December 1^st 2013. FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

Gospel                           Matthew 24:37-44

Jesus said to his disciples: 'As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary  . . . . During the Advent Season, we prepare for the coming of the Lord. He comes to us in the Incarnation; he comes to us at the end of time; but he also comes to us every day. The Gospel speaks of being ready for these various comings of the Lord. In what sort of state will we find ourselves when the Lord comes? Will it be like the days of Noah when people continued to satisfy their appetites and affections until they were all swept away with the flood? What is my priority in life? Am I totally caught up in this world, seeking to please my senses, gratifying myself with transient relationships? All of those things will be swept away by the Lord when he comes. He comes for that which is noble and great in us, and he comes to us every day, sometimes in the upheavals and distresses of life. If we are ready for him, then we will be transformed by those upheavals, moulded and groomed so that we begin to see the beauty and profundity of our existence. If we are not prepared for the inbreaking of the Lord into our existence, then we will become frustrated and bitter by the repeated discovery that life does not conform to my wishes and whims. We must recognize that it is he - not us - who is the master of our existence! We must make our house beautiful so that this wonderful guest can enter peacefully!

When the Lord comes, will be find ourselves merely satisfying our appetites and affections?

With this Gospel reading from Matthew we begin the Season of Advent, preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord. We can speak of three “Advents” of the Lord. The first is the coming of the Lord in the Incarnation; the second is at the end of time; and the third is the Lord’s coming to us in the present. This Gospel reading for Sunday speaks of the final coming of the Lord, but the passage is also highly relevant for our lives in the present. When we fail to understand the final destination of things, those things can lose their meaning and purpose. What will the end of our existence be like? It will be like the days of Noah, the Gospel tells us. Things will be utterly transformed, but we will find ourselves doing the things we always did, eating, drinking and taking spouses. But, you might ask, what’s the harm of eating and drinking and taking spouses? There is nothing wrong with these things in themselves. The problem is when we live for our appetites and affections. These things are important, but I am challenged to live without constantly thinking of my satisfaction. St Paul tells us to be prepared to detach ourselves from this passing world. I can go through life thinking that food, drink and relationships are the ultimate meaning of my existence, or I can live in the belief that life is heading towards something else altogether.

I must govern my appetites instead of being governed by them

Appetites and relationships must be viewed as being secondary to other things that have a much greater priority in life. Christians value fasting, temperance and sobriety for precisely this motive of keeping our appetites in their proper place. We must learn to govern our appetites instead of being governed by them, because the satisfaction of our appetites does not lead us to the true meaning of our existence. In the reading, people continued to be driven by their appetites until the flood came and swept everything away. So it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. The times are changing. The world is heading towards a profound transformation and I am too busy satisfying my stomach, satisfying my need for affectivity! But these things are not the goal of my life! They will be swept away at the coming of the Lord because I am greater than my appetites and my sentiments. In our world, people are often wholly dominated by the world of the senses. The text speaks in the plural of people taking husbands and wives. This is mirrored in our world where people change partners continually.  Our preoccupation with appetites and transient relationships has reduced our society to an animal-like state, and we lose awareness of the fact that we are much greater and much nobler than these things. It is for these greater and nobler things that the Son of Man comes.

We must live in readiness for the coming of the Lord. This coming is already foreshadowed in the upheavals and changes of our daily lives

The passage goes on, “It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Of two men in the fields, one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.” This description of the men working and the women preparing the food is stereotypical without doubt, but the issue is not the task that each person is doing: the issue is the way in which they were doing it. In both cases, the same job is being done, but one person is swept away and the other is left. If we live in readiness for the coming of the Lord, then we are not living for things that ultimately are of no consequence. Every day we are visited by changes and transformations, upheavals and distress. If we are focused on the meaning and finality of life, then we will be groomed and shaped by these upheavals. We will be transformed by the novelty and surprises of life, learning to live in a new way, leaving the old things behind us. But often when upheavals come, we remain stuck in the same old rut, obsessed with our appetites, our affections, our projects We are not ready for the coming of the Son of Man. We do not change mentality and we fail to be carried away by him. If we are ready and if we are swept away with him, then life changes. We enter into life more deeply, experiencing its beauty and profundity.

We are not masters of our own existence. The Lord is the master of life. He is coming and we must be ready for him by living for the things that are eternal. Let us make our houses ready for the arrival of this wonderful guest!

How many people live in tension, bitterness and fear! The coming of the Lord for them is something traumatic and dreadful because they wish to be the absolute masters of their own existence. Their spouses must conform to a certain preconceived notion, their children must match up to a certain standard, their work must go according to plan. But reality is not in our hands and it is never as we wish it to be. If we expect to be masters of our own existence then this will lead to frustration and bitterness. We must learn to allow Jesus to be the Lord of history. In this time of Advent we must prepare ourselves to be visited by him. Sometimes our house is such a mess that we are embarrassed to invite our friends in for a visit. How beautiful it is to have our houses ready for guests. A wonderful guest is on his way, and he is the Lord!

NOVEMBER 24^th 2013. FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

Gospel: Luke 23:35-43

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL                   Luke 23:35-43

The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. 'He saved others,' they said 'let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.' The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer vinegar they said, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself'. Above him there was an inscription: 'This is the King of the Jews'.

One of the criminals hanging there abused him. 'Are you not the Christ?' he said. 'Save yourself and us as well.' But the other spoke up and rebuked him. 'Have you no fear of God at all?' he said. 'You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,' he said 'remember me when you come into your kingdom.' 'Indeed, I promise you,' he replied 'today you will be with me in paradise.'

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . To celebrate the Feast of Christ the King we read a passage about a king who is tortured and insulted and whose throne is the cross! In front of this cross a drama plays itself out that represents in microcosm all of human life. First of all the religious leaders deride Jesus, stating that he ought to be able to save himself if he really is a saviour. Religion seeks happiness and fulfilment in life. These religious leaders represent that current in religion (and in our attitude to life) that looks at the sufferings of Jesus and fails to see how the cross can bring salvation. We want religion to perform miracles, to eliminate suffering NOW. The soldiers then mock Jesus, saying that if he really is a king then he should be able to come down off the cross. The soldiers represent the temporal powers of the world. We look at Jesus from the point of view of human power and achievement and say “What kind of power does Jesus have when he is unable or unwilling to alleviate our sufferings and the sufferings of others?” The bad thief represents suffering humanity in its bitterness and anger towards the God who will not relive their burden of suffering. We look at God in moments of distress and say, “Where are you? Why do you do nothing? Why did you allow this to happen?” The good thief represents the one who trusts in the providence of God despite the present suffering. He sees beyond the present moment to a future in which God’s reign will prevail. All of the characters in this drama were asking Jesus to be a particular type of king, the kind of king that suited their particular needs. Only the good thief has understood the kind of king that Jesus is! He is king that does not take us down from the cross. Rather he takes us by means of the cross to paradise.

On the feast of Christ the King we read of a king who is tortured and insulted and whose throne is the Cross

The word “universal” means “to go towards unity, towards the one and only.” The universal kingship of Jesus that we celebrate on Sunday is a reminder that he is the ultimate meaning and goal of the universe. All things are headed towards Jesus of Nazareth. And to celebrate this beautiful, illuminating and redemptive future of all things, we read the most enigmatic and unlikely passage from the Gospel! In this passage we see Jesus completely humiliated, seated on a throne which is the cross. Above this throne, on which he is condemned to death, is the epitaph “King of the Jews.” The title “King of the Jews” implies that he is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. The Jews are God’s chosen people, so the King of the Jews is evidently the universal king, the Lord of history. Let us examine this text that the Church in her wisdom places before us on this feast of the last Sunday of the liturgical year.

Different characters in the Gospel aim insults at Jesus. Each of these insults has a genuine question behind it

The passage can be read as a sort of drama with different characters reciting key lines. Plays for the stage usually last about three hours, and this is about how long the passion of Jesus lasts on the cross. The profound message of this Gospel could easily be transformed into an entire play, and maybe someday someone will do it. Every sentence in the Gospel can be attributed to a character who has a significant part to play, one representing religion, another representing the political status quo, etc. The people too, though they say nothing, also have a role to play – that of stopping and beholding the spectacle. This is the role that each one of us will play this Sunday. The scene before us is one of great suffering and a series of people who hurl insulting comments at Jesus with regard to his suffering. But behind these insults there are genuine questions that deserve consideration. Behind the violence and insults that all of us lapse into at times, there are always issues that need to be addressed.

The leaders of the people represent the religious worldview. Religion seeks happiness and fulfilment for people. Religion demands the suffering Jesus to answer the question, “What kind of happiness and fulfilment can you give us from the Cross?”

The religious leaders of the people are the first to reproach Jesus. “If he is the Christ, let him save himself.” These leaders believe that religion is something that should bring happiness and wholeness to people. They are saying to Jesus, “Go on! Bring about this happiness that we are all looking for! You’ve saved others. Let us see if you can really deliver salvation when the chips are down!” These words contain in them the affirmation that Christ has brought salvation to people. They do not deny the miracles of Jesus. These sentiments represent the response of the religious worldview to the predicament of Jesus. Religion seeks salvation and lasting happiness, and it has difficulty seeing that in the figure on the cross. “If your promise of lasting fulfilment and wholeness is genuine, then let’s see some concrete proof!”

The soldiers represent temporal power. The temporal powers of this world want an answer from Jesus as well. What kind of power or kingship can be possessed by a figure nailed to the cross?

The soldiers then join in the abuse. They represent the temporal power of the world. Notice that their reproach to Jesus does not speak purely of salvation as the religious leaders did. Instead they speak about kingship, saying, “If you are really King of the Jews, then let’s see you come down off the cross.” For the temporal powers of the world, real power is that which brings concrete advantage to its bearer and brings it promptly. It is interesting to note that Jesus gives no reply neither to the religious reproach nor to the temporal reproach.

The bad thief represents suffering humanity with all of its anger and bitterness directed towards the God who seems unmoved by their cries

The “bad” thief on the cross then makes his contribution to the drama. He represents suffering humanity, hanging with Christ upon the cross, with all of its problems and its bitterness. “Are you not the Christ?” he begins. This is a remarkable way of addressing Jesus! We can easily forget that this thief in fact affirms that Jesus is the Christ! Then he continues, “Well, go ahead and act like Christ! Save yourself and us as well!” This cry of pain from the thief on the cross echoes the cry that comes from each one of us. It often happens in moments of difficulty that we address heaven saying, “Do something for us! Why do you refuse to help us! What kind of God are you?” Again Jesus refuses to respond.

The good thief represents the suffering humanity that trusts in the providence of God and believes that this suffering will lead to something better. He alone does not ask to be taken down from the Cross.

Finally the good thief enters the scene, reprimanding the other thief for his harsh words to Jesus. “Have you no fear of God at all?” he says. “You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then the good thief goes on to say something sublime, even whilst recognizing that he has merited his terrible end. “Jesus,” he says, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This man is engaging with Jesus on a personal level. Alone, of all the people in this drama, he does not ask to be taken down from the cross. He recognizes that Jesus, in his silent suffering, is rooted in a different kind of kingdom and he asks to be taken along into that other reality. The bad thief had demanded, “Save yourself and save me as well.” The good thief, by contrast, says “Go to your kingdom, and bring me with you”. What each of these two men ask of Jesus is completely different, yet similar. Both ask that their situation be changed, but one asks for instantaneous change whilst the other is open to the future. The latter is open to the possibility that this terrible situation will lead to something better.

Christ responds to the only one who looks beyond this worldly kingdom to a kingdom of a different sort. He assures the thief that today they will be together in paradise. Christian abandonment to God in suffering brings paradise into the present.

Now, finally, Christ speaks. After the entire drama has played itself out against the backdrop of his silence, the king of the universe opens his mouth to speak. During the torture and the insults he said nothing. His only response is to the man who has just spoken, the only man who sees through the current situation to a future of a different sort. But what a curious reply from Jesus! “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” That future will be realised this very day. This is a feature of Christian abandonment to God in suffering. We abandon ourselves to God, accepting that the Lord in his providential love will ease our pain at the right time. But this abandonment brings us a measure of peace already in the present. The Christian is familiar with the notion of a sort of future paradise that is already making itself felt today. The situation of suffering has already been transformed from within. For the good thief, the tunnel of darkness becomes a tunnel with light at the end. The suffering is still there but the light is there also. Now he knows where he is going. For the other thief, by contrast, everything remains as absurd as before.

What kind of king is Jesus? He is a king who does not take away our cross. Instead he gives us paradise through the cross

Let us look at the heart of this text. Who is our saviour? Who is our king? He is someone who does not take us down from the cross but yet gives us paradise. The Lord does not take our cross away unless it is part of his plan, but it is a certainty that he will give us paradise through the cross! For the good thief, the cross was the place where he found Jesus. Paradoxically, the worst moment of his life, the tragic and humiliating end of his earthly existence, was the place where he found glory. What sort of king do we have? A king who does not necessarily eliminate suffering from our life, but one who will certainly take us through that suffering to heaven.

NOVEMBER 17^th 2013. THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Luke 21:5-19

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

What a consoling homily this is for the people of the Philippines! In all of your tribulations, the Lord is with you! Whatever might have happened, the Lord will not cease to lead you towards himself! The material order has become undone, but God is holding a deeper and more beautiful reality together. God bless the Philippines in this dark hour!

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GOSPEL                   Luke 21:5-19

When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, 'All these things you are staring at now-the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed'. And they put to him this question: 'Master,' they said 'when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?'

'Take care not to be deceived,' he said 'because many will come using my name and saying, "I am he" and, "The time is near at hand". Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.' Then he said to them, 'Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

'But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name - and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In this forbidding text Jesus speaks of wars, plagues and disasters. His real message is that the material order is transitory and will unravel for each one of us sooner or later. We construct our lives on things that seem trustworthy and secure. We long for the glory of this world and we base our lives on elements that seem sturdy and admirable. But the “cement” that holds together the various building blocks of our world will one day dissolve and everything will become undone for each one of us. That much is guaranteed! When that day comes, Jesus exhorts us to maintain our direction in life. How do we maintain our direction in life? We maintain our direction in life only if we have not given ourselves over to the priorities of the material order of things. We maintain our direction in life if we follow Jesus only and seek to discern the will of God in the unfolding events around us. We maintain our direction in life if we entrust ourselves to divine providence instead of to our own capacities and talents. For someone who has entrusted themselves to divine providence, great tribulations can be borne with serenity. They realize that God will bring good out of this terrible situation, even if his purpose seems unintelligible right now. But for those of us who do not have a correct sense of the will of God at work in everything, even the most minor inconvenience can lead to crisis.

People were admiring the beauty of the material order of things. Jesus points out that this material order is held together by a human “cement” that will not last

At first sight this passage appears very foreboding. Jesus speaks of wars and revolutions, kingdoms fighting against kingdoms, earthquakes and terrifying events. But what is the context for this discourse? Some people were commenting on the beauty of the Temple and its fine stonework. At the time, in fact, the Temple of Jerusalem was one of the wonders of the world. The archaeological evidence that still exists today points to a building of spectacular dimensions. In response to these admiring comments Jesus says that the time will come when the things that they are seeing now will all be destroyed. The word used in the Greek of Luke’s Gospel for “seeing” is “theoreo.” This means “to behold a spectacle”. Significantly, the same verb is used by Luke when the people who witness the crucifixion walk away afterwards beating their breasts. Everyone gazes in amazement at the spectacle of the Temple, but the real spectacle that they will soon behold is that of the crucified Jesus.

How we overrate the glory of this world! How often in the past have we become agitated by things that seem trivial now!

Jesus says, “All these things you are staring at now - the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.” What does this saying mean? The phrase “stone on stone” evokes the idea of construction. And the term “destroyed” in the Greek is rendered by a word that means “to undo”, “to loosen”, “to dissolve”. The things that we build will all be undone in the future. The various “cements” that we use to fix things together will one day cease to function. What a terrible prospect! Why does Jesus say this? We are at the thirty-third Sunday of the year and Advent is almost upon us. It is time to reflect on the ultimate end of things. Things have connections between them, but we overrate the significance of these worldly connections. How often the glory of this world seems so permanent and trustworthy! How often things in life seem definitive and important but then the passage of time shows them to be purely transitory! How many times in the past have we become mentally and physically agitated by things that we barely even remember now! A little reflection, in fact, shows that Jesus’ announcement in this Gospel passage is profoundly true! He is asking us to refrain from giving things an importance and a significance that they do not possess. The things that are eternal are eternal, whilst the things that are not eternal simply are not. How often we confuse these two levels with each other!

Great tribulations can be coped with if we maintain our direction in life. But if we do not maintain our focus in life, even the most minor tribulation can lead to crisis.

The fundamental statement in this passage is the expression “Take care not to be deceived”. What an important statement this is! The Greek text literally means “Do not lose your sense of direction and go astray”. It is vital that we do not lose the proper sense of things. It is crucial that we maintain a sense of proper discernment with regard to worldly things. When there are earthquakes, plagues and wars – when there is any sort of tribulation in life – there is always the great danger of losing our sense of direction. The danger of losing our sense of direction is graver than the danger posed by the tribulation itself. In itself any tribulation can be coped with if we maintain our direction in life. But if we do not have a direction in life than even the most minor tribulation can become unbearable. Sometimes we are unable to put up with a minor queue or a delay of five minutes. Other times, we can bear severe difficulties  because they are directed towards a particular purpose. We can climb a mountain willingly, despite the sacrifices and discomfort that it involves, because we value the goal of scaling that particular peak. But then I become angry and frustrated with a red light that lasts too long, or a queue that is slow in moving. The fact is that we are unable to live through minor tribulations if we have lost a sense of the real connections that exists between things in life. How many times have we seen people who bear the greatest sufferings with serenity, whilst we ourselves are incapable of the most minor inconveniences because we do not know where we are going. Conversely, sometimes we disparage things as being useless that later turn out to be of the greatest significance.

If we are attentive to the will of God in our lives then we will have direction in life and we will be able to cope with any tribulation

Looking back at our past lives we can discern many times when we had completely misunderstood the authentic sense of things, the real connections between things. When we look back now we see that the real order of things was not in the blocks that we were trying to build one on top of another. The real order was the plan of God unfolding in things that we had resisted or misinterpreted completely. If we do not discover the will of God in things, then it is not necessary to experience earthquakes, plagues or wars to find ourselves in deep water. Even the most minor inconvenience can lead to crisis. But if we have the will of God in our hearts, then we will not ricochet around with a lack of direction. We will know that life is a gift that is firmly in the hands of God. It is not the case though that the plan of God is always intelligible to us. Often it transcends our power to comprehend. We must accept that some of the things that life presents to us now are not easy to understand. We must allow ourselves to be led by the Lord, trusting that there is a good reason why God has ordered things to unfold as they do.

We have a proper direction in life if we follow Jesus and only him

There are a series of negations in this passage. Jesus says not to follow those who say, “I am he. The time is close at hand.” This saying is perfectly compatible with Jesus’ exhortation that we not lose our direction in life. If we are to keep our proper direction in life then we must follow the Lord Jesus only. We obey our superiors in the Church because by doing so we follow God. We do not obey our superiors just for the sake of obedience to them in themselves. It is in God that we trust and for this reason we follow the pastors that have been set over us. Otherwise our ecclesial construction is simply stone upon stone that has no wider significance. You are I are simple poor people. It is to God that obedience is ultimately due. Let us follow him, and him only.

A rule for life that will prepare you for every tribulation: Entrust yourself to divine providence, not to your own capacities

Jesus’ second negation is “Do not be alarmed.” (or “Do not be frightened” in the English translation). An alarm is a warning sound or symbol that gives rise to a state of emergency. Jesus warns us not to overvalue particular situations that can sometimes lead us into states of distress. Then he expresses his third negation: “Do not prepare your defence.” This is a veritable rule for life! Either we entrust ourselves to divine providence or we entrust ourselves to our own intelligence. Human intelligence is a remarkable thing, and we have a duty to exercise it prudently. But everything else must come secondary to our relationship with God. The Lord will bring good out of every situation and there is no need for me to defend myself anxiously. The English translation says “Keep this carefully in mind,” but the Greek text says “Fix this in your hearts!” What we must keep in our hearts is the conviction that it is the Lord who is guiding our lives! The end of things in him is secure. Whatever might happen to us, our lives will be preserved by the Lord.

NOVEMBER 10^th 2013. THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Luke 20:27-38

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

THIS WEEK OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES AS THEY COME TO TERMS WITH THE TERRIBLE TYPHOON. LORD, BLESS THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND COME TO THEIR AID.

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GOSPEL                   Luke 20:27-38

Some Sadducees-those who say that there is no resurrection-approached him and they put this question to him, 'Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man's married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died.  Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven?'

Jesus replied, 'The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.'

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The Gospel presents us with the Sadducees, stalwarts of religion who do not believe in eternal life! Is it possible to be religious and yet not believe in eternity? Yes! Much of our approaches towards religion are preoccupied with things that do not endure. Sometimes we treat Jesus as if he were merely someone who espoused a social doctrine or human philosophy. Belief in the resurrection, though, is not just something that concerns life after death. It is something that transforms the acts we do here and now. If I do an act in the light of eternity then it will have a completely different character than the same act done only for its worldly consequences.

            The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so they presented Jesus with the story of the woman who married seven times. Which of these men will be her husband in the afterlife?  The problem with the Sadducees is that they make a very human vision of marriage into an absolute thing. This human category is not compatible with an eternal kingdom, so they dismiss the reality of the eternal kingdom! Jesus does the complete opposite. He revolutionises marriage by viewing it in the light of the eternal kingdom. Marriage is not an institution that exists for its own sake. It is a means of sanctification for the spouses. Children of the eternal kingdom do not marry for their own motives nor for worldly gain. They are like angels of heaven. Angel means “sent”. Children of the kingdom have a mission. They are sent from God to communicate his life to others. To live in the light of the resurrection is to truly alive here and now.

Is it possible to be “religious” and not believe in eternal life? Yes!

The Sadducees were in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem and were very close to the members of the priestly class. They were extremely powerful at the time of Jesus and had a distinctive vision of life and particular interpretation of the Scriptures. The attitude of the Sadducees is extremely relevant to us today because it can be found lurking within our attitude towards the Christian faith. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and yet managed to construct a religious system that incorporated this denial of the existence of the afterlife. They upheld the law of Moses and maintained all of the rituals of the Old Testament. But their entire relationship with God was oriented towards this life here and now. There was no other life except this life. The only thing that counted, therefore, was justice in the here and now. Religion was purely at the service of a life that had no future. To us today it might seem inconceivable to construct a religion that denies the afterlife. Yet this exclusive focus on the present is hidden in many approaches to the faith that are influential today.

There is a perpetual temptation to reduce Christianity to a social doctrine that is primarily concerned with our earthly life

Is it possible to speak of Christianity without the resurrection? Can one preach the Gospel without mentioning eternal life or Paradise? Unfortunately, yes! There is a constant temptation to reduce Christianity to social ethics, justice, good works, or personal coherence. Some people do not find it convenient or comfortable to reflect on the fact that every Christian act has a relationship with eternity, a relationship with the resurrection. This is not merely to speak about life after death, but the life we are living right now. St Paul dedicated an entire chapter (fifteen) of his letter to the Corinthians to the issue of the resurrection. He asked his readers how they could sustain that there was no resurrection of the dead. If we follow Christ only for what can be achieved in this life then we are to be pitied above all human beings, Paul says. Such a “Christianity” is merely a human philosophy, not something that transcends the flesh. If the creed we profess is something that is only concerned with this life here and now, then our faith is merely a way of patching up the gaping shortcomings in our earthly being. There is no such thing as the supernatural, no such thing as true novelty, or real transcendence. Jesus is merely someone who gives us an indication of how we should live.

The resurrection transforms the life we are living right now

The resurrection is not simply something we experience after death. It also transforms the life we are living right now. The resurrection is the victory over the abyss that we already experience in our lives in every moment. Belief in the resurrection is essential for every single act of authentic Christian love.

The Saduccees attribute absolute value to a very worldly vision of marriage. Jesus, instead, revolutionizes the vision of marriage by considering it in the light of the eternal kingdom.

Jesus gives no credence to the absurd story proposed by the Sadducees. Seven brothers die one after the other, each marrying the “black widow” immediately before their demise. Then the Sadducees present the killer punch: if there is really a life after death, who will be the woman’s husband in paradise? Any force this story has comes only from the human categories that the Sadducees mistakenly consider to have absolute value. Jesus asks how the categories of this world can be applied in a world that transcends the abyss of death. In another text, Jesus speaks of a banquet to which all are invited but many refuse to come because they are busy with trivial things. All of us are preoccupied with trivial things. We live for things that do not endure, things that do not go beyond death. Instead, the children that are worthy of the kingdom that endures beyond death do not take husbands or wives, Jesus tells us. Is Jesus endorsing a prescription of celibacy for all? No, the Lord Jesus is saying something much more profound here. St Paul speaks of a new vision of matrimony in which the spouses do not marry each other on their own initiatives and for their own motives. Matrimony becomes a new way to sanctification for those who have been baptized. The goal of marriage is eternal life! The type of marriage referred to by the Sadducees is a human category that makes no sense in heaven. So they respond by dismissing the reality of heaven! But it is the understanding of marriage that must be transformed in the light of the reality of heaven! I take a spouse, not for myself, but as part of my journey towards heaven. My journey now involves loving my spouse and creating a family. The creation of a family or a society without the resurrection is something entirely different. The focus is on how things are here and now in the material sense. This focus prevents me from engaging in acts of true self-giving.  To act according to heaven is to live a completely different life altogether. The indissolubility of marriage is not properly conceivable without the resurrection, without the conviction that the void can be ultimately overcome. This void makes itself felt in every human relationship sooner or later and that is why the belief in the resurrection is fundamental for overcoming it.

Jesus’ vision of marriage in the light of the eternal kingdom

These children who have been reborn from above live another kind of relationship. They do not live according to the flesh. Death is not their ultimate horizon and in this sense they live like the angels. When we see the frescoes of Michelangelo we see a black line around each of the figures, delineating them. The children of the kingdom do not have this black line around them. Death is not the last word. The angels are the messengers of God. To live like the angels is to live like someone who has been sent with a message, someone with a mission. How different it is to live marriage in order to satisfy one’s hunger for affection! Instead the children of heaven live like people who have been sent, saying the words that the Lord wishes to communicate to the world. To live according to the resurrection is to live as a servant of the God of the living. In the end the real litmus test is not how much worldly goods we possess but whether we are truly alive or not.

NOVEMBER 3^rd 2013. THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

GOSPEL: LUKE 19:1-10

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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GOSPEL: LUKE 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house." 
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." 
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Zacchaeus is a man who has spent his life “climbing” over the heads of others. Despite his success, he is despised by his contemporaries. We crave success, thinking that people will think well of us as a result. But the greater our worldly success, the more we are despised by others. Just as Jesus looked differently on the reviled Zacchaeus, so too he looks differently on each one of us. The vainglory of this world tries to create us in a particular image, but Jesus sees us in a deeper way. He searches for the “son of Abraham” in us. He looks for the beautiful and just person that lies buried in our hearts. Chastising someone’s errors never leads to a real transformation of the person. What Jesus does is “enter our house” showing how much he respects us and values us. This causes us (and Zacchaeus) to rediscover the beauty and goodness that already lies within. Zacchaeus is inspired by Jesus’ visit to perform acts of great beauty and justice. We too, when we realize that Jesus values our beauty and makes his home with us, will be inspired to discover the justice and righteousness buried in our hearts.

Zacchaeus is a man who has spent all his life “climbing” over the heads of others

The Gospel this week places before us the figure of Zacchaeus, the chief of the tax collectors who wishes to see Jesus. Zacchaeus is an important man and he wishes to see this other important man – Jesus- who is passing through Jericho. The chief tax collector is small in stature, so he climbs up a sycamore tree in order to see better. In those days, the tax collector was a legally-sanctioned bully who used his position to instill fear and respect in the population. Sometimes it is the case that people who have physical limitations are psychologically driven to assert themselves and attain power in other ways. The act of climbing the sycamore tree might be symbolic of the entire life of Zacchaeus. He wishes to climb higher than anyone else, to be in an advantageous position with respect to others.

Jesus is compelled to stop at the house of Zacchaeus. It is God’s will that Jesus seek out sinners

Jesus sees him and says, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly because today I must stay at your house.” Why “must” Jesus stay at the house of Zacchaeus? From where does this pressing obligation derive? The only thing that Jesus is obliged to do is go to Jerusalem, suffer his passion and death, and rise after three days. Jesus must fulfill the will of the Father. In fulfilling this will, Jesus, apparently, must pass by the house of this unpleasant “climber”, Zacchaeus – a dishonest and aggressive man who has placed himself on the side of evil. There is something in the will of God that requires that Jesus stop by this man’s house. Where does the Lord stop, usually? Where does he have his dwelling? God resides in glory. It seems bizarre that the God who lives in glory should feel compelled to stop at the house of the most dishonest man in the locality.

Zacchaeus was successful but was despised by his neighbours. We crave success, thinking that it will lead others to think well of us. But worldly success only leads people to despise us

For the people of the locality Zacchaeus was a sinner, full stop. The text tells us that the people grumbled that Jesus would have entered the house of such a man. Despite all of his “success”, he was still regarded as the lowest of men by his contemporaries. We sometimes think that our successes lead people to think well of us. In the case of Zacchaeus it was natural that people still looked down on him despite his financial clout. But the sneering of the crowd towards Zacchaeus is typical of the way that humanity in general looks negatively on those who enjoy worldly success. Those who do well in worldly terms are generally despised by everyone else. When someone does well in business, or even in the church, people begin to murmur, “Who knows how he got to where he is today? Who did he pay off? Who did he ingratiate himself to?”

Jesus is searching for the “son of Abraham” in each of us. He is looking for the beautiful one, the just one, that is buried inside of us.

Often our ambition to succeed is driven by rivalry and competitiveness towards others. This is how the people of Jericho look on Zacchaeus, but Jesus looks on him in a completely different way. “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost.” The Son of Man, evidently, once possessed Zacchaeus. The tax collector once belonged to the Lord, and the Father has sent Jesus to find him again. Jesus is seeking out a man that is hidden inside the figure of Zacchaeus – and this hidden man is a son of Abraham. There is a just person hidden inside every human being. This is what Jesus is seeking out. What Jesus is searching for in each one of us is not what the vain-glory of this world tries to create out of us. Instead he is looking for the beauty that is hidden in each one of us. He is looking for the pearl, the oasis that exists in the desert of our lives. This beauty and justice belonged to Christ and he has been sent to bring it to the fore again. In Zacchaeus there lies hidden a son of Abraham.

How do we combat the errors in another’s behaviour? By chastising them? Or by valuing the other person and inspiring them to discover the good that is already hidden within them?

Searching for this child of Abraham in every human being is something worth doing. Sometimes we try to correct the errors in other people’s lives by verbally chiding them. We point out the things that they are doing wrong and how unjust their actions are. Such chastisement is a complete waste of time. More often than not the person is already aware of the errors of their ways. And if they are not aware, our complaints will not convince them either. There is another way of responding to the errors of another and this is the approach that the Lord Jesus has taken. To show the other person his value and dignity. By stopping at the house of Zacchaeus, Jesus is saying “Who you are matters to me. There is a relationship between us that is important to me.” As a result Zacchaeus discovers the good that is already there in his heart. He rediscovers the man that he really is. It is no longer of importance to him that he is the chief of his profession. It no longer matters that he has enormous worldly goods, or even that people speak badly of him. All that matters to him now are the beautiful things that he can do because of the fact that he has been found to be beautiful. It is beauty that convinces people to draw out that which has been hidden. It is when we entrust people that they are prompted to grow. When a father believes in his child, then the child brings to fruition the qualities that are hidden inside. When a father shows no faith in his child, then the child suppresses the qualities that he has. Jesus shows faith in Zacchaeus.  “I’m going to your house. You are someone that I value being with.” At first sight it might seem an odd pairing: Jesus the Just one and Zacchaeus the crooked tax collector”. Instead we find that they are perfectly compatible. Let us too be inspired by this Gospel to bring out all the good that is hidden inside of us. And let us be inspired to treat the people around us in the way that Jesus treated Zacchaeus – always seeking the good in others, always believing that there is something precious hidden in their hearts. Just as God has done with all of us, may we do with others! He has not emphasized our sinfulness. Instead he has focused on our infinite potential to love him in return.