4th Sunday of Lent - B (March 18, 2012)

Commentary

John 3: 14-21

Light and Darkness

One of the ways to better understand Jesus' words to Nicodemus here is to look at the setting of their conversation.

In John 3:1, Nicodemus is described as "a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews." Yet, he comes to Jesus "at night" (v. 2).

Why would a religious leader and a ruler of the people have to do something at night?

There have been various attempts to interpret Nicodemus' motivation. The author of this gospel, however, makes no mention of any reason why Nicodemus comes to meet Jesus at night.

Nevertheless, to the one who has come to meet him at night, Jesus says, "The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God" (v. 19-21).

Later on in John's gospel, at the moment of Jesus' death, Nicodemus would come forward publicly, "bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred pounds" for the burial of the crucified Jesus. He no longer does things "at night" (19: 39-40).

How do I measure up to the challenging words of Jesus in this passage?

Am I moving from darkness to light like Nicodemus?

4th Sunday of Lent - B (March 18, 2012)

Readings

Image: John La Farge, Visit of Nicodemus to Christ

http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14202

3rd Sunday of Lent - B (March 11, 2012)

Commentary
John 2: 13-25

God's House

Today, we hear of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple. Verses 14 and 15 mention the location of the episode. The Greek word hieron used here for "temple" has the connotation of "a building where people gather." [1]

For Jesus, it is not just a building where people come together, even if it is a temple, or a place of worship. It is His Father's house. And John used a different Greek word here. He used oikos, refering to a dwelling place, or a house. God's house is where God is present among God's people. [2]

And Jesus asserts that he himself is now God's presence among the human race (v. 19). This continues one of the teachings found in the prologue of John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth" (1: 1,14).

In Jesus Christ, God has come to live among us.

This mystery continues in the Church, Christ's Body. The Church is not just a place that gathers people. It is where God lives among the human race.

And whatever is true about the Church is true with each of its members.

How am I God's presence among the human race? How do I live that reality and mystery in my life?

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[1]. Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John (Sacra Pagina Series, Volume 4). Collegeville, MN, Liturgical Press, 1998; p. 77.
[2]. Ibid.

3rd Sunday of Lent - B (March 11, 2012)

Readings

Image: Bernardo Bellotto, Jesus Cleansing the Temple
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Bellotto_Jesus_Cleansing_the_Temple.jpg

2nd Sunday of Lent - B (March 4, 2012)

Commentary
Mark 9: 2-10

This is My Beloved Son

Mark began his gospel citing clearly what he intended to teach his readers, "the gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God" (1:1)

The rest of his writing teaches us who Jesus is and how in his life, through his words and actions, Jesus reveals to us that he is the only "Son of God."

It begins with the baptism of John the Baptist, where the voice from heaven reaffirms Jesus as God's "beloved Son."

Then we learn of a Jesus who is zealously on a mission to bring God's peace and healing to the human race.

Throughout the gospel, especially when Jesus heals the sick and performs miracles, he would not allow people to speak about it to prevent any misunderstanding of who he is. He is not just a famous teacher or a powerful miracle worker.

Now, as Jesus travels to Jerusalem to undergo his passion and death, with the Transfiguration, he prepares his disciples by giving them a hint of who he truly is, God's beloved Son.

Jesus' identity as God's beloved Son will be fully revealed on the cross, which he accepted out of loving obedience to the Father's will and love for the human race. There, on the cross, through the words of the Roman centurion, Mark teaches us, "Truly this man was the Son of God" (15:39).

God's only Son lives and fulfills his identity on the cross, his ultimate sacrifice of love.

How do we live our lives as God's sons and daughters?

1st Sunday of Lent - B (February 26, 2012)

Commentary

Mark 1: 12-15

Time of Fulfillment

Jesus was in the desert, "among wild beast and the angels ministered to him."

With this brief description, Mark set the stage for "the time of fulfillment" that Jesus would soon announce.

There was an earlier time in history when Adam and Eve, and, with them, humanity, were living among animals, and in "a garden where creation was in harmony" (Genesis 2: 19-20) [1].

However, once sin damaged their relationship with God, in "the fallen state, humankind [was] expelled into a place where the land and its animal inhabitants rebel against a man and a woman, who are themselves in conflict" (Genesis 3: 14-19) [2].

Now, Jesus heralds first in his life, then in his words, "the time of fulfillment." Later on, with his cross and resurrection, Christ inaugurates a new creation where God's relationship with all God's creation is restored.

Lent offers us, the people redeemed by Christ, the opportunity to live more fully in this time of fulfillment that God has begun in us through Baptism.

With prayer, we return to God.

With fasting, we open to God's grace restoring in us what sin has damaged.

With almsgiving, we repair and rebuild relationships with others.

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[1] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002; p. 38.

[2] Ibid.

1st Sunday of Lent - B (February 26, 2012)

Readings

Image: Christ in the Wilderness by Moretto da Brescia

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/11.53