Preferring Nothing to Christ

Thursday

Fifth Week of Lent

John 8:52-59

‘The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.’

Using the responsorial psalm verse as a repeated prayer or mantra can often be a very helpful way into the Liturgy of the Word. It’s especially helpful today as the theme of covenant links our readings. God’s faithfulness to us and our faithfulness to God is the foundational to the story of our salvation. We can trace a path through the Scriptures of God’s desire to reach out in love to the whole of humanity.

In the Gospel today Jesus confounds his hearers by declaring ‘before Abraham came to be, I AM.’ The Pharisees hear this literally. What Jesus is saying is that every covenantal promise made to Abraham and every generation thereafter comes to fulfilment in Him. This is blasphemy to their ears. It’s easy to scapegoat the Pharisees and pat ourselves on the back because we can grasp what Jesus is saying. The invitation to the Pharisees and to us today is one and the same: live lives of faithfulness and love that the world may believe.

In the remaining days of Lent how can you live in faithfulness?

FRIDAY

Fifth Week of Lent

John 10:31-42

As we get closer to Holy Week there is a sense of growing tension in every encounter that Jesus has. He is challenged on every level and his responses only add to the confusion of his hearers. Today he makes a very simple appeal: if you don’t believe in me, at least believe in what I am doing.

The past two years have demanded a lot of us as a nation. I think there are many who serve us in public office who would want us to believe in them. We’ve grown weary of some styles of leadership and are less than impressed with what they do. In short, we don’t believe in them or what they do.

The words of Jesus challenge us to live in such a way that others can see God at work in us. Sometimes this will be through the practical things that we do. Sometimes it will be through the subtlety of inner work. One can help the other.

How can you live so that others can see God’s work in you?

JOHN 8:31-42

In much of John’s Gospel Jesus speaks to people who struggle to understand him. He speaks figuratively and his hearers assume he is being concrete. We are so used to quotations from the Gospels and usually can grasp their meaning.

‘If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
you will learn the truth
and the truth will make you free.’

From our vantage point, this quotation could be seen as the Gospel in microcosm:

inhabit the Scriptures,

grow in discipleship,

learn the truth,

experience freedom.

Our starting place is so clear. Get to know the Scriptures, make them your home and feel at home with them. This is a very personal journey. In every page of the Scriptures God speaks to our hearts.

Use your Bible today. Find your favourite quotations.

What is God saying to you today?

It’s not always easy to think yourself into the mindset of those who set themselves against Jesus in the Gospels. We’ve heard the texts for years and through our baptism we are fully committed to Jesus. We have no other frame of reference. The Pharisees are studiers of the Law in all its beauty and power. They want to see the way ahead, but just can’t. They take Jesus literally when he speaks. This isn’t quite enough.

In our Gospel today Jesus changes tack and speaks of his relationship with his Father. In the most intimate of language we hear that Jesus and the Father are one and that Jesus does ‘what pleases him.’ The Pharisees still can’t understand.

When I hear the phrase ‘I do always what pleases him’, my heart sinks a little. This sounds like a very hard thing. The Jesuits have a helpful way of looking at this and speak of ‘wanting to want what God wants’. I can manage this.

How do you hear Jesus’ words?

JOHN 8:12-20

As we move towards Holy Week there is a sense of growing tension in our Gospel texts. Jesus’ actions are being watched very closely and every word of his teaching is being scrutinised. Vigorous debate and cross questioning were an important part of the faith world of Jesus. It’s easy to forget this when we see him being confronted in the Temple. Jesus often replies in ways that must have been shocking to his hearers. To declare himself the light of the world is the boldest of claims.

I am the LIGHT of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark;
he will have the light of LIFE.

We see this quotation on posters and prayer cards and we sing it in our hymns. It comforts us. But does it challenge us too? What would it mean for us to really follow Christ? What would it mean for us to have the light of life? What would it mean for us to have all that we do and say flooded with Christ’s light?

At baptism our parents and godparents stood around the font holding candles which had been lit from the Paschal candle. They put their hope in Christ who is our light. They pledged that you and I would always walk in that light.

Light a candle today and thank God for the blessings you received at Baptism.

1 Samuel 1:24-28

I don’t think I could imagine a more poignant scene if I tried than that of Hannah leaving her child Samuel in the Temple at Shiloh. Everything about the story raises a huge question. Hannah had longed for a child and saw the birth of Samuel as the greatest blessing. And yet, she had made a vow that he would be given over to the Lord.

Perhaps we need to take a step back from the poignant details and see this episode as part of God’s overarching plan. By growing up in Shiloh Samuel is shown to have been trained from a very young age to listen to God’s word and to act open it. It is Samuel who will anoint David as King, and from David’s line the Messiah will be born. 

We can trace a thread through the stories of the Old Testament of people who were faithful to God against all odds. Each small choice and each big ‘Yes’ paves the way for the fulfilment of God’s promise. Maria Boulding, in her book, The Coming of God, expresses this beautifully:

‘The chosen people were created to be a centre of attunement, receptivity and expectation, a place of felt need and desire. They were to listen to God’s word, to long for him, and to be the womb-community which would bring forth the One who was to come.’

And still today, God longs for our whole-hearted participation in the promise of salvation. We are still called to be that place of longing for our communities, for our country, for the world.   

Read through the passage a few times during the day. How is God speaking to you through this story?

Song of Songs 2:8-14
Luke 1:39-45

There’s an air of joy and urgency that weaves through the readings and prayers of our liturgy today.

The first reading today comes from the Song of Songs. It’s not used very often in the lectionary, though is an option for Weddings and Religious Professions. The writer imagines their Beloved as a young gazelle and in poetry celebrates the dynamic of a relationship of love. There are verbs of motion and details that engage our senses:

‘see how he comes leaping on the mountains’

‘bounding over the hills’

‘he looks in’

‘he peers through the lattice’

‘winter is past’

‘flowers appear’

‘the cooing of the turtledove’

‘vines giving out their fragrance’

‘your voice is sweet’

‘your face is beautiful’

The urgency of the Beloved to meet his lover can carry us along. There’s a similar urgency in Luke’s story of the Visitation; ‘Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country’. By all accounts Mary’s journey to Elizabeth won’t have been easy. Whatever we imagine the terrain to be like, the journey was long and not without danger for someone Mary’s age. Luke gives us none of these details. His focus in on the joy to two women meeting. Mary and Elizabeth have lived lives of faithfulness to God’s Word. Their faithfulness has made them so open and ready to receive that God can find a home in them. On the Feast of the Visitation we sing a hymn written by one of our Sisters. This verse always strikes me:

Virgin mother, childless wife,
Vessels of his will;
In their flesh his kingdom grows,
Secret, holy, still.

Lets make our homes and hearts a place this Advent where God’s kingdom can grow, secret, holy, still.

Isaiah 7:1014

As Christmas draws closers our readings focus on the key figures in God’s plan for humanity. The text from Isaiah 7 in the first reading provides the background to Gospel story of the Annunciation. Isaiah’s words speak directly to the political situation of 736 BC.  In the face of the growing power of Babylon, Judah is tempted to make an alliance with Assyria. Isaiah warns against this and when King Ahaz requests a sign this is what he hears:

‘The Lord himself, therefore,
will give you a sign.
It is this: the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means God-is-with-us.’

Isaiah’s message is very clear: trust in God and don’t be tempted to organise things yourself. From our vantage point the words are very comforting. In the turmoil of our daily lives we need to know that God is with us. The image of a pregnant maiden also tells Ahaz that there is a plan and the difficulties will pass. God’s plan will unfold in months and not years.

Over the past year we’ve had to trust that our government has a plan and it hasn’t been easy. More than ever we have needed to believe that God is with us. We’ve been pretty much powerless in the face of the big issues but perhaps have learnt the value of doing the small things consistently.

Let us pray that we may be open to God’s promptings and ready to trust in his plan for our lives.

Micah 5:1-4
Luke 1:39-45

We’ve become so familiar with the elements of the Christmas story that they can lose a little of their impact. We sing ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ perhaps without realizing just how insignificant this little town was. It was a small hilltop town, just 5 miles south of Jerusalem. In today’s first reading the prophet Micah promises great things for this little town. From Bethlehem a new king will be born and his leadership style will be quite unlike that of previous kings. He will guard and defend the people like a shepherd. There’s none of the worldly power and might that some had expected, instead God chooses people and places that others may have considered too small and insignificant. It is in these choices that God’s great power is revealed.

God’s power is similarly seen in the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth in our Gospel text. Here again God’s promise is being fulfilled through two ordinary women who are prepared to put their full trust in the God whose praises they have sung their whole lives. Mary and Elizabeth hold a special place in the story of salvation as they are identified with a group known in the Old Testament as the ‘anawim’. These are the poor and the humble, the marginalized and those easily forgotten. The Hebrew word means bowed down, lowered. These people know their need of God and so can act as channels of his love and mercy.

As Christmas draws closer, God calls us to draw deep on our courage and to allow ourselves to be used as channels of his love and mercy. God calls us to know our need of all that the Christ-child brings.  

What do you most need and desire this Christmas?

Jeremiah 23:5-8

Matthew 1:18-24

The theme of kingship looms large in the story of our salvation. The transition from the people of Israel living as 12 tribes to their anointing of a king involved twists and turns. They were influenced by what they saw around them and began to long for a king:

“We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” 1 Sam 8

The King had a huge responsibility in terms of faithfulness to the Torah and the well-being of his people. The writers of the history of Israel would evaluate each king and many were found wanting. Our first reading from Jeremiah today speaks from the perspective of the Exile where the harsh reality of the failure of many kings must be faced. Into this deep despair Jeremiah speaks a word of hope as he promises a new king:

See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –
when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David,
who will reign as true king and be wise,
practising honesty and integrity in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel dwell in confidence.
And this is the name he will be called:
The-Lord-our-integrity.

This new king will embody the love and faithfulness of God and ensure the well-being of his subjects. I am always struck by the name ‘The-Lord-our-integrity’. So many of our day to day experiences can lead to a sense of fragmentation. I believe that the human heart is always searching for wholeness and integrity. We were made for this.

The Gospel account of the angel appearing to Joseph links in several ways with the text from Jeremiah. The angel gives Joseph a message of hope and by quoting Isaiah reminds us of the whole theology of promise and blessing. Joseph stands here as a man of integrity. He is a loving and faithful keeper of Torah. It’s through Joseph’s everyday observance that Jesus will be shaped and nurtured too.

We may not always stop to think about our day to day responsibilities and how they shape those around us. We are perhaps more likely to notice how others fulfill their roles.

Take some time today to pray for someone whose leadership role has shaped and nurtured you.