Paul's Reflections Third Sunday of the Year - C. 24th January, 2010

24th January, 2010      Third Sunday of the Year - C

 

P Save a tree. Don't print this e-mail unless it's really necessary

 

Jesus’ home town of Nazareth, was an important place…….   Some might have mistakenly assumed that Nazareth was a small country township, but in fact, it was a major centre, with a sizeable population, probably about 20, 000 people. This was a major city.

 

It was also in a very, very important location…..   the hill nearby was not just some minor feature….  If the boy Jesus, when he was growing up, had gone up that hill and peered over it….  The world, as it was then known, would have sprawled in front of him……   Before his eyes were the major trade and travelling routes from all the different regions……  Jesus would have watched the world go by as he sat there on that hill in nazareth.  And nearby (an hours walk from Nazareth), to this important town, was a town called Sepphoris, which was the location of Herod’s palace for a time…..  a town of beauty, prestige, privilege  and wealth…. A town Joseph and Jesus may very well have worked in, with carpentry work in this major time of building…

 

And so, Jesus’ speech in  Nazareth is timely and well-placed.  At the crossroads of the nations, God has intervened in our history… and has come to give us news… and thank goodness.. it is very good news indeed.

 

So, Jesus….  Reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah…  Its clear that Jesus was a regular attender of the Synagogue….  Every Saturday he would attend… he clearly appears to be accepted as a rabbi or a teacher…  as he is reading from the text and speaking about its meaning……  

 

Jesus observed the law of Moses and was faithful to his attendance at religious observance… even though there were clearly aspects about the way people were practising, that he must have found issue with, with which he must have felt they had lost focus…..  But he was still faithful to the practise of his faith….  He did not reject the religious institution of his day, even though it had become flawed and lost its direction in many ways…..

 

Jesus speech is really his mission statement…  this is what he is here to do… this is his purpose… and it stands in contrast to John the Baptist, who came declaring a time of judgement and uprooting.. and retribution…  and then  here comes Jesus..  declaring good news to the poor…  freedom to captives…   and to declare a time of God’s favour… its wonderful… its surprising and its very good news….

 

But it is also still bad news too..  its bad news to all who have made sure the world is arranged to suit themselves and disadvantage others…   Even Jesus’ good news will soon anger those who do not want everyone included in God’s invitation to be part of the family…..  But Jesus will not water down his message…..   

 

And we can ask ourselves…  who are the ‘poor’ to whom Jesus has come…. 

 

The poor are the hungry and the thirsty..

The poor are also the homeless and the sick..

People physically and emotionally or spiritually scarred…

Those suffering the burden of age…

The poor are also…The sad and depressed//

Those suffering injustice,

Those who are unemployed…   those struggling on low income..

The poor are also those who feel unloved, unwelcomed, unforgiven,  left-out…

The poor are also the alcoholics, and drug addicts…

The addictive gamblers…

Those who have enough food and shelter and comforts but do not know God and are missing much in their lives…

The list goes on…

The poor is all of us…  in one way or another…  we are all poor in some way…  we all desperately need the news Jesus has to give us… so this news from Jesus is for us..  and for all…  and we take heart that Jesus has us in mind when he begins his mission to save and help us… and free us from what imprisons and impoverishes us all…

 

The first step seems to be ‘freedom’ – if we are not free then things hold us back from being the loving people God calls us to be….  If we are not free, we are limited in what reponse we give to those in need…..  If we are not free…  we are trapped in thing that do not give us life….. and waste our time and energy on that which does not satisfy….

 

Jesus word’s are not merely ‘talk’  but rather…  they give us hope..  to trust in him. Jesus has the way to true and complete life, joy and fulfilment… He needs and wants to free us from things that bind us up and limit us.. and then the kingdom will flow in and through us… with unimaginable effects….   Let u trust in our Lord, who is good news.. in fact the best news we will ever hear….

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

·          SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAY LITURGIES. YEAR C. FLOR MCCARTHY S.D.B.

·          Abbots homily. Monastery of Christ in the desert.

 

Paul's Reflections Homily for January 13 2010. 2nd Sunday of the Year - 2010 Cycle C 2010

I am in Childers, Gin Gin and Biggenden this weekend for Masses, in my role as pastor of that region too, so Fr Emmanuel Sebastian will be celebrating Masses with you this weekend in Maryborough and Tiaro

Fr Paul.

++++

In the meantime, here is a homily from the Abbott of The Monastery of Christ in the Desert:

2nd Sunday of the Year – 2010 Cycle C 2010

Always this Sunday is the Sunday of the miracle at Cana, the miracle of turning water into wine. This means that the other two readings must be seen in the perspective of today\'s Gospel.

Certainly this miracle is one of the most delightful miracles in the Gospels. We hear Jesus tell his Mother: Woman, how does your concern affect me? It is clear that Jesus does not intend to cooperate. But Jesus is like the son later in the Gospels who at first says that he won\'t do something and then does it. Mary, His Mother, knows this already and simply tells the servants: Do whatever He tells you.

We can remember that Mary had lived with Jesus as her son now for perhaps thirty years. Like all mothers, she has a good understanding of how her son responds to situations. What a huge amount of wine Jesus makes! We expect huge amounts of water in any dry country, but huge amounts of wine are more difficult to come by! The people at this feast would have gone home, joyful with the drink given to them.

The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, can be understood in relationship to the Gospel fairly easily. The Prophet tells us that at some point Jerusalem will be restored to her great glory as the City of God. For us Christians, this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His Holy Name is always associated with Jerusalem. Jerusalem is where Jesus is crucified and it is where He rises from the dead. Incredible glory!

The second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12, tells us of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This reading is also quite easily seen in the light of the Gospel today. God\'s plan of salvation is God\'s plan. Far too often we want to make it our plan. We disagree with our God. We get disappointed because the plan of salvation does not go the way we think that it should go.

Perhaps we are not given the gifts of the Spirit that we think we deserve.

Perhaps we think that we have not received any gifts of the Spirit.

Perhaps we are jealous of the gifts that we see in others. Perhaps we see no use in Christ Himself. Perhaps we have chosen to follow others gods in our daily practice even while we profess faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps we feel that God never answers our prayers. The list can go on and on as a sort of review for confession. What is important is that we begin to recognize within ourselves the complexity of our thinking and feeling. We need to be aware if we are in any way refusing the accept the gifts that God gives only to us or if we are desiring gifts that God has given to others.

We can ask this week that we would be like the servants in the Gospel and learn to do whatever Jesus asks of us. May the Holy Spirit give us this gift.

(From: Abbot Philip, OSB, The Monastery of Christ in the Desert Homily).

Paul's Reflections Baptism of Our Lord - C. 10th January, 2010

10th January, 2010      Baptism of Our Lord - C

 

P Save a tree. Don't print this e-mail unless it's really necessary

 

It has always been a bit of an intriguing thing that Jesus went to John the Baptist for Baptism. Why in the world did Jesus, God’s Son and our messiah, go to John the Baptist and request baptism.

 

John the Baptist was performing baptisms for the repentance of sin… and we believe Jesus was without sin….  So why was it so important that he be baptised….

 

But, in some way, calling John’s baptism a ‘baptism of repentance’  is a ‘shorthand’ summary of a much more complex reality.

 

Isn’t it true that those who were coming forward for John’s baptism, were not only saying they needed to repent from sin, but also..  John’s baptism represented an extraordinary Movement towards God by the people…../  It was a world-shaping.. and world shattering tme… when people were being called to a new and deeper relationship with their God…  a radical calling to be part of God;s Kingdom…..…. John’s preaching and his invitation for people to be baptised….  Was a definite public action to confirm that these people were wanting to be part of (and affiliated with) the movement of God’s Kingdom //…the Kingdom John the Baptist had been preaching about…..  and preparing the people for…

 

This was a key moment in Jesus’ ministry. From this point on, he would commence a public and urgent ministry….

 

Jesus didn’t need to be forgiven any sin… (in fact, in this gospel version of Jesus’ baptism, it doesn’t say Jesus is LOOKING for baptism… it says he accepts baptism after all the others are baptised…………).. so perhaps it is better to say… Jesus did feel the strong need to be identified and get behind the movement of the Kingdom that John was preaching… but Jesus was the fulfilment of the Kingdom that John the Baptist was preaching about…. And in this act of baptism.. that fact was made quite clear……..  Jesus was identifying with all those who were committing themselves to the public way of the Kingdom of God…..  which he embodies so perfectly and completely…. And when he was baptised.. the heavens resonated with that truth….

 

And Jesus actions were deeply successful….  The Father’s voice confirmed that this action he took was the right one…..  and that he was revealed to be the chosen one, the son of God….  in whom his Heavenly Father is most pleased…

 

The words used by the Father are interesting too… 

“you are my beloved Son”  psalm 2. (was a passage traditionally interpreted by the people of this time as a declaration of the Messianic King…../

“In whom I am well pleased..”  is a familiar line from the prophet Isaiah 42:1….  Which culminates in the suffering servant……..(chapter 53)… So, Jesus knew that his sonship and mission was always going to involve not glory and earthly dominion…. But suffering and the cross……..   The Cross loomed large in Jesus’ vision right from the outset….   But it makes sense in the total commitment of Jesus to the vision of God’s Kindgom…  which would challenge contrary powers and priorities and require all the love and sacrifice one could possibly muster… and Jesus embodies this total commitment to his Father’s vision for the world and us….

 

Finally..  Jesus baptism by John the baptism…did the opposite, in one sense, that it would do for us…   for us., it would forgive our sins… for Jesus… he made holy water that touched him….  By being baptised, Jesus invested baptism with the power of his presence and holiness…  and the power the Holy spirit…..  

 

We who have been baptised, are called to remember the fullness of the meaning of this baptism….   By being baptised…  ” we are permanently connected to Jesus Christ, and we share in his life and his relationship to the Heavenly Father.  Our baptism is a real  union with the life, values and person of Jesus who is God made flesh. Let us be stirred into constant practical action to live the Good news in our lives.

 

Our Baptism is intended to have real, permanent and practical effect in our lives.

 

Our baptism, echoing Jesus’ actions in the Jordan…  is a huge Yes..  by us…  saying we too want to share and immerse ourselves in the values and movement towards God that the Good news embodies….   We want to be connected to jesus who is utterly committed to the establishment of the Kingdom in its fullness ……  and we too, are aware of the cost of that commitment…   in love that serves…  love that suffers… and lives that make a difference and are founded on the values of Christ…

 

Let us ask Jesus, who made holy the waters of baptism, by his very self, to keep us committed to the vision of the kingdom in all ways and at all times… 

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF MARK. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

·          SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.

 

 

 

Paul's Reflections FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. 3rd January, 2010.

3^rd January, 2010. FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY

 

I may have mentioned before that, although tradition holds that there were three wise men… it actually doesn’t say in the bible how many wise men there are…. It only mentions that three types of present were given…..   in the eastern church, there is an alternate tradition that there were twelve wise men….  But really it doesn’t matter how many…. 

What does matter is that…  people from a foreign country, who were not members of the Jewish faith realised that a King had been born… a special King.. and they cam to give him homage… while others.. who were part of the religious tradition of Jesus did not and missed the opportunity….

One of the great messages from the readings of  today’s mass is that the light of divinity is revealed in Jesus, God made flesh, and shining through the humanity of Christ and that this light has been seen and accepted by others.  This is a challenging theme because lots of the time we humans do not recognize the divine light in the events and people of our daily life……...  We don’t recognize that light in Jesus Christ and we don’t always recognize it in one another.  We pray that we will recognise the light of Christ in each-other and in the events of our lives…. And cooperate with what God is doing there.

 

The gifts brought by the wise men are significant…

Gold,  frankincense and myrrh

Gold… for a King….

 

Frankincense  … a beautiful perfume… symbol of holiness

 

Myrrh…... a bitter perfume….   Used in anointing the dead…  a symbol of Christ’s humanity..  his suffering and his death for us… 

 

The Wise men recognised that Jesus was the revelation of God’s glory…   a priest, a prophet and a King…..    They worshipped him as King of all creation, they recognised his holiness… and they they forshadowed that he would save us by his suffering and death on the cross… by his giving of his life for us…..

Let us, in our prayer, in our actions and our priorities.. always recognise Jesus as our King, let us worship his holiness… and let us join him in his self sacrificing love… his loving service of others for the sake of the Good news… 

Another year has begun… I do pray that this has been a joyful and beautiful time for you and a time for rest, for family and for friends….   

It’s been a nice time for me to catch up with family …  my brother David, my sister-in-law Liz and their children … are up visiting this week… and it’s always nice to have family with me…..  

New Year is always a nice time to reflect on priorities and I think its also a wonderful time to make new year’s resolutions…  I find that not only a timely thing… I think it’s a very religious thing to do too….  It’s so important that we take stock and check to see that the direction we are on is consistent with the mission of Jesus’ good news in our lives… and that our plans and priorities are also consistent with Jesus who is our King, our God, and our salvation….  

Like the three wise men, we are here today to worship our Lord, revealed in the Lord Jesus…

 

But unlike the wise men, we have no gold….   But we give our love….

 

We have no frankinsense….but we give the lord our prayers….

 

We have no myrrh… but we give our work…  and ourselves.. at the service of our Lord…