Sundays 23-34 of Ordinary Time, A

Ezek 33:7-9. As a preacher, Ezekiel has great responsibility. If he calls the wicked to repentance he will share in their salvation; but if he fails to speak, he may cause some to die in their sins.

Rom 13:8-10. Paul wonderfully summarises the great commandment by the phrase "Owe no one anything, except to love one another." Loving our neighbour, we will never do him wrong.

Mt 18:15-20. It is sometimes our duty to correct a fellow-Christian who is doing wrong. If the correction fails, there are further steps to be taken, in a community spirit.

Theme: We may have a moral obligation to correct wrongdoing. But it is incumbent on parents (and all who have others in their care) to administer such correction with love and respect.

So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, "O wicked ones, you shall surely die," and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

Ps 95:1-2, 6-9

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof,
though they had seen my work.

Romans 13:8-10

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet;" and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbour as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Matthew 18:15-20

"If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?"

Intercessions

- for those in authority that they will appreciate and fulfil the responsibility they are entrusted with.

- for ourselves, that we may have a genuine spirit of responsibilty towards our fellow human beings, whom God has entrusted to our care.

- for those who have gone astray through the permissiveness of society.

- for a return of our people to the best standards of decency and kindness towards our neighbour.

Thoughts for 23rd Sunday, A

Life Is Worth Living

During the early days of heart-transplant operations, the milestone for a patient was to survive a year afterwards. One particular patient who had attained this goal, described how before the operation all he wanted was to die, but after he had survived it, the world seemed a different place to him. "When you have faced death," he said, "and been given another chance of life, you notice everything." As a French philosopher Sartre said, "The peak of love's joy, if it exists at all, is to feel that life is worth living." His year's reprieve from death had brought this man a fresh vision of the wonder of living. Christ's declaration in the gospel that there is more to life than just eating, or drinking, or the provision of clothing and shelter, now seemed true. But if it happens that we can become blind to the wonders of nature, how much more likely are we to ignore the marvels of divine revelation, which is the foundation of our religious beliefs. For it may so easily happen that our religious vision and undersanding of life on earth can become blurred and recede into the background of our minds.

A convert in mature years, like the great English writer and commentator, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, could marvel at the wild extremes of truth to be found in the Church's teaching; for example, the Virgin giving birth - a seeming contradiction in terms, the divine death - an even greater contradiction, the sacredness of marriage being praised on the same level as dedication to God by a life of celibacy in a religious order, and so on. The sense of almost childlike wonder before the truths of revelation, or before God's creation, is something which, perhaps to a certain extent, the modern person has lost. So wonderful are the discoveries and advances in new technology that they are almost taken for granted. Twentieth century people have become carried away by the hustle and bustle of complete change which has swept so rapidly through their world. Historically speaking they have, one might say, become dislocated, cast adrift from their moorings in the past. There is such little continuity linking them with thatpast, which seems light-years away. And there is a vagueness about the future - in fact there is the fearful possibility that there may not be a future, if one considers the nuclear holocaust that could be unleashed on the world by national leaders hungry for power. In the face of all this, however, our response must not be one of despair and helplessness. Far from being a thing of fear, our belief in the providential care of God should be a liberating force. There may be some who, like the orthodox Jew in the time of Christ, maintain that people are not being religious unless they are enduring some kind of discomfort. Those who go down that road end up as victims to pessimism. But then, I cannot lock myself up in the secret room of my own heart and let others sink further into disillusion. Our Christian faith tells us, quite literally, that we are all members of one family, that our aim and prayer must be to become "one Body, one Spirit, in Christ."

In today's readings, God is telling me that I must be filled with concern for my sisters and brothers, in particular should they lose the vision of their immortal destiny, and the urge to strive for it. In the first reading God is calling me to be a prophet. This has nothing to do with foretelling the future. In the OT, a prophet was a person of God, one filled with the Spirit of God, one who had given himself up to be a servant of God, a witness before the whole world to the things of God. "Son of man," we were told in the first reading, "I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel." A prophet was a sentry, a watchman, a familiar figure in the defence system of the land. A sentry always stood apart, on a tower or rampart. He noticed everything; he tried to see the significance of any movement around him, to spot any signs of danger for his community.

Likewise the committed Christian must be concerned about others, about the dangers that threaten them. Christ never said that it was none of our business if people were being exploited, or being led astray, or leading sinful lives. But neither did he reveal an individual's sins to his face. And so we are to be prophets by giving open witness to Christian virtues in our own lives, by wooing the wrong-doers back to the true path, by praying for them, and by manifesting always an active love for them, as did Christ Jesus. A certain saint never tired of telling those who came to see him that many, many souls are lost, because they have nobody to pray for them. It is for usalways do that faithfully.

Watchman's Warning

The homilist today might take a leaf from Ezekiel's book. Ezekiel borrowed an image from war and its threat to national survival; a people under threat needs its sentries. The real threat that sentry Ezekiel sees, is not an attack from without, but the breakdown of the community from within, a breakdown that leads to death. The danger that he must warn about is the threat of sin. This warning of Ezekiel is not directed to the community as a whole but to the individual within it. Individual responsibility takes on a new force in his message.

Our own age is also preoccupied with the problems of national and international peace and security. For us, the watchman on the city wall is no longer a sufficient security; we claim the need of sophisticated "early-warning" devices, and our peace hangs on a balance of terror. The threat of our world is no longer the fall of a city but an international holocaust.

Ezekiel preached as a prisoner in enemy territory and he could warn that it was not the enemy without, but the enemy within, that is the real threat to life - that enemy is sin, the abandonment of God. Today it is the prophetic role of the Church to continue this preaching (even if its voice is treated like something coming from foreign soil.) The gospel of Christ is that life and peace come from faith in God and the doing of his will. This gospel calls us to repentance but is no mere denunciation of sin. Christ brought the gift of reconciliation and life. One might develop this further by reflecting on how we as a community can be a sign of what we preach a repentant community that has found the life and peace offered by Christ.

A reconciled community: Today's readings confront us with two aspects of the question. Firstly the need for a sense of individual responsibility in the way of conversion. Ezekiel certainly made it clear that the individual is addressed by the Word of God calling for repentance. There is no way out of this personal responsibility.

Secondly, Matthew shows that reconciliation with God is not a purely individual matter. While it does concern each individual, it takes place in and through the community, the Church of Christ.

One might develop the idea that in the church's ministry of reconciliation both individual and community must be mutually supportive. Each of us Comes to faith and baptism into Christ only through the community, and our sin no matter how personal, is never a purely private affair (Lumen Gentium, no. 11.) Sin damages our own dignity as the image of God and it also wounds the community (Saint Ambrose.) Our reconciliation with God involves reconciliation with and through the community, because as Matthew tells us today, it is in the Church that Christ is present for us.

But all of this should not be seen simply in terms of what the individual owes to the community. The whole Church is called to be supportive of each person who seeks reconciliation. This is especially important in a world where so many people feel threatened by the alienating force of impersonal state structures. The Church is not called to be mega-corporation.

Individuals who are lost, perplexed by their own failures and oppressed by the weaknesses of others, need a community that does not drive them further into isolation but one which calls them through forgiveness and love into the life of fellowship. Living in this fellowship does mean that we owe debts to one another, and as Paul reminds us today the only obligation tat ultimately counts is the debt of love we owe one another.

This reconciled community will be an effective sign to the world not because it creates a superficial harmony, but because it faces the reality of sin in itself. It finds forgiveness as the solution to this threat.

Renewal of the ministry of reconciliation in the Church increasingly takes the form of communal services of penance, linked to the celebration of the sacrament. This is an effective way of bringing home to people that all sin effects the community and reconciliation must include the community.

Christ our Light

"If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." My favorite image of this power is at the Easter Vigil each year. All the lights would go out in the Church one by one. Until all the lights were off except up in the choir loft. Then we would turn our overhead light out, and the organist would turn out her light which illuminated the sheet music and finally we would be in complete darkness.

Slowly the deacon would bring in the Paschal Candle chanting - Christ our Light - until he reached the front of the Church and then from the best view in the Church we would watch this flame get spread down the pews and aisles from candle to candle, and in a matter of moments the entire church would be bright enough to illuminate the ribbing of the high vaulted ceilings in this massive, gothic structure.
we loved that moment. It was powerful. One could see the power of community. The power of our individual lights united. The power of prayer.

We guess this is the image that I have carried around with me all of these years illustrating the power of community prayer. I believe in it as clearly as I could see the hundreds of candles illuminating a once dark church.

Now all these years later I get a similar view of things from the choir loft as a priest presiding - but now I am in the front of the Church. And there are times that I wish you and I could trade places for a moment so you could see what I see. It is a beautiful and powerful sight.

Love between brothers

All three readings are concerned with the obligations to each other of those within the believing community. As so often, the first reading looks to the third, and these two teach about fraternal correction, though from a slightly different angle. The first reading is about fraternal correction from the outside, so to speak, the third from the inside. The first kind of fraternal correction, when one member of the community corrects the faults of another which have nothing to do with him, is a special vocation belonging to the prophet specially commissioned by God. Although it is in any circumstances a great act of love and a great benefit to bring another to repent of his fault, in practice it is not everyone who can achieve this, and the mere realization of someone's faults is not sufficient warrant for setting out on this bomb-strewn path. We can often deceive ourselves about our good motives in so correcting our neighbour - it can so easily be a mere excuse for self-righteous spite, busybody interference, r desire to remove annoyance to ourselves - with the probable result of provoking hostility and confirmation in the fault out of sheer obstinacy. Such correction can really be beneficial only if it truly springs from and is founded on love.

The other sort of correction, from the inside, is a different matter, since it arises inevitably out of relationships and dealings between one man (or woman) and another, and should really be a preliminary to mutual forgiveness. Failure to tax a partner about some real or imagined cause of complaint can result only in a festering discontent, while honestly facing up to the disagreement can often show it to be trivial or even a total mistake. More often than not the fault is found to be on both sides. A puzzling feature of Matthew's prescriptions for sorting out such differences is the seeming hardness of taking the matter even to law. The purpose is perhaps that one must insist on reaching the root cause and resolving the basic conflict; it is no use leaving the job half done. A useful supplementary tip from the Old Testament is to act quickly, before the matter gets distorted: "Never let the sun go down upon your anger."

This fraternal correction too is, of course, the product of love, for it springs from the desire for reconciliation and the return to union. So in a way it is the second reading that is basic to the others. For St Paul love is the clothing the Christian wears, for it is the obvious thing about a Christian which gives the clue and brings unity to all his action. But it is more than this, for it penetrates through and through. As the Holy Spirit it is the life-principle of the Christian, both informing and giving coherence to all his conduct as a member of Christ. Furthermore, the Hebraeo-Christian concept of love is like nothing which existed before it, so much so that the first translators into Greek had almost to invent a new word, which hardly existed before in the Greek language. It is strong, active, self-sacrificing, respectful, a bond not merely of feeling but of service. The full implications of what Paul means by the Spirit of love can be seen in such passages as Gal. 5:13-24 or 1 Cor. 13:4-13. It is his which sets the tone for the reconciliation and forgiveness demanded by the other two readings.

Casting A Blind Eye

Recent disclosures about a paedophile priest in Ireland, which made worldwide headlines, shocked and dismayed many Catholics. It was its political consequences, causing as it did the downfall of a government, that attracted international interest in the story. Cases of child-abuse and worse, even by priests, are no longer regarded in many places in today's world as front-page stories. But the quaint medieval image of Ireland abroad as a country where the actions of a priest could bring down a government was newsworthy. Reaction in Ireland was altogether different. Old hardened priests with lifelong experience of dealing with sinners and their sins, with all their sordidness, were known to have broken down and wept. A priest who betrayed his sacred trust with the most innocent of all victims, a child, was beyond their comprehension. What angered people most of all was that the story might never have come to light if the priest had not been charged by the police. And that despite the fact that his superiors kne about his child abuse aberrations for years. How many victims might have been spared had those superiors taken appropriate action.

One would think that those who preach the gospel had never heard that gospel where Christ said to his disciples:

If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you; the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.

One thing is sure. The local community where that priest abused his many victims with impunity was the last to be told. One wonders whether Christ had anything as heinous as child-abuse by a disciple in mind, when he gave them those instructions.

It was a tragic irony that one who probably preached against the permissiveness of our age should have been guilty himself of one of the grossest forms of it. This permissiveness with all its tragic consequences, is symptomatic of the times we live in. From bishops to bosses, politicians to policemen, parents to teachers, "passing the buck" is rampant. They want the privileges of power without accepting the penalties. We all shy away from problems, cast a blind eye, shirk responsibility. And when the scandal leaks out, as inevitably it does, we always make the same excuse. We claim we didn't know. But such ignorance in those of us who exercise authority is no excuse. What the Lord told Ezekiel, applies equally to us: "I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel." And he went on to spell it out plainly:

"If you do not warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his - death."

President Truman had a card on his desk in the White House with the words inscribed on it in bold capitals, -The buck stops here." It would sit as well on a teacher's desk in the classroom as in the headmaster's office; in the priest's parlour as in the bishop's palace. It would fit indeed anywhere people are "their brother's keepers." But nowhere would it fit better nowadays than on the kitchen mantlepiece, with its four simple words pointing straight at us like an accusing finger. For those of us who have others in our care, our main concern should not be to be popular but to help. And we help most by accepting our responsibility.

Proper Policing

Today's gospel gives us an interesting insight into how a Christian community can relate to those who deviate from the norms of that community. It also tells us about the powerful results that attend a community where harmony reigns, and where Jesus is to be found.

Parable:

We are living at a time of public enquiries, tribunals, and accountability measures being introduced to root out corruption and dishonesty wherever it is, The church is much involved with this, relative to cases of sexual abuse against its members. When the truth about clerical sex abuse began to emerge, the powers-that-be in the church were caught unprepared. There was no policy, because there seemed to have been no great awareness of a problem. By now exact procedures have been drawn up, precise instructions are available to all involved in dealing with sex abuse and, like the advice of Jesus in today's gospel, there are clear steps to be followed.

The first part of today's gospel speaks of accountability. It certainly is not about "policing" my neighbour. Any action that might be taken is to be done in love, and out of a concern for the individual, and for the Christian community. Rather than being an accessory to the wrong, I am asked to take responsibility, and to share my concerns in a certain order. If I know the errant one, I may speak to him/her myself; and if that is not successful, I may then ask others to support me by following up on my initiative, "All that's needed for evil people to succeed is that good people should do nothing." We hear a lot of stories today where people were defrauding a system, or behaving in a way that would lead to harm for others; while we also hear that many others were aware of this but, because of moral cowardice, chose to turn a blind eye to what was going on and do nothing. Condoning a wrong-doing is to contribute to the wrong-doing.

Some people find it difficult, if not impossible, to confront another with the truth. It requires moral courage, a genuine concern for the moral welfare of others, and the ability to speak my truth in love. If the other refuses to listen, even after you have got others to support you in your endeavours, then, having done your duty, you can follow an official route and let the powers-that-be take over and act. Your first attempt was to help, in love, and to prevent a bad situation becoming worse. There comes a time, though, when you must walk away and let the chips fall where they will. Jesus told his disciples that when they entered a town with his message, if the people refused to listen to them, they should shake the dust of that town from their feet, and move on.

The concluding paragraph of today's gospel has two gems of hope and consolation, If two or more of us ask God for something, and we are of one heart and one mind, that request will be granted. He goes on to tell us that where two or three gather in his name that he is there in the midst of them. What a joy that should evoke in the heart if the reality of that truth sank in.

When he ascended into heaven, he took the body he had with him. He sent down the Spirit, and he asked us to provide the body. It follows then, of course, that where the body is gathered, the Spirit is present, and where the Spirit is, there are the Father and Jesus as well.

Response: The gospel is about love, and love is what should motivate our actions. My love for the community, the message of Jesus, or for my neighbour must be the primary motive in any attempt to point out to another the error of his ways. It is not a judgement or an authority thing. It is a question of caring enough for truth, or the welfare of another, that causes me, at times, to face up to painful situations, and to make painful decisions. If there is love, this should motivate me to overcome the moral cowardice that can freeze us into inaction, When I cannot influence a serious situation, I must follow through by going to someone else for advice or support. Eventually, this may have to be an authority figure, as a last resort to correct a bad situation. There is great sensitivity needed here, because I should never interfere in something that is not my business, or my concern. Sometimes I may have to stand back and let an alcoholic hit Skid Row, and possibly die. I must avoid the temptation to play God, ecause I am powerless over persons, places, or things. It is only when the common good is being adversely effected, or there is an apparent injustice being done, that I should speak out in love, This is not a question of being a "nosey Parker," or interfering in something that is not my business.

As a Christian I should have a genuine respect for the community dimension of that. If Jesus has positively endorsed the value of those who gather in his name, I must keep this in mind when I share in community gatherings. The Spirit is given to the community as the Body of Christ, and I am "plugged into" the power of that Spirit when lam part of the Christian community. There is no flying solo within the Christian community. As the church is evolving at present, there is a greater call for people to take responsibility for their part within the life of the church. The word "vocation" which was once the preserve of the clergy and religious, is now being restored to the laity as their right. I have a Christian vocation, whether I choose to live that in the married, single, clerical, or religious life. My baptism is much more important to me than my ordination.

Part of the revelations in recent Tribunals of enquiry has been the fact that so many others were aware of what was going on, and they chose to remain silent. In doing so they were complicit in the wrong-doing. I should look at my life as a loving critic, to ensure that I am not being an enabler in any wrong-doing. "Fear makes cowards of us all," Shakespeare wrote, Moral courage, inspiring us to honesty, is a precious quality, and it should be part of the stock-in-trade of every Christian.

In being a loving critic of my own life, I ma~" discover areas where others drew my attention to something in my conduct that was hurtful to others. Resentment is a luxury that a Christian cannot afford. "There are none so blind as those who don't want to see, or none so deaf as those who don't want to hear." I have met many people who lived to become eternally grateful to someone else who alerted them to the destructive nature of their behaviour. It takes generosity of spirit, and an openness to truth, to enable us listen to the truth of others. It is a real sign of maturity and humility to be able to reflect, without bitterness, on what another has pointed out to me. None of us like being corrected or having to face up to some unpalatable truths.

I may attend Christian community gatherings, or be part of an active Christian community, and not fully appreciate the extraordinary truth that Jesus is present among us, I should have a sense of reverence when present at such gatherings. It makes a fundamental and profound difference when I have this awareness. It means that I'm not just present in body, but that my whole being is present at that gathering. If I do this, I will soon discover the enriching graces of such a presence. It is vital that I check the level of my involvement and awareness as a member of the Christian community.

A young mother had a way of cooking ham that intrigued her husband. She would take the ham, and cut off a section of it from both ends, before putting it in the dish that went into the oven, One day he asked her why she did this, and she said she did it because her mother always did it. The next time he met his mother-in-law he decided to make further enquiries. He asked her why she always cut off the ends of a piece of ham, and she said that, for many years, she had quite a small dish, and the ham didn't fit into it! He discovered that his wife had continued to do something for which there was no reason, logic, or explanation, Today's gospel calls on us to reflect on our actions, and to discover the motives behind our behaviour. Have you heard about the priest who dreamt he was preaching a sermon, and he woke up to find that he was?

24th Sunday (A)

Let Bygones Be Bygones

From the heart

Sir 27:33-28:9. A strong desire for revenge can block us from God's mercy and forgiveness. "If one has no mercy toward another like himself, can he then seek pardon for his own sins?"

Rom 14:7-9. As Christians we belong to Christ. "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord"

Mt 18:21-35. The parable of the unforgiving debtor says that we who receive the unlimited mercy of God must always be ready to forgive others.

Theme: It is false to celebrate the Lord of compassion and love, unless we show mercy to those who have wronged us. Today's Gospel calls us to forgive others as Christ forgives us.

Sirach 27:30-28:7

Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, yet a sinner holds on to them.

The vengeful will face the Lord's vengeance,for he keeps a strict account of their sins. Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done,and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Does anyone harbor anger against another and expect healing from the Lord? If one has no mercy toward another like himself, can he then seek pardon for his own sins? If a mere mortal harbors wrath,who will make an atoning sacrifice for his sins? Remember the end of your life, and set enmity aside;remember corruption and death, and be true to the commandments. Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbour;remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.

Ps 103:1-4, 9-12

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits -
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.

Romans 14:7-9

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, is lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, 'Pay what you owe.' Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' But he rfused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

Intercessions

- for the grace to forgive those who have wronged us, and "Let Bygones Be Bygones."

- for a return to peace and stability among warring parties in the trouble-spots of our world.

- for a spirit of reconciliation among feuding families and neighbours.

- that we may all build for the future, in mutual trust and harmony.

Thoughts for 24th Sunday, A

Forgiveness

A woman, pushing on in years, boasted to her Parish Priest that she did not have an enemy in the world. He was very impressed. What a wonderful thing to be able to say after all those years! And then she added:- 'I have outlived them all'. I suppose if we live long enough we will also be able to make the same statement.

We have all been hurt in some way or other in the journey of life - made fun of in school by a teacher, not invited to the wedding, didn't get the job I thought I should have got, or at a more serious level, betrayed by someone you trusted, abused physically or sexually and so on.

Sheila Cassidy, who was herself tortured in South America, had this to say:- 'I would never say to someone 'you must forgive'. I would not dare. Who am I to tell a woman whose father abused her or a mother whose daughter has been raped that she must forgive? I can only say: 'However much we have been wronged, however justified our hatred, if we cherish it, it will poison us......We must pray for the power to forgive, for it is in forgiving that we are healed'. Nelson Mandella continually reminded his fellow prisoners in South Africa that unless they let go of their hurts they would remain in the grip of their abusers.

By failing to forgive, we hurt ourselves more than anyone else. Surely this is what Jesus had in mind when he told how the merciless servant was cast into prison when he refused to forgive his fellow servant. I don't think he was suggesting that God would cancel his mercy. He is simply saying that an unforgiving spirit creates a prison of its own. It builds up walls of bitterness and resentment and there is no escape until we come to forgive.

Of course it is important to remember that we also have hurt people. Solzenitchen reminds us that the line that divides good and evil passes through the heart of each one of us.

Forgiving and letting go is not easy, especially when the wound is very deep. This is why forgiveness is sometimes called the 'f' word, because it's not to be used lightly. Forgiveness is a choice and often involves a three stage process: (1) I will never forgive that person (2) I can't forgive (forgiveness seen as a good thing, but the hurt is too great) (3) I want to forgive and let go with God's help.

Also we must learn to forgive ourselves. Imagine you are responsible for something very serious. You are driving a car with drink. There is an accident and a young person is killed. That life cannot be brought back. For more and more people there is a something in the background, some skeleton in the closet - a broken marriage, an abortion, a pregnancy outside marriage, a broken relationship, a serious mistake. And for many of us we do not believe that there is another chance much less a seven times seventy chances. This is not the teaching of Jesus. God does not just give us another chance, but every time we close a door he opens another one for us.

The Lord challenges us not to make serious damaging mistakes, but he also tells us that our mistakes are not forever - they are not even for a life time - and that time and grace wash clean, that nothing is irrevocable.

Even Enemies

In that gospel reading Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive his brother, and in the parable following was told that not only should he do so time and time again, but he should also forgive his brother from his heart. But there is still more. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had widened the act of forgiving to include even one's enemies. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute and calumniate you" (Lk 6:27f). Sadly, the majority of us who try to live up to Christian standards feel that the love of God and of our fellow human beings is not exactly a priority in our lives.

But we should bear in mind that love does not consist solely in making great sacrifices. Indeed, great sacrifices without love are worth nothing, and neither are wonderful deeds, great achievements or heroic endurance. All of these latter were present in the life of St Paul. He was a man of profound spiritual knowledge, with a vast understanding of the mysteries of revelation. He could have answered thousands of questions on theological problems which have vexed the greatest minds down the centuries. So wonderful were the gifts God had given him that no one who met him could go away without being wiser about the path a soul should take to come close to God.

Such was this great apostle who devoted his unique talents to the spreading of Christ's message to the gentiles. Yet, of himself he could say, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and even have all faith so as to remove mountains, yet if I have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor 13:1+). So being blessed with faith and eloquence and knowledge is not proof that one has also the gift of love. Even martyrdom, in itself, is no passport into paradise, as Paul said, "though I give my body to be burned, and am without love, it will do me no good whatever." Jesus urged his followers, "If you love me, keep my commandments."

However, it is quite possible to be obedient, but remain without love, to obey God through fear of being punished by him. This generally happens when people pursue the things of this world, but are restrained from doing so to the full, by the kind of religion they profess. Those who go further than themselves, they look upon as being ungodly, whereas those who do not go as far as themselves, they regard as being superstitious, and scoff at them by labelling them conservatives.

The fact is, however, that if we turn away from evil out of fear of being punished, we are in the position of slaves. Jesus makes our whole duty consist in loving God, and at the same time also loving our neighbour. "We know we have passed from death to life, because we love one another," St John wrote in his first letter (3:14), and "Everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God, because God is love" (4:7). Moreover, "Anyone who lives in love, lives in God, and God lives in him" (4:16). We can say that love is the seed of holiness, and begets all kinds of excellent qualities and virtues that single out a truly saintly person from ordinary souls. "Love, and do what you will," St Augustine used to say, meaning that all who are motivated by love, in everything they do, are incapable of doing wrong to anyone. Indeed, holiness is really love of the divine law.

When as infants we were baptised, we received the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit so given is the Law of God written on our hearts. In the Letter to the Hebrews we have confirmation of this where it says, "I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts" (8:10). To know and believe that one is immensely loved by God gives ultimate meaning to life on earth and provides the foundation for true, real, and meaningful happiness.

Faith, however, should never beget a condescending attitude towards others, especially people of different religious persuasion to ourselves - regarding them as poor misguided individuals - nor should our faith lead to a feeling of complacency and smugness in ourselves. For faith is more a gift than an achievement on our part. It leads to the knowledge that we are loved by God as we are, and this frees us from worrying about our own perfection, our own happiness. It gives us the freedom of the children of God who place their trust completely in his love for them.

Pardoned, Pardoning

Hatred and resentment are moral cancers that eat away at our enthusiasm to do good. An appeal to strict justice is not enough to solve the dilemma, since taking out another's eye does not really cure the loss of one's own eye, and revenge cannot really settle the account of a grievance. But forgiveness is a hard virtue to gain and to maintain. We can feel the problem in the question Peter asks of Jesus today: "How many times must I forgive?" And although his proposal of "seven times" is used as a round symbolic willingness to forgive "as much as it is humanly possible to forgive," Jesus suggest we must go further still, since God forgives "seventy seven times" (or seventy times seven times.) Forgiveness is not a question of just how often or how many times, rather it reflects God's unending willingness to pardon. There are no limits to his forgiveness.

It is so easy to forget God's goodness, as our first reading illustrates today. (Eccl 27:30-28:7) Even the stark reality of our own death does not keep each of us alert to God's gracious promise of salvation as the guiding principal of our actions. It is not easy to see the goodness of God in the hurt we inflict on each other in our selfish interactions. Paul tells us today that we do influence each other. We affect each other. But is it for the good (Rom 14:7-9.)

Our parable story today shows that we are incapable of forgiving without first appreciating the forgiveness we have received from God. Notice the three scenes:

(1) We are insolvent, indebted, overdrawn in our account with God's goodness. God has given us freely life, freedom, integrity and hope. We are incapable of achieving anything by our own resources- we have none! "Without me you can do nothing."

(2) We are puffed-up with our own importance: "Pay me what you owe me!" We can be intolerant, demanding, inexcusable and arrogant. We can be unkind and unforgiving. We can injure our neighbour, and he can hurt us. We can elbow our way roughly through life. We can so easily hold a grudge, and refuse to forgive.

(3) The ultimate reality "God's goodness" is never simple-minded. God is not blind. The unforgiving cannot be forgiven. Forgiveness only comes from realising that we have been forgiven. In pardoning we are pardoned. Our tenuous hold on others must quickly be consumed not by following our hatred to the hilt, but by pardoning in gentle forgiveness. Only so can we realise the equation:

Insolvency cannot make demands!

And so let us forgive from our hearts, for if we leave the court with our own suit dismissed, and fail to forgive, then we find ourselves immediately rearranged and in the dock as the guilty accused!

Easy to Talk About

Forgiveness if often more talked about than practised. There are too many people who, after a dispute, bury the hatchet - but never forget where they buried it! The whole message of the readings today can be summarised in words from the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us.. as we forgive." Perhaps our frequent use of this prayer has blunted its edge for, as well as promises for which we hope, its petitions are full of threats to future existence which we might not actually wish to have laid upon us.

The gospels are full of stories of the uniquely forgiving attitude of Jesus: on the cross (Lk 23:34) ; to the penitent thief (Lk 23:43.) Peter, having seen Jesus forgive others, and having experienced it ion his own life, asks if there can be any limit to forgiveness. Jesus gives an extravagant answer to emphasise God's total love for his people.

This parable is a pointed one that unless we forgive others we will not be aware of our own need for forgiveness. The contrary position is also true that it is often those who are priggish and feel they have nothing to confess who are hard and unforgiving to others. In explaining this parable it must be made clear to the people that God is not the king of the story. God has offered forgiveness without conditions - other than the awareness of our need to be forgiven and our promise of amendment of life.

Forgiveness can be costly -for forgive as well as forgiven. The slave has to swallow his pride so that he can save his skin. The king knew that imprisonment would not repay the debt. So, when the slave appealed for mercy, he abandoned his intention to punish. This was costly, as much in terms of justice as of cash.

By forgiving the slave the ruler was restoring the man and creating a bond of reconciliation between them. The hatchet would not only be buried but would be forgotten. (This aspect can be illustrated by drawing on the many examples of breakdown in family life that, sadly, appear in every parish nowadays.)

To be truly human everyone needs to experience forgiveness from fellow humans as well as from God. Forgiveness is costly to forgiver and forgiven alike. Its value is that it enables us to call to mind the supreme cost of our salvation won for us on the cross of Calvary. Reconciliation between God and his people is restored. The depth and the sincerity of forgiveness are the heart of its reality. Christian action at is best is nearly always an understanding of God's live in Christ. We can only forgive "till seventy times seven" because he first forgave us, But the cost of our forgiving is negligible compared with his.

Let Bygones Be Bygones

She slipped upstairs to find a few more playthings. Her neighbour had just left her two little ones with her to mind and, with her own two, there wasn't enough to go round. They had started squabbling already. Rummaging in the toy-box, she came across an old photograph. She looked at it, daydreaming for a moment. Just long enough for one of her little charges to toddle out the front door which had been left slightly ajar. The little body was found later in the pond at the bottom of the garden. She went to pieces. While she was being treated in a psychiatric hospital, the mother of the dead child came to see her, the worst of her grief now over. Her forgiveness helped enormously to set her on the road -to recovery. But she was never the same again. She could never forgive herself for that moment's neglect.

There is a young couple in Paris, with whom I am friendly. They have two little children. Since they don't have a car, they occasionally call on my services to ferry them somewhere or other. I am always delighted to do so. Once the two little ones are firmly strapped in the back seat, I dangle the keys in front of the parents and ask: "Now, which of you is going to drive?" They are both excellent drivers. I just couldn't take responsibility for them. If anything were to happen, God forbid, I would never be able to forgive myself.

Forgiveness is a hard thing. "Forgive and forget', we are told. If only we could forget, forgiveness would come easy. But the scars of old hurts fester on, refusing to heal. And our resent-
ment grows each time we remember the rejection, the insult, the injury. Our resentment wells up again, as if it was only yesterday. Bygones refuse to be bygones. The closer the friendship, the deeper the hurt. The only forgiveness we can muster, is usually reserved for strangers. Our lives are strewn with broken friendships. And all because we couldn't find it in ourselves to forgive. "Shake hands and make up" we were told, when we fought as little boys in the school playground. That lesson seems to have disappeared with our schooldays.

No wonder we ascribe forgiveness to God alone. "To err is human, to forgive is divine." We subscribe whole heartily to the Psalmist when he says:

It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

"May God forgive him!" we mutter to ourselves, recalling for the umpteenth time some ancient hurt. We could spare ourselves that prayer. What God would like to know is will we forgive him.

Swift, with all his satire, was closer to the truth than we care to admit:

We have just enough religion to make us hate,
but not enough to make us love one another.

How else explain those murderous wars between those who claim allegiance to their God? An expert recently claimed that, of all the thirty wars being fought at present in the world, none were against foreign aggressors. All the belligerents were compatriots, separated only by their religion. It is certainly true of former Yugoslavia, where Muslims, Orthodox and Catholic are locked in fratricidal war. Or Palestine, where Abraham's children, Jews and Arabs, nurture ancient wrongs. Such wars will last as long as we refuse to forgive.

"As we forgive them', we like to pray. So, we are passing sentence on ourselves, as long as we withhold forgiveness. Forgive your neighbour the hurt he does you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven. If a man nurses anger against another, can he then demand compassion from the Lord?

From the heart

Today's gospel is a clear teaching on forgiveness, and we can no longer say that we weren't sure what Jesus' teaching was, He tells us how the heavenly Father will treat those who refuse to forgive a brother or sister from the heart.

On far too many occasions over the years, we have had tit-for-tat murders in Northern Ireland. The revenge being sought usually came from some element of the paramilitaries. On many occasions the families of those killed begged that there be no revenge killing, and were public in proclaiming their willingness to forgive those who had killed a son, a father, or whoever. Gordon Wilson, whose daughter Marie was killed in the Enniskillen bomb during a commemoration ceremony at the cenotaph, was one of the most outstanding examples of Christian forgiveness. He became a witness to the whole country, and was co-opted into the Senate by the Dublin government.

Jesus was a brilliant teacher. He used stories a lot, because it was a simple way to get across a message. Peter had asked him a question, which must have been about a topic being discussed among them. He asked how often should he forgive his brother if he sinned against him? Peter went on to hazard a guess at the answer, by suggesting seven times. In this he was being generous, and he probably expected to merit Jesus' approval. Imagine his amazement when Jesus replied, "No! Seventy times seven." This was an expression meaning "endless" or "indefinitely" among the Jews.

I almost feel like saying "Yes, you heard correctly. He said that you must keep forgiving, and there must never come a time when you draw the line, and say "no further."" Quite obviously, this is impossible for us, when someone continues to hurt us, take advantage of us, use us. Yes, indeed, it is impossible for us, all things are possible for God, and for God only. Even while he was dying on the cross, Jesus was asking the Father to forgive those who were killing him. It is only through the presence and action of the Spirit within my heart that I have any hope of ever becoming and acting as a Christian, When Jesus calls on us to forgive without end, he also offers us what it takes to do that. He will never ask us to do something, or to go anywhere where his Spirit will not accompany us, and his grace sustain us.

Jesus draws a simple parallel between both men in today's gospel. The basic message is that we must forgive others because God forgives us. St John, in one of his letters, says "Little children, let us love one another, because God has first loved us." In the one prayer he left us, Jesus taught us to ask God to forgive us as we are willing to forgive others. If forgiveness doesn't go from me to others, it ceases to come from God.

Response: Nowhere does the gospel suggest, and nowhere am I suggesting that forgiveness is easy. Some people have been deeply hurt and traumatised. Nobody was more unfairly treated than Jesus. It is easy to confuse forgiving with forgetting. I cannot be expected to forget what happened to me, and many people carry the horrible memories of their pain to their graves, even if they have long ago forgiven those who hurt them. "To err is human; to forgive is divine." I may need counselling or some self-help group to enable me heal the wounds, and let go of the anger and resentment.

The first step on the road of forgiveness is a willingness to forgive. If I have the will, God will give me the power. Even while still hurting, I can get to a point where I am able to pray for those who hurt me. This is a giant step, and it is the first step along the road of recovery. It takes a big heart to be able to let go of the need to seek revenge, and to get even, by myself it is too much for me. I cannot do it on my own; that is why I must come to a point where I am willing and ready to turn the whole thing over to God.

When I forgive I free myself from the prison of resentment and anger. The person who is hurt most is myself, when I refuse to forgive. There is an extraordinary healing in forgiveness, because it opens my heart to the forgiveness of Cod. We are all in need of forgiveness, especially from God. What a blessing it is to know that I am forgiven by God. The only way I can be sure of this is that I myself become a forgiving person. Forgiveness becomes a way of life for the Christian, This is surely the work of the Spirit, and it is clear evidence of the action of the Spirit in my heart. If you want to be free, and to live a wholesome life, then you must have a forgiving heart.

Today's gospel should cause us to search our hearts. Forgiveness is a wide issue. It is more than just forgiving others. It includes forgiving myself, and it may even include forgiving God because of some tragedy or disaster in my life. When I am ready to look in a mirror and give myself absolution, only then am I ready to come to God for forgiveness. Otherwise, I could find myself asking God to do something that I myself am refusing to do.

We have all heard the phrase "burying the hatchet," but there is a tendency to mark the spot, so that the hatchet can be dug up at short notice, when needed! Forgiveness does not exclude remembering the pain, or experiencing a twinge of anger at a moment of recall. It means that, at such times, I am willing to pray for those who hurt me, so that the pain will go away. It is an on-going process and, like any wound, it takes time to heal. Opening my hands and letting go, means that my hands are open to receive many wonderful blessings from God.

For the Christian, there is no way around forgiveness. I can justify and rationalise anything but, at the end of the day, I just have to forgive. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." I must reflect on the short prayer Jesus asked me to say. It doesn't give me much choice, does it? Forgiving is a high level of loving, because it costs me, If a couple knelt down before me to get married, and they hadn't much sense, and even less money, I would still go ahead with the ceremony, if I thought they had enough forgiveness in their hearts, If they have enough forgiveness, their love will last, because it is through thousands of acts of forgiveness that love grows. Today's gospel certainly gives us some serious reflection material.

It happened on a huge ranch somewhere in South Dakota. The mother was preparing some food, while her toddler son was amusing himself with some building blocks. It was a dark evening, and there was quite a storm outside. Her husband was down in the farmyard with the other workmen. The mother was so engrossed in her work that she failed to keep an eye on the child, who had by now made his way to the back door. When she was finished her work she called him to feed him, and he didn't respond. She wasn't worried, thinking he may be asleep on a couch, he could have made his way upstairs, or downstairs to the cellar. It took some time for the coin to drop, and for her to realise that he was not around, She began to get anxious as she ran from one end of the house to the other, calling his name, It was then she spotted the back door open.

She ran outside into the rain and the darkness, frantically calling his name, but, apart from the storm, there wasn't a sound, She spent some time running around the outside of the house, before he decided to phone the farmyard, and call for help. Her husband and the workmen arrived immediately. Huge fields of wheat surrounded the house, which was nearly twice the height of her son. They ran into the wheat, with torches, calling his name all the time. After some time, they called the police, as they continued the search, Eventually they had to give up, and resigned themselves to wait for the light of dawn. Many of the neighbours arrived to assist in the search. They ran every which way through the wheat, but to no avail. Finally, one of the policemen called them all together, and he said to them "We're all running all over the place, without plan or order, The child is so small that he could be within yards of any one of us but, with the tall wheat he is not visible. Why don't we hold hands, form a straight lne, and move down sections of the field, one after the other," they did this, and it wasn't long until they found him. He was lying in a gully, and he was unconscious, after being exposed to the elements all night. The policeman picked him up in his arms, and ran towards the house. The mother was at the door, and the child was handed to her, but it was too late. The tiny flame of life was extinguished, and he was dead in her arms. She sat on the back porch, clutching her dead baby in her arms, as the others looked on in a state of shock and helplessness. Suddenly, from somewhere within the mother came a scream. "Why, oh why, didn't you people hold hands sooner?'

How many more people have to die in Northern Ireland, Jerusalem, East Timor, before people begin to forgive each other, and hold hands ...

25th Sunday (A)

Isaiah 55:6-9

Ps 145:2ff

Philippians 1:20-24, 27

Is 55:6-9. Isaiah recommends turning to the Lord in urgent prayer. God is almighty and high above, but he never ignores the prayer of the humble.

Phil 1:20-24,27. Paul's central wish is to give glory to God. Although he wants to be with Christ in heaven, he is also happy to go on serving Christ in this world as long as God wills it.

Mt 20:1-16. The parable of the labourers in the vineyard shows how God welcomes everyone into his kingdom. Every worker in the Lord's vineyard receives a reward according to God's goodness.

Theme: "Seek the Lord while he may be found" is one side of today's readings. The other is that God's mercy is beyond measure; even those who come late to his vineyard will be welcomed by his infinite love.

Isaiah 55:6-9

Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundanly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Ps 145:2ff

Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.

The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Philippians 1:20-24, 27

It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.

Matthew 20:1-16

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.

Now when the first came they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Intercessions

- for the unemployed that they will be helped to rejoin the ranks of wage-earners, and enjoy the dignity of earning their own living.

- for employers that they may give priority to maintaining employment in their enterprises.

- for the government that they will use energy and imagination in creating employment for all our citizens.

- for a spirit of thanksgiving, that we have the health to work, and for the prospering of our efforts.

Thoughts for 25th Sunday, A

Workers in Vineyard

I liked the film "Babette's Feast". Babette had a special gift for making good food in the best restaurant in Paris. She was forced to leave Paris during the revolution. She went to Denmark. There she pleaded with two elderly ladies to give her refuge. They were very pious, daughters of an austere Lutheran pastor who believed that if something gave pleasure it must be sinful and to be avoided. Without revealing her background, she promised to cook for them. They accepted her.

17 years later she received a letter from Paris with 10,000 Francs she had won in a lottery. She made a request to the ladies. She would like to give them, their friends and the villagers a dinner. There was one condition. It would have to be a French style dinner. They agreed and preparations started. The best of foods, wines and spirits were brought all the way from Paris, every conceivable nicety, plus silver salvers all the way. The ladies and the villagers got worried about the extravagance. Tongues were made for praising God, not for tasting exotic foods. Then they held a meeting and decided to go to the feast to eat, but not to enjoy it, and make no comments about the food.

All arrived, tables were laid and served, the night warmed up, hearts softened, tongues loosened, old rows were resolved, people openly forgave each other. The night ended in the courtyard with all holding hands and singing together.

Finally the film showed Babette in the kitchen having served all night. She was telling the ladies of her joy. This was her greatest moment. The meal cost 10,000 Francs, exactly what it would cost in Paris in her old restaurant.

That crazy extravagance is a taste of God.

This is not simply a story of a fine meal but a parable of grace: a gift that costs everything of the giver and nothing for the receiver. We do not earn God's favour with our pieties and renunciations. It comes as it always does, free of charge, no strings attached, on the house.

We have the same message in today's gospel: a crazy farmer who not only pays the same wage to the people who worked for one hour as he did to those who did a heavy day's work in all the heat. And to make it worse, the late comers were paid first. The others were angry and so would you and I be. It seems so unfair.

Why did Jesus tell that story? He was not talking about a just wage or how to run a successful business. In fact he was talking about the God that he believed in. This is what God is like. The parable is about the super-abundant mercy of God which is held out to sinners whether they come late or early in the day.

The parable makes little sense from the point of view of strict justice. But which of us would want to be treated by God according to strict justice. Do we not stand more in need of his mercy? Shakespeare got it right: "Though justice be thy plea, consider this - that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation. We do pray for mercy." And we can do so with confidence.

Living Spirituality

"My thoughts are not your thoughts," the first reading warns us, "my ways not your ways - it is the Lord who speaks." God, in other words, is completely different from what human beings imagine. From the time of the ancient Greeks up to the beginning of the twentieth century, much effort, and at times zealous fervour, went into formulating proofs for the existence of God. But such proofs seem to have lost their appeal for our generation, which seems more concerned with what we mean, when we speak of God.

Although most of us believe that God created us, there are others who go so far as to declare that God is no more than something of our own creation. At one stage those who did not subscribe to the existence of a divine being claimed that belief in such a one merely made human beings shy away from work, while expecting God to do it for them. But many psychiatrists, have become concerned that a lack of spirituality in turn can lead to its own mental upsets. Because when pressures become too great, and demands are impossible to meet, it is not the presence of a divine friend but rather the absence of one that can drive people to despair. The hope, in this world, of attaining a complete understanding of the nature of God is something, not only that can end up in many a blind alley, but, ultimately, is truly impossible to reach. For the finite human mind is incapable of encompassing the infinite.

The English writer, C. S. Lewis, famous for his insights into Christianity, after his wife had died from cancer, compared our idea of God with a house of cards. If one has a skilful and steady hand it is possible to build a quite elaborate structure, a kind of oriental temple, with playing cards. But because our limited image of the divine can easily become an idol, God occasionally shakes the table on which the cards are built up, and the whole thing collapses. Indeed we might well go so far as to say that this shattering is one of the marks of God's presence. For Lewis, the death of his wife was a crushing experience, which caused his image of God to crumble. It was only after the lapse of time that he came to look on his experience as a grace from God, because his understanding of the divine had increased further. One can easily make the common mistake of trying to reduce God to one's own level. St Thomas Aquinas, on his deathbed, begged that all his writings on the nature of God be destroyed, so convincedwas he of their limitations. His request was never carried out, but this warning by him to his followers remains. If you believe you can comprehend God it is quite certain he is not God that comes to your mind. God indeed is infinitely greater than any concept of him the human mind can form, even though it be endowed with the genius of a Thomas Aquinas.

We will have made considerable progress in our knowledge of God, St Augustine declared, when before we know who he is, we have first learned who he is not. God's ways certainly are not our ways, as we see in today's gospel parable. At first glance it seems to go contrary to our sense of justice. It is preceded by, and ends with the same sentence, "The last will be first and the first last." And so it happens when the landowner comes to pay his workers. His bailiff, or steward, is told to start with those who worked only an hour, and give them one denarius each. So those who had worked a full day saw the latecomers receiving as much as had been agreed for them in the early morning. Had they themselves been paid first, they would have gone off without being aware of what the rest got.

Any modem trade unionist would be appalled if his employer dealt with his staff in that manner. And we have a certain sympathy for those who had borne the heat and burden of the day, and received just as much as those who worked for just one hour in the cool of the evening. How could the landowner, who of course stands for God in the parable, treat his dependents in such a shabby way. So it comes as a rude awakening to us to learn that the whole thrust of the parable is that nobody can bargain with God, or claim the right to a reward from God. What Jesus is here stating in a rather striking way is that God is not in the business of bargaining, that a life of eternal happiness hereafter is a sheer gift that comes from God's generosity. In no way can it be earned. By way of response the important thing for me is my love for God and for my neighbour. But perhaps more important still is God's love for me as I am, as well as for the members of the community of which I am part.

God of Surprises

One may find it useful to focus on a God of surprises, i.e., one who sets aside our human expectations in a display of divine freedom. One may pause to mention some of those situations where these human expectations are in evidence. For example, we become chagrined when former sinners attain positions of eminence in our civil or religious communities. We observe the less talented people advance in their careers and we become upset. We witness catastrophe in our own lives and assume that things cannot be changed. In these and similar situations we have programmed God to act in our image. We have not allowed God to be God, specifically a giver of gifts in the absence of credentials and worthiness.

Second Isaiah challenged his audience to believe in such a God of surprises. He upraised this community by operating on purely human scales. He insisted that God's ways and thoughts were not to be determined by Israel's ways and thoughts. Ultimately he invited this weary audience to focus on the dimension of divine mystery and so make way for a God of surprises.

Matthew acknowledged the community leaders and the other exemplary Christians who had worked hard. But he also pointed out the eleventh-hour members of the community who did not possess the credibility of those others. He advised his audience to emphasise God's capacity to give, not humankind's tendency to restrict and control. He proposed a Jesus who transcended purely human parameters of reward. In the final analysis he presented Jesus in the image of his Father, viz., a giver of gifts.

One may choose to speak of this theology of surprises in at least two ways. First, there are those who have experienced enormous shocks in life that they can no longer entertain the possibility of hope and confidence. One may urge this audience to believe in the God of Second Isaiah and Matthew. This is a God who can transform chaos into cosmos. Second, there are those who have gifts, talents, and resources. One may exhort this audience to make belief in a God of surprises palpable by becoming agents of surprise for others. Our God of surprises becomes real because the human agents of surprises are real.

Finally the homilist may want to link this theology of surprises with Eucharist. In Eucharist we proclaim God's transformation of tragedy and despair into life and hope. The gift-giving is manifest in the change from the suffering and dead Jesus to the risen Lord. By making this proclamation, we commit ourselves to effecting surprises for those who yearn for transformations in their lives.

An Open Mind

A theme common to all three readings is that of changing one's mind. Our capacity to change our minds leaves us open to hazard and to hope - hazard when we choose to "renounce our integrity and to commit sin," hope when we choose to "renounce sin to become law-abiding and honest" (First Reading.)

The Gospel story shows us the nobility of a humble change of mind. The first son "thought the better of it." He was open to change, to better thoughts. The second son was set and closed. The ability to change one's mind is essential to all healthy relationships. A mind that is closed, whether from pride, stubbornness or stupidity, tends to destroy all relationships - e.g., when we refuse to admit a mistake, when we are unwilling to apologise and change our ways, when we persist in prejudice against a person or group, when we think we know it all.

The second reading, from Philippians, talks of a more specific and positive change of mind: "in your minds, you must be the same as Christ Jesus', or as an older translation put it, "let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus." This is the direction in which we must be constantly changing our minds day by day.

Paul emphasises one aspect in particular of the mind of Christ -his humble openness and self-emptying in contrast to the conceited grasping and clinging of Adam: "he did not cling to (or grasp at) his equality with God (as Adam did in Eden) but emptied himself.."

Ever since Adam, we are all born clingers and graspers. Even the new-born babe has a tight grip, and as we get older the grip gets stronger. Clinging permeates all of life; we cling to people (possessiveness) ; we cling to things (greed) ; we cling to power and position (lust for power) ; we cling to opinions (pride.)

At the root of our clinging lies fear and insecurity. The apparently strong person who clings aggressively to set ways or ideas is in reality full of fear. Notice your physical reactions to fright; you clench up and grasp at something or someone, as a frightened child clings to its mother.

In the Buddhist tradition, clinging is seen as the root of all suffering. When you are unhappy, it can be enlightening to pursue the question "What am I clinging to?" It might be an idea, a plan, an expectation, power, possessions, reputation, a place, a person, health, even life itself. All wise traditions recommend a light grasp of everything. Anxious clinging leads to misery. As soon as we begin to relax our tight grasp and let go, we begin to be free and happy. ("Letting go" is a useful modern equivalent for "emptying.")

Jesus did not cling. He knew that reality could be trusted, because at the heart of reality is "Abba - dear Father," and that underneath everything, even death, are the everlasting arms. So he did not cling even to life, "accepting death, death on a cross." "Into your hands,. I commend my spirit." May this mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus.

God's Thoughts

The basic thought of the Gospel reading is well expressed by the Isaiah passage: "My thoughts are not your thoughts." Try as one will, it is impossible to find a way in which the payment of the workers in the vineyard could be said to be fair. The owner is generous to the last comers, but why is he not generous to the others as well? It is simply that there is no reckoning up deserts when man meets God.

In the time of Christ Judaism had reached a legalistic state, and the mentality was definitely prevalent that salvation could and must be earned. There was a host of commands which must be fulfilled, and men were divided into two classes, the righteous who were on the road to salvation by fulfilling the commands, and the unrighteous, outcasts despised by those who kept the law. It was this slot-machine conception of God that Jesus opposed by his emphasis on love, for in love there is no calculation of duties, rights and obligations; there is only an open-handed giving without counting the cost, and a grateful receiving. We can never say that we have earned our salvation, or anything from God, but can only stand suppliant before him. The latest workers in the vine-yard have not earned what the owner gives them, and the mistake of their envious colleagues is to think that they can deserve well of the owner.

The most devout Christians often secretly find it a little hard to stomach that someone who repents on his deathbed is admitted to the kingdom no less than those who have struggled and suffered all their lives for God's cause. But this betrays a fundamental misunderstanding. Not only does it presuppose the commercial attitude of reward and punishments from God, but also it neglects the nature of love. The sole relationship of the believer to God must be personal relationship of love, and as such it is its own reward, for it brings happiness also in this life. The greater the struggle and the suffering, the more a Christian turns to God and finds comfort - often the only comfort - in the security of his love and fidelity. But furthermore, fidelity through a long life does bring some advantage over a skimped final conversion, for it may well be - though this is perhaps not invariably so - that the relation-ship of love has so deepened over the years that the Christian, conformed over a long period to the image f Christ, has more capacity for the full enjoyment of God's company than he who comes to know God only at the last moment. Here it is not a matter of God giving a greater reward, but man being more capable of receiving it.

Of this deep and rewarding relationship with God and with Christ Paul shows himself in the second reading to be the perfect example. Writing as he does under persecution he is yet filled with the joy of Christ. His life is already united with Christ's life, and he longs for the fulfilment of final union.

Dole Queue

I used to hear them every other day when I lived in Rome, loudhailers blaring out the slogans. The was almost as common in Rome as the scream of the police-sirens. My little room was on the fifth floor of a building overlooking the Forum. Protest marches would start from Piazza Republica, wind their way down via Cavour, and swing right into Piazza Venezia. By the time they reach where I stayed, they were in full formation and in full throat. It was difficult to distinguish one protest from another. They all seek better wages, better pensions, better conditions or shorter hours. They carry trade-union banners or red flags. Police march in front and behind and the riot-squad in full gear are discreetly stationed in side-streets along the route. They all seemed to pass off peacefully. What they achieved, apart from traffic-jams and the frustration of cornmuters, I have no idea. But protests are as much a part of the political system in any democracy as the ballot-box.

One thing has changed though, since trade unions started in the middle of the 19th century. Workers then were at the bottom of the heap, shamelessly exploited, grossly underpaid and legally unprotected. They were hired and fired at will by employers and until trade unions organised them into strong disciplined movements, they were their own worst enemies, under-selling each other in their fight for jobs. They have come a long way in a hundred and fifty years. They are now the privileged ones, with jobs and wages and pensions. Now there is another group at the bottom of the heap, the unemployed, which has grown dangerously large in recent years. They range across a wide spectrum of society, young and old, men and women, the educated and the uneducated. They include the young, newly arrived on the job-market and the middle aged made redundant. For them, life offers only the bleak prospect of a place in the dole-queue. They have no voice. They exercise no pressure. They have no trade union because they have no tade, no workers" union because they have no work.

Tackling the problem of unemployment has become the main preoccupation of governments, if for no other reason than the crippling costs of welfare payments. Their best efforts are hampered by the sectional interests of the salaried majority. Employers insist on profit: employees demand security. The driving mechanism of each is self-interest. Helping the unemployed threatens both. The gospel is fundamentally at odds with such a world. You cannot serve the God of all and the mammon of some.

What is needed is generosity on the scale shown by the master of the vineyard in today's gospel. The parable presents a cameo of our society. First we have the employer, then the unions, and finally the dole-queue. A wage-settlement is agreed between employer and workers - one denarius a day. Work begins with stable industrial relations. But the dole-queue persists.

The good employer takes imaginative and generous measures to help the unemployed, cutting his profit margins to the bone. The unions complain. In our world, they would probably have called a lightening strike and let the remaining grapes rot. But it is not our world and as Isaiah puts it in the mouth of God: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways." It would be foolish to suggest that the measures taken in this parable would solve our unemployment. But there is no doubt that it can only be solved by such generosity from all parties.

Never Too Late

Today's gospel tells us that it's never too late for God. There is full wages offered to all of us, whether we have served him all our lives, or we have turned to him at the eleventh hour.

Th�r�se of Lisieux tells about a criminal being executed, and he stubbornly rejected all offers of spiritual help from the prison chaplain. She was concerned about him, and she became determined, in prayer, to obtain some change of heart before he died. An extraordinary thing happened that had a profound effect on her understanding of God's love and mercy. Just before he was blindfolded, and placed beneath the guillotine, he snatched the crucifix from the chaplain's hands, and kissed it reverently. He continued to clutch it, as he was put into position, and the blade fell. It is never too late for God.

I know someone for whom today's gospel is a great consolation. She has led a good life, but she still gets great reassurance from this story. On the other hand, I have met people who are annoyed by this story! They have been on the side of God all their lives, and they seem to resent the fact that someone else can live it up all his life, turn to God at the last moment, and join them with equal reward in heaven! I have been asked about the "good thief" on Calvary, who asked for help and was offered heaven right there. I have also heard others questioning the justice to the brother of the Prodigal Son. He had worked hard, stayed at home, and yet it was his profligate brother who got the party!

If I don't grasp the scope of love, then I will never understand the mind of God. It is said that God created us in his image and likeness and that we have returned the compliment! "God's ways are not our ways." Jesus, in the story, quotes the man as saying, "can't I do what I wish with my money? Are you angry because I am kind?" We should be truly grateful that God is so generous and so forgiving. If God was to err I'd prefer him to err on the side of mercy! He understands the human heart, and what is important that those who were called at the last moment, answered that call. "Live, and let live" is a good motto; those who began working in the morning got a full day's wages. What the others got should not concern them. But we all know that if this happened in an industry here on earth, there would be pickets outside the factory- the following morning!

Jesus uses this story to tell us about love, mercy, and forgiveness. It is not the amount of work we do; it is the spirit that we bring to the work. He calls, and we answer, Because of our human condition, we are not always ready to follow the inspirations of God. In another place, Jesus speaks about a man who had two sons, and when he asked them to do some work, one said he would, but he didn't, the other said he wouldn't, but he did. It's how the story ends up that matters. Everyone in today's gospel ended up working in the vineyard, no matter for how long. His blessings are reserved to those of goodwill, who act on that goodwill.

Response: I can place myself in the vineyard of the Lord, no matter what age Jam, or howl have lived my life up till now. The only yes in my life that God is interested in is my yes of now. "Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." We are all called. We may hear the call at different times, or we may dilly-daily with our response, and eventually accept the invitation. "Many are called, but few are chosen" could be interpreted as "Many are called, but few choose to respond." The heart of today's gospel is hope, because I could easily put myself outside of God's love through guilt or a sense of unworthiness, There are calls within calls. I have come across people who were called to a particular way of life and, at a later stage they got a second call to specialise in some specific form of Christian ministry. I know priests who worked at home, and then felt called to work in the Third World, I have known married people who, when the family was reared, felt called to set-up a half-way house, or to wrk with the house-bound. God is always calling us, and it is important that we listen, so that we can hear and heed that call.

I love today's gospel. I find it difficult to specify why exactly that is so, but it has something to do with everybody getting a fair chance from a patient and loving God, I find that I use it a lot to give people hope, who may have given up on themselves achieving anything in life. It is never too late for God. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." That knock is not a once-off thing, but is constant and persistent. "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts will never be at peace until they rest in you." I will not have peace until I heed that call. I may resist it as long as I want but, eventually, and hopefully, grace will win out, and the response will come. It is only then that I will realise what I have been missing all those years.

The fact that I was born into a particular religious persuasion, or that I join a worshipping community once a week, doesn't automatically mean that �I have answered the call. At my baptism someone else spoke for me; at confirmation I may not have had much of a personal choice either. There comes a time, however, when I must answer that call in a personal and deliberate way. I should reflect on the ramifications of that response before I make it, In Charismatic circles, they have a programme called "Life in the Spirit Seminars." There is a teaching one night a week for four weeks, which is accompanied by prayer, praise, and sharing. On the fifth week there is a ceremony called "Baptism in the Spirit," which is a resume of baptism and confirmation, when people pray with me for an outpouring of the Spirit, which will enable me respond fully to my Christian vocation, On the following two weeks there are other talks on the practicalities of living the Christian life, and of answering the call. I have seen elderlypeople with tears rolling down their cheeks, as they confessed that, until now, they had no idea just what the whole Christian vocation was, They thought it simply meant going to church on Sundays, and saying a few prayers now and then, You may not be the kind of person who would be attracted to Charismatic Prayer Groups, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, no matter how it happens, you must be baptised in the Holy Spirit. In other words, you need to travel from your head to your heart, from academic knowledge to experiential knowledge of God, That will happen when you are ready to fail on your knees and sincerely ask for it.

I said earlier that I love this gospel. I would be happy if you loved it too, for whatever reason. It gives a wonderful insight into how the Lord works, and how he sees things. We are all equally important in his eyes, and we are all offered full wages, no matter when we join the workforce, It would be good to reflect on this gospel today, and to get in touch with whatever that reflection evokes, What I have written here is intended as a stimulant to reflection, and it must be taken from there by the reader or listener, In a way, it is yet another call., a call that must be heard.

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom and, as his father could well afford it, he told him that this was what he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box, and found a lovely leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father, and said "With all your money, you give me a Bible?" as he stormed out of the room, leaving the Bible behind.

Many years passed, and the young man was successful in business. He had a beautiful home, and a wonderful family, but he realised his father was old, and he should call to see him. He had not seen him since that Graduation Day. Before he could make arrangements he got a telegram, telling him his father had passed away, and willed all his possessions to his son, He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When he arrived in his father's house a sense of sadness and regret filled his heart, He began to search through his father's papers when he saw the new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to leaf through it. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matthew 7:11, "And you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give to those who ask him?" As he read these words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he ad so desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words paid in full.

I am so grateful that it's never too late for God

26th Sunday (A)

Ezek 18:25-28. God deals with every person according to one's personal dispositions. He forgives the sinner who repents. He rewards the just who persevere in righteousness.

Phil 2:1-11. Paul summons his readers to true Christian unity. This unity can exist only if individual Christians imitate the humility of Christ who became obedient unto death.

Mt 21:28-32. Reminds us that the following of Christ calls for utter sincerity. Good actions speak louder than fine words.

Theme: Jesus warns that prostitutes and tax-collectors may be closer to God than the religious leaders. Our social or religious standing gives us no exclusive rights to the mercy of God.

Ezekiel 18:25-28

Yet you say, "The way of the Lord is unfair." Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.

Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.

Ps 25:4-9

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness' sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.

Philippians 2:1-11

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of Go the Father.

Matthew 21:28-32

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Intercessions

- that we may never use our religion to exclude or despise others.

- for the courage to challenge all practices in our communities, that are racist or tend to marginalise others.

- for those in charge of social welfare, that they may discharge their duties with loving respect for those whom they help in our name.

- that we try as the Apostle says, to "consider the other person to be better than ourselves."

Thoughts for 26th Sunday, A

No Empty Promises

When a good man commits sin, he will be punished, we were told in the first reading, and when a wicked man repents he will be saved. This looks much like stating the obvious, but obvious it was not for the Jews, who for a long time believed that the whole community became guilty when one person from within it committed sin, and that, moreover, the sins of parents were punished in their children. For example, when the Apostles saw the man who was born blind, they asked Jesus who was responsible for this, the man himself or his parents. And at the trial of Jesus, when Pilate, after washing his hands, said, "I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your concern , the assembled onlookers all cried out, "His blood be upon us and on our children." But as far back as the time of the prophet Ezekiel, over 600 years before Christ, God had been revealing to the Jews that all individuals are personally responsible for their own misdeeds.

This theme is developed further by Jesus in the gospel parable of the two sons, the meaning of which is quite clear. The Jewish leaders who had pledged obedience to God had reneged on their promises, whereas the tax-collectors and public sinners, who, at first, had refused to keep God's commandments had now been converted by the preaching of John the Baptist. Generally speaking, people belong to one or other of two categories, (i) those whose profession is better than their practice, putting on a show of piety and fidelity, but failing to live out these; and (ii) those who, despite a rough exterior, are at heart generous and upright.

Promises are never a substitute for performance, nor can fine words take the place of good deeds. "If you love me, keep my commandments," Christ said (Jn 14:15). But our promise to do so, often, falls short of fulfilment, far more than we ourselves imagine. While we may be quite sincere in desiring to fulfil them, unknown to ourselves we slip into doing the exact opposite. The son who promised to obey his father was quite polite. "I go, sir," he said, but obviously there was no sincerity in his response. It was not in keeping with his habitual frame of mind, which as a rule showed him shying away from any work. So the moment the words were out of his mouth they were forgotten.

In like manner, many of us can fail to keep our promises, and not from deliberate disloyalty, but because we have gradually acquired the habit of not doing so. It perhaps already has become part of our nature. By continually ignoring the dictates of our conscience, our will can reach the stage where it is incapable of responding, even though we deceive ourselves into thinking it can. So a person can say, "If the worst comes to the worst, if perhaps I have a serious health problem, or at least reached a stage where death is imminent, I can always make a confession and repent." But so to quieten one's conscience, by what might be described as doomsday planning, foolishly presumes that when the time comes one will be able to repent, despite repeatedly having refused to do so.

The fact that one refuses to express sorrow for one's sinful ways now, should be a clear message that there is a greater difference than one imagines, between promising and the ability to carry out our promises. Once we have become willing slaves to sinful tendencies, Scripture warns us, "our iniquities like the wind will sweep us away" (Is 64:6). At every stage of our lives, deeds, not vain hopes or wishes, must be our watchword. Neither lip-service of God, nor being a Christian merely in name, will suffice to merit the eternal vision of the glory of God.

We are told in the Book of Genesis (15:6) that "Abraham put his faith in God, and on account of this faith he was considered to be free from sin." The question is what is faith, and how can people be certain that they have faith. Some would say that faith lies in the awareness of one's own sinfulness and the infinite holiness of God, being conscious of one's own weakness and inability to attain salvation, longing for redemption by Christ, and living for him and loving him with all one's heart. But all these emotions do not constitute faith, however necessary and admirable they may be, because they are emotions, or simply good thoughts, unless they are acted upon. And if they are not accompanied by good works they are quite dead. "As the body without the spirit is dead," Sacred Scripture warns, "so faith without good works is also dead," good works entered into with cheerful and joyful commitment.

Obedient Faith

(Patrick Devine)

All three readings set out to teach that we has freedom in our choice of options and, therefore, we are accountable for how we behave. What happens in the world is not just a playing out of a drama already scripted in advance. Physiological, psychological and sociological influences there can be - as those in advertising well know, yet our free-will remains intact. Above all, we are free to change course so that, whatever our past might be, however great our faults, we can begin anew. This is not to deny that God has always the last word, but his interventions. which at first might appear simply as a limitation of our options, are, in fact, rather in the nature of preventive and corrective action to save us from disaster and steer us on our proper course.

The parable of the two sons emphasizes our inner sentiments as distinct from our external behaviour in the exercise of responsible freedom. Furthermore, it is concerned less with the intellectual aspect of our decision-making than with the overall attitude of faith that should form the basis of our whole life-style. What it says is simply this: our conduct must be inspired by our faith.

The son who addresses his father as "Lord" has only a faith based on formulae, in externals. We are reminded of Mat 7:21 where the same title, Kurios, occurs in "Not every one who says "Lord, Lord'

People who have this shallow kind of faith make facile promises to God and one another without really committing themselves to deliver. What we need is a faith that will link our whole lives to the will of God so that our conduct will always be in conformity with God's will for us. This is not always easy, and at times our first word to God may be No," as in the parable, but a genuine effort will be sure to follow. Even though our difficulties may force us to say a reluctant "No," our attitude can yet be one of obedience. To believe is to obey! But doesn't obeying mean loving?

Proven By Deeds

The point in common to the first and last readings, which presumably the compilers of the Lectionary had in mind when they put the reading from Ezekiel to this Matthew passage, is conversion. In the Old Testament passage the wicked man changes his ways, and in the Gospel the sons both do the opposite of what they originally say. But I think this is to misunderstand the import of the Gospel passage: there the real point is that lip-service and the mere profession of obedience is not enough; in each case there is not so much a change of mind but a deceptive exterior, the appearance of stubbornness combined with co-operation, and the appearance of co-operation combined with stubbornness. We all know those sometimes endearing, sometimes infuriating people who are willing and generous but do not, for various reasons, wish to show it, though probably Matthew is moving more within the Jewish problematic than on the psychological plane.

The second reading, however, contains one of the richest hymns about Christ's redeeming work that we have. It is composed from two intertwining theological ideas (both, unfortunately, partially obscured by the Jerusalem Bible translation), Christ as the Suffering Servant of the Lord, and Christ as the Second Adam. The original hymn is best set out in three four-line stanzas, the first two describing Christ's humiliation and the third describing his consequent exaltation, so:

Who, being in the form (image) of God did not think it something to-be-snatched-at to be equal to God but he poured himself out taking the form of a servant becoming in the likeness of man and being found in structure as a man he humbled himself becoming obedient to death..

Here there is obvious correspondence or contrast between the individual lines of each stanza (as in italics.)

It is fairly clear how the hymn is based on the idea of the Suffering Servant. The structure, passing from humiliation to exaltation, is found also in Isaiah 53. A number of the key ideas are present, the expression "servant," "poured himself out," the importance of humility and above all of obedience. So the author, an unknown early Christian, probably of Jewish background, sees the redeeming Christ as fulfilling the figure of the Servant of the Lord who was humiliated and killed for our sins.

The other strand, that of the second Adam, is perhaps not so obvious. In other letters of Paul (Romans and First Corinthians) he views Christ as the second Adam, the leader and progenitor of a redeemed humanity as Adam was of a lost humanity, a new man in whom all redeemed humanity is contained as all lost humanity was contained in the first man. By his obedience he undoes the disobedience of Adam. So in this hymn Christ contrasts with Adam: both were made in the image of God; but, whereas Adam sinned by trying to become like God, Christ did not think equality with God something to be snatched at. Whereas Adam sinned by his proud independence, so Christ undoes this sin by his humble obedience.

It is then, whichever strand one takes, primarily in terms of obedience, humble submission to God's will, that Christ's saving work is seen in this hymn. By putting it where he does in his letter Paul makes a slightly wide application, for he tells his readers to have this "mind of Christ Jesus' so that they may be humble and open to each other, self-sacrificing without competitiveness, and obedient to each others wishes.

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It is hard to believe now that until the early nineteen-hundreds bishops in Ireland were chosen only from the ranks of the aristocracy. Of course, there was a good economic reason. They had to be self-supporting. The people were too poor to pay them. But it was equally true in wealthy countries like France and Italy. There too Rome's first requirement in a bishop was that he was from the ranks of the nobility. Indeed, it was customary for titled families, where the eldest son succeeded, to destine the second son for the church or the army. The great mass of the lower clergy, parish priests and curates, were excluded from bishoprics. Some of the trappings of aristocracy still survive in the church. Some at least of those "princes of the church" retain their bishop's "palaces', like to be addressed "Your Lordship" and offer their hand to have their ring kissed rather than for a friendly shake.

One of the last aristocratic appointments in Ireland was a member of the wealthy Dunboyne family. He was appointed Bishop of Cork, where he served with moderate success for twenty-three years. When his brother, Lord Dunboyne died, he abandoned the church, became a Protestant and married to insure an heir to the family. Ironically, one whose distinguished lineage Rome had deemed a priority should now consider the continuance of this line his priority. Ironic too that he should fail to produce an heir. Rome had lost a bishop while Dunboyne gained no heir.

The beginning of the end of the aristocratic world, which began with the dawn of history, came in the wake of the French Revolution. It decreed the abolition of hereditary titles and made all citizens equal in the eyes of the law. The world of the common man was brought into being and though it took another hundred years to come to fruition, the process was irreversible. Now, what titles remain are largely honorary. But old habits die hard, and not only in the church. A new elite has come to replace the old. Aristocrats have given way to plutocrats. Money occupies the place of lineage. The old exclusive world of privilege never really died. It only changed hands. The modern rich have all the trappings of the old nobility, save the titles. They provide themselves with security-guarded palatial homes, chauffeur driven limousines, exclusive clubs, and whatever else is needed to protect them from contamination from the common herd.

The need for exclusivity seems deeply imbedded in human nature itself. It has invaded even the sanctuary. "How odd of God to choose the Jews," Belloc wrote playfully. The Jews were happy to exploit this divine oddity, excluding not only the rest of the world from God's favour, but even the Samaritans who failed their rigid test of orthodoxy. Jesus did not bandy his words when he told their chief priests and elders, "Prostitutes and tax-collectors are making their way into the kingdom of God before you." From the Jews as the chosen people to Calvin's elect, to our own "outside the church there is no salvation', exclusivity has always been a feature of religion. With the diminishing numbers of church-goers, and religion no longer a mass phenomenon, we may be more than ever tempted to claim exclusive rights to God's mercy. Jesus' warning to the Jews has a~ special relevance for us today. St Paul puts it simply: "Always consider the other person to be better than yourself."

Walking the Walk

Today's gospel points out the difference between talking the talk, and walking the walk. It tells us that what we do is more a test of what we are, than anything we say.

I met a friend of mine last week, and he was full of enthusiasm for a new venture he had undertaken. He is a relatively young man who has a particularly vibrant sense of the spiritual. He wanted to do something to help others, by way of saying thanks to God for what he and his family had. He went along and offered his services to the St Vincent de Paul Society, an offer that was eagerly snapped up. He enjoys the work, and he feels really good about his decision, It is interesting to note that he first got the idea several months before that, when a colleague said that he was thinking about joining the SVP! So far, for his colleague the thought has not been translated into action.

Today's gospel is simple, and it is easy to get a lesson from it. In another gospel Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey me." The gospel is a call to action now. One young man told Jesus that he had to bury his father first, another had bought a farm, and he had to inspect it, etc., etc. Excuses, excuses, excuses! The excuses are funny, if they weren't serious. There is no hint that the first guy's father is sick. When his father dies twenty years from now, there will be somebody else to bury. The second man would hardly have bought a farm first, and then go to examine it! If I don't want to do something, I'll always find an excuse to avoid it.

There's nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. There is no scarcity of ideas, but there can be a real scarcity of goodwill to put those ideas into practice. The Christian message is intended to galvanise me into action. The best way to avoid doing something is to talk about it long enough. Jesus wants decisions rather than discussions. There is such a thing as a moment of grace. It is just like the story about Bartimeus in the gospel. He was a blind man, sitting by the side of the road, he heard the commotion, and asked what was happening. Someone told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. Immediately Bartimeus grasped the moment, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me," he shouted again and again. The people around him tried to silence him, but there was no way he was going to let this moment of grace pass. He continued shouting until Jesus stopped, called him over, and healed him. There's many a moment in our every day when "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

Jesus really incensed the Jews when he told them that tax collectors and prostitutes would enter heaven before them. He explained how this was so. The tax collectors and prostitutes listened to John the Baptist, and changed their ways, while Jesus' listeners continued to be stubborn, and refused to listen to him. At another point in the gospel, he warned them that, just because they could claim Abraham as their father, it didn't give them an automatic claim to anything. If anything, they would be judged all the more severely, because they had a religious background, were familiar with the scriptures, and they should have recognised his teaching as coming from God.

Response: "Faith without good works is dead," St James tells us. What we believe is evidenced through our actions, not our words, Jesus asks us to ensure that our "yes" is "yes," and our "no" is "no." He calls on us to make a decision, and to act on that decision. "Come, follow me," he asked the apostles, and they left their boats and followed him. Sheep will follow the shepherd, while goats have to be driven by the goatherd. Today's gospel is speaking to us today, and our response must be made today.

Like the Jews, we cannot claim that all is well just because we associate ourselves with a particular Christian denomination. I can have a baptism certificate in my pocket, and not be living a Christian life. I can fully accept the concepts of Christianity as an ideology, and not believe in God. Jesus came to lead us to the Father, not to give us some nice little ideals and ideas for living.

Christianity is not about producing nicer people with better morals, I could be a pagan, and be a nice guy. It is not about prayer and fasting. I could be a Muslim, and do all of that on a regular basis. It is about a person, Jesus Christ, who leads us to the Father, into the fullness of the life of the Trinity. His message calls for obedience to his teaching and thinking. He came "to do 222 AND THAT'S THE GOSPEL TRUTH and to teach." Our vocation is also about doing and teaching. We are not all called to be evangelists, to stand on a box in Hyde Park, preaching the gospel. However, we are all called to be witnesses to his life, death, and resurrection. Our Christian life, lived in obedience to his teaching, is our message.

Jesus has some harsh words for the religious leaders of his day. They refused to believe John the Baptist, and to obey his call for repentance. By so doing, they rejected the message, and so lost their priority as God's chosen race. The public sinners, whom they condemned and marginalised, will enter heaven before they do. They heard the call, but refused to respond; therefore the onus for such unbelief rests with them. The same is true for us today. We can never claim that we didn't know. We are guilty of what used be called "culpable ignorance." If I refuse to respond, I become irresponsible. There will come a day, however, when I will be held responsible.

At the moment of death, I will come face to face with God, naked, and with no place to hide. The denial, excuses, and delaying will be over, Might I suggest the following: In my reflection, I can imagine that moment, and try to visualise what it might be like. I can do that every single day. Hopefully, it will motivate my response now, while I still have time. I can spread out the canvas of my life right now, and allow the Spirit of truth to reveal to me what is to be seen.

When I reflect on the two sons in today's gospel, how do I see myself relative to each of them? I may find a little bit of each in me, and that is not bad. The idea is that I continue to renew my commitment to Jesus, and I continue to open my heart to the fullness of his message. I depend on the work of his Spirit within my heart to lead me into all truth. With my human resources alone, I can easily have many blind spots. My mind and my eyes can be selective in what I see, and in what I accept as true. I cannot rely on human wisdom, because there is some sort of basic rebelliousness within us, because of original sin, and it is only the Spirit of truth who can lead me into truth, and guide my feet into the ways of peace.

Maybe I could do with a change of attitude towards those who seem to be outside the community of believers. I may see them in this way, because I compare myself to them, and they are seen to be lacking by comparison. Have they had the chances? that I've had to hear the message of the gospel? Indeed, have they had any spiritual formation at all? They certainly will not be condemned or rejected by God, just because they have never heard the message. If I have heard the good news, and have an opportunity to put it in practice, and to live it, this should lead to compassion, understanding, and tolerance, rather than pride, judgement, and bigotry. I should examine my conscience, as I hear Jesus speak about the tax collectors and the prostitutes in today's gospel.

An Afro-American was standing outside an evangelical church in one of the southern states of the US. It was many years ago, and the church was for whites only. Just then Jesus came along, and asked him what he was doing there. The man told him that he loved listening to the singing, and that was why he was standing outside the door listening. He went on to explain that, because of his colour, he could not enter the church, Jesus smiled wryly, and said, "I know how you feel, I myself have been trying to get into that church since it was opened!'

27th Sunday (A)

Isaiah 5:1-7

Ps 80:8, 11-15, 18-19

God trusts his workers

History being made

Sour Grapes

It could be you and me

Is 5:1-7. Israel is the vineyard which God has most carefully tended. When it bore no fruit he threatens to punish it with a storm.

Phil 4:6-9. Paul says: "pray with confidence." He exorts to a good and virtuous life with the marvellous summary, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pleasing.."

Mt 21:33-43. As in the first reading, God is master of the vineyard. Since the first tenants proved themselves unworthy, that vineyard was to be taken from them and given to others.

Theme: The church is the choice vineyard of the Lord. Here we can grow to maturity in the sunshine of God's grace. We pray that our lives may never be soured by bitterness or disillusionment.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!

Ps 80:8, 11-15, 18-19

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.

Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.

Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand planted.

Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Philippians 4:6-9

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Matthew 21:33-43

"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way.

Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance." So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? 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.

Intercessions

- that we may grow in wisdom, in tolerance and in humility.

- that our minds be filled with everything that is true and noble, whatever is good and pure, by the grace of Christ.

- that we may never become soured by life's disappointments.

- for our parents, teachers and others who have nurtured our faith by word and example.

Thoughts for 27th Sunday, A

Exiles and Emigrants

One of the most striking statements of St Jerome, Doctor of the Church and translator of the Bible, is that to be ignorant of the scriptures is to be ignorant of the power of God and his wisdom. "Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ," he said. Today is Emigrant Sunday, and if we turn to these same sacred scriptures, we come up against the theme of exile again and again, right from the time that Adam and Eve were cut adrift from the state of happiness and original justice that was theirs in Eden. As we contemplate the scripture stories that dwell on this theme, there is one thing that becomes clear to us. No matter the hardship and suffering, the alienation and exile that people often endure, the Lord ordains that out of it all, good will come to them and to others, on condition that they put their trust in the providence and love God has for them.

So the patriarch Abraham, in answer to a divine call, departed from his own country, his own people, and religion, and settling in an alien country which was to become one day the promised land, he became, as St Paul never tires of reminding us, the father in faith of all of us ever since. Likewise, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, was sent away into a strange land by his father Isaac. He parted with all he had grown up with, and was never to set eye on his mother again or hear her voice. He was to endure harsh conditions while serving a man who, although an uncle of his, was a hard task-master. When finally he returned to the land of his forefathers he was once more forced into exile in Egypt because of famine that afflicted his people.

But in God's own time all these sufferings and upsets were to be rewarded, for in Egypt his family was delivered from famine and became powerful. Moses, one of his descendants, was compelled to leave Egypt, and wander in the desert for most of his life with an unwilling band of followers. God, however, was with Moses, having chosen him to bring this motley group together as a nation, and lead them to the borders of the land that was destined to be their permanent home. To mention another exile from the Old Testament, we have the touching story of Ruth, born outside the Jewish faith, who nevertheless was prepared to leave her own country in order to look after her aging mother-in-law, Naomi, herself a Jewish widow seeking to return to Israel. Despite opposition from Naomi, Ruth pleaded, "Do not press me to leave you, or to turn back from following you. Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). Having prevailed by these immortalwords, Ruth was to be rewarded by in a special way, in that she became the great grandmother of King David, the ancestor of Christ himself. "By the streams of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion." This was how the Psalmist described the reaction of those in the greatest exile of all, numerically speaking, the rounding up and deportation to Babylon of the most influential people in every sector of Jewish society, following on the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

But not only did the Jewish faith survive this calamity, it even emerged enriched and spiritually more profound, especially in the area of prayer. It is likely that the custom of the gathering together, or synagogue, for the purpose of prayer, worship and scripture reading, began during the exile in Babylon. What is certain is that those exiles, who later returned to their native land, came back spiritually renewed and with a new understanding of their God-given heritage. In all of these events people of faith saw God's hand at work, leading and guiding them towards a goal that often remained hidden from them, but which ultimately formed part of God's plan, not only for the Jews, but for the salvation of the whole human race. Perhaps also, these exile stories prefigure the reality which underlies the whole New Testament, namely, the voluntary exile from heaven of God's own Son, Jesus Christ, who became as it were a slave in order to restore mankind to friendship with God.

When we recall the millions who went into exile from this country, and pray for them, we can take pride also in the good they have effected in other people. If with the eyes of faith I see God at work in the world, and look towards heaven as my final home, then like St Paul I will be able to say, "It is, now, not I who live, but Christ who lives in me." And when that happens, neither am I any longer an exile, but part of God's family.

Are We To Judge?

Both the first reading and gospel present us with the parable of love rejected - both parables are linked by the common image of the vineyard and its owner, both are designed to bring audience reaction in favour of the disappointed owner/lover. We are asked whose side are you on?" We are prompted to reply "We're for the owner, against the vineyard, and even more against the tenants."

But what's the point of that for us? Do we discover that God is the owner" and we the "tenants?" Do we end up judging ourselves? Some commentators say that parable is meant to be subversive: perhaps there is nothing more subversive than being called to judge yourself. than being led to a revolution in yourself against yourself. Does all this mean that the parable is about being continually self critical. continually examining ones conscience to see if one is producing the gifts of Gods love?

Many people today don't go for this kind of talk. It looks too much like being for God means being against self. It seems to produce an image of God as our rival, one whom we cannot really trust, even an oppressive God; God is seen too much in terms of the "owner" and not enough in terms of the "lover."

The challenge of the parable is to discover that the God who seeks fruit is the God who gives the vine; the God who is against selfishness is the God who is always "for us."

The homilist then is invited to arouse in the congregation a relearning that all we have and are is gift, gift not to be selfishly guarded, nor fought for as if we could ever claim it as our own property. Our existence and our promised life will always be gift: we can never claim it as our own. Neither can we ever cease to return its fruits. For the "tenant" who really appreciates the gift and the giver, this "bearing fruit" is not oppression but grateful appreciation.

God trusts his workers

(Jim Mazzone)

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

Jesus begins his parable by painting a typical picture of a first century vineyard. It contained the basic staples of which his audience - the chief priests and elders - would have been familiar. A vineyard hedge was a thickly grown hedge of thorns and briars which would naturally keep wild boars and such from plundering the produce and pose a hardship to grape-stealing thieves. Every vineyard would contain within its walls of hedges a wine press. A wine press would either be dug out of rock or constructed with stone blocks or bricks. It would consist of two separate troughs one slightly higher than the other with a connection between them at floor level. When pressed, the juice from the grapes would settle into the lower trough. The tower served various purposes. The foreman could assess the work and give orders from the tower - its lookout could be used to guard against thieves - and its insides might provide a lodging area for the workers of the vineyard.

The arrangement between landowner and tenants of which Jesus speaks would not be out of the ordinary. That is, landowners would plant and build a vineyard and then lease this land to tenants. The landowner would collect his rent by various means. The landowner might collect a previously agreed upon sum of money, a previously agreed upon amount of produce, or a percentage of the total produce harvested.

When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way

Vintage season would have been in late September before the heavy rainfall would take place. What about the reaction of the tenants when they are called upon to - Pay Up? Was this typical or even probable in the Time of Jesus? Unfortunately, the unrest created by economic hardships and occasional, unfair business practices would create innate hostility toward any landowners from the workers and tenants. Such a reaction could lead to the violence of which Christ speaks.

Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, They will respect my son. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another - This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance. They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

If the violence leveled against the servants of the landowner was not completely out of the ordinary, what about the probability of such violence against the son of the landowner - with the outcome being the possible inheritance of the vineyard? Is this an unbelievable legal circumstance? According to Jewish law, if a Jewish landowner died without any heir, the tenants who had been working the land would have first claim. Therefore, with the elimination of the son, the only person standing in the way of the impending inheritance is the father himself. One would think that in a legal proceeding the action of murdering the son would immediately disqualify the tenants from the inheritance; however, perhaps we are given a privileged position as hearers of the whole story whereas the details in a court of law would be fuzzier. In short, under the right circumstances, this entire episode could, indeed, unfold in the time of Jesus.

We also identify all the players - in case they are not obvious. The vineyard is the nation of Israel - the chosen people of God. The owner of the vineyard is God. The tenants are the religious leaders of Israel who were responsible for the cultivation of fruitful holiness and the wellbeing of the people of Israel. The servants sent by the landowner are the prophets who God sent to warn, to encourage, to challenge and to reassure; yet they were often greeted with threats of violence and even death. The son in the story is Jesus who is sent by His heavenly Father.

HOMILY theme: Our God is a God who trusts his workers. Just as the landowner gave the tenants a fully equipped vineyard in which to work and produce, God creates the possibilities for work, fruitfulness and success for us too. He provides us with opportunities and resources and trusts that we will make the most of these. Our own, personal vineyards are completely unique. Do we recognize how our lives are molded by God? Do we recognize the opportunities and resources that God has given us? Have we experienced the freedom and trust that God gives us? Have we responded responsibly or have we responded similar to the tenants at times?

The first reading from Isaiah echoes this truth. The friend of Isaiah owns a fertile hillside, he spades it, he clears it of stones, plants the choicest vines, builds the traditional watchtower, installs the typical wine press and then anticipates an excellent and abundant harvest. What he gets instead are wild grapes. We feel the pain of unrequited love in the second half of the reading of Isaiah. We feel the pain of a broken heart acting out in anger - an earthy, anthropomorphic illustration of the disappointment God feels in his people who have not acted justly and with compassion to the lowly and oppressed.

HOMILY theme: How many of us and identify with unrequited love? Who has escaped unharmed the hurt associated with loving someone who does not love you back? Do you remember that hurt? That pain? Those sleepless nights? Those expectations smashed? What may have compounded that hurt is the apparent unconcern the object of your affection showed toward your pain, or worse, the apparent obliviousness of how deeply you loved this person. Can we identify with the disappointment illustrated in Isaiah's words? Does this make us want to be more responsive to the love and attention showed to us by God?

HOMILY theme: Our God is a patient God. Just as the landowner sent several servants in multiple waves to collect his payment of produce, God also seemingly gives us chance after chance to respond to his unique call to us. Do we recognize and appreciate the patience of God? How many warnings have we disregarded? Do we fear having our particular task taken away from us? Do we recognize the impending judgment of God based upon our response to His call of vocation and His call to holiness?

History being made

Should we "stand idly by" or should we let life snap us into action? Others may make history, we sometimes think, while we are merely spectators and critics of the process. Attuned by the mass media to believe in a qualitative difference between "personalities" and the general public, people often feel that they have no significant contribution to make. But our faith is strong on the part each one must play, in making the local church a living community. This is Christian history in the making.

Isaiah insists that God expects fruit from each vine in His Vineyard. Every one of us must yield some harvest of kind thoughts and good deeds, when the Lord sends out his messengers at vintage-time. The real stuff of history, according to this inspired prophet, is in people doing the ordinary things that God expects of them. Paul has the same idea, when he compares the community to a body, whose every organ has some vital role to play perhaps this thought could be expanded into a homily on everyday dutifulness, or on holiness attained through little things.)

The violence and malice of the tenants in the Vineyard parable (towards the servants sent to collect the harvest) could provide an alternative homily theme. Why is there so much violence in the world, some of it flaring into murderous aggression but much of it socially, economically and legally institutionalised in ways that keep so many people poor? Is it not linked to the excessive love of property and the ferocity with which the havens will defend what they possess, come what may?

In a more hopeful key, one could highlight Christ's conclusion to the parable: that the Kingdom will be give to a people who will produce its fruit. Somehow, God draws good from evil. Nothing is so dark but that there is no silver lining. Israel's rejection of the Gospel led to its spreading more quickly among the other nations. In the end, God's plans will be fulfilled, however surprisingly. There is a wisdom in the traditional counsel: "Work as though all depended on you; pray as though all depends on God'!

Producing fruit, making some mark upon our surroundings as we pass through life, can be done in spite of adverse circumstances. Patients in hospital can have therapeutic effect on their fellow patients. Even in the concentration-camps of World War II, people like the psychiatrist Victor Frankl and the Franciscan Maximilian Kolbe showed generous care for others and helped them through their ordeal. From his prison cell in Rome, St. Paul maintained his letters of friendly encouragement towards his converts. Today's few verses are a fine tribute to his ability to solider on, no matter what. The ideals he proposes to the Philippians are a fine guideline to the quality of life which God hopes to find in us, his people and his vineyard!

Sour Grapes

He was a cultivated man, fluent in several languages. Grace and nature had endowed him with formidable talent. As a university professor he had gained recognition in his field. I came to know him on his frequent visits to Paris. At first I was flattered that he should seek out my company when in that city. I suppose it was a sign of my own mediocrity that I should be so easily impressed by those of superior status. Or maybe it was that I had been fortunate in my earlier life to have encountered people steeped in literature and history whose wide learning made them open-minded and humble. One was my father. Another was a priest who taught me in secondary school. I think I owe my vocation to him. As a teenager he was my ideal of what an educated man should be, broad-minded, tolerant and self-effacing. I had assumed my distinguished Paris visitor would be all that and much more. Soon I became disillusioned. I came to dread his visits- and seek to be absent when he called. He was one of the most negative persons� had ever met, hyper-critical of everyone and everything. Either he was deeply-flawed by nature or some earlier experience in life had soured him. The only thing that seemed to have blossomed in him was his bitterness. Isaiah's song brought him to mind:

My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.

He dug the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted vines in it.

In the middle he built a tower, he dug a press there too.

He expected it to yield grapes,
but sour grapes were all that it gave.

Since then, my earlier idealism has given way to a more realistic appraisal of the value of education. Education, like travel, does not always broaden the mind. I have met other "sour grapes" whose academic achievements seem only to have confirmed their prejudices and reinforced their narrow-mindedness.

Looking at the neat rows of vines on terraced hillsides in France or Italy, I have always been struck by how labour-intensive vine growing is. We have nothing comparable in Ireland. Nothing is left to chance. The carefully pruned branches are meticulously interwoven through strands of wire kept taut by closely spaced stakes. The ground between the rows is kept hoed, no weeds are allowed to rob the soil of nourishment. Grape picking is done by hand. It must be the only area in agriculture untouched by modern machinery. Little seems to have changed since biblical times. The sun provides the secret of success. A vintage year is a long season of summer sun. Grapes fully ripened by the sun produce the best wine. Otherwise sugar must be added to sweeten the grapes. The more sugar added, the more alcoholic the wine and the poorer the quality. The great enemy is frost, either late in spring or early in autumn.

It is no surprise that the vineyard provides the favourite metaphor for religious growth in the Bible, both in the Old and the New Testaments. Our religious growth is the product of careful nurturing by ourselves and others and the warm sunshine of God's grace. Grace builds on nature. Life's frost can make us bitter. Frost-bitten branches must be pruned to let the vine grow and flourish. Otherwise, it will yield only sour grapes. Religion, no less than life, has its share of such. Book burning bigots like Savanarola, a far cry from his sweet-tempered founder, St Francis, both products of the same country and the same vineyard.

"Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous and worthy of praise."

It could be you and me

Today's gospel contains some home truths for the Jewish religious leaders. If they continue to reject what is being offered them, it will be taken off them, and given to others. The Jews were considered to be God's chosen people, but this title could be taken away from them, and offered to others, who will accept it?

When an American spy-plane was forced to land on Chinese territory, it precipitated quite a diplomatic conflict. Each side blamed the other, and the Americans refused to apologise and to admit that they had transgressed. The Chinese made the most of it, and things began to look nasty. One of the weapons that the Americans used in the negotiations was to withdraw the title of "favoured nation status" that had been conferred on China some years ago. This title gave them access to American markets, industries, etc. To lose that status would have been a major blow to the bludgeoning economy of China. At present, there is still some kind of stalemate going on, but it is generally accepted that the US would never risk alienating such a powerful emerging nation as China, and so the "favoured nation status" provision will continue.

I wrote a book some years ago called Jesus, the Man and the Message. Despite the many thousands of books written about Jesus over the centuries, I was really enthused by the personal insights I gained during the writing, and especially the reflection that accompanied the work. He obviously was "meek and humble of heart," but his pursuance of truth enabled him to be firm when that was needed, there was no comprising the message he came to deliver. While he stepped outside the Jewish law in his dealing with sinners, sick, and outcasts, he was also quite firm and unrelenting when dealing with stubborn, perverse, and unheeding religious leaders. Today's gospel is a good example of the latter.

Today he tells his own story through a parable, and his listeners knew only too well what he was saying. He asked a question, and they themselves said what should happen to those who refused to accept the messenger. Out of their own mouths he was condemning them. Throughout the years God had sent prophets and holy men to call the people to turn back to him. Many of the prophets ended up as martyrs. In the fullness of time, God sent his only Son, and he suffered the same fate, While claiming to be religious leaders, and people of God, they acted with a pride and arrogance that came out of their conviction that they alone knew the truth, and they alone knew the way to travel, They were not for turning.

Jesus leaves them in no doubt when he tells them that the kingdom of God will be taken from them, and given to those who will produce proper fruit. In saying this, he was certainly drawing their wrath upon himself and, rather than listen to him and discover that they needed to change, it was easier to kill him. If you don't like the message, shoot the messenger. Jesus is really stepping into a field of landmines in today's gospel, but he hadn't come to condone wrongdoing or to confirm untruths, He knew the price he would have to pay, but this did not deter him. There are several such incidents in the gospel when one feels that his fate is sealed, and he has gone a step too far, He knew what he was doing, however, and the story he chose to tell in today's gospel is certainly an accurate foretelling of all that was to come.

Response: It could be easy for us to sit back and consider today's gospel as something that was meant for the religious leaders in Israel. I remember being at a Billy Graham rally in Shea Stadium, New York, where he was holding forth about the evil of prostitution on 34th Street. Of course, we were all sitting there, feeling quite smug, because he wasn't speaking about us! I cannot do that with the gospel, however, when I remind myself that the gospel is now, and I am every person in the gospel. I can have my own form of righteousness and there are times when I hear a sermon, I'm sorry that such-a-one is not here to hear this! I have every reason to consider myself a chosen disciple, because the Lord has been good to me, I had ideal formation as I grew up, had the privilege of a good education, and I'm now fully engaged in gospel ministry. It would be so easy for me to look towards others as the people who are in need of conversion! That would be a sad scenario, because I would not be personally touched and efected, as I read today's gospel. This gospel is for every one of us, and I must reflect on my own life against the background of what Jesus is presenting to me today. Religious pride is one of the more serious forms of pride. It blinds us to reality, and prevents us seeing the beam in our own eyes, while we point to the splinter in the eyes of others.

St Paul spoke about the danger of him "having preached to others, and I myself becoming a castaway." When I stand before God at the moment of death, all the masks will be removed, and all the truth will be exposed. "To whom much is given, of him will much be expected." The person with five talents will be expected to return five talents extra, while the one with two talents will be held responsible for a return of only two talents. I cannot accept God's choice, and his great love, without attempting to return that love with whatever time and talent I have, St Th�r�se of Lisieux was so enthralled by God's love for her that she set herself the task of spending her whole life in returning that love with every ounce of her being.

The fact that you are reading this now is some indication that you are open to the Word of the Lord, It is important that you appreciate this gift, because we cannot accept the gifts of the Lord, without accepting responsibility for how we use them. When Jesus speaks of the seed falling on good soil, he said that some produced 30%, some 60%, and some 100%. Even the thirty per cent was considered good soil, because it produced something. I am expected to do the best with what I have. I should hold myself responsible for the gifts God gives me, which, of course, includes time, talent, money, etc.

I believe it is necessary to develop a sense of deep gratitude for the blessings of the Lord. I should appreciate his blessings, and acknowledge both the privilege and the responsibility that comes with those blessings. It would be wrong to envy the gifts of another, rather then appreciating my own gifts. I am part of "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people set apart." The Jewish religious leaders saw their position as one that was theirs by right, and something that could not be taken from them, Just as I have the gift of life, the time will come when I will have to relinquish that gift for another form of living.

I own nothing. Everything I have is on loan. "Life is fragile, handle with prayer." As a branch, unless I am grafted on to the vine, which is Jesus, I cannot produce fruit. Jesus expects us to produce "fruit that will remain." There is a story in the gospel about a tree that failed to produce fruit, and it was cursed, and withered. If I fail to appreciate the importance of my Christian calling, I might settle for sitting back and doing nothing. It is not uncommon to encounter someone with such a poor sell-image, and such a low self-esteem, that they fail to appreciate the gifts they have, "God don't make no junk," Herbs Banks tells us. When God created something, he "saw that it was good." I am part of that creation, and it is vital that I fully appreciate just how special I am in his eyes. I could easily confine myself in what I see with my eyes, and result in dismissing or in inflating what I see. I should reflect on what God sees when he looks at me.

There was a family of three daughters. One of them was shy and bashful, and had absolutely no sell-confidence. She tended to lurk in the background, and was not forthcoming in claiming her rightful place in the family. One day her dad surprised her by arriving home with a beautiful necklace for her. She looked at it in amazement, and she couldn't believe that anyone would bother to buy her such a beautiful gift. She placed it on the table, and ran into the kitchen to tell her mother about he gift she had received. She was so excited that it was minutes later when she emerged from the kitchen. To her horror, her younger sister was wearing the necklace. She looked at her dad, and he said, "I thought you didn't want it, so I gave it to her instead."

The father wasn't too thoughtful, and the poor girl lost the gift because of her failure to claim it as something that had been given to her.

28th Sunday (A)

Isaiah 25:6-10

Ps 23:1-6

Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20

Is 25:6-10. "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food." The image of a banquet symbolises the blessings of salvation which God has in store for His People.

Phil 4:12-14. Paul "can do all things through him who strengthens me" The true Christian aims not to depend too much on material things, but to trust in the Lord for all he needs.

Mt 22:1-14. God is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. Many refuse their invitation to enter the kingdom of God; when the Jews refused, their invitation was given to the Gentiles.

Theme: By baptism we have been called to salvation, invited into the kingdom of God. Our eucharist today recalls that invitation and prompts us to reflect on how we are responding.

Isaiah 25:6-10

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. The Moabites shall be trodden down in their place as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit.

Ps 23:1-6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil; for you are with me;
your rod and your staff-they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20

I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them.

The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

Intercessions

- for the courage to respond positively to the invitation to the Lord's wedding feast.

- that our celebration of the Eucharist may be the focus of our lives, and our source of true, inner joy.

- for the tenacity to withstand the allurements of the world.

- for the strength to overcome our preoccupation with material well-being, and become a more sharing people.

Thoughts for 28th Sunday, A

Parables

"Did you hear about John and Mary..?" The homilist today might take a leaf out of the gospel and tell a story of any couple arranging a dinner, a party or indeed a wedding. The point of the story would be to tell of the embarrassment and embitterment of being let down at the last minute by all their guests.

Parable arises out of ordinary life and is shaped by the detail and colour of what we see around us, but parable is not ordinary. It tells an unusual tale, paints a disturbing picture. Stories about people whose parties or weddings are ruined are stories of embarrassment or pain. They disturb. In our experience it may be rare that all our invited guests are able to come to our parties, but for all the invited to be unable to come is indeed extraordinary, a rare embarrassment. Such a story is to be whispered like gossip; it hints of scandal, suggests tragedy

Yet the parable that Jesus tells is not whispered or hidden gossip; it is openly told and the party-giver is not the embarrassed nor embittered victim of social rejection. The party-giver is open-hearted and magnanimous and shared hospitality with all who'll take it.

The homilist today is presented primarily with this image of a God whose purpose is to share his life and blessing with all who'll have it God's fidelity to his purpose is neither deflated nor deflected by lack of response or outright rejection. The loving, open-hearted persistence of God in invitation to humanity is a basic proclamation of the gospel. It is a point that the homilist might use in pointing to the mission of the Church (which will be the focus of next Sunday's liturgy.) We are the beneficiaries of the invitation of God brought by Christ and by countless of his messengers over the last two thousand years (often at the cost of their lives.) The Church is called to imitate that generosity and persistence in continuing that mission. It means going into the highways and byways of the world to invite all people to share in the life of God. We all share in that vocation (either as missionaries or as those who support them by our prayer as well as our finances. We are also missionary by the quality of ur living faith.)

Another point for homiletic development might be the Matthean addition of the "wedding-garment" story.

This was a warning to those in the Church that entry into the kingdom of God does not follow automatically on an initial acceptance of Christ's invitation. This invitation is unexpected and undeserved, a gift of God's generosity. If really appreciated it must bring a change in us, making us more like the One who has invited us. A failure to change and grow in his image may be a sign that we have not really appreciated and accepted the invitation.

For us, sharing in the Eucharist is a Sign and anticipation of our sharing in the messianic banquet of heaven. But this taking part in the Mass means that our daily lives are to be different. The image of the wedding garment obviously means that we should be identifiable as people who belong at the Lord's Supper - people whose lives reflect what we celebrate - an open-hearted, generous love; people who do not allow disappointments to embitter us, insults to so hurt us that we become hardened either into false defensiveness or aggressive retaliation. We are called to be people of persevering goodness, never deflected either by our own weakness or failure or by the indifference of others to the good we try to achieve. We are called to be people who encourage others when they feel let down or hurt.

In all this is a reflection of what we have discovered in Christ - the parable of a world turned upside-down from rejection and embarrassment to acceptance and appreciation of unexpected giftedness.

Strange Invitations

With every parable of Jesus, the hearer should at some point be jolted or shocked. The parable is meant to provoke and to incite - to arouse conversation as well as introspection. Ultimately it should lead to action. What is woven together here is a story which should be relatively believable and familiar in terms of details and customs; yet it also contains within it the unbelievable - the startling. The last five words of the text above is that which is intended to startle - But they refused to come.

Jesus chooses to move his listeners by surrounding his story around an event which is renowned for its festiveness and joy - a wedding - particularly the scrumptious wedding feast which was a key part of the event. Further, this is no typical wedding. It is hosted by the king himself and it is thrown for his son. One would imagine that this particular wedding feast would be a spectacular event and that its invitations would be coveted by those who were lucky enough to receive them.

Unlike the wedding invitations with which we are familiar, wedding invitations in the day of Jesus would not state a particular day or time. Instead, they would simply announce that the event is to occur at some time in the future - meanwhile the various preparations would be made - the procuring of food, wine, musicians, decorations, fine apparel, etc. When everything had been arranged and had passed the inspection of the host, a throng of servants would be dispatched to tell the invited guests to come and celebrate. When the guests arrived, the veiled bride would process from the home of her family to the home of the bridegroom. Guests at a wedding feast would be expected to wear their finest clothes. The event was a rich celebration which could continue for a number of days.

One would think that the guest list for the wedding would be primarily made up of family and friends - those individuals who not only would be expected to attend - but who would, indeed, want to attend. Would you need your arm twisted to attend a week long, all-expense-paid, wedding bash at the palace of the king? It would be like getting a White House invitation to a week of special State Dinners. Nevertheless, the invitation is refused - which again, would have been startling. As the story continues, things only gets worse - and more startling.

It does not require a Degree in Biblical Studies to figure out that the King is God, his Son is Jesus, the invited guests are the chief priests and elders, and the messenger-servants are the prophets. The chief priests and elders should have recognized God's invitation to celebrate and respond to a call to holiness which was delivered by His Son; rather they hated Him as a result of their jealousy, their stubbornness, their fear, and their hypocrisy

HOMILY theme: the invitation from God to holiness is an invitation of joy - likened to a magnificent banquet! Responding to the invitation from God to embrace a life of holiness does not yield a life of gloom and hard sacrifices; but happiness and contentment. It does not yield misery; but celebration. It does not yield sadness; but laughter. It lasts not for a week; but for eternity. No wedding gift is required - simply a heart filled response to the invitation. Further, we must remember that the king is not obliged to invite anyone to the wedding feast; rather it is a free act of kindness - it is all gift. Similarly, God is not obliged to invite us either; rather it is all done out of divine love for his creation.

Tomorrow's World

What does tomorrow hold for us? What is there to hope for? Inescapably, our imagination projects into the future. As children, we wondered "What will it be when like when we grow up?" Parents promised new freedoms and new possibilities "When you are older." Human nature lives in vital tension between the Already and the Not Yet.

As adults we may indeed have to trim down and focus our hopes and fantasies into more precise channels, with the passing years. But we are still gripped with interest in what lies ahead - not just for oneself and family, but for the wider society and world. What steps in science and technology lie just around the corner? How will society develop, between now and the year 2050? The changing balance between richer and poorer countries; the unstable marital climate of our own nation; proposed educational changes and law reforms; new employment initiatives; the provision of better medical and recreational facilities - all are subject to our keen analysis and hopeful projections.

Elderly people may tend to ponder more on the past than the future and to dwell on bygone events and treasured relationships. Their looking forward is more often marked with resignation or anxiety than with hope. In the dignity of their mature years, they accept that "Che sera, sera; whatever will be, will be'. And, if they have learned the habit of prayer, they peace-fully leave their future in God's hands.

But today's Scriptures invite us all to raise our sights, and our hearts, when thinking of the future. Beyond this present life, God has planned a great future for all of us. Isaiah's prophecy of the heavenly banquet is an invitation to think of our eternal destiny. There is more to live for than what we see in this present world, interesting and challenging though it is. What really counts, indeed, is whether we succeed in reaching our eternal happiness with God.

Perhaps our predecessors in the faith had a stronger sense of the afterlife than we have today. Like Saint Paul, they believed that history is in

God's hands and that divine justice will have the last say. Difficulties in one's present life could then be seen as growth-pains, or as a means of purifying the spirit from selfishness and sin. Mother all, the whole world was "in travail," in process of bringing a new era into existence. So it was that Paul - and many other men and women of faith - could be inwardly at peace, no matter how hard the circumstances in which they found them-selves. We can "do all things in Him who strengthens us," if we hold on to the hope of everlasting life.

The eternal banquet is not to be easily dismissed as so much "pie in the sky'! Christians don't literally expect to sit down to an everlasting meal, an eternal eating and drinking festival somewhere in the stratosphere. While heaven is described in vivid anthropomorphic images, we realize that "eye has not seen.. nor can the human heart imagine, what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9.) Still, the banqueting atmosphere of friendly conviviality is a good image for that perfect loving communion with God and with others towards which our lives are destined.

Jesus emphasises that this wedding-banquet is open to all people indeed, that God sends his messengers out to scour the highways and byways in order to fill his house with guests. It is a comforting thought that God wants us to be saved, even more than we do ourselves.

On the other hand, there is a special regalia or wedding-garment that must be worn. This is the level of personal commitment required, in order to accept our place at the wedding feast. I like to think that this refers primarily to community spirit, an ability to share our well-being with other people, in the presence of God. Though founded on faith in God's creative love, Christian hope retains a strong ethical dimension. Our wedding-garment is therefore being woven daily, by the quality of our interaction with others. In this sense, we hold tomorrow in our own hands, as with the help of God's grace we build our own eternal future.

Bread And Circuses

I suspect that our notion of heaven derives largely from what we regard as most desirable in this world. Such was always the case. Every age reinvents heaven to mirror its own time. What is depicted tells us more about conditions here than in the hereafter. Whatever else it represents for me now, it is certainly not a marriage feast. Like most priests, I have had more than my share of wedding receptions in this world, with their invariable menus of turkey and ham, to have any desire for more of the same in the next. Yet, there was a time in my life when food came high on the list of desirables. The smell of a fry from the professor's dining-room -in my boarding-school days was enough to transport me to another world.

Such was the bleakness of the lives of most people in biblical and other times, when food was basic and scarce, it is not surprising that Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a royal wedding feast. There was of course a political agenda behind those royal banquets. They helped to insure that the heir to the throne would be accepted and loved by his poorer subjects. Caesars and senators in ancient Rome were accustomed to sponsor gladiatorial contests and other bloody spectacles for much the same reason. Cynical Romans were well aware that their acquiescence in, if not allegiance to, the ruling junta, was being bought with 'bread and circuses'. Vestiges of the same still survive today as richer countries vie with each other to host the Olympic Gaines or the World Cup.

There was nothing hidden about the parable Jesus addressed to the religious hierarchy of his time. They were his prime target and they knew it. (Already they had plans in the pipeline to rid themselves of this rabble-rousing rabbi.) They and their likes were too preoccupied with the pursuit of privilege and power to accept the invitation to the wedding-feast. Others had their 'farms' and their 'businesses', their shady deals and worldly transactions. They did not take kindly to being told to abandon their dubious practices. They rejected and maltreated the prophetic messengers sent to warn them that the feast was - ready. But they have now long since gone and paid the price of their infidelity.

But the story and the story-teller goes on choosing in every age a new audience. Certainly those executives in Roman collars who run their local churches like regional subsidiaries of a giant international company are now being targeted. But they are not alone. It would be comforting to think that we are too low down to be included. Or worse, that we are part of that great unwashed at the crossroads who finally fill the wedding-hall. It would also be naive. Our baptism placed us in the first place on the guest list. Our profession of faith every Sunday confirmed it. Our preoccupation with this world suggests we might not make it to the wedding.

It used to be thought that heaven was the better of the two options on offer when we die. The reality is quite different. The offer is made now. Death only freezes for eternity the choice we - make here. We have already received our invitations. We have been tagged with an RSVP. -We are already making our responses by the priorities we choose here and now.

Cistercian Focus

With the exception of St Patrick, it is perhaps true that no foreign saint exerted a greater spiritual influence on this country of ours - without ever actually setting foot on it - than did St Bernard of Clairvaux in France, the monk who in the 12th century really established the Cistercian Order as a force for good throughout the length and breadth of Europe. While travelling to Rome to receive appointment as bishop of Armagh, St Malachy, himself a monk, called on Bernard, and even expressed a wish to join his Order, but was refused permission by the Pope.

On his return journey, Malachy left some Irish monks in Clairvaux to learn the Cistercian way of life, and when these came back to Ireland the first Cistercian monastery was set up in Mellifont, Co Louth. The fact that this foundation bore quick results, and the Order spread rapidly throughout the country, was due in large to the zeal and devotion of Bernard which he passed on to all who came in contact with him. Every morning, in his monastery at Clairvaux, Bernard would ask himself this question, "Bernard, Bernard, why have you come here?" And by keeping his mind focused on the meaning of life, he was to change not only himself, but the values of Europeans as well. It is imperative that, from time to time, we all should ask ourselves this same question also, and especially when we are gathered together as a worshipping community to celebrate the Eucharist. "Why am I here?" To find an answer we might turn to the parable of the wedding feast in the gospel reading. The king here referred to is God, the weddingfeast is a celebration of the advent of the Messiah, or Redeemer, who is the son of the king, in other words, Jesus the Son of God. Those sent out with invitations were first the prophets and later on the disciples of Christ.

But those originally invited, namely the Jews, chose to ignore God's messengers, and even used violence against them. The burning of their town, by way of retribution, refers to the destruction of Jerusalem. Finally those called in from the streets were the sinners and gentiles despised by the Jews. The behaviour of the Jews recalls for us the saying of St Augustine, "God created us without our cooperation, but without our cooperation he cannot save us." We should never regard this parable as applying only to another age, because the call to share in the heavenly banquet of the Messiah is an on-going call. Moreover, Christ is appealing to us here and now not to consider how much we will be punished if we turn a deaf ear to his invitation, but rather to reflect on what we will lose if, like the Jews, we spurn his call. We must always keep in mind that the invitation extended to us is one that comes out of God's generosity. Those in the highways and byways could never, by any stretch of the imagination, have exected an invitation to the wedding feast, still less deserve it.

The treatment meted out to the man in the parable who had no wedding garment, at first sight, seems to us rather harsh. But the gospel is insisting that when we come to the Eucharistic banquet we should be in the state of friendship with God. The parable has nothing to do with the clothes we wear to church, but it has everything to do with the interior spirit and reverence that should motivate us when we come into God's house. How often does it happen that we come with no preparation whatsoever, that spiritually speaking we are only half alive, mere shadows, satisfying our consciences by sitting out the time for what we perhaps regard as an institutional obligation imposed by the Church, which we fulfil in a routine fashion as if it were simply a social custom.

If every single person in this congregation had a sincere desire to respond to the call of Christ, then our coming together would be true worship of God indeed. And we would not be in the least upset or concerned if asked the question, "Why have you come here?" We should make it a habit to renew daily, and especially during the Sunday Mass, our dedication to the following of Christ: Then when burdens and crosses weigh heavily upon us we can take courage by contemplating the eternal banquet, the reward God has prepared for all who love him. "Come you that are blessed by my Father," Christ promises, "take possession of the kingdom which was prepared for you from the foundation of the world." At this heavenly banquet God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. Death shall be no more, nor mourning nor crying shall be anymore, for the former things will have passed away (Apoc 21:4).

Eternal Banquet

Joy: The Bible uses many images in order to convey to us the sheer joy of life with God our Father. One of the most common of these is the idea of a wedding feast. It is a scene with which everyone is familiar, and in this metaphor the main accent is on joy. Hence it encourages us to think positively of the plan God has in mind for us. He wants us to concentrate on the idea of him as our Father entertaining us forever in a manner which will make us completely happy.

Faith: Our whole life with God is based on faith, on that gift of knowledge of him which he himself gives us at Baptism. This is a most precious gift, which is developed during our life on earth with the help of God and in accordance with the way we conform our lives to his plan, his way of thinking. We must take time to reflect on how our life is going; we must listen to God talking to us through his writings, his servants and his private personal prompting. There must be a continual desire and effort to allow ourselves to be influenced and guided by him in all our undertakings. When we greatly admire someone, we wish to be in his/her company. Almost automatically we get to know such a person better. Imperceptibly, and almost without full awareness we begin to reproduce in ourselves the admirable qualities of such an individual. This is what God wants us to do. As Paul says 'Be imitators of me as I am of Christ'. While we go about our business in this world we must keep one eye on the man Jesus, the perfect opy of the Father. Never are we to allow other interests, though good in themselves, to intrude to such an extent that they hinder or hold up our continuing and ever deepening contact with our Father. Rather let us try to make our knowledge of Christ dominate and colour all our thoughts and actions.

Happiness: Paul tells us that this is the key to complete contentment. For Paul and for us Christ is the only thing that is absolutely necessary. Difficulties, trouble, anxiety and all the other hardships of life can be overcome with the grace and power of the risen Lord. Paul could sing with joy in the midst of his trials; so can we if we learn to trust Jesus, if we learn to live from day to day in his company, listening to him and trying to reproduce his features.

Warning: God wants us to be happy, to be joyful. He wants us to be excited even now at the prospect of the eternal wedding feast. He has already given us a foretaste of the life to come in sanctifying grace, which is a sharing in his own life. This is to be regarded as our greatest possession. It must be delicately nurtured and developed. Care is to be taken lest we become so involved in the business of living that we forget about life. The result could be too terrible to imagine.

29th Sunday (A)

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6

Ps 96:1, 3-5, 7-10

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

Is 45:1, 4-6. The providence of God appointed the Persian Cyrus as the liberator of Israel from the exile in Babylon. The Lord can use any instrument he chooses to foster his plan.

1 Thess 1:1-5. In the opening lines of his very first epistle, Paul assures his readers that he prays for them and is glad for their zeal as converts.

Mt 22:15-21. Jesus refused to be drawn into a sterile political argument, about paying taxes to Caesar. "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

Theme: Today's Christians are called to live in a very pluralist world. It presents them with huge challenges. Only the depth of their convictions will enable their faith to survive and to thrive in a secular society.

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him-and the gates shall not be closed: For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Ps 96:1, 3-5, 7-10

O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, "The Lord is king!

The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity."

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he 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; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

Matthew 22:15-21

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."

Intercessions

- for harmonious relations between church and state in seeking the common good of our people.

- that the leaders in each sphere may recognise and respect the legitimate concerns of the other.

- that Christians and citizens will always act with restraint, tolerance and goodwill.

- that all who are caught up in materialism may look again at their values and priorities, and remember that "man does not live on bread alone".

Thoughts for 29th Sunday, A

Mission Alive

In A Matter of Life and Death, John Taylor writes that God is not primarily concerned as to whether we are religious or not. What is fundamentally important to God is whether or not we are alive. If our religion makes us more fully alive, more courageous, more caring - more involved in life - then God is in it, But if religion inhibits our capacity for life or makes us run away from life then surely God is against it just as Jesus was. The question of Deuteronomy and of the missionary is simple: Are you alive or dead? Is our community alive or dead? What is the evidence? Much of life is not written in our genes or our environment. Do we choose life? Why are so many people only half alive? Why are little children more vividly alive than their parents? Taylor insists that the most violent epidemic gripping our society in a vice is accede, a sleeping sickness, a kind of pervasive apathy the "I can't be bothered" "It is nothing to do with me" "Here l am, send someone else" syndrome.

In today's world the pervasive mood is often one of anxiety - wages have dropped, jobs and businesses are insecure, sex can kill and such killer diseases as flu and malaria are back as violent as ever. Many speak of "cocooning" in hope that someday they will wake up and find the bad times gone forever.

To give credit to the writer of Deuteronomy, despite all the disaster and holocausts which Israel had suffered, he did not give up hope. He believed in the loving God of the Exodus. No situation ever after was without hope. But he was blunt. Our choices are vital. Are we willing to pay the cost to choose life? Like Psalm 95 he believed in the importance of "today" which is all the time we've got. If one does not start a project within seventy-two hours, business experts tell us we will never do it. One thinks of that famous day in August 386 in Milan when Augustine was tormented and going mad, choosing pleasure instead of chastity. In tears he flung himself down beneath a fig tree, "How long will I go on saying tomorrow? Suddenly he heard a child singing a song "Take and read" and he opened a nearby Bible at Romans 13:13-14. So his life was changed from that moment and as we say the rest is history. Unfortunately the chorus of women in T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral speaks for all of us:

We do not wish anything to happen.

Seven years we have lived quietly,

Succeeded in avoiding notice,

Living and partly living.

There have been oppression and luxury,

There have been poverty and licence,

There has been minor injustice.

Yet we have gone on living,

Living and partly living.

For two thousand years Christianity has been the spiritual force continually reshaping the history of Europe. We are fortunate to have seen it outlive with renewed vigour the most systematic and brutal rivals it ever had in Nazism and Communism. Now it is in crisis through the indifference of many of its members. So much depends on our choices; will we choose what can give us true life, or will we fritter away our precious opportunities?

To describe the high path to life and truth, the Gospel uses many figures of speech - bread, light, the door, the way, the shepherd, the vine. It means that Jesus is what men and women must have and long to have in order to be able truly to live. When Jesus says "It is I" or "I am" he is presenting him self as the one for whom the world is waiting, the one who satisfies all longing.

Mission is about life. But the key to life, the one who really lived life to the full is Jesus. In Jesus we have the confidence that the world of evil is overcome. We can have the spirit of the famous Marshal Foch, the allied commander in one of the decisive battles of the World War I. When matters were at their worst he issued his famous command which is now in all military strategy textbooks: "My centre is giving way, my right is pushed back, my left is wavering. The situation is excellent. I shall attack."

God and Caesar

Before being called by Christ to be one of his twelve Apostles, St Matthew was a tax collector operating in a customs house, somewhere in the north of Galilee. Since this profession required that he be able to read, write and especially keep records, these skills he would put to good use in writing his gospel account of Jesus' mission. His literary style, as an evangelist, may be more artificial than that of St Luke, but there is no doubt that the gospel excerpt you have just heard is truly dramatic. The question put to Jesus, as to whether it was permissible for Jews to pay tribute to Caesar, gives a clear insight into the minds and strategy of the Pharisees. They were endeavouring to walk Jesus into a political trap that would set him at odds with the Roman authorities, who were the rulers of Israel at that time, or, failing that, would discredit him before his own people. To avoid giving rise to suspicion of their intent, they decided not to get involved personally themselves. They sent some of their disciles along to Christ instead. It is quite likely that the leaders of the Pharisees stayed in the background because they wanted the followers of Herod, the Roman appointed tetrarch of Galilee, to take part also in the plot against Jesus, even though these Herodians, who openly advocated cooperation with the Romans, were normally their most bitter enemies.

The feigned tributes to Jesus by this delegation, mention of his honesty, his fearlessness, his disregard for the status of those he encountered, all this flattery coming from people who normally were hostile to Christ merely highlights the hypocrisy of their praise. Then the trap was sprung: "tell us what is your own opinion? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Were Christ to answer, "Pay the tax," then he would stand accused of collaboration with the Roman oppressors, and would incur the scorn of ordinary Jews each of whom had to pay a poll tax, from the age of twelve for women and fourteen for men. Were he to advocate non-payment, he could be arrested for sedition by the Roman authorities. Jesus' response, however, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's," left them confounded, and they slunk away. But Jesus' reply left the matter in suspense, because it did not touch upon the right of the Romans to rule Israel, nor did it enumerate precisely the things o Caesar or those of God.

These opposing claims of God and state were left to be decided by the informed conscience of each individual, and still are to this day. What must be kept in mind is the warning of Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, that "no one can serve two masters; one cannot be the slave of both God and wealth" (Mt 6:24). Wealth in early OT times was seen as created by God, and bestowed on patriarchs, kings and leaders who had roles of special responsibility. Later on, wealth ceased to be regarded as a gift from God. "Woe to those who join house to house and field to field, until everywhere belongs to them," Isaiah warned (Is 5:8), and Jesus himself said, "alas for you who are rich; you are having your life of ease now" (Lk 6:24). The world and all its resources were created by God for the benefit of all human beings without exception, and this must usually obtain alongside the right to private property, whether inherited or acquired by personal enterprise. It is the task of government to seek a balance between these objetives that will lead to the common good of all those governed. And taxation is still one of the most common means of achieving this.

But, just as with the Jews in the time of our Lord, people nowadays do not take kindly to having a share of their earnings taken from them in the form of tax. But, whereas the taxes then in Israel, for the most part, went to swell the coffers of the authorities in Rome, where slavery was a substantial economic factor as well for all its citizens, taxes collected nowadays, in this country for example, go towards caring for the sick, the elderly, the permanently disabled, the huge cost of maintaining the infrastructure of the state. We should never forget that we have a dual set of responsibilities, towards God and towards our neighbour in society. In the latter, state authorities have a major role to play, and have a right to our cooperation in their endeavour to bring about the material welfare of all citizens. We fulfil our obligations towards achieving that by obeying the just laws of the state, by paying our lawful taxes, and by helping to bring about the common good at all times.

Who, Me, Missionary?

We can think of mission as something that is the responsibility of others. It belongs to priests and religious, and it involves travel to distant parts. Today, Mission Sunday, reminds us that the whole church is missionary, and that each of us, in virtue of our baptism, has a role to play in the church's mission. To be a member of the church is to be missionary. To believe is to witness to our belief.

Each of us, in different ways, can be a little like Peter in the gospel reading. We can be slow to take ourselves seriously as missionaries. After Peter's experience of the wonderful catch of fish, he may have sensed that the Lord had something in mind for him to do. He attempted to head Jesus off, as it were, with his cry, "Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man." Overcome by his own sense of inadequacy and unworthiness, he sought to put as much distance as possible between himself and Jesus. As far as he was concerned, he was merely a fisherman, and not always a successful one. Perhaps the experience of working hard all night and catching nothing was not new to him. Yet, Jesus recognized that this fisherman, and others like him, could draw people to God. Jesus did not take his leave of Peter, as Peter had suggested. Rather, he called Peter to accompany him and to share in his mission.

The gospels are full of Peters - people from all walks of life who, in various ways, share in Jesus' mission and witness to him before others. Many of these would not have been regarded as "religious" in the usual sense of that word at the time. They would not have thought of themselves as potential missionaries. We need only think of the leper who "began to spread the word" after his healing (Mk 1:45), the demon possessed man from the country of the Gerasenes who "began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him" (Mk 5:20), the parents who brought children to Jesus that he might bless them (Mk 10:13), the Samaritan woman who brought the people of her town to Jesus, the nameless woman who anointed Jesus' feet head with precious ointment, and whose good deed Jesus declared to be part of the gospel (Mk 14:9), the Roman centurion who publicly declared that the crucified Jesus was the Son of God (Mk 15:39). The list could go on. Here are men and women from all walks of life who proclaimed the gopel by their words and deeds.

We are all invited to join the company of these men and women. When Jesus called upon the seventy two to "ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest," he had all of us in mind. There is a role for each one of us in the Lord's harvest. We each have a part to play in the Lord's mission. There is a task for each of us to do, which, if not done by us, cannot be done by anyone else. We each have a unique set of opportunities to reveal the Lord to others, and to allow those around us to experience the Lord in us. It is not easy to share our faith in the culture in which we live. Faith in God has come to be regarded as something private, like our pin number. Yet, by definition, to believe is to witness to our belief. The public act of going to Mass on a Sunday is one form of witness. In today's culture where church attendance is declining, such a public act can be more powerful than ever before. Yet, there is more to witnessing and to being missionary than going to church. We are called to be witesses in our homes, in our schools and colleges, in our offices and our factories, in our supermarkets and our places of recreation. We are called to bring the values of the gospel into all the contexts in which we live, and, also to recognize and to affirm the gospel values that are already there.

The call of Peter in today's gospel reading began with Jesus asking him to put out a little from the shore. Jesus subsequently asked him to put out into deep water. The call to put out into the deep can sound rather daunting to us. We may not be ready to launch out into the deep. Perhaps the Lord may only be asking us, for the moment, to put out a little from the shore. There may be some small step we can take to become more missionary in the living of our faith. When Jesus appointed the twelve, he first called them to be with him, and only after some time did he send them out (Mk 3:14, 6:7). The call to mission begins with the call to be present to Jesus. The first small step the Lord may be asking of us in becoming more missionary could be to become more prayerful. Our prayerful communion with the Lord of the harvest prepares us to be labourers in the harvest of the Lord. We pray for the freedom to take whatever small step the Lord may be asking of us this Mission Sunday.

Mission

Today is Mission Sunday, a day to remember that mission belongs to the nature of the Church (Evangelii Nuntiandi; 14.) Today the homilist should encourage prayer and material support for the Church's missionary activity, a facing of the responsibility that each Christian bears.

It is often a day when a parish invites a representative of a missionary congregation to come and speak about their work. Very often our attention is focused on what others are doing for the mission and how we should support this. But faith is a gift to be shared by all of us, not just missionaries.

The more "local" homilist might focus on the mission of the local community. It starts from a sense of the faith as a gift to be shared. If we do not or cannot feel motivated to share our faith, there is a defect in our faith. One might remind the congregation "always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have" (1 Peter 3:15.) But 1 Peter adds "but give it with courtesy and respect."

The goal of this sharing the faith at home will be the people in every community who are still searching for truth and the meaning of their lives. So mission includes the right kind of sensitivity in all of us to be open to the searching questions of the people who live and work with us. If we are visibly people of mature faith, enduring hope and sincere love for others (second reading) we will undoubtedly attract people who are searching for God. Our share in the Church's mission will then be to respond to their need in "courtesy and respect," to share joyfully the Spirit of our conviction.

A final thought. The mission is ultimately God's and not ours. God is already at work "even" in the lives of those not yet evangelised. Our Own preaching of the Word is itself a response to the Word in our own lives, and it evokes the Word already at work in our hearers,

Second Isaiah was able to envisage God's work in a gentile king, to see an unbeliever as led by God, called by name, anointed by God (first reading.) The mission of the Church is to bring to all unbelievers the good news that it is the One God who guides their destiny and that through faith in Christ and baptism they will be anointed with God's Spirit and called by a new name.

Render To Caesar

No sooner had the Berlin Wall fallen, marking the end of the Cold War, than another ominous divide in our world made its appearance. This new division is between the Muslim world and what was once the Christian West. The Muslim world has experienced an extraordinary growth in fundamentalism. Many countries there have imposed or are seeking to impose the law of the Koran as the law of the state. Algeria in North Africa, just off the southern tip of Europe, is presently the scene of a murderous East-West conflict. Some European countries feel threatened, particularly France, with its large Muslim population and close historical ties with Algeria. Already controversy has broken out there, with Muslim demands that their schoolgirls be allowed to wear the veil in French public schools. Strange how people so often adopt the attitudes and strategies of their adversaries. Muslim fundamentalism in Arab countries has been matched by a noticeable "move to the right" in western countries. Not surprisingly, this is most aparent in France where the extreme right-wing National Front have made extraordinary gains in recent elections. Even the more moderate mainstream parties are calling for tighter immigration laws. The signs for the future are ominous, to say the least.

The clash between religion and the secular state is not new.

The history of the Christian West is largely a history of this conflict. For the first few centuries of its existence, the Christian religion was fiercely persecuted by the state, leaving in its wake, a bloody trail of martyrs. All that changed with the conversion of the emperor Constantine. Soon Christianity became the state religion. Now the boot was on the other foot. The high point of the power of religion came at Canossa in the high Middle Ages when an excommunicated emperor knelt in the snow and humbly submitted to a pope to regain his imperial crown. In the Caesar-God contest, the first round went decidedly to God. All throughout the Middle Ages the church extended its sphere of influence into the secular domain. With the break-up of Christianity in the sixteenth century the process began to reverse. The French Revolution marked a decisive turning point, this time in favour of the state. Napoleon made the point dramatically, when he took the imperial crown from the pope and placed it himself on his ownhead. Ever since the state has been clawing back the ground once usurped by the church. And understandably, the church has ceded its former influence reluctantly. The boot has changed feet once more.

Today's gospel, with its famous "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's" has a particular topicality in our world.

While the principle enunciated by Christ in the gospel is clear and unambiguous, its application in particular circumstances is quite another matter. The Catholic Church Catechism points out three circumstances where citizens are obliged in conscience to refuse obedience to the civil authorities. They are when the laws are "contrary to the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons and to the teachings of the gospel." The principle is clear. However, its application is not so simple, as the decision by the Irish Supreme Court in the famous "X-case" revealed. Invoking the constitutional rights of persons, that decision left the legal position regarding abortion, in the eyes of many, in a worse state than before.

The complexity of these issues often render them unsuitable topics for the pulpit. What the preacher can and must do, is advise believers on the obligation of Christian behaviour in all circumstances. No matter how deeply they hold their convictions or how warmly they espouse their causes, they must never resort to violence. And that includes intimidation in all its forms. Muscular crusades, whether modern or medieval, cause irreparable harm. The end never justifies the means. We live, even in Ireland, in a world of pluralism. There are others whose principles and beliefs differ radically from ours. The state must also take cognisance of them. Our only resort is persuasion. Persuasion is always a gentle art. We best persuade by living our Christian lives to the full, remembering always that "the anger of man works not the justice of God."

30th Sunday (A)

Exodus 22:10-16

Ps 18:1-3, 46, 50

1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

Exod 22:20-26. Part of the Sinai commandments is the fairness which the Israelites should show each other in practical matters, whether in lending or borrowing, or in matters of sexual love.

1 Thess 1:5-10. The fervour of the Thessalonian converts influenced other communities for good. They became became imitators of Paul and (through him,) of the Lord.

Mt 22:34-40. Jesus' moral teaching centres on the twofold commandment of love. It is impossible to love God truly, without loving our neighbour - the real challenge of the Gospel.

Theme: Today's Gospel celebrates the great commandment of love. To love our neighbour as God does, we must try to rid ourselves of prejudice against those who differ from us in race, religion or colour.

Exodus 22:10-16

When someone delivers to another a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is carried off, without anyone seeing it, an oath before the Lord shall decide between the two of them that the one has not laid hands on the property of the other; the owner shall accept the oath, and no restitution shall be made. But if it was stolen, restitution shall be made to its owner. If it was mangled by beasts, let it be brought as evidence; restitution shall not be made for the mangled remains.

When someone borrows an animal from another and it is injured or dies, the owner not being present, full restitution shall be made. If the owner was present, there shall be no restitution; if it was hired, only the hiring fee is due. When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.

Ps 18:1-3, 46, 50

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.

The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation,

Great triumphs he gives to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.

1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

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; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

Matthew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Intercessions

- for a deeper love of God in our community, that we may all know, love and serve him, in ways that are genuine and true.

- for all those in our society who are victims of prejudice.

- that our God may open our eyes to our own prejudices.

- that we may always find a place in our hearts and our homes for strangers.

Thoughts for 30th Sunday, A

Heart of the matter

Life is becoming increasingly complex. We value people who have the gift of getting beyond the multiple dimensions of an issue so as to zoom in on the heart of the matter. Such people prevent us from missing the wood for the trees. They are good at separating out what really matters from the things that are less important. They encourage us to invest our energies in what is really worthwhile, rather than allowing them to be dissipated by what is not significant.

Jesus was a person who knew how to go to the heart of the matter. On one occasion someone asked him to intervene in a family dispute about inheritance. In his reply, he ignored the concrete issue and, instead, he called on the person who approached him to "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed" (Lk 12:13-15). He saw that the real issue was not the details of the particular case but the greed which underlay the dispute.

This capacity of Jesus to get to the heart of the matter is clear from his response to the question put to him by one of the Pharisees in today's gospel reading, "Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?" In the time of Jesus there were known to be 613 commandments in the Jewish Law. The potential here to miss the wood for the trees was enormous. Preoccupation with the sheer number and detail of regulations could result in people ignoring what really matters. On one occasion Jesus humorously refers to this as straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel (Mt 23:24). Jesus took advantage of the Pharisee's question to go straight to the heart of the Jewish law. He was asked only about the "greatest" commandment. His answer, however, named the greatest and the second greatest commandment. For Jesus, the greatest commandment, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind," was inseparable from the second greatest commandment, "You must love your neighbour s yourself." Jesus' answer declared that what God wants from us above all else is love. Our love is due first to God, but there is no genuine love of God unless it finds expression in love of our neighbour. Love of neighbour, in turn, presupposes a healthy self-love, recognising and appreciating myself as fundamentally good, because I am created in the image and likeness of God.

Parents with children who have stopped going to Mass will often say, "Yet, he/she is a good and caring person." Is this to say that, although they are weak on the greatest commandment, "Love God," they are strong on the second greatest commandment, "Love your neighbour." Yet, a few chapters further on in Matthew's gospel, Jesus states that those who live the second greatest commandment can find themselves living the greatest commandment, without realizing it. "Lord when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink... a stranger and welcomed you?" To this question comes the reply, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me" (Mt 25:37-40). To love the neighbour, especially the vulnerable neighbour, is to love the Lord.

The opening of this morning's second reading mentions several vulnerable neighbours. The first one referred to is the "stranger." The term "stranger" has quite a precise meaning in the Scriptures. It does not simply refer to people who are not known to us. Parents often rightly tell their children not to take a lift from strangers, in this sense. The term "stranger" in the Scriptures refers to someone from outside Israel who lived in Israel, a foreigner living among the people of Israel. We in Ireland have experienced in recent years a dramatic increase in the number of strangers, in this Biblical sense, who have come to live among us. We have moved, and are still in the process of moving, from a mono-cultural society to a multi-cultural and multi-racial society. Today's readings invite us to reflect on how well we have learned to love these strangers, to make them feel at home in our society and in our church. "I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

The call to love the stranger can also be heard as a call to love what we find strange in others. As we go through life, we become aware that other people are not extensions of ourselves. They are distinct from us, and, often, different from us. The saying, "Birds of a feather flock together," expresses the evident truth that like attracts like. It is tempting to frequent the company of people like ourselves. Yet, the Lord gathered about himself a community of great diversity. Even within the twelve there was to be found a tax-collector and a zealot, men from opposite ends of the political spectrum. In a similar way, the Spirit of the Lord at work in our lives prompts us to connect with those who are different from us, as well as those who are like us. The one we find initially strange can reveal the Lord to us in surprising ways. We pray this morning for a greater openness to the many ways the Lord comes to us in life.

God and Caesar

Suspect Number One

A bomb had just gone off in Boulevard Montparnasse. A few people were killed and many others were injured. Terrorism had raised its ugly head in the French capital. The authorities reacted swiftly. Suspects were rounded up. Paris was and is the nerve centre of an international web of terrorist groups. It is here they make contact, exchange information, do their cross dealing. It is probably why it is one of the most incident-free cities in the world. Nobody in their senses would dream of fouling the nest. It was common knowledge that the perpetrators of this atrocity would be severely dealt with, if not by the police, by one or other of the terrorist organisations. I had been taking my evening stroll in Jardin du Luxembourg when the bomb went off a short distance on the other side of the garden. The first I became aware that something had happened was the constant wail of sirens of police cars and ambulances that raced to and from the scene for the next few hours. Only later when I watched the evening news di I learn the full horror of what had happened and realise how close I had been to the scene.

The fun-loving city of Paris changed complexion overnight. There were police everywhere. People were constantly stopped and interrogated. People were frisked and searched going in to shops, cinemas and restaurants, which were compelled to employ special security staff for the purpose. Police manned all Metro entrances, demanding to see identification papers. I had been living a number of years in Paris and gone everywhere without an identity card. I had never even bothered to apply for - a carte du sejour. My Irish passport then was bulky and in any case I was always afraid of losing it, so I never carried it on me. I did now while I began the long and tortuous hassle with French bureaucracy to obtain a carte du s�jour.

As far as I can remember now these high security measures remained in force for a couple of months. Certainly, they lasted long enough for me to learn something I had never realised before. My white face was my passport. At every checkpoint I encountered I was never stopped, while every coloured person before and after me were held and interrogated lengthily. And often, ironically, by coloured officers who form a sizeable percentage of the Paris police force. I mentioned my discovery to a coloured friend. He looked at me in disbelief. "All that changed for me," he said, "was that before the bomb, I was stopped and questioned every other time. Now I am stopped and questioned every time." He opened my eyes to the existence of racial prejudice in a city as liberal and as cosmopolitan as Paris. Now I see it all the time.

Prejudice is blind. Those who practice it most are often least aware of it in themselves. Ireland must be the country with proportionately the least number of coloured people in the world. The few coloured stars on our World Cup soccer team are hardly likely to arouse our prejudice. Nor do the Olympic athletes or an 0. J. Simpson do so in the United States. When it comes to national prestige, they are net contributors. We have to look elsewhere for signs of prejudice. The way we treat our itinerants is a case in point. The attitudes of our emigrants abroad, like the Irish in South Boston, is another pointer to the latent prejudice in the Irish at home. There is a lot of soul-searching we need to do. We more than most should identify with immigrants, whatever their hue or colour. Many of our race in foreign lands were widowed by the loss of their homeland and orphaned by lack of status in their adopted country. It should make us more receptive to words the Lord spoke to Moses:

Tell the sons of Israel this, "You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow or the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans."

Spelling it Out

After the encounter recounted in today's gospel the evangelist does not record any response from the Jewish authorities. No one could disagree with loving God and loving the neighbour within the Jewish faith context. In preaching this can be a difficulty, in that no one who participates in the Sunday Eucharist could conceivably reject such a basic attitude of the faith. One could politely listen and agree. The celebrant might take the road of spelling out ways in which the local community might improve its love of neighbour, but people are not so eager to hear a harangue about the preacher's pet hate about omissions Left with the possibility of delivering mere generalisations that could fail to register effectively with many people, the homilist might develop the gospel theme of the one Charity that reaches to God and neighbour with the same life by stalling from the second reading.

In his career, Paul mixed closely with the communities whose lives he shared and the authority of his word seems to have sprung from the quality of his life. His attitudes and habits of work were in tune with the message that he delivered unceasingly. Commitment to the task was evidenced by his ferocious sufferings in spreading the good news. There was an intrinsic link between what he said and how he lived. The word spoken gave meaning to the life lived and the quality of the life guaranteed the sterling metal of the word. The people of Salonika accepted him and his message and they found that it had a power to change their own outlook on life. Paul names their experience "joy of the Holy Spirit." They touched the living Spirit of God in the midst of their own lives.

Genuine human concern that touched their lives became an effective sacrament of the transcendent love of God. This incident affords the homilist the chance of looking at the mystery of the Christian God from the point of view of God's transcendence and his immanence. The love of God which is greater than all our words or any experience, spiritual, mental or emotional, is actually enfleshed in the nitty-gritty of human interpersonal relationships. The authenticity of our religion is guaranteed by the value of our love for real people. One could use the image of the flower that is rooted in the soil; it grows slowly by transforming the elements of the soil in to its own living cells and eventually reaches up to the beauty of the sky with its own form, colour and scent. The one sap enlivens the root, the stalk, the flower and produces the perfume. A truly Christian life is rooted in the earth and yet reaches up to the mystery of God through living in love. Another possible development might stem from Paul's notin of the Thessalonians" reputation spreading through the surrounding area. People were drawn to the Christian faith by the way these people were leading their lives. The word of the good news diffused itself quietly through people admiring the way the Christians lived. There is a link with the first reading, where we see the prophetic theologian inviting Israel to examine its own history and to review their current attitudes as people who wield power, in the light of their memory of being slaves in Egypt. Drawing on this point the preacher could invite the congregation to reflect on their own life stories and encourage them to grow in compassion and empathy for the sufferings of others. Often people can be quick to condemn those who have strange values or live a different lifestyle. We can fail to appreciate the faltering efforts people make to cope with the struggles of frail human nature. If we could plumb the depths of meaning in our own personal life histories we might be able to forge more effective link with other people and share the inner driving force of our faith. The gift of our humanity, savoured and appreciated, can become mirror and window to the mystery of God for ourselves. It can be more a more effective means of evangelisation than all the hype of religious words that often only confirm the "converted" in their convictions.

Doing Justice

Today's first reading and gospel give us a clear and practical principle: loving God means doing justice. One can argue the priorities about love and justice: which comes first, which presupposes the other, which is higher. But the plain and painful fact is that not just the world in general but even Christian society in particular is full of people who show little sign of valuing either love or justice. We live in a world ruled by values that are far from those of the Gospel. Greed, fear, and the desire for power and profit hold sway even in our Christian democracies. We are closer to the situation of the Thessalonian readers of Paul's letter than we may imagine. Today no less than then, the world is hostile to what Jesus Christ represents, and it is hard for us to take a stand even on important issues of justice and compassion.

The gospel shows how genuine love of God and genuine love of the other are the two basic aspects of the same call. There can never be a contradiction between the two, even though one may sometimes feel trapped in a situation where a particular law of Church or State seems to create a contradiction.

An approach to the second commandment about love could be by reflecting on how we love ourselves. Love of neighbour becomes virtually impossible in the agone of self-hatred in which some fearful, discouraged people can find themselves. Loving the other as oneself only becomes possible if we have, or can gain, a healthy, sane level of self-appreciation. Such an ideal is based on a sound psychological principle, which should be occasionally mentioned in our churches. And yet, Christian love transcends all the transient vogues of psychology. Its ideal is the example of Christ himself, and its outreach includes a commitment to the doing of justice.

31st Sunday (A)

Malachi 1:14-2:2,8-10

Ps 131:1-3

1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13

Matthew 23:1-12

A Humble Cur�

Greeted by a familiar face

Christ and Pharisees

Our Whole Lives As Well

What's wrong with Scribes?

Pharisees?

Attracting Attention

Mal 1:14 ff. The prophet Malachi threatens those who cheat and then criticises Israel's unworthy priests, for not listening to God and for misleading the people with false teaching.

1 Thess 2:7ff. Paul recalls the love and zeal he has shown to the Thessalonians. He is glad that they have accepted his message as God's word.

Mt 23:1-12. Jesus attacks the scribes and Pharisees for their false piety. His message is, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Theme: Today's Gospel calls us to examine our conscience about the sincerity of our words and of our lives. We should rid ourselves of all hypocrisy and respect the truth about ourselves, in God's sight.

Malachi 1:14-2:2,8-10

Cursed be the cheat who has a male in the flock and vows to give it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is reverenced among the nations. And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse on you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction. Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?

Ps 131:1-3

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.

1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13

Though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.

Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Intercessions

- that priests and religious may bear a positive witness to Christ, by the quality of their living.

- that we may never judge people by appearances.

- for all who are tempted to be insincere in their public lives, that they may seek integrity and an upright conscience.

- that we may always spurn privilege as unworthy of the gospel we profess to believe.

Thoughts for 31st Sunday, A

A Humble Cur�

One of the mottoes of commercialism is to avail of any opportunity that presents itself to one. The world's first passenger service by railway was started in England in 1825, and within 20 years or so special 8-day return tickets were being issued in Lyons in France to people wishing to go by rail to the little village of Ars, roughly 15 miles away. What was the attraction of Ars, you might ask? Well, there was a parish priest there, John Mary Vianney, whose whole life was devoted to the care of souls, who during the last 10 years of his life spent between 16 to 18 hours daily hearing confessions. Into this little village of 200 or so inhabitants, more than 300 pilgrims came daily, rich, poor, clerics, lay people, all seeking peace of mind, advice, God's forgiveness, bodily cures, or just the opportunity to touch this tiny, charismatic, little man, who to this day is remembered as the "Cur� d'Ars." In the last seven years of his life, the annual total of such pilgrims increased from 80 to 100 to close on 120,0 people.

Yet the first 28 years of his life, in certain respects, seemed a complete disaster. Despite having near average intelligence, he lacked a basic education. Feeling called to the priesthood when he was 19 years, he entered a school where the average age of the pupils was 12, with the aim, in particular, of gaining a knowledge of Latin. But it was a subject he never mastered. Worse still, he was conscripted into the army, and because of poor health, without intending to do so, he ended up a deserter finding refuge in a remote village, and living under a false name (Jerome Vincent). Later, availing of an amnesty granted by Napoleon to deserters, he succeeded in getting into a seminary, and despite being dismissed after failing once again his final exam, he was at last ordained at the age of 29 when a priest, who was his friend and mentor, made a special plea for him on the basis of his holiness and sincerity.

But from there on, with crowds making such demands on him, he had to undergo terrible trials. In particular for 34 years he suffered nightly attacks from the devil, who tried by every means to disrupt his few hours of sleep, by creating all kinds of noise heard also by independent witnesses, by pushing his bed and appearing to tear the bed clothes, and by shouting, "I'll get you yet, Vianney." These attacks were always exaggerated before a big public sinner was due to come to his confessional. The fact that John Vianney was a truly extraordinary saint, and now is declared patron and exemplar for all pastoral clergy, brings to mind the words of the New Testament, "God has chosen the foolish in the world to shame the wise, the weak in the world to confound the strong. Those whom the world regards as common and despicable are the ones God has chosen; those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything" (1 Cor 1:27f).

All three readings today are, by implication, concerned with two things: the duties and obligations of those in the priesthood, and as well their shortcomings and failures. Without in any way making an excuse for the latter, it can be said that, morally speaking, priests by and large are no better and no worse than those to whom they minister, those to whom they preach. If only the just should be permitted to preach in church, then who would dare open their mouths. And so it is that a priest has to take the risk of speaking freely each Sunday, for as Pope Pius XII said, "This free speech belongs to the Church, and without it an injury would be done to both pastor and people." The priest is an instrument in the hands of God, and God sometimes uses the weakness and imperfection of the instrument to confound the proud and the mighty.

Moreover, God wants us to lift our gaze beyond the limitations, the shortcomings of the instrument, to the perfection, the loving care, of the Almighty One who uses this instrument. What is required of the faithful is a discernment of faith which hears God himself speaking through the agency of his chosen ministers, as well as a willingness to pray that the word of God may take root in their lives, and yield an abundant return, just like the grains of seed in the parable of the Sower. What we must keep in mind is that we are all a "priestly people, God's only people," and that the task of building up God's kingdom on earth devolves on every one of us. For this we are privileged to have been chosen, and we must never cease working and praying that with our cooperation God's plans for the salvation of the whole world may come to fruition.

Greeted by a familiar face

It is lovely to be met by someone when we arrive home from a journey. To be greeted by a familiar face and then to be escorted from the airport or the station or the port to our final destination makes all the difference. To be met by a friendly and familiar face is all the more gratifying if our arrival has been delayed. As the minutes, or even the hours, tick by, we wonder if the friend who promised to meet us will still be there when we arrive. Doubting their presence, we might find ourselves thinking about other, less convenient, ways of negotiating the last, short stage of the journey. Recognizing the hoped-for presence in the crowd, despite our late arrival, makes us all the more appreciative of their coming. Our delay has changed nothing. The friend has been true to his/her word, in spite of the inconvenience of the unexpected delay.

Perhaps the bridegroom and his bride, in today's gospel reading, were equally pleased to find that at least some of the bridesmaids were there to meet them and escort them to the wedding banquet, in spite of their late arrival. The festive procession would happen regardless! Thank God for those wise enough to have had enough oil in reserve in the event of a long delay. The darkness would be lit up with bright lights after all, and the procession would take place in safety and in joy. The faithfulness of at least some of the bridesmaids is all the more appreciated, because it required foresight, planning and attentiveness.

We value faithfulness in others, especially when we know that it has cost them something and has made demands on them. We appreciate it when people do what is asked of them, especially when not to have done so would be understandable. Those who remain focused on the task and alert to their calling, in spite of an unexpected turn of events, are great treasures. It is one thing to be faithful when all goes according to plan. It is another thing to remain faithful when the plan unravels and we find ourselves facing into something we had not bargained for.

When the Lord calls us, it is always for the long haul. When he addresses us as "the light of the world" (Mt 5:14), he looks to us to keep our light burning to the end. The words addressed to parents in the Baptismal Rite, immediately after the baptism of their children, express this beautifully, "May they (your children) keep the flame of faith alive in their hearts. When the Lord comes, may they go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom." In one of the Taiz� chants, we sing, "Within our darkest night, you kindle a fire that never dies away, that never dies away." The fire of the Lord's love for us never dies away. That fire of his love ignites a flame in us, the flamee of faith. The Lord looks to us to keep that flame burning, so that it never dies away, so that its light is there to greet him, regardless of the lateness or strangeness of his coming to us.

In the times in which we live, it can be a struggle to keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts. Some may feel that the harsh winds of recent weeks in our own Diocese have threatened to extinguish the flame of their faith. Like those in the gospel reading today, we may be tempted to cry out, "Our lamps are going out." Yet, the Lord does not leave us without oil in these difficult times. We have the assurance of the first reading that "Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim." If we understand Christ as Wisdom, the wisdom of God, we are heartened to hear in that reading that he walks around looking for those worthy of him, and graciously shows himself to them. The Lord comes to us in our hour of need. The oil of his faithful presence to us ensures that our lamps need not go out. What is asked of us is that, in the words of the responsorial psalm, we remember him, long for him, gaze on him in the sanctuary. As we turn in prayer to the Lord in our need, he will keep us faithful, and the fire of his love will eep the flame of our faith burning brightly.

Followers of Christ are called to be long-haul people. Like the wise bridesmaids, we are to be there with our lamps lit, even if the bridegroom arrives at a ridiculously late hour. We are to keep the flame burning through the long hours of darkness when the Lord seems to be absent. We are called to have a faith that endures, which is the only kind of faith worth having. If we are to have a faith that endures the scandalous frailty of the church and the hostility of its critics, we need, in the words of the letter to the Hebrews, to look to Jesus, "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross." It is in looking to him, whose face always shines upon us, that the light of own faith will continue to shine.

Christ and Pharisees

It is important that the homily should not distort the teaching of Christ by giving an emphasis to some personal point of view of the preacher, a point of view which does not receive similar emphasis in the Gospels. In choosing the evil and dangers of Pharisaism as his subject for the homily, the preacher cannot possibly give a false emphasis; the synoptic Gospels are replete with accounts of the many conflicts between Christ and" the Pharisees and his denunciations of the sect.

What follows v. 12 and continues to the end of the is known as the "Woes" against the Pharisees. It is a pity that this part of Mat. ch 23 has not been selected for any Sunday throughout the three year cycle, for it helps to give a picture of the dangers, not only of Pharisaism in the time of Christ, but of the perils of the false practice of religion in all ages, including our own.

Pharisaism can be seen from several angles. It is the belief that one can save oneself through the observance of law, through the performance of works of piety, fasting, prayer and almsgiving with an eye on the praise of men. The Pharisees tended to put stress on little things ("Tithe of mint, dill and cummin') while neglecting the much more important matters of faith, justice and mercy. They were noted for their zeal in making converts who in due time became twice as bad as their converters. The outcome was that the Pharisees tended to be hypocrites, a title which Christ bestowed on them with great liberality.

The "Woes" of Matthew against the Pharisees end with Christ denouncing them for their violence, especially against the prophets whose blood they shed and whose tombs they later adorned. "You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your fathers began." Mat. 23:32. The finishing off of the work was the death of Christ for which the Pharisees were largely responsible. The works of piety, the strict observance of law was a defence mechanism at work within the Pharisees. They suffered from a sense of guilt which they refused to acknowledge, as the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican informs us. However, if guilt is not acknowledged within oneself, it seeks a victim outside oneself. We can say that Christ was the victim on whom the Pharisees projected their own unacknowledged sense of guilt. No wonder that the repentant sinner of the Parable who cried out, "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner," is exalted by Christ above the Pharisee who thanked God he was not asinner.

Today's Gospel is an invitation to us today, especially the more pious among us, to examine behind our good works. Are they an escape from a sense of guilt? Is there a link in this island of ours for our well-known piety and our equally well-known violence? If so, the remedy is not the rejection of piety and good works, but a search for a precious gift of God, the willingness to face up to ourselves by acknowledging our personal and national guilt.

Our Whole Lives As Well

Today's second reading issues a challenge to all Christians - especially the preacher! We are supposed to live up to what we say we are, followers of Christ. We are, in a single word, called to live by love, love in its deepest and Christian sense.

This word "Love" is much bandied about but less frequently understood and practiced. Jesus gave the supreme example of its real meaning in his life, death and resurrection. But he did not die and rise in order to prevent or excuse us from sharing personally in his selfless experience. If we are to be redeemed, if we are to be Christians with Him, we must in our turn undergo death and resurrection. We must practise what we preach! We must mean what we say and do what we mean.

In Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons there is a scene in which Margaret, the daughter of Thomas More, pleads with her father to desist from his opposition to the dissolute Henry VIII and swear to the Act of Succession. So lie will save his life and be released from jail. But More is unwilling to do something he doesn't believe in. He says: "If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good and greed would make us saintly.. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit us far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and we have to choose to be human at all.. why then perhaps we must stand fast a little - even at the risk of being heroes." Margaret, emotionally, still begs him to compromise: "Haven't you done as much as God can reasonably want?" And her father replies in words that should be written in gold: "Well.. finally.. it isn't a matter of reason; finally it's a matter of love."

This is the love that Christ spoke about and practised. In the end we shall be judged on that alone. Our often ragged efforts to bring direction and meaning to the "animated aimlessness" of our lives will - if touched by the love of God and expressed through genuine service of our fellow human beings - have an eternal value.

What's wrong with Scribes?

The scribes in the time of Jesus were like religious intellectuals, theologians, and professional lawyers who are adept in applying the Law to everyday life. The Pharisees in the time of Jesus were like a fraternity of laymen who joined together to meticulously observed the law with great precision. Both groups already have been the object of ridicule by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew - and this will not be the last of the verbal lashes that Jesus delivers.

One particular route that one might trace regarding the lineage of teaching authority to the chair of Moses in the time of Jesus may look like this: Moses to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the scribes and Pharisees. Therefore, the chair of Moses is an image from which teaching authority comes. Some scholars also posit that the seat in the synagogue from which discourses were given was referred to as the chair of Moses. If the Pharisees and Scribes actually taught from this seat in the synagogue; then the words of Jesus could be taken literally - they have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

Nevertheless, "their example should be avoided, as their motives are seriously flawed. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on the shoulders of people, but they will not lift a finger to move them." This in contrast to the words of Jesus - "my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation "Rabbi".

A few words about phylacteries, tassels, seating and greetings. Phylacteries: Both in Exodus (13:9) and in Deuteronomy (6:8; 11:18) are found commands by God to keep His Word or Law close. To obey this command a Jew, while praying, would wear what look like small leather boxes - one strapped to the wrist - one strapped to the forehead. Four scripture passages written on parchment could be found In the singe compartment box strapped to the wrist. The passages are from Exodus 13:1-10; Exodus 13:11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-21. The box that was strapped to the forehead contained four chambers - each chamber housing one of the four aforementioned passages. In the time of Jesus it was not uncommon for the Pharisees to wear especially large phylacteries in order to draw attention to their obedience to the word and Law of God.

Tassels: In Deuteronomy (22:12) another sign is established by God to be a reminder of His Word and Law. Tassels or fringes were to be attached to the hems of the outer garment in its four corners to remind a Jew of his attachment to the commandments. Today these tassels or fringes can be found attached to prayer shawls. Similar to the large phylacteries, these tassels could be enlarged by the Pharisees in order to attract attention to their obedience and piety.

Seating: the seat of honor at any banquet would be on either side of the person hosting the banquet. In the synagogue the front seats actually faced the entire congregation much as the chair of the presider does in churches today. These were considered to be seats of honor and they would typically be reserved for the elders. Those individuals seated here were in clear view of the congregation and their actions and piety could be plainly observed.

Greetings: The Scribes enjoyed being called Rabbi. It literally means - my great one - and it was a title of respect for Jewish teachers and leaders in the time of Jesus. Salutary etiquette demanded that the inferior always had the obligation to greet his superior. The longer the salutation or the more important the title used in the salutation, the more important the person.

"As for you, do not be called - Rabbi. You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers... Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." A stern rependance-call to the many, whether in church or state, who take their stand on status and honorific titles!

Pharisees?

This liturgy confronts the preacher with challenging texts. Ch 23 of Matthew is notorious for its outright criticism of the behaviour of the Jewish leaders and it probably reflects an acrimonious atmosphere between Jews and Christians. But in the midst of the negative critique of religious leaders who are inconsistent, (and where can we find any human being who isn't inconsistent to some degree), there are strong positive strands that touch on basics, the dignity and freedom of all believers. Jesus' words underline the fundamental relationships that are common to all Christians:- God as parent father and the Christian as child of God and brother/sister to every person. The central person who facilitates these relationships is Christ. The preacher could refer to Augustine's words that he was a Christian with them but a bishop for them. Another useful image is that of the wheel that forms part of the clock. Alone it is just a wheel and can accomplish little, but when it is set in a new system it can work with oher pieces to do something much above its natural capacity; it can tell the time. Similarly all Christians equally share their adopted childhood, but in new relationships of the community called Church, each person can help accomplish something in the life of the Church, both in sacramental celebrations and in the way the Church is present to people, her mission as light of the nations. The holy words of religious people can become an obstacle to real faith, as we see in the prophet's reading. The most sacred duty of the Jewish priests to teach the Torah has become the occasion of people being led astray. Perhaps in our Christian experience we have seen leaders who encroached on the glorious freedom of the children of God by their detailed interpretations of Church regulations as God's Law. One could try to make people aware of their baptismal dignity and their call to grow in freedom and responsibility both for their own lives and for the life of the Church. Another possible line of exhortation could point t Christ as the unique teacher and encourage all to search for Christ's way in their own lifestyle and circumstances. The reference to not calling anyone "Father" could be used as a way of nudging people not to be childish in a credulity that refuses to question and possibly fears the insecurity of questions that do not have clear answers. This Gospel affords the opportunity to confront the whole issue of Christian authority and its authentic exercise by all the baptised.

Another approach might lie in exploring Paul's notion of the Gospel as the Word of God. The Thessalonians has known Paul and his way of life with them, a familiar figure, one of themselves. Yet familiarity is not to breed contempt for the value of Paul's message. It is communication from the Lord. The mystery of God who is both transcendent and immanent is reflected in the Gospel, human word but also truly the self communication of God. This faith reality of God as present in the human situation contrasts with the belief systems of some the Thessalonians, who had given up work to be ready for the glorious coming of God's kingdom at the return of Jesus. Focusing on the imagined near-arrival of the Final Judge, the Thessalonians abandoned their everyday responsibilities to devote themselves to "appropriate" religious devotions. The realist Paul brings them back to basics with his later cry of "let them not eat." It is not just the cry of a pragmatist, but of one who realises that God is in the everyday, that huan words and relationships mediate the Love and self giving of God. The preacher could point to various styles of religion prevalent today that do not encourage appropriate involvement and feed on apocalyptic speculation or so-called revelation.

Attracting Attention

There were about fifty of us under the same roof. It was an international residence attached to one of the pontifical universities in Rome. The majority were priests, ranging in age from late twenties to sixty plus. There were a small group of seminarians and the rest were lay students. We represented almost twenty nationalities, from all five continents. What intrigued me most were the clerics, priests and seminarians. I had spent the previous twenty years living on my own, largely isolated from clerical circles. It was a new experience for me to live in an almost exclusively clerical environment. A sizeable minority wore clerical dress. The others were indistinguishable from the laity. The breakdown did not seem to follow any recognisable pattern. It wasn't a question of age, though many of the seminarians and some of the younger priests wore the clerical collar. Nor was there a clear geographical division. Most of them - whom I later regarded as the sanior pars, when I got to know them better - wore "civvis." They came from places as disparate as South Korea and Brazil, Kenya and Australia. The clerically dressed were almost exclusively confined to Argentina, Switzerland and oddly enough, the United States. As I got to know them better I came to realise that they also represented a different mindset. They had a conservative, almost pre-Vatican II vision of the church.

Clerical dress, at least in my view, has always been a non issue. For a large part of my priestly life, I worked in France where the clergy wear lay clothes. Prior to that I worked in the secular world of publishing and television, where it was customary for priests to dress like other employees. Wearing the collar there would be frowned on as an attempt to pull rank.

Besides, being an historian, I was always aware of the wide range of clerical attire down through the centuries, from the powdered wigs and frilly cuffs of the ancient r�gime clerics in France to the peasant garb of penal priests in Ireland. Let history judge, but for me our finest hour was those times of persecution when priests were disguised as others, rather than those decadent times like our own when, it would seem, others are often disguised as priests.

That there are solid arguments in favour of a distinctive clerical dress goes without saying. Perhaps the strongest is that the priest in the parish should be easily recognisable by those who seek his help. The other argument that clerical dress is a sign is more questionable. The problem is, a sign of what? If I lived the gospel, like Mother Teresa of Calcutta or Abb� Pierre in France, I would feel no embarrassment wearing a habit or a collar. But a sign works both ways. Recently I was taking a stroll in Piazza Navona. There were three young Franciscan friars in their brown robes and sandals just ahead of me on the pavement. It is not an unusual sight in Rome. They stopped at a cash-dispenser, fished out their credit cards from the deep folds of their habits and withdrew some money. Most ordinary people nowadays do the same. And so do I. But in this case the clash of symbols deeply disturbed me. Rome is full of down-and-outs who sleep in doorways or on the pavements. What kind of impression would a sight lik that make on them? What would that beggar man, St Francis, have thought?

But the strongest argument of all is today's gospel where Christ castigates the scribes and Pharisees who did "not practise what they preach." "Everything they do is done to attract attention," he said, "like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassles, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi." He could well have been describing the world where I first started life as a priest. The collar was much a symbol of power and privilege then and provoked a good deal of anticlericalism. I remember my sister, the mother of a few young children, returning home from the butcher's, furious. She had to queue for ages. A priest joined the end of the queue and when the butcher spotted the clerical collar, he called him up to serve him immediately.

It didn't pacify my sister when I told her that the priest was probably embarrassed by this special treatment and did not refuse because he did not wish to hurt the butcher's feelings. "He doesn't have a dinner to cook and children to mind and feed like me," she retorted.

Coincidentally, that is exactly how St Paul describes his priestly work among the Thessalonians: "Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children." Whatever clothes we priests wear - and lam still of two minds about it - we must follow the teaching of Christ: "The greatest among you must be your servant." Otherwise, we will earn the curse Malachi threatened on the priests who strayed from the right way and become "contemptible and vile in the eyes of the whole people." Some might say we have reached that point already.

The Psalmist has got it right:

0 Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty my eyes.

I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me.

32nd Sunday (A)

Wisdom 6:12-16

Ps 63:1-7

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

Responsible for Yourself

Wis 6:12-16. A poem in praise of Wisdom, which is "radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her."

1 Thess 4:13-18. Our natural sorrow at the death of loved ones is relieved by the hope of meeting them again at the second coming of Christ. We should "not grieve as others do who have no hope."

Mt 25:1-13. Through the parable of the ten bridesmaids, Jesus urges us to be always vigilant. We must be ready to meet the Lord when he comes.

Theme: At some time everyone suffers from bereavements, and some losses are especially difficult to bear. But if we hope in the resurrection we should not grieve like others who have no hope.

Wisdom 6:12-16

Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.

She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.

One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for she will be found sitting at the gate.

To fix one's thought on her is perfect understanding;
one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought.

Ps 63:1-7

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

(shorter version: 4:13-14)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.

For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Matthew 25:1-13

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise replied, 'No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do no know you.' Keep awake therefore, for you know neither theday nor the hour.

Intercessions

- for all those who grieve that the Lord may wipe away their tears.

- that those who grieve may find hope in the resurrection.

- that we may keep alight the lamp of faith, as we continue to seek what is truly important in life.

- for the souls of the faithful departed that they may rest in peace.

Thoughts for 32nd Sunday, A

Responsible for Yourself

The refusal of the wise virgins to share may appear selfish. But here we are not talking really about lamps and oil but about people and life.

There are certain things you cannot borrow or inherit. Your parents or my parents may have been the best people in the world. If so, that is a blessing beyond measure. But for all that it cannot be taken for granted that we will automatically become decent caring men and women.

We can learn from one another, be inspired by one another, but in the last analysis we shape our own destiny. Character cannot be transferred or borrowed. We must build it for ourselves.

The same is true of the faith. Parents and other people are reminded that it is their responsibility to hand on the faith to the younger generation. But again faith is not like a farm of land or a legacy. It cannot be given by a parent to a child. Yes, all kinds of encouragement and good example can help enormously, but in the end, the young person as they grow up to maturity must accept or reject the invitation in his or her own heart.

The arrival of children of their own can often be a decisive moment for young parents as regards the faith. Some never seem to come back, but always remember God has his own way of welcoming people home even if along unexpected routes.

Life after Death

Our present-day western civilisation derives, in great part, from Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures. But in attitudes, in ancient times, towards life after death, there could be no greater gap between, on the one hand, the Graeco-Roman tradition, and on the other, the Jewish tradition. In particular, when confronted with the inevitability of death, the response of the person without faith was, and today is, one of despair. On a pagan tombstone from the classical period can be read the grim inscription, "I was not, I became; I am not, I care not." This reflects the thinking of the living rather than the state of the dead person. In the words of a pagan Greek poet (Theocritus):

There is hope for those who are alive,

But those who have died are without hope.

One of the greatest lyric poets, the Roman writer, Horace, who died the year Christ was born, had this advice for the reader:

Enjoy the present day,

Trust in tomorrow as little as you can.

(Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero). No wonder then that he motto of the time was, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.")

In the Jewish tradition, belief in resurrection after death did not gain acceptance until the first century before Christ. But there was belief in a shadowy existence of the departed in a place called Sheol, where they could neither know God nor praise him. If we take the Book of Ecclesiastes, for example, written about 300 B.C., we find its author agreeing, yes, there can be a certain happiness in eating, drinking and being content with one's work while on earth, but because of the futility of earthly pursuits and possessions, there is in human beings a God-given yearning for something deeper, especially for the meaning of all experience and all time. And God is the only one who is wise, the only one who knows.

In a beautiful last chapter, full of vivid imagery, the author of Ecclesiastes describes how, without being touched in the least by the passing of man to his eternal abode, the things of nature carry on with their own pursuits. Even those who mourn the passing from this life of one of their own are already walking to and fro in the street before, as the writer says, "the silver cord is snapped, or the golden lamp (of life) is broken, or before the dust returns to the earth from whence it came, and the spirit to God who gave it." There is some element in each person which this world is not worthy to retain; it is of God, and after its sojourn here it returns to God.

The greatest change in attitude to life hereafter came about with belief in the resurrection of Christ. "For us," St Paul wrote to the Philippians (3:20), "our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the Saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these lowly bodies of ours into copies of his own glorious body." We should not therefore, he tells us in the liturgy today, remain without understanding concerning those close to us who have passed away.

We should not grieve as others do, who have no hope of resurrection, or of eternal life. Note, he does not tell us to avoid being sorrowful, for sorrow over the death of a loved one is a natural reaction, but rather not to be like others, who have no hope. The necessity of losing somebody in death causes us anguish, but hope consoles us. Our human frailty is tried by the one, but our faith is strengthened by the other. The liturgy this month asks us to respond in two practical ways. Firstly, it tells us to be prepared, not to let things go too late. No tolling funeral bell can cause greater anguish than the words "too late." Those who live all their lives close to Christ will never be unprepared to enter his presence, will be with Christ even in death, and will finally share in his glorious resurrection. Secondly, it invites us to assist with our prayers those who have gone before us.

St Monica was always anxious to be buried alongside her husband, but when she was dying at Ostia, the port of Rome, she had only one last request to make of her son, Augustine, not yet a priest, "Lay this body anywhere," she said, "let it not be a care to you. This only I ask of you, that you would remember me at the Lord's altar wherever you may be." We too should keep in mind that in death life is changed, not taken away. If we do this, then God will fill the emptiness caused by death in our own lives. He will renew in us the hope of our resurrection, and he will reassure us that those we lose on earth we shall see again in heaven. This is our Christian hope; this is our God-given trust.

Awake to the Lord

The wedding banquet of today's gospel is a consistent image of eternal life in the New Testament. We can only speak about the unknown and unfamiliar in terms of what is known and familiar. The wedding banquet highlights eternal life as that state in which the deepest hunger and thirst in our lives will be satisfied, especially the hunger and thirst for love, for God who is love. "O God. for you my soul is thirsting" (responsorial psalm.) In the second reading, Paul. without making use of the banquet image, speaks of life beyond death in a similar vein - it is that eternal moment when "God will bring them (those who have died) with him" and when "we shall stay with the Lord forever." Eternal life will mean entering into a new" and fuller relationship with God and, through him, with all creation.

Yet, the gospel reading warns us that it is possible to exclude ourselves from the banquet of eternal life. It was only those who were ready" (gospel) who went in with the bridegroom to the wedding hall. When God comes to bring us with him (second reading) will we be ready? Life, including life after death is God's gift to us and a gift. by definition, can be refused, However, we will certainly be ready to accept God's ultimate gift to us, if throughout our lives we have learned to be receptive to God. Our daily attitude to God will determine our attitude towards him at the moment of death Each day God gifts himself to us, coming to meet us in every thought showing himself to us as we go (first reading.) If we welcome his daily," Comings, his final coming to us will find us receptive and awake Ii we learn to be receptive to the daily gift he makes of himself ~ we not exclude ourselves from the full and final gift which he will make to us at the end of our lives.

Today's gospel reading concludes with a ringing exhortation "Stay awake." The first reading makes the same call on us, as is clear when we legitimately substitute "him" (God) for "her" (Wisdom) - look for him, desire him, watch for him, think about him. One important way in which we stay awake to God is prayer. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them, "get up and pray" (Luke 22:46.) To pray is to awaken ourselves to the Lord who is always awake to us. In prayer we look for the Lord, desire him, watch for him and think about him. To pray is to become like a child, to grow in receptivity to God. It is above all when we pray the prayer of the Eucharist that we become receptive to the God who cares. There we receive the Lord in his word and in the breaking of bread.

To stay awake to God is to receive him, not only in the breaking of bread, but in the brokenness of our neighbour. God is not far from us. He is to be found "sitting at your gates" (first reading.) He comes to us in and through those with whom we live and work, especially in the suffering, the broken-hearted, those whose spirit is crushed. With Paul, we look forward in hope to that eternal day when "we shall stay with the Lord forever." We must prepare ourselves for that day by our daily staying with the Lord who comes to us in prayer and in our neighbour.

Called to Holiness

Underlying the three texts dealt with, is a theme which appears in various facets in the Bible. It is basically and negatively expressed in the Book of Exodus: "But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives" (33:20.) Perhaps we are more familiar with another translation: "No man can look at God and live." For this reason sinful man, according to the Bible, falls to the ground in the presence of God. One of the main characteristics of God is his holiness, a holiness that cannot tolerate sin or wickedness. It is only through Christ's redeeming love, expressed especially in his sacrifice, that God the Father can get to the sinner. And it is only the holy or sanctified man, that is the one touched by Christ, that can meet and stay with God.

St Paul sees the vocation of a Christian as a call to holiness: "It is God's will that you grow in holiness: that you abstain from immorality" (1 Thes 4:3.) "God has not called us to immorality but the holiness (1 Thes 4:7.)

Again he says: "God chose us in him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Eph 1:4) ), His distinction between the carnal man and the spiritual one in Galatians spells out in detail part of what is involved. The carnal man is characterized by impurity, idolatry, anger and division. But it is always in going back to the life of Christ that we grasp concretely what holiness means. A reading of the papal encyclical of Pope John Paul II, "Rich in Mercy" can provide useful ideas for us of all what holiness means.

Christ lived poorly and showed himself particularly concerned with those suffering injustice, poverty and sin. His concern was to make his Father present, especially to these, as a God of love and mercy. All this flowed from this union with his Father manifested in prayer, trust and abandonment.

It was an austere life too, however much we may be tempted by the comforts of modern life to think about it otherwise. It was not a spectacular life, one that captured the popularity or approval of the well off and the imagination of those eager for entertainment.

The holiness of God, manifested in Christ, when brought into contact with this sinful world, led to his death on the cross. As Pope John Paul says in his Encyclical on Mercy: "The Cross is like a touch of life upon the most painful wounds of man's earthly existence." His death is the result of the presence of such holiness in our sinful world.

What is holy always finds itself in a state of tension with what is sinful. But it always has a much deeper aspect: it always marks a state of union with Christ.

Wisdom and Change

To be human is to be nomadic. No matter how deeply we long to linger in the one feeling, attitude or situation, we cannot. Time is always moving. Though the moment is the finest instant of life, it never lingers. The depth of the moment is captured beautifully by Paul Murray in his poem, "The

Moment: This moment,

The grace of this one, raptureless Moment

Is the place of pilgrimage

To which I am a pilgrim.

No matter how long the day, each day gets buried in the graveyard of the night. For the nomadic human, change is inevitable. Each of us is continually changing.

Yet there are vast areas of our lives that seek to resist change. They become afraid and entrenched. That which resists change becomes a hindrance to growth: for to grow is to change. Sinfulness is the condition of being hindered. All negative acts, attitudes and thoughts come out of hindrance and blockage.

Because the soul that is in rhythm gives out only light and warmth. Somehow we sense where we are caught, but we cannot seem to move. Caught in a rut of habit, we see the same arrows of destructiveness fly forth from us; but we seem helpless to stop them.

When we try to force change on ourselves, we only succeed in further entrenching ourselves. Unknown to our best intentions, we only strengthen and multiply our defences. Trying feverishly to move towards a new horizon, we remain struck where we are, in secret collusion with the fears that want to hold us there.

The carpenter, Jesus, was a genius on the art of changing. He awakened on this earth the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is a new rhythm. To be in the Kingdom of Heaven is to belong to a rhythm of transfiguration. Safe, respectable, serious adults have major problems entering into this new rhythm. Their cautious natures keep them at the threshold. Maybe that is why the Carpenter said: "Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Transfiguration cannot be forced. It simply happens. It is a gift. Wisdom, today's theme, is about being alert and ready so that this rhythm of transfiguration can begin to awaken in us. We cannot force change. We can only make ourselves ready. If we become ready, every grace and blessing, the treasures of the heart, will awaken to anoint us. The blessing that are there for us are so near us, inches away from our heads. As James Stephens, the Irish novelist says:

"Readiness is our only barrier."

The Kingdom of heaven cannot be achieved by a fierce intensity of will. The Kingdom of God is shy. It hides when the will seeks it. The Kingdom of heaven is not to achieved, rather it is to be received. There is no spiritual journey. If there were, it would be only a millimetre long: the click into the new rhythm of transfiguration. We can make ourselves ready by staying awake and alert so that we can give ourselves when its grace wants to receive us. We need a new innocence and readiness. So stay awake, because we don't know the day nor the hour. As Boris Pasternak said: "When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, its knock is no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is easy to miss it."

A Time For Tears

The strange thing about it is that people never really regarded them as being close. Even in their younger days they rarely went anywhere together. Of course, he was a good deal older than her, which probably explains why they never had children. In any case, as far as appearances went, they seemed more like a man and his housekeeper than husband and wife. He was a gruff sort of man and the older he got the gruffer he became. Neighbours found him off-putting. Nobody ever really got close to him. But he was one of them and they all turned out for his funeral. Everybody was kind. They called to the house and offered sympathy. The women made tea and sandwiches. The men helped with the funeral arrangements and contacted relatives. And all that time she remained composed. Even at the graveside her grief was scarcely noticeable. Some people even said it was probably a great relief to her. He must have been a difficult man to live with.

But it wasn't like that at all. It was only in the following days and weeks and months, in the privacy of her empty house that she really broke down and wept. In fact, it took the best part of a year before she managed to pull herself together again. At first, she used to sit in a chair for hours on end unable to do anything. Every time she turned round she expected to see him sitting there reading the newspaper. Whenever a door slammed or a floorboard creaked she thought it was himself pottering around upstairs. There were even times when she thought she heard him cough or call. And each new realisation of her loss crushed her.

That this should surprise us is itself surprising. After all she had shared more than forty years of her life with him. She could scarcely remember now that time in her life before she knew him. Even if their love was never demonstrative, it was nonetheless real for all that. They had grown in to each other. The man who was her "other half" was not at all the man the neighbours saw.

We have a great reputation in Ireland for attending funerals. No matter who you are you can be certain of a decent send-off. Our presence is a great comfort to the bereaved. We crowd out their sorrow at a time of great grief. We mourn with great dignity. Not so the Italians. They applaud the deceased as the coffin is carried through the streets. And the graveside can often be a scene of unrestrained emotion with the next-of-kin screaming hysterically. From what I have seen on television, it seems much the same in the Arab world. I suspect the Irish were the same with their keening women, before the English "civilised" us. Psychiatrists tell us that it is better to let it all out rather than bottle it up.

However we grieve, we should remember the advice of St Paul and "comfort one another with thoughts such as these:" We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him.

Ready when He Calls

Today's gospel tells us how important it is to be ready when Jesus calls. This does not mean simply death, or the end of the world. It means being ready when the moment of grace comes along; to be ready to respond to the inspirations of the Spirit.

I accompanied pilgrimages to different places some years ago, and I enjoyed the experiences. We would have about fifty in the coach. The pilgrimage wasn't always about visiting shrines, and saying prayers. We had a two-week pilgrimage for several years, where the second week was a holiday by the sea. Every single year we used have the exact same problem with three or four people. They were never ready when the coach was ready to leave or, indeed, to return. We tried everything, even to the extent of going off for a day-trip without them, after waiting in the coach for twenty minutes. On the other hand, there were those who were always first on the coach, and all set to go. I was thinking of all of this as I read today's gospel.

The most important words are the opening words "The kingdom can be illustrated by the story." It would be wrong to take the story too seriously, if we didn't know what the point of the story is, We are called to kingdom living, and the call is now; and the answer must come now, This is a moment of grace, right now is a priceless moment of my life. If I listen now, I will hear now, Jesus took something with which they would all be familiar. Obviously, this procedure with the oil-lamps was part of every wedding ceremony. Indeed, it's possible that this story actually happened on several occasions, exactly as told here, When Jesus called his apostles, they left their boats and followed him right there. Jesus was a man with a mission. There was an urgency about that mission that compelled him to be about his Father's business during his every working hour. He was constantly travelling and, therefore, anything he had to say to a particular crowd must be said now, because he may not be back in those parts for a whie.

It is interesting that, when the pressure came, those who had oil refused to share with those who had none. This may seem selfish and uncharitable, but there is a point to be made here. The fact of the matter is that those who had would just have enough, and it was a choice between having plenty of lamps at the beginning and none at all at the end, For the bride and groom's sake, and for the sake of all their guests, it would be better to have a few lamps than to have none at all. The ones who had no oil must accept the results of their irresponsibility. They were given a task to do, and they failed, Jesus held people accountable for tasks entrusted to them, and his story points to that fact, I am personally responsible for the graces God gives me, and I must answer for howl have used those, Response Today's gospel is about being called, and about answering that call. It is about being on call, ready to respond when the moment of grace arrives, when the call to service is issued. The police and the fire brigae would be familiar with this situation. The call can come at any time, and they must be on stand-by, ready to respond to the call. This is part of what it means to have a Christian vocation. It is about answering the inspirations of the Spirit, obeying the call of the heart, and being ready to move into action at a moment's notice.

In the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, the Lord has some harsh words to say to the lukewarm, "I wish you were either hot or cold; but because you are neither, I will begin to vomit you Out of my mouth." In our language today, this means "you make me sick." "You are either for me or against me," Jesus tells us. "Let your "yes" be "yes," and your "no" be "no.""

At the end of today's story, when the bridesmaids arrived with their oil, after the door was locked, the bridegroom told them to go away, because "I do not know you." Jesus tells us that these will be his words for some people at the gates of heaven, "On the Day of Judgement many will say to me, "Lord, we taught in your name, we walked the streets with you, we saw your miracles," but I will say to them, "Depart from me. I do not know you."" In John's gospel, chapter ten, he says "I am the Good Shepherd. I know mine, and mine know me," When he now says, "I do not know you;" it is because "you didn't know me." It is not knowing about Jesus, as in academic knowledge, where I could write a book about Jesus, and not know him at all, and remain totally unaffected by his person or his mission. Knowing Jesus in a personal way comes from experiential knowledge, and it comes from listening to him, believing his words, and acting on them.

I remember a time in my life where I would have read this gospel as having to do with death, or the end of the world, We had many prayers against "a sudden and unprovided death," This is still valid, of course, except that I now consider the State of readiness having more to do with today, than with some time in the future, I believe that if Jam ready, and willing to act on the Lord's word today, that I need have no great concern for the day of my death. Dying is something I can do every day in the service of others. I shouldn't wait until the end of my life to die. As it is, the Lord comes to me every single day. Does he find me asleep, like the apostles in Gethsemane? How alert am I, even while with the worshipping community, in church, or elsewhere?

If those who had oil, shared with the others, they would be what we now call "enablers." In other words, in helping to cover up for the others, they would have enabled them to continue to be irresponsible. Most alcoholics are depending on enablers. The wife calls in to say that he is sick and cannot go to work today. Some well-meaning person falls for the sob story, and gives the money which will keep the drink flowing. A friend in the police pulls a few strings, and the drunk-driving charge never makes its way to court. All of these people, in their innocence or their ignorance, are contributing to making the alcoholic's life worse, probably to the point of death, "Tough love" is difficult, but there comes a time when you just have to walk away, and let the cookie crumble how it may. You can carry a message, but you certainly shouldn't try to carry the alcoholic,. Many of us can be enablers in several areas, without knowing it, and this is something that is worth looking for in my life.

I'm sure you know the difference between knowing Jesus, and knowing about him; between academic knowledge and experiential knowledge. Can you identify some particular event or time in your life when you feel you crossed this bridge? It is a wonderful moment of grace, when the coin drops, and my best suspicions of Jesus were confirmed, Up till that time I had believed because someone else told me. Since then, however, like the shepherds, I have "gone to Bethlehem to see for myself." I believe now, because I know it in my heart. This doesn't mean that I understand it completely, because that is not necessary. This is something that I experience first, and understand some other time. Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as a spring of living water that rises up from within a person. In other words, it begins in the heart, and some of it may make its way to the head. Knowing it in the head means nothing more than mental assent. Satan knows all about Jesus, but he refuses to accept that in his heart, I should examine th source of my knowledge, and the inspiration of my actions.

Tiger Woods, the golfer, bumped into Stevie Wonder, the blind musician, in a bar. Tiger asked him how the music was going, and Stevie said that it was going well, and he was pleased with all that was happening. Stevie asked Tiger how the golf was going, and was told, "Not too good at the moment. My driver is not working too well for me at the moment, but Jam working with my coach, and I hope to correct this soon." "When that happens to me," said Stevie, "I just put my golf bag to one side for a week or two, and whenever I return to play, I discover that my problem has righted itself." Tiger was surprised, as he asked, "Surely you don't play golf?" "Of course, I do," replied Stevie.

"How can you play, and you blind?" "I send my caddie down the fairway, he calls out, I listen to his voice, and I hit the ball in that direction, He then moves towards he green, calls out again, and I hit the ball in that direction." "But how do you putt?" asked Tiger. "My caddie kneels down beside the hole, says something, and I putt in that direction." "And are you good?" "Oh, yes, I'm actually a scratch golfer," replied Stevie. Tiger was amazed, and he suggested that they play a game together sometime. "Oh, it's not that simple," says Stevie. "You see, when I began playing golf nobody took me seriously, and now I won't play with anybody for less than $1,000 a hole." Tiger was really impressed, and was not put off, as he insisted that he would love to play a game with him. He asked when they might get together. Stevie replied, "Oh, I don't mind. Any night at all."

Tiger Woods is a top-class golfer, but this was one challenge for which he was not prepared!

33rd Sunday (A)

Proverbs 31:10ff

Ps 128:1-5

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

Matthew 25:14-30

Talents

Like a Thief in the Night

Talents

In Proportion To Ability

Book Of Evidence

Our Stewardship?

Prov 31:10ff. This praise of a virtuous and industrious wife shows what the Israelite husband hoped for. A danger might be that he would not take on his fair share of the household work.

1 Thess 5:1-6. Paul admits that he does not know when the second coming will take place. The Christian must always be vigilant lest he be caught unawares when the Lord does come.

Mt 25:14-30. The parable of the Talents is a challenge to use our gifts and opportunities to achieve the good that God expects from us. The worst option is to bury our talent and make no use of it.

Theme: Today's gospel points forward to the Last Day. We write the book of evidence for that judgement on ourselves now. When all is revealed, it will be plain whether we treated others as Christ has taught us.

Proverbs 31:10ff

A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson. She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs a the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

Ps 128:1-5

Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways.

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.

Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.

The Lord bless you from Zion.

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!

But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober;

Matthew 25:14-30

"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'

But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Intercessions .

- that we may use the "talents" God gave us in the service of our neighbour.

- for those whose talents have been unacknowledged or under-developed, that they may blossom, with encouragement from others.

- that we may always "be faithful in small things" and not neglect those minor courtesies to others that make such a difference.

- that our God may welcome us into eternal happiness on the Last Day.

Thoughts for 33rd Sunday, A

Talents

The basic message of today's Gospel is that we all have talents. Maybe not spectacular or dramatic like other people who get national or international acclaim; just ordinary, but nevertheless important. Experts say that the average person uses only 10% of their talents.

'I weep that there are so many missed opportunities for comforting, so many smiles withheld, hands untouched, kind words unspoken. We hold within ourselves such power for love and healing, it is a wonder that it does not explode like a volcano running down our streets and enveloping all' (Sheila Cassidy from 'Sharing the Darkness').

Each of us can think of somebody who has overcome a disability and is as a result an inspiration. 'They also serve who only stand and wait' (Milton).

A strange statement 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one with five'. In other words use 'it or lose it'.

One of the main reasons why people do not use their talents is because they have been belittled. To belittle is to put someone down, to make them feel small, lessen their sense of self worth. There are many ways of demeaning another person: cynicism, sarcasm, non-appreciation, taking for granted.

The antidote to belittle is to lift people up, to encourage them to value themselves.

Like a Thief in the Night

We are told clearly in the second reading today that no one has any idea when the Day of the Lord, or the Last Day, will come. It will steal upon us like a thief in the night. It is necessary therefore for the true followers of Christ to stay awake, to be sober, to be prepared, to live in expectation of the Lord's coming, however sudden it may be. It is truly fascinating to read how in ancient Egypt, thousands of years before the Christian era, each Pharaoh from the moment his reign began started to prepare for his death. A large portion of his time was devoted to planning his final burial place, making it secure against possible intruders, preparing and filling it with great quantities of the most precious and beautiful objects intended to serve his needs in the next world.

It is truly saddening to discover how often, within a brief period, his former subjects, who had willingly cooperated in the preparation of his tomb, were driven by greed to desecrate and pillage it, no matter how secret or impregnable it was. It calls to mind our Lord's saying: "Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt 6:20). On the day we die, we must leave behind forever all earthly goods, riches, honours and pleasures. And we each might profitably ask the question, "What kind of person will I then be when all these possessions are taken away from me?" The only thing we will carry with us beyond the grave will be the virtues we have acquired in this life.

On these final Sundays of the Church year, the liturgy keeps reminding us that no one can foresee when the day of final reckoning will be, but that for each one of us it will most certainly come. And the best way to prepare for its coming is through faithfully, and humbly, and watchfully fulfilling our obligations to God and one another. When it does come, Scripture tells us, God will judge each person, and of two people, who have lived side by side all their lives, one will be taken and the other rejected. This is a warning that intimacy with a saintly person will not necessarily be a guarantee of salvation for those who have always lived close to that person. The judgment of God is an individual judgment. We cannot discharge the obligations to God we have promised in baptism, by employing a substitute, or by associating with some good-living person. "One will be taken and another left."

The life of each of us is lived out in the shadow of eternity, in the certainty that day by day by our behaviour we are drawing closer for ever hereafter, to the enjoyment or loss of God's presence. But the fact that we do live in the shadow of eternity should never give rise to fearful or hysterical forebodings in us. What it does mean is that, every day, we must so live as to be ready to meet God. When confronted with these thoughts we find ourselves anxiously posing the question: "Will I be saved?" And while, in this life, we can never have a guarantee that we will be numbered among God's elect, still there are signs that God's grace is at work in us, signs such as perseverance in prayer, selfless love, trust in the mercy of God, and concern for others.

Indeed, Christian tradition puts before us two practical signs of final perseverance, namely devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Sacred Heart, for God has attached special graces to both these devotions. If I want to know for sure whether or not I still possess the living love of God which would ensure my readiness to meet him when he comes, then I have only to examine my self to see whether I truly love the Mother of God, and whether from time to time I say to myself, quietly but sincerely: "Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on me." If I can honestly say, "Yes, I am really trying to love Christ and his Blessed Mother," then I can be sure that the love of God is still alive in me, that it has not vanished under the pressures of daily living, or been choked by indifference and routine. To isolate Mary from God's plan of salvation would be to deprive it of one of its most central parts.

As St Augustine has said, "All the elect are, in this world, hidden in the womb of the Most Blessed Virgin, where they are cherished and nourished until such time as she brings them forth to glory after their death." Mary, Mother of Good Counsel direct and so guide us, that when your Son comes he may find us watching and ready.

Talents

At first sight, today's parable seems to suggest that the third servant took a prudent course of action - "I heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown." The scribes and Pharisees, towards whom it was directed, would argue: God demands perfection; the Law expresses his will; only a scrupulous observance of the Law can give us security. But God's way is different: He wants an abundant harvest. Jesus wants us to know that salvation come to those who are prepared to risk their all for him. A talent is given to bear fruit, not to lie there unused. It may seem prudent not to risk, but in the end it is not what God expects of us.

In Proportion To Ability

We know from experience that different people have different abilities. A person with an ability to listen to others may not have the ability to be a good administrator. Someone who is well able to mend a leak or fix a washing machine may have little or no musical ability. An effective teacher may be a hopeless mechanic. We learn from experience whose good at what, and we relate to people accordingly. We tend to entrust people with tasks that are in proportion to their ability. We also learn from experience what our own abilities are, and what our limitations are, and we tend to take on tasks that correspond to our abilities and avoid tasks that do not.

The rich man in today's parable was well aware of the abilities of his servants. Before he set out on his journey he entrusted his property "to each in proportion to his ability." He knew what each of his three servants was able for, and he only gave as much responsibility to each of them as each could carry. The man who received five talents of money was capable of making five more; the one who received two talents was capable of making two more; the one who received one talent was capable of making one more. The first two servants worked according to their ability. The third servant did not, giving his master back the one talent he had been given, instead of the two talents he was capable of gaining. What held this servant back from working according to his ability was fear. "I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground."

Many of us may find ourselves having some sympathy for the third servant, because, deep down, we are only too well aware how fear can hold us back and prevent us from doing what we are well capable of doing. Fear can be a much more powerful force in the lives of some than others. There can be many reasons for this. Those who have experienced a lot of criticism growing up can be slow to take a risk and may develop a fearful approach to life. We are familiar with the Irish proverb, Mol an oige agus tiochfaid siad. Praise the young and they will make progress. The converse can also true. Criticize the young and they will be held back. Unfair criticism can stunt our growth and prevent us from reaching our God-given potential. We hide what we have been given in the ground. There it remains safe, but useless.

Jesus was only too well aware of the disabling power of fear in people's lives. It is striking the number of times in the gospels he addresses people with the words, "Do not be afraid." When Simon Peter fell down at Jesus' knees saying, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man," Jesus replied to him, "Do not be afraid, from now on it is people you will catch." When fear threatened to hold Peter back, Jesus called him forward into a new way of life. Jesus was present to people in ways that released them from their fear. In particular, he did not want fear of failure to hold people back. He could cope with failure in others. He knew that many people could learn from failure. There was little to be learned from staying put. There was much to be learnt from striking out, even if failure was experienced along the way.

The tragedy of the third servant in the parable today is that, out of fear, he hid what had been entrusted to him, even though he had the ability to use it well. St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, reminds us: "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." We have each been graced in some way by the Lord for the service of others. If I hide what the Lord has given me, others are thereby deprived. Most of us need a bit of encouragement to place our gifts at the disposal of others. Part of our baptismal calling is to give others courage, to encourage others. A couple of verses beyond where today's second reading ends, Paul writes to the Thessalonians: "Encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." In these difficult times for the church, the ministry of encouragement is all the more necessary. There is much to be learned from the mistakes of the past. But the Lord would not want us to go to ground. He has entrusted to us the treasure of the gospe. Now is not the time to hide it in the ground out of fear. Rather, it is a time to encourage each other to share this treasure so that the church may become all that God is calling it to be.

It is worth calling to mind the words of Nelson Mandela: "We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Book Of Evidence

They called it the "trial of the century." A black American football star was accused of brutally murdering his wife and her alleged lover. The trial was beamed all over the world on cable TV. Trial by television had finally become a reality. For many viewers the final frontier between fact and fiction disappeared. Real life became a soap opera. Soon it became apparent that what was really on trial was the American judicial system. What surprised most non-American viewers was the length and thoroughness of the pre-trial selection of the jury. That process itself lasted longer than most trials. The fate of the accused lay in the hands of these twelve people. Not surprisingly, both the prosecution and defence attached enormous importance to the selection of these jurors. It was almost as if they were selecting two opposing football teams. Detective agencies were employed to investigate the lives of each of the proposed jurors to find if there was anything there which might prejudice the case in favour of one sie or the other. Commentators openly described them as pro-defence or pro-prosecution jurors. Only when both sides were satisfied that the jury was packed at least slightly in their favour, was the trial at last allowed to get under way. But even then, the composition of the jury continued to dominate the proceedings. Within twelve weeks, half of them were already dismissed, as evidence emerged of possible bias towards one side or the other. The objections against them were not that they were not impartial but that they were playing for the other team.

If that represents the present state of the jury system, it may be just as well that the trial we all have to face some day will not be a trial by jury. Our verdict will be handed down by the judge alone, who will base his decision on the book of evidence. That book we write each and every day of our lives. For people of my age or older, that book is almost complete. But nobody can be sure when the last page is written. "Times and seasons', as St Paul points out, are illusory. "The Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night." Rather than gamble our eternity on some hoped-for last minute conversion, we decide our fate at every present moment.

The witnesses, we know them well. The most important live with us and work with us. Your wife and children should be well-disposed, if not decidedly partial. But it is not always so. Your secretary may be another story. It didn't help her that she was a spinster, plain and middle-aged. You never missed an opportunity to put her down. You knew she looked after her invalid mother. She told you on the one and only morning she arrived a few minutes late for work. "You are not paid to bring your problems to work with you, Miss," you snarled at her. But you did. Every time you had a quarrel with your wife, you took it out on her. And when you had a confrontation with your teenage son who had arrived home drunk the previous night, she had to bear the brunt of it. If she sniffled all the time into a Kleenex, it wasn't that she suffered from a chronic cold. Your sarcasm hurt her deeply. She couldn't complain. She couldn't risk her job. She was too old and her mother too dependent. The other hostile witnesses, "the leat of his brethren', I pass over in silence. But he won't.

The matter of "talents" will dominate the book of evidence. You were born into a good family, loving and Christian. Nothing was spared in your education. Religion played an important and largely a benign role in your early formation. Family background assured you a comfortable position in life. You were blessed with an agreeable wife to whom, with you, God entrusted a couple of children. Five talents chosen at random! And what have you got to show for them? Your name inscribed on the roll of honour in your local golf club and a fat bank account! If you can't do better than that, you may be needing those Kleenex you so despised your secretary for, in that place "where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." She won't be needing them anymore.

Our Stewardship?

Today's gospel tells us about what happens when we are entrusted with gifts by God, and how we use them, or fail to do so, It is about giving an account of our stewardship.

An important part of our news bulletins these times is the report of the world's Stock Exchanges, and how the stocks are doing in our main businesses. There is a lot of speculation involved in this, so that some people get rich, while others lose a great deal of money. The "whizz kids" in this area are always prepared to switch, to sell, or to buy as the market dictates, There are others who follow the trend at a particular time, buy the shares that are being heavily promoted, and then sit back to see what happens. There is one government-controlled area that went public, and there was a stampede to buy up the shares. Unfortunately, because of outside factors, the shares have continued to fall, and only those who sold immediately, after an early rise, are going to come out of it with anything. Even "the children of this world" could understand today's gospel.

Our life is a gift, and it is filled with many gifts. We all seem to get a different share-out of God's gifts. I can spend my life wishing I had what someone else was given. I wish I looked like him, could sing like him, or be as wealthy as someone else, I could spend my life wishing I was someone else, and never come to any level of appreciation of what I am, and what gifts I possess. Each of us is uniquely gifted and, unless we come to appreciate that, we are not likely to make any serious investments with what we are given. The gospel tells us that the gold was a gift to be invested, just as our gifts are given to be used, For those who want to know, it is easy to discover one's own gifts. I do not discover my own gifts. To do so is to be like someone at a party who insists on standing up to sing a song, and he's the only one there who thinks he can sing! On the other hand, there is someone else at the party, and everybody is calling on her to sing. She had better listen to what is being said, because thisis God's way of letting us know what our gifts are. God gives me gifts, and then he lets me know what those gifts are, by sending people to me, looking for the service of those gifts. If someone asks me to give a Retreat, to write an article, to conduct a wedding, etc., this is God's way of calling on me to use the gifts I have. If someone comes to cry on your shoulder, or to seek your advice, or to co-opt you onto a committee, then you are being told clearly what other people see in you.

Jesus was the gentlest person ever to walk this earth. And yet his story ends up with definite punishment for the person who did nothing with what was entrusted to him. Just as the foolish bridesmaids in last Sunday's gospel were locked out from the feast, so the one in today's gospel who failed to be responsible for what was given, is thrown Out into darkness, and is left with nothing at all. Even what he has is taken from him, and given to others.

Response: It is important to read today's story in the context in which it was spoken. Like so many of Jesus' parables, it begins with the words, "The kingdom of heaven is like ..." Jesus uses a lot of stories to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like. Because he is a teacher, and because teaching was central to his mission, he used images and stories that would be familiar to his listeners. They were not so far-fetched as to be beyond their ability to comprehend. To us they are simple common sense. If someone is entrusted with responsibility, it is normal to expect that person to act responsibly. The man going on the trip, and entrusting money to those who remained at home, was a just man, in that he looked for something that was reasonable. He didn't demand that the person with the two bags of gold should have earned five bags extra. He just wanted a fair return for his money.

There will come a time when each one of us will have to give an account of how we have used the gifts that life brought with it. The Lord is fair, just, and absolutely reasonable, He doesn't expect anything from us that is beyond our ability to achieve. "To whom much is given, of him will much be expected." There are people who have little of this world's riches. There are those who are disabled, either mentally or physically, and who depend on others for their every need. He is a God of Justice, and he will not look for a harvest where he did not sow. He does not demand perfection, nor is he into over-demanding in any way. Most people I know seem to be doing their best with what they have. It comes down to goodwill in the final analysis. The fact that I am writing this, or that you are reading it, is some indication of where our interest lies. The person who was condemned in the story is the one who did nothing. Christianity is about action that is inspired by belief.

We get one chance at life. There is no dress rehearsal. The only time is now, because it is the only time at my disposal. To live in the now is to be ever vigilant, so that when the Master returns he will find us ready for his return. For the servant who buried the gold, and did nothing with it, life must have been miserable, lonely, and without purpose. Jesus gives us a blueprint for life and living, and it is the only way to find peace and purpose. We can easily forget that we are the ones who benefit when we obey his directions.

Living the Christian life should fill our hearts with gratitude. It is not possible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time. To appreciate the gift of life, and all the gifts that it brings with it, is something that should be foremost in our attitude. To have a grateful heart is a wonderful gift. "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." To appreciate what I have is to be happy with what I have. I may not be as gifted as someone else, but each of us has enough. I don't need the special gifts of another, even if I want them, or would like to have them. If Cod thought that I needed them he would have given them to me. As the old Irish woman said, "You should never be off your knees thanking God that you're able to stand up."

Can you identify some of the gifts life has bestowed on you? What are the things for which you are most grateful? How do others confirm you for the gifts that you have? On the other hand, are you aware of the gifts of those around you? Are you good at confirming others? The surest sign that you have had a Pentecost is your ability and willingness to confirm others. If you have the Spirit of God active in you, then others should be receiving confirmation from you. You cannot give confirmation if you do not have the Spirit.

I own nothing. Everything I have is on loan. It can all be taken away with one breath, through a heart attack, or an accident. I certainly have no reason for assuming airs and graces, because I can take no credit for what Cod has given me. If I see a book of mine on a shelf in a bookshop, I immediately experience a great sense of gratitude. When I began to write at the beginning, many years ago, I would deliberately enter the shop, just to see my book there on public display! I never actually called people over to buy it, but whenever I saw someone reaching for one, I almost felt like offering my autograph! Thank God, I can smile at that now. I am truly grateful that I love the work I do. If you love what you're doing, you never have to work again!

In January of this year a nephew of mine died, aged 31. He was not expected to live the day he was born, two months prematurely, a blubber of red flesh, no eyebrows, and no nails. He was epileptic, spastic, with a cyst on the brain. He was the youngest of a family of seven, and his parents, brother and sisters, are truly exceptional. They nursed and loved him to a point where he was as "normal" as could be expected with his disabilities. His life was extraordinary. He devoted himself to helping lame dogs over stiles all his life, as he pushed wheelchairs, visited old folks" homes, raised thousands of pounds through sponsored walks or bikeathons. He joined the scouts as a cub, and rose through the ranks to become a scout leader, and to receive the top scout award in Windsor Castle, where he met the Queen Mother. He had a job, an apartment, and a girl friend. He always strove to be "normal," and to be accepted as normal. But, as his brother said, he was never normal, he was much more than that.

He died at 31, having packed more into his life than most people who live to their nineties. There were twice as many outside the church as inside for his funeral, and the service began with a five-minutes standing ovation. I was so moved at his funeral that I decided that his story should be told. I asked those whose lives he touched to send me their memories of him, and, at the time of writing now, the book is with the printers. I am beginning with 1,000 copies, and the proceeds go to the Epilepsy Society, so that, even in death, he will continue to assist them in their work.

Unlike the third man in today's gospel, he did the best with what he had, and his return on the gifts and abilities he was given was away above the average. He surely belonged to the kingdom of heaven.

34th Sunday (A)

(Feast of Jesus Christ, Universal King)

Ezekiel 34:11ff

Ps 23:1-6

1 Corinthians 15:20ff

Matthew 25:31-46

The Kingdom

Our King

More than they realised

Kingdom Thoughts

God Save The King

Final Examination

Ezek 34:11-12, 15-17. God promises to personally take care of his people, as the shepherd cares for the sheep.

1 Cor 15:20-26, 28. At the end of the world, all forces that are hostile to Christ will be overcome. Then the victorious Christ will rule as universal king.

Mt 25:31-46. In the Last Judgment each one will be rewarded or punished according to whether we observed or failed to observe the commandment of practical brotherly love.

Theme: On the last Sunday in the liturgical year we honour Christ the King. It is a timely year-end call, to renew our loyalty to Jesus our Saviour, and to show our love for him in the way that we love our neighbour.

Ezekiel 34:11ff

For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will fed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats:

Ps 23:1-6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil; for you are with me;
your rod and your staff-they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

1 Corinthians 15:20ff

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.

Matthew 25:31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'

Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Intercessions

- that we may always remain loyal to Christ our King.

- that we may know him not only as king, but also as the shepherd and guide of our souls, our most intimate friend.

- that husbands and wives may always remain loyal and supportive to each other, and that children may treasure their family and remain loyal to their parents.

- that we may always remain faithful to our Christian community, to the Mass and the sacraments.

Thoughts for 34th Sunday, A

The Kingdom

The title 'King' was one that Jesus was not particularly happy with. But he did speak a lot about the kingdom of God or the reign of God - God's dream for the world.

Sometimes you hear people criticise Fr. Sean Healy and CORI: why are they always preaching about economics, poverty, health care and things like that which are not really the concern of religion? Why does the Church not stick to what it was founded for and teach us about faith, prayer, the ten commandments and the real things of religion? Why don't they leave politics and economics to the politicians and economists who know something about these things?

It is not a case of either or... Today's reading reminds us that there is a social justice side to the kingdom and that we will be judged finally on how we treated the hungry, the homeless, the prisoners and the marginalised.

Another aspect... Talking about feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, looking after the naked and homeless and those in prison - do not parents do this all the time for their children from the moment they are conceived until well into middle age?

'As long as you did to one of these little ones, you did it to me'.

Our King

When we listen every Sunday to the gospel, we should keep in mind the advice of Christ to the Jews to examine the sacred scriptures carefully, because these same scriptures show how the world may be saved. If we were to search thoroughly through the gospels in particular, we would find that in them Jesus did not preach much about himself, nor even about God, but rather about the kingdom of God.

Since there cannot be a kingdom without a king, we might reflect on how this title is associated with Christ in the New Testament. Peculiarly, Jesus is represented as being a regal figure, mainly at the beginning and the end of the gospel story. "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews," the Wise Men inquired, and, having found him, conferred on him the gifts reserved for royalty. "The Lord will give to him the throne of his father, David," the Angel had said to Mary at the Annunciation, "and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and his kingdom will have no end" (Lk 1:32f).

Then in the final days of Christ's story, when he entered Jerusalem for the last time on Palm Sunday, the evangelist Matthew says it was to fulfil the prophecy, "Behold, your king is coming, riding on a donkey," and the people cried out, "Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord" (Lk 19:38). Later again, the charge brought against Jesus at his trial was that of declaring himself a king, setting himself up, in opposition to Caesar. And when Pilate, who through his spies knew full well that this charge was pure fabrication, put this question to Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?," he got the rather enigmatic reply, "It is you who say it" (Mk 15:2).

What Jesus implies is that the title of king being associated with him is, verbally speaking, correct, but that neither the Jews, nor Pilate, had even begun to understand what that kingship entailed. "Mine is not a kingdom of this world," he declared. Again a and again, this same title is used by different individuals throughout the Passion narrative. By Pilate: "This is your king; shall I crucify your king?" By the soldiers: "Hail, king of the Jews." By the jeering crowd: "He is the king of the Jews; let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him." It is quite possible that the crowd's reason for saying this was the inscription on the cross, over Jesus' head, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews." And the last request made to Christ while in this world was that of the good thief: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

For people in a modem world which puts such great emphasis on democratic rule, however much abused from time to time, there is great difficulty in understanding the original meaning of the kingdom. To equate it with earthly power, with dominion over the nations, Christ regarded as a temptation of the devil, and we see how he fled from those who, after the miraculous feeding of the multitude, wanted to make him that kind of king, whether he liked it or not. For if we look at some of the events of Christ's life we begin to see that he transcends all our thoughts of greatness and power.

At Bethlehem, we see majesty in the midst of the poverty of the manger. In the Temple, we see wisdom coupled with uneducated youth. In his public life, we find authority linked with a breaking away from the strait-jacket of the law. On Calvary, we see victory attained through the scandalous death on a cross. The only throne that Christ the King will ever occupy is the throne of, people's hearts. For his kingdom is founded not on power, but on love and service; and, especially in today's gospel, this is the lesson he would have us, also, take away with us and put into practice. And if we are faithful, we will hear, on the last day, the response of our King, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world" (Mt 25:34). Having hopefully heard these words, we shall have reached our final destination, the kingdom that has no end, when the kingly role of Christ on earth will finally be made clear to us.

More than they realised

You might have had the experience of doing something for somebody and only subsequently discovering that it meant far more to that person than you realized at the time you did it? We are not always aware of the good we might be doing. We don't always appreciate how significant our actions are for others or how much our presence means to them. In some ways that can be a good thing, because it can prevent us from becoming too proud, or taking ourselves too seriously. In other ways it may not be a good thing because we can fail to value something in ourselves that others value much. We may be tempted to give up doing something that people really value because we are unaware of how significant it is. We may think we are doing nothing particularly worthwhile, when we fact we may be doing something of real value.

The thought came to me from the two groups of people in this gospel parable. The first group were amazed to discover that what they had done in life was far more significant than they had realized. Only at the end of their lives did they realize that their ordinary simple acts of kindness and consideration were in fact serving the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. To their amazement, they discovered that there was a much deeper dimension to what they were doing than they had ever suspected. In attending to the ordinary, they were, in reality engaging with the eternal. "When did we see you .... " they asked the glorious Son of Man. His reply was, "In so far as you did this to one of the least, you did it to me." What they did in a matter-of-fact way turned out to have eternal significance. In dealing with their broken and troublesome and unfortunate neighbours, they were, in reality, dealing with the Lord of the Universe. What they had been doing was far more significant than they could ever have dreamt, and ha consequences far beyond what they realized at the time.

It can be difficult for us to realize that in our ordinary dealings with each other we are in a real sense dealing with the Lord, and that is especially true when we are confronted with others in all their brokenness and need. It is in the ordinary, every day affairs of life that we are responding to the Lord. The care that someone gives to a sick relative is care given to the Lord, whether that is realized or not. The welcome we give to a stranger who feels vulnerable in a foreign environment is a welcome given to the Lord. The way we relate to prisoners or ex-prisoners reveals how we relate to the Lord. In the parable, Jesus doesn't say "I was imprisoned for no good reason and you visited me," or he doesn't say, "I was imprisoned because of my witness to the gospel and you visited me." No, it is much simpler than that, "I was in prison," full stop. No attempt is made to distinguish one prisoner from another or one crime from another. How we treat our prisoners, regardless of what they have done, is a commenary on how we treat the Lord himself. This gospel reading gives no encouragement to the attitude of lock them up and throw away the key. How we try to integrate ex-prisoners into our community, our society, is also making a statement about how we are receiving the Lord's coming to us. As a society how many resources are we putting into the important work of helping ex-prisoners to find a meaningful role in our society, so that they can build a new life for themselves that is crime-free?

At the beginning of Mass we sometimes pray the prayer we call the Confiteor. In that prayer we ask forgiveness for what we have done and what we have failed to do. If the first part of today's parable emphasizes the deeper significance of the simple acts of goodness and kindness that we do, the second part of the parable highlights the deeper significance of what we fail to do. The second group are not accused of violent crime or offences on a grand scale, any more than the first group were praised for heroic virtue. They were accused because they failed to respond to the human need they saw before them. Most of us, if we reflect on our lives at all, will be conscious of what we have failed to do. It is common for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one to be troubled with guilt over what they failed to do for their loved ones who have died. Yet, burdening ourselves with guilt over what we have failed to do is not the Lord's will for us. Jesus did not speak this evening's parable to add to the burdens e carry but, rather, to help us to be more attentive to others who are burdened. The parable is a call to become more attentive to those who are burdened and to respond to them out of our resources. The parable also assures us that in doing that, we are doing something of eternal significance.

Kingdom Thoughts

No matter how strong, competent, assured or poised a person may seem to be each person can be hurt. There is always a weak spot in the circle of one's mind. Holiness is about allowing the divine light into one's life precisely at that place so that the whole of one's life may be renewed and transfigured. To be spiritual is to awaken to the light of one's own spirit, whose deepest source is God. When God started his Kingdom, he built it not on power, but on spirit. It is a kingdom made up not of achievement or possessions. Rather the Kingdom of God is a kingdom of emptiness. It is the place where those who are able to let go can enter. This is why Jesus always claimed that the Kingdom of God was beginning among the weak, the sounded, the strays and the lost. Jesus is King of the lost and the weak, those who have let go.

The human mind is one of the most beautiful achievements of creation. It seems that no other aspect of creation can gather itself to intimacy in the way the person can gather his/her life with the mind. Joseph Conrad said:

"The mind of man is capable of anything, because everything is in it." The human mind is a miniature world, within the privacy of the body. To become human is to be an explorer - to go on the voyage inwards to the unawakened territories within.

The person who has the courage to awaken and inhabit their own interiority become transfigured. They learn to see that every moment of life comes from elsewhere, that one is not the author or controller on one's own life. One has no right to this giftedness. To realize this is to turn one's life into a celebration. The false burdens of control and power over one's life give way to a great sense of acceptance, joy and celebration. To come into this new way of seeing is to learn to be. The Kingdom of God transfigures fear into courage, sadness into joy, false attachment into real belonging and blindness into new seeing. The Kingdom of God is that which alone is real. Kathleen Raine says: "Unless you see a thing in the light of love, you do not see at all."

One of the exciting things about the Kingdom of God is that it defies ordinary perception. No one can say whether an other is holy or not. As Jesus so trenchantly saw, it is not always those who seem to be in it, who are. The Kingdom of God is a completely different rhythm. The contour of the Kingdom of God is not drawn according to the lines of the world or the church. At the end of the day the ideal candidate for the Kingdom of God seems to be the Outsider, the one who has found the centre too suffocating and falsely possessive and had to move out to the edge.

God Save The King

When Louis XVI was condemned to death, he made one last request to the revolutionary government. He asked for the services of a priest to help him in his last moments. Most French priests had fled Paris or gone into hiding. The one Louis asked for by name was an Irish priest, Abb� Edgeworth, who had been confessor to the King's sister. Death stalked the streets of Paris and priests were the favoured targets of the venom of the revolutionary mobs. "The few honest people who continue faithful to their God and king keep silence and weep daily over the ruins of the altar and the throne," Edgeworth wrote to a friend in Ireland, a short time previously. When the King's message reached him, he was asked would he be willing to offer his services. Acceptance would almost certainly entail his own execution. Without hesitation Edgeworth replied, "A King even in chains has the right to command."

When he met the King that night in his prison cell, Louis broke down "Forgive me," he said, "I have lived so long in the midst of my enemies, that the sight of a loyal subject moves me deeply." Edgeworth spent the night with the King in prison and, after celebrating Mass early next morning, he accompanied the King to the guillotine. After the King's execution, he turned to descend the scaffold, only to find that it was surrounded by twenty or thirty thousand armed revolutionaries. Trusting to providence he approached the first line which, to his surprise, opened up before him, as did the second and third. By the time he came to the fifth line he was lost in the crowd and made good his escape. He was a witness that day, not only to the execution of a king but to the death of an era. While kings continued in one form or another in various countries, the advent of democracy was irreversible.

By the end of the First World War, most of the remaining thrones in Europe were toppled. Ironically, it was shortly after this time - 1925, to be exact - that the Catholic church instituted the Feast of Christ the King to round off the Liturgical Year. Honouring Christ under the title of king seemed oddly out of tune with the times. Nationalism was the dominant ideology and people were encouraged to give their allegiance to a flag, the symbol of the new nation states. From time immemorial they had professed their loyalty to a person, their king. Loyalty was the main virtue associated with kingship. Its opposite, high treason, the betrayal of your king, was then the most odious of crimes. It seems strange today to read of people sentenced to be executed on foot of a royal warrant, going to their deaths declaring, "God save the King." Loyalty loomed large in the hierarchy of virtues and permeated all areas of peoples" lives. They were loyal to their clans, their families and their friends. Their wars - and they were many - were conflicts of loyalties. Above all, their relationship with God was, like the people of Israel, defined in terms of loyalty.

As a form of government, we have little cause to mourn the passing of kings. History shows little that was edifying about their lives or their reigns. But perhaps the virtue of loyalty may have largely gone with them. How else explain the incidence of marital breakdown in our time, except in terms of infidelity? Loyalty commands little respect nowadays. If people are not loyal to their God, they are scarcely likely to be loyal to anyone. We need Christ as king in our lives.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." We renew a heartfelt loyalty to him on this feast, through our sharing in this eucharist.

Final Examination

Today we hear Jesus' powerful description of the General Judgement. Even if it is a parable, and not intended as literal truth, there is a great deal to learn from it. It is only right and appropriate that the last Sunday in the Year should have a graphic description of the Last Judgement.

The summer exams are in sight, the heads are bowed over the books, and the speculation on possible questions has begun. Supposing I were to go into an exam class this morning, hand an envelope to each pupil, and leave again. They eagerly open their envelopes to discover every question they will face in this summer's exams. I would have friends for life! For the rest of their time in class, the focus is on one thing, the questions I gave them. If some poor teacher, not in the "know," is trying to teach some other part of a course, he/she would surely be amazed at their lack of interest or attention. If these students don't do well in their exams, they can only blame themselves, because they knew the questions, and had plenty of time to prepare their answers.

Today's gospel contains the questions on our final exam papers, the exam we will face when we die! Please note that the questions will be almost scandalously materialistic. If I take the parable seriously, I may be asked about slices of bread, cups of water, or an overcoat, that I gave or did not give to my neighbour in need. There will be no questions about devotional practises, about whether I went to church, etc.

It is important to understand the implications of today's gospel. Jesus takes whatever we do for others as being done to him. Like St Paul, we have never met Jesus in the flesh, as he looked and appeared to his apostles. We meet him now in the shape of others, whether he is happy, rejected, or marginalised.

It is interesting to hear those at his right side being puzzled when Jesus told them all they had done for him. They were givers by Christian instinct; they were good people, who didn't know what it was like not to be good. They were generous people, who could not be mean if they tried. They didn't see themselves as exceptional, and they certainly weren't always conscious that it was Jesus who received their kindness. This is real virtue, because it becomes so ingrained as to become second nature. Their giving was never of a flamboyant nature, where they sought the plaudits and approval of others. That is why they are so amazed at the words Jesus addresses to them now.

Those questions on the exam paper are so simple. "I was hungry; thirsty; naked; in prison; a stranger; and what did you do about it?" None of us can pretend that we never came across such people, and we were never given the opportunity.

The group on his left were amazed to find that they had not done what was expected, because they probably never gave much thought to others anyhow, and such actions were not within the remit of their thinking. From the time I was a child my favourite excuse was "Sorry, I forgot" or "Oh, I never thought of it." This is something we can carry into life with us.

Response: We are all familiar with heroic people in today's world, even if they don't make it to the front page of our newspapers. There are young people who volunteer their services to work in the Third World, and there are many others who go to great lengths to collect food, clothes, etc., to be sent there. We have Tr�caire boxes in most houses for Lent, when the children are encouraged to put some of their pocket money into them. Some people, with little resources, organise even a coffee morning, and they send what money they collect to some cause they support. Thank God for such people, who help sensitise us all to the needs of those who have nothing. I would have to be cold and heartless not to be touched by such example, and by such reminders. I certainly can never claim that I didn't know.

Alan Paton wrote, "Do not look for me just in the sanctuaries, or in the precise words of theologians, or in the calm of the countryside. Look for me in the place where men are struggling for their survival as human beings." (Cry the Beloved Country.) When I was a child, I was intrigued by the concept that "God is everywhere." Today I see that Jesus is everywhere, there to be loved and served. I don't have to go to the Third World to find him, because I can stay here, and find him at home. I don't have far to go to find someone who is hungry for a word of encouragement or who is in the prison of depression, of loneliness, bereavement, or despair. I will find them when I am ready to help them.

Practical: There is little need for me to specify practical responses to today's gospel. Each of us looks around us, with our own eyes, and we see what we want to see. As a nation we are generous, as is evidenced by the response to appeals for help in areas of disaster. There is something else, though. Everybody turns up for a funeral, but it is the one who continues to keep in touch with the bereaved, and who drops in for a visit many months after the funeral, that is most helpful. These people are usually those who themselves have experienced bereavement, and who understand what it is like. They have compassion, but they also have empathy, and have the ability to look through that other person's eyes, and see what things look like for the other.

The needs of others brings out the best in some, and the worst in others. Some people get wealthy by exploiting the poor and the underprivileged. Even in this day, we are discovering that slavery is a harsh reality in many parts of the world. People get rich through human trafficking, where people are seen as objects for sale. Surely this must pierce our hearts like a sword, and we cannot remain indifferent. Jesus showed righteous indignation at some of the injustices he witnessed. There is a form of anger that is good. Rather than being a destructive anger, it energises us into action, and it forces us off the fence. As we watched scenes on our TV during ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, we might be conscious of tears in our eyes but we should feel fire in our bellies. As an individual, I may experience powerlessness but "for evil to succeed, all it takes is that good people should do nothing." Please think about this.

When I was growing up, we had teaching on what used be called The Four Last Things: death, judgement, hell and heaven. We don't hear too much about this anymore, and that is good. We must not be motivated by fear, but by love. In our hearts we know what the judgement will be, and we know the account we will have to give for what we have done to make this world a better place. The most difficult place to practice Christianity is in our own kitchen. When I was a child we were praying for the conversion of Russia, or we were collecting pennies for "black babies" in Africa. This was safe, because it was far enough away! When I bring the whole concept home to roost, I look around at those nearest to me, and I read the questions in today's gospel. What does that tell you? God doesn't send me anywhere when I die. Rather he eternalises the direction in which I choose to travel now.

Story: Some years ago I was called to a large hospital by a family whose mother was dying. After doing what I could staying with them until she died, and joining them for a cup of tea and a chat afterwards, it was time to leave. It was now after midnight, and it was bitterly cold frosty night. As I came down the steps of the hospital, I noticed a man huddled in an overcoat and a blanket on the steps. I was in one of my better moods, so I stopped, and sat beside him. I was surprised that, when viewed from close up, he was much younger than he had appeared. I gave him some money, and I offered him a cigarette. With a little prompting, he told me his story, where he was from, his family or origin, how he came to be where he was, and what his hope was for the future. After about six cigarettes, we had an animated conversation, and I was enthralled by his story. He was a gentle soul, and he seemed to open out in the warmth of my interest. Eventually I had to leave. When I got up to leave, I was completely taken of guard by what happened next. He insisted that I take back the money I had given him, because I had given him something more precious than money. That could also be true in reverse.

Jesus is to be found everywhere if I take the time and trouble to be with him, and to give him time and interest..