Sunday, July 16, 2023 - Do what you have to do and do not worry about the result.

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa55:10-11; Rom 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23

The Gospel readings for this Sunday and the next two Sundays are from what is known as the Parable Discourse in the Gospel of Matthew. It is thus necessary to understand the meaning of the word ‘parable’ in order to appreciate the text. The word ‘parable’ (in Hebrew mashal; in Greek parabole) signifies in general a comparison, or a parallel, a casting side by side, by which one thing is used to illustrate another. It is a likeness taken from the sphere of real, or sensible, or earthly incidents, in order to convey an ideal, or spiritual, or heavenly meaning. This meaning is not given by the one telling the parable but by the listener.

A visit to an artist friend of mine brought out powerfully the meaning of a parable. As I viewed all his paintings, I was struck by one and was anxious to know what it meant. I asked him for the meaning, but he was elusive. I began to judge him as selfish and proud and, in my irritation; I kept insisting that he tell me the meaning, alleging that perhaps even he did not know it. “Tell me what it means”. I demanded. He looked at me as only a friend will look and said, “If I tell you, that is all you will ever see there”. Jesus too, by using parables, allowed the listener to supply the lesson.

Aware of the image from Isaiah of the word of God as rain and snow that nurture a fruitful seed and do not return until their purpose is accomplished, Matthew wrestles with the ‘failure’ of the words of Jesus to produce the desired effect in the disciples. The fates of the seeds (three fourths of which are apparently lost) are an index of ways in which followers of Jesus seem to fail and thus be tempted to give up and give in. But there is also the assurance from Isaiah that the soil will produce astonishing results.

In the initial parable we are in touch not only with a Jesus who offers images of hope, but one who expresses his own hope as opposition mounts. As for Jesus and Paul (as he says in his letter to the Romans), creation becomes a text that leads us deeper into the mysteries of God, Even human failures will not overwhelm the power of God’s word to take root in rich soil. Like all parables, this too poses a question: As we look around our world, where can we find images and messages of hope amid repeated losses and ever-recurring human failure?

We should remember that, these days, this parable is about us. That is, we are the sowers, we are the ones called to “go out to sow,” to try to live as our faith calls us to live, to try to share our faith in word and deed with those whom God puts in our path; the share the love of God so abundantly given to us and to do so optimistically and with the sure hope that growth will take place even if at first glance it seems to us that much is being lost.

This sharing has to involve action. It has to involve reaching out to people, serving and caring, and risking. However, soon we are going to wonder whether it’s worth it; we are going to wonder whether anything of value or meaning is going to come from all of our efforts. We will wonder, because we will notice that a whole lot of what we do is wasted. Nothing much seems to come of it. This is why this prediction must have really shocked the people who heard this parable and shocks us even today. This is about the yield, the harvest. Seven or eight fold was hoped for. Ten fold was phenomenal, and anything above that was simply unheard of. To promise this sort of result (thirty, sixty and a hundred fold) was more than optimistic; it was to live in a whole different order of creation; it was to operate out of a whole different vision.

To sow with this sort of hope and vision is to have the perspective of the Kingdom of God. With this vision we will not mind the birds or the rocks or the thorns or whatever else may get in the way. All of that just does not matter. It is swallowed up in the promise of the whole enterprise.

This perspective – the promise of a vast harvest – is at the heart of this parable. This message of hope and confidence is the gift of the parable. We are to love and to serve in broadcast fashion, knowing full well that most of what we do will not seem to amount to anything, that failure and loss might stare us in the face, but trusting, nonetheless, in the incomprehensible abundance of the harvest. Certainly, much will be wasted, at least as we see it. Maybe even our very favorite seed, our best, most self-sacrificing good deed our smartest remark, our greatest insight, will end up on the path, or even fall among thorns, But that is not ours to control; it is not ours to worry about.

We do not focus on the result of our action. We focus solely on the action that we must perform and leave the worrying and the harvest to the Lord of the harvest. We plunge into the din of battle but leave our hearts at the feet of the Lord. What God will make of our efforts is more than we can imagine.

Saturday, July 15, 2023 - Homily

 

Saturday, July 15, 2023 - Do you give up or give in when difficulties come your way? Do you throw up your hands in despair? Will you continue to persevere and trust today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 49:29-33; 50:15-26; Mt 10:24-33

In the verses of today, a parallel is drawn between the disciples who are sent by Jesus and Jesus himself. The disciples will share the same fate as their master. His response to negative assessment of his mission was equanimity and this must be the response of the disciples’ as well. They must not retaliate, but continue to persevere in the firm hope that they will eventually succeed. They are asked to be fearless in mission. The command “not to be afraid” is repeated twice in these verses. The reason for their fearlessness is that the Father is in control even if all evidence is to the contrary. If they remain faithful they will show themselves to be true disciples.

We often begin things with a bang and then end them with a whimper. This is because sometimes our enthusiasm runs away with us. What is required is perseverance and this is more likely if we start slowly and steadily (as Jesus himself did) and then let things build up gradually than if we start with much fanfare, which soon fizzles out.

Friday, July 14, 2023 - When the going gets tough, the tough get going. What do you make of this statement?

To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 46:1-7,28-30; Mt 10:16-23

The sayings found in Matthew’s Mission Discourse here are found in the Eschatological Discourse of Mark (Mk 13,9-13). This is an indication that for Matthew, Mission is already eschatological. The punishment, which is referred to here is not random, but official punishment from members of organised authority. Even in this difficult situation the disciples are offered encouragement. They will depend not on their own strength, but on the Holy Spirit. They are to be missionaries even in the courtroom. Their imprisonment and trial must be regarded as an opportunity to make mission known. Mission takes priority even over family ties and if family ties have to be broken because of mission then so be it. The affirmation of the coming of the Son of Man is probably meant to provide succour to the missionaries in their distress.

Jesus is not calling us here to be sadists and look for suffering, persecution and pain. Rather he is challenging us to go about doing what we have to do, to be as prudent as possible about it and if despite that persecution, suffering and pain come, to be prepared and ready for it and not to be afraid.

Thursday, July 13, 2023 - How often have you focussed on the result rather than on the action? Will you focus only on the action today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 44:18-21,23-29; 45:1-5; Mt 10:7-15

The text of today, which is part of the Mission Discourse of Matthew contains the instructions for Mission. Three points may be noticed. The first is that mission is not only words but also action. Jesus sends the disciples not only to preach but also to heal. The second is that Jesus provides a strategy for mission which may be summarised in one word namely, DETACHMENT. The call is to detachment from anything, which will hold a person up or prevent him or her from engaging in mission. The third is that Jesus calls the disciples from a detachment even from the outcome of mission. They must not be concerned about the results or the fruits, but simply do what needs to be done.

Often, too much of focus on the results of our actions do not allow us to focus on the action itself. Consequently, our action is neither effective nor efficacious. If we continue to keep in mind that the Kingdom is not ours but His and we are only called to do our best in striving to make this kingdom a reality in the lives of others, then our action will be both effective and efficacious. Detachment even from the results of our action is an indication that we are aware that God is always in control.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - How would you define “your” mission today? Are you engaging in mission?

To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 41:55-57; 42:5-7,17-24; Mt 10:1-7

The text of today is what may be termed as the Introduction to the Mission Discourse of Matthew (10,1- 42). It is only here that the Twelve are called “apostles”. This may be because of the context of the “sending” of the Twelve. Matthew has arranged the list into six pairs of two, by using the conjunction “and” after the first of each pair. The statement of Jesus to “go nowhere among the Gentiles” (10,5b) might seem harsh, but it must be kept in mind that even historically, the disciples were reluctant to go to non-Jews even after the resurrection and it took considerable time for the Church to realise that it had a universal mission. It must also be noted that this Universality is present at the end of the Gospel of Matthew when the risen Jesus commands the disciples to go to “all nations” (28,18-20).

The Mission of the disciples is both to preach and to heal, to say and do, word and action.

Our Mission as disciples of Jesus is not merely a spiritual enterprise and not only to a select view. It is a practical mission, which includes the material, economic and tangible areas of people’s lives, and must include all. As disciples called to Mission we are called to make the world we live in a better place for everyone.

Tuesday, July 11, 2023 - Homily

 

Tuesday, July 11 2023 - “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. Do you agree with this statement? Why?

 To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 32:23-33; Mt 9:32-38

Our text for today includes the final miracle in Matthew’s Miracle Cycle. The response to the same miracle is two-fold. On the one hand, the crowd seeing the miracle are amazed, and speak of their amazement, but on the other, the Pharisees’ the power that Jesus has to Beelzebul. What follows is a summary statement of the words and deeds of Jesus, which is very similar to the summary statement in 4,23 before the Sermon on the Mount. By repeating the summary statement here after the Miracle Cycle, Matthew shows that Jesus is Messiah not only in words (as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount) but also in deeds (as explicated in the Miracle Cycle).

Often the external stimulus is the same for two persons and yet each responds differently. This is an indication that it is not the external stimulus that is causing the response, but the person him/herself. In other words, each of us can decide how we want to respond. We can look at the half-filled or half-empty part of a bottle. We can look at the black spot or at the white wall. It depends on what we want to see and how we see.

Monday, July 10, 2023 - Homily

 

Monday, July 10, 2023 - On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you mark your faith? Why?

To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 28:10-22; Mt 9:18-26

In the text of today, which Matthew has taken from Mark, the sandwich construction is maintained. This means that the first incident is interrupted by the narration of another incident complete in itself, and after this the first incident is resumed and completed. The story that is inserted into the story of raising the ruler’s daughter is the story of the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage. While Mark gives us the name of the leader of the synagogue, Jairus (Mark 5,22), Matthew omits his name. Matthew also omits a number of Marcan details namely Jesus’ question about who touched him and the disciples response, the fear of the woman about being found out and her falling down before Jesus. In Matthew it is very clear that the woman is healed not by a magic touch but by faith. While in Mark, the messengers come to inform Jairus about his daughter’s death, this whole scene is absent in Matthew, because in Matthew, the girl is already dead when the ruler comes to him. This has the effect of the ruler professing resurrection faith in his entreaty.

In Matthew, the story becomes a confessional statement of faith in the power of the resurrected Jesus.

In the first few days or even weeks of a terminal illness, the person who is ill continues to hope that he/she will get well. As time goes by and the healing does not occur, soon hope begins to dim. Finally the person gives up and gives in. The woman’s attitude in the story of today is calling each of us to perseverance, hope and faith and to develop an attitude of never giving up. That we must cultivate such an attitude is made clearer when we realise that Jesus could raise even those whom others gave up for dead.