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Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Apr 2, 2023

A Destination is Reached

We have arrived at the end of Lent. Today we enter, with Jesus, into Holy Week. We have traveled with him from Galilee, through Samaria, to Judea and Bethany. We have heard that he brings living water, sight to the blind, and life to the dead. Today we see him enter Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. Kings and conquering heroes entered cities on horseback, with great fanfare, welcomed by throngs of people. Jesus entered on a donkey, as had been foretold in ancient scriptures (Zec 9:9). This is not a conquering hero. This is a man of peace.

On Palm Sunday, as we enter into Holy Week, we hear of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Immediately afterwards, we hear Matthew’s account of his Last Supper, the agony in the Garden, his trial, and his execution as an enemy of Rome. It’s a week of powerful readings, profound emotions, and great mystery. We travel with him from the heights of praise to the ignomy of death on a cross, outside the walls of the city, by the city dump.

God did not choose to come among us as a conquering hero. He did not choose an easy life, filled with praise and luxury. He didn’t worry that the powerful might not like to hear the news that the poorest among them were cherished by their maker. He chose to experience all of the ups and downs of human life. Security in family life and career. Excitement in working with people. Wonder in seeing the growing faith and hope of the community. Joy in being able to help relieve suffering. Courage in speaking truth to power. Fear in knowing that great suffering would soon be unavoidable, especially if he did not back down from the truth he had been called to proclaim. Betrayal at the hand of a trusted friend. Terrible pain in the end, as he suffered a death reserved for those who had committed great crimes, including rebellion against Rome. Burial in a borrowed tomb.

Yet through it all, Jesus did not back down. The Son of God, the Word made flesh, who pitched his tent among us, held on to the reality he had come to understand and proclaim. A new day had dawned. Creation was new again. The relationship between God and humans was healed.

As he was dying, Jesus prayed one of the most powerful psalms ever written. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” It sounds like the words of a man who is despairing. They are certainly the words of a person in great distress, and Jesus had to have been in great distress. But more than that, it is also a song/prayer of great faith and hope. Psalm 22 describes the agony of a man who has been betrayed, abandoned, and mocked by all. “He relied on the Lord; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, if he loves him,” say his tormentors. The prayer continues, with more description of the agony being endured, until finally a great song of praise and hope bursts forth, “I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you…”

As we travel with our Lord through this week, may we too know the love and consolation of our God, who didn’t hesitate to enter into human life and share it all, especially the hard times, when hope seems far away. He will be there to meet us in those hard times, because he experienced them himself.

Blessed Holy Week to all.

Readings for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Palm Sunday liturgy – Resurrection Catholic Community – Aptos, California

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 26, 2023

Opened Graves and the Breath of God

“I will open your graves and have you rise from them.” These words were spoken to the Hebrew people through the prophet Ezekiel during the time when the Babylonian Empire controlled the land of Judah, the temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed, and many of the people had been taken into exile in Babylon. The Lord continued, “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them.” (Ez 37:12-14)

Once the dead have been raised from their graves, the Lord promises to bring them to life by putting his spirit in them. The Hebrew word for spirit is important here. It is the same word that is used for breath and wind. The spirit of God in this passage is God’s breath. In the Garden of Eden, God breathed life into Adam. In the desert, when the dry bones came back together into people in the vision granted to Ezekiel, the Lord breathed life and regeneration into the bones, which became covered once again with muscles, skin, and all that is needed for human life.

When the people see this return from death (and exile), according to the prophecy, they will recognize that the one who has done this is the Lord, the One who keeps his promises.

Jesus confronted the death of his friend Lazarus. St. John tells us the story of how it happened. (Jn 11:1-45) This is the seventh miracle or sign of the divinity of Christ that John describes. Jesus and his friends had left Judea before they received word that Lazarus was very ill. They didn’t go to him right away, but a couple of days later, Jesus told his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” This seemed crazy to the disciples, because the authorities there had just tried to kill him. But Jesus had decided to go, so the disciples went along with him.

Lazarus had already died and been buried for four days when they arrived. Decomposition of the body would have already begun by that point. The sister of Lazarus met Jesus on the road and they talked. Jesus promised her that her brother would rise. She professed faith in the resurrection of the dead.

Now resurrection was a theory being debated by different schools of thought in the Jewish community at the time. Jesus assured her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus was claiming that belief in him would assure life that would never end, even if a person died. What a wild concept! His use of the two simple words, I am, was significant. “I am” is the name of the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel. People did not say this or use these words to describe themselves. Martha expressed her faith that he was the Christ, the Son of God.

Martha’s sister Mary also came and spoke with Jesus, expressing her belief that her brother would not have died if Jesus had only come earlier.

Jesus approached the tomb and ordered that it be opened. With great reluctance, the order was obeyed. Then Jesus prayed before calling, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus, bound in the burial cloths, emerged from the tomb – alive again. Jesus ordered, “Untie him and let him go.”

The breath of God had once again entered into his body. Life had returned, at the word of Jesus. Just as in the time of Ezekiel, the grave had been opened and the dead raised. And once again, the people who witnessed it, believed. They had seen the Lord at work.

St. John is the only one of the evangelists to tell of this incident. His words were composed a long time after the events described, colored by years of reflection and the faith of the community for whom they were written. They are intended to share with us what they as a community had come to understand. In this interaction and gift of new life to Lazarus, God was revealing himself in Jesus.

Years after the raising of Lazarus, St. Paul wrote about the Spirit to the community in Rome. (Rm 8:8-11) He spoke of flesh and spirit. Flesh is the word he used to describe worldly concerns and actions, not all of which were life-giving or good. Spirit is the word used to identify the good actions and loving style of living of followers of Jesus. Flesh is characterized by the concept of sin. Spirit is about life.

Paul says, “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” Once again, the breath of God gives life – a life that is stronger than death and continues after the body dies.

So, does this breath of God bring life only when up against physical death? I don’t think so. The holy breath of God is much more than a life preserver ring that is thrown to a drowning person. Besides, there are many situations in which we face danger or metaphorical death. Do I tell that secret that will discredit my former friend? Do I try to get more than my share of the common resources of my community? How can I look like a great person without taking any risks or actually helping anyone? So many ways to put ourselves at the center…

Each of these kinds of situations are dangerous to our fundamental well-being, the spiritual level of our lives. The decisions we make in our interpersonal relations, in our families and professional lives, all of these are areas that can lead us into tombs, tombs into which the Spirit of God is ready to blow life. The Spirit waits to blow renewed life into our interactions and our interior being. As we open to receive God’s breath in our daily interactions, we become more able to pass that life on to those with whom we live and work.

The Spirit blows through all of creation, through each of us and out into our circles. As we receive this breath of love, let us rejoice in the One who loves us and pass it on.

Lent is nearing an end this year. Let us open our hearts to receive the healing breath of God, to emerge with Lazarus from our tombs, as we prepare to celebrate the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent – Cycle A

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 19, 2023

Not as Humans See

Sight is an amazing gift. A new baby’s eyes open and immediately floods of new sensations pour into existence for the child. It would all be overwhelmingly overpowering if the baby could see everything going on around it. Fortunately, at first babies don’t see things far away clearly.

The face of mother or father are among the first to be seen – that’s a good distance for starters. Baby studies them carefully and begins to associate experiences with what is being perceived visually. Gradually, the distance increases and more wonders come into view. Experiences begin to be associated with what the eyes are reporting.

Baby reflects:
I cry and the tall folks around me pick me up and give me something to eat! I’m sitting in my car seat and I’m feeling pretty peaceful, but there’s one of those tall beings who pick me up when I cry. Oh boy, I’ll just cry and get picked up! No? Well then, I’ll complain some more. Oh. Now I can’t see them. Oh well, I guess I’ll just sit here quietly and see what comes next…

For the man born blind, the story of whose encounter with Jesus we hear in John’s Gospel, these experiences didn’t happen. He had to figure out the world in different ways. With much help from family and friends, he grew up, but the only way he had to support himself as an adult was to beg for alms from passers-by. A far cry from the experience of those who are blind in developed societies. (Jn 9:1-41)

In Jesus’ time, people believed that the light residing within people was what made it possible for them to see. If a person was born unable to see, there must not be any light within them. If there’s no light, then it’s only reasonable to assume that only darkness is there. Darkness is the realm of evil, so someone must have sinned in order for the child to be filled with darkness. For this reason, people asked Jesus, who had been the sinner whose actions resulted in the birth of a blind child: the parents or the child before birth? Jesus responded firmly, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”

Jesus didn’t wait around to see what would happen to the man as life continued. He acted. “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then he spat on the clay ground and made some mud, which he smeared on the man’s eyes. He then told the man to go to a pool called Siloam (Sent) and wash off the mud. This pool was known to be a place where people were sometimes healed, so the man went. He washed off the mud and he gained the gift of sight, not the gradually expanding sight of an infant, but the sight of a person who could function in society.

The rest of the story tells of the consequences of this new experience in the man’s life. People were astonished. He was led to testify before the religious authorities about what had happened. (It was on a Sabbath that Jesus acted – how could he be from God if he broke the Sabbath by working?) Who was this Jesus after all? What did the man think of him? The man didn’t change his evaluation of the experience: the man who healed me must be from God because he “opened my eyes.”

Jesus went to find the man after he had been tossed out of his religious community by the authorities. He asked the man if he believed in the Son of Man, a title for the savior who was to come from God. The man became a follower of Jesus when he learned that Jesus was the one who had transformed his life.

This theme of sight and of light runs through the readings from the book of Samuel (16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a) and the letter to the Ephesians (5:8-14) as well.

When the Hebrew people decided they needed to have a king rather than be led by strong, wise men and women in times of danger or attack. God acquiesced to their request and Saul was anointed king. However, Saul didn’t turn out to be entirely faithful to God’s instructional leadership. God had someone else in mind to be the next king. The challenge was that kingship so commonly passes from father to son. Saul’s sons were not the ones God had in mind either!

The Lord sent the prophet Samuel to the village of Bethlehem, to a man named Jesse. One of Jesse’s sons would be the one he should anoint the one to be the next king. Jesse had eight sons. Any one of them might be the one, so one by one they were presented to Samuel. Each time Samuel thought, surely this would be the one. But none of the seven older sons was the one. Finally, they called David in from tending the sheep. David was still quite young. No one would have expected him to be the choice, yet this young man was the one chosen. Samuel anointed him in the presence of his family and the elders of the community. The spirit of the Lord, the holy breath of God, rushed upon him and remained with him.

As the Lord told Samuel, “Not as man (humankind) sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.”

As members of the Followers of the Way, the early Christians in Ephesus were learning new ways to live. Many things that were acceptable behavior in their society were not “pleasing to the Lord.” Paul encouraged them: “You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light…” He advised them to act always with the assumption that what they were doing must be worthy of being seen – done in the light. Everything done in the light can be seen and everything that can be seen is light. He concludes, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Light and sight are the keys. God sees in different ways than we do. Our human vision and understanding can go only just so far. Like the new baby, as we grow, we see more deeply and more clearly. As we grow in the experience of God’s love and life, our ability increases to perceive how far and deeply love extends and actually forms the substance of all life.

As we continue the journey to Holy Week and Easter, let’s ask the Lord to open our eyes too. To help us to see the face of Love all around us – in the people, the plants and animals, the environment, and the universe. To help us to value the unseen goodness of all of creation and treat it with reverence. To trust that all will be well, as long as we keep our eyes open in trust to the Lord, our God. And finally, to let that light be reflected into the world around us, letting the Light of Christ pour through us into our world.

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent – Cycle A

Open My Eyes – Jesse Manibusan

Liturgy – Resurrection Catholic Community

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 12, 2023

Water: Cool, Clear, Water

My father loved the music of a group called Sons of the Pioneers. The refrain of one of their songs, Cool Water, included the phrase, “Water, water – cool, clear water.” The song told the story of at least two people traveling in a desert, presumably in the American West. One of them was hallucinating due to dehydration, seeing “big green trees and the water running free and it’s waiting there for me and you.” The other assured him that what he was seeing was not really there.

The song has been running through my head today as I think of the readings from Exodus, John’s Gospel, and Paul’s letter to the Romans. Water and God’s care for us run through them as a theme.

The Hebrew people had escaped from slavery in Egypt. They had crossed through the Red/Reed Sea. They had experienced the cleansing of bitter water at one place in the desert so they were able to drink it. Another time, when there was no food, God sent manna and quail each day for them to eat. Then they arrived at a place that came to be known as Massah and Meribah. (Ex 17: 3-7)

There was no water for this large group of people to drink. People can’t last long without water. Why had Moses led them out from Egypt to die of thirst in the desert? Moses appealed to God for help and was told to take the same staff with which he had struck the river and parted the sea and to use that staff to strike the rock in Horeb. The Lord promised to be there in front of him as he struck the rock. Water would flow from the rock for the people to drink.

In the presence of the elders of the people, Moses struck the rock and water flowed forth, demonstrating once again that God was with them on their journey.

Many years later, Jesus and his friends were traveling through Samaria, another dry land. They stopped in the town of Sychar, the location of Jacob’s well. (Jn 4:5-42) This town had been given to Joseph by his father, Jacob, in ancient times.

Jesus waited beside the well while the rest went into town to buy food. A woman came to the well to draw water for the day. It was the wrong time of the day for a respectable woman to come to the well. Respectable women came early in the day. She was not a respectable woman, as her conversation with Jesus later demonstrated. As it turns out, she had had five husbands and was now living with a man to whom she was not married.

Jesus asked her for a drink of water from the well. This was shocking. Men didn’t speak to women in public. Men didn’t ask strange women for water. Jews didn’t speak to Samaritans. But she didn’t run away. She challenged him, asking why he was asking her for water. Jesus answered that rather than question him, she would ask him for living water if she knew who he was.

Two things pop out here to be noted. First, living water in those days meant running water, not that from a well. Secondly, John’s gospel assumes that Jesus knew what he was doing at critical points in his ministry. His actions were signs to let the world know that he, the Word of God, had come into the world and spoke with authority.

When Jesus spoke of living water, she assumed he meant running water. But there was none there, only well water. So, she challenged him. “Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this cistern…?” But Jesus didn’t back off. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again…” He told her that the water he would give would quench thirst forever and continue to grow within the person who drank it. It would lead to eternal life.

The conversation went on for quite a while. It ranged from her marital history to where people were supposed to worship and the dawning realization on the woman’s part that this man might be the anointed one of God, the Christ. She called the rest of the town to meet him. Jesus and his friends stayed in that town for several days. As Jesus told his friends, God’s harvest of people for eternal life was ready. It was time to spread the word, to reap the harvest sown for centuries in the hearts of the people.

It all started with a request for a drink of water. Cool, clear water in the middle of a hot day of walking.

By the time Paul came on the scene, Jesus had died and risen again. The community was growing and spreading outside Palestine. He had been part of spreading the word well beyond the original lands and was now writing to the community at the heart of the Roman Empire. The Church of Rome. (Rom 5:1-2, 5-8) And what was his message?

Paul wanted all to know that God is still loving and protecting each of us. Through God’s actions, the Holy Spirit of love has been poured into our hearts. Through Jesus’ death, we received the gift of reconciliation with God. We can live in right-relationship with God, the Most High. We can experience peace, harmony, tranquility in our relationship with God and with each other. All because God is present among us and pouring out the grace, the share in divine life, that makes our restored relationship possible.

Water comes and goes in everyday life. Some years we have plenty of it. Some years it is scarce. In some parts of the world, rain is a daily reality. In other areas, an inch or less a year is all that is normally expected. This year in California, we’ve had massive amounts of rain in just a few months. We have a Mediterranean climate, which in part means we have a rainy season and a dry season. Most years, rainy season is relatively mild. This year, when there’s only an inch and a half of rain in 24 hours, it seems like a small amount! Why, one day there were three inches!

But through it all, we need water to drink. We thirst for water. We thirst for other things too. Power, prestige, security, friendship, respect, love… The list can go on and on. What do you thirst for? What do I thirst for? Do we thirst for the cool, clear water of eternal life?

Lent is a time to ask ourselves these questions.

And when the Lord appears in our lives, in his many disguises, will we be ready to receive living water from him?

Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent – Cycle A

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 5, 2023

Light Shining Forth

Abram was a shepherd, from Ur of the Chaldees (in contemporary Iraq). Jesus was a carpenter from Nazareth in the Galilee. Paul was a tent maker from Tarsus, a city in Cilicia to the north of Syria who had become a student and teacher of the Law in Jerusalem. Each heard God’s call and responded in faith.

Abram had already left his homeland with his flocks and family and was living in Haran, an area that is now part of Türkiye. He heard the Lord’s call to move south to Shechem in the land of Canaan. (Gn 12:1-4a) This was a big deal. Gods were believed to be local to a geographic area. Yet his God was telling him to go to a new area, where the people worshiped other gods. God promised that a great nation would grow from this man who had no children at the time. Abram took God at his word and moved his family south. Much to his relief, I imagine, God was present in the new land too.

Just as God had promised, Abram became the father of not one but two great peoples, the Arabs and the Jews. And through his obedience to the call, blessings have come to all the communities of the earth.

Jesus too listened to God’s voice calling him at his baptism in the Jordan River. When he returned from his forty-day retreat in the desert, he began proclaiming the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand. The time had come in which the people’s relationship with God would be mended. The signs of this new kingdom would include the poor hearing good news, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, those who were crippled being healed. It was a different kind of kingdom than the one expected by his contemporaries. But many people followed him. It wasn’t every day that one could see a healer at work or hear new teachings.

Jesus had some very close friends with whom he shared the last three years of his life. He took three of them up on a mountain one day. (Mt 17:1-9) Mountains in Scripture are often places where God meets people. This was no exception. On this day, both Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) appeared and spoke with Jesus about what was coming. His friends were astounded. Jesus’ face was shining like the sun and his clothing was blazing white. They rightly understood that God was present in that moment, his light shining through Jesus. Peter suggested that three tents could be set up, so Moses, Elijah, and Jesus would have a comfortable place to stay. Then they heard God’s voice telling them that this was his beloved son, to whom they should listen. This confirmed God’s presence there and they were afraid. They fell to the ground in worship.

The moment passed. Jesus touched them. Instructed them to get up. And as they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead. Of course, they had no idea what that meant, but we’ve all been told about it now – after the Resurrection.

Paul too had an encounter with the Risen Jesus. Another brilliant light experience. He was blinded for a few days afterwards. Then he got busy and devoted the rest of his life to telling what he had learned and experienced of God’s love and presence. He traveled through much of the ancient world between Jerusalem and Greece, all the way to Rome. His letters tell us today what he learned of God’s call and support for each of us in living the new way of love and service. (2 Tim 1:8b-10) He reminds us that God is the one who called us and will support us through any and all hardships that come our way as a result of following Jesus.

When I was in grade school, some of my teachers told us that we shouldn’t expect great or outstanding things to happen to us as followers of Christ. The miracles pretty much had all happened long ago.

For the most part, we do go through our lives with few surprise interventions from the divine world. At least, we don’t notice them most days. The sun rising, the moon and stars at night, the smiles of those we love, the people with whom we interact – all seem very normal. Nothing special there, folks.

Yet I believe we sell ourselves and our lives short when we say it’s all just ordinary. Amazing things still happen. God touches people directly and indirectly even today. We don’t talk about it much, but it happens.

There is a light shining just below the surface of the world around us. We don’t see it most of the time. But there are moments when it breaks through. A child races down the sidewalk to give us a hug. A friend calls just to say hello. The clouds pick up the sun’s rays at just the right moment to paint the sky with shades of rose. A bird greets us when we walk out the door in the morning, then picks up the treat it has just found and hides it in a neighbor’s gutter, planning to come back and enjoy more of it later. (No kidding. I watched a crow do just that a couple of weeks ago!)

Remember the words of the song, “You light up my life…” Remember the times you have seen someone’s face light up with delight. We speak of lighted faces. God is shining through those faces, smiling at each of us. May we each day be open and transparent enough in our interactions with others that God’s smile shines through us as well.

Abram, Jesus, and Paul were not the only ones whom God has called to go forth and bring blessing to the world through our lives. He calls ordinary people in all ages, including each of us too. The light continues to shine forth. Not as brightly as it did through Jesus at the Transfiguration, but enough that it can be noticed as a calming, reassuring, and powerful sign of love.

Here’s to the light!

Readings for the Second Sunday of Lent – Cycle A

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Feb 26, 2023

The Trickster in the Garden

A common feature in stories told in culture after culture around the world is the presence of a trickster. The trickster is a character who is always up to some mischief. All is well in the world. People or animals are getting along well with each other. Things are happy and peaceful. Then the trickster appears (Coyote, Fox, Hare, Spider, Raven, Hermes, Loki, and many others) and begins whispering things into the ears of the characters in the story. These things may or may not be true. Often they are not strictly true, but they raise questions in the minds of those who hear them. Sometimes they might even be what the listener wishes were true, so they become easier to believe.

In our Judeo-Christian religious tradition, we also find a trickster. Two creation stories are found in the book of Genesis, the first collection of stories telling of the relationship between God and humans. The first tells the story in terms of seven days of God’s creative activity, which culminate in a day of rest, as God sees all of creation and pronounces it good. It’s a lovely story. Humans are created in the divine image. Males and females are equally created in God’s image and are placed in a position of responsibility to care for the rest of creation.

A lovely story, but somehow, it didn’t quite answer some fundamental questions. Why don’t people all get along? Why do bad things happen to people? Why is life hard?

In the second story of creation (Gen 2:7-9; 3:1-7), God creates a human being from the clay of the earth. Then God creates a beautiful garden and animals and all the rest, to live in the garden. Finally, because the human is lonely, God takes a bone from his side and forms it into a companion for him. This companion is his equal, because she was formed from his rib. They live happily together in the garden, until the trickster arrives.

In this story, the trickster is a serpent, a cunning animal. The serpent begins whispering into the ear of the woman that God has forbidden them to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because they will become like God if they do. But what would be the matter with knowing the difference between good and evil? So the woman tastes the fruit and convinces the man, the Adam, to do so as well. And they begin to understand and experience the entire range of possibilities between the absolute good and its opposite. They begin to experience shame and fear. They make clothing for themselves and hide from God. They are separated from the absolute trust and comfort of their former relationship with each other and with God. They come to understand and experience separation from absolute love. It is a form of death, death of the former relationship.

Sadly, to protect them, God escorts them out of the garden and into the world that is no longer perfect. They cannot return to the childlike innocence of that garden any more than we who are older than about nine years of age can return to the innocence of our younger years as long as we are healthy people. But God does not abandon them. God gives them the gifts and tools they will need to grow in wisdom in their lives together.

Jesus too met a trickster. After his baptism in the Jordan River, he went into the desert to fast and pray. His baptismal experience had been a deep and transformative moment. The Holy Spirit of the Most High had settled on him and he had heard the Lord’s voice proclaim that he was the Lord’s beloved son. One doesn’t just go home to the carpenter shop after such an event.

In the desert, he was approached by a stranger, a trickster, a deceiver. ( Mt 4:1-11) This tempter suggested, “If you are the Son of God…” Jesus could provide for his own comfort by turning stones into bread. Or Jesus could gain great fame by throwing himself down from the top of the temple and trusting that angels would catch him. The trickster quoted scripture to make his case. Each time, Jesus responded with another scriptural reference that overruled the one given by the opponent. Finally, the tempter offered Jesus power over all the world if he would just bow down and worship him. Jesus firmly rejected that option, sending the tempter away with a reminder that only the Lord is to be worshiped. At that the trickster left him and angels came to comfort and minister to Jesus. And thus began his public life.

Jesus didn’t fall for the lies of the trickster. And because he didn’t fall for the lies of the trickster, a new beginning came to the world and its people. Just as with the first humans, pain, suffering, anger, hatred, and all of the negative, unloving things came into human life, when Jesus turned away the lies of the trickster, a new beginning opened to all of us. We as humans could be reunited with our loving creator, the Lord, the Most High.

St. Paul (Rm 5:12-19) speaks of the actions of Adam and Eve as sin and notes that even before humans received the Law through Moses, people were sinning. But it’s important to note that the word he used and that we translate as sin means to take an arrow from a quiver, aim at a target, and miss the mark. Humans are prone to miss the target. Jesus didn’t miss it. And because he didn’t miss, the gift of life was returned to us all.

As we travel through Lent this year, let’s agree to keep our eyes and hearts open so that we notice when the trickster is trying to trip us up. Let us join Jesus in sending away any voices that coax us to make wrong choices and instead focus on seeing God’s presence in the lives of those around us. Let us become people of peace and joy who actively reach out in love as we go through our days. On the way to work. In the line at the grocery store. When a child interrupts our rest or relaxation. And in all the many ups and downs of our days.

We may still meet the Lord God in a garden: the garden of our daily lives.

Readings for the First Sunday of Lent – Cycle A

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Apr 15, 2022

Good Friday – Time to celebrate?

Good Friday.

Sometimes it seems that the really hard things aren’t good at all. Why call this Good Friday?

The great mystery of life and love is that sometimes the hardest times are the most important. These are the times of growth, times of stretching. This is when we learn to depend totally on others to help us get through. When the others aren’t there for us, the Other who brought us forth into being from the great Dance of Love of the Trinity is there for us. This Other is not really “other” in the usual sense. This is the source of our deepest life and being. It’s in the deepest realms that we learn the truth of what matters. We learn compassion, patience, endurance. We understand the suffering of others in a new and deeper way. We realize that the easy answers of our childhood may not be the final answer. We grow in wisdom as we grow in age. With God’s help, we grow in grace too, that fundamental sharing of divine life.

Jesus didn’t know that he would rise. In this he was a human like any other one of us. But he was a man of great integrity, faithful to the God he called Abba (Dad), and willing to testify to what had been revealed to him about God’s love for us. He went to his death forgiving those who had condemned him, those who crucified him, those who mocked him, and the thief who was dying beside him. Mercifully, he did not have to suffer long. His Father claimed him quickly. His friends claimed his body and buried him, then returned home for the Sabbath rest.

We know the surprise that awaited them on Sunday morning. But for now, let’s take time to experience the great mystery of unknowing. The mystery of trust in a God we cannot see. The mystery of life and death.

Happy Good Friday!

Readings for Good Friday

Image is of one side of the altar at St. Patrick Church in Spokane, WA – Artist: Harold Balazs

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Apr 10, 2022

Recognizing the Lord when He Comes

Holy Week begins. This is the most important week in our entire year as Christians. The mystery of reconciliation of humans and the divine plays out graphically in the events we celebrate this week.

Sunday of Holy Week is known as Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Traditionally, we begin our liturgy outside the church building. We gather with palms around our presider and hear the proclamation of the Gospel which tells of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem a few days before his arrest. Following the reading, we process into the building and continue with our liturgy, formally opening this week of prayer and celebration of the mystery in which we participate.

The Gospel reading for the blessing of the palms will be from one of the Synoptic Gospels – the three oldest versions of the events of Jesus’ life – as narrated by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Cycle C (which we celebrate in 2022), it is Luke’s account that we will hear.

These accounts all tell of Jesus coming into the city riding a young donkey. Kings and conquering military heroes of his day rode into cities mounted on great war horses, with banners flying, triumphal music playing, and crowds of grateful (or at least cheering) people to welcome them. Coming into town, riding a steed, and attracting a crowd of cheering people speaks to the Jewish dream of a Messiah in those times, a hero who will rescue the nation from captivity to a conquering nation (Rome). This was the kind of hero long-awaited – the kind many hoped Jesus would be.

Jesus, however, came riding a young donkey. One version says it had never been previously ridden by anyone. This is an important detail. In the prophecies of Zechariah, written almost 500 years earlier, there was a statement that the Messiah would come riding a donkey, just as had princes and leaders from before the period of kings in Israel. This person would be a leader who was humble and would bring peace. He would not be a warrior or a conquering hero. The symbolism of this entry riding on a young donkey would not have been lost on the people welcoming Jesus, nor was it lost on the authorities. In fact, they asked him to tell the people to be quiet and go away. They were quite likely afraid of the potential negative Roman response to the commotion. Jesus’ response was that even if the people went away, the very stones would shout out against the injustice of the social structure.

Another detail of interest in Luke’s telling of the tale is the question of palm branches. In Luke’s version of the story, there is no mention of palm branches or fronds having been waved in greeting or salute to Jesus. Palms are there in the other three gospels, but not in Luke.

In Luke, as in the others, the fact that people lay their cloaks out to make a road and that Jesus sat on cloaks that had been placed on the back of the donkey is noted. A cloak was a very valuable possession in those days. It was an outer garment that served as coat when the weather was cold and as a sleeping bag at night, especially for those who were not inside a building for the night. Ordinary folks were putting their coats on the ground for the donkey and any following closely behind to trod. That’s a pretty major commitment. I’m glad I didn’t have to pick my coat up and sleep in it after having a donkey and a large crowd of people walk over it!

Once inside the walls of Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell that Jesus disrupted the markets in the temple, chasing out the money-changers and others who were cheating the poor. He spent time teaching there as well, presumably not immediately after shaking everything up! The point is, he was not a quiet, meek, “what-ever” kind of guy. He had a vision and a mission. He was passionate about following the spirit of the Law and living what he had preached in the years leading to this visit to Jerusalem. He was not a person who could be ignored.

The first and second readings on Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion are the same every year, as is the Psalm. Our attention is drawn to the events that followed Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

The first reading is from Isaiah (50:4-7), the Suffering Servant’s declaration of his determination to speak words of hope and encouragement to the people, despite opposition and persecution against him. This is a proclamation of great hope in the face of overwhelmingly negative odds. The prophet declares, “I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”

Psalm 22 is the one Jesus prayed on the cross. The psalms were much like our traditional “prayers” such as the Hail Mary or Our Father. These were prayers that could be offered any time and at any place by anyone. There’s a psalm for just about every situation in life. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” A cry for help when in desperate straits, with a conclusion that declares a joyful recognition of the Lord’s power to overcome all – “I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”

Paul’s letter to the Philippians (2:6-11) includes another ancient hymn. Modern musicians have put it to music for our communities too, celebrating the great mystery of the incarnation. Jesus did not hesitate to become one of us and experience all that we experience, including rejection and death. God raised him up and gave him a name (power and authority) above all others. This is one of the earliest proclamations of our belief – “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

St. Luke’s telling of the Passion and Death of Jesus is the Gospel reading for Cycle C. It is a powerful story that begins with the narrative of the Last Supper and the gift of Jesus’ body and blood for our Eucharistic celebrations. It continues through the agony in the garden, Jesus’ trial, condemnation, carrying of the cross, and execution. His words of forgiveness and his prayers on the cross speak to us. We close with the quiet sorrow of his death and hasty burial in a borrowed tomb.

We are not called to be saddened by all of this. It is to be a source of great hope, but a hope that is so outrageously improbable and powerful that we are in awe of it. We enter this week with quiet hope for our own lives and the world in which we live. We pray for insight and the ability to see the Lord’s presence in all the times and ways he comes into our lives.

This can be a very busy week. There are liturgies and preparations for Easter. Work and school don’t necessarily take the time off. Yet it is a solemn time too. Liturgies for the blessing of the Holy Oils, Holy Thursday and Good Friday services, Easter Vigil, and then the great feast of Easter all await.

How will I mark this time? What things can wait, what need attention? What do I normally neglect that maybe I should spend some time doing?

May these final days of preparation for Easter be ones of peace and quiet joy, as we trust that through all the ups and downs of life, our God is with us, loving and supporting us each step along the way. Hosanna in the Highest.

Here are links to sample a couple of versions of the song from the Philippians that St. Paul shared with us.
In English, from Ken Canedo
In Spanish, from Pedro Rubalcava

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Apr 3, 2022

Doing Something New

The readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent in both Cycles C and A all speak of the ways in which God is doing something new. Once again, we have two possible sets of readings. Readings from Cycle A are used for celebrations of Eucharist in which those preparing for the Easter sacraments are present. Those from Cycle C are used for the others.

In the first reading for each cycle, we hear of God stepping in to do something new. In Cycle C, Isaiah (43:16-21) speaks for the Lord, telling the people that although in the past the waters of the sea were parted so the people could pass through, now something new was going to happen. Forget what happened in the past, pay attention to what I’m doing now, is the essence of the prophecy. “I am doing something new!” There will be a way through the wastelands, rivers will flow in the desert, wild beasts will honor the Lord, and a new people will be formed to announce the praise of the Lord. All will be new again. A fresh start, so to speak.

The Cycle A reading is from the book of Ezekiel (37:12-14). The Lord promises: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.” He promises his spirit will settle upon them, so they will recognize their God. They will return and settle on their land once again. Something new is going to happen.

“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy,” sing the people of God in Psalm 126. We have gone forth from our homes in tears, but we return rejoicing. In Cycle A, the Lord’s mercy is celebrated in Psalm 130. “With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.” All can and will be forgiven. Call out to the Lord, trust in the Lord, and the Lord in his kindness will redeem Israel.

St. Paul assures both the people of Philippi (3:8-14) (Cycle C) and the people of Rome (8:8-11) (Cycle A) of the love of God and promise of new life for those who have faith in Christ. Sharing in the suffering of Christ, turning away from worldly pleasures and ambitions, the faithful believer will be raised from the dead because the Spirit of the Lord lives within them.

In the Gospels we see different stories, but in each God is doing something new. In Cycle C, we hear from St. John about the time the scribes and Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into breaking either Jewish law or Roman law. They brought a woman accused of adultery to him for judgement (Jn 8:1-11). They told him she had been caught in the act, so was clearly guilty as charged. The Mosaic law imposed the penalty of stoning for this offense. What should be done? The trap was subtle. The Romans did not allow the death penalty to be imposed by local authorities. Only Roman authorities could impose that penalty. If Jesus opted for stoning (in accordance with Mosaic law), he would be breaking Roman law. But would he advocate turning her over to the Romans for punishment? That would be unthinkable. What would he do?

Jesus did something unexpected. He simply bent down and began to write on the ground. The accusers kept insisting on an answer, so finally he spoke. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one, the accusers all left. No one condemned her. Jesus then spoke directly to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

Something new. The possibility of forgiveness for what was seen as a terrible sin. There are several “I wonder” moments in the story. Where was the man who would logically have been present when the woman was seized by the authorities? Was her sin really what we would call adultery, or might she have been the victim of a different crime? If she had been outside her home without a male chaperone, would that culturally have justified an assault on her that could be called or perceived as adultery?

Many possible angles and unknowns in this story. The critical point, however, is that Jesus does not judge as others in his community would have judged the woman. He did not fall into the either/or trap. He did something new and different, something bringing joy to the woman in question and showing the kindness and mercy of God. “Neither do I condemn you.”

We see Jesus doing something new in St. John’s Gospel from Cycle A as well (Jn 11:1-45). Jesus and his friends have gone away from Jerusalem for a while after things got too hot politically. He was in danger of being killed, so he had gotten out of town for a while. Then word came that his good friend Lazarus was dying. The sisters of Lazarus sent word to him, certainly hoping he would come and heal their brother. But Jesus stayed where he was for two more days before traveling to the community near Jerusalem where Lazarus and his sisters lived.

His friends cautioned him that it was dangerous to return to Jerusalem and the nearby towns. But Jesus insisted on returning. Lazarus had died, but Jesus would still heal him. In fact, it would be an even more amazing healing than those performed earlier, so more likely to lead them to belief.

When Jesus meets Martha, Lazarus’ sister, she expresses her belief that Jesus could have saved her brother’s life. She also believes in the resurrection “on the last day.” It is then that Jesus makes an amazing statement. “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live…” Martha expresses her faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God come into the world.

This was truly a case in which God did something new. The name Lazarus speaks of God coming to the rescue at the last moment. Jesus called Lazarus forth from the tomb four days after Lazarus had died. There was no question about whether or not the man had died. It had been four days. Four days was a legal landmark. The person was not coming back. Possessions could be distributed. All was done and over. But God came to the rescue. Jesus called Lazarus forth from the tomb, ordering, “Untie him and let him go.” And Lazarus lived again.

The Lord has done great things for us too. What is the Lord doing that is new in our lives? What specifically needs healing in my life, in your life? Where will the Lord call us out of a desert into a rich land? Where will we rise from our tombs of anger, frustration, or apathy? When will we receive forgiveness for the wrongs we have done? Will we recognize and accept the kindness of the Lord come to redeem us too?

Lent is nearing its end. New things are coming. Let’s continue in hope and open our eyes to see the beauty of the new life coming.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 27, 2022

Seeing with God’s Eyes

I’m always intrigued by those puzzles in which there are two pictures that at first glance look the same, but have a caption reading, “Can you spot the differences between these two pictures?” There are small things that differ between the two pictures. One might have a yellow flower and the other a red one. One is missing a beach ball or has a baseball in the same place. I suspect those who develop these puzzles have a good laugh as they do their work. “How long will it take before the kids notice this difference?” Such puzzles help children develop an awareness of detail and subtle differences. They’re good for reminding adults that things are not always what they seem at first glance to be.

We have reached the Fourth Sunday in Lent, a Sunday known as Laetare Sunday. Laetare is the first word in Latin of the opening antiphon of the Mass, Laetare Jerusalem, Rejoice, O Jerusalem. This Sunday the celebrants will wear rose-colored vestments. (Teasingly, some folks refer to the color as pink, knowing that in our time and culture, pink is a color more commonly associated with women’s styles and fashion than with men’s vestments. The men smile and correct them, “It’s rose.” Another example of different ways of perceiving the same thing….)

Once again, we have two different sets of readings. Cycle A readings are used in communities which are celebrating the Scrutinies with their RCIA candidates. Cycle C readings are used in other communities.

Sometimes the readings have very different themes, but this day there are some common threads.

Cycle C readings begin with a section from the book of Joshua (5:9a, 10-12). It takes place after the people have crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. For forty years, they have been in the desert and eaten manna each day. Now they are in the “Land of Milk and Honey,” a land of great abundance. They celebrate Passover there and eat the unleavened bread and parched grain of that meal. The very next day, the manna does not again fall. The “yield of the land of Canaan” is now theirs to enjoy.

Psalm 34 rejoices: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” The lowly will hear and be glad. “I sought the Lord and he answered me.” The Lord delivered the poor one from distress. So many examples of the goodness of the Lord, a goodness physically tasted by the Israelites in the text from Joshua.

St. Paul explains to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:17-21) that old things have passed away and new things have come into being for those who belong to Christ, those who are members of the Christian community. All are part of Christ’s body and share in the mission of reconciliation between God and humanity. This is not just the calling of the apostles. It is the calling of all Christians. Those outside the community may not perceive this difference, but those who have answered the call will shine forth the righteousness of God in their lives of faith as Christ’s ambassadors to the world.

The Gospel story in Cycle C is from Luke (15:1-3, 11-32). It’s known as the story of the Prodigal Son. A man has two sons. One begs for his share of the inheritance in advance. The other stays home with his father and works on the family land. The first goes off to another land and spends all his money frivolously. Eventually a famine comes. He has fallen to the point of needing to care for pigs, unclean animals, to earn any money at all. He in such a sorry position that he doesn’t even get offered the food fed to the pigs. Coming to his senses, he realizes his error in leaving home. He decides to return and beg his father for a job as a field hand.

As he approaches, his father sees him coming and runs out to meet him. A party and great celebration follow. The brother who remained at home is terribly upset and won’t come into the house to the party. His father begs him to come and celebrate, “because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again.”

The father in this story sees things as God does. We too are called in this parable to see through God’s eyes.

The Cycle A readings start out with the selection of David to be the successor of Saul as King of Israel. The Prophet Samuel (Sam 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a) is called to go to Bethlehem, to the home of a man named Jesse. Jesse has many sons, all of whom appear at first glance to be perfect for becoming king. Yet as each appears, the Lord tells Samuel that this is not the one. Finally, after all the sons at home have been examined, Samuel asks, “Are these all the sons you have?” As it turns out, there is one more, a boy who is out taking care of the sheep. No one even thought of him as a possible option.

Samuel calls for the boy to be summoned. When David appears, the Lord says, “There – anoint him, for this is the one!” When Samuel anointed David, “the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.” David grew up to become the second king of Israel.

The Lord’s eyes perceived something in David that was not obvious to the rest of his family.

Psalm 23 follows in this set of readings. In this psalm, the composer declares, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” We are very used to seeing this as a beautiful and comforting sentiment. Traditional pictures show a well-groomed, rather effeminate man, or a healthy young boy, tending a flock of sheep on a beautiful afternoon. But this was not the lived reality of the world of the shepherd. There were wet, rainy days. There were muddy fields and cold nights. There was very low social status as the people moved from being traveling shepherds to having farms, cities, armies, and kingdoms to defend.

There were still a good number of shepherds in the time of David and Jesus, just as today there continue to be shepherds. Shepherds and other pastoralists (such as cowboys) still follow their animals from pasture to pasture. Many farmers also keep sheep and cattle as part of their operations. These animals provide many resources that are useful for the humans who tend them and sell or exchange those products as part of a way of earning their living.

To think of the Lord God as a shepherd brings a multitude of images. The notion of a God who would get his hands dirty, entering into the earthiness of our lives as humans, is striking. The notion that God is like a shepherd who knows what is best for the sheep and will protect them is comforting.

A lot depends on whose eyes are looking and from what perspective. What is different in one picture/scenario than in the other?

In his letter to the people of Ephesus, St. Paul speaks of light and darkness. Those who are not yet followers of Jesus are still living in darkness. Christians are children of light, from which goodness, truth, and righteousness flow. He advises them to bring anything that is not good to the light so it can be healed. The deeds of darkness are shameful and bring harm. Those that are brought into the light become visible and bring honor. In a culture in which honor and shame are shared across an entire family, this is tremendously important. The picture of a life is quite different when lived with honor in the light of Christ.

The Gospel for today is from St. John (9:1-41), the healing of the man blind from birth. In Jesus’ time, there were no social services for children born with disabilities. To give birth to a child born blind was a great tragedy. There were very few occupations, if any, that welcomed the blind and allowed them to learn a skill and support themselves as adults. Most disabled people found they must become beggars to survive. People passing by might help. More often, they simply pretended not to see or hear the beggar. Most likely, they simply tuned out the voices of the beggars as they themselves went about their day. (We sometimes do the same as we pass the unhoused on our streets, if truth be told.)

Jesus and his friends passed a blind man who was begging. The disciples wondered whose fault it was that the man had been born blind. In their culture, it was assumed that blindness was punishment for sin – whether the sin of the person who had been born blind or the sin of the parents. Jesus replied that no one had sinned and thereby caused this tragedy for the man in question. God’s works would become visible through the blind man and his misfortune.

Jesus spat on the soil, making a mud paste which he smeared on the man’s eyes. Spittle was believed to have healing characteristics in those days. Then he instructed the man to go wash off the mud at the Pool of Siloam. The man didn’t ask to be healed. He could have laughed and remained at his post. But instead, he went to the pool and washed. He played a role in the healing himself by following Jesus’ instructions. When he washed, his blindness was healed and he could see.

He came back from the pool a transformed man. He had been a beggar, dependent on the goodwill of strangers. Now he testified to what had happened. “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.”

He did not know where to find Jesus or even what Jesus looked like. He had been healed at the Siloam while Jesus had continued on his way.

St. John tells of the witness of the newly healed man and his courage in speaking the truth of his experience to the religious authorities and teachers in Jerusalem. The authorities did not believe him. His parents testified that he had indeed been born blind. He didn’t back down from his story of the healing received. He argued with those who claimed that Jesus was a sinner, therefore not possibly able to heal. He reminded them that God listens to those who are devout and do his will. He did not back down in his testimony and was eventually tossed out.

Jesus went to find him when he heard of the actions of the authorities. He asked the man whether he believed in the Son of Man. Upon learning that this was Jesus speaking with him, the man professed his faith.

Themes of seeing and blindness run throughout this story. They don’t follow standard patterns. The blind see and the seeing are blind. God’s eyes see differently than do the eyes of those who think they know what is possible, right, and good. God looks at the big picture and sees differences that we might not notice.

Today I ask myself, what is it that I am not seeing? Where are the blind-spots in my life? Do I really want to see? If I see, what will change? Do I want change? Where does God fit into all of this? What does God see that I don’t? Two pictures – Many things basically the same – A few things different.

Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see your face… Help me to see.

Mass at Resurrection Catholic Community, Aptos, CA – You Tube

Open My Eyes – Jesse Manibusan

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 22, 2022

Living Water – Drawing from Deep Wells

Water – fresh, running water, drinkable water, water in the desert, water from a well, living water. Water and hearing the voice of the Lord are linked in today’s readings.

On the Third Sunday of Lent, two different sets of readings may be used. For communities in which people are preparing for the Easter sacraments – Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist – the readings are those from Cycle A. There are three different Cycles of readings used in our liturgies. This allows us to hear more of scripture that is possible if only one set is ever used.

A ritual known as the Scrutinies is celebrated on the Third, Forth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent. We join with those preparing to enter the Church in looking at our lives and examining areas in which we need a bit more help from the Lord to live our lives as witnesses to the love of God. The readings from Cycle A support the theme for the prayers and reflections that form these rituals.

This year, for celebrations of Mass that do not have the Scrutinies, the readings from Cycle C will be used. At Resurrection, for Sunday’s Zoom Mass, it will be the readings from Cycle A.

Moses and the Israelites in our first reading (Ex 17:3-7) are wandering in a desert – hungry and thirsty, remembering the days back in Egypt when they at least had something to eat and drink, even if they had to be slaves. Moses fears they will turn against him and possibly even kill him in their anger at being in a desert with nothing to drink. He turns to God in frustration – “What am I to do with this people!” And he hears the voice of the Lord (God) telling him to strike a rock with his staff – the same staff he used to part the waters of the sea and bring them back flowing over the pursuing Egyptians. When Moses strikes the rock, water pours forth.

In our experience, this sounds totally improbable, outlandish even. But in that land, water hides within and behind rock formations. It is possible to break through the rock and find flowing water. That water sustained the Israelites and they were able to continue on their 40-year journey, wandering through the desert on the Sinai Peninsula before arriving at the Promised Land.

St. John tells us of the time when Jesus stopped in a Samaritan town and met a woman at a well that had once been owned by the great patriarch, Jacob. (Jn 4:5-42) Jesus and his friends were hungry and thirsty. His friends went into town to buy some food. He stayed at the well. A woman approached the well. Based on the time of the day, he knew she was not a woman of good reputation. Most women came to the well early in the morning. They were busy with household activities around noon when this encounter took place. Possibly, this woman “worked” at night. She had been married many times. She was living with a man to whom she was not married. She was not a person respected by her community. She came to the well at a time when she did not expect to meet anyone there.

Jesus spoke with her, despite the fact he would have known she was not a respectable woman based on the time of day she had come to the well. He asked her for a drink of water. She was shocked and questioned his motives. Why would a good Jew speak to her, let alone ask her to get him some water from the well? Men didn’t speak to women whom they did not know in public places like a well. Jews didn’t speak to Samaritans.

As the woman and Jesus speak, she realizes that he is more than he appears. He speaks of giving her living water (another name for running water rather than water from a well). That seems totally off-the-wall to her. It doesn’t occur to her that he might be speaking of what we call the water of life, the life of and with God. Yet eventually, as they speak, she comes to recognize that he is sent by God and is a prophet. Water comes in many forms, it seems. Sometimes it’s a gift of new life possibilities.

John tells us that Jesus and his disciples stayed in that town for two days. Jesus spent the time teaching the people of the kingdom of God. Many people came to believe in him when they heard his teaching. The waters of life flowed in their community, after first being offered to a woman whom no one respected, a woman who shared what she had discovered with the rest of her community.

St. Paul speaks to the Christians in Rome about the gift of peace with God to which we have access by our faith in Jesus (Rm 5:1-2, 5-8). We can hope in the glory of God, the love of God poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, we don’t have to be perfect or even respectable for God to love us. God reached out to the people of that village in Samaria. God reached out to the people of Rome. God reached out to the Hebrew people in the desert. And God reaches out to us each day. Jesus came to us when we were imperfect. He lived and died as a truly human man. And in his life and death, the witness and integrity of his life became our model. Through his resurrection, we all have life and the possibility of reunion with our God.

In California this year, we continue to be very aware of water, including the lack of water. We are very short of rain. Water conservation and even rationing loom on the horizon. But the water of life, given by God, does not run short. There is plenty of that for all. It’s an abundant resource, just waiting for us to reach out in faith and tap into it.

As the Psalmist says, “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” (Ps 95) Where do we hear God’s voice today? What is the living water we need?

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 13, 2022

Seeing the Glory of God – Deeper than at First Glance

A couple of years ago, a painting came home from school. It was a watercolor, folded in half, then in half again, and then yet again, until only 1/8 of the picture showed. The young artist was not happy with it and didn’t want even to talk about it. I looked at it and found it puzzling. There were blues and whites, with maybe a bit of yellow. The colors had clearly run more than the artist had hoped. It looked like salt had been sprinkled on parts of the painting, resulting in irregular starburst-type shapes. There was a bit of red, some very light and some more streaked.

I didn’t understand what the picture was supposed to represent and he wouldn’t tell me. It was totally unclear to me which end was even supposed to be up! I put it on the side table with other things from school. There it lay for at least a week, probably longer, and I was still no closer to recognizing its theme.

I picked it up and turned it around once or twice to see if that made more sense. It still didn’t identify itself.

Finally, one day in early spring, I turned it one more time. And the image jumped out at me. My eyes, in a sense, had been opened to see its subject and its beauty. It was a snowman! I wondered how I could have not seen it all the other times I looked at it. It was so clear when my eyes looked at it from the right perspective.

It now proudly adorns our freezer.

The readings for the Second Sunday of Lent remind me of this experience with the snowman. In the first reading Abram and God have been talking. (Gn 15:5-12, 17-18) God has told Abram that he will have many descendants, even though both he and his wife are old and she has been unable to have children. Then God also promised that Abram’s descendants would possess the land into which they had traveled, following the Lord’s instructions. Abram and his extended family were not a lot of people. He questioned how they would ever possess a land belonging to so many other peoples.

There was a tradition among the peoples of the time to make covenants (legal agreements) in very visual ways. Animals were taken and sacrificed. The bodies were split in two and laid across from each other, making a pathway between them. Then the parties to the covenant would walk through the pathway. In this way they pledged that if they broke the covenant, the same thing might be done to them. It was not something to be taken lightly.

The Lord God told Abram to bring five animals – a heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a pigeon – and sacrifice them. He was to place their carcasses in such as way as to create the ritual pathway. As the sun set, Abram entered into a deep trance and saw the Lord, represented by a fire pot and flaming torch, pass through, entering into the pathway between the sacrificed animals. In this way, the Lord pledged himself to a covenant with Abram and his descendants. Abram did not have to pass through the pathway for the covenant to be established. Only the Lord passed through. The land from Egypt to Mesopotamia (current Iraq) was to belong to the descendants of Abram. (Today these lands are still peopled by his descendants – both Arabs and Jews.)

Abram saw the glory of the Lord that night, entering into a sacred covenant.

The psalmist sings today of the deep presence of the Lord. “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14) Don’t hide from me, but hear the sound of my call. The Lord is a refuge, so there’s nothing to fear. “I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living…” All is focused on the presence and light of the Lord. All wait to see that goodness.

St. Paul writes to the community at Philippi (Ph 3:17-4:1) to encourage them to continue living in the way he taught them when he was with them in person. Controversies regarding whether it was necessary for Gentiles to become Jews in order to be Christians had reached them as well. Paul reassures them that all that is necessary is to believe and live in faith as they have first learned from him. As Christians, their citizenship, their loyalty, is in heaven. As such, all hope is in the saving power of Jesus, who will change our earthly bodies into heavenly, glorified ones, bringing all things to himself. At this point in time, all that is needed is to stand firm in faith and live as his followers.

The final reading, from St. Luke, tells of a very special experience of seeing. (Lk 9:28b-36)

Jesus went up on a mountain to pray. He took Peter, James, and John with him. As he prayed, his appearance changed, becoming filled with dazzling brightness. He was speaking with Moses (representing the Law and covenant) and Elijah (representing the prophets) when his friends woke up. They had fallen asleep as he was praying. They saw the glory that enveloped Jesus as he spoke with Moses and Elijah. Peter, ever the practical and impulsive one, offered to put up three tents, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. As he spoke, a cloud appeared and a voice spoke from the cloud. “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” Then the vision passed and Jesus was there alone. As they went back down the mountain, they were silent.

What was there to say? Who would ever believe it? Did they even see it? Imagine if you were witness to this kind of transformation of someone you thought you knew! You too might be at a loss for words or uncertain whether anyone would ever believe your words if you spoke of it.

We call this experience of Jesus the Transfiguration. A transfiguration is a complete change of form or appearance from the ordinary to something quite beautiful and extraordinary. In many ways, it’s a question of what is seen. On certain days, or in certain lights, or under certain conditions, we perceive quite ordinary things differently. Somewhat like the painting of the snowman.

How does Jesus’ transfiguration speak to me today? How does it speak to you? What wonderful things are there in life that are just waiting for me to see in all their splendor? Where does the glory of God peek through into my days and my world? How about yours?

May our eyes be opened today to see deeper than first glance – to see the glory of God present in our world.

Readings for the Second Sunday of Lent – Cycle C

Here’s an activity you can do with children to celebrate the Transfiguration.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Mar 6, 2022

Don’t Go Looking for Trouble

One of my favorite hymns is “On Eagle’s Wings,” by Michael Joncas. This hymn is based on Psalm 91, which we sing as part of the liturgy on the First Sunday of Lent. The psalmist speaks of all the benefits of trusting in God. A key promise is, “No evil shall befall you … for to his angels he has given a command … that they guard you in all your ways.” The Lord promises to support those who cling to him in trust when in the midst of distress. The Lord will deliver and glorify the one who trusts.

This theme of trust in the word of the Lord in times of trouble is present in the first reading as well. This is from the book of Deuteronomy (26:4-10). This book begins with a short history of God’s dealings with the Israelites and care for them from the time they left Egypt up to about a month before they entered the Promised land. A series of teachings about the Covenant with God follows. Then comes a section about the Law and how the people are to live. This is the section from which we hear today. The book ends with the final words of Moses before his death just outside the new land to which they had at last arrived.

Moses reminds the people of God’s care and their responsibilities in obeying the Law. Today he speaks of their responsibility to give thanks with a sacrifice of the first fruits of the harvest each year. They are to speak of their history, beginning before their time in Egypt, through the Exodus, and the blessings of this new land in which they now live – “flowing with milk and honey.” Their gifts are to be presented to the Lord and they are to “bow down in his presence.” They have arrived and at last enjoy the blessings of the Lord’s care for them in this land.

Many years later, St. Paul wrote a letter to Christians in Rome. He spoke to the Roman Christians of the role of the Jewish people in salvation history. At one point he reflects on the fact that even though Gentiles have never known and obeyed the Law, they can be saved by believing that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead. He quotes the book of Deuteronomy in which it is written that the commands of the Lord are not far away or impossible to reach. They are “very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” (Dt 30:14) In this same way, those not bound by the Law are saved by the word that is very near. Believing in the heart and confessing that belief verbally leads to salvation. Everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.

Given the history of God’s intervention in human history to care for his people and rescue them in times of trial, the experience of Jesus in the desert is not too surprising. St. Luke tells us that Jesus went into the desert when he left the Jordan after his baptismal experience of the presence and love of the Father. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and so went to pray. (When the Spirit comes upon a person, it’s an amazing experience, but it takes time to process what has happened.) For forty days, Jesus prayed and fasted.

Forty days is a period long enough for new habits and skills to be learned. In Judeo-Christian history, it’s a reminder of the 40 years spent by the Israelites in the desert between the Exodus from Egypt and their entrance into the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. It’s also a very long time for humans to go without food, or with very little food. At the end of his forty days fast, Jesus was probably tired and was definitely hungry.

In this weakened state, he had a visitor. The Greek term that we translate as devil means a false accuser or slanderer. This visitor tried to convince Jesus to do something out of the ordinary to appease his hunger – to use his new-found relationship with the Father for his own benefit. Prove that you’re the Son of God. Just turn a few stones into loaves of bread and you won’t have to be hungry anymore. You’re special. God’s own son. Take advantage of it! But Jesus would have none of that. He quoted Scripture to remind the visitor that “One does not live by bread alone.”

Well then. That didn’t work. Time to try something else. Up to a mountain top. See all the kingdoms of the world. “I shall give to you all this power and glory.” It’s mine. I can give it away. Just worship me and you can have it – power and glory. But Jesus turns that down too. He quotes the Law: “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”

OK, so this guy wants to quote Scripture all the time. One more thing to try, thinks the visitor. Here’s the great temple of Jerusalem. Way up on the very topmost peak. Now throw yourself down from here. After all, Scripture says, “He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you … With their hands they will support you…” The visitor quotes Psalm 91.

Jesus rejects all these temptations – to use his power and position to meet his own needs, to gain earthly power, or to force God’s hand and provoke a miraculous intervention to save his life. Talk about fame if that happened! But Jesus rejects them all. “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” (Dt 6:16) Once again we return to the Law as presented in the book of Deuteronomy.

What is the lesson for us? I think it could be summed up with the simple admonition, “Don’t go looking for trouble.” It’s easy to think we have all the answers or that we are special because of our education, our social status, our job, our family, our good looks, or whatever. Sometimes we are also tempted to take advantage of these characteristics with which we may have been gifted. Or we are tempted to think that a spiritual experience makes us better judges of what another person should do. We might also think that God will get us out of any trouble we get into, so what’s to lose?

There are many ways the visitor who tempted Jesus can whisper lies to us as well. Even Jesus had to deal with this visitor. Jesus saw through the visitor’s offers and lies. He relied on his faith and its traditions to guide his thinking about how he was to proceed and what his ministry would be.

As we journey through the season of Lent, we too are called to trust in the Lord. This is a good time to turn to scripture – read a Gospel or the Acts of the Apostles. Study the documents of the Council. Read one of Pope Francis’ books. He’s written some fantastic ones. They’re short and filled with wisdom.

And then, take time for prayer. It doesn’t need to be filled with a lot of words. Take a walk with Jesus. Open your eyes to the beauty of the place in which you live. See the flowers. Listen to the birds. Smell the earth or the water. Notice the gifts of God in your life. See the beauty of the people you meet along the way. Smile.

Troubles will come soon enough. They come to everyone. When they come, God will be there with us. Angels will be there to support us, sent by God. We may not see them, but they will be present, offering strength on which we can draw if we remember to seek and hope for it. Sometimes, we even meet their helpers along the way – our sisters and brothers in faith who reach out to accompany us on our journey.

Don’t go looking for trouble! Just keep your eyes open for God’s presence supporting you when trouble comes around.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Apr 5, 2020

Palm Sunday – Jesus Comes to Jerusalem

Palm Sunday has arrived once more. In 2020, as we deal with the challenges of a worldwide pandemic, it seems a good time to look carefully at the story of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem as he began the last week of his public ministry.

Here’s a word search puzzle to try, share it with children and friends, and reflect on what it all meant then and now. If you can’t find all the words, check here for the solution, but spend some time searching for them and reflecting first!

Posted by Theologika on Feb 10, 2016

Prayer as Lent Begins

Today God our Father brings us to the beginning of Lent.

We pray that in this time of salvation he will fill us with the Holy Spirit, purify our hearts, and strengthen us in love. Let us humbly ask him:

Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

May we be filled and satisfied,
— by the word which you give us.

Teach us to be loving not only in great and exceptional moments,
— but above all in the ordinary events of daily life.

May we abstain from what we do not really need,
— and help our brothers and sisters in distress.

May we bear the wounds of your Son in our bodies,
— for through his body he gave us life.

Intercessions, from Morning Prayer for Ash Wednesday,
Liturgy of the Hours

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Next Entries »

A Destination is Reached

Opened Graves and the Breath of God

Not as Humans See

Water: Cool, Clear, Water

Light Shining Forth

The Trickster in the Garden

Good Friday – Time to celebrate?

Recognizing the Lord when He Comes

Doing Something New

Seeing with God’s Eyes

Living Water – Drawing from Deep Wells

Seeing the Glory of God – Deeper than at First Glance

Don’t Go Looking for Trouble

Palm Sunday – Jesus Comes to Jerusalem

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