TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY "C"

TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Cycle “C”: Luke 16, 1 – 13

Today’s Gospel carries the story of the wily or cunning steward. A dishonest fellow. He gets a commendation from Jesus, not for his dishonesty but for his worldly prudence. It was Jesus’ way of teaching us a valuable lesson. This steward was probably guilty of some shady deal besides wasting his master’s property. Yet, his master praises him. Certainly not for his fraud and injustice, but for the astuteness, farsightedness and tenacity he showed in pursuing his projects. Isn’t that what we constantly see in the world around us today? Relentless pursuit of all that will procure riches, comfort and pleasure. No effort is spared; no exertion is too much in the race of greed. Jesus knew about the expertise of moneymakers. Nothing brings out our ingenuity so well as the hope of a fast buck.

Now, by contrast, how remiss and apathetic the “children of light” are in their pursuit of heavenly goods!  “Learn from the worldly,” is the lesson Jesus teaches us in this parable.

Jesus advises his disciples to be farsighted and imaginative in their use of money.

Jesus does not condemn possessions or wealth in themselves. It is the way we use these things and the degree of attachment to them that is in question here. When the case is really difficult, I can only stand aside, because there are parents who struggle, even deprive themselves in order to feed and clothe and educate their children.  These are selfless, almost heroic, people who call for our prayer and encouragement. So I’m not talking about them.  I am talking about the religious belief among prosperous people that making more money is a sacred obligation. And if this involves bypassing Sunday Mass, or opting for a purely secular education for son or daughter, or spending long periods away from home, or being a smuggler or arms dealer, or sacking a loyal worker...they shrug their shoulders and say, “Too bad, I had no other choice.”

Walking down the streets in a modern city, you can overhear scraps of conversation. The scraps always include a number, an astronomical number. When the family’s mealtime conversation is always about money, the lack of it or the chance of it, that’s a sign of their priorities. Is there no real joy without a price tag? Is there anything worth having if you cannot put a figure on it? Being hooked on money is bad enough. Infinitely worse is the readiness to act unjustly in order to become rich.

A few years ago a foreign news channel carried an item about certain peope who were selling sub standard parts to airlines, bits from scrap yards, second hand article; and about people within the airlines who were willing to risk the lives of their passengers’ by using such parts. And what about drug traffickers and food adulterators who are exposing people to a slow death? Such people’s conscience is hardened.  Their adoration of money must amount to fanaticism. But there must have been a day when they took a first step, the first tiny step. They were not born that way. So when did they cut the first corner? Do we cut corners on our integrity?

I can view my material wealth in two distinct ways. On the one hand, I can see it as entirely mine, to do with as I please for my own gratification; in which case I may end up with lots of things  -  but very few friends. Or I can see my wealth as an instrument of my discipleship, to be used wisely and prudently for the good of others and the advancement of God’s kingdom. I can, if I so choose, invest it in an earthly bank and gain lots of interest; or I can gladly put it in God’s ‘bank’, and one day it earn heavenly dividends. How do I do this? By giving to the poor, by making it available to Christian relief or missionary work  -  in essence, by seeing it as a trust from God rather than my own personal property. If I do this, it may very well be that at the judgement day there will be those who rise up to greet me as one whose generosity transformed their lives.

There is a little story about Constantine, the Roman Emperor, who made Christianity the state religion in AD 320. One day he had a vision in the sky, with the motto, “In this sign you will conquer.” The sign was not of the dollar or Euro or Roman currency; it was the sign of the Cross.

PRAYER (Jan Pickard)

God of our daily lives,

we pray for the people of the cities of this world

working and without work;

homeless or well housed;

fulfilled or frustrated;

confused and cluttered with material goods

or scraping a living from others’ leavings;

angrily scrawling on walls,

or reading the writing on the wall;

lonely or living in community;

finding their own space

and respecting the space of others.

We pray for our sisters and brothers,

mourning and celebrating –

may we share in their suffering and hope.

CROSS, EXALTATION/TRIUMPH OF

 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross:

After the death and resurrection of Christ, both the Jewish and Roman authorities in Jerusalem made efforts to obscure the Holy Sepulchre, Christ's tomb in the garden near the site of His crucifixion. The earth had been mounded up over the site, and pagan temples had been built on top of it. The Cross on which Christ had died had been hidden (tradition said) by the Jewish authorities somewhere in the vicinity.

According to tradition, first mentioned by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem in 348, Saint Helena, nearing the end of her life, decided under divine inspiration to travel to Jerusalem in 326 to excavate the Holy Sepulchre and attempt to locate the True Cross. A Jew by the name of Judas, aware of the tradition concerning the hiding of the Cross, led those excavating the Holy Sepulchre to the spot in which it was hidden.

Three crosses were found on the spot. According to one tradition, the inscription Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews") remained attached to the True Cross. According to a more common tradition, however, the inscription was missing, and Saint Helena and Saint Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, assuming that one was the True Cross and the other two belonged to the thieves crucified alongside Christ, devised an experiment to determine which was the True Cross.

In one version of the latter tradition, the three crosses were taken to a woman who was near death; when she touched the True Cross, she was healed. In another, the body of a dead man was brought to the place where the three crosses were found, and laid upon each cross. The True Cross restored the dead man to life.

In celebration of the discovery of the Holy Cross, Constantine ordered the construction of churches at the site of the Holy Sepulchre and on Mount Calvary. Those churches were dedicated on September 13 and 14, 335, and shortly thereafter the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross began to be celebrated on the latter date. The feast slowly spread from Jerusalem to other churches, until, by the year 720, the celebration was universal.

TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS – Feast

          This feast is not just about the Cross of the suffering and death of Jesus, but also about the triumph of his suffering and death. It tells us that there is something definitely triumphal about pain and death. Jesus’ death was not something high and dry; it was rather something transcendent and transforming. Why? How? Because Jesus died in God. The Father took him over completely. I don’t need to tell you what happens when God takes over completely. Yes, it is all bliss and glory, transparent glory and unalloyed happiness forever. That is your destiny and mine. Are you looking forward to it? I am.

          Listen to God the Father. “I am the Lord your God. All I have is yours. And the best I have is my Son, whom I sent to you; and you took him and beat him to death. Look what you did to my son, the most beautiful of the children of men. Now I’ll show you what I’ll do for my Son.” And God the Father collected the mangled body of Jesus and gave him the Resurrection and placed him at his own right hand. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and son of Mary, transcendent Lord and Redeemer of the world.

          Will you welcome him into your life? If you have, then you have entered the triumph of the Cross. You are there with Jesus in his bliss and glory already, and death makes no difference! From the moment you allowed God to take over your life, every pain and trial has taken on a redemptive meaning; every tear will water the root of the tree of eternal life. You must believe this, you must. There are no two ways about it.

The Apostle Paul expressed this newness in terms of belonging completely to the Lord who embraces every human condition: "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" (Rom 14:7-8). Dying to the Lord means experiencing one's death as the supreme act of obedience to the Father (cf. Phil 2:8), being ready to meet death at the "hour" willed and chosen by him (cf.Jn 13:1), which can only mean when one's earthly pilgrimage is completed. Living to the Lord also means recognizing that suffering, while still an evil and a trial in itself, can always become a source of good. It becomes such if it is experienced for love and with love through sharing, by God's gracious gift and one's own personal and free choice, in the suffering of Christ Crucified. In this way, the person who lives his suffering in the Lord grows more fully conformed to him (cf. Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 2:21) and more closely associated with his redemptive work on behalf of the Church and humanity. ⁸⁷This was the experience of Saint Paul, which every person who suffers is called to relive: "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24).

         

FAMILY AND BIBLICAL VALUES

Family and Bible Values

Family values deployed in the Bible. Rather, biblical values deployed in the family. Values, not sentimentality. “First, let me bury my father.” “Let the dead bury the dead.” Ultimate obligation, even in our time and age, to bury one’s parents. Jesus’ answer a slap in the face!

“Blessed is the womb, and the breasts...” “Rather, blessed are….” Jesus’ answer does not deny the blessedness of the womb. What is the destiny of the child in the womb and the babe at the breast?

Old Testament. Hannah, mother of Samuel. She prayed at the temple of Shiloh, begging the Lord for a son. Samuel – “begging the Lord.” When the baby was weaned, Hannah gave him to the holy man at Shiloh, named Eli. After praying so much for a son, she offers him back to God.

Child Jesus in the Temple. After three days of agonizing search. “Son, why have you treated us so?” “Why were you long for me?” Obvious, he belonged to God. Children belong to God.

Abraham and his son, Isaac. “Sacrifice to me the son you love.” Isaac, bearer of the promise and future of the race,…to be slaughtered. Awful story of radical demand. God has no feelings? Is God playing games with a child’s life? No sentimentality here, either. Isaac belongs ultimately to God.

“But my children are mine!” Really? Well up to a point in their history. You have to let them go to find their way in the world, choose their avocation, their life partner. And in the midst of all that they belong to a higher power, a transcendent Parent with an enlivening purpose. Ultimately, nothing is yours. You don’t even belong to yourself.

One day Jesus was relaxing under a tree, tired and breathless. The mothers began bringing their children to him. Peter objected. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To be a child is to have your passport endorsed for heaven. “’Tana’, your sins are forgiven.” “Unless you become like little children….”

Turn everything to God. Let God take over. What is the purpose of your life? The purpose of your life is for God to take over your life.

Recently canonized St. Pope John Paul II used to call the family the “ecclesiola” – the little church. How shall we foster biblical family values?  a) Read the bible, especially the New Testament; b) family rosary: contemplation of the mysteries of Christ while reciting the Hail Mary’s.

There are different avocations and vocations: office worker, manager, factory worker, medical and legal profession, street cleaner, teacher (Jesus was teacher par excellence), street cleaner, armed forces and police, crime busters, garbage collectors and politicians (very often they go together). But the noblest vocation is parenthood. No parenthood - no priesthood. Dear parents, give us your sons. If you don’t, the holy Mass will stop.

Let me end with MY story. Baptized that baby, I raised him to the statue of our Blessed Mother, and forgot about it. After 28 years I get from Australia a beautiful invitation to his priestly ordination.

"STABAT MATER"

 “STABAT MATER”

In pools of tears swim a few tender memories:

his birth in that cold, dark stable in Bethlehem. How she shivered as she held him for the first time, so tiny and helpless.

The cross comes into focus again. She looks up at her Son. He is naked; his forehead wrinkled in agony. She cannot reach to soothe it or wet his salt dry lips.

Again her eyes blur. Another memory floats: she remembers his first words...his first steps. She remembers how he’d love to help her bake bread, dip it in honey and bring it to her smiling lips. She remembers how it made her little boy chuckle and his eyes sparkle.

She remembers saying to herself, when he was twelve and already about his Father’s business, “He’s not my little boy anymore.”

Rivulets of blood beading the earth beneath the cross. . .

Deep down inside she knew that her little boy was born to die.

Why should she be there?

But this was hers. This cross upon the hill. He had not sheltered her from pain nor ever asked that she not be free to learn anguish. She had learned that.

He had not been fretful or concerned to throw around her soft protection, guarding her against a share in him. He’d spoken truth to her. He’d not been reticent or sparing. He’d not held her unadmitted to the full acceptance, never.

She had heard what Simeon could say, and at the moment when she’d found the Child that had been lost, he had not consoled her with a gentle paraphrase of futures, eased away from what the days should be. And he’d not softened any loneliness when Nazareth was ended.

She was free to sorrow and not withheld. She could be eager, insistent, insatiate, for this was hers to take, her own. And by a long inclusion granted her, she’d known she’d need not ever turn from grief

Of all the spreading earth this was the one place she might stand with him.

She could be near. He would not deny her now; he’d not forbid her come here.

This was hers, her life, her dignity, her choice, the essence of her heart’s significance, the sum and substance of her existence, the end of her being.

She bore the right to be here, standing under the claim of being the “Woman.”

She could penetrate to this, this small and inner-concentrated anguish.

She could stand here. This was hers.

And he would only look, expecting her.

“Woman, here is your son.”

“Son, your mother.”

Love never looked like this.

CROSS AND COSMOS

            Just as a loud explosion can precipitate an avalanche, so when the crucified Christ “cried with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit” (Mathew 27,50), certain cataclysmic phenomena occurred like so many echoes of his final cry. As the body of the Crucified writhed “in extremis”, the earth trembled in earthquake horror at what took place on Calvary: the Master of the universe was being broken by his own creatures’ malice. Darkness enveloped the land, the Temple curtain was torn in two, and the earth convulsed and regurgitated the dead who walked the earth again in a zombie daze. Trembling nature got a slice of the action that decided the fate of the world forever.

            Wherever the story of Golgotha has been told, the role of nature as partner in the drama could not be left out, as if the mystery of divine suffering was conveyed through the compassion of nature. And the pagan Roman centurion was drawn into it by witnessing to the Crucified when, with numinous awe, he perceived in a naïve-profound way that something more had happened than the death of a holy and innocent man.

The sun veiled its face in shock horror at what it witnessed, and by that token lost its own erstwhile divinity: it conceded all power to the One who, in ultimate agony, surrendered to that which is greater than a million suns. Thus, a suffering and struggling soul, which cannot be broken by all the powers of the cosmos, is the true image of divinity. There is no more a “Sun-god”, only a “brother Sun.”

            “The curtain of the Temple was ripped in two.” The Temple tore its gown, as mourners do, to show its nakedness and shame for what its servants did by rejecting an innocent worshipper from its precincts. Plucked asunder, the now ragged weave lost its separating quality. He who was expelled for blaspheming the Temple had cleft the curtain and exposed the Holy of Holies for every man and women, for all time. From then on, every place became a god-unforsaken place, in the name of the One who hung upon the Cross in the name of the holy place.

Like the temple, the earth was judged at Golgotha, judged to be unfit of itself to be the safe ground for building our cities and religious systems. Trembling and gurgling, the earth pointed to another foundation on which the earth itself rests, and that was the self-surrendering love on which all earthly powers and values concentrate their hostility but which they cannot conquer. Since the hour when Jesus uttered his loud cry and breathed his last and the rocks were split, the earth ceased to be the foundation on which we build on her. Only in so far as it has a deeper root in which the very Cross is rooted can it last.

Finally, the body of God was too sublime to be contained within earth’s bowels. The boulders split, as the land quaked, in deference to the Lord’s passage from darkness to light. No longer is the universe subjected to the law of death out of birth, but to the law of life out of death by the One who passed from death to life, from earth to heaven. From the moment that the Divine Son surrendered his spirit to his Father, the universe has received another meaning. History has been re-directed and draws us human into its sweep unto God who is all in all.

WOUNDED HEALERS

                        Even after the Resurrection we prefer the keep the cross of the wounded Christ in our churches, for we are a community of wounded and hurt people, needing the Wounded Healer. The church as the re-presentation of Jesus has the mission of walking in the midst of a world wracked with pain and obsessed with its own self-destructiveness and sin. Having overcome death himself, Jesus knows better than any of us that no human problem  - neither A.I.D.S., nor the bomb, nor the blighting of the environment  -  need paralyse us. He assures us: “I AM the First and the Last and the One who lives.”

EASTERING PAIN

                        To separate the cross from the resurrection is to destroy the central mystery of our faith. The experience of many generations has affirmed the affinity between our pain and the pain of Jesus. Jesus does not always show us the way out of the disappointments of life nor provide an explanation of their meaning. He does, however, fill our suffering with his presence. Suffering which we refuse to integrate into our lives works out negatively. This suffering can have many faces: health problems, addictions, career setbacks, political changes, humiliations and betrayals, our spiritual mediocrity, and a host of others. Our disowned negative experiences can stifle our love, hollow our generosity, affect our honesty, and trap us in petty self-absorption. The cross of Christ, perceived in unity with the resurrection, offers great strength to take on the inevitable and render it fruitful. Thus assumed into the Paschal Mystery, our suffering is also our Eastering.

TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL

WOMAN WITH THE HAEMORRHAGE

WOMAN WITH THE HAEMORRHAGE

Hosea 2:16, 17c-18, 21-22
Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Matthew 9:18-26


A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:Who was the woman in today's gospel, the woman with the hemorrhages?

Matthew does not tell us her name. Rather, he identifies her by her sickness, which was serious. What was it like for that woman, enduring bleeding for twelve long years?

Certainly, she had tried many remedies, yet still, there she was, bleeding again, probably anemic, "unclean" according to Jewish law. That day she may have been hot, dusty, and miserable, but still, she didn't give up.

Let's picture her now, quietly jostling her way through a noisy, rowdy crowd. She's planning to reach out, simply to touch Jesus' garment. That contact alone, she believes, can cure her. One simple touch will remedy what 12 years of doctors and medicine could not. No, we don't know her name, but she certainly has faith in Jesus' power. And she is not disappointed!

This nameless little woman elbows her way past one more big, sweaty man, and yes! Finally! She's close enough now! She reaches out - way out - and the tip of her finger barely brushes ever so lightly over the tassel of His cloak. And she is instantly cured! She is sure of it - and so is Jesus!

At that moment, He turns around, and - oh no! He's seeking her out!

She freezes in fear! She's mortified! So embarrassed that she wishes she could disappear right into the dust beneath her feet. She hadn't planned anything more than to touch Him; that was all! She hadn't planned to confront Him, hadn't wanted any personal contact. Perhaps this nameless woman is shy by nature; perhaps she never calls attention to herself. She doesn't want attention now, certainly not here in this huge, boisterous crowd. Everyone will see!

But Jesus wants to see her, to look into her eyes, face to face. Reassure her that all is well, that she will never suffer from this malady again. And she needn't be embarrassed at all. He wants her to know that it was His power that cured her, of course, but the reason for it was because of her faith. Her complete, blind trust in Him.

So here He is, this Jewish healer, this miracle man that everyone's talking about. Right in front of her! How frightened she is to confront Him!

But wait - suddenly she knows there's nothing to fear. No. Because He looks at her with a deep kindness like she's never known. His eyes are full of mercy and love. And recognition too, as if He's known her forever. As if He's waited for all eternity, just to arrive at this moment. Here, now, with her. As if they are the only two people on the planet - right in the middle of this crazy, rowdy crowd. And with a beautiful smile, He looks at her and says the words she will never forget:

"Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you."

And with that simple sentence, she is a changed woman. Not just her body, but her whole being. Her soul is filled with light, and flooded with peace, just looking at His face, His smile, and hearing His words.

And now, perhaps, we finally know her name.
Perhaps . . . her name is . . . Faith.

O Lord Jesus,
give me the strong faith of the woman in today's gospel.
Let me never give up,
and please give me the faith to trust You for my healing,
in every respect.
Amen.

- Mary Nadeau | email: marynadeau3( )gmail.com

JOHN BAPTIST MARTYRDOM

RASH PROMISES ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVIL

Matthew 14:6-12  On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, 'Give me here on a dish the head of John the Baptist.' The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. (NIVUK)
 

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This is a sad narrative. King Herod was trapped by his pride and fear of his wife's anger into agreeing to murder a godly man. The king was married his brother's wife, while his brother was still alive; it was a wilful act of defiance against God's law(Leviticus 20:21). Although Herodias was thrilled to have the power of being the 'queen', John the Baptist said that the relationship was not right before God. The day came when the king had his birthday party. We do not know the age of Herodias' daughter; but she was old enough to dance in a sensuous way and young enough to need her mother's opinion on what to ask her step-father - for he had made a foolish oath to give her anything she wanted.

When she went to Herodias, the 'queen' saw her opportunity to get rid of the godly prophet who had had condemned her marriage as being offensive to God. John the Baptist had been put in prison at least in part to appease Herodias' anger but also so that Herod could still have discussions with him. Perhaps Herod thought that after a while John could be released without too much agitation from his wife. But her hatred was fixed. She would only be satisfied when John was dead.

Herod's birthday party and his boastful promise gave her the opportunity she sought. It was a grotesque request to relay through her daughter. Herod felt he had no way out but to have John killed and his head presented publically to everybody at the party. For Herodias, it was a success because the prophet was dead. The girl was doubtless congratulated by her mother, and Herod felt he had at least kept his promise and proved to be a man of his word. But he was not a man of God's Word. All of them had failed to honour God.

It is better to break a promise than to keep it and break faith with God's Word. Every rash promise is rooted in pride, fear or anger and opens a door to evil. Only promise what you know is right, pleasing to God, achievable and sustainable with His help. Jesus said, "All you need to say is simply "Yes," or "No"; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37). Promises stirred by a rebellious heart will end up hurting everybody. It is good to keep your word if you have promised rightly and wisely. However, if you have spoken wrongly, falsely or wickedly - you need to repent and seek mercy as you break an unwise pledge. And do it soon, before the wickedness rebounds on you and hurts everybody else.

Second reading

From a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable, priest
Precursor of Christ in birth and death

As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendor of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.

There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

Since death was ever near at hand through the inescapable necessity of nature, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake. He tells us why it is Christ’s gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.

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