1st Sunday of Lent 2012

Jesus he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, 'Follow me'. And leaving everything he got up and followed him.

In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and said, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' Jesus said to them in reply, 'It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.'

     Luke 5: 27-32

Lent. Again. 

On the first Sunday of Lent, we are reminded how, at the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  There He spent forty days in prayer and fasting, while He endured the repeated temptation of Satan.During the forty days of Lent, we are called on to deny ourselves some of the pleasures of life, and spend time in prayer with Jesus in our ‘wilderness’; repenting our sins and being reconciled with God and with our neighbour.; in preparation for the celebration of the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We recall that as Jesus proclaimed the Good News of Salvation, He warned us that: “that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.  Repent, and believe the Good News.

But what dies all that really mean? Archbishop Sheen said once "there are no plains in the spiritual life; you are either getting better or you are getting worse. If you are the same as you were last year, then you arr worse." Lent follows Lent and do we really grapple with what it means to be a follower of Jesus?  Most of the time, if we hare honest the answer is now; we plod on; the seasons come and the seasons go and we stay the same. Lent, however, gives us an opt out of this 'never ending circle'. We have a chance to look at ourselves and say 'look, I need to do more'. Lent is a fantastic challenge and. with God's grace, it can bring us great heavenly rewards.

So what have we to do: nothing except what the the Church says: pray, fast and give alms. As long as you have been going to Church you have heard sermons on these things, and all sounds very nice and tidy - say a few extra prayers or go to Mass a bit more. Give up sweets or drink or maybe meat on Friday. Give to the poor with the money we save. Heard it all before! We sanitize these great gifts to such an extent that we hardly notice we are doing them.

We should feel Lent! What is one of the most exaggerated understatements recorded; when the evangelist says (not in this Gospel) that after forty days in the desert with no food.....Jesus was hungry. I'd say he was crippled over and bent with hunger. There is a drama in Lent, that if tapped into can do wonders for the soul. But we have to push our the boundaries much more. In former times people were compelled by the penalty of sin to fast and abstain. The Church has granted us great freedom to choose our penance. In this freedom most do not take up the challenge. If we do, however, and respond with generosity how much more will the Lord support us.

Jesus left the desert and proclaimed the Kingdom; may the Lord grant us the grace to battle temptation and so emerge from this Lent radiant in the glory of the Cross. 

Catch Up!

It has been a while since I have put my notes together for this blog. Here is a summary of the last few weeks ideas:

Jan 22nd - 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Change.

We have all heard this Gospel many times over the years but did we really hear what Jesus was asking of us?
“Come, follow Me” Mk 1-17

Were these words just for the first disciples? Have I already taken them on board in my life and am I committed to using the countless gifts He has given me? We are not all called to go out into the world to fulfill our destiny; we can follow Him from where we are.

The response of the first disciples was immediate; their focus was on Jesus, not on their ability to deliver. Although some of us are like Jonah, diverted from His call, He eventually wins us over.

Today we are invited to launch out into a new way of life; coming alongside Jesus; trusting Him to help us to change and cooperate with His plan for us.

“Repent, believe in the Gospel”, Mark 1-15

Jan 29th - 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Service and healing.

In today’s Gospel Jesus begins to teach. He speaks with authority and there is a presence of God’s power in His words. His divine authority is shown when He cast out the noisy unclean Spirit from the possessed man. Demon possession was an accepted fact in the New Testament. Whether I believe in personal demons or not, I am conscious of being pulled away from God, eg by being dishonest or envious.

The Psalm is an invitation to pray. We are invited to kneel and bend low to the God who made us. We are told to listen to His voice.... as Jesus told the possessed man to be quiet. “Be still in the presence of the Lord. The Holy One is here...”

Jesus from the beginning of His ministry revealed how the gift of power is to be expressed in healing, service, compassion and mercy.

Feb 5 (reflecting on the  First reading) - 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lord is close to the broken hearten

Job gives a good description of a hopeless, broken-hearted person and at times we may feel rather like him. However, as Christians, we have something Job hadn’t got - a sure hope, and that hope is Jesus. In today’s Gospel we see His power to heal at work.

Sometimes it is no harm to find ourselves in a Job-like situation - it reminds us of our need for Someone greater than ourselves. We can know about Jesus, but it is much better to know Him personally. This way we can learn by experience that He can be trusted absolutely. It means that when we pray to Him in sickness or distress we know for sure that our prayer is always heard. Sometimes we may be blind to the answer because it is not what we think we need, but what we really need, that He answers.

Practically, there is something we can do with our suffering. Remembering what Jesus suffered for us and that we are part of His Body, we can use our suffering as a prayer and leave it in His hands. It may help someone in great need or maybe someone who has asked us to pray for them. As a result, that person may experience in a special way that “the Lord is close and can heal all our ills”.

Feb 12 - 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

"If you want to, you can cure me."

The leper came to Jesus, fell to his knees and pleaded for a cure. His words were almost suggestive of a challenge to the compassion of Jesus but confident of His power. Today's readings continue to present Jesus as a new prophet, a man of compassion, full of mercy, forgiveness, hope and renewal. The man suffering with leprosy did indeed risk his life, in order to be cured. What great faith, courage, determination and humility were shown by him? In a sense he is the model of someone seeking reconciliation. The highpoint of our readings is the compassion of Jesus. The challenge he poses to each one of us is to be imitators of His love and forgiving spirit in our relationship with each other. May our encounter with Christ today bring healing and peace to our lives.

Whatever you do…do it for the Glory of God? (1Cor 10:31)

Feb 19th - 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Who can forgive sin? 

Jesus forgives the paralytic his sins - and the trouble starts!  The scribes, with a “front seat” view of all that had happened, questioned what Jesus had done.  Who does He think He is? - only God can forgive sins.  Many people agree with this but do we, too, believe in a God who doesn’t want anyone else to forgive?

For Jesus, forgiveness is the shared duty of  all who would follow  Him.  He wants us to imitate God’s  forgiving of sin and not to let ourselves off the hook about forgiving those who sin against us.  When we pray to our Father don’t we ask for forgiveness as we forgive?

Forgiveness is the deepest healing anyone can experience.  We know how we can remain “paralysed” in spirit when we live without forgiveness.  And we know that our unwillingness to forgive others can keep them imprisoned and chained.  So the problem is not God’s forgiveness but ours.  God is an outstanding “forgiver” and Jesus wants to involve us in the same work of forgiving those who sin against us.  This is what Jesus shows us in His person and in His ministry.

Do we put limits on what God expects us to do?