https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031724-YearB.cfm
Praise be Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
My daughter Jennifer showed be a video of my 4-year-old
granddaughter Scarlett, reading her book about Jesus and his Daddy. She told
her mommy, “Jesus loves his daddy.”
It was so
sweet and reminded me of what should be in our hearts this Lent.
The book about Jesus and his Daddy is her children’s
illustrated Bible. She opened the book to the illustration of Jesus’ baptism. Here
is Jesus at the river during the summer with his daddy. When Jesus calms the
sea. This is the story of Jesus in a windy boat. Scarlett loves the stories
about Jesus and his daddy. She tells her mommy she loves Jesus and God.
A 4-year-old sees and explains Jesus, as she
understands. Her heart is open to the story of Jesus and his daddy. She shares her
experience of Jesus and God’s love with the boldness and courage only a child
can have.
A child is open to understand and accept the story
that centers on Jesus and his Father. That openness is greater than that of
adults. The child does not worry about what others think; and not held back by
the restraints of those around her. A child has such a clean heart they
are comfortable telling you what they believe.
For a child, love is simple. They love those around
them; their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and pets. If a family’s
love centers on Jesus and God the Father, a child will know and love Jesus and
his Daddy.
Jesus told those who
would hear, “unless you change your heart and become like little children, you
will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
That is a hard thing to do, as we grow older; as adults,
we tend to make love more challenging.
What do you love the most? Is the love of your life
your car, house, hunting camp, jewelry, or something else? For some hunting,
fishing, shopping, or traveling the world may be the love of their life.
Whom do you love the most? Is it your spouse,
children, or parents? Is God and Jesus in the mix of the things you love? Where
are they on that list?
Love is the center of Christianity; but love must
be in the right order.
The truth of our love is revealed by sacrifice. Jesus
tells Andrew and Peter, “Whoever loves his life loses
it.”
We are here on this earth for such a short time. The
experiences of our lives and love in this world are precious. It is so
precious, we justify our time and prioritize what we love by what we consider treasured
and cherished. We only have a limited time in this world - we have to get it
right.
Many consider their time hunting or fishing their loves
so the sacrifice their time with Jesus at mass, at prayer, and contemplation.
Parents feel sports tournaments, trips to the beach, or vacations to Disney are
the ways to show their love to their children so they sacrifice taking them to
mass and teaching them about Jesus. People would rather stand in line for Space
Mountain than stand in line to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
We need to ask ourselves, do we have our love in the
right order? Do we love God more than we love the material things that are part
of our lives?
Since love is revealed by sacrifice, realize how
much God loves us. God
loves us enough to sacrifice the life of his son! Jesus tells us “It was for this purpose that I came.”
Jesus knew life on this world was precious! He saw
death approaching and his soul was troubled. In distress, Jesus exclaimed, “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me
from this hour?”
God could have removed Jesus from this trial. He
could have sent him to the equivalent of Disney World for that time and place. Jesus
could have walked away and went fishing or to the beach. He is God.
Yet, Jesus faced all that was to come because of His
love for us. His sacrifice manifested God’s love for the whole world. A sacrifice
God made and Jesus accepted and experienced.
For Jesus, it was a painful struggle. Instead of loving
himself, Jesus loved us more. He took on the absolute pain of human nature uniting
himself to our pain and earthly struggle. “Now the hour
has come for the Son of man to be glorified.”
In that hour, Jesus gave up his precious life on
this earth for love of us. Friends, no matter
how bad we are at love or how misplaced our love is, Jesus loves us! He is the grain of wheat that died to bring us the promise of
precious eternal life. It is a
promise for all, from least
to greatest.
Yes, Jesus’ life on earth was precious just as our
life on earth is precious. As Christians, take that precious gift of life and make
it wonderful. Give thanks to Jesus for his love for us!
Follow Him! Glorify God!
Create clean
hearts in us, O God, so we can become like little children. May our hearts be open to
love that centers on Jesus and his Father, placing love for God above all other
love.
This should be in our hearts this Lent.
Be good, be holy and preach the Gospel by the way
you live your life and your love for God.
Praise be Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
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