Category: Uncategorized

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By now, I’m sure we’re all getting a little stir crazy. 

How many of us, for example, have been tempted to get together with friends, breaking this uncomfortable rule of “social distancing”?

Meanwhile, we miss our creaturely comforts – stocked grocery stores, movie theaters, a day in the office, a haircut, sports, a trip to the spa, hugs from those we love.

We’ve all had to make these sacrifices for the common good; we cannot gather in groups… At least we’re not supposed to.

But human beings don’t let go of creaturely comforts that easily, whether it’s food, power, routine, or pleasure. 

Times change, but people don’t.

***

In the Gospel, for example, we hear how deeply Jesus has shaken the religious authorities of his day.  

After his three-year ministry, people are following him in droves. He’s taught them with authority, healed the sick, and even raised Lazarus from the dead.

Meanwhile, he’s openly criticized the Scribes and Pharisees, calling them “hypocrites” and a “brood of vipers.”

The balance of power is shifting quickly… and not in their direction.

As a result, the religious leaders band together, plotting to put Jesus to death. 

***

But they need the help of Rome. Fortunately for them, the thinking inside the Roman Empire was similar – kill or be killed. 

The Empire was so vast that they didn’t care who Jesus was. All that mattered was, “Is he disturbing the peace?” 

If so, then, killing an innocent man became the price to pay for maintaining order.

And kill him they did. Jesus was killed, in some ways, out of convenience.

***

Again, times change but people don’t.

Think about how often people put their own individual interests over the common good.

Whether in person or on the news, we’ve all seen people who are not adhering to the social distance rule. 

Like us, they’re getting stir crazy. But in choosing to meet up with their friends, they put our own lives at risk. 

Then there’s panic buying. Think of how many people routinely purchase more than they need out of fear that shelves will be empty tomorrow.

Meanwhile, others can’t get the basic goods they need today. 

Even in “ordinary time,” consider the way people drive. How often we’re cut off by someone who won’t let us merge, or someone who dangerously speeds by us on the Parkway.

***

So what’s the point?

As a society we’re far more connected than we realize. A decision that you make affects me – just as a decision that I make affects you.

Now’s the time when we all need to make sacrifices, because we can get through this crisis. 

But only if we do it together.

Part of that means letting go of things we like temporarily so that we can regain what we love the most – being in the physical presence of one another.

Above all, in the presence of one another in church, where we worship God together and receive his very Self in the Eucharist.

***

Imagine you’re driving in a terrible storm. 

Turning on your radio, the meteorologist tells you a tornado is headed your way. If you don’t turn around, you’ll run right into it.

Turn around or die.

I’m sure all of us would turn around. It’s the easiest decision we’d ever make.

Jesus, on the other hand, runs right into it.

***

In the Gospel, he’s under intense pressure from the religious authorities. They’ve been trying to silence him for some time but have finally had enough. 

He’s crossed the line. He’s claimed he’s God.

That’s blasphemy, an offense punishable by death. No one is God but God alone. As the authorities say to him today, “You, a man, are making yourself God.”

Blasphemy!

Knowing his words will cost him his life, Jesus looks at them and says, “I AM.”

He forces them – and all of us – to decide: Is he a lunatic or is he Lord? 

There’s no middle ground.

***

To back up his claims, Jesus performs incredible works of mercy. 

No one other than God could bring sight to the blind, healing to lepers, or Lazarus back from the dead.

The proof is in the pudding. “If you do not believe me,” he says, “believe the works.”

***

Jesus is so certain of his identity that he runs right into the middle of the storm. Surrounded by men with stones, he says to them, “I AM.”

***

Lent is the time for us to join Jesus in the storm.

Although we’re not being threatened with death, how often do our instincts pressure us to shelve our identity?

In this Coronavirus crisis, for example, we’re all tempted to panic buy, to hoard, to be selfishly afraid.

Jesus, on the other hand, challenges us to be generous.

Even in ordinary times, we’re tempted to cling to grudges, to nurse a favorite sin, to puff up our ego.

But, again, Jesus says to us, “The greatest among you must be your servant.”

***

Although our instincts may tell us to panic, to turn around, to save ourselves, Jesus reminds us that Christians put others first; they run right into the storm.

It’s there we’ll find our Lord.

***

In these uncertain times it’s natural for all of us to live in some state of fear and anxiety, because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

***

But there are two ways to combat these negative feelings.

The first is to be grateful. It sounds strange to say, but we still have so many things to be grateful for. 

Most of us still have our jobs, we have safe homes to live in, food on our shelves, and so many Americans working heroically around the clock to find a cure to the Coronavirus and to care for the sick. 

***

We can also look back over other periods of uncertainty in our lives and see that God pulled us through. As it’s written in scripture, “God is faithful.”

He keeps his promises.

Abraham learns this, too, as we hear in our first reading. God promises to make of him a great nation with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. 

Today half of the world’s population calls Abraham their father in faith.

A reminder that God is faithful.

***

That gratitude then leads to trust. 

One way we demonstrate our trust in God is to be generous to others.

Namely, feeding those who are hungry today. Caring for those who are sick today. Reaching out to those who are lonely today. Donating to charitable causes today.

The opposite of such trust means hoarding our resources and supplies out of fear that we may run out tomorrow. 

But remember the words we pray every single day, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Our faith is based on a God who provides our daily bread.

We don’t need to worry about tomorrow.

Just today.

***

That’s easier said than done, I know. 

But we’d still benefit from trying to maintain an attitude of gratitude in these uncertain times, trusting that the Lord will provide for us each day, so long as we do our part in providing for others.