March 26, 2011
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins. Micah 7:18-19
Bless the LORD, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God, Who pardons all your sins, heals all your ills, Delivers your life from the pit, surrounds you with love and compassion. Psalm 103:1-4
So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.” Luke 15:20-21
Piety
My prayer is that some of Archbishop [Romero]’s spirit was imparted to the President, and that he will resolve to stand as steadfastly for the poor and vulnerable as Romero did. That would be the greatest tribute.
(From God’s Politics Blog post by Duane Shank on the occasion of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero. http://blog.sojo.net/2011/03/24/president-obama-visits-the-tomb-of-archbishop-oscar-romero/)
Study
Where do we find ourselves at the end of this second week of Lent? Are we dying of hunger for the Father, estranged in a far off land? Or are we dying of hunger for the Father while standing right next to him?
There is probably a little of both prodigal brothers in all of us yet we do not realize how each attitude pervades our life. Despite our disposition, the Abba emanates the perfection of faithfulness, kindness and mercy that is foreshadowed in our gentle first reading from Micah and striking Psalm.
Some say that the acorn does not fall far from the tree. Yet, with this gentle Father, how different both of his sons are at this point in their lives and story. Yet both of the sons mirror the flaws that are evident in our human condition. Despite the flaws of selfishness and greed, one son realizes the error of his ways and repents (returns) from his exile to the confessional encounter with his Father. The other has yet to learn that lesson. In his external duty-bound devotion to the Father, the second brother has yet to learn to share the kindly love that results in an outpouring of compassion and forgiveness of the Father to both sons.
We can only hope that the other brother will come along. We have three more weeks in our Lenten exile. We can only hope that we come along, too.
Action
The kindness of the Father stands in stark contrast to some of the images we have witnessed this week which included the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero by right wing death squads in El Salvador while he was celebrating Mass.
The day before the anniversary, President Barack Obama stood at the graveside and lit a candle in silence while remembering the words and work of this Abba who spoke out in compassion for the poor, the forgotten and the exiled. Yet exactly that speaking out and speaking truth to power led to the execution of the man some now call Saint Romero of the Americas.
• Back home, our Congress continues to wrestle with cutting the Federal budget. What would Jesus cut?
• While President stands silently at the gravesite, American (and other allied) planes thunder over and bomb under a No Fly Zone in Libya.
• Japanese workers continue to wrestle with how to contain the contaminated and fiery damage from a series of nuclear reactors which threaten to spoil land, sea, air and food for thousands of years.
• All the while hundreds of thousands of their sisters and brothers are homeless after surviving the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
What would Archbishop Romero have said to President Obama if they met face to face? Most likely, he would have pressed him on behalf of the poor and against the path of violence just like the late bishop did with President Carter.
Who will speak with the compassion of the Father and Bishop Romero for the poor and vulnerable today? As we enter the middle of this Lenten season, let us ask the Holy Spirit and the Cloud of Witnesses where Oscar Romero now stands to motivate us to add the cause of the poor and vulnerable here and around the world to our prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
