16th November, 2008 33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
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(please TAKE UP the ordinary FIRST COLLECTION NOW, - the SPECIAL centacare COLLECTION will be taken up AT THE ‘PREP OF GIFTS’ TIME)
Its wonderful to have with us members from our World Youth day pilgrimage who are involved in different ministries in this special Young people’s ministry mass tonight….
including readings and music….
There have been many fruits from World youth day…. and they will continue to grow in the coming years…. World youth day was a celebration of the gift of our Catholic faith…a and gift and power of God’s Holy Spirit living in us all… inspiring us to live the Good news of the Kingdom in everyday life….
there are exciting ways in which we will continue to foster these fruits…
next year…. on the 18th of February, in the evening… at Gympie… the deanery will come together to meet with the Archbishop John Bathersby… who will be travelling around the archdiocese… he will lead us in a special liturgy based on the style and format of the cathecesis liturgies and sessions of world youth day… he will be focusing on our archdiocesan vision and priorities of JESUS/COMMUNION/ and Mission.
I encourage as many as can to be at that…
also the archdiocese has (in its deanery funding) given us the equivalent of $40,000. (which could be the equivalent of $4,000 per parish, to be utilised for youth evangelisation…. it would be wonderful if we can get a team of young people together in the new year to form a group that will reflect on needs and priorities and then use these $4,000 talents to make a practical difference in the community … these are exciting times…. and we will be looking at this in greater depth early next year….
This weekend’s gospel…. often described as a the parable of the “talents” could also be entitled….’don’t let what you can’t do, (or fear doing), stop you from doing what you CAN do.’
This parable today says quite a few extraordinary things….
- Pharisees and scribes focused on preserving and keeping the law…. “building a fence around the law” keeping the law pure and unadulterated…. they were thus focusing on simply keeping it and handing it back exactly as they had received it, without change or growth or improvement….. They had lost the point….. The Law had become an end in itself…. “keeping the rules” was the only thing that mattered….. earning God’s reward by keeping the rules, but not doing much else…. had distorted the Good news of God’s Kingdom…….. What they were doing is a bit like handing back a seed that you have been given and saying to the farmer… here it is… you gave it to me.. I have preserved the seed… froze it… and her is the seed back exactly in the same condition as you gave it to me…. but how crazy… the seed is for the sowing.. it is for planting… and for germination… it is to produce a plant which will bear fruit….. // This would be just an interesting parable if it wasn’t for the fact that this tendency still occurs today…. // the tendency to miss the forest for the trees…. and to focus on restrictive rules as opposed to the purpose and reason and spirit of the law and what it was trying to achieve….. can be a constant obstacle….
- God has distributed talents differently to different people…… we don’t all have the same qualities and talents…….. // (but the talents each of us have…. are given to share for the common good of all…..) // but we also know that there are some very talented people who have under-utilised their talent and produced mediocre fruit…// there are countless stories of saints and famous people who overcame great obstacles (including very poor health), and limitations to produce the most amazing (disproportionate) fruits and results in their lives….. through determination, hard work (and of course, by the grace of God)….and utilising well the talents and vision they DID possess….. // it’s the old ‘tortoise and the hare’ syndrome….
- The reward, in God’s kingdom is still more work to be done.. urgent.. important and competent/. Those who produced the fruits were given even more to produce….. so it is with us… there is no time like the present… and the harvest is plentiful… the labourers are few….
- If you use your gifts you will develop them.., they will increase in significance and effect…. if you don’t lose your gifts you will calcify them… you will lose them…… so the best way to keep our gifts is to use them in the service of God and our fellow human being…
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