So many failed to believe in the miracles of Jesus. They continued to ask for signs. Jesus promises only this one sign, the sign of Jonah. Jonah was charged by God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to a massive pagan city. He tries to run away from it but is swallowed by a large fish. Unlike the Disney version where he is camping out in there, the Scriptures point to the death of Jonah in the big fish. He is then spit out onto the beach and God tells him to arise (the same word for resurrection).
He rises after three days in the belly of the beast. He then goes throughout the pagan city of Nineveh preaching repentance, and they heed his preaching. The sign of Jonah promised by Jesus is that after three days in the belly of the beast of death Jesus too will rise. He rises to a new pitch of existence. His small group of followers begins to preach repentance to the world. In a very short period of time the pagan nations (the gentiles) come to faith in Jesus. The greatest sign Jesus offered is the repentance and conversion of the world. There are over one billion Catholics in the world today and over two billion Christians. This is the sign of Jesus promises. To this day, when we speak of Him and His love others are drawn to Him. This is the sign that all Jesus said and did is true. Do we stake our lives on the reality of Jesus? Is He the center of our lives? This Lent surrender to Him and share the Good News with others.
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"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us;"
When Jesus speaks of the forgiveness of God, it is always conditional on our forgiveness of others. Later on in Matthew's Gospel (18:21) Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone, seven times? Jesus responds with I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven. In other words, we must forgive every time it is required. This seems humanly impossible, because I believe it is, naturally speaking. Forgiveness of others requires supernatural help, grace. Forgiveness is not reconciliation. Forgiveness is letting go of the wrong done to us by another with or without their asking for it. Reconciliation requires both persons to take steps to forgive and reestablish the relationship. Sometimes we are wronged by others without them even realizing or recognizing the hurt and pain they have caused. It is in these moments when we are angry and annoyed and hurt that forgiveness is the only answer. Forgiveness is not an event that happens, but a process that we go through with God. We have to surrender the person and the situation to Our Lord through prayer. That means we have to pray for that person and pray for God to help us forgive them as well. Here is a way to practice forgiveness with God. When the situation/person arises in your mind and heart and all the feelings of pain, hurt, and anger show up with it; you say, "God I pray for so-and-so bless them abundantly and help them to know your love and mercy in their lives. God help me to forgive them for this offense. I choose to forgive them, help me to experience this forgiveness. Help me to let go of the hurt that blocks me from experiencing more deeply your love and mercy for me. Me, who has been forgiven so often and for so much by You." It's not easy, but absolutely necessary and required by God. Try it and see if the tentacles of un-forgiveness don't begin to unravel from around your heart. Going on this journey of forgiveness with God will lead to an amazing freedom - a freedom that leads to joy and peace! 3/5/2017 1 Comment First Sunday of LentToday's Gospel is the reason we celebrate forty days of Lent. It is in imitation of Jesus' forty days of preparation in the desert before beginning His public ministry. His public ministry is all about making known the inner life of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He makes known to us the closeness of God. He makes known to us that "God is love." The revelation of God in Jesus demands a response from each of us. A response that is definitive - either yes or no. A response that says we are all in.
At the heart of the Gospel today are the temptations. Jesus is tempted in the desert and arises victorious undoing the fall of Adam in the garden. The heart of these temptations is to push God aside as a secondary concern to paraphrase Pope Emeritus Benedict. The first temptation deals with the physical pleasures and needs that we have. The devil tempts a hungry Jesus to push God to the side and let bread be His God. Do the needs and pleasures of the body take primacy in my life? Do I seek pleasure above all things? The devil tries again this time tempting Jesus to throw himself off the temple and let God's angels protect him if he is who he says he is. Jesus responds with Scripture that says do not put the Lord your God to the test. Do we tempt God with our actions? Do we see God as a vending machine? Do we get mad at him when things do not go our way? There is no doubt difficult situations and sufferings that we endure in this lifetime. And when we do not understand why they happened as they did, do we run away from God or do we move toward him and ask him for the answer to the mystery of evil in our lives? If you are angry with God then talk to him about it. Then the devil tries to get Jesus to worship him and he will give him the kingdoms of the world. Little does the devil know the kingdoms of the world are already Jesus'. Jesus says, "Get away Satan." I worship the Lord our God and serve him alone. Ahh! The crux of the story is that temptation tries to lead us to make idols of power, money, prestige, and the like. Do we worship God alone or have we allowed other things to be primary in our lives, making God secondary? Jesus is tempted like we are but never sins. In other words, God Himself shows us the way to overcome temptations. We overcome temptations in life by making God primary in our lives. God has to be the center or everything else is out of whack. Put into place this Lent those practices that make God primary in your life. Will you go all in? |
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