Greatly Exaggerated? (2020-03-29, Lent, Sunday-05)

5th Sunday of Lent, Year A.       HOMILY ...2020 march 29
John, Chapter 11, Raising of Lazarus
------------------------------------------------------
[__01__]  Mark Twain. Mark Twain was an American author/writer, famous for "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", "Tom Sawyer" and other novels.

He was known also for a famous saying or quotation, when he heard that there rumors/news circulating about his health and well-being.

The time was the late 1800's. The year was 1897.  Mark Twain had been traveling outside the U.S. He was in London at the time. While he was in London, he ended up in the news. Reporters - some at least - were saying he was not "well". He was not well either "financially" or "physically", that he was both poor and sick.

At the time, one of relatives was in London, got sick and this made the news media as well.
All of this snowballed into a rumor that Mark Twain had died, but he was very much alive. To all of this Mark Twain made the famous statement: "the news of my death has been greatly exaggerated."
It was good news - especially to Mark Twain - that he had not, in fact, died.

[__02__] In the Gospel this Sunday (5th Sunday of Lent, Year A), of the Gospel According to St. John, chapter 11, we read about the raising of Lazarus from the tomb.
The raising of Lazarus is very connected to the resurrection of Jesus Himself, in that, before - during - and after the raising or Resurrection, the faith of the disciples is both being decided and being displayed.
Before and after death - or the dying of someone we know and love - our own faith is being decided and displayed.
Is it because the news of death is greatly exaggerated?

[__03__] Is it because the news of your death - or my death - is greatly exaggerated?
We live in a time of great fear about our health, well being, death, sickness. Is that greatly exaggerated? I'm not saying it is greatly exaggerated. It is life and death right now.
Is it not somewhat commonplace for all of us to imagine - to picture - what life would be like after our own deaths, after we pass from this world?
We might wonder who would show up at our funeral? Who would mourn? Who will not be there?
These are not purely morbid, depressing fascinations or fantasies but a recognition that your life - my life - has meaning to others.
The significance of one person's life to others is proclaimed when a famous person dies.(But life is not important to others just 'cause you're famous..but I use this an example.)
A few months ago, there was a public fascination with Los Angeles helicopter crash that took the lives of 8 passengers and the pilot. 9 people died.  Among them was a 12-year-old girl whose father happened to be Kobe Bryant, (retired) L.A. Lakers NBA basketball star.
The news of the death of Kobe Bryant - especially - was widely reported all over the news for weeks, but mention was also made repeatedly that the life of every person on the helicopter had value including - in a special way - Kobe's daughter, Gianna.
Kobe Bryant died. Everyone of us is going to die. That's not an exaggeration.

[__04__] What does it mean to say that a person's life has meaning, has value?
The philosopher, Josef Pieper who has written much about St. Thomas Aquinas, expressed it this way: "to love another person means that we can say of him or her.... 'it is good that you exist'. "    "it is good that you exist."

And, we can say that the opposite or absence of love can be defined by the opposite of that statement. When we are in some odious confrontation or adversarial conflict with some person, we might wish the other person did not exist.  I'm not saying you or I should "go there" and wish that others did not exist. But, sometimes, we find ourselves in that place ... and we need love to get out of it.  Jesus says, "love thine enemy and pray for those who persecute you."

Love means... It's good that you exist.
To love yourself, it means that you can say..."it is good that I exist."
For me to love myself, I am called to say, "it is good that I exist"
Your life matters. My life matters.
I'd like to connect with to the Gospel with these ideas that the Gospel According to St. John, chapter 11, brings out:

__ DENIAL .....  __ DELAY ..... __DISAPPOINTMENT...

[__05__]  1st DENIAL.   Does dying and death not spark in us feelings of denial or rejection or running away?
In the beginning of the Gospel, we see something of the "denial" of the disciples.
It seems, at this point, that all but one of them want to "deny"  or avoid the fact that Jesus Himself is one day going to suffer and die.

So, their "denial" is demonstrated by their desire to put "social distance" (of 2 meters, 6 feet...or much more !) between Jesus and those who would cause him to suffer and die.

Lord, you don't really want to go to Judea. They tried to stone  you there, to put you to death. So, the disciples deny - at least at this point - the fact of Jesus' own Passion, Death, Resurrection.
These denials only increase and famously so with Peter's triple "hat trick" of 3 denials on the night before Good Friday.

But the denial of Peter and of other disciples was only one step in a journey. Peter was caught and caught up in these denials, but he was not destroyed by them. The news of Peter's death may be greatly exaggerated.

We can make a comeback - as Peter makes a comeback - from denial.
So, the Gospel this Sunday kicks off with denials.
And, a question for myself -- do I [sometimes or more often] deny the reality of suffering and my need for God's help in my suffering? Do I deny - or avoid the reality - of someone else's suffering? Do I pray for them? Make sacrifices for them in prayer, in fasting, in almsgiving?
That's the DENIAL section.

[__06__] 2nd. There is DELAY.
Jesus delays, postpones "shoving off" and going to Bethany. This delay proves fatal for Lazarus. Lazarus dies in the interim. But is the period of waitng a miscalcuation or mistake by Jesus?   Not really...it is a way for Jesus to engender and plant the seeds of faith in the disciples.
Where are those seeds of of faith, the seed of God's word for you and me right now? in this season of delays.

There are delays on many fronts.

There are delays at the supermarket, there are delays standing in line, there are "delays" going on line or trying to use technology of online learning, studying at home, talking on video conferencing, delay on Google hang outs, delay on going back to school, delay on going back to work.

So - where does this delay come from? Well, it's because everyone is trying to do everything from home.  Why is everyone at home? Because are supposed to "social-distance" and "shelter-in-place".

Why do ... "Social-distance" and "shelter in place" ?
Because there is coronavirus. Why is there coronavirus?

That's the puzzle we want solved. But, it's not a puzzle with a piece or 2 missing. It is a mystery. And, it is part of the mystery of evil and suffering in the world that this could all happen at once, simultaneously to so many people in so many places.

It is not because God does not love us that he permits this evil - and other evils - in the world.  But it
is part of God's will.
In a letter about suffering, Pope John Paul II reminded us of the suffering and theme of redemption in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan is not good because he solves all the pain immediately..but is present to the one suffering:

_____The parable of the Good Samaritan belongs to the Gospel of suffering. For it indicates what the relationship of each of us must be towards our suffering neighbour. We are not allowed to "pass by on the other side" indifferently; we must "stop" beside him. Everyone who stops beside the suffering of another person, whatever form it may take, is a Good Samaritan. This stopping does not mean curiosity but availability. It is like the opening of a certain interior disposition of the heart, which also has an emotional expression of its own. The name "Good Samaritan" fits every individual who is sensitive to the sufferings of others, who "is moved" by the misfortune of another. If Christ, who knows the interior of man, emphasizes this compassion, this means that it is important for our whole attitude to others' suffering. Therefore one must cultivate this sensitivity of heart, which bears witness to compassion towards a suffering person. Some times this compassion remains the only or principal expression of our love for and solidarity with the sufferer.  ___ (John Paul II, Salvific Doloris (1984), n. 28)

Suffering is something we often experience as a delay and in a time of delay we can realize what is important, how is important.

The "delay" in this coronavirus crisis reminds me that ...NOT ONLY are my agenda-items and to-do list going to take longer than I might like.....  BUT ALSO that there are others to help and accompany.
And..that there may be others willing to be a Good Samaritan or Simon of Cyrene to me.
God is present not only in the effectiveness and efficiency of life. God is in the details of the delays.

[__07__] 3rd.  There is DISAPPOINTMENT
The sisters, Martha and Mary, at least initially express disappointment in their dear friend, Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  (John 11: __)
Sometimes, you and I also speak this way, in our distress and disappointment. And, that's part of the journey, to express and be honest about our fears and anxieties.
It's also true that we sometimes - mistakenly - measure God's presence as though the Almigthy Father were similar to a cell-tower or wifi router. That is, it depends on where we are standing and we can get a better signal.
It is true that, these days, we may feel "distanced both socially and spiritually" and disappointed in God and in the Church right now, for we cannot pray and enter the church, to receive Holy Communion ..but we also have a tradition of spiritual Communion. I encourage you to consider this prayer:

____ My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.____ (St. Alphonsus Ligouri)

There is also a popular hymn (St. Louis Jesuits) for reflection:

_____Take, Lord, receive. All my liberty.  My memory, understanding, my entire will! Give me only your LOVE, and your Grace,  That's enough for me! Your love and your grace, are enough for me.   
Take Lord, receive, All I have and posses. You have given unto me, Now I return it. Give me only your love, and your grace, That's enough for me! Your love and your grace, Are enough for me!
Take Lord receive, All is yours now. Dispose of it, Wholly according to your will. Give me only your love, and your grace, That's enough for me! Your love and your grace, Are enough for me!

[__08__] Also, is it not true that we knw that God is not contained or limited to the brick and mortar of Our Lady of Lourdes Chruch. It's a Catholic tradition not only to kneel down or bow or genuflect as we enter church but also to make the sign of the cross as we walk by or drive by a church where the Blessed Sacrament is.

And, I invite you to consider - someday - that you can have a moment of adoration/prayer just by coming into parking lot, stopping for 5, 10, 15 minutes of quiet time. You will not get a ticket. You might get inspired.

We know in the Resurrection appearances that Jesus can pass through walls. So the message to Martha, Mary, Lazarus, all the disciples to you and me is to be healed of our disappointment, not to be defeated by the delays and remember life does not end in denial.

We are called to eternal life. Lazarus - resurrected in this moment of John chapter 11 - will die. His earthly life will come to another step...  as we pray his life is changed not ended, for we all have a hope of life beyond this world.

That's the good news.

Any other news about life and death is greatly exaggerated.   [__FIN__]

Advantages of Blindness (2020-03-22, Sunday-04)

2020-03-22  – 4^th Sunday LENT

__ 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a __ Psalm 23 __  Ephesians 5:8-14 _ + John 9:1-41 _

[_01_]    The blind. A blind person. Have you ever met a blind physician, a blind doctor? I have not, actually, but read an article recently about a medical doctor Dr. Tim Cordes – who is blind – one who has done all the hospital / clinical rotations, including surgery, anesthesia, labor and delivery, and pediatrics, and many more.

          As a blind person, he does require some assistance to get around, both the cane and the “canine”. After one appointment for a small child accompanied by his father for a pediatric appointment, the child asked the father. OK, Dad, but what was the dog in the doctor's office for ?

          The child, more than adults, saw the ability  and was rather blind to the the disability.  Blindness is good news.

(Source: https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm10/bm1010/bm101008.htm )

[_02_]     We read about the healing of the man born blind (John 9:1-41). And I would like to use some of the experiences of this particular physician and medical doctor –who is blind – as an example.

          We might say that the Jesus also is “blind” – in  a good way – in the Gospel today.

          That is, Jesus is blind and undeterred by the disdain of the Pharisees. Jesus is reminding the “sighted” that it would be better if they were blind. Thus, the would depend more on their inner senses and on God’s power rather than on that they believe than what they can see and oversee themselves.

[_03_]    On one of his first morning classes of medical school, Dr. Tim Cordes was in the lab, doing what medical students do with cadavers, human corpses and examination of real human anatomy.

          After this first morning of class, he took a break for lunch and a more senior student sat down next to him and said: “Why are you here?”

          Tim Cordes cleverly responded, “Well, this is where I thought you were supposed to eat lunch.”

          That, of course – “why are you here?"  was not a question about the choice of a cafeteria table.

          The question was “why are you in medical school?” …why are you trying to do this? Why don’t you give it up?

         

[_04_]     Jesus is also being asked the same question:  “why are you here?”

          And, he answers it quite succinctly: I am here because… [or]  “I came into the world for judgment so that those who do not see might see and those who see might become blind.”

          There are 2 key ideas here:

JUDGMENT -   and do we not often associate “judgment” with the ability to see? But, do we not also “judge” based on other factors?  For example, we cannot actually see our car engines, but there are many ways we can know whether or not the car is functioning properly. We listen, we feel. 

          We read in the letter to the Hebrews: “Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

          Sometimes, in order to practice our faith, we are called to become blind. Blindness can be a good thing.

BLINDNESS vs. SEEING             I recall that when I was learning to drive, as a 17-year-old, I was particularly vexed and confused by the fact that I could not see the front of the car from where I was sitting behind the steering wheel. The instructor told  me… you go by “feel” …

          This did not, however, comfort me ! I wanted to see … but later realized, I did not ride a bicycle by staring at the handlebars. I do not walk by looking at my feet.  We move by “feeling”. It’s OK to be blind !

[_05_]     In our prayer, expecially at this time of “social distancing” and “sheltering in place” …and not knowing what is coming next. I suggest we pray not only to see the future but also perceive what and who is already in our midst.

          It can be difficult now that so many of us are thrown together, perhaps with an intense immersion-experience of home life and togetherness.

          We may see things we did not see before.  It’s good to remember that love is patient, kind, bearing all things…not because love is blind but because love (God) can see what our eyes cannot.

[_06_]      In the early 1900’s, there was physician/doctor named Dr. Jacob Bolotin.  He fought his way into and through the Chicago College of Medicine, graduated with honors at age 24, and became the world's 1^st totally blind physician fully licensed to practice medicine. He was particularly recognized for his expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs.

          He did all of this without technology, without audiobooks and other technological tools a blind person would use today.

          In Dr. Bolotin's day making a diagnosis depended primarily on talking with the patient, conducting an examination by touch, using the doctor’s sense of smell, and listening to the patient's heart and lungs.

          There were no machines – in some ways, his blindness was an advantage.

          We are blind now, groping our way in the darkness of social distancing, sheltering in place, with – in some cases – more time on our hands and many opportunities to practice forgiveness, patience and detachment from our routines and agenda.       

          Jesus came that we might become blind, so as to connect with Him, in love of God and love of neighbor.  Let’s not miss the opportunity.

Solitude, Not Isolation (2020-03-15, Lent-03)

2020-03-15  – 3^rd Sunday LENT

__ Exodus 17:3-7  __ Psalm 95 __  Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 _ + John 4:5-42 _

[_01_]    Following the direction of our Archbishop, Joseph Cardinal Tobin, together with so many other of our sisters and brothers in faith, we are not gathering for liturgy, for Sunday Mass on March 14-15.

          I hope and pray our Lenten fasting, prayer, almsgiving while now taking place in some physical solitude for many of us will, in fact, also unite us and bring us out of the darkness we may feel.

          The parish church of Our Lady of Lourdes (West Orange, NJ) is open for prayer at certain times, based on our Archbishop's instruction. Click this link below for more information.
< Click HERE, LOURDESWESTORANGE info >


Here are the readings for Sunday March 15.
< Click HERE, Sunday 2020-03-15 readings >

[_02_]    On September 11, 2001, many of those who worked in New York City – in and around the World Trade Centers – have personal stories to tell about how we were rescued or how we came to assist in the rescue of others who were stranded and without transportation downtown in New York or in midtown or anywhere in and around New York that day.

          Starting on September 11, 2001 and for every September 11^th thereafter, people will also remember heroic firefighters going to the World Trade Center and going up into the towers, knowing perhaps that they would have to give up their lives.

          9/11 remains a moment of tragedy but also a time of great city-wide, regional and national solidarity in the wake of a tragedy.

          So many people wanted to help, wanted to be on board …and so they did. There was a mission.

          I understand many non-New-Yorkers rooted for the Yankees in the baseball MLB World Series 2 months after 9/11, in autumn 2001. And, usually, people from outside N.Y. do not cheer for the Yankees. While the Yankees did not win the baseball World Series in 2001, N.Y.C. “won” + “gained” something much more important than a sports/baseball trophy after 9/11.

[_03_]    After 9/11, there was a charge and a mission to get people together and to stick together.

          We have the same charge and mission now … yet, I fear and perceive that the coronavirus forces us – at least in some practict ways – to maintain health “social distance”.

          We need each other at this time. We need God and faith in God at this time, so that we will not be at a spiritual distance. So, if you have a neighbor or friend who may be alone or scared, visit…and I encourage you also… invite this person – if not immediately now – at some time in the future to Our Lady of Lourdes of West Orange.

          You have a charge, you have a mission. It is a mission of love.

          So, if someone is alone, remind that they can come to Our Lady of Lourdes church…for solitude (yes) …but not for isolation. Isolation is something punishing. Solitude is something peaceful.

          I hope and pray Lourdes church can be a place of peace and solitude rather than isolation.

[_04_]     Josef Pieper – a scholar writing about Thomas Aquinas shared this: “true love makes us realize that the [person we love] cannot simply drop out of reality, and even – this to be sure will be evident only to the believer – the [person we love] will be physically resurrected and live forever – through death and beyond it.” (Josef Pieper, Faith  Hope  Love (Section 2  of “On Love”), San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997, p. 169)

          I invite you to recall as our Orthodox Christian sisters and brothers shared recently:

“The Church is the mystical body of Christ. Nothing can affect or change this sacred mystery.   Furthermore, nothing that is done in all reverence, piety, and fear of God in response to this virus

should be construed as anything other than a prudent pastoral and temporary response to a situation that has the possibility of severe consequences. As the body of Christ, we should meet the challenges posed by this virus with the assurance of faith, in oneness of mind, and in imitation of the Great Physician and Healer of souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ. All members of the Church should seek to console the anxious, assist those afflicted, and encourage those working in  medical professions. All faithful should pay special attention to those who might be at risk of more serious complications from this virus: the young, the elderly, and those who already have respiratory or cardiac illnesses. Indeed, no one should be stigmatized or ostracized because they have contracted the virus.”    (Statement of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on the Corona Virus March 13, 2020)

          We read in the Song of Songs:   “Love is stronger than death.”  (Song of Songs 8:6)

          These may concepts that take us a long time to learn, and we need reminders of, for we are all beginners and starting over with Jesus each day. We also should remember that while our routines may change due to the coronavirus, we have not dropped out of reality !

[_05_]     To our children and young people, I hope and pray you will recognize that God watches over you.

          While some children may rejoice temporarily at the idea of not having to go to school, it also can be a great disruption to be taken away from our friends, from our support group, from our equals …

          Also, learning at home on our own may require you – as a student – to be very disciplined and careful. I ask that you to be patient with your parents and teachers at this time as everyone may be adjusting to a new routine.

We also should remember that while our routines may change due to the coronavirus, we have not dropped out of reality !

[_06_]     In the Gospel this Sunday, we read about the Samaritan woman at the well.

          This woman has a mission …also to bring people to Jesus. She who appears to something of a loner, aloof and separate becomes the person who brings others to our Savior, to bring them to Him as a NEW REALITY and NEW ROUTINE.

          I hope and pray that you and I can do the same for others, to bring others to the new living water of God’s word and love.

          It is our mission to bring and share this Good News.  Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us !  Notre Dame de Lourdes, Priez Pour Nous 

[  _fin_]      

3.G. + Coronavirus (2020-03-08, Lent-02)

2020-03-08 – 2^nd Sunday LENT

__ Genesis 12:1-4a ________ Psalm ____  2 Timothy 1:8b-10 __ +Matthew 17:1-9__

Title:   Guarded, God-Focused, Gospel Proclaiming

[_01_]    I have been blessed to travel a few times between 2009 and 2014 to Port-au-Prince and Haiti with Seton Hall University college students to help out 2 orphanages/clinics. One is run by a Catholic foundation in Richmond (Virginia). The other is run by Mother Teresa’s sisters.
          And, of course, like all travelers, we had to – even back then – take precautions about handwashing and hand-sanitizing.  And, we were trained further “in country” by Mother Teresa’s sisters.

          Now, while Mother Teresa’s clinic / orphanage and refuge for adults appeared to be a lot less modern than a U.S. hospital, it was carefully __ GUARDED …

It was ___ GOD-FOCUSED …

And it was __GOSPEL-PROCLAIMING.

[_02_]    I know it’s hard to imagine life before the coronavirus, but I suggest this is a time for us to be "3-G" ....  i.e., to be "“guarded” and on guard in practical ways and also to be “God-focused” and “Gospel proclaiming”

[_03_]    First, what does it mean to be “guarded”?  It means to take practical steps. You and I can take practical steps – steps we’ve already taken – and taken before during flu season to wash our hands, to avoid large gatherings to stay home from church when we do not feel well. And here at Lourdes, we’ve been following these steps for those who distribute Holy Communion and will continue to do so.

          So, yes, we guard ourselves and our families in practical ways.

          In Haiti, in these orphanage-clinical settings the students and leaders had to be careful. If someone was not feeling well, that person stayed behind and did not go out to the orphanage that day or any day.

          Be guarded…

           

[_04_]    I made 5 trips to Haiti, between 2009 and 2014. By the 5^th time, I knew what do, right?

And yet… on the 2^nd to last day, of my last / 2014 trip, I caught something, stomach flu, food poisoning. I don’t know what, but it was a bad case of a tummy ache. This is a family program. You get the idea.

Was I “guarded”? No and Yes.  “No” I was not guarded because I caught something, but Yes I was guarded because – on my 2^nd to last day … at 3:00 am in the morning, I summoned the courage, wisdom, whatever it was to have someone take me to the emergency room.  I was “guarded” enough to overcome my fear of the hospital at that point and got the help I needed and to ask someone for help.

[_05_]    By the time I got to the E.R., I had lost a lot of fluid and was partially dehydrated. I was not totally dehydrated, because a living person is always somewhat “hydrated”. I got an I.V. intravenous for fluids and recovered in about 24 hours.

          But what brought on my greater and uncomfortable symptoms was not the original “tummy ache” but my lack of hydration.

[_06_]    Right now, one of the coronavirus dangers – for you and for me – is that we will become partially or fully dehydrated not from the virus but from fear, anxiety, stress.

          C.S. Lewis wrote that what God want us to be concerned about is what we can and will do, during a crisis, during any crisis.

          The evil spirit, the devil, on the other hand, wants us to focus on what will happen to us (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, New York: Harper Collins, 1996, Ch. 6, p. 25) In other words, evil spirit wants us to focus on our fears.

          However, fear becomes much easier to comprehend and to to exercise some self-control when we understand what we can and will do, rather than focusing on the fear itself.

          Or as F.D.R., President Roosevelt famously said: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

[_07_]        So, yes,  be guarded but also be God-focused. Or, as the I heard from this recent sermon said, “God is bigger than the coronavirus.” (see above).

          Pray for both international and national leaders, for physicians, nurses, heath care workers, EMS, firefighters, police and first responders.

          Pray for the people of our country and also for the people of hard hit countries: China, Japan, Korea, Iran, Italy.

          Pray for the World Health Organization + Centers for Disease Control and for our V.P. and his team in the U.S.

           

[_08_]     We read in the 4^th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, how we are to pray:

          “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, but prayer and petition, with thanksgiving make your requests known to God.”  (Philippians 4:6)

          So, yes, be “God-focused” prayerfully and also “guarded” practically.

         

[_09__]    At this time, we are also called to be “Gospel-proclaimers”

          The clinic run by Mother Teresa’s sisters had many poor, impoverished children and also adults who needed to be taken in.

          I learned, however, something about “proclaiming the Gospel” not just based on what these Missionaries-of-Charity-Sisters did when they were “open” and working.

          And, when they were “open”, there was always a new 911 emergency case.

          I learned by how the “closed” …  during the week, they were open from morning until night except for one day, only for a little while in the morning, then they closed the gate so that the could withdraw for prayer and also for service to those already inside.

          There was this interview with Mother Teresa herself in which she was asked “how long do you and your sisters pray and how does relate to your service work?”

          Mother Teresa: “Normally we pray one hour a day, but when we are very busy, we pray TWO hours a day…”

          In order for us to be Gospel-focused, we also need at times to withdraw, for silence and to recall that God is in charge, perhaps, also to increase our prayer time.

          We may need to turn off the news …to fast from the news once in a while, to withdraw.

          As Saint Paul writes to the Philippians as well:

”whatever is true, whatever is…. Honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, think about these things, keep on doing what you have learned and heard and received and seen in me.  Then the God of peace will be with you.”  (Philippians 4:8-9)

          Yes, be guarded, be Gospel-proclaimers, and also be God-focused.  And, the God of peace will be with us. [_fin__]    

Temptations. Duration, Demands, Discernment (2020-03-01, Lent-Sunday-01)

2020-03-01 – 1^st Sunday LENT 

__ Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7 __ Psalm 51 __  Romans 5:12-19  __ +Matthew 4:1-11 __

[_01_]    A temptation could be something entices us to do something that is bad, or – in some cases – the temptation is to NOT do something that is good.

          I’d like to touch on this and talk about the:

-         DURATION of the temptations

-         DEMANDS of the temptations.

-         DISCERNMENT (DECISION) involved in temptations.

[_02_]    1^st. “DURATION”.

          A few months ago, I made plans to meet an old friend from high school and the appointed evening was Thursday February 27^th.

          We hardly ever see each other, so we made this plan to get together and to meet at 5:30 pm in New York City, in midtown Manhattan. As the date approached, I realized that I had a conflict. And, I was TEMPTED to cancel, to give it all up, and was frustrated and feeling unable to get there in time.

          So, I was tempted to NOT do something that was good for me.

          All because of circumstances beyond my control. Then, I asked my friend – is it OK if we meet 20-30 minutes later, knowing also that he is very busy, has a packed schedule… and he says, absolutely fine.

          Then, I asked someone else to re-arrange something by about 15-20 minutes and I got a ride to the NJ Transit train station in Orange. There is a train from Orange at 4:18 pm, FYI.

          All of these actions increased my will, my voluntary power… while the temptation really did not increase in power. It was still there, but the temptation had also a limited duration.

          Once I boarded the train to NY from Orange, on my way, the temptation was over.

[_03_]     Does our experience of temptation have time limit? A time duration?

          I say YES. We may feel tempted all the time, but it is also true what people say, people who in 12-step recovery programs from, for example, addiction …or any of us when our health is recovering. One day at a time, one moment at a time, one temptation at a time.

          Sometimes, we get hung up on temptations that have not even happened yet.

          So, Jesus wants us to know that there is a duration to our temptations. There is a duration to our Lenten fast.

It does not mean that after these 40 days that we start eating and drinking and doing whatever we want, but that during these 40 days, we are focused on the duration of temptation.

         

[_04_]    2^nd. DEMAND of temptation.

          We are also called to see that temptation has a DEMAND on us.

          What is that DEMAND?

          Sometimes, we are tempted – demanded by our own weakness or by our own peers … to compare ourselves with others, to compare with what happened in the past or to compare ourselves with what might happen in the future.

          Some people call this “future-tripping”… “tripping out” on the worries of the future. That can be a demanding temptation.

          EXAMPLE – CAR…

EXAMPLE:  Several years ago, I was driving my car and felt that the car was very unsteady and unreliable. I had this car, I liked this car..but it also had high mileage and was kind of old and dented.  Yet, it was working well. I started to compare the car with others and it was “poor” in comparison. I myself was also “poor” because I had had just started my seminary studies, I did not have a job with money and I wanted the car to last.

I was lamenting and comparing myself to others and to other cars on the road. I did not want to go to a mechanic because the mechanic would tell me – of course that something was really really bad and I would have to take action.

So, I avoided that for a while hoping the problem would just go away. When I finally went to the mechanic…

          Finally, I took the car to a mechanic … which is what I should have done from the beginning and realized that I needed 2 new tires.  Yes, this cost me money..but a lot less than replacing the whole car.

          Sometimes, we need to reach out beyond ourselves to understand what the demand of the temptation really is.

          Jesus, we see, is isolated in the desert, but he is really not alone. He is in communion as Father – Son – Holy Spirit.

          And, we are called to remember that we are not alone in a moment of temptation either.

[_05_]    3^rd. DISCERNMENT.

          We are called to discernment in a moment of temptation.

          An example of this is…

          The difference between “falling in love” or the emotion of love versus the voluntary action of love.

          At certain times, in our lives, we may have the experience of falling in love with someone. Parents – mothers, fathers and also grandparents – will describe that they are “in love” with their children, overcome by the desire to show affection to a child.

          But, these “in love” moments may not endure.

          And, the temptation is to walk away at that moment.

          But, is not the exact moment when the real work and will and beauty of love starts.

          That’s when true freedom and true loving starts.

          That’s discernment, decision time. Love is about using our heart, mind, soul, strength to for the good of another person.

          That’s true freedom.

[_06_]    This Gospel reminds us that temptations come into our lives at certain times, and we may need help to resist them.

          But, they also call us to grow in discernment and freedom each day.

[_fin_]