Note: Alternate readings used for Year A Scrutinies are
found below in a second section.
 |
| “Christ Driving the Money Changers Out of the by Calentin De Boulogne, 1618 |
(Year B Readings)
Catechism Links
CCC 459,
577-582: Jesus and the Law
CCC 593,
583-586: Temple prefigures Christ; he is the Temple
CCC 1967-1968:
the New Law completes the Old
CCC 272,
550, 853: Christ’s power revealed in the Cross
Reading 1: Exodus
20:1-17
Then God delivered all these
commandments:
"I, the LORD, am your
God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
You shall not have other gods
besides me.
You shall not carve idols for
yourselves
in the shape of anything in
the sky above
or on the earth below or in the
waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before
them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am
a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for
their fathers' wickedness
on the children of those who
hate me,
down to the third and fourth
generation;
but bestowing mercy down to
the thousandth generation
on the children of those who
love me and keep my commandments.
"You shall not take the
name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave
unpunished
the one who takes his name in
vain.
"Remember to keep holy
the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do
all your work,
but the seventh day is the
sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then
either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave,
or your beast,
or by the alien who lives
with you.
In six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in
them;
but on the seventh day he
rested.
That is why the LORD has
blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
"Honor your father and
your mother,
that you may have a long life
in the land
which the LORD, your God, is
giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit
adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's
house.
You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave,
nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that
belongs to him."
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Commentary on Ex 20:1-17
In this reading
we are given the Exodus version of the delivery of the Ten Commandments by
Moses. The fact that the Decalogue is repeated here and in Deuteronomy
indicates the importance of these statues as a moral code for the people of
God. While the division into Ten Commandments is somewhat uncertain, we believe
that verses 1-6 is one commandment while verse 7 describes two (see also Deuteronomy
5:6-21).
“The chief
discrepancies between Exodus and Deuteronomy consist in the humanitarian
motivation added in the latter for the observance of the Sabbath precept, and
in the reversal of order in Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21. In Exodus,
‘house’ is named first and then ‘wife.’”[4]
CCC: Ex 20:1-17 2056;
Ex 20:2-5 2083;
Ex 20:2 2061;
Ex 20:7 2141;
Ex 20:8-10 2167;
Ex 20:11 2169;
Ex 20:12 2196,
2200, 2214; Ex 20:13 2257;
Ex 20:14 2330;
Ex 20:15 2400;
Ex 20:16 2463,
2504; Ex 20:17 1456,
2513, 2533
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then God delivered all these
commandments:
"I, the LORD am your
God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
You shall not have other gods
besides me.
"You shall not take the
name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave
unpunished
the one who takes his name in
vain.
"Remember to keep holy
the sabbath day.
Honor your father and your
mother,
that you may have a long life
in the land
which the Lord, your God, is
giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit
adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your
neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave,
nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that
belongs to him."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
This shorter
version of the Ten Commandments by Moses omits more detailed
explanations of the prohibition against idol worship and the intended extent of
sabbath rest.
CCC: Ex 20:1-17 2056; Ex 20:2-5 2083; Ex 20:2 2061; Ex 20:7 2141; Ex 20:8-10 2167; Ex 20:12 2196, 2200, 2214; Ex
20:13 2257; Ex 20:14 2330; Ex 20:15 2400; Ex 20:16 2463, 2504; Ex
20:17 1456, 2513, 2533
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of
everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is
perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is
trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the
words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are
right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is
clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the
words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD
are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the
words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than
gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the
words of everlasting life.
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Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise.
In this passage we give praise to God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our
daily lives. The hymn also extols the virtue of obedience and steadfastness to
the Law and its precepts.
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
For Jews demand signs and
Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ
crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews
and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is
wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is
stronger than human strength.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Cor 1:22-25
The Gospel St.
CCC: 1 Cor 1:24-25 272
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John
2:13-25
Since the Passover of the
Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem
He found in the temple area
those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers
seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the
temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the
money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves
he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's
house a marketplace."
His disciples recalled the
words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will
consume me.
At this the Jews answered and
said to him,
"What sign can you show
us for doing this?"
Jesus answered and said to
them,
"Destroy this temple and
in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said,
"This temple has been
under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in
three days?"
But he was speaking about the
temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised
from the dead,
his disciples remembered that
he had said this,
and they came to believe the
Scripture
and the word Jesus had
spoken.
While he was in Jerusalem
many began to believe in his
name
when they saw the signs he
was doing.
But Jesus would not trust
himself to them because he knew them all,
and did not need anyone to
testify about human nature.
He himself understood it
well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn
2:13-25
Jesus' actions there are acted-out prophecy and his play
on words constitutes prophetic fore-telling. The temple transactions were
legitimate; they were conducted in the appropriate temple area; and they were
essential supports of the temple service.
The explanation of Jesus’ behavior is found in an
allusion from Zechariah 14:21, who said
that at the end-time there would be no need for merchants in the house of the
Lord. The psalm text says that zeal for the house of God makes the psalmist
vulnerable to the scorn and abuse of others (cf. Psalm 69:9). By driving the
merchants out of the temple precincts, Jesus announces that the time of
fulfillment has come. Identifying God as his Father affirms his right to make
such a claim and to act in accord with it.
In the final verses of this passage Jesus sees that many
of those who follow him do so only because of the miraculous signs he has
performed (see also John 6:2). He recognizes that faith based upon the
superficial signs is unstable and confused.
CCC: Jn 2:13-14 583;
Jn 2:16-17 584;
Jn 2:18-22 586;
Jn 2:18 575;
Jn 2:19-22 994;
Jn 2:21 586;
Jn 2:25 473
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Reflection:
The third week of lent begins
with the presentation of the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) from Exodus. The heart of the law is put in front of us
supported by a psalm praising the law and interestingly coupled with the story
of Jesus and the money changers from John’s Gospel and part of Paul’s first
letter to the Corinthians focused on differentiating Christians from Greek
Philosophers and Jews thinking only of the law.
The threads, as usual are numerous. The most common seems to be the evolution of
our understanding of God. We start with
Moses presenting the Ten Commandments to the Hebrew people who, as the Psalmist
infers, took the whole of the law to heart.
Many of them, especially the Priestly class, focused on the letter of
the law and taught that this was truly God’s will and that failure to follow
the explicit precepts would result in punishment from God. They built a whole cult around the scrupulous
observance of the law and, as we see in other places in scripture, lorded it
over those more “causal” worshipers.
The reason we want to
remember this evolution of legal observance is because it is directly
responsible for the situation Jesus discovered in the temple and the reason he
became distraught. Jesus found vendors
selling all manner of sacrificial animals and, because Roman money was not
accepted by the temple, money changers taking the coin of the realm and
changing it for the Tyrian half-shekel which was accepted.
Like everywhere else we can
be sure the vendors in the temple were not there because they were
altruistic. They were there to make a
profit and I am sure our Savior’s blood must have boiled when he saw those
pilgrims coming to the temple and being bilked by the temple vendors. You can also be sure that the temple
leadership itself was getting a cut of the proceeds. Remember now, this was His Father’s
house!
This is where we must
remember that we hate the sin and love the sinner. Jesus proceeded to seriously disrupt the
practice he abhorred. He turned over the
tables of the money changers and really made a stink. You can imagine what the temple leaders
thought of this. It would be like
someone standing in the vestibule of the church and telling everyone the church
itself was crooked. Is it any wonder
they wanted him dead?
From a historical
perspective, all of this is interesting and it tells us how our Lord came to
change things. It explains why there was
so much animosity toward him from the Sanhedrin. But what actions on our part do these events
drive? What lesson does it teach? This is where we have to pick just one for
today, for there are many we could choose.
One piece of all this
wonderful scripture speaks to us and our Lenten journey; "Zeal for your house will consume me." In the
Gospel, the disciples quote Psalm 69 v.10 which, according to scholars is the
most quoted Psalm in the New Testament.
We tend to get downcast if all we do during lent is focus upon the bad
we have done. Even if we pledge to do
better in areas where we have failed one can get pretty depressed. But if, like Christ, zeal for our Father’s
house consumes us – ah, that means we light up the world.
Zeal for our Father’s house
means we are excited about our faith and excited to pass it on to others. Have you ever seen a child with a prize –
they want to tell everyone about it.
That’s zeal for our Father’s house.
We can become like that. We can
develop that excitement if it is what is truly important to us. Let us all pledge, then, that from this point
forward zeal for our Father’s house will consume us and we will be a light to
those we meet.
Pax
In Other Years on March 8: Optional
Memorial for St. John of God, Religious
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Third Sunday of Lent (For use with RCIA)
Catechism
Links
CCC 1214-1216,
1226-1228: baptism, rebirth of water and Spirit
CCC 727-729: Jesus reveals the Holy Spirit
CCC 694, 733-736, 1215, 1999, 2652: the Holy Spirit, the living water, a gift of God
CCC 604, 733, 1820, 1825, 1992, 2658: God takes the initiative; hope from the Spirit
CCC 727-729: Jesus reveals the Holy Spirit
CCC 694, 733-736, 1215, 1999, 2652: the Holy Spirit, the living water, a gift of God
CCC 604, 733, 1820, 1825, 1992, 2658: God takes the initiative; hope from the Spirit
Readings and Commentary:3
Reading 1: Exodus
17:3-7
In those days, in their
thirst for water,
the people grumbled against
Moses,
saying, "Why did you
ever make us leave Egypt
Was it just to have us die
here of thirst
with our children and our
livestock?"
So Moses cried out to the
LORD,
"What shall I do with
this people?
a little more and they will
stone me!"
The LORD answered Moses,
"Go over there in front
of the people,
along with some of the elders
of Israel
holding in your hand, as you
go,
the staff with which you
struck the river.
I will be standing there in
front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the
water will flow from it
for the people to
drink."
This Moses did, in the
presence of the elders of Israel
The place was called Massah
and Meribah,
because the Israelites
quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
"Is the LORD in our
midst or not?"
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Commentary on Ex 17:3-7
This passage continues the journey of the Hebrews in the desert following
their departure from Egypt
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your
hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to
the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of
our salvation.
Let us come into his presence
with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms
to him.
R. If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in
worship;
let us kneel before the LORD
who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he
shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear
his voice:
"Harden not your hearts
as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in
the desert,
Where your fathers tempted
me;
they tested me though they
had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
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Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
This part of Psalm 95, commonly used as the invitatory psalm for the
Liturgy of the Hours, is a song of thanks giving. In these strophes the
incident at Meribah is remembered and God’s underserved mercy proclaimed. The
community is rejoicing that the Lord is God and that he has brought us
salvation in spite of our forbearer’s obstinacy. We are encouraged to listen to
the Lord, even if what we are asked is difficult.
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Reading II: Romans
5:1-2, 5-8
Since we have been justified
by faith,
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained
access by faith
to this grace in which we
stand,
and we boast in hope of the
glory of God.
And hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has
been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who
has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were
still helpless,
died at the appointed time
for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty
does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good
person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for
us
in that while we were still
sinners Christ died for us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 5:1-2, 5-8
“Popular piety frequently construed reverses and
troubles as punishment for sin; cf John 9:2. Paul therefore assures believers that God's justifying action in Jesus
Christ is a declaration of peace. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ displays
God's initiative in certifying humanity for unimpeded access into the divine
presence. Reconciliation is God's gift of pardon to the entire human race.”[6]
CCC: Rom 5:3-5 2734,
2847; Rom 5:5 368,
733, 1820, 1964, 2658; Rom 5:8 604
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John
4:5-42
Jesus came to a town of Samaria
near the plot of land that
Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his
journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into
the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to
him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask
me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common
with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to
her,
"If you knew the gift of
God
and who is saying to you,
'Give me a drink,'
you would have asked him
and he would have given you
living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even
have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this
living water?
Are you greater than our
father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and
drank from it himself
with his children and his
flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to
her,
"Everyone who drinks
this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water
I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will
become in him
a spring of water welling up
to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this
water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here
to draw water."
Jesus said to her,
"Go call your husband
and come back."
The woman answered and said
to him,
"I do not have a
husband."
Jesus answered her,
"You are right in
saying, 'I do not have a husband.'
For you have had five
husbands,
and the one you have now is
not your husband.
What you have said is
true."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you
are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on
this mountain;
but you people say that the
place to worship is in Jerusalem
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the
hour is coming
when you will worship the
Father
neither on this mountain nor
in Jerusalem
You people worship what you
do not understand;
we worship what we
understand,
because salvation is from the
Jews.
But the hour is coming, and
is now here,
when true worshipers will
worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks
such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who
worship him
must worship in Spirit and
truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah
is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell
us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one
speaking with you."
At that moment his disciples
returned,
and were amazed that he was
talking with a woman,
but still no one said,
"What are you looking for?"
or "Why are you talking
with her?"
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and
said to the people,
"Come see a man who told
me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?"
They went out of the town and
came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples
urged him, "Rabbi, eat."
But he said to them,
"I have food to eat of
which you do not know."
So the disciples said to one
another,
"Could someone have
brought him something to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"My food is to do the
will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, 'In four
months the harvest will be here'?
I tell you, look up and see
the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already
receiving payment
and gathering crops for
eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper
can rejoice together.
For here the saying is
verified that 'One sows and another reaps.'
I sent you to reap what you
have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the
fruits of their work."
Many of the Samaritans of
that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the
woman who testified,
"He told me everything I
have done."
When the Samaritans came to
him,
they invited him to stay with
them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in
him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe
because of your word;
for we have heard for
ourselves,
and we know that this is
truly the savior of the world."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 4:5-42
The story of the
Samaritan Woman, told in its entirety provides several theological points. First, the fact that Jesus came this way
implies his broader mission, not just to the Jews but to the whole world. The fact that, upon meeting the Samaritan
woman he asked for a drink is significant in that Jews would have never have
considered drinking from the same vessel as a Samaritan woman who would have
been considered ritually unclean.
Often what we
hear in Sacred Scripture seems to have only one purpose when in fact there is
more. We note that the location of this
event is set at “Jacob’s Well”. It is a
clear reference to Genesis 33:19-20, a place where Jacob “…
set up an altar there and invoked “El, the God of Israel.”
The discourse
with the woman is instructive, providing rich imagery of water and spirit
recalling the gifts given in Baptism. At
the same time we see the recognition that Jesus is the Messiah (although the
Samaritans would have had a different expectation of the Messiah, thinking more
in the lines of a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).
The conclusion of
the story demonstrates the clear perception by those who encounter Christ that
he is the Messiah. This revelatory
presence is noted in the concluding verses of the story as the Samarians
exclaim “We no longer believe because of
your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the
savior of the world."
CCC: Jn 4:6-7 544; Jn 4:10-14 694, 1137; Jn
4:10 728, 2560, 2561; Jn
4:14 728, 1999, 2557, 2652; Jn
4:21 586; Jn 4:22 528, 586; Jn
4:23-24 586, 728; Jn
4:24 1179; Jn 4:25-26 439; Jn 4:34 606, 2611, 2824
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Jesus came to a town of Samaria
near the plot of land that
Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his
journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into
the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to
him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask
me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in
common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to
her,
"If you knew the gift of
God
and who is saying to you,
'Give me a drink,'
you would have asked him
and he would have given you
living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even
have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this
living water?
Are you greater than our
father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and
drank from it himself
with his children and his
flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to
her,
"Everyone who drinks
this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water
I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will
become in him
a spring of water welling up
to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this
water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here
to draw water.
"I can see that you are
a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on
this mountain;
but you people say that the
place to worship is in Jerusalem
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the
hour is coming
when you will worship the
Father
neither on this mountain nor
in Jerusalem
You people worship what you
do not understand;
we worship what we
understand,
because salvation is from the
Jews.
But the hour is coming, and
is now here,
when true worshipers will
worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks
such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who
worship him
must worship in Spirit and
truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah
is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell
us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one who is
speaking with you."
Many of the Samaritans of
that town began to believe in him.
When the Samaritans came to
him,
they invited him to stay with
them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in
him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe
because of your word;
for we have heard for
ourselves,
and we know that this is
truly the savior of the world."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42
In this shorter
version of the story of the Samaritan Woman part of the dialogue is omitted
that revolves around the primacy of the Jews in receiving God’s word. There is also omitted the Lord’s description
of the woman’s past life and the encounter with the Lord’s disciples and his
decision to stay.
Presented in this
form the story focuses more on the identity of Christ and less on his universal
mission.
CCC: Jn 4:6-7 544; Jn 4:10-14 694, 1137; Jn
4:21 586; Jn 4:22 528, 586; Jn
4:23-24 586, 728; Jn
4:24 1179; Jn 4:25-26 439
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Homily:
The First Scrutiny
Any teacher present are sure to
recognize a teaching device employed by the Church at this Mass in
particular. In fact, this is a special
day for those among us who are traveling their path to the Easter Sacraments –
the Elect. We will, for the next three Sundays, be celebrating the “Scrutanies”
with them. This part of their journey
of faith could be somewhat frightening if we take the words that describe the
process at face value. If we look in the
dictionary at the two words “Scrutiny” and “Exorcism” – the two elements of the
rite that will follow these homiletic remarks, we might be concerned about what
is really going on.
Scrutiny is defined as:
1. a searching examination or investigation; minute inquiry.
2. surveillance; close and continuous watching or guarding.
3. a close and searching look.
Exorcism: (trying to ignore the images that may have been
planted by the movie)
1. to seek to expel (an evil spirit) by adjuration or religious
or solemn ceremonies: to exorcise a demon.
2. to free (a person, place, etc.) of evil spirits or malignant
influences.
Used to describe this rite
one might think that the Elect would be subjected to our close examination –
interrogation comes to mind. When we
couple it with exorcism, one might expect that we would be wheeling out medieval
mechanisms of torture once used in the Inquisition. If the leaders of the RCIA process have not
already done so, we assure the Elect that they need not run for the doors. No such process is envisioned or planned.
In fact, if the Gospel has
been proclaimed effectively, the process of scrutiny and exorcism has already
begun. It has begun because each of the
Elect will have heard the story of the Samaritan Woman and recognized her as
symbolic of their own former status – as people who may have sought the grace of
God, but had never achieved that goal.
They will have already seen in the woman, described in the Gospel as
skeptical and resistant to Jesus, elements of their own past. They will have begun to examine their own
path to see how it draws them closer to the Lord, just as the woman at the well
was drawn.
In just a few minutes Father
will pray over these fellow travelers, who walk the journey of faith with
us. He will invite us to join him in
asking for God’s grace to be heaped upon them as they scrutinize themselves,
seeing the places where change still needs to come.
The RCIA process says of this
rite: “The purpose of each of the
scrutinies is “to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in
the hearts of the elect” and “to bring out, then strengthen all that is
upright, strong, and good” This
action is not for us to do for the elect, it is an opportunity for them to
reach out to the Lord, with all of us supporting them, asking God to help them
in this healing process, this strengthening process.
Like the woman at the well,
these elect are invited to turn away from their past transgressions and accept
the “living water” only Jesus can give.
In doing so, in filling themselves with the grace and peace of Christ,
the evil one is driven out. When one
fills a vessel with light, there can be no darkness. Again we hear from the RCIA process: “For the scrutinies are celebrated in order
to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against
temptation, and to give them strength in Christ.” This indeed is the
self-imposed exorcism described in the rite.
Again, with Father’s prayer and our support our brothers and sisters are
strengthened for the long journey we all undertake when we choose to follow Christ.
While we have spoken at
length about the process that will follow shortly involving the elect, there
has been little mention of the role each member of our faith community is
invited to play. Each of us has a responsibility to help these hope-filled
aspirants to our community. Like
god-parents we are called upon to help and support them. We are called to show them what it means to
walk as mature Christians in a world that does not rejoice in their faith or
agree with their moral imperatives.
I mentioned at the beginning
that there was a teaching mechanism at work that professionals in that field
would recognize. Indeed, when we
encourage a student to teach other students, those doing the teaching often
learn more than the students they teach.
Such is the case today. If we
each take the opportunity to show these Elect, through our words and actions,
the meaning of living in Christ’s grace, they will certainly learn – and we,
the teachers will learn more since through that same grace we draw closer to
our Lord and Savior.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used is “Christ Driving the Money Changers Out of the Temple
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968 on Exodus 20:1-17,
§48
[5]
See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968 on 1 Corinthians
1:22-25, §22
[6]
See NAB footnote on Romans 5:1-11
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