To hear the Audio Reflections of Monday, June 5, 2017 click HERE
Sunday, 4 June 2017
Monday, June 5, 2017 - If God were to ask for the produce of your life, what would be your response to him be?
To read the texts click on the texts:Tobit 1:3; 2:1-8; Mk 12:1-12
This
Parable is known variously as the parable of the wicked tenants or the Parable
of the Vineyard. While the parable in Mark has been allegorised, it is not
clear whether there was a non-allegorical parable going back to Jesus. Those
who are of the opinion that there was a non-allegorical parable interpret it to
mean that just as the tenants took radical action, so radical action is required
in order to gain the kingdom. Others see the parable to mean that the kingdom
will be taken away from Israel
As
the parable stands now in Mark, it has been allegorised. The vineyard stands
for Israel and the murderous
tenants for the bad leaders of Israel
The
authorities realise that the parable is about them and this only hardens their
stance against Jesus and strengthens their resolve to destroy him.
All
that we possess is given to us in trust. This means that while we may use what
we have, we have also to be concerned about those who do not have and be
generous with them. Selfishness on our part leads to our thinking that we must
use the things we have exclusively without even the thought of sharing them
with others.
Saturday, 3 June 2017
Audio Reflections of Sunday, June 4, 2017 Pentecost Sunday
To hear the Audio Reflections of Sunday, June 4, 2017 Pentecost Sunday, click HERE
Sunday, June 4, 2017 - Pentecost Sunday
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 2:1--11; 1 Cor12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23
The little boy was taken to the
nursery school by his mother. Aware of his anxiety being abandoned, the boy’s
mother leaned down, kissed her son, and said, “Good bye, my love. No one is
leaving.” Each day, his mother would bid him farewell with those same words.
The boy was too young to recognize the paradox, and embraced his new existence
and quickly adjusted to new and frightening surroundings. Day after day, and
week after week, his mother bid the same farewell: “Good bye, my love. No one
is leaving.”
The boy grew into adulthood, and
there came a day when he was confronted with the reality of having to place his
mother in a nursing home. She – now elderly and frail, with advanced
Alzheimer’s disease – barely recognized him, often forgot to eat, and simply
could no longer care for herself. As he departed from her, leaving her in her
new and frightening surroundings, he remembered her words. He leaned down,
kissed his mother, and said, “Good bye, my love. No one is leaving” – words his
mother recognized even though she no longer recognized him. A tear appeared in
her eye, as she clasped his hand and repeated, ”Good bye, my love. No one is
leaving.”
This is Jesus’ message to his
disciples on his departure to the Father: “Good bye, my love. No one is
leaving”.
Jesus is departing from us, out
of our sight. We find ourselves in the new and frightening surroundings of this
life, in a place where we are uncomfortable and often feel ill-equipped to
carry on. And yet, Jesus continues to assure us of his continued presence
through his gift of the Holy Spirit. This is why, though he said good bye, he
is not leaving. This is shown in the Gospel text of today when he comes to the
frightened disciples after his Resurrection, with a twofold greeting of peace.
These disciples, who fled in fear at Jesus’ arrest, are now themselves forgiven
and told to continue his mission from the Father. Though they abandoned Jesus,
he will not abandon them though they failed him; God’s love will not fail them.
Then, reminiscent of God’s action at creation, Jesus breathes on them, and
gifts them the gift of the Spirit and with it the gift of new life. They have
become a new creation.
Along with the gift of the Spirit
is also a commission to forgive or retain sin.”Retaining sin” is not a
juridical act. It is not just the eleven but the “disciples” who are gathered in
the room. John uses the term ‘disciples’ for a much larger group than the
twelve or eleven. This group could also have included women and so the
commission has to do with something that is more than juridical. So this means
that through the gift of the Spirit, the disciples are given power to take away
the sin of the world and unmask and control the power of evil as Jesus himself
did. Through their just and loving actions in imitation of the Lord, they are
to communicate the unconditional love of the Father.
At Pentecost, as the Acts of the
Apostles narrates, the Spirit of God – and through the Spirit, God’s
unconditional love – comes down upon the disciples, resting on each of them and
thereby bringing them and us together once again. The disciples get a crash
course as it were in the language of God. After Pentecost the days of Babel and
confusion are over. The great differences among us, in culture and background,
wealth and poverty, are scattered in “the rush of a violent wind”. They are
burned away by tongues of fire. Their nationality or culture does not really
matter. Each one hears the same message in his/her native tongue simply because
it is a language of forgiveness and love, and the language of love is one.
The unity which this love brings
is summarized by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. The Spirit is at
work in each of us, always fresh and always new, waiting to be translated into
the language of our own lives, into the language of love.
Our world, however, is still
tongue-tied. Babel, the parable of our first clash of cultures and failure to
communicate, is more than a mythic explanation of the differences among nations
and languages. It is an description of the human condition itself. We often do not
understand one another even when we speak the same language. We remain stymied
by our fundamental inability to accept the differences among us.
It is only to a extent that we
make an effort to accept the other, no matter how different or foreign, that we
come to understand the language of God. Only then is Babel turned to Pentecost.
Friday, 2 June 2017
Audio Reflections of Saturday, June 3, 2017
To hear the Audio Reflections of Saturday, June 3, 2017 click HERE
Saturday, June 3, 2017 - Would Jesus point to you as a beloved disciple today? Why?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; Jn 21:20-25
The first two verses of
today’s text shift the focus from Peter to the Beloved disciple. Like he does
elsewhere, with other characters in his Gospel, John reminds the reader of when
the beloved disciple first appeared in his narrative. The question of Jesus to
Peter in 21:22 : “If it is
my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” has caused
consternation. John already provides a correction of the misunderstanding that
this disciple would not die and so, this is not what Jesus meant. By using a
favorite word of his, “remain”, John points out what he means by Jesus’ seeming
enigmatic words. This disciple will indeed remain through the words that he has
written in his Gospel. Though he will die a physical death, he will continue to
live in the witness that he has given to Jesus in his Gospel. Just as Peter
will give witness to Jesus by dying a martyr’s death, the beloved disciple will
give witness to Jesus by his Gospel.
The Gospel ends with a
hyperbolic statement which also serves as a warning of how the Gospel and all
of scripture must be interpreted. The Gospel is only a pointer and must be seen
in that light. The person of Jesus is bigger than any writing or Gospel can
ever contain and, no matter how much is said of Jesus, in the final analysis,
it will always be inadequate. This does not mean that we must not say what we
know. Rather, it means that, even as we say what we know, we must realize that
there is much more that we do not know and so cannot say.
There is an obsession with
so many today with prolonging life. These use all kinds of artificial means to
try to look younger. They dye their hair black; get tummy tucks, nose jobs, and
even plastic surgery to remove wrinkles. They imagine that they can cheat death
and live forever. They hardly realize that what is important is not the length
of time one lives, but how one lives in the time given to us. It is quality,
not quantity, that is important. Jesus’ words about the beloved disciple are
not about his living forever, or not dying, they are about the witness that
endures even after he dies. This means that each of us, like the beloved
disciple, has the ability to leave a legacy even after we are gone from this
world. It is up to us to decide what kind of legacy it is going to be.
Thursday, 1 June 2017
Audio Reflections of Friday, June 2, 2017
To hear the Audio Reflections of Friday, June 2, 2017 click HERE
Friday, June 2, 2017 - Be careful of saying you are a friend of Jesus, he will call you to live and love for him.
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts 25:13-21; Jn 21:15-19
The first verse of today’s
text links this section with the previous one (21:4-14) through the words,
“When they had finished breakfast”. It is a continuation of the appearance of
Jesus to the disciples at Lake Tiberius where, because they obey his
instructions, they are able to haul in 153 fish.
The verses of today’s text
narrate the conversation that Jesus has with Simon Peter. Some are of the
opinion that the reason why Jesus asks Peter three questions is because Peter
denied him three times. While this may be so, it is also important to realize
that the questions are all different. The first question which Jesus asks is
inclusive. It includes the other disciples, the boat, the nets, and the fish.
Jesus is asking Peter whether Peter loves him more than he loves the other
disciples and/or his livelihood. The second question is direct and involves
only Jesus and Peter. Everything else recedes into the background. The
spotlight shifts only to the two. Does Peter love Jesus? Though the third
question seems similar to the second, it is really different because in it,
Jesus asks Peter about friendship. It reads: “Simon, son of John, are you my
friend?” This is a crucial change from the earlier question because, in 15:13,
Jesus had explained the true meaning of friendship when he said: “No one has
greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” By affirming
that Peter is, indeed, a friend of Jesus, he is affirming his willingness to
die for Jesus.
This interpretation is
confirmed by the fact that as soon as Peter affirms his friendship, Jesus
invites him to lay down his life. This invitation begins with the double Amen
in 21:18, and so marks the introduction of a solemn pronouncement. The saying
of Jesus that follows explains how, when Peter was young, he fastened his own
belt and went wherever he wished to go. This is an indication of the freedom
that Peter experienced earlier. However, soon he will have to stretch out his
hands and someone else will fasten his belt for him, and take him where he does
not wish to go. This is seen as a specific reference to Peter’s death by
crucifixion, and is confirmed by the explanation that John gives in parenthesis
in 21:19: “(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would
glorify God.)”
The text ends with Jesus
inviting Peter to follow him. Though this command of Jesus may be seen as a
general invitation to discipleship, here it means a specific command to
martyrdom and even death.
It is significant that the
call to martyrdom to Peter is given only after his threefold confession of his
love of Jesus, and he is given charge of the sheep only after he has confessed
this love. It is thus clear that there is no coercion on the part of Jesus, but
a call that Peter has accepted freely. Peter knows, even as he answers, that
trials and difficulties are part and parcel of his commitment. He is aware that
following Jesus is not going to be easy and that he will be called to make
great sacrifices. He is ready, willing, and able.
The call to follow Jesus
today is a call that will continue to be heard as long as there are people who
dare to open their hearts to this call. While it will not always be a call to
martyrdom by death, like it was in the case of Peter, it will always be a call
to be a martyr or witness. This is because the voice of Jesus can only be heard
today in his disciples and he can be seen and experienced only when those who
profess to follow him reach out in love.
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