Worship In Spirit and Truth
A Reflection for the Third Sunday of lent, March 19, 2017
Based on the readings from: Exodus 17:3-7, Romans 5:1-8, John 4:5-42
By Rev. Fr. Bob
Johnnene OFM
Mission Sts.
Sergius and Bacchus/ Order Franciscans of Mercy
Reformed Catholic
Church
This week’s readings have so much for us to reflect
upon. Each of the readings has a lesson for us to ponder and if we do so, it
will open our hearts and minds so that we too will proclaim, as the Samaritans
do in today’s Gospel:“Now we no longer
believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know
that he really is the savior of the world’.
We hear Christ speaking to us on the pages of the Holy
Scriptures written by those who were there at the time and their followers to
whom they related them who transcribed them under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. If our hearts and minds are
open to the Holy Spirit speaking within us we can discern God's truth. We need to listen with open hearts and minds
to the Holy Spirit speaking within us today and discern essence of truth we
perceive while comparing it with the differing teachings proclaimed by the
various Catholic Councils , thereby knowing God’s will for us, in this age and
time, through the inspiration of the Spirit.
The Gospel story is filled with lessons, that if we
were to compare them against the social and political customs of the Christ's
time and today we would realize that Christ broke many taboos of His day.
The Gospel
begins with Christ breaking tradition and speaking to the Samaritan woman at
the well.
This was in total contradiction to Jewish Religious
law. Christ tells us that He came to bring a new covenant, in other words
Christ proclaimed a new way of being, of relating and experiencing God. Christ then stayed there for a period of
days teaching and at the end of that time the Samaritans came to accept Him as
the promised of the ages while the Religious hierarchy rejected and feared Him.
Christ is said to have proclaimed; But the hour will come – in fact it is here
already – when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth: that is the kind of worshiper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must
worship in spirit and truth.’(John 4:23)
The hour is now for us to turn to God who created all
things, for reasons known to Him alone, and to Christ who is the light come
into the world to proclaim God’s truth, and light the way of truth for us, not man’s
idea of truth.
By allowing the Holy Spirit to enlighten us in accord
with the traditions and customs of the early church and examining the reasons
behind why some rituals and customs were eliminated we might be inspired to
review the concept of reviving them in today's world, like the tradition of
married priests and woman deacons.
Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us that “the love of God has been poured into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when
at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men.”
Christ came not for those who lived righteous lives
but for those who were sinners to teach them the way, the truth and to be the
light that will guide us all to eternal happiness. Christ suffered and died so that our
sinfulness could be forgiven and forgotten.
The Holy Spirit is forever working today just as the
Holy Spirit worked on that first Pentecost and in the guiding of the early
Fathers of The Church and Patriarchs in the formative years of the One Holy
Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I often ask God the same question Moses beseeches of
God; “Moses appealed to the Lord. “How am
I to deal with this people?” (Exodus 17: 4) when I am confronted by
individuals who refuse to even consider that those who do not adhere to a singular concept of
worship to Almighty God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not true
Christians.
I usually ask them if they believe that God created
all things and the response is usually “Of course”.
I then ask them if they believe that everything God
created was good, to which I get the same answer.
I then remind them that if God created all people then
all people are children of God and, as such, their prayers and their devotions
are acceptable to God assuming they are offering them to the God of Isaac,
Jacob, Jeremiah, Elijah, Moses, and David.
Jesus Christ came to instruct us on the way to achieve
everlasting live with His father.
God himself, as we heard in last week’s Gospel,
proclaimed “This is my Son, the
Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)
The people of Samaria listened and believed, the woman
at the well believed, Paul tells us “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit which has been given us”. (Romans 5: 5). The love of God is the
Truth and it is still being poured into our hearts if we but take the time to
listen and seek the truth and desire God's infinite love.
Far too many individuals want everyone and everything
to be exactly alike and they leave no room for diversity in celebrations or
prayer practices.
We know for a fact that diversity
enriches educational experiences. We learn from experiences, beliefs, and perspectives
that are different from ours and these lessons can enrich our spiritual growth.
Diversity challenges stereotyped
preconceptions; it encourages critical thinking; and it helps us to develop
respect for people of various backgrounds while enriching our liturgical
practices and even bringing a deeper relationship in the Eucharistic Liturgy.
The Mass, Eucharistic Liturgy, is the most
perfect prayer as it involves a gathering together of a faith community
together to worship God, The Mass begins
with our admitting our failures and the seeking God's forgiveness for our failures, the proclamation of the Word of
God and a lesson or reflection on that word, the offerings of the people to
Almighty God, proclamation of our faith in God and giving praise to God and is
culminated in God giving us His beloved Son in the Eucharist and our being sent
forth to live our life in accordance with Christ's teachings.
An example of diversity and how it
enriches the Eucharistic liturgy is experienced yearly at the Religious
Education Conference in Anaheim CA sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese
of Los Angeles, where every day during the three day conference, Masses are
celebrated exploring the cultural traditions of Native Americans, African
Americans, Latinos, Filipino, Asian, and other groups.
The vestments, music and prayers reflect
the ethnic culture, dress and spirituality of the various ethnic groups.
I have witnessed Eucharistic liturgies
where dance was an intricate part of the liturgy. Jeremiah said that when Christ came “Then young women will dance and be glad. And so will the
men, young and old alike. I will turn their sobbing into gladness. I will
comfort them. And I will give them joy instead of sorrow”. Jeremiah
31:13) \
In light of this why shouldn't dance be
incorporated into liturgical celebrations if it contributes to the spiritual
depth of individuals attending?
All Prayer is communication with God whereby we offer
thanks, petition and ourselves. At the
offertory of the Eucharistic Liturgy we offer ourselves and the fruits of our
labor to God in return God gives us the Bread of Life, Christ truly present in
the Eucharist. For this we need to
rejoice and be glad, even in this time of Lent as we reflect on the passion of
Christ and what he was willing to endure on our behalf, we rejoice that God
loves us so much He allowed His son to suffer so in order that we could attain
Everlasting live or as Paul says: “what proves that God loves us is that Christ died
for us while we were still sinners.”
Let us go forth today with open minds, hearts and
souls ready to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking and guiding us on our journey
toward God. AMEN
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