"The prodigal is every person who has turned away from God, whether by daily sins or an entire life of disregarding Him. Christians may think that the story isn’t about them, but if we turn away from God at all in our lives, which we do every day, then it is indeed about us."
 
Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Fourth Sunday of Lent 
In today’s readings, God provides for the Israelites, Paul explains the transformation that happens to us when we live lives “in Christ,” and Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan. 
 
Readings: Jos 5:9a, 10-12/2 Cor 5:17-21/Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: 
the old things have passed away; 
behold, new things have come. 
(2 Cor 5: 17) 
 
Being “in Christ” means surrendering yourself to Him and living a life in accordance with Him and His will.  
 
The “old things” of living life for yourself, and solely for material gain in this world, have been replaced with the “new things” of God, of living in His Kingdom. As the readings in Lent have shown, we do this by cleaning out our hearts, treating other people well, and remembering to put God first. 
 
Surrendering yourself to Christ does not take away your freedom. Paradoxically, it is the only way to be truly free. If Christ is God, surrendering to Him means getting closer to the life that God wants for you. If God exists, and He has given us a road map about how to live life to its fullest, that’s the way to be truly free, truly alive. 
 
"My son, you are here with me always; 
everything I have is yours. 
But now we must celebrate and rejoice, 
because your brother was dead and has come to life again; 
he was lost and has been found.” 
(cf. Lk 15: 1-3, 11-32) 
 
What the prodigal son does is incredibly disrespectful. He asks for his inheritance while his father is still in good health, which in that time meant that he saw his father as just as good as dead. By selling it to someone outside of the family, he was repudiating his heritage. By squandering the money he received, he was showing that he didn’t even care about it. 
 
The father had every right to be consumed with bitterness. It would be tough for us not to be if we were in that situation. 
 
But that’s not the way that God works.  
 
The prodigal is every person who has turned away from God, whether by daily sins or an entire life of disregarding Him. Christians may think that the story isn’t about them, but if we turn away from God at all in our lives, which we do every day, then it is indeed about us. 
 
Whether we deal with regular daily sins, or have ignored God completely throughout our lives, God wants to welcome us back extravagantly. It is natural for a person who has lived a life without God to think that they aren’t worthy of His love, that they have done things that are so terrible that God would never forgive them.  
 
This parable is God saying, with many exclamation points, that this is not the case. 
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician.  The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email. 

​by Erik Ritland

"The Publican didn’t say “I’m a worthless worm piece of garbage,” because as a child of God, he isn’t. He said, “be merciful to me, a sinner.” This is what we are called to do every day."

Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
The prophet Hosea speaks of God’s comforting healing and just judgement, in addition to explaining what it is that God desires. Jesus describes what true sacrifice in His Kingdom looks like.  
 
Readings: Hos 6:1-6/Lk 18:9-14 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, 
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 
(Hos. 6:6) 
 
After a poetic section where Hosea describes how God will “bind us” and “heal our wounds” if we return to Him, he describes God’s judgement as restorative (“He will come to us like rain, like spring rain that waters the earth”). When God judges us, and the world, it will not be something to dread. It will set all things right, will be refreshing. 
 
Hosea 6:6 could be the slogan of Jesus’ ministry. His fulfillment of God’s plan teaches us that God wants us to live a life of love and sacrifice for Him, for those around us, and for the world. This is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets that Jesus continually talks about in the Gospels.  
 
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, 
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 
(cf. Lk 18: 9-14) 
 
The beginning of the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee begins provocatively: "Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else." We all know these people. More importantly, we all are these people. 
 
Both men approach the temple to pray. The Pharisee brags about how he does a lot of righteous works and is so much better than other people (“'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector”). The publican (tax collector), on the other hand, knows his need for God’s help, and humbly begs for God’s mercy. As Jesus says, “the latter went home justified, not the former.” 
 
Humility is not self-loathing, it is simply understanding who and what you truly are, nothing more, nothing less. The Publican didn’t say “I’m a worthless worm piece of garbage,” because as a child of God, he isn’t. He said, “be merciful to me, a sinner.”  
 
This is what we are called to do every day, and to especially remember during Lent. 
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician.  The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email. 

by Erik Ritland 
 
“During Lent, we remember our faults, but we also remember that God will “love us freely” and His wrath turns away from us if we return to Him.”  
 
Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Friday of the Third Week in Lent 
Hosea poetically tells of God’s mercy, and a scribe asks Jesus a tough question. But does he understand Jesus’ answer? 
 
Readings: Hos 14:2-10/Mk 12:28-34 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
I will heal their defection, says the LORD, 
I will love them freely; 
for my wrath is turned away from them. 
I will be like the dew for Israel: 
he shall blossom like the lily; 
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, 
and put forth his shoots. 
His splendor shall be like the olive tree 
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. 
Again they shall dwell in his shade 
and raise grain; 
They shall blossom like the vine, 
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 
(cf. Hos 14: 2-10) 
 
The poetry of the Old Testament prophets is practically unmatched. Though some of the references are dated, some of the diction lost in translation, the point always gets across. God speaks in poetry, as human beings are poetic, artistic creatures. Art, after all, is the signature of man, as G.K. Chesterton says.  
 
During Lent, we remember our faults, but we also remember that God will “love us freely” and His wrath turns away from us if we return to Him. 
 
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. 
You are right in saying, 
He is One and there is no other than he. 
And to love him with all your heart, 
with all your understanding,  
with all your strength, 
and to love your neighbor as yourself 
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, 
he said to him, 
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God." 
(cf. Mk 12: 28-34) 
 
Offerings and sacrifices were an important part of the Old Covenant. They didn’t make God love the Israelites and they weren’t done to appease God in any way. They were done to show the people their need for God, and that nothing was more important than Him, in a tangible way. 
 
But they were only a sign of things to come. In His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus fulfills in His person all of the things that the sacrifices could only signify. With that fulfillment comes the inauguration of His Kingdom, and Jesus reveals here what the foundational commandment of it is. 
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician.  The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email. 

by John Morton
 
"God will protect those that are obedient to Him, but free will dictates that He releases those who choose not to be.  It’s not that He doesn’t wish to protect those that are disobedient, it’s that they willfully forfeit that protection through their own actions."
​
Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously.
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary. 
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary.
 
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
In the Old Testament reading today, we see the Jewish people doing what so many in today’s modern also world do: turning away from God.  Obedience is always preferred above sacrifice, but here the Jewish people choose neither.  In the Gospel we see them testing Christ, rejecting Him again, or asking for more proof, as though the evidence is not enough.  But Christ uses logic to reveal their bias and their false assumptions, in addition to showing them the obvious; that His miracles and the miracles of His disciples are clear signs of who he is, the Messiah, the Son of God.  
 
Readings: Jer 7:23-28 / Lk 11:14-23
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website

But they did not listen to me, nor did they pay attention. They walked in the stubbornness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
(cf. Jer 7:24)

The rejection of God by his people is the continual story of the Old Testament.  They do not obey and they do not offer sacrifice.  

God says time and again that the sacrifices of the ceremonial law are not what the Covenant is based on, rather the Covenant is based on their obedience to His moral law.  But if they don’t care about following His moral law, they will just as easily ignoring the ceremonial law.  If one doesn’t recognize that one is doing something wrong, they certainly aren’t going to acknowledge that apologies or restitution must be made for their transgressions.  

God will protect those that are obedient to Him, but free will dictates that He releases those who choose not to be.  It’s not that He doesn’t wish to protect those that are disobedient, it’s that they willfully forfeit that protection through their own actions.
 
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
(cf. LK 11:2-23)

In the Gospel we see the same thing occur. Those that witness the miracle of Christ exorcising the demon from the mute man aren’t willing to recognize the truth that is on display. Rather they question whether or not this is demonic activity or not, they demand more evidence before making a conclusion. 

Isn’t this what we see in among so many people today? They reject God, when they hear of His miracles they assume it’s just the imagination or hallucinations of weaker minded people. Or they say, “we need more proof!” 

But their requirements for “proof” are often too great. They demand that God forego free will and force Himself upon them if they are to believe. They don't know what they're asking.

Instead they should look at the evidence, much like in a court case, evaluating all the miracles, all the historical evidence, all of the scientific data. Rather than demanding one instance of proof, something that would remove their free will and would make the love and obedience God asks for ‘cheap’ and ‘easy,' they ought to recognize that evidence is enough to give them faith beyond a reasonable doubt.  For the Church, faith, and the truth are all based in reason, in rational logic.

Lent is a wonderful time to consider how we can strengthen our faith, and ponder how we can present a reasoned explanation of it. 

John Morton is a writer, historian, and theologian from Minnesota. He founded Fully Alive with Erik Ritland in 2017. In addition to writing articles, he is also the podcast co-host and social media content strategist.​

by Erik Ritland

"If God revealed Himself to a group of people, as the Jewish people claimed, wouldn’t He guide them how to live? If He did, isn’t it beneficial to pay attention to it, to heed it? Wouldn’t following God’s law be the most liberating thing you could do? Wouldn’t it make you truly free?"

Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
God chooses Israel, and His care and intimacy with them is shown by how He guides them to live. Jesus doesn’t abolish what God revealed to Moses, He fulfills it, brings it to its conclusion.  
 
Readings: Dt 4:1, 5-9/Mt 5:17-19 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
Moses spoke to the people and said: 
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees 
which I am teaching you to observe, 
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land  
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.  
 
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees 
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, 
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. 
 
Observe them carefully, 
for thus will you give evidence 
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, 
who will hear of all these statutes and say, 
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.' 
 
For what great nation is there 
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us 
whenever we call upon him? 
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees 
that are as just as this whole law 
which I am setting before you today? 
(cf. Dt 4:1, 5-9) 
 
“Hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live...” 
 
Rules often get a bum rap. As rebellious, individualistic Americans, we tend to want to break the rules, to push back against them.  
 
Sometimes rules are unfair and need to be challenged, but for the most part, they are the glue that keeps life together. 
 
As Bishop Robert Barron often says, imagine how sports would work without any rules. The only way any game can be played well and fairly is if we follow the rules. The same goes for a healthy work environment, a healthy home, and healthy social environments.  
 
There are certain degrees of malleability depending on the circumstance, but without rules, there would be chaos. We need rules perhaps more than anything else to survive well.  
 
If God revealed Himself to a group of people, as the Jewish people claimed, wouldn’t He guide them how to live? If He did, isn’t it beneficial to pay attention to it, to heed it?  
 
Wouldn’t following God’s law be the most liberating thing you could do? Wouldn’t it make you truly free? 
 
Jesus said to his disciples: 
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. 
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, 
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter 
will pass from the law, 
until all things have taken place. 
(cf. Mt 5: 17-19) 
 
Yesterday, I mentioned New Testament scholar N.T. Wright, and how he rightly emphasizes that Jesus ushered in God’s Kingdom with His life, death, and resurrection. His Kingdom is now, not just something in the future. These words of Jesus only make sense in that context.  
 
Jesus’ Kingdom is not abolishing what God revealed in the Old Testament, but fulfilling it. Since Jesus is God in the flesh, God fully revealed to us, His teachings bring to fruition what was hinted at in the old law. The entire Sermon on the Mount, which this passage is taken from, is the foundation of His Kingdom paradigm, of what His Kingdom looks like.  
 
Jesus’ teachings complete what began at Sinai. His life, death, and resurrection complete God’s work with humanity that began with Adam. We are now called to live as members of Christ’s Kingdom, which is God’s Kingdom, which is on earth in the here and now.  
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician. The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email. 

by Erik Ritland

​Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent 
Crying from the depths, the prophet Daniel pleads with God to forgive His people. Jesus illustrates the place of forgiveness in the Kingdom He is ushering in. 
 
Readings: Dn 3:25, 34-43/Mt 18:21-35 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, 
brought low everywhere in the world this day 
because of our sins. 
With contrite heart and humble spirit 
let us be received; 
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, 
or thousands of fat lambs, 
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today 
as we follow you unreservedly; 
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. 
And now we follow you with our whole heart, 
we fear you and we pray to you. 
Do not let us be put to shame, 
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. 
(cf. Dn 3:25, 34-43) 
 
Although written about a certain point in history – the Israelites’ Babylonian Exile, in which they were despoiled and run out of their land – the words of the prophet Daniel are universal. Each of us has been “reduced...brought low...because of our sins.”  
 
All it takes is a small amount of contemplation for us to realize the bad things that we’ve done how those things have had negative consequences, both for us and for others. 
 
The good news? We have a God that “deals with us” in “kindness and great mercy.” Those who are missing this, who bottle this up inside, cannot allow themselves to be fully themselves. We can’t free ourselves, and neither can anybody else. We need God to do this.  
 
Fortunately for us, it’s His greatest desire.  
 
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, 
"Lord, if my brother sins against me, 
how often must I forgive him? 
As many as seven times?" 
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” 
(cf Mt 18: 21-35) 
 
N.T. Wright may be the most important Christian theologian of the 20th century. His work practically single-handedly took down the Jesus Seminar, a collection of scholars who seriously challenged practically every major tenet of Christianity (and got a lot of television coverage doing so). Wright’s work countering them is conclusive, and you don’t really hear from them anymore.  
 
One of Wright’s main points is that Christianity has been missing something for a long time: an emphasis on the Kingdom that Jesus ushered in for us in the here and now. Not simply a Kingdom in the future, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection laid down His Kingdom now. Jesus’ teachings, especially in the parables, teach us how we are to live in the Kingdom He has ushered in. 
 
Forgiveness is a fundamental tenet of this kingdom. Resentment and negativity towards those who have wronged us is a most human thing. But it’s destructive. It is difficult to internalize the radical forgiveness Jesus calls for. It takes a lifetime of constantly trying to do better, of trying to align yourself to Christ, to do it.  
 
The more you internalize the idea, the easier it becomes. First you start finding it easier to forgive small things, then bigger things. Forgiveness can become a way of life. As Jesus illustrates in the parable, God forgives us to an immense degree, and we are called to imitate Him. It wouldn’t make any sense if we didn’t. 
 
Forgiveness doesn’t mean that everything is okay. Sometimes people do damage that is so physically, mentally, or psychologically damaging that forgiveness feel impossible.  
 
Those are the exceptions that prove the rule; for the most part, we harbor resentment for trivial things.  
 
But for those big things, God is always there to help us, and He only asks us to do the best we can. The least God asks of us is to not wish harm on those people and to pray for them. Even if we can’t do that – and for some serious offences, it can be difficult – God will still help us on our path towards forgiveness if we keep our hearts open to it. 
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician.  The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email. 

by John Morton

"Mary stands as the definitive example of what a Christian, what all of us, are asked to do.  We are to give oneself to the Lord, to accept his will and do our best to understand and live by it."

Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously.
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary. 
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary.
 
The Solemnity of the Annunciation 
Today's Old Testament reading contains the prophesy of the incarnation, of God made flesh, from Isaiah.  In the epistles, Paul explains how Christ’s sacrifice, the sacrifice of the blood of God himself, is the ultimate sacrifice, the one that really counts. 

And this would not be possible without, well, God being made flesh, which is announced by Gabriel in the Gospel. 
 
Readings: Is 7:10-14; 8:10 / Heb 10:4-10 / Lk 1:26-38
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website
 
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
(cf. LK 1: 30-33)
 
Christianity rests upon two ultimate truths: the incarnation and the resurrection. One cannot exist without the other.  Just as the blood sacrifices prescribed in the ceremonial law of the Old Testament were unable to truly remove one's sin, so too would human blood be able to remove it.  The only sacrifice that could remove the stain of sin was the sacrifice of God himself, of Christ. 

Power, true power, was not come to this world in glory, in riches, or in military might.  No, it was to come in thru a poor family, a baby, a man persecuted and shunned by those he sought to save.  It came through the dishonor of torture, mockery, and ultimately crucifixion.  It came through humility, through love, and through sacrifice. 
 
During this season of Lent we should ask ourselves: are we willing to give ourselves wholly to the will of God as Mary did? 
 
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
(cf. LK 1:38)
 
This is why Mary stands as the definitive example of what a Christian, what all of us, are asked to do.  We are to give oneself to the Lord, to accept his will and do our best to understand and live by it.  During Lent, a time of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, we have a special opportunity to reflect on our own behaviors, and to ponder (as Mary did) what it means to follow the Lord.

John Morton is a writer, historian, and theologian from Minnesota. He founded Fully Alive with Erik Ritland in 2017. In addition to writing articles, he is also the podcast co-host and social media content strategist.​

by Erik Ritland

Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Third Sunday of Lent
God appears to Moses in the burning bush, Paul lays out the high standard of being a Christian, and Jesus has some harsh words.  
 
Readings: Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15/1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12/Lk 13:1-9 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites 
and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ 
if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” 
God replied, “I am who am.” 
Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: 
I AM sent me to you.” 
(cf Ex 3: 1-8a, 13-15) 
 
God is beyond words, beyond names. The first question Moses asks God is for His name. He wants God to be something that he can fit in his head, that he can wrap his mind around, that he can bring down to his level. 
 
God does reveal Himself to us in a way we can understand, but it is not on our terms. We don’t get to “name” God; God is not simple enough to be named.  
 
This passage gets to the heart of the question of the existence of God: God reaches down to humanity, but is also beyond our comprehension. It is one of the many foundational paradoxes at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition.  
 
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans 
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. 
Jesus said to them in reply,  
"Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way  
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? 
By no means! 
But I tell you, if you do not repent, 
you will all perish as they did! 
(cf Lk 13: 1-9) 
 
As I often say, the Biblical Jesus (that is, the real Jesus) is far from the Hippie Jesus that we are often fed in popular culture. His message is not all rainbows and sunshine, as this passage shows. 
 
Throughout Lent, the Church chooses readings that deal with our misdeeds, our need to repent, God’s overflowing forgiveness, and the new life He expects us to live in Him.  
 
Notice that there are four pillars there, not just one. Jesus accepts everyone for who they are, but He also has high standards for what they are to be if they follow Him (“take up your cross and follow me,” for instance).  
 
It is a gross misreading of the New Testament to paint Jesus as a hippie who just loves everyone and doesn’t have any standards for those who follow Him.  
 
Yes, He loves us. Yes, He forgives us. But we have to come to Him, repent, and change our lives to live in accordance with the Kingdom He has ushered in.  
 
If we don’t, we aren’t really following Him at all. 
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician.  The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email. 

by Erik Ritland



"There are many ways to explain the truth: scientifically, through literature, poetry, philosophy, stories, and more. The story of the Prodigal Son tells this truth: that God rejoices gratuitously whenever somebody turns back to Him.​"

Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously. 
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary.  
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary. 
 
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent 
The prophet Micah preaches of God’s desire to forgive us and his faithfulness. The parable of the Prodigal Son tells of God’s reaction when a person turns back to Him. 
 
Readings: Mi 7:14-15, 18-20/Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website 
 
Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt 
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; 
Who does not persist in anger forever, 
but delights rather in clemency, 
And will again have compassion on us, 
treading underfoot our guilt? 
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; 
You will show faithfulness to Jacob, 
and grace to Abraham, 
As you have sworn to our fathers 
from days of old. 
(cf. Mi 7: 14-15, 18-20) 
 
As human beings, we’re bound to miss the mark and do things that we shouldn’t do. If kept inside, it festers, it becomes nearly impossible to get over. Either that, or we ignore the bad things we do and never grow. 
 
God shows His faithfulness to us, just as He did to the Israelites, by forgiving our wrongdoing if we are honest about it, confess it to Him, and try our best to not do it again. Only then can we be truly free from the burden of the wrong things that we do. 
 
Coming to his senses he thought, 
'How many of my father's hired workers 
have more than enough food to eat, 
but here am I, dying from hunger. 
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, 
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 
I no longer deserve to be called your son; 
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."' 
So he got up and went back to his father. 
 
While he was still a long way off, 
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. 
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 
His son said to him, 
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; 
I no longer deserve to be called your son.' 
But his father ordered his servants, 
'Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; 
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. 
Then let us celebrate with a feast, 
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; 
he was lost, and has been found.' 
 
Then the celebration began. 
(cf Lk 5: 1-3, 11-32) 
 
Many people, especially those who are far from God and have been for a long time, think that their sins are too terrible for God to forgive. So they despair. They sometimes get angry with God, or even the idea of God, and especially the Church. 
 
If we turn to Him, God promises to forgive our sins and free us from the guilt and shame that we feel because of them.  
 
But wait, there’s more. 
 
He doesn’t just want to forgive our sins, especially the sins of those who have been far away from Him for a long time. He is so happy, so thrilled, so excited when it happens, that He celebrates in His heart, as this parable shows. 
 
There are many ways to explain the truth: scientifically, through literature, poetry, philosophy, stories, and more.  
 
The story of the Prodigal Son tells this truth: that God rejoices gratuitously whenever somebody turns back to Him. When you make the choice to do this, you become truly free, truly the fullest version of yourself.  
 
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician.  The founder of Fully Alive Christian Media, he also created The Minnesota Sport Ramble and is a writer and copy editor for Music in Minnesota. He was Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blogs Curious North and Hometown Hustle. Reach him via email.

by John Morton



"There are many who sow evil, and live a life of pleasure, never suffering in this world the justice they deserve.  Are we to believe that they get away with these crimes?  No.  Our consolation for wrongs against us, for wrongs against God, is that they will be judged, that all wrongs will be made right."

Fully Alive’s Lenten Scriptural Commentary helps Christians get more out of Lent by taking God’s word seriously.
 
Mostly avoiding personal stories and anecdotes, our commentary dives deeply into the scripture readings for each day and applies them to the broader context of Lent. We use the daily Mass readings from the Catholic lectionary. 
 
If possible, read each passage slowly, taking in each word. If you find that you’ve hurried through a reading, read it over a few more times. Let the words reverberate in your heart. After you’ve let it sink in, read our Lenten Scriptural Commentary.
 
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
In the Old Testament reading today we hear of Joseph, rejected and sold into slavery by his own brothers out of jealousy.  And in kind, we hear in the Gospel of the parable tenants, how they threw out and killed the messengers, and even the son, out of the vineyard owner.  Apt analogies for the history of the Israelites and their relationship with God and his prophets.
 
Readings: GN 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A / MT 21:33-43, 45-46
Click here to read the complete text from the USCCB website
 
“What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”

They answered* him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.”

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes’?
(cf. MT 21:40-42)
 
It is dangerous to think we own this world. We must recognize our place, recognize that we are but tenants. 

God granted our very existence. Our continued existence is sustained by God alone.  Are we being good tenants?  Are we caring for the world, for ourselves?  Are we offering to God that which rightly belongs to God? 

Do we reject His word, His grace?  Do we reject His son as the tenants of the vineyard rejected the son of the owner? 

If we refuse to listen to him, to Christ, and if we refuse to do all we can for God, then we are no better than those tenants, and we will reap what we sow. 
 
Doom and gloom?  Yeah, I guess so.  But it is true and we have been duly warned.  This is the righteous justice of God, that we should judged by our actions. 

What is the alternative?  That we do not reap what we sow?  There are many who sow evil, and live a life of pleasure, never suffering in this world the justice they deserve.  Are we to believe that they get away with these crimes?  No.  Our consolation, for wrongs against us, for wrongs against God, is that they will be judged, that all wrongs will be made right. 

So yes, on one hand, doom and gloom. But on the other, hope.

John Morton is a writer, historian, and theologian from Minnesota. He founded Fully Alive with Erik Ritland in 2017. In addition to writing articles, he is also the podcast co-host and social media content strategist.