Lent and Easter 2015

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Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6
Luke 9:22-25
S UMMARY
In the readings today we hear repeatedly about making choices: choosing
goodness or sin, life or death. We also hear about the rewards and conse-
quences of those choices.
REFLECTION
I have struggled with today’s readings. The reality they present seems
stark. We are either one or the other: good and blessed or wicked and
doomed, alive or dead. What are we to make of these passages?
In re-reading the responsorial Psalm and the Gospel for today I was re-
minded of the nuance
and gift they present to
us. In the responsorial
Psalm we are com-
pared to trees that are
“planted near running
water, that yields its
fruit in season.” If we
are like trees, then our
ability to grow towards
Christ will be long and
ongoing. There will be
fruit in season; other
seasons will be sea-
sons of growth and
rest.
In the Gospel reading,
Jesus tells his disciples
that the Son of Man
will be killed “and on
the third day be
raised.” It took Jesus
three days to die and
rise. How much longer