Make Justice Your Aim

March 6, 2012

March 6, 2012

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

By Beth DeCristofaro

Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. (Isaiah 1:16-17)

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. (Matthew 23:1-3)

Piety

God the Father has given us his only Son, the Word made man,
to be our food and our life. Let us thank him and pray:
May the word of Christ dwell among us in all its richness.
Help us in this Lenten season to listen more frequently to your word,
-that we may celebrate the solemnity of Easter with greater love for Christ, our paschal teacher,
-that we may encourage those in doubt and error to follow what is true and good.
Enable us to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Anointed One,
-that our lives may reveal him more effectively.
Purify and renew your Church in this time of salvation,
-that it may give an even greater witness to you. (http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/2nd-week.html#tue)

Study

These readings give us the chance to reconsider sin in its varied presentations. Isaiah counsels the residents of Sodom to give up an overtly sinful lifestyle while Jesus points to subtle sin practiced by the leaders of the temple. Sin places the sinner at the center of the universe, displacing God, displacing neighbor. At the same time, both messages offer the promise of mercy to those who repent and “learn to do good”.

For me, I struggle with pride and being open to receiving God’s presence through others. Working in health care, I am a caregiver. It is sometimes difficult but always rewarding. Once, praying with an individual, I finished the prayer with the customary Amen but then she spoke up to add more. She whispered, “God, take care of the chaplain for all the good she does.” I was so very moved and also reminded that I cannot take “my service” to others for granted. She had generosity and care to give to me. I am not there to “do to” people who have less than I do. She is my neighbor and I am to love as her sister in Christ not as her healthy, well-trained chaplain. And in love I accept her love. I must remember (paraphrasing Jesus) to practice not just preach.

This elderly lady gave me a stirring reminder that in humility we are moved by the Spirit and we find Christ through others. This week in Lent gives us more opportunities to practice humility, to try to make justice our aim and to practice not just preach. Let’s do so with joy and gratitude.

Action

Super Tuesday looms close and then we on to the general election. Encourage your elected officials and those running for election to place their responsibility for the good of the country before ambitions which cause them to denigrate those who are of other political persuasions. Promote that they “make justice their aim.” Much of the inflated and insulting language being used is much like the church leaders who “widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels” which Jesus exposed as self-aggrandizement.