A Word of Hope

Jesus was led into the desert to fast for 40 days, and only at the end of that fast are we told that he was hungry and needed to resist the temptations of the devil. Lent is a time to prepare to resist temptation when Lent is over.

The prophet Isaiah exhorts us against malicious speech which revels in the evil in the world and tears people down. Instead, we should mourn evil and seek God's help in making it better.

The prophet Isaiah assures us that the fast that is acceptable to God is " to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free." Let us make sure that this is part of our Lenten committment.

Jesus admonished his followers that they had to pick up their cross daily and follow him. We all have good days and bad days, days when we are excited to be followers of Christ and days when we simply can't stand to pick up the cross of helping others in our seemingly hopelessly broken world. Fortunately, we can do this together, as a community.

On this Ash Wednesday we are reminded of the three pillars of Lent: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. These help us to grow in our three important loves: of God, neighbor, and self. So let's get started.

God will not be outdone in generosity, so when we give to God, God gives even more to us. But the real blessings of this generous exchange of gifts is that it draws us closer to God in love.

God wants to heal ALL who have sinned, and leaves open a path back for everyone. Today, reach out to those who think they are beyond God's mercy.

Jesus told his disciples to take the log out of their own eye before they tried to take a splinter out of their neighbor's eye. If we do the work to purify our own vision in love and joy, St. Paul assures us that this labor will not be in vain.

Little children believe with their whole person, while adults tend to believe only with their minds. Perhaps this is why Jesus told his disciples that they had to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child. We can relearn as adults to follow our inner light and see the world more truly.

When asked if divorce was legal, Jesus responded that it was against God's plan for men and women, so that once yoked together, a man and woman should not be separated. There are many ways we do not live up the fullness of God's plan. Should Palestinians and Jews be divorced and separated from one another? Is it alright to have different worship styles at different masses, or should we all simply be one big church? Although it does not image the fullness of God's plan, are these separations always a failure, or are they sometimes the best way forward?

Jesus said, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off." We often think that our sins and pettiness and cruelty are just who we are and cannot change. But these are part of a false self. Jesus challenges us to find our better self, our true self, that can overcome sin with God's grace.

In the Book of Sirach, we hear that God's wisdom comes to us first as a stranger in fear and dread, testing us. But once we get to know it and it us, it brings us great comfort and joy.

Today's readings exhort us to place our complete trust in God, good advice in these turbulent times.

Seek the wisdom from above in stillness, rather than reacting to the chaos from our own time.

Jesus challenges his disciples to love their enemies. This is difficult, but we can start with some of the other challenges he makes, such as, "stop judging and you will not be judged." This includes to stop judging ourselves so harshly so that our hearts might soften towards others as well.

Today we celebrate The Feast of the Chair of Peter, the office of the pope, and hear Jesus promise to give the keys of the kingdom to Peter and to the church so that the gates of Hades will not be able to prevail against it. Today, we still celebrate the blessings of this great gift a by being in communion with one another in the church.

In today's Gospel, Jesus challenges the crowd that those who wish to become his followers must be willing to lose their lives in the process so that they might find life. This new life in Christ will be worth the struggle and the sacrifices. What are we willing to sacrifice for it?

In today's Gospel, Peter is reminded that God's ways are not our ways when he confesses that Jesus is the Christ but then rebukes Jesus when Jesus says that he will be rejected and killed for it. When God is doing something we don't expect or even want, it is time for us to trust that God has greater plans than our own. This can be disturbing, but it ultimately leads to a greater blessing.

Jesus healed a blind man, but it was difficult and took two tries. When Jesus is healing us, we need to have patience. Healing takes time.

Despite seeing Jesus multiplying the loaves and the fishes, the disciples worry that they have brought enough bread for the journey. Jesus wonders aloud if they understand at all who he is. We need to trust that God provides enough.

In the Gospel today, another Pharisee wants to get into an argument with Jesus. Instead of fighting, Jesus just leaves and goes to the other side of the lake.

In Luke's version of the Beatitudes, Jesus matches "blessed are you poor" with "woe are you rich," because riches obscure the Kingdom like a thick fog obscures a view. Jesus came to blow away the fog and reveal God's compassion which is available to all, but best seen by those who hunger for it.

4000 people (1000 from all four directions) came to hear Jesus preach for three days, and in the end, had no food. Before they left, Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes so that there was an abundance of food for all, symbolizing the abundance of God's blessings for all the world. We carry on this mission today when we as Church and individually feed those in need.

Jesus healed a man who could not hear nor speak, to extend to him the compassion of God. May we extend this compassion to the deaf in our day, but also to those who won't listen to the word of God or never speak about it.