Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.

Dec 16 2024

An Alternative Strategy

“Where was the guy?” asked some teens, after one of their mothers asked what questions came to their mind when they heard this Gospel story of the woman caught in adultery. Good question. Maybe he had friends among the scribes and Pharisees, who let him get away. These Jewish leaders, supposedly dedicated to the Law of Moses, decided to use the woman to get at Jesus, who came to fulfill the Law.

But Jesus was having none of it. Of course, he knew the Law of Moses and their desire to trap him at this woman’s expense. If he said, “Stone her,” his reputation as a man who spoke so eloquently of God’s mercy would also die. If he said, “Let her go,” his credibility as a rabbi would be at stake. And so, Jesus challenges them: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.”

Some say this story doesn’t fit in with John’s Gospel, that it belongs more to the Luke’s world with its particular emphasis on Christ’s compassion. But John’s Jesus is the Word become flesh, the light come into the darkness, whose glory we have seen. For John, God is love, gracious love. And in this season of God calling us all to draw closer, turning from whatever sin distances us from God, is there a better story that tells whom we shall meet when we do?

Consider/Discuss

Have you ever been trapped in self-righteousness, making harsh judgments that not only condemned another but imprisoned you?
When have you known the mercy of God? Who showed it to you?

Responding to the Word

Lord Jesus, if we did not know you, where would we be? What would we be like? What would we become? What would we be seeking, pursuing, hungering for? What would we hope for? You came as a light into the darkness of the world, a light that the darkness has not overcome.

Dec 16 2024

A Different Kind of Seeing

First, there is the seer (a “see-er”) who doesn’t see. Samuel, God’s prophet, was sent to anoint a replacement for King Saul. When his eyes fell on the oldest son of Jesse, Samuel thought he was seeing the next king of Israel. Eliab had some of the same qualities as Saul: tall, striking in appearance. But God was looking at the heart and the divine gaze turned elsewhere—indeed, outside the room, to where the youngest of Jesse’s sons was tending sheep. (Ever since Abel, God seemed to be partial to shepherds!)

In the Gospel, the man born blind is the only one who does see clearly, or rather, who comes to see clearly. As with most of us, he comes to a 20/20 spiritual vision gradually. When they first ask him who healed him, he replies forthrightly, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes.” And when they say Jesus can’t be from God and heal on the Sabbath, the cured man asks how Jesus could be a sinner and do what he did; then he calls Jesus a prophet. Later, he says, “If he were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” And, finally, on meeting up with Jesus again, he acknowledges him as Son of Man and as Lord.

On the other side were all these seeing people who do not see Jesus for who he was. To really see Jesus, you need faith. This gift will be generously given—in God’s time—to those who seek it.

Consider/Discuss

How do you see Jesus?
Are there people who do not see who Jesus is? Have you asked God to given them the sight of faith?

Responding to the Word

Lord Jesus, you are the light that lifts the blindness from the eyes of our heart, mind, and spirit. To see you is to come to faith in you as Lord and Savior. Give this gift of sight to those who do not have it. Grant, Lord, that they may see.

Dec 16 2024

The Greatest Virtue

If somebody were to ask you what your greatest virtue is, what would you say? A virtue is a habit of doing good, according to Thomas Aquinas. A virtue is something you are able to do because you have been graced by God. And being graced means being gifted. So another way of asking this question is: what is the greatest gift you have been given? You might immediately answer, “Love,” as St. Paul himself writes in his Letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 12:31 — 13:13).

Now, love has many faces: patience, kindness, and compassion, to name a few. But I would propose that the greatest expression of this gift—and the most difficult one to carry out—is forgiveness. The story of the prodigal son is really the story of a father prodigal in forgiveness for his children. This father speaks to us of our merciful God, always ready to forgive. And this story was Jesus’ answer to why he hung out with sinners.

During this season when we are preparing to renew our baptismal promises, we would do well to examine how well we are living out the virtues given to us at baptism; we call them theological virtues: faith, hope, and love. In this season, when we often turn to the sacrament of reconciliation to ask forgiveness from the Father who continues to reconcile the world to himself through Christ, it is also good to ask how are we doing as forgivers, as agents of reconciliation.

Consider/Discuss

Is there someone who needs your forgiveness?
Is there someone from whom you need to ask forgiveness?

Responding to the Word

Loving Lord, when we look at the cross, we see the love of the Father embodied in your saving death for our salvation. Because of your death and resurrection, we are part of a new creation, reconciled to the Father. Make us your worthy ambassadors, able to embody your merciful love.

Dec 13 2024

Our Thirsty God

There are a number of thirsty people in our readings today: the Israelites out in the desert, grumbling about the lack of water and wondering why they ever left Egypt; the woman of Samaria, who has gone to the well to draw water for herself and her companion at home; and Jesus, traveling through Samaritan territory with his disciples.

The thirst of the Israelites was physical. Once again disheartened, they were grumbling that Moses had taken them out in the desert to die. It must have gotten serious because we are told that Moses himself feared for his life. God’s response is dramatic: “Take your staff, go over to that rock and strike it.” And the water flowed.

The nameless woman is shown to be thirsty on several levels. Physically, yes, but her thirst is on far deeper levels—for companionship (five husbands and now living with yet another person!) and for communion with God. Jesus promises her that people will worship God in Spirit and in truth. Indeed, the Father seeks such people.

Is it possible the one most thirsty is God? The Father thirsts for all of us to draw closer, to live fully the life that only God can give, that life celebrated on Easter, made possible by the dying and rising of Jesus. Those to be baptized enter into divine life at baptism, but all believers continue to be satisfied by the life-giving water that is Jesus.

Consider/Discuss

What are you thirsting for?
Do you approach God as one who can satisfy your deepest thirst?

Responding to the Word

Risen Lord, you came to bring us life-giving water. Such water poured over us at our baptism. We pray for those who will soon enter into this water and become sons and daughters of the Father, co-heirs with you. Strengthen them, enlighten them, guide them, encourage them, in these final days of preparation.

Dec 13 2024

Seize the Day—Now

Carpe diem was one of the phrases you’d learn if you studied Latin in high school. It means “Seize the day.” For a high school student it seemed to offer a permit to act impulsively. Speaking as someone more than fifty years away from that time, it offers an inducement to act wisely—now.

Moses is told by a voice from a burning bush that the God of his ancestors wanted him to go back down to Egypt, from which he had fled after murdering an Egyptian. All Moses was given at this encounter was an obscure name for God, and a proposed plan to rescue the Israelite slaves and lead them to a new land. Not a very attractive offer for one peacefully tending sheep, but Moses seized the day, hearing the call to act—now.

Jesus calls on his fellow Jews to seize the day by repenting. Life is short. People die tragically without deserving it. Look to your own life, he tells them. God has given you these days, so bear fruit—now.

Paul calls on the Corinthian to seize the day. Not just our actions but even our desires can mislead us. So don’t be complacent, a word that means sedating your spirit by being overly pleased with yourself. Turn to God—now.

Baptism lays a foundation, giving us the Spirit and the virtues of faith, hope, and love. In a month we are going to renew our baptismal promises on Easter, confirming our desire to seize the day, every day, as an opportunity to grow closer to God—now.

Consider/Discuss

Have you “settled in” to being a Catholic? Have you become a “couch Catholic,” not overly exerting yourself in living out of your faith?
This coming week brings us to Lent’s mid-point. Is anything happening on the conversion/turn-to-the-Lord front?

Responding to the Word

Lord, teach us to number our days and realize how quickly life passes, days into weeks into months into years. Rouse our spirits and teach us how to work with your Spirit to make fruitful the gifts you have given to us for the good of others. Move us to act wisely.