These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him." These were their thoughts, but they erred; for they knew not the hidden counsels of God. (Wis 2:1a, 12-22)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040425.cfm
With the Scandal of the Cross, the early church searched the Scriptures seeking to understand the Cross and Resurrection. Today’s passage points us to the “hidden counsels of God.” We adore you O Christ, and we bless you, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have redeemed the world.
The LORD said to Moses, "I see how stiff-necked this people is. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation." But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people? (Ex 32:7-14)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040325.cfm
As Moses reminds God of the wondrous deeds God has worked for this “stiff-necked” people, we too are reminded and are called to give thanks.
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. (Is 49:8-15)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040225.cfm
Maternal images of God are not frequent in the Scriptures, but they are certainly unforgettable. God’s promise touches the heart, “even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
Now there is in Jerusalem a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" (Jn 5:1-16)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040125.cfm
As the catechumens prepare for baptism and the rest of us prepare to renew the vows of our baptism at Easter, our readings today are filled with images of water. The Lord, who freely offers Living Water, the Water of Eternal Life, puts the question to us, "Do you want to be well?”.
Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth, The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create. (Is 65:17-21)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033125.cfm
A new heavens, a new earth. Given the state of the world and the complete mess we’ve made of it, the hope of a new heavens and a new earth makes no sense whatsoever without a whole new us. And that is exactly what God promises. We will be God’s joy and delight. No more weeping, no more crying, no more homelessness, no more hunger. So what’s the catch? We have to leave our past ways of war, greed and injustice, and choose to be the people God creates us to be.
