Last February 13th, Saturday, part of the celebration of the Lunar New Year, by the Chinese, was the practice of paying respects to their ancestors. This used to be called the “ancestor worship”. But those Chinese who embraced Christianity re- named it to “veneration of the ancestors”. We Catholics venerate and honor the “saints”, those who have gone ahead of us; and have now entered the Kingdom of God. We set aside November 1st, as a day for them!
Today’s feast originated from the ancient Roman practice of remembering departed family members. Part of the celebration was a formal meal. An empty chair was reserved during the meal, to represent the ancestors. This ancient Roman practice was “Christianized” after the spread and legalization of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. This feast originated in the 4th century.
The “veneration of the chair of Peter” became an occasion for remembering the apostle Peter as “the ancestor in faith” of the Christian community in Rome. Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that this celebration highlights the “privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.”
Peter was chosen by Christ to be the “shepherd of Christ’s flock” [Jn. 21: 15-17]. Jesus called Peter to be “the rock” on which Jesus’ church would be built. [Mt. 16: 18-19]. Peter, in the 1st Reading, advised the other Church elders on how to care for the “flock entrusted to their care.” [1 Pet. 5:1-4].
The chair represents the authority of St. Peter and his successors. The chair represents the unity of the Church founded on the Apostle Peter.
The Gospel evangelists: Matthew, Mark, and Luke mentioned Jesus’ experience of temptation when he spent 40 days in the dessert. Mark has the shortest account, just in two sentences [Mk. 1: 12-13]! Today’s Gospel [Mk. 1: 12-15] has actually two episodes: 1) the temptation story; and b) a “summary statement” regarding Jesus’ preaching in Galilee. I will only focus on the first episode: the temptation story!
In Mark’s version there are three important words to remember: 1) the desert [wilderness]; 2) the wild beasts [animals]; and 3) the angels.
For the Jews, the word “desert/wilderness” has many associations. Moses spent 40 days of fasting in the desert for the sinfulness of the people that Yahweh asked him to bring to the Promised Land [Dt. 9:18]. Elijah made a 40-day journey through the desert of Horeb, after which, he was renewed, re-invigorated and re-energized for his mission to Israel [1 Kgs. 19:8]. The Hebrew people, after leaving Egypt, spent 40 years travelling through the desert, on their way to the Promised Land. During that journey, many times, Israel’s fidelity to the Lord was put to the test! Jesus, in today’s Gospel, spent 40 days in the desert, the battleground between him and Satan! The “desert” then, can be a place of liberation or failure; or a place of joy and a deepening of one’s commitment!
Both the “wild beasts” and the “angels” were with Jesus in the desert! Jesus had to struggle with the “wild beasts” but in that struggle, the “angels served him” [Mk. 1:3]. The angels’ caring for Jesus reveals God’s presence with Jesus in the desert!
The “wild beasts” represent the threatening and harmful presence of the evil forces, while the “angels” represent the gentle and protective presence of God and the forces of the Good!
The idea of “angels” underwent a development in the understanding of the Jews. In Genesis 3: 24, “angels” were portrayed as “prison guards” employed by God at the gate of paradise so that our first parents who were driven out would not be able to enter again! In the Book of Exodus [23:20ff] Yahweh sent an angel to the Israelites to guide, protect and lead them in their journey through the desert. God gave us the Angels to be our mentors and companions in our journey in life. In the Catholic tradition we celebrate the feast of our Guardian Angels [October 2]!
What do the “desert”, the “wild beasts” and the “angels” signify in our lives? The world outside, and our “inner world” are the battleground of the forces of evil and Satan on the one side; and the forces of goodness and of the Kingdom of God on the other. That battleground is our “desert” We stand between these two opposing forces competing for our attention, our choice; and our loyalty!
The presence of evil and of good, are both outside and inside of us! Carl Jung, a famous psychologist wrote that some time in our life we have to face and to wrestle with our own inner “demons” or “monsters” or “wild beasts”. Of course Carl Jung used these terms figuratively! Jesus too had to wrestle with his own “demons” or “monsters”. When one succeeds in that wrestling, the “demons” or “monsters” are tamed and actually become our “slaves” or “servants”. Jesus succeeded in taming those “wild beasts” outside and inside of him. Jesus defeated Satan in the desert!
The “wild beasts” within us can take the form of bitterness, cynicism, depression, hopelessness, mediocrity or compromise with the Evil One!
The invitation [temptation] of the Evil One can be enticing and tricky! Often Satan does not appear to us like the scary, repulsive, or ugly creature often depicted in horror movies. Satan can disguise himself as “an angel of light” [2 Cor. 11: 14]. These “wild beasts” can appear in sheep’s clothing to entice us to accept their harmful and fatal proposals again subtly presented as good, and gratifying! They promise instant and quick happiness and satisfaction! An example of these is the prohibited drugs! Accepting these offers in the long run will prove to be harmful, detrimental, fatal; and dehumanizing for us! We end up the real losers!
The “angels” are also present, ministering to us, as they did to Jesus in the desert. The power of the Kingdom of God is both within [Lk. 17:21] and outside us! The Holy Spirit had been poured within us at our baptism.
In your life, who or which force has a stronger influence or greater hold on you: the forces of the wild beasts; or the caring and protective power of God’s angels? Which of these forces do you usually listen to and follow?
This day ushers in, the beginning of the Season of Lent in our Catholic Liturgical Calendar. “Lent” comes from an old English word for “spring” one of the four seasons in colder countries. For those of us living in the tropics, we may not appreciate much the noticeable change or transition from “winter to spring”. We can then focus on the practice in the early church before the “infant baptism”. Those preparing for baptism on the Easter vigil, begin their “instructions or catechesis on the faith” today. They were called the “catechumens”.
How about us, who are already adult, baptized Christian Catholics? How can we creatively envision the Season of Lent? We can liken it to Jesus inviting us to embark on a 40-day journey or pilgrimage with him! We will be with other disciples of Jesus, whom he has also invited! Our destination: Jerusalem. Expected day of arrival: on Palm Sunday, the start of the “holiest week of the year” [Holy Week].
What possible activities we can engage in during these “40 days”?
1) With the help of the Holy Spirit, to discern what “repair work” has to be done in a specific area of our life. Will it entail a repair, or a remodeling, or a cleansing and healing? Discus this matter with Jesus!
2) Select a good book that is simple, readable, and will be helpful for the purpose of your journey with Jesus.
It will be helpful if during this journey, you will find a fellow Christian also in the journey, with whom you can prayerfully and freely share your realizations. Encourage and help each other as you journey with Jesus!
The Holy Spirit may suggest to you other nourishing and fruitful ways to do this 40 days journey! Be open to the Holy Sprit!
If you have decided to accept Jesus’ invitation, then step forward to receive the ashes. This will indicate your willingness to join the 40 days pilgrimage! Although you are doing this with other disciples of the Lord, this journey is “a walk on a very personal road” from where you are at present to where Jesus invites you to go!
If this invitation is late in reaching you, you can still catch up!
A Norwegian scientist by the name of Gerhard Hansen discovered the biomedical cause of leprosy in 1868. The first effective treatment became available only in the 1940s. The vaccine against leprosy was developed by the scientist and doctor, Jacinto Convit of Venezuela. Today leprosy is curable!
With this development in the field of medicine and science, many biblical scholars are now quite sure that what the Bible calls “leprosy” in the Book of Leviticus chapters 13-14 and in our Gospel today is not exactly the same “leprosy” that we now know of! Leviticus describes this “leprosy” as “repulsive, scaly condition” similar to a skin disease we call “psoriasis”. But whether it is “leprosy” or “psoriasis”, surely none of us would like to be infected with either of those diseases.
The divine command to “be holy as the Lord your God is holy” [Lev. 19:2] was interpreted and understood that “holiness” encompass many qualities, not the least important of which was bodily wholeness and integrity! Therefore those physically imperfect e.g. the blind, the lame, the hunchback… [Lev. 21:16-20], were not allowed to approach the Lord. Those afflicted with “biblical leprosy” were isolated and required to live outside “the camp” [13:46].
In Jesus’ time to be infected with “biblicalleprosy” was like being condemned and sentenced to a “living death.” Although still physically alive, yet one was physically isolated, separated, and cut off from one’s loved ones and from the mainstream of society. The leper had to say good-bye to home, the family and friends, and even to the place where one used to live. They had to accept and be ready for rejection and judgment from the rest of society. Lepers were thought of by many as cursed by God. Religiously and spiritually, a leper was considered “unclean” and therefore not worthy to join the community in their religious worship. One would need the written clearance from the religious authorities and had to make the religious offering commanded by Moses, before that leper was allowed to re-integrate with one’s family and community. In today’s Gospel Jesus ordered the leper he cured, to fulfill these requirements so that he could rejoin his family and his community. [Mk. 1:44].
To be infected with “leprosy” in Jesus’ time was like dealing with a “dark, scary, painful or embarrassing” area in one’s life! This “dark, scary, painful or embarrassing” area can be in the form of one’s struggle with various forms of addiction, or painful trauma from which we feel helpless to get out of! But we have to be freed from it, if we are to experience real peace, total healing, wholeness, and reconciliation in our lives. We have to courageously face and confront that “dark, scary, painful and embarrassing” area. And that is not easy! It was said that one time, after St. Francis of Assisi decided to embrace a leper, he remarked: “What before seemed bitter was changed into sweetness of soul and body.” What you thought of to be a dreadful and a painful confrontation with your “dark and scary past” can end with a sweet and liberating experience!
The leper took the risk of approaching Jesus and of begging him that he be cleansed! Jesus’ compassion for the leper moved Jesus to violate two important prohibitions in the Law: to allow the leper to approach him, and to touch the leper! Both Jesus and the leper took risks so that real healing, wholeness and freedom would take place! The leper had faith in the power of Jesus! The leper’s faith and Jesus’ compassion enabled the leper to leave the “dark area” of his life and to move on! Would you also like to give Jesus a try?
“In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place and there he prayed.” [Mk. 1:35].
Today’s Gospel continues on from where we ended last Sunday [Mk. 1:21-28], wherein, St. Mark told us that the people who heard and saw what Jesus did, were amazed at the way he taught and the way the evil spirit obeyed him!
Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus leaving the synagogue and heading towards Simon’s house, accompanied by his first four recruits: Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus was informed that Simon’s mother-in-law was with a fever. Immediately Jesus attended to her. After the fever left her, she began serving them. When the sun had gone down and the Sabbath observance had ended, outside the house were gathered people who were sick of various diseases, and those possessed by evil spirits. Out of compassion, Jesus attended to all of them! Indeed Jesus had a very busy day!
But Jesus also needed to take time out for himself and to be by himself; otherwise he could end up consumed by exhaustion! Jesus did get out. He went to a deserted place very early in the morning to pray!
A story goes about a man who had the custom of going off by himself to a secluded place. One day, his close friend got curious as to where he goes and what he does there. So secretly this friend followed him. When he finally caught up with the man, the friend saw him sit down quietly on a fallen tree.
Then when the man finished, his friend approached the man, and asked: “What are you doing here?” asked this friend. “I’m praying”, was the reply. “But why do you have to come here to pray?” “I feel closer to God here.” “But isn’t God everywhere and the same God is found everywhere?” “Yes, that is true! God is the same everywhere but I am not!” the man replied.
Yes, we can find and pray to God anywhere and everywhere, be that in the kitchen, on the street, inside a vehicle, in the farm, or in the place where we work. But it is also a good idea to look for a special place where we can withdraw to, from time to time. In such a place, God somehow seems nearer and friendlier. In such a place, we may feel that somehow we are different, calmer, more relaxed, quieter and seemingly more open and disposed to listen to what God will tell us or reveal to us! Such a place can be our sacred space, our little tabernacle, or our secret garden! In that place and space we can meet and talk with God undisturbed! In that sacred space we find not only God but also our true and deeper self! Was this Jesus’ experience?
Why do we need our sacred space and our secret garden? It is because that in the middle of our busy day and our daily routine, we can lose touch with our deeper selves. One cannot clearly see one’s own face in a murky and troubled pond. We need a calm and serene pond to be able to see clearly our real face!
To get in touch with our inner life, and our deeper self, we need quality time for ourselves and a space to withdraw from our usual environment! We need to go into our sacred space and our secret garden as Jesus did. Jesus went into his sacred space and secret garden to regularly communicate with God, his Father. There Jesus got his energy, his guidance, and the sense of direction in his mission in the world.
Meeting with God regularly in our sacred space and in our secret garden, we too get our energy, our guidance and direction as we go about the work God assigned to us in this world. By regularly withdrawing from our busy schedule, and our daily routine to meet with God, as Jesus did, we can be sure that what we are doing is in accordance with God’s will, and not simply our own ego trip!
Have you found your own sacred space and secret garden? How often do you go there? When you meet with God in your sacred space and secret garden what usually is your experience like?
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 