Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - March 25, 2007

Lenten Meditation
Fifth Sunday of Lent
When God Enters Our Picture
“What A Friend We Have In Jesus”

When Jesus enters our picture, God enters our picture. God loves all of the world’s people and is open to hear the prayers of everyone, regardless of their faith. However, the followers of Christ have a special way of understanding what God is like, and that makes it all easier. Through Jesus we see God as one who comes near to us and who is aware of our human needs, even when they involve suffering. Jesus becomes both Savior and friend.
Jesus lived the life we know, both joys and sorrows. He felt frustration, when people were slow to grasp the full meaning of his message. For example, his own disciples saw Jesus as a potential earthly ruler, rather than one who pointed to the rule of God. Jesus, like all human beings, got tired and had to take time out to rest and nurture his own vision. He demonstrated God’s love in action, as he forgave a sinner, enabled the blind to see and empowered people to become free of the demonic forces that afflicted them.
If we want the season of Lent to be a time when God enters our own life picture more fully, getting to know and understand the nature of Jesus is a major help. What does Jesus mean, when he speaks of blessings for the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers? These qualities draw us nearer to God, for God is merciful and pure and a giver of peace. Jesus helps us to know God and to see how we can reflect God’s Spirit. We can become healers, enablers and examples of God’s love, as he did. In the process, God comes near and lives within us.

The Window
Jimmy, a construction worker, had an accident at his work site one day. He was pretty banged up, but it looked like he was going to be ok. One thing was certain though. He was going to be spending a good deal of time recovering in the hospital. He had a spine injury so he was going to be spending a lot of time on his side. He requested a private room but the hospital was so packed he had to share one with a man named Paul.
pulled so they could each maintain a sense of privacy. Jimmy wasn’t married and didn’t have any family nearby so he made it a point to get to know his roommate, Paul. Jimmy found out that Paul had cancer, he had become extremely weak from his many treatments and the doctors weren’t expecting him to make it much longer While Jimmy enjoyed getting to know Paul there was one thing that annoyed him. Paul‘s bed was close to the only window in the room. Everyday around noon Paul would summon up his strength and prop himself up so he could look out the window. He would then describe to Jimmy what he saw.
As much as Jimmy enjoyed hearing about the things that Paul saw, he started to become jealous that he didn’t have the view of the window. He even asked Paul a couple of times if he could pull back the curtain so he could look out the window but Paul strenuously refused. Since Jimmy wasn’t able to stand due to his injury, he couldn’t even walk over and look out the window on his own.
One night Paul took a turn for the worse and died. Jimmy was sad to see Paul go. After a few days though he remembered the window. One day when the nurse came in he asked her if it would be ok if his bed could be moved to Paul’s spot. The nurse seemed a little puzzled by his request, but said she’d check with his doctor. His doctor ok’d it and said that they would move him the next morning. Jimmy had trouble sleeping that night. He could hardly wait to see all those sights that Paul had described to him over there many days together. The next morning the nurse took Jimmy’s bed and moved him into Paul’s spot. As they moved around the curtain Jimmy stared in disbelief. He was looking at a brick wall.

SOME QUOTES TO THINK ABOUT
“Jesus Christ gave you all; he left nothing for himself.”
-St. John Chrysostom
“What is more delightful than this voice of the Lord calling to us? See how the Lord in his love shows us the
way of life.” -St. Benedict Fr

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