GROW: Wishing you a blessed Easter! One of our commitments in growing as disciples of Jesus, especially at the beginning of this most important season of Easter, is to study Scripture. John’s Gospel today depicts the story of the empty tomb – the reactions of Mary of Magdala and the two disciples trying to make sense of what they had seen. What we may have missed, however, are the words of St. Peter in the first reading from Acts speaking of Jesus: “This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Jesus appeared post-resurrection to those to whom he was closest – the witnesses chosen by God whom he had commissioned to preach the Gospel to all people, so all might believe in him. In this way the chosen few, Christ’s heralds, would bring the Good News of his resurrection to the many. So we too, now, are witnesses, chosen by God in our baptism and come to this table of thanksgiving and sacrifice. By faith we grow as his disciples, ready to go forth to lead others to him.

GROW: “The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.” This sentence from our first reading is taken from one of the four “Songs of the Suffering Servant” in Isaiah. The New Testament identifies this Servant as Jesus, and we know that Jesus accepted the suffering that was foretold in the verses that follow this one: “I gave my back to those who beat me … my face I did not hide from insults and spitting.” As aspiring servants of God on this Palm Sunday, the most holy of days when we hear Mark’s account of Jesus’ passion, how does this sentence speak to us? What does it mean to have a well-trained tongue? To me it is a call to speak to the Lord in prayer as well as to speak the Good News of the Gospel whenever and wherever we can.

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GROW: As we quickly approach Easter, we’re reminded of the reason why we are celebrating. God’s chosen people stumbled quite a bit throughout the Old Testament, so God intervened time, and time, and time again to set them back on the straight and narrow. Whereas we would likely give up on someone over time, God has remained steadfast in his grace, and always will. He created a new covenant with Israel that wrote his law upon the hearts of Jews and Gentiles alike. This new covenant was realized through Jesus Christ, who was born into our flesh and crucified on the cross. He suffered death in perfect obedience to God the Father. By being born into flesh, Jesus united humanity and divinity; through his crucifixion and resurrection, Christ “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” He is the law of love that lives within us, and through him “all, from least to greatest, shall know [the Father.]”

GROW: “The floor is lava!” We used to play this game as children, and it still seems popular today: you arrange furniture and other objects in such a way as to make it from point to point, and even room to room, without touching the floor. There may be more than one way to go, but the crux of the matter is that you have to use these waypoints to stay alive in the game. Following Jesus is somewhat similar, although obviously infinitely more serious and important! He himself, through his sacrifice on the cross, opened the doors of salvation to us – he has provided the ways and means to live free from death. His sacrifice is the only thing that makes it possible for us to enter heaven. In other words, he has arranged the spiritual furniture, made clear those waypoints, and, differing from children who play the lava game, is ready and willing to help us at any time to move safely and confidently along the journey. St Paul writes, “we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.”

GROW: When I was a kid, my older siblings used to tell me what to do (no surprise there!) and often backed up their, ahem, “commands,” by saying, “Mom and Dad said so.” Interestingly, sometimes that statement was not true (!), and I would get the right information – what to do and the correct way to do it – directly from my parents. My experience is not unlike that of the Israelites in today’s first reading. As they escaped from bondage in Egypt and followed the Lord through the guidance of Moses, they developed their own ways of doing things, listened to the wrong people and acted as if they were indeed conveying truth. But the Lord steps in to correct them, and in “a direct, unmediated communication” of truth to them, gives them commandments to follow. (USCCB commentary) These instructions for how to live a moral life in relationship with God and with one another are the basis of the covenant they made there with the Lord. They are the foundation of the new covenant in which we partake through Jesus Christ, who came into our history as the perfect, unmediated communication of God.

GROW: Just two weeks ago, when Christians walked around all day with a cross of ashes on our foreheads, we may have received puzzled looks. Who bothers with fasting and almsgiving for 40 whole days? Many of us live with great abundance in this country; the only time we actually need to fast might be for lab work. With this in mind, it’s helpful to remember the why: because Christ sacrificed himself for us, and he calls his followers to participate in his redemptive mission through our own sacrifices. Without sacrifice, we simply cannot be like Christ, nor will we see our own transfiguration in the resurrection to come. So Lent is a blessed season of reorienting our lives to Christian sacrifice: that of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Perhaps this season can also dispel some of the complacency that has a tendency to creep into our lives. The poor and hungry and disenfranchised still exist, and Christ depends on us to be his hands and feet to serve them. But how can we serve them if we do not embrace Christ’s example as a living sacrifice? Ask the Lord for the grace to see and hear what he is asking us to do for him.

GROW: Today is the first day of Lent! It is the beginning of a new liturgical season in the Church, a season of prayer, service and self-sacrifice. It is a time of preparation, culminating in the holiest day of the year: Easter. As we embark on our Lenten journey, we hear a reading from Genesis in which God makes a covenant with Noah where he promises, “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.” The Lord has said that no matter our disobedience, sin and rebellion, he will never destroy us! Saint Peter explains how the story of Noah, “in which a few persons … were saved through water,” prefigures baptism, and baptism, as we know, marks us as the Lord’s own forever. We are sealed with a sign that can never be relinquished. So, just as the great flood signaled a rebirth for the world, our baptism is a rebirth of our soul in Christ. We are washed clean of our original sin, and the door to salvation is opened for us. It is fitting that at the beginning of our Lenten journey we hear the story of the beginning of our eternal covenant with the Lord. Both the covenant, and Lent, will be fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

GROW: The leper in today’s Gospel was not only severely ill, but he was also barred from practicing his faith. Because he was considered unclean, he could not enter the temple to worship. It is no wonder he did everything in his power to find Jesus and beg him for healing. And heal him Jesus did, both body and soul. According to commentary on this passage from the USCCB, “In curing the leper, Jesus assumes that the priests will reinstate the cured man into the religious community.” It seems to me that this Gospel is about faith, and about love. The leper had great faith that Jesus could heal him, and the great love of Jesus for this man moved Jesus to go against mosaic law by touching and healing him. When we read the Scriptures we are reminded over and over again how much God loves us. Let us allow this knowledge to sink into our hearts and change us. When we begin to reflect God’s love to those around us, we will find that our lives are filled with his peace. Give it a try: Love as Jesus loves.

GROW: Why me? It could be a flat tire, a lost job or a serious illness. When inconvenient, unpleasant or even downright horrible things happen, it is understandable to wonder why God allows it. I know that is what goes through my head in extreme adversity. God can do all things, so why wouldn’t he change “this thing” for me? In the Gospel, we see Jesus curing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of her illness, but many of us don’t have our prayers answered like that. Instead, we may relate more to Job in today’s first reading when he says life is a “drudgery” and he “shall not see happiness again.” The reality is that God’s ways are not our ways, so we can’t know why some people endure hardship while others receive miracles. But we can change how we respond to those hardships when they arrive. Just as this passage from Job is understood better within the context of the whole book, discrete events in our lives are part of something larger than ourselves. Praying with Scripture, including reading more of Job, can help us understand how God is molding, refining, and yes – always loving us.

GROW: Oh, to not be anxious! What would that be like – to not have to worry about how we’ll pay the bills or whether our kids are safe or if our health will fail? While anxiety is a very human emotion, we can take comfort in knowing that our God is more powerful than anything that may worry us. It is also important to note that in today’s reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, what he means by “anxious” is not a modern psychological concept with only a negative connotation. The connotation is more “to be concerned with,” or “caring about” something, and can refer to things that are very good – including spouses and families! But when we care for many things, including our relationship with God, it is only natural for us to be anxious at times. But Jesus Christ gives us the assurance that the troubles of this world are temporary, and the peace of God eternal. Paul is encouraging the Corinthians, and us, to understand the importance of an undivided devotion to God, to care for him above all things – no matter if we are married or single – so that our whole life is devoted to holiness.

GROW: Sometimes I feel like I need a Jonah in my life: someone who will come along and shake things up; someone who will nudge me and say, hey, you’re doing it wrong! No one wants to be criticized, but I know I need loving guidance to help me when I am not at my best. It’s easy to get caught up in the swirl of life and neglect (even if unintentionally) what’s important. Jonah was given the unpleasant task of pointing out to the people of Nineveh their failings. Unlike many communities who resisted God’s words, by the end of the first day of Jonah’s anticipated three-day trek across the city, “the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.” For all the evil they had done, and the rebellion they had demonstrated, the people there weren’t irredeemable. They simply needed Jonah to point out how they had gone astray, and the grace of open ears and hearts to receive the message. Who has the Lord placed in our lives in the role of Jonah? How has he blessed us with the ability to receive, and repent where necessary?

GROW: When Samuel hears the Lord speak in today’s first reading, he mistakes it as Eli calling out to him in the temple. The third time Samuel asks if he called, Eli is wise enough to realize what is going on and guides Samuel: “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Samuel required guidance because he “was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet.” In a similar way does the Apostle Andrew come to the Lord. In today’s Gospel, Andrew didn’t know who Jesus was until John the Baptist told him: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Andrew then began to follow Jesus, and to bring others to him. There may be times when we, like both of these men, need someone else to help us hear the call of the Lord clearly, or see his presence among us. Those who serve the Lord in this way are a great gift to us, and enable us to be that gift for others. Pray for the grace to hear what we need to hear, to see what we need to see, and to say to others, “come, we have found the Messiah.”

GROW: It’s interesting how an event can be interpreted by different people. God’s revelation of himself in the birth of the child Jesus is clearly one such event. The Magi, Gentiles from the east, had heard of this “newborn king of the Jews” and undertook a long and arduous journey to see him and offer him homage. They were edified and eager in their search. Herod, himself a king – of the Jews – did not have the same reaction. The very thought of this “newborn king” threatened him, and filled him with rage and suspicion. In this moment in human history, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles (i.e., the Epiphany) unveils the truth of God’s redemptive work for all of creation to be reconciled to himself. This truth has been accepted and rejected throughout time, and our celebration of this feast gives us an opportunity to give thanks in a focused and particular way for our acceptance of it – to give thanks for the gift of our faith. Perhaps it is even a moment for us to have our own, colloquial epiphany: an “aha moment,” where we once again truly understand the depth of God’s love for us.