Palm Sunday

 “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” Lk 19:40

On occasion, when we find ourselves in a cynical or sad mood, we refer with some disdain to A&P Catholics, those who celebrate with us only on Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday because they get something free to take home!  How awful of us to judge, especially at the beginning of the holiest week of the church year. Shouldn't we be glad that our sisters and brothers in Christ want to express their faith publicly? Shouldn't we trust that God will take their gestures of belonging and use them as seeds that have only to be watered to grow into something wonderful and transforming for them and all they know and meet?

Because Jesus' disciples were proud to be associated with him, they spoke enthusiastically of his influence and spread his message of hope to everyone they met, but like most new believers their actions sometimes seemed shallow and showy. Accordingly, the leaders of the Jewish community tell Jesus to control his followers actions more carefully, but Jesus refuses, knowing that his disciples needed to speak of their transformation and belief, even if it appeared overdone, in order to test their own commitment and publicly honor him.

Holy Week is upon us, a time of great joy and hope, and one that demands we, like Jesus' first disciples, be more publicly committed to living the mysteries of faith. If this means we risk seeming too religious for some people's taste, so be it. If we don't live our faith publicly, how will the Good News be proclaimed?

Today, wave a palm of hope for someone who seems lost.

What do you think is the best way to express your faith publicly?

Listening to Jesus

 "If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” Jn 11:48

The threat of losing their temple sanctuary, and the power and prestige associated with it, paralyzed the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day. Overwhelmed by the Roman presence in their "promised land," they did everything they could to preserve the few freedoms they had, and no small town healer or prophet, like Jesus of Nazareth, would be allowed to interfere.

When we are under pressure to perform or produce, we often refuse to listen to people on the edge of our societies for fear their viewpoints will further unravel a shaky foundation. A protective attitude and policy is natural, but, ultimately, unhelpful. Only a brutal and transparent honesty will allow us to go forward.

Jesus is clear in pointing out to the Jewish leaders that they had sold their birthright for the sake of a fragile security, and most of us can remember situations in which we took the same path. Peace at any price in our families, religious communities and parishes is a lurking temptation, but one we must resist.

Today, listen to the witness of Jesus without defensiveness.

What are your biggest temptations when trying to live the gospel?

Enduring Hurt

 “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” Jn 10:32

The drama in John's gospel as we approach Holy Week is building. Everyday people are drawn to Jesus, but the Jewish leaders "pick up rocks to stone Jesus," and as we all know there are many kinds of rocks with which we can hurt others.

Sometimes it as simple as a friend or family member ignoring or turning away from us when we are in need that feels like a rock to the heart. At other times, we undermine or call into question the good will of another by our silence or our unwillingness to defend them. But whenever we pick up rocks and throw them at others, we are not living the Gospel. Thank God, there are also a thousand different ways to put down the rocks we have picked up to defend ourselves and reach out for those most in need.

Today, ask God to let you see someone with whom you are struggling as God sees them.

What kind of rocks are the most difficult for you to endure?

The Covenant with Abram

  "I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." Gn 17:7

When Abraham heard that he would be the father of many nations, he was very much afraid. After all, he was ninety nine years old and could not imagine that God would choose him for so noble a task. I can imagine that for a time at least, he thought he was going mad and that everything God said to him was only a dream. Abraham had been unable to conceive a child with Sarah and now this! How could it be. No doubt Abraham expected that God would lay heavy burdens upon him, and he was not sure he was up to the task.

But God's demands are light. Abraham had only to keep the covenant which God make with him in a unilateral way. He didn't have to worry about penalties and punishment. He had only to be circumcised so that there would a sign "in his body" that indicated his acceptance of the living God. God wanted Abraham to know peace and he wants us to be at peace, too.

The Covenant with Abraham, as Pope John Paul II reminded us often, has never been broken by God. Jews are God's chosen people and always will be. That Jesus is the new Covenant, the fulfillment of the old Covenant, is something we need to announce with passion and hope, but we can never forget that God's Covenant with Abraham is true and forever. The proof of our acceptance of this truth of our faith lies in our treatment of Jews as our brothers and sisters.

Today, glory in God's covenants with us.

Have you ever been frightened by God's call?

Standing with Those who Suffer

  "You should know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up.”  Dn 3:18

The remarkable story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego always lifts my spirit. Thrown into a raging fire because they refused to to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's God or the golden statue he made, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego assure the king that their God will protect and save them even if he allows them to die in the fire. 

That they are protected from the fire, while spectacular, is almost incidental because they are living the simple truth that saints have always insisted upon. They serve God, pray and care for the needy, not to be successful, but to be faithful. It is the failure to live faith in this way that condemns the servant in today's gospel who, after being forgiven a large debt, refuses to forgive his fellow servant in a small matter.

God protects, God forgives and God sets us free over and over to begin again. Made in God's image, we are to save one another from the "fire" of shame that reduces people to objects of need, rather than subjects of our compassion. If God is compassionate, understanding and accepting, so must we have hearts of kindness and mercy

Today, offer someone who cannot repay you an ear of compassion.

Has anyone ever stood with you in suffering without judgment?

The Sign of the Cross

 “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.” Nm 21:8

The cross has almost always been important symbol for Christians. Although controversial at first, because it seemed to focus so much on the violence done to Jesus, the cross soon became the most prominent way for Christians to announce themselves. Not simply a reminder of Christ's gruesome death, the cross is also a invitation to celebrate Jesus' triumph over death, and our assurance that death is not the end of Christian journey.

Although we might at times be too casual about it, signing ourselves with the cross is a powerful reminder of Jesus triumph of over sin and death and sign that Jesus, "Having disarmed the powers and authorities, ...made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Col 2:15)

Today, make the sign of the cross as you wake and ask for the grace to accept whatever the day brings.

What does the Cross mean to you?

Adultery

 "The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle." Jn 8:2

When we talk about adultery in the abstract, few would defend or promote it, but adultery does not happen in the abstract, and this is the issue Jesus confronts. When the leaders of the Jews drag a woman caught in adultery before Jesus, they show little concern for her person. Determined to trip Jesus up, the Scribes and Pharisees use a woman as an object for testing Jesus commitment to the Law, and in the process become adulterers themselves.

Many years ago a priest mentor of mine corrected me sharply and pointedly. I had come home from a prison where I was interning and announced I would be working with a group of prostitutes. "There are no such things as prostitutes." he almost shouted, "There are women and men who sell themselves, and I expect a Franciscan would know this by now."

Embarrassed, I learned an important lesson, the same lesson Jesus taught the scribes and Pharisees two thousand years ago. Respect for every person is the foundation of the law and the Gospel. Catching someone in error or sin is not the point of the law. Helping people overcome their sinful ways is.

Today, ask God to see as Jesus sees.

What helps you avoid the error of treating people like objects?