Read the Bishop's Blog

Monday, March 10, 2025

(On the First Sunday of Lent, the Church celebrates the Rite of Election for those preparing to be baptized and the Rite of Calling the Candidates to Continuing Conversion for baptized adults who will receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist at Easter. Catechumens and candidates participated in the ritual at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Cheyenne or St. Patrick Church in Casper. The homily is below.)

Today we celebrate that God chooses to love us. We only need to open ourselves to divine love. It does not matter who you are. What St. Paul wrote to the Romans is true for everyone: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). 

It does not matter who you are – whether you are Anglo, Asian, Hispanic, African American, or Native American, whether you are a citizen or an immigrant. As Saint Paul wrote, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:12-13).

When Paul referred to Greeks being saved, he meant everyone who was not Jewish. That was inconceivable in the traditional Jewish outlook. They were the chosen people. God had a special love for them. That distinguished them from all other people. Yet, with Christ the horizon of salvation was opened to all nations. Now everyone is invited to be loved as the chosen people – the elect of God. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy is one of the earliest Jewish creeds that describes their experience of being God’s chosen people. Their creed helps us to understand God’s love for us as his chosen ones. Ponder how this Jewish creed describes God’s care and protection for his chosen people. 

“My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as a resident alien…. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing harsh servitude upon us, we cried to the LORD… and the LORD heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders, and brought us to this place, and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:5-9).

The Israelites lived as resident aliens. The Hebrew word is ger. A ger is a man who, either alone or with his family, leaves his village and tribe, because of dreadful circumstances – war (2 Samuel 4:3), famine (Ruth 1:1), pestilence, etc. Seeking food and shelter, he resides in a foreign country, where he does not enjoy the normal rights of citizens. 

As resident aliens, the Israelites had no rights for 400 years while they lived in Egypt. That is why they were mistreated and enslaved. The same is true today. Often migrant workers are paid lower salaries because their employers know that they do not have the rights of a citizen who can protest or find work elsewhere.

I wonder if rich affluent Christians know what it means to be God’s chosen people. When the Israelites were chosen, they were trapped in slavery. In their creed, they professed faith in God who saved them from oppression. To be “chosen” means to be ransomed or redeemed. It means to be chosen for redemption. To experience the Lord as one who hears our cries, sees our affliction, and saves us.

I served on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation for seven years. I was inspired by people in poverty who believe that the Lord hears their cries, sees their affliction, and redeems them. In Wyoming I have been blessed by migrants who believe that the Lord hears their cries, sees their affliction, and redeems them. They know what it is like to be chosen for redemption. 

What the Bible calls resident aliens, we would call undocumented migrants. As God’s chosen people, we should imagine what poor people or undocumented migrants experience. How they live without protection. How vulnerable they feel. How they pray to God as one who rescues or redeems them. 

The Israelites realized that God was always with them as resident aliens for 400 years of slavery. God sustained them in every trial. They were chosen for redemption collectively. God chose to redeem all the Israelites. To be chosen means to be keenly aware of our collective need for redemption. It means to look at society and see where people are being mistreated. To see how God looks on them. That is why Jesus gave us the beatitude “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

To the elect God says, “I have chosen you, and I will always protect you. I have chosen you, and I expect you to protect others.” 

During Lent, feed your heart with the Word of God so that you will realize how the Lord has always taken care of his chosen ones. Remember that God has chosen you for redemption. You are chosen to hunger and thirst for the redemption of all people. During Lent reflect on where you need to be redeemed from sin or injustice. Then see the suffering of other people and their need to be redeemed. 

The Scriptures are our food in the desert. The gospel antiphon for this Sunday is, “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus reminds us that God will sustain us if only we listen to his word.

There is so much competition for the Word of God. One of my Lenten commitments is to fast from news because I can spend too much time browsing news stories. Consider fasting from the noise of social media and other electronic communication. Instead, be silent, take a quiet walk in nature, or read the Word that nourishes you with stories of God’s redemptive love.

In the end, you should be immersed in God’s love who redeems you so that you will love others as Christ has loved you.  

Finally, trust in our prayers for you. During Lent, the clergy, catechists, and community are supposed to surround you with prayer. Our role is to accompany you with prayer and give a good example of Christian life. By our example we help you prepare to encounter Christ and to be more Christ-like. 

No one approaches the Sacraments as an individual but together with a believing community. We are chosen for redemption collectively because God’s plan is to redeem all humanity.