2020

Moments ago, we admitted to God that we had sinned in our thoughts, words and deeds. Sin is a reality we contend with daily, a consequence of our freedom to make choices.

One of the greatest blessings we receive from God is the power to decide, along with the responsibility of being able to decide. We’re free to choose, but that also means we’re free to make bad choices. Lent is a time when we remember and repent for the evil choices we’ve made personally and as God’s people. The readings today show us how we got into these situations and how we can get out of them.

The first reading from Genesis tells us how temptation, the devil’s tool for seducing us, works and like Adam and Eve, we have to take responsibility for our actions, because excuses like “the Devil made me do it” and “I didn’t know any better” are so often old, tired, and lame.

As we heard, Adam and Eve had life breathed into them by God. Having created a paradise for them, God also created limits for their own good. “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat of it you shall die.” God knew what was in store for them if they did so and became aware of their freedom to make moral choices.

To make Adam and Eve aware of good and evil, the serpent first prompted them to doubt whether God had their best interest in mind. “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.” Eve considered her options and ate; Adam follows her lead, and the deed was done. Their eyes indeed were opened and life was no longer a bed of roses for them.

In today’s second reading, Paul reminds us that Adam’s decision had consequences not only for him but also for all humanity. Adam sinned and lost it all, like a gambler squandering his family’s livelihood and going bust. As Paul tells us, “Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death.”

The Original Sin of Adam ushered in death for us all. Like a virus, sin is contagious, impacting every person. We sin whenever we decide to disobey God or worse yet rebel. Sin occurs when we do not love God, our neighbor or ourselves.

Fortunately, our capacity to decide has an even greater potential for doing good than for evil. Christ, the New Adam, ushered life back into humanity through his good decision. By becoming human, Jesus Christ became the new head of humanity, since he was and still is its greatest example of love, the antidote for sin. He decided to lay down his life out of love for the Father and us, and by doing so, he conquered sin and death but alas he didn’t destroy our ability to sin.

The garden of temptation in the gospel has been replaced, ages later, by a desert of temptation. Before beginning his public ministry Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days, and, like us, he had to face temptation when making the right decisions. He does this to teach us how we can face and overcome temptations ourselves.

The devil first tempts him to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. Undoubtedly, Jesus could turn stones to bread in a snap. But he replied: “One does not live on bread alone.” There are more important things to life than just filling your tummy. We must also live on God’s word as well. God’s will for us and others should always shape our decisions.

Since the devil knew that Jesus was a scriptural man, he tried to use some scripture of his own. Taking him to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem, the devil then insisted that Jesus demand proof of God’s protection, and he even had the gall to back up his demand with Bible verses. But Jesus replied that we must not put God to the test.

Instead, we need to have faith in God to make right decisions. Scripture helps us to know God’s will, not just to justify our actions. We can try to make a Biblical case for when we choose to do wrong, but it is God who ultimately justifies or condemns our actions, not us.

Finally, the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, provided Jesus groveled at his feet. He offered Jesus everything except the one thing the devil wouldn’t give up: being number one.

Rebuking Satan, Jesus focused on who is number one: his Heavenly Father and the mission he had received —“The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Serving God should always shape our decisions. If God is not in first place, our decisions will take a wrong turn.

Lent is a time when the Church invites us to pay special attention to God’s Word, the truth that Christ came to reveal to us – so that we don’t forget what really matters.

There are many ways to do this. It could be as simple as spending fifteen minutes a day reading and reflecting on Scripture. It could mean turningoff the noise around us and taking time to read a good spiritual book or study the catechism – that hidden treasure house of Catholic doctrine and wisdom that we pay much too little attention to.

Today Jesus will renew his commitment to us by coming once again, body, blood, soul and divinity, in the sacrifice of this Mass, by offering himself to us as the true bread from heaven in Holy Communion. When he does, let’s renew our commitment to him as we venture into this holy season. 

A patient seeing a psychiatrist for the first time was surprised to see a Bible on the doctor’s desk. “Don’t tell me that you read the Bible,” he said. The doctor replied, “I not only read the Bible; I meditate on it. It’s the greatest textbook on human behavior ever written. If people followed it’s teaching, a lot of psychiatrists could close their offices and go fishing.”

Have you ever thought of the Bible as a textbook on human behavior, providing us with a guide to psychiatric health? For starters, today’s readings provide us with pearls of wisdom we ought to consider seriously for our emotional wellbeing.

Our scripture opened with the line, “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.” Imagine how different our world would be if God’s advice had been followed ever since Moses first shared this revelation. The call to be holy as God is holy forms the normative ethical behavior for the Judeo-Christian community, providing the basis for Jesus’ commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Being holy may seem like an impossible task yet Paul reminds us, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” For good reason, Jesus challenges us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That idea may seem far-fetched or overwhelming for being perfect is supposedly a goal that is out of reach for anyone. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t blunder in some way. On the other hand, striving to be perfect is a goal all of us can aim for. In this instance, always making the effort to be holy instead of angry and hateful is the challenge Jesus is presenting here.

Today’s readings illustrate that one trait of holiness, demonstrated often by Christ, boils down to not allowing anger to take over one’s heart. Jesus doesn’t tell us not to get angry since anger is an emotion that we cannot scrap. He is telling us, however, not to let anger take over our hearts. Holiness doesn’t allow something that is upsetting you to seep into your heart and thus undermine your love for God and the person who is upsetting you.

Leviticus cautions us not to take revenge or bear grudges. Doing so is a sign that you have let something taint your love toward the person responsible. If you need to tell someone that they have acted wrongly, do so in a spirit of fraternal correction. Instead of getting even, help that person to see the wrong of something they’ve done for their own good.

Sometimes, people will confess to me that they have been angry. I then point out that anger itself is not a sin; but what we do when we are angry can be sinful. The Catechism defines anger as “an emotion which is not in itself wrong, but which, when it is not controlled by reason or hardens into resentment and hate, becomes one of the seven capital sins.” By the way, a capital sin is a mortal sin that results in spiritual death.

In a world that focuses on vendettas, avenging wrongs, and getting even, Jesus reminds us that the trademark of being a Christian is turning the other cheek. Granted, many see such meekness as weakness, but it takes much effort not to strike back or not dislike the person who has done you wrong. Or to give your time and possessions to someone else whom you think doesn’t deserve either. Or to go out of your way beyond what any reasonable person would expect.

Why does Jesus set such standards? When people hate their enemies and resent them, they end up hurting themselves far more than they hurt their enemies. When we hate someone, we give that person power over us: power over our sleep, power over our blood pressure, power over our health and happiness. Our enemies would be thrilled if they knew that our hatred was tearing us apart. Hatred turns our lives into a hellish turmoil. Mary Angelou once observed that hate has caused a lot of problems in this world but it has not solved one yet.

How can a Christian hate if God is love? Christians who hate are sacrificing their relationship with God for a cause that has no winners. If we allow hateful thoughts to overtake us, we cannot be people of peace. Conversely, when we respond with love, we release love where love is needed most. We stop the chain reaction of evil and put in its place a chain reaction of love.

Lest you think Jesus is setting the standard too high to be one of his followers, think of how many blows he received. None of us have been mistreated as badly as he was. Being God, he didn’t have to sacrifice himself on the cross. When Adam and Eve sinned, God could have left us alone to deal with the mess that happens whenever we sin. Instead, the Lord endeavors to demonstrate how we can better live our lives and impact the lives of others.

We might sum up the teaching of today’s readings with these words from St. Paul: “Do not let evil defeat you; instead conquer evil with good.” Responding with kindness toward those who wrong us benefits both parties far more a response of hate. No wonder Jesus tells us to adopt this new way of thinking and reacting, in a manner that is out of this world, yet one that creates a win-win outcome for everyone involved.

Viruses once again have dominated the news. In the past we worried about computer viruses or the flu virus. Now it’s the chronovirus, the latest pandemic to sweep the world, even touching people close to home. In the gospel, Jesus speaks of other kinds of viruses that can corrupt our hearts. He identifies anger, lust, and dishonesty as hidden viruses capable of damaging, even destroying our relationships, our very souls. With Lent just days away, we ought to listen closely to what he is saying here.

If we are honest with ourselves, all of us will have to admit that we struggle with temptations in each of these areas. So what are we to do? Are we simply doomed? When Jesus looks at our hearts, does he look away in dismay?

Thank goodness, no! Jesus comes with the medicine of his grace to cure us. We just have to give him the chance. And today’s First Reading tells us how: “If you choose,” the Book of Sirach tells us, “you can keep the commandments; they will save you.” Every day we freely choose which thoughts and actions we will commit: godly ones or selfish ones.

When a lustful thought flashes through our minds, we don’t have to accept it – we can reject it and turn to Jesus and Mary instead. When selfish anger boils up in our hearts, we don’t have to let it rule our lives and potentially damage a relationship – we can turn to Christ on the cross and learn from him how to turn the other cheek. When we are tempted to get ahead by compromising the truth, we can hold our tongues and recall Sirach’s promise: “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.”

We are who we are because we have free will. We make choices continually that shape our lives. When people have the right kind of relationship with God, they can read what God has put into their hearts. When they are distant from God, they write their own stuff in their hearts, inventing their own moral code.

Our choices shape us, but too often we only realize in retrospect when examining our conscience if the choice we made was good or bad.

As Sirach points out, in choosing fire or water, we make the choice between evil and good. Sirach’s point was to exonerate God from all blame for the evil in the world. The responsibility for sin and its consequences is placed directly at the feet of those who choose to sin. Like Topsy, in the classic, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, we could say, “The devil made me do it,” but we made the choice to listen to the devil in the first place and that is the concern Jesus raises in the gospel.

You can choose to keep or ignore the commandments. The choice is yours to make but so too are the consequences of your decision since God does not give us the license to sin. Evil choices will burn us like fire figuratively and someday literally in hell while good choices will refresh us like water. Jesus clearly wants us to choose life, a fulfilling life here on earth and eternal life with him in Heaven, by choosing to reject temptation and follow him.

Paul tells us God’s wisdom, unlike any human wisdom, is timeless. “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” The more we love God, the more we can see his wisdom, which will enable us to see the merit behind his law, not just the commandments but also the moral teachings of the Church.

Those who choose to live according to God’s timeless wisdom will find themselves following a wisdom based not on logic, statistics or passing trends, but on love, our foretaste of heaven. Antoine St. Exupery, the author of the renowned book, The Little Prince, once said, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

If we live our faith superficially, our lives will never have the meaning that they are meant to have. We end up just following the latest trends and fashions, never really having the stability or making the progress in the life that Jesus wants us to have. But if we live our faith from the inside out, keeping Christ alive in our hearts by keeping the commandments, we will be able to help set trends, not just follow them.It’s like the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat.

A thermometer merely tells what the temperature is in a particular area. A thermostat, however, sets the temperature. Thermometers passively reflect what is around them; while thermostats actively affect what is around them. If our hearts are truly Catholic, truly Christian, if they are filled with the knowledge of God and with this grace, then we will be like thermostats, endeavoring to transform our world to be more like Christ. But if our faith only goes skin deep, if we are only good at going through the motions of being friends with Christ, we will just be like thermometers and the viruses that Jesus speaks of could prove to be quite deadly.

That is quite a command Jesus gives us in this gospel. “Love one another as I love you.” He then adds, “No one has a greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The love that Jesus speaks of here is not romantic love, which we link with Valentine’s Day. He is speaking of agape, that love we owe to God and to one another. Agape is the kind of love that demands of us an effort of the will rather than mere emotional reaction. It is an abiding love that can’t be sustained only by affection.

“You are my friends if you do what I command you,” Jesus tells us. We are not slaves, coerced into this relationship. We are his friends. Jesus defines friendship as a holy relationship, a covenant centered in the heart. Unlike slavery, friendship is based on love, acceptance, and openness.

The word, friend, comes from an old English word, freon, which means to love. Friendship isn’t a privilege that we earn. Rather, this is a gift we are free to accept or reject. We made a choice when it comes to the relationships in our lives. We know many people and most of our relationships could be defined as acquaintances. The gift of friendship emerges when we choose to love that person.

In his book, Comrades, Stephen Ambrose points out, “Friendship is different from all other relationships. Unlike acquaintance, it is based on love…it is free of jealousy; it knows neither criticism nor resentment. Friendship has no status in law. Business partnerships are based on a contract. So is a marriage. Parents are bound by the law, as are children. But friendship is freely entered into, freely given, freely exercised. Friends never cheat each other, nor take advantage, or lie. Friends do not spy on one another, yet have no secrets.

“Friends glory in each other’s successes and are downcast by the failures. Friends minister to each other, nurse each other. Friends give to each other, worry about each other, stand ready to help. Perfect friendship is rarely achieved, but at its height is an ecstasy.”

To experience friendship, to experience God’s love, we have to start thinking about others more than ourselves. When we refuse to share, we condemn ourselves to a winter of loneliness, encircling ourselves with a wall, which keeps people out or at what we consider a safe distance.

President Jimmy Carter offers this bit of wisdom; “Earlier in my life I thought the things that mattered were the things you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become more convinced that the things that matter most are the things you can’t see—the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are.”

On FB, a friend recently reminded me; “In the blink of an eye everything can change, so forgive often and love with all your heart. You may not have that chance again.” Someone else wrote, “To forgive is to set the prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” The survival of any friendship depends on love and the willingness to forgive when the need arises.

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” Jesus tells us that we demonstrate our love for him when we keep his commandments. To him, love isn’t a matter of affection but of action. Don’t think of the commandments as a list of do’s and don’ts that restrict your freedom. Instead see them as avenues for demonstrating your love. Compare them to the little signs lovers do for one another, like the husband who buys flowers for his wife on special occasions or the wife who surprises her husband with his favorite meal. Antoine St. Exupery, who wrote the Little Prince, said, “Real love begins where nothing is expected in return.”

“This I command you: love one another.” Notice, it isn’t a suggestion; it’s a command. Love one another. There are no qualifications, conditions, or limitations. Love one another, even the mean-spirited, the grouchy, the ungrateful, the unreasonable. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” Jesus didn’t give us an impossible mission for each time we seek to be self-giving, forgiving, and full of thanksgiving, we are fulfilling this mission entrusted to us.

Love is also a matter of thanksgiving. Love is the one thing all of us are able to give God, and we do so when we gather here for worship. When we have nothing else to give to God, at least we can still give thanks to show that the love we have received is indeed very much appreciated.

May we come to know the true blessing of holy friendship, not just in the friendship we celebrate with Christ in the Eucharist, but also with the many people that God brings into our lives as a reminder that we and they are unconditionally loved.

So, learn to love without condition. Talk without bad intention. Give without any reason and most of all, care for people without any expectation.

In closing, keep in mind, there is no perfect life, no perfect job, no perfect childhood, no perfect marriage and no perfect set of people who will always do what we expect them to do. What we have instead is a perfect God who is able to lead us through this imperfect life with unfailing strength, incomparable wisdom and infinite love.

Walk through Langley on a sunny day and you will pass many visitors. There is little that separates us from them, but as a third century French writer observed, “Christians are not distinguished from others by country, language or clothes. They follow local customs in matters of behavior; they discharge all their civic duties. They obey established laws, and their manner of living is more perfect than the laws. Christians are to the world what the soul is to the body.”

No wonder then Jesus said to his listeners, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” In two short phrases, he describes our identity and our mission as his followers. Nowadays, he might have sent his message out on Twitter. “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

But why did Jesus use salt to describe his followers? By itself salt is useless. I can’t imagine anyone swallowing a spoonful of salt. Ugh! When we use salt while cooking, we do so sparingly, knowing that the right amount enhances the dish while too much salt ruins its taste. How tempted we are to add just a little dab of salt if the dish is too bland. Yes, I cannot imagine a diet without salt, anymore than I can imagine a life without faith.

So what does salt have to do with us? Like salt on the stove, waiting to be tossed into the soup, we are to be stirred into the pot of human affairs. As long as we watch the world go by, we accomplish nothing. Like the salt that disappears into the stew, Jesus wants us to quietly make a difference in the lives of those around us sharing our faith by what we do.

When he became pope in October 1978, St. John Paul II exclaimed to the world, “Be not afraid!” Throughout his papacy, he pursued a vision of a morally strong Church, repeatedly calling on us to make a difference in the world around us.

Never underestimate what a difference sharing your faith can make. I read about a teenage girl named Anne who worked as a maid in a big hotel. Her job was to clean ten rooms every day. In the course of the summer, she met all kinds of interesting people. The one she remembered most was a man she called Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith arrived one weekend with only a small traveling bag. When Anne showed up to clean his room, he stuck his head out the door and said, “Forget about cleaning my room. Just give me a couple of clean towels.”

The next two days, he did the same thing. Not until midweek did he allow Anne to enter and clean his room. As she did, he talked to her and even helped her make the bed. The following Saturday, after she got off work, Anne began walking to church to attend the evening Mass.

A car pulled up; it was Mr. Smith. Did she want a ride home? She said she was going to church, but would appreciate a ride there. Once Anne was in the car, Mr. Smith asked her many questions. How often did she go to church? Why did she go when so many teenagers didn’t? How good were the sermons? Did she go to communion?

When they arrived at the church, Mr. Smith surprised Anne by asking if he could attend Mass with her. She felt strange about his questions and interest in the Mass. She felt even stranger when he knelt during the entire Mass. When Mass ended, Mr. Smith did something even stranger; he hurried outside without even saying good-bye to Anne.

The next day, when Anne went to clean his room, the little bag was gone. In its place was a small package with a note, “Dear Anne, the gift inside this box is for the beautiful thing you did for me, without even knowing it. My marriage has been rather shaky lately; so much so, that I finally told my wife that I was moving out for a few days to think things over. The more I thought, the more confused I got.

“Then you came along. Your beautiful faith in God touched me deeply. When I attended Mass with you, it was for the first time in ten years. During the Mass God gave me an insight into my problem and the desire to stay with my wife. I’m going home grateful to God and grateful to you for being a shining light in a time when my world was very dark. I will never forget you for helping me to rediscover my faith.” In the box was a gold chain with a beautiful gold cross.

Today’s readings are a wake-up call for us. The Christian life isn’t to be lived in isolation or without regard to others. Our faith isn’t just a personal matter. If we do not flavor the world with Christ, we are like salt that has lost its flavor. To be salt in the spirit of Christ is to bring forth the flavor of God in everyone and everything. To be light that reflects Christ is to illuminate the presence of God for others to see.

Anne was not afraid to live her faith and be a light to others. By being the salt of the earth, she made a difference in Mr. Smith’s bland faith. Just as a little dab of salt can go a long way in flavoring and preserving food, what you say and do could make all the difference for someone who has yet to find God or is struggling to preserve what little faith she or he has in God.

We could easily blend into any crowd, but if we are the salt of the earth, how well are we flavoring the world around us?