Fifth Sunday of Lent - April 7, 2019

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Isaiah 43:16-21    Philippians 3:8-14    John 8:1-11

Infinite  in·fi·nite | \ˈin-fə-nət  adjective 1. Without limits and impossible to measure or calculate

I love dictionaries. Most reference material, really. I might add that I have a respectable collection too. One could easily connect that unfortunate glitch to warm fuzzy childhood memories of my grandfather working his cross word puzzles in the furthest nether reaches of our living room. I would sit just waiting for him to look up at me over his spectacles and say something like “Hey Squirt, give me a three-letter word for blunder.”

“Do you not perceive it?” This line of today’s first reading tugged at something inside me. God’s new thing takes the shape of monumental hospitality. The Lord instructs his people to forget the former things and advises against dwelling in the past. The hand extended to you will not always be a miraculous parting sea. Memory creates expectation and expectation may prevent you from seeing the power of God in more subtle works. However, God’s ways are impossible to measure or calculate.

The second reading finds Paul recognizing what was lost in order to become closer to Christ. He mentions justice, and in my experience, people often use the word justice when they mean vengeance or have divine judgement on the brain. I am sure he means something closer to sanctification.

In his letter, Paul expresses a desire to know Christ and “the power flowing from his resurrection” as well as how to share in his sufferings. His faith in Christ allows him to focus on the future, the prize of God’s finish line, without the human instinct to ruminate or indulge in self-pity.

What is inside me or any of us that might cause us difficulty in perceiving the grace of God?  Could it be the urge to be a distinct individual? The ego or sense of self is sometimes described as that part of you which knows, remembers, desires and suffers. Any one of these elements has the potential to cause a lot of noise or interference. Paul has managed to take each element of this definition and place Christ at the center. How did he do that?

Q: Am I focused on the prize at the end of life or am I focused on things of my world?


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