Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them! What an accusation leveled against Jesus …tax collectors…they worked for the “oppressors”…they worked for Caesar and as if it wasn't enough that they worked for “the Empire”….on top of that, they cheated their own people, collecting more tax than was required by Caesar who was squeezing the very life blood out of their own people. Let’s be clear, the accusation was not wrong -- the people Jesus was in fact welcoming and eating with were sinners. That was not a misrepresentation or a twisting of the facts.
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This is the context of the story of the “Prodigal Son” or perhaps better name: the story of the “Lavish Parent.” It is about the magnanimous and unrestrained nature of God’s forgiveness! And to be honest, it’s all a bit absurd! Who could seriously be convinced to forgive those who have abused them, cheated them and caused them more misery than anyone else could imagine?

But there it is! That is precisely what Jesus is suggesting! Jesus is claiming that no matter how great our sin…no matter how far we have strayed from goodness and kindness we are all redeemable, all forgivable and all loved by God.

​But, make no mistake about it, it is in no way giving us “a pass” on reprehensible and sinful behavior! It is really speaking of the possibility of transformation and redemption through the power of forgiveness!

We've seen it in South Africa… we've seen it in Kosovo…and we've seen it in the lives of thousands of nameless victims who have chosen to forgive their perpetrators of unspeakable atrocities and crimes!

How is it possible to forgive those who have raped, murdered and destroyed the lives of innocent people?

​Forgiveness does not in any way imply a lack of guilt. Forgiveness does not say the injury, the abuse or the sin did not happen. But rather, it is about refusing to allow the perpetrator to continue to inflict pain and suffering upon those they have abused. As long as our anger and rage control our emotions we are not free of our bondage to them! The violent need to be brought to “justice” and to pay for their sins, but true justice is not revenge!

Forgiveness ultimately frees the victim from the clutches of the perpetrator…it in no way says “it didn't happen”…it in no
way says “it didn't matter”…it in no way says “they are not guilty”.

So what does this all mean for us as disciples of Jesus Christ? Jesus is the model of kindness and forgiveness…but how are we to forgive those who are guilty of unspeakable sin? How do we forgive those who wound us and hurt us, and the ones we love?

Jesus clearly states that it is “Godly” to forgive. But that in no way means that we do not stand up against violence! It does
not mean that we fall silent in the face of violence, nor turn our back on those seeking justice in the wake of violence…
but, we do not do it in a spirit of vengeance…but rather in the spirit of true justice.

How do we forgive those who are guilty of violence, especially when it impacts us personally…when it is done in our name or in the name of our church, or in the name of our country? As you can see, it is not so easy. Do we really believe in the transformative reality of forgiveness? How can we contemplate forgiveness in the midst of hideous wars being waged against the people of Ukraine and Gaza, as we see each evening on the news the unbelievable level of devastation of their lives, their land and forcing them into fleeing their country?

Let us continue to hold the people of war torn countries in our thoughts and prayers. Let us pray for an end to the wars
being waged against the peoples of Ukraine and Gaza and pray that the U.S. and other countries of the world combine efforts and intercede to bring about a peaceful end to these wars, and all wars being waged around the world.

As we reflect this week on the Gospel story of “The Prodigal Son,” we must remember that the forgiveness of which Jesus
speaks of holds the power to transform the hearts and lives of the both the victim and the perpetrator. God’s forgiveness is boundless and is freely lavished upon us because we are the beloved of God.

And so, this week let us reflect on…who am I called to forgive? What might I personally -- and we as a nation -- need to be forgiven for? How do we forgive and at the same time demand true justice for crimes against individuals and against other nations?

As part of our Lenten journey, let us all reflect on how does the lavishness of God’s forgiveness fit into today’s political
landscape and “the intentional chaos” being created not just here and around our country but in places like Ukraine, Gaza
and South Sudan? How does the pull back of USAID’s funds -- that save millions of lives from famine and disease around
the world -- deserve forgiveness, yet, our theology says it does...but perhaps not without impunity? And not without
moral outrage and certainly not without public outcry that demands for a reversing of the cruel and unjust policy changes being enacted without any care or concern for the horrific toll on human lives they are having. Let us continue to make our voices heard, emboldened by and guided by the Holy Spirit, as we continue to live out our discipleship of Jesus Christ, faithful to His call to love our neighbor as ourselves!

Lenten blessings,
Fr. Tim

As we careen towards the halfway point of our Lenten journey it is good to take a moment and step back, take a deep breath and ask…what are we looking for this Lent? To get closer to God? To clean up our act? To feel more religious? Or, just to lose a few pounds?

We have to be frank about our objective because we’re bound to find what we seek. The right answer might not be what we think it is. We don’t have to get closer to God. We can’t -- God’s right here! God dwells within us, we are temples of the Holy Spirit!

Getting closer to God’s ‘will’ might be a better goal because that alignment is often off kilter. That is what most of us struggle with -- orienting our life centered around God and struggling to understand what it is that God is calling us to in this life, not just on a grand scale but in the smaller daily choices that we make.

If we find ourselves thinking that Lent is not working -- that the enchantment of “feeling our religion” isn’t happening this year -- then maybe the answer is to seek to practice a new consciousness. What if we sought to spend one hour a day trying to be more consciously aware of God in every person we met and more conscious of God’s presence in every place we go? Keep searching with our eyes, our mind, our heart.

If we practice believing what we profess—that God is in our midst—then we are much more likely to awaken to the presence of the Divine! At the very least it will begin to change how we see and relate to other people as we practice seeing and believing the Divine presence within each one of them, regardless of how they may treat us!

This is what Pope Francis is hoping will happen as we draw near to immigrants and refugees, to all those who are marginalized….that we will come to know them as sister and brother, as images of the Creator, as children of God.

In whom is it most difficult for me to see God? What deeper reality is God calling me to this Lent? To whom am I being called to “draw nearer”?

Let us pray for, and reach out to, all the federal workers and contractors and all others who are affected by the mass government firings. Let us continue to call and to write all elected public officials, our every call and letter matters! Let us
continue to protest in both large and small ways. Let us continue to resist the dismantling of our democracy.

You and I are filled with the Holy Spirit -- may it lead us in our struggle for equality, for justice and for peace in our nation and in the world.

Lenten blessings,
Fr. Tim

This Sunday we hear St. Luke’s account of the Transfiguration of Jesus…right before the eyes of three of the disciples, Jesus’ true identity bursts forth and in one spectacularly luminous moment, Peter, James and John are themselves forever changed --“transfigured” -- with a growing awareness of the true identity of Jesus!

I believe that each one of us have our own “moments of transfiguration.” Moments in which we see or feel the very presence of God. They are moments when, “deep inside,” we come to know with a deeper certainty that God is present around us and indeed within us. That God is real. These moments of awareness hold the potential to transfigure our entire lives into something new, something wonderful, something beyond our imagining.

The real challenge for us is to learn “to live out of these transfiguration moments,” keeping these moments alive in our hearts and minds allowing them to continually transfigure us more and more into the image and likeness of God.

Each one of us carries within us experiences of the tenderness, mercy and love of God. So often it is the chaos of our lives that “dim” the luminous moments of encounters with our God. We can forget we ever had them in the midst of the rush and business of our daily lives.

Not all of these “transfiguration” moments are happy or joyful moments. Some of them come in the midst of great sadness, even in the midst of tragedy and death. I have had such “transfiguration moments” with people as they were dying -- luminous in-breakings of Grace that transfigured the dying person’s last moments. And, transfigured me as well!

Surely these “transfiguration moments” are happening right now in the lives of our sisters and brothers of Ukraine and South Sudan as they fight for their lives and their freedom. These transfiguration moments are happening in refugee camps around the world. The potential for these transfiguration moments abound as grace is all around us, and in us!

In the midst of all the political chaos which is purposefully being thrust upon us in an attempt to throw us off balance, fill us with fear and send us into anxiety driven inaction and silence. Let us raise our voices all the louder. Let us seek to reach out to each other, band together, continue to resist the dismantling of our Federal Government and all the aid programs that feed, provide healthcare and social services that save the lives of millions of children and adults here at home and abroad. Let us find concrete ways to reach out to and support government workers and contractors who have lost their jobs and all those whose jobs are at risk due to the forced government firings.

In the midst of a world filled with suffering, anguish and lost-ness, these transfiguration moments continue to exist all around us -- in encounters with the poor and the marginalized, with the immigrant and refugee, with all those workers who have been fired or whose jobs are suddenly at risk and their partners and their children, there is God, waiting, wanting us to reach out and take “the other’s” hand and for us both to be transfigured in the encounter.

Lent is a wonderful opportunity to look for transfiguration moments as well as to step back and recall those past moments of grace when the fullness of God burst into our lives…when we realized that we were not alone…that there was something more to life, more than what we can see or touch…more than we can imagine -- “God moments” -- that hold the possibility to bring about deep and lasting inner transformation!

When was my last “God moment”? How was I transfigured by that moment? What does that “God moment” call me to do? Who does it call me to be…in response to today’s chaos and suffering? Our every phone call, our every letter, our every protest and act of resistance, our every prayer, our every act of kindness matters! You, and I are filled with the Holy Spirit, let it lead us in our struggle for equality, for justice and for peace in our nation and in the world!
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Lenten blessings,
Fr. Tim

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, both a place of danger and 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 those who give in, they are often 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 -- Putin’s ongoing invasion of the sovereign state of Ukraine is a prime example. We know he is wrong and we are able to judge the seriousness of his acts and the human suffering, death and devastation his blind ambitions are causing. And yet many of our current leaders in Washington are supporting his illegal war against a sovereign nation and even blaming Ukraine. We all know this is a LIE!

It is imperative for the survival of our democracy that we call out the lies and misinformation that is spewed by our political leaders, everywhere and everytime we encounter them!

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 -- take advantage of situations or people, neglect their responsibilities towards others, or treat others with disregard and disrespect. We read about it and see it in the news every day. We must stay vigilant and speak out and make our voices heard. Continue calling and writing to the White House and all elected officials. Put them on notice that we will not stand idly by and let them dismantle our Federal Government and our democracy!

During Lent as we are called to reflect on our own personal sins let us not forget the structural sins of our society…systemic racism, rampant greed, arrogance, pride and the vengeance that sometimes is 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? Let us keep calling, keep writing, keep resisting, keep living our discipleship of Jesus Christ!
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Blessings,
Fr. Tim