4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 It is interesting that only two of the nine Beatitudes, that mark the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, have their reward in the present. They are: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" and "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mtt 5: 3 and 10) The kingdom of heaven, therefore, is a present reality for those who are poor in spirit and are persecuted for righteousness' sake.  When we pray the Lord's Prayer during the Mass we say: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come...". Thus, we desire to be subjects of the Father's heavenly rule and not ruled by any other authority, temporal or spiritual. So, what is this kingdom? St Paul tells the Romans: "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but the righteous and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rm 14: 17) When we serve the church, through ministries and prayer, we are striving to be poor in spirit, and when we testify to our faith in public, we open ourselves to being persecuted for righteousness' sake. In this way we can experience righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, here and now.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 We have come to the conclusion of the Jubilee Year. As Pilgrims of Hope, where do we go from here? Pope Leo is asking us to be inspired by the 700th anniversary of St Francis Assisi in 2026. St Francis and St Dominic were revolutionary for their time because they effectively took the monastery to the people. They sought to combat the heresies of Manicheism and the Waldensians Likewise, we are called to go forth and, as missionary disciples, engage with the culture and society of our time. In the gospel Jesus says to Peter and Andrew: " 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people'. " (Mtt 4: 19) He does the same with James and John the sons of Zebedee.  We are told: "Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him" (Mtt 4: 22) There is an urgency about their response. In the midst of their everyday work they have a call to a higher purpose which is to follow the Lord. We may not be called to leave our work and families behind but we are called to bring the joy of the Gospel to those who are awaiting it. The Holy Spirit has gone ahead of us. We can, with confidence, embrace the challenge of bringing the Good News to a world in profound need of it. Let us follow the Lord knowing that he empowers us through his grace and leads by example: "Jesus went throughout Galilee. teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people." (Mtt 4: 23)

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 It is interesting that in a year of the lectionary, given over to the Gospel of Matthew, we have a gospel reading, for the start of Ordinary Time, from the Gospel of John. Last week the reading was for the Baptism of the Lord with Matthew's gospel emphasizing the inferiority of John the Baptist who asks why he should be the one to baptize Jesus. Today's gospel serves to build on this as John the Baptist is shown explicitly identifying Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (Jn 1: 29) This is not through their familial connection, as we see on the Feast of the Visitation, rather John witnesses the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus after his baptism. In Mark and Matthew it is only Jesus who witnesses the descent of the Holy Spirit while in Luke it is ambiguous as to whether it is Jesus or everyone who witnesses this event. The differences do not change the overall picture but can tell us of the theological emphases of the respective evangelists. For ourselves we can understand the role of others in baptism and encouraging us to grow in faith and discipleship. They act as witnesses to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives even when we may be unaware of it. Perhaps we, like John the Baptist, can serve to alert others to God's action in their lives and encourage them to respond with faith and courage to the call which God has for each of them.

Feast of Baptism of the Lord

 Of the synoptic gospels, it is Matthew which records the misgivings of John the Baptist about baptizing Jesus: " 'I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?' " (Mtt 3: 14) John's baptism was one of repentance. The word for repentance in Hebrew is shuv which is often translated in Greek as metanoia. It involves a change of life. A turning around to take another path. Jesus' reply to this is: " 'Let it be so for now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.' " (Mtt 3: 15) Thus, that Jesus be baptized by John, is a part of the Father's plan for salvation. Jesus, although sinless, he nevertheless identifies with the people who long for the coming of the Messiah and the fulfilment of God's promises. He also recognizes the legitimacy of John's ministry and message.  Jesus waits until John is martyred before he begins his earthly ministry. The opening message of the ministry is the same as John's: " 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.' " (Mtt 3: 2 cf Mk 1: 14) There is a sense here that God does not discard John the Baptist. Everything happens in its proper time. In John the Baptist God was giving the Jewish people immediate preparation to reform their lives so that their hearts would be purified to recognize the Messiah when he was revealed. Jesus explains it this way: " 'He (John) was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.' " (Jn 5: 35) This tells us that each of us need repentance before we can have hearts to receive Jesus as he truly is and ears to hear in our own baptisms the words: " 'This is my Son the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.' " (Mtt 3: 17)