22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C and Weekdays

Jesus at prayer

J

From the picture in the basilica of the Transfiguration 

on

 Mount Tabour

22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Eccles 3:17-20. 28-29., Ps 67:4-7.10-11. Rv. 11. Heb12: 18-19. 22-24.

The greater you are, the more you should behave humbly.

In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor.

You have come to the Heavenly Jerusalem where everyone is a first born son.

When the host comes, he may say, “My friend move up higher”.

Luke 14: 1. 7-14.

¹ Now it happened that on a Sabbath day he had gone to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. ⁷ He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, ⁸ 'When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, ⁹ and the person who invited you both may come and say, "Give up your place to this man." And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place. ¹⁰ No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, "My friend, move up higher." Then, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. ¹¹ For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up.' ¹² Then he said to his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. ¹³ No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; ¹⁴ then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.'

 Remember who you are

However we think about ourselves and whatever books of spirituality may have said, we are not worms, we are not useless. In fact each of us is a masterpiece if only we knew it. There is no limit to how great we can become. When we really look at ourselves we can indeed be happy and rejoice. Our life can be a celebration from day one. But we have nothing to be arrogant about. Everything we are and everything we will become is a gift of love. We will never understand the Good News of Jesus until we realize that we have a Father who has deliberately created us because he loved us before ever we were conceived in our mother’s womb. He conceived us in his heart before time began. He longs for the day when he can give us everything he has; we are all ‘first-born sons’ for him.

This is what Jesus is telling us with today’s parable. He is not telling us how to earn esteem among our peers. He is talking of the wedding feast – the divine wedding feast in the Kingdom. We have no right to be there. In fact we have no right to be at all! We are ‘the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind’. God has invited us to share as his guests in the eternal banquet with his Son, the Bridegroom. We cannot earn or win the highest place. We cannot, in fact, earn or win an entrance. Our Father invites us. We are all to be his chief guests. Jesus will tell us this again in the story of the loving father and the prodigal son. His Father will make each of us a welcome guest. Jesus too proclaimed it by deed at the Last Supper. He washed all his disciples’ feet: a mark of honour for the chief guest. We are all chief guests!  And it is all a gift gladly given.

We too should be like our Father in heaven and Jesus on earth. Let us rejoice in all that God has given us in the natural and supernatural arenas. The greater our gifts then let us be even humbler as we give thanks. God welcomes us the blind and the lame so let us welcome ‘the blind and lame’ of this world. Let us go out of our way to bring joy into the lives of others. Whoever they are, everyone needs our love! To be God’s son or daughter you should seek out those with whom you can share yourself in love. If you open your eyes you will find so many. We don’t look for merit. We do it out of love. However Jesus will not forget: you did it to me. Can you find those who need your love among your relatives, friends and parish community?

Father give me a thankful heart which brings warmth and comfort to others.

Monday August 30, 2010
Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

1 Cor 2:1-5

When I came to you, brothers and sisters,
proclaiming the mystery of God,
I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.

In Athens Paul had spoken like a philosopher but had failed dismally to make any converts. When then he came to Corinth, he must have decided to preach the Gospel in all its starkness, stressing how Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. His preaching was Jesus-centred. He didn’t only preach the Cross but very much the Resurrection. He didn’t try and persuade with human attractions but through the Spirit – his own inspired preaching and the charism given him for building up the community. 

Lk 4:16-30

Gospel

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

It was actually a world event. Jesus declared that he was the Messiah foretold by the prophets.  He wasn’t the kind of Messiah the people were imagining and they could not accept him. They wanted miracles not the Word of God. He explains to them that God’s Salvation goes beyond Israel. They are so angry with his claims that they attempt to kill him.. As Simeon said to Mary “He is set for the rise and fall of many, a sign to be contradicted”. It begins in his home town. There is a silent world event in our midst. Jesus is here for those who have eyes to see. He is still the unexpected one. But he is here to bring his salvation, to do the ultimate good. Have you recognized him? Unlike the people of Nazareth do you welcome his Word and commit yourself to him through daily prayer?

August 31, 2010
Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

1 Cor 2:10b-16

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Among men, who knows what pertains to the man
except his spirit that is within?
Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.
We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.
And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom,
but with words taught by the Spirit,
describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.

Now the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God,
for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it,
because it is judged spiritually.
The one who is spiritual, however, can judge everything
but is not subject to judgment by anyone.

For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.

We can only know the Spirit through  his effects. We have received the Spirit of God who knows the depths of God. Through the Spirit we understand the message of God. It is through the Spirit that we proclaim the message. “We have the mind of Christ” means we have the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit can influence us without our realising it is the Spirit. Hence the importance of praying that others receive the Spirit and of our own praying always in the Spirit.

Lk 4:31-37

Gospel

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

At last hope has come into this world. The Anointed One has come and evil cannot resist him. Jesus is full of the Spirit of God. He teaches with authority. Does he teach you? Do you listen? Jesus is still present in the world but invisible and silent. So he anoints the baptized with the same Holy Spirit that he received. He can now continue his work through them to confront evil in all its forms and to teach with authority. Have you entered into his life and work? Have you taken your anointing seriously praying constantly for the Spirit to possess you and use you? Do you surrender yourself to Jesus so that he can be again a power to destroy evil and proclaim God’s rule but this time through you and in your world?  If you cooperate you can be a saviour in your world

 

Weekdays of 21st week in Ordinary Time

Monday August 23, 2010
Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

2 Thes1:1-5, 11-12

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters,
as is fitting, because your faith flourishes ever more,
and the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.
Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God
regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions
and the afflictions you endure.

This is evidence of the just judgment of God,
so that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God
for which you are suffering.

We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

The community in Thessalonica is suffering opposition and Paul is encouraging them to persevere. God will not take revenge on their persecutors but he will give a just judgement. It is God who will make them fit for their calling, which is the glory of Christ. To use the name of someone was to call on the full power of that person. When we pray ‘in the name of Christ’ we are not just remembering him but making our own all the power he has with God the Father.

Mt 23:13-22

Gospel

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”

Although the Pharisees had seen the good works of Jesus they closed their hearts to him and rejected him. Calling God’s work that of the devil, they sinned against the Holy Spirit. Yet they set themselves up to teach others. Jesus calls them ‘blind guides’ and even ‘blind fools’. Today, twice he calls them ‘hypocrites’ and three times ‘blind’. Jesus is merciful and even lenient to sinners who acknowledge their sin and wish to repent but he cannot stand hypocrisy – pretending to be good when secretly we do evil. The Pharisees had no personal relationship with God. They had made their own religion with external practices and traditions for their own advantage. We can only be acceptable to Jesus when we acknowledge our sin and sincerely beg forgiveness, try to know him through prayer and listen to his Word in the Gospel. Can Jesus accept you?

Tuesday August 24, 2010
Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

Reading 1

Rv 21:9b-14

 The angel spoke to me, saying,
“Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

We only have human language. It is adequate for this world but how can it express our relationship with God. We have to use it but it limps badly. The Word says, “I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb”. This is human and very imperfect language trying to express something of which we have as yet no experience. It is trying to say that the community and each member of the community has even now, in faith, and later in glory a unique and intimate union in love with God through Christ, our Lord and Brother. How that will be in glory, we do not know. If we surrender in prayer to the Holy Spirit we can have in faith a growing realization of the closeness of Jesus.

 

Ps. 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18

Responsorial Psalm

Jn 1:45-51

Gospel

Philip found Nathanael and told him,
“We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
But Nathanael said to him,
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Philip had met Jesus. Nathaniel hadn’t as yet. Philip was enthusiastic. Nathaniel was prejudiced. Nathaniel accepted the invitation to come and see for himself. He met Jesus and everything changed. When we meet Jesus then our lives change. Till then we nurture our prejudices. Once again, why does Jesus appreciate Nathaniel? It is because there is no duplicity in him. He put aside his prejudice and wanted to learn the truth. In meeting Jesus he realized that indeed Salvation comes from Nazareth. He is in fact what he appears to be externally. Jesus wants transparency. In our prayer let us be what we are without a mask or pretence. Only then can Jesus heal us. We are the tax collector in the Temple. We are the prodigal son coming home. We come to Jesus with our weakness and sinfulness but also our sincerity. Is your prayer, at least, without duplicity?

Wednesday August 25, 2010

Reading 1

2 Thes 3:6-10, 16-18

We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.
For you know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,
so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that
if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.

May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.

This greeting is in my own hand, Paul’s.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

Paul and the early Christians of his time expected the Lord’s return very soon. Some though by no means all seem to have given up work in expectation of the early return of Jesus. This is disorderly. The members who work are not to encourage laziness and consequent evils. Paul had himself worked giving them an example. Paul offers the peace that only Jesus can give. It is a peace we can only know through experiencing it. The last words Paul writes with his own hand. It is like our signature.

Mt 23:27-32

Gospel

Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”

Jesus condemns not so much the scribes as human nature. We must beware of becoming hypocrites. If we do not feel ‘unclean’ in the presence of God, then we too are Pharisees. “The heavens are not pure in his sight”. All prayer begins with repentance and forgiveness. We come each day to God as the prodigal son, for that is what we are. We are pure in God’s sight only when he makes us pure. Holiness comes from him, not from us. The scribes and Pharisees are dead within though unaware of this. We can only live when God gives us life. We have none in ourselves. Their religion is a religion of fulfilling laws and following traditions. It is a dead religion. Life comes from accepting the invitation to a loving relationship with God in Jesus. The closer, the more abundant is our life. Are you dead or living?

Thursday August 26, 2010
Reading 1

1 Cor 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the Church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Corinth was a strategic city in Greece. It was a Roaman capital for the Eastern Empire, a flourishing port with access to the Adriatic and to the Aegian seas. It was a cosmopolitan city with people from all over the Empire. Paul spent 18 months there and founded a strong Christian Community. He writes this letter from Ephesus on hearing of serious divisions in the community. In the second part he will answer questions sent to him from Corinth.

We have been sanctified by our union with Christ. We are the assembly of God’s people, specially chosen to praise and glorify God. If we open ourselves then God will fill us with his gifts even now. Salvation comes from God. He is faithful and works out his salvation in us. We need to be open to him. Then he will make us blameless of the day of the Lord’s coming.

Mt 24:42-51

Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

Of course in one sense Jesus is not here. We don’t see him, hear him and he doesn’t seem to notice anything we do and doesn’t come crashing down on us if we sin. “The Lord is long in coming”.  The temptation to indulge the desires of our hearts can be strong. Of course if we die suddenly or death becomes imminent we are at a loss. For these “the master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour”. On the other hand Jesus is here already. He is always present to those with a lively faith. The more lively their faith, the more real his presence till we spend all our life with and for him in a bond of union closer than any other on earth. His coming then is the answer to the believer’s prayer “Come, Lord Jesus”. Which category are you in?

Friday August 27, 2010
Memorial of Saint Monica

Reading 1

1 Cor 1:17-25

Brothers and sisters:
Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written:

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.

Where is the wise one?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age?
Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
For since in the wisdom of God
the world did not come to know God through wisdom,
it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation
to save those who have faith.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

The wonderful truth is that God considers you so value and precious that he sent his only Son, Jesus, who thought it worthwhile to die on the Cross for you. It appears stupid to many but God’s love for you is blind and he would go to such lengths to give you the opportunity to share life with him. It was this truth that transformed the life of Paul and made him the indefatigable missionary of Jesus.

Mt 25:1-13

Gospel

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Life is about meeting Jesus. People may be busy about other things but they are like the foolish virgins who did not take oil in their lamps. Life in this world only has meaning in terms of the eternal life offered us by God. We have no idea of how that life will be but it is a life with God. Our focus should be on Jesus and pleasing him at all times. Only you can make that decision for yourself. Each one has to bring their own oil. We can’t share. The mystery of the bridegroom is that he has come already and is in our midst. We can get to know him and become his intimate companions. This is through our daily prayer and obedience to his Word. This is the fruit of faith. Have you faith? Have you come to know Jesus while there is time?

Saturday August 28, 2010
Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church

Reading 1

1 Cor 1:26-31

Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.
Not many of you were wise by human standards,
not many were powerful,
not many were of noble birth.
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world,
those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something,
so that no human being might boast before God.
It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God,
as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
so that, as it is written,
Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.

In the first century the elite in society were called wise, they were well-born and they were politically powerful. God chose few of these to be members of his new people. On the contrary he chose those whom these people considered low and incapable, the ‘nonentities’ in society. But God can use them and they will realize that it is God who is doing everything. All wisdom, development and the hopes of peoples will be fulfilled in Christ.

Mt 25:14-30

Gospel

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master’s money.
After a long time
the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents
came forward bringing the additional five.
He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
‘Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

Jesus told his parables from a context. How did people make money in an agricultural society? There wasn‘t much in agriculture. There were no manufactured goods to sell, nor stocks and shares. People made money by lending money  and when the debtor failed to pay by taking his property. They were either loan-sharks or tax collectors. The master is rapacious and the slaves join him in earning for him and also for themselves. The only one who does not join this rat race of exploitation is the third. He refuses to help his master become richer at the expense of others. He is thrown out as worse than useless. The only good man in this parable set in first century Palestine is the third. The world loves its own. It despises those who won’t join it. How do you fit into the world scene with its greed and exploitation?

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit*. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

* The Holy Spirit is the energy of God – wind, fire, water, Transforming Pentecostal Spirit, Giver of Wisdom, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Holiness. Advocate/Paraclete (Comforter, Consoler, Prosecuting Lawyer, Defence Lawyer, Helper),  leads into whole truth, reminds you of all that Jesus taught,  speaks Jesus’ words, will speak through you, dwells within you,   prays for you, leads you, power of God,  who knows the very depths of God, the Bond of Love between Father and Son, Sanctifier. He continues the work of Jesus in the world through you and me.

 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Isaiah 66:18-21. Psalm 116, Rv. Mark16:15, Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13,

The Lord says: I am coming to gather the nations.

When the Lord corrects you do not treat it lightly.

Strong is his love for us.

Try your best to enter by the narrow door.

Luke 13:22-30

Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them, ²⁴ 'Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. ²⁵ 'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us," but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from." ²⁶ Then you will start saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets," ²⁷ but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!" ²⁸ 'Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ 'Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.'

 Become the friend of ‘the master of the house’

How to get in.

Jesus is on his great journey towards Jerusalem. It’s not a picnic that he is going on. Jerusalem means death and he knows it. We too are on a journey. The end of our journey is death. As for Jesus, death is a gateway. 

Jesus finds it difficult to explain life after death. Not because he doesn’t know, but there are no words to describe what we have not experienced. He has to use images. Today he likens it to a feast in a rich man’s house.

Someone had asked him, ‘are many people going to be saved’. Typical of Jesus, he doesn’t play to our curiosity. Down to earth, he says, ‘It’s a narrow door. Make sure you get in.’ Though late and the door is shut there is still the possibility of getting in. The point is, we are all going to be late! Everyone has to knock! Entrance is not, however, guaranteed. The owner of the house will come to the door and look through the grille. If he recognizes you he will let you in. But if he says, ‘I don’t know you’ then you are in trouble. The door remains closed and you remain outside. You might remonstrate, ‘I was a Catholic’ or ‘I was a member of the reformed Church’. ‘I went to church every week’; ‘I was a member of the choir and sang for the Pope’. Someone might even say, ‘I was the Pope’. But if the owner still says, ‘I don’t know where you come from, that is the end’. However many will get in and they will come from the east and the west and join in the feasting. There will be many surprises.

This life we experience is wonderful in every way. Is there any meaning to it? Yes, it is this. It is our opportunity to enter into an even more wonderful life which is everlasting. And what is the secret?  Jesus tells us, even if negatively. The master of the house turns people away because as he says, ‘I don’t know you’. If he does know you and you are his friend then he lets you in.

The moral is clear. In this life the main thing is not to make money, or a name, get power and influence. These are useless at the critical moment. The main thing in life is to become the friend of ‘the master of the house’. Get to know Jesus. Become his friend, his intimate friend. He isn’t far away: ‘I stand at the door and knock. If you open I will come in and we will dine together’. Then at the critical moment in our existence and we stand at another door and knock, he will open and the feasting will begin.

Father, may I know, love and serve Jesus in this life so I may not be turned away when I knock on your door.

Weekdays of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit*. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

* The Holy Spirit is the energy of God – wind, fire, water, Transforming Pentecostal Spirit, Giver of Wisdom, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Holiness. Advocate/Paraclete (Comforter, Consoler, Prosecuting Lawyer, Defence Lawyer, Helper),  leads into whole truth, reminds you of all that Jesus taught,  speaks Jesus’ words, will speak through you, dwells within you,   prays for you, leads you, power of God,  who knows the very depths of God, the Bond of Love between Father and Son, Sanctifier. He continues the work of Jesus in the world through you and me.

August 16, 2010
Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Ez 24:15-23

The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
That evening my wife died,
and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things
that you are doing mean for us?”
I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house of Israel: 
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.

The people of Israel refused to accept that they were created by God from nothing. They pleased themselves forgetting that God had called them and made a Covenant with them. He was their God to love and protect them in every way in preparation for his Son (as we know) and they were his people to love and obey him as their God. As a result left to themselves they, a weak nation, had no defence against the powers of the time. Their Temple, source of their national prestige, would be torn down and the people taken into exile. Anyone who abandons God the Creator can expect things to go wrong with their life. To those who seek only the Kingdom of God and his righteousness God promises to be a Father who will care for them in their every need. There are conditions to God’s providential care.

Deuteronomy 32:18-19, 20, 21

Responsorial Psalm

R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

Mt 19:16-22

Gospel

A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.

‘If you wish to be perfect’. This does not say  there are two classes of disciples – those who ‘just keep the commandments’ and those who wish to be perfect. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells all his disciples to ‘be perfect as your heavenly Father’. We are all to surrender ourselves totally to God and not cling to what we love whether it is possessions, intellectual abilities or whatever our ego loves. No one is to love father or mother or anyone more than Jesus. We are to deny ourselves and follow him daily. This is hard like carrying a cross. We are to be poor in spirit having only what we need. We are to share the rest with the poor. This deeply contradicts the amassing of money found in the consumerist society. What is holding you back from giving yourself totally to Jesus?

August 17, 2010
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Ez 28:1-10

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
say to the prince of Tyre:
Thus says the Lord GOD:

Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!”—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, “I am a god!”
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

Tyre, so close, to Israel, was a source of corruption for the morals of Israel. This oracle applies to all who set their hearts on the things of this world. Whatever the name or the fame, the wealth or possessions, power and the strength that we acquire in this life, we are but men. Death and the loss of everything faces even the strongest of tyrants. Whatever we earn it is for a few years only and so many times growth turns suddenly into recession and all is lost. Is there another way?

Mt 19:23-30

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'In truth I tell you, it is hard for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. ²⁴ Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven.' ²⁵ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. 'Who can be saved, then?' they said. ²⁶ Jesus gazed at them. 'By human resources', he told them, 'this is impossible; for God everything is possible.' ²⁷ Then Peter answered and said, 'Look, we have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?' ²⁸ Jesus said to them, 'In truth I tell you, when everything is made new again and the Son of man is seated on his throne of glory, you yourselves will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and also inherit eternal life. ³⁰ 'Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.'

It is impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. Entry is for those who accept Jesus’ offer of friendship. “Where your treasure is there is your heart.” Wealth is a means and not an end. We need enough to live on and must give the rest away. This is the teaching of Jesus for all his disciples. Our treasure on which we set out hearts must be Jesus himself. We must search for him and not for wealth and power. We must live for him every day and all the day. The ‘new age’ is to be defined as the age of love. Everything will be determined by how much we have loved Jesus. Love for Jesus is the true wealth that will give us everything there is. Are you rich or poor? Do you want to be rich? Do you see religion in these terms?

August 18, 2010
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Ez 34:1-11

The word of the Lord came to me:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel
who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,
and slaughtered the fatlings,
but the sheep you have not pastured.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick
nor bind up the injured.
You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost,
but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd,
and became food for all the wild beasts.
My sheep were scattered
and wandered over all the mountains and high hills;
my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,
with no one to look after them or to search for them.

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
As I live, says the Lord GOD,
because my sheep have been given over to pillage,
and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast,
for lack of a shepherd;
because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,
but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I swear I am coming against these shepherds.
I will claim my sheep from them
and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep
so that they may no longer pasture themselves.
I will save my sheep,
that they may no longer be food for their mouths.

For thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

The rulers of Israel are the shepherds. The kings had all deserted the Lord and the Covenant and lead the people into sin. The people are now suffering captivity , ‘the food for wild bests’. As a result this prophecy is spoken against them. God’s love for his sheep will move him to come himself to care for them. Jesus uses this prophecy as the basis for his declaration that he is the Good Shepherd by which he also fulfills this prophecy. God will demand an answer from all shepherds in the new Covenant too. Parents should see themselves as shepherds to their children as priests to their people.

Ps. 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

Responsorial Psalm

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Mt 20:1-16

Gospel

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The landowner did not act unjustly even by our rules. He lived by other values. He is generous. We can rejoice that this is another image of God. If we are only to  receive what we deserve in the next life then we need worry indeed. But we have a Father who is generosity itself. Actually we are all those who have come at the eleventh hour! We are all ‘unprofitable servants’ treated as if we had worked night and day, prodigal sons welcomed like heroes after wasting our Father’s property. The reason: God is like that. We are precious to me and he loves us and will honour us (Is 43:4). Out of love for him, let us work night and day. However don’t let us think that we earn heaven. We can’t earn anything before God. It is all gift, supreme gift. Do you rejoice in your Father?

August 19, 2010
Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Ez 36:23-28

Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

The call of the prophets for repentance falls on deaf ears. Human beings cannot turn from their sins and it is no good telling them to do so. It is like asking a man to jump over the highest fence. It is only when God himself saves us that we will be saved. It is only when he puts a new heart in us that we will love and keep his commandments. God in Christ is our Saviour. No one can save themselves. We need to beg him for the new heart and new spirit as the Church prays in the Responsorial Psalm today.

R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.

Mt 22:1-14

Gospel

Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again, ² 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. ³ He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. ⁴ Next he sent some more servants with the words, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, my banquet is all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." ⁵ But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, ⁹ go to the main crossroads and invite everyone you can find to come to the wedding." ¹⁰ So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, ¹² and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." ¹⁴ For many are invited but not all are chosen.'

There is a wedding. We know who the guests are but who is the bride? The religion brought by Jesus is not one of the Law and we should not make it such. It is easy to do this when we stress the Church as an organisation and salvation as ‘saving one’s soul’. His is the religion of the marriage feast. The good news is that in his love he invites you to be ‘the bride’. Ours is a religion of ‘bride-hood’. If you fall in love with the Bridegroom then the rest is easy. The saints each in their own way did this and so they could do great deeds of ‘sacrifice’ for God – not sacrifices for them but only for onlookers. They were on fire with love and that makes all the difference. Have you been given the gift of falling in love? We should pray for this.

August 20, 2010
Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

Reading 1

Ez 37:1-14

The hand of the LORD came upon me,
and led me out in the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the center of the plain,
which was now filled with bones.
He made me walk among the bones in every direction
so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.
How dry they were!
He asked me:
Son of man, can these bones come to life?
I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”
Then he said to me:
Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:
Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.
I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,
cover you with skin, and put spirit in you
so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.
I prophesied as I had been told,
and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;
it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.
I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,
and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
Then the LORD said to me:
Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,
and say to the spirit:  Thus says the Lord GOD:
From the four winds come, O spirit,
and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;
they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
Then he said to me:
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
They have been saying,
“Our bones are dried up,
our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

The Israelites in captivity in Babylon (593BC to 538BC) were lost in despair. Everything was in ruins and they had no hope of salvation. But the prophet gives them this oracle that God can bring new life to dead bones. He will do this miraculously through the emperor Cyrus who will send the Israelites back to Jerusalem. They could not imagine this happening, but God did it. This oracle also is symbolic of those dead in sin. If the sinner truly desires to live again in holiness and purity of life then God can work the same miracle for them as for these bones and the Israelites in Babylon.

Ps. 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Responsorial Psalm

R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.

Mt 22:34-40

Gospel

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together ³⁵ and, to put him to the test, one of them put a further question, ³⁶ 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' ³⁷ Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and the first commandment. ³⁹ The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too.'

There are two truths we must bear in mind. The first is that God created us out of nothing. All we are and have are his gift. Before God we have no rights. The second is that he created us out of love to share himself with us as beloved children in Christ Jesus. He wants us to become like him.  If we understand the first can we do our own thing? If we understand the second, would it be sensible to do our own thing? We are to live for God completely in love. This is what our nature as a human being demands. Coming from God we are to be like God and so love the whole of creation and in particular other human beings. God our Creator and Father loves them and so should we. Have you understood what it means to be a human being?

August 21, 2010
Memorial of Pius X, pope

Reading 1

Ez 43:1-7ab

The angel led me to the gate which faces the east,
and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel
coming from the east.
I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters,
and the earth shone with his glory.
The vision was like that which I had seen
when he came to destroy the city,
and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar.
I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple
by way of the gate which faces the east,
but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court.
And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord.
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple,
while the man stood beside me.
The voice said to me:
Son of man, this is where my throne shall be,
this is where I will set the soles of my feet;
here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.

We can only think in terms of our experience and so the prophet thinks in terms of the Temple. The message is that God wants to live among us. He respects our freedom of choice and so gives us the invitation. God does not live in buildings made of stone. He lives in our hearts and in our communities. God’s holiness is reflected on the face of one who truly lives in God and in whom God lives.

Ps. 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14

Responsorial Psalm

R. (see 10b) The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land

Mt 23:1-12

Gospel

¹ Then addressing the crowds and his disciples Jesus said, ² 'The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. ³ You must therefore do and observe what they tell you; but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practise what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! ⁵ Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader headbands and longer tassels, ⁶ like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, ⁷ being greeted respectfully in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi. ⁸ 'You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one Master, and you are all brothers. ⁹ You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ The greatest among you must be your servant. ¹² Anyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.

Mark is recording these words mainly for the sake of the Church. We are not to seek glory for ourselves even if unconsciously. We should preach only what we practice and have sympathy for the ones who struggle with God’s Laws. Jesus ridicules religious insignia – he spoke of phylacteries and tassels. Today he would ridicule those who wear religious dress in order to gain honour and respect. Titles such as “My Lord” “Your Excellency” and even “Father” are excluded from his community. But most of all he condemns the mentality of superiority which goes along with these titles. W must not exalt ourselves or bask in the praise of others. In his community we should all strive to ‘wash each others feet’ in humble and unassuming service and love. There should be no ranks in theory or practice. This is the true Church of Christ. Have you understood Jesus?