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Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Apr 6, 2024

Mercy and Faith – Hand in Hand

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was just learning to walk. He was a curious boy and eager to explore his world. He lived in a home in which there were a davenport, a recliner, and a lamp table sitting together in the living room. (A davenport is a piece of furniture also known as a sofa, couch, or Chesterfield, in case you were wondering.) There was a narrow path between the recliner and the lamp table and davenport.

Sometimes, the little boy would be beside the davenport and notice something on the other side of the path between the recliner and the lamp table. The space was just barely wide enough for him to pass through it, but only if he kept perfect balance and didn’t get distracted on his way. So, he would bravely head into what his family came to call Dead Man’s Gulch! Part way through, he would fall and need help getting back up. Someone always came to the rescue and suggested that it might be easier to go around the recliner on the other side. But next time would come around and into the Gulch he would go, with predictable results.

This child’s experience came to mind today as I was reflecting on Divine Mercy, the theme of the Second Sunday of Easter. We often think of mercy as something that is given to those who merit it. By this logic, there are people who do not merit it at all. We look at what has been done and say that some things are simply unforgivable. Each of us has our own sense of what could never be forgiven, however. We look at whether the person harmed “had it coming” because of something they did or did not do. We look at whether the guilty party thought about and planned the action or whether it took place in a moment of blinding anger. Or maybe it wasn’t planned and was really just an accident that things happened the way they did?

But this is really not the way mercy works when we talk about God. We hear words in many readings and psalms to the effect that God judges and punishes sinners. We hear that God abandons the people when they break the covenant, but eventually God’s heart is softened and he again supports and defends his people, once they turn back to him.

That’s the way humans play the game. However, when we read those words, it’s essential to realize that they are the way humans interpret what is going on. It’s not necessarily the way God actually does things.

I suggest that God is actually more like the adults who helped the toddler up each time he crashed in the Gulch. The child was soothed and comforted, then the adult pointed out that it might be easier next time to go around the chair. Of course, it took a long time for the child to realize the adults might be right about that. In fact, it basically took until he got too big to get through the Gulch (or the adults moved the chair closer to the table so the passageway really was too thin).

We try things out. We act out of anger or frustration or despair or any number of other negative emotions. We decide not to act when we should. We act or speak when we shouldn’t. And God allows it to happen. We are free persons, with the option to choose what we will do and to do things wrongly, whether deliberately or accidentally. Either way, we have to experience the consequences – we crash in Dead Man’s Gulch. But God is there to help us get back up and try again.

The early Christian community experienced this first hand on the night of the Resurrection. The women had reported that Jesus had risen. Peter and John had seen the empty tomb. It was too much to believe. Then Jesus appeared in the locked room where they were all hiding. He showed them his wounded hands and feet. He asked for something to eat. They could see for themselves that he was not a ghost and they rejoiced. Then he spoke to them of mercy. He breathed the Spirit, the Holy Breath of God on them and promised that whatever wrongdoing (sin) they forgave would be forgiven by the Father. If they refused forgiveness, it would not be given.

Thomas needed more convincing, since he missed the first visit. Jesus came personally to Thomas as well and provided the proof he had demanded. He spoke those words of blessing for all of us who have followed afterwards, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (Jn 20:9-31)

The years following the resurrection have been filled with the efforts of the community to live as Jesus lived – trusting in God to provide what was needed, helping each other, serving those unable to fend for themselves, loving and forgiving each other, seeking to give glory to God through their lives, and trying to be a loving, merciful people. (Acts 4:32-35 and 1 Jn 5:1-6)

Sometimes the community has been a beacon of mercy. Sometimes we have missed the mark and become sources of scandal. For this we beg forgiveness and try to make amends. It’s not an easy thing to love as God loves. But it is essential to try. No one is at base unfit to be forgiven, because each of us is still the toddler trying to find the way through Dead Man’s Gulch. God is the parent who is there to pick us up, dust us off, give us a hug, and remind us to try going around the chair next time.

Faith and mercy go hand in hand. When we believe that we are loved and that anything can be forgiven, as long as we too forgive, then the kingdom of Heaven shines forth on Earth through our lives and actions. God’s justice is mercy. Ours must become so too.

Happy Easter. Christ is Risen. Alleluia.

Readings for the Second Sunday of Easter – Sunday of Divine Mercy – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 30, 2024

How Do We Remember?

Memory is a tricky thing. As we go through life, we experience so many things that it would be overwhelming if we were aware of all of them at every second of every day. Good things, hard things, sad things, short-time things, long-term things.

When things happen that are particularly memorable or important, we think we’ll never forget them. But we do forget details. And our memories reflect what we found most important about the events. Have you ever told a story to someone else about a past event and had a partner or friend who was there and an active participant in the event tell a very different story or correct your version? The older we get, the more frequently it happens, I think.

Part of what happens is that our minds process information based on our experiences and our past history. The explanatory systems of our culture and our society, the ways we explain why things happen and how it all came to be, also shape the way our experiences are processed. Over time, memories of the everyday sort begin to be just one of so many stored in the “card catalog” of our internal mental libraries – there for the finding again, but maybe a bit aged, torn, or tattered.

I started thinking about memories this year during the Holy Thursday liturgy as we heard the story of the first Passover and St. Paul’s description of how Eucharist was celebrated in the first Christian communities. These events took place thousands of years ago! Yet we still remember and celebrate them. More amazingly, we celebrate them in a way very close to what was originally described.

Moving through the rest of the week, we hear more of the story of God’s work in bringing about reconciliation between humanity and himself. The words of prophets calling the community to care for the least capable people among us. The praise of those who are faithful to their mission despite being mistreated, abused, and even killed. The retelling of the ancient stories of creation, the covenant with Abraham, the crossing of the Red Sea. Descriptions of the Last Supper, Jesus’ agonized prayer in the garden before his arrest, his trial, execution, and burial. The wonder of the Resurrection, first discovered by women from the community who were his followers. The reflections of that community on what happened in the life of Jesus and the tremendous surprise of the Resurrection. Nobody expected such an outcome! There were no precedents on which to draw for explanation.

How would it all be passed on to a wider group of people? It was too important to be kept a secret, though in the first weeks no one spoke publicly about it. That would have been too dangerous. With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they were emboldened to speak publicly and so the world has come to know the wonders they witnessed.

The memories written down in the Gospels and Passion narratives are very similar, but they too were written by different people in different places and for different audiences. So, some of the details differ. The basics remain the same, however. The event happened and in more or less the same way described in each account.

Then how do these differ from other ancient stories such as the Odyssey, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and others? Why are they still remembered and actively celebrated in a way similar to the ancient ways?

Perhaps there are a few things that have made it possible. The first that comes to mind is the fact that these events happened in a community which had a history of remembering and reenacting ancient events. The Lord told the people that first Passover that the date on which it happened originally was to be the first day of the new year for them. It was to be celebrated the same way each year. And so it happened. Even to our day, at Passover, families and friends gather to celebrate this saving act of the Most High. Out of this celebration, the Christian community drew their remembrance, because Jesus gave the same kind of instructions to his friends when they gathered for the dinner. “Do this in remembrance of me.” This line is repeated each time we gather for Eucharist. Because the Resurrection took place on the first day of the week, Sunday on our calendar, it was seen as the beginning of a new reality in creation.

Another factor that has played into the continuation of this wonder is the fact that it involves more than just words. We pray actively – sitting, listening, standing, moving around the room, singing, eating, and drinking. We bring all of our senses into the experience, so we learn it deeply in our very being. The tastes, the smells, the sights and sounds – all are incorporated into our memories of the experience. Do we remember each specific time we have celebrated Eucharist? No. But we remember it as part of the rhythm of our lives and remember at least some details of the times that were out of the ordinary.

Perhaps one of the most important factors is that there is no time in Eternity. God’s time is totally separate from ours. God’s time is all Now, the present. From this comes the ancient Hebrew understanding that “Our ancestors crossed the Red Sea and our feet are wet.” When we celebrate Eucharist, the same thing happens. We are present with the apostles at that table with Jesus. We receive the same gift from him that was given to his closest friends. We are part of that community of “closest friends.”

And so, in the words of a lovely hymn, “We remember how you loved us to your death and still we celebrate for you are with us here. And we believe that we will see you, when you come in your glory, Lord. We remember, we celebrate, we believe.”

Happy Easter!

Readings for Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper – Cycle B

Readings for Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion – Cycle B

Readings for Easter Vigil – Cycle B

Readings for Easter Sunday – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 24, 2024

Hosanna – Please Save Us

It’s funny how we can live for many years and hear a word over and over without really knowing what it originally meant. I discovered this yet again as I was looking over the readings for Palm Sunday. Words in scripture have very specific meanings that sometimes differ from our usage of them today. We repeat them day after day, week after week, year after year. And what we may think we are saying is not necessarily what the original words meant to those who first said them.

Hosanna is one of those words. In a Christian context, it has come to mean praise, adoration, joy. As a noun, it refers to these same feelings. Words of praise for a wonderful musical performance can be described as hosannas, for example.

Yet the original definition of the word is different. In Hebrew, hosanna is a word that means “save us, please,” or “help.” It is used in prayer as part of the liturgy for Sukkot, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.

On Palm Sunday, we enter into Holy Week, the culmination of our Lenten Journey. We begin our “deep dive” into the mystery of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

It all started with a ride on a colt – a young donkey or horse. One that had never before been ridden. It was Passover time and Jerusalem was full of people who had come to town to celebrate the great feast. It was rather like the crowds that gather in Rome for Easter in our times. Jesus was also planning to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. He had arrived with his followers at the home of friends in a nearby town.

As he typically did, he planned to go into the city. But this time he did not plan to slip quietly into town to pray. All four Gospels tell of this day. He sent his disciples into town to find a colt on which he would ride. They put cloaks on the colt and Jesus rode on it. When people saw him coming, or heard that he was coming, they raced out to see the sight.

Now, this was somewhat like the entry of a conquering hero, a military leader, except he wasn’t mounted on a great war horse, he was quietly riding a colt. The prophet Zechariah had said that the king, the savior, would come mounted on a colt. People came out to see him coming. They put cloaks across the road and waved tree branches, palm branches, in his honor, just as had happened in ancient times with the arrival of a king.

And what did the crowds of people cry out? “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” In essence they were saying: Help us, you who are coming in the name – the authority and power – of the Lord, our God, true King of Israel! (Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16))

That’s pretty powerful stuff.

Most of the folks calling out for Jesus to help them expected that he would be a military hero who could defeat the Romans and restore the Kingdom of Israel. The Messiah, the Anointed One, was expected to do that. But that was not to be. It was not the way the Lord works.

The readings continue the story for us. Jesus entered the city. He continued teaching and interacting with the authorities. But that’s not what we hear in the readings this day. Today we hear of the sufferings of a Servant of the Lord whose words were not welcomed by those in power. This person whose cry we hear holds fast to hope in the Lord. “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.” (Is 50:4-7)

We hear the prayer in Psalm 22 of another who suffered greatly for faithfulness to the Lord’s call. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Jesus himself prayed this prayer as he hung dying on the cross. It sounds hopeless, until you come to its magnificently hopeful and glorious end. “I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you … Give glory to him; revere him all you descendants of Israel!”

Another hymn reminds the Philippians and all of us that Jesus, the Christ, did not choose to remain aloof from us as God but rather became one of us. He lived a totally human life and suffered a tortured, disgraced death. Yet in entering so deeply into human life and suffering, without returning evil for evil, he transformed it for all of us. (Phil 2:6-11)

Finally, we hear the story of Jesus’ last few days. We learn of the plots against him. We hear of the gift of anointing given him by a woman who visited the home of his friends in Bethany. We shake our heads at the actions of Judas Iscariot, who agreed to hand over his friend to the authorities. And then we hear of that Last Supper in which Jesus gave us the bread and wine of the New Covenant, one that would not require animal sacrifice. (Mk 14:1-15:47)

As we listen to these words and enter once again into the mystery, may we take time to ponder the lessons of these stories.

The people there and we here today pray: Hosanna – Help us, please save us, You who come in the Name of the Lord.

We all need help on our journey. Jesus opened the door to reconciliation with our Father. He also helps us along the way.

Readings for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 22, 2024

A New Covenant – Written on Our Hearts

The story of the relationship between God and humans is told beginning in the Hebrew Scriptures, with the creation myths of the Hebrew people. We learn of the creation, from two different perspectives, each intended to answer specific questions that had arisen in the course of the years. We hear of the covenant between Abraham and God, in which it became known that God is not a local god, limited to one place and time. We learn of the continuation of that covenant through Isaac and Jacob and their descendants.

Following the time in Egypt, when the people were led out into the desert by Moses to offer sacrifice to God and move to a new land and life as free people again, Moses took them to the mountain on which he had first encountered God, Mt Sinai. There the covenant, the Law by which the people were to live, was inscribed on stone tablets. The tablets were kept in a special tent that was taken with the people wherever they went.

Eventually, in the time of King Solomon, a temple was built in Jerusalem. The tablets of the Law were carefully placed in the center of the building, the Holy of Holies. This area of the temple was kept apart from ordinary people. Only a select few priests were allowed to enter to offer sacrifice and prayers there.

By the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the Covenant had been broken many times by the people and their leaders. God was always faithful and kept sending prophets to call people back to faithfulness. There were times when enemies prevailed and times when the people were victorious over their enemies.

Jeremiah was a prophet during the time when the Babylonians were the most powerful empire. The northern kingdoms of Israel had long since been conquered. The southern ones, Juda and Benjamin, were semi-independent yet, but trouble was brewing. Jeremiah kept warning the leaders and people that if they did not reform their lives, God would allow them to be conquered. He met with unrelenting opposition and as predicted, the Babylonians came in force, destroyed the temple, and took the leaders and many of the people into exile in Babylon. They remained there for 70 years, until Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon and returned those who had been taken into exile and their descendants to their homeland. (Jer 31:31-34)

Jeremiah’s words promise a new kind of covenant.

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people… All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD.”

How can this be? It’s a pretty drastic step on God’s part to assume that people will be able to hold the law of the Lord in their hearts and that all will know him.

I would like to suggest that it’s something that takes many years to learn, but that is planted at the very beginnings of our lives. We come to our parents as helpless infants. We have normal bodily functions, assuming we are healthy, but we can’t eat or drink or anything else unless someone else provides for us. We cry out for attention, help, comfort. But unless someone hears and comes to us, we will simply cry until we are exhausted. We may eventually even give up hope and die.

It is in the giving and receiving of love that we learn God’s law, which Jesus summarized as, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind … and … You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt 22: 37-39)

We can only love if we have first experienced love. When we don’t get the love we need, it takes much longer to learn to love. We have to be healed with loving patience first.

But we are born to love and be loved, not necessarily in that order. What is learned in the depths of our hearts will always be stronger than anything written on a stone, or on a clay tablet, or in a book, or on the internet! What is written on our hearts lasts through time.

As we move towards Holy Week and the end of our Lenten journey, may we be open to receive the healing love of our God each day, and to pass it on to those we meet on our journey. As this happens, we come to experience the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophetic words. The covenant will be written on our hearts and all will know the Lord.

Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 10, 2024

Gifts From God for All to See

The readings for Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, bring word of God’s love and mercy through the centuries and in our lifetime as well.

The story begins in the generations before the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The people and their leaders were repeatedly unfaithful to the covenant with the Lord. They worshiped the gods of neighboring peoples, even daring to do so in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. God sent messengers, prophets, to them, calling them to return to faithfulness to the covenant, but their message was not well received. Many were mocked, imprisoned, or killed for their efforts. Finally, when the Babylonians came and conquered Israel, the Temple was destroyed and most of the people, including their leaders, were taken to work as slaves in Babylon. It seemed like the end of the world. Where was God? Why had God abandoned them?

For seventy years, we are told, the land of Israel rested, retrieving “its lost sabbaths,” according to the prophet Jeremiah. And then a miracle happened. A new king, Cyrus, became the ruler of the next kingdom to the east of Babylon, the kingdom of Persia – the land we now know as Iran. Cyrus conquered Babylon (present day Iraq). He issued a spoken and written proclamation ordering that “the Lord, the God of heaven,” had instructed him to build a house for him in Jerusalem and to allow the Lord’s people to return to their homes in Israel.

And so the people returned, the Temple was rebuilt, and life resumed in Israel. God’s mercy brought them home. (2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23)

The theme of mercy and light in the darkness continues through the rest of the readings. Nicodemus, a pharisee and teacher of the law visited Jesus at night, wanting to understand more about him and his teachings. He was puzzled when Jesus spoke of being born again of water and Spirit. It was all very confusing, especially when Jesus spoke of the Son of Man who would be lifted up as Moses lifted the serpent in the desert, to bring healing to the people.

Jesus promised Nicodemus and all of us that God loves us so much that he sent his Son to us, to give us eternal life. Again, the message is of mercy. Light has come into the world, attracting those who live the truth and whose actions can be seen as done in God. (Jn 3:14-21)

St. Paul explains to the people of Ephesus that God’s mercy, flowing out of his great love for us moves us beyond the realm of sin and into the world of his own life, risen with Christ. Grace, this share in God’s life, is a gift from God, allowing us to see and live in his presence. We are God’s handiwork, created to do good in our world through Christ. (Eph 2:4-10)

God works in many ways, in many times. We open our eyes and see his mercy and love through the centuries – generation after generation.

May we open our eyes and ears to see and hear God’s presence in our own lives this week. The One who has loved humans through all of history loves each of us too. Truly this good news is a reason for rejoicing. Laetare – Rejoice.

Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 3, 2024

Three-legged Stool – Law, Temple & God

None of us is a solitary individual, never touched or influenced by any other person. We are born into families and communities with stories and traditions that stretch back centuries and will continue long after we die. We grow up within these families, sharing the history of their joys and sorrows, learning from the mistakes others have made, sometimes being wounded by those whose own painful experiences have not yet healed. The insights and blessings received by those who raise us and grow up with us also become rooted deep within our being. We share an adventure of life in a specific time and place.

Jesus also was born and grew up in a family and culture. He was as helpless as any other baby boy when he entered his parents’ lives. He learned from them and his extended family. As did all boys, he learned a trade and he learned what it is to be a man of faith within his Jewish tradition. He studied the Law. He worshiped at the Temple with his family. And he prayed the Shema daily – “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One.” (Dt 6:4) The Law formed the basis for interpersonal relationships and for one’s relationship with the Lord.

The Law was given to the Israelites following their time in Egypt and escape into the desert in the Exodus. God gave a series of commandments to Moses by which the people were to be governed – a way of living. We tend to think of the Law as the Ten Commandments only. But those brief statements are simply a summation of a much more extensive set of rules and expectations for behavior within the community. (Ex 20:1-17)

The Temple came along later. The tablets of the Law were carried in a special container and kept in a special tent while they traveled to the Promised Land. Once there, they remained in their tent until King Solomon built the Temple. It was destroyed and rebuilt at least once before the time of Jesus. The final destruction of the Temple happened after his death and resurrection.

This combination of the Law, the Temple, and belief in One God was the bedrock of Jesus’ life. God cared about the people enough to give them rules by which to live together in peace. Prayer and rest were built into each day.

When Jesus went to Jerusalem shortly after his first miracle at Cana in Galilee, he entered the Temple and was appalled by the ways it had been turned into a marketplace. In the outer areas, there were many animals for sale, so people could buy them to be offered as sacrifices inside the Temple. This was still a time in which animals were killed sacrificially. For a people who were historically shepherds, the animals were a form of wealth. As times changed and more people lived in towns, animals were still sacrificed, but the people had to buy them rather than raise them. Hence the marketplace of animals in the outer areas of the Temple.

Jesus chased the animals and people selling them out of the temple. He upset the tables of those whose profession was to take regular money from people and exchange it for money that could be used to buy the animals for sacrifice. (It was a lucrative trade.)

Needless to say, the authorities were not amused. They asked him what he thought he was doing! By what authority was he acting? “What sign can you show us for doing this?”

Jesus responded, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” St. John tells us that Jesus was speaking of his coming resurrection from the dead. (John’s Gospel presents Jesus as in charge of his life and his fate, knowing what he is doing pretty much from the start.) The authorities heard this statement as a claim that he could destroy and rebuild the physical temple in three days – something that was clearly impossible, the words of an imposter. But many people who heard his preaching and saw the signs he was working in Jerusalem began to believe in his power and authority.

Later, after the resurrection, the disciples remembered Jesus’ words and the sign he had promised they would see. (Jn 2:13-25)

For Jews, signs were important for justifying an action. For Greeks, wisdom and logic were more important. St. Paul reflects on this. God does not act in ways we would consider logical or wise. The signs God uses are not those of success or wealth. Strength is not the basis of God’s wisdom and power. God’s actions in loving and forgiving and giving himself over to experience all of the hardship and pain that can come along with human life seem totally foolish. But they are the source of our hope. This God who is One and is not like the multiple warring, scheming gods of other peoples, is the One who loves each of us. (1 Cor 1:22-25)

We remember the Law, the rules for living together in peace that Jesus passed on to us as well, and our need to pray, to spend time listening and speaking with God. And we remember and rejoice in our One God who became one of us. We too have a three-legged stool on which we can rest and grow closer to each other on our journey home to God our Father.

As we continue to journey through Lent, let us rejoice in the support we have been given and trust that in our times of weakness, our God is there to support us and transform all that happens in our lives into a blessing.

Readings for the Third Sunday of Lent – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Feb 25, 2024

Put to the Test by God

The twelve-year-old boy rushed breathlessly into my classroom and came straight up to me with a question that had been on his mind for days. “He didn’t kill him, did he?” he demanded to know. He was the older son in a troubled family and had only consciously heard the first part of the story of God’s test of Abraham’s faith during Mass on the Sunday before our class. I’m sure the entire reading had been proclaimed, but he had not heard it. He had waited until we met on Thursday afternoon, worrying about this terrible command God had given to Abraham – to sacrifice his only son. How could this be? What kind of God would do such a thing? How could a good God require the killing of a child? He had been so shocked by the mere thought of God asking a man to kill his only son that he stopped hearing anything more right at that point. He had not heard the rest of the story at all and was deeply relieved when I assured him that in fact, God had not allowed any harm to come to Abraham’s child.

This story of the testing of Abraham (Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13,15-18) and many others like it are deeply troubling to us. Why would anyone ever think that our God could or would demand the blood sacrifice of children? Why would Abraham have believed that about God?

One of the great challenges we humans face is to be able to conceive of a reality dramatically different from the one in which we live. How can we imagine a person who never loses his or her temper? How can it be possible always to be forgiven? Wouldn’t the fear of punishment be needed to force people to follow the rules? And how can anyone establish that fear without actually punishing someone severely and publicly for misbehavior?

When we listen to the readings from both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, it’s important that we realize we are looking back in time to a very different day and age. Additionally, we are looking from the perspective of a different culture, with different understandings of human behavior and the nature of God.

Abraham lived in a time in which all the people among whom he lived had their own local god or gods whom they believed guided and protected them. These gods were very much like the people who worshiped them: territorial, jealous, protective of those they considered to be their own, impatient, always demanding proof of the good will of others.

The gods of the peoples among whom Abraham and his family lived sometimes required the sacrifice of firstborn sons as proof of loyalty and obedience. They required families to prove their faith by sacrificing a child, typically a son because sons were seen as more valuable. It was rare for families not to have children, so this rule was not hard to enforce.

Abraham would have seen this practice and assumed that the God he first met back home in Mesopotamia would want the same kind of sacrifice from him. Blessedly for Abraham and all of us who follow in worshiping his God, this is not what God requires. Sometimes, we are asked to make tremendous sacrifices. Other times, what we are asked to sacrifice is not life-shaking or life-changing. Nevertheless, when we are asked to make a sacrifice, it is not something easy for us to do. If it were, it wouldn’t really be a sacrifice now, would it?

When Jesus was born, he was truly human and truly God. One hundred percent on both fronts! Not a demi-god – half human and half divine. Fully human. Fully divine. As a human, Jesus did not know everything. He learned like any child what was expected of him as a man. He lived like everyone else, not at all remarkable. Yet when he heard God’s voice at his baptism in the Jordan River, he knew all had changed in that moment. He began to understand how dramatically things had changed. The kingdom had come. His mission was to proclaim it to all who would listen.

Some people welcomed the news. Some were frightened by it. Some thought it too good to be true. Some worried that they would lose their positions of influence. Some probably worried that the Romans who ruled their country would again kill thousands of people for rebelling against the Empire. The notion that a prophet, anointed by God to preach the coming of God’s kingdom, would not be a threat to Roman power was unheard of. Of course they would see it as a threat! How could the threat be minimized?

Jesus needed to testify in Jerusalem to what had happened to him, to the leaders of his community, the priests and teachers at the temple. The kingdom of God was here now. It was essential for them to hear this good news. So he began his journey, teaching and healing as he went along. A group of people accompanied him. Some were with him for a long while and became close companions. Others came for a while and left when his words became frightening or impossible for them to believe.

One day, when he had become very aware of the danger of execution he would be facing in Jerusalem, he went up to a mountain top with three of his closest friends to pray. Mountain tops have often been places where God and humans have met. This day was the same. Jesus and his friends were visited by two historical figures: Moses who received the Law from God and Elijah the prophet who was carried away by a heavenly chariot at the end of his life. Jesus himself began to shine with an unearthly light, his clothes whiter than any bleach could make them. The disciples saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. Then they saw a cloud that came and cast a shadow over the mountain. God often appeared in a cloud and this was no exception. The voice that came from the cloud told them Jesus was his beloved son. They were to listen to him. (Mk 9:2-10)

Interestingly, God spoke similar words to Abraham about his son Isaac, referring to him as “your beloved son.” Abraham’s willingness to give all to God was rewarded with God’s returning of the son to him. An animal was offered in sacrifice instead of the child. (My young student was much relieved to hear that good news!)

When Jesus himself faced the decision whether to complete his mission and bring the good news to the authorities, risking his own death in the process, or to drop the whole thing and go back to being a village carpenter in Galilee, he chose to move forward and take the chance. It was not an easy choice and it cost him his life. But God his Father did not allow it all to end with that suffering and death. God brought Jesus through death to a return to life – a life that will never end, the life of the Trinity.

St. Paul and other early Christians explained that with the resurrection, God forgave all of us for the times we do not obey the divine will. Christ intercedes for us, because he is one of us and has lived a fully human life. He knows what it is to be human. (Rom 8:31b-34)

In a very real way, our God who created humans, was now not so totally envisioned in the human terms that cast him as if he were a jealous, controlling, person. Instead, he came to be known as one who understood and forgave all, because he had come to be one of us through the life of his son the Word of God, Jesus. God knows what it is to be human, so God can and will forgive all who ask for forgiveness. We are put to the test, but so is God. God never fails the test of love. God was even willing to go through with the sacrifice of his Son Jesus, so that all of us would know how much we are loved and could trust deeply in that love.

As we continue our journey through Lent this year, may we remember that God is truly with us on the journey. We are not alone. Our sacrifices, big and small, are noted. Our reaching out in love to those we meet along the way is an essential part of God’s plan for all of us. And God sees each of us as a beloved child.

Readings for the Second Sunday of Lent – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Feb 18, 2024

A God Who Waits

Pushy people sometimes drive me crazy. Perhaps because sometimes, I am told, I can be a bit pushy myself! But if someone says a decision is needed immediately, or something has to be done immediately, my reaction is to move more slowly. Hold on a second. What’s the big hurry? Is someone bleeding? Can it wait for a more convenient time? I had other things I was planning to do right now! You get the picture.

I tend to be more of an introvert than an extrovert, so I need time to think things through before I’m ready to speak or act. Then, once I have figured out what I think, I’m not always as ready to go through the many questions and negotiations with others about why my analysis is correct…

As I thought about the readings for this First Sunday in Lent, St. Peter’s statement that God patiently waited while Noah was building the ark struck me as interesting. The two stories of Noah and the ark both include a recognition on God’s part that it takes time to build a boat/ship as big as the ark would need to be, to say nothing of the time to get all of those animals collected and safely on board. (Parenthetically, in one story only one pair of animals was required while the other story provided for seven pairs of the preferred animals and fewer of the non-preferred ones.)

So, God waited patiently until the ark was built, animals on board, and family safely accommodated. Then it started to rain. Forty days and forty nights, we’re told. The entire earth was covered with water.

When the rains stopped and the water gradually receded, a new relationship and legal agreement, a covenant, was proposed by God. This agreement was set up to be unending. “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come… a covenant between me and you and every living creature with you.” The sign, of course, was a rainbow. Whenever the rains come, a rainbow will remind God that they must stop before the earth can be flooded completely again. (Gn 9:8-15)

St. Peter mentioned God’s patience in waiting for the ark to be built when he was speaking of Christ’s suffering and death. He described Christ after his death going to preach to those who had had been disobedient to God in the past and had already died. They too heard the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness. Peter describes the way Noah’s family of eight were saved through flood waters as a prefiguring of the waters of baptism. Through baptism, we enter into the mercy of God, who is patient and forgiving with us even though we are not perfect. God is willing to wait for us to learn and grow towards perfection. (1 Pt 3:18-22)

Even Jesus spent time learning. Immediately after his baptism, St. Mark tells us, “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” While he was there, he faced temptation. Angels ministered to him as he spent time among the wild animals there and grew in understanding of his mission. When he returned from the desert, he immediately began telling others whom he met in Galilee, “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Pay attention and hear this good news I’m bringing to you. (Mk 1:12-15)

Jesus spent forty days in the desert, the same amount of time the rains fell in the days of Noah. We too spend forty days in preparation to celebrate the great mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

God is patient. God waits for us. God doesn’t give up on us. God knows some things just take time for creatures whose lives are formed within the dimension of time.

As we enter the first week of Lent, may our eyes and ears be open to perceive the presence of God around us. In what way are we in a desert? In what way will we make room for encounters with the Lord? What do we learn from the rains and storms of winter or the heat of summer, depending on our location on this Earth?

God waits patiently for us. Let’s not be too slow!

Readings for the First Sunday in Lent – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Feb 13, 2024

Ash Wednesday meets Valentine’s Day

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It marks a transition between our regular daily lives and the time of preparation before we celebrate the greatest mystery of our faith, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. It is a day of fasting for adults and refraining from eating meat. (For those who don’t normally eat meat, perhaps some other staple of daily life?) It tends to be a rather solemn and sober day, in contrast to the celebrations that happen on the previous day and night.

On Ash Wednesday, people go to church and receive ashes on their foreheads. The readings speak of sorrow for sin and making amends and giving alms quietly and without great fanfare. It is a quiet day, an introspective day, a day for stopping and taking a break.

Yet this year, in 2024, Ash Wednesday shares a day with the feast of St. Valentine. Valentine’s day is a day to celebrate love and to let others know that we care about them. Lots of people get married on Valentine’s Day. Lots of people go out for dinner on Valentine’s day. Some people are born on Valentine’s Day. Chocolate candies by the ton are purchased and consumed for Valentine’s Day. For weeks, stores have been full of red hearts and balloons and streamers, reminding us to buy something to celebrate with those we love.

It’s a great contrast. A day of fasting and abstinence, with ashes smeared on our faces versus a day of feasting and sharing special treats with those we love. It may not be easy to see how these two realities can meet in the middle and be woven into a whole garment for our lives.

Somehow, I think this may be what we are really called to do each year, whether Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fall near each other or not.

When we are called to repent for the wrong things we have done, whether deliberately or because we were tired or upset or just plain angry, we are called to return to love and to loving behavior. When we celebrate human love and the love of families and friends, we are also called to remember that sometimes love means we have to say we’re sorry. Sometimes love means we have to forgive and let go of our anger and frustration with the other person.

So this year, as Ash Wednesday begins the Season of Lent and Valentine’s Day reminds us of love between and among people, let’s try to remember that we need a bit of both and celebrate the relationship between them.

As we face our mistakes and the hurts we have done to others, let’s also remember the love that we have shared. As we think of the happy times, let’s remember that we need to include those we sometimes exclude from our celebrations.

I wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day and a Blessed Lent as we go forward on our journey to the Lord who loved us so much that he willingly came and shared the Good News of God’s love for us to the end and beyond.

Readings for Ash Wednesday

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Feb 11, 2024

Touched by a Healing Hand

How many times have we heard, “Don’t touch that, it’s dirty!” “Don’t eat that. It fell on the floor!” “Ten second rule…” In our society, we distinguish between things that are physically dirty and therefore unsafe to touch or eat and those that are physically clean and safe. We don’t tend to think about things as dirty or unsafe by the very nature of their being, though some foods such as grubs are shunned in our typical American diets. But this has not always been the reality of how peoples classify the things with which they come in contact.

The discovery of microbes such as bacteria and viruses changed our understanding of what causes illness or the infections that can follow injuries. Before their discovery and our growth in understanding of how microbes work, when people got sick or had an infected wound, it was not unusual for the blame to be assigned to an angry deity or a sorcerer/witch or the sin of the person or the parent of the person who was born with a handicap. Bad things didn’t happen to good people. People broke the rules of the gods and bad things happened.

Anthropologist, Mary Douglas, in Purity and Danger, wrote a study of the ways in which peoples classify things as safe (pure or clean) or dangerous (unclean). She noted, for example, in the Book of Leviticus (Lv 13:1-2, 44-46) that skin conditions that caused visible differences in the health or appearance of the skin were considered to be leprosy. Since some of these conditions are contagious, those who contracted them were banished from the community. They were classed as “unclean.” Interestingly, however, once the entire body was covered by the sores, the person could again be seen as whole and readmitted to the community. She suggested that the critical issue was whether the condition was whole or affected only a part of the body. Mixing healthy and non-healthy skin on one body was unclean.

The rules set up in the time of Moses were still in force during Jesus’ life. People with skin lesions were required to stay away from others and warn others not to approach them. When a man with leprosy approached Jesus, begging, “If you wish, you can make me clean,” Jesus broke the social and religious rules. He reached out and touched the man, saying, “I will do it. Be made clean.”

The man was healed immediately, we are told. Jesus then sent him to the priest to be examined for any sign of disease. He told the man who was healed to offer the necessary sacrifice of thanksgiving and return to his regular life. Despite Jesus’ order not to tell anyone how he had been healed, the man told everyone he met about it. He was so happy; he couldn’t contain or hide it! Needless to say, people in ever greater numbers hurried to Jesus, asking for healing. (Mk 1:40-45)

We too are called to be channels of healing. Perhaps not the same kinds of physical healing that people received from Jesus’ words or touch. But through our lives and the way we interact with those we meet, healing can and does occur. We don’t always know it has happened. That’s all to the good. Keeps us from getting all puffed up about our good works. But as we reach out in care and respect for others and meet them in their daily joys and struggles, we imitate Christ and bring the Good News to our world. (1 Cor 10:31-11:1)

So, who are the kinds of people we are afraid to touch, whether actually or figuratively? Who do we exclude or require to hide from polite society? Do we welcome children and older people on the autistic spectrum into our gatherings and lives? Do we care for, welcome, and respect children and adults who are not binary in their sexuality, members of the LGBTQ+ community? Do we help new neighbors from other countries to get the services they need and help them get started rebuilding their lives in our communities or do we exclude them? Do we comfort and help those whose loved ones have rejected them? Do we support those whose marriages and families have fallen apart or do we exclude them and their children from our church communities? How do we deal with people who have mental health conditions that affect their daily lives?

There are so many times and places where we meet God’s dearly loved children (ages newborn to the very old). Let’s pray that we have the courage and wisdom to see each as a sister or brother, dearly loved by God our Father and our brother Jesus. In God’s sight, all are worthy of being touched by the healing hand of love. Will our hands be the ones that begin that loving healing?

Readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B