St. Anthony & Our Lady of Fatima

The unnamed woman’s anointing of Jesus might seem a little thing, but it is the most any of us can do: she recognizes Jesus, and gives all she has for him, not understanding completely that her actions helped to prepare the King, first for his death and then for his triumph, but knowing somehow that he is the Messiah.  We, too, are called to recognize Jesus the Messiah in faith, not simply as a conquering hero but as a servant willing to give himself up to death for us.

Jesus tells the parable of a grain of wheat.  When it is dropped into the earth, the seed “dies”.  But in the warmth and moisture of the earth, new life breaks out.  If we wish to follow Jesus, we must empty ourselves of self-centeredness, of the instinct for self-preservation at the expense of our sisters and brothers.  From seeds buried in the warm love and service of others, and watered by fidelity to our baptismal commitment, the Christian community grows into the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

By visiting Jesus at night, Nicodemus avoids the daylight that might reveal him as associating with a man who is unpopular with the religious institution.  To be unafraid or unashamed of professing our friendship with Jesus by the way we live always brings hard demands.  We often prefer the false safety of darkness to the light of Christ that exposes, for example, our selfish, racist, sexist, or violent selves.  Lent is designed to drag us out of darkness into the Easter light of Christ through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

The contemporary church cannot consider itself beyond the reach of Jesus’ whip or overturning hands.  When church leaders connive with unjust civil leaders, when fundraising takes precedence over faith raising, when we refuse to tolerate alternatives to religious practices and institutions, then ecclesial “cleansing” is needed by prophets driven by the Spirit of Jesus.  For us who are living stones in the Temple of Christ’s Body, Lent is also a time for cleansing the deep personal sanctuary of our hearts, for driving out of our lives whatever clutters our discipleship.