Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - Homily

 

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - What are the things, which are the persons, which are the events that are preventing you from following? What will do about them today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Phil 2:12-18, Lk 14:25-33

The sayings in these verses are addressed to the large crowds that are following Jesus. Those who wish to follow are asked to consider the cost of that following and to check whether they have it in them to persevere. Three conditions are laid down to following. The first (14,26) is renouncing family ties. This of course does not mean hating family, but means not letting anyone including family come in the way of following. When it comes to a matter of choice, following Jesus must take precedence over family ties.

The second condition (14,27) is carrying one’s cross. While in Luke 9,23 the challenge is to “take up” one’s cross, here it is to carry it. This means that the disciple who intends to follow Jesus must be prepared to fact the same fate as Jesus, which will include rejection, ignominy and even death.

Before the third condition of giving up possessions (14,33), two parables are told to illustrate the folly of failing to consider what following would entail. These parables are found only in Luke’s Gospel. The first (14, 28-30) is about a man who intends to build a tower, but would not do so until he has first counted the cost of doing so. This calculation is done not after he has begun the work, but before he begins it, in order to ensure that he can finish what he has begun. If he does not do, he will be ridiculed. The second parable (14,31-32) is about a king who before he can go to war with another king would first ensure that he has enough soldiers and strength to resist the other. If he realises that he does not have enough, prudence will demand that he not start the war, but instead sue for peace. In the same way anyone who wishes to be a disciple must first count the cost and only on finding that he/she has the strength to persevere, must dare to follow.

The third condition (14,33) is that of giving up possessions or total renunciation. This means that nothing or no one can be allowed to come in the way of following Jesus on mission. If one allows oneself to be restrained by things or persons, one cannot be a disciple in the true sense of the word.

We can come up with numerous excuses why following Jesus today is not easy. However, no matter what they might be, they will still remain excuses. If we are determined to follow and are convinced of his call, excuses cease and following begins.

Tuesday, November 5, 2024 - Homily

 

Tuesday, November 5, 2024 - How have you responded to the invitation that God is constantly issuing?

To read the texts click on the texts: Philippians 2:5-11; Lk 14:15-24

The setting for the parable in these verses is the meal introduced in 14,1. It is known as the parable of the great supper or banquet. After the host has sent invitations to those whom he desired to come for his banquet, he sent his servants to call those guests when everything was ready. The guests however began to offer excuse. The first excused himself because he had bought a piece of land which he wanted to go and see. This excuse is absurd, since no one would buy a piece of land without first inspecting it. The second excused himself because he had bought five yoke of oxen, which he had to go and see, which again is absurd for the same reason. These excuse bring out the fact that it is material possessions and their hold on the persons concerned which prevent them for responding to the invitation. The third guest allows family commitments to hinder his response. While such a reason is plausible, it serves to highlight the fact of the total rejection of the host’s invitations. On hearing the excuses through his servants, the host is angry. He now reaches out to the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. This list is identical to the list mentioned in 14,13 and the ones whom Jesus challenged his host to invite. Since there is more room, a second invitation is sent in order to fill the banquet hall. The point being made by the parable is that many of those who take for granted that their places are reserved will find themselves out of a place and their place taken by those whom they considered unworthy. While the invitation of the host is important to enter the banquet hall, one excludes oneself from it by the choice that one makes.

Procrastination is a sin of many of us. We keep putting off till later what we can and sometimes must do now. To get over this sin one needs to start now and not later.

Monday, November 4, 2024 - How to prepare dinner invitations

 

Monday, November 4, 2024 - When was the last time you did an act without expecting anything in return? Will you attempt to do such an act today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Philippians 2:1-4; Lk 14:12-14

In the context of the meal to which Jesus was invited and in which he noticed how guests chose places of honour, the Lucan Jesus directs these verses to the host. The challenge in these verses is that the host not invite others in order to gain a private advantage. The four groups that one must not invite (friends, brothers, relatives and rich neighbours) are balanced by the four groups that one must dare to invite (the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind). The point of inviting the latter group is that they will not be able to repay the favour. The reward or repayment for such an act will come from God himself.

If we understand that unconditional love means expecting nothing in return from the person that one loves, then we can understand what Jesus is inviting us to in the text of today. However, many of us like to keep a record of the right that we have done for others so that they might do the same for us. Our relationships are built on barter rather than love.

Sunday, November 3, 2024 - Can you love God without loving neighbour?

 

Sunday, November 3, 2024 - If you love God you must love your neighbour.

If you wish to read the texts click here: Deut 6:2-6; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28-34

The question of the scribe in the Gospel text of today must be seen in the light of the numerous commandments, statutes and ordinances that had become common at the time of Jesus. There was much debate about which was first and most important. According to some there were 613 commandments, 248 of which positive {Do} corresponding to the number of organs/limbs/bones of the human body and 365 negative {Do not} corresponding to the tissues/veins/sinews of the human body. Thus the question was of great significance to them.

The Great Commandment as explained by Jesus contains three key elements in Christian faith: (a) belief in one God, (b) whole-hearted devotion to God, and (c) love of neighbour. What does it mean for us today to say “the Lord our God, the Lord is one”? It means in a word one pointed worship of God. This is because we tend sometimes to regard things as God. Some of these may even be good things like our jobs, vehicles, televisions sets, mobile phones, computers, family, political causes or even theological systems. That the Lord our God is one God is a reminder to all of us that only God is and must be absolute. All else is relative, temporary and passing.

The exchange between Jesus and the scribe becomes itself something of an illustration of what love of neighbour means. Even though the exchange occurs in the middle of a dispute (12:28), a running argument between Jesus and representatives of the parties and leaders of the religious establishment, Jesus and the scribe are able to transcend the party strife and cross the dividing line of hostility to confess a common faith. Because they join together in the conviction that there is no commandment greater than love of God and neighbour, they are able to treat each other as neighbours. Both the scribe and Jesus have stepped away from the “us” versus “them” categories. Their mutual affirmation is an island of reconciliation in a sea of hostility. The scribe recognizes Jesus as the great Teacher; Jesus recognizes the scribe as a pilgrim moving toward the kingdom. Their lived out common devotion to God and neighbour silences the debate (12:34).

For the larger majority of us it seems easier to love God rather than neighbour. Jesus knew this and that is why though he is asked ONLY the FIRST, he also gives another (which is not really another but like the first). At the end of his reply Jesus says: “There is no commandment greater than these”. By wording it in this manner rather than “There are no commandments greater than these”, Jesus has effectively made it ONE COMMANDMENT.

In other words, if we say we love God, then we must love our neighbour. We cannot have one without the other.

Saturday, November 2, 2024 - Can death die?

 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 - Commemoration of the Faithful Departed - “Death thou shalt die”

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 25:6-9; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Mt 11:25-30

The Commemoration of the faithful departed reminds us that we are still one with those who have gone before us into eternal life, and that death is not and can never be the end. Since they are alive we still owe them love and support in Christ’s name, even beyond the grave.

While the readings for the day may be chosen from a great variety found in the Masses for the dead I have taken the ones mentioned above. This gives us an opportunity to look at the mystery of death and the new life that Christ has won and promised for all of us who believe.

The question of where we go when we die is a question that has puzzled and continues to puzzle the minds of many. It is a question that brings out the fact that we realize that this life has to end and all of us no matter how strong we are, no matter how rich or poor have to die someday. Death has been and will continue to be a mystery. While we know that we have to die and today with the advancement of science and technology can delay death by a few days, months or even years in some cases and can tell how a person may have died, what we will never know, what will always remain a mystery is why a person must die at a particular moment in time. The feast of the Commemoration of the faithful departed does not provide the answer to this question, but informs us that for us as believers, death is not and can never be the end.

If in the past the focus of the feast was on praying for the deliverance of the “souls” in purgatory who were regarded as the “Church suffering” and needed our prayers so that they could join in heaven the saints and add to the number of the “Church triumphant”, today the focus is different. This focus is brought out through the readings suggested for this day.

It is quite amazing to find a text like the first reading of today in the Old Testament in which we do not find any clear theology of the resurrection of dead. During most of the time before Christ, only a vague idea of afterlife is found: and "abode of the dead" called Sheol, whose inhabitants had only a shadowy existence. God’s favour or disfavour was understood in terms of the present life only. However, as hard times and tragedies befell the Jewish people, ideas of life beyond this life began to emerge. Isaiah saw this as eternal restoration of the nation where death would be destroyed and the whole people would live forever. The text comes from within the block of material known as 'The Isaiah Apocalypse' (Isa 24-27). The view of the future within these chapters is universal in outlook and speaks of God's power in the cosmic as well as the earthly realm. An invitation to a feast is also issued in the first reading from Isaiah.  Those who will heed the call are invited to the mountain of the Lord, Zion. Here is the choicest of food and drink which is served in abundance. It is an invitation to feast and rejoice and an assurance that all tears will be wiped away and the people who come will be accepted. All reproach will be removed and God will reveal himself as a God who saves. This salvation will be shown in the most tangible of ways in that death itself will be destroyed.

The Gospel text is addressed to all those who accept the message of Jesus unlike those in Chorazin and Bethsaida. To understand it fully, two points must be kept in mind. The first is that it is placed by Matthew after three “negative” passages which begin at 11:2. These are the response of Jesus to the disciples of John the Baptist to their question whether Jesus was the Messiah, the exasperation with the crowd who do not recognize John nor Jesus, and the denunciation of the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. Indeed, this entire section of Matthew’s Gospel seems to lean on a sense of apparent “failure” on the part of Jesus to measure up to the expectations that all around him had in terms of what a “Messiah” would look like or act like. The second point is that this text is clearly a Matthean composition and is made of three elements. This first two of these are found in Luke but in different contexts and the third is exclusive to Matthew. In Matthew the audience is clearly the crowds and so the words of Jesus here are meant for all. The passage appearing as it does in this context seeks to state that despite so much of doubt and negativity, that despite so much of blindness and closed attitudes, this is not the last word. Despite the fact that Jesus’ message has been questioned by John the Baptist, rejected by many and especially the wise and understanding and not paid heed to by the cities, yet the invitation and message will find acceptance among the open and receptive of which there are still some left. There is no arbitrariness in this. Rather, it is simply true that for the most part the wise tend to become proud and self-sufficient in their wisdom and particularly unreceptive regarding the new and the unexpected. On the other hand the childlike are most often unself-conscious, open, dependent, and receptive. They are willing to let God work in their lives. They have not decided in advance how God must act and are willing to let God be God. They are willing to believe that in Jesus, God has indeed brought salvation from sin, failure and even death itself. Jesus himself is an example of such openness, which allowed him to receive everything directly from God. It is his intimacy with the Father and not his religious genius, which is responsible for this grace.

Even as we commemorate the faithful departed we must remember that the readings of today do not focus on death at all rather they focus on life and life in abundance. In writing to the Thessalonians Paul makes clear that we cannot behave as a people who have no hope. Our grief has to be a controlled grief. It has to be a grief that has its basis in the hope that all who have died in Christ are sure to rise with him. After God has spoken in Jesus, death is seen only as transition from one kind of life to another. In the words of the sixteenth century poet John Donne: “Death, thou shalt die”.