“We Believe and Give Glory” by Beth DeCristofaro
The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!' (Exodus 32:7-8)
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (John 5:41-47)
Piety
God of yesterday, today and tomorrow,
we call to mind your presence within us and around us.
we call to mind your presence within us and around us.
Open our ears that we may hear your Word.
Open our hearts that we may understand your Word.
Open our mouths that we may speak your World.
Open our hearts that we may understand your Word.
Open our mouths that we may speak your World.
Inspire us with the Gospel message, that we may
celebrate all that is life-giving, restore hope where it has
been lost, and work to bring about change where it is needed.
May we live the Gospel with courage, constancy, and love.
May we be open to the challenge of your call to true freedom.
May we be faithful to you in our daily choices and decisions.
May we make your love known through our words and actions.
May we be open to the challenge of your call to true freedom.
May we be faithful to you in our daily choices and decisions.
May we make your love known through our words and actions.
May the triune God reign in our hearts, now and forever.
Amen (A prayer for living the Gospel)[i]
Study
The Gospel today makes me think about the story of Lazarus at the Gate. A Rich Man who, upon finding himself in torment after his death asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers that their greedy, selfish actions could cause them to end up with him instead of in Paradise with Lazarus. The answer is: 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'" (Luke 16:31) In John’s Gospel, Jesus admonishes the Jews who are intent on murdering him that they do not believe and accept Moses. They are just like the rich man who preferred human honor to glorifying God. In John’s Gospel, Jesus repeats again and again that he came to do the will of his Father and to show God’s glory rather than reap benefits on earth.
In this waning season of Lent, it is valuable to remember that God is not watching our Lenten (and life) journeys with an eagle eye to catching us out in sin and adding up the failures as we move toward eternity. St. John also makes clear that it is a belief in Jesus which brings us closer to God thus to eternal life and it is a refusal to believe in Jesus which closes us off to both. Belief is accepting and acting on the acceptance. Fr. Thomas D. Stegman, SJ, taught “(John) makes very clear that through the revelation of Jesus God doesn’t send Jesus to condemn, but to give life. But the incarnation of Jesus is tantamount to an offer of love. Love by its very nature can’t coerce. It’s an offer. It’s an invitation. And Jesus teaches that the refusal of that offer of love brings condemnation on oneself. In other words, Jesus himself doesn’t necessarily judge. Judgment happens in the decision for or against Jesus.”[ii]
Action
Moses advocated for his (and God’s) “stiff-necked people” as they refused God’s invitation of love. The leaders and the Romans repeat this mistake in Jesus’s day. Am I refusing God’s offer of love, judging myself, others and perhaps even God rather than loving? In these last days of Lent, how can I turn back to God, renouncing idols? How might I further open my heart to the healing, redemptive presence of God?
[i] Australian Catholic Social Justice Network https://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/spirituality-for-justice/prayers#prayer-living
[ii] Boston College SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MINISTRY ONLINE CROSSROADS, The Gospel of John, Week 2 www.bc.edu/crossroads, Transcript of the Gospel of John, Chapters 5-12 The Gospel of John: Week 2, Spring Course, 2019.
Illustration: Cathedral of Cefalu, Sicily https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Duomo_cefalu_msu2017-0740.jpg
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