See the power and wisdom of God

March 23, 2003 -- Third Sunday of Lent

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. How does God's word influence your daily life? 2. Where do you find power and wisdom? 3. Why do some people view the Gospel as foolish and absurd?

Back on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple (Feb. 2), we were told that Jesus would be a sign of contradiction. Simeon's words on that occasion are verified by St. Paul in today's reading. For those who do not believe, Jesus is a stumbling block and an absurdity; for those who believe, Jesus is the power and the wisdom of God. Paul goes even further: "God's folly is wiser than men, and his weakness more powerful than men."

Lent
• Lent-related articles  • 2003 Lenten Wish List (3/7 issue)  • Lenten rules (2/28 issue)

During this season of Lent, this time of repentance and conversion, we must once again examine our relationship with the Lord. Is Jesus' way of life a stumbling block for us or is it wisdom? Is our life in Christ an absurdity, this life of dying and rising, or is it the very power of God leading us to new life? These questions are not rhetorical. They demand a lived answer.

The Gospel draws our attention to the zeal of Jesus. His life was consumed by the Father's will. When the temple was desecrated by secular use, Jesus' anger finds expression in cleansing that sacred space of commercialism. It would be a costly deed, giving those in authority more ammunition to plot the Lord's death. Some might even term this activity folly, if not absurd. We know it to be the power and wisdom of God that fears nothing, not even death itself. John's Gospel is filled with symbolism as it speaks about the temple and the human body in the same way.

God's wisdom and power is also seen, not just in the life of Jesus, but in the demanding commandments in the Book of Exodus. These religious and moral laws are stumbling blocks to many, sheer absurdity for others. For the atheist there is no God to honor and praise. For the agnostic we cannot have clear knowledge of right or wrong, or anything for that matter. They would go along with the Shakespearean line that nothing is right or wrong but thinking makes it so. Such subjectivity puts the commandments in the land of absurdity.

Our responsorial refrain gives focus to our celebration for this third Sunday of Lent: "Lord, you have the words of everlasting life."

God's word coming through St. Paul is "Christ crucified." Here we have the expression of God's extravagant love for us. Here is the sacrifice that frees us from sin and death. The Cross is the big stumbling block and absurdity for those lacking faith. Such a death lacks all meaning if we fail to see in it the redemptive love of God. Paul's preaching was not about "signs" and conventional "wisdom" but about a Savior who loved unto death.

God's word in Exodus: "I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. . ." What folly to think that we are free simply because no tyrant rules over us. What absurdity to act as if death and sin were realities that we ourselves can overcome. God's word is clear that our liberty and salvation is the work of the Lord. Not only has God created us, but that same God, in Jesus, has brought about our salvation. It is to this God that we pledge our fidelity and promise to abide by his law.

God's word in our Gospel acclamation: "God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son, that all who believe in him might have eternal life." Here is the power and wisdom of God: Love made present and visible in the person of Jesus.

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)