By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
March 31, 2019: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Joshua 5: 9-12; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
On our journey to holiness, after understanding the milestones of the desert, the mountain and the holy ground, we arrive at the next in line: the Promised Land. This is the foundation on which our Christian life is built; the foundation of hope!
I remember it was during our Novitiate year, we were suggested to follow a spirituality of identifying ourselves with one of the plants or trees that stood in our campus and observe its growth and reflect on our own growth in relation to it. Looking out of the window from our study hall, there was a tree which was almost dead, its bark dry and dark. But I had chosen that tree, because I was drawn by the small little shoot that jetted out right on top, tender and green! I was so happy to see how life can come out of such tough situations!
The very next day I saw someone had cut the tree and the tree lay down flat on the ground! I was so grieved and feared what sign the Lord is giving! When I spoke to my Spiritual Director, he said not to lose hope and to look out for another plant or tree. But I had made up my mind never again to try this exercise on myself anymore.
After a fortnight or more one fine morning as I sat in the study hall and just casually looked out, my eyes widened as I saw the dry bark of the tree on the ground, but a new leaf that had just sprung up from that so-called dead bark! Oh what a message of Hope that was: trusting in the magnificent promises of the Lord!
Behold I make everything new, the Lord promises! The Lord is continually making things new. Our task is to Trust in the Lord! The First reading speaks of the trust that the wandering people of Israel had and how that Trust did not fail. They eat the produce of the land they were promised! The Manna stopped that was not sad…because there was something better given to them. To trust in the Lord even amidst discouraging moments of inhumanities that we find around or in spite of the sinful tendencies we identify within us, is a special ability. It is this trust that inspired the prodigal son to gather courage to come back to his father.
The Manna stopped yes, but they were to Taste a different bread, the bread of the Mercy of the Lord. They tasted and they gave praises to the Lord: Taste and See that the Lord is good.That was something new and far more greater than what they had tasted till then. The younger son had truly tasted his father’s love, that he knew how great it was and returned to that taste.
Tasting the never-failing promises of the Lord is a tough call. At times we fail, due to our arrogance, impatience and insensitivity and trample upon the life-giving promises, not really mindful of the fruits they can produce within us. Look at the elder son in the parable narrated by Jesus today: he is no different from the younger son; in fact he is far worse than his younger brother.
The younger son was physically away, but the elder son was spiritually so far away from the Father: he had been calculating, expecting, comparing, grumbling and grudging all work! How sad, that he was so near the Father yet so far. He was trampling down the life giving promises of his father… just like we do, when we do not taste the mercy of the Lord enough to freely and generously share it with others, with everyone else, laying conditions and clauses that would exclude all those whom we intend to. Would that really help us grow?
Growing through the promises of the Lord means, trusting in those promises and tasting them so much that we would never trample them under the foot of our arrogance or indifference, but always grow worthy of them.
On our journey to holiness let us trust in the promises of the Lord and grow through them, tasting them and inviting everyone else to taste them in and through us.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.