HOMILY for March 15, 2020: 3rd Sunday in Lent, Cycle A

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3^rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

March 15, 2020

The Long Way Around

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

Samaria

Imagine that someone is in Towson and wants to drive out here to Parkton.

I think the easy way would be to take I-83 or York Road and go through Hunt Valley to get here. But, this person so dislikes Hunt Valley and the people who live there that they won’t even drive through the area.

So, they head east, far out of the way, and take Dulaney Valley Road and the Jarrettsville Pike up into Harford County. And only then do they turn west to get to Parkton.

Now, that’s all make-believe and it is ridiculous, but it helps us to appreciate the impact of Jesus going through Samaria in today’s gospel. He is traveling, maybe walking from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north.

The area between Judea and Galilee was called Samaria. Most Jews of Jesus’ day would have gone out of their way to avoid passing through this area. 

Why? Because they had negative feelings and prejudice against the Samaritans and refused to have anything to do with them. 

   

A Samaritan Woman

So, here is Jesus traveling through Samaria.

Even more dramatic, he stops at a well to get some water and a Samaritan woman also comes up to the well. Jesus starts talking with her. 

I mean, this is like three strikes and you’re out in baseball. This person is 1) a different ethnic background, 2) a different religion, and to top it all off, 3) a woman. 

Jews in Jesus’ day would have nothing to do with these Samaritans because of their ethnic background and religious differences. And, in that culture, women were treated in such a diminished way that a man was not to even talk with a woman in public. 

So, Jesus crashes through these three barriers or prejudices. He is showing that God’s love reaches out to all persons – regardless of who they are. 

And here is the first lesson on faith that we are given in this story. If we are going to live a life of faith, and if we are going to draw others to a genuine faith, we need to get beyond differences and barriers and prejudices.

We need to see and treat others as human beings like ourselves, no matter who they are. In our day and age, I suggest that this relates especially to our attitudes – and that’s where it starts, with our attitudes.

We need to examine our attitudes toward minorities in our own country, and toward refugees and migrants from wherever. Living faith in Jesus Christ and attracting others to this faith demands that we do this.      

The Samaritan Woman’s Background

And then, notice this.

In their conversation, Jesus says that he knows this Samaritan woman’s personal background – and it’s a doozie! She has had five husbands and the man she is now living with is not her husband.

From the wording, it is clear that Jesus is not scolding or shaming or condemning her. He just states what he knows and leaves it for the woman to think about.

Jesus must sense that within herself, this woman, like all human beings, is really thirsty for a water that satisfies us completely – a spiritual water. She’s looked for this in the wrong ways and just hasn’t found it yet.

Jesus’ approach is how I see our Sacrament of Reconciliation or confession. It is not to be a time for heavy guilt trips or judging.

Instead, it is more of an experience for us to look at ourselves and come to healing. It’s a time to quench our thirst for living water, as Jesus says today, water that gives us divine, eternal life.

And here is the second faith lesson in this passage. Because of Jesus’ respectful approach to this woman, she comes to see him as more than ordinary – maybe as the Messiah.

And she even goes and tells others about Jesus. So, living a life of faith and attracting others to that faith demands respect for others as persons – no matter what they have done. 

Conclusion

So, 1) the importance of our attitude toward others no matter who they are, and 2) the importance of respecting others as persons no matter what they have done – two important lessons today for living faith and attracting others to faith.  

HOMILY for March 1, 2020: 1st Sunday in Lent, Cycle A

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1^st Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

March 1, 2020

Universal Paths into Sin

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Temptation to Sin

So, Jesus is tempted to sin.

This is a very dramatic event. If Jesus can be tempted to sin, by all means, we can also be tempted.

I am thinking that the three ways Jesus is tempted are very fundamental ways that we can also be led to sin. These may be very common, even universal challenges. 

   

First: Hunger for More 

We are first told that Jesus is hungry and that the devil tempts him to change stone into bread.

The deeper issue I see here is the hunger itself. We all have hunger – and I don’t mean just physical hunger – we all have hunger and desire within us.

We want more, more of what we have, or more by getting something we don’t have. It is so easy to get lured by advertising into thinking that this hunger or desire can be satisfied by more and more things.

Better food or more of it, a new car, nicer furniture, a bigger home, the latest-styled clothes, the most up-to-date i-Phone, a glamorous cruise to the Caribbean, and on it goes. All of these things are good in themselves, but they never really satisfy us.

And they don’t because God in the act of creation planted this hunger within us and it can only be satisfied by God. It can only be satisfied as we grow in our relationship with God and become more compassionate, understanding, patient, and life-giving persons – more God-like.

So, Jesus’ temptation is a very real temptation for us. And we too need to say: “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”     

Second: Expect No Pain

Then, Jesus is led to the roof of the temple and the devil tempts him to jump off.

Surely God will protect him from getting hurt. The deeper issue I see here is expecting God to protect us from all pain.

In other words, do we see a life of faith as something like a quid pro quo with God? If I have faith, and if I come to Mass, and if I obey the commandments, then surely God will take care of me.

I will be protected from sickness and losing my job and automobile accidents and family upsets and all the rest. But, as Jesus responds here, we are not to expect God to exempt us from all struggle and suffering.  

Sadly, some of this is part of being human. Still, the good news is that God will help us to deal with all of this and even to grow through all of this to be more like Jesus – who also suffered. 

So, Jesus’ temptation is again a very real temptation for us. And we too need to say: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Third: Get My Own Way

Finally, we are told that the devil takes Jesus up on a high mountain and offers him power over all the kingdoms of the world.

The deeper issue I see here is our use of power. We are tempted sometimes to want things our way at all costs.

We are tempted to use our strong personality to muscle others. Or we are tempted to manipulate others with guilt or half-truths.  

And when we do this, we are in effect worshipping ourselves and making ourselves the center of everything. In contrast, Jesus is humble and shows the power of a certain vulnerability with others.  

His way is one of respect for others, regardless of who they are or what they have done. His way is one of conversation and not coercion.

So, Jesus’ temptation is again a very real temptation for us. And we too need to say: “The Lord your God shall you worship, and him alone shall you serve.”

Conclusion

So, these three temptations of Jesus are probably universal human temptations. Maybe they can provide some good focus for our examination of conscience during these six weeks of Lent.