Sunday reflections

There was a Russian Cossack, who had two sons in the First World War. Their names were Peter and Gregory. One day the father received a letter from the front. Unable to read he handed it to his daughter.

If you were asked to name ten famous figures in the #Bible, you would probably list a series of well-known male identities, for example, Abraham, Moses, Job, Jesus, Peter, or Paul. Of the 1426 names mentioned in the Bible, 1315 are male. Only 111 women’s names appear in the Sacred Scriptures.

The parable in today’s gospel tells us about the experience of being loved and forgiven. It is about a father who shares his love equally with his two sons and, as they mature into adulthood, he gives them space to make their own decisions.

We might understand saying sorry, or an apology, forgiveness, even reconciliation and healing, but often we’re uncertain what part repentance plays in our lives. Yet it’s the very first thing that Jesus calls us to in the gospels and in Lent it’s front and centre.

Mountains play an important role in the bible; often presented as sites of transcendent spiritual experiences and encounters with God. Abraham shows his willingness to sacrifice Isaac and then encounters God on a mountain (Gen 22:1-14).

Today’s gospel tells us of the temptations which Jesus experienced when, in preparation for his public ministry, he’d gone out to the desert wilderness for a time of prayer and fasting. The gospel leaves us in no doubt Jesus knew the reality of temptation. He knew too that we, his followers, would face temptation of various kinds.

Jesus confronts a very human reality,
namely, the tendency to notice the failings of others while being blind to our own: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own?”

In the Book of Samuel we find two mortal enemies, David and Saul, in conflict. Saul is the anointed King of Judah and David has been anointed to succeed him. What happens next is an all too familiar human story.

A small boy once asked me what has been the most pertinent question I’ve ever been asked in my more than 50 years as a priest. The children were being prepared for Easter and reflecting on the events of Holy Week when the boy suddenly launched into a second question: