Deacon Matt's Reflection

Reflection for Fourth Sunday of Lent:  February 19, 2023
 
1 Sam 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a: Contemplate that at the beginning of this passage, God’s decision is already made. God has chosen David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, to be anointed as King of Israel. Traditional       expectations and rules regarding birth order, or social influence and power were to be laid aside; such that a simple shepherd should become king. This foreshadows the Good Shepherd, many centuries later, who would lead His flock to the Cross. The future Good Shepherd would, indeed, give His life for the sheep; He, a direct descendant of David, the anointed. Contemplate how Samuel submits himself to be used as the instrument of God’s anointing. Are we submitting to God’s plans and/or promptings in our lives?  Ponder also on the transformative and powerful phrase: “from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David. Come, Holy Spirit! Rush upon us… and make us receptive to Your promptings.
 
Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” This weekend is an appropriate time to thank God for shepherding us. Contemplate Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Read His Word in Scripture and Scriptural stories of Jesus and His message. Ponder the compassion, tenderness, kindness and heart-felt thoughtfulness our Lord emulates. Let yourself be carried away and calmed as you meditate on the wisdom that Jesus radiates as He answers difficult, tricky and even entrapping questions from the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Romans. Let yourself have faith, trust and confidence in our Good Shepherd. Let’s be at peace and trust Jesus to care for our temporal, physical, mental and spiritual needs. Let’s allow ourselves to be led into greener and safer pastures, where all of our needs will be met.  As Jesus reassures us: “our Heavenly Father knows what we need, before we even ask Him.” Let’s praise and adore our Shepherd King!
 
Ephesians 5:8-14: Today, St. Paul exhorts us to “live in the Light;” a metaphor for living in conformity and obedience to God’s Law. We’re being shown that when we live in conformity to God’s Will, we experience and enjoy lives of goodness, righteousness and truth. Let’s consider and ponder what Paul means when he tells us to “expose the fruitless works of darkness.” It seems that “works of darkness” are evil crimes such as assaults on human life itself, the dignity of various groups and unfair treatment of the vulnerable. As Christians, we’re being called to advocate for those unable to speak for themselves when they’re being treated cruelly and unfairly. We’re being told that  we must also speak up and advocate for ourselves when our ability to teach and live  out the tenets of our faith is being threatened. In our modern society, self-serving groups are trying to re-define “truth” and what is morally and ethically, “right” and “wrong.” We must pray to remain in, or to get into God’s own Light of Truth and goodness.
 
John 9:1-41: Now, as we contemplate Jesus’ healing of the man, blind since birth, let’s contemplate the other “blind” characters in this story; such as the disciples (who thought the man was blind because of his or his parents’ sins). Ponder also the more grievous blindness of the Pharisees. Their arrogance, pride and lust for power blinded them to the  Light of God’s mercy and love and compassion that transcends religious “rules.” Now, let’s contemplate what Jesus meant when He said that the blind man’s affliction occurred “so that the works of God might be made visible through (him/her.”)  Ponder that!
 
Thoughtfully,
Deacon Matt