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Lent is a time to seek God’s glorious presence more diligently, hidden in an often-arduous journey, marked by the reality of sin and death. Today’s scriptures juxtapose two very different images of this journey - one up Mount Moriah, the other up Mount Tabor. For the Christian, Isaac’s journey up Mount Moriah is a prophetic glimpse at Jesus’ painful trek toward the place of the skull. The pitiful sight of Isaac carrying the heavy bundle of kindling wood up the mountain for his own sacrifice reminds us of the suffering of the innocent that has stained the world throughout its history and continues to do so today.

In our first reading today, Moses instructs the people how to be in relationship with God – “to walk in his ways and observe his statutes and commandments, and to hearken to his voice.” And if the people do this, they will be God’s people – a people “peculiarly his own.” Jesus fleshes this out for us today in the Gospel reading. When Jesus begins with “you have heard that it was said,” you can bet Jesus is going to turn our usual way of doing things on its head. We get the advice to love both our friends and our enemies, to do good to those who persecute us. Something peculiar indeed.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns about the dangers of unjust anger. He challenges us to not let hard feelings stand between us and our brother (or sister) in Christ. Such an attitude puts a barrier between us and the Lord. How can we approach the altar in good faith when lingering resentment stands between us and another child of God? Before receiving communion, we recite the most challenging words of the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is so important that the Lord repeats it after teaching this prayer (Mt 6:14-15). How can we be properly disposed to receive our Lord if we hold grudges?

“When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me” Ps. 138.

Think on the seriously reluctant Jonah, having survived the fish's belly to then walk the enormous city, crying: "40 more days and Nineveh will be destroyed." How astounding that in the first day, the citizens, the king, took him seriously and repented with contrite hearts and formidable penances. And how Jesus, minced no words to the crowd; "This generation is an evil generation...there is something greater than Jonah here." Yet, many did not see.

We have begun the holy season of Lent. Just as we are in our initial fervor of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we pause to celebrate a feast – the Chair of Peter, Apostle. It was to Peter, the impetuous disciple, that Jesus entrusted the beginnings of ecclesia, the organization we now recognize as Church. It was not because Peter was the most organized or the most gifted of the disciples that he was chosen. It was because of his faith. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, he exclaimed on that day in Caesarea Philippi.

If you are searching for concrete suggestions for Lent, today's reading from Isaiah gives us some clear directives: " Give your bread to the hungry, stop accusing people falsely and call the Sabbath a delight." In the Gospel Jesus tells us that He is a God of mercy who has come not to the righteous but to all of us who are sinners and need God's mercy and compassion. Pope Francis reminds us that " Jesus is the Face of God's mercy and that the Church is like a field hospital after battle. HEAL THE WOUNDS. The ministers of the Church must be ministers of mercy."

In the gospel, Jesus says that if we want to come after him, we must deny ourselves. This may sound daunting, but Jesus is asking us to consider how we spend our time and resources. Do we have too much me-time and not enough others time? God’s will and our wills can be miles apart. Lent invites us to close the gap. Perhaps the time and resources we spend on our wants can be opportunities to help others with needs. This is not an invitation to add to your already busy lives. It is the desire of Jesus that we reach out to others as a way to follow him. Jesus is not commanding this of us. He says that IF we want to come after him… This is our choice.

The prophet Joel calls us to return to the Lord with our whole heart. I don’t think of Lent as a gloomy season, but as a time to draw closer to God. Matthew’s Gospel speaks of three traditional Lenten disciplines: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These disciplines help us to draw closer to God and neighbor. They enable us to focus on what is most important in our lives: loving God with our whole hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Yes, these priorities require sacrifices in our lives. But doesn’t anything that’s important in life require sacrifice?