In this final Lenten Sunday we look again at the significance of Christ in our lives. We recognise him as our saviour, but we look more closely in order to discover just what kind of saviour he is. He has taken the form of a slave; he has been glorified with a name above all other names; he continues to suffer with us. We have not been saved through military might, but through the self-offering humility of Jesus. Though he was really in the form of God, Jesus came in the form of a slave. We have a saviour who was crushed for our iniquities, nailed to a cross as a convicted criminal, and there endured the sense of abandonment. In the face of this, we must ask a fundamental question: Why does God love us with such abandon? Our Saviour was lifted up and exalted precisely because he emptied himself of his divine prerogatives. He became one of us in order to show us how we are to live. Unlike conquerors who triumph by putting down their opponents, Jesus was raised up because he himself was first willing to be put down. Our Saviour first offered himself for us and continues to offer himself to us as an example to follow. As he was willing to empty himself for our sake, so we are told to empty ourselves for the sake of others. The Passion narrative leaves us up in the air. It leaves us in a better position than the disciples because we know the end of the story!. Jesus’ disciples were downcast by what they felt was the defeat of Jesus, however we know that out of this darkness, light and hope will emerge!
There is hypocrisy in the actions of the scribes and Pharisees. These were the scholars of the Jewish Law, perhaps the equivalent of today’s lawyers. Firstly, they only bring along one of the guilty parties, the woman, while the male partner is free from public condemnation. Secondly, their concern is not really with this woman. She is a pawn in their real purpose, which is to find something against Jesus. In this, they have no real respect for the Law they claim to uphold. And finally, as Jesus points out, they too are sinners. Why might this story be so important for the early Christian communities, so that even though there is uncertainty about its location there can be no doubt about its inclusion within the good news Jesus offers? Perhaps John’s or Luke’s community needed to be reminded that for all our Christian ideals and desires, we are all frail followers of Jesus, but sin is no barrier to discipleship. The only barrier is the despair that comes from self-condemnation and a failure to trust in God who refuses to condemn. Jesus does not condemn the woman even as he encourages going and striving to live without sin. As the journey of Lent moves to its end, let us place our confidence in the loving mercy of God.
Two groups are singled out in the gospel, tax-collectors and sinners. Tax-collectors were hated because they worked for the despised Roman occupiers and exacted their wages from their compatriots. People whose occupations prevented them from regular observance of the Law were considered sinners. These were the people who came to hear Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes, who dealt with the Law, criticised Jesus for the company he kept. The parable has a double focus. While it is clearly about the mercy God shows repentant sinners (the younger brother), it also contrasts God’s openness with the closed-mindedness of those who consider themselves faithful (the older brother). The picture of the father shatters the traditional patriarchal image and offers us a radically different picture of fatherhood, a picture that was totally incomprehensible to both sons.
One major theme emerges from this week’s readings: incomprehensibility of God. We see it in the mysterious divine name, which distinguishes the God of Israel from all others and yet leaves us in the dark as to its meaning. We see it as God communicates with us through inanimate objects and the people in our lives. Finally, we see that God both pardons iniquities and decides to root out unfruitful branches, and we are confused by such inconsistency. In the midst of this ambiguity we have one sure source of stability – Christ. It is Christ who reveals the nature and meaning of the divine name; it is Christ who intercedes for us before God. Christ, the one who set his face toward Jerusalem, there to suffer and die, is the great messenger through whom God is revealed.
The gospel report includes the actual transfiguration of Jesus and the conversation between him and the two men from heaven. The symbolism in the account suggests that the significance of this event is less in its historicity than in its theological meaning. Both Moses and Elijah, the glorified men who represent the law and the prophets respectively, also had encounters with God on mountains. While he is in a glorified state, the men speak with Jesus of his imminent ‘exodus’. Thus Jesus’ death was not a tragic mistake, something that he was unable to avoid. Rather, it was known beforehand by those who represented the entire religious tradition of Israel. It will take the actual unfolding of the events of Jesus’ death for the disciples to understand its meaning.
The account of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness connects Jesus with ancient Israel. The wilderness had been the place of Israel’s testing (cf. Deut 8:2). This account shows that unlike that ancient people, Jesus did not fail his test. The length of Jesus’ fasting also has ancient Israelite significance. The two men who represented Israel’s law and prophets, Moses and Elijah respectively, fasted for forty days and forty nights. Moses fasted as he wrote the ten commandments on tablets of stone (cf. Exod 34:28). Elijah fasted as he walked to Horeb (cf. 1 Kgs 19:8). The temptations themselves occurred in three different places: the wilderness, on a high mountain; on the parapet of the temple in Jerusalem. In each instance, Jesus is challenged to prove that he is the Son of God. Jesus never directly addresses the question of his divine sonship, but he always shows himself to be faithful as Israel was not.
Somewhat curiously and perhaps unnecessarily, since it was not an issue in Corinth, as for example in Galatia, Paul adds a passing shot at the Law. He seems to have always been on guard lest his converts from the Gentile (non-Jewish) world would be enticed to submit themselves to the practice of the Jewish law. In light of the paschal mystery Paul sees the law ranged on the side of the old era of sin and death that has been overtaken by God’s action in Christ. Paul’s long instruction about the resurrection ends on a strong note of encouragement. ‘Keep on working’, he says, ‘at the Lord’s work, knowing that in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.’ Though so often we seem to be getting nowhere and are tempted to give up, the hope of resurrection means that nothing is valueless, nothing – even failure and seeming defeat – is wasted. It is all part of a great design in which the power of the risen Lord is at work in us, overcoming the forces of death and negativity to reclaim the universe for life and for humanity.
The disciples are told to act toward their enemies in a way exactly opposite of which they themselves are treated; they are not to retaliate in kind. Their love should not be mere passive acceptance, but an active love. Four examples of such love are given. Whether attacked or insulted by a blow to the cheek, one must resist retaliation. This same extravagance is shown in one’s willingness to surrender an undergarment when an outer cloak is taken. The disciples are told to give unquestioningly when asked and not to demand the return of items taken. Such behaviour may appear excessive, but it illustrates the extremes to which one must be willing to love enemies. Finally, the way the disciples treat others will be the standard for the way they are treated by God.
Jesus singles out four life situations that make people blessed. He then identifies their opposites and declares them as being woeful. The blessed are those who are poor, hungry, sorrowful, or persecuted, while the woeful ones are the rich, the satisfied, the joyful, the respected. Jesus has overturned the standards of this age and has established new standards, those of the reign of God. Perhaps the heart of this teaching is found in the last beatitude and the last woe. The followers of Jesus will be hated and marginalised and scorned; they will be like the prophets of old. Conversely, the disciples should be wary when they are accepted and esteemed; this could mean that they enjoy approval because they deliver a message that contains no call to conversion.
Simon recognises Jesus’ divine power in the miraculous catch of fish. He prostrates himself before Jesus and addresses him as Lord (kýrios), a title that combines the elements of power and authority. Simon and the others are filled with astonishment or fear to which Jesus responds in characteristic manner: ‘Do not be afraid!’ Jesus does not provide these fishermen a remarkable catch merely in order to cancel the frustration they experienced in an unsuccessful night of fishing. The miracle became an acted-out prophecy revealing both his own mysterious authority and the ministry to which they are being called. Jesus declares that a turning point in their lives has been reached. The commission states: From now on . . .!