Building the civilization of love, Slaying Dragons

Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A

Ex 19:2-6a Psalm Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Rom 5:6-11 Mt 9:36—10:8

Authority over unclean spirits

In the Gospel today we hear about how Jesus gave the disciples authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to cure every illness.

Authority of Fathers

Today, in our country we will celebrate another group of men to whom God has given authority – they are Fathers – men who by the grace of God have a profound authority in the life of their children, Today I would like to reflect on the role of the Father.

[[GO AND GET THE TOOL BENCH]]

[[GO AND GET SOME BLUEPRINTS]]

Fathers are fundamental in Gods plan

I have brought a few things with me today to help us reflect on Fatherhood – the first of which is a plan. In today’s Gospel we see that Jesus had a plan for communicating the Gospel to the world, a plan that was carried out by the disciples. Before Christ called his disciples to carry out His plan, God the Father had a more profound plan, to show the world his love through Fathers.

[[UNROLL THE PLANS ON THE TABLE]].

Fathers are universal – everyone has one

Fathers play a fundamental role in everyone’s life. None of us are here without a father. Fathers reflect God the Fathers role in creation – Fathers create life outside of themselves out o live.

[[GET SOME WOOD AND SCREWS AND SCREW GUN]]

Fathers form the primordial lens that we look through to see God the Father.

In a profound way, Father’s form within their children the primordial image of who God the Father is. No one can think about God without seeing God through the image of their own Father. This means that everything we dad’s do has relevance and importance. As children we grow up looking at how our Father did things. This becomes for us a standard and a goal. Some of us have excellent standards, which are like a good ruler

[[TAKE UP A RULER AND START MEASURING OUT THE WOOD]]

No Father to measure myself against

while others have poor examples, or non-existent examples. One of my dear friends had his Father murdered when he was 12 years old. One day while we were talking about being Dad’s, he shared that losing his Dad at that age had a profound effect on him, and in a certain sense made him rely more on the example of God the Father in his own Fatherhood. Being a good father means we establish within our children a good standard, a measure of what it means to be a Dad, a clear lens through which our children will see God the Father.

Spend some time cooperating with God the Father

Given the profound role we play in God’s plan for all people. Dad’s need to spend some time today thinking about how we are cooperating with God’s plan.

What ways do we cooperate with His plan for our children?

[[CALL OVER ONE OF THE ALTAR SERVERS TO HELP]].

Father’s Teach their children

Another role that Father’s play in the lives of their children is to teach them. Father’s teach by doing. [[GET SOME WOOD AND HOLD IT ON THE TABLE]]. Our children watch our actions closely, and they learn from our actions. As Father’s we share in the mission of the disciples. We do this by establishing a family that is founded on love, the love that we show to our wives. Pope John Paul II described the family as the Domestic Church –

• the place where children are schooled in what it means to love,
• what it means to care,
• what it means to pray and
• what it means to sacrifice for one another.
  

[[START SCREWING SOME WOOD TOGETHER]]

What are the lessons that we are teaching?

Are our families places of love and peace, places where God is found? What lessons are we Fathers teaching our children? The readings today call us to examine ourselves in our vocation.

[[OOPS]]

Oops – Time to correct our mistakes

We might see things that we are ashamed of – if we do, then rejoice – not in our shame, but in the opportunity to change, to start anew and to correct the mistakes of the past.

[[UNSCREW THE WOOD AND CORRECT THE PROBLEM]]

Fathers teach prayer – Fathers Bless

Because Fathers are in God’s primordial plan on how people get to know Him, all Fathers have a special role in teaching their children about God. We do this when we gather our families for prayer, when we pray with our wives, we set the tone at family celebrations and gatherings. Today is a day for Fathers to begin anew to teach about God, in our actions, words and deeds.

We learn from scriptures that Fathers are called to Bless their children like God blesses us. Never pass up an opportunity to bless your children. This is a special role that both Mothers and Fathers share. Even when they are teen-agers sneak into their rooms in the middle of the night and bless your children, on the forehead the Father, and Son and Holy Spirit. When your children gather with you today, take this opportunity to give them your blessing. Never loose sight of your vocation to bless your children.

Fathers are not teaching the faith in the Church today

As a church we struggle with this. The Dad’s who have come here today might want to seriously consider helping out in teaching Catechism this next year. If you find yourself wondering about your faith – teaching it is a sure-fire way to learn. 90% of our teachers here are women. We are extremely grateful for their ministry, but the truth is, that our children are learning an incomplete view of the faith. We need Father’s to step up to the plate, and to teach the faith in the Church as well as at the home.

[[FINISH THE CROSS AND BEGIN TO PUT AWAY THE TOOLS]]

Fathers are Dragon Slayers

I have an Icon in my prayer book. It is the smallest of all Icon’s, just the size of a business card. It is an Icon of St. George – who was famous for slaying the dragon. Everyone has heard of the story of George and the Dragon. Often, when I get up and pray in the morning, I am reminded by that Icon of my vocation as a Father, and as a Dragon Slayer.

The Dragon we slay is that of Sin

In Iconography, the Dragon represents Sin, evil. The dragon that St. George slew was of sin in his life. All Fathers have been given authority to guard and protect their family from all evil. When we decide that it is time to go about slaying dragons we need to start at home, not with our wife, or our kids, but with ourselves. The first dragons we need to confront are the sins in our own lives that take us away from God, that invite Satan into our lives, and into our homes.

Dragon Slaying takes courage

Dragon Slaying is hard work, it starts with prayer and humility – confession – asking God for forgiveness, going to our spiritual Father and asking for the blessing of almighty God, and the healing grace that Jesus poured out for us on the Cross. [[HOLD UP THE CROSS]]. This takes true courage – but remember, it is ok because your children are watching, and they are learning from you by your actions.

What are the Dragons that attack us?

Many Fathers in the world today struggle against mighty dragons. This is where we call upon the grace of the Holy Spirit – of Perseverance. Get up and try again. I know that many of us here suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, pornography, indifference or anger. Take the opportunity this week to avail yourself of the disciples witness to drive out unclean spirits – be healed and become stronger in your relationship with God. When Father’s choose to do this; their families are transformed into places of love, peace and joy.

What is a Father?

A Father is a man who cooperates with God to create new life – his children. He provides for his family an environment that is safe from the forces of evil. His life reflects the love of God. A Father is the primordial lens through which his children come to know God. The witness of our love for our families is in the way we sacrifice to bring about the best possible things for our children. Let us spend this day celebrating the love of our fathers, and reflecting on the sacrifice of our heavenly Father.

[[GIVE THE CROSS TO THE SERVER, PUT AWAY THE TOOLS AND THE BENCH]]

I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners

Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A

Hos 6:3-6 Psalm Ps 50:1, 8, 12-13, 14-15 Rom 4:18-25 Mt 9:9-13

NOTE: This past week our Parish celebrated it's fiesta. The fiesta planners asked if I would come to the Fiesta as St. Anthony of Padua, (our patron). My response was to challenge my fellow parishoners to a greater service to the sick of our community to which they generously responded. As my part of the deal, I got a tonsure and came to the fiesta as St. Anthony.


Tonsure Time
I wanted to point out to those not tall enough to notice that this past Friday I got a new haircut. I told the barber who gave it to me that I would start a new trend – Retro hair circa 1200 AD. He said that he had never given this kind of haircut before in his life, and he kept trying to leave a lot of hair on the top of my head, so that when I cut off the rest of the hair my head wouldn’t look so bad. He was a little embarrassed and kept worrying about what the other hair stylists in the salon would say about his barbering skills. When I got home, I had the help of my family in finally trimming down my hair to the right level of “shaved”.

Witness at Work – Let God out of the box!

At the same time, this has been a beautiful opportunity to witness to the Gospel in a way that people do not expect. It strikes at the heart of our insecurity with God. As Americans, we like to keep our relationship with God nice and private, without any truly disruptive effects on our life. It is unsettling when our love for God leads us to wear a goofy hairstyle. This unsettled-ness can end in one of two ways – either folks can leave thinking that we are just crazy (something that might happen anyway) or they ask “Why?” – which opens the relationship to a deeper level, to more dialog. This is what the readings are about today. Christ tells us himself that he came to heal the sinners, to bring them back into relationship with God – so that they might have abundant life!

The Conversion of St. Matthew

There is a great irony in the Gospel today, and it has many layers, like the layers of an onion. Let’s examine some of the different layers of this Gospel.

Roman Tax Collector = Enemy of God

Matthew, by his own admission is a Tax Collector. That means he was actively working against the Kingdom of Israel by collecting taxes for the Roman Government. You might be thinking to yourself, that’s not bad, I have a friend who works for the IRS and he is not a bad person. This is where some history can help us. In Israel the Roman Government is an enemy force, occupying the Kingdom of Israel and setting up a puppet ruler. The Jews believed that Israel is God’s Kingdom, and so if you are working to collect money for an occupying army, you are a direct enemy of the Kingdom of God. He was actively working to support the enemies of God.

Humility of St. Matthew

The second layer of the onion becomes apparent when we consider which Gospel says this and to which community in the early Church that Gospel was written. St. Matthew himself wrote the Gospel that we read today, so in a way it is a public admission of his own sinfulness. Matthew wrote his Gospel to the early Christian community who were converts to Christianity from Judaism; he was writing this to the folks who would most readily understand the seriousness of his sin.

When we read in the beginning of the Gospel today that Matthew was sitting at his tax post, Matthew is not glorifying his life of sin as sometimes we have a tendency to do when we are not truly repentant. This is a statement of his humility, his admission of the terrible life he led before Jesus was able to touch his heart.

John Chrysostum - God’s Perfect Timing

St. John Chrysostum asked the question – Why didn’t Jesus call Matthew at the same time He called Peter and Andrew, James and John? Jesus called Matthew at the time that was perfect for Matthew’s conversion. He was able to reach into the life of Matthew and touch his heart in a way that opened Matthew up to be filled with the great love of God.

Second Layer of the Onion – Complete conversion

The second layer of the onion is the witness of Matthew’s complete conversion in his heart – that he would admit to his sinful past to the early Jewish church – not to flaunt or wallow in his former sinful life (Something which we do if we are not completely converted in our hearts) – but rather to give glory to God by witnessing to the fullness of His love.

Christ came to bring us into a closer relationship with God. In order for us to enter into a deeper relationship with Him, we need to understand what is getting in the way of our relationship with Him.

More Connected – Less in relationship

Last year a new college was opened up in Lander, Wyoming; the Wyoming Catholic College. This college is the only college in the United States where the dorm rooms have no televisions, the use of cell phones is banned and there is limited internet connectivity. A few weeks ago I had the chance to talk with the president of the college. He explained to me the reason behind these policies. He said that the more connected we are (the more opportunity that we have to text, email, im, phone and chat with one another) the less ability that we have to relate with one another. Technology has become a barrier to true relationship in our world.

Holier than thou!

This difficulty in relationship leads us to the third layer of the onion is Christ’s statement at the end of the Gospel – “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Jesus is speaking to the people who are judging him for his actions without understanding His mission to lead people back into relationship with God. The righteous are my their own statement those who think that they are “Holier than thou”.

Let God out of the Box

In many ways the Pharisees who are criticizing Jesus are most like we Americans, because they feel that their relationship with God is private, nicely boxed in and neatly packaged. Like the Pharisees, we too risk a point in our own spiritual lives where our own religious devotion becomes a barrier to a deeper relationship with God. We can get into a mode where we become complacent with our relationship with God. So when Jesus says that he is The Pharisees, like us often use their own religiosity to protect them from a deeper relationship with God. How do we hear Jesus’ statement “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners..”? Are we healthy, and so have no need for God’s love, or do we think that we are healthy and are unable to accept Christ’s healing?

Humility opens us up to the healing of the Great Physician

St. Matthew gives us the clue to getting out of this spiritual malaise – humility, recognizing that our souls are sick and in need of the Great Physician – Jesus Christ. Are our relationships with Christ boxed up in nice neat packages that seldom shows it’s light to the world, or are we ready to open ourselves up to the healing love of the Great Physician? Today’s Gospels lead us to the question – Which area of my life is in most need of conversion, of encountering the healing love of God this week?

How does God enter into our plans?

Third Sunday of Easter Cycle A

Acts 2:14, 22-33 Psalm Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 1 Pt 1:17-21 Lk 24:13-35

Planning sets us apart from the other creatures

One of the things that set us human beings apart from all the other creatures on this planet is our capacity to plan. As humans we have the ability to think about what has happened to us, or to those around us and to plan so as to improve our lives.

Dogs and Cats Planning?

Think about this. When was the last time you saw your dog sitting down with the estate planner to write out a will, or your cat planning out her retirement, or your canary bird thinking about a business plan for being cute and sweet sounding?

Humans plan all the time

Animals don’t – but we humans do. While it would be silly to see your dog sitting down with the Financial section of the newspaper to see how his investments in Purina Dog Chow is doing, we don’t think twice when a human is planning. How many of us here are planning to buy a new car or a vacation this summer? How many of us here spend time planning our families? How many kids we will have, where we will live, what we will do? Or, if you are younger – planning what you want to be when you grow up? A Mom, or a Dad, or a Priest? How many of us here are thinking about our retirement or planning for our death?

Planning is how we achieve at a good goal

At the heart of all planning is working to achieve some good goal. The goal of planning a vacation is a relaxing time at the beach, or in the mountains – to have an enjoyable time. The goal of planning a family is to have a happy, fulfilled life and the goal of planning for our retirement and our death is to help those whom we love.

What is God’s involvement in our plans?

The question that we are called to reflect on today is that of God’s involvement in our plans. All of us here today have many plans for our life, but how many of those plans include God?

[PAUSE]

To look at this question from another angle, It is clear from the readings today that God has a plan for us, and that He is actively working his plan. How does God work into our plans?

How does God enter into our plans?

The Gospel today shows us how God enters into our plans, and how we can respond when he does. In the Gospel today the two disciples are on the road to Emaus. Why?

[PAUSE]

They are sad about what has happened to Christ, they are leaving town, dejected, depressed. Things didn’t go according to their plan. On Palm Sunday things were going like gangbusters, Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This was the time and place where their plans for freedom from Roman oppression were going to be realized. Then came Good Friday, Christ was crucified. Being good Jews they stayed in town for the Sabbath, and now it is the morning after the Sabbath (Sunday) and they are getting out of town.

Christ is the Good Shepherd – going after his Lost Sheep

It is at this point in their plans – the lowest point of their plan that Christ meets them on the road and He begins to walk with them. At this low point of their plans they begin to talk with Jesus about where they are at – truthfully from the heart. Jesus then responds by sharing their struggles, and then showing them how their struggles tie into God’s plan for their lives. At the end of the day, they come to the inn and share a meal with one another. It is in the breaking of the bread – the Eucharist that they recognize Him – They see how God has entered into their plans and where their plans must now lead them.

The Road to Emaus ends up being God’s Plan

You see, when the disciples set off from Jerusalem that morning they did not know that they were cooperating with God’s plan. They were thinking to themselves, anyplace has got to be better than this place. What they didn’t realize is that they were actually going to Jerusalem, it wasn’t until they encounter Christ in the Breaking of the Bread at Emaus that Christ shows them their vocation.

Letting God into our plans is how we learn our Vocation

Along the way they were met by Christ, and as they shared with Christ, they learned from him and realized that He was giving their journey a purpose, a mission, a vocation. Their encounter with Jesus set their hearts afire so that at the end the day they were doing the will of the Father – they proclaimed the resurrection of Christ to the Apostles!

Imagine being the one to tell the Pope the most amazing piece of news in the history of time!

Where is God in the Plan’s for your life?

If we went to a retirement planner to plan for our retirement he would not say to us - go each week and buy a powerball ticket - then you will be taken care of in your old age - no! He would encourage us to hard work, discipline, saving, so that when we get to an old age we can retire. Likewise, St. Peter exhorts us not to trust in treasures like silver and gold, but in what is eternal - the Blood of Christ. When we are planning for after retirement - after we die, we need to follow the same advice - to pray for conversion, to fast and to open our hearts so that God's plan for our life can be realized - eternity spent in communion with Him.

Give thanks to God for his Good Works

Saturday within the Octave of Easter

Acts 4:13-21 Psalm 118:1 and 14-15ab, 16-18, 19-21 Mk 16:9-15

Lunch with a Friend – Why was Jesus hard to recognize?
I once was having lunch with a friend when he asked me – Why is it that no one recognized Jesus when he rose from the dead? At that time I had a difficult time answering the question – and the implication – that Jesus did not rise from the dead, but rather that someone disguised as Jesus did. This doesn’t really satisfy on a few accounts

1. Someone dressing up does not explain Thomas’ reaction, or Jesus walking through the walls, or the guards fleeing, or the earth quakes, or people rising from the dead.
2. All of the Apostles (except for John) died horrible deaths. The odds of 11 men voluntarily going to death for a hoax is about zero.

When in doubt – ask St Augustine.
St. Augustine explained that The Apostles were surprised to see Jesus risen from the dead because they were not expecting him. They did not plan to see him again – so he was not recognizable to them. We see in today’s Gospel that Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, and to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus that they did not recognize him until the breaking of the Bread. It was an Aha moment, where they finally perceived Him.

They were consumed with the tragedy of the crucifixion that they had not yet had time to move beyond the cross into the Resurrection. We often have to remember in our Church where we experience Easter instantaneously, we very readily move from the grave to the Resurrection, that the Apostles were not so quick on the uptake. They were not expecting to see something out of place, so they didn’t recognize Jesus right away.

Our Response to God's good works - Thanksgiving

In the Acts of the Apostles the Jewish leaders perceived that the Apostles were ordinary men – yet they spoke with truth and conviction. They gave glory to God for the work he has done through Jesus Christ.

In the Psalms we see that God always has the initiative, that he is always acting, and that we are always responding with praise and thanksgiving.

Easter is a time of thanksgiving – so let us give thanks to God for all of the good things that he has done for us this day – recognizing that he has called us – ordinary women and men to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

The Sickness of Sin

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Ez 37:12-14 - Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 - Rom 8:8-11 - Jn 11:1-45

How did you get injured?
When you wear a neck brace everyone wants to know what happened. Did you have a car accident? Hurt yourself Skiing? Mountain Climbing? Fall on the Ice?

I did it to my self – what do you think about that?
How would you respond if I said I got this injury on purpose? What? I am Aghast? Why would you injure yourself? You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would attempt suicide, or self-mutilation…

What if it was a horrible disease?
What if I didn’t have a neck injury, but rather I purposefully infected myself with some horrible disease like the plague, leprosy, hepatitis, AIDS, Ebola or something worse?

What would you do?

Would you let me come and stay in your house – infected with a terrible disease?
Would you be my friend?
Would you tell my family? Boss? The Doctor? Social Services?

We are crazy to hurt ourselves
You would be right to think that I was crazy to hurt myself, You would be right to think that I am not sane to infect myself with a horrible disease. There is something horribly wrong when people do that – and they need help.

I am Not Sick – I used this brace to illustrate the sickness of my soul
Providentially for us, I am not physically sick or injured. I do not have some really bad contagious disease. I wore this neck brace to illustrate a disease that affects all of us, it is a sickness of the soul – it is sin

Sin is killing me
Sin afflicts me, The sin that I commit tears me down, it destroys my soul, it is my sin that is killing me and it is often hard to visualize. So I wear a neck brace to remind myself that Sin is killing me, and I need to change so that I am no longer crippled.

A Man was Ill
The Gospel today begins with the statement – A Man was ill. Which man? You and me. Like Lazarus we are ill because of the Sin that we have not repented from. Sin is a sickness of the Soul.

We need sin like lung cancer needs cigarettes
Like Lazarus, we are dying – we often don’t see it because we often don’t recognize the true state of our soul. We are like an emphysema patient dieing from lung cancer, and yet we keep on smoking cigarettes.

Mary prays for Lazarus
Fortunately we are like Lazarus, we have a family that does care for us and wants to do something about our sickness. We need to pray for one another, and to counsel one another to get better. Lazarus had his sisters who prayed for him – the Gospel says that they “sent word to Jesus that the one who he loved was ill…”

Lent is Hospital for the Soul
Lent is the time when the Church invites us to go to the Hospital for our Soul – a place of healing and rest, so that we can be healed and so enjoy the celebration of Easter – the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Seven Deadly Sins
The Monks of the Early Church used to evaluate their relationship with God in terms of the “Seven Deadly Sins” – Seven ways that their relationship with God was sick, and dying. They had specific ways of addressing the illnesses of the soul, and this lent we have an opportunity to dip into some of their wisdom, to get some help, so that we leave this lent spiritually more healthy than we entered into it.

What are the Seven Deadly Sins?
Lust – Pornography is polluted love – Antidote is Chastity
Lust – Pornography destroys my ability to love purely, it is polluted love. Lust replaces true love – seeking the good of the other which heals, cleanses, strengthens and builds up with selfish love, which takes, destroys and spreads its hatred because it ends up empty. Lust is a sickness of the Body.

Gluttony fills a hurt with stuff. – Antidote is fasting
Gluttony – Gluttony attempts to fill a hurt within myself with food, or busyness or distraction. It is not always a physical ailment, but rather a psychological / condition where we have been hurt and we protect ourselves by indulging our body. Sometimes we can be a glutton with food, or with busyness, or with drugs or alcohol. Gluttony is a sickness of the Body.

Greed hoards gifts meant for others – Antidote is generosity
Greed – Greed means that I hoard the gifts that God has given me and use them for my selfish gain, rather than steward them and use them according to God’s plan. Don’t misunderstand me – I am not suggesting that we must give away what we own, but rather that we need to use what God has given us in cooperation with His plan. Greed kills within me any ability to be thankful, or grateful to God for the gifts that he has given me.

Laziness leads to couch-potato-dom – we are meant for motion – Engage the world with charity
Sloth – Laziness. A kind of depression, where I give up, and stop caring for my self. Sloth is taking a laize-faire attitude towards the spiritual or practical situation of my life, and rather than engaging the world, I just try to hide in the corner and ignore it. Look at the Human Body – it is created for action and motion, not for couch-potato-dom.

Anger comes from unforgiveness – Antidote is Forgiveness
Anger / Wrath – The root of anger is unforgiveness. If I am suffering from this affliction of the soul, it is time to ask – Is there someone I need to forgive. The struggle with Injustice makes this especially difficult – and so we need to forgive, to turn justice over to God who can judge justly.

Envy is distrust of God’s generosity – Antidote is focus on your mission (Vocation) Envy – Distrust of God. Envy is really an expression that I am mad at God for the gifts that He gave another rather than myself. It is always a case of paying more attention to the other guy’s toys rather than using the gifts that He gave me. It eats away at my soul because I no longer focus on the vocation that God called me to, but rather I focus on what I don’t have…

Pride is blindness to the Truth – Antidote is Humility
Pride – Blindness – I do not see myself for who I am but rather I see things out of proportion. Either I need to get some spiritual glasses or have Jesus wash out my eyes with clay and spittle (Remember last weeks Gospel).

What is the medicine for the Deadly Sins?
The reason why Lent is like a hospital for the Soul is that we are encouraged to spend our time during Lent with Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. These are the three great cures for the Soul.

Prayer – time with the Sanctifier
Prayer increases the time I spend with God – If I want to live a holy life, If I want to live a life filled with the presence of God – who leads me to the fullness of Joy, then I need to spend time with the one who sanctifies. This means I need to work on my relationship with God.

Fasting curbs Gluttony, Lust, Sloth and Anger
Fasting – Fasting curbs the appetites of my body. If I struggle with Lust, with Gluttony, Anger or Sloth, Fasting puts me to work. It attacks the disease at its core, by reminding the flesh that it is the Spirit that leads me to eternal life.

Almsgiving curbs Envy, Pride and Greed
Almsgiving – Just as deadly as the sins of the Body, are sins of the heart. Giving money to those in need attack my pride – because I learn to see myself as God sees me – a beautiful creation of His love, created to steward the gifts that he has given me. It also attacks my greed, and my envy by focusing myself on the mission that God has called me to, in my own particular situation.

Lazarus is sick, Mary helps with prayer
In the Gospel today we see that Lazarus, like us is sick with Sin. His sister Mary acts to help him by sending word to Jesus – Lord, the one whom you love is Ill. That is us. When we see a brother or Sister struggling with Sin, then we need to pray for them, not gloat about how much better we are then they.

See the Love of Jesus – He weeps for the sick
Also notice that the one who is sick is the one who Jesus Loves, and He weeps for us, and is perturbed. See how much that Christ loves you, even though your sickness is leading you to Death.

Jesus comes to us according to His plan.
When Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick he doesn’t come immediately, but rather he comes according to Gods plan, at his time, so that God’s grace can be maximized. The lesson we take from this part of the Gospel today is that of patience, and perseverance. We need to persevere in our Lenten disciplines, trusting that God hears our prayers and will answer them in his own time, for our better good.


It’s not too late to start (or restart) lent – Jesus wants to awaken us from the death of Sin!
Jesus than says to his disciples that “He is going to awaken Lazarus” – To bring him back from the dead. This is what Christ is saying to us today. “I don’t care where you are with your Lenten resolutions, if you have been faithful throughout lent, or if you quit 3 hours into Ash Wednesday – I want to bring you back from the dead!” It is never too late to begin to repent, to change your mind, to ask Christ to reveal to you the depths of your Sin and so lead you into new life! It might be the 5th week of Lent, we might be at the threshold of Holy Week – there is still time to get to the banquet full of Joy!

Jesus is calling you from your tomb of sin!

Today Jesus is coming to the tombs that we have dug for ourselves with our sin.

He is standing outside and calling us away from the sickness that afflicts us. Jesus is calling us to witness to the Gospel this week by accepting his healing love, by hearing his tears over our illness and death and changing our minds about our sin.

When we allow Christ – who is The Way, The Truth and The Life into our lives, through conversion, we witness the power of his Cross and Resurrection to our families and friends, so that they too can come to believe and be healed!