2004 - 4th Sunday of Easter to 22nd Sunday of the Year

Sunday 2 May, 2004

4th Sunday of Easter 'We are his people, the sheep of his flock'

At last we get a chance to hear about and reflect on the missionary activities of Paul, previously known to some as 'Saul the Exterminator!'(Acts 13: 14, 43-52) The Spirit of God was engaged in a project, much the same as was Jesus, for the continuing education of the Apostles. Peter, James, John and their supporters intended to keep at Jerusalem, the headquarters of the Christian Church. Yet, the Spirit was striving to get the Apostles away from that doomed city. So, Paul and Barnabas were commissioned to head north. Many new converts had already settled in Antioch, Cyprus and Turkey to evade persecution from the increasingly hostile Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. Paul pressed on into Turkey and preached to migr disciples and local pagans. Paul was a universalist. He felt at ease with 'pagans'. He knew the Spirit was there, wherever good people were. Indeed, the entire locality turned out to hear Paul when they realised he saw them as equally acceptable to God as were the Jews.

Over the last few hundred years, Western missionaries made that same error, corrected by Paul, when they thought developing nations would become Christian by adopting Western habits of thought and action. Thank God, local Catholic (and other Christian) churches worldwide are correcting that error.

Responsorial psalm 99 connects, as usual, our two main readings: 'We are his people, the sheep of his flock.'

John was single-minded in striving to ensure that the early Christians knew Jesus' true identity (John 10: 27-30). Both his version of the Gospel and his awe-inspiring Book of Revelation teach emphatically that Jesus is the son of God, not just another prophet. Todays gospel is part of a response by Jesus to the Pharisees, whose leadership he criticised. He insisted on three criteria for judging genuine religious leadership: the good leader (shepherd) gives himself for his flock; he lives on terms of communion and knowledge with his flock; he is concerned about unity, gathering the lost sheep around himself (see 'Guide for the Christian Assembly' by Maertens/Frisque). Jesus Himself fulfilled all those criteria.

The Jewish leadership did not! The Pharisees considered the 'flock' to consist only of Jews who kept the religious observances. Other Jews were low-caste, even untouchables. (Catholics have experienced phases of the same discrimination). According to this jaundiced view, non-Jews could not be Gods friends unless they became honorary Jews.

Jesus Gospel, on the contrary, was all embracing gender, colour, creed just was a factor in being welcomed by God through Jesus. Remember that throughout the best of the Old Testament, God was presented as the only trusted Shepherd. Now, Jesus presented Himself as one with God. Only by virtue of that relationship was He equally involved in shepherding the universal, non-discriminatory flock. Local church are intended to be faithful shepherds, self-sacrificing and open to all men, women and children.

Sunday 9 May 2004

5th Sunday of Easter - 'I will praise your name forever, my king and my God'.

Paul and Barnabas set up Christian communities in Northern Palestine and the area now known as Lebanon (Acts 14:21-27). They did the same in Cyprus and throughout Turkey. (Where have all those Churches gone?) Their converts had been already religious, following their own local customs and styles of honouring the local Gods. They had priests, rituals and sacrifices. But Paul invited them to experience something different gospel faith in a God, all at once, intimate and awesome. Paul & Barnabas went back the same way they had come, leaving appointed leaders or presbyters to look after these small communities. When they arrived back in Antioch, they called a meeting of Jewish disciples and reported to them how God had already been present wherever they travelled! This is the core of mission theology. And, we must thank Paul for making it an essential ingredient in catholic missionary strategy and tactics. It was Paul who revealed that people, almost everywhere, were willing to listen to him when they heard that they were equally acceptable to God, as were the Jews.

Over the last few hundred years, western missionaries made an error in judgement, not following Paul 's policy of inculturation, when they thought developing nations would become Christian by adopting European habits of thought and behaviour. Many Asian, African and Latin American nations now show the disastrous effects of that wrong, if understandable approach. Thank God, that wrong is being corrected by local Catholic churches worldwide.

Responsorial Psalm 144 connects our two main readings: 'I will praise your name forever, my king and my God'.

Jesus talked about his disciples' future as if He intended to be with them in a real and influential way (John 13:31-35). And, the salient point of our gospel passage is the giving of a new commandment 'love one another'. It 's new because it 's not grounded in the love commandments of the Jewish tradition but in Jesus' self-sacrifice. Our Lord did not command the first disciples to like one another, but to love one another. I think a lot of us are confused by that difference. Our Gospel gives us some of Our Lord 's most precious thoughts at the end of the Last Supper. It has been said these verses are much like those attributed to a dying patriarch, perhaps Moses. To be practical for our own situation, a parish community should be a startling mix of people and naturally, there will and should be differences in politics, ethnic origins, age, gender and culture. Only God can create community from such a grab bag of differences. Only the Eucharistic assembly and the love imperative can energise such an 'Easter ' community. Only a parish that has love as the wellspring of its pastoral work (Catholics looking after themselves) can send out missionaries, brothers and sisters of mercy and charity, to look after the interests of 'outsiders '. Remember that such self-sacrificing love is the only way into heaven here and hereafter.

Sunday 16 May 2004

6th Sunday of Easter - '0 God, let all the nations praise you.'

Discrimination, against which Jesus had fought all his life, raised its ugly head again when rules about entry into the Christian Church, were hammered out by the apostles (Acts 15:1-2, 22-29). Some over-zealous Jewish Christians took it upon themselves to visit prospective non-Jewish converts (to Christianity) and insist they adopt Jewish practices, including circumcision, before they would be accepted as members of the Church. Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by Peter and the apostles to undo the damage done by the self-appointed 'thought-police'. Their message was: 'Forget about becoming Jews, first'. Paul and Barnabas did however invite these converts to show sensitivity towards their Jewish neighbours by voluntarily abstaining from non-kosher food and casual sexual relationships. Modern Catholics should take to heart these early temptations to discriminate because it is so easy to slip into the habit. How are we to relate with non -Christians? Do we, not still discriminate when we expect to bring God to non-Christians? Instead, we should rejoice at the spiritual discoveries made by so many non-Christian good people. Even the atheist ought to be looked upon as a spiritual relative. He or she does share in our common property - the human condition. An atheist's search can provide the Christian with many rich insights.

Our Responsorial Psalm links our two main readings: '0 God, let all the nations praise you'.

Today's gospel (John 14: 23-29) is situated after the washing of the feet at the Last Supper Those who lived intimately with Jesus for several months would soon need to discover another way of living with the risen and present, though invisible, Christ. 'I was with You', said Jesus; henceforth, 'I shall be in You'.

The Jerusalem Temple, built by Solomon a few hundred years earlier, had always been thought of as the place where God was present on earth. That sign of God's presence was too material however, and God quitted the Temple at Jesus' execution. A more interior presence of God had already been 'flagged' in the Old Testament books of the Wisdom tradition, the presence of God in the souls of good people. From the time of the Resurrection God's dwelling place would be the liturgical assemblies of Christians. Hence the supreme importance of Sunday Mass! Judas, confused as ever, thought that Jesus meant he would summon his followers to secret meetings! But, Jesus really meant he would meet with them in their innermost thoughts and attitudes. This special teaching is the basis of all Christian spiritualities and has great importance for modern spirituality. Human, as we are, Catholic's do depend on our institutions for spiritual support. The spirit of God nevertheless, transcends all institutions, even those developed by the Church, to ensure that God is available to everyone, everywhere.

Sunday 23 May 2004

Ascension of the Lord - 'God mounts his throne to shouts of joy'

St Luke wrote two closely connected books: the Acts of the Apostles and his version of the Gospel. The Ascension is the turning point between Jesus' own ministry and the era of the Church's mission, a time which looks towards the Lord's return. Other incidents in the Jewish scriptures, such as the ascension of Elijah and the exit from the Temple of God in glory, suggested to Luke what imagery to use in describing Christ Jesus' departure. Luke needed to record that Jesus is no longer visibly among us and that this is to our spiritual advantage (Acts 1:1-11). Why? Because you and I must now assume our individual and collective Christian responsibilities.

We shall, also, discover, at first with surprise, then with joy, that the spirit of God, the spirit of Jesus, is active in our midst, right here and now. We should remember here, that even at that solemn moment of departure, the apostles still identified the reign of God with the liberation of God's own nation, Israel. That is why the apostles felt obliged to stay in its capital, Jerusalem. They expected, naturally, their new faith to go hand in glove with their dominant Jewish culture. But, that culture had become hostile to the Gospel way of Jesus, himself Jewish. It took Paul, also Jewish, to urge the apostolic leadership to look much wider than Israel.

Responsorial Psalm 46 connects our two principal readings: 'God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord'

Jesus' Gospel was and is intended to change human history, individuals, cultures - the whole of human experience. Only the Father knows the timing and the goals of human history, about which people today, you may have noticed, are more and more and more concerned. The Centenary of Federation has provided Australians with a rare, enough opportunity to reflect on our own history.) Jesus' ascension has left the Church to be a beacon of hope amidst the unfolding of human history.

Today's gospel reading (Luke 24:46-53) is the final verses of Luke's version of the Gospel. It leads into the Acts of the Apostles, also written by Luke or his disciples. The Ascension has been described as a 'transfiguration of the Risen Lord. For Luke, it was like the High Priest withdrawing from the Temple assembly to go alone, as prescribed, into that unique Jewish sacred site, the Holy of Holies. By borrowing this imagery from temple liturgy, Luke intended to indicate that, from now and forever, the risen Lord alone would fulfill the priestly role. He also wanted to stress that preaching and catechesis were not an invention of the apostles, but something handed on by the Lord Himself to be faithfully observed. When we assemble for Mass, we proclaim the divinity of Jesus and our intention to work in harmony with Him. We work with Him at the task of spiritualising secular society and, even, the natural universe. Luke would go into greater details in the Acts. So, also, would Paul in his letters. Today is an occasion to enjoy and celebrate the glorification of the Lord Jesus and his mission.

Sunday 30 May 2004

Pentecost Sunday - 'Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth'

The fiftieth day after Passover (that is what the religious term Pentecost means) the Jews of Jesus' time recalled the gift of the Law from God to Moses popularly thought to have occurred on Mt Sinai. In the light of this definition, the gift of the Spirit, the birth of the Church, salvation promised to all all of which make up the great Christian Pentecost is presented by Luke (Acts 2:1-11) at the promulgation of the New Law, and the beginning of God's mission to all men, women and children everywhere in every generation. I heard an overseas theologian once refer to Pentecost as 'the reversal of Babel'.

You may recall the Old Testament story of a town whose citizens lost the feel for religion and God, one side effect of which was social disintegration. They fell out of love with God and goodness and with one another. They lost the gift of communication. That bred fear, hatred and violence. Babel and chaos became synonymous. In today's first reading from Acts, we learn that the Gospel gathers together the human family, so easily misled into forming factions, sects or political parties that do not share the same language, because each follows its own dreams (or nightmares), its fears or interests. Social philosophers warn us that modern technological developments in communications and genetics could create chaos once again, dividing the rich and the poor, the computer literate and illiterate. Let us celebrate Pentecost 2001 by reversing this trend towards factionalism by sharing the Church's 'new language of love'.

Responsorial psalm 103 - 'Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth'

Today's gospel, thanks to St John and his inspired insight into the communitarian nature of God, puts the reversal of Babel in another way (John 14:15-16, 23-26). To John alone do we owe gratitude for a glimpse into the intimate relationship between Father, son, spirit, and humanity? Because of Jesus' life and death, because the Father raised Him from the dead, because both of them sent the spirit into the midst of the human family, a new form of dialogue has become possible between heaven and earth. Jesus the Christ makes us able to enter into the divine family. Thus, we need no longer feel obliged to speak of approaching God as if He were far from us. We can now experience God's own communitarian way of life, way of loving. The Church is the guardian of this revelation, but has no monopoly on it. Like Paul and Barnabas in the early Church, we modern disciples ought to learn to rejoice wherever God's Spirit is discovered to be at work in other churches, other religions and in people of no religious connection but full of natural goodness. God has entrusted Himself to the Church so that the 'unchurched' may have easier access to Him. Local churches in Australia, 100 years after Federation, need to emerge from the darkness of sectarianism, so often practised during those 100 years, into the light of communitarianism. Just as God has shared Himself with us, so we need to be self-sacrificing in sharing our spiritual and material resources with the neighbourhood.

Sunday 6 June 2004

Trinity Sunday - 'O Lord, Our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth.'

This part of the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 8:22-31) was written at a time (perhaps the 3rd century BC), when the descendants of the great King David were no longer kings of the Jews. Indeed the Jewish people were realising, at long last, that salvation for them would not come from a King, a government or even a religious law. They felt called to look more deeply into God's unique plan for them. What had He in store for them? So there emerged a spirituality based on the best of primitive, natural religion together with the divine self-revelation enshrined in the Old Testament. At the same time, a new form of spiritual writing called Wisdom literature evolved. It would flow naturally into the New Testament writings and those of spiritual writers up to, and including, those of the present day. We're reminded by today's first reading that the arrival of the Son of God crowned at last the messianic hope and emphasised that salvation was free for all people of every place and time. A unique feature of today's reading is the touching revelation that God, Wisdom personified, felt at home with humankind, even playing in human company. This is a preview of the intimate relationship between heaven and earth revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, Wisdom Incarnate.

Our responsorial psalm 8 brings together our two main readings: 'O Lord, Our god, how wonderful your name in all the earth.'

And so to our gospel according to Saint John: In making us children of God, His Father, Jesus enabled us to discover the intimate mystery within the Trinity. This was John's main aim in writing his version of the Gospel. According to him, in God there is eternal communion and communication among three Persons the Father, the Son and their common Spirit. The Spirit is not just a poetic figure of speech. The Spirit is a Person. Starting from the day of Pentecost, the Spirit began to act within the Church, the world wide assemblies of true believers, showing He is, indeed, the Spirit of the Risen Lord sent by the Father. Before He left their sight, Jesus told the disciples in no uncertain terms, that they would all be re-united with the Father. Love and deep understanding would compensate for the absence of his visible presence.

The whole gist of the long discourse, of which today's reading is part, is Jesus departure and apparent desertion of his apostles. He insisted the Spirit's mission would be His own. It was not really a question of His mission being now ended and replaced by the Spirit's. They must not seek vainly for His physical presence but discern, in faith, an abiding spiritual presence, in a new world order totally animated by God Himself. This, I know, is heady stuff! It is, however, the foundation of all Christian spirituality. In our own day, called by many writers 'the Church's moment', development of a lay spirituality, based on the Trinity's mission, is top priority throughout our global network of churches.

Sunday 13 June 2004

The Feast of the Body of Christ - 'Christ incorporated'

This final reading from Genesis (Genesis 14:18-20) has a special place in my personal story. It happened thus: I was ordained a priest in 1960. Among other beautiful things, the St Patrick's Cathedral Choir sang, convincingly You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Then, we took it all for granted. But since then I've wondered about Melchizedek many times.

The story goes that God promised Abraham occupancy of the land of Canaan, today's Palestine. But, before he could take possession, some of his relatives, including his nephew, Lot, were captured by marauding local chieftains. Abraham knocked them about, retrieved Lot and the captured relatives with their possessions. As part of the diplomatic peace process, the offending chieftains opened their village gates to Abraham. Melchizedek, King of Salem, was one of them. He was a born searcher for spiritual wisdom and had an affinity with Abraham and his desert God. He was a pastor/king, caring for his people, not involved in the regional practice of blood sacrifices. Instead, he revered God through hospitality, offering Abraham bread and wine.

Paul, by the way, in his letter to the Hebrews, would declare that Jesus was a priest, indeed, not like Jewish priests who were too involved with ritual sacrifices, but according to the order or style of Melchizedek. I and my colleagues are proud to be priests according to the order of Melchizedek!

Our Gospel (Luke 9:11-17) takes up the themes of self-sacrifice and pastoral hospitality. Jesus had become embroiled in unrest among the Jewish people. They were sick and tired of the double-dealing indulged in by Herod and the religious leadership. They were attracted to Jesus' straight talking and compassion. They dearly wanted Jesus to claim the thrones as King of the Jews. This Gospel tells us why they wanted him as king. The miracle recorded confirms the faith of many humble believers who, perhaps, not too devoted to Church formalities, often knew how to risk all they have in the service of others less fortunate. Let's keep in mind that each Church Community, when the Gospels were the heart of Christianity, quickly saw more in this miracle than just feeding the poor. They soon developed a whole liturgical atmosphere around the breaking and sharing of the Eucharist. Australia's bishops are now involved in the same kind of research. We modern Catholics have inherited this beautiful understanding of the relationship between celebrating Eucharist and practicing Gospel justice. We today, perhaps more than ever before, know that only those who celebrate Eucharist have the spiritual integrity and poverty to sacrifice themselves in the service of the poor. There is more than social work here. It is this link, which we celebrate on the feast of Corpus Christi.

I've begun thinking Corpus Christi in terms of 'Christ incorporated'. That ensures that I myself experience and practice what was previously known as the 'Body of Christ' or, even, the 'Mystical Body of Christ'. Whatever expression suits you, let's remember that all our lives are interrelated, in Christ Jesus.

Sunday 20 June 2004

12th Sunday of ordinary time - Living dangerously

As with so many books of the Bible, the prophecy known as Zechariah is a book within a book. In other words, more than one author had a hand in it. Zechariah and they wrote maybe 200 years apart.The final contribution, including today's passage (Zechariah 12:1-11, 13:1), was probably made in the 300s BC, when the famous conqueror, Alexander, came into the region of the Middle East. Our prophet taught the Jews not to be afraid. But they must accept that God's kingdom would have a very painful birth. According to prevailing best religious practice from the ruling establishment, down to the lowliest citizen of Jerusalem, repentance would have to be done for past sins against God's chosen ones, especially prophets. We cannot identify the individual done to death by the authorities. Previously Isaiah had introduced the mysterious figure known as God's servant. Later, Jesus of Nazareth would be known as that 'suffering servant', pierced with a soldier's lance. At all events, grief and repentance would be necessary for civil and religious leaders alike. Only then would Jerusalem be fit to become the spiritual center of the universe.

So too, the Catholic Church whose 'moment' seems to have arrived again, is called by God to repent for past sins, especially persecution of God's modern agents. Our gospel passage (Luke 9:18-24) takes up the theme of suffering servant. The setting is Caesarea Philippi, a Roman fortified resort located in the far north of Palestine at the foot of Mount Hermon. Jesus had left Galilee because he just wasn't safe there. As an aside, maybe too many local churches have become too cosy, too safe, too comfortable with modem secular humanist values to validly claim to follow Jesus who was never completely at home with his contemporary environment? Why did Jesus demand an answer from the apostles to the question recorded in today's gospel? They accepted him as Messiah but they had yet to learn that Jesus would be no military leader out to crush enemies. There would be no enforced regime change. That was the prevailing current view of the Messiah. That's why he ordered them to be silent about his identity. There was too much 'hype' surrounding the 'Messiah thinking' among his contemporaries. Jesus had nothing in common with people who were mainly concerned with merely avoiding 'gazetted' sins while they pursued their ambitions at the expense of others. His way of the Cross entailed living dangerously, putting all trust in the providence of God. There will be times when pursuit of the gospel and its values means risking death of one kind or another. When a country is ruled by violence, or indifference, as ours is, Christians may retreat into spiritual ghettoes, keeping silent about social sins around them. That makes Jesus ashamed of such cowards.

Sunday 27 June 2004

13th Sunday of the Year -You are my inheritance, O Lord

God's chosen people hadn't often prospered after Solomon's death. The reputation and contribution of the monarchy had deteriorated disgracefully. The Promised Land itself was divided into northern and southern kingdoms, separated by Samaria. The northern kingdom was known as Israel. It was Elijah's vocation to try to bring Israel to its senses in this eight century BC. He didn't stand a chance and, eventually, gave up. God ordered him to appoint Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:16, 19-21). Elijah recruited Elisha just like Moses did Joshua and Jesus his disciples.

God never forced anyone to be his special agent. A disciple is free to accept or decline. Catholics have a special veneration for Mary, mother of Jesus, as the disciple' who sacrificed everything in accepting God's call. While many in our Church lament the lack of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, some others rejoice in the proliferation of willing responses among lay Catholics to embrace a vocation and mission to serve God in secular society.

Responsorial Psalm 15 links our two main readings: 'You are my inheritance, O Lord'.

Today's gospel passage (Luke 9: 51-62) recalls how Elijah, according to either history or legend, was despised by many people whom God punished with fire from heaven. After remembering Jesus' deeds in Galilee, Luke begins the second part of his gospel by including sayings that Jesus uttered on different occasions. The first paragraph reminds us that between the two provinces of Galilee and Judea, there lay Samaria. Its people, Samaritans, were non-Jewish and the two ethnic groups really hated each other. When Jews from Galilee went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, throughout Samaria every door was closed to them. This happened to Jesus and his disciples. Jesus had to tell his followers to be less impulsive than Elijah when faced with hostility. The Samaritans, who refused to welcome Jesus on this occasion, were no more guilty than Jews who closed their doors to strangers. He would press home this message in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It hurt pious Jews deeply. He put to his disciples the practical questions: 'Why destroy this little village if by doing so, they still had to look for hospitality in another village?' It was better to press on without delay.

Thank God, Jesus didn't give all of us the power to work retributive miracles! We would, no doubt, often misuse this power for our own personal revenge, confusing God's cause with our own, claiming, falsely, a divine mandate. Instead, discipleship of Jesus would entail patience in the face of hostility, a common life shared with the Master, a deep involvement in His missionary journey and re-adjustment of all human relationships. These four characteristics would be found in the best of the early churches and, later, in monastic movements. They must be re-discovered by lay people wanting to be genuine modern disciples within a secular environment.

Sunday 4 July 2004

14th Sunday of the Year - Let all the earth cry out to God with joy'

The section of Isaiah used for today's first reading (Isaiah 66:10-14) was probably written after the Babylonian exile. Everyone in Jerusalem was full of optimism after so long a period of social disintegration. It may have been a bit like the end of World War II when so many prisoners of war on both sides returned to their homes. Jerusalem would have to rediscover the role God had intended for her. This would be a period of national renewal. Isaiah introduced a new spiritual concept at this point. Jerusalem would be like a mother, feeding and fondling her children. She would be completely transformed when the new heavens and new earth appear. Instead of being inward looking, the city to which all Jews made pilgrimage, Jerusalem would be the launching pad for the spiritual expedition to find spiritual fellow travellers all over the world. The language used is what's known in the trade as apocalyptic. It does not sit easily with westerners.

Isaiah knew that the cosmic renewal would not happen in his time, or even, the near future. His inspired point was - it will happen! The Church's mission is to keep the hope alive. The New Jerusalem will not be a place but an environment known as the Kingdom of God in the minds and hearts of true believers.

Our gospel (Luke 10:1-12,17-20) takes up Isaiah's theme. The fact that Jesus spoke to a group of seventy-two disciples, concerning Christ's mission (first confined to the twelve apostles) calls to mind all the nations of the world. It is, then, the missionary work of the Church, which is foretold. God has already sown the seed of goodness in every mind and heart. He has provided an economy of salvation to enable the seed to grow. He expects results, a harvest. He alone will judge the outcome of individual and collective effort.

Missionaries should make haste, stopping only with those who welcome them, leaving behind all baggage, emotional and otherwise. Their only joy should be to see the growth of the Kingdom. By the way, to the Jews, the number seventy-two was the known number of non-believing nations. Luke's version of the sending out of missionaries is entirely practical. They must be pilgrims , not settle down. They must bring peace to family dwellings. Do no harm. Their visits should spark a time of domestic and village reconciliation. Theirs visits should be treasured and memorable for those who receive them. Not all who welcome them will join a church but they should be touched spiritually. Modern local churches have matured as pastoral carers. Catholics are good at looking after the elderly, the sick, the primary school children and refugees.

Only a few parishes advance to a missionary stage. It's difficult to have parish real estate and also be expeditionary, but that's what we have to do.

Sunday 11 July 2004

15th Sunday of the Year 'Jesus, Son of God, is the good Samaritan'

The Jews were Gods chosen people. They were to be the conduit of Gods message of love for all peoples, everywhere, anytime. Moses had conveyed to them on Mount Sinai, in the Arabian desert, a constitution which was so wise it would, if obeyed, enable the Jews to live together in justice and peace. As a document, Deuteronomy was mislaid until about 622 BC when it was found and edited by priests and prophets. They summarised the experience of the Israelites throughout their history.

In todays passage (Deuteronomy 30:10-14), it is not so much the service of God which is emphasised but the love God gives and expects in return. God will be forever a Word of love. We wont have to go on pilgrimage to find His Word. It will be written in the hearts of all true believers. These are the kinds of Old Testament passages, which preview the way Jesus of Nazareth would present his gospel. He himself would be Gods final Word. He would take the presence of God beyond Scriptures and temple liturgy. He would be God incarnate. The few who followed that spiritual way in Old Testament times ere the spiritual ancestors of Jesus and his disciples, true descendants of Abraham, father of faith. Love of God and ones neighbour was the greatest commandment: the Israelites already knew that. But they took 'neighbour' to mean a fellow Jew or believer.

In todays gospel passage (Luke 10: 25-37), Jesus asks that we go beyond that and all such exclusivism: I become the neighbour of anyone who needs me. However, the good Samaritan parable is not just a morality play. Its deeply theological. It let us into the mind of God. Jesus, Son of God, is the good Samaritan. Samaritans were hated by the Jews. So, too, let us never forget, Jesus was despised by the church and civil authorities, but also by the silent majority. The theological point of the parable is that God loves all men, women and children, not just those who love Him! We must learn to love others as God loves them - unconditionally. This is the spirituality, which will save secular society from the assault and battery dished out by Evil. To be a genuine disciple of Jesus one has to love beyond the call of duty. This is the basis for the vows taken by religious - poverty, chastity and obedience. Celibacy, too, was designed as a positive - to allow unconditional availability to be offered without discrimination. Cain, in Genesis, complained to God: I am not my brothers keeper. He was right. He was his brothers brother! Nothing short of a complete renewal of the idea and attitude of Christian discipleship, will make the Church worthy of its vocation and mission. The practical details must be worked out by faithful individuals and local churches. But, not in isolation. The spirit of the God of Deuteronomy and the Gospel is with us still. He guides us along the right path. He is true to his name.

Sunday 18 July 2004

16th Sunday of the Year The just will live in the presence of the Lord

About 1800BC, Abraham had left Haran, part of modern Iraq, on a promise from God that Abraham would end up with lots of land and descendants in Palestine. Today we pay a hefty price for a misinterpretation by Jew, Muslim and Gentile of that promise. Abraham and his clan were nomads, poor and uneducated. They would travel with tents and flocks as far as they could within the two great civilizations of that time Mesopotamia and Egypt. This clan was finely tuned spiritually, though primitive, so it comes as no surprise that Abraham had personal dealings with the God of the desert, as retold in today's first reading (Genesis 18:1-10). These spiritual dealings mark a turning point in human history, because God called this particular clan to produce a special people, God's own instrument to bring the history of humanity to maturity and to a happy end. (In ancient legends there were many meetings between humans and 'The Gods').

In today's opening reading, the God of Abraham showed himself to be intimate and friendly a deep and meaningful spiritual insight. We marvel at this simple story: God showing human traits, comes to ask for a friend's hospitality before he showers that friend with blessings. Commentators, including me, will not dare say whether it happened that way or it was merely a way of speaking. The true believer knows that God is that kind of being and acts true to his loving nature.

Responsorial Psalm 14 joins our two main readings: 'The Just will live in the presence of the Lord'.

And, so to our gospel passage (Luke 10:38-42), the story of Martha and Mary. Too often this anecdote has been made into an allegory where Martha stands for action and Mary for contemplation, the idea being to show the superiority of the latter!

Luke, like Paul, seems not to be preoccupied with the imminent arrival of the Kingdom! As we now know, this was a strong, spiritual feature of the first generation of Christians. They hadn't a moment to lose! Luke wrote his version of the gospel for non-Jewish Christians in predominantly gentile churches. The 'last days' were no longer seen as immanent. Time was on their side. The disciples were settling down to a lifetime of work and prayer. A balance was needed. So, Luke wanted to teach these disciples that it was essential to make space listening to the word of the Lord. They mustn't become too engrossed, like Martha in mundane affairs.

Remember, however, as in our first reading, hospitality is emphasized. In modern churches, this virtue needs promotion. We live now, in a culture of conflict, not only in secular society, but also within the Churches. Weekend liturgies are meant to be occasions when we are at home with God and with one another. Pastoral care is another example of hospitality. Missionary outreach needs to be motivated by that same spiritual virtue. Prayers and action are inseparable, according to this weekend's Gospel.

Sunday 25 July 2004

17th Sunday of the Year - We are called to show mercy and compassion Our first reading this week (Genesis 18:20-32), as last, gives us a glimpse into the mind of God. We must never forget our debt to Abraham for risking all to follow the path shown to him by God. As we read Genesis, we meet spiritual humankind engaged in a growing, intimate relationship with God. We hear Abraham engaged in a respectful, but forceful, discussion with God over the fate of two decadent cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. We can safely conclude, at the end of the debate, that God doesn't want to harm anyone! But that doesn't guarantee that some people won't go out of their way to harm other people.

A primitive view of God would be that he holds responsible a whole city, when only a few citizens had seriously offended the morality of the time. This distorted view explains, also, the Jihadist moralism of Al Quaeda cells out to destroy 'mmoral' western cities. But even in Genesis and, certainly, in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, God is revealed as moved to compassion and mercy by individuals who intercede on behalf of sinners. Isaiah developed this concept to the limit in the character described as the suffering servant' Finally, Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all the expectations of Abraham, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah.. The Church is the guardian of this beautiful aspect of God's attitude towards humanity. But, we Catholics mustn't keep the secret to ourselves. We are called to show mercy and compassion to outsiders, fringe-dwellers, just as God has shown us.

Today's gospel follows (Luke 11:1-13) and develops the theme in the first reading. After teaching the disciples a prayer formula, a mantra of their very own, he engaged in role-play with them. What would they do if a friend, late at night, dropped in for help? Would they send him away empty-handed? 'Oh, no!' the disciples answered readily. Jesus pressed on by asking if God, their best friend, could not be expected to perform at least as well when petitioned for help. The disciples couldn't escape Jesus' logic. However, the central figure of the parable is not the one knocking at the door, but the occupant of the house. Luke wrote his Gospel for early Christians who were convinced that the last times were upon them. They were somewhat disturbed that they were not experiencing the blessings and prosperity foretold by the prophets. So, Luke taught them to keep on praying for spiritual gifts above all others. All prayer must be in association with the Spirit of the Risen Jesus, just as the Old Testament had insisted on the key role of the intercessor, like Abraham! Christians pray well only when living lives faithful to the Gospel. Such people are prayers' in the flesh. Of course, God, who is good, will answer such prayers.

Sunday 1 August 2004

18th Sunday of the Year 'Let go and let God!'

In the 3rd Century BC, Greek influences were being felt throughout Palestine, especially in Jerusalem. Alexander the Great kicked the Syrians out of their captive states. He died in 323BC. Two Greek generals divided the empire between them. These generals and their successors ruled the Jews, more or less benignly, until an upheaval in about 170BC. After that the Romans took over. We know about them. They were there when Jesus lived and died.

I mention those few historical facts to provide a context for our first reading (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:21-23). The dynamism of Greek civilisation came from its confidence in the unlimited resources of human thinking. Greek philosophers strove to explain all the mysteries of human destiny. Western humanism does the same today. Ecclesiastes, a pen name meaning 'he who gathers the people together', assumed the persona of King Solomon to teach 3rd Century BC Jews the wisdom necessary to combat Greek humanism. For example, he opposed Greek optimism. He taught Jews to face the human dilemma, especially mortality. Another example live the present moment to the full by solving problems, within reach, day by day. Enjoy the happiness that God has in store for you today: leave the rest up to Him! As charismatic Catholics have taught us: 'Let go and let God!'

Our gospel passage (Luke 12: 13-21) easily follows the core theme of the first reading from Ecclesiastes. The parable of the foolish rich man certainly belongs to an ancient tradition of wisdom literature. There's nothing new under the sun, is there? Two modern examples of wisdom film craft came to mind Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Back to our parable. Jesus seems to have refused by the way, to arbitrate between two brothers contesting an estate. He had a bigger fish to fry! He sent the two contenders to the proper authority but profited from the incident to raise the debate to a higher level: Are riches worth so much worry and strain! Alain de Botton has alerted us to status anxiety. Its foolish to forget that death will deprive us of all wealth. It is genuine wisdom to make oneself rich in Gods sight by sharing our wealth while we live. The rich fool in the parable discovered too late that material wealth is not a permanent possession. Because he had devoted all his energy to amassing wealth through property, he had nothing special he could call his own, and death disclosed his essential poverty. The only possessions worthy of human striving are those death can't take away.

Jesus would have our Catholic Church of the 21st Century be prophetic about wealth! We need to help create a more authentic human community, which cannot exist when only a few control wealth, culture and decision-making.

Sunday 8 August 2004

19th Sunday of the Year - Daily events are a meeting place between true believers and their Master

The Book of Wisdom was written in Egypt between 80 and 50 years before Christ. The author was one of the many Jews living in Greek-dominated parts of the world. Contemporary Jews put as much hope in this book as would strengthen their faith as worried Catholics have put their faith in the Archbishop's Evangelisation initiatives.

Today's passage (Wisdom 18:6-9) tells us how the children of the Egyptians died in the sea because their parents had formed a plan to throw the Hebrew children into the Nile River. We can imagine how this reading was savoured by Jews who found themselves exiled, once more, among Egyptians. The difference this time round was that both Egyptian and Jewish cultures were equally undermined by Greek secular humanist philosophy concerning the origin and nature of humanity. The author of Wisdom instructed his readers in the sacred origins of the Jewish people. Today's verses recall some features of the celebration of the Passover meal, the annual memorial of the deliverance of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. Of course, Passover has been imprinted on the Christian mind and heart because Jesus died during Passover. He, thereby, obliterated racism as a spiritual option and advised people to understand that both Egyptians and Jews could journey together along salvation's road. Let's pray that the people of the Middle East and Sudan, of whatever ethnic or religious background, will quickly learn the same lesson.

Just as our 'Wisdom' first reading recalls the importance of a special faith community with a special mission, so our Gospel reading (Luke 12:32-48) brings that message to early Christian communities struggling to live according to Gospel values. Luke insisted that the Kingdom of God is already among us, at least in embryo, so to speak. There is a sense of urgency special to Luke's version of the Gospel. His disciples were instructed to live as if the Lord was to return at any time. He didn't, however, subscribe to the idea, prevalent among some Christians that Our Lord would return in the resurrected flesh, to wrap up the whole of human history. But, he did insist that daily events were a meeting place between true believers and their Master.

Vatican 2 would develop that insight to give a healthy basis for lay spirituality suitable for a rapidly changing modern world, overwhelmingly secular, where lay people spend most of their time. Today's reading also lends itself to an important trend among Catholics worldwide, to become missionaries within their own secular societies. I refer you, again, to the Archbishop's Evangelisation initiatives. There's also, a special warning to those of us, women and men, who hold positions of responsibility (power, in other words) in local churches. We need to review regularly our performances so as not to obstruct the inspired development of enthusiastic lay people who, almost alone, can be the 'key players' in bringing Christ to the modern world.

Sunday 15 August 2004

20th Sunday of the Year - The Gospel doesn't put this world on the path of early paradise, but challenges it to grow

Jeremiah challenged his compatriots to trust God rather than politicians or generals. The Pope does the same, ex officio. The Jews were in a spot of bother in the late 5th century BC. The southern kingdom of Judah, including Jerusalem, was inclined to militarily resist the Babylonian invader. Jeremiah, a prophet instructed by God advised his compatriots to surrender to Babylon or suffer destruction (Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10). Jerusalem was divided. Opponents of surrender grabbed Jeremiah and threw him in a well to shut his mouth. King Zedekiah, who couldn't make up his mind which side to take, at least had the decency to rescue Jeremiah. (There is a lot of Jeremiah in Jesus of Nazareth, as we shall see later in our Gospel passage!) Jeremiah preached that by surrender to Babylon, the Jews would be able to preserve their true freedom, based on moral and cultural independence. The Poles did just that when occupied by the Soviets after World War 2. The Iraqis may choose the same moral freedom given Iraq's occupation by coalition forces. Put in modern terms, Jeremiah's attitude was not to insist on fighting for causes or institutions that are no longer relevant to a world that has undergone irreversible changes and in which God calls us to a different mission. Dare we Catholics apply Jeremiah's prophecy to our own outmoded causes and institutions? Who would be game enough to nominate which causes and institutions are fatally outmoded?

As I said earlier, there's a lot of Jeremiah in Jesus of Nazareth. Today's Gospel passage (Luke 12:49-53) demonstrates this truth so clearly. The association of fire and water was a particularly Jewish way of depicting God's judgement of human activity. His judgement is the time when God will bring the old, corrupt world to an end. He will replace it with a new world that will stay faithful to him. Doubtless Jesus was referring to that particular traditional belief. He did stress, however, the fact that it was he himself who would be the objective of the judgement. He, himself, would be consumed with fire and plunged into water, to use a figure of speech familiar to all Jews. It would be in his own person that the old order would be purified to become the Kingdom of God on earth. He yearned for that spiritually cataclysmic change. He knew it would cost him dearly, causing great personal distress known to us as passion or ordeal the Passion of the Christ.

This ordeal is prefigured in some way when we receive Christian baptism, even as infants. On a larger, social scale, often people try to use religion, even Catholicism, as'glue' for national unity or family harmony. Religious faith can be one factor in these affairs but it can also divide, when genuine believers fall out with less spiritually mature family or friends. The Gospel doesn't put this word on the path of early paradise, but challenges it to grow. Our church is secular society's pilot light, only.

Sunday 22 August 2004

21st Sunday of the Year 'Lest we forget!'

August, every year, generates a lot of nostalgia among senior Australians and, naturally, a need to celebrate the end of World War 2 (at least, in the Pacific). Wherever old 'diggers' gather, Lest we forget will be intoned, over and over, as it ought to be. But, there's not been much of the 'vision thing', except perhaps that a 'free trade agreement' with the US is trumpeted to do us a power of good, fear of untimely death hasn't kept all tourists away and most states can bank on gambling.

Not so in our first reading (Isaiah 66:18-21) from a person (or group) known as Third Isaiah. He had a vision of God destroying all the gentile (non-Jewish) enemies of Israel, much the same as many of us old-timers interpreted the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as divine retribution and modern westerners hope Terrorism goes the same way. But, Third Isaiah also saw a remarkable divine miracle, whereby former gentile enemies would be admitted to God's chosen people and even share the privileges of the Jews. 'From among them I will take priests and Levites'. The Jewish mission would even seek new people for God in far away (foreign) places. Tarshish could be in modern Spain, Put in Somalia, Javan in Ireland, Jubal in Turkey and Lud in Libya. Missionary enterprise would embrace the whole known world. Israel, however, was to refuse to pull down the barriers erected against outsiders. Jesus forfeited his life in attempting to make universalism a primary feature of Judaism. If multi-culturalism in Australia is the same as that Gospel universalism, we Catholics may well be in for a torrid time as, missionaries to our own people.

Our Gospel text, according to Saint Luke (Luke 13:22-30), continues the emphasis of our first reading. Jesus treated as a useless question the one put to him: 'Lord, will there be only a few saved?' What should have been asked, instead, was whether Israel had listened to God's call, and if she was following the narrow road to salvation. Jesus repeated Isaiah's image of a final banquet. The crowd will press for entry, but the door will be too narrow to admit all. The less alert will be forced to stay outside and appeal, in vain, to their previous association with the Master of the house. This is much the same as Christians, in our case Catholics, who are satisfied with low-cost religion, who fail to read the 'signs of the times' and do not grasp the decisive role of Our Lord's ministry. Such churchgoers think they can safely avoid the struggles and contradictions of secular society. They are content with a cut-price Christianity, shared with comfortable, well-bred and well-heeled citizens who have no intention of soiling their hands with reconciliation and justice projects. The Jewish establishment, all honourable men and women, never forgave Jesus for warnings such as the one in today's Gospel. The illustrious convert to Catholicism, Cardinal Newman, issued the same warning to Catholics of his generation. 'It is Man's doing, not God's will that, while the visible church is large, the church invisible is small'.

Sunday 29 August 2004

22nd Sunday of the Year 'Humility a divinely revealed virtue'

Today's first reading (Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29) comes from an Old Testament book, one of the longest in the Bible. Known now as the book of 'Sirach' for short, its long title is 'The Wisdom of Yeshua (Jesus) ben (son of) Eleazor ben Sira'. It was written in the early 2nd Century BC by someone who dearly wanted to promote the revealed Jewish way of life as superior to the Greek dominant culture of the time. For Sirach, true wisdom was to be found in Jerusalem, not in Athens! Hence, the good Jew should not give in to the temptation to follow the Greek philosophies with their permissive way of life and idolatrous Olympic games!

I'm reminded by a book I'm browsing through: The Book of Virtues, a treasury of great moral stories, edited with commentary by William J. Bennett, from the USA. Bennett culls the great books of literature and exemplary stories from history for examples of good and bad, right and wrong. He seeks a reliable moral reference point that will help 'anchor our children and ourselves in our culture, our history and our traditions the source of the ideals by which we want to love our lives'. Whereas Sirach, in today's reading, praises humility as a divinely revealed virtue, Bennett doesn't include it in his long list, for whatever reason. Sirach warned that humility's opposite, pride or arrogance, eats away at a person until he harms those around him.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, would espouse Sirach's wisdom, as we shall learn in today's Gospel (Luke 14:1, 7-14). Of course, our Gospel parable indicates a new way of life for disciples of Jesus. We must not be social climbers because we shall have to trample on others as we become 'upwardly socially mobile'. To quote the 'Christian Community Bible': It would be a strange sight to see public officials pay more attention to the poorly dressed, or to see the poorest areas supplied with water and power before the affluent residential areas (a reference to Latin American towns and villages. RJM), or to see doctors go to rural areas to practise.

But, above and beyond this moral teaching about humility Luke was thinking and writing mainly about the difficulties encountered by early Christians in the first 100 years of Christianity. These people, excommunicated from Temple and Synagogue, ran the risk of being swamped by pagan influences. It was imperative for Luke to provide his disciples with a viable code of conduct based on the Gospel. That's the reason for this chapter from Luke. He had to provide a moral theology for the Christian Sunday assemblies. Jesus had removed all barriers of legal uncleanliness with which the Jews surrounded their assemblies. His would be different open to all! It can only be an assembly of salvation, if all members feel at home. Luke's imperative now drives our contemporary parish assemblies to live and worship together. Liturgical experts can help, but parishes must be humble to ensure that they are open to all.