Visitation Lenten Reflections 2024

  Jeremiah 20:10-13      John 10:31-42 Today’s reading is a reflection on the power that faith in God can give us during times of hardship. When the speaker alludes to being surrounded by enemies, it may not necessarily indicate physical foes, but could symbolize internal struggles or life's challenges. Yet through all this, the speaker remains confident because they believe God is on their side, fighting their battles with them. The speaker seeks God's vengeance on their persecutors, illustrating the belief that those who do wrong and fail to understand the consequences will eventually face divine judgment. This eternal disgrace they're accumulating is a severe and lasting retribution, which contrasts sharply with the ephemeral nature of earthly success. God is commended not as a distant deity, but a personal savior, a refuge, and a source of strength. This points to a deep, personal relationship between the speaker and God, characterized by love, tr...

Genesis17:3-9     John 8:51-59 In both passages today we see divine promises revealed. Divine promises are promises made by God to the people. In both the Old and New Testament, we see God make covenants with his people even after they disobey him. In Genesis, God establishes his covenant with Abraham. God promises Abraham as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and a Promised Land in Canaan. This promise with Abraham shows that even though God is ethereal and omnipotent, he still desires a relationship with us.  In the Gospel according to John, Jesus makes a similar pact with the people. He promises that whoever believes in Him and obeys His word will have eternal life in Heaven. This is another divine promise. Jesus gives us everlasting life if we follow him. In both readings we see a covenant between God and the people. This reminds me of the promises I have made in my own life. Examples such as my parents promising me a bright future if I w...

Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95     John 8:31-42 Digesting scripture is tricky, mostly because different people have different takeaways based on their own ideas and life. Today’s readings have one main message that profoundly resonates with me. The scene begins when Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago are asked why they do not worship the king. Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago proclaim that they believe in God, and refuse to worship the king. Nabuchadnezzar again asks them to pledge allegiance to him, otherwise they will be thrown into a furnace. This is a question of faith. Questions of faith are seen throughout the Bible; such as Moses and the Red Sea, Saul and the offering, the entire story of Job, and many more. The question that arrived in my head was “Why. Why does God challenge our faith?” I remember we discussed a similar topic in one of my Religion Classes. We were going over the story of Job, my personal favorite in the bible, when my teacher asked the exact quest...

  2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16        Romans 4:13,16-18,22            Matthew 1:16,18-21,24a Today’s first reading and the responsorial psalm are both in regard to King David and how God promises his kingdom will last forever. God establishes a personal relationship with David and makes a covenant similar to the one made with Abraham in Genesis. God promises an eternal kingdom for David and that a messianic king would reign forever. This is completed in the New Testament through Jesus. The second reading is a letter to the Romans from Paul. Paul is explaining that the covenant with Abraham is not a law but rather becomes true through faith. He is saying that all who have the kind of faith Abraham had will be a part of the eternal kingdom. This is opposed to the thought of the time that God’s promises only extended to the Jewish people and those who followed the laws of Moses. For me, these tw...

  Daniel 13:41c-62     John 8:12-20 Both of today’s readings address questions of innocence and judgment. In the first reading, Susanna is blameless of the crime the two elders accuse her of. The elders know, Susanna knows it and we as readers know it too. Nevertheless, Susanna has few options beyond claiming her innocence, though the unjust elders could condemn her to death, The unnamed prostitute in John’s gospel provides a contrast to Susanna as she does not protest her guilt or proclaim her innocence. She, too, passively accepts the likely death sentence for her crime. The gospel passage instead points to the collective guilt of the crowd that brought her before Jesus. As we watch this story develop, we are not seeing how the prostitute can escape her punishment. In both readings, the crowds observing these situations go along with the prevailing opinion regarding the respective guilt of these women. The saving grace in both cases is the moral authorit...

  Jeremiah 31:31-34     Hebrews 5:7-9     John 12:20-33 I am sure this scenario at the Greene dinner table is not unique: we are all eating dinner talking about our day and someone asks a very benign but sincere question about something and then Denis jumps in and launches into a very long explanation about the break-down of the bicameral mind, and everyone else rolls their eyes or shoots the original questioner a “why did you say that??” and secretly bets how long it will take him to mention his time in Africa. Today’s scripture readings are very familiar. Jeremiah 31:33 is basically a mantra in my prayer  journal. I am also writing this at the New Year so the psalmist’s gratitude of a clean slate (“a clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me”) is also occupying my prayer life currently. But my attention today lies with the poor apostle, Philip, who has been approached by Greeks wanting to be introdu...

  Jeremiah 11:18-20      John 7:40-53 Jesus has amassed a huge following overtime. Included in the crowd he gathered were guards and Pharisees. Many of the members in the crowd were so impressed with Jesus that they believed he was the Christ, the true Prophet. Yet others, with knowledge of the Scriptures, question his origin and assume he is a false messiah. Speaking to the divided crowd, the Pharisee named Nicodemus reminds his fellow religious leaders that this man has done no wrong. “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” His colleagues taunt him for defending Jesus and turn their questioning toward him.    Some in the crowd called for Jesus’ arrest. But the guards were amazed and in awe of him so made no move to lay hands upon him. However, this would not be the end of the conflict for Jesus. Recognizing the truth is probably as difficult today as it was during the time of Christ. So much...