30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Looking at today's gospel reading the summary of the law by Jesus is so pithy it is tempting to skate over it since we have heard it so many times before. It deserves closer inspection. As per usual Jesus does not actually answer the question directly. He was asked about which of the commandments is the greatest. Instead of giving one he gives two. Catholic theology also tends to avoid absolutes such as by faith alone, grace alone or scripture alone. It tends to be "both and" with faith and works, soul and body, spiritual and temporal. In this case we have love of God and neighbour. However the situation is complicated by the condition that we love our neighbour "as yourself." (Mtt 22: 39) Thus, in any love relationship there necessarily exists a trinity of relationships. The priority goes to love of God because it proceeds all other loves: "We love because he (God) first loved us." (1 Jn 4: 19) 

The second commandment "is like it." What does that mean? Since God said: " 'Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness" (Gen 1: 26) it is impossible to love God without loving other human beings: "Those who say, 'I love God' and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love  brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers or sisters also." (1 Jn 4: 20-21) It is impossible to have love of God, therefore, when we do not recognize him in our fellow human beings. This has implications for how we regard the whole of humanity as Pope Francis has pointed out in his recent encyclical Tutti Fratelli.

This leads me therefore to myself since I, like all other human beings, am made in the image and likeness of God. Yet, how many of us are prone to self-condemnation!? We punish ourselves for our mistakes and sins. We inflict penance on ourselves for what we have done wrong and belittle ourselves in the eyes of others. Through negative self-labelling we self sabotage our happiness and our unhappiness becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Since 70% of my talk is, in fact, self-talk then my relationships with others, which is the remaining 30%, can only mirror my internal dialogue.

The key to fulfilling the law, enunciated by Christ, is to love God and be grateful to Him for the gift of myself. By accepting myself and loving myself I honour God's creation in me. When I honour God's work in me I will then have the vision to see God's grace and creation at work in others. That means I can love others since, like me, they are loved by God and, I pray, forgiven by God and healed by God. When I see God's grace at work and me and in others I rejoice. With gratitude I find my wonder at God's love amplified and my desire is, in fact, to love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind. I am brought to love God solely out of a desire to love him and not through fear, obligation or duty: "Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us." (1 Jn 4: 11-12)

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we hear how Jesus catches the Pharisees and Herodians who set a trap for him. Their insincerity and hypocrisy are revealed. In other words, their words do not match their actions. What about us? St Paul, in the second reading, tells the Thessalonians: "For we know...that he (God) has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." (1 Thess 1: 4-5) We must be vigilant as Christians that our faith is not simply a matter of words. We should be alert to how the Holy Spirit and God's power is manifested in our lives. If it is not, then we need to ask for the Holy Spirit: "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Lk 11: 13) It is the Holy Spirit who will guide us and enable us to integrate the gospel message into our lives and transform them through the conviction that it brings to be a living faith that shows forth the power of God.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

What a contrast there is between the first reading and the gospel this week! The prophet Isaiah speaks of the end of death and the fulfilment of creation as a great banquet on the mountain. Imagine the view! On the other hand we have the promise of a wedding banquet that ends in bitterness and bloodshed: "The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city." (Mtt 22: 7) Even the anonymous guest who comes to the wedding without a garment is treated severely: " 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mtt 22: 13) It is fitting therefor that we also pay attention to the second reading where we read: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phil 4: 13)It is true that an account will be asked of us for the lives that we have led however we need not be afraid when we walk with the Lord in our daily lives. We need to be mindful of the call and the promise that we have received and constantly invite the Holy Spirit to guide us so that we find ourselves rejoicing in the Lord at the wedding feast when our time comes.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus says: "Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom." (Mtt 21: 43) I think it is necessary, at this point, to remember what the kingdom entails. St Paul tells us: "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rm 14: 17) We should not, therefore, think that our attendance at Mass is oriented towards our own fulfillment. It is informed by the need for us to "become what we receive." We are to become Eucharist in that we live our lives conformed to the sacrificial love enacted in the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we become entitled, narcissistic and self regarding righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit will be taken from us. Our church will dissolve in factions, disputes and jealousies while others who live towards Christ will know the Kingdom and live it here and now. We need to awake from the sleep of denial and be alert to God at work in our midst: "Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to you that when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light." (Rm 13: 11-12)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The context of the gospel this week is the confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish authorities in the Temple. Who Jesus is and what authority he has for actions, including the cleansing of the Temple, is the question. Jesus does not justify himself rather he challenges the authority of the chief priests and the elders. The key thing for God is not what people say but what they do. The Jewish authorities have failed to respond to the call to repentance. The most unlikely of people, the tax collectors and prostitutes have, and this is what gives them priority in the in-breaking Kingdom of God which was foretold by St John the Baptist and realized in Jesus Christ. The Temple no longer exists however the call to repentance is still there. The challenge for us today is whether we are self-justifying or self-righteous, like the Jewish authorities of the day, or are we open to the radical message to change our lives and bring them into line with the Gospel. Every Ash Wednesday we rehearse the liturgy of repentance but is it a reality in our lives throughout the year? Let me be honest in my self critique: do I forgive others? do I have good stewardship of the earth's resources? am I greedy or materialistic? do I honour God and worship him with gratitude? do I act in a sexually moral way? do I put others first? Our journey of discipleship always challenges us to go further in our faith journey. Let us do so with courage: "let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus".  (Phil 2: 5)  

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Recently I have been working with primary schools to help them prepare children to receive First Reconciliation and First Communion. As per usual I come across parents who want faith for their children but do not seem to want it for themselves. I ask them: "Why is it you want to have your child receive baptism but do not want to be baptized yourself?" Seldom do I get anything like a satisfactory answer. I am left wondering why these mothers and fathers are reluctant or fatalistic about their own relationship with God and the Church? It is not like the opportunity has passed. I can say with confidence that my chances of becoming an All Black have been extinguished but the offer of God's grace remains for the whole of life: "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near." (Is 55: 6) Our heavenly Father, like the landowner in today's Gospel reading, constantly searches for souls to know, love and accept his salvation for what it really is. As missionary disciples each one of us needs to reach out to those around us who have given up on the possibility of joy and faith. Burdened by their sins and doubt they lie bound by chains of fatalism and pessimism. We need to make St Paul's words our own: "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor 5: 18-20) As RCIA and other programmes such as Alpha are active let us offer those we know the chance to learn about God and the Church so that we may share in the joy of faith together.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It has been interesting seeing the emphasis that the new media has put on whether the victims of the Christchurch mosque terrorist forgave him or not. Forgiveness is not something to be taken lightly. When Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic the Pharisees ask: " 'Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' " (Lk 5: 21) Yet, it is precisely for the forgiveness of sins that Jesus Christ came and for which he brought about a new covenant. At the Last Supper Jesus hands his disciples a cup saying: "Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mtt 26: 27-28) As if this is not hard enough to take, Jesus also tells his disciples that they must forgive as he forgives: "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." (Mtt 18: 35) This forgiveness knows no limit: "Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times." (Mtt 18: 21) Furthermore, our reception of mercy is made conditional on the extent to which we forgive: "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Mtt 6: 12) The marvel of God's forgiveness, manifested in Christ Jesus, is shown on the Cross: "Then Jesus said: 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing'." (Lk 23: 54) Thus, it clear that to be a true disciple of the Lord each of us needs to strive for ever greater forgiveness even of those who persecute us or hate us. It is only something we can accomplish because we are mindful of how much we have been forgiven already by God in Christ Jesus.