In this Sunday’s Gospel we encounter Jesus being tempted by the devil with temptations to power, fame and pride. Some Scripture scholars have argued that it was through his experience of forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert that Jesus came to a deeper understanding of his true identity and his mission. The desert or the “wilderness” is, in the history of the people of Israel, a place of encounter with God.

As we begin Lent it is appropriate for us to reflect a bit on our own lives, our own desert experiences and our own temptations, our own encounters with God. Most all of us, as humans, are tempted by pride, arrogance, selfishness, anger and greed…the real question is whether or not we give in to those temptations. For some, who give in, they are led to disgraceful acts of greed and ego with catastrophic results. All we need to do is to read the headlines in the newspapers or listen to the nightly news…we know who they are and are able to judge the seriousness of their acts. For most of us, our sins are somewhat more contained…a white lie here and there…perhaps a small theft once in a while…a few carelessly chosen harsh words that wound. Most of us are basically good people, trying to live as God has calls us to live. In the recesses of our hearts we know we’ve been tempted…we’ve seen people surrender to their baser desires…enticed by money, recognition, or power to take advantage of situations or people, neglect their responsibilities towards others, or treated others with disregard and disrespect. As we reflect on our own personal sins let us not forget the structural sins of our society…greed, arrogance, pride and vengeance sometimes feebly masked as justice.

As Jesus came forth from the wilderness of the desert proclaiming the coming of the Reign of God bursting forth in the world through the preaching of the Gospel, he forever linked “the Gospel imperatives” to the Reign of God. To the extent that we live out the imperatives of Jesus; to love one another as he has loved us, to love our enemies, to actively seek to alleviate the suffering of the poor and the marginalized…to that same extent we participate in the building up of the Reign of God. Lent is meant to be a time of reflection and of action! We are called to a conversion of heart…to turn away from selfishness and sin and all that gets in the way of our living as true disciples of Jesus Christ. What can I do, or stop doing, in order to become a more faithful disciple of Jesus Christ? What acts of alms-giving, prayer and fasting can I commit to this Lent that will help build up the Reign of God in the midst of a suffering world?

Lenten Blessings,
Fr Tim

“You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to the one who is evil.” Jesus is not calling the disciples to become “door mats” but rather he is using common 1st century Middle Eastern hyperbole attempting to make a key paradigm shift from violence to nonviolence. He is challenging his followers to be willing to go beyond the letter of the law and embrace something much more difficult, to embrace the other! He calls us to be holy as God is holy, to love our enemies, to give to whoever asks of us.

How is all of this humanly possible? It seems too much! God’s goodness is so great, how can any human act as good as God? Some theologians say that God’s goodness comes down to “generosity”, a generosity so grand that it created all known reality, that even the incarnation is as self-giving as was Jesus’ death as was his resurrection and as is our salvation. So then this “generosity”, this “out pouring” of God’s self into the world empowers us, fills us, emboldens us and ultimately changes us to become more generous, less violent, less bent on getting more and more for ourselves, and rather moves us to be kind and generous.

So we begin to work for ways in which our society makes room for the immigrant and the refugee rather than ways to keep them out. This spirit of generosity calls us to let go of, and to call out racist and bigoted attitudes towards others and to work for justice and peace in our nation and in our world. Perhaps this generosity of spirit grows from first finding our own gratitude for being loved so deeply and passionately by God, just as we are. And from that gratitude grows our ability to be generous towards “the other”. For what am I grateful for today? To whom will I be generous towards today…how will I show that generosity of heart?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

With Jesus, “The Law” doesn’t get smaller; it gets bigger. It’s about much more than just keeping the rules….it is about growing in our love of God and our love for our neighbor. When Jesus says “The Law says….but I say,” he expands the original law in order to get to the spirit that is behind The Law. It seems that Jesus is ultimately most concerned not about a slavish external keeping of “The Law”, but rather he desires an internal change of our heart. He tells the disciples that their righteousness must surpass that of the religious leaders in order for them to get into heaven! Jesus expects more from his disciples…he expects them to love one another as he has loved them. So just refraining from killing someone is not enough…we have to love them and show that love by how we treat them!

That doesn’t mean that there is no place for righteous indignation at injustices and violations of God’s call to care for and look after the lost, the last and the least amongst us. Jesus understood “The Law” to be a guide that would lead to a good and faithful life, one that contributed to the building up of the Reign of God, that cared for and valued all God’s children. And as the first reading says “and to none does He (God) give license to sin”.

So I believe we really have to look at what is happening with our national budget as it suggest we slash our “safety net programs and increase our war making budget, decreasing one that ultimately saves lives and increasing one that ultimately takes lives. We keep saying that our national budget is a “moral document”, then we must ask ourselves how it shows forth our love of our sisters and brothers, how it welcomes the stranger, immigrant and migrant and how it combats racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia and anti LGBTQ+ attacks and attitudes. What we stand for politically should be a reflection of our Gospel values. We are called to view the world around us through the lens of the Gospel, with the eyes of Christ! As I look around what do I see, what can I change? To what am I being called as a disciple of Jesus?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

In the first reading the prophet Isaiah proclaims: “Thus says the Lord: share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless” …and Psalm 112 says that the just person is a light in the darkness! In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to let their light shine, to be like beacons lighting a city on a hillside! And by allowing their light to shine they will lead others to see their good deeds and thus see the glory of God. So that through doing good we both give glory to God and show forth the glory of God.

Jesus also uses the metaphor of salt for the lives of the disciples and challenges them to be sure to not let their lives “lose their flavor” and become tasteless. It is interesting to note that in the ancient world, a world without refrigeration, salt was the only way to preserve fish and meat. Just as light is essential for life to exist, so too salt was crucial for survival! So comparing the disciple’s lives to salt had multiple layers of understanding and significance.

What is clear is that Jesus is calling the disciples to be on guard to make sure that the manner in which they let their lives “shine” with the “light of the values of the Gospel”, that their lives are lived in such a manner that they have the “flavor of the Gospel.” So we too, as disciples of Jesus, are called to the same, to let our lives “shine” and to be sure that our lives “taste” of values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As so often said, the call to discipleship is no easy call, it is difficult and challenging but we do not respond alone because by virtue of our Baptism we are strengthened with the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit, the Spirit of God, that emboldens us and impels us to go forth into the darkness to let our light shine, to share our bread with the hungry and to shelter the oppressed, the immigrant and refugee! Not build walls to keep them out but to welcome them and shelter them…” thus says the Lord”! In the midst of all the divisive national politics, how will I let my light shine this week? What areas of my life most “taste” like the Gospel?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim