XVIII Sunday of the Year

WHEN THE DOLLARS ARE IN THE WAY

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21

Readings for the XVIII Sunday of the Year

Henry Ford asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave him a pair of specs with dollar coins instead of lenses. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. “Nothing,” the man said, “the dollars are in the way.” Ford told him that he should invest in reaching out to others, not simply in making money.

Money is important. It is necessary! But it is only a means to higher ends. When the “dollars” get in the way of our seeing God, others, and the world, it’s time to change/remove our specs! 

In the gospel, when called to arbitrate in a property dispute, Jesus warns his listeners—through the parable of the rich fool—not to focus on possessions. The rich man of the parable is a “fool” not because he is rich; but because 

a) he trusts inordinately in his riches: he cannot see beyond himself; in his barns, there is room only for grain, not for God.

b) he is totally self-centred: when he has a problem, he talks it over with himself; all his planning is for his benefit and comfort only.

The man has riches but is extremely poor in his relationships. 

This is why St Paul, in the second reading, cautions the Colossians: “put to death… the greed that is idolatry.” The first reading, from the Book of Ecclesiastes, sums up Jesus’ teaching!

This text appears in the section on discipleship. Having spoken of the central place of love and prayer in the life of the disciple, Jesus now stresses the need to be rich in what matters to God: becoming truly human, that is, becoming rich in our relationship with God and others.

Few of us are as rich as the man in the story; but each of us has riches: talents, time, resources, families…

Do my “riches” isolate me from others or do I share my riches with others and use these to build my relationships? Where does my security lie: in the bank or in God? On what do I focus: grain/ green/ God? Are the “dollars” in the way?

XVII Sunday of the Year

NEVER GIVE UP

Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

Readings for the XVII Sunday of the Year

Winston Churchill took three years to get through the eighth grade! Many years later, in October 1941, he was asked to address the boys at his alma mater. His speech supposedly consisted of five words: “Never, never, never give up!”

This may be a legend! But these words sum up the thrust of today’s readings: never give up on God and on prayer.

In the first reading, Abraham asks God repeatedly and negotiates with him to save the immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the APU program: aggressive/ audacious, persistent, and unreasonable!

In today’s gospel, after teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus urges them to be persistent in prayer: ask repeatedly, seek untiringly, and knock loudly… and they will receive, find, and have the door opened.

But for what do we ask, seek, and knock? 

Jesus gives us the “pattern” to pray. We ought to pray, first, for God’s name to be made holy, for his kingdom to be established, and for his will to be done. We, then, pray for ourselves: for food, forgiveness (in the measure that we forgive!), and freedom from temptation/evil.

When we pray according to this “pattern”, God – like and much more than a good parent – will answer our prayer!

Jesus’ simple argument is that no father ever refused the request of his son; and so God the great Father will never refuse the requests of his children. A child might not be able to distinguish between a stone and bread, between a snake and a fish, between a scorpion and an egg. The parent, seeing the child reach out for a stone/ eel/ scorpion, knows the child is hungry, and satisfies not the request but the need expressed.

God gives us what we need. Instead of a change in situation for which we may be praying, he may give us strength and courage to face the situation or a new path of action or an enlarged capacity for suffering or looking at things with broader vision. God’s response to our prayer is generous and mysterious: the Holy Spirit.

Will I persist in prayer like Abraham? Will I ask repeatedly, seek untiringly, and knock loudly?

May you and I remember that prayer is to be in harmony with God; to feel the assurance that God is in, around and greater than any circumstance; that prayer is not a trading post, but a line of communication. 

May you and I never give up on God and on prayer!

XVI Sunday of the Year

BEING WITH AND DOING FOR…

Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

Readings for the XVI Sunday of the Year

One hears parents complain: “I slog from morning till night to give my kids the best. They don’t care. for whom am I working if not for them?” Children also complain: “Dad and Mum never spend time with me.” A dilemma! To be with people or to do things for them?

This dilemma finds an echo in today’s Gospel story. Martha and Mary both respond to Jesus’ presence—one by serving him, the other by sitting with him. Both responses are good yet seem to contradict each other. 

It’s not a question of work vs prayer. To understand the story, it is necessary to look at its context. Today’s incident comes after the parable of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus concludes with the words: “Go and do likewise.” The passage that follows today’s pericope is about prayer. In between we have today’s real-life situation: Martha serves Jesus and Mary simply sits with him. Who is neighbour to Jesus?

Reginald Fuller, a biblical scholar, suggests that the Martha-Mary story is a corrective to the activism in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ command “Go and do likewise” is meaningful only when it flows from hearing the word/prayer. For Martha’s service to be a true expression of love of neighbour, it would need to flow out of being with Jesus.

Further, it’s about discerning what a person needs in a particular situation and at a given moment. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to his passion and death. His greatest need is not “many things” but an empathetic-silent presence. That is what Mary gives him.

Finally, it’s about balance! Some of us are like Martha and some like Mary. We need to combine the two: without sitting and listening—to God and people—our doing leads to anxiety and anger; without doing, our faith and our love are empty, our being is passive. 

Like Martha, we could get distracted by many things. We need to spend time with people. This will help us to discern what they want and need, and then we can meet that need. 

Will my love of neighbour flow from my being with the Lord? Will I discern a person’s need and then meet that need? Will I strike a balance between being with people and doing things for them?

XV Sunday of the Year

LOVE HAS NO BORDERS

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

Readings for the XV Sunday of the Year

In July 2003, the successful heart operation on two-and-a-half-year-old Noor Fatima, a child from Pakistan, put the spotlight on Dr Devi Shetty and his Narayana Hrudayalaya (in Bangalore). Patients from several countries continue to visit this hospital. Dr Shetty says: “Pain has no language… reaction to pain and suffering is the same, so our response to the problem is also the same.” 

Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, this is what Jesus tells the scholar of the law who asked him: “Who is my neighbour?” The scholar asks Jesus the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 (which he has just quoted). For the Jews, one’s neighbour was the people in one’s own group, camp, area; it had a restrictive meaning.

But Leviticus 19:33 reads: “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” So the command to love one’s “neighbour” extended to foreigners, immigrants, and sojourners.

Love has no borders and knows no barriers. Love reaches out to anyone in need. Love gets involved, regardless of who the person is and regardless of the cost. 

This is what the unlikely hero of the parable does. The Samaritan goes beyond the boundaries of religion and nationality; he reaches out to the wounded man in need, gets involved in his life, spends time with him, and pays the innkeeper to minister to him. Recall that the Jews considered the Samaritans half breeds, thieves, and heretics. The Samaritan—the one least likely to keep the law—is the only one who keeps it.

Jesus gives the “man” no name, no religion, no nationality… in times of need, these are irrelevant. Further, he reverses the question: it is not important who my neighbour is, but to whom am I a neighbour! 

In an era when we build “gated communities” with religious, ethnic-racial, socio-economic fences, when we want to build walls and fences on borders, Jesus challenges me to live the commandment of love by going beyond all barriers and to build his kingdom as a neighbourhood with no frontiers.

How do we respond to people in need: are we moved with compassion and do we reach out to them with mercy or do we walk on pretending they don’t exist? To whom and how will I be “neighbour” in the week ahead?

May our love be across borders and boundaries.

St Thomas

FIRST-HAND FAITH

Jeremiah 1:4-9; Ephesians 2:19-22; John 20:24-29

Readings for the Solemnity of St Thomas

Just for a moment close your eyes. Imagine the buzz of bungee jumping or the thrill paragliding… not happening, right? If we have never bungee jumped or paraglided, we’d find it almost impossible to imagine the experience! Someone may describe the raw excitement of the adventure, but we can feel the buzz only when we experience it first-hand!

What is true of adventure sport is true of life and of faith. Faith is not second-hand knowledge. Faith is first-hand experience; it comes from an encounter with God.

This is the thrust of today’s gospel and solemnity! 

Thomas is not with the other apostles when Jesus appears to them. They testify that they have seen the Lord, but Thomas refuses to believe: “Unless I see… and place my finger… and place my hand… I will not believe.” He is not content with second-hand knowledge. He wants to see Jesus himself; he desires to experience the risen Lord first-hand. 

Thomas may be known as “the apostle who doubted”, but he is not very different from the other apostles. They did not believe Mary Magdalene’s testimony or the disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It is only after Jesus appeared to them that they believed! They believe after a personal experience.

What brings Thomas to belief is not the proof he demanded; Thomas does not touch the Lord. He believes after an encounter with the risen Jesus, which leads him to acknowledge Jesus as “My Lord and my God.”

We are like Thomas! We do not want to learn from others; we want to and have a right to experience life for ourselves. The same should be true of our faith-life. Will I be content with a second-hand knowledge of God, or will I experience the thrill of encountering God myself?

When we use our God-given intelligence, like Thomas, we will have doubts about faith and religion. Like Thomas, we need to be honest about our doubts. Will I boldly face and express my doubts, and seek a response to them? Or will I push aside my unanswered and, perhaps, unasked questions? 

Thomas recognized the broken and wounded body of Jesus! May we encounter Jesus in our woundedness and in the brokenness of others and proclaim him as our Lord and God!