Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalms 19:8-11; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

Sometimes love means picking up a whip. No, this is not the sign we demanded, nor the wisdom we were looking for, but it is the truth we must proclaim. Our Parent's love is not fluffy or weak, nor does it suffer fools or tricksters. Its purpose is to refresh our souls, not to coddle them, for God desires us to taste a joy that never loses its sweetness. Which means we oftentimes need to hear a resounding chorus of "You shall not." Such grace might not be music to our ears, but it is, without a doubt, proof that something wonderful awaits us. So let us invite the divine whip into our hearts for the duration of these forty days, that we too might be consumed with zeal for our Parent's houses.

Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

"The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." The age of wisdom and signs is over. The time for laws and miracles has passed. We are no longer children who need commands to do our Parent's bidding, nor are we adolescents who require proof before listening to our Creator. God's wisdom is simply the truth of love. The real foolishness is our drive to make everything infinitely complex. God's sign is creation itself. The real weakness is our demand for flashy supernatural manifestations. God is tired of the games. 

Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 20: 1-17; 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25; John 2: 13-25

"Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified." In other words, most people approach Truth by searching for proof, physical or intellectual. (Just look at the response to Jesus by the people of Jerusalem in today's Gospel.) But those who truly follow the Way proclaim a love that is not subject to proof; it simply is what it is. We make Truth out to be more complex than it is, because we assume it must be that way. But life is so much simpler than it appears. We needed the Old Law, but its time passed away. Jesus gave us the New Law, but now its time has passed as well. The truth of both is simply this: Love. That is all God, Jesus, and the prophets have ever desired of us. Love. Infinitely complex and yet amazingly simple. Love. Stop trying to understand and codify it; just do it. Love.