Month: March 2021

Tough Love

The Lenten readings lately have been filled with seemingly harsh messages presented by the Lord to His people. It might be easy to fall into the comfort our faith usually provides–God is “love” after all. Nevertheless, we need to remember that true love stories are not simply “gumdrops and butterflies.” My dad repeated a quote from Matthew to me recently: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.” (Mt 10:28). My dad made the point that Jesus was not referring to Satan, the one I always assumed Jesus was speaking about. Jesus was referring to His Father, our Father. How easy it is to forget the immeasurable power of God! Satan can tempt us, torture us, and try to kill us but he has no control of who is actually damned to Hell. That decision is God’s and God’s alone.

Lent is a season of reflection, when we look back at our sins and repent. We owe everything to God; without Him, we are dust and into dust we will return. One of the most difficult issues I personally struggle to overcome is selfishness. I become so upset when my life goes awry–I immediate ask God to fix the problem, and because He is my Father, I expect Him to do so. Then I remember that without Him I have absolutely nothing. There is no reason I can present to Him that would provide solid grounds for Him to give me anything I want. The only reason He does what He does for me is His divine mercy.

These lessons that Jesus sets before us in the recent readings are harsh and can create fear in us at times. What is to stop our Master from handing us over to the torturers until we pay back the whole debt, as Jesus speaks of in the parable in today’s Gospel. It harkens back to that central truth: God is Love. Because He loves us so much, He wants us to learn from these harsh lessons. He wants all His children to enter the kingdom of Heaven, and the only way to get there is to love Him enough to take these lessons to heart. Love is hard; it is not meant to be easy. Jesus came to show us not just the beautiful side of love, but its tough side as well.

The Voice of Jesus

Recently, I have been sensing in myself, friends, and family what I’ve heard called “pandemic fatigue.” It’s been about a year now of tragic loss, lockdowns, and gripping fear. Sometimes we forget what ‘normal’ felt like. We are ready for this pandemic and its effects to be over.

Where do we turn with our pandemic fatigue? As Christians we know we can always turn to Jesus Christ. And hopefully we do. And hopefully we feel the strength, grace, and love He gives us. If it’s been difficult for you to feel His love for you, I encourage you to reflect on your days and ask Him to help you recognize Him.

Today’s readings tell us the Old Testament story of Joseph and his jealous brothers. His brothers, envious of their father’s esteem and love for Joseph, sell him into Egyptian slavery. Ultimately, his brothers devious plan can’t keep God’s plans for Joseph from coming to fruition and Joseph becomes a great prophet in Egypt. When his brothers meet him years later they don’t even recognize him until he reveals himself to them.

The Gospel tells us a parable with a similar theme — a vineyard owner leases his land to tenants who fail to produce the fruit of the vineyard and mistreat and kill those who the landlord sends for the fruit of the harvest. He sends his son expecting them to respect him and instead they kill him hoping to get his inheritance. However, their blindness will cost them their true inheritance and the Kingdom of God.

Both of these stories foreshadow Jesus Christ himself and remind us that there are those who reject Jesus and those who receive Him. The latter will bear great fruit for the Kingdom of God and inherit it. It is important to note that Jesus was telling this parable to the chief priests and elders of the people — a group who likely thought of themselves as pious and holy.

Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Matthew 21:43

This trying pandemic season rightfully has us weary and yearning for times and experiences we once took for granted. Let us learn from the bad examples in the readings today — it is all too easy for us to fail to recognize Christ in our day to day and moment to moment. We aren’t called to a feigned happiness, but we are called to a true gratitude and joy in the knowledge of the blessings He has given us, beginning with the possibility of eternity with Him. No weariness, no burden, no sadness is to deep that He has not lived in the depths of it. And somehow, if we invite Him into whatever we are experiencing, He promises joy in the midst of it. We must challenge ourselves to recognize Him. Let us not reject the cornerstone, let us seek and recognize Him.

Lord Jesus, help me to see you. Help me to recognize you daily. I bring all of the joys and sorrows of my day to you, and I ask you to be with me through it all. I want to see you. Help me to see your hand in my life. I give you thanks and praise for all that you are and all that you’ve done. Amen.

I encourage you to listen to this song and allow the lyrics to wash over you: I Heard the Voice of Jesus (link also below).

I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
“Come unto me and rest.
Lay down, O weary one, 
lay down your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, 
so weary, worn, and sad.
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
“Behold, I freely give 
the living water, thirsty one; 
stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank 
of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am the dawning light.
Look unto me, your morn shall rise,
and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found 
in him my star, my sun,
and in that light of life I’ll walk 
till trav’ling days are done.

The Lord Has Spoken

When the Lord speaks, His people listen. When Jesus came to earth, He was the Word of God made flesh. During His ministry, it is noted several times that Jesus spoke “with authority.” Before Jesus Christ, the Jewish people listened to “rabbis” because they had authority. The Scribes and the Pharisees had learned the law of Moses and this entitled them to their high position.

Suddenly, a carpenter’s son arrives on the scene and speaks with the same authority, but instead of agreeing with the rabbis, He rebukes them. “Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice” (Matthew 23:3). Jesus was speaking the Lord’s words and consequently, people listened.

It must have been truly difficult for Jesus’ audience to accept Him. People still had no idea who He really was. Nevertheless, people gave up everything to follow Him because they recognized the truth. Today, we know who Jesus is and that the words He spoke are truth. However, the temptation not to listen remains.

This might be the greatest example of the power of sin. Through our faith, we cannot deny who Jesus is and what He is asking us to do, yet we continue to stray. We may not have Pharisees and Scribes to whom we could listen, but we have political figures, celebrities, and social media. “All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi'” (Matthew 23:5-7). Just as the people of Jesus’ time were influenced by the Pharisees, people today are drawn to the false glamour of this world promoted by other leaders.

In this time of Lent, we are presented with an opportunity to repent and listen to the word of God once again. The act of humbling ourselves and remembering who our Father is and what He has done for us may not be easy, but the rewards of taking advantage of this opportunity are great, so great that we cannot even begin to imagine the rewards that await us in Heaven.