First Reading Commentary
One can easily marvel at the miracle that
God worked for His people by bringing them out of the slavery of Egypt. In fact, most parishes will proclaim that
miraculous event in one of the Readings at the Easter Vigil; and of course,
virtually everyone looks forward to the annual showing of "The Ten
Commandments" with its all-star cast.
But as great as that event in salvation history was, we are not eyewitnesses. Thus our Lord would have us turn our focus to
“something new”.
The miraculous crossing of the Israelites
occurred in a moment of time. Christ's
salvific act, although it occurred in a moment of time, miraculously mingles
with eternity. The Sacrifice of the Lamb
of God is witnessed at each and every Mass and the fruits of this Supreme
Sacrifice are received at Mass in the Eucharist and ultimately in eternal life
– if one can actually say that something eternal is ultimate. Thus God desires us to be eyewitnesses of
something that is not only new, but forever new.
Notice that our Lord
is offering “water in the desert”. That is to say: in our times of personal
prayer, our times of being alone, He tells us that we’re not alone; He is with
us. He offers us water; meaning that He
will sustain us in our prayer, in our relationship with Him.
Second Reading Commentary
For some Christians, sadly, “the supreme
good of knowing Christ Jesus” is an abstract thought. There are many reasons for this; among them
include the highly secularized society we live in, and the failure to pursue
Christ beyond the Sunday obligation.
Any relationship that doesn't bond in some
way will struggle. How heart wrenching
is the concept that sees Jesus rightly as the Savior, but the veil in this
valley of tears which blocks spiritual vision suggests that He is out there
somewhere and not really lovingly involved in the lives of humanity; while at
the other end of the relational spectrum, Saint Paul considers “everything as a
loss” because he knows his Lord and Savior so intimately. In fact, Saint Paul even goes so far as to
refer to all things as “rubbish” which is a very good rendering of the Greek
text.
Admittedly, it seems harsh to call all
other relationships and moral joys rubbish, but what Saint Paul is doing is
hoisting the greatness of Christ to an unfathomable level rather than actually
degrading everything else. Saint Paul
does, after all, define his knowledge of Christ as a “supreme good” which
undoubtedly puts his relationship with Jesus at a level that few can
comprehend.
Paul acknowledges that any righteousness he
possesses was dealt to him by the gift of faith. Our Lord already knows what we can do with
the gift of faith but desires that we surrender to His will in order to show us
what He can do with our gift of faith. A
human being is not capable by his/her own merits of joyfully sharing in the
life of Christ and knowing “the power of His Resurrection”. We can't conform ourselves to Jesus without
His help. This intimate level that Saint
Paul already enjoys still longs for an even higher level of maturity; but Paul
divulges the secret: “I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.” And this possession is not caused by any kind
of obtrusiveness on our Lord's part, for that would be contrary to divine love;
but rather, it is a surrendering of the human will to the divine will. Paul seeks a maturity in his relationship
with Jesus that is perfect which echoes the words of our Savior: "Be
perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).
When our Lord commands us to
"be", it intimates cooperation with grace. In other words, Christ can do the work
through us but for us to "be" also requires action on our part. This compliant cooperation with grace is what
leads to “the prize of God’s upward calling”.
Gospel Commentary
It's a bit humorous, while at the same time
very sad to read that the scribes and Pharisees were telling Jesus what the Law
of Moses commanded; but their blindness hides from them the absurdity of what
they're doing.
What did Jesus “write on the ground with
His Finger?” Virtually everyone who
reads this passage is curious. No one
knows for certain except for those who witnessed it; but the Old Testament may
provide a clue. First of all, Scripture
tells us that the two stone tablets containing the Commandments that were given
to Moses were written with the Finger of God (cf. Exodus 31:18). Thus this
Gospel scene reminds us that the Finger which wrote the Commandments is the
same Finger which here writes on the ground.
Secondly, these words are also found in the Old Testament: "O Lord,
the hope of Israel, all that forsake You shall be confounded; they that depart
from You shall be written in the earth" (Jeremiah 17:13). Perhaps
what Jesus is doing is a fulfillment of that Old Testament verse.
Practically everyone has the power to stoop
down and erase anything that is written on the ground; but our sins are
inscribed on our heart and soul and can only be erased by Jesus.
A very ancient practice, which sort of fell
through the ecclesial cracks somewhere, was re-introduced by Saint John Paul
II. It's the practice of contemplating
the Face of Christ. While we can be
negligent when it comes to going to Confession, the season of Lent is a great
opportunity to turn things around. Most
parishes even create more opportunities to take advantage of that sacrament
during this penitential season. Waiting
in line for Confession can be a humbling experience because it speaks quite
clearly that none of us are in a position to cast the first stone. After receiving this Sacrament of mercy and
love, efforts can be made to offer thanksgiving by contemplating the Face of
Christ. How does He look at you when He
says: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and
from now on do not sin any more.”? See
that Face of Love Who alone can make such a bold statement to you through His
sacrament of mercy.
