In the 7th chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, Jesus declared “all foods” clean. This was an obvious break with the dietary rules (or laws) in ancient Judaism. This was what we might call a “seismic change.” Jesus supported His reasoning by saying, “Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) “But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Another “seismic change” appears in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 13, 1-9). Jesus rejects the popular myth that all misfortunes are divine punishments. We are not to imagine, says the Lord, a stern, punitive God who metes out sickness, accidents, and misfortunes as a response to people’s sins. Then He changes the topic and invites the people who hear Him to examine their own lives. He says they must listen to God’s call to conversion and to a change of lifestyle (i.e., leaving behind evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, etc.).
From the fast-paced mass-media to which we are exposed every day, we often learn of tragic earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, and floods. How can we reconcile such tragedies with our belief in Divine providence? Jesus suggests that rather than asking how God could let these things happen, we should wonder what positive lesson we might learn from them. Rather than ask, for example, “why does God allow this misfortune,” we could be asking, “how can we let so many human beings live in misery, so defenseless, and ill-provided for?” And, “how can we reach out to those who are suffering such things with genuine charity and love?”
If it is salvation that we seek, we will probably not find it by protesting at God, grumbling and complaining, or denying His existence, but by doing our part to mitigate suffering in our world. Then, maybe, our heightened awareness of both the fragility and preciousness of life will bring us closer to God.
Let us pray. “Lord, God of all, in anticipation of and in preparation for the coming of Easter, help us arise each day aware of our need for your mercy. Teach us to practice hope. Teach us to seek love, forgiveness, and new life in our relationships and in our work, in our play, and through the inevitable conflicts which will come our way. Help us to bring peace to our fast-paced, busy, and distracted world. Help us, especially in this Lenten season, to turn from the things that would distract us from you. And help us receive your blessings of mercy, so that we may become your ‘good gift’ to others. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
