Understanding the signs that God gives us

Homily for March 8, 2015 (3rd Sunday of Lent)
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25
Five Holy Martyrs Parish, Chicago

This past week, the Church celebrated the memorial of St. Casimir, a Polish prince who died in the 15th century while still in his 20’s, renowned for his holiness, simplicity and generosity to the poor.  He is revered today as a patron saint of both Poland and Lithuania.

According to one tradition, several years after Casimir died, an artist created an unusual painting of him for the Cathedral in Vilnius: it depicted the saint with two right hands!  According to one version of the story, when his apparent mistake was discovered, the artist tried to paint over it; but the two right hands mysteriously reappeared!  According to another version, the artist added the extra hand as a sign of Casimir’s generosity as well as his attention to Christ’s admonition:  “When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).

As people of faith, indeed as human beings, signs and symbols are important to us.  This is evidenced in areas of our lives as wide-ranging as the sacraments and the brand names of the products we buy.  The biblical readings for our Mass today present us with several dimensions of that importance. Signs and symbols guide us, and they sometimes also challenge us.

In our first reading from Exodus 19, we recall the Ten Commandments as a sign of moral guidance.  This list of two “do’s” and eight “don’ts” was also part of a larger system of laws that not only governed the people of Israel but even more fundamentally the linchpin of their covenant with God.  Thus the consequences of disobedience would be visited even upon their great-grandchildren; but God’s mercy would be extended “down to the thousandth generation” of those who loved God and kept the commandments.

St. Paul presents us with a very different sign—one of contradiction, paradox and power—in our second reading:  the cross.  It was a “stumbling block” to many Jews because they could not wrap their minds around the idea of a Messiah who would suffer such an ignominious death and not lead them to vanquish their oppressors.  It was “foolishness” to many Gentiles because they could see little redemptive or rational in a Son of God being executed.  For Paul and the early Christian community, however, it became a sign of power—not their own, but the power of God that could work through human beings and triumph over evil and even death itself.

Jesus’ “cleansing” of the Temple was placed in Chapter 2 of John’s gospel to be a sign of Jesus’ identity and authority as God’s Son and Messiah, one who would drive out corruption and injustice wherever he found it.  As with his other signs—including changing the water into wine at Cana, healings, multiplying the loaves, and raising Lazarus from the dead—this one would be accepted by some and rejected by others who refused to believe in him.   These signs, then, were also moments of judgment.

The season of Lent, with its various spiritual disciplines, is intended to hone our senses to better perceive and understand the signs that God gives us.  Some may seem obvious; but many are subtle.  Some we seek and discover; but most simply come to us through the grace of God.  May we grow in our ability to notice them, reflect on them, and allow them to change us. +