Second Sunday of Lent
Gun violence has become a major theme of the Obama administration this
year. Bipartisan work is trying to increase protection in our country. Bishop
Stephen Blaire of Stockton California chairs the bishops’ Committee on Domestic
Justice and Human Development. Last month he recounted five priorities that our
bishops’ conference promoted a few years ago in its statement, “Responsibility,
Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal
Justice.” “1.Support measures that control the sale and use of firearms, 2.
Support measures that make guns safer, 3. Call for sensible regulations of
handguns, 4. Support legislative efforts that seek to protect society from violence
associated with easy access to deadly weapons including assault rifles, and 5.
Make a serious commitment to confront the pervasive role of addiction and
mental illness in crime.” He could have added one more point: When you see a
crime, report it.
In our neighborhood we are no strangers to gun violence. Neighborhood
associations take quick action, informing membership of problems, and notifying
the police. Many people live in fear, but we also live with determination: this is
our home, and we can shine a light that can overpower the darkness of violent
crime.
Psalm 27 today opens with two questions about fear: “Whom should I
fear?” And “Of whom should I be afraid?” Both questions are rhetorical because
the Lord is our light and our salvation. The psalm expresses a very close
relationship with God, the kind you have when you fall in love with someone and
you can’t get them out of your head or your conversation. The psalm goes like
this: “Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks. Your presence... I seek. Hide
not your face from me.” Just as you might say of a person you love that they light
up your life, so Psalm 27 speaks about God: “The Lord is my light and my
salvation.” We sing it today because of the gospel about the Transfiguration.
Normally the responsorial psalm connects with some theme from the first
reading, but there are exceptions. Last week the psalm was the one that Satan
quoted against Jesus in the gospel, and this week it concerns light because of
the brightness that envelops Jesus on a high mountain in the sight of his closest
friends. The transfiguration surely boosted their confidence. They realized Jesus
was so close to the Father that he shared his glory. It probably helped the
apostles deal with the difficult days that lay ahead. The light that shone around
Christ burned into them.
We all carry fears - whether about gun violence, our health, or the safety of
children. Psalm 27 resists these fears and concludes with an admonition to “Wait
for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.” When we have
Christ as our light, when we let him fill our minds the way a lover does, then we
bring that light into our homes and neighborhoods. It will dispel any darkness or
fear.