Tuesday, 5 June 2018
Monday, 4 June 2018
Audio Reflections of Tuesday, June 5, 2018
To hear the Audio Reflections of Tuesday, June 5, 2018 click HERE
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 - Does God have priority in your life? How does this show?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Peter 3,11-15.17-18; Mk 12,13-17
The Pharisees theoretically accepted the position of the Zealots
who refused to admit the subjection of God’s people to a foreign power but they
would not use force.
The question of the Pharisees and Herodians is asked to
trap Jesus and so the praise of Jesus is ironic and implies that Jesus is being
asked to decide the question because his impartiality mirrors that of God. They
think they can trap Jesus because if he said yes or No, he was bound to
alienate one group or another. If he supported the payment, he would make
himself unpopular with the people and if he said No, he would be politically
suspect to the Roman authorities.
The tax was to be paid in Roman coinage. Before answering the question, Jesus first calls for the denarius. The
denarius would bear a portrait of the emperor Tiberius (14 - 37 C.E.). Jesus
forces them to look at the coin which would have been offensive to them,
because having the Emperor’s portrait on the coin violated Jewish rules of
making images and worshipping idols. As soon as they identify the head on the
coin, Jesus points to them what they already say, namely that the coin since it
bears Caesar’s head belongs to Caesar.
Jesus rejects the position of the Zealots without accepting that
of the Herodians who would be willing to pay the tax.
By adding “and to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus turns
the pronouncement of paying taxes into a spiritual challenge to meet ones
obligations to God as conscientiously as one meets the obligations of the
state.
How often we too are so conscientious in fulfilling our state
duties because we are afraid of being caught, but are lax with God.
Sunday, 3 June 2018
Monday, June 4, 2018 - 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: 2 Peter 1:2-7; 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’s false leadership and
given to gentiles and sinners.
Still others see the parable to mean that God
does not abandon and relentlessly seeks and searches for them and longs for a
response from them.
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 owner of the vineyard is God who sent his servants to collect the
produce due to him. The tenants treat the servants shamefully and as the
parable unfolds, so does the escalating nature of violence, which culminates in
the murder of the son. God, finally takes matters into his own hands but does
not destroy the vineyard, rather he gives it to others whom he knows will give
him what is due to him.
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, 2 June 2018
Sunday, June 3, 2018 - Corpus Christi - Becoming Bread for others
To read the texts click on the texts: Ex 24:3-8; Heb9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
My parishioners and I went on a
picnic one Sunday. As we reached the picnic spot, some of them said to me:
“Father, let’s finish Mass, then we can enjoy”. At first, this request took me
by surprise, since I had not regard the Eucharist as separated from life and
enjoyment. I later realized what they meant when they made their request. The
Eucharist is seen as something to be “finished” as quickly as possible so that
real life can begin. It is also often seen as an obligation to be fulfilled in
order to be safe from sin and from God’s wrath and punishment.
Those who see Eucharist as
something to be quickly finished or as an obligation have missed the point.
This is because if one still uses the language of “obligations” when one is
referring to the Eucharist or, if one mistakenly believes that the Eucharist is
concluded with the final blessing in the Church, then one has not experienced
the power of the Sacrifice of Jesus and has not grasped its significance.
The feast of Corpus Christi, or
the Body and Blood of Christ, has been interpreted to mean the feast of the
Eucharist. While this is certainly true, it would be a mistake to restrict the
understanding of the feast to the ritual of the Eucharist. The feast goes
beyond the ritual to life itself, just as the Eucharist does. Communion with
Christ has always been a mark of the follower of Christ. We would make
significant gains in our life of discipleship if we would focus on the
Eucharist. It is the deepest expression of our communion with Christ.
The theme brought out powerfully
in all the readings for today’s feast is Covenant. The first reading from
Exodus recounts the ratification of the Covenant between God and his people
made on Mount Sinai. His people agreed to do all that the Lord had commanded
them. The letter to the Hebrews speaks about the Covenant between God and
people made, not with the blood of animals but, with the blood of Jesus
himself. This was, therefore, the more perfect and complete covenant. The
Covenant that Jesus made with the whole of humanity through his disciples is
narrated by Mark in the Gospel text of today. At the Passover meal, Jesus
offers his body and his blood as the mark and sign of the new covenant.
The covenant with the people of
Israel is consummated when, after building an altar and offering sacrifice on
it, Moses sprinkles the blood of the sacrificed animals on the alter and on the
people. This sprinkling of blood, which is a symbol of life, is also an
indication that the people who accepted the covenant are bound by it and will
do everything in their power to live it out.
The letter to the Hebrews affirms
that, like with the people of Israel, blood was also used to consummate the new
covenant between God and humans. However, this blood is no longer the blood of
sacrificial animal but that of Jesus himself. It is the blood that he poured
out on the Cross and which he confirms that he will shed for many in the Gospel
text of today.
Even as he did that, he invited
those who partook of it to keep remembering and renewing this Covenant of
unconditional love. By his own words, this broken bread was now his own body
that would be broken and then raised to glory. This simple yet profound action
signifies that, as we share this sustenance, we are bound to him and to one
another. It is significant that Mark has placed, on either side of the breaking
of the bread and sharing of the wine, the predictions of the betrayal by Judas
and denial by Peter. This is to indicate that, despite betrayal and denial,
Jesus will continue to give of himself. He would continue to give and to love
unconditionally.
Though at first, the disciples
did not respond to the Covenant that Jesus made with them because of their lack
of understanding, their cowardice, and their fear, later they accepted it and
boldly proclaimed the Kingdom that Jesus had inaugurated.
The Covenant which Jesus made
with his disciples, and continues to make with us even today, has to be constantly
accepted by us if it is to be a covenant in the true sense of the word. This
acceptance is shown when we first partake of the body of Christ at every
celebration of the Eucharist and, in doing so, express our willingness to do
the same with others. It is shown when we do not regard the Eucharist as merely
a ritual to be celebrated only in the church and only in order to fulfill an
obligation. It is shown when we let the celebration of the Eucharist continue
in our lives and in our willingness, like Jesus, to become bread for others.
If our celebration of the feast
of Corpus Christi is to be meaningful, we need to realize that we, as disciples
of Jesus, are today his body and blood. When we are willing to give of
ourselves to others as Jesus did, without counting the cost and without heeding
the pain then we, in a true sense of the word, make him present today. It is in
our doing this that his promise to be in the world till the end of time will
become a reality here and now.
Sunday, June 3, 2018 - Corpus Christi - Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
Sunday, June 3, 2018 - Corpus Christi - Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
Friday, 1 June 2018
Saturday, June 2, 2018 - For those who believe no proof is necessary, for those who do not no proof is sufficient. Which kind of person are you?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jude 1:17,20-25; Mk 11:27-33
Mark links the incident of the challenge to the authority of
Jesus (11:27-33) with the incident of the Cleansing of the Temple
When asked by the
Pharisees where his authority comes from, Jesus points back to the baptism of
John and so to his own baptism (1:9-11) where he received the invitation to be
both slave and son. Since they are not able to answer because whatever answer
they give will result in their condemnation, Jesus too refuses to answer their
question about his authority.
The point that Mark seems to be making is that the authorities had
closed themselves to the revelation of God in Jesus and so would not be willing
to accept Jesus as God’s chosen one. There would not be much use in trying to
explain to those who were not open to listen.
We sometimes make up our minds about something and take so rigid
a stand about it that we are then unwilling to change our stance or see someone
else’s point of view. The danger of this attitude is that we might miss out on
learning something new and the revelation that the situation or person makes to
us.
Saturday, June 2, 2018 - Jude 1:17,20-25; Mk 11:27-33
Saturday, June 2, 2018 - Jude 1:17,20-25; Mk 11:27-33
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