THE LAST WILL BE FIRST

 "The last will be first......."      This statement is the closing line of one of Jesus’ most radical, challenging parables.

We are all more or less acquainted with the saying “the last will be first, and the first will be last.” We might not be that well acquainted, though, with the context the phrase originally belongs to: that of the landowner who hires day laborers at four different times in the course of the same day, and then pays them all the same amount of money, regardless of how long or how briefly they had worked.Those who worked a full day received the pay they had agreed to receive. But even though they were not cheated in any way (they got their money, that’s for sure), they were nevertheless unhappy that those who were hired later in the day received the very same pay they got for a full day of work.

Something in the landowner’s behavior might strike us as unfair. Is Jesus here praising arbitrariness? Well, not at all. He is pointing at something entirely different and, to a certain extent, unexpected.

As always, one needs to consider the context: this parable comes in the Gospel of Matthew right after the young rich man turned away from Jesus, unable to give up on his wealth. As soon as this happens, Jesus’ disciples asked him what reward they would have in heaven since, unlike the rich young man, they had already given up everything to follow him. Here, the apostles might be somehow boasting, becoming a bit complacent with themselves: “Ha! See? He was not able to give it all up, like we did!”

Sure, a very straightforward way to understand this parable would be taking it as a reminder that one’s prestige or wealth are not easily and directly translatable into heavenly rank, even if you are an apostle. In fact, it might be quite the opposite: “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31–32).

But an even more radical reading of it would understand this parable as a reminder of God’s grace. Grace is indeed a gift, freely given by God, and freely received by whomever wants to receive it. What Jesus is pointing at is that salvation is not a matter of “deserving.”

In the parable, laborers are not earning their money based on how long they worked. So what is the landowner paying them for? Even if invited to work at different times throughout the day, they all have one thing in common: they all accepted the invitation. It is not their work what is being rewarded: is their acceptance of the invitation in the first place. The parable is, in the end, an invitation to stop comparing oneself to others, and to simply and gratefully accept the infinite gifts of God.

Since you are here…

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY Year "C"

For the Curious and Complacent

21^st. Sunday Year “C”

Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” It’s a fair question, and not unimportant to our faith. It touches on divine justice and mercy, on eternity and evangelization, on grace and merit. Unfortunately, our Lord doesn’t seem to give a direct answer. Neither a Yes nor No, nor any statistics on Heaven and Hell. Instead, He gives an exhortation and tells a parable.

Of course, He is not avoiding the question. Our Lord’s response indicates that, contrary to popular opinion, salvation will be – at the very least – difficult. Thus the exhortation to strive to enter through the narrow gate. But more to the point, He addresses two problems that typically surface in discussions about Heaven’s population: curiosity and complacency. The directness of His reply addresses curiosity. Its content addresses complacency.

Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Notice that in response our Lord addresses – in fact, commands – the questioner directly: Strive to enter through the narrow gate. This blunt response (not actually an answer) indicates that the man’s concerns needed to be redirected. It reveals a certain smugness about the man’s question. He is curious about Heaven’s statistics, but less concerned about his own salvation. Of course, he should not ask about others as much as about himself. His question should not be a hypothetical one about others, but a personal one about himself: What must I do to be saved?

It is this unasked question that our Lord answers: Strive to enter through the narrow gate. In effect, You, stop occupying yourself with questions about others. . . . Consider your own situation and what you need to change to attain Heaven. Jesus’ response resembles His exchange with Peter at the Sea of Tiberius. (Jn. 21:20-23) Peter sees John and asks, Lord, what about him? Our Lord responds, What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.

What concern is it of yours? You follow me. It is good to be concerned about the salvation of others and likewise about the theology of salvation. But when that concern distracts us from our own salvation and need for conversion – as it seems to have done to the questioner in this passage – then it becomes a distraction, a vain curiosity.

But we like that distraction. To consider our own salvation is a difficult, daunting thing. It’s so much easier to speculate about others. So rather than looking to our own salvation, we consider salvation in the abstract or wonder about the fate of our neighbours. To break us of this vain curiosity, our Lord addresses us directly: Strive to enter through the narrow gate.

Second, the content of our Lord’s response seeks to shock the questioner – and us – out of complacency. Strive to enter through the narrow gate. The Greek for strive is “agonizesthe,” from which we have agony. A literal translation would be agonize to enter the narrow gate. Heaven is not easily entered. God’s grace does not bear fruit in our lives unless we strive – agonize– to cooperate with it. It requires that we daily put to death the rebellious man within us and clear out room for grace to work. We cannot sit back, relax, do nothing – and then expect to enter Heaven. There’s no such thing as coasting upwards.

In contrast, our Lord’s parable tells the fate of those who do not strive. They know the Master of the house, but only in passing and superficially. He was among them, drinking in their company and teaching in their streets. But He did not know them because they never bothered to acquaint themselves with Him. They were near Him and around Him, perhaps in the crowds that followed Him. But they never took the time to know Him directly and personally.

Ironically, this complacency threatens those who already believe. That is why our Lord addresses His entire lesson not to unbelievers but to those who follow Him, to those who feel comfortable enough to cry out, Lord, open the door for us. It is a caution to those who feel so comfortable in the Church that they may for that very reason become lazy and too casual about divine things. Indeed, we can know about our Lord – the stories, teachings, parables, miracles, etc. – without ever actually knowing Him.

Complacency is the point at which the routine becomes rote. Somehow, somewhere along the way, what began as the shaping of our lives around the faith becomes the shaping of the faith around our lives. We continue with our prayers, devotional practices, Mass, etc. But the situation has changed. The faith remains a part of our lives; it just ceases to determine our lives.

Strive. That one word captures what must be a constant in the Catholic life: a striving to subject every part of our lives to His gentle yoke; an agonizing to be freed from whatever keeps us from Him in the slightest; a toiling to grow in His likeness.

KNOCK APPARITION ANNIVERSARY HOMILY

Homily of Archbishop Michael Neary at Mass to Mark 140th anniversary of Knock Apparition

Anxiety in a Consumerist Culture

AUGUST 23, 2019 17:00ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL NEARYMARY AND MARIOLOGY

Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam and custodian of the Marian Shrine delivered the homily below in Knock on August 21, 2019, at Mass in Our Lady’s Basilica, Knock, Co Mayo, as part of the Annual Novena and the 140th anniversary of the Apparition on 21 August 1879.  Among the concelebrants, yesterday afternoon were the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Jude Thaddeus Okolo, and the Bishop-elect of Clonfert, Father Michael Duignan.

During yesterday afternoon’s Mass, to celebrate this significant anniversary, Archbishop Neary commissioned a new Processional Statue of Our Lady of Knock.  This statue was blessed by Pope Francis in Rome.

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Message of the Knock Apparition, then and now

Anxiety in a Consumerist Culture

Anxiety about the future is pervasive and in many cases debilitating.  There is deep concern about family life, about drug and alcohol abuse, about character and responsibility.  For many, material success and personal fulfillment have become the goal and purpose of human life.  Yet parents are deeply concerned about raising their children.  There are so many voices other than parents, from outside the home and indeed from internet and social media within the home that are clambering for attention and are very contradictory of the voices and the authority of parents.  This is the situation in which we live today.  It is complex, confusing and challenging.  The consumerist world in which we live is governed by money, power, and possessions.  There is nevertheless a genuine spiritual hunger in our world.  At the heart of our Christian faith is the conviction that the human spirit is not satisfied with anything short of God.

Loss of Our Identity

In our contemporary situation we are tempted to become totally inculturated in the present, thereby losing our sense of identity as followers of Jesus Christ, overlooking the importance of memory, abandoning hope and placing all the emphasis on the here and now.  We are in a season of transition, as we watch the collapse of the world as we have known it in its political forms and economic realities of the past which are becoming increasingly ineffective. It has been said by many critics of religion that the problem of our time is not atheism but idolatry. It is not that we are non-believers but that our beliefs are assigned to unworthy and unworkable objects.  Today in a variety of ways the State wants to reshape our values, our fears, and dreams in ways that are fundamentally opposed to the Gospel.  At the time of the apparition, our people were confronted with problems of poverty, eviction, confusion and lack of hope.  Today we endeavor to cope with the challenges which may differ from but have many similarities with the issues which confronted our ancestors.

The Knock Apparition – Troubled Times

We are very conscious of the hardships which Knock and the surrounding area had endured during and after the Famine and its consequences, starvation, death, dejection, and emigration.  The situation, in fact, was much more complex.  The plight of families was so serious that many were unable to pay their rents and faced eviction.  On the 20th April 1879, four months prior to the apparition at Knock a monster meeting was held a few miles south-west of Knock in Ballindine.  Twenty thousand people gathered.  There were agitation and anger in the air.  All of this came after three poor harvests in succession with dire consequences for the families.  Two months after the apparition, on 21st October the Land League was founded in Castlebar.  It was a tense, turbulent time of deep social unrest.  Starvation, death, dejection, eviction, and emigration stalked the land.

Knock itself was an unknown and relatively unimportant village in the West of Ireland.  Similarly, Nazareth, where Jesus spent most of his life, was a relatively unknown town or village in Israel.  It was never mentioned in the Old Testament.  Does this say something about the way in which God intervenes in human affairs and history?  In 1879 the Apparition had a special message for the people of the time.  One hundred and forty years later it has a very relevant message for us today.  Knock would never be the same again after the Apparition.  While the shrine is recognized as a Marian Shrine because of Mary’s appearance, nevertheless, central to the Apparition is the altar, the Lamb and the cross.  This points unmistakably to the Eucharist and the Mass.

The Cry of the People for Help

In the Book of Exodus when the people of God are suffering at the hands of their Egyptian masters, God intervenes and acknowledges that he has heard their cry and is intervening to respond. At the time of the Apparition, the Lord has acknowledged and heard the cry of the people as they coped with adversity of different kinds.  The Mass was very much part of the peoples’ faith. From the mid-17th century, mass-rocks dotted the Irish countryside during the Penal times.  People had gathered in rather dangerous circumstances to worship the Lord.  In the Apparition, the altar, the Lamb of God and the Cross at the center of the scene illustrated the way in which the Mass involves the sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of God.  In acknowledging the cross and the Lamb on the altar it highlights for the people their particular sacrifices, their suffering and is a message of hope, consolation, and comfort for them.

The appearance of Our Lady flanked by Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist presents the maternal instinct of Mary who was there at the foot of the cross on Calvary and who is never far from the crosses which God’s people carry.  The presence of Saint Joseph underlines the importance of the Father figure in the human family, while the presence of Saint John the Evangelist, preaching from the Book of the Gospels, underlined the importance of God’s word.

The Message of the Apparition Today

Jesus’ message in the gospels was addressed to particular groups at a particular time, but also across the centuries is addressed to us today and has a meaning and a message for us, so also the Knock Apparition, though silent, continue to “speak” to us today in terms of a particular message for our time.  Focussing firstly on the Altar, the Lamb of Sacrifice and the Cross, we recognize that increasing numbers are not participating in the Eucharist.  Whenever the celebration of the Eucharist begins to lose its meaning for the people of God then they begin to lose their sense of the Church.  There is a crisis of faith today as many no longer walk or worship with us.  Yet the Eucharist, properly understood, has been associated with betrayal, with pain, misunderstanding, and loneliness.  Saint Paul reminds us in the first letter to the Corinthians “that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed” gave us the Eucharist.  The Eucharist then was born in pain and suffering.  It will be appreciated by those who know something of the human struggle in their lives.  It has been said that the Eucharist is for “broken people”.

A Fragile and Fragmented Society

In our society and in our Church today, there are broken people, broken promises, disillusionment, shattered dreams, manipulation, and violence.  There is the human cry for healing and hope, for understanding, newness, and transformation.  In the Eucharist, Christ invites and encourages us to avail of these possibilities as He responds to our human cry.  Central to the Eucharist is the relationship between love and sacrifice.  In human life, love is not authentic if it refuses self-sacrifice.  Sacrifice has little value unless it is born of love.  In our society, there is so much emphasis on independence which often finds expression in the form of individualism and self-sufficiency.  The Eucharist helps to create an awareness of our fragility, our dependence on the Lord and on others as well as the need for humility and the fact that we do not have all the answers and must be open to new possibilities, new discoveries, and new learning.

Motherhood in Modern Society

Moving to the figure of Mary in the Apparition scene and her relevance for us today.  The maternal, protective instinct is essential in our world today.  Mary combines gentleness with a strength of character.  This is so important if children are to grow up respecting others, acknowledging differences but having the inner strength to appreciate their own gifts and values and being prepared to make these available to others in a supportive and encouraging manner.  Like all mothers, Mary has that intuitive character, the ability to read what is causing friction for the individual or the family and can also detect the direction in which we are being led in our society.  In a complex world, we may wonder where to turn, what course to take. Just as at the Marriage at Cana, Mary was the first to detect that something was going wrong, the wine was running short.  She addressed the situation and encouraged the stewards to do what her son would tell them.  In a busy world with so many choices facing us, we may find ourselves in situations which threaten to engulf us.  In those circumstances, Mary is there maintaining a maternal eye on the situation and encouraging us to do what her son is prompting us to do.

As we go through life, inevitably we experience the cross whether it be in terms of the death of a dear one, serious illness, disappointment, rejection.  At times like that, it would be very easy to yield to defeat, to lose heart and throw in the towel.  On Calvary, Saint John reminds us that Mary stood at the cross.  Her presence was a silent but very supportive one.  Is there not a link between her silence at the foot of the cross and the silent apparition at Knock?   Likewise, as we are carrying our crosses Mary is there in her silent and supportive role reminding us that her son has already transformed the cross into a sign of victory.  She reminds us that our crosses can enable us to follow in the path of Jesus Christ and therefore be a road to victory.

Fatherhood in Today’s World

Moving to Saint Joseph, we become conscious of the responsibility of the role of fatherhood in society today.  It is a role which has changed in Irish society over the years.  Fathers are now not just the only bread-winner in the home; they are also involved in nurturing, encouraging, challenging.  It may be in homework and studies, on the playing field or in ordinary human contact and relationships.  On the other hand, irresponsibility on the part of some fathers in our culture is becoming more common and with sad results for family and for society, depriving the young of that background of strength and security.  Joseph in the bible was described as a ‘just man’.  While he is in the background, nevertheless, he epitomizes that strength, providing security and safety.

The Challenge of the Gospel in a Changing World

The figure of Saint John the Evangelist as he holds the Book of the Gospels and preaches from it challenges us today to reflect on what are the influences which guide us in our society.  Are we enslaved by elements of the popular press, opinion polls, social media, celebrities, and social trends?  What value do we give to God’s word and the teaching of Jesus Christ?  As parents and as the first educators of our children, what do we teach them in terms of values, respect, love?  Do we enable and encourage them to reflect and question the situations which are growing in complexity and help them to make responsible decisions taking account of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the rights and dignity of others?

Silence: An expression of Strength and Support

The Apparition was silent; no words were spoken, yet the message was very clear.  Today we live in a rather noisy world which can be quite aggressive and refuses to listen with a resulting confrontation which fails to yield a satisfactory solution.  Just a year ago the Holy Father prayed here at Knock in silence.  The silence which descended on the pilgrims at Knock on that occasion, 45,000 people in silent prayer was a powerful expression of faith and trust in God and was probably one of the great high points of the World Meeting of Families.   Again, we witness the powerful link between the reflective supportive silence of the apparition 140 years ago and the power of silent, meditative prayer last year during the visit of the Holy Father and the need for reflective silence in our busy world.

As we gather on this special occasion we thank God for the Apparition, for what it meant to the people of the time, for its message to us in 2019 and for the graces that have come to pilgrims and their families over all those years.  May our presence and participation in the Novena on this special day enable us to go forward with a deeper faith, with hope in our hearts and with love in our living of Christ’s gospel.

AUGUST 23, 2019 17:00MARY AND MARIOLOGY

MARY'S QUEENSHIP

QUEENSHIP OF MARY

Observe how fitting it was that even before her assumption the name of Mary shone forth wondrously throughout the world. Her fame spread everywhere even before she was raised above the heavens in her magnificence.

Because of the honor due her Son, it was indeed fitting for the Virgin Mother to have first ruled upon earth and then be raised up to heaven in glory. It was fitting that her fame be spread in this world below, so that she might enter the heights of heaven on overwhelming blessedness. Just as she was borne from virtue to virtue by the Spirit of the Lord, she was transported from earthly renown to heavenly brightness. So it was that she began to taste the fruits of her future reign while still in the flesh. At one moment she withdrew to God in ecstasy; at the next she would bend down to her neighbours with indescribable love. In heaven angels served her, while here on earth she was venerated by the service of men. Gabriel and the angels waited upon her in heaven. The virgin John, rejoicing that the Virgin Mother was entrusted to him at the cross, cared for her with the other apostles here below. The angels rejoiced to see their queen; the apostles rejoiced to see their lady, and both obeyed her with loving devotion. Dwelling in the loftiest citadel of virtue, like a sea of divine grace or an unfathomable source of love that has everywhere overflowed its banks, she poured forth her bountiful waters on trusting and thirsting souls. Able to preserve both flesh and spirit from death, she bestowed health-giving salve on bodies and souls. Has anyone ever come away from her troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly mysteries? Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because his request had been granted by the Mother of God?   She is a bride, so gentle and affectionate, and the mother of the only true bridegroom. In her abundant goodness she has channelled the spring of reason’s garden, the well of living and life-giving waters that pour forth in a rushing stream from divine Lebanon and flow down from Mount Zion until they surround the shores of every far-flung nation. With divine assistance she has redirected these waters and made them into streams of peace and pools of grace.  Therefore, when the Virgin of virgins was led forth by God and her Son, the King of kings. amid the company of exulting angels and rejoicing archangels, with the heavens ringing with praise, the prophecy of the psalmist was fulfilled, in which he said to the Lord: At your right hand stands the queen, clothed in gold of Ophir [Psalm 45].

PETER:TRAPPED BY TRUTH

TRAPPED BY TRUTH Mark 14:71-72 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about.' Immediately the cock crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: 'Before the cock crows twice you will disown me three times.' And he broke down and wept. (NIVUK) A 'curse', in the Bible, is a phrase that is designed to bring disaster: they are powerful words invoking supernatural harm from God.  In Deuteronomy 27:14-26, God commands that His people agree to be subject to God's judgement if they break His law.  Such curses were a part of every covenant in which blessings were pronounced for obedience and curses for disobedience.  In these verses, Peter cursed himself.  It was like the oath of a witness in a courtroom: he swore that he was telling the truth when he said, "I don’t know this man you're talking about."  He put himself under the judgement of God if what he said was untrue.  And it was untrue. What a mess Peter was in now: trapped between his broken promise to stand by Jesus (Mark 14:29)and his pride that he could still do something to compensate for his own folly; trapped by a girl who recognised the fisherman (Mark 14:66-69) and the religious thugs who correctly identified his accent (Mark 14:70) ; physically trapped in a gated courtyard, surrounded by religious thugs; trapped under God's judgement for his lies, and trapped by the crowing of a cockerel.   It was that noisy bird which shocked Peter to his core, as it reminded him that some twelve hours earlier, Jesus had prophesied that Peter would deny Him and that a cockerel would denounce him (Mark 14:30). The bird was God's alarm clock to awaken Peter's conscience - to bring him to the realisation that Jesus was right, and he was wrong.  It certainly worked.  Peter was devastated.  One minute he was in a panic of hopeless pride, hunting for self-preservation.  The next minute he was distraught because he knew he had betrayed Jesus and was under God's wrath for denying that he ever knew Jesus – the one Person whose opinion mattered more to him than anybody else's.  To make matters worse, Luke 22:61 tells us that Jesus turned to look straight at Peter.  It was like a sword to his heart; Peter went out and wept bitterly. Big boys do cry if they are honest that they have missed the truth by miles - like Peter.  But the Lord is not vindictive (Psalm 103:9).  God's wake-up calls arrive with love (Revelation 3:19) - it is neither in His interest nor ours to remain indifferent to the truth (Psalm 51:3-6) .  The alarms are always in God's timing and demand a response of repentance and recommitment.  Like the prophetic calls of the Old Testament, God's Word is designed to bring us to repentance and restore our relationship with Father God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Often, because of our blindness to our sin, we usually need a shock to remind us that God has spoken.  Paradoxically, the Lord often uses failure to help us get the message that we are not what we think we are, and certainly not what we would like to be.  It is all a part of His gracious way to restore us to His love, through His grace. Gracious Father. Thank You for choosing to use even my failure to bring me back closer to You. I really value Your wake-up calls and I do repent and recommit myself to humbling myself and obeying You. Please help me to respond in ways that will glorify You and enable me to serve You better in the future. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Your next Word@Work will be sent on Wednesday, August 14 2019