Lent 3. Year A. 24/2/08/

Jesus Meets the Woman at the Well. Lent 3. Year A. 24/2/08/.

 

The thing that strikes me most about this long gospel passage…   is that Jesus is exhausted…..  he is tired, he is hungry, he is very, very thirsty…..     does he drop himself down next to the well, weary, physically, perhaps emotionally……  the toll on him of his frenetic mission to travel the countryside, including places that other would normally avoid……    must have weighed heavily…..   he had some successes….  but an awful lot of rejection, controversy and ridicule as well…….. 

 

here he is…   exhausted…..   sitting next to a well in the heat of the day….  only outcasts or madmen would be out in this kind of heat…….     or weary travelers……   

 

The disciples rush off to buy food and supplies to re-energise their master and themselves too……    Jesus is left there, probably too tired to walk with them….    longing for a drink…. but he has no bucket with him…. he is longing for someone to come along………  

 

even though Jesus was tired, thirsty and hungry…  it is as if these things lead him to think about what really matters to him…….   when we are down… the things that are at the heart of ourselves come to the surface…. and look what arises in Jesus….. he is thirsty….  but his physical thirst serves only to remind him how much he thirsts to do the Father’s will……. he is hungry…  but this recalls to him how he longs to fill himself with the bread of his father’s word… and to keep it…..  he thirsts for the faith and love of those he meets……   for he is God’s beloved son… and he longs for them to hear, to respond and to accept the word of God…………..  

 

he has already warned his disciples….  don’t give up… even if the results of your preaching and ministry is patchy…..    stay faithful……..    even if you don’t always see the fruits of what you are doing……  even if there appear failures and rejections…..  keep sowing the word…  keep living the word of God….it cannot but bear much fruit… but maybe not in your time…  maybe not here and now….  perhaps the seed sown by you will be sown by others at a later time….  perhaps you will be in the right place and the right time to harvest the seed of the word of God that some previous disciple planted long ago…..   keep working….  keep thirsting…..     

 

We know that jesus thirsted for the Father’s will…. it is a reminder of the fact that you and I thirst for so many things, not least of which the fulfillment of our physical and immediate needs……    and sometimes we thirst for things that are not priorities in Jesus’ kingdom,…. it is good for us to pause…. look into our hearts…. for what do I thirst…… what are the things that occupy my heart and my desires…….   do I thirst for the ways of Jesus…..

 

This gospel is long, but it is beautiful… filled with so many meanings…….   Jesus talks to a Samaritan,… and not only a Samaritan but a Samaritan woman… and not only a Samaritan woman but apparently a woman who might have been on the outer of her own community…. why else go to the well at such a hot time of the da………..   Jesus shows us again……..God simply will not be confined.  Jesus would not be confine !  Jesus is unafraid to step over the border into places where \"good\" Jews would not go.  Jesus is unafraid to speak with foreign women.  Jesus is unafraid to touch lepers.  And we hear these stories about Jesus over and over in the Gospels.  Jesus breaks down prejudices and barriers and responds to need and truth……    

 

It is true, Jesus really does want water when he asks for it…..  but he means it too when he says… ‘but, you know….  I have a water … a living water… that will satisfy the human heart….. he is offering the water of union and relationship in God’s very life….. sharing in communion with God… becoming part of God’s family…. this is something that will fulfil our eternal desires… and live forever…….    this is offered to all……    the woman at the well accepts……  she is open to hear…   she shouldn’t be… but she hears and accepts…..  and Jesus’ joy is deeply moving….  the woman runs off to tell others… she has every intention fo returning because she has left her bucket behind…..  

 

maybe this is what the Jesus words mean….. does he look around and see the people in their white robes coming out of their houses…. does he look around and see the grain high in the fields around him….  he says…. ‘the reaper is already recieing his wages”    …..  perhaps jesus, tired by his efforts, was overjoyed and surprised that his words produced instant fruits….. where in other places….  people did not respond as he hoped… as he had thirsted for them to accept…….    does Jesus point to the crowds coming from their homes to see this man that the woman had told them of……   is jesus saying of them…. see… you will reap where you have not sown… and other times people will reap what you have sown… but today..… we reap what has produced fruit right here and now……

 

what joy !!!!!

 

I will finish with a little reflection I read the other day…   Jesus said that ‘whoever drinks the water from this well will thirst again… but the water I give you will never thirst again.”  one day a priest came to visit a lady who was gravely ill… he said to her… ‘ I will pray for your healing.”  The lady replied.. “yes Father, do that, I believe in that… but also…  pray that I will experience God’s peace…    if I am healed, I will get sick again, maybe many times, and each time I will be dismayed and fearful…. unless I learn to put myself in God’s hands, whatever may come… - so, above all pray for peace…   for that will last….”

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflection, by Paul Kelly, with also quotes from ‘Monastery of Christ in the Desert,’ and also ‘2008, a Book of Grace Filled Days’).

 

Saint Mary's College Mass - Opening 2008.

College Mass – Opening 2008.

 

The start of our school year has coincided almost exactly with the start of the Church season of Lent…   a time of preparation for Easter… - a time of extra prayer,  penance and practical action for others in need…..   all these Lenten practices are intended to allow God to widen our hearts… and also to make our actions fit better with our words (as we are so powerfully reminded in tonight’s challenging first reading, and also the Gospel – that we be people of practical Integrity….. “consistent in our inner values and outer actions”….)……  // Our words must be proved true by our actions   //….  and St Mary’s college is surrounded by many good words to encourage us    ….and spur us into action…..

 

We have the college motto….  Integrity AND knowledge… We have the threefold school priorities….. …   “Spirit, mission, community….”    //   and we have at the centre of all these words…   the person and message of Jesus…. who is THE word… God’s word made flesh….    showing us God’s plan for each of us .. and for our world…..

 

As we gather together tonight to ask God’s blessing on this school year of 2008, we pray for a special blessing on the students. May you be inspired to study hard and participate fully in college life…….   and May you be formed ever deeper in the good news of Jesus..   //  Growing in knowledge AND integrity…

 

we pray that God will continue to bless your parents, caregivers, brothers and sisters and all family members and friends…

 

We pray that God will bless our  College teachers and staff…..  and all the members of the parish…. 

 

May we always put Jesus’ words into action, by how we care and serve one another…   //and show “uncommon gentleness” and assistance to those most in need….the ones who are struggling in any way.

 

and May God bless our Principal, Ms. Joy Massingham, and our new staff, students and parents who have joined us for the first time this year…. ……..  may you already be experiencing what it means to be valued members of this community.

 

Tonight…  we have gathered here …  full of best wishes, hopes and prayers…. 

 

at the start of another year…  whether it be the very beginning of your college years, or the final year –// grade twelve… or whether you be in the formational years in-between…… we all gather here with so many hopes and dreams for your future….  and they are well-founded hopes…..

 

I know family, and teachers are wanting the very best for all the students this year….. (wishing it, encouraging it, speaking it, and even at many times, worrying about it, -- willing that things will be the best possible way for your you)..… They are hoping that you may have a successful year….  (success in an academic sense… but also in a human and “holistic” sense too…….. //and (of course), as Christians, who believe that God’s wisdom is not like human wisdom….   parents and staff are also hoping for your success as measured (not by the standards of this world) but by the values of Jesus’ Gospel…….   as you nurture the values that really matter – the values our Lord came to establish on the earth…. (as in heaven !)/.……… May, you have a year marked with excellence in learning, ……and may you have the best of health: “physically, emotionally and spiritually”……    // May all the positive virtues flourish in you….(sound judgement – good discernment of what is right//, Justice, courage, self-restraint,  FAITH, HOPE, and –above all - LOVE) // and may the clamouring voices of opposing values….   values//…. that cry out; promising “much” and delivering “little”…  may these shallow invitations hold no charm for you…

 

Speaking of “good discernment”  - we live in an amazing world of information technology…  or instant internet and media communication…..   we are submerged in information…..   and with it…   conflicting values and philosophies… we also celebrate tonight, that St Mary’s College offers an education that offers effective means to discern and weigh-up the information and values we are bombarded with…   and also offers the lens of the gospel to see them through…..   so that you may support all that is life-giving and constructive about today’s world…..   and reject and oppose all that is contrary…..   there are many things that our modern world offers that are consistent with Jesus’ values…  but sadly… there are others that are not… and all of them present themselves as right and good.,.. which makes careful discernment even more urgent…..  May the spirit inspire you in this important work….

+++++

Jesus really gets stuck into those so-called religious and community leaders of his time…   Jesus saw that they were so caught up in image and outward appearance that they had become hollow inside… (their insides were not matching up with their outside appearances….they were spending all their time on outward shows and as a result… they were not being whole or holy in their lives)……and they were not showing any signs of living the values of God’s kingdom, even if they appeared to be doing the right thing on the outside…   these people had knowledge without integrity…..     they had respectability without substance (inside)….….     and they certainly weren’t acting as if everyone they met was their brother and sister in Christ… and that we are all one big family, because we all have one Father (God the father of us all)

 

Jesus calls us along a different road from these people who are into image……May you be the people of the “road less traveled”… where integrity, (substance), knowledge, truth and love mean everything…..  ……….  may you walk the path of wisdom, patience, kindness and concern for others…..  // of going the extra mile for one another………..   of choosing the unpredictable response… and of rejecting the tired and predictable responses of a world caught up in self-interest , hollow-celebrity, and image….which all too often is only surface- deep//….and ultimately means nothing…//

 

Enjoy the fact that this Christian college environment seeks to foster a place where you feel safe, where your human dignity is respected, where you feel accepted, valued and where you can be the best person you are called to be…… Each of you are  valued…..  each of you are unique…  that is already true…  we don’t ever need to prove it…. 

+++

 

Instead…  may you continue to foster the values that Jesus loved…  the values that have been handed  down through our families, school and church communities…  … and to which you will lovingly hand on to the next generation too…… ……being a servant for others……   treating all others the way we would treat the highest dignitary….  treating each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

SUNDAY OF LENT WEEK 2 - YEAR A - 17TH FEB 2008

SUNDAY OF LENT WEEK 2 -   YEAR A – 17^TH FEB 2008

 

Glimpses of God’s Kingdom

 

The transfiguration of Christ is a glorious, if only momentary, glimpse of the Glory of God’s Kingdom, as revealed in the person and message of Jesus.

 

For a moment, ……a few of Jesus’ closest disciples get a small, overwhelming taste of what the fullness of the Kingdom, //……the fullness of Jesus’ glorification, would be like…..//    and it is almost too much to comprehend…//..  Perhaps that is all they could bear at this time….. //   this little taste was all that their minds, and our minds could hold…..

 

I have always love the idea that surrounding us at all times, is God’s presence, action and glory…..  but our human minds and perception does not often comprehend this……  so, for the most part, we only get little momentary flashes…….     a glimpse behind the veil…….. 

 

Jesus assures us….  the Kingdom of God is already amongst you……..  the Kingdom of God is like a seed quietly but effectively growing in the soil of the ground….  ready to push up its shoots into the light at the appointed time…….      so the Kingdom surrounds us…. and we are called to watch…. to discern…. and to cooperate with the Kingdom wherever it is found…..     to participate in what the Kingdom is bringing about, wherever the values of the kingdom is glimpsed……

 

have you ever visited someones house and you might be talking to them, and they suddenly get up and say “oh, that’s the phone….  “    and then you find yourself saying…  “oh, I didn’t hear anything……”    

 

That has happened to me in the different presbyteries I have lived in…. the person living in the house or office eventually gets attuned to the subtle sound of their own phone, but to others…. amidst the bustle of noise and other sounds….   the ring goes undetected….. 

 

I think the Spirit at work in God’s kingdom is very much like that….   like the air we breath… it is well and truly present, but we take it for granted… until the air gets stirred up into a terrifying storm and we see the enormous power of the air and the wind currents… even if normally invisible… and we only notice the air in a room when it starts to deplete in oxygen and the room gets stuffy……    when a room iswell ventilated, we don’t often think of the air… but it is still there…

 

Same with the Kingdom….  Christ is present and at work amongst us all the time…. there are signs of the kingdom everywhere….. but many subtle…..

 

The values of the kingdom can also be at work in people and events not even directly connected to the Christian churches…..    the values of Jesus Kingdom may very well be at work in the projects and values of non-christians or humanists……  namely those whose values are perfectly consistent with jesus’ even if they don’t identify themselves as believers…..   after all it was Jesus himself who once said in exasperation… if you don’t believe in WHO I am, at least believe in what I am doing…..   God is at work in the world, whatever name people call it…. 

 

This week….  we caught a powerful and moving glimpse of the Kingdom…..   in the events in parliament on Wednesday…  especially the moments when the two parties government and opposition were united in a common agreement… and also proposing a common team to move forward…..   that’s not something one sees everyday…. but I think of that beautiful Eucharistic prayer for Reconciliation II which says something very special about glimpses of the Kingdom:   “In the midst or conflict and division, we know it is you, who turn our minds to thoughts of peace.  Your Spirit changes our hearts: enemies begin to speak to one another,

those who were estranged join hands in friendship,

and nations seek the way of peace together.

Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife, when hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance gives way to forgiveness.”

 

I believe we glimpsed that very emotionally this week….. and it fills one with a sense of awe…..

 

How wonderful if we could see the wonder of the natural world… as well as our society as “Charged with the grandeur of God,” as Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins did? Full of life, love, power, and possibility?  -   I did a spiritual retreat at the Monastery of St Beuno’s where Gerard Manley Hopkins was inspired by and wrote this poetry… about God’s grandeur….   and I couldn’t help but be moved by it….. but of course…..   its all around us….  not just in nature… but right here……    

 

Perhaps on rare occasions we perceive reality this way. Or maybe it only seems that way for people who have fallen in love or won the lottery and so on….

 

          Most of the time, I suspect we see our lives in more muted tones. Our routines keep us safe and on course, but they also blur our ability to see what’s beyond them. We start to believe that the way things are is the way they must be. Annoying people just won’t change; irritating factors have to be endured. Injustices of every stripe are part of the package and can’t be helped. we become resigned about the world without ever consciously making the decision to take that course.

          But what if we woke up every day, took our first waking breath, and felt the amazement of being alive! Of having another day to create a path, to make decisions, to explore new ideas, to learn something new. What if we saw each day as a cooperative effort between God and us, to bring good news into being? What if we, the free children of God, actually believed in our freedom and exercised it?

          It could happen. It is no dream. It is actually Christian reality. The truth about our world exists in layers, but how often do we glance only at the surface…... If we stopped—looked—contemplated every aspect of our day, we’d be astonished at the possibilities inherent in each hour to do things differently, to do them better, to do them in league with the seed of kingdom…  growing silently….    but oh so determinedly amongst us…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

( P.W Kelly, with additional resources by prepare the word subscriptions)

 

 

 

 

LENT - FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - 10TH FEB 2008.

The image of Jesus wandering along in the wilderness, (captured in this peaceful image here on the sanctuary, taken from the Lenten reflection book)…….is a very powerful one, and also a very peaceful one. Jesus looks so serene…. so peaceful…..   so “at one” with everything…………..

 

Jesus, always “at one” with the Father, and “at one” with the Creation he rejoiced in (He was present at the dawn of creation as “the eternal Word of God,”)…..    in the beginning of creation……God “spoke the word, and so it was”…..  Jesus is THE WORD uttered by the Father, and the word became flesh and dwelt in communion with God’s creation, ………calling us all into perfect unity with God and each-other and all of creation….

 

{[Saturday:  The wonderful celebration of Baptism we have tonight, the baptism of Andrew John, is a celebration of our communion with God…. in Baptism, we are united to God, through Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit…  we are made children of God… brought into God’s inner life….    brought into a communion of life and love, that lasts a lifetime and beyond, into eternal life…..   we live the rest of our lives living the reality of that communion with God, with each other (as brothers and sisters IN Christ) and with creation…  so how we treat the environment is also an important factor of our discipleship, just as how we treat our fellow person….  ]}

 

In lent, we think about ways we can do fasting, penance and acts of charity… in order to foster and deepen that communion we share with God and each other and all of creation….in england, some bishops suggested a novel form of fasting that reflects the fact that we live in an ecological and modern age….

 

Rather than cut back on the more traditional sweets and treats for Lent, two bishops in England invited the public to take part in a “carbon fast” for the next 40 days.

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, and the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, said in their invitation Tuesday that those taking part can choose how they reduce their carbon footprint on a daily basis.

“For example, on the first day, people can take out one of their light bulbs and whenever they go to turn that light on, and it doesn’t work, they can remember why they are fasting from carbon—to help the poor of the world. At the end of the fast they can replace it with an energy-saving light bulb,” Jones explained. Other activities could include avoiding plastic bags and insulating the house.

The bishops said they had launched the carbon fast because of the urgent need to cut emissions and protect poor communities, who are already being affected by climate change and will be the worst hit in the future.

“There’s a moral imperative on those of us who emit more than our fair share of carbon to rein in our consumption,”

                                                    

Whether we engage in “carbon fasting,” or ordinary fasting, or other acts of self-denial, Christ calls us to remember that its not what we do but what we hope God will do in us through this fasting and penance….    the goal of any fasting or penance is to deepen in us, God’s passions….. God’s desires for the world…. our prayer, penance and fasting will be a success if it draws us into actively helping to work towards working for justice, practically offering assistance to the poor and needy, and lifting unfair burdens from people around us…..  

 

One traditional way Catholics have importantly helped foster this during lent, and all year around too, is people’s support of Caritas, the catholic organization working with communities in need. Thanks to all who support this wonderful and practical way of assisting those most in need.

 

 

ASH WEDNESDAY -- 2008

The thing about possessions is - do we really own them? or do they start owning us…… the more we can possess… the more we start to want…..

the more we possess… the more we worry about protecting, guarding, fearing losing of things….. it becomes a real catch-twenty two…

Someone once told me that there is a psychological principle that it takes about six weeks for a habit to become normal….. to become part of our daily routine…. I can vouch for that… over a year ago I got into the habit of putting the flag up the pole and taking it down whenever I could…. initially it was something I had to think about… and set my alarm for… now… almost without fail… I remember to put it up and take it down without even thinking…. (unless I am delayed)… now that is a little example… how much more,… could Lent be a time for fostering positive habits of prayer, self-denial and giving in time of our resources for worthy causes… to build up spiritual health…. and foster habits that are so natural that literally 'our left hand does not know what our right hand is doing.'

I started with a tautology… so I will finish with one…. I read a quote yesterday.. that I believe is true but it is also a bit unfathomable… It said…: “the only things that we actually keep are the things we give away…”… in one sense that sounds like a nonsensical contradiction… but God’s thinking is not like human’s, so maybe there is something in it…. we only really know we "own" something, when we are free enough to let go of it…..// or perhaps it means something deeper…… the only things worth possessing are the things that only make sense when given….// they do nothing if stored…// like love, given freely without expectation, kindness and forgiveness without expectation of return…. acts of charity not for recognition or approval….. random acts of kindness that no one will ever know we are the perpetrators of…// I read a maxim once upholding that there is a odd economic principle associated with love -- the more love you give away, the more love you have. It defies all other economic principles.

The gospel has a lot of wisdom in it… those things done for no other reason but love of God and not for anything else… call us to a deep inner movement of the heart towards God, because it does not get any other reward but to serve and love God in each other… actions for the glory and praise of God alone…

so, let’s make this time of lent a wonderful, joyfilled time of self-denial and making space for God… fostering positive habits for the year round…. and may God who has begun this good work in us.. bring it to perfection… in the secret of our own hearts….

Sunday 3rd Feb 2008. Fourth Sunday Ord Time. B

The beatitudes are among the most beautiful words in the scriptures….   but they are also very mysterious. There is something confusing about the meaning of them.  This shows in the different ways the writers of the individual Gospels try to clarify their meaning …  sometimes their attempts to clarify the meaning makes them even more mysterious….    Luke’s version of the beatitudes says, blessed are the poor…..     whereas Matthew’s gospel says…  blessed are the poor in spirit…  but that doesn’t exactly clarify the meaning…..    

There is something elusive about them…

It is quite jarring in one sense….    Happy are the poor, the trampled….  those who mourn…..    blessed?.. one could forgive a person for saying…  “what’s happy or blessed about being poor or victimized”…..   but of course.. Jesus is not making poverty, sadness, suffering, and injustice into virtues…..  Luke’s version of this makes that clear by adding woes…  woe to the rich…  woe to those who are doing well now…..  but there is still uncertainty here….

In order to get our heads around Jesus word’s it is important to ask…..   why is Jesus giving this speech…..    what are the values he is showing us…. and what is he trying to do here…..

One thing is for sure….  he is not saying these words so that people can turn around and say… “well, if the poor and the oppressed are so blessed and happy, then let’s keep them down in the gutter so that their blessings may increase….”  no… quite the opposite…..It is meant to inspire action….  change in the here and now….  not complacency and apathy……….   Jesus is saying these words to give real hope to those bowed down… and also so as to unsettle and shake those who are complacent and acting unjustly towards others….

Jesus gives these beatitudes to fill people with hope and blessing because he has come to usher in this Kingdom here and now and not just in the next life. Anyone who can relate to the experiences of the Beatitudes is at the front of the line for entry into this new vision for the world…..  on  “earth as it is in Heaven”.  If these people --  poor, lowly and disadvantaged people have God’s favour, concern and attention, then everyone else is  called (urgently) to pay attention to them….  // …to start addressing their needs, and fostering the values of Jesus’ Kingdom here and now.

When we look at the readings around the gospel today, we see that throughout the history of God’s relating with his people, there is a recurring theme…..   God’s values are love, peace, respect, integrity, humility, justice, practical concern for the sick, the poor and the widow and the orphan….…..    – “Those who come to God seeking justice and humility, will be able to be God\'s people.”

Those who do the opposite, (who oppress and mistreat others) are not God’s people, and will have nothing to be blessed or happy about in God’s Kingdom…..  And may God’s Kingdom come here and now….    may it start with values of this world being turned on their head…..

It is extremely reassuring to know that God has deep concern for the poor and a deep concern for those who are unjustly treated,.,,// ,and if God has respect for them then woe to anyone who has contempt for the poor, who mistreats the vulnerable…….   they are acting against God’s priorities…

One British family is apparently not among those whom the Book of Zephaniah is referring to when it says, “They shall do no wrong and speak no lies.” An 84-year-old man whose family had forged statues and paintings and then passed them off as priceless pieces of art to museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, received a two-year suspended sentence in a London court Monday.

George Greenhalgh, his 83-year-old wife, Olive, and their 46-year-old son, Shaun, pleaded guilty to charges of laundering money from the sale of forged artworks. The son, who had created the fakes, was sentenced to more than four years in jail in November. His mother received a 12-month sentence. Police said the parents handled most of the sales.

Police said the Greenhalghs used a genuine 19th-century sales document to get ideas on what items to fake, and once the items were fabricated, they used the catalog as proof of provenance when presenting their knockoffs for sale.

The family has been “operating for nearly 20 years, producing and introducing a diverse range of art works into the U.K. market.” ….. there was little doubt that some of their forgeries were still circulating in the art world. In December the Art Institute of Chicago said a ceramic figure supposedly sculpted by 19th-century French artist Paul Gauguin, which graced the museum for 10 years, was among the Greenhalgh forgeries. (from associated press).

This family may have thought… oh well, we are only ripping off rich people, not the poor… but still…  this kind of story, illustrates an all-too-common value system in society….    as long as I don’t get caught…  its okay….   it is okay to lie, to cheat, to defraud…   if there are people foolish enough for me to ‘pull the wool over their eyes’….it’s their problem not mine…..  but no… these are not the values of the Kingdom…. /  Values such as ‘survival of the fittest”   - “let the buyer beware”   or  ‘every person for themselves’  ….  just do not make the cut in Jesus’ vision for the world… and for the Kingdom….          

and then, as Jesus said frequently in the gospels….   its not just people who say they are followers of Christ who will enter the Kingdom… one of the greatest peacemakers of our age would have to be Ghandi who advocated peaceful resistance….(it is 60 years ago last week) --  he was assassinated for his beliefs in freedom from oppression --      although not Christian, he had enormous respect for the Christian thinking around non-violence and social justice….  his actions were a living of the beatitudes…..  

The final word goes of course to Jesus himself… who not only spoke the beatitudes but lived them…  he is the ultimate example of the one who suffered all manner of things but still went about helping the poor and freeing those bowed down… he named the values of the Kingdom and went about putting them into action in everything he did and said….   and he asks us to continue his work of being instruments of joy, hope and justice in our world today… with special concern for those who are in need.

 

(http://www.truequest.biz/ptn/index.php)

Australia Day Homily

Australia Day -   26^th January, 2008.

 

Even though I really enjoyed my sabbatical time away, and it was amazing to see different countries and experience different cultures. One of the most striking things about the experience is how much it made me even more grateful for living in Australia.

 

In so many ways, we truly are the lucky country. True, no country is perfect, and each country and culture has its own blessing, but it is always nice to know where home is….   and there is so much to be grateful for in this country, the comparatively beautiful weather, the mild winters and the not-too-hot summers, the democratic freedom, relative freedom from overcrowding, a high  standard of living, our natural resources, and any problems we might think we have in relation to overcrowding and pollution, has nothing on some of the countries I visited, not to mention the situation of health and unemployment support in some of these countries.

 

Today, we give thanks to God for the many gifts we have been given, and we are reminded that we live in a commonwealth… and that this commonwealth is for the common good…. the gifts we have are gifts to share for the benefit of each other…..  

 

We pray that people everywhere will deepen their sense of belonging to a commonwealth for common good…. that there will be peace, respect, harmony and care for others in our society…. that we might always spare a thought for the person less fortunate, whether they be next door or in the next country……  

 

And today, (as every day) we pray that our nation and its people, develop deep within ourselves a yearning for the values of Jesus’ beatitudes…..   // humility,// gentleness, //passionate about ..and working for justice, //peacemakers,// single minded in serving God’s good vision for the world….. 

 

it is good for us to stop and give thanks for God’s many gifts to us in this blessed Southern land of the Holy Spirit…..

 

 

(updated) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

(This is the updated version of last Sunday’s homily with a couple of key lines added)

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time.. Year A 20th Jan 2008.

There is a line in today's gospel that John the Baptist keeps repeating… and it is an intriguing one…. Twice John the Baptist says "I did not know him….but…."…. what is the meaning of this line…… why have I never noticed it before???/

Its mysterious…

John the Baptist is the cousin of Jesus…. He certainly would have known who he THOUGHT Jesus was, but now he was seeing a new side of him…. Someone much more significant…. The one who would carry the sins of the world on his back and through whom the world would be saved……. Its almost too enormous for comprehension…… John the Baptist has very clear and strong ideas about what the Mesiah would be like… and although it was his role to proclaim his coming, the really ironic thing is that John the Baptist really got it wrong…… his concept of what the messiah would be like…. Was not anything like what Jesus turned out to be…. Jesus turned on its head the concept of what a messiah was like…. Instead of judgement… he brought a time of God's favour….. instead of retribution… he brought freedom from prison, and cancellation of indebtedness……… absolutely amazing….. john the Baptist had to really swallow his pride and do a backflip in order to understand what Jesus was showing him and all who had the eyes of faith……

John the Baptist keeps repeating… I did not know him, but he is the one I was preparing the way for,,,,,,,,

it is also a reminder … we cannot just rely on the testimony of others about Jesus….. we must eventually testify to him in our own lives too…. to testify to the person and message of JESUS as we encournter it in our daily lives too..

There is something reassuring about this for you us… who live two thousand years later… we believe in jesus as the Lamb of God… and the messiah….. each of us here is committed to following Jesus. However, we are in good company if we don't fully comprehend the significance of who jesus is for us …… if we don't yet fully appreciate the radical call that Jesus is asking of us…… the world-changing values Jesus has come to bring us…..

I always have a soft spot for the poor disciple of Jesus… they followed Jesus wherever he went…. They saw themselves as his disciples….his faithful……. They knew their master, Jesus, had the words of everlasting life…. But time and time again.. they 'didn't get it' they missed the point of what jesus was trying to tell them. Jesus was often quite exasperated with his disciples, saying… 'you have been with me all this time and still you do not KNOW me?" they often didn't have a clue….. but still the kept following.. and slowly…. Little by little… they began to understand who he was…. And what the meaning of his message was….

There are some other lines from this weekend's readings that really strike me……

It is from the psalm: 'he put a new song in my heart… a song of praise to our God"….. and also "I have told the glad news of our deliverance in the great congregation, see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O, Lord."

It reminds me…. there are so many things we can focus on in life…. So many words we can use…… so many things happen to us in life… some are good…. Some are awful….. some are hurtful and some are upbuilding…. The words of scripture encourage and remind us that… it is so important to notice and give voice to all the positive and life-giving things that are going on. Even in the midst of hard times, there are so many things we can still give thanks for…. That can still fill us with a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving… fill us with a new song….

While I was on my sabbatical time… one of our presenters Fr John Fuellenbach, a Divine Word Missionary from the same order as FR Gerard Mulhollans, said that there are different types of prayer… prayer of petition, where we ask for what we need… prayer of penance..where we ask for forgiveness… ; prayer of lament.. where we cry out for what is hurting us.. or worrying us, a prayer of complaint and grumbling so to speak…. Fr Fuellenback told us that ‘there is nothing wrong with a prayer of complaint… pouring out our hearts to God about all that we are upset and unhappy about and even grumbling about what God is apparently doing in our lives…. he said, that this is okay in prayer as long as at the end you leave a time for God to complain about YOU! That is, prayer is a two-way conversation, and we need to give God a chance to complain about things in the world and evenj with us that God is unhappy and worried about…..!!! ……..and finally but very importantly….. there is also….prayer of worship and thanksgiving…where we give voice to all the gifts and wonders that surround us… that we can be tempted to take for granted… our presenter said… 70 percent of our prayer should be prayer of thanksgiving.. that still give us 30 percent for asking for things.. or voicing grievances and hurts….. this is not suggesting that we go on talking about everything being rosy when its not…. But even when we take the rose coloured glasses of… even when we are brutally honest… there is still so much to be positive about… so much to be profoundly grateful for…. So many opportunities to see Jesus vision for the world which is so radically different from the logic of this world… and yet… we still struggle to understand the meaning of it…. But we never stop trying…..

Daily, we keep following Jesus, even though we (even now) don't full understand his ways….. but we believe in them…. We follow him into the unknown…..….. trusting in his guidance along the path he leads us…….because he promises to be with us always….. in with a new song on our lips… a song of praise…. And thanksgiving…

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. Year A. 20th January, 2007.

There is a line in today's gospel that John the Baptist keeps repeating… and it is an intriguing one….   Twice John the Baptist says "I did not know him….but…."….    what is the meaning of this line……   why have I never noticed it before???/ 

 

Its mysterious…

 

John the Baptist is the cousin of Jesus….   He certainly would have known who he THOUGHT Jesus was, but now he was seeing a new side of him….  Someone much more significant….  The one who would carry the sins of the world on his back and through whom the world would be saved…….   Its almost too enormous for comprehension……    John the Baptist has very clear and strong ideas about what the Mesiah would be like… and although it was his role to proclaim his coming, the really ironic thing is that John the Baptist really got it wrong……  his concept of what the messiah would be like…. Was not anything like what Jesus turned out to be….   Jesus turned on its head the concept of what a messiah was like….  Instead of judgement… he brought a time of God's favour….. instead of retribution…  he brought freedom from prison, and cancellation of indebtedness………    absolutely amazing…..  john the Baptist had to really swallow his pride and do a backflip in order to understand what Jesus was showing him and all who had the eyes of faith……

 

John the Baptist keeps repeating… I did not know him, but he is the one I was preparing the way for,,,,,,,,

 

There is something reassuring about this for you us… who live two thousand years later…  we believe in jesus as the Lamb of God… and the messiah….. each of us here is committed to following Jesus. However, we are in good company if we don't fully comprehend the significance of who jesus is for us ……   if we don't yet fully appreciate the radical call that Jesus is asking of us……    the world-changing values Jesus has come to bring us…..

 

I always have a soft spot for the poor disciple of Jesus… they followed Jesus wherever he went…. They saw themselves as his disciples….his faithful……. They knew their master, Jesus, had the words of everlasting life…. But time and time again.. they 'didn't get it' they missed the point of what jesus was trying to tell them.  Jesus was often quite exasperated with his disciples, saying…  'you have been with me all this time and still you do not KNOW me?" they often didn't have a clue….. but still the kept following.. and slowly….   Little by little… they began to understand who he was…. And what the meaning of his message was…. 

 

There are some other lines from this weekend's readings that really strike me…… 

 

It is from the psalm: 'he put a new song in my heart…  a song of praise to our God"…..   and also  "I have told the glad news of our deliverance in the great congregation, see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O, Lord."

 

It reminds me….  there are so many things we can focus on in life….  So many words we can use……  so many things happen to us in life…  some are good…. Some are awful…..   some are hurtful and some are upbuilding….   The words of scripture encourage and remind us that…  it is so important to notice and give voice to all the positive and life-giving things that are going on. Even in the midst of hard times, there are so many things we can still give thanks for….  That can still fill us with a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving…   fill us with a new song….

 

While I was on my sabbatical time…  one of our presenters said that there are different types of prayer…  prayer of petition, where we ask for what we need…  prayer of penance..where we ask for forgiveness…  ; prayer of lament.. where we cry out for what is hurting us.. or worrying us……..and also….prayer of worship and thanksgiving…where we give voice to all the gifts and wonders that surround us… that we can be tempted to take for granted…  our presenter said…  70 percent of our prayer should be prayer of thanksgiving.. that still give us 30 percent for asking for things.. or voicing grievances and hurts….. this is not suggesting that we go on talking about everything being rosy when its not…. But even when we take the rose coloured glasses of… even when we are brutally honest… there is still so much to be positive about… so much to be profoundly grateful for….  So many opportunities to see Jesus vision for the world which is so radically different from the logic of this world… and yet…   we still struggle to understand the meaning of it….  But we never stop trying…..

 

Daily, we keep following Jesus, even though we (even now) don't full understand his ways…..  but we believe in them….  We follow him into the unknown…..…..   trusting in his guidance along the path he leads us…….because he promises to be with us always….. in with a new song on our lips…  a song of praise…. And thanksgiving…

 

 

 

 

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Year A

BAPTISM OF OUR LORD JESUS – YEAR A – 13^TH JAN. 2008.

 

(Saturday night mass: 

 

It is quite nice that tonight’s mass features a Baptism… the baptism of Mikayla……….for, tonight, we are celebrating the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord…  and…..)

 as the preface of today’s mass says… we praise God the Father saying….

Father, You celebrated your new gift of baptism

by signs and wonders at the Jordan. 

 

So, Jesus’ own baptism in the waters of the River Jordan was the introduction to how Baptism would become for all of us the means by which we are joined (in a special way) to Jesus’ life and, therefore, joined to God’s family.. // sharing life in God’s own love…..

 

SO, as we celebrate the wonderful event of Jesus’ Baptism, it is always a time for us to renew the promises made at our baptism, and to celebrate the gift of baptism for others too.

 

Initially, it seems strange that Jesus needed to baptized at all. John was offering a baptism of repentance…   for the forgiveness of sin…. Jesus didn’t need that, and John the Baptist realized this, and so did Jesus…  but it was really important, nevertheless that Jesus did this….. 

It is not easy to understand why Jesus accepted baptism. For you and for me, baptism is our initiation into Christ. We “put on Christ” at baptism like we put on a new set of clothes. We become Christ-like at baptism. We are made one with God through our baptism and our sins are taken away (not only personal sin, but also the overall experience of alienation and “not-at-oneness” that we humans experience in this world….). Jesus was already God and Christ and perfectly “one with the Father.” Jesus had not sinned. So why is He baptized??

For some of the early Christian writers, the baptism of Jesus is best seen as Christ making holy the waters of baptism. We can understand that Christ going into the Jordan makes holy all the water of the earth. The Lord brings holiness to all that He touches. ( JESUS, by undergoing Baptism, was bringing to this beautiful action of repentance and forgiveness  a new, deeper and divine meaning and divine POWER… Jesus was, (so to speak)..  “electrifying the waters” with God’s transforming power to makes us God’s children and brothers and sisters in Jesus…)

At another level, Christ being baptized is showing us that He takes very seriously his desire to share in our human nature, to be in solidarity and in perfect union with his people…..    God takes on ALL of our humanity and shows us the way to live our lives. Baptism, the Scriptures tell us, is a baptism into Christ’s life and his way of living…  his self-emptying way of loving….   a love that gives everything… even unto death, (on a cross). Jesus invites us, by going into these water, to follow him into the waters that are the daily living of his good news…. the daily living of the sometimes difficult challenges of loving as Christ loves..

….

Jesus the suffering servant, subjects himself to his human condition out of love and service…….so that he is "a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness." (Abbot’s Homily, Monastery of Christ in the desert).

 

++++++

 

It has also been said that, at his Baptism, Jesus definitively begins to SHOW AND TO ACT according to what he always was and always was called to be….  Jesus baptism is the  this official manifestation of him living this reality in public ministry….being anointed by the Spirit with the oil of gladness to bring us light and hope and forgiveness…. (notes from 366 Days with the Lord)

 

Jesus shows us that discipleship is not merely a personal thing…  not just a private thing……   Being part of Christ’s good news is a participation in a very public ministry of Christ himself……..

 

Christ’s Baptism – signals the Commencement of his PUBLIC ministry. He has come from quiet and humble obscurity – from 30 or so years of everyday living, and now is dramatically appearing on the public scene…  revealed at last as the messiah, the chosen one……   the suffering servant of the Father…. and the son of God……with whom the Father is well pleased.

 

Jesus’ baptism is an invitation for us to reflect on the public and communal dimensions of our baptismal call…………. it is a good time to ask ourselves “in what ways do I step forward publicly as Jesus did, as a way of announcing and living practically the new reality represented in Baptism; 2. what can I do to live out my baptismal commitment more openly, more publicly, more consistent with the fact that Christianity is a distinctly communal religion never solely a private devotion……., what will I do?...….. one thing we can do.. is to encourage someone whom we notice has intentionally changed his/ her way of life for the better, // (Notes also taken from: Prayer Time, Cycle A. Robert J. Heyer, ed. 2007)

 

we can Pray for candidates in the Rite of Christian initiation of adults programme here in parishes around the world…..   here in our parish we have Juanita, Judy, Mary, Yvette debbie, and others who are prayerfully discerning their call to baptism, to initiation, reception and membership in this Christian community….   we will be having a chance to give them a special blessing in coming weeks as they prepare for easter sacraments……  We can pray for and give thanks to people involved in the Rcia – leader – Gerard O’connell, people who are sponsors, catechists, we can pray and give thanks for people involved in our monthly infant baptismal preparation meetings… our children’s liturgy leaders, our ministers, our teachers, catechists….  our visitors to the sick and housebound… and so many more…  we can join in on one of more of these and so many other ministries..  if we are not already ….  and also…. very important too…..everyone who conducts their daily lives, their family life, their jobs in the intentional spirit of Jesus’ good news – is living out their Baptismal calling in a very practical way…..

 

May the lord who calls us to follow him into the waters of Baptism, raise us to newness of life, so that, united with Jesus, we may serve Christ by living our discipleship in everything we do and say…..   giving public witness by our love and service to all…