IF YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN … BE A BOY SCOUT (GIRL GUIDE)

How right was Lord Baden-Powell when he chose the ‘motto’ for his movement, better known, world-wide as ‘The Boy Scouts Movement’. As we recall, his motto was, and still is, “BE PREPARED”. Maybe, Baden-Powell, might have borrowed that motto from the Scriptures, because that was the most common advice given by Jesus to the Jews and to us all, ‘to be vigilant’. And what better way could there be to celebrate Advent with the Church. As we all know ‘Advent’ means’ to stay in preparedness, in waiting. Waiting NOT to say ‘Happy Holidays’ but to celebrate the Birth of God-man, Jesus Christ, with great joy, and therefore, “HAPPY CHRISTMAS”.

THAT, is ‘great news’! For that reason we find it written in the Gospel, because the Gospel is the Book that spreads the Good News. His Coming, the Coming of God, is the key to the History of the Old Testament, and the basic theme of its people. But this is only a ‘prelude’ to that Coming of God in which the Word was made Flesh. Each individual Christian, personally, and the Church of Christ, as a community, is a sign of the fact that God has come and is with us … tlll the end of time.

But the language used in next Sunday’s Gospel, seems to cast a dark shadow on the ‘joy’ and the ‘great news’. The reason is the lack of knowledge of such apocalyptic language used in the days of Christ and so strange to our culture and literary genre. If anyone interprets this Gospel by casting fear, anxiety and swallowing of barbiturates, will be rendering a huge disservice to Christ and His Word. What Jesus had in mind was to warn against the grave danger of losing the opportunity of salvation that the Lord offers.

There is no reason to lose our head. Yet many are those who are losing their head because they are abnormally absorbed in business, live in slumber, being blunted, in the pursuit of pleasure. One day, these will undergo a rude, dramatic awakening. These are those who lost their lives in the days of Noah. BUT, if you follow Christ’s warning … and the Boys’ Scouts motto, things will be different.
Mind you, Christ is not threatening us, He is not going to take us unawares. He does not act like a thief, and seems to want to seize the moment in which a person is unprepared. Christ is not threatening us with salvation, but it is a ‘wake-up’ call, it draws attention on the impending danger of not noticing the favorable moment of the day in which the Lord comes to involve us in his peace. We know what it means to miss favorable opportunities, even in the every-day life, or in business. So many times we have had the experience. The more surprising and unexpected they are, the more they come out of our criteria of judgment, then the easier we let them pass by.

The comings of God in our lives are always difficult to grasp because they do not conform to human wisdom; they are incompatible. They are in contrast with the current mentality. And only the one who is vigilant knows how to recognize them and is saved here and now.

A SCRIPTURAL COCKTAIL

... should I call it a mix up, sun and rain at the same time, a bitter-sweet drink? Call it what you will. But when reading next Sunday’s Liturgy Text, we have to think and read with an open mind, and most important, please DO NOTE Christ’s words and promises.

We start reading, or listening to the reading by the Prophet Malachi, and it’s ‘hell, fire and brimstone’ as the phrase goes.

But let’s not join the gang of ‘fundamentalists’ and say, ‘Here we are, it’s the end of the world.’ This is the conclusion when we see wars everywhere, hatred, wrong-doings, insensible political decisions, famine, pestilence and misery all around us. And to strenghten their argument and prove themselves right, they will substantiate their argument by quoting some verses from the Scripture.

But do stop and think. Do you know of any age, epoch, era, when these or similar disasters did not exist or happen? Look up a History book, or the Holy Scripture, and you will realise that these happenings were, or rather are, the run of the day. In fact they are happening even now, in our day and age.

Then comes the Gospel reading with apocalyptic language and images which makes you tremble all through. But have a, look at the Psalm of the day, no. 98, and you will rightly say, ‘But what on earth is happening, why should I sing and play on the harp? What is there to be happy about?’ And that is just what we should note in next Sunday’s Reading.

We cannot understand or gauge what lies ahead of us, because we cannot see with God’s eyes. Besides Christ specifically tells us: “But not a single hair of your head will be lost. By standing firm you will win true life for yourselves.”

You see, we have a veil in front of our eyes which hinders us to see correctly and clearly. And Christ is removing that veil, He is ‘revealing’ what is now hidden from our sight. That is the meaning of ‘Revelation’ or ‘Apocalypse’. But we have to trust the Lord, otherwise we shall remain blind.

We have every cause to sing and play on the lyre, because we do have a mighty, trustful captain, in Jesus Christ. The sun of justice is Jesus. The day burning like an oven is that of His Death and Resurrection. The fire that will destroy “all evil” is the Spirit that He sent us, and His Word, His Gospel that has already started to renew the face of the earth.

So keep on spreading His Word, as you are duty-bound, especially if you have received the Sacrament of Baptism.

TOMORROW NEVER COMES

So run the lyrics of a song: “I gonna live like tomorrow never comes, there’s no end in sight … and live like tomorrow never comes …” Though this song came out in 2013, yet curiously enough, this was the philosophy, the way of life lived and enjoyed by the Sadducees in the days of Christ. We can conclude that the world has not changed … and I wonder if it ever does.

We have to bear in mind that the Sadducees were wealthy and powerful. They lived in luxury in the northern part of Jerusalem. They only believed in the Torah, the Pentateuch or the first five Books of the Scriptures, and as life after death was not mentioned in these Books, they never believed in after-life. But there is another point worth mentioning; they were against the idea of a promised Messiah. The arrival of the Messiah meant a change of life, on outlook in general, of personal sacrifices. SO … they were better off without the Messiah.

The question they put to Jesus was not genuine, it was too far-fetched. It did exist, it was known as the Law of the Levirat. Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obliged to marry her deceased husband's brother. But, curiously enough it was not applied.

They simply did not believe in the resurrection after life. Then, I suppose, she drank of the same arsenic in her old age, consequently she died. Now, if we admit the resurrection of the dead, the situation becomes intricate: in the future life which of the brothers will be her husband? For the Pharisees, the objection is extremely serious. They are convinced that eternal life is the perfection of this life. They, therefore, lowered their eyes, muttered some explanation and moved away quickly among the funny comments of those present.

Christ took the floor and answered: “The sons and daughters of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those of the other world … they are like angels … they are the sons and daughters of God” (vv. 34-36). This first part of His answer was directed to both the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The latter believed that after-life was going to be a continuation of this life on earth, plus a bonus of great meals, feastings, drinks and the rest.

It would make no sense to die and then return to the same body, the same life. Life with God is a completely new condition: when introduced into it, a person, while maintaining his own identity, becomes a different being, immortal, equal to the angels of God. Can anyone be sure, or say with certainty, how life after resurrecting from death is going to be? Can a caterpillar know, how his life is going to be before becoming a butterfly. Correct me if I am wrong, but could a baby in his mother’ womb know what life is when he goes out the mother’s womb.

It would be wise to quote a thought from the Book of Wisdom: “A perishable body is a burden for the soul and our tent of clay weighs down the active mind. We are barely able to know the things of earth, who then may hope to understand heavenly things?” (9:15-16). I think it would be wise to digest Saint Paul’s word. We can approach these sublime and ineffable reality only through faith, believing that those things that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor any mind fathomed, God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9).

The mortal body gets sick, withers, ages and undergoes dissolution and is not introduced into the eternal world. It remains in this world: the person is invested with another body “incorruptible, glorious, full of strength, spiritual” (1 Cor 15:42-43). The second certainty is that the resurrection of Christ demolished all barriers that separated the living from the dead. An intimate and deep bond unites all.

When on earth, we, the living, gather around the Eucharistic banquet, we are in communion with the brethren in heaven. We are confident that our memory makes them happy, increases our love and theirs, rekindles our desire and hope to be united one day with Christ and with them. It’s worth repeating the last words: ‘rekindles our desire and hope to be united one day with Christ and with them.’ And who are ‘them’? Well our parents, wives and husbands, children, friends … and who knows who else? What a joyous treat.

Our flaws, mistakes, weaknesses will be totally purified by the encounter with the “fire” of God’s love. In us, no form of evil or death remains. That is why Christ said we will be like angels.

WHAT SAVINGS BANK RENDERS THE GREATEST INTEREST?


Never confide on your own merits. If you do so, you will be classified by Christ Himself as a ‘Pharisee’. Referring to next Sunday’s Gospel, this Pharisee went into the Temple and ‘gave a report, a balance-sheet’ of all he had done. He exalted his own good works and considered them an advantage before God. Do note the fact that Christ has not criticised him for doing all that good work, but do note as well that the Pharisee is confiding on his own merits. All he is asking is that his good work, sort of, be acknowledged, to be rubber-stamped by the Lord … but is not asking for justification by God. He returned home as before, with all his undeniable good works but without saying that God was able to make him just. This point is the fulcrum of the argument.

All he had done was good and praiseworthy, but the Pharisee is comparing his life and good deeds with that of a sinner, a publican. He should have tried to imitate God’s holiness and empty himself so that God would furnish him with all merits. He must have accepted to make himself small, poor among the poor, humble himself. Had he taken this attitude he would have been in a condition to be filled with gifts by the Lord, as Mary of Nazareth, the poor, humble servant did, through whom the Omnipotent worked marvels (Lk 1:48-49).

Many are those who have taken this Marian attitude, who emptied themselves so that the clay potter, once he has broken the old clay pot, will form a new one, mixed with it the broken shreds of the old one and form, shape a new pot according to His plans and wishes. Not this Pharisee, he was so sure of himself, to the point that he wanted to ‘justify’ himself with God.

St.Francis of Assisi, amongst many others, realised that this life on earth was transient, temporary, brief, short, short-lived, call it what you will. That is why Francis emptied himself; surrendered his inheritance, his family, his property ... even his clothes, to be like Christ. Not so this Pharisee.
He went as far as he tried to justify himself by openly despising others. This was declared by himself: ‘I am unlike the others, I’m not like this poor chap, this publican.’ Very probable, the publican was not a model of a virtuous life. He was a poor man who knew he could offer to God only his “broken and torn down heart”, as the Psalm says: ‘The Lord does not despise it (Ps 51:19). It is the hungry who is filled with good things while the rich is sent back empty-handed.’ (Lk 1:53).

He literally fits with the description given some weeks ago that ‘we are useless, worthless servants’. It does not even cross his mind that good acts could give him the right to salvation, because he considers himself worthless. Any worth is merited by humbling yourself totally. A bank account, that renders great interest in Heaven, can be opened only by God, in our name, and God deposits the capital Himself. But, we enjoy the interest for all eternity.

MARAN’ATHAH
 
“When men are most sure, and arrogant, they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities” Word of wisdom by the Scottish philosopher, historian and economist, David Hume (1711 – 1776)

The ‘truth’ of these words hold good for all times. Even for that judge quoted by Christ in His Parable. This is what he unashamedly, and irresponsably declared: “I neither fear God nor care about people” (v. 4). Jesus’ description of this man is quite realistic. One would think that it refers to some cases of blatant injustice he has heard of, or witnessed.

But we still experience such arrogance in our day and age. If the words themselves are not specifically declared, but, the behaviour, the way of living, the policies adopted (… by governments, throughout the world), is proof enough that ‘man’ has not changed for the better. Total power breeds arrogance and corruption.

Well, how should the followers of Christ behave in such situations? THIS, is a billion-dollar question! And THIS, was the aim of Christ’s Parable in next Sunday’s Gospel. HE, Himself answered this question, knowing that His followers will find themselves in such situations. No one else, can give the correct answer, only Christ Himself. HE encouraged us to TRUST and PRAY. The ‘widow’ is a symbol of the defenceless person, exposed to abuse, a victim of exactions who cannot appeal to anyone except to the Lord. The ‘widow’ represents us ‘all’, who feel cheated, persecuted, offended.

It is worth noting that when Luke’s version of the Gospel was written, circa 80 AD, the Christians were undergoing a very violent persecution. Emperor Domitian ordered that all should adore him as a god. The Christians did not obey. They could not—as the book of Revelation says (Rev 13)—bow before the “beast” (the Domitian divo) and for this, they suffered harassment and discrimination. So the widow is a symbol of the Christians in the days of persecution, at all times.

Prayer is the greatest means in order not to lose our head in the most difficult and dramatic moments, when everything seems to conspire against us and the Kingdom of God, when there seems to be no way out. True prayer, that which must never be interrupted, maintains us in constant dialogue with the Lord. Dialogue with Him makes us evaluate reality, events, and people with His criteria of judgment. We examine with him our thoughts, sentiments, reactions and plans.

We should never interrupt our ‘rapport’ with God. Recall what happened to Moses when he got tired and put down his arms. We should never tire … but be persistent and consistent, that is just what the widow has done.
Going back to the Bible, our true and sure source, we find written: “God works in His own good time.” “And will not God give justice to his chosen ones who day and night cry out to him.” This is followed by a peremptory affirmation, “Yes, I tell you, He will bring justice to them soon; even if he makes them wait for long.” Let us not get discouraged, let us trust our Father. The widow did not get discouraged. Do you recall St. Monica who had to wait for thirty long years to have her prayers answered for the conversion of her son Augustine?

You get nothing by despairing, or by giving up. The Lord warns us about the danger of discouragement and resignation that the Spouse is not coming to render justice. HE will surely come for He has promised. BUT, will He be welcomed by His chosen ones … due to loss of Faith?

DEAD MEN WALK

I am not referring to the horror film of years gone by n the forties. It is true that in the days of Jesus, dead men used to walk the countryside. No miracle was involved. It was the culture of the Jewish people to consider the lepers, the blind, the poor and barren women as ‘dead people’ That is what we have in this Gospel Text. But before explaining the messages found in the Word of God, we have to consider some relevant questions.

Why ten lepers, not less or more? How is it that there were nine lepers, who were Jews … and an odd one out who was a Samaritan? So, after all, did the Jews mix with Samaritans? Why has Christ not heal them right away, as He had done on other occasions? Why according to Mark did Christ touch the leper’s hand? Why did they address Christ as one group?

All these questions, and others, are hinted at in Luke’s version of next Sunday’s Gospel. As we have said, according to Jewish customs and belief, these lepers were considered ‘dead persons’ or we could say a ‘living corpse’. It was their belief that all sickness or disease was a punishment by God. This belief was so deeply ingrained in their character that even certain rabbis, on seeing a leper used to shout at him and even throw stones at him. These miserable creatures used to avoid getting close to other people, even their own family. They lived mostly in cemetries and caves. The healing of a leper was considered as if a man had resurrected from the dead.

For this reason they stopped at a distance and shouted out to Christ to have mercy on ‘them’. Note that they did not expect to be healed, maybe they were asking for alms and compassion. But the ten of them did as they were instructed. But why did Christ not heal them right away? To test their ‘faith;, that could be true. But does not the ‘way, the journey’ to the priests resemble, is a symbol, of our earthly sojourn, with all its ups and downs?

We have noticed that the lepers spoke as one, even though there was a Samaritan in their midst. If a Jew wanted to insult another Jew, he would call him ‘a Samaritan’, yet they were together. Because in life when sickness or disasters strike we all drop the barriers that divide us. When we feel healthy, strong, on top of the world, we create barriers against each other. It is spiritually healthy to remember that we are all ‘lepers’, we need each other, we need solidarity, we belong to a community. Salvation is NOT a personal business, because the Lord will ask me; ‘Where is your brother?’ (Cain and Abel).

Luke mentions ten lepers, but ten has a symbolic value, referring to ‘totality’ So they represented the whole of humanity. We all need Christ’s healing, only Christ can heal leprosy. Who is righteous, and therefore can condemn others? Stand up to be counted. Only the proud, the evil will dare stand up, salvation is not built on our merits. We are eternally indebted to Christ. According to Mark, when Christ healed a leper HE touched his hands, HE became impure, to purify the leper. He took our iniquities on Him What a beautiful, noble thought!

They called Him from a distance. We cannot touch Him, speak to Him, how I wish I lived in the days of Jesus. But Christ has solved that problem when He instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. If you believe, you do receive Him, you touch Him, you can become one with Him … and He hears you always, even from a distance. It is not the distance that can impede our prayers of arriving to Him.

Christ did not lament for not being thanked; the biggest ‘Thank You’ we can give or say to Christ is to keep spreading His Word and be a faithful witness of His teachings. Thereby we become His brothers, His sisters … and His Mother.

READY, STEADY, GO ............. DON’T LOOK BACK

Man has to stop, to think ... and, decide. But, once he has decided, there’s no looking back. When his hand is on the plough, he has to keep looking foreward, ahead. He will regret it, if he falls to temptation and looks back. We all know what happened to Lot’s wife!

Believing is not simply an exercise  of the mind. It is a serious, definite choice. Man is declaring his conviction, during his lifetime,  of his unconditional trust in the Person of Christ. Yes, man’s journey when he is following Christ, as his Master, at times might be fast, at other times it slackens in speed. He might even get tired, slow down and stop. Things being so, it is easy to realize that faith can grow or diminish.

Now we realise why Abraham is called ‘The father of Faith, of believers’. He did pray much, and as such he is the model of the man who prays. If we look up Genesis we find that Abraham was in constant dialogue with God. No wonder his great Faith in God and his acceptance of God’s Will. That is what is meant when we say we have to let go. Even though events in our life are incomprehensible, for HE knows best.

Certainly in these moments there is a cry, a lament coming out of our heart and soul: ‘But why, how Lord?’ That is why during daily Mass we implore: ‘Lord hear us, Lord graciously hear us.’ AND, the Lord is never deaf, HE always hears us, but … HE refers to His Divine Plan for us, and then, in His own good time, gives us an answer. Our eyes open and give praise and thanks to the Lord. THAT is saving FAITH.

In this 27^th Sunday Gospel Text, Jesus gives to His Apostles a popular image. If you have a little Faith, just a grain of mustard, you can uproot the tree (according to Matthew and Mark, a mountain). Probably if it was a reference to the sycamore tree whose roots can withstand up to six hundred years, and so makes it so difficult to uproot.   But Marks tells us: “Everything is possible for one who believes”  (9:23).

Christ is referring to miracles which no branch of science can explain, but they completely transform us, our outlook on life in general and on the problems facing us. When we really trust the Word of God, of the Gospel, and put it into practice, the impossible becomes possible, the unreachable becomes reachable, the invisible becomes visible.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, IT’S A RICH MAN’S WORLD

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.” Spike Milligan.
“Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.” Mother Theresa.

Can you imagine that pure Irishman, Spike Milligan, and the declared Saint, Mother Theresa of Calcutta to be living in the days of Jesus, in Palestine. With their mentality, according to these quotations, they would surely have been close followers of the Rabbi from Nazareth, Jesus Christ.

Like Jesus they would have gone against the grain, because that was not the Jewish mentality. That was a time when God was considered to be a friend of the rich. Well-being, luck, abundance of goods were considered signs of His blessing. On the other side, it was disgraceful to be poor. Because they thought that It was a result of laziness, idleness, and debauchery. “A little sleep, a little drowsiness, a little folding of the arms to rest, poverty will come” (Proverbs, 24:33-34). That was the heritage of the “Old Testament’’ mentality.

Then came the time when the Prophets and wise men of Israel thought … and taught otherwise. We find it the Book of Ecclesiasticus: “But the rich man who has had his fill cannot sleep”. Jesus was plain and straight in His words, He warned that greed for money and even honest earning are both great obstacle to enter into the Kingdom.

 Lazarus, sick and poor begged for some thrown away crumbs. Or, did he beg? It is not mentioned in the Gospel … but the rich man, sometimes called Dives (in Latin Dives means rich), knew about him and about his plight and needs. And yet! Let’s get into the picture. In those days cutlery did not exist, they used to eat with what we today call finger-food. But then they had bread for the sole purpose of wiping their mouth and hands.  No serviettes or paper napkins. When they were ready they used to throw away that piece of bread outside, not the litter the floor. And that, was what Lazarus ate. Now we can understand better the situation.

Lazarus always remains silent, in the shadow. He does not say even a word; he says absolutely nothing, does not move a finger nor makes a suggestion. When on earth he was always seated on the ground by the door of the rich, in heaven Lazarus is at the bosom of Abraham, and during the trip he is carried by angels. How things change! Whilst on earth Lazarus was dying for a piece of bread, Dives is NOW yearning, begging, imploring for a drop of water. How things change! It is worth noticing that Jesus gave a name to the poor man, he was called Lazarus which means ‘God helps’. Food for Thought. Things in heaven are reversed.

Injustice will reign till the end of this world, and the millionaire can live next to the miserable. God does not condemn the rich because they are wealthy, rather because they are conscious of the poverty around them … and still refuse to help. Goods are given to all, and those who have more must share with those who have less or have none so that there is equality. Worth remembering the words of St.Theresa of Calcutta. For the same reason Francis of Assisi wanted all those who joined him, if they were wealthy, to give up all their property and wealth, when joining the Order.

The only force capable of detaching the heart of the rich from his goods is God’s word.

SET A THIEF TO CATCH A THIEF

In the Gospel Text of the 25th Sunday (tomorrow’s) after having read and digested the account narrated by Luke, we would have expected Christ to speak differently from what is recorded. I mean, how is He commending the behaviour of the administrator, He should have told His Apostles: “Do not behave like this villain, be honest.” Instead He approved his behaviour.

But we reason this way because we will be missing something very important. This is one of the reasons why the Holy Scripture cannot be read and interpreted by the man in the street, without having a thorough study and scholarship on the subject... a delicate subject. The reason why we should accept the Church’s authority on this point.

The reason for the master’s behaviour, likewise, should be given some deep thought. If the master praised his administrator, though he was conscious of having cheated him quite an amount, this proves that the master was very reasonable. Yes, his administrator was clever, we have to admit it, just as the master has, but, it follows that dealing with a ‘clever’ chap one has to handle with great care.

And that is just what the master did. With great calm he accepted to forfeit part of his ‘great’ margin of profit ... as it was shared by his cheating administrator, and played it ‘cool’. The admiration of the owner and the praise of Jesus have a logical explanation. The administrator was shrewd—according to Jesus—because he understood the value of priorities: not on goods, products that he was entitled to, that could rot or be stolen, but on friends. He chose to renounce the first in order to gain for himself the second. This is the point.

Some of Christ’s sayings are directly linked to the use of riches in this particular parable. These should be applications,teachings taken from the parable. The first: “The people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light” (v. 8).

Yes, Christ has admired, appreciated the astuteness, or ability of the administrator, but what is more important is His remark, observation regarding riches and money-management

After having appreciated the ability of the administrator, Jesus makes an observation: with regards to money-management or doing business. His disciples (the children of light) are less cunning than those who commit their whole lives in hoarding goods (the children of darkness). The administrator is a model of ability because he had a brilliant idea. If he had to consult his business-colleagues, they would encourage him to take more advantage.

St. Ambrose used to say: “We must not consider riches that which we cannot carry with us because that which we should leave behind in this world does not belong to us. It belongs to others.”

God and mammon; they don’t tolerate that there could be a place for another in the heart of man. Above all, they give opposing orders. God says “Share your goods, help the brothers and sisters, forgive the debt of the poor…” The other says: Think of your own interests, nobody helps you in life, you have to help yourself, hoard money, have all for yourself….” In our heart there is only a place for one.

The decision is YOURS, and YOURS alone.

THE UPS AND DOWNS AT THE STOCK MARKET

“If any man comes to me,” says Jesus, and, not “if any man wants to come to me” (v. 26). The difference is subtle but significant because it reveals the intention of the evangelist. There is a great difference, there is a wide ocean between “going” and “wanting to go”. Saying that I go … I am going …to Venice, is a reality, whilst saying, I want to go to Venice remains a dream, a wish if I do not get down to it and make it a reality. We r...ealise how important it is to have a ‘good, scholarly’ translation of the Holy Scripture, otherwise such subtleties will not be noticed.

Luke is addressing the great crowds, the thousands who are following Christ, who are sympathising with the Rabbi, those who are genuinely following Him. The reason is clear, there must have been a ‘misunderstanding’. The majority of the crowd was on a different wavelength. They were interpreting Christ’s message according to their own belief, their culture and their dreams.

He must have been amazed to see that “large crowds were walking along with him” (v. 25). He must have realised that the crowd was not understanding Him. As He was on His way to Jerusalem, they must have thought that He was on His way to declare His Kingdom, His Empire. Christ was honest and true, as we should always be. He therefore turns and starts to explain what is involved in the choice to be his disciples (v. 25).
The conditions that Jesus mentions are crystal clear, they are not negotiable. This is no ‘Stock Exchange’ business. The conditions involved in the choice to be his disciples (v. 25) mentioned by Christ, are loud and clear. Without mincing His words He is telling them that all those who follow Him must be loyal to such an extent as to be ready to sacrifice the dearest things in their life. A sacrifice, a suffering which would be like the agony of a man upon a cross.

His examples must not be taken literally. We must understand that Christ was influenced and acted according to the Eastern culture and language. The way they expressed themselves was always so vivid, just as the human mind could express it and understand it. Certainly, Christ did not mean it literally that we should hate our father, our mother, spouse and children. It’s unthinkable, out of this world, too cold and scary. HE means that no love in life can compare with the love we must bear to Him.

We can’t be distant followers of Christ, we must be real disciples. If a man is discouraged by Christ’s demands, let him remember that He is always present, closely following, and at times he will be carried in His loving arms.

RING OUT THE OLD … RING IN THE NEW

The Gospel Text for next Sunday’s (22nd) reminds me of a poem by Alfred Tennyson. Yes, there seems to be a connection. Christ says that He and His Apostles will be launching a new banquet wherein the four categories of “good people” give way to the other four: “When you give a feast invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind” (v. 13).

The crippled, the blind, the poor and the lame were not allowed into the temple of the Lord (Lev 21:18; 2 S 5:8). Their condition was a clear sign of their sin and the assembly of the Israelites was to be composed of people of integrity, perfect, pure, flawless.

Jesus announces that He has come to introduce a new feast, a banquet where the excluded, the people rejected by everyone, would become the first guests, those to whom the seats of honour are reserved.
From the very beginning, tensions exploded in the early Church because of the discrimination dictated by the criteria of their culture. James testifies in his letter that he is forced to remind the Christians. He says: “Suppose a person enters the synagogue where you are assembled, dressed magnificently and wearing a gold ring; at the same time, a poor person enters dressed in rags, if you focus your attention on the well-dressed and say: ‘Come and sit in the best seat’ while to the poor one you say: ‘Keep standing or else sit down at my feet’. Have you not made a distinction between the two?” (Jas 2:2-4).

Jesus is presenting a homely case to drive in His point of eternal truth. This was the Jewish culture; if an undistinguished guest arrived early at a feast and chose an important seating at the table, but then a distinguished guest arrives, the man who had usurped the first place would be asked, rather told, to give up his seat. As we can see, the quotation by James, makes this Jewish custom clear. But Christ is ringing out the old to bring in the new. He is underlining the virtue of ‘humility’.

Christ never taught by words alone, He actually did, acted on what He was preaching. Was it not Christ who gave a clear example to His Apostles during the Last Supper? Was it not Christ Whose actions spoke out loud and clear by washing the feet of His Apostles? Was not this a clear message to underline His teachings, His belief, that who wants to be the first must serve the others?

‘Ring in the new’ goes the poem, but what was new? The poor, the blind, the crippled, the lame, represent those who did wrong in life. They are the symbol of those who walk without the light of the Gospel and stumble, fall and hurt themselves, and, others, switching from one error to another. Jesus reminds his disciples that the feast was organized just for them. Woe to us who exclude them. The doctor attends to the sick and not to the healthy.

According to the philosophy which existed since the 8th century before Christ, the people were urged, encouraged to invite to the table, only those who love them, and to forget the enemy. It was taken as a matter of fact to love only those who love you; to go to one who comes to you. They were encouraged to give to him who gives them and not to give to those who do not give them. No wonder the maxim of ‘a tooth for a tooth’. Christ rang in the new; to forgive the enemies, to love everyone. Christ went so far as to remind, not only the Pharisees and the Scribes, but to one and all, even in this day and age, that who is going to offer a sacrifice must first make peace with his enemies.

The poor must be loved because he is lovable, not out of compassion or assuming an attitude of haughty superiority. Certainly, it is not easy to find something nice, attractive in an enemy, in a criminal. And this is the Franciscan Spirituality. St.Francis loved the wolf, the fishes, the birds, those who harmed him or offended him, and all created objects because they all witness God’s wisdom and love. Incidentally this line of thought was taken up by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, who believed that all matter, being stones, rocks, hills and mountains praise God for their creation. ‘Ring in the new’.

IT IS THE HEART THAT COUNTS … NOT THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Re next Sunday’s Gospel Text, I would like to concentrate on the answer given by Peter, on behalf of all the Apostles, to the question put to them by Christ. The question was: “Who do you say I am?”

As we read Peter answered: “You are the Messiah of God.” Yes, Christ accepted that answer, for He did not deny it, but note, He forbade them to spread that fresh news; the fact that He was the ‘Messiah of God’. But why? That is a billion dollar question.

Yes, Peter was perfectly correct in that answer, BUT, what he, and the rest of the Apostles, actually meant by Messiah, did not tally, agree with God’s plan. God’s idea of a promised Messiah was not the same type of messiah Peter and friends, and the Jewish people, had in mind. Peter and friends, are marking time, according to their Master, the time will soon be ripe, the messiah will soon be here … and that was excellent news, for them and all the Jewish Nation.

Very soon they will be taking up arms; swords, clubs, torches or whatever comes to their hands to sweep clean Israel from the hated foreigners, from the Romans, irrespective of the blood that will be shed. The Jews will be the victors. Their dream will soon come true, led by their conquering messiah. ‘How we wish our fathers and grandfathers were still living to share in this glory at long last.’ I suppose this was the common, the general thought going through their heads.

BUT, this is not the promised Messiah as planned from all eternity by God for the salvation of all Israel and all humanity. How correct Jesus was to forbid them to say anything to others about His identity. They had to wait for those terrible days when the ‘Greatest Tragedy’ in the History of humanity, took place, and the subsequent Resurrection of the true Messiah from the death. It is only then, that they will see the light, Peter will understand the meaning of his answer: “You are the Messiah of God.” It is only then, that they will be given, rather feel, that they can spread the word around, round the four corners of the world.

This is done later on in the Gospel, Christ showed His true Mission: “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and be put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life.”

God reveals His greatness and His love by sending His only Son to suffer and die, yet He respects the freedom of people, whilst not hindering them when they make mistakes, but making use of their own sin to construct His story of salvation. Believing in Him does not mean to declare one’s own commitment to a set of truth learned from the catechism, but to follow Him, share his fate: “If you wish to be a follower of Mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow Me.”

The disciples, we, who intend to follow in His footsteps cannot expect applause, consents, approval of people, but must be prepared to face opposition and the cross.

REPAIRING BRIDGES

When we sin, against God, or our neighbours, we offend God. But is sinning, like inflicting a wound n our body and God tries to heal it? Does He feel sorry for having called His name in vain? Or is it simply because we have broken one of His commandments? Have we ever thought of the concept, of the idea, that when we offend God we will be in fact refusing His love, His mercy, His trust, consequently we will be breaking the ‘bridge’, the ‘hot line’ that links us to God. IT IS THE INABILITY TO RESPOND TO THE FATHER’S LOVE.

When sinning I will be telling God: “I know my way, I don’t need Your help, I can do it on my own, I know you are my Father, but from now onwards I don’t need Your love and guidance.” The ‘bridge’ has collapsed’

For any parent, such words are a stab, not in the back, like Brutus’, but right through the heart. No parent can ever imagine such words to be uttered by his son or daughter. It is unnatural, it is inhuman. But God, though He does not possess a human heart, like ours, His regard, interest for us, His love towards us, His children, are ‘perfect’, they are more refined and more sensitive than those of our natural parents.

When we ask Him to forgive us, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or in our prayers, we will be actually asking Him to show us, to teach us how to reciprocate His love. And God’s reaction will be an abundance of graces to show His gratitude and love. That is just how Christ reacted in next Sunday’s Gospel Text.
The woman in question was not invited for Simon’s feast for a very simple reason. The Pharisees, the Scribes and teachers always made a short-listing of their invited guests. They never included sinners or people of loose morals; shepherds, the poor, the widows and the sick … these were not favoured by God (according to them). So this woman was an intruder who everybody knew. Why, or how everybody knew her, is a different matter.

But she did go in, and she had one aim in mind. After a brief cursory look at all the invited guests, her eyes settled on the person she was looking for, Jesus of Nazareth. She lost no time in approaching Him, holding an alabaster jar. She loosened her hair, which was against the Jewish culture to do. Only inside their home, in front of her husband, she could loosen her hair.

She knelt in front of Him, weeping, washed his feet with her tears, of sorrow … and happiness, and wiped them with her own hair, kissed them and poured the perfume on them (vv. 36-39). One can imagine what passed through the heads of the ‘special guests’. They even dared saying that Jesus can’t be a prophet, otherwise he would have known what kind of a woman was touching and kissing His feet.

Why does she behave this way? The simplest explanation would seem to be this: the woman has committed many sins, but one day she was seized with remorse, repented and went to ask forgiveness from Jesus. She began to love ‘much’ and, with this love, has managed to have her sins forgiven.

Why did she go to Jesus? To express her gratitude. Since she met him everything about her has changed. His words have worked in her the miracle. How to express the joy she feels? With gestures that her affection, heart, feminine sensitivity suggest: the perfume, the kisses, loosened hair, the tears. Gestures that rattled and scandalized those present.

“DEATH IS NOTHING AT ALL ….

… I have only slipped away into the next room. I am, I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that, still we are.” Death prayer, attributed to St. Augustine.

We read words of great truth and depth in the Book of Wisdom: “Honorable age does not depend on length of days, nor is the number of years true measure of life. The upright was pleasing to God, who loved him, and since he was living among sinners, he was taken up. Though his life soon ended, he travelled far. Because his soul was precious to the Lord, he was quickly removed from the wickedness around him”. Yes we find these words in the Book of Wisdom, chapter 4, verses eight to fourteen. Very often this text is read during the Funeral Service of a young person.

Though these are words of great wisdom, yet how soothing are they to the parents of the dead person? Yes, they will be felt as sweet as balm, after a time, when we surrender to the Will of God. Yet Jesus had pity on the widow, the mother of the dead son. Yes, He showed His feelings and He was moved. Nothwithstanding that He had no words of consolation to the mother (at least not recorded in the Gospel), nor any sign of sympathy, yet, ultimately He gave her back her son alive, and healthy according to Dr.Luke.

The first Reading, taken from the first Book of Kings, the Prophet Elijah prays to the Lord to give life back to the child, and this is very similar to the Gospel text. In both stories we find a widow with an only son, and who were both restored to life. It’s worth noting that Elijah was a Prophet, so he was obliged to turn to God for help, whilst Christ, being the Author of Life, uses His own authority and power to restore life to the son of Na’im.

We notice two opposite movements, meeting, so to say at the door of the city. One groups is led by Jesus, His Apostles and the crowd following Him. From the opposite side another crowd, made up of a funeral cortege meets Christ’s group. As was the culture, this funeral took place late in the evening, to increase the atmosphere of sadness, with a throng of women crying and wailing. We notice that Christ’s one and only word was: “Don’t cry.” But was this message solely for the mother or for the mourners present?

Christ is in full control of the situation; he gives the command of “Don’t cry”, next, against the Jewish belief and culture, He touches the coffin, an act unheard of; that is touching a coffin with a dead person in it. That was a gesture of impurity, so according to the Jewish Culture, Christ had become unclean.

Finally He gives the command: “Get up.” Christ spoke as one having power and authority. As you must have noticed Christ was not requested to perform the miracle, he did it freely as a gesture of love and mercy. He gave the ‘gift of life’. The reaction of the crowd was “A great prophet has appeared amongst us; God has visited his people!” (v. 16).

Was the crowd happy and jubilant because a young man was restored to life, or rather because a great prophet has appeared amongst them? If you recall Christ command to “Stop crying,” we understand that the reason was because ‘here is the Lord of life’ amongst you.

Yes, we should ‘stop crying’ when a beloved person in our family, a relative or any person for that matter, joins the ranks in heaven, hopefully. We have to stop crying and convince ourselves that God has conquered death once and for ever, if anything we should ‘cry for joy’.