A Word of Hope

Jesus healed a man who was mute. Many things can make us mute, but we need to be free to speak the truth as we see it, and we need to help free others to speak their truth.

In Deuteronomy we hear, "Do not forget the things your own eyes have seen." We need to remember that today, for we have all seen glimpses of the great things God has done for us in the first words or first steps of a child. It is what we have already see that should give us hope for what is possible in our world.

Jesus challenges us to forgive not 7 times, but 77 times. This does not mean that we need to have warm feelings towards them or to reconcile with them, but it is the first step of the process that opens the way to these possibilities. Can we hope that the person who hurt us might grow? Can we help bring this about through forgiveness?

A poor Jewish slave girl offered mercy to her captor Naaman the Syrian, telling him where he could be healed. Can we show mercy to those who need it most, even our enemies, or do we reserve mercy for our friends?

In the first reading we hear the Ten Commandments. The 5th Commandment is Thou Shall Not Kill. We need to re-embrace this commandment today.

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-3,11-32) we learn of the absolute certainty of God's mercy for us. If you are in doubt, read this parable again.

We are workers in the vineyard of the Lord, and it is not for us to hoard the profits for ourselves, but to get a harvest for God. So in Lent, we do not simply work on our own holiness, but in being more effective evangelizers.

In his parable of the rich man ignoring poor Lazarus at his door, Jesus taught us that God wants us to care for the poor at our door, so we can enjoy good things, as long as we do not do it to the exclusion of helping others in need.

Jesus tells his followers whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. This is looking at the world the way God sees it, the right way up, unlike when we have allowed our own vision to be skewed, thinking servanthood is low.

Jesus admonished the Pharisees to be more humble. Humility is seeing ourselves as God sees us, not more or less, which allows us to become purified of our bad qualities because we also see the good.

Jesus tells us to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful. We do not have to wait for heaven to experience God's mercy, it is available every day in the confessional.

In the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John get challenged to believe that Jesus really is God's son, but that challenge is also a mercy, welcoming them into the heart of God. May we find the challenge and the mercy this Lent.

Jesus told his followers to be perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect. While we can never reach the perfection of God, we can always be better than we are right now, and striving for that is good enough.

The readings today talk about developing virtue, the inclination to choose to do what is good. Virtue is skill that is developed, and Lent is perfect time to work on it. What virtue would you like to work on this Lent?

On this Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, we remember that Jesus built his church on the rock that is Peter. But we also remember that he next told Peter, "Get behind me Satan!" There is good and bad in all of us, so let's celebrate the good and forgive and challenge the bad.

Jesus told the crowds that they will get no sign from him except the "sign of Jonah." Jonah tried to run from God until he spent three days in the belly of the whale. When he came out, he had a new conviction. Likewise, the apostles, after the resurrection, preached with a new conviction. May our preaching be as powerful.

Jesus tells us that if we forgive others, we will be forgiven by God. Can we see ourselves in need of this forgiveness? Do we want to be better Christians than we are today?

In the parable of the sheep and the goats, the world is challenged to see the delight of caring for others, where giving to those in need is not counted as loss, but as joy.

God made a promise with Noah after the flood that there would never be another one. By Jesus' death and resurrection, we are promised not that we will never die, but that for every death, there can be a resurrection. Trust that promise to lead you out of the darkness of death.

The Psalm asks God to 'teach me your ways, O Lord." There are places where we each can hear God more clearly. Where is yours?

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the fasting God wants is in helping the poor. Our own fasting during Lent should make us more aware of our own dependence on God and also more aware of the needs of people who go without.

Jesus tells us that to follow him, we must take up our cross daily. Sometimes we hope for a shortcut to holiness, but we get there by choosing love day after day after day.

On this Ash Wednesday which coincides with Valentine's Day, we are challenged not just to privately confess our sins, but to publicly confess our love for one another and our trust in the mercy of God.

In his letter, James assures us that God tempts no one. Rather, our desires tempt us. But within each of us there is a deeper desire for what is good and holy. Let us reawaken that desire in ourselves, and help to rekindle it in others.