Reflections of the scripture readings on 5th Sunday of Lent Year C

Reflections of the scripture readings on 5th Sunday of Lent  Year C

Remember the last Sunday’s (March 10, 2013) Gospel reading (Lk 15;1-3, 11-32) on how the older righteous brother had a hard time in welcoming his younger brother? And, how this made his father sad?  It was, in part, the older righteous brother’s inability to let go of his younger brother’s past.  Being unable to let go of such a past matter can make it impossible for us to forgive and move on forward.

This Sunday, the readings further teach us that letting go of the past is required for reconciliation, which is necessary for us to move forward anew, having our sins absorbed by God’s mercy.

So, what does it mean to “let go”?  Does it mean to completely forget about the past?

Not only clergies but also psychologists often say, “Let go!”. We also hear some psychologists tell, “Forgiving someone is not necessarily to forget what this person has done to you.”

This statement is simply distinguishing who the person is and what the person does or has done – indicating that what we do does not necessarily define who we are. This distinction is what Jesus applied to a woman who was accused of committing adultery in today’s Gospel reading (John 8:1-11) as he does not like sin but loves sinners.

Can we let go of the past without necessarily forgetting things from the past?

In the first reading (Is 43:16-21), as written in the lectionary, God said, “remember not the event of the past” (v. 18).  Does it mean that God is telling us to have complete amnesia about the events of the past?

If so, why has Jesus said, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”(Luke 22:19)?

This famous statement of Jesus during the Last Supper is known as “anamnesis” (reminiscence) in a fancy theological term in Greek.  If God had really wanted us to have “amnesia”, then, there would be no Eucharistic anamnesis! This would make it impossible to have Mass, because the Sacrament of Eucharist is the climax of Mass!  Thus, it is clear that God is not advocating amnesia here.

In fact, I find the wording in the lectionary is a bit confusing. So, this is what actually how worded in the New American Standard Version, “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past”(Isaiah 43:18).  In the following verse, God continues to say, “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it?”(v.19).

Now, it is clear to understand that God does not want us to waste our time and attention in thinking too much of the past events because it makes us less attentive to what God is doing for us now and how such God actions now will lead us forward.

In other words, God does not want us to dwell on the past because it prevents us from paying attention to here and now, making it difficult for us to move ahead into the future.

Perhaps, Buddhist teaching can help us better understand, meaning of vv. 18-19.

 As Buddhism considers “attachment”(more like an obsession) is a root of suffering (dukkha), we can understand this God message as “do  not get attached to (obsessed with) our past because we need to move beyond and transcend our past” by applying this Buddhist teaching.Being attached to or obsessed with the past means dwelling still on the past.

Our “attachment” to the past can block our vision from God’s works of the very present moment. God want us to pay our utmost attention to what He is doing right now in order for us to move into the better future, which is ultimately salvation.  This is also great psychological wisdom because being attached to or obsessed with our past can lock us in the vicious cycle of anxiety disorder.

This was exactly what the problem of the older righteous brother in the last Sunday’s Gospel reading (Lk 15;1-3, 11-32) was.  His pride to be righteous, unlike his sinful younger brother, kept his attention to the past of his brother’s sin, thus, disabling his vision to see who his brother has become upon returning, making it impossible for him to forgive and embrace his brother with open arms and open heart.  His own inability to let go – his own attachment to the past – led him suffer from the consequences of his own inabilities to forgive.

So, what does it mean to “let go”?  Does it mean to completely forget about the past? Can we let go of the past without necessarily forgetting things from the past?

We now know that we can let go of the past and move forward into the future by being more mindful of now while remembering the past, as Buddhist teaching says, as long as our memories of the past do not become an object of our attachment or obsession.  This understanding is very important to move onto today’s Second reading (Phil 3:8-14) and the Gospel reading (John 8:1-11).

In the Second Reading, Paul makes a very good example of transcending his terrible past as a zealous persecutor and becoming a driven missionary disciple of Christ.  In order for him to transform himself from “Old Paul” to “New Paul” , Paul explains that he had to let go of all things from his past (accepting loss of all things) in order to become a new person by gaining the most precious “prize”, Christ. 

Remember, on the Second Sunday of Lent, we read the Gospel narrative on Jesus’ transfiguration (Lk 9:28b-36)? And, the transfiguration of Jesus was not only to foretell the outcome of what God is doing right now but also to inspire us to transform ourselves.   Echoing this message of transformation, this Sunday’s readings teach us to detach ourselves from the past so that we can better see how God care us right now and transform ourselves to be a better disciples and ambassadors of Christ, as Paul has done for himself.

Today’s Gospel story certainly goes along with this teaching from the First Reading and the Second Reading about letting go of the past and reconcile.

In the Gospel story, a woman accused of committing adultery was being used to trap Jesus in the dilemma between the Law of Moses and the teaching of Jesus.  Of course, Jesus already knew how the Pharisees was twisting the Law of Moses in order to get Jesus in trouble.  The Law said that a trial of adultery case requires both a woman and a man involved in this sinful affair. But, only a woman was brought .   It was also a violation of the Roman Law for a Jew to execute another Jew. Of course, Jesus did not answer in a way to be trapped and to this mockery justice question.  That is why, just how cleverly he fended off devil’s tempting questions in the First Sunday of Lent Gospel reading (Lk 4:1-13), Jesus responded to the Pharisees in a way that they cannot further challenge him.

Upon clearing the sinful Pharisees off, Jesus approaches the woman and offers her an opportunity to repent and become a new person without sin.  To this woman, whose past could have put her to death, Jesus was the reason for her to be free from her sinful past and reconcile to be transformed.

What is transforming in you during this Lent?

What past of yours are you letting go and moving forward into Easter through reconciliation and lessons from the past?