Scriptures For Sunday, March 25, 2018
Christ’s Triumphal Entry
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
John 12:12-16
Mark 11:1-11
 
The Passion
Isaiah 50:4-9
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 14:1 – 15:47

On Sunday evening, March 18th, Holy Infant Catholic Church hosted the Elkton community Lenten meal and program.  The meal and the hospitality were wonderful, as they have been at each of the four churches (including Bethel) that hosted these events this year. 
In the program that followed the meal, we shared in some very nice songs, accompanied by guitars.  Lay people of Holy Infant led us in prayers and read Scriptures, including Isaiah 58:1-9 and Matthew 9:14-15.  Then their pastor, Father Michael Mugomba, preached the following homily.  Afterwards, he kindly gave the printed text of his message to anyone who wanted a copy.  I hope you will find it helpful, as I did, and realize that we share so much with our brothers and sisters in Christ all around us.  Here is his message:
Dear People of God,
Welcome to Holy Infant Catholic Church tonight as we host the Area Church Lenten Reflection for the year 2018.  These Reflections are part of our preparation for Easter.  Thanks so much everyone for your presence.
The Theme we chose this year to focus our Lenten Reflection is Fasting- one of the three Traditional Pillars of Lent besides Prayer and Almsgiving.  Lent is a penitential season that tasks us to bridge our relationship with God and neighbor.
In the Gospel reading taken from Matthew 9:14-15, we heard Jesus teaching on fast when the disciples of John and the Pharisees questioned as to why his disciples skipped this important practice.  “After my ascension my disciples will fast.”  In saying this Jesus was not doing away with Fasting but was more concerned with the spirit and practice.  For many, fasting was simply a means to appear pious externally.
Jesus had spent 40 days and nights in Prayer and fasting before he started his public ministry.  “He fasted for forty days and forty nights and afterward was hungry.”  (Matthew 4:2)  Jesus taught the spirit of prayer, alms giving and fasting.
When you fast “do not look glum like the hypocrites do, pretending that it is such a great burden to do penance.”  (Matthew 6:16)  In the gospel, we hear many times Jesus criticizing any  form  of hypocrisy  that  tends  to draw  the attention of the people.  That fasting like almsgiving and prayer should be directed to God we heard in the reading from Isaiah.

What about us Christians in the present age ?  What is our attitude toward Fasting ?  Do I do it to attract people’s attention ?
In the first reading we heard the Prophet Isaiah pointing out the type of Fasting God wishes:
“This is the fasting that I wish:
  releasing those bound unjustly,
    untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
    breaking every yoke.
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
    sheltering the oppressed and homeless,
  clothing the naked when you see them,
    and not turning your back on your own.”
(Isaiah 58:6-7)
How am I faring in the recommendations of Jesus’ teaching on fasting as he took them from the Old Testament ?
Fasting requires self-discipline and sacrifice in order to meet the standards set up by Jesus.  In this kind of self-sacrifice one unites himself or herself with the suffering and redemptive nature of Christ.
Remember “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.... And whatever you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.”  (Matthew 25:40, 45)  Let us get involved and support the Social Outreach activities at our churches; in particular, EAUS.  We would be able to care for many of the faces of Jesus in our community.
Let us take fasting as a form of Prayer.  It is effective in overcoming the temptations of the devil- like Jesus who spent 40 days in Prayer and fasting was able to overcome the devil and his temptations.  He focused on doing the will of His Father.  God can still help us to overcome the temptations and spare us as He did for the people of Nineveh.  Let us endeavor to get away from any form of sinful inclinations or situations that can lead us to sin.
Let us continue to work on this task of fasting, thus bringing us to the Easter joy and new life with Jesus.
                         WISHING YOU ALL THE EASTER JOY.

 SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 18
Psalm 119:9 - 16
Jeremiah 31: 31-34
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

“I, when I am lifted up from the earth,
     will draw all people to myself.”
                                                      -John 12:32
There are times when it’s really important to use precise language, to avoid misunderstandings. 
For instance, if your friend tells you, “I may get suspended, or I may be hanged,” it would be good to understand the difference between the two.
The expression “I may get suspended” uses words with similar meanings to the words, “I may be hanged,” but for those who understand, it makes a big difference !
The same is true for “I got held up” versus “I’ve had an uplifting experience.”                                                      (!)
In John chapter 12, Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover festival.  Just a few days before, Jesus had brought Lazarus to life after he’d been dead for four days.  Jesus was now a celebrity !  He had power to raise the dead !
The religious leaders of Jesus’ own people were already looking for a way to have him killed, to stop the “Jesus movement.”  (John 11:46-57) 
Jesus knew very well that the people in power wanted to “string him up,” but he also knew that his Father had a different kind of “uplifting” plan for him !
So when Jesus, the man who could raise the dead, came riding into the holy city surrounded by great crowds preparing for the Jewish Passover, the tension was high:  would he be exalted or would he be nailed ?
The moment of truth came when a group of Gentiles, that is, non-Jews who were in Jerusalem to experience the Jewish Passover festival, came to Jesus’ disciple Philip to make an appointment to meet the great celebrity.  Perhaps they chose to approach Philip because he had a Greek name; maybe he dressed and behaved like a Galilean rather than a Judean (a native of the Jerusalem region)— more like a Greek than like a stereotypical Hebrew.
When Jesus got word that foreigners—non-Jews—Greeks— wanted to get involved in his movement, that’s when he uttered that strange pronouncement: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” 
In the Greek language as in English, there is a sort of pun, a play on words, between the notion of “hang him high” and “give him the top spot.”  
But it’s more a matter of wonderment, of disorientation, of radical confusion, to try to grasp how Jesus fused the two opposing concepts into one.  Somehow— God only knows how— Jesus would get crucified and also be glorified.  The very act of getting killed was also what vaulted Jesus to where we can recognize him as the “only-begotten Son” whom God gave to save all of us.
Please notice that Jesus wanted to attract all people to his salvation.  Even though he and his earthly family and disciples (at that point) were Jewish, he felt an “uplift” of glory when word came that Gentiles were also interested in following him.
Jesus reached out to all of humanity, and he calls us to reach out to all humanity, too.

Patrick of Ireland heard that call.  The legend of his life illustrates how a person can leave behind his “comfort zone” to approach foreigners and even enemies, for Christ’s sake.
The story goes, Irish raiders captured the teen-aged Patrick from his home in the Isle of Britain.  In Ireland, he slaved for cruel Irish masters.  It was during his time as a slave that Patrick began to be serious about his own Christian faith.  After seven years of slavery, he was able to escape and make his way back to Britain.  But his real adventure was just getting started: he felt God’s call on his life and became a priest.  Then he felt that God was calling him to return to Ireland— the same place where he had suffered as a slave— to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity.
By the grace of God, Patrick was able to forgive the people who had enslaved him and abused him: he came to see them as his brothers and sisters in God’s love.  Patrick and other early Christian missionaries to Ireland lived as friendly neighbors among the native Irish, daily demonstrating their faith through their kindness, honesty, and holy living… rather than ‘preaching at’ their audience.  Today’s formula for their approach goes something like this:  Make a friend; be a friend; lead your friend to Christ.  The missionaries’ ‘Celtic method of evangelism’ succeeded, and Ireland’s devotion to Jesus stood as a beacon of hope to the world during the “dark ages” of Europe, for hundreds of years afterward.

Among Bible verses, John 3:16 is so popular— it seems to “shout down” the rest of the text around it.  Apart from the doctrine of “being born again,” which comes from that same chapter, I wonder how many of us have really focused on the message the gospel of John was written to convey.
John’s gospel is strikingly different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  The other three gospels basically share one time-line for telling the story of Jesus’ earthly life, and they share many of the same stories, albeit using slightly different words.  But John’s gospel leaves out a lot of the information that is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, instead giving us a rather different time-line and many stories that are not found in the other gospels.
This past Sunday, we heard the story of Jesus clearing the animal-sellers and money-changers out of the Temple, according to John.  John places this story at the BEGINNING of Jesus’ ministry, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke place this story at the END of Jesus’ earthly career, when he enters Jerusalem in the week of his crucifixion.
If you read and compare the four gospels together, you will notice that Jesus speaks very differently in the gospel of John than he does in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  This year, we get most of our gospel readings from Mark (the shortest gospel), and some from John’s gospel.  You can hardly help but notice the contrast between the way Jesus speaks in John’s gospel and his style according to Mark’s gospel.
Mark: “Be silent and come out of him” (1:25) [to an unclean spirit]. 
He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him” (1:34). 
“See that you say nothing to anyone” [after healing a man of a skin disease]. 
And there are many more examples in Mark’s gospel, where Jesus seems intent on keeping his identity as the Son of God a secret— what scholars have called “the Messianic secret.”

John: “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (1:51) [upon meeting Nathanael]. 
​“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19) [after clearing the Temple].  
And when the  “woman at the well”  said  to  Jesus,  “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ).  “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”  Jesus said to her, “I am [he], the one who is speaking to you” (2:25-26). 
And there are many more examples in John, of Jesus speaking quite openly about being the Son of God.
So, by comparing the gospels, you can see that, according to John, Jesus was outspoken about his identity, while according to Mark he made an effort to keep his true identity under wraps. 
Nevertheless, in all of the gospels, we, the readers, are “in on the secret” of Who Jesus really is.
The gospel of John states its purpose very clearly: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah [the Christ], the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
                                                -John 20:30-31
 
Back to John, chapter 3:  Have you ever looked closely at this chapter in a Bible that advertises, “Words of Christ in red” ?  Looking in such a Bible, you would notice that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each feature a lot of red ink, indicating the words of Christ.  Also in red ink would be quotes from Jesus in The Acts of the Apostles and in 1 Corinthians 11.  And then there are the words spoken by the heavenly Christ in the Book of Revelation.
So, try reading John chapter 3 in a Bible like that.  John 3:10-21 is usually printed all in red.
It may interest you to know that ancient Hebrew and Greek Scripture texts did not have quotation marks at all— so every translator and editor and publisher of the Bible text must try to figure out, Where do the words of Christ end and where do the words of John the Evangelist take over ?  While many scholars believe that John 3:10-21 consists entirely of words of Christ himself, other serious Christian scholars believe that verses 16-21 (even our beloved John 3:16) are thoughts of John the Evangelist, reflecting on Jesus’ words. 
In any case, I want us to live our lives by these words from John’s gospel: Those who do what is true come to the Light,
        so that it may be clearly seen
                that their deeds have been done in God.                                    
                                                 -John 3:21

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 4
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22

Early in March, each year we receive the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering.  This “is the special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that carries God’s message of love and hope to people in crisis.  The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water, food, education and health care, small business micro-credit, advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons, and emergency relief and rehabilitation.  OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster preparedness and response.” ( www.ucc.org/oghs ) 
Six other denominations of Christians join the UCC in receiving and sharing OGHS donations.  The organization called Church World Service serves to coordinate the various denominations’ giving and carries out some of the direct mission work. 
About 60% of each dollar given goes to support international mission and development initiatives, while about 35% goes for domestic (U.S.) missions and development.  Only about 5% of OGHS donations goes into producing the fundraising materials, such as printing and internet media that promote the offering.  The “overhead” cost of administering the UCC part of OGHS is funded by the UCC denomination and our Conferences through separate gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission.  So, 95% of each dollar we give ends up doing direct mission work.  Compared to other crisis and disaster-relief ministries, OGHS yields very high efficiency.  
This year, our theme for OGHS is “More Than We Can Imagine.”  This phrase comes from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (3: 20 – 21):  Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.
If it makes you wonder what prompted Paul to offer this benediction, go back and read the verses that came before it.  In verse 1, Paul reminds the Ephesians that he himself is suffering in prison because of his Christian ministry work.  In verses 6 and 8-9, he tells them that, although he is a Jew, God  gave  him  the  strange  task  of  carrying  the Jesus message to Gentiles, that is, to non-Jews.  And in verses 13 – 19, Paul tells them that he is praying that they will cooperate with God to make his mission work with them a success in the end— even though he himself has landed in chains.
It takes quite an imagination for Paul to think that the seeds of faith in Christ that he planted among the Ephesians could grow up into strong, wise, and loving followers of Jesus Christ.  Imagination, and prayer.  In this passage, Paul is praying “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”  (Ephesians 3:17)  He uses the metaphor of a plant, which starts as a bare seed but, by developing roots, becomes able to emerge from the earth in beauty and fruitfulness.

In the same way, it takes quite an imagination for us to think that the amount of money we might give through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering could grow up to be education, sustainable agriculture, improved health, hospitality for refugees, and meaningful work.  When we give from our love and we pray, God will do “More Than We Imagine.”  The seed takes root and bears fruit. 
The Bible does not say whether Paul got to see the people of the churches of Ephesus any more, to check on his “crop.”  But in his letter, he shares with them his prayers and hopes.
This is the week when we hear the story of Jesus entering the Jerusalem Temple, overturning the tables of those who were making money there and chasing them away (John 2: 13–22).  The kingdom of God is not a business arrangement.  We love and we pray and we give, and we demand nothing in return for our “investment” in the “crop.”  Yet God sometimes gives us the joy and satisfaction of learning how our prayers are answered. 
​As we give through One Great Hour of Sharing, we may hear the testimonies of many who are blessed by it.