WHITE-WASHED, MARBLE, GOLDEN TOMBS REMAINS A TOMB (22nd Sunday)

“HE is always shocking His fellow countrymen by doing the wrong things (according to them), the things they have been taught not to do.” The above quotation by the Rev. Ronald Knox, better known for his English Translation of the Holy Bible, in a nutshell, describes Christ’s approach in His teachings.
If our Lord seems to impair the effectiveness of His mission, by keeping too quiet about it, or by delivering His message in terms which people can’t understand, we must suppose that He had a good reason for such behaviour. But what is even more difficult to account for, is what you may call His deliberate disregard of appearances.

Here is this ancient people, the Jews, in the days of Christ, whose whole notion of religion is bound up with the Law of Moses. It has been their ideal of life, their philosophy, for whole centuries; they have gone through unheard of persecutions rather than giving up their religion, rather than betraying the belief of their fore-fathers.

It is a fact that the provisions of the Law have grown more complicated and more exacting as time went on. To blame for this was their culture and their character, helped along by the Pharisees, and their mission to break up every single law into a myriad of other laws, and coloured by their interpretations. No doubt, through poring over every single Law for so long, the fanatical Pharisees have developed ‘legalism’ in its most perfect term.

Now why is it that our Lord is always going out of His way, or so it seems, to flout their favourite scruples? Always telling people ‘to carry their beds on a Sabbath’; ‘sitting down to eat without the ceremonial washing of the hands that has become customary’; ‘dining with tax-collectors and sinners’, people who had almost lost their consciousness of Jewish nationality. The list is unending.

Why did Jesus Christ want to come to earth as a Jew (the multi-billion dollar question) … and then throw overboard all their cherished observances of Judaism? It was surely, because He saw one failing, among many others, as characteristic of the Jewish nation in His day. They had too much regard for appearances; they were always bothering about what other people would say … and this is common to all the human race as a whole. Against that background of ‘shams and pietisms, the straightforwardness of His nature revolted … the ‘spirit’ and not the word.

Against the people who were ready to clean the ‘outside’ of the cups and dishes … the part that showed, that was visible by onlookers … leaving the inside dirty and grimy; against people who made long prayers and swallowed up the property of widows. He would be contemptuous of appearances, in protest against the spirit which thinks of appearances and nothing else. We are as God sees us. Let us not fall under the condemnation of those Pharisees who “valued their credit with men higher than their credit with GOD.”

Adapted from Ronald Knox Commentary

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP … TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

There are some people who do not believe. But, what do they not believe in? Depending on the subject, and their knowledge of that particular subject. For example, I do not believe that UFOs exist. But having said that, I do admit that I do not have any knowledge on that subject, and never bothered to read any books or listen to some talks. So, if I’m living in ignorance of the subject, it is all my fault.

But those who do NOT believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He has come down to earth from heaven, that He has suffered the Passion and rose again from the death, the blame is completely theirs IF they never bothered to read, listen or study about this very important subject, their lifeline. Their future in eternity depends so much on their genuine interest and the decision they have to make.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church specifically states that ‘every person is given the chance (the grace) to realise the TRUTH, at some point in their life. Those persons who do not cooperate with such grace are poles apart from the Man Who was told by a true believer (a Roman pagan): “Only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” Since these persons do not believe all these truths, it is not surprising that that they do not believe Christ’s flesh can be given to us as food.

We have to note that Christ did not tell the Jews: “You do not understand.” No, He says: “You do not believe,” for Faith is needed here. A different case was when Christ on His death bed, the cross, excused those who were responsible for His death: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” There is a shift from ‘things visible to things invisible’.  We have to note that when Christ reveals the hidden thoughts of their hearts, He very clearly shows that He is God, who alone is called ‘the searcher of hearts’.

At this very moment Christ is reading the heart of every person who is reading this post. For the Lord knows not only those who believe in Him and try to be faithful towards Him, but also those who are betraying Him right now. Alas, it is a pity to read the next line: “After this, many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.” Only fools find ‘wise sayings’ hard to accept. For just as sunlight seems a hindrance to weak eyes, and prefer, feel at home, in dark places. The sick soul feels an a version  for a more perfect discipline and rejects  discourse that is filled with good thoughts. Some embrace frivolities as more pleasureable.

Very interesting is the fact that Christ asks His apostles if they would like to leave as well. Simon Peter’s answer was: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe, and have come to know that You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Now, whether it was Peter talking or the Holy Spirt through him, the fact remains that what was said, declared, was the Truth and nothing but the TRUTH.

TRUE LOVE IS MAD AND SIGHTLESS

You would expect a question similar to that asked by the Jews, to come out of the lips of a person living in the 21st century, when that particular ‘person’ is not enlightened by Faith; “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” But if this passages speaks in a language, and moves in a world of ideas which are quite strange to us today, yet for those who heard it first, was a familiar idea, which went back to very childhood of their race.

These ideas were quite normal to anyone brought up in ancient sacrifices. During the sacrificial rite, some of the flesh of the victim was offered to the god. And once the flesh was offered and accepted by the god, it was believed that the ‘god’ had entered into it. Consequently when the worshipers were eating the flesh of the sacrificial animal, they were participating, eating of that particular ‘god’ himself, and becoming one with him.

We should keep in mind that John is here doing what he so often did. He is not trying to give us the ‘actual’ words spoken by Jesus, but led by the Holy Spirit, he is giving us the ‘inner significance’ of the words. Christ’s message through John is … ‘if you want life you must come and sit at the table where you can eat that broken bread and drink that poured wine, which through the grace of God, bring you in contact, makes you one with God Himself, and the life of Jesus Christ.’

John is producing a ‘flashback’ to the ‘Last Supper’, in the Upper Room, which he did not record in his Gospel version, but here we have the teachings about it. Undoubtedly, apart from this very special meal, which we celebrate and participate in, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, during which the bread and wine will be changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus, John is implying something else. He is implying that for every true Christian, every meal should be sacred and holy, be it in a humble tent, pitched in the desert, in a rich palace, or under a canopy of stars on the grass in an open space.

John was conversant with the Jewish traditions and beliefs. For every household to have the daily bread meant God’s blessings and providence; that blessing would then be multiplied, and be more pleasing in the sight of God, if that bread was shared with any guest, be it a stranger or a friend.

John expands the ‘Sacrament’, so that we find Christ at His table at church, and then go out to find Him everywhere, where men and women meet and together enjoy and share the gifts of God. After having participated in the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist, and partook of the Christ Himself, in the Sacrament of Holy communion, we should go out in the world and carry Christ with us, and BE witnesses of God Himself.

THE SINGER OR THE SONG ??????????

Which is the more important, the ‘singer’ or the ‘ song’ ? It all depends on what we are looking for. But we can arrive at a point where we can decide. If it is the message that we are interested in, irrespective of the means by which we get that message; it could be either by SMS, by e-mail, by phone, by post or by any other media, as long as we get it … we thank God for it.

Unlike the Jews in the days of Jesus. They gave undue importance to the medium that passed on the message, and not to the spirit itself in the context. What? Is that man not Jesus, the son of Mary? Is He not the son of that carpenter? Is He not the chap who lives next door? Is He not the one who used to live in Nazareth? Is He not the man we used to play with as children?

As if the answer, to whatever, all these silly questions, will alter, will change the context of the message. It was in the spirit of their culture to put weight on the words spoken ONLY by the Rabbis. This, in fact was quoted by Christ Himself when He once told His hearers: “You remember what they used to tell you, or what is written, but I tell you…” Up to an extent we should not blame the Jews, for behaving like that, they had been brought up that way.

For this reason the Gospel highlights certain ‘original’ or ‘out of the ordinary’ questions put to Jesus. This shows that there existed people who had brains and were in search of the truth. Which seems to imply that what the Rabbis used to say was not always taken as ‘gospel truth’.
These things happened in the days of Jesus, and are still happening today, in this day and age, especially in the countries around the Mediterranean.

This Gospel text shows why the Jews rejected Jesus, and in rejecting Him, rejected eternal life. They judged things by human values and by external standards. The Jews argued with each other, between themselves. They were so taken up with their private arguments that it never struck them to refer to the decision of God. The Jews got used to ‘hearing’ but not to ‘listening’, and so they never learned. Christ did mention this point to them.

Quoting Jeremiah, 31:3: “With loving kindness have I drawn thee.” But the Jews resisted to the ‘drawing of God’. As the saying goes, “It takes two to tango”. It’s no use having a transmitter but no receiver. God is always with outstretched arm ready to welcome any one who appreciates and accepts. The good Lord is sending an open ‘invitation’ not only on daily basis, but with every heart beat. To refuse the offer of Jesus is to miss life in this world and in the world to come. Whereas to accept His offer is to find real life in this world and glory in the world to come.

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD …                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 How can someone who has given you the most important things in the world refuse you lesser things? This is food for thought. Now, the most important gift with which we have been endowed is ‘God’s own breath’ that is the ‘soul’. Yes, being alive, and not a dead corpse, is a God-given gift.  How often do we thank God for ‘life’ ?

Now to sustain that life we need nourishment, we need food, and water. And God has provided enough food for all the people, for all humanity. This was one of the arguments of Blessed Pope Paul VI, which he officially declared in front of world representatives in an Assembly of the United Nations. God has provided, and keeps providing enough food for all humanity. Famine and starvation is caused by man’s greed and lack of administration.

I hope that everyone realizes that ‘life’ is a treasured gift; that is why we celebrate the birth of a new-born, God’s blessing to the married couple in the form of a babe. Let’s rest assured that once God permitted a new life to exist, He will certainly sustain it. Life is more valuable than bread, but God will never refuse to sustain it.

It’s worth recalling Job’s words, that God has Himself, with His own hands, formed, shaped and given us our body that is more valuable than gold-embroidered garments; therefore He will also, in His kindness give us the lesser gifts, namely the clothing to cover our body. He warns us against allowing concern for temporal blessings received, to cause us distress. It is through HIS Power, and Will that YOU (dear reader) were created; every breath YOU take, every morning YOU wake up, and every moment of every hour, YOU live under His power according to His Will.

Would that we were constantly mindful in our hearts of the still greater blessings which this most generous of Fathers bestows upon us, every heart-beat, lest being forgetful of them we be more anxious than we should about temporal goods, which after all are unimportant. How foolish are those who do not entrust themselves to God with full confidence in this kindest of Fathers.

The ignorant sow and then feel fearful and anxious lest a thief come and steal their grain or fire consume it. Happy are those who sing with the Psalmist: “What return shall I make to the Lord for all that He has given me? (Ps. 115:12) Not only has God, as a good Father, given us life and a body without any worry on our part, this God gives more abundantly than we ask for, or can understand.

Why should we exhaust ourselves for corruptible food when we are fed at the sacred altar of the sweet food of the angels? But the mind is doubtful and full of anxiety about Divine Providence, because ….              IT HAS LITTLE FAITH.