My friends, as I said in this week’s bulletin, two lines, especially, stood out for me—the 1^st from Ephesians, serving as our 2^nd reading today, “We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do the good things God created us to do…” The 2^nd one from 2 Chronicles, our 1^st reading today, comes from Cyrus, the leader of the Persians, who set the Israelites free after the Exile, with the words, “You can go home again.”

   Now, it won’t be any surprise to you that I am suggesting that each of us go deeper with these two lines.  For many of our combined years, “cradle-Catholics,” most of us, Lent has been a time, wherein we have nearly, “wallowed in,” “good ole Catholic guilt.”  The 1^st reading today from 2 Chronicles could add to the personal feelings that many of us may have had about our “worthlessness,” and feelings that we just can’t ever, “get it right”—mea culpa, mea culpa, striking our breasts, if it weren’t for the saving lines of Cyrus, that, “yes,” “we can go home again[!]”

   Again, this is why I always say, “go deeper” to unearth the message our loving God wants us to get.  Perhaps, we can look at this 1^st reading as an “attention-getter” to simply realize that in our humanity, we are imperfect and make mistakes, for any number of reasons; we are tired, ill, upset, selfish, lazy—whatever it may be, but for me, the greater part of this reading (going deeper) is the message of hope that Cyrus not only gives to the People of God coming out of exile, but to us today, is that we too, “can go home again!”

   John’s gospel selection for this Sunday lets us know, in Jesus’ words, that “God sent him into the world to save us,” (that good ole Catholic guilt) that I mentioned earlier, and told us that Jesus “needed” to die that horrible death on the cross, to save us as reparation for our sins.  Think of how that paints God in most of our minds!

   How about if we reframe this picture.  If as we read in the letter to the Ephesians, “we are God’s work of art,” wouldn’t it make more sense to think that God wanted to give us, “a little bit extra help” in living out our imperfect human lives, by sending us, “a northern star,” so to speak, in our brother Jesus, to show us the way to be our best selves –as opposed to a vindictive God who “needed” someone to suffer for the imperfections of humanity?

   I always have to wonder why our hierarchical Church fathers insist on holding up during Lent our “sinfulness” as opposed to our “merciful” God who “chases after us” all the days of our lives, as written so beautifully in the translation from The Message of the 23^rd Psalm.  The negative message does much to “enslave” us while the positive message is all about, “setting us free” to discover that indeed, “we are God’s work of art,” capable of so much good in our world. 

   And, as I look around our world, there seems to be so much that needs our love and care.  Yes, we may be “imperfect” creatures, but we aren’t incapable of making a difference in our world.  You all are aware that March is, Women’s History Month. February was, Black History Month.  Have you ever thought why we have these two month-long celebrations?  Or better yet, why we don’t have a Men’s History Month?

   Racism and sexism are two of our national sins, and when you think about it, we are only touching the “tip of the iceberg” in month-long celebrations of the wonderful accomplishments over time, of both groups, often made little of, or nothing at all.

   Friends, we live in a patriarchal world and Church, that second-guesses” the abilities of blacks and women that in the cases of whites and men, are uplifted.  If we want to talk about “sin” in our Church, here is one, where women are concerned! 

   So much my friends that is labeled, “undoable” in our world and Church is not about an “inability” to do the thing that is needed, but about “power and control” –think about it!

   Those with the power, for whatever reason, don’t want to share it, and how, we might ask, does that square with a God who created us, “works of art,” “to do the good things [that same God] “created us to do?”

   In the beginning of this homily, I spoke about the negative notion that we have often gotten concerning Lent—heavy on “repenting.”  It is good to consider that the word “return,” as in, “you can go home again,” and “repent” come from the same Greek word.  Perhaps we might concentrate in these last weeks of Lent more on “returning” to our loving God, if by our actions, we have “been away,” knowing that “we will find mercy,” to begin once again, to be our best selves, and be “enabled” to do all that we were created to do. Amen? Amen!

My friends, our lives as Christians, as followers of our brother Jesus, continually call us to face our daily lives with eyes and ears open to truly be able to see and hear all that is going on around us, especially wherein “justice for all is concerned,” because this is what Jesus was about in his life, thus showing us the way. 

   Our first reading today, you probably noticed, lays out for us the 10 Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai.  In a general way, we could say, these ten are about being good toward all.  Additionally, we hear that we should, “Let love and respect for others, ourselves and God be central in our lives” –it would seem then that all else that is good will follow. 

   I often tell you and remind myself as well, that Jesus came to show us “the way,” to live our one, wonderful life to the best of our ability—in other words, to become our best selves.  And why would God, in Jesus have decided to do this, we might ask?  Because of love, plain and simple.  Our God who is always watching over us, rejoicing with us in our joys, sorrowing with us in our sorrows, our down times, never interfering in what we choose to do within the gift of our free wills, saw that our free choices weren’t always the best for others or ourselves, and thus came to be one-with-us as a model that we could follow. 

   Paul, in the second reading from 1^st Corinthians says that he and his followers, “are preaching a messiah nailed to a cross,” that, “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 

   Now if we were looking for a paradox, we wouldn’t have to go further than these statements, which we can’t read literally, because the true message lies deeper.  Again, we must realize that, as Father Richard Rohr has said, Jesus’ becoming one-with-us to die was never Plan A!  Jesus came to LIVE, and to LOVE, showing us the way—his death was the result of how he had lived! The powers-that-were in his time simply did not want the equality and justice for all that he was proclaiming, as it tapped into their power and control.  The same can be said for our Church hierarchy today in their refusal to accept the God-given calls of women to be ordained to the priesthood. At the end of the day, it is about losing their power and control over the message. Bishop Barron, here in Winona has said through his secretary, in a call we made asking to speak with him, “that he won’t waste his time talking with us unless we are willing to return to the Church!”

   Jesus’ actions in the Temple, recorded in John’s gospel today, signaled, as a colleague of mine said, “the end of business as usual for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear.”  Coming to the Temple on yearly pilgrimage, as ritual and praise of a God who had been faithful to them, had along the way lost its true purpose—those in power had made the “holy sight,” a market place and Jesus was calling them to task for it.  We can only imagine the anger these same religious officials felt toward Jesus’ actions, as in their heart of hearts, knowing he was speaking the truth!

   It seems that many times, Jesus’ message is lost on the powers-that-be, but he keeps trying to draw them in, to help them see that what they do at the Temple is only the starting point for their relationship with their God. They keep getting lost in “wanting a sign,” and when he gives them one, it is much easier for them to stay on the surface, as in the gospel today, rather than pondering a deeper meaning, choosing instead to ridicule him. 

   So, my friends, again if we truly want to follow our brother Jesus, we too may find that it will demand that we, like him, will have to disrupt the “easy-going” of some in the places of power in order that all others might have a fair shake at a basic, good life.

   Jesus “was aware of what was in their hearts,” the gospel said, and likewise, of what is in ours too. And with that knowledge, he is always calling us to go deeper, to see beyond our personal needs and wants, to what many others can only dream of in this world. 

   Jesus is always calling us back as two of our hymns speak of today, to as someone said, “the heart of the message,” or as I always say, to go deeper.  Paul in his letter to the Corinthians today takes us to that deeper place.  Paul begins with that paradoxical line, “We are preaching a Messiah nailed to a cross.”  To Jesus’ first followers and probably most of the Jewish people living when he did, who awaited a “messiah,” did not imagine the messiah that their brother Jesus became.  Their image was very literal—the Messiah they awaited would conquer their present-day enemies—the Romans, and set them humanly, free.  This reminds me of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today.  The Jesus I know, if he came today, as a messiah to the Israelis would not be accepted as such by them either, as he would call them to peace, not conflict.

   With acceptance of this knowledge, Paul’s next words make more sense and bring understanding, “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom.” For when did war and conflict ever bring permanent and lasting peace?  I am reminded of the words and sentiments of Angelo Roncalli, Good Pope John, who often throughout his short papacy prayed and advocated for peace.

   Paul continues, “God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”  To many, Jesus’ first followers included, the cross seemed like “weakness,” but only time would show that not to be the case. 

   On Friday last, in Russia, a patriot, prophet, and truth-teller, in the person of Alexei Navalny was buried and his strong life for others celebrated.  No doubt, his murder, as that of our brother Jesus, was intended by the powers-that-be to silence both men, but the “foolishness” is that it didn’t for Jesus, nor will it for Navalny—the message will only grow. 

   The life of Francis of Assisi is often spoken of, as the “foolishness of God,” and his memory lives on strong and true 800+ years after his earthly life in countless followers, men, and women alike.  Which brings to mind once again the case for women’s ordination in our beloved Church. The powers-that-be have excommunicated all of us responding to what we know is God’s call for us, thinking it will end there, only to show once more the “foolishness” and ultimate strength of our God which is stronger than any human strength wanting to tear it down.

   So my friends, as we continue through Lent, let us open ears, eyes, hearts and minds, to hear and see and feel the love that our good God has for us, not in sending Jesus to die, but in sending him to live, to love, and to show us how to do the same, how to ultimately become our best selves. Lent is such a good time to ask if we are truly “tuned-in” to our radical Messiah! Amen? Amen!
 

My friends, let’s jump right in today tackling that 1^st reading from Genesis that on face value, is simply horrible—at least the beginning! As I always suggest, we must go deeper.  And we need to go deeper because in the 2^nd reading from Romans, we hear Paul say, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Additionally, in the gospel reading from Mark, we hear our impetuous brother Peter exclaim, “How wonderful it is for us to be here!”  So, how are we to fit this all together?

   Now, the hierarchy within our Church that put these three readings together probably didn’t have as much trouble uniting the three as the common folk with children do because their theology comes from the head alone, instead of from the heart as well.  For them, connecting this reading of sacrificing Isaac to show faith in a seemingly, unfeeling god is not a problem, but is united in their belief that our God sent Jesus as a sacrificial offering for the sins of humankind.  I even picked up a bit of a reflection on TV for this Sunday from a male priest, inviting folks to listen to his message today, and he was saying the same about Jesus coming to save us from our sins. 

   Present day theologians, men and women of the likes of Ilia Delio, Richard Rohr, Sandra Schneiders, and John Shelby Spong, all deny that this cruel sending and mission was given to our brother, Jesus, by our loving God, the same God that Jesus often referred to as Abba—Loving Parent, Daddy, Mommy, as you may want to look at it. 

   Also important in understanding this 1^st reading is remembering that the Jewish people up until this time were used to the ritual offering/killing of their own. But even with that understanding, I personally find it hard to understand a “Loving Parent” choosing to sacrifice their own children. The grief shown us almost nightly on the news from Ukrainian parents, from the innocent Palestinian and Israeli parents confronted with the deaths of their children is proof of this.

   Now, if it is the consequences of how someone lived and acted in the world, then I can understand it more.  This past week, we had a present-day example of this in the murder of Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison camp for speaking against the totalitarian regime of Vladimir Putin.  Our brother Jesus continues to die in our world, over and over again in those who challenge, as he did, injustice anywhere in our world, paying the price for that action.  We need to see anew the Eucharistic “presence” here, in the present, in the suffering, poor and rejected, instead of spending our energies worshipping Jesus’ presence on Catholic altars, alone, apart from the world where Jesus told us we would find him.

   So, once we get past that horrible first part of the Genesis reading, understanding it a bit more in the cultural, ritual context, we can move on to the good piece of this reading that does indeed unite it to the other two readings for this Sunday.  “I will make your descendants as many as the stars in heaven and as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.”  This line speaks volumes about a God who loves us in an over-the-top way! And I think it was ultimately written to tell us that our God doesn’t want such ritual killings, but instead, our living to be our best, for others and for ourselves. 

It says that this loving God wants us to have a human experience that is alive and well and full with family, not one who needs the life of our children in payment for our imperfections, or as a sign of our faith. 

   If the true nature of our God was in this negative vein, then how could Paul in his letter to the Romans speak this lovely line— “if God is for us, who can be against us?” He could speak this line because Jesus had already come, lived, loved, and showed us how to do the same. 

   Jesus’ life was such that as is recorded in today’s gospel from Mark, Abba God spoke through the clouds of transfiguration that [Jesus] “is my Beloved, my Own, [and that the apostles, ourselves included should] listen to [him]” –be like him! 

   Mark’s gospel today also included the lovely line from Peter, “how wonderful it is for us to be here[!]” Now, we could discount this comment as “impetuous” on the part of Peter, or we could consider it as a challenge to ourselves, living in a world that so needs people who will look for the good, proclaim it as such in other people, animals, plants—all of creation really, and do all that we can to make life and existence all that it can be.

   So friends, I started out today lamenting the 1^st reading and its mis-guided connection to the mission of Jesus in the Incarnation.  I believe this is a prime example of how, when we read Scripture very literally, we miss the depth of the message. 

   For us to see Jesus’ coming as no more than “saving us from our sins,” as reparation to a mean-spirited god who made us “imperfect,” which means that, we will probably “sin,” is as Shakespeare said in one of his plays, “Much ado about nothing.” And while this theme isn’t about “nothing,” I would say it certainly is about the wrong theme!

In truth, for the hierarchy of the Church, to make Jesus’ coming and ultimately, his death, all about “reparation for our sins” is to short-change our Loving God, who doesn’t want to control us as the hierarchy does, but wants us to be our best, living out our human experience for ourselves and others.  Such a God wants me, wants you, to proclaim with Paul, “If God is for us, who can be against,” and with Peter, “how wonderful it is for us to be here [!]” Much to do friends—let’s be about it!  Amen? Amen!