Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down And do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
The Word of the Lord.
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“So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth,” the Lord says in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah, “it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will.”
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I pray these words at least twice a day.
First while in my little chapel at home. “Lord, may your word not return to you void.”
I live my life soaked in scripture; I read it at home, pray over it, and preach about it daily. But Isaiah reminds us that it’s one thing to know the Word of God and another thing to live it… to do it… to be guided by it.
So, I pray each morning that God’s Word would not return to him void; rather, that I’d not only know it, but also be changed by it.
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Secondly, I pray before celebrating Mass, that both the scriptures and the words I preach would not return to the Lord void; rather, that this community of faith would be changed by them.
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Perhaps this can become a pocket prayer for you, too.
“Lord, may your Word not return to you void.”
Rather, may all who hear it, do it…and be changed by it day after day.
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of the most popular Saints of our time is Mother Teresa.
I’m sure we all know her story: she brought together a group of 11 other nuns and founded a religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, in 1950.
Then she spent the rest of her life serving the poorest of the poor in India.
Today the Missionaries of Charity have over 5,000 members, who run schools, soup kitchens, homes for refugees, abandoned children, people with AIDS, leprosy, or mental illness.
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A reporter once asked her, “Mother Teresa, why do you do this?”
She reached over, touched his hand, and on each finger repeated one of those five sacred words we heard from Jesus in today’s Gospel, “You…did…it…to…me.”
Mother Teresa believed that whatever she did with her hands for the poor, she did for Christ.
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It can feel intimidating to compare our life to hers. She was a prophet; a spiritual giant, who was uniquely gifted with a love for the poor.
But we can be just like her if we hold out one hand, and as we bend each of our five fingers, repeat those words of Christ:
“You…did…it…to…me.”
Then go out and find someone to serve.
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Image credits: (1) Brady Lane Church (2) secure.qgiv.com (3) Pinterest
The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman: “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.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
The Word of the Lord.
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Mark Twain once said, “The best way to get rid of temptation… is to give into it.”
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Temptation.
We all feel it … and sometimes we give in.
It’s something human beings have struggled with since the Garden of Eden.
Our first reading takes us back to the beginning, that moment when Adam and Eve first sinned.
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Satan appears in the form of a serpent.
Slithering towards Eve, he allures her into eating from the tree of knowledge. “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden?” he hisses.
“No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods!”
Notice Satan does not deny the existence of God when manipulating Eve; he is far more cunning than that. Rather, he tries convincing her to doubt her need for God.
“Your eyes will be opened…and you will be like gods!” he says.
Free. Independent. Self-sustaining. No need for God.
This becomes a marquee tactic of the devil – not to make us doubt God’s existence, as much as convincing us not to care that God exists, or has our well-being in mind.
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The moment Eve looks at the fruit, she concludes three things: it is, “good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.”
Then, she takes it and bites into it.
Most of our temptations stem from that moment.
Although God commands Eve not to eat the fruit – doing so would be poisonous to her body and soul – she perceives it as, “good for food,” something pleasing to her physical appetite.
Often, we face the same temptation – to bite into things that seem pleasing to our appetites in the moment, but really do us harm.
For example, do we ever overindulge in things like food, drink, betting, social media, or the internet?
We can spend hours draining ourselves, wasting our time… and for what good?
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One way to combat this temptation to overindulge is to fast, creating a stronger sense of self-discipline and balance this Lent.
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Secondly, Eve finds the fruit, “pleasing to the eyes.”
Lured by its shape and color, she bites in. Then, she shares it with Adam. Chances are, they both went back for more, even though God commanded them not to.
Today we’re lured by a different kind of “fruit” – a nice pair of shoes, a fashionable purse, a new set of golf clubs, a fancy car, a bigger home.
Things that seem, “pleasing to the eyes.”
We acquire them, but more is never enough. Somehow, having more leaves us feeling just as restless weeks or months later as we did before.
What lures me? What do I find myself constantly wanting more of?
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One way to assuage that desire for more is to give alms to those who have less. As Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us, “It is in giving that we receive.”
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Finally, Eve finds the fruit, “desirable for gaining wisdom.”
Although God warns her not to touch it, she cannot turn away. So, she does what she wants, instead of what she should.
This is, perhaps, the most common temptation of all: pride. Thinking that we can have whatever we want or do whatever we want, even when our conscience tells us otherwise.
When do I ignore my conscience and do what I want instead of what I should?
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One way to humble ourselves into doing the right thing is through prayer.
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“The best way to get rid of temptation,” Mark Twain once said, “is to give into it.”
While witty, we know that isn’t true. The best way to get rid of temptation is to fast, give alms, and pray as the Lord has taught us.
Are we willing to do that – to become more like Christ – this Lent?
