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.