Second Sunday of Lent_B - Psst... Can You Keep a Secret?_022524

Image Credit: FreePosterMaker.com

Deacon Tom Writes

“Psst…Can You Keep a Secret?”

Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

“As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” (Mark 9:9)

Mark is the only writer of the Synoptic gospels that weaves the mysterious theme we hear today in which Jesus charges His disciples to keep His identity a secret. Mark makes us aware that Jesus understood the mounting opposition against Him and His need to be in control of the events that were to unfold at the end of His life. All four evangelists record that Christ believed He was commissioned by God and acted with His authority. Yet, it is only in the Gospel of Mark that we encounter this unusual language instructing His closest followers not to reveal His divine identity. This desire to withhold that Jesus was the Messiah from the larger population is known as the “Messianic Secret.”

William Wrede first used the term “Messianic Secret” during the late 1800’s in his attempt to explain that Jesus was not understood to be the Messiah during His lifetime. Wrede theorizes that in those instances where Mark recounts Jesus telling others not to reveal the secret of His Messiahship (Mk 7:36, Mk 8:30, Mk 9:9), he does so to explain that it took the Resurrection for people to realize fully that Jesus was the Messiah. This technique works nicely to defer the mounting tension between the mission and purpose that Jesus came to fulfill as He revealed it and that expectation of the Messiah which existed in the minds of the people.

Jesus avoided any claim on the title of Messiah for fear that it would trigger the notion of political kingship. The Jewish people expected just such a Messiah who would lead them in revolution against their Roman occupiers. But that was not the role Jesus intended to fill.

We know that Jesus had a different kingship in mind, one that would introduce the “reign of God”, one that would be better understood after he had risen from the dead. Then, Jesus’ true identity would be revealed throughout the world and throughout the ages. But until that time, he told them, “...not to relate what they had seen…”

In some obscure way the obtuseness of the "Messianic Secret" is a great equalizer in portraying even those who witnessed the ministry and work of Jesus as having no particular advantage to having been there. Some like Thomas stood side by side with Jesus through it all and yet he needed the reassurance of putting his hands into the very wounds that Jesus suffered. Other, like the Centurion, believed once they witnessed the crucifixion. That the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, is the central focal point of Christianity is without question. The debate over whether Mark developed the "Messianic Secret" to ease the tension of the early Christian community that saw Christ as the Messiah amidst a hierarchical Jewish establishment that failed to do so has been the subject of debate for many years. But in a more profound way, the secrecy that Mark records in his gospel narrative provides the veil into the life and times of Jesus that we all experience until we, perhaps like Thomas, through the gift of faith, are able to proclaim with certainty, “My Lord and My God”.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com for a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer.

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: Mercy Not Sacrifice - Lenten Daily Reflections By Fr Mark-David Janus, CSP, PHD. Lent is a time when we must sacrifice in order to be worthy of God. But as Mark-David Janus reminds us, it is important to reflect instead on what God wants most―mercy.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Mercy Not Sacrifice by Fr Mark-David Janus, CSP

 

First Sunday of Lent, B - Tough Nut to Crack_021824

Image Credit: doodlescribble/1306@deviant.com

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Tough Nuts to Crack”

First Sunday of Lent, Year B

 

What a mess! The story of Noah that we read on this First Sunday of Lent begs the question of what evils could those people been up to that would have caused God to destroy the world... lock, stock and barrel and start all over again? One wonders. We might question next, are we pushing the upper limit to God’s tolerance with all the injustice, violence and indifference to the suffering of others we see around us? Something to think about on our Lenten journey perhaps.

A good place for us to begin this new season of Lent is with the word “Contrition” which comes from the Latin word contritio, a breaking of something hardened. Contrition is the action we take to break away from our patterns of behavior that cause us pain, our self-inflected wounds if you will. In spiritual language we call this behavior, “sin,” and the desire to break our attraction to what harms, no longer to be “crushed by guilt” is called, “contrition.”

The many evils we witness daily can take their toll on us and drive us into isolation but that is not a wise choice. Rather, the injustice that we see or experience can encourage us to look at the sin in our lives and our need for contrition, “for what we have done and for what we have failed to do” as our Catholic faith reminds us of our active and passive participation with sin.

It is interesting that the word “contritio” connotes a breaking something hardened. Scriptures warns us about “hardness of heart” in Psalm 95... "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Pharaoh’s heart was hardened as were the hearts of the people of Israel as they crossed the desert to the Promised Land. Scripture reveals that nothing good results from a spiritual hardness of heart. All we have to do is look at recent history to see how this disease, like Covid-19, is also a pandemic of huge magnitude.

This Season of Lent is all about undoing that hardness of heart that has enslaved us. It’s time to make some changes in our attitudes and, as Philippians 2:5 says, “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.” And our attitudes can only change when we take steps to change the focus of our life from ourselves to put Christ as the epicenter.

I don’t think many of us enter Lent looking to do a complete makeover of our lives. Most of us know that even small changes in our behavior are very difficult to make. Just try to stop smoking or go on a low cholesterol diet! We find out then how making small changes really impacts many other facets of our lives

Maybe that’s why we approach Lent so cautiously. We are afraid to go messing around with some of those attitudes that need to be adjusted Let’s face it; it is easier to give up a meal here and there than to try reaching out to a coworker who is always making our lives miserable. It is much easier to say a Rosary than to say, “I forgive you” to someone who has hurt us in the past. It is much easier to do nothing because the problems we face are too big than to look at our own complicity with sin with a contrite heart and make the changes we need to make on the inside.

During this Lenten season, let’s ask God for His grace that calls us to a spirit of “Contrition” so He may help us in our efforts to breakdown any and all of those attitudes that keep us separated from His love, mercy, and compassion.

Enjoy the day and remember to say “I Love You” to those special people in your life.

Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com for a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer.

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: Throughout the Lenten season, writers from the Ignatian network will guide us on a spiritual journey —"Finding God in the Chaos." Join us to hear stories of hope, of justice, of God’s presence in a chaotic, broken world. Sign up at: https://ignatiansolidarity.net/lent-2023/

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Lenten Meditative Music

 

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Spiritual Makeover_021124

 

Image Credit: Jesus Heals the Leper: snehalathabrigh on Pinterest

Deacon Tom Writes,

Spiritual Makeover

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Although we hear very little of it today, leprosy was a much-dreaded disease throughout history until a treatment was developed in the 1940s. Scholars found the first written account of leprosy on an Egyptian Papyrus written around 1550 B.C. midway through the Israelites bondage there. What was the cure? Banishment! Can you imagine the feelings of utter rejection someone with leprosy would experience no matter what the timeline when they had the disease? The Leper in today’s gospel would no doubt have been seized with fear when he was found to be “unclean”? Unclean! Banishment meant isolation not only from participating in the services at the Synagogue, but also from family, friends. The entire family would suffer as he would no longer be able to provide for them. People with leprosy were banished to the “abode of the dead” for all intents and purposes. And, worst of all, there was no way back. 

We can’t help realize as we read the gospels that Jesus did not recognize any barrier that kept people alienated from God’s abundant love. In fact, throughout Jesus’ ministry, He continued to challenge rules, attitudes, powers and authorities that led to those divisions or imposed obstacles to genuine and authentic spirituality, that is, union with God. Today’s gospel shows Jesus bringing God’s healing power to this forsaken man and making him clean. This intensely liberating act by Jesus allowed the cleanse Leper to reclaim his rightful place in the community. 

Sin is tantamount to “spiritual leprosy”, a sickness that deprives us of God’s graces that are vital to life. Sin diverts our focus away from God. We choose instead to pursue our own selfish and often destructive desires. Let’s face it, we are not very pleasant at times and fall way short of “the glory of God”. We are demanding of others. To get what we want we can often be abusive, manipulative, and conniving. When we don’t get what we want, we can become bitter, resentful, and very ungrateful. We experience too many days when we are not our best selves and those around us know it! If we were honest with ourselves, we would admit that we know it to! We do many things that alienate us from one another, that undermine one of the most basic tenets of our faith, namely, that we are “temples” of the Holy Spirit and that the Spirit of God abides in us. 

Jesus is always looking to wash away our sins in order to strengthen our relationship with Him. The Leper in today’s gospel shows us how to do that when he asks Jesus: 

“If you wish, you can make me clean”. 

         And Jesus’ reply, “I do will it. Be made clean”.

If we wish it, Jesus can restore us to health –physical, spiritual or emotional. He can get us back on the road to true happiness and joy, even though we may have messed things up quite a bit. He can, in the words of the 23rd Psalm, “…. Restore my soul…” if, that is, we ask Him, and if we let Him. 

As we prepare for the upcoming Lenten Season, may we look to Jesus to help us overcome our sinful past and to be made clean to enjoy the abundant life we find only through, with, and in Him. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com for a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: A Reason to Believe, A Personal Story by Lawyer Ron Tesoriero of his fascinating journey in pursuit of answers. Following the trail of the blood of Christ through history and through science he also encounters Eucharistic miracles, the Shroud of Turin, The Sudarium of Oviedo and a vial of “the blood of Christ” taken at the time of the crucifixion now in Bruges, Belgium, in search for the DNA of Christ.

 

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Find the Joy_020424

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Find the Joy”

 

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Have you ever heard the expression, “The more things change, the more they remain the same”? For many of us life is extremely hard or as Job says, “life is a drudgery”. Those repetitive demands that go into daily family life…the laundry, cooking and cleaning, the shopping, the commuting to work, the homework…taking care of children or parents or both, day in and day out can become exhausting and easily wear us out. These essential activities may even become boring! We wake up and then rush into the demands of the day. At night we go to sleep, or try to, only to have the alarm go off in the morning so we can start all over again, like Bill Murray in the movie, “Groundhogs Day”. These daily activities become so routine and ordinary they may leave us with a sense of being “unfulfilled”.

It doesn’t have to be this way! Sure, we all get stuck in a rut at times. We all fall victim to feeling unappreciated and sense that our lives are unfulfilled, empty or that we will “never see happiness again”. It is understandable how this happens. We are busy people. We have responsibilities. We carry around our “to-do” lists on our iPhones and tablets or on little pieces of paper in our pockets. We do all those big and little things to care of our families, provide for our loved ones, for their immediate needs like food, clothing, shelter and for future needs, like college for the kids or retirement for ourselves. Busy…Busy…. Busy, yet so dull and ordinary!!!

Running constant four-minute miles will begin to take its toll and get us asking ourselves if it’s all worth it, or worse, wondering at some point along the way if, like Job, we will ever find happiness again.

When we find ourselves with too much to do and feel we are missing out on the simple joys and happiness of life that should be a “red flag” alerting us that we need to take some precious minutes for ourselves. See how Jesus revitalizes himself in today’s Gospel. With the crowds now seeking him out and his celebrity status growing, Jesus “rising very early before dawn…he went off to a deserted place, where he prayed”.

Jesus responds to the demands others place upon him by withdrawing into the solitude of prayer. Prayer is one of those activities that will reenergize our spirits and keep us from falling into a life of drudgery. Prayer, meditation, spending quiet time with Jesus routinely is therapeutic. Prayer validates our reason for being… gives us time and space to hear God’s plans for us…gives us the courage to set out in the direction he wants us to go. Prayer even helps us get our priorities straight, helping us let go of some of those activities we “think” are essential. 

The many complexities of our lives raising the high-water mark of our anxieties and fears, for some, that is. We are in troubled times but we don’t have to be troubled people. Prayer will help us discern God’s plan in all the events, activities, demands and even the worries and fears that we face each day and gives us a clear vision of how we should face our daily challenges and obligations without being overwhelmed. If we remain faithful in our prayer life, like Jesus, we will find the joy He promised us so that, in this life, we may find joy… and out joy may be complete (Jn 15:11).

Enjoy the day!!

Deacon Tom 

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com  and listen in as Paulist Fathers Deacon Affiliates engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.

 

OTHER RESOURCES

Recommended Reading: The Shepherd who Didn't Run by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda is the enduring story of Fr. Stan Rother, the martyr from Okarche, who loved, served and was martyred in the village of Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala serving among God's humble people. A truly remarkable and timely story about America's Frist martyr.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: An Ordinary Martyr: The Life and Death of Blessed Stanley Rother