Lent Sunday Week One

Here is the full text of Archbishop John Bathersby’s Lenten Pastoral Message

LENT, my dear people, is a time of prayer and fasting.

This Lenten practice is a well known spiritual formula that was once used universally at this time of the liturgical year, but has now sadly fallen into disuse.

In fact I doubt whether the season has ever been less marked by prayer and fasting than it is at the moment.

Influenced by the hyperactive culture that surrounds it, the Church today might well be accused of too much action and not enough prayer.

If this is true we need to challenge this development by returning once again to Jesus Christ in whose footsteps we seek to walk.

Scripture

When we search the scriptures seeking direction from Jesus about prayer we find that Jesus had some very interesting things to say both in word and deed.

The most startling perhaps is Luke 4:15 when Jesus cured a man sick with leprosy.

After describing the miracle the scripture notes, “But so much the more the report went abroad concerning him; and great multitudes gathered to hear and be healed of their infirmities. But he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.”

We might well ask, “If Jesus had the power to cure sick and suffering people why would he leave them, to pray?”

We can only guess at His reasons.

Perhaps at that time in His ministry prayer was more important than healing the multitudes, or perhaps without prayer His mission might have become unbalanced, just as our mission often becomes unbalanced.

It is the type of question whose mystery will only be revealed when we meet Jesus face to face.

Nevertheless the action of Christ is an indication of the importance of prayer for Him, the very same importance prayer should have for each one of us.

In seeking answers we must always focus on the knowledge we learn from the prayer life of Jesus, manifest in the scriptures.

In the same gospel 10:38-42, when Christ visits Mary and Martha, Mary sits at his feet while her sister Martha is busy about the house.

When Martha protests about this situation Christ indicates that Mary had chosen the better part and that it will not be taken from her.

It is an interesting comment on what Jesus seems to see as a necessity for those who seek to know him better, namely spending time with Him.

In chapter 11 of the same gospel, when the apostles, impressed by Christ’s skill at prayer, ask him to teach them to pray, he responds with his magnificent prayer, the “Our Father” – the prayer of the Kingdom, well summed up in its key petition “may your Kingdom come, may your will be done”.

Although we can say the prayer by ourselves, of its very nature it demands to include others.

We do not pray “My Father”, but “Our Father”, conscious that we are praying with others, whether together or separated.

The “Our Father” is always a communal prayer in which we acknowledge our membership in a worldwide community of faith whose spiritual power is immense.

It is a prayer we should pray every day, precisely because it is the Lord’s prayer and therefore filled with a power that only the Holy Spirit can give.

We pray this prayer always knowing that the Kingdom of God has already come in Christ but yearning for its completion in the future that can only happen through the power of God, and at a time known only to God.

There is a certain logic to all prayer, and the Lord’s prayer is no exception.

This logic suggests that if we succeed in praying individually for the healing of others as most of us do, usually with a certain amount of success, then how much more might we achieve if we pray with a larger group for the coming of God’s Kingdom.

As St Ignatius of Antioch said in his Letter to the Ephesians, “If the prayer of one or two individuals has such efficacy, how much more powerful is that of the bishop together with his whole Church”.

Prayer Campaign

In 2006 I started a prayer campaign in this archdiocese to call down the Holy Spirit upon the archdiocese so that it might be renewed totally.

I did so because the greatest scandal in the Western world at the present time is lack of worship.

How can so many people say, “I believe in God but do not worship?” The statement seems a contradiction in terms.

Surely if we truly believe in a God of love who loved us into existence and loves us every moment of our existence, then we need to love God in return, first of all by worship and then by action.

But unless we help people understand who God is and what belief in God means then the drift away from the mainstream Churches will undoubtedly continue.

People need to return to worship for their own sake, for the sake of the Church, and for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

In his recent book, On the Way to Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict wrote, “the primacy of worship is the fundamental prerequisite for the redemption of mankind”.

He goes on to describe the destructive effects of the Enlightenment on religions today, and continues, “deprived of their best elements – (they) live on as subcultures and can harm people body and soul, as systems of superstition”.

None of us ever wants to belong to a religion that might be described as a “system of superstition”, and this will most certainly not happen if we recognise worship as the very essence of our Christian religion.

Worship needs to be the priority of all people who call themselves Catholic.

The greatest challenge therefore for our archdiocese today is the need to educate people about Jesus Christ and about the relationship of Jesus Christ to worship, because Jesus Christ and worship can never be separated.

Worship and Liturgy

Nevertheless, although lack of understanding or lack of faith is the major reason why people don’t worship, there are certain other reasons that need to be considered.

One would be the quality of friendship and hospitality at worship, another the quality of the liturgy itself. The liturgy of worship must always be aesthetically pleasing, and planned as skilfully as possible, if it is to attract people, especially young people.

At the same time, even if liturgy does not display the life and vitality characteristic of Jesus Christ it is still an act of worship, and its lack of vitality should never be an excuse for refusing to worship.

As Christ indicated, where two or three are gathered in His name He is present in their midst, and this is true every time we gather to celebrate Eucharist.

At the same time a friendly, welcoming community and good quality liturgy must be the priority of every parish if it is serious about bringing people back to worship.

Conclusion

My greatest desire in my last five years as Archbishop of Brisbane is to continue asking the Holy Spirit to renew our archdiocese and lead people back to the Mass and to worship.

This year our archdiocese has developed an excellent study program called “Everyday with Jesus”, that focuses on Jesus Christ and helps us to better understand His vision and our role in it.

However, before all else, we need to know how to make contact with Jesus Christ in and through the Eucharist.

The study program will certainly help us in this regard and I recommend it to each and every one of you.

There is no doubt, as Pope Benedict said, that our faith is under pressure today, largely from the secular culture in which we live.

Nevertheless the answers we seek are there if only people will reject the false gods that surround them and once again become people of God who worship.

May God bless our future attempts to “return from exile”, and may Mary, the Mother of God, St Stephen patron of our archdiocese, Blessed Mary MacKillop, and St Mary Magdalene assist us in the journey that lies ahead.

I thank you for what you all do in this archdiocese. It is deeply appreciated.

I ask the support of your prayers in my role as archbishop and pray that the season of Lent will bring you every possible grace and blessing.

Archbishop John Bathersby
Archbishop of Brisbane

Sunday 18th Feb 2007, Sunday week 7. Ordinary time C

The first reading is a rather moving scene where the great David is at war with King Saul…  Saul, insane with jealousy for his once favourite warrior, has persistently tried to kill David…..   I have always had a soft spot for this whole part of the bible….   Poor King saul…. It is the epitomy of a type of ‘love/hate relationship’ ….  Saul gets jealous of david and tries to kill him…  then he realizes his sin and is terribly repentant and david and he reconcile…. And then saul gets jealous again… and tries to kill him..   and then he repents and they make up…. But then, saul gets insanely jealous again and tries to kill david … and on and on and on……  It is a testament to the ambivalence that can affect so many people’s lives.,.,..    life is clearly not just full of those who love .. and those who hate… it is also full of people who are caught halfway between …   in a state of ambiguity…. And tension……    which can be torture for all involved…..

 

The first reading makes it clear that God values mercy and the preservation of life over and above retribution….. 

 

Recently on the occasion of the ‘world congress on the death penalty held in Paris last Thursday through Saturday,’ and attended by several Catholic institutions committed to the defense of human life, the Vatican made a statement that said: 

"Public opinion has become sensitized and has expressed its concern for a more effective recognition of the inalienable dignity of human beings, and of the universality and integrity of human rights, beginning with the right to life.

"The Holy See takes this opportunity to welcome and affirm once more its support for all initiatives that aim to defend the inherent value and inviolability of all human life, from conception to natural end."

The statement continued: "In this perspective, it is worth noting that the use of the death penalty is not just a negation of the right to life, but also an affront to human dignity."  Difficult to justify

Though the Church "continues to maintain that the legitimate authorities of state have the duty to protect society from aggressors," the declaration explained that in the modern world, the death penalty is difficult to justify.

States now have new ways "of preserving public order and people's safety," which include "offering the accused stimuli and encouragement" to mend their ways, the Holy See continued.

It added that non-lethal means of prevention and punishment "correspond better to ... the common good and conform more to the dignity of the human person."

"Any decision to use the death penalty involves many dangers," such as "that of punishing the innocent, and the temptation to foment violent forms of revenge rather than true social justice," the declaration said.

It is also, the Holy See continued, "a clear offense against the inviolability of human life ... and, for Christians, an affront to the evangelical teaching of forgiveness."

The Holy See reiterated its appreciation to the organizers of the congress, to governments, and to everyone who works "to abolish the death penalty or to impose a universal moratorium on its use."

 

This weekend’s gospel is also rather special too…..   it is a reminder how counter-cultural the invitation to follow Jesus’ good news really is.

 

I find this gospel really challenging…  if we think about it… how often do we respond based on how others respond to us…… 

 

Someone is nice to me, so I am nice back… 

 

Someone is rude and hurtful to me and they get the same back….

 

Those who affirm and respond to us….  We affirm and respond to them…

 

Interestingly….  Challengingly….    This is not the way Jesus is inviting his disciples to think……..

 

He is challenging us to go into any situation, the way st francis so wonderfully summed up…

 

grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life

 

so……..

 

this is very much ‘the road less travelled’……..    asking us to draw out of our internal well -- graciousness, even in the face of dryness…--

 

to say that this is not easy is an understatement……..   but it is brilliant…  Jesus is wanting to break and smash the old system of ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours…’  which is great if you are in the circle of benefit….  But for those on the outer… there is nothing ………    ‘you have nothing to benefit me so.. you are out…..’         in Jesus ‘world-vision’.. it’s a case of  ‘don’t ask what you can do for me.. rather.. what can I do for you….’

 

 

It feels like a radical way of living, doesn’t it, not expecting any payoff from out encounters with each other…    but rather making it all about ‘giving graciousness to others no matter what the response…..   and if we get anything in return, that is pure bonus…

 

WEEK FIVE ORDINARY TIME YEAR C. 4/2/07

 

Isaiah looks at himself and says, “I am not worthy”…….so in response…..”God … sends, an angel to touches Isaiah’s lips with an ember and tells him that his sins are purged.”  It is not the place of the great prophet Isaiah to tell God what he is or is not worthy of……….  the same happens with St Peter..

 

Thank goodness the early disciples… the ones we look up to so much…. are also revealed to be people with weaknesses, foibles…. sinfulness……   failure…….    at times lack or trust and faith…..  fear and sometimes even cowardice…….    it revelas how God makes use of what he have to offer and transforms it……. 

 

St Peter, Saint Paul, Isaiah, Jeremiah……   King David… Saul…. Moses…….  the list goes on and on…. of great people… people who did God’s will….. but also who were terribly weak….. who sinned….. sometimes even betrayed their calling…. but nevertheless it was God who called them… and knew them and what they truly could do if they  trusted in God’s promises…..

Again we can reflect on our own experiences of forgiveness, both by the Lord and by others. Being forgiven is a humbling experience, but one that allows us, like Isaiah, to volunteer for the Lord’s work.

All of us are invited to reflect on our own refusals to accept God and His power and His presence. God is not there to frighten us nor to condemn us but to love us. Once we begin to believe and to accept forgiveness for our weaknesses and failings…, then we are able to be given over to the work of the Lord. As with Saint Peter, we can doubt many times and we can deny but eventually, when we begin to believe, our lives can be transformed into a reflection of God’s mercy, compassion and forgiveness.

But there is more……  did Jesus learn something from his previous rejection…. he preached alone and he met with utter rejection.. the crowd almost killed him ….   he narrowly escaped being thrown off a cliff….   now… he goes and calls followers to join him, support him and be company on the journey, and what a hard journey it is………   he calls a community around him……  

 

Simon Peter experiences a great miracle.. in the least expected situation… not on a mountain top somewhere… but in the ordinariness of his workplace…..   and he experiences this amazinf event by listening to someone telling him to do the job he knew so well… in a new and dramatic and trusting and  different way… and the results are huge…….. 

 

this is a reminder to us…..   1. if we do not connect the good news the the ordinary everyday events of life and work then it will not bear fruit… it will not make sense……  2. We . like the disciples need to work together… in unity… community.. like the disciples who were all needed to haul in the enormous catch of fish… and finally…3…   we must take our cuses, as best we can discern them, from Christ… if its all about our effort, it may be misdirected.. it may be fruitless… like the fisherman who laboured all night and caught nothing….. then Jesus asks them to trust him and follow his ways and they catch more than they can hold…….    Jesus ways are not the most ordinary…..not the most logical…. but they are the way of the gospel… and only by following jesus way, which is almost always the road less traveled… can we hope to bear fruit for Jesus good news……

Today let us ask the Lord to deepen our faith and give us the courage to proclaim his marvelous deeds. Let us be able to say: Here I am, Lord. Send me!”

 

(EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM HOMILY from the Abbot, Monastery of Christ in the Desert, http://www.christdesert.org/  ; also thoughts from Gustavo Gutierrez, Sharing the Word through the liturgical year/ also reflection from Madonna Magazine, Jan-Feb 2007).

 

Ordinary Time Year c - Third Week

The letter to the Corinthians, the second reading this weekend, expresses very clearly our normal human experience: I do not have all of the gifts of faith but when I relate with others, when we share our gifts and talents together we form a certain kind of wholeness. This is so important to remember today, when there are pressures to see ourselves as individuals who merely exist within a society…   St Paul calls us to a vision of Christ’s good news which sees us as integrally and essentially united in such a way that we are one body… and not just any old body… one body IN christ…….    (as john’s gospel says elsewhere, Christ is in us, and we are in Christ as Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in the son… perfect communion… perfect unity………  one body.... one heart……(adapted from homily from Christ in the Desert Monastry website).

 

In the gospel today we hear probably the greatest, most dramatic and stunning of all hoimilies ever given……  it was Jesus inaugural speech…….   here…..    only just dawning on the people…   was god’s messiah… the anointed one, the Christ…… Jesus….  God’s beloved son……    about to tell people what he was here for, what his prorities would be and what he was going to do…………

 

one commentary asks a very good question at this point…….    what might YOU have expected from God’s first speech ….. and what surprises you about what God’s first speech, in Jesus’ words, actually says…..

 

For myself…..    I suppose I might have expected beforehand, what I suspect the people of jesus day were expecting,,,.. something like John the Baptist’s preaching…..   intense, passionate, an indictment on the many injustices and wrongs that the world has wrought… a calling to order…. a reckoning perhaps……..  

 

what is most surprising.. and it really shouldn’t be, but it is a reminder of just how much humans can underestimate God’s ways……  it is filled with the most moving graciousness, freshness,  hope,  lightness, forgiveness…….    no harshness…. no condemnation……..    a declaration of good news for the poor…….    for people who are experiencing in their loves enmeshment  and imprisonment in some way…..   freedom…….   for …. those who had lost their way, and lost their sense of direction and clarity…….. a return to vision… a re-direction………for for those who had done wrong…. who were outcasts and sinners…….    forgiveness…….   burdens lifted…..    debts cancelled….   guilt and “beholdenness” erased…..………..   and for all…. a time of God’s favour………..…. Amazing… unexpected….. better than we could have imagined……..   

 

the other stunning thing is how Jesus takes a well know text and fires one final shot hope that floors them all…….  this is not just some old text… it is being brought to fulfillment right here, right now… as I speak……… 

 

and of course….. its not just Jesus’ words…..  his actions, his life confirm the truth of what he has just announced…. he not only read this passage out, he then immediately began practicsing what he preached….. and doing what he said…….. and it brought hope to the world…. joy to many…. and sadly hatred out from those who felt threatened and undermined by what Jesus had come to foster….

 

 The readings this weekend show examples of great preachers, who are excellent because they practise what they preach… they live their message…..   there are many people who, have never preached a word in public..  but their whole lives are an inspiration……  their lives, their actions and their whole way of being and relating in the world is a great wordless homily…. I think not only of the holy women and men throughout history, but also the everyday people who have inspired us in our daily lives…..   their lives are an excellent homily in action…….   and as such deeply inspiring and persuasive…. 

 

What then do we do…. we don’t always live up to the standards of these inspiring holy women and men, when we, at times, all fall short of the ‘fullness of the good news of Jesus’  by not always living as we proclaim……     there is an interesting quote by a 7^th Century ascetical writer…. in the famous book “The Ladder of Divine Descent”   “If some are still dominated by their former bad habits, and yet are still able to teach and inspire by mere words, let them teach and inspire with words still…..For, perhaps, being put to shame by their own words, challenged by how their actions are falling short of their words, they will eventually begin to practice what they teach.”    This is a refreshing and interesting new angle on the (at times) high and mighty angle that one usually takes on demanding we be consistent in word and action… naturally we all strive and are challenged to live out the faith we proclaim, to have our actions match our words, the words of Jesus good news…. but we also acknowledge that none of us is perfect, but here still there is hope………. (taken from 365 days with the Lord, 2007).

 

let us allow Jesus words, his good news, his invitation into a new and heroic way of living draw us deeper into the way of living that matches these words……    and if we look inside our lives and see ourselves falling short in this aspect of the Word or that, Jesus invites us to not lose hope, but to continue to proclaim his word, allowing his word to draw any gaps or inconsistencies ever smaller until, with God’s grace, there is little or no inconsistency…… This of course, is a journey of a lifetime, but in faith, we allow Jesus to take us along this unfamiliar path.       

 

And again, on this Sunday, we give praise to Jesus, our first and greatest teacher and preacher, whose gracious words matched so perfectly with his life and his actions… and whose words continue to be fulfilled in 2007 in our hearing.

 

Epiphany

On this feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate that God’s glory has been reveled to all the nations….  not just the chosen people of Israel but people from every corner of the earth…  of every nation and race…..    generations of people….God’s revelation, God’s invitation is for all people of all times and places….

 

Saint Paul puts it so nicely….   “god had a secret plan…  formed before all ages… and that plan is now revealed and it is this…..’ in Christ Jesus, the Gentiles, people from other religious and cultural backgrounds and nations, are now CO-HEIRS with the Chosen people of Israel, members of one and the same body….  sharers in the promise of God, through the proclamation of the good news…” 

 

Are we becoming one human family, (one commentary (365 Days with the Lord) asks rather relevantly)?    hard to answer….   in some ways, yes., technology, communication, transport, aid to needy nations, multinationals, globalization (which means so much – good and bad)   we are part of something much bigger than the local…. and yet.. in other areas….    nations breaking up into factions, social, ethnic groups, wars, strife…… poverty and starvation in poor developing nations……    the jury is out on how far God’s dream for the world is being fulfilled, so far… but it is not for want of God’s desire, God’s work, God’s calling…..

 

I was given this poem to read the other day….  and it is so very topical to this feast….  it’s the poem by TS eliot….  entitled the “journey of the Magi”…. the commentary says of this poem, but the famous writer, best known perhaps for his poems which formed the inspiration for the musical by Andrew Llyody webber, Cats,  but the commentary says …..  This poem is not one of Eliots most famous….  but it is a very good example of plain and direct language… and very well illustrates the complex and mixed emotions and issues going on for the author prior to his conversion to Christianity …….(“80 Great Poems, From Chaucer to Now”   Geoff Page. UNSW PRESS. Sydney, 2006).

 

in this poem, the Journey of the Magi, he writes..

 

T. S. Eliot's "Journey of The Magi"

 

'A cold coming we had of it,

Just the worst time of the year

For a journey, and such a long journey:

The ways deep and the weather sharp,

The very dead of winter.'

And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,

Lying down in the melting snow.

 

There were times we regretted

The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,

…………………………..And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,

And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly

And the villages dirty and charging high prices:

A hard time we had of it.

At the end we preferred to travel all night,

Sleeping in snatches,

With the voices singing in our ears, saying

That this was all folly.

 

…..Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,

Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,

And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.

But there was no information, and so we continued

And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon

Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

 

All this was a long time ago, I remember,

And I would do it again, but set down

This set down

This: “were we led all that way for

Birth or Death?” There was a Birth, certainly,

We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,

But, had thought they were different;

this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death,// our death. //

We returned to our places,// these Kingdoms, //

But no longer at ease here,// in the old dispensation, //

With an alien people clutching their gods.

I should be glad of another death.

   

This poet, Eliot, captures something about the journey of the wise men… it is our journey… its out journey of life… its our religious pilgrimage through life….  its our journey to conversion and beyond…..

 

our journey of faith is not an easy one……    it is filled with challenges and obstacles….. and how many faith journeys have we heard where the critical, negative voices, the voices of doom, the critics, the people who make fun of the direction another needs to take……..     need to be ignored, endured….   moved beyond……….

 

the journey to conversion, the complete commitment of heart and head to Jesus good news..  is a real odyssey… like the journey of the Magi…….   it is like a death…. and a rising to new life…… and we, like the Magi, return to where we came, but by a new way…(in the bible…  a change of path symbolizes conversion……     and how can .. and everything looks different, because jesus invites us to see it all though his eyes.. the eyes of the good news.. the lense of care for those most in need….. ..with the vision for inclusion of all…… how true it turns out to be in every sense…. “behtlehem…   by no means the least of all the cities…..  “like bethlehem….  at first glance.. seemingly slight and insignificant…   lesser…..  yet…  here is Jesus….    humble, vulnerable, poor…..   the poor and the forgotten, may appear insignificant in Jesus time and even our own time, but it is through them that the Lord is coming.”   (from Gustavo Gutierezz, Sharing the word through the Liturgical year).  The Magi realized this and it changed everything.

 

 

Holy Family

we all wish for peace…  peace in the world, peace in our own families, peace in our own hearts……    

 

the readings today remind us that peace indicates an absence of conflict…. but peace does not promise an absence of differences….   nor an absence of misunderstanding…..    or opposing opinions……  peace implies holding contradictory or opposing forces in  harmony…..   perhaps such a definition might be more helpful when we seek the meaning of an ideal family…  or community…  or marriage……  not uniformity….  but solitudes embracing…..    a unity……   a communion of differences… enriching each other……

 

today we celebrate the feast of the holy family…..   and the first reading and the gospel make it clear that the families presented here…   very much holy.. are also far from the norm…….  they are very different from a a classic definition of a family… in the first reading Hannah, in gratitude for God’s gift to her of her only child Samuel, gives him to the temple.. to be a holy man dedicated to God’s work……   not the usual approach for a family……   in the gospel….   Jesus is God’s son, Joseph is his step father, Joseph and Mary have a unique and exceptional relationship as husband and wife that is not the norm by any means…..   yet…. their care and support for each other… their openness to God’s will in their lives and their dedication to supporting and assisting each other in their individual vocations in life is the same for every family and community….   and after all… is there really any family that can say of itself “we are normal”…  each family is unique and has its own individual characteristics, because it is made up of unique individuals.

 

In the Gospel, I don’t think Jesus was trying to be rude. His parents were desperate to find him…  He is lost in Jerusalem…..    later, he will be gone for three days again, in Jerusalem… (at his crucifixion and being lain in the tomb) and again his mother will go through an even more  awful anguish…. Jesus reaction this first time was one of confusion…   But, why were you worried…  didn’t you know that I must be about my Fathers affairs?   and of course his family don’t understand what he is saying……       Jesus realizes that ‘being about his fathers affairs’ at this stage of life means that he must go with his family Mary and Joseph and learn from their wisdom,  but also Mary realizes that she must ponder and reflect and learn from Jesus and the events of his life, the meaning of his vocation, which is unique and special.  We too must follow Mary in constantly reflecting on the meaning of Jesus’ life and what it means for the events of our lives too…..   it requires a shift of thinking and an attitude of openness and discipleship…… 

 

The holy family’s respect and openness to listen and learn from each other to support each other in the calling each person has .. is important……    we might all have plans and hopes for members of our family… but the best thing we can do, ultimately, is to listen and dialogue with them about the inner calling and vocation that each is uniquely called to live out…… and this might be a vocation or calling that is different from our hopes or expectations ……….    in the end openness to God who is at work in the lives of each of us is the most important think…..  and living and working with each other in respect and love….

 

May 2007 be a time of grace for all of us as we, with Mary, ponder the things that God is doing in our lives…

 

 

(some ideas adapted from ‘Sharing the Word through the Liturgical Year, by Gustavo Gutierrez).

 

Christmas 2006

This celebration of Christmas is very special….   for all of us… and particularly children and families and friends…..   welcome to you…..   I pray that your hearts are filled with joy and peace at this special time……

 

A friend asked me a fascinating question the other day……   which feast is more important……    Easter or Christmas…….     I mean, everyone gets born… there is no effort or virtue in that…..  but for a person to give their life to save others…. now THAT is profound…..

 

I mused on that very good question for a while…..   and, in one sense the two feasts are two sides of the same coin……    If God hadn’t become flesh and dwelt amongst us, God could not have paid the ultimate and final price to save all humanity……    also, Christ’s whole life… from his birth, (which we reverently commemorate this (evening/ morning) to death, to resurrection and ascension… all of it comprises  the seamless garment of our salvation……

 

Taking nothing away from the Great and holy season of Easter…. there is something very special, holy and  very necessary about this Feast of Christmas…….  

 

First of all, this feast, clearer than any other, makes it clear that because God became flesh…  became one of us….    sharing our human nature…..    God has made all humanity.. all creation deeply sacred…….   it is not just Spirit that is holy and graced……    the physical….   the created world… is also graced, holy, sacred and special……..    each person here…   each person we meet….    our friends, loved ones and colleagues… all are graced, sacred and special…..  and we celebrate and give thanks for that tonight….   

 

Just as Christ is the visible and human expression of God’s presence and action everywhere…..    we are invited…   solemnly requested by God’s own voice… to treat others around us as we would treat Christ himself……..  especially those most in need… most on the margins…  especially the ones we struggle the most to see signs of Christ’s light shining in their words and actions…… This is a gift of priceless value…..

 

There is another reason why Christmas is special as a counterpoint to Easter….    in this modern world..  we can be tempted to put too much store on our own actions…..   the extreme of this is to say.. its all about my choices, my actions, my response, …….    I have faith in Christ because I decided to say yes to this….    we should baptize people only when they are old enough to say yes on their own…….    the best thing Jesus did in his life is when he willingly sacrificed himself on the cross….  but no…..    its not all about us… and our own personal control and response…   because….   like this feast of Christmas reminds us…..   before our response….  God’s grace was always at work, well in advance, drawing the goodness forth……   BEFORE jesus offered his whole life for the good of the world….   his graciousness was already revealed in the expectant Mary, in the rejoicing Elizabeth…..   in the baby in the stable…..    ando so too… before a young person says YES.. to the faith their received in baptism… they are already a graced and loved member of God’s family…. God’s grace is already at work in them and in the love and faith of their family and church community….    So, Christmas is about the great feast of NOT ABOUT ME…….    the great feast of GOD AT WORK BEFORE WE EVEN THINK ABOUT OUR RESPONSE…….    its about God’s proactive action… that breaks into our world and lives and hearts and sets us on fire … and prepares us for the yes that we so willingly say to his good news…….   that’s what this feast has to offer.. and thank God for this profound gift….

 

There is a special place for the giving of gifts in this Christmas season….   since our “gift giving” is an expression of our gratefulness for God’s Greatest gift to us, by giving Jesus to the world….

 

Here is a list of some of the gifts that have been most popular this Christmas season….  because they not only Perfectly reflect the gift of Jesus, but also because these presents will not be among the ones people are lining up to return in the post Christmas sales….

 

The gift of listening….    to commit ourselves to really being present to and listening others, without interruption or planned responses.. just listening…

 

the gift of shown affection…    a hug, a kiss, a handshake..  or a note of thanks or of encouragement…

 

the gift of laughter…    a joke, an interesting article…  

 

the gift of sincere compliment….    to show we don’t take our loved ones for granted… but do appreciate them for who they are… and the kindesses they show…

 

the gift of a cheerful disposition…  

 

the gift of prayer….   praying for people we love.. who need our thoughts and prayers… they do make a difference.. and prayer changes our hearts.. and directs them outwards into action…..

these gifts and more, fill our thoughts and minds in Christmas… 

 

May the gifts we give and receive this Christmas  echo the gift of Jesus, God made flesh… and continue to enlighten our minds every day of the coming year…

 

May the Christ child fill you with every grace and blessing………      

 

Advent 4

ADVENT WEEK 4 – YEAR C 2006

 

This truly beautiful gospel passage today illustrates at least two important concepts…..  the importance of giving thanks and naming blessings…..    

 

I went and helped out at a reconciliation ceremony in Hervey Bay during the week and in the reflection time there was a parable told of a man who wrote the hurts he received in the sand… but carved all the blessings he received in rock… when he was asked why he did this he said….  it is so important to inscribe the hurts and wrongs in sand.. so that the winds of forgiveness and love can erase them after a time….    but it is so important to carve the blessings and graces in stone.. so they will serve as a constant reminder to us of all the things we are grateful for …   and time, busyness, even misfortiune and circumstance will be unable to erase those memories…. I was impressed by this story…..

 

I thought to myself…    why do I suspect that for many of us, myself included…   we might be tempted to do things the wrong way around….     writing the countless acts of kindness, love, generosity and grace on the shifting sand of our memories…. whilst carving hurts and grudges, memories of misfortunes and our own and others sins and weaknesses on stone……..    and does it help?   

 

Elizabeth is an example of a faithful disciple of God who sees the graciouness happening around her and sings out loudly in praise of God, in thanksgiving…  and names the presence of God that she has experienced in and through Mary’s visit and her own child…….    it is a truly inspiring moment….

 

the other thing that strikes me about this well-known passage is the importance of family, extended family….   and (for the many who do not have many family members, the community of support that is family to us…  our parish, our friends, our colleagues…….)….  

 

Mary must have been frightened and overcome by what she knew was happening to her…. not everyone would be happy…. not everyone would assume that the Holy Spirit was at work….  even saint Joseph when he found out that Mary was expecting was thrown into natural confusion and hurt…..    if he were not an honourable man he mght even have made a major case against his betrothed…. we are told that when he found out what was happening he planned to divorce Mary without any fuss so as not to cause what he believed was a scandal……. this was  before he found out the truth……that God was at work here……

 

Mary went to visit Elizabeth…..    not so much a cousin.. probably more an aunt…….     certainly a member of her extended family……   together, they meet and gain enormous support and comfort from each other…….. 

 

At Christmas time family reunions are not always delightful… sometimes there is conflict… sometimes family members have met up after not having seen each other for ages… and differences can become obvious..  causing tension……  

 

that can be the risk if we try to cram all our family dealings into a few days once a year, rather than trying various ways of keeping contact and discussion going throughout the year…..    but it is a challenge.

 

This weekend…   as Advent comes to a close so quickly that the weekend immediately turns around into Christmas eve….    let us take some time to carve a few things in stone…..     lets look back……   who are some of the people we need to give thanks for ….  to recall in our hearts the acts of kindness and love they have shown….   whoa re the people we have experienced Christ’s grace through their presence and action…..    let us remember and give thanks for them in our hearts, minds..,.  even our words ……

 

let us seek out people who, like Elizabeth, have grateful hearts… who focus on the positives and do not dwell on negatives, getting us more and more upset and downcast…….  

 

let us be attentive to the ways in which God is present to us, in the people with whom we live, work and socialize…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"He has done all things well"

 

23rd Sunday in ordinary Time, Year B.  (10th September, 2006). Paul Kelly.

 

“He has done all things well”

 

No wonder the people were exceedingly astonished at what Jesus was doing…….    “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  the book of Genesis asks……   and even at the annunciation to Mary (of the extraordinary things that God was doing in her life and planning for all humanity…), …..   the Angel reminds us…  “Nothing is impossible for God….”.

 

Having said …. “all things are possible for God,” us humans have an amazing capacity for assuming that there is only one was of achieving something… and that is in the way that WE imagine !! …..  but God has consistently shown (throughout history) that assumptions like that are quite misleading. ..

 

It is my belief that God achieves the impossible…by means of the improbable and the unexpected……

 

I truly believe God receives and answers our prayers……    always…

 

but….   sometimes, sadly, the answer to our heartfelt prayers is “NO”……   (why??? …  we may not know ever know “why” in this lifetime…..    that requires the big picture to everything, which we humble humans acknowledge we don’t have). …….   other times God answers the need underlying the prayer…. but the result may be almost unrecognisably like what we were asking or thought we were asking…..

 

For example…in this Gospel…  this weekend… Jesus heals the man who could not hear… he gives him back his hearing……. God still achieves this today…in ways that go beyond the literal understanding…..

 

For example…..   I was reading a reflection from someone named Bill writing from another parish in Australia,  he writes about how God’s grace allowed him and his family to cross a language barrier….but at the end of they day they still could not speak the other language……..  he writes………….”my family hosted a total of thirty-five overseas students. Some stayed for only a few weeks, others for up to two years. Mostly we enjoyed their company, though sometimes we missed our privacy. Language was often a major problem.

 

Our first student was from Japan. She arrived with a dictionary and loads of enthusiasm. Word by word we managed to communicate. After that they came with various levels of English. We would sit around the dining-room table and try to teach them some of our culture, our language and our history. We know they appreciated good food. My wife saw to that. They smiled with pleasure when they saw the meals. They also enjoyed camping, boating and many other activities.

 

There was one language that was universal, no matter what country they came from. It broke down barriers and eased their apprehension. That language was laughter. I still have memories of three students, my two teenage children and my wife and I laughing at my daughter’s antics as she mimicked things from cartoons and elsewhere.

 

Laughter sounds the same in all cultures.

 

(so, in this instance, God’s gracious inspiration allowed that family to hear each other, but more subtly than giving them a magical translation machine……. and so their insight into the beauty and complexity of life was rich… )

 

One final example…. I remember… I was run off my feet one week in Murgon parish… with enormous distances to travel… and so many things happening….  I recall praying to God for a bit of quiet time for at least the rest of the weekend…  it had been just too hectic…. one thing after another…..…  that next Sunday….  when I was out at the church of Durong…   80 or so kilometers north west of Murgon….  I was finishing up mass…  it had been a tiring week… I was exhausted and still had an hour to drive home… when.. overexcited by the thought that I just had to put the mass things in the boot of my car and then I was off home…. and I could put my feet up when I got home…..   when CLICK……….I locked my keys in the boot as put all the mass equipment in there and closed it…   As soon as I did it (actually just as I was doing it) I realized I was making a terrible mistake…. and in that instant.. I realized it was a complete disaster….    of all the places to lock my keys in the car… this was not any ordinary place……   its an hour from anywhere…..   I was now stuck an hour away from any RACQ assistance.. there goes the afternoon.. I had just added (with one annoying click) another three hours driving to my day……. 

 

It got worse…  the quickest solution…but not the easiest….would be to borrow another parishioners four wheel drive and drive back to Murgon… get my spare keys and then drive the hour back here and then drive home again… it was madness..so much for my prayer for peace and quite…   but you know, it was a mysterious answer… I never wanted or asked for… because…..   that little adventure was unwanted and inconvenient….but it ended up being a wonderful afternoon….  and after we had decided what would be done…my frustration and annoyance at myself was gone……..   and I could enter into the moment………..I enjoyed talking with a few people in depth through this unexpected turn of events……….. borrowing someone’s four wheel drive….  rattling down the highway in someone else’s car…. it was amazing…..    listening to another radio station….   stopping off for lunch with a couple of parishioners…..enjoying the fun… and even getting a relaxing nap in for an hour or so before I headed back all ready to return with my keys…….and planning my return trip……    it ended up being the most excellent mixture of extra time for talking and reflecting……in the middle of this craziness, I found a kind of calm peacefulness… it also gave me a chance to reflect upon the way I was entering into the busyness….   since it was my own absent-mindedness in the midst of busyness that had led to this situation……..It ended up being, believe it or not……  a time I enjoyed… (and like any writer….. as I drove back I thought… I am going to write about this… and except for how I felt when it happened… I will look back and laugh at this…….)…….though I do hope I never lock my keys in the boot again…  with these modern cars… it’s the only place you could lock your keys in…. and trust me to go and do it……    I am not saying, of course, that every big or small disaster can be described as a hidden blessing…. sadly some things that happen are just disasters…. although I still believe God is at work (even then) trying to bring life out of disasters…(working against the odds to transform situations into places of grace…. …the catch is thay  I don’t believe God sends these as trials……but God does respond in gracious and effective ways to bring healing in these times…..…..

 

In this incident, in any case,  I felt God was answering my prayer but in totally unexpected and unwanted way….. and giving me an invitation to see things in a different way…..  perhaps its why the quote from Mary Mackillop resonates with me so much when I read her words that say  “Many things that seemed unaccountable worries have proved indeed to be hidden blessings”…..    in a way I can’t describe.. that can often be so true…..

 

God allows all people to listen… to receive and to perceive….….but God knows that the more faithfully one listens to the voice within, where God’s Spirit resides, ….. the better one hears what is happening outside. And the authoritativeness of the voice which speaks from the truth one finds inside….is hard to deny………

 

 I certainly find myself adding to the chorus of voices which say of Jesus…..  he does all things well…. he manages to transform the most trying of situations … passing through the bitter valley…..and in his wake…..making it a place of springs……..  

"He has done all things well"

23^rd Sunday in ordinary Time, Year B.  (10^th September, 2006). Paul Kelly.

No wonder the people were exceedingly astonished at what Jesus was doing…….    “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  the book of Genesis asks……   and even at the annunciation to Mary (of the extraordinary things that God was doing in her life and planning for all humanity…), …..   the Angel reminds us…  “Nothing is impossible for God….”.

Having said …. “all things are possible for God,” us humans have an amazing capacity for assuming that there is only one was of achieving something… and that is in the way that WE imagine !! …..  but God has consistently shown (throughout history) that assumptions like that are quite misleading. ..

It is my belief that God achieves the impossible…by means of the improbable and the unexpected……

I truly believe God receives and answers our prayers……    always…

but….   sometimes, sadly, the answer to our heartfelt prayers is “NO”……   (why??? …  we may not know ever know “why” in this lifetime…..    that requires the big picture to everything, which we humble humans acknowledge we don’t have). …….   other times God answers the need underlying the prayer…. but the result may be almost unrecognisably like what we were asking or thought we were asking…..

For example…in this Gospel…  this weekend… Jesus heals the man who could not hear… he gives him back his hearing……. God still achieves this today…in ways that go beyond the literal understanding…..

For example…..   I was reading a reflection from someone named Bill writing from another parish in Australia,  he writes about how God’s grace allowed him and his family to cross a language barrier….but at the end of they day they still could not speak the other language……..  he writes………….”my family hosted a total of thirty-five overseas students. Some stayed for only a few weeks, others for up to two years. Mostly we enjoyed their company, though sometimes we missed our privacy. Language was often a major problem.

Our first student was from Japan. She arrived with a dictionary and loads of enthusiasm. Word by word we managed to communicate. After that they came with various levels of English. We would sit around the dining-room table and try to teach them some of our culture, our language and our history. We know they appreciated good food. My wife saw to that. They smiled with pleasure when they saw the meals. They also enjoyed camping, boating and many other activities.

There was one language that was universal, no matter what country they came from. It broke down barriers and eased their apprehension. That language was laughter. I still have memories of three students, my two teenage children and my wife and I laughing at my daughter’s antics as she mimicked things from cartoons and elsewhere.

Laughter sounds the same in all cultures.

(so, in this instance, God’s gracious inspiration allowed that family to hear each other, but more subtly than giving them a magical translation machine……. and so their insight into the beauty and complexity of life was rich… )

One final example…. I remember… I was run off my feet one week in Murgon parish… with enormous distances to travel… and so many things happening….  I recall praying to God for a bit of quiet time for at least the rest of the weekend…  it had been just too hectic…. one thing after another…..…  that next Sunday….  when I was out at the church of Durong…   80 or so kilometers north west of Murgon….  I was finishing up mass…  it had been a tiring week… I was exhausted and still had an hour to drive home… when.. overexcited by the thought that I just had to put the mass things in the boot of my car and then I was off home…. and I could put my feet up when I got home…..   when CLICK……….I locked my keys in the boot as put all the mass equipment in there and closed it…   As soon as I did it (actually just as I was doing it) I realized I was making a terrible mistake…. and in that instant.. I realized it was a complete disaster….    of all the places to lock my keys in the car… this was not any ordinary place……   its an hour from anywhere…..   I was now stuck an hour away from any RACQ assistance.. there goes the afternoon.. I had just added (with one annoying click) another three hours driving to my day……. 

It got worse…  the quickest solution…but not the easiest….would be to borrow another parishioners four wheel drive and drive back to Murgon… get my spare keys and then drive the hour back here and then drive home again… it was madness..so much for my prayer for peace and quite…   but you know, it was a mysterious answer… I never wanted or asked for… because…..   that little adventure was unwanted and inconvenient….but it ended up being a wonderful afternoon….  and after we had decided what would be done…my frustration and annoyance at myself was gone……..   and I could enter into the moment………..I enjoyed talking with a few people in depth through this unexpected turn of events……….. borrowing someone’s four wheel drive….  rattling down the highway in someone else’s car…. it was amazing…..    listening to another radio station….   stopping off for lunch with a couple of parishioners…..enjoying the fun… and even getting a relaxing nap in for an hour or so before I headed back all ready to return with my keys…….and planning my return trip……    it ended up being the most excellent mixture of extra time for talking and reflecting……in the middle of this craziness, I found a kind of calm peacefulness… it also gave me a chance to reflect upon the way I was entering into the busyness….   since it was my own absent-mindedness in the midst of busyness that had led to this situation……..It ended up being, believe it or not……  a time I enjoyed… (and like any writer….. as I drove back I thought… I am going to write about this… and except for how I felt when it happened… I will look back and laugh at this…….)…….though I do hope I never lock my keys in the boot again…  with these modern cars… it’s the only place you could lock your keys in…. and trust me to go and do it……    I am not saying, of course, that every big or small disaster can be described as a hidden blessing…. sadly some things that happen are just disasters…. although I still believe God is at work (even then) trying to bring life out of disasters…(working against the odds to transform situations into places of grace…. …the catch is thay  I don’t believe God sends these as trials……but God does respond in gracious and effective ways to bring healing in these times…..…..

In this incident, in any case,  I felt God was answering my prayer but in totally unexpected and unwanted way….. and giving me an invitation to see things in a different way…..  perhaps its why the quote from Mary Mackillop resonates with me so much when I read her words that say  “Many things that seemed unaccountable worries have proved indeed to be hidden blessings”…..    in a way I can’t describe.. that can often be so true…..

 

God allows all people to listen… to receive and to perceive….….but God knows that the more faithfully one listens to the voice within, where God’s Spirit resides, ….. the better one hears what is happening outside. And the authoritativeness of the voice which speaks from the truth one finds inside….is hard to deny………

 I certainly find myself adding to the chorus of voices which say of Jesus…..  he does all things well…. he manages to transform the most trying of situations … passing through the bitter valley…..and in his wake…..making it a place of springs……..