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The Road to Jerusalem Series #4
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2 Chronicles 36:15-16 – The Fall of Jerusalem
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; 16 but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against his people became so great that there was no remedy.
Psalm 137:1-2 – Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
1 By the rivers of Babylon – (↔ Music Link)
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows* there
we hung up our harps.
* Other translations say aspens or poplars. The image is of lush, green trees growing by a beautiful river as seen by captive families displaced from their homeland.
Ephesians 2:8-10 – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. [My emphasis added]
John 3:17-19 – 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Today we continue our journey to Jerusalem as we travel with Jesus and his Apostles. For Parishes with members of the Elect who will receive the Sacraments of Initiation, the readings will be as follows for Cycle A – 4th Sunday of Lent:
First Reading – 1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,10-13a – Samuel is sent to anoint David as king.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23:1-6 – The Lord is our shepherd.
Second Reading – Ephesians 5:8-14 – The Ephesians are told to live as children of light.
Gospel Reading – John 9:1-41 (shorter form: John 9:1,6-9,13-17,34-38) Jesus heals the man born blind and reveals himself to him as the Son of Man. The final revelation and moment of enlightenment comes when the man born blind encounters Jesus again. Having heard the news of his expulsion, Jesus seeks out the man born blind and reveals himself to him as the Son of Man. In this moment, the man born blind shows himself to be a man of faith and worships Jesus.
In this weekend’s readings for Cycle B, we begin with devastation, lamentation, salvation, and condemnation. The kingdom of Israel has been divided since about 900 BC. Assyria has ravaged Israel – the Northern Kingdom of 10 Tribes, and Judah – the two remaining Tribes – beginning an about 720 BC. Babylon later conquered Judah – and the First Temple, the one built by Solomon, was destroyed. There were three deportations of Israelites from their homeland to Babylon in 605, 597, and 587 BC. They were held as captives in Babylon for 70 years – considered to be two generations. This is also the time where the Ark of the Covenant disappears from biblical history. No one knows what happened to it – whether hidden, captured, or destroyed, its presence is still a mystery (not withstanding Indiana Jones). Beginning around 538 BC when the Persian ruler Cyrus (← Back story here) rose to power, there were three returns to Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. It was around this time that the Second Temple was built by Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the Governor of Judah after the exile. The second temple was smaller than the one Solomon built, but God ensured that it was more glorious. The histories of our own lives often follows this cycle of devastation, lamentation, salvation, and condemnation. But, ultimately, it ends in YOLO-F.
The devastation we experience most often in our lives is the result of our sins. There is 
nothing we can to about our state of sinfulness – it is inherent in our nature; however, there is something we can do about our sins. The first thing we can do is to resist sin and the desire to be tempted. In our Act of Contrition (← examples here), we pray, “I firmly resolve with the help of Your grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.” The “near occasion of sin” occurs when we place ourselves in a situation where we can “dip our toes” in a puddle of temptations we know could attract us to sin. The sign posted here to the left is another way of visualizing that. Now, we know our resolve will melt away sometime (many times), nonetheless, we promise ourselves and God that we will try not to lapse into sin. We stay away from minefields if we know what’s good for us, and we certainly must at least try to stay out of trouble. (We are reminded here that the best way to get out of trouble is to stay out of trouble.) This is where both Israel and Judah kept getting into the deep weeds – they simply could not sustain their loyal obedience to God, and – as we all know – there are consequences for disobedience.
Those consequences of our own actions can range from slightly annoying to greatly impairing. We tell ourselves, “All things in moderation,” but there are some of those things in which even moderation is excessive. A few examples: Anything in the 10 commandments for a starter. Adultery in moderation is just as sinful as “only a little” or “utterly massive” adultery. Same for dishonoring parents, dishonoring neighbors, dishonoring leaders, and worst of all dishonoring God. it is impossible to murder “only in moderation.” It is impossible to murder without consequences under the mantra, “my body, my choice.” Quantity, color (B/W), or quality of sin is irrelevant. Sin is sin, and even if the temporal consequences are minimal, it could turn out that the eternal consequences are humongous. We would not hold a church potluck in a minefield, nor should we deliberately choose to live in ways that endanger our wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. None of us is unaware that we have been frequently warned against doing foolish things because foolish things are wrong things.
When we are wrong and foolish we generally feel sorry for what we have done. We may even feel sorry enough to apologize, to repent, and to make amends. If the sin qualifies as 
a crime, we can also be punished, and our punishment is designed to help us – perhaps even make us – lament our foolishness. Perhaps the most foolish sin of all is to believe that we cannot be caught out in our sin because no one will find out about it. Perhaps you recall “The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God.’” (See Psalm 14:1) Like the song says, “everybody plays the fool.” We act as if there is no God and realize too late that we are absolutely wrong about that as well. When will we ever learn? (We remember that song, too.) In our lamentations over “the rotten luck that got us caught,” we remember the good old days when we weren’t in such a mess. “If I ever get the chance to do better I will not forget this lesson.” Until it happens again. So, what is the answer to this dilemma of sin? How do we finally make amends for being us?
The Apostle Paul has a delightfully comprehensive answer to this query in Galatians 2:16 b -20 – And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith 
in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. 17 But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
We cannot break the Law of God to keep the laws of humanity, and we cannot rewrite the Law to justify our sins; neither should we remain silent when others do that. Do you know that France recently codified abortion into national law, and that our current POTUS and VP want to do the same HERE? Because of a misinterpretation of our constitution, abortion was considered “legal” based on the Roe v. Wade. Recently that changed in Dobbs v. Jackson. Some of us cheered that decision, others continue to promote, perform, demand, brag about, legislate for, and – as in France – codify. The lives lost belong to God as do the lives that cause those lives to be lost. There are consequences. Everything that is good comes from God and all of it belongs to God.
If everything belongs to God, then it follows that everyone belongs to God. Our life, our love, our worshiping, and honoring of God and neighbor belong to God. If we offer all that we have – body, mind, and spirit – to God and neighbor, what becomes of us and of our gifts? I believe the answer is in John 15:13 – 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. All Good things come from God, so whatever is Good in our lives comes from him, but who can repay him – and how? If we give him All That We Have (↔ Music Link), could it ever be enough? Could we give God and each other All That I am (↔ Music Link), and still come up short? We want to Love God for the Greatness of his Love, but in the Light of his Love ours is Only a Shadow (↔ Music Link). Still, I am certain you have felt moments in your life when you and God are very much in sync and you know firsthand that Great Things Happen (↔ Music Link) when God mixes with us. Salvation is the best of the best things that happen, and that Grace of Salvation – like all Good Gifts – comes from God. And still we rebel, refuse, and, eventually, regret; not altogether unexpected, we might say, considering the corrupt material we’re working with. Consider this:
Matthew 24:10-11 – 10 Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. We so often seem to end up asking, “Well, just when do I get my bit?” The Apostle Peter handled that one for us: Mark 10:28-30 – 28 Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. Later on The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:10-13 – 10 Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.
There is more to it than that. There is also this: Matthew 16:24-26 – The Cross and Self-Denial 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? Jesus knew he was on a one-way trip to Jerusalem. He also knew what was instore for him there as well as what would happen afterwards. You and I are going to Jerusalem now. There is no Easter without Calvary. We can walk this long road Home together, you and I. I’m certainly looking forward to those Golden slippers. That requires avoiding sin and the desire to be tempted. The consequences for choosing (it’s always a choice) not to do that is summed up in today’s Gospel passage. You know by heart the verse directly up the page from this:
John 3:17-19 – 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are 
not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” Yes, it’s the same old story of devastation, lamentation, salvation, and condemnation. But there’s the old, old story (↔ Music Link) of Jesus and his Love. That story leads us directly to Jerusalem, the cross, and the grave. What lies beyond that is … for next week. We know that it’s always good in the end, so if it isn’t good yet, it isn’t the end yet! For us, The End will be GLORIOUS. That is, unless – like Israel and Judah – we look back and say, “Why didn’t we listen?”. Were do we go? To Jerusalem and the trek to Golgotha. Be sure to bring your M.A.P. and the APP.
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Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
