Repent and re-unite with God
Gospel Reflection
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
My brothers and sisters, today, marks the start of the Lenten season and for 40 days we are given an opportunity to look deeper into ourselves, for us to see God's hands working in our lives, weaving the tapestry of our lives, that we may have a more meaningful relationship with Him, expressed in our love for others.Our readings today encourage us to once again be united with God, by repenting our misgivings and showing our sincerity through penance, that is in doing good for others, to be helpers in building God's kingdom.
I remember my first experience of Ash Wednesday, it was my first year in high school, and this was like 1991 and at that time there was this "rapture" hype, end-of-times predictions and our church then, I was a born-again Christian, was so into it. We would meet weekly to watch end-of-times movies, and we would study those passages in the Bible that discusses about the end times.
So one Wednesday morning I was riding a tricycle to school and lo and behold, people on the street had marks on their forehead. I literally panicked believing that the rapture has taken place and I was left behind. "What did I do to deserve this?" I asked myself, only to realize when I arrived in school that it was Ash Wednesday.
But seriously, how ready are we for Christ's second coming?
The season of Lent is an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to ready ourselves for establishment of the reign of God's kingdom.
In our first reading, the prophet Joel asked the Israelites to repent and return to God, convinced that the Last Judgment was upon them. But he knows that God is good and merciful, and so he reminds the people of Israel of this, and if only they would repent, Yahweh would certainly answer their prayers.
St. Paul, in our second reading, through the Christians in Corinth, reminds us, as well, that we should not take for granted the grace of salvation that God has gifted us with through Jesus Christ. We should treasure it, we should nurture it, we should allow it to grow in us and through us.
Now is the acceptable time, St. Paul says. Now is the time for us God to listen to us.
Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time for us to receive God's help.
The difficulties posed by an unjust economic and political system, made worse by the pandemic, is an opportunity for God to do his work through us. Are we allowing God to make us a channel of his grace and mercy for others?
Our Gospel reading today, revisits a very familiar theme, that is, on the three commitment that we make during this time - telling us how we should pray, fast, and do penance.
Prayer is about our interior life, our relationship with God. Carmel is said to be a school of prayer, are we? True prayer impels us to act, to do something for our brothers who may need to have an experience of Christ's saving action.
Fasting reminds us that we are humans, and that eventually we will leave this world, for this reason we should strive for holiness instead of holding on to that which perishes.
And through almsgiving, we are given the opportunity to become God's hands for the least of our brothers. We blessed with what we have, not for ourselves but for the Other. For God to be glorified.
These talents, these gifts that we have is not meant to be kept and hidden, they are to be multiplied, we are to make profit from it by blessing others with it. When they grow in relationship with Christ, this becomes our profit that will become our heavenly treasure.
As we are sprinkled with ashes, as we allow ourselves to be marked by this symbol of repentance, let us pray to God, our Father, that our practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, would bring us to a much meaningful appreciation of the suffering, death, and resurection of Christ, and a deeper more meaningful relationship with Him expressed on how we live our lives as Christians, dedicated to the least, the last, and the lost of our society today.
Amen.
Photo: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
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