Third Sunday of Lent
Homily Video
Third Sunday of Lent Homily Transcript
So, in our Catholic Christian tradition, there is the moral maxim where the law and the prophets come together. Love of God, and love of neighbor. The two are inseparable, they’re at the heart of the gospel. There’s another moral maxim that is at the heart of the gospel as well. And it’s very simple. Do good, avoid evil. Do good, avoid evil.
As I read this gospel, I thought of a story that I heard that talks about good and evil. If we’re honest, it resides in all of us. Listen to these words. A fight is going on inside me said an old man to his son. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil, he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
Speaker 1
The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside each of you. The son thought about it for a minute and then he asked, which wolf will win? The old man replied simply, the one you feed.
Which wolf will win inside of us? The one you feed. Good and evil. This gospel is a paradigm of good and evil. The goodness of God in the person of Jesus goes into the temple area, the holy place in Jerusalem, and he is confronted in many ways by evil. He’s confronted by the money changers, and those who would sell and cheat the people to make a profit. Those who have turned the temple area into a den of thieves.
Speaker 1
The money changers in particular, when they would exchange the money, they would steal from the people to make their profit. Jesus confronts it, and we do know that there are two events in the life of Jesus that really does lead him to the cross and crucifixion. One is this, when he challenges the money order of society. When he’s confronting how it is that people are making money, by taking advantage of others.
The other is the raising of Lazarus. Good and evil, the goodness of Christ, the goodness of Jesus, confronting, not walking away, but confronting evil, calling evil for what it is, cleansing evil from the temple. As we prepare ourselves for the Easter season, during this holy season of Lent, let us look introspectively, let us look at our own lives. And to be honest with ourselves, which of the two wolves do we feed? And the fruit of what we feed will be seen by others. We are followers of the Christ, we are followers of the good.
Readings
First Reading:
Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11
Second Reading:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24/
Gospel:
John 1:6-8, 19-28 (8)
Featured Text
A special thank you this week to our friends from Knights of Columbus, Tonti Council #1567 in the congregation.
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