loved them. He attracted the woman in adultery and he loved her. He attracted the business people who were ripping people off and he loved them. He attracted those who were consumed by their wealth and he loved them. He attracted the religious authorities and he loved them. He attracted those who were sick and dying and he loved them. He attracted those who hated him and he loved them. He attracted those who were consumed with evil and he loved them. He attracted the little children and he loved them. Jesus’ whole life was lived loving the people. He was the greatest “lover” we have known.

Are fundamentalists open with their loving?

Do their words and actions proclaim a faithful belief in Jesus and his teachings and create an environment of faith, hope and love for all?

Every one of us are sinners and to think otherwise is delusional. But equally we are ALL “God’s work of art” therefore we are capable of great love – and when we love, goodness is generated. But when we do not love by upholding those that are in the inner circle and excluding others for whatever reason, then it is often hatred and ill will that is generated.

Over the coming week take some time to ponder this list below and pray for the grace to recognize what is not loving within us and ask Jesus to help us grow in faith and love.

Fundamentalism will proclaim God to be on their side.
Lovers will proclaim every human being to be God’s work of art.
Fundamentalism will proclaim they alone are saved.
Lovers will leave the flock to find the one lost sheep.
Fundamentalism will judge the sins of others with contempt.
Lovers will know themselves to be sinners but loved.
Fundamentalism will take credit for what they have done.
Lovers will know that everything is a gift from God.
Fundamentalism will want to have full control.
Lovers will trust in God’s providence.
Fundamentalism will exclude those not like themselves.
Lovers will embrace difference with love, tolerance and understanding.
Fundamentalism will be closed to ongoing revelation.
Lovers will see God’s revelation evident all around them.
Fundamentalism will ridicule and despise the prophetic voices in their midst.
Lovers will hunger for the prophetic voice.
Fundamentalism will claim God’s will is evident in everything they do.
Lovers will strive to do God’s will with discernment and uncertainty.
Fundamentalism will judge the world as evil excluding themselves.
Lovers will weep for a broken world but knowing it is made in God’s image.
Fundamentalism will often live in fear of a judgmental God who will punish and condemn them.
Lovers are in awe of a God who is full of mercy and forgiveness.
Fundamentalism leaves nothing to chance and will do all in its power to get what it wants because it believes it is doing God’s will.
Lovers will only love and leave the rest in God’s hands.
Fundamentalism will exclude people in the name of God.
Lovers will embrace all people in the name of God.

Fundamentalism in all its forms is an evil of our time and it has permeated many areas of our lives both communally and individually. It is at its most dangerous of course when it goes unrecognized because it keeps us in exile and we starve our souls of the nourishment we long for.

Religious and church leaders along with all of God’s people need to pray for the courage to keep naming fundamentalism for the evil it is and to keep praying for the grace to recognize it in our midst.

Walter Brueggermann leaves us with these wise words to ponder as we reflect upon our readings this week:

“The world does not depend upon us, and the world is not available to us. The world is out beyond us in God’s wisdom. It mocks our pitiful efforts at control, mastery and domination.

Weekly Reflection: Third Sunday of Lent, Year B

Reading references:

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 18:8-11. R. Jn 6:69
Second Reading: Corinthians 1:22-25
Gospel: John 2:13-25


Any relationship that is built on love will do its utmost not to hurt each other. It will only want the best for each other. We see this clearly in our First Reading. The Law given through Moses is a Law of Love. It is not a list of rules that are set to keep us on our toes or that are meant to threaten us if we stray. It is the Law of Love built on God’s covenant with us. When we truly Love God then this is the natural way we will want to live.

Our Psalm tells us that this law of the Lord is perfect. We are all familiar with those beautiful words: be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

In the Second Reading Paul upholds the crucifixion as the revelation of God’s Love and highlights for us that our own wisdom and strength are little more than foolishness when compared to God’s strength and wisdom.

Our Gospel places Jesus in the Temple and we witness the anger of Jesus as he confronts the corruption of the religious system. Then we see the Jews totally misinterpret what Jesus means when he says: Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up. They are blind as to who it is before them and they are blind to their own corruption and sinfulness.

What do we learn from all of this?

When we are baptised, we are baptised priest, prophet and king.

Priest in that we see God in all things and are committed to a life of prayer and awareness of God within us, within creation and beyond all of this.

Prophet in that we are graced to speak out and act in truth and love. The prophet will name all that is not love in our world and will know themselves to be graced by God to confront all that goes against love. Prophets have been and are the great lovers in our midst.

King in that we will not run away from the fear of leadership. Our love will be focused on others and we will only want the best for them and we will behave accordingly.

But when we look at our First Reading and then look at our world what do we see – do we see this grace given to live a life of priest, prophet and king being lived out?

What do we see?

We see a world that has gone mad with consumerism and materialism that have become gods for us in many ways.

We see declining church attendance and an increasing sense that church is somehow irrelevant in our busy and distracted world. We do not have time to fit God into our lives – we have lost sight of the importance of community – the Body of Christ. But at the same time we posses a deep hunger within us but we have lost our way in our attempts to nourish this hunger.

We see a world where divorce is on the increase along with the break down of relationships.

We live in times where adultery has almost become normal.

We see drug addiction and other addictions on the increase which feeds an increasing crime rate and further social dysfunction.

We see youth suicide on the increase.

We see depression and other mental illnesses on the increase.

We see a world where the rich oppress the poor in order to feather their own nests.

The question we must ask now then is where are the priests, prophets and kings?

If Jesus physically walked into our churches this Sunday would he be any the less angry than he was in our Gospel?

Anger can be a fearful thing and it can be very destructive and is often grounded in evil. But the anger we see in Jesus today is a holy anger, and anger grounded so deeply in Love. An anger that will not tolerate the abuse of Love, that will not tolerate social injustice, that will not tolerate hypocrisy.

When we look around and see our world so broken, and if our faith and belief in Jesus is real, then we too will experience this holy anger and we will not be silenced. This is our priestly role. It is our prophetic call. It is our kingly duty.

As we continue to move through Lent let us ask for the grace and the courage to explore our hearts through the eyes of what it means to be Baptised, and with Jesus at our side to show us what God’s desire is for us and what that might be asking of me.

These wise words from Archbishop Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador until his assassination in 1980, have much to teach us if we are prepared to listen. He longed for the freedom and liberation of his people under an oppressive regime and he truly lived a life of priest, prophet and king.

There can be no true liberation
until people are freed from sin.
All the liberationist groups that spring up in our land
should bear this in mind.
The first liberation to be proposed by a political group
that truly wants the people’s liberation
must be to free oneself from sin.
While one is a slave of sin –
of selfishness, violence, cruelty, and hatred –
one is not fitted for the people’s liberation.
March 2, 1980

Weekly Reflection: Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

Reading references:

First Reading: Genesis 22:1-2.9-13.15-18
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 115:10.15-19. R. Ps 114:9
Second Reading: Romans 8:31-34
Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

In today’s Gospel we hear those very familiar but profound words: This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.

It is also very clear in this text that the Peter, James and John were shrouded in mystery with what was before them. They were afraid, they didn’t know what to say and they didn’t understand what was happening. When the disciples see Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) and the mystery of Jesus transfigured before them, Peter wants to hold the three together (let us make three tents). But the disciples will only be able to understand this event in the light of the resurrection. They will come to understand that Jesus the Christ is the fulfilment of everything that has gone before them – he is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets.

What is important for us in this text is that the disciples do not understand what is happening but as they journey with Jesus and continue to listen to him and learn from him even though everything is shrouded in mystery, they come to understand who Jesus is for all of us.

Lent asks us to journey with Jesus – to listen to him. Can we do this – are we ready to do this? Are we ready to experience the “transfiguration”?

The first sentence in our Psalm today may help us to answer this question: I trusted, even when I said: ‘I am sorely afflicted.’ The disciples must have felt this affliction. They must have felt frustration at their inability to understand - with the fear they experienced in the face of the mystery before them. But the lesson is that amongst all this they stayed with Jesus – they trusted Jesus. Even when they ran away in fear at the crucifixion, they came back otherwise we wouldn’t have Mark’s Gospel before us today. As they listened to the world around them and the world within them it helped them make sense of who Jesus was.

The key for us is to stay with Jesus. Our culture today often rejects mystery. What it cannot see or understand is too often brushed aside and often scorned. But if we have faith that is real then we know ourselves to be surrounded by mystery. The disciples had faith. Even though they kept messing things up it was their faith and trust in Jesus that helped them persevere and grow in their understanding.

How many of us when we are “sorely afflicted” walk away?

We can get frustrated in our prayer because it is dry and uneventful and the emptiness is too much for us and we can be tempted to walk away thinking what a waste of time and effort this is.

We can be tempted to walk away if we think our prayer hasn’t been answered. A loved one may have died and we prayed that they would live. We can think our prayer has been rejected because we didn’t get what we wanted.

We may have been deeply hurt by someone or something in the Church. We react by walking away angry, hurt and disillusioned with the whole church and we cut ourselves off.

We can be tempted to walk away when we don’t understand something. We don’t like not being in control of our situation.

There are many ways in which we can be “sorely afflicted” and each of us will have our own stories to tell. But what an enormous tragedy it is when we cut ourselves off from Jesus because we don’t get what we want or we don’t get what we think we need or we refuse to let ourselves be shrouded in mystery. The tragedy for us is that we do not trust. And when we do not trust how can we possibly listen?

It is our trust (faith) in Jesus that keeps calling us back. We may falter at times. We, like the disciples may even run away for a while, but if we can engage our hearts to trust this great mystery then we will learn to listen regardless of the personal hardships or frustrations.

In the coming week let us pray to be open to experience the “transfiguration” and to pray for the grace for a heart that longs to listen to Jesus, so that we too may come to see more fully the mystery that surrounds us and that is immersed in our world.

Teilhard de Chardin, who had an extraordinary sense of Communion, wrote these beautiful words in a letter to a friend. May these words help open our hearts to discover the profound truth that the “world is full of God” and through Jesus we will discover this truth.

Let us not doubt it,
and let us awaken to that light:
the world is full of God.
For if it were empty,
the world long ago would have died of disgust.

Weekly Reflection: First Sunday of Lent, Year B

Reading references:

First Reading: Genesis 9:8-15
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 24:4-9 R. v. 10
Second Reading: Peter 3:18-22
Gospel: Mark 1:12-15

Lent is a very beautiful time in the Church’s year. It invites us to keep our focus on Jesus and to be open to what ever it is that we might discover as we do this.

When we are baptised we are baptised into the life of Christ. We are not baptised into rituals and laws (which have their place and assist us in our journey) – we are baptised into Christ whose ways are love and truth. Therefore the heart of Jesus lives within us which means that we are called to be people of love and truth.

We all know that we fall short of this ideal. But as we grow in a life of love and truth we will long for it to deepen and deepen, and this longing will reveal to us God’s longing for us to be the heart of Jesus in our world.

There is such powerful imagery in our gospel today: “The Spirit drove Jesus out” - “the wilderness” – “tempted by Satan” – “wild beasts” – “the angels” – “proclaimed the Good News” – “the kingdom of God is close” – “repent” – “believe”.

This imagery alerts us to Jesus’ suffering and temptation in the wilderness, his being looked after within it and his subsequent emergence proclaiming the Good News and the reign of God and calling out to us to repent and believe this Good News. As he emerged from this wilderness he embraced the whole of creation.

What is important here for us is that Jesus enters the wilderness, he experiences temptations, but he responds to the longing in his heart and he doesn’t run away from it or contort it to his own requirements. It is his entry into this mysterious wilderness that sees him emerge to proclaim the reign of God is close. We have a real sense of his joy and enthusiasm for life as he emerges from the wilderness.

There is a great longing present in our world today. But this longing appears to be grossly misinterpreted by the majority of us. This longing has come to life in the form of our desire to accumulate as many material goods as possible – we long for more and more and we do whatever is necessary to get it. This longing has become obsessed with itself and its own well being – we long for what is best for ME and what will make ME happy. This longing has cut the care of our neighbour out of our lives – we block our hearts to the needs and suffering of others. This longing has put the desire for material wealth above the importance of relationships – we can so often consume our lives with work and grossly neglect our personal relationships. This longing has created unrest and despair among those who have nothing to the point of creating much social unrest and tension – those who are the “haves” then create tougher and unforgiving laws but we refuse to look at what the causes of the unrest might be.

The affects of our misguided response to this longing has caused unbelievable suffering for everyone. Instead of our longing giving us life it is poisoning us. We have become blind to the suffering it is causing. We have entered into the wilderness and given into nearly every temptation that has come our way. We don’t notice the “angels” looking after us and instead of coming out of the wilderness proclaiming the Good News we come out clinically depressed or at least with a very negative outlook on life that works like a slow acting poison – which slowly poisons us against life. We just do not see how close the reign of God is.

So what do we learn?

Lent asks us to look at our lives both as individuals and as a community and discern where God’s ways of Love and Truth are being lived and where they are not. We are asked to look into our hearts and see if the fruits of the way I choose to live my life are life giving for myself and others or life destroying for myself and others.

Lent calls us to take responsibility for bringing the reign of God closer and closer. If we authentically enter the longing that is in the heart of every human being we will experience life knowing that we are being looked after even when there is suffering and temptation.

But if we keep thinking only of ourselves at the expense of everyone else then we are taking a daily dose of poison.

Suffering in this life is unavoidable for everyone. We create much of our own suffering when we give into temptation and act out of our own self centeredness. But suffering can also be inflicted upon us and we can be powerless within it. But if we enter into suffering knowing through faith that we are held by God who weeps with us in our suffering then we too can emerge knowing that the reign of God is very close and we too will want to proclaim it.

In the coming week take some time each day to look at your own life. The following questions may help you with this reflection.

Look at the times when you have experienced suffering. How has this impacted on your life?

Look at the times when you experienced temptation. How has this impacted on your life?

Look at the people you know who have experienced real suffering and temptation. What do you learn from them?

Look at Jesus and reflect upon the suffering and temptation he experienced in his life. What do you learn from him?

Today’s Psalm is a particularly beautiful prayer. May I suggest that as you reflect upon your life during this week that you pray this Psalm every day (or whatever part of it that touches your heart) and pray that it can become your prayer and help you to respond to the longing that is present in your heart.

Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me you paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me: for you are God my saviour.
Remember your mercy, Lord,
and the love you have shown from of old.
In your love remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
he guides the humble in the right path;
he teaches his way to the poor.
Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth,
to those who keep your covenant.