Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • March 1, 2024 5 Compassionate Service 228-374-5650 Bradfordokeefe.com Opening Remarks -- Action: Recently, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook (now Meta ), announced layoffs that shocked the world of technology. How- ever, it didn’t take long for others, including powerhouse tech companies, to follow suit. Surviving employees are often overburdened with heavier workloads after layoffs, leading to grumbling, complaining, and discontentment. Stretching Faith: In today’s first reading, God delivers commandments to the Israelite people to help ‘stretch’ their faith and let them know when they are sinning against God and their neighbors. These were not well received, as most began with the statement, “You shall not.” The scriptures go on to tell us the Israelites grumbled and complained against God and Moses. Who is this God who can tell us what to do and what not to do? These burdens are too demanding. Why should we listen to God anyway? Perhaps you and I have had the same sentiments when overwhelmed with the demands God makes about our moral conduct? However, since God knows we often fail to see the benefits of His interventions in our lives and that we reject His demands, commands, and discipline, He declares His credibility, insisting that He has the right to make demands on our behavior. “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery.” Here is a way we can read this. Since I am the Lord, your God, and by creating you have already proved my unconditional love and covenant promise to never leave you or forsake you and have also demonstrated that love by rescuing you from slavery; therefore, I have earned the right to impose moral imperatives, commands, and demands because everything I do is for your well-being. What a totally different world it would be if it were that simple and the fully enlightened would say, ‘Oh, thank you, Lord, I get it, it is clear to me now, of course I will comply.’ Lent is a great time for us to do just that. Thank You, Lord: Our Psalm response presents a docile declaration that we should imitate. It will stretch our faith and help us to give in to God’s will. “Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.” If we were convinced that God’s words are life-giving, we would strive to do whatever is necessary to comply with them. The Psalm mentions a few critical attitudes that we can adopt. “God’s law refreshes our soul” -- therefore, it should not be burdensome or contradicted. Refreshment is a cleansing of the stale, sometimes lingering sin we so dearly hold on to. During Lent, we open the windows of our soul by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and let the freshness of God’s liberating word enter in. “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.” -- Is my reaction to God’s commands, joy in the heart, enlightenment to my eyes and mind, and contributing to my pure believability because I hunger for God’s truth, more precious than money, power, or pleasure? Whatever God says through Sacred Scripture, sacred tradition, and the Church’s magisterium, our response should be humble and appreciative, ‘Thank you, Lord.’ Consuming Zeal: From the Gospels, we know Jesus as the quick- thinking Rabbi who repelled the most devious schemes designed to trap Him in speech. But today’s Gospel shows us a Jesus who wielded authority and power with words and physical actions to get His point across. Imagine the scene. It is nearing the feast of Passover, the most important religious feast celebrated by the people of the Old Testament. According to the law of Moses, every male Israelite had to “appear before the Lord God” (go to Church and worship). Therefore, a large crowd of pilgrims, along with many vendors to supply their needs, gathered in the outer court of the Temple. The story provides a few significant points: Jesus overturned tables, spilled the coins of the money changers, and made a whip of cords to drive the sellers out of the temple area. He said, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” By calling God His Father and acting with such zeal, Jesus proclaims Himself as Messiah. Shocked, the Jewish leaders ask, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” -- (making yourself equal to God). Once again, as in our Old Testament reading, the Lord establishes His credibility to demand their righteous worship, surrender personal gain, and take proper care of the people they are leading. Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.” The sign they asked for will be His resurrection on the third day. Using this metaphor, Jesus is, in effect, saying, imagine if the Temple were destroyed, would it not be a great miracle to rebuild it in three days? When you destroy my body, which is the true Temple, I will rise again on the third day. Those of us who want to participate in this resurrection will turn our lives around during this Lent. We know who we are. John concludes by writing, “Many began to believe in His name when they saw the signs He was doing.” The choice is always put before us. We can believe in Jesus and obediently follow His word and will or exercise a poorly chosen option to scrutinize everything that comes forth from the mouth of God. Asked how to prove that God exists, Saint Thomas Aquinas said, “For those with faith, no proof is necessary. For those with no faith, no proof is sufficient.” Which camp are you in?” Deacon Ralph Torrelli lives in Hattiesburg and is assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. Visit his web- site: www.homilypearls.com. 1st Reading: Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm: 19:8-11 2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 Gospel: John 2:13-25 3rd Sunday of Lent Stretching faith Deacon Torrell i Sunday Scripture Commentaries Daylight Saving Time 2024 Begins March 10. Don't forget to turn your clocks forward one hour.