OLDER LECTIO DIVINA

“One does not live on bread alone”

These words have been a guiding light in my life. I remember once I was trying to convince my father that our society was focusing too much on the material needs of people, and ignoring their spiritual needs. “Man does not live on bread alone,” I told him, implying that there is a spiritual dimension to our being that sustains us, and it is being neglected. He reminded me that this is true, but we are still flesh and blood, and we need the material world to connect us to the spiritual world. Once we provide people with material necessities, then they are free to think about spiritual matters. Once we fulfill the corporal works of mercy, then we can begin talking about the spiritual works of mercy. People are not free to give up something unless they have it in the first place. 

This is what Lent is all about. In Jesus’ desert wanderings, he could have turned stone into bread. In a similar way, we could open that pantry and have that snack we gave up for Lent. But Lent is a time to remind ourselves that, despite how pressing our physical needs may be, we are in need of spiritual nourishment as well. And sometimes we tend to our physical needs to the detriment of our spiritual needs. Unfortunately, that’s just the way our fallen human nature works. Focusing my attention on one thing leads to the neglect of another thing. Focusing too much on work often leads to the neglect of my family. Focusing too much on the news often leads to neglecting what’s happening in my own life. Even studying too much could result in neglecting the needs of my body like sleep and exercise. The central message of Lent is the virtue of temperance. Our souls can easily be forgotten as we sojourn in this valley of death. The Church, in her wisdom, knows this and therefore sets aside a season to focus on spiritual matters; because we are so much more than mere matter, and what matters most isn’t matter at all.

“For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

It’s common to think of God as a judge who issues out his just rewards and punishments based on the actions of others. Lest we forget, that’s not far from the truth. He tells us not to judge, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t. Nonetheless, his judgment does come with veracity that’s deeper than the proverbial God in the sky with a gavel. He designed the universe to be just. Justice is therefore a law of nature. So, when God makes his judgments and Jesus informs us about how he makes his judgment, he is just explaining how justice works. Jesus’ teachings about God’s judgment are not informing us of some kind of divinely ordained authoritarianism to which we are irrevocably bound. They are teachings about the nature of justice. God is just by nature, and he cannot act in a way contrary to his nature. He cannot decide tomorrow that stealing is okay and adultery is permissible. Doing so would be like eliminating the laws of thermodynamics, which would destroy the universe that is sustained by those laws. Jesus uses the term “measure” because the laws of justice established by God are just as exact as those of science and mathematics. Justice is just as real and objective as any science. Every action has an equal reaction. That’s why God must show us mercy: because justice alone would demand eternal punishment for our sins. God showed us mercy by sending his son to die for our sins, to die in our place, to pay the debt of sin so we can have access to heaven.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.”

This can at times be the hardest of the Beatitudes to keep and accept. One can willingly take a paycut if he believes he is working for a good cause. One can fast easily enough and endure some hunger if it means it will draw him closer to God. One can even weep for someone he loves, and feel he is doing the right thing. But to be hated by people seems to go against our very nature. We want to be liked. I want to be accepted among my peers, and if I am not I assume I am doing something wrong, not something right. Yet Jesus is saying, at least when it is him you are standing by, you are doing the right thing when people hate you because of it. What is more, he makes it the last Beatitude so it lingers in our mind, making us ponder it even more. What a treacherous road we must walk as Christians. We have to abandon even the desire to be esteemed by others, and at times even endure being hated. Yet still, we hang on because we hope and believe that what God has to offer is greater than anything this world has to offer, better than even the respect of other souls.

“Do not be afraid”

They had just experienced a supernatural event and almost drowned in their boat. Jesus’ response to their reaction is “Do not be afraid.” I love it. I would have been petrified too. I’d be like “Whaaat just happened!?” Jesus, all calm and collected, says, “Do not be afraid.” This is what we need more than anything when the trials of life assail us. We need someone who can tell us everything will be alright if we confide in him. Jesus is that person. When life is filled with uncertainty and bewilderment, may we always turn to him and have faith in him.

“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

We read these same words at the end of last Sunday’s Gospel, the Gospel for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. That is fitting, because whenever we read the Gospel at Mass it is being fulfilled in our hearing, so it’s good to be reminded of that every now and then. We are reminded two weeks in a row because this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the beginning of Ordinary Time, so it’s appropriate to emphasize the purpose of Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom–which is what his ministry is about afterall. But Jesus is doing more than just announcing the coming of the kingdom of God. He is proclaiming the beginning of a new age, the age of his Church. The Church is God’s kingdom on earth. Its time is now. The Gospel message, in fact all of Scripture is outside of time–timeless–and it being fulfilled today.