God's Word for 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday 9 June 2013

10^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

1Kings 17:17-24, Psalm 29:2. 4-6. 11-13. Rv.2, Galatians 1:11-19, Luke 7:11-17.

Now I know you are a man of God and the word of the Lord is in your mouth.

The Lord listened and had pity. He came to my help.

Then God called me through His grace and chose to reveal his Son to me

A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.

First reading

1 Kings 17:17-24

The son of the mistress of the house fell sick; his illness was so severe that in the end he had no breath left in him. And the woman said to Elijah, ‘What quarrel have you with me, man of God? Have you come here to bring my sins home to me and to kill my son?’ ‘Give me your son’ he said, and taking him from her lap, carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, do you mean to bring grief to the widow who is looking after me by killing her son?’ He stretched himself on the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, may the soul of this child, I beg you, come into him again!’ The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah and the soul of the child returned to him again and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. ‘Look,’ Elijah said ‘your son is alive.’ And the woman replied, ‘Now I know you are a man of God and the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth itself.’

____________________

Psalm

Psalm 29:2,4-6,11-13

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me

and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,

restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,

give thanks to his holy name.

His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.

At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

The Lord listened and had pity.

The Lord came to my help.

For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:

O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

____________________

Second reading

Galatians 1:11-19

The Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors.

Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord.

____________________

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Or

Lk7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

A great prophet has appeared among us;

God has visited his people.

Alleluia!

____________________

Gospel

Luke 7:11-17

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.

Do you make Jesus present where you are?

We have listened to the story of Elijah today. The child of the woman in whose house he is staying has died. Elijah takes the dead boy and pleads with God to give him life again. God hears Elijah’s prayer. Notice what the woman says: Now I know you are a man of God.

Jesus meets the funeral procession of the young man of Nain. Unlike Elijah, he does not pray but speaks directly to the dead man. ‘Young man get up’ he says. The young man does so and then Jesus, like Elijah, gives him back to his mother. Notice what the people say: a great prophet has appeared among us. God has visited his people.

When she saw what Elijah had done and when the people saw what Jesus did, they praised God for visiting them through his prophets. Neither the woman of Elijah’s time nor the people of Nain would ever forget what they saw. It was an experience, which made a deep impression on them and they praised God.

Jesus is here today. Wherever you are, Jesus is there too. You are called to be the manifestation of Jesus. You have clothed yourself with Jesus Christ. You live by his life. He is in you and you in Him as a branch in the vine. He bears fruit through you. When people see what you do, do they say: God has visited his people? Now I know you are a man of God.

You may say, I cannot raise the dead either by prayer like Elijah or by command like Jesus. True!  However, just think, Jesus saw many funerals and dead bodies. He did not bring them all back to life. All the same, by what you do, by your very being, you are to attract others to Jesus. “We catch flies with honey and not with vinegar” St. Francis de Sales tells us. By your kindness, by your cheerful generosity by which you put yourself out for others, always at their service: these are the ways of attracting people. When people realize by your life that Jesus lives in you and you in him, the sweet perfume of your life, your words and your actions will bring them to Him.

Make it your aim as Elijah and then as Jesus to have a love for others, which shares their joys and sorrows and leads to actions of love for them. This is to preach the Gospel twenty-four hours a day. If you are on fire with love, the others will feel the heat and in this cold world be attracted to the warmth of Jesus in you. What are your attitudes and actions saying to people?

Father, it was Jesus human love that attracted people. May we manifest your love for others through our human warmth.

God's Word for 9th Week of Ordinary Time

Monday 3 June 2013

Gospel

Mark 12:1-12

Jesus went on to speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

The Acceptable fruit of Your Life

Originally addressed to the chief priests, we can apply this parable to the Church. God demands fruits - justice, humility, simplicity and most of all sincerity in our love and service of one another. Let us apply to our own lives. Your life situation is the vineyard. Everything you have, your life, your family, your community, your work place, your neighbourhood, is the vineyard. God has given it to you on trust. It is not yours. It belongs to God and he demands his share of the vineyard. Are you producing the fruits acceptable to God? First, this is a life free from sin: deception, stealing, sexual immorality, bribery and corruption, oppression of others. Secondly, it is a life of love and responsibility for yourself, your spouse and family, for your community and neighbourhood. Do you fulfil the demands of God made through the Church and the Gospel?

Tuesday 4 June 2013

Gospel

Mark 12:13-17

The chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

Give to God what is God’s

The Pharisees and Herodians were mutual enemies but they come together against Jesus. Their question is highly sensitive in view of the Roman occupation and the hostility of the Jews towards them. Whatever answer Jesus gives, they think, he will meet aggression from either the people or the Romans. Jesus sees through their hypocrisy and their trickery. The coin is Caesar’s, then give it back, he says. He adds; give to God what belongs to God. Everything belongs to God. Through selfishness and sin, men have robbed the earth from him. Injustice, exploitation, poverty, sickness, and suffering of every kind are everywhere. Men have spoiled the earth through pollution. To give to God what is his, is to renew society through love, justice and peace and to preserve the beauty of creation for the next generation. Does renewal begin with you or are you part of the problem?

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Gospel

Mark 12:18-27

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

Life in God’s family

Imagining that the future life is an extension of this one, the Sadducees wanted to make it look ridiculous. Jesus tells them and us that life with God is not like life on earth. He does not specify. It would be foolish to try to imagine it. “No eye has seen. No ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to imagine what things God has prepared for those who love him”(1Cor.2:9l). God, a loving Father like no father on earth, will bring his plan for us to perfection. We will be like his Son in every respect. It will be the family of God. We should prepare for it now by surrendering ourselves to the Father. He will work in us through his Spirit to make us, even now, the images of his Son. Does the image of Jesus shine in you?

Thursday 6 June 2013

Gospel

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.

As You Treat others, so You Treat of God

Christianity has grown out of Judaism. The answer to the scribe’s question is the prayer the Jews said daily. Jesus will bring this to fulfilment. God is one, but he is also three. God is the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From this Triune God we have received everything. In the Spirit, we are recreated. We share the life of God in Jesus. Jesus has brought the second law to fulfilment. Love one another as I have loved you. He puts no limit to how we are to love others. He has identified himself with poorest and the least in the community. ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat, thirsty and you gave me to drink’. Love of God comes first but we can only do this by loving our sister and brother. Do you realise that love of your neighbour is your love of God?

Friday 7 June 2013

Gospel

Luke 15:3-7

Jesus spoke this parable to the scribes and Pharisees:

‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.’

God’s Grief and Your Sin

We have heard this parable many times. However, we must begin to see how precious we are to the Good Shepherd. No shepherd wants to lose any of his sheep. Jesus doesn’t want to lose you either. It is not for any selfish motive but he considers you so highly. He knows what eternal life with God is like. He wants you to enjoy this life, at any cost – to himself. To walk away and sin will not make him angry but profoundly sad. This is because as he said on the Cross, “They do not know what they are doing.” The heart of Jesus like the parable is only an image of the reality, which is that Jesus wants you to enjoy life with God. He values you so much that he would rather die on a Cross, than that you lose life with God. What is your response?

Saturday 8 June 2013

Gospel

Luke 2:41-51

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’  But they did not understand what he meant.

He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart.

Discovering God’s Will in daily Life

We can easily live life on the surface. Life is a round of activities and we do them. Mary and Joseph had been to the feast in Jerusalem. They must have enjoyed it. Then after a day’s journey, they discover that Jesus isn’t with the group. They go back searching for him. Eventually they look in the Temple and there they find him. The boy Jesus is discovering his vocation. He must be in his Father’s house – which is in Jerusalem and not in Nazareth. He is as much as telling Mary and Joseph that he has another life apart from the one with them. Mary doesn’t understand. She ponders and prays. She wants to discover God’s hand and will in everything. This is the way to come to an understanding of the meaning of our life. Do you pray to discover God’s meaning in your life?

God's Word for Holy Trinity Sunday

The Holy Trinity Sunday C

Sunday 26 May 2013

Proverbs:8:22-31. Ps 8:4-9. Rv.2. Rom. 5:1-5. John 16:12-15.

Wisdom ever at play in his presence and delighting to be with the sons of men.

You have made man little less than a god.

The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit

All the Father has is mine. All the Spirit tells you will be taken from what is mine.

Readings at Mass

____________________

First reading

Proverbs 8:22-31

Before the earth was made, Wisdom was conceived.

Thus says the wisdom of God:

“The Lord possessed me, the beginning of his ways,

the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;

From of old I was poured forth,

at the first, before the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no fountains or springs of water;

Before the mountains were settled into place,

before the hills, I was brought forth;

While as yet the earth and fields were not made,

nor the first clods of the world.

“When he established the heavens I was there,

when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;

When he made firm the skies above,

when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;

When he set for the sea its limit,

so that the waters should not transgress his command;

Then was I beside him as his craftsman,

and I was his delight day by day,

Playing before him all the while,

playing on the surface of his earth;

and I found delight in the human race.”

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…All things were made through him and without him was made nothing that was made” (John 1:1). The author personifies wisdom. We can see wisdom as Christ. Christ Jesus is the human expression of God. He is the human face of God. To become one with Christ is share in the wisdom of God.

____________________

Psalm

Psalm 8:4-5,6-7,8-9

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars which you set in place—

What is man that you should be mindful of him,

or the son of man that you should care for him?

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

You have made him little less than the angels,

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him rule over the works of your hands,

putting all things under his feet.

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

All sheep and oxen,

yes, and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,

and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

____________________

Second reading

Romans 5:1-5

To God, through Christ, in love poured out through the Holy Spirit.

Brothers and sisters: Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

God is a family and through faith in Jesus we are invited to join this families as sons along with the Son. This is not a legal fiction. We are born again by the Holy Spirit. By this rebirth we share in the very life of God.

____________________

Gospel Acclamation

see Revelation 1:8

Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;

to God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia, alleluia.

____________________

Gospel

John 16:12-15

Everything that the Father has is mine; the Spirit will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

A loving Dad in heaven

            We have all heard of shamrock and the Trinity, a triangle and the three persons but one God. The mind boggles. If we try to get the Trinity into our heads then it splits. It is like an ant trying to understand you. In fact, that is easy compared to trying to understand God. Then why did Jesus reveal this mystery? It was for our happiness and salvation. Many parents and teachers have unwittingly often caused great harm. Many taught us that God is a God who punishes sinners, that he has put us in a straitjacket with his commandments and forbids us to do the very things we want to, that he always says ‘no’ and throws a wet blanket over everything, almost that he likes to see us suffer and doesn’t seem to bother about our pain and lets the wicked escape. How many have thought, “Anyway he will throw me into hell, I may as well enjoy myself now” Those who reject God, reject a God who does not exist. Those who walk away, walk away from a God they have never met. God is nothing like what even saints imagine.

            No one has ever seen God. The Scriptures say further, no one can see God. As a result, no human being can say anything about God. Whatever they say is as valuable as the description of the elephant given by the six blind men. Only the Son who dwells in the bosom of the Father knows him. Only Jesus can teach about the Father because he is the visible image of the Father. Jesus is the invisible God translated into human form. Look at Jesus and you look at the Father. Listen to Jesus and you listen to God the Father.

            Far from condemning sinners, Jesus welcomed them – the tax collectors, the sinful woman in the house of Simon, the woman taken in adultery, the paralytic, Zachaeus the swindler par excellence, Peter after his threefold denial, and so many others until in his last moment the thief on the cross – the only person guaranteed a place in heaven. He had fellowship with them without preconditions. He simply loved them and hoped that his love would be contagious. In this, he confirmed the Word: God takes delight in forgiving sins.

            Most of all he revealed God as Abba – our heavenly Dad who loves to take his children in his arms and bless them (Hosea11:3). He is Abba who longs for his children to come to him even if they have ruined their lives and hit rock bottom. He embraces them, gives them the best robe and ring, and makes a feast for all the angels and saints.

            What is your image of God? Do you see God as Jesus did or as people speak of him?  How does Jesus speak of his Father?

Father, grant that we may bring you joy by calling you Abba from our hearts.

God's Word for weekdays after the Ascension

Monday 13 May 2013

Gospel

John 16:29-33

Take courage, I have conquered the world.

The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

I am not Alone

The disciples do not realise what trial is about to come upon them. They have confidence in themselves but we need to be dependent on Jesus as he on the Father. At the crucial moment, they will fail their Master and run for their lives. It will not be a cold-blooded failure but they will not have the strength to stand up to the situation. Jesus, on the contrary, lives in union with his Father. He is not alone. His confidence comes from God. There was no peace for Jesus in this world. His life was a war with Satan and now the crucial battle has come. He will face all Satan can do to him without his disciples but not alone. His Father will be with him. By believing in Jesus, we join in this battle against Satan and sin. What kind of peace do you look for?

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Gospel

John 15:9-17

No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

To Love is to give Oneself

Jesus is our religion. Without him, there is no Christian religion. Our religion is to love Jesus and commit ourselves to him. Our religion is to obey Jesus. We do this because of our love for him. Our service is the measure of our faith. God is love and Jesus is God in human form. He is the human expression of God’s love. His desire is that those who believe in him become the human expression of the God’s love. He wants us to love as he does. This is a love that sacrifices for the good of others even to the point of death. We should measure the practice of our Catholic Faith by the love we have for others. The more we show our love for others the closer we grow to Jesus. In this, we become his friends. Do you see your religion like this?

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Gospel

John 17:11-19

That they may be one just as we are one.

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

Christian Unity, the Prayer of Christ

Jesus founded one Church. He wanted it to remain one. His disciples were to be united in fellowship, faith, and worship. In New Testament times, they put fellowship first. Even when there were great disputes about circumcision and following the Law of Moses the first Christians preserved their fellowship. They kept their unity at whatever cost. However, it has not always been that way. Christians are divided into numerous autonomous groups. This is against the will of Jesus as expressed in his parting prayer. It is then sinful. Every Christian must both pray and strive that all believers be one in fellowship, faith and worship. The world has always been hostile to Jesus and Christians must give united witness to their belief in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Are you concerned about the lack of unity among Christians? Do you strive as far as you can to create Christian unity?

Thursday 16 May 2013

Gospel

John 17:20-26

That they may be brought to perfection as one.

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

All to be One in Christ

Jesus prays for all Christians. They should be one body. This unity is not just a unity by agreement, as the unity of the world, but the unity that exists in the Trinity. We are to be one because we all have the same life within us. This is the life of God, which comes to us through the Holy Spirit. If Christians spoke with one voice, prayed with one mind and loved with one heart then their witness to Christ would be irrefutable. Jesus prays that all Christians may share his glory in heaven. Eternal life is to live with Jesus and to live in the indescribable love of God. All the saved will be one in Jesus regardless of their denomination on earth. More important than my denomination is “Do I know, love and serve Jesus wholeheartedly?” Do desire unity by loving and respecting who believe in Jesus?

Friday 17 May 2013

Gospel

John 21:15-19

Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Condition to be a Pastor

At the Last Supper Peter was full of untested self-confidence in his love for Jesus. He said,”I am willing to lay down my life for you”. Sadly, the events of that night proved how little Peter knew himself. Now things are different. Peter loves Jesus but cannot give unqualified commitment. He knows his weakness. Gone is his boasting. Jesus gently gives Peter the opportunity to make up publicly for his threefold denial. He professes his love three times. Three times Jesus appoints him to lead and guide his sheep. The sheep belong to Jesus, not to Peter. Jesus is the shepherd. In his absence, Peter will care for them in his name and in his way: he will give his life for them. Love for Jesus is the condition for being a pastor: more love for Jesus more love for his sheep. How do you pastor the sheep given you?

Saturday 18 May 2013

Gospel

John 21:20-25

This is the disciple who has written these things and his testimony is true.

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?”

It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

The Heart of God in the Heart of a Man

We have come to the end of John’s Gospel. It is the flower of the community founded by the beloved disciple. He was so close to Jesus that he rested on his breast at the Last Supper. The members may have thought he would not die and now had to come to terms with his passing. The beloved disciple has given us deep insights into the heart of God, manifested in Jesus. We have come met a God who does not think of himself but only of us. He is our Shepherd. He knows each of us by name and gives his life for us. He underwent his Passion joyfully that we may have life in abundance. As he died, he handed over his Spirit to us. Is religion for you practices, rules and avoiding sin or knowing and pleasing your God, in Christ, who loves and longs for you?

God's Word for the Feast of the Ascension C

Sunday 12 May 2013

The Feast of the Ascension C

Acts 1:1-11. Psalm 46:2-3. 6-7. 8-9. Rv.6. Ephesians 1:17-23. Luke 24:46-53

You will be my witnesses, indeed to the ends of the earth.

 God is king of all the earth. Sing praise with all your skill

May he enlighten your mind so that so you can see what hope his call holds for you.

Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be preached to all nations.

First reading

Acts 1:1-11

As the Apostles were looking on, Jesus was lifted up.

In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

This is the continuation of Luke’s first book, which is the Gospel. In the Gospel we see how Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit at the Jordan and then began his ministry which culminated in his death and Resurrection. His earthly life and mission have now been completed and he returns to his Father. However, he will not leave the world. He comes to it in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus because the Holy Spirit is the mutual Love of the Father and the Son. He will send the Holy Spirit on his disciples then and throughout the ages and nations. Those who receive him will have the Spirit of Jesus within them and he himself will be multiplied throughout the world. As St. Paul says “I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”. The more we receive the Spirit of Jesus, the more we crucify all evil in us and indeed all our own desires and Jesus works through us.  

Psalm

Psalm 47:2-3,6-7,8-9

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or

Alleluia.

All you peoples, clap your hands,

shout to God with cries of gladness,

for the Lord, the Most High, the awesome,

is the great king over all the earth.

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or

Alleluia.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;

the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.

Sing praise to God, sing praise;

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or

Alleluia.

For king of all the earth is God;

sing hymns of praise.

God reigns over the nations,

God sits upon his holy throne.

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or

Alleluia.

Second reading

Ephesians 1:17-23

God seated Jesus at his right hand in the heavens.

Brothers and sisters: May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

The Holy Spirit within us is the guarantee of the truth of our faith. He gives us the wisdom to see the wonder of the Christian life and the living hope that it extends to us. Through God’s love and mercy we will become like him in divine glory.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 28:19a, 20b

Alleluia, alleluia.

Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;

I am with you always, until the end of the world.

Alleluia, alleluia.

____________________

Gospel

Luke 24:46-53

As he blessed them, he was taken up to heaven.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.

Do you witness?

Jesus came to this world on a mission. The world was in darkness and death the end to an aimless life. Jesus came to reconcile us with God and give us the invitation to become the children of God. He lived among us and was God’s love made visible. He revealed God’s love by healing the sick, forgiving sinners even until his death on the Cross.  His Father rewarded him by raising him to life and seating him on his right hand.

He walked the earth only for a few years but he must give the invitation to everyone throughout the world and throughout the ages. Humiliated and mocked on the Cross he had died offering his life for us. Because of this, God gave him all authority in heaven and on earth. Today we celebrate his return to the Father.

            His mission is by no means finished. He handed it on to his disciples. It is for them to proclaim to the world that he is Lord, reconciles us with God, and offers us the Holy Spirit to become children of God. “You will be my witnesses even to the ends of the earth.” This is the mission of all his disciples down through the ages until the end of time.

            As witnesses, his disciples will proclaim what they have seen and experienced. The disciples had spent time with Jesus, eaten, and drunk with him after his Resurrection. In the same way, if we are to be his witnesses we too must experience him in our lives. We must know him personally. Without experiencing his goodness and compassion, we will never be able to witness. Is the reason why so many do not witness to Jesus because they do not know him, but only know about him?

After his Ascension, the disciples returned to Jerusalem in great joy. They were full of enthusiasm to receive the Spirit and begin the mission. The Ascension tells us that we are all to be witnesses.

“Do not leave Jerusalem till you have received power” .We need to be anointed by the Holy Spirit as the disciples were on Pentecost day. Only Spirit filled people can witness to the world. Pentecost is for everyone.

             For too long we have experienced an attitude of dependency and immaturity in the Church whereby we have left everything to the hierarchy and to the priests. The Church has suffered and still suffers from this clericalism. The faithful have not been encouraged to use the manifold gifts of the Spirit. Now is the time for all members of the Church to carry the responsibility of witnessing to Jesus as Lord. The gifts bestowed on the laity for mission should be given free rein to bring the Gospel to the world and the world to Christ.

How can you witness to Jesus?

Father, may we not just look up to heaven but go forth to bring light to the world by our lives.