Like all of the prophets, Isaiah was treated harshly for bringing the word of God to the Chosen People (Jesus speaks about these prophets in Mt 23:29-39 among other places).  In today’s first reading (Is 50:4-7), on the last Sunday before Easter, Isaiah relates some of the difficulties he faced, including this famous line that vividly evokes an even greater figure anticipated by Isaiah:

I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting. (v. 6)

In a few short days we relive this episode as Jesus is arrested, interrogated, mocked, tortured, and finally killed over the span of less than twenty-four hours.

But I would like to draw special attention to the closing words of this excerpt (found in the headline).  We are reminded here of Luke 9:51 which marks the point, in that Gospel, when Jesus is “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (literally, “he set his face”) where he will ultimately endure His Passion, suffer death, and then rise.

Like Isaiah and Jesus, we are to set our face like flint, but for us toward the promised heavenly Jerusalem.  No matter how marred Jesus’ visage became, He was not put to shame.  He conquered this world.  With His help, so can we.  Let us never be moved to curry the favor of men if it contradicts God’s will.  No earthly honors or accolades (or threats) should ever cause us to abandon (or even veer from) the narrow path that leads to life (see Mt 7:13-14).  With the Lord on our side we cannot be put to shame.

It is appropriate in a penitential season to often hear from the persecuted Jeremiah (20:10-13).  Once again today we hear his response to murderous threats by those who are looking for any misstep he might take.  He falls back on the Lord with full trust that He will resolve his dilemma justly.

Jeremiah shows us that the best response to persecution is imploring the Lord’s help.  Placing our trust fully in Him, we can be assured for a just resolution to our case.  Maybe it involves a conversion of heart for our opponents.  Maybe it is we ourselves who perceive the case wrongly, and need clarification.  Maybe we are in the wrong and need conversion ourselves.  Or maybe it is a test of faith and perseverance with which God is challenging us.  What we can be assured of is that being faithful has everlasting rewards even if they do not begin here on earth.

Let me add a a quick word about the gospel reading for today (Jn 10:31-42).  In this passage, the religious leaders once again threaten to kill Jesus because of perceived blasphemy.  Part of Jesus response:

If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. (vv. 37-38)

Something struck me here that I never picked up on before.  The key is the words “believe the works.”  What a magnificent lesson in regards to evangelization.  There are many folks that will never become believers through words; but these same persons may well be moved to the Faith by actions.  We must live what we profess to believe as Christians.  During a year in which we focus on mercy, there is no better was to serve God by serving others than putting into practice the seven corporal works of mercy.  Let us look for opportunities to perform these in a special way, but also in the normal course of the day as a habit.  Then they will know we are Christians by our love (see Jn 13:35 and Tertullian).

Below find a post on the opening words of today’s first reading that I shared last Lent; I believe it is worth repeating.  But I would like to make a few comments on the last line of the reading before I do that.

God also said to Abraham:
“On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.” (v. 9)

The Lord here makes clear the importance of teaching our children well the ways of God.  Some parents think it good, even virtuous, to allow their kids to “make their own decisions” about religion without guidance.  We instruct our youngsters on all sorts of things: look both ways before crossing the street, say “thank you,” don’t touch the hot stove, play nicely, and on and on.  Yet we would roll the dice on the disposition of their eternal souls?  It is a grave obligation for parents in the “domestic church” (Lumen Gentium 11) to share the reason for their hope (see 1 Pt 3:15) through word and example and also to provide for good religious instruction outside the home (of course, going to Mass weekly should go without saying).  How else are we to ensure that we will “keep my covenant throughout the ages” if future generations have never heard of it?

The repeat:

In today’s first reading (Gen 17:3-9), God appears to Abraham once again to make a covenant with him.  God promises to make the 99-year-old childless Abram “the father of a host of nations” (v. 4) thus changing his name to Abraham (“father of a multitude” — v. 5),  God also promises to Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan “as a permanent possession” (v. 9).  But they must promise to keep His covenant forever.

The headline is the first line of this reading.  It is a lesson for us today.  It is when Abram takes the position of worship, total deference, and humility that God communicates with him.  Abram shows complete receptivity to his creator in what He has to say to him.  Maybe our problem is that we are not enough like Abram.  When we have a particular struggle and cannot clearly (or cannot at all) hear God’s message to us, His will for us, is it because we are not completely open to it?  Does our will block His will?  Are we confident that God is listening and will answer?  Are we sure we will understand it?  Are we afraid of what might be asked of us?

Abram models for us the proper attitude to God.  A complete submission and openness to our loving Father is the only way to approach Him.

The prophet Daniel (3:14-20, 91-92, 95) relates the story of three Jewish administrators in Babylon who are reported to King Nebuchadnezzar as defying his order to worship a golden statue that he had recently erected.  Threatened with death by incineration, the three men remain steadfast in their devotion to God.  Enraged, the king has them bound and tossed into a super-heated furnace.  But, not only are they unharmed, the king sees an angel conversing with them in that oven.  This prompts his final words found in the headline.

At least in the western world, we have little reason to fear physical death due to our religious beliefs.  But it should give us pause to consider how we would react if confronted with a similar situation.  Bow to a false god or face death?  I hope that we all would at least say that we would like to think that we would not commit apostasy for the sake of our well-being.  But, when faced with a life or death scenario like this, it is not so easy to assure ourselves that we would remain faithful to God.  It would be very easy to find all sorts of reasons to give in: family considerations, good works we could continue to do, working underground to help others, putting on the show while retaining true sentiments in our heart, and on and on.  Certainly the early Christians struggled with the same thoughts.  Yet many went to their deaths, foregoing the easy way out.  Why?  A desire to adhere to the Truth and the hope of a glorious future life. both ultimately springing from the love of God and a sure confidence in His faithfulness.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Is 55:8).  His plan is never thwarted.  More fruit comes from faithful obedience, even if it means the shortening of our own lives, than from excuses for denying Him.  Let us continue to pray for our nation that, unlike in other parts of the world, it does not come down to this.

More broadly, let us not place more importance on anything other than our relationship with God.  “I am the LORD your God..You shall not have other gods beside me” (Ex 20:2, 3) was the first commandment burned into the tablets on Mt. Sinai.  Jesus goes on to say that the first commandment is “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37; see also Mk 12:30 and Dt 6:5).  There is a reason that these are the first commandment.  If we get the order right, everything else falls into place.  St. Augustine, in his Homily 7 on 1 John, in the section on chapter 4 of this letter from the beloved disciple, which includes the words “God is love” (v. 8), famously said, “Love, and do what you will.”  Let us honor God and ourselves by striving to follow these commands perfectly and,  in turn, providing a witness (Gk. martyr) to the world.

The Book of Numbers (21:4-9) relates the famous episode of the Israelites being punished by God for their impatience and incessant complaining.  Having been freed from Egyptian captivity, they begin to quickly long for their former life as they speak out against Moses and the Lord.  This after only a little earlier receiving a miraculous stream of water and immediately  coming off of a major victory in battle over the Canaanites.  The Lord, making His displeasure quickly apparent, sends “fiery” serpents to the Israelite’s camp where many succumb to the bites.  The people then plead with Moses to intercede to Yahweh for them.  He does and is instructed to mount a bronze seraph on a pole so that those bitten can look upon it and be saved.

The world today has many serpents prowling about it, seeking the ruin of souls.  And we let them in!  A culture that complains against God or rejects Him outright can count on the Evil One filling the void.  When good is called evil and evil is called good, trouble certainly looms.  Why do we need healing if sin no longer exists?  So, unlike the Israelites, many today do not realize the destruction that surrounds us — a culture of death.  Some, coming to see the light through the darkness, or at least longing for it, may seek intercession for their untenable situation.  Many others, not even being aware of the mud pit they are in, do not know enough to even call out to their Maker.

Thank goodness we have faithful souls who are modern day Moses’s.  They plead day and night unceasingly on behalf of a fallen world — many behind monastery walls, but some who are in our midst daily, quietly imploring the Lord for help.  They look up at the one who the Father “for our sake…made him to be sin who did not know sin” (2 Cor 5:21) lifted on a pole and pray for healing personally and corporately.  May we, like them and Moses, pray fervently for the Lord’s grace and mercy to change the hearts of those most in need of conversion (including ourselves).

Once more we dip into Isaiah (49:8-15) this Lent.  While we have become accustomed to dire messages from the prophets, here, exactly two weeks before Easter, is proclaimed to God’s people, Old and New, a message of hope.

Isaiah, channeling the Lord, promises a forlorn and subjugated people that their land will be restored, freedom will be theirs, they will not be subject to hunger, thirst, or the elements, and their journey will be made easy.  And all nature will sing God’s praises.  A despairing people, still unconvinced that these good things will be theirs, is comforted by Isaiah’s words that the Lord, like a good mother, will never forget His children.

This message of hope is so very welcome as we approach Passion Week.  It is also a happy occasion as we solemnly consider the state of our country and the state of our world.  No matter how bad it gets, no matter how much we individually or collectively turn away from God, He neither forgets us nor abandons us.  We must remain steadfast, full of confidence and hope that Father knows best and that He will intercede as needed, in precisely the way that is most beneficial, and at the exact time that He deems most fortuitous.

As for the faithful, we need to pray more fervently, redoubling our efforts in storming heaven with our pleas.  We might place special emphasis on a certain petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “the kingdom come,” in these days.  Flowing from this are our actions that serve to build up God’s Kingdom on earth.  There is no better place to start than the corporal works of mercy (see Mt 25:31ff), evoked by the reading we are examining here.  Isaiah mentions the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned.  In addition to caring for those suffering in those ways, Christ tells us, under pain of damnation, that we are also to shelter the homeless, visit the sick, give alms to the poor, and bury the dead.

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy we are asked to focus in a special way on the mercy God has granted us and the mercy He expects us to show others.  We are to imitate the Lord (see 1 Cor 11:1), having been called to “be perfect”(Mt 5:48).  Let others who do not know Christ have Him made known through us.

The first reading at Mass today is the familiar story of the apostasy of the Chosen People while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai (Ex 32:7-14).  Moses famously stands “in the breach,” beseeching Yahweh to remember His perpetual covenant with the people so as to stay His blazing wrath from wiping out every last one of them.

What immediately came to mind in hearing this event proclaimed again are the modern day Moses’s who stand in the breach for the world each and every day.  We look around at a swiftly decaying culture and we can be forgiven for wishing the Lord would just come down and take care of business.  But consider the constant prayers of those set aside to intercede for the world, particularly those who have devoted their lives to God in a special way in the cloister.  The Year of Consecrated Life, declared by the pope, just ended, but our gratitude and prayers to those who live that life enclosed should not.  Let us not forget these hidden ones the world over whose constant prayers, like beautifully fragrant incense, constantly waft heavenward on our behalf.  Imagine the state of our world without these women and men!

Thank you, Fathers, Mother, Brothers, Sisters!  Don’t stop praying, pleading, and interceding on our behalf.  May the good Lord continue to guide you, protect you, and bless you.  Amen

The prophet Jeremiah, as is his mission, continues to warn the people of impending disaster if they do not change their ways (Jer 7:23-28).  Here, likely just a few years before the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent Babylonian Captivity, the Lord uses a prophet as He has done many times before (this is mentioned in v. 25) to implore the people to “Listen to my voice…Walk in all the ways that I command you” (v. 23).  He seems to despair of a conversion as the people.  Yahweh has been pursuing them for hundreds of years, ever since their liberation from Egypt, yet their obstinacy grows as they have “done worse than their fathers” (v. 26).

Things seemed to have changed little in the past 2600 years.  Particularly striking are the words following the headline, the last line of this excerpt: “Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech” (v. 28).  Yes, the word “faithfulness” is disappearing, and this is because the “Word” Himself is also being made to disappear.  Jesus, the Word of God, is becoming less and less welcome in our nation, and more so in many other nations.  How can our society grow in faith and faithfulness when Christianity is increasingly excluded from the public square, ignored, or worse, derided?  Religious freedom may be enshrined in the first part of our First Amendment, but opportunities to erode it are constantly being pushed in our courts and in the court of public opinion.  Do we think the timeless word of God that we read in Jeremiah does not apply to us today?  Having the fullness of Divine Revelation, and having nearly 2000 years to allow it to sink in, we will be held to a more severe accounting than the Israelites.  I am reminded of Jesus’ dire warning:

Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.  Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (Mt 10:14-15; also see Lk 10:13-16)

I do not wish to lose sight of the fact that all these readings are being proclaimed during Lent.  They are meant to prepare us for Passion Week.  Jesus took on our sins but also all sins from the beginning of time until the end of time.  We are also preparing for the joy of the Resurrection where Jesus’ victory over death is completed.  No matter what happens in this world, Good wins in the end.  We have hope if we have faith and this manifests itself in love.  Love will transform the world through the power of the One who is Love.  There is no room for hate or despair.  There is room to be realistic, though.  We see the trajectory of our culture and we are obligated to counter it in thought, word, and prayer.  Let us be steadfast in building up the Kingdom of God and defeating the prince of hell who “prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”

Once more we dip into Deuteronomy, this time near the beginning of the book (4:1, 5-9).  Moses addresses the people as their journey ends and they are about to enter the Promised Land.  He gives instructions regarding how they are to live so as to please God and enjoy prosperity.  They are to follow the statutes and decrees of the Lord which Moses is conveying to them.  They must never forget these things and must teach them to their children and grandchildren.

Can we as a people sincerely say the words in the headline to this post?  To the extent that we, as a nation, follow them, yes.  But how closely do we adhere to God’s law?  We read in the Declaration of Independence that we are endowed with certain rights by God.

Life has been under attack for decades with millions killed before or at birth.  But it doesn’t stop there.  More and more states are allowing killing due to illness now.  How do we teach our children and grandchildren when they are killed and their grandparents with them?

Liberty, religious liberty in particular, is under attack.  Changing cultural mores, political correctness, and pressure groups are strong influences on pliable politicians who would rather win popular approval (and not lose their jobs) than adhere to the Constitution they have sworn to uphold.  We must be allowed to live our faith in society.

The Pursuit of Happiness.  The Almighty wants us to be happy.  But authentic happiness comes only in following God’s will for us personally and in following Divine Law as a people collectively.  There is no enduring joy without living Gospel values.  Watch the news — how much happiness do we see?  Pursuits other than those permitted by our Creator, who by  virtue of His being our designer knows what is best for us, land us where we are today: a culture of anger, enmity, lust, and violence.  In a word, a culture of death.

Let us resist the tidal wave of sin and, by our thoughts, words, ad actions, build up the Kingdom of God so we can once and for all time be seen as a “wise and intelligent people.”

Today’s well-known story from Genesis finds the brothers of Joseph conspiring against him because their father, Israel (Jacob), the grandson of Abraham, favors him.  First they want to kill him, then one brother, trying to save him, suggests that they throw him in a well.  Finally, their greed, mixed with their envy, with a dash of guilt it seems, drives them to sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites.

To anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Gospels, Joseph clearly anticipates Jesus.  Jesus, as Son of God, apparently is worth ten pieces of silver more for His being sold (Mt 26:14-16).  Yet both bring redemption to their people.  Joseph by, through God’s providence, gaining a high position in Egypt and thus saving his people from famine; Jesus by, through the Father’s benevolent mercy, taking a high position upon the cross and thus saving His people from sin, Satan, and eternal death.

Old Testament Joseph was called a “master dreamer” by his brothers (v. 19).  One wonders if he dreamed of the coming Messiah.  New Testament Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, had the most important dreams in history, accepting Mary (and Jesus) into his home and then being warned to flee to Egypt, the same place where Joseph bar Israel ended up.  One wonders if he dreamed of His Son’s public ministry and demise.

With this reading, we are invited to continue our preparation for Passion Week by considering Jesus’ upcoming betrayal, but also to remember why He came in the first place and the trials and travails He faced even as a toddler.