Weekly Reflection

III Sunday in Ordinary Time (“B”) – January 21, 2018

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Lots of motives and events influence people who switch their path in life for a new one. In today’s Gospel we hear of our fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James and John – who dropped their fishing nets when Jesus called them to follow Him. They left behind their daily routine as the Sea of Galilee as soon as they heard the call to a new life. God has a way of showing up in the ordinary places and interrupting the daily routines. This was also the experience of Jonah in today’s first reading, who was sent on a mission by God to the city of Niniveh. When these men accepted the invitation, their lives were different for ever. God’s call led them into uncertain but inspirational future.

Whatever your life is, however you spend your time, whatever circumstances affect normal living, there is in that life Jesus’ call to “Follow me”. It is a call to participate in God’s saving work and the building up of the kingdom of God. That work is always about moving to a larger vision, orienting life in a new direction and experiencing that our own story of life is connected to a much larger story of life, God’s life. It happens in context of our everyday activities: work, school, families, paying the bills, running errands, fixing dinner, relationships and trying to do the right thing. The call to follow Jesus is the call to discipleship. It was not an easy then and it will not be easy now. Christian discipleship is the commitment to live a Gospel life, a marginal life in this place, at this time, whatever the cost. True discipleship means being a witness for justice and peace even in situations of injustice or war. We choose our careers and jobs hoping that we can use the gifts and talents God has given us. What might God be asking you to leave behind? What is standing in the way of you following Jesus today? Christ is calling you. How will you respond?

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Baptism of the Lord (“B”) – January 7, 2018

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The journey to sainthood begins with baptism. When we begin our prayers, we recall our baptism by making the sign of the cross. When we enter a church, we remember our baptism by dipping our fingers in the holy water and blessing ourselves. God’s grace begins to strengthen us in a new way from this time onwards.

Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism, so baptism for each and every person is the gateway to life in the Spirit. We rejoice that we are the beloved of the Lord. Each of us shares in this wonderful title and wears the white garment of baptism. Baptism with water marks our birth into the Church as members of the body of Christ. We become adopted sons and daughters of God whose favor rests upon us. Baptism is also the beginning of the entry into eternal life. On the last day, we will find happiness in the presence of God and every tear will be wiped away to those who deserve it.

At the beginning of this year, it would be good to find out more about our baptism… This year offers a new opportunity to deepen life in the Holy Spirit by becoming more attentive to God’s word in prayer. You can focusing on the Sunday readings and allowing them into your hearts. What would happen if you looked at the Bible as many times as you check for new messages, emails or postings on social media? God desires to speak unto your heart. Are you ready to listen?

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Fourth Sunday of Advent (“B”) – December 24, 2017

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The Jewish people were deeply imbued with the story of their ancestors and lived in hope that God would redeem them from past failures. The long-awaited Messiah is announced and St. Luke is concerned that we make the necessary connections, and see that this is God’s plan, so long foretold by the prophets, coming to fulfillment. Isaiah prophesied that a “virgin would be with child”: Mary is that virgin. Joseph, the one to whom she is betrothed, is of the House of David.

As we approach the celebration of the great feast of Christmas, once again the Church is inviting us to think about our heritage. Like the Jewish people of old, Christians are generally very conscious of the chequered history of the pas 2000 years. It is the story of saints and sinners, struggling with the complexities of life in every age. Like the people of the Old Testament, we may often be tempted to imagine that God has abandoned us. We are part of the new inheritance, invited to be brothers and sisters of Jesus and therefore heirs to the kingdom of God. The message announced to Mary is proclaimed again this Christmas and we are to be its heralds.

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Second Sunday of Advent (“B”) – December 10, 2017

From the Pastor /

In today’s first reading, we hear of a plan to improve journey times – though here the prophet Isaiah is encouraging the people to construct a speedy route along which God’s very self can travel. And this “building project” is intended not to take the frustration out of life or improve the economic situation, but to set God’s people free after years of living in the misery of exile. Isaiah announces that the time of suffering and captivity is over: the Lord is coming and the people need to prepare a straight highway for God across the desert, a way for the Lord through the wilderness of their exile. So obstacles need to be removed, valleys filled in and hills flattened, to hasten the Lord’s coming. Then God will lead the people home – like a shepherd leading the flock and tenderly carrying the lambs in His arms.

It is with this vivid image that St. Mark chooses to begin his Gospel and to describe the coming of Jesus, God’s Son and anointed one. Isaiah’s ancient prophecy is being fulfilled in a new way: one more powerful than John the Baptist is coming to lead God’s people home, to set them free from tyranny of sin to live in the homeland of God’s kingdom, which, Jesus proclaims, is breaking into the world. Symbolically, St. John goes out into the wilderness to call the people to prepare for this momentous arrival.

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First Sunday of Advent (“B”) – December 3, 2017

From the Pastor /

In today’s first reading Isaiah bemoans the way the Lord has seemingly abandoned the people as they have distanced themselves from God through their waywardness. Since returning from exile, the people had a tough time and, forgetting God’s kindness to them, have reverted to pagan practices.

Jesus in the Gospel speaks of the need to be prepared for God’s coming. Referring specifically to His second coming, Jesus urges hearers to be attentive and vigilant. In effect we’re called to remind ourselves not to allow the divine potter to take His hands off us. Staying awake spiritually is to ensure we remain on the potter’s wheel, a place of safety. We can hear the words of St. Paul encouraging us in this venture, as he reminds us that the Lord will keep us steady and blameless until the last day, if we just let the Lord hold on us.

As we begin our Advent season, the readings are an encouragement to us, even if they may seem quite stark. We are called to remember that God respects the choices we make and so, if we choose to distance ourselves from God, it becomes harder to hear God’s voice. Advent is a wake-up call to bring us from potential slubmer to a new alertness of the immediacy of God’s presence. God is never distant from us. It’s just that sometimes we don’t allow God’s closeness to be apparent to us. Advent can bring us back on track. What is certain, though, as we consider our readiness for Christ’s second coming and prepare to celebrate His incarnation, is that God will never abandon us.

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Thirty First Sunday (“A”) – November 5, 2017

From the Pastor /

In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks to us about the failings of the scribes and Pharisees, the leaders of His time. What He has to say is valid for all time and for all in authority. Government and authority are worthy of our respect and cooperation, but we need to be awake to the weaknesses of human nature. People in power can become uncaring of others, especially of those who are poor, and people in power can become addicted to the advantages and privileges that come with the job. What is true of those in public office is also true of ourselves in our own little areas of power. How often people in the workplace can become rigid and rude in dealing with fellow workers. And the same can all too easily become true within the Church too, in the relationship between clergy and people. It is easy for individuals to become dictators in their own backyard. Jesus gives emphasis to not bossing others. We are to be servants of one another. “At your service” is a great motto and a great attitude to have in life.

See the conversation between Jesus and the woman at Jacob’s well. How carefully Jesus listens. How little He interrupts. How much He allows the woman to say who she is. How Jesus takes His time with this woman in order that they may both understand one another. Differences of view and differences of opinion are not a problem. No one is trying to force their view onto the other. No one is trying to dominate or to win an argument. It is matter of finding the way to the truth that both can share. Too often we interrupt and shout down the voice of others because we fear their views will clash or destroy our own. It is about a particular philosophy or social theory that we can agree or disagree about. The Gospel is a message from the living God. It is a challenge to us every day of our lives. The challenge for us is to practice what is taught to us by the Lord. It is a living power that will purify our hearts and heal our relationships with one another – if we allow it to enter our head and our heart.

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Thirtieth Sunday (“A”) – October 29, 2017

From the Pastor /

Moses recognized the tendency of some people to forget their own origins and to protect their newly gained prosperity. He reminds the people that they were a refugee people themselves and slaves in Egypt. As God had responded to their cries of distress, so God will continue to hear the cry of those who are poor and punish those who oppress them. The prophets remind the people again and again of the demands of the Law: that the love of God and neighbor are at the heart of all their religious observances, and that God has chosen Israel to be a light to the nations, so that the witness of their lives would help the whole of humanity to come to the knowledge of God’s saving love. St. Paul commands the Thessalonian community for the way in which they have faithfully followed the Gospel life he had taught them. They have done this so well that they have become an example for everyone, not only the neighboring communities. This, surely, is the way that evangelisation is meant to work, by the witness of transformed lives. The secret lies in the greatest commandment of the Law as spelt out by Jesus: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”; and “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

When the Christian community responds with prayer and practical help to the crises of our times, then it will truly be a light for all nations to see. We will be teaching the Gospel by the example of our lives and building the new creation.

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Twenty-Ninth Sunday (“A”) – October 22, 2017

From the Pastor /

Jesus lived the whole life in an occupied country. The Romans were probably not such an immediate presence in Galilee, leaving its control to their puppet king Herod Antipas, but their presence in Jerusalem was much more evident, their garrison being attached to the Temple Mount, much to the chagrin of the Jews. The question put to Jesus by the Pharisees, who were no lovers of the Romans, was devious. If Jesus says the Roman taxes should be paid, He can be accused of being traitor to His country. If they should not be paid, He can be accused of being a rebel and handed over to the Roman authorities.

Our identity is intimately bound up with God. The first element in our identity is being male and female. God hands over to us the stewardship of the world and asks us to carry out that stewardship as creatively as God has demonstrated himself. God is creator and sustainer, God is healer and inspirer. God loves this world and loves us. Our challenge is to discover whether we can love in the same way as God loves.

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Twenty Sixth Sunday (“A”) – October 1, 2017

Frackville, From the Pastor /

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking to the chief priests and the elders of the people. His words are somewhat alarming and challenging, especially to anyone who claims religious faith. Jesus gives them a scenario and leaves them to find the appropriate answers. Both sons in today’s parable answer their father: one chooses not to tell the truth, saying he will go to work, and in fact does not; while the other son tells the truth, that he doesn’t want to go, but afterwords changes his mind, and goes and does the work that his father has asked of him. Jesus goes on to tell people that when John the Baptist came among them, as an example and model of “true righteousness”, they, the people of religion and holy talk, did not believe him. At the same time, however, the tax collectors and the prostitutes were making their way into the kingdom of God before them. It is not difficult to imagine the reaction to Jesus’ words among these people. It surely would not be difficult, too, for us to try to imagine our reaction to the words of Jesus if they were addressed to us. Do we consider ourselves to be respectable religious people, or do we know ourselves to be sinners, just as much as “the tax collectors and prostitutes” of whom Jesus speaks? Everything depends on how we see ourselves, and on how we see and judge others.

In our parishes Sunday after Sunday we can allow ourselves to be fooled into thinking that we are the good and holy people, while the many poor souls who never darken the door of a church are the castaways of God, outside God’s love. This is exactly what Jesus was dealing with in His own day. We can learn from this Gospel passage and put away any superciliousness that may accompany us on our way to church. There is no reason for us to become self-righteousness with regard to our religion and our God. St. Paul tells us that, even though Jesus was in the form of God, He emptied himself. We are to do the same, empty ourselves and allow God to fill us. In so doing, we will not be shocked that tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God before us; rather we will rejoice.

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Twenty Fifth Sunday (“A”) – September 24, 2017

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Immediately prior to the Gospel we have heard today, Jesus tells Peter, in response to the encounter with the rich young man, that “the first will be last, and the last, first”. Peter has asked the question, “What about us? We have left everything and followed Your.”In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus attempts to drive home the message that all will be treated equally by God. Jesus gives an unflinching teaching on the generosity of God, whose ways are not our ways. In the parable, the men who have been employed for the day line up to receive their wages. One would expect that those who have worked longer hours would receive more than those who have worked less. This seems to be a fair way of doing business. The landowner, representing God, gives the same to the last as to the first, and stresses that those employed at the beginning of the day have no reason to be envious. After all, their payment has been agreed. This surely is justice. A. agreement has been made and the landowner is then entitled to do what he sees fit with anyone else. The landowner, from the start, has been good to the workers he hired at the beginning of the day. To those hired later, he says he will give a “fair wage”. The landowner is true to his word and gives them plenty. The message here is that God will look after all of us in the same way. We will all be provided for generously.

Reflecting on the parable of the workers in the vineyard, it’s easy to imagine anger being sparked in the minds of those employed at the beginning of the day. There are times in life when we will meet situations where there seems to have been injustice and our reaction may be the same, anger. We have to be clear, though, that there is no injustice in today’s parable. An agreement had been made. It just demonstrates that God is entitled to reveal God’s merciful face whenever and wherever God wishes. In parishes, we all have different experiences of coming to, or deepening in, faith. Sometimes it may be that a new member of the Christian community is suddenly getting involved in lots of different ministries. The whispering begins: “Who does she think she is? She’s only been here 5 minutes.” This is dangerous territory. Today we are invited to reflect on how God chooses to reveal mercy and love according to God’s own plan. God’s love is free and offered to all. We all come to know this at different times. A heart open to this beautiful truth will surely rejoice in both early and late comers.

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