Sometime the Gospel of Saint John can leave us feeling a little left behind. The language this Gospel places on the lips of Christ as he explains His relationship with the Father surpasses our natural ability to understand. In our experience, and according to God’s design, the love of a mother and the love of a father are separated by gender. The full extent and bounty of love can most effectively be expressed by the two poles of human nature. God, the source and substance of love, could not have created beings who are able to love in ways unfamiliar or impossible to Himself. “Can He who made the ear not hear? Can He who formed the eye not see?” Can the one who created motherhood not love like a mother?
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Becoming Christian is like learning how to swim. The first thing you have to do is get wet – you’ll never learn to swim if you are still afraid of the water. Baptism is this first introduction to the Christian life: the body is immersed and the soul is cleansed. The water we are immersed in is Grace, it is the water of God’s mercy. Getting wet, especially if we are not used to it, can make us feel uncomfortable or vulnerable. God’s grace and forgiveness can feel a little like that when we are not used to it as well: humility is the virtue we need to welcome the destabilizing waves of God’s mercy and love.
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
The joy and gladness promised in the ancient prophecies centers around relief from the greatest burden: death. Life and living are the constant focus of revelation. Due to our physical and animal nature, we come to equate life with the basic physical manifestations of it. We see life as our ability to move, eating and drinking, sex, work, intensity, growth, affections, etc. While our human life includes and requires these obvious signs, they are only the surface. Beneath the surface are our thoughts, affections, memories, emotions, plans, hopes and dreams. We try to protect our ability to manifest life physically because the life that lies beneath the surface seems to be at risk otherwise.