March 2, 2017 - Reflection

      Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6; Luke 9:22-25
 
REFLECTION
 
Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
​
Hope is something that is not always in great supply when it is needed most. It’s often the thing we lose touch with first, when times get tough or the outlook on the future dims. Hope can be elusive, tenuous, and sometimes seem to just “slip” through our fingers.
Today’s readings, however, give us the opportunity to look at hope differently. The refrain of the Psalm reminds us that those who hope in the Lord are blessed and that the Lord will watch over their way in life. But what does it mean to hope in the Lord as the psalmist urges?
To me, true hope is found in following the life-giving, self-denying love of Jesus. The journey of Lent is a pilgrimage into this kind of love. As today’s Gospel reminds us, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected…be killed and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9: 22) How great is the love of Christ to willingly walk the way toward his own death? How incredible is the renewed hope that each of us has because Jesus gave himself in this way? And, how amazing is the opportunity to make this journey with Christ over and over?
As we take our first steps into the Lenten Season, standing today on the “porch of Lent,” may this be the hope that guides us. Over the next six weeks, let us not follow our usual ways of responding to what life puts in front of us, but let us each turn in new hope to find new ways to live everyday in the love and mercy of God.
James Wickman is Director of Music, Liturgy, and Catholic Life. ​

---