By Fr. Michael Plekon We have passed Ash Wednesday and are on our way through the season of Lent, heading toward holy week and Easter. Lent is many things, a time for doing good things, thinking the good thoughts God thinks, of forgiveness, sharing, love. It is also a school and this year we will be learning from a series of encounters Jesus has with individuals, all recorded in the gospel of John. Each of these is an intense meeting and exchange from which we have much to learn. We will look at three of these here and the rest in another article. First, Jesus confronts the Evil One, Satan, the devil. Well, of course, we would think that Jesus has to take on the public enemy number one! What is important to note is that the Evil One comes looking for Jesus, not the other way round. Isn’t that the case for us too? When we least expect it, there is the pull toward lashing out, wanting to hurt another, wanting to take care only of ourselves, perhaps even hoping to destroy someone we detest. Jesus is confronted with three temptations—turn stones into bread, throw yourself off the temple roof and hope the angels will save you, and finally, bow down to the Evil One and admit evil is stronger than good. Jesus says no to all of these. He’s not a magician, hoping to attract followers with his miracles. So stones are not turned into bread nor is there an effort to fly off the temple. And Jesus knows evil is no match for what is good, kindness trumps hate, we care for the stranger and those in need. We don’t just love our own little world of family and friends. Doing what is good, what God does, is a miracle, and we give others a new hope and life in this. By the way, the account of Jesus’ encounter with the Evil One is from Matthew’s gospel, from which we will hear all the rest of this year, later on.
Feb 11th Couple Skates
St. Barnabas parishioners were out in force at the Borrego Springs Rotary Mardi Gras fundraiser at Rams Hill Golf Club. The evening brought together community members in support of Rotary’s scholarship and service efforts, with many familiar St. Barnabas faces in attendance. A generous King Cake winner later shared the cake with Fr. Michael, who brought it back to St. Barnabas to be enjoyed during Sunday coffee hour. It was a simple and sweet extension of the evening’s community spirit.
By Fr. Michael Plekon We have passed Ash Wednesday and are on our way through the season of Lent, heading toward holy week and Easter. Lent is many things, a time for doing good things, thinking the good thoughts God thinks, of forgiveness, sharing, love. It is also a school and this year we will be learning from a series of encounters Jesus has with individuals, all recorded in the gospel of John. Each of these is an intense meeting and exchange from which we have much to learn. We will look at three of these here and the rest in another article. First, Jesus confronts the Evil One, Satan, the devil. Well, of course, we would think that Jesus has to take on the public enemy number one! What is important to note is that the Evil One comes looking for Jesus, not the other way round. Isn’t that the case for us too? When we least expect it, there is the pull toward lashing out, wanting to hurt another, wanting to take care only of ourselves, perhaps even hoping to destroy someone we detest. Jesus is confronted with three temptations—turn stones into bread, throw yourself off the temple roof and hope the angels will save you, and finally, bow down to the Evil One and admit evil is stronger than good. Jesus says no to all of these. He’s not a magician, hoping to attract followers with his miracles. So stones are not turned into bread nor is there an effort to fly off the temple. And Jesus knows evil is no match for what is good, kindness trumps hate, we care for the stranger and those in need. We don’t just love our own little world of family and friends. Doing what is good, what God does, is a miracle, and we give others a new hope and life in this. By the way, the account of Jesus’ encounter with the Evil One is from Matthew’s gospel, from which we will hear all the rest of this year, later on.
Feb 11th Couple Skates
St. Barnabas parishioners were out in force at the Borrego Springs Rotary Mardi Gras fundraiser at Rams Hill Golf Club. The evening brought together community members in support of Rotary’s scholarship and service efforts, with many familiar St. Barnabas faces in attendance. A generous King Cake winner later shared the cake with Fr. Michael, who brought it back to St. Barnabas to be enjoyed during Sunday coffee hour. It was a simple and sweet extension of the evening’s community spirit.
