Happy people are those who ‘give back’ time and share, where possible, the good things we have
Second Sunday of Lent – March 16, 2025
We live when the Israel-Hamas war is happening, and the land issue is causing tension and anger in the Middle-East and around the world. It’s easy, therefore, to misinterpret the First Reading for today where God has given the land to Israel. How should we understand it?
Through the light of the person of Jesus Christ, the Gospel helps give context and meaning to the Old Testament. I was also helped to understand it in human terms through the writing of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI (Dark Nights of the Heart, 3-Mar-2025).
Whereas the First Reading reveals the earthly Kingdom for the Israelites, Christ in the Gospel reveals the Heavenly Kingdom (God’s Kingdom) for everyone. The first is a portion of physical land, while the second is a lived experience.
Using the image of the new StarLink satellite service, we can see that our WiFi is no longer through physical cables at home, or on the local mobile phone (unless you have roaming). But, now, imagine you are in the Simpson Desert in Australia. There are no cables and no phone services! However, the portable option for StarLink gives us internet everywhere.
In the same way, entering into the promised-land (Heaven), is no longer a physical reality but a way of living, whether at home or away. Lent is a time to see where we need to cut ourselves free of some patterns of behaviour that, while enjoyable and even helpful for a while, no longer serve the best interests of my life and the life of my community/ family/ work place.
As Fr Ron’s article highlights, we have many honeymoons over the course of our lives, but each honeymoon always comes to an end: the time to grow and mature; to live a higher life.
A simple example would be my time as a miner, and then as an engineer. As a miner I had few responsibilities after work except to socialise (on a remote mine-site). So, if I had one or two beers too many, it was OK, I’d just go to bed: no driving required. But as an engineer, I had to curb my freedom so I did not endanger the workforce under my care. I might get woken at midnight by a fire underground and be required to direct the mine rescue crew clearly.
Likewise, for family life: a young man might enjoy the party life before marriage, it may be an important stage in his life to build up his ego and a network of friends who will, hopefully, correct him (sometimes forcefully), about what behaviours are acceptable. But after getting married, he cannot continue like that: he must move on and focus on the family needs.
There is no doubt that Israel needed a place to call home: through the physical land given to them by God, they were able to build up their identity as a people, develop security and an economy to sustain the community.
But, now, Christ has come: inviting us to a greater land, symbolised by the intense/ pure light. It’s now time to grow and mature beyond attachment to the land as the reason for life, and see it as a vehicle to teach others about the love and power of God: so that, together, we may climb to a higher mode of life, where there is no longer Jew or Gentile, Greek or Roman (2nd Reading).
Likewise, for each of us: are we still attached to things like a child to her doll? This Lent, let us see which of our attachments are hurting our relationships, families or workplace? We tend to focus so much on personal infidelities, so that we fail to see the more dangerous bigger picture.
When we are children, it is important that parents focus on personal behaviour, for this builds a foundation of normal behaviour that respects other people. But, when we leave home we need to focus more on where I fail to care about the community: children, by nature, need to be a bit selfish as they build themselves up: like a car you need four wheels to move.
But once the car is complete, it must be at the service of the “owner.” We start slowly, like the first 2,000 km of car that is being run-in to preserve its engine for the long term, so we start slowly and increase our help to community bit by bit. Now, who is our owner?
The voice in the Gospel declared “this is my son, in whom I am well pleased.” After accepting God as our owner, life becomes easier! When we cooperate with God we no longer live in fear of the future, and can prudently enjoy the present. The boundaries God imposes on us (invites us to live?), are not to kill joy but to ensure joy is there for both today and tomorrow.
Everything we have received is not for us, exclusively, but must be at the service of our community. As we grow older we need to give away, or repurpose, those things that were helpful for us yesterday, to be of service to the wider community today. This will build unity and peace: creating the Kingdom of God here on earth.
As parents say to their children: life is not just about you ‘Johnny’. Let’s also reflect on where we may be somehow selfish, and see how we can make Lent a blessing for my community. Our future happiness depends on “giving back” to the community that has given us so much: family, workplace and community. Where can you give back this week?
By Gerard Conlan, OMI
