Friday, March 13, 2015

4th Sun Lent Year A Readings 2015 (2nd Scrutiny; Jn 9:1-41)



Today, we celebrate the second of three Scrutinies that the Elect will go through on their journey to become full members of the Catholic faith community.  The Scrutinies are more than special liturgical rites for those preparing to be baptized at Easter.  This is a designated period in their journey that allows for a more intense soul-searching and careful consideration of their decision.  They need our prayers and encouragement, for their decision ultimately leads to a different way of life.  Their choice makes me wonder whether I would have done the same.  Had I not been born and raised Catholic, were I not a cradle Catholic as they say, I wonder if I would choose to become Catholic?  I’m not sure of the answer.  

What leads a person to make that sort of decision is an interesting question. When pressed for an explanation, some say that they have found a spiritual home in the Catholic Church, many for the first time in their lives.  Others say their spouse or their children inspired them to become Catholic.  Still others claim that the teachings of the Church on issues close to their hearts are so compelling that their choice was an easy one.  However one explains it, I suspect that such a choice ultimately boils down to a matter of conscience.  In one way or another, the choice just has to feel right in your gut of guts, and that is perhaps the only good reason to become Catholic. 
   
What this conversion means, however, can be stated in different ways.  The more recent converts, for example, are usually very enthusiastic in the practice of their newfound faith.  Their zeal stems from a deep appreciation for what Catholicism has to offer.  The veteran Catholic, on the other hand, often takes a more low key approach to practice.  This can lead to the perception that veteran Catholics do not fully appreciate what they have in the faith.  This approach has another meaning, however.  Many veteran Catholics have learned to walk in faith without much flourish or fanfare.  For them, this is part of what it means to be Catholic.  Thus, a low key approach to practice does not necessarily reflect a lack of appreciation for what Catholicism has to offer.  

There is also more than one way to explain what “convert” means in a Catholic sense.  Although it is true that a convert is one who comes to Catholicism from another faith tradition or background, this is not the full story.  A true convert is one who has made the Catholic way of believing his or her own.  This is a necessary step for those who become Catholic as much as it is for those who have been Catholic all of their lives.  Making the faith one’s own, so to speak, is ordinarily the culmination of a spiritual process that often takes place after one reaches adulthood.  In this sense, it is more accurate to say that, sooner or later, we are all converts to Catholicism. 

Indeed, the gospel for today calls attention to the kind of faith conversion that all of us must go through. The idea in this gospel story is to turn from darkness to light by believing in Jesus.  The healing of the man born blind is a symbol for this turn, or conversion in faith. The process is highlighted in the arguments that follow the healing.  
 
In these arguments, the central focus is on what happened and who made it happen.  The arguments themselves are carried out primarily by three groups of people who cannot see.  First are the disciples. They have been with Jesus for a long time, and yet they cling to the assumption that sickness and disability are punishment for sin.  Jesus explains to them that these are not punishment at all, but something that a true follower of his will seek to alleviate.  Jesus makes this point when he says to the disciples, “We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.”  In other words, alleviating the suffering of others goes to the heart and soul of what it means to be a true convert in faith.    

Second among those who cannot see is the blind man himself.  Jesus touched the blind man in his physical weakness in a way that eventually moved him to a spiritual awakening.  This progression is revealed in what the man says of Jesus when asked about his cure.  At first, the man only identifies Jesus by name as the one who cured his blindness.  Pressed for more details by the Pharisees, the man digs deeper and describes Jesus as a prophet, as one sent by God.  Lastly, the man experiences complete conversion when he later encounters Jesus for a second time and confesses his belief in Jesus.  The authenticity of his conversion is revealed when the man worships Jesus.  This progressive awakening in faith is often the path that we too travel in our own spiritual journey.  And like the man born blind, we can be sure that Jesus will meet us where we are with his healing touch. 
     
Our hope and prayer is to avoid the predicament of yet a third group among those who cannot see, namely, the Pharisees. They claimed to know God’s Word and God’s Law, but failed to live its spirit.  Jesus condemns their blindness as the worst sort because they refuse to see him as the light of the world.  In fact, they find every reason not to believe in Jesus.  They try to explain away the miracle of the healing rather than accept what their eyes were telling them. 

Spiritual enlightenment is one of the primary goals we focus on during Lent.  This is true for the Elect as well as for those of us who are already Catholic.  We all need to be enlightened and to grow in faith.  We still need conversion, and conversion is what the Scrutinies are all about.  Conversion means leaving behind one way of life and taking up another.  And, the way that we seek is the way of the Lord.  This conversion is a spiritual rebirth and gift of faith from Jesus, the Light of the World. During Lent, we prepare to receive this light in order to celebrate our gift of faith once again at Easter.      

4th Sun Lent Year B 2015 (Jn 3:14-21)



The focus of today’s gospel is the love of God.  There are many things one might say about love—whether human or divine—but two are prominent in this gospel message.  One is to say that when we love someone, we desire to be close to that person.  Love always seeks an intense personal closeness—an emotional, spiritual and physical bond—that melts the two hearts into one.  Closeness is what we want most of all when we love someone.  We want to spend time with them, talk with them, get to know them if we don’t already, and share our life with them.  This does not always happen, we know, but this is the experience most of us want—to be physically and emotionally close to the one we love. 
 
The other thing to say is that love thrives on the hope that it will be reciprocated.  We first and foremost want those whom we love to return our love, to love us back, so to speak.  We often look for signs in that regard.  And, as long as those signs are there, we feel satisfied in the relationship.  A failure to return love, on the other hand, is often the cause of much hurt and disappointment in a relationship.
 
The gospel message for today shows that God is not different from us in these two respects.   Because he loves us, God desires to be close to us both in spirit and in body, and to have his love returned.  God was not content to remain hidden away in his heaven, unseen and unapproachable by us except in spirit and prayer.  Rather, his profound love for us compelled him to send his only Son to live among us, to be one of us, to be like us in every way. 
 
During his life on earth, Jesus demonstrated in clear terms that our relationship with God is an intense personal relationship of love, even insisting that we call God “Daddy” in today’s lingo.  Jesus also made it plain that he loves the father by loving us.  In fact, Jesus loves us in the same way that the father loves him.  For, he says to his disciples, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love” (Jn 15:9).  The question is, how do we remain in God’s love?  How do we love God back?

Jesus provides the answer when he asks us to keep his commandments.  For he says to his disciples, if you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love (Jn 15:10).  This is how others will know that we are his disciples.  By imploring us to remain in his love, Jesus is asking to have his love returned; he wants us to love him back.  This is the reason behind the two great commandments of love for God and neighbor.  And, the Apostle John reminds us that we must not give mere lip service to these commandments.  Rather, he insists that we must love in deed and in truth (1 JN 3:18).  "Actions—not words" is the guiding principle in returning our love to God. 

We know what those actions are.  Jesus proved his love for us to the greatest extent by giving his life for our sake, and now he wants his love returned through service to God and neighbor.  He is our model.  We would do well to imitate Jesus by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, welcoming the stranger, and giving shelter to the homeless. 
 
Our service does not end with taking care of bodily needs, however.  We are also called to provide spiritual care—to comfort others, to counsel others, to forgive others, to pray for the living and the dead.  All these very ordinary deeds done in the name of Christ are true works of mercy.  They are signs that we are returning our love to God, and God will not fail to notice.  Jesus assures us that, whoever gives a cup of water to drink in his name will have their reward (Mk 9:40).

During Lent, we often focus on caring for the needs of others.  Three traditional practices associated with Lent provide opportunity in that regard—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  We usually think of almsgiving in terms of giving money to the poor.  According to the Psalmist, "Blessed is he that considers the needy and the poor" (Ps 40:2).  Notice that the Psalmist says “considers” rather than “gives” to the needy and the poor.  This way of putting it suggests that anything done to assist the needy and the poor out of genuine charity is almsgiving.  Thus, almsgiving includes much more than giving money to the indigent.  Every deed carried out to benefit our neighbor in the name of Christ, no matter how small, is almsgiving.  How our actions affect the poor are worth considering. 

When it comes to prayer, Jesus is our first model.  We read in Scripture that Jesus often went out alone to a secluded place and prayed.  Rarely is the content of his prayer revealed to us.  What we do know, however, suggests that during his prayer Jesus spoke openly and honestly with his heavenly Father, holding back nothing.  Since he came to do the Father’s will, we can be sure that he spent time in prayer discerning what the Father might want.  Sometimes prayer is the only way we learn how to help others. 
   
Almsgiving and prayer are two legs of a traditional Lenten practice.  The third is fasting.  We usually think of fasting as giving up something, a favorite food or treat. This is certainly appropriate.  Vatican II in fact encouraged the renewal of this practice, especially before celebration of the Easter Vigil.  But, there are other ways of fasting.  In a less dramatic way, for example, we might give up criticizing or judging others.

The prophet Isaiah offers more insight into what it means to fast.  Isaiah quotes the Lord when he says, "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own" (Is 58:6-7).

Sometimes it is easier to help a stranger than our own.  Lent is also a time to consider how well we love those closest to us.  They too need our alms, prayers, and fasting.