Exiit qui seminat

Our first reading this Sunday from the 2nd Book of Chronicles speaks of an important theological concept that we might take for granted. We read and hear how the Lord moved Cyrus, King of Persia, to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem:  “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!’” For our Jewish brothers and sisters, the temple in Jerusalem was the true place of worship, chosen by God Himself. No matter where you were in relation to the temple, whether it was North or South, East or West, one would always "go up" to Jerusalem, "go up" to worship. It's like the religious equivalent of us going "down to the Shore". In John's Gospel, Jesus helps us recall that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the dessert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up so we can have eternal life. "Up" is to enter into something divine, to have an encounter with the sacred. "Down" was to enter the mundane, the earthly, even the sinful. As we heard on the 2nd Sunday of Lent in Mark's depiction of the Transfiguration, Jesus, Peter, James and John went down Mt. Tabor after the divine revelation of Jesus' glory. In doing so, Jesus "re-enters" the world to complete the plan of salvation.  This theological reality is perpetuated at every Mass. Just as the priest processes up to the sanctuary, we too "go up to Jerusalem", we go up together to worship.  We lift up our hearts to the Lord and He draws us up and unites us with the heavenly liturgy. It can be hard to leave all of the distractions and preoccupations of our lives to focus on the Lord and the Mass. However, that's the very reason why we come to Mass to begin with - to temporarily leave all of the things of this world for a time and focus on God and His plan for us. In addition, we can even bring all of the things that weigh heavily on our hearts. While it can be difficult in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our lives, we can try to take some time, either before Mass or after, to reflection on what is about to happen or prayerfully reflect on that which we have received.  My dear brothers and sisters, as we continue our Lenten journey, let us go up to "Jerusalem" to pray, to offer our lives to God and to let the Lord feed us, nourish us and give us rest.