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2nd Sunday of Lent B February 25, 2024

2 nd Sunday of Lent B

February 25, 2024

 

When this old world starts a getting me down

And people are just too much for me to face

I climb right up to the top of the stairs

And all my cares just drift into space.

On the roof, its peaceful and can be

And there the world below can’t bother me

The Drifters

 

Going up to high places is an old method to get away from life’s concerns.

Many like to climb to the top of the stairs, or on top of mountain peaks.

The problem is that we need to come down again and face what we left in the lower places.

 

In today’s scriptures, we find Abraham, Isaac, Jesus, Peter, James, and John climbing onto mountain tops.  These are places where they receive messages from God.

In our first reading, we hear how Abraham and his son Isaac go to the mountain top to make an offering to God.  One can only imagine what the trip down the mountain and the days to follow will be like.

Benjamin Brittan puts words in the mouth of Abraham and Isaac in his Canticle II.

Isaac: Father, I am full sore afeared
To see you bear that drawn sword.

Abraham: Isaac, son, peace, I pray thee,
Thou breakest my heart even in three.

Isaac: I pray you, father, layn† nothing from me,
But tell me what you think.

Abraham: Ah! Isaac, Isaac, I must thee kill!

Isaac: Alas! Father, is that your will,
Your owne child for to spill
Upon this hilles brink?
If I have trespassed in any degree
With a yard you may beat me;
Put up your sword, if your will be,
For I am but a child.
Would God my mother were here with me!
She would kneel down upon her knee,
Praying you, father, if it may be,
For to save my life.

I would like to ask the same question Isaac asks, “Where is the mother? Where is Sarah?”  Did Abraham not consult the mother of his son?  Did Abraham decide on his own, to sacrifice his son?  Both Abraham and Isaac will be very quiet coming down off the mountain. Isaac will withdraw from his father and Sarah will comfort her son. Abraham will be left to wonder what this challenge from his God meant.   We are left with some of the same questions. Why would a God ask for the sacrifice of one’s own son?  This is the son who lived out the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars.  Many have tried to explain this riddle, Many greater than I.  This could be a homily for another time and place.

The second mountain is the Mt of Transfiguration.  Jesus takes his closest companions up the mountain to pray, and they have a vision of him in glory with Moses and Elijah.   Both companions speak of the promises of God to the people.  Jesus tells the companions to tell no one of the vision.  This vision will feed them as they face the challenges awaiting them in Jerusalem.

For Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Jesus, Peter, James, and John the problem with mountain tops and roofs is that one needs to come down.  Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah are left with feelings of sorrow over the possible loss of a son and a God who demands such a sacrifice. Jesus and the apostles come off the mountain to go to Jerusalem, a place that offers passion and death. (The transfiguration may point to the resurrection, but they do not know about that yet.)

The same is true for us we can go to the roof or the mountain, and for a time we find release from life’s troubles and woes, but we come back down to face the slings and arrows of our life.

In these days of Lent, we face our struggles and invite God to speak with us on our mountain and provide a vision of hope as we come down the mountain.

Many will gather on Easter morning on a mount to watch the sun rise. As they climb the mount the night is dark, cold, and damp. In time the horizon reveals a patch of red and soon the sky is full of light. The night is ended and as they return to meet the day, they take with them the vision of the morning sun to reassure them that all will be well.  The time on the mount changes the time spent in the valley.

Or in the words of the Drifters:

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I've found a paradise that's trouble proof (up on the roof)
And if this world starts getting you down
There's room enough for two

Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, baby (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, honey (up on the roof)
Everything is all right (up on the roof)

Palm Sunday, Year C

By Deacon Paul Cerosaletti • April 13, 2025
I have long thought that the Church gives us the two Gospel passages we hear today — the account of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the account of his Passion and death — for very practical reasons: this is the last Sunday before Easter when we will celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and not everyone is able to attend and celebrate the Triduum liturgies during Holy Week. Therefore, the Church places these two critical Gospel passages together so that we hear and experience them in a regular Sunday Mass setting — literally, to ‘fit them in’ before Easter. But there is another equally, if not more, important reason we are to experience these Gospel passages together. And I honestly don’t know if the Church intends this reason or not, but I believe the Holy Spirit intends it. These two Gospel passages remind us as much as any passage that Jesus Christ, while fully Divine, is also fully human. He is like us in all manner except one, in committing sin. He therefore shares with us the experience of the full range of our humanity. In these two Gospel passages we experience Christ moving from triumph to tragedy, from soaring to suffering: the triumphant, soaring entry into Jerusalem and the suffering and tragedy of His Passion and crucifixion. Christ’s human experience is also our human experience, for do not we all experience triumph and tragedy, soaring and suffering? Therefore, we do not have a God and Savior who cannot sympathize with our human experience, but rather one who shares it with us! And we have a God and Savior who not only soared and suffered for us, but soars and suffers with us. Not just two thousand years ago, but right here, right now, in every minute of our lives. For what did Jesus promise? “I am with you always , until the end of time.” (Mt 28:20) When we soar and triumph, Jesus is with us, by our side. And when we suffer and experience tragedy, especially, Jesus is with us, by our side. We are encouraged to give thanks to God in our triumphs and soaring. And we are invited to unite our suffering with Christ’s suffering and offer it up for whatever or whomever is in need. Christ’s suffering was not pointless, and united to His, neither is ours. We offer it up, trust, and hope. Sisters and brothers, that hope comes from our knowledge of the rest of the Gospel story that we will experience with Christ: that His triumph and tragedy, His soaring and suffering does not end in death, but in the glory of Easter Resurrection.

5th Sunday of Lent C - April 6, 2025

By Fr. Chris Welch • April 5, 2025
5 th Sunday of Lent C April 6, 2025 Often someone will approach me and ask if I can do x y or z on such and such a date. I am not always good and knowing my schedule in the future, so I will say, “send me the dates and I will get back to you.” Sometimes they will send me the dates, sometime not. If I say yes, I may find I have a conflict. This is a stalling tactic giving me time to discern how to respond. This is what Jesus does as he writes on the ground. He knows the Scribes and Pharisees are using the woman to trap him, so he bends down to scribble in the dust to have time to answer them. When he does answer them, his statement is not about the woman’s actions, but about the motives of the accusers. He knows they hope to trap him. If he suggests the woman be released, he has broken the Mosaic law, if he suggests she be stoned he will be in trouble with the Romans. So, he focuses on the motive and state of the accusers. In our first reading we are reminded that God is doing something new. Jesus does something new. He doesn’t focus on what the law says, but he focuses on what is in the heart of the accusers. Mosaic law says that those caught in Adultery, both the man and the woman should be killed. Here we only have the woman. We are told she was caught in the act, but where is the man? For the season of Lent, we have been piling stones in our desert. These stones are the Character defects we wish to reform in this season. They are not for killing others but given to God to use to build us into a new creation. Jesus allows the woman to become a new creation. He refuses to condemn her, He encourages her to sin no more and to go free from the accusations of the temple officials. Have you been like the woman accused by others? How did you experience the forgiveness of your God? When have you been like a Scribe or Pharisee pointing the accusatory finger at another? Cast aside the stones you have wanted to hurl at the other and look inside your heart and see how God’s forgiveness has made you a new creation.

Third Sunday of Lent C - March 23, 2025

By Fr. Christopher Welch • March 24, 2025
After Moses has his conversation with God in the Burning Bush, Moses asks God for what name he should use in referring to God. God gives the vague answer, “I am who I am.” Asking for someone’s name is a common occurrence. When we refer to someone with their name, we honor them. We all like to be referred to by name. This is one way we honor a person. Not all of us are good at remembering names, but when we do remember and use the name of the other person, we honor them. One of the names for God is taken from our psalm, “The Lord is kind and merciful”. God is also patient. The parable from the gospel about the fig tree is a parable about God’s patience. God, being the gardener, is willing to wait a year for fruit. God works the same for all of us. God is patient with us. Not everyone comes to faith in the same way or the same time frame. Some take less time, others more. When we see a new face in church we don’t ask “What took you so long?” or “Where have you been?” We simply say, “Welcome! It is good to have you here.” We ask and learn the name of the new person and we speak to him or her each week using their name and making them feel welcome. Maybe you have been a fig tree or known someone who is or was a fig tree. This is a good reason to give thanks to the patient nature of God. Remember the kingdom is in the future and now.
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