These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
“Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.’” (Ex 32:7-14)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031424.cfm
This scene is somewhat humorous, Moses having to remind God of the promises to the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob). God remembers and relents. Perhaps we too need to remember.
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. (Is 49:8-15)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031324.cfm
Sometimes we overlook some of the most radical images of God that the Scriptures offer us. Today’s image of God as the tender, nursing mother is a prime example. Folks wanted to kill Jesus because as today’s gospel says: he “called God his own father, making himself equal to God.” Imagine what would have happened if Jesus had called God his own father AND mother!
The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar. (Ezekiel 47: 1-9, 12)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031224.cfm
The vision of the prophet Ezekiel of the water flowing from the temple is the source of the famous Easter chant, Vidi Aquam. At the great feast of Easter as we renew the promises of our baptism, may we touch again the water flowing from the sanctuary and find healing.
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. (Is 65:17-21)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031124.cfm
It’s always good to remember that “Jerusalem” is more than just a reference to the earthly Jerusalem. In the prophets, “Jerusalem” is the place of encounter between God and God’s people. In the Book of Revelation it is the Heavenly Jerusalem that comes down from heaven. “Jerusalem” is the true home for all of us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (Jn 3:14-21)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031024-YearB.cfm
If John 3:16 is the center of the gospel message, then we are called to LOVE the world and everyone in it as God does. Somehow, we never seem to manage it.
