Abraham's Challenge

  God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering on a height that I will point out to you.” Gen 22:2

What kind of God is this who asks a faithful servant like Abraham to sacrifice his own son? At first reading, it sounds like God is an abusive father who tests his friends with impossible tasks. Some might even say that God is cruel in playing with Abraham's spirit in this way. That we know the end of the story mollifies us only a little. Yes, Isaac will be spared but at what price? Will he be scarred forever and afraid of a God who wanted his father to sacrifice him? Will he ever trust God himself?

No matter how painful, we must try to enter the story of Abraham and Isaac as it is presented to us, not only for our own spiritual growth but as servants and disciples of a God who challenges us to announce Good News to the poor and set captives free. Because the poor and captives are more likely to face the kinds of impossible challenges presented to Abraham, we need to walk with them  and learn from them as they discover a God who will show them a path to freedom and light.

These painful questions are also necessary for every believer because it is our concept of God that most affects our everyday life. If we think of God as someone who is always watching us like a prison guard, we might behave but we certainly won't believe. Rather, we will try to skirt the edges of faith in order to avoid condemnation, but never know the joy of being in love with God who promises never to stop loving us.

Today, revisit a dark time in your life and invite God to be with you as your probe its meaning.

How do you interpret the the test of Abraham? Can you make sense of it?

Our Uniqueness

 "You are to be a people peculiarly his own."  Dt 26:18

When Moses tells the people they are special in God's eyes, he is not speaking to or about them in an exclusive way, but as God's messenger trying to remind them that God's love, while gratuitous, makes demands. Because God has protected them in the desert and led them through it, they must do the same for others. God's love is not a gift to be hoarded but to be given away.

Jesus echoes this same teaching. He has called the Apostles and disciples to listen to him and proclaim the fullness of the Good News that God wants to embrace all of us. God wants us to swim in the glory of our call and "baptize" all people in his name. To be a disciple and follower of Jesus is not just to enjoy the comfort of his love, but to proclaim it from the housetops. Only when others hear the power of this message will they be willing, even anxious, to reform their lives. There is no need for ceaseless competition and comparison. Rather, we are called to rejoice in God's fervent and rabid love for us.

Today, let someone know you are a believer by loving them just as they are.

Who has helped you see, understand and accept your unique value in God's sight?

Being Just and Doing Justice

  “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." Mt 5:50

Righteousness is a difficult word to get hold of in American English. Often confused with self righteousness, Americans think of righteous people as arrogant and dismissive of others, especially those they judge to be uneducated or of a lower class. Righteous people smile slyly when others make factual errors or grammatical mistakes in speech. Righteous people don't make great friends.

Righteousness in the bible is a virtue we need to build into our lives. Righteousness can be translated as doing justice, especially in our social relationships. When Jesus tells his disciples that their righteousness must surpass that of the Jewish leaders, he makes clear that no matter how needy they might be, they must not be greedy, but still treat others with compassion, understanding and justice. Cheating anyone, but especially foreigners or the very poor, will result in God's harsh judgement.

Though it would have been understandable for the first disciples to want vengeance against the Scribes and Pharisees because of how poorly they were treated, Jesus wants them to change the social paradigm which led to a society of winners and losers. In Christ all are winners because Christians will always share n justice whatever they have with the needy.

Today, ask God to heal you and heal those oppressed by injustice.

How might we better explain righteousness as a Gospel imperative?

The Chair of St Peter

  "Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock." 1 Pt 5:3

The role of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, has been debated and challenged regularly in history. For the last century and a half, since the end of Vatican Council I, the issue of papal infallibility has been the underlying issue. The idea that a Pope is infallible in matters of Faith and Morals when he speaks ex cathedra, from the Chair of Peter, has been so narrowly defined that it actually should not distract us from the Pope's primary role, to be shepherd to the world's Catholics, but it often does. That the Holy Father has only spoken infallibly once since Vatican Council I seems not to matter when people begin debating.

St. Peter gets it right, however. Pope's, as all leaders, ought first be examples to others, not domineering leaders. This might also be said of parents, grandparents, and everyday adult Catholics. Our primary call is to live the Gospel transparently in such a way that others might come to know and love Christ and follow a Gospel path. Our is first a religion of persuasiveness and example, not of proselytizing and the manipulation of power.

Today, pray for Pope Francis as he try to be servant leader of the Church.

What do you need from a Christian leader?

Jonah's Dilemma

   "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed." Jon 3:4

Jonah's challenge is both similar and very different from the apostle's. Jonah must walk through Niniveh and remind its citizens that unless they reform, their entire city will be destroyed. In this aspect of his ministry Jonah is a forerunner of the apostles, but Jonah is reluctant to assume his new role. In fact, he hopes he fails. His dislike of the Ninevites is deep. He does not want them to reform and hopes that God will destroy them.

The apostles, on the other hand, while no doubt having their own prejudices, are not reluctant at all to follow Jesus, even though they do not know the fullness of their mission. Jesus' personality and power draw them like fresh water in the desert. They do not hesitate leaving their boats and their families to follow the one who promises a new reign and a new world order.

There is a bit of Jonah and the apostles in all of us. Because no one can escape hurt, especially broken relationships and friendships, like Jonah, we sometimes harbor and hold onto painful memories that cling to us like an ink stain on a new shirt. We scrub and launder the shirt over and over, but the stain remains. Though we know we have no choice but to find a new shirt, we cling to what seemed so clean and fresh but is now ruined. Unless we change shirts, we will be unable to begin again.

Today, listen for God calling your name.

How does the Gospel help you let go?

God's Fertility

  "Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth,...so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth." Is 55:10,11

God's word is fertile. When mixed with the soil of our lives, it produces something extraordinary. God's word has the power to transform us, and our task is to welcome the Word and let it do its work. We are not in control of this process. God is, and we must let it happen, and unless we take time for this process everyday, nothing of substance will happen.

Quiet and reflection, especially about how God's word impacts our lives, is a practice no adult Christian can afford to ignore. Only when we become very disciplined about life in the Spirit can we expect God's word to do its work, and this process is analogous to many other aspects of life. Only the naive think that walking once a week will get them into shape for longer walks, and only the arrogant believe they can learn without regular reading and study. Conversion, at every level of human existence, is hard work.

Today, remember how God has made your life fertile and offer a prayer of gratitude.

How have you experienced God's fertile actions in your life?

Doing Good for God's Glory

   "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink." Mt 25 34-36

It is always good to revisit St Peter Chrysologus (5th century) and his wisdom. He writes:

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God’s ear to yourself.

When we pray and fast without giving alms or showing mercy, we cannot hear the overwhelming power of Jesus' message in today's Gospel. Teaching ourselves to respond naturally and spontaneously to the hungry, thirsty, sick and imprisoned is at the heart of Jesus' message.

Sometimes, however, we are too busy or cynical to live Jesus teaching instinctively. It is not for us to judge whether a hungry person is hungry because they have not tried to find work or wasted their resources on gambling or drinking. Even if this be true, the person is still hungry and the Gospels of Lent will demand we ask to see those in need with the compassion of God.

Today, do a good deed without thinking. Just do it.

How often do you reach out spontaneously for the hungry and sick?