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Following in His Footsteps - Reflections
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Reflections on the Gospel Texts for Lent (Cycle A)
by Carlos Zarco; translated by Ondina González
- ASH WEDNESDAY
- First Sunday of Lent
- Second Sunday of Lent
- Third Sunday of Lent
- Fourth Sunday of Lent
- Fifth Sunday of Lent
- Sixth Sunday of Lent
- EASTER SUNDAY
- About the author
ASH WEDNESDAY
Self-Denial Without Self-Congratulations
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
This text is placed squarely within the demands that Jesus makes of those who want to commit themselves to God's plan. Such commitment assumes a way of life which Jesus sums up in the Beatitudes. A fundamental part of that new lifestyle is authenticity and simplicity. Simplicity, a natural feature of authenticity, is to live without pretense. It is being faithful to the call of God, not worrying about recognition from others. To look for recognition and prestige by means of "good works" is hypocrisy. The external acts (giving alms, praying in public, fasting so that all can see) are not as important to Jesus as an authentic relationship with God. Such a relationship requires submitting oneself to the divine will and mercy. Later on, Jesus reminds his disciples to seek first the Kingdom and the rest will come. (Matthew 6:33)
An intimate relationship with God also implies acting in accordance with God's plan for unity, fellowship and justice. In this passage, Jesus sets secrecy over against hypocrisy. In secret, good works and fasting have the clear ring of authenticity. Such authentic actions really help build the Church, the community of unity, fellowship and justice. Within this authenticity we can be with God and pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done."
PRAYER: O God of all creation, give us the courage to undertake disciplines for the sake of our spirits, and save us from the hypocrisy of doing them for approval by others.
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
Temptation as Preparation for Ministry
Matthew 4: 1-11
The story of the temptations of Jesus is told in the three synoptic Gospels. This passage has a very precise place in the life and ministry of Jesus. It appears between the baptism and the beginning of Jesus' mission. Jesus has a powerful experience with God at his baptism. He has accepted the sign with which John the Baptist brought people into the new life, into the logic of the Kingdom, into the demand to "straighten the paths." Jesus makes public his commitment to the Kingdom. And with these words, "This is my Son, the Beloved; this is my Chosen One," his commitment is accepted by God. But how is the commitment to be carried out? How is the Kingdom to be made present? Guided by the Holy Spirit, Jesus goes to the desert to take time for reflection and for discernment. The desert, more than a geographic place, has a theological significance in the Gospels. It is the place where the believer confronts his/her weakness in the struggle to comply with God's will. Remember that it was in the desert that Israel was purified and shaped into a people. In the desert, Jesus confronts his own weakness.
Jesus faces three possible ways to accomplish his mission. All of those paths are temptations, they are not God's ways. The first is the path of power: you can change these stones into bread. Having a great deal of power - we think - would allow us to help the weak. However, Jesus scorns that path because there is something greater than power. That "something" is God's vision. The second path which Matthew presents is that of prestige and fame: throw yourself off, nothing will happen to you. Having fame - we think - would enable us to open doors for those in need. For Jesus this means going against God's logic. The third path is one of riches: I will give you all these riches if you will adore me. Excessive riches are incompatible with God's plan. You can't serve two masters at the same time. "Worship the Lord your God; serve God only."
Having conquered these temptations, Jesus begins his mission with clarity.
PRAYER: O God, who led Jesus to the desert, give us courage to follow him there and to confront our temptations so that we may be strengthened for service.
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT
Mountaintops and Ministry
Matthew 17:1-9
In this clearly symbolic passage, the gospel writer calls attention to the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the person of Jesus. This passage seeks to reveal the messianic character of Jesus. The text begins with a theological key, "six days later." The number six, in Jewish culture, signifies a less than complete realization. That is to say, the time had not yet arrived for everyone to know of the messianic character of Jesus.
Another theological key is the location of the event - "a high mountain." Many pivotal moments in the history of the Israelites were lived out in the mountains. Remember Mount Carmel, Mount Sinai and Mount Gilboa, to name but a few. The mountain, then, is considered holy and set aside for God's special purpose. An ancient Jewish tradition held that God chose the mountains as a dwelling place. From that comes the name by which God was sometimes called El-Shadday (Genesis 17:1-2) which means "god of the mountains."
Later, two determinate figures in the history of Israel appear: Elijah and Moses. With Elijah the prophetic dimension of Jesus is revealed. Elijah was the grand prophet of the northern kingdom when the country was split into two monarchies. His importance as a prophet of justice is best seen in the story of Naboth's vineyard. (I Kings 21) His popularity as a man of God was immense. From that time and even up to the time of Jesus, the coming of Elijah was awaited to open the way for the Messiah. (The story of Elijah is found in I Kings 17-19:21 and II Kings 2, and references to Elijah are found throughout the Scriptures.)
The other figure is Moses, the one who led his people into freedom from slavery in Egypt, the one who found himself face to face with God on Mount Sinai. Moses was also the grand law-giver of the new society. This new society received the commandments as holy law so that the people could organize and live according to the principles of love, justice and peace. (The history of Moses appears in Exodus, especially in chapters 1-24.)
The last theological key is a "cloud," the sign of the presence of God in history. This sign confirms Jesus as the Savior, as the awaited Messiah. A voice comes from the cloud with the words of Psalm 2: "This is my Son, the Beloved..." The same words were spoken following Jesus' baptism.
The transfiguration is more than a "mountaintop experience": it is integrally related to the mission of Jesus. Jesus rejects Peter's suggestion that they all stay in the beauty and comfort of the glorification. "They came down from the mountain" to continue the mission. We, too, are called to come down from our own mountains and continue the mission.
PRAYER: O God of the desert and the mountaintop, give us the desire to know your will, and surprise us with courage to be faithful.
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
The Inclusiveness of Ministry
John 4: 5-26
This passage about Jesus and the Samaritan woman is a theological construction rich in symbols. Jesus talks in public with a woman, and even more scandalous, with a Samaritan woman. Perhaps today the scene described in the text seems normal. However, in Jesus' time it was truly scandalous because it went against tradition. Among the people of Israel, it was considered wrong for a man to stop to talk with a woman. A woman in that society counted for almost nothing. Her words were not taken seriously. She was prohibited from speaking in assemblies, and her testimony before a judge did not count. And on top of everything else, this woman was a Samaritan. The Samaritans were considered by the Jews to be sinners - impure and transmitters of impurity. Jews were prohibited from coming close to them and speaking with them was considered a great sin. Samaritans and Jews despised each other.
It is significant that the scene takes place on Samaritan land, since it is considered to be an impure place. Although Jews had to pass through this land, they were sure not to tarry there for long. Shattering this absurd tradition of division and hatred, Jesus stays there and talks with the woman, a person especially marginalized. He appears as a person truly free and profoundly human. In this conversation, Jesus shows God to be free and continually breaking free from the limits that humans try to impose.
God is beyond temples, mountains and rites: "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father." A genuine relationship with God is found in living according to God's "spirit and truth," the spirit that Jesus acted and the truth that he proclaimed. It is this spirit which moves Jesus to talk with the Samaritan woman. It is this same spirit which continues to prod us to get closer to and to dialogue with the marginalized, thereby breaking societal norms that create absurd division between human beings. Only when living in that spirit of God can we drink the living water which Jesus offers us: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will be without thirst; for the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." By nourishing ourselves with the spirit of Jesus, we can become a spring unto others, especially the "Samaritans" of today.
PRAYER: O God, break down the walls of exclusiveness we build around ourselves with "the right kind of people" so that we may receive your life-giving water.
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
Knowing Our Blind Spots
John 9:1-41
In this narrative, we find those characters typical of this Gospel. There is Jesus actively carrying out his ministry; there is the recipient of Jesus' action - a poor person, in this case a blind man; there are those who are not in agreement with that practice; there are those afraid of professing their faith in Jesus; and there are those who marvel in the face of the cure of the blind man. The theme of the conflict becomes evident in analyzing each of the characters: the struggle between two different ways of understanding that which is agreeable to God and that which is not. On the one hand is Jesus' vision, on the other that of the Pharisees, those in charge of overseeing the fulfillment of the laws of God. The miracle is a cause for conflict because the Pharisees considered Jesus a sinner, a Galilean fraud, who proclaimed the righteousness and the love of God to the poor. They could not believe that the Galilean, whom they considered a fraud, had performed a miracle. It was also a cause of conflict because the miracle had been performed on the Sabbath. Jesus once again broke the law: "Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not of God, for he works on the Sabbath.' 'We,' said the Pharisees, 'know that the man who cured you is a sinner."'
As in so many of his miracles, Jesus acted in favor of the marginalized. The blind man was not only without sight, he was also considered a sinner, his condition the result of sin. Jesus insists that it is not important to know whether there is sin or not: "It is not that this man sinned or his parents." The important thing is to do something in support of life. It is in such actions that one can find the works of God. It is in these actions that one can recognize the Christ in the person of Jesus. All action for life, especially in favor of the marginalized, is a miracle, a work of God in history. For common people that is very clear. They don't understand theology or laws, but they know how to capture the presence of God in their lives. The blind man could see: "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, God listens to him... If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." But this is not understood by those who have confined God in laws, in regulations and have distanced God from life. Like the Pharisees, we are also tempted to expel from our "synagogues" those who believe in Jesus, the Christ. Thinking that we are pure, we reject the rest and answer them the way the Pharisees did: "You were born in utter sin, and you would teach us?" As we can see, Jesus' message is light for some and darkness for others. Do we follow Jesus or the Pharisees?
PRAYER: Almighty God, whose power can open the eyes of the blind, open our eyes to see your healing power among those and in places we do not expect.
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
A Glimpse of the Kingdom
John 11:1-54
As is the case with most of the passages of the Gospel according to John, the raising of Lazarus is a beautifully constructed theological narrative. With this story, John tries to answer, from within the faith, the question of the meaning of death. The raising of Lazarus presages the great event which gives meaning to Christian faith - the resurrection of Jesus. This story shows the struggle between life and death not only in the person of Lazarus, but also in the persecution of Jesus by the powerful. Jesus knows of the danger. However, in the face of his friend's need, he chooses to return to Judea, despite the fears of the disciples: "Master, recently the Jews wanted to stone you, and you want to go there again?"
Jesus travels to Bethany, a small city four miles from Jerusalem. In Bethany, Jesus' friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus are experiencing a particularly painful moment, a moment when a person confronts the ultimate weakness - death. Faced with death, a situation where there is no room for hope, we often react with a strong sense of rebellion and powerlessness. Sharing in the human pain, Jesus comes to give another meaning to that last moment. For him death is not the end but the beginning of a fuller life. Overwhelmed by sadness, "he was moved by love and wept." Hope cannot be abandoned: God who suffers with us calls us to hope and to life. The good news from Jesus is that the dead live: "Those who believe in me, although they die, shall live." Life, not pain and death, has the last word. Death is like birth; it is the way into a new life. This is Jesus' message. With that conviction, Jesus chooses to continue with his mission, even though he knows that the chief priests are plotting to kill him. In Jesus' action of raising Lazarus, he makes clear that life is the last word. However, the powerful are still acting from the logic of death: "The chief priests and the Pharisees called a Council... And that same day they determined to kill him." However, the time for Jesus' death had not yet come.
PRAYER: O God, grant that we not be intimidated by the mystery of your actions but be ready to be surprised by your grace.
SIXTH SUNDAY IN LENT
Palm Waving and the Cost of Discipleship
Matthew 21: 1-11
Jesus arrives at Jerusalem, the center of religious and political power. The holy city has been converted into a "den of thieves" by the chief priests and the official religion. The temple, a sign of the presence of God, has been converted into a sign of religious manipulation and injustice. Later, Jesus announces that nothing will remain of the building of injustice: "You see all there, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:2) With sadness, Jesus laments the destiny of that city: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house (temple) is forsaken and desolate." (Matthew 23:37-38)
With this entrance to Jerusalem, Jesus begins the last week of his life. In this city, Jesus has his greatest conflict with the powerful. Jesus comes in the role of a prophet; that is how the people see him. They also know from whence he comes: "This is the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee." However, the Pharisees resist him. For the people, Jesus represents an alternative to the ruling religion. At Passover time, the people remember the liberation of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and long for their own liberation. They recognize the Messiah in Jesus the prophet, and they acclaim him as such. The acclamation "Hosanna" literally means "please save us." This plea is a genuine and popular manifestation of hope and of a longing for liberation. The priests and Pharisees know this and for that reason become indignant. (Matthew 21:16) In a prophetic act, Jesus throws out the merchants. Jesus' conflict with the powers has reached its climax. In this act, Jesus touches the heart of the system of oppression. Soon he will be captured and taken to the tribunals and there he will give testimony to his commitment to God's plan. Following in the line of Israel's prophets, Jesus will suffer as they did. However, with this triumphal entry to Jerusalem and later with the resurrection, God will pronounce the last word. For that reason, we can continue saying, "Hosanna! Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
PRAYER: O God, help us to see beyond the waving of palms to the cost of discipleship.
EASTER SUNDAY
Resurrection as Commission
John 20:1-18
The resurrection of Jesus is the fundamental and foundational act of the Christian faith. With the death of Jesus, it looks as if the final act is one of defeat and failure; once more unjust power triumphs. Those who killed Jesus thought they had silenced the message of justice and love which that peasant from Galilee proclaimed with such fervor. That feeling of failure is also reflected in Jesus' followers. His friends are sad and afraid: the disciples are behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. The pain and the powerlessness are such that even Jesus experiences that abandonment of God. Jesus dies like an accursed person; the powerful condemn him in the name of God. However, the God of Jesus will have the last word, changing the feelings of despair and sadness. God will give a new dynamism to life.
The resurrection cannot be separated from the rest of Jesus' life. Just as death is the consequence of his confrontation with the powerful, the resurrection is the consequence of his faithfulness to God's plan. By resurrecting Jesus, God confirms Jesus' life and message. Jesus' mission is God's mission. For that reason, following Jesus will be the Christian norm for living. The resurrection not only brings Jesus to life, but it also brings a new dynamic to the community of believers. It gives life to the Church. With the resurrection, the Church is born as the community of followers of Jesus.
In John's story of the resurrection, in all of chapter 20, the word "Lord" appears seven times. The last one of them is pronounced by Thomas: "You are my Lord and my God." The number seven signifies "fullness" for the people of Israel. This is the formula and conviction of our faith. The resurrection also gives fullness to the union of Jesus with the community: the Lord is alive and will always be with us; the limits of human relationships are overcome. Now the relationship with Jesus can be full: "Go to my brethren and say to them: I am ascending to my Father, and your Father, to my God, and your God." Now all of us can call on God with familiarity and experience God with the same love and nearness with which Jesus experiences God.
Our faith in the resurrection is based on the direct witness of the disciples - that group of common and rough people. It's important to note that the first witness to the resurrection was a woman. With Easter, Jesus continues to upset the values of society. The witness of those women and men gains force not only through words, but most importantly, through their lives. They were able to announce Jesus as Lord of history. They lived according to the demands of the Teacher: They placed their goods in common and lived in fellowship. Upon this base they began to build the Church. The resurrection occurs on "the first day of the week." In the light of the resurrection, we must endeavor to live each day of our lives as if it were "the first day of the week."
PRAYER: Great God, whose Spirit opens locked doors, empower us to leave our hiding places and get on with the ministry of Jesus, our risen Lord.
About the author
Carlos Zarco is a leader in the Base Christian Communities in Mexico City, Mexico. Ondina González formerly served as the Associate Director of Alternatives.
GRAPHIC: Worship Alternatives #1436
Page updated 3 Jan. 2014
Page updated 3 Jan. 2014
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