Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

The unexpected display of anger on the Lord’s part which we hear today, seems totally out of character for Him. We tend to think, traditionally, of God the Father in (false) images of anger and retribution, and God the Son as meek and humble of heart (which is how He describes Himself), but today the roles seem reversed.

Why so angry here?

Jesus, who is the flesh and blood of the Father’s love, was angry because love for God the Father —  the whole reason for worship — had gone out of the people’s shared prayer. Worship had become formulaic and, therefore, lost its soul, with people paying attention to the elements of worship rather than to its essence.

The oxen, the sheep and the doves were to be offered as elements of worship, their purchase a true sacrifice for the donors, but the essence of worship — a self-sacrifice of love — had been a bit skewed: the people were sacrificing an animal,
but this offering was something separate, outside of themselves, rather than actually offering themselves to God in love. They were being true to ritual, but the ritual relieved them of their personal expression of love.

Offering oneself to God in love had been the whole point of the Commandments: they were given as a sort of “School of love,”
+ the first three teaching us the basics for loving God…
+ the other Commandments — for loving one another.

And look at the way that God the Father so patiently explains the more esoteric notions of the first Three Commandments, as we heard today in a version of the handing-down which differs from the catechetical formula we memorized in our youth.

While eight of the Commandments begin with the prohibition-first enjoinder, “Thou shalt not…” informing us what we must not do if we are to love, there are two Commandments — the 3rd and the 4th — that are stated differently:
+ “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day.”
—and —
+ Honor your father and your mother.”

Let’s look specifically at these two commands: — to remember, and to honor — in order to learn how we can make a positive approach to loving God and one another, so that our worship of God borne out of this love, this remembrance and this honor, will be pleasing to God.

In this context, to remember means not simply to recall from the depths of the mind some event from the past, but to hold in mind in the perpetual present… God, who has revealed Himself in the first two Commandments.

This holy remembering allows us to keep in mind the God whose Presence and reality gets jarred from our consciousness by the hard knocks of human existence. The loss of memory which begins in mid-life and seems only to get worse as we age is not really affected here, because the soul that has loved God never forgets God.

For example, when visiting patients in the Memory Care Unit, many who seem only semi-conscious will recite the Lord’s Prayer with me when we get to that point of my visit.

Nevertheless. God knows that we need constant reminders that love has its duties. Consider this: What is the last thing every father says to his son when the son leaves for college or for military service? “Call your Mother.”

When we engage in this holy remembering, his dutiful holding God in mind and love, we do what God does, because God always holds us in mind. The willing act of placing ourselves in the presence of God is both the beginning and the essence of true worship.

How is it, then, that we are to keep the Lord’s Day holy? We first consider that the word “Holy” in a Scriptural context means:
+ other
+ distinct
+ separate… from what is profane or ordinary.

It means to keep Sunday different from other days. Sunday belongs not to me, but primarily to God, in love and respect. The Church has always taught that the Lord’s Day is made holy in two ways: Observance… and rest.

Observance means, of course, attending Sunday Mass. Nothing excuses us from this duty.

Rest can be a little more challenging: Farm chores crowd into the day for some, and, with two spouses working, or in a single-parent home, weekday chores sometimes spill into the Sabbath rest. Then there are those who work in the medical and hospitality industries who have little choice in the matter. But, keep in mind that puttering around the garden as hobby is not the same as plowing the north forty.

The Sabbath rest is unique in cultural thought: the Judeo-Christian concept of Sabbath rest was given originally to the Jews by God in the desert in order to help them overcome their former identity as slaves of the Egyptians, and to be renewed in their identity as the Chosen People of God. This “rest,” then, is not about lazing around but about renewing and strengthening our spiritual identity. When you think about it…  How can we appreciate God’s invitation to eternal rest if we have known nothing of the sabbath rest?

Now we turn to the Fourth commandment: “Honor you father and your mother.” This Commandment comes fourth, after our consideration of our duties to God because of the place of parents in our lives. It is the only Commandment that promises blessing, as it reads: “… that you may have a long life…” This was one of the greatest of ancient blessings in an era when people did not live long lives. In addition to this, a well-known blessing in this era was, “May you live to see your children’s children.”

To “honor” here is not just to hold in high esteem; it’s more active than that. It means to live by and act upon the virtues in which our parents formed us, even if the parents themselves were — or are — imperfect.

What does this honoring look like?
+ in childhood: obedience
+ in adolescence: respect
+ in young adulthood: seeking advice
+ in later adulthood: patience in their infirmity
+ once they have gone: to offer Masses for the repose of their souls

Honoring our parents is a means of honoring God. It is a gateway to the rest of the Commandments. To fail to do so can raise the ire of Christ who honored His earthly parents, and remind us, perhaps angrily, that we need to cleanse our interior temple if we have forgotten the essence of our Christianity which is to remember and honor God’s presence in His essence and in one another. This renews our worship and makes it true. To remember God and to honor one another in Him is what makes our worship of Him holy, and prepares us for the eternal and divine worship in heaven.

To close, let’s listen again to the verses of today’s Responsorial Psalm in order to form our attitude toward God’s Commandments.

Psalm 19
The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the law are right,
rejoicing the heart.

The command of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eye.

The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.

The ordinances of the Lord are true,
all of them just.

They are more precious than gold,
sweeter than syrup or honey from the comb.