Weekly Reflection

Jesus is not requiring us all to go home and hate our families. He is calling His disciples to something quite radical. This is a passage that speaks of the great cost of discipleship, the cost of remaining close to Jesus. The difficult, costly thing is that this is loving in God’s way, and not only in the ordinary ways that make life secure and happier for ourselves.

All this means that to be Jesus’ friend and follower, we are called to live lives of loving others. This is costly: ultimately it costs our lives, which is why we cannot “love” our ambitions, plans, investments and so forth, as if they were the real things of living. What Jesus teaches, and what we see reflected in the lives of saints like Therese, is a way of loving that calls us beyond these things, a sharing in the Wisdom of God, who sees things differently from our world. This is one of the reasons the Church encourages us to “give” up things – through fasting and almsgiving, through the dedicating of time to prayer and care of people in need. Jesus promises, it is in this giving away of ourselves that we will draw close to Him, and discover a new way of living and loving. In such a culture we cling to what we possess, with a kind of love and, often, a kind of selfishness. Inspired by today’s readings, let us pray to be able to lift our eyes to look beyond our own concerns and learn to pay the cost of discipleship – the cost of a love beyond our own needs and wants.

Jesus seems to be concentrating on the positive side of the honor code of society in His time. In Mediterranean societies of Jesus’ day public shame and public honor were of very great importance. His advice seems to be about how not to be shamed in public, and how to be wise enough so that you are more likely to be honored. Don’t sit in the top seat in case you’re moved down, but do sit in the lower place so that you have the chance of being moved up. There is a certain practical wisdom being deployed. However, Jesus is surely saying much more than that. Heaven is often compared in the scriptures to a wedding banquet, so we can assume Jesus is using this imagery here. The context is one of eternal salvation. So in the case of getting to the heavenly banquet, do not presume that you are worthy and better than everyone else. Presumption, St. Thomas Aquinas says, comes from pursuing something beyond our powers. Authentic humility is necessary because without it we can never benefit from God’s grace. If we think we are self-sufficient, God will respect that, but we will never be able to enjoy the banquet of eternal life. Presumption is better than despair, better than false humility, but all should be avoided in favor of genuine humility.

So how we are to be invited to the great wedding banquet of eternal life? First of all we are called to realize that there is absolutely nothing we can do to deserve, earn or buy an invitation. The invitation is an entirely free gift of God. That is the first reason why we should not presume to think we should even be there, let alone sit at the top place. Secondly, the invitation we have been given is always available through the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. How do we respond to the invitation? We can do so by participating in the sacraments. Through the sacrament of penance we show the necessary and fitting humility to accept the invitation. Then the Eucharist is the great feast in this world which anticipates the heavenly banquet. In the Holy Mass, Jesus is the lamb of sacrifice, the high priest and the bread of life. In the whole sacramental system, we have a new way of conducting human affairs – it is the renewal from within of our human interaction, with the added benefit that is also helps us interact with and be more closely united to God.

All of us find times in our lives when we need the help of others. It is no different with the life of faith, except that in every moment of that life we need the help of Jesus Christ. The narrow door of our salvation is the help that God sends to each one of us in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The life of a Christian is one that centers upon Jesus Christ and the help He sends to us.

Through sharing in the life of the Church we receive the help we need to find healing and begin our journey to the kingdom of God. On this journey we are transformed, so that we, as instruments of grace, become the means through which Christ’s healing and transforming presence is given to others. This journey will not be easy, as we will need to face our own frailty and the sickness of this world. Yet we don’t do this alone, but through the help of Jesus Christ and those He sends to aid us in our struggles.

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus tell His followers that He has “come to bring fire to the earth”. He describes the divisions that will happen even within close-knit families. Jesus presents the inevitability of discussion that may or may not lead to actual conflict. What He is not doing is to offer disagreement as automatically causing the breakdown of family life. In speaking of religious belief, Jesus refers to something that touches the deepest part of a person’s soul: the person’s relationship with God. If our understanding of God were not so important, were only a trivial matter, it would never be divisive.

A proverb declares that, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.” Few of us will make much impact on the world on the world stage. However, in recent years, huge strides have been made in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. We are unlikely to see full Christian unity within our own lifetime, but “unity” doesn’t necessarily mean believing the same things: it does mean working together in peace. Little by little, our efforts to speak to each other are making a world of difference.

The universal longing for a safe and permanent homeland is one that finds an echo in all of our readings today. The letter to the Hebrews speaks of the faith of Abraham and Sarah as they leave their old home and place their trust in God’s promises of a new homeland. The book of Wisdom recalls the night of the first Passover, when the oppressed people of Israel were liberated by God from slavery in a foreign land so that they could make their long journey to their homeland. The people need courage for their journey and they stand in solidarity with each other… In the Gospel Jesus tells His “little flock” not to be afraid – the Father has already given them the kingdom. They have a homeland awaiting them. But there is a note of caution struck: the people have to be ready, prepared, actively about their master’s business, living faithfully according to His commands, if they are to be ready to greet the master when He returns.

That longing for a homeland lies deep within each of us. Jesus promises that the Father has prepared the kingdom for us. But He tells us to be prepared. How do we do that? Jesus warns us that we have been entrusted by God with tasks and responsibilities – and that if in the meantime we start to act selfishly, greedily or violently, then we will be denied entry to the promised land. The first reading speaks of the people sharing the dangers together. It is the solidarity of knowing that we have one common Father – that we feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are naked, visit those who are sick and welcome those who are strangers, then we are storing treasure for ourselves in heaven and are on the right path to the kingdom. Are we journeying on the way to the kingdom, or will we be denied entry? To answer that, we can simply look at our lives to see if we are traveling alone or in genuine fellowship with others, living for ourselves or leading a life of service, building up fences or creating community. Such solidarity is all the preparation we need to make for our homecoming.

In today’s Gospel, two brothers are seen arguing over money and inheritance. Jesus hears the request but is very clear that He has no intention of getting involved in a family argument. It is not His place to go round dispensing justice in the lives of others. Jesus doesn’t miss the opportunity to tell brothers, and everyone else who cares to listen, that big issue here is not who gets what, but how important it is to persevere the security of life that comes from loving one another. Security of life is a spiritual reality that unfolds us when we are enfolded in love by family and friends, and when we learn to allow ourselves to be embraced by the love of God. Money does not do it. To bring some truth, Jesus tells a story in which the only people to feature are a rich farmer and God. It is a lonely story. The farmer has a big problem. “How do I keep all this wealth for myself? Build a larger barn and store it all, and sit back and pour yourself a glass! No problem.” This man only talks to himself and only listens to himself. Death comes and you must leave it all behind.

Greed of any kind will kill us. Greed does not want to know about anybody else. Greed fouls up friendship and causes family lives to fester. Wanting everything for yourself and wanting your own way in everything is the high road to misery. “Securing our country’s future” is a frequently heard political value, and everyone wants to feel secure. It is a natural desire. What of the vital importance of being able to meet another and to talk to another and to persevere in preserving all our relationships – whether internationally, or nationally, or in our family and community life? Jesus clearly states that our security is not achieved by what we have, or what we posses; this is true whether it means riches or a wealth of fire power. Our security is maintained by the kind of people we are and try to be. Strip off your old self and your old behavior, St. Paul says us today. Put on Christ. And if you want to be rich, be rich in God.

Jesus says to His disciples: “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” We serve a generous and merciful Father. Today’s first reading is dramatic. God loses patience with a sinful city, and is about to obliterate it, wipe it off the face of the earth. But then Abraham comes along and pleads with God. The whole point of the passage is the power of prayer. A good person storming heaven with prayers works wonders. In the book of Exodus, Moses fulfills the same role. The Israelites in the desert are not true to God, they worship false gods, they stop trusting the true God and complain about the lack of food and water. Moses’ main job, once he has escaped the clutches of the Egyptians, is to intercede with God for his unruly mob of followers. He becomes a professional man of prayer. Again and again he softens the heart of God, until he has brought his quarrelsome tribes to the verge of the promised land. Prayer works, is the message. It works, because God cares.

It works, but in a context of love and trust. Abraham and Moses were loving sons of the Father, they treated him with profound respect, they were prepared to be patient. When Jesus talks to His friends about prayer, He is presuming that we too respect and cherish God as our Father, that we trust His judgment. If you know a family where children rudely demand expensive presents, and shout and scream if they are frustrated, you may think to yourself, “I hope the parents don’t cave in, I hope they stand firm.” Willful infants can treat their parents like vending machines: insert the demand, receive the goods. God the Father is not about to be treated like that: after all, we already owe Him so much. What He wants of me is my heart, my confidence, my patience. My relationship with Him is far more valuable than the gifts He might give me. To Him we can say, in the words of psalm: “You stretch Your hand and save me, Your hand will do all things for me.”

Hospitality – opening our homes, and sharing our food with others – is a basic, practical, bodily doing of love. For Abraham and Sarah their hospitality to the mysterious visitors marks a turning point in their lives, as the gift of the child they thought they’d never have is promised. For Martha, however, the great gift of receiving Jesus into her home has a different kind of blessing – one of a challenge. The challenge comes from Jesus himself. He suggests that Martha is fussing about too many things. What are we to make of this challenge to Martha’s hospitable instincts and hard work? When we cook for guests, when we welcome people into our homes and share a bit of our lives with them, it is an act of practical loving not a performance of our own expertise. A simpler meal offered with care, which leaves room for the conversations of friendship, is more enabling of the doing of love than the extravagant feast that leaves some people exhausted and resentful, and can actually get in the way of real personal sharing.

Our world today is one where hospitality is a practice of love that is much needed. We are not called to grand gestures or lavish actions that we can take some pride in as the giver or the brilliant host. Rather, our giving is always, like Mary’s, to be centered on meeting the person whom we welcome. We need to learn to sit still with those we are called to care for, and listen to them know they are heard. In the week ahead let’s recognize the moments of hospitality that are opened up to us: buying a coffee for a workmate – and then spending some time chatting over it with them; inviting someone new to our homes – and getting to know them better; giving some food or money to the rough sleeper – and stopping to talk and listening to his or her story. If our generosity keeps the love of that person central, these moments of generosity will surely also be moments of meeting God.

As a child we are told that we lack musical talent, or that we are a liability to a sports team. It is true that not all of us will be great musicians or talented at sport, but with the right encouragement, training and opportunities it is amazing how far we can progress. In all these cases we exclude others from being part of our world and seek to build a world only for those whom we judge to be of worth. The kingdom Jesus Christ builds is one in which all are welcomed, and in welcoming others we grow in our humanity.

Jesus challenges us to examine our own attitudes towards others. In the parable of the good Samaritan He presents us with two ways of living. The first is that chosen by the priest and the Levite who pass by on the other side of the road to avoid the beaten man lying there. Jesus doesn’t tell us why they pass the man by. The shock to Jesus’ audience is increased when they hear that it is a Samaritan who comes to the aid of the man. It is the Samaritan who chooses the path of compassion, the path that leads to eternal life. The Samaritan sees a human being, someone who is like him, and he responds in compassion. In our lives do we look on others as threats, as obstacles to avoid, or do we look upon them as neighbors? The first path leads to a society in which pride and fear are the ruling forces, whereas the path chosen by the Samaritan is one in which humility and love rule. This is a challenge for each of us individually, but also for us collectively as a society.

In the parable of the good Samaritan Jesus Challenges us to examine our own hearts and to see how we are living according to God’s laws. Who is my neighbor? Those we know in our communities are most obviously neighbors to us, but do we always see them as human beings? Have we come to see them as obstacles to our own happiness? In opening our hearts to others, each of us battles against pride and fear. No one is beyond God’s love, and when we allow that love to enter our lives He will open our hearts to love others. This is why all our efforts to love our neighbor must start with prayer, in which we turn to God, knowing that without God’s healing love all our efforts will be in vain. God has loved us and accepted us, so that we can love and accept others.

At this time of year, many of us are likely to be looking forward to holidays. Some of us leave everything to the last minute, of course, resulting in a frantic dash, trying to remember where everything is: tickets, passports and so on. Whatever one’s view of when and how to prepare for a journey, in today’s world adequate preparation for travel is a necessity rather than an option.

It is surprising therefore, when we read in the Gospels that Jesus not only sent out disciples in a state that we could describe as unprepared, but He expressly forbade them to make adequate preparation. Today Jesus appoints 72 others – not numbered among the 12 – and sends them out in pairs to places that He himself will visit. If they meet with hostility they are to move on, first wiping from their feet the very dust of that town. Shaking the dust from their feet was a sign of rejecting anything unclean before entering God’s land. This journey is not a holiday. Disciples must not delay the start of the journey preparation, and they must not worry about what to take. They are embarking on God’s work as Jesus’ emissaries: God will provide them with everything they need.

Today’s Gospel may seem remote from our world, yet on reflection we may see that despite the peculiarities of Jesus’ instructions, they are timeless. As disciples, we are called to reflect on our own eagerness to proclaim the kingdom of God to those around us. Our hesitations, faults and failings can be barriers to the announcements that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Likewise, we can always find excuses to think we can’t be the bearers of the God News. Yet, our lives, if they are Gospel-based, are automatically proclamations of the kingdom. We don’t need passports, tickets, luggage and currency to be disciples: we do, however can take the Good News of Jesus himself.