Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - Homily

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - When did you last say a positive word to someone? Will you speak a positive word to at least one person today?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Corinthians 7:25-31; Lk 6:20-26

The Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke is packed into one chapter of 30 verses unlike that of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, which extends over three chapters totalling 109 verses.

Unlike in Matthew’s, “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5,1 – 7,29) where Jesus pronounces only Beatitudes (Mt 5,3-12), in Luke’s, “Sermon on the Plain”, for each of the four beatitudes there is a corresponding woe. Also unlike Matthew, Luke speaks in the second person and not the third person, which has the effect of making the pronouncements more direct, more personal.

The first beatitude is addressed to the poor (not “the poor in spirit” Mt 5,3). This is indeed a scandalous statement because it overturns all conventional expectations and pronounces a blessing on those who are marginalized. They are promised the kingdom of God by being released from their marginalisation and oppression. It brings to light that God is making an option for the poor. The next two beatitudes concern hunger and mourning and could be addressed to the same group. The poor because they are poor are also hungry and weep. They are promised an end of their hunger in the promise that they will be filled and an end to their weeping and mourning in the promise that they will laugh. The fourth and final beatitude in Luke speaks about the disciple who will be hated, excluded, reviled and defamed. These are called to rejoice in their being reviled and promised a reward in heaven. They are also given as consolation the example of those who went through similar trails before them.

Corresponding to each beatitude, Luke has a woe. The first woe is addressed to the rich who have received their consolation already and so can expect nothing more. Those who have had their fill now and told that they will go hungry and those who laugh now will weep. Those of whom people speak well are compared to the false prophets.

When we look at the injustice, disharmony and poverty around us it is not easy to believe that our God is a God who cares for the poor. Yes, this God became poor in history to show us the way and how we are to live. If we can be a little less selfish, work in our own situations toward harmony and give a little something to someone else, we will be bringing God and his word to them.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 - Homily

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 - Will you collaborate with Christ in bringing about the kingdom today? How?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11; Lk 6:12-19 

By placing the appointment of the Twelve immediately after the controversies with the Pharisees (6,1-11) and the dramatic distinction between old and new (5,36-39), Luke presents the appointment of the Twelve as the constitution of a new nucleus for the people of God, perhaps in deliberate succession to the twelve tribes of Israel. The conflicts between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees have already shown that they represent the old and that, therefore, they are no more fit for leadership in the kingdom than old wineskins for new wine.

Luke makes special mention of the personal prayer of Jesus at all the important events in his life, and so Luke portrays Jesus as praying before his baptism, before his temptation, after a hard days work of preaching, teaching and healing and just before his choice of the Twelve. Jesus knows that even though humans will be weak and fail, even though they will deny and betray him again and again, he would still want them to collaborate with him in bringing about the kingdom.

The choice of the Twelve is a text that offers each of us a lot of hope and consolation. This is because we are aware of what Jesus could accomplish even with such a motley band of men. Since he did so much with and through them, he can do the same with and through us.

Monday, September 9, 2024 - Homily

 

Monday, September 9, 2024 - How often have you made rules and regulations more important in your life than love?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8; Lk 6:6-11

This is the second Sabbath controversy story. Already at the beginning we are told that the day is a Sabbath and that Jesus goes to the synagogue to teach. In this context, his teaching is not only in words but also in deeds by means of a situation from life. Only Luke of all the three evangelists tells us that it was the man’s right hand that was withered. This was the hand normally used for work, gesturing and greeting. He would have had to do all of the above with the left hand, which ordinarily was not to be used in public. The scribes and Pharisees are also introduced into the scene, so that there are four parties: Jesus, the man with the crippled hand, the scribes and Pharisees and those who were in the synagogue. While the crippled man sees Jesus as a potential healer, the scribes and Pharisees pose an obstacle to the healing. Jesus makes a public example of the man. All will see what he is about to do. Before the healing, Jesus asks a question, which poses two sets of antitheses: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it. Sabbath observance is defined positively, not in terms of what one will do, but in terms of what one must do. The question brings out the dichotomy that existed in their own lives, because though they would not want a man to be healed from his illness on that holy day, they would have no qualms about discussing the “best way to deal with Jesus” on that same holy day. They preferred the law to life and love.

We might tend after reading this story to condemn the Pharisees and scribes. However, we too often behave as they did. We might attend a Eucharistic celebration and wish everyone in the church the peace of Christ, eat the same bread and yet come out of the church continuing to keep feelings of resentment and anger against our neighbours in our hearts.

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Homily

 

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - Healed to heal the world

To read the texts click on the texts: Is 35:4-7; Jas2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37

The vision proposed by Isaiah in the First reading of today is a cosmic vision. The central theme of this vision is the proclamation that the natural order will be dramatically transformed. The first exhortation to those who listen is that they must remove all fear from their hearts. The reason for this is that the Lord himself is coming to help them in their need. The Lord is the antithesis of fear. This salvation, which will be effected by the Lord, is tangible and real. It will result in the blind being able to see again, the deaf being able to hear, the mute being able to speak, the lame being able, not merely to walk, but to leap and run This is not all. With the coming of the Lord, the whole of nature will be transformed and redeemed. Where there was once a desert, there will be springs of water. Waterlessness will be converted into flowing streams.

However, this will happen after, and only after, the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, and the lame leap and run. In other words, the redemption of the people will lead them to see the redemption of nature. The people will not redeem or ransom themselves. Redemption and ransom are effected by God, and God alone. Through divine action, the people of God become the redeemed of God, and that transforms their lives in every possible way.

In the Gospel text of today, we read about a similar transformation that takes place in the life of a man after he encounters Jesus. This miracle is unique to Mark’s Gospel. This man is deaf, with an impediment in his speech. His deafness prevents him from speaking properly. Thus, it is only after his ears are opened, by Jesus’ words and action that he is able to speak properly.

Now that he can hear clearly, he can also speak clearly. Interestingly, this is the first of only two miracles in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus uses external methods. Also, the preparation for the miracle is elaborate. The man is taken aside from the crowd and, after Jesus puts his fingers in the man’s ears, he spits and touches the man’s tongue and gives the command for the healing in Aramaic. The response of the people, at the conclusion of the miracle, is an indication that the promised salvation by Isaiah has become a reality in Jesus. This promised salvation has exceeded all expectations.

However, despite this fact, this salvation cannot really be witnessed in our world today. Sometimes, it might seem to us that things around us are as if Jesus had never come. One of the main reasons for this is that, like the people whom Isaiah addressed before their redemption and, like the deaf man before his healing, we seem to have lost use of our faculties. Having eyes, we do not see; having ears, we do not hear; having hearts, we do not love. This lack of seeing, hearing, and loving, prevents us from witnessing the salvation that God has effected and is effecting in Jesus, even now. We are so caught up in ourselves and our own small worlds that we fail to take notice of others and especially the poor.

This selfish and self-centered attitude is pointed to in the second reading of today when James exhorts his readers, and us, that because of lack of genuine love, they, and we, have neglected the poor and have become partial, biased, and prejudiced. We attend only to those who we believe can do us favours and so, our relationships are based on barter exchange than on genuine love. This attitude prevents us from seeing people as they are. We look at them as objects that can fulfill our wants and we use people rather than love them. We do not really see them or hear them at all. We do not really love. This lack of love, in turn, prevents us from being the kind of persons that we have been made in Jesus. It prevents our tongues from speaking God’s praise and our hearts from reading out to all. This is why, even though deserts have indeed been turned into springs and dry lands have been turned into rivers of flowing water, we do not experience these as we ought.

The challenge of the readings of today is to remove the stoppers that we have placed in our ears and the blinders that we have placed before our eyes. It is a challenge to remove the blocks that we have placed in our hearts. It is to dare to hear and see rightly so that we can, indeed, love as we ought. Then, the dry lands will be watered yet again and the arid ground turned into rivers of abundant life.

Saturday, September 7, 2024 - How often have you made rules and regulations ends in themselves?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15; Lk 6:1-5

The episode is a Sabbath controversy, and is found also in Mark 2,23-28 and Matthew 12,1-8. Since Deut 23,24-25 allowed a person passing a neighbour’s field to pluck heads of grain with the hand, this does not seem to be the reason for the complaint of the Pharisees. Luke (6,1) alone states that the disciples were rubbing the heads of grain in their hands, which could be interpreted as threshing, and threshing was one of the forms of work forbidden on the Sabbath. In his response, Jesus refers to the incident from 1 Samuel 21,1-6 in which David confronted Ahimelech at Nob. The point that the Lucan Jesus makes is that if David had the authority to overturn Levitical rules and eat the bread of the Presence and even give it to his companions, because he gave priority to human need over ritual observance, so can Jesus, who is Lord of the Sabbath.

Rules and regulations are made so that there might be order in society and each will know his/her role. It is possible that sometimes they might become ends in themselves and take precedence over everything else. They can never take precedence over human need. All rules and regulations are at the service of humans and not the other way around.

Saturday, September 7, 2024 - Homily