2nd Week of Lent (F)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
NDS, NOLA
Here
we are at the end of the second week of Lent, and we're reading about
tenants and landowners, vineyards and stones. We are also reading
about murder and fear – the murder of Christ and the fear of those
who are threatened by the truth of his ministry and mission. They
hear him say to the crowd, “. . .the Kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
They know he's talking about them. And their fear is compounded by
his popularity with the crowd. How is this parable suitable for a
Friday in Lent? Put yourself among the chief priests and Pharisees
and ask yourself: is
he also talking about me?
Am I among those who will lose the Kingdom of God b/c Christ is not
the cornerstone of everything I am, of everything I strive to be? If
there's anytime in the liturgical year to ask this question, it's
Lent. So ask: who or what grounds and supports my daily life? Who or
what gives strength and purpose to everything I am building here at
Notre Dame? When everything I am and everything I have is taken away,
who or what remains?
Lent
is a season for destroying idols, a time for us to count the false
gods we worship and un-name them in the name of Christ. We have this
time – out and away
– so
that we can
inspect the foundation of our faith, looking for cracks and loose
stones. Upon inspection, what do you find? Are you motivated and
inspired for ministry by a need for power, prestige, applause? Are
you hiding away from a scary world – is the apparent safety and
security of the priesthood your cornerstone? Maybe your cornerstone
is the chance to set the Church aright, to get out there and fix what
you think is broken; to whip us all back into shape with a regular
regime of a spiritual diet and religious exercise. Or maybe your
cornerstone is a packed schedule, a full calendar – the busyness of
being busy. Lent is the time – out and away – to ask: Is Christ
your cornerstone? Your ground and support, your strength and your
purpose? If not, Lent is the time to receive the grace you've been
given and set Him firmly, permanently in place. And b/c we are not
yet perfect, we'll need to receive that grace and set that
cornerstone daily, hourly for all of the time we have left. By
the
Lord this will be done. Isn't it wonderful in your eyes?
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