Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Matthew 18: 21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“The kingdom of God may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.”

One owed a huge amount, Jesus says, while the other a small amount.

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Biblical scholars have tried to calculate just how much debt these two servants owed their king. One was estimated to be 10,000-talents, while the other was a mere 100 denarii.

If that first debt were paid in coins, it’d require an army of 8,600 people each carrying a 60-pound sack on their back.

A hundred denarii, on the other hand, could fit inside someone’s pocket.

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So what’s the point?

One man has been forgiven an immense debt, so large it’s almost impossible to imagine.

Yet he turns around and acts petty with his neighbor, demanding his neighbor repay him a few pennies.

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Pettiness.

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So much of the anger that fills our hearts is often over petty stuff. 

We don’t get our way; someone cuts us off on the Parkway; interrupts us mid-sentence; or plays passive-aggressive.

If Jesus forgives all the sins we’ve committed, then the least we can do is forgive our neighbor for making a mild mistake.

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In his eyes, it’s the difference between 8,600 sacks of coins versus a few pennies.

Given the fact that we’re all living with an increased level of stress these days, Jesus reminds us to let the small stuff go.

It’ll reduce our stress – and the stress of everyone around us.

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope (3) Pinterest

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Gospel: Luke 4: 24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I’m heading on a silent retreat this week. 

One image I’m taking with me is that of an old car radio. You may remember when radios were built with a dial. You had to turn the knob to the left or right in order to find the right station. One click too far created static, muffling the music.

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To me, that’s what Lent is all about – making adjustments, fine tuning, searching for the voice of the Lord.

Now that we’re several weeks into this holy season, perhaps it’s time to consider whether or not we need to make some adjustments.

Maybe we need to dial down time spent on social media in order to turn up time spent in prayer.

Maybe we need to decrease our portion size at meals in order to increase our awareness of the poor, especially those without food in Ukraine.

Or maybe the Lord is inviting us to grow in patience, generosity, or some other virtue.

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Are there any adjustments I might need to make?

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Just as we’d expect to hear a musician’s voice if we turned on the radio, so we should expect to hear the Lord speak this Lent.

It may just be a matter of making the right adjustments – of tuning out, and tuning in.

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Image credits: (1) St. Agnes Church, Springfield, IL (2) iStock (3) Empowering Christian Women

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Gospel: Luke 13: 1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Back in high school English, some of us may have read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel, The Scarlet Letter.

It’s the story of a young woman, Hester Prynne, who becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Shamed by her Puritan neighbors, Hester is forced to wear a scarlet “A” to remind her – and everyone in town – of her sin.

By the end of the story, the father of this young child is revealed. In a passionate dialogue with Hester, he confesses:

“Of penance I have had enough. Repentance, none at all.”

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This father’s inability to publicly claim – and love – his child was his penance. And in spite of living his life in secret, he wasn’t sorry; rather, it seems he would do it all over again. 

“Of penance – of living my life in secrecy – I have had enough.” 

“But repentance – of being sorry for my actions – none at all.”

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Herein lies the difference between penance and repentance.

40 days of fasting, meatless Fridays, no chocolate, no social media, no soda – or whatever we’re giving up this Lent – is enough penance for the year.

By Easter, we’ll gladly say, “Of penance, I’ve had enough!”

But what about repentance?

Repentance is more than repression. It involves an inner transformation – a change in our mind, body, and heart. 

Meaning, if these penances don’t lead us to make some lasting, positive change in our lives, then what good are they?

A fruitful Lent means that we become more patient with others; more generous in spirit; more prayerful; less judgmental.

This doesn’t mean we need to make a dramatic change overnight. But without some change in our lives, then we may miss the entire point of Lent.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives a parable about a fig tree that’s been planted, but for three years now it has borne no fruit. “So cut it down,” he says.

But before the tree is uprooted, the gardener intercedes on its behalf. “Leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. [But] if not, then you can cut it down.”

The good news is this tree gets a second chance – as we all do with God.

But if it’s ever going to bear lasting fruit, then the gardener must ask himself, “Why is this tree not bearing fruit? What needs to change?”

For example, “Is this tree receiving enough light? Is the soil – its foundation – rich in nutrients? Does the tree receive adequate water?”

Similarly, we must be planted in the right circumstances in order to bear fruit. 

Like a tree, do we live in the light? Have we been bathed in the waters of baptism? Do we receive nourishment for our souls – in the Eucharist, through the Word of God, and through prayer? 

Why are we bearing good fruit? Or why are we not?

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Just as a gardener expects his trees to bear good fruit, so God expects us to do the same. And Saint Paul tells us exactly what kind of fruit that should be: “The fruit of the Spirit,” he says, “is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness.”

Which of these have we grown in this Lent? Or which of these do we need to grow in?

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Gentleness.

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Unlike Hester Prynne’s secret companion, who claimed, “Of penance I’ve had enough. Repentance, none at all.”

May we make some positive, lasting change in our lives this Lent, becoming more of the person God desires us to be.

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Image credits: (1) Look to Him and Be Radiant (2) The Scarlett Letter, medium.com (3) Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities