Friday, August 11, 2023 - Homily

 

Friday, August 11, 2023 - “Your money or your life.” “You better take my life, I will need my money for my old age.”

To read the texts click on the texts:Deut 4:32-40; Mt 16:24-28

In Matthew, the sayings that form our text for today are addressed exclusively to the disciples unlike in Mark where they are addressed to the crowds. A disciple must be prepared to follow the Master and even to the cross if need be. This is the consequence of confessing Jesus as the Christ. The Son of Man has to suffer, but will also be vindicated by God. The pronouncement “some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (16,28) has been variously interpreted. Some think it refers to the event of the Transfiguration, others think it refers to the Resurrection and still others that it refers to Pentecost. However, it seems that Matthew’s community expected that the Parousia (the second coming of the Lord) would come soon, indeed before the death of some who belonged to the community, and so there are some who think that this pronouncement refers to the Second coming of the Lord.

Denial of self means to count the self as nothing. While this sounds nice to hear and sing in hymns, it requires grace from God if it is to be into practice. Jesus had to constsntly overcome this temptation himself and challenges each of us through his words but also through the example that he gave on the cross.

Thursday, August 10, 2023 - Homily

 

Thursday, August 10, 2023- St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr - In becoming like the grain of wheat, Lawrence became like Jesus. Will you?

 To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Cor 9:6-10; Jn 12:24-26

The esteem in which the Church holds Lawrence is seen in the fact that today’s celebration ranks as a feast. Lawrence is one of those whose martyrdom made a deep and lasting impression on the early Church. Celebration of his feast day spread rapidly.

He was a Roman deacon under Pope St. Sixtus II. Four days after this pope was put to death, Lawrence and four clerics suffered martyrdom, probably during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. The church built over his tomb became one of the seven principal churches in Rome and a favourite place for Roman pilgrimages.

After the Pope was arrested, Lawrence knew that he would be too. As soon as he could he gave all the money that he possessed to the poor and even sold some of the Church’s treasures and gave the money he received to the poor. Later, when asked to show the Emperor the treasures of the Church, Lawrence gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

The Emperor was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die—but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it. After the martyr had suffered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, “It is well done. Turn me over!

The Gospel text for the feast of St. Lawrence is from the Gospel of John. Jesus introduces teachings about his death with a brief agricultural parable The seed imagery recalls the parables of sowing found in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 13:3-32; Mk 4:3-20, 26-32; Lk 8:5-15). Jesus uses the imagery here to interpret his own death.

The significance of this parable for understanding Jesus’ death lies in the contrast between remaining solitary and “bearing much fruit”. In John, “fruit” is Jesus’ metaphor for the life of the community of faith. Jesus thus uses the seed parable to show that the salvific power of his death resides in the community that is gathered as a result of it (cf. 10:15-16; 11:51-52).

Jn 12:25 is one of the best-attested sayings of Jesus; in addition to this verse, some form of the saying occurs five times in the synoptic Gospels (Mt 10:39; 16:25; Mt 10:39; Lk 9:24; 17:33). While all of the occurrences share the basic pattern of an antithetical parallelism that highlights contrasting attitudes toward one’s life, there are also significant differences among the sayings. The significant number of variations within the synoptic tradition and between the Synoptic Gospels and John argues against any theory of literary dependence and for multiple attestations of this saying in the oral tradition. It also argues for the authenticity or historicity of the saying. The differences point to the ways each evangelist adapted this Jesus saying to serve his Gospel.

To love one’s life is the opposite of Jesus’ own action; it places one outside of the community shaped by Jesus’ gift of his life (psyche) and leads to the loss of that life To hate one’s life in “this world” is to declare one’s allegiance to Jesus (cf. 15:18-19) and so to receive his gift of eternal life (cf. 3:16; 6:40; 10:28; 17:2).

While the synoptic versions establish a condition for following Jesus (“taking up one’s cross”), the Johannine version contains both condition and promise. Since Jesus’ ultimate service is the gift of his life in love, he calls the disciples to love as he loves and hence to serve as he serves. What it means to be Jesus’ servant will be enacted in the foot washing of 13:1-20.

The prime reason for the choice of the Gospel text is that Lawrence became like the grain of wheat that was unafraid to fall into the ground and die. In doing so, he became like his Lord and master Jesus.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - Homily

 

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - “If at first you don’t succeed try again”. Do you often give in to despair? Will you keep on keeping on?

To read the texts click on the texts:Numbers 13:1-2,25 – 14:1,26-29, 34-35; Mt 15:21-28

The story of the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman is our text for today. This story is found also in Mark 7,24-30, but Mark identifies the woman as a Syrophoenician. Matthew’s mention of “Tyre and Sidon” (Mark has only Tyre) and identifying the woman as a Canaanite results in an emphasis that Jesus has entered Gentile territory. This is also emphasised by the fact that Matthew does not have Jesus enter a house (like Mark does). In Matthew, Jesus does not enter the houses of Gentiles. The woman still addresses him with the title that only believers use in Matthew namely “Lord”. Despite an initial rejection, the woman perseveres in her request and continues to address Jesus as Lord. Jesus’ direct response to the woman is harsh and must be interpreted as a rejection. The analogy is indeed strong. However, the woman seems undeterred, and for the third time addresses Jesus as Lord, and continues to plead her cause. Jesus interprets such perseverance as “great faith”, and immediately heals the woman’s daughter even from a distance.

The woman shows not only perseverance and faith but also the ability not to let words get her down. The harsh words of Jesus spoken not in jest or with a twinkle in his eye (because nothing in the text warrants such an explanation) would have resulted in a lesser person treating it as an affront. The woman does not such thing. She knows what she wants and is determined to get it. She knows that while sticks and stones may break her bones, words can never hurt her.

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - Homily

 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 - If you were in Peter’s place and were about to drown, what would you say to the Lord?

To read the texts click on the texts:Numbers 12:1-13; Mt 14:22-36

The text of today appears immediately after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand (14:13-21). For the first time in Matthew, the disciples are sent forth without Jesus. This is also the first time in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus is depicted as praying. Many see the boat in which the disciples are is by as representing the church and here it is battered by the waves. Despite the seeming impossibility of Jesus being able to reach them, he comes to them in the darkest part of the night i.e. between 3.00 and 6.00 a.m. By walking on the water, Matthew is not portraying Jesus as defying the law of gravity, but subduing the chaos of the waters. Jesus does what only God can do (Job 9,8; 38,16; Ps 77,19 etc), and announces himself as “I am” which is reminiscent of the name God used to identify himself in Exodus 3,15. The second part of this pericope in which Peter asks Jesus to allow him to come to him is exclusive to Matthew. Peter addresses Jesus as believers do in Matthew by using the title “Lord”. The point that Matthew seems to be making is not only that Peter took his eyes off Jesus and so began to sink, but also that by leaving the boat, he indicated that he wanted proof of the presence of Jesus. Peter cries out with a prayer, “Lord, save me”, and Jesus reaches out and saves him. The gentle rebuke identifies Peter as a person of “little faith” which in Matthew is a mixture of courage on the one hand and anxiety on the other. It is a faith mixed with doubts. The conclusion to this episode in Matthew is that the disciples worship Jesus as Son of God. Jesus is then portrayed as the one who can make everyone whole.

The boat of our life is often swamped by waves. These can be marital discord, addictions, problems with children and parents, disagreements with neighbours and the like. When this happens, the Lord keeps coming to us, walking on the water, subduing the chaos and confusion of our lives and telling us that he continues to be Emmanu’el. If we continue to stay in the boat, he will lead us safely to the shore. If we decide to leave the boat and go to him, then we need to keep our fixed on him and not let the waves get us down.

Monday, August 7, 2023 - Homily

 

Monday, August 7, 2023 - Will you like Jesus become bread for at least one person today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Numbers 11:4-15; Mt 14:13-21

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish in which five baskets are gathered is the only miracle that Jesus worked that is found in all the four Gospels (Mk 6,32-44; Lk 9,10-17; Jn 6,1-15).

In Matthew, Jesus withdraws after hearing about the death of John the Baptist. However, as he did earlier (12,15), the withdrawal is not out of fear, as is clear here from the fact that even in his withdrawal he is able to reach out to the multitudes and satisfy their hunger. The crowds follow Jesus and when Jesus sees them, he reaches out to make them whole. Unlike in Mark where the disciples are shown in a bad light in their sarcastic response to Jesus’ charge to them, “you give them something to eat” (Mk 6,37), in Matthew they are not. In Matthew, it is the disciples’ lack of faith, which is brought to the fore. In Matthew, the words and actions of Jesus here, resemble more closely than in Mark, the words and actions at the scene of the Last supper (26,20-27). The people eat, are satisfied and there is food left over which highlights the abundance and extravagance of the miracle. Matthew adds “besides women and children” (14,21) to Mark’s “five thousand men” (Mk 6,44) in order to expand the numbers and emphasise again the abundance of the miracle.

Many like to see this miracle as one in which selflessness is at the core. Seeing Jesus share his own meal so freely, others were motivated into sharing what they had so that there was more than required. It is in giving that we receive and more than we ever expected.