Mass of the Last Supper Year B

Mass of the Last Super Year B  

 Exod 12:1-8, 11-14; 

1 Cor 11:23-26; 

John 13:1-15

Last Tuesday morning many, the Archbishops, clergy, religious and the entire faithful gathered in their cathedrals to celebrate the Chrism Mass. That morning liturgy was an expression of our faith in Christ, the High Priest, the unity of the Sacred Priesthood and appreciation of Christ’s one redeeming Sacrifice of Love. Oils of Catechumens, the Sick and of Chrism were blessed. Oils that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, during his Chrism Mass in Rome has encouraged every priest to go out and anoint the faithful with, especially the sick, the poor and the needy!

This evening, we begin the Sacred Triduum, three solemn days which encompass the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ and draw each and every one of us into remembering His passion, death and resurrection. You and I know the power of memory, remembrance! Remembering is so powerful. It revitalizes, reactivates and keeps past reality alive in us.  

Holy Thursday brings to our minds three gifts:  the gifts of the Lord’s Super/the Holy Eucharist, the gift of the Sacred Priesthood and the gift of Christ redeeming love, love that is stronger than death, stronger than the fear of the fleeing disciples, stronger than the untruthfulness of the power mongering Pilate and of the few “Jewish elites”; a love stronger than the betrayal of Judas, the denials of Peter, the mockeries of the Roman soldiers and human selfishness.  Christ, the High priest loves His own to the end all of us, our pastors, our priests, deacons, sisters, mom, dad, our children, friends, grandpas and grandmas (Jn 13:1). Where ever you are located here in this Church tonight, know that Christ loves you!

The first reading (Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14) gives us a pre-figure of the institution of the Eucharist which is the Christian Passover meal. In the second reading (1 Cor. 11:23-26), St. Paul narrates the manner with which Christ instituted this great sacrament and gave his apostles the mandate to celebrate it in his memory. The Eucharist is a topic that can never be exhausted because it is a theology about God which cannot be fully comprehended. 

The Eucharist of which institution we reenact today is a banquet of love, gratitude and service. It provides us with a particular opportunity to remember not only how much God loves and would want to “wash our feet” but His ever living presence in our lives, in our homes and families. It teaches us to cultivate a sense of gratitude. 

Unfortunately, brothers and sisters, today we experience rancor and discord not just among Christians but also among communicating Catholics. How has the Eucharist united our purposes and intent? Some come to Church with malice in their hearts against other worshippers and even against the Church. Perhaps, they expected one privilege, office or recognition from the Church which they didn’t receive. That is why today, in the parishes, you see people who deliberately attack the church and maliciously work towards the downfall of parish projects.

Our communion with the Church should be seen in our obedience and co-operation with the hierarchy of the Church beginning with our cooperation with our societal leaders, catechists, priests and bishops. How do we relate with our local catechist, the seminarian on apostolic work, the parish priest(s), rectors, chaplain, bishop(s) etc? Do we support their ministry? The Eucharist we receive through the exercise of their ministry should unite us with them. Our communion with our neighbour should be seen in our relationship with them. We should avoid hatred, injustice and other vices that will hurt this communion with others.

The command “Do this in memory of me” during the institution of the Eucharist implies the institution of the priesthood. Jesus willed that there be ministers to constantly renew this communion for us, those ministers today, we regard as the hierarchy of the Church – deacons, priests, bishops.

Today, priests are reminded of the sacred nature of their calling and are invited to renew their commitment to their priestly ministry, living up to the expectations of their calling. They should be more concerned with the Eucharist than with worldly affairs. Their practical attitude towards the Eucharist is the highest theology on the Eucharist they can teach the faithful.  They should not be allergic to Eucharistic adorations because it is the source of the priestly power.

The faithful are also enjoined to keep praying for their priests and never to go about criticizing them or attacking them. We all are men of God but priests by virtue of their ordination become not just men of God or ministers of God like every other minister but Alter Christus (Another Christ). An insult on a priest is a slap on Christ’s face. 

The Eucharist is a sacrament motivated by love, celebrated in love, given in love, and should be received in love and lived out in love. The Eucharist is also consummated in love, the love of Him who chose to make himself significantly present in apparently insignificant materials – the love of self-abasement (self-emptying). As a sacrament of love, it  should motivate all our actions towards the other.

In the gospel reading, Jesus gives us two components of this love – humility and service. He exhorts us to be humble and ready to serve others by washing the feet of others (though not a physical imperative to go about washing peoples’ feet on the streets). We can understand the concept of washing of feet when we regard one’s feet as the dirtiest part of the body and washing one’s feet implies doing for another, the most humiliating thing we can imagine.

Jesus wants us to wash each other’s feet by tolerating their weaknesses, forgiving their faults, accommodating them, caring for them even when we think they do not deserve them. We should go extra miles in serving the other no matter how highly placed we are. We should also be unconditional in our love and service for others.

In conclusion beloved brethren, we are challenged today to recognize the Eucharist as a sacrament of communion and to go home with a more committed communion with God, the Church, our neighbours and even ourselves. This communion should be seen in our relationship with our priests and neighbours and should foster love, tolerance, humility and service to all. God loves you.

Palm Sunday, Yr B

Palm Sunday, Year B

Is 50: 4-7; Ph 2: 6-11; Mk 14: 1-15:47

Today is Palm Sunday, a unique Sunday in Lent.  It marks the end of the Lenten season and beginning of the most Holy Week of our Christian liturgy. In this Holy Week, our Lord will be betrayed, falsely accused, plotted against (Jn 11:45-53), arrested (Mt 26:47-56)' interrogated by Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin (Mt. 26:59-66), tried by Pilate (Mt 27:1-14), denied by Peter (Mt 26:59-66), mocked and executed in a Roman way (Mt 27:15-56). It is also a week we learn to resist evil not by violence, not by chopping off "Malchus'' ear, but by prayer, endurance and through peaceful process of dialogue and reconciliation. It is also a week when we also learn not to act like Pilate, remaining indifferent to truth or being in a hurry to condemn our neighbours, brothers, sisters, friends and children. Our country which is currently divided particularly as we prepare for the upcoming elections on tribal, regional, and religious lines can also learn from this week.

We begin our celebration today with the blessing of your palm leaves that you brought here in the church. The blessing of palm leaves and the procession we make mark the triumphant entry of Jesus to the city of Jerusalem. Jesus entered the city on a donkey and the people shouted: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” and scattered palm leaves and branches on his road. The red vestments the priests wear also symbolize Jesus’ joyful and triumphant entry to Jerusalem.

But the gospel we read in the Mass today is the Passion narrative telling us about the shameful, cruel and bloody death of Jesus on the cross. It is surprising that the people who started with hosanna and waving palms finish with the crucifying, dying and burying of the one for whom they shouted hosanna. Who were the people who welcomed him and who were those who wanted him dead? The same people! How could this be? One moment they hail Jesus as “King of the Jews” and a little while later they want to torture him to death! How could people be so fickle? 

This is what is referred to as “crowd mentality” — how people can be swept up in the excitement of the moment — how their passions and feelings can rise to a fever pitch so quickly and then fade as quickly. Crowds are like that. People are easily swayed and carried along with the current of the majority. After all, its easy to be part of a crowd — all you have to do is agree with the masses and you are accepted. People accept you. They don’t criticize you. You are “one of them.”

Maybe that helps explain what happened in Jerusalem. People didn’t take a stand on what was right or wrong — they just went along with the crowd. And Jesus suffered and Jesus died — and the crowd went home and forgot all about it.

Has human nature changed since these over 2000 years of that fateful week? I am afraid not! We are still influenced by the “crowd” — the majority. As a result, the passion of the Lord continues and Jesus Christ suffers and dies again and again. He suffers in the poor and the weak, the falsely accused, the “illegal” alien, the mentally ill and the unborn child in her mother’s womb.

But this time, we are the crowd! Christians who profess Jesus as Lord and welcome him triumphantly each Sunday, and yet go along with the crowd the rest of the week. As long as the leaders of the crowd are delivering good economic news, we go along with them on all the other, “less important” issues. The “crowd” is seldom concerned with justice for the poor (“they’re poor because they are lazy”), or the falsely accused (“kill them all and let God sort them out”), or the alien (“send them back where they came from”), or the unborn (“a woman’s got the right to choose. Besides, many of these babies would be poor and a burden on society”), or facilities for the mentality ill (“not in my neighborhood”).

It is time to look inward, to ask ourselves if we are really any different from the people of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago.  I believe we are, but we are all sinners, we sometimes fail to look at what we do with an open mind, an open heart.  Yes, we came to sing “Hosanna in the highest, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” – we’re not on the street corner shouting “crucify him, crucify him!” but we do grow lax and easily give in to our desires. The mood also reflects how unfaithful we can be at times in our relationship with Christ. Today we are for Him, tomorrow we are against him. Christ is our friend when we are in difficulty, but our enemy when things are working well for us. It also shows how we relate with one another. Today we are friends and tomorrow we are archenemies. There are moments when we are enthusiastic about Christ, about our Church and our faith but then this is followed by moments of doubts, of rejection of certain things which we personally dislike because they go against our lifestyle and habits. Often we are like the palm leaves, green and beautiful today but dry, brown and withered in few days.

What do we learn from Christ in the readings we just listened to, you may ask? The most important lesson for me is that we need much patience and humility to survive and succeed in life. We can do better if only we can learn humility and patience from Christ the son of David that we honor today. We can do better if only we are ready to offer all for the good of our neighbours as Christ is about to do this week for our good. It is important therefore, that we ask God for the grace to remain steadfast to him and to our brothers and sisters at all moments of our lives. As we show solidarity to Christ today, let us also extend it to others. This is because in others there is both Christ the humble king, and Christ the suffering servant of God. This is also because this is the most practical way of expressing our solidarity with Christ.

Also, the readings teach us that suffering is part of life rather than a curse. However, only those who are ready to persist and endure to the end will triumph. Also, it teaches us that if we persist in our faith in God and his son Jesus Christ, they will help us carry out all that we need to do without losing our faith. 

The symbols of this Sunday,  the palms, the donkey, and the crowd, people etcetera, should also provide us with some food for thought. The Palms represent the royalty of Christ and his peaceful reign; the donkey is a symbol of the humility of Christ, the King as our first and second readings present him. Though he is king yet, he chose to ride on the lowliest and weakest of animals, the donkey. This is contrary to what we see today in our world, where our rulers and leaders live in the best conditions while their people live in poverty. By this act, Christ not only demonstrate his humility, but also His solidarity with the poor and the weak. It is therefore not surprising why people also came out to honor and show solidarity to Him as he enters Jerusalem today. 

I like very much the symbol of the donkey. We are not told who, the owners of the donkey, are but the fact that they understood that “the Lord” refers to Jesus and voluntarily gave up the donkey shows that they could be his secret disciples or admirers. Otherwise one would have expected them to ask, “But who is this Lord who needs my donkey?”

A donkey, as you probably know, was a very big thing in those days. The donkey was the equivalent of a car, a truck and a tractor all in one. It was a car because people used to move around and do their shopping, a truck because it was used to carry load, and a tractor because it was used in cultivating the land. Add to this the fact that the donkey had never been ridden, that means it was brand new and had a very high market value. You can see that giving up the donkey just because the Lord needed it was a very big sacrifice. It was a generous and heroic act of faith. A spiritual commentator, Max Lucado, reminds us that each of us has got a donkey that the Lord needs. Here is his reflection on using our donkey for the service of the Lord:

Sometimes I get the impression that God wants me to give him something and sometimes I don’t give it because I don’t know for sure, and then I feel bad because I’ve missed my chance. Other times I know he wants something but I don’t give it because I’m too selfish. And other times, too few times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place. And still other times I wonder if my little deeds today will make a difference in the long haul.

Maybe you have those questions, too. All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road. Maybe you can sing or hug or program a computer or speak Swahili or write a check. Whichever, that’s your donkey.

Whichever, your donkey belongs to him. It really does belong to him. Your gifts are his and the donkey was his. The original wording of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples is proof: “If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, you are to say, ‘Its Lord is in need.'” So, what is the name of your donkey? The Lord has need of it.

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B

Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; John 12:20-33

The readings of the Holy Mass today remind us that we have finally reached the Fifth Sunday of Lent and that Holy Week is not too far away.  The readings do not only usher us into the Passion Week, but also remind us what we celebrate today, and what we anticipate in the upcoming days. In this way, the gospel is like a sign-post that points and leads us to the Holy Week. On Holy Thursday we will be asked to stand with Jesus as he is betrayed, denied and deserted. On Good Friday he will be condemned, beaten, crucified and he will die. There is no way of ignoring or avoiding the reality of the death of Jesus. But the cross is not our final destination. It is only a stage on our journey, not only through Lent, but in our lives too. On Good Friday, we are asked to experience the fact and reality of death and also have faith in Jesus who offers us the promise and hope of new and everlasting life.

The Bible passage this morning, says that people from all over the world were coming to worship at the celebration of the Passover and that some of the people there were Greeks, likely proselytes, a group known in the early church as “God-fearers”, those who had converted to Judaism to distinguish them from those physically descended from Abraham. For Jesus, the arrival of these God-fearing Greeks signals his “hour” which earlier in John’s gospel, He has insisted had not yet come. The hour of glory for Jesus is his passion and death through which He draws all people to Himself.

The passage also teaches that new life and eternal life are possible only by the death of the self through suffering and service.  Salt gives its taste by dissolving in water.  A candle gives light by burning its wick and melting its wax.  Loving parents sacrifice themselves so that their children can enjoy a better life than they themselves had. Let us pray that as Christians who have been doing penance and fasting during this season we may all acquire this self-sacrificial spirit, which Christ asks us to live in today’s Gospel.  As we look forward to  the Passion Week, and as Jesus is about to depart,  it would be a pity if we allowed these days of Lent to pass without trying to live out a more spirit filled life. Let us realize that, obedience to God, his covenant and willing sacrifices to serve him through our neighbors will never be in vain (Heb 5:7-9), the best way to follow Christ!

Only a life spent for others will be glorified in Heaven, and sometimes even in this world. We know that the world owes everything to people who have spent their time and talents for God and for their fellow human beings.  Mother Teresa, for instance, gave up her comfortable teaching career, and with just 17 cents in her pocket began her challenging life for the “poorest of the poor” in the crowded streets of Calcutta.  We see similar cases in the history of great saints, scientists and benefactors of mankind in all walks of life. They chose to burn out rather than to rust out.   Let us, too, spend ourselves for others.

When we watch the Olympics, we see but young athletes who have made enormous sacrifices over the years. They have sacrificed a normal childhood for countless hours of hard work and pain and solitary training, and they have done it all just for that moment when they might stand on the winner's platform at the Olympic Games. If few of us are Olympians, many of us are parents, and what is parenthood but a whole series of sacrifices? You sacrifice all of your privacy and a piece of your sanity. You sacrifice a neat, orderly environment in which to live, where things stay just where you left them. You make a huge financial sacrifice - between children and taxes, all for the sake of something which money can't buy. In these and in many other ways, we are perfectly used to the idea of losing one thing in order to gain something else. It all makes me wonder: if we are so willing to sacrifice and even suffer for things which matter to us in our worldly lives, why shouldn't we do even more for the sake of our spiritual lives? Why should we shy away from the full meaning of what Jesus said in today’s Gospel: "If you love your life you will lose it, but if you hate your life in this world, you will gain it for eternal life."

Many Christians refuse to accept any sacrifice that they are asked to make.  Their motto seems to be: “As long as I’m living, I want to live well.”  With that idea in mind they completely separate themselves from God, try to take advantage of others, and try to make as much money as possible without worrying about where it comes from.  They seem to have an incredible need to live life as they wish without taking into consideration the consequences of what they do for themselves or for others.  But this way of living is not exactly what Holy Scripture asks of us. 

In the first reading (Jer 31:31-34), Jeremiah touches on the saving covenant promises which God made to our fathers and ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David, but in a renewed way to Israel, the house of David and subsequently to ourselves, today.  Jeremiah speaks of God’s promise of a new covenant, new manners, laws, precepts, and ways in which God expresses his loving relationship with us, "I will be their God, and they will be my people"   ( Jer 31:33). Unlike the old covenant written on tablets of stone (Exodus 24:12), the new covenant will be written in the heart of everyone with a transforming effect. He says, “behold the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts.

This New or Renewed Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah was fulfilled, at least in part, through Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 51) is our cry for mercy from God as we ask Him to cleanse us from sin and guilt and create a “new heart” for us.  In the second reading, St. Paul tells the Hebrews that it is by Jesus’ suffering and death, in obedience to his Father’s will, that Jesus established the New Covenant. Using metaphors of the “grain of wheat sown in the field” and the “spent life” in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the same lessons St. Paul does. The Gospel hints at the inner struggle of Jesus in accepting the cup of suffering to inaugurate the New and everlasting Covenant. However, Jesus accepts the cross as his “hour,” meaning the stepping-stone to his passion, death, Resurrection and exaltation. He also considers his “hour” as the way of glorifying his Heavenly Father and of being glorified by his Father. In addition, it is the way by which Jesus draws all people into the saving action of God. Finally, the “lifting up” of Jesus on the cross and later into Heavenly glory by Resurrection and Ascension is the assurance of our own exaltation and glorification, provided we accept our crosses.

The events of the Holy Week that these readings, of this last Sunday of Lent anticipate, are salvific, uplifting and transforming. With his victory on the Cross, and being lifted up from the earth, He draws everyone to himself: men, women, children, Jews, Romans and Greeks and Gentiles alike. With it Christ teaches us the new covenant, of hope, endurance, forgiveness, way to eternal life and the need to love everyone, no matter where they come from, or what they look like, especially the poor and the marginalized, those affected natural and human-made tragedies, that Pope Francis has increasingly invited us to welcome in our hearts, homes, budgets and legislations!

If we must share in this new covenant, we must be ready to lose our lives so as to find it just as the grain of wheat has to die in order to bear fruits humans too, have to die to ourselves in order to live more fully as humans and as God’s children. Jesus’ passion and death fulfill all this.  He yielded to the will of the Father and is glorified in His death and His glorification brings life to His disciples who have to follow His path by dying to themselves.  To die to ourselves is to be willing to trust God and to do what He wants; it means putting ourselves in His hands to die to our pride, arrogance, forgiving those who hurt us; and decrying what is evil. Practically speaking, we die every day when we stand up for justices and against injustice, when we speak the truth instead of lies; when we give up our comfort for the sake of others; when we say no to sin, corruption and immorality; and, when we stand alone because we refuse to be part of the crimes and evils of our society.  These “daily deaths” draw much strength from us and shrink our physical life. However, the more our physical life shrinks, the more our spiritual life is strengthened and glorified. 

One man who learned what there is to lose and gain was an eighteenth-century slave-trader named John Newton. Captain of a trans-Atlantic slaving ship, he had everything this world can offer as he made a lucrative living from the brutal business of buying and selling human cargo. Eventually, he was confronted with the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was converted to the Gospel truth which makes us free (John 8:32). He spent the rest of his life crusading to abolish the very business which had proven so enriching. He also wrote a number of great hymns, including a familiar one which begins: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, Was blind, but now I see.” Once, John Newton thought that he was on top of the world, but in truth, he was wretched and blind. He lacked the moral clarity to see that he was nothing more than a cynical businessman making money in an evil enterprise; he was allowing the agnostic's law of supply and demand to separate him from his Christian conscience. Then Jesus came along and the old John Newton died. A new John Newton was born. An old life was lost and a new one was found, a new life whose melodic fruit remains with us to this day. What about yourself? What have you got to lose? You've got to die to yourself in order to live with Christ! You've got to sacrifice and give up to gain! So what about it? What have you got to lose? What about selfishness? Shouldn't we lose that narrow-minded little love which only extends to family and friends?

Only those who walk and follow till the end will be restored to eternal life.  Hence, the psalmist tells us: “…but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Is 40, 31). Therefore as we continue our walk with Christ this season, the thought of his own suffering and death must strengthen us daily. Also, we must constantly remind ourselves that to suffer for others, and for Christ, is an honorable thing to do. This is because, that is where the glory lies.

My sisters and brothers, our faith should show us that if we want to dedicate ourselves totally to Christ, we have to make a firm commitment to follow him.  Only in this way will the grain of wheat that is our spiritual life give fruit.  We heard in the Gospel reading what we need to do to allow this to happen in our life.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. As Christ has lifted us up, may we in turn empower and lift up others, particularly those we meet daily, the poor, the weak, the needy, the less-privileged, friends, colleagues and family members, through  our gentle words of encouragement, charity, mutual respect, and love that invites them to share in Christ, who is the source of eternal life and the rallying point of our salvation, "when I am lifted up I shall draw everyone to myself." 

Third Sunday of Lent, Year B

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B

Ex 20:1-17(20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17); 

1Cor 1:22-25; 

John 2:13-25

Today is the Third Sunday of Lent. If we go back to the readings, especially the gospels, of the past two Sundays of Lent, it is clear that they are interconnected. On the First Sunday, after His Baptism, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He stayed there for forty days and forty nights in prayer, fasting and was tempted by the devil. But God came to His rescue through His angels. I call this as Jesus’ desert experience with God. On the Second Sunday, Jesus brought His three disciples on the top of the mountain and Jesus there changed in appearance while praying. I call this as the mountaintop experience of Jesus in His encounter with God. Today’s gospel is the cleansing of the temple by Jesus. The temple is a place of special encounter with God. In other words, the desert, the mountain and the temple are places of special encounter with God.

But today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see His angry face. Jesus is not happy with what He sees precisely because the way the temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community. He found people selling animals and exchanging money in His Father’s house. Making a whip, Jesus drives the animals out and overturns the table of the money changers. Jesus loses His cool. Jesus losing His cool is something that is unthinkable. It could not have happened because we know Jesus as meek, humble, merciful, compassionate, kind and loving. For us to lose His cool is simply out of His character.

In the First Reading today (Exodus 20:1-17), God gave the people of Israel rules that are meant to direct their lives and relationship with God and their neighbours. This is traditionally known as the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue). It will be fitting to begin by exploring the basic reason why God gave them the Ten Commandments which  are rules of conduct that should guide people’s relationship with God and their neighbours. They are meant to guide the people in their daily lives, they are meant to be standards for them to measure if they are doing well or not.

 If we look at the Ten Commandments very well, there are no corresponding punishments for the infringement on each and every one of them as was obtainable in most ancient laws like the code of Hammurabi that existed about that time! Why? The answer can be found in our explanation above. The commandments are dependable measuring standards for our lives and relationships in our journey to reach God. They are meant to help us identify the right steps in this journey. They are not meant to remove sin but to reveal sin so that we can avoid them in our journey. St. Paul made this clearer in his letter to the Romans (3:20): For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

From this explanation, it is clear that observing the commandments alone is not enough for our salvation. Just like observing the rules of the game of soccer does not guarantee victory in the game. Players must go beyond observing the rules and strive to score goals.

An appeal to our Lord Jesus Christ will help us here. In the Gospel of Matthew (10:17-22) we are told that a rich man came to Jesus Christ and asked what he must do to inherit the kingdom of God (eternal life). Jesus asked him to pay due attention to the commandments and he confirmed that he had been keeping them since his youth and our Lord said that he was lacking something and asked him to go and sell all he had and give the money to the poor; but he went away! The rich man in question believed that observing the commandment was enough but our Lord indicated from what he told him that beyond observing the commandments there is need to carry out some guided positive actions.

From what we have above, keeping the commandment must be accompanied by the performance of good deeds. We are saved not by the law but by our good works in Christ Jesus our Lord. In the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-40) our Lord Jesus Christ presented the formula for entering into heaven and if we check the space very well he was making reference to good works beyond the observance of the law. One can keep all the commandments and still remain unacceptable to God if the person fails to match the commandments with works that are good and pleasing to God.

In the Gospel Reading today (John 2:13-25), we are presented with a clearer picture about the need for cleansing beyond observance of the law. Our Lord Jesus Christ was seen at one of his most radical moments. He entered the temple in Jerusalem and saw those who were buying and selling animals and he drove them all away with a whip and went further to overturn the tables of the money changers.

There will be need for us to understand the events very well. The temple in Jerusalem was usually a beehive of various religious ceremonies. People came at various times to offer sacrifices prescribed by the law. People bought the animals for sacrifices they intend to make from sellers around the temple. They obtained the temple money from the money changers in exchange for the one with the impression of Caesar which is not used in the temple ceremonies. From the picture we have here, they were doing the recommended things. It is easier to say that our Lord Jesus Christ drove them away because they were conducting business but that does not say it all.

A deeper insight into the event would show that our Lord went there to cleanse the temple and to convey the message that it is not all about observing the religious recommendations but also by spiritual performance. We might be observing the law while at the same time having a lot of things going on inside of us. It is not all about external religious ceremonies but more about internal sanctity. If we check very well our Lord was more concerned about those conducting business inside the temple and not those outside.

The temple represents us. St. Paul (1 Cor. 3:16-17) made us to know that we are the temple of God that should not be tampered with as it is God’s dwelling place. When Jesus was driving out the merchants and their merchandise from the temple he was simply demonstrating that our lives need to be cleansed by good works and prayers and not just by observing the rituals of the law: offering the external sacrifices that are recommended without living the inner life that is commendable. There are indeed many things that are robbing us of God’s graces in our external religious observances that lack internal spirituality.

It will be fitting for us to examine closely what our Lord actually did when he came into the temple. Firstly, he was not pleased with what the people were doing in the temple. Oftentimes we see and even encounter attitudes and dispositions that are contrary to the good news and we choose to keep mute and allow them to thrive. It is absolutely wrong not to speak out against sin and disobedience.

Our Lord demonstrated his anger by using a whip to drive both the merchants and their merchandise away. He identified something wrong and took a practical step to stamp it out. He went further to say that the temple should be a place of prayer but they have turned it into a den of robbers. Our lord not only identified a problem and acted, he also prescribed what should be done. Often we end up criticizing a person or situation without providing a remedy or solution as needed.

Our Lord Jesus Christ remains the central point of our Christian life. In him is the fulfillment of the laws and the prophets (Matt. 5:17). This is actually the point St. Paul was emphasizing in the Second Reading (1 Cor.1:22-25) when he maintained that the Christ crucified is the greatest treasure and central object of the good news which for many is a stumbling block and to others folly. However it is for those who are called power of God and wisdom of God.

If the commandments were sufficient for our salvation, God would not have taken the extra step of sending His Son our Lord Jesus Christ into the world. In fact, the commandments are better understood and expressed in the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. On one occasion, a lawyer came to Jesus Christ and asked him which is the greatest of the commandments. Answering, our Lord said: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbour as yourself. He even concluded by saying that all the Law and Prophets hang on the two.

Another significant thing our Lord did that should not be taken for granted was the overturning of the table of the money changers. When a table is overturned one sure thing that will happen is that the things on it will be pour away and it will become empty. This season is actually the proper time to overturn the tables of our lives to away all those things that are irrelevant. It is a time of self-emptying which our Lord Jesus Christ himself did in order to save us. St. Paul did mention that he (Jesus Christ) emptied himself taking the form of a slave though he was God (Phil. 2:6-11).

The commandments will become very efficient if they make us to overturn the tables of our lives and empty ourselves of unnecessary things. It is at this point that inner cleansing is inaugurated. The sixth commandment which for instance stated that we should not commit adultery should help us to overturn all the things (actions and words) that disposes us to impurity not just that very act. The same applies to all the others. (It is important to note that none of them is higher or lesser than others; they all have the same weight and measure).

As we march into the third week of Lent, let us be attentive to the Ten Commandments. We should focus on them not as ends but as guides that will enable us to perform more credible and creditable actions that will eventually lead us to eternal life which is the end.

Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B

Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18

Romans 8:31-35, 37

Mark 9:2-10

Last Sunday, the First Sunday of Lent, we heard proclaimed St. Mark’s account of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Having just been baptized by John in the Jordan, Jesus is “driven by the Spirit” into the wilderness where He will come face to face with Satan and the allurement of sin. Jesus’ victory over temptation and sin gives us confidence that, in Christ, we, too, will be victorious in our struggle with the powers of evil. That Gospel passage is a fitting start to our annual lenten journey, a journey that takes us away from sin and toward a deeper love of God.

Today we have just heard proclaimed the account of the transfiguration of Jesus in the presence of Peter, James and John. What a dramatic shift from last Sunday’s Gospel. We have moved quickly from a mortal struggle with sin and death to a vision of the glories of heaven itself. This movement from sin and death to heavenly glory gives us a picture not only of Jesus’ divine mission but also of our journey as Disciples of Christ.

In the Gospel Reading, Saint Mark tells us about what happened on Mount Tabor.  Prior to this, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus told his disciples about his passion and death.  He told them that he would suffer terribly and be killed by the religious authorities of the day.  In reality, what he told them was that he would have to suffer in order to reach the glory of his Resurrection.  But Saint Mark tells us that the apostles did not understand what Jesus had said to them.  Still, and perhaps because they really did not completely understand what they had heard, Jesus’ words saddened and worried them.

It was then that Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountain apart from the others to pray.  These were the same apostles who would later witness first the agony and then the arrest of Our Lord in the Garden of Olives.  But that would be in the future.  After hearing what the Lord had said to them in Caesarea Philippi the

First Sunday of Lent

First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

We have now entered the season of lent, a forty day period of time to prepare candidates for baptism and confirmation and  also one of preparation for all the people of God. It is a time to reflect on Christ’s journey to the cross ending at the Resurrection.  Ash Wednesday and  Lent began as a way for Catholics to remind themselves to repent of their sins in a manner similar to how people in the Old Testament repented in sackcloth, ashes, and fasting.  During this season all Christians are invited to fast and pray and be prepared for the suffering and death of Jesus and to wait for his suffering and death.  

Lent invites us to enter into the desert, the birthplace of the people of God of the first covenant. The Hebrew people who escaped from Egypt as scattered tribes arrived the Promised Land as one nation under God. It was in the desert that they become a people of God by covenant. In the course of their history