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Scripture today: 2 Samuel 11: 1-4. 5-10. 13-17; Psalm
50; Mark 4: 26-34
Jesus also said, This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on
the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and
grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn— first
the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. As soon as the grain is
ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. Again he said,
What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to
describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in
the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden
plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.
With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could
understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he
was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
(Mark 4: 26-34)
The
parables
Everyone who has some knowledge of the figure of Jesus Christ — especially
considered as Teacher — knows that he made special and extensive use of the
parable. The parable is a brief story which illustrates a religious teaching.
It is concrete and pictorial, gaining the attention of the whole man — mind,
heart and imagination — and not just of his intellect. Christ’s
employment of parables is part and parcel of his Incarnation. Had God chosen a
different people to be his own, and therefore had the promised Messiah been of a
different race, the method of his teaching may well have been different. Had
the Messiah been a Greek, his discourses may have been much more abstract in
expression. Had he been an Egyptian, or a Roman, or a Persian, his mode of
teaching would have had characteristics of those peoples. Jesus Christ was a
Hebrew, and his human intellect and imagination was therefore Hebraic. As man
he thought very concretely, and this, we might say, was surely the most
successful way to teach — with concrete imagery. There is this to be mentioned
too, that if we compare the teachings of Jesus Christ as they are presented in
the Gospels, with the teachings of the prophets before him, are not those of
Jesus Christ outstanding in their clarity? In large measure this is due to his
use of the parable. There is no prophet in the Scriptures who used the parable
so extensively as Jesus Christ. As a result, while the Gospels are the most
important part of the entire corpus of inspired writing, they are perhaps the
clearest. The most educated read them, as do those of very limited education.
However, one result of this clarity, this concreteness and use of everyday
imagery and story, is that we can easily deceive ourselves into thinking that we
have plumbed the parable more or less to its depths at a mere several readings.
But no. We ought remember who it is who devised the parable in question, and
how constantly we ought be returning to it for fresh insight and inspiration.
We ought love the imagery used by Jesus Christ and make our home in it.
Let this be a broad introduction to the simple parables of today’s Gospel
passage. All through the Gospels we see that our Lord is speaking of the
“Kingdom of God.” This “Kingdom” is God’s rule. It is his lordship, his
dominion. Christ’s announcement is that it is nigh, near at the gates. He
will show that it is present in his person, for he is himself both divine and
entirely subject to the divine. He is himself God, and at the same time he is
the Son. The goal of our Lord’s preaching is to invite all to strive to enter
the Kingdom, which is to say to submit to the plan and will of God as it reveals
itself in the new dispensation announced by Jesus Christ. We enter this divine
Kingdom by entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a
relationship that is both loving and obedient. The greater our relationship in
love with Jesus Christ, the deeper will be our entry into the Kingdom of God.
The task of life is, as St Paul repeatedly puts it, to be “in Christ.” If we
are “in Christ,” we shall keep his commandments, and this will be the sign that
we love him and the Father. Now, what is it like to enter into the Kingdom of
God in this way? To begin with, it is not a sudden business. It takes time.
It is a gradual process of improvement and repentance. We read that “This is
what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night
and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he
does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn‑ first the stalk, then
the ear, then the full grain in the ear. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts
the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” So the grace of God is at work
constantly, and this is the secret behind the holiness of the saints. Again,
it is like the mustard seed that grows without being noticed. We must be
patient and persevering, and rely on the power of grace that is constantly
working. This work, the work of holiness and entry into the Kingdom of God, is
the work of our lifetime, however short or long it may be.
Let
us take to heart the imagery of this parable. I once heard of a debate over
the relative merits of literature and philosophy. It was felt by the literary
man that through literature one best proceeds towards the truth. Be that as it
may, there is no doubt that Christ characteristically expressed himself in the
mode of literature rather than of philosophy. He preferred the story, the
allegory, the pictorial maxim, to abstract discourse. It means that his
message is accessible to the best and the poorest, to all ages and peoples.
Let us contemplate the Kingdom by means of his images.
To you, who like sports, the Apostle's argument should appeal: 'All the
runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the
prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win'.
(The Way, no.318)
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Scripture today: 2
Samuel 12: 1-7. 10-17; Psalm 50; Mark 4: 35-41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, Let us go over to the
other side. Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in
the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and
the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the
stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, Teacher,
don't you care if we perish? He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves,
Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to
his disciples, Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? They were
terrified and asked each other, Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey
him! (Mark 4: 35-41)
Trust Our
Gospel scene today may be said to encapsulate much of the history of mankind.
The day has been full of work. We are told at the beginning of the chapter
that Jesus “began to teach by the shore, and there was gathered before him a
great multitude,” requiring that he get into a boat and teach from a little out
from the shore. Sample parables are given of his teaching — such as the one
portraying the sower going out to sow and describing the different soils that
received his seed. The implication is that our Lord taught for hours that day,
for we are told that it was “when evening came” that he sent the crowds away.
Then, as if to emphasise our Lord’s weariness, it is the disciples who “took
him even as he was to the boat.” They managed the departure for him, and before
long, our Lord was fast asleep in the boat. He was physically exhausted, while
utterly in the hands of his heavenly Father. We can surely see this labour and
this exhaustion of the Son of God made man as a picture of man at work, the man
of history, mankind in his toil. Man is born into this life for work and that
is exactly what our Lord had been doing. His disciples had also been working
in the assistance of their Master, and they undoubtedly did all they could to
enable him to rest while they managed the large boat across the Lake. They
themselves were now at work, steering the vessel across the broad Sea of
Galilee. But then we see a second feature of human history. Man works and he
suffers tribulation. He undergoes reversals and, not uncommonly, tragedies.
In view of the storms that are recorded in the Gospels, one wonders how often
there were fatal mishaps and loss of life among Galilean fishermen. In our
scene today the disciples believed they were in danger of drowning. “A furious
squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly
swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke
him and said to him, Teacher, don’t you care if we perish?”
(Mark 4: 35‑41). In the midst of this crisis,
there was no word from our Lord. He was in profound repose, and the striking
calmness of his sleep is suggested by his disciples’ reproach: “do you not care
if we perish?”
Time and time again in human tragedies, there seems to be no word from God. He
seems to be asleep, calmly asleep in the midst of terrible crises. When our
Lord was roused and at a word calmed the storm, he said to his disciples, “Why
are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He was reproaching them, not for
failing to have faith in him after he calmed the storm, but for failing in faith
while he was asleep. They failed in faith when the crisis was at its height.
Our Lord did not get to his feet and apologise to them that a crisis was
allowed to occur, or assure them that he understood their alarm. Such a crisis
could easily happen, for they were out on the Sea. Many crises in life can and
will occur. A fine young girl from an excellent family, having had an
excellent upbringing, and herself having certain admirable qualities, marries
and embarks on her new life as wife, mother and homemaker. Gradually, her
husband shows his true qualities. He is very selfish and thoughtless. He
abandons the practice of his Christian Faith and is of little use in the
upbringing of the children. She is more and more alone in fulfilling the
duties of her life. There is one storm after another, but she is faithful.
She prays and prays, but the husband does not change. God seems to be asleep
in the midst of the storms, despite her appeals and her saying to him, “Do you
not care that I am going down?” But she remains faithful. She continues to
pray, too. At the end of her long life she has the joy of seeing her husband
return to a responsible and Christian life. God has not been asleep, and she
did not fail in faith. The disciples rouse our Lord from his sleep — as was
good and natural — but our Lord implies that they should have had faith in him
all along, even though he was asleep. That is to say, no matter what the
tribulation, and no matter what its upshot, faith in God is an obligation. Our
Lord himself would face the greatest possible tribulations and not be saved from
them. “Father! Let this cup pass from me,” he would pray in the Garden, “but
not as I, but as you will!” The Father wished him to pass through the storm and,
indeed, to drown. But all would be well, and he was raised up to his very
right hand.
Man works, and he suffers his tribulations. In all his work, he must strive to
do the will of God. In all his tribulations he must have faith in the Lord
whom he is serving. Faith, faith to the very end, is the path for man in all
his vulnerability. He is not at the mercy of chance and hostile forces, even
if they appear to win the field. They will not win the field — only God will,
if man continues to obey God and to have faith in him. Let Christ be our
Teacher and our Model, and above all our Saviour whose hand is always upon us,
even if absolutely unseen.
What
is meditating on Christ? it is simply this, thinking habitually and constantly
of Him and of His deeds and sufferings. It is to have Him before our minds as
One whom we may contemplate, worship, and address when we rise up, when we lie
down, when we eat and drink, when we are at home and abroad, when we are
working, or walking, or at rest, when we are alone, and again when we are in
company; this is meditating.
JHN, from the sermon ‘Christ’s Privations a Meditation for Christians’ (1840)
Prayers
this week:
Save us, Lord our
God, and gather us together from the nations, that we may
proclaim your holy name and glory in your praise. (Ps
105.47) Lord
our God, help us to love you with all our hearts and to love all men as
you love them. We
ask
this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
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Seeing the
multitudes, Jesus went up a mountain, and when he had sat down his
disciples came to him. Beginning to speak he taught them, "Happy are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Happy are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Happy
are the meek, for they shall possess the land. Happy are those who
hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Happy
the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Happy are the clean of
heart, for they shall see God. Happy are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called children of God. Happy are those who suffer persecution
for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you
when they revile you and persecute you and speak all that is evil
against you untruly, for my sake. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward
is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were
before you." (Matthew
5:1-12a)
Happiness
It is said that the great physicist Albert Einstein strove to discover the
fundamental law of the universe, and to express it in a formula. He failed.
During the century before Einstein, Cardinal Newman once criticized the German
philosophers of his day for trying to reduce reality to one principle. We ought
indeed beware of over‑simplification, but certain patterns do occur to us.
If we gaze on the world with all its variety and activity we notice that
everywhere there is suffering and contentment, joy and sorrow. The animal and
insect world is driven by the desire for satisfaction and yet is frustrated by
fear and menace. The mother bird finds contentment in protecting its young and
is attacked by other birds of prey and loses all. Mankind yearns for happiness,
and time and again it eludes him. What is clear is that at the heart of visible
reality there is the desire for happiness in some sense, the happiness that
comes from fulfilling one’s nature. Happiness in its various meanings drives
the world and yet so much threatens it. Now, if the world is thus, what is to
be said of the Creator? Is not the desire for happiness the imprint of his
creative hand? God is absolutely and boundlessly happy, and his creation
bears the imprint of this in its desire to attain happiness according to its
measure. Our wish to be happy manifests our likeness to God who is absolutely
happy. But while God is happy, and while we are called to be happy, the
question is, how is happiness to be attained? This is surely the abiding
question for mankind and there have been any number of answers to it. Buddha
made the search for this answer the purpose of his life, while various modern
philosophers have said that the elusiveness of happiness shows the absurdity and
meaninglessness of life. The religions of man and the systems of the
philosophers have all tried to bring to light the definitive answer. The
burning question in all of human history is, how is happiness to be understood
and attained?
Well, Christ appeared on the stage of world history and said that he is the
Light and the only true Light. In our Gospel passage today
(Matthew 5:1‑12a) our Lord speaks of true
human happiness. It is to be found in being in union with him and in following
his way. Blessed and happy are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek, the
merciful and those who hunger for what is right. Blessed are the pure of heart
and the peacemakers and those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ. Their
reward will be great in heaven. How are these paths to happiness to be
understood? In the first instance they are descriptions of our Lord’s own path.
That is to say, they describe his own mind and heart. On one occasion our Lord
said, “Come to me all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give
you rest. Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find
rest for your souls.” Our Lord was speaking of his sacred heart. The Beatitudes
of the Gospel also speak of his heart, of its poverty of spirit, of its
meekness, of its mercy and hunger for the right, of its purity and love of true
peace. Our Lord is telling us that happiness lies in that direction, the
direction that leads to him and that accompanies him. On another occasion our
Lord said that if anyone wishes to be his disciple, he should renounce himself
and take up his cross every day and follow in his footsteps. Therein lies the
true happiness of man. What this means also is that true happiness, that
happiness to which God has called us is attainable only with the help of God’s
grace and it leads us to a share in the very life of God. This happiness is not
the fleeting happiness of this world, but is eternal. It is everlasting. It is
indeed the ultimate goal of human endeavour, and the world itself will in its
measure share in it at the end at the resurrection of the dead when all is
restored, but in glory. At the end, for those judged worthy of what God has
prepared for those who love him, there will be the vision of God face to face,
and happiness will be complete and without end.
Every time we experience happiness during this life, however limited it may be
and however elusive, let that experience be a reminder to us that we are indeed
called to be happy, but to a happiness that will never end and that will be
complete. It is God’s gift and it is found in union with Christ and in
following in his footsteps, bearing the Cross. He is our happiness and he is
the way to it. Let us live according to this, and let us bear witness to this
to the world around us.
Encourage those noble thoughts, those holy desires which are awakening
in you... A single spark may start a conflagration.
(The Way, no.320)
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Scripture today:
2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30;
16:5-13; Psalm 3:2-7; Mark 5:1-20
Jesus and his
disciples crossed the sea to the country of the Gerasenes. As he
stepped out of the boat, immediately there came to him from tombs a man
with an unclean spirit. He had been dwelling in the tombs and no one
could now restrain him, not even with chains. Having been often bound
with fetters and chains he had burst the chains and broken the fetters
in pieces. No one could tame him. He was always day and night among the
tombs in the mountains crying and cutting himself with stones. Seeing
Jesus afar off he ran and reverenced him. Crying out with a loud voice
he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus the Son of the most high
God? I adjure you by God that you not torment me.” For he said to him,
“Go out of the man, you unclean spirit.” And he asked him, “What is
your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He
besought him repeatedly that he would not drive him away out of the
country. There was there near the mountain a great herd of swine,
feeding. The spirits besought him saying, “Send us into the swine that
we may enter them.” Jesus immediately gave them leave. The unclean
spirits going out entered the swine, and the two thousand or so herd
with great violence was swept headlong into the sea and there were
drowned. Those who looked after them fled and told everything in the
city and in the fields. The inhabitants went out to see what had
happened. When they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been
possessed sitting, clothed, and mentally recovered, they were afraid.
Those who had witnessed everything recounted it to all, explaining what
had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. At that, they began
asking him to leave their district. When he went into the boat, the one
who had been possessed began to implore Jesus that he might remain with
him. But Jesus would not permit it, and told him, “Go to your house and
to your friends, and tell them how great have been the things the Lord
has done for you and his mercy towards you.” He went his way and began
to broadcast in the Decapolis the great things Jesus had done for him.
Everyone marvelled.(Mark 5:1-20)
The
supernatural
Let us notice one feature of the culture of the people of the Gerasenes, which
is the setting of our Gospel passage today. There is among them no scepticism
as to the reality of the supernatural. It was as plain as the day that the
demonic was a reality and that, in the man Jesus, they had someone in whom
abided the supernatural. But now, what of our own day? It is, of course,
a very mixed situation but one very dominant feature is that of scepticism in
respect not only to religion, but to the supernatural itself.
Ever since the sixteenth century and even more clearly since the Enlightenment
that followed it, this visible world of ours has been progressively equated with
reality. It is equated with it in the sense that reality is restricted to the
empirical. That which is real is that which can be experienced and tested with
the senses. It is deemed that there can be no certain reality other than the
empirical. This assumption has led in turn to a profound scepticism as to the
testimony of the Scriptures and in particular the Gospels, precisely because —
paradoxically — so much of it provides empirical evidence of the supernatural.
For the modern sceptic the Gospels cannot be historical because in them the
supernatural is presented as tangible. Our Lord cured the sick and the
empirical evidence was there. It showed not just the fact of the supernatural
but the proof of his claims as to the divinity of his person. He raised the
dead and performed many other miracles, and here in our Gospel passage today he
casts out powerful demons. Our Gospel passage today is one of the many that
radically challenge the assumptions of modern secular man. Let modern man feel
encouraged to take up the Gospel and, despite his instinctive dislike for the
possibility of an active supernatural world, let him open his mind and heart to
the unseen God present visibly in Christ, to Satan his great but helpless
antagonist, and to the implications of this for human life. What does it all
mean for modern man? One thing it means is that the supernatural is very
real.
So then, what are the great supernatural facts that our Gospel scene today
reminds us of? Our visible world has within its theatre active realities that
are not of it. Firstly, man finds himself burdened with the presence of the
demonic. The devil has entered our scene and has done his very dirty work. The
man with the unclean spirit in our Gospel passage may be taken as an extreme
example of what happens when Satan takes up his abode, and to a greater or
lesser extent this is the situation in our world. Our beautiful world has been
profoundly marred by the visit of Satan who has come to stay. That is the first
thing that the country of the Gerasenes — the context of our Lord’s activity
here — reminds us of. The devil is there, and as St Peter writes in his Letter,
he roams around like a roaring lion. But secondly, another and far more
powerful Presence has come. God has visited his people and Satan is no match
for him. What is the reaction of the demons to the sudden arrival of Christ?
They fear him, instinctively honour him, plead with him so as to ward off his
power, and ask for consideration. There is no doubt about Christ’s effortless
dominance over the demonic. “Seeing Jesus afar off, he ran and reverenced him.
And crying with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with you, Jesus the Son
of the most high God? I adjure you by God that you torment me not. For he said
to him: Go out of the man, you unclean spirit.” (Mark
5:1‑20) The upshot is that the devils are cast out of the unfortunate
man. The supernatural realm is very real indeed and Christ is the consoling
force for good against whom no evil power has a chance. But look what then
happens! Despite the good he has done the inhabitants want him to leave. It is
an instance of St John’s remark during the course of the Prologue of his Gospel,
that he came unto his own and his own did not receive him. The Gerasenes ask
him to go.
Every day the Christian has a choice to make and to live by. There are two
great Standards aloft and fluttering in the wind. The first — first perhaps to
be noticed in its effects — is that of Satan. There is another, far greater and
truly consoling. It is the Standard of Christ. Let us choose his Standard, and
resolve to fight for it. Let us remember that our Lord said that the one who
refuses to gather with him will be scattered. Our Gospel scene today gives
proof of this.
Apostolic soul: Jesus' intimacy with you — so close to him for so many
years! — doesn't it mean anything to you?
(The Way, no.321)
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Scripture today:
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a,
30–19:3; Psalm 86:1-6; Mark 5:21-43
When Jesus had
crossed over the Lake in boat a great multitude assembled together
before him, and he was close to the sea. There came one of the rulers
of the synagogue named Jairus, and seeing him he fell down at his feet.
He implored him saying “My daughter is at the point of death, come, lay
your hand upon her that she may be safe live.” He went with him and a
great crowd followed him thronging around him. There was a
woman who suffered from an issue of blood for twelve years. She had
undergone many treatments from various physicians and had spent all
that she had and was nothing the better for it, but rather worse. When
she heard of Jesus she came through the crowd behind him and touched
his garment. For she said, “If I touch but his garment I shall be
whole.” Forthwith the source of her blood was dried up, and she felt in
her body that she was healed of the evil. Immediately Jesus knowing in
himself that the power had proceeded from him, turned to the multitude
and said: “Who touched my garments?” His disciples said to him, “You
see the multitude thronging around you and you say, who hath touched
me!” He looked about to see her who had done this. The woman fearing
and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before
him, and told him all the truth. He said to her: “Daughter, your faith
has saved you. Go in peace, and be freed of your infirmity.” While he
was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's
house, saying: “Your daughter is dead: why do you trouble the master
any further?” But Jesus heard what was said and said to the synagogue
official, “Fear not, only believe.” He would only allow Peter, and
James, and John the brother of James to follow him. they came to the
house of the ruler of the synagogue and he saw a commotion with people
weeping and wailing a great deal. Entering he said to them: “Why make
you all this fuss and weeping? The girl is not dead but is sleeping.”
And they laughed him to scorn. But having put them all out, he took the
father and the mother of the child and those who were with him, and
entered in where the girl was lying. Taking her by the hand, he sad to
her: “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Girl, I say to you, arise.”
Immediately the girl rose up and walked. She was twelve years old. They
were greatly astonished. He charged them strictly that no one should
know of it, and he directed that something should be given her to eat.(Mark 5:21-43)
God loves me One of
the most common complaints of religious people is that God does not seem to
care. By this they mean not so much that God does not seem to care about people
in general, but that he does not seem to care about me. Just as so many others
do not seem to care about me, neither
does God himself. That is to say, a common difficulty is belief in a particular
providence, a providence particular to me. While in many religions — say, many
indigenous religions — the high god or supreme being withdraws after creating
and leaves particular involvement to lesser spirits — all understand that the
God of revealed religion exercises a very particular providence over the
individual. Yet for many people this is not an easy conviction to come by. How
can I come to realize that God loves me, me in particular, and that he is
dealing with me as a true Father? Well, as ever, it is the inspired word of God
and in particular the testimony of the Gospels which reveal this to me. I must
steep myself in the word of God and in particular the words and actions of Jesus
whom, when we see, we see the Father. He shows me that God loves me in
particular. He knows my name and looks at me. When I meet him in the fullness
of time he will address me as one whom he knows so very well. Let us observe in
passing that the Incarnation brought the great God directly to individuals, and
in doing so he was limiting himself. In the act of becoming man he was in a
sense limiting himself to individuals. He was limiting himself to being in a
particular locale and to dealing with particular individuals. It meant,
incidentally, that other individuals could miss out on him unless some one
brought news of him to them and then introduced them to him. In this way the
Incarnation involved and revealed a particular providence in God’s dealings with
us. God is shown to be involved not just with the universe en masse, but with
me and with you. What then does our Gospel today (Mark
5:21‑43) tell us of this? Right away we see our Lord dealing
with individuals.
The synagogue official Jairus approached our Lord and pleaded that he come and
heal his daughter who was at the point of death. We might ask, if Jesus was the
Lord God become man, why did he not just with a wave of the hand or a mere word
heal the daughter and be done with it? Indeed, why had he allowed her and
others to be sick unto death in the first place? By his Incarnation he was
subjecting himself to dealing with individuals and so we see him being informed
about a particular case, being requested to come to where the child was and
ministering to her there. The father of the sick child was seeking particular
attention and he received it. Our Lord did exactly what he requested, he got up
and followed him to his house. God deals with each of us individually too, and
he expects from us a personal approach to him. His response to us will be a
personal one. One of the things our Lord is revealing is that there is a
particular providence. But consider what happens then. On the way, out of
sight a sick woman comes through the crowd in order to touch our Lord’s
garment. She is convinced that if she were to do this she would be healed. And
so it was. That individual contact between the two brought about her healing
instantly. But there is more. Christ stopped. He looked around asking who
“touched” him. He wanted the personal contact. Trembling, the woman came
forward and our Lord was able to assure her personally that her faith had saved
her. We see at work a powerful particular providence. These Gospel events were
signs of how God deals with each of us. He does not just deal en masse with
mankind, even though at times he does this too. But no, he deals with us as
individuals. However vast might be his family, and however vast his universe,
not a hair falls from our head without our heavenly Father knowing it. Our
Gospel passage concludes with our Lord arriving at the house and going to the
girl personally. He then took her by the hand and raised her up and directed
that she be given something to eat. It is all very personal and individual.
Let us dwell constantly on these marvellous Gospel passages and reflect on what
they tell us about God and his ways. Christ loved me, St Paul writes in one of
his Letters, and gave himself up for me. Accepting the testimony of the Gospels
means making an act of real faith. In that faith we believe in a very personal
providence. God is love and this means that he loves me. He loves me as a
member of his chosen people, which is his Church founded on the Apostles, but
nevertheless he loves me in particular. Let us be sure to lay this foundation
of faith in the personal love of God for me.
It's true that I always call our Tabernacle Bethany... Become a friend
of the Master's friends: Lazarus, Martha, Mary. And then you won't ask
me any more why I call our Tabernacle Bethany.
(The Way, no.322)
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Scripture today: Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51:3-4,
5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Take heed that you
do not perform your justice before men in order to be seen by them.
Otherwise you will not receive a reward from your Father who is in
heaven. Therefore when you give
alms do not have a trumpet sound before you as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets in order that they may be honoured by
men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you
give alms let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In
this way your alms may be in secret and thy Father who sees in secret
will repay you. When you pray do not be like the hypocrites who love to
stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets in order
that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received
their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and having shut the
door pray to your Father in secret: and your Father who sees in secret
will repay you. And when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, sad.
They disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.
Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast
anoint your head and wash your face in order that you will not appear
to men to be fasting but only to your Father who is in secret. Your
Father who sees in secret will repay you.(Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)
For God alone There
are several observations to be made on the directions our Lord gives in our
Gospel passage today. Firstly, he presumes that there will be three basic
features of our religious life: prayer (of course), fasting (i.e., mortification
in its various forms), and almsgiving (acts of mercy towards others).
Normally, I think, not all three of these are present in strength.
There are those who have a definite regime of prayer in their life, but do not
do much for those who are suffering and in need. They do not “give alms.”
There are others who pray and who are generous in giving to the poor, but who
practise little real self‑denial. They do not “fast.” There are also
those who give alms and who are somewhat self-denying, but who are weak in their
prayer life. They do not “pray” much. Our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel
passage assume that in a life oriented to God there will be all three: prayer,
self‑denial and works of mercy. But our Lord also makes clear that each of
these essential components can be easily corrupted. That will happen when we
pray, fast or give to others for self‑serving reasons. These things can be done
primarily in the presence of our fellow men rather than in the presence of God,
and performed for self‑aggrandisement rather than for the glory of God. On one
occasion our Lord was asked what is the greatest commandment of the Law, for (we
might add in explanation) there were numerous commandments relating to prayer,
concern for others and self‑denial. What is the most important thing? Our Lord
replied that the first and greatest commandment was that we love God with all
our mind, heart, soul and strength. The second commandment was like it, that we
love our neighbour as ourself. Everything — and we might add, everything
relating to prayer, concern for others and self‑denial — depends for its value
on the presence of this all-pervading love. Love for God first, and neighbour
second, is what gives value to everything. So then, it is a genuine love for
God which must motivate and pervade our religion with its prayer, self‑denial
and concern for others.
It is this purity of motive, this progressively genuine character of love
informing the three great pillars of religion, that sets a person on the path to
sanctity. How then is this purity of motive to be attained in the practice of
religion? Our Lord’s words imply the answer to this question. It is that we do
all in the presence of God, and with him alone before our view. We should not
practise our religion on the stage before others, but in the presence of our
Father in heaven who sees all that is done in secret. He sees the secret
motives of our hearts and knows who it is we are trying to please. In this our
great model is our Lord himself who gives the instruction of today’s Gospel
passage (Matthew 6:1‑6, 16‑18). On one
occasion when attacked by his enemies, he challenged them, “Can any of you
convict me of sin?”. On another he stated quite simply that “I always do what
pleases him” — that is, his heavenly Father. At the Transfiguration of Christ
on the Mountain, the voice of the Father was heard from the midst of the cloud,
“This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Christ pleased his heavenly
Father and he did so in everything he thought, said and did. Our goal ought be
to do everything in order to please God. What might be our practical strategy
in this? Essential to the achievement of this goal is what we might call the
Morning Offering. Right at the start of the day, on rising, we ought repeat
over and over again a prayer in which we offer the entire day to God and for his
glory. “I offer you all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for
all your intentions, and for the fulfilment of all your plans.” Then during the
day this morning offering of oneself ought be repeated. The day ought be lived
out in the presence of God and the intention to serve and love him in our
service and love of others ought be renewed and purified. God and his holy will
ought be the grand motive of our life, and this ought be the case throughout
every day and every part of every day. Otherwise we shall be living for the
good opinion of our fellow men rather than God, in which case our reward will be
here on earth.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is the great time of
spiritual renewal when we intensify our focus on the one thing necessary. That
one thing is to love God with all our heart and faithfully to do his will. What
practical step ought we take to achieve this? There are many practical steps
related to prayer, self‑denial and mercy towards others, but above all we ought
renew and increase our sense of the abiding presence of God, and our
determination to do all for him alone.
You know that there are 'evangelical counsels.' To follow them is a
refinement of Love. It is said to be the way of few. At times I feel it
could be the way of many.
(The Way, no.323)
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Scripture today: Deuteronomy
30:15-20; Psalm 1:1-4 and 6; Luke 9:22-25
Jesus said to his
disciples: “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by
the elders and chief priests and scribes and be put to death, and on
the third day rise again.” He said to all, “If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it and the one who loses
his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man to
gain the whole world and lose his very self?”(Luke 9:22-25)
The Cross Our
brief Gospel passage today is to be reckoned a key passage in understanding of
Christ and the Christian way. Take the great founders of the religions of
mankind and ask what they understood to be the means to achieve their mission,
and, even more exactly, what was the place of suffering and reversals in their
scheme? Let us take Mahomet and surmise how he saw his life as it unfolded.
To begin with, there is not the slightest evidence that he could foresee his own
future. Moreover, in prosecuting his mission, which was to announce and teach
what he interpreted to be God’s revelation to him, he took ordinary human
means. These included (but were not restricted to) military and political steps
and they were well taken — in the sense that he was successful in their use.
Islam was established as the religion of his people and those means continued to
play their part in the advance of the religion. Could Mahomet have envisaged
his own rejection by the leaders, and a terrible death, precisely as his means
of success? Hardly. Buddha and Confucius took other (human) steps and
their religions spread and gained their ascendancy accordingly. But consider
Christ. He unequivocally saw and stated that he was the fulfilment of the
prophecies of Scripture, and in particular the prophecies of the Suffering
Servant of God who was to be rejected. In our Gospel passage today, he states
that his mission would be achieved through his being rejected and put to death.
His bearing witness to the truth of his person would be exercised primarily in
sufferings, in reversals, in rejection by those who counted most, and in being
put to death. When set against the history of the world surely the novelty of
this course stands out. It is not a human plan. When coupled with the
prophecies, when linked with the beauty and holiness of Jesus’ person, when put
in the context of Christ’s miracles, and above all when connected with the
resurrection, such a course shows itself to have been conceived in heaven. It
is the mystery hidden, and now revealed.
Not only
does our Lord state that “the Son of man must suffer many things, and be
rejected”, but that his followers must tread this path with him. In our passage
he says to all, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will
lose it and the one who loses his life for my sake will save it”
(Luke 9:22‑25). Mysteriously, suffering is
now not just a manifestation of all that is negative and leading to death, but
is itself life‑giving when lived out in union with the Master who has gone
before us. Just as Christ embraced the cross as his ordained path to glory and
to his making all things new, so too his disciples must understand that
obedience to the will of God, especially in the midst of the suffering this
entails, will bring life, life in abundance. It is an extraordinary doctrine
and its acceptance is the litmus test of the true Christian. The acceptance of
the Cross is the hallmark of the Christian saint. Even more paradoxically, not
just the acceptance of the Cross out of love for the Master but its positive
embrace distinguishes the saint. Read the lives of the saints the Church
has canonized and you will see this. The Church canonizes a person not only to
give Christ’s faithful full certainty as to his holiness, but also to hold up
for their instruction and imitation one who has truly and successfully followed
Christ. The saint embodies the way of Jesus. So let every Christian consider
this point of today’s Gospel and pray for the grace to accept and love what
Christ teaches about the Cross. Let us pray for the grace to accept and embrace
it in the little duties of everyday life, and in what we are prepared to do over
and above those innumerable little duties. The Cross of everyday living is the
path to sanctity for every Christian. The suffering involved in accepting God’s
will, his providence, the duties of our station in life, leads to glory.
St
Paul once wrote that he came preaching one thing, Christ and him as crucified.
To most it seemed madness, but in reality — Paul writes — it is the power of
God. So when suffering comes, be it in the form of disappointments, ill health,
tragedies, let us unite ourselves with the living risen Jesus and resolve to
follow his path which was that of the Cross. Our union with him in the midst of
obedient suffering will bring God’s life to ourselves and to the world.
'Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish!'
A sad commentary which, if you don't want, need never be made about
you: for you possess everything necessary to crown the edifice of your
sanctification: the grace of God and your own will.
(The Way, no.324)
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Scripture today:
Isaiah 58:1-9a; Psalm 51:3-6ab, 18-19; Matthew 9:14-15
There came to Jesus
the disciples of John, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,
but your disciples do no?” Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the
bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days
will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then
they will fast.”(Matthew 9:14-15)
Christ
the centre
Take any of the prophets, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezechiel,
right up to the greatest of them before Christ himself, namely John the
Baptist. We see little in them of personal claims. They claimed to have been
called by God to be his prophetic spokesmen but their whole purpose was to point
to God on whose behalf they were speaking.
They themselves were but a voice — and indeed John the Baptist stated that this
is all he was. He was a voice crying in the wilderness, make a path straight
for the coming of the Lord. The case is very different with Jesus of Nazareth.
He of course points to the Father — his own Father, but he himself is at the
centre of this revelation of his Father. He who sees me, he said to his
disciples, sees the Father. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, he told
them. What prophet ever spoke like this? I am the Light of the world, he
told them. Anyone who does not walk with me, walks in the darkness. None of
the greatest of the Greek philosophers spoke in these terms. I would be very
surprised to discover if any of the founders of the great world religions spoke
of themselves in this way. Christ’s claims were extraordinary. I always do
what pleases my heavenly Father, he told his enemies. He challenged them to
convict him of any sin. He spoke of God as his very own Father, and the way he
spoke and what he said gave the unmistakable impression that he claimed to be on
the same level as the Father, while being distinct from him as a person. St
John writes that the leaders attempted to stone him because in effect he was
making himself equal to God. This is to say that one of the most distinctive
aspects of the message and religion revealed by Jesus of Nazareth is the matter
of his own person. To love and serve God in the way Jesus has revealed involves
loving and serving Jesus himself as one would God.
Let this
be the setting for a consideration of our brief Gospel passage today
(Matthew 9:14‑15). As in so many other Gospel
passages, Christ points to himself as the object of the love of his disciples.
Very good people came to him — they were disciples of John the Baptist — and
asked him why he did not insist with his disciples that they fast often in the
way John and the Pharisees insisted with their disciples. Our Lord’s answer? I
am the Bridegroom, he replied. How could you insist that the Bridegroom’s
attendants fast and not celebrate while the Bridegroom is still with them? The
reason why he did not insist that they fast was that at this point he was in
their midst. That presence of his was sufficient reason. Now, would any other
prophet have given such an answer? Scarcely. Not only does our Lord point to
himself and his mere presence as sufficient reason for their not fasting at this
moment, but consider the word he uses to denote himself. He is the Bridegroom.
We read that John the Baptist himself had used this title of Jesus when
responding to his own disciples’ report that all were now going after Jesus.
Surely all would have remembered from the Scriptures that Yahweh God had
described himself as the Bridegroom of his chosen people. The prophets lamented
the infidelity of Israel. Israel was an unfaithful spouse. Yahweh God was
Israel’s husband, her bridegroom. Consider the appeals of the prophet Hosea to
Israel that it return to Yahweh their very faithful husband. No other prophet
had arrogated to himself such a hallowed title, and yet this was the title Jesus
effortlessly and serenely used of himself to justify his disciples’ lack of
fasting. There was too much reason to celebrate, for the Bridegroom had arrived
and was with them. But the time would come when the Bridegroom would be taken
away from them, and then they would fast. With him away from their presence
there would be a great challenge for them to be faithful. Then they would have
to follow his path of active self‑denial.
Let
us place ourselves in the company of our Lord’s disciples and gaze on him with
love and veneration. He is God’s gift to the world, and he is himself God. He
is the Son of God made man, the Bridegroom of God’s chosen people, the Spouse of
his Church. He is the object of our love, and in the plan of God our salvation
lies in loving and serving and following him. Let us resolve to make him the
love of our life and the Bridegroom of our souls.
Fight against that weakness which makes you lazy and careless in your
spiritual life. Remember that it might well be the beginning of
lukewarmness... and, in the words of the Scripture, God will vomit the
lukewarm out of his mouth.
(The Way, no.325)
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Scripture today: Isaiah
58:9b-14; Psalm 86:1-6; Luke 5:27-32
Jesus went out and saw a
publican named Levi sitting at the customs office and he said to him:
“Follow me.” And leaving everything he got up and followed him. Levi
put on for him a great feast in his own house and there was a large
crowd of publicans and others at table with them. But the Pharisees and
scribes murmured, saying to his disciples: “Why do you eat and drink
with publicans and sinners?” Jesus answered them: “They who are well do
not need the physician but those who are sick. I have come not to call
the just but sinners to repentance.(Luke 5:27-32)
Salvation
A lot of people of various professions make it their business to consider the
state of the world and what to do about it. A country’s department of Treasury
must consider very carefully the condition of the economy and propose
decisions. The
government itself of the country is continually making judgments about the state
of the country and of the world. Numerous academic departments of the
universities are doing likewise in countless seminars, articles and lectures.
The state of the world! But now, what is God’s judgment on the state of
the world? What is the view of the Creator of the universe? His judgment
is one that is rarely considered by those who are continually engaged in making
these judgments. They often act as if the Creator did not even exist. The
state of the world in the sight of God is above all that of sin. St Paul writes
that sin entered the world through one man and with sin came death, and death
has spread to the whole human race. So if one accepts the Christian revelation
as true, then death and all the difficulties and sufferings that are associated
with it (which constitute so many of the tangible problems of the world) are all
symptoms of the fundamental problem which is sin. God knows the fundamental
problem and he has revealed it to be sin. There is a single cause, a root
problem which in one form or another, to one degree or another, ultimately
accounts for the parlous state of the world. That single cause is sin and it is
this which God out of love for the world has addressed. God so loved the world
that he sent his only‑begotten Son not to condemn the world but in order to save
the world. As John the Baptist said to his disciples, “There is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!” A man has appeared in history whose
mission was to deal with the state of the world at its root, and in our Gospel
today he refers to this mission. “They who are well do not need the physician
but those who are sick. I have come not to call the just but sinners to
repentance” (Luke 5:27‑32).
Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, the one and only Saviour. He said
that no one comes to the Father but through him. In the plan of God this
salvation from sin is brought to man individually. That is to say, the
blessings of redemption — the taking away of sin and personal sanctification —
come when a person enters into union with Jesus. It is a union of faith and
friendship. Our Gospel passage today gives us examples of this in Levi and in
the publicans and sinners who entered our Lord’s company. They were sinners,
they were looked on as such, and they knew they were such. Our Lord came to
call them to repent from sin and to live a new life of friendship with him. The
gift of the Holy Spirit was yet to come (when Jesus was glorified), but the
paradigm is already there in this scene from our Lord’s public ministry. Our
Lord called Levi, and he got up, leaving his old way of life behind, and
followed him. He was a sinner who had been called by our Lord to repentance and
to a new life of following him. He responded totally. Moreover, as a future
Apostle he entered into our Lord’s own mission, and that mission was to call
others to repentance and to friendship with Jesus. Indeed, it was to be a
world‑wide mission. It is the mission of the Church to the world, to call all
the nations to repentance and to faith in and friendship with Jesus the
Saviour. All are called to enter the company of Jesus and to live in him. In
Christ’s plan, this is done in the Church he founded. The world needs the
Church because the world needs Christ, the Church’s Head. Without Christ the
world remains in its sins, and Christ is to be found in his Church, represented
in our Gospel passage today by Levi the future Apostle. That is where he is and
where the means of living in him are to be found. It is in him that sin is done
away with and the divine life available for man is to be found. That is why
Christ’s Church, founded on the Apostles of which Levi was one, is so necessary
for the state of the world.
As we think of our Gospel passage today in which Christ defines his mission as
that of calling sinners to repentance, let us gaze on him with love as the
Saviour of mankind from sin. If we do not recognize ourselves as sinners, we
will not respond to him as did Levi and the publicans and sinners. We shall be
like the scribes and Pharisees who had little sense of sin. Let us approach him
with love and spend every day of our lives in his love and living accordingly.
It hurts me to see the danger of lukewarmness in which you place
yourself when you do not strive seriously for perfection in your state
in life.
Say with me: I don't want to be lukewarm! Confige timore tuo carnes
meas, pierce thou my flesh with thy fear: grant me, my God, a
filial fear that will make me react!
(The Way, no.326)
Prayers
this week: When he calls to me, I
will answer; I will rescue him and give him honour. Long life and
contentment will be his.
(Psalm 90: 15-16) Father,
through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of
your Son's death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our
lives. We
ask
this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
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Jesus was then led
by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. When he had
fasted forty days and forty nights he was hungry. The Tempter coming
said to him, “If you are the Son
of God command that these stones become bread.” He answered and said,
“It is written, not in bread alone does man live but in every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him up into the
holy city and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to
him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down, for it is written
that he has given his angels charge over you and in their hands shall
they bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord
your God.” Again the Devil took him up a very high mountain, and showed
him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. He said to
him, “All these will I give you, if falling down you adore me.” Then
Jesus said to him, “Begone Satan, for it is written, The Lord your God
will you adore, and him only will you serve.” Then the devil left him,
and behold angels came and ministered to him.(Matthew 4:1-11)
Christ
and Satan
There is something primordial about our Gospel scene today. Christ is alone in
the desert with the wild beasts, and is led by the Spirit of God. He is on the
stage alone. It reminds us, perhaps, of that day long, long before when the
original man and woman were on the stage alone with the wild beasts. A dark
presence approached in the form, as the Bible puts it, of a serpent. For
the reader of the sacred text the serpent perhaps conjured up the thought of the
gods of the pagan peoples of the time. That presence was personal, demonic,
evil, cunning. He, the masterful demon, insinuated, suggested, entered into a
respectful dialogue with the Woman. He appeared sympathetic and on her side,
concerned for her interest and position. He suggested ways for her to be great,
just as great as God. His temptation was, if you disobey God you will be like
Him! God deceived you. Knowingly she fell, and proceeded to induce her husband
to fall and great was the fall thereof! The whole human race was profoundly
wounded because in that original couple was contained the whole of human
nature. Humanity was alienated from God and Satan had pulled off a resounding
victory. Now, here in our Gospel scene today was a new Man, Jesus of Nazareth.
He was on the stage alone with the wild beasts. Undoubtedly Satan had long
marked him as being of immense significance for the world. He had observed him
narrowly as he grew in grace and wisdom in Nazareth. He addresses him as “the
Son of God”, but did he know that he was actually God? We do not know — I tend
to doubt it, for it is difficult to imagine Satan being so brazen as to approach
the all‑holy Lord God himself with his temptations. But who knows, for we are
not told. But there is no doubt that Satan understood that an immensely
important drama was unfolding in this new Man before him. He was altogether
good and powerful and he could undo Satan’s work. How great it would be if he
could trip this Man up as he had with the first man long before. There we have
the scene of the Man Jesus being tempted by Satan, and immediately, calmly and
decisively rejecting it altogether.
Satan’s temptation was that of self‑exaltation as it had been with Adam and Eve
at the beginning. He hated God and he strove to tempt others to see God as the
enemy. In his tempting of Christ he invites him to use his power to serve
himself, to exalt himself and to dominate the world. But he made no headway,
for Christ rejected it all and he did so with simple and calm strength.
Christ’s answer to Satan in the desert at the beginning of his public ministry
points to the path he would follow as the Messiah, a path of self‑abasement and
renunciation glorifying his heavenly Father. Though as the Son of God he had
been rich from all eternity, as St Paul writes he set that glory aside and
became as men are and humbler still even to death, death on a cross. The
rejection by Christ of Satan’s temptations sets his path immediately in the
direction of the Cross and Resurrection. He is the new Man bearing in himself a
new humanity, a new beginning for all who take their stand with him. As we
think of Christ in the desert being tempted by Satan, let us gaze on these two
personalities. Jesus, who is God the Son made man, has lowered himself to
become one of us — even allowing himself to be tempted by Satan, just as we so
often are. Facing him is Satan who has exalted himself to the point of daring
to fight God. Originally he was an angel of light and by his pride became an
angel of darkness. Time and time again he endeavours to deceive us into
thinking he is an angel of light. So there we have it, Christ on the one side
and Satan on the other. Their paths are diametrically opposed. Christ’s path
is that of humility and self‑renunciation leading to abundant life for all, and
Satan’s path is that of pride and self‑aggrandisement leading to death for all.
Just as he tempted Christ, so he tempts us. Let us make our choice to renounce
sin and Satan, and to profess our faith in and love for Christ.
Let us
enter into our Gospel scene (Matthew 4:1‑11)
and by the grace of God take our stand with Jesus. Just as Christ’s rejection
of Satan and his wiles sets his course towards the Cross and Resurrection, so
too will our rejection of Satan set our course towards dying with Christ every
day. Our path in life must be that of Christ, and that path is the doing of
God’s will no matter what the cost. Let us pray for the grace to see what that
path truly involves so as not to be deceived. Satan will try repeatedly to
deceive us. But with Christ we can conquer.
I already know that you avoid mortal sins. You want to be saved! But
you are not worried by that constant and deliberate falling into venial
sins, even though in each case you feel God's call to conquer yourself.
It is your lukewarmness that gives you this bad will.
(The Way, no.327)
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Jesus said to his
disciples, “When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the angels
with him, then will he sit upon his seat of majesty. All nations will
be gathered together before him, and he will separate them one from
another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set
the sheep on his right hand and the goats on
his left. Then the king will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you
who are blessed by my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you
since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to
eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger, and you
took me in, naked, and you covered me, sick and you visited me. I was
in prison, and you came to me.” Then the just will answer him, “Lord,
when did we see you hungry and fed you, thirsty and gave you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and took you in? Or naked, and covered
you? When did we see you sick or in prison, and came to you?” The king
will answer them, “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of
these my least brethren, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those
at his left hand, “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire
which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and
you gave me not to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. I
was a stranger, and you took me not in, naked, and you covered me not,
sick and in prison, and you did not visit me” Then they also shall
answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to
you?” Then he will answer them, “Amen I say to you, as long as you did
it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.” And these
shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just, into life
everlasting.(Matthew 25:31-46)
The
Judgment
Everyone knows how common is the expression, ‘That person is a real Christian!’
when what is meant is that the person is always kind and concerned for others.
Or again, one might hear it said that ‘He is more of a Christian than those who
go to church’, when what is meant is that because he is more concerned for
others than are some churchgoers, he is more of a Christian than they. Somehow,
in the ordinary parlance of many, Christianity is identified merely with a
disinterested service of one’s fellow man. In the understanding of Christianity
to which I am referring here, the person of Christ is forgotten. That is not to
say that all who speak of Christianity in this way have forgotten Christ, but in
the case of many it is so. Christ is on the margin, and the important thing
about Christianity and indeed any religion worthy of the name, is that it be
marked by concern for those in need. Now, the point of my mentioning this is
not so much to criticize its glaring lack of the substance of the Christian
religion. My point, rather, is to observe how everyone understands that Christ
has placed the service of those in need at the forefront of being his disciple.
In this respect most have got it right. Indeed, in this respect revealed
religion and, more specifically the religion revealed by Christ, has transformed
the understanding of religion. Religion, as understood by classic pagan
civilizations and numerous local and many indigenous religions, was poorly
connected with morality and everyday service of others. Religion was something
that rectified and improved one’s own and one’s society’s relationship with God
or the gods. In fact, it is a perennial temptation of any religion that it can
fail to connect the worship of God with daily life and its obligations. The
prophets often condemned (on God’s behalf) the sacrifices of the people who
lived unjust and unmerciful lives. So the modern notion of Christianity as a
mere service of others is, yes, inadequate, but nevertheless it has fastened on
a distinctive feature of revealed religion.
So
important is this matter that, in his description of the Final Judgment of all
the nations (Matthew 25:31‑46), Christ tells
us that what we have done to others will be decisive in the matter of how his
judgment on us will turn. If we have served those in need, he our Judge will be
pleased. If we have refused to do so, he will be displeased. This having been
granted, the striking thing about God’s judgment on how we have assisted those
in need is that Christ identifies himself with those in need. Not only does the
Christian religion insist that life must be distinguished by service to the
needy but it insists that in serving the needy one is serving Christ, who is
God. Whatever we do to or for the least, he our Judge will take as having been
done to him. God loves all, and the revelation of this love is the person of
Christ. As St Paul writes in one of his Letters, Christ loved me and gave
himself up for me. All can say this, especially the poor and the least. He
loves me, and those who oppress the poor or neglect them when they are able to
care for them, do so at their peril. Christ our divine Judge identifies with
the least of his brothers. Not only ought this instil a wholesome concern in
the hearts of those who may be disposed to disregard the poor, but it ought
spark in the hearts of all Christ’s disciples a holy love for the poor. The
saints manifested this, from St Vincent de Paul to Blessed (Mother) Teresa of
Calcutta. Of course, our service of those in need will necessarily be governed
by our circumstances and vocation in life. A holy Pope cannot roam the streets
of Calcutta picking up the destitute, but he will call on the world to assist
the poor and rectify injustices. The professional man will recognize that all
those who come to him in need of his service are brothers and sisters of Christ
his Judge, and will serve them as he would serve Christ himself. Moreover, as
Mother Teresa used say, there are numerous forms of spiritual poverty. Just
think how society would be transformed if all were to serve others, especially
those in need, as they would Christ himself.
Life
is short and eternity is long. Christ has revealed not only that we pass from
this brief life into eternity, but that the eternity ahead of us depends totally
on how we choose to live this brief life. He has also revealed that he himself
will be our judge. His judgment on us will hinge on how we treat others, for he
has united himself with every man, especially with those in need.
How little Love of God you have when you yield without a fight because
it is not a grave sin!
(The Way, no.328)
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Scripture today: Isaiah
55:10-11; Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19; Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus said to his
disciples: “When you are praying, do not babble on and on as do the
pagans. For they think that in using an
abundance of words they will be heard. Do not be like them for your
Father knows what you need before you ask him. In this way ought you
pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also forgive those
indebted to us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’
For if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will
forgive you yours too. But if you do not forgive them neither will your
Father forgive you yours.”(Matthew 6:7-15)
The
Lord’s Prayer
It has often been observed that while rationality and power of choice are
distinctive of human nature, religion is distinctive of human history and
culture. Consult any historian of virtually any of the cultures of the world —
with the exception of the anomaly of modern Western culture and those cultures
affected by modern Western secularism — and the verdict will be that religion in
one form or another is an unavoidable feature. The
Romans regarded themselves as especially religious and persecuted the Christians
because they denied fundamental pillars of their religion. What indigenous
people has not its religion, a religion which almost invariably pervades its
culture? The history of cultures alone suggests that man was meant by the
Creator to turn to him. The problem is that in respect to God — as is obvious
from the profoundly conflicting images and views about him — man has lost his
way. Of himself, he does not know how to set himself right with God. Now, if
there is anything characteristic of religion, it is prayer. So fundamental to
religion is prayer that the two terms are almost interchangeable. St Alphonsus
Ligouri wrote in one of his books that a person who does not pray will not be
saved. The obvious question is, then, not whether we should pray, but how we
ought pray because the quality and degree of our religion will depend on how we
pray. To take an obvious example from one of our Lord’s own parables, how great
was the difference between how the Pharisee standing prominently in the Temple
prayed, and how the Publican standing well behind him prayed! The Pharisee went
home after his prayer still separated from God, while the Publican went home
right with God. Indeed, the Pharisee had hardly prayed at all — our Lord
referred to him as praying “to himself.” How, then, to pray? We need a Teacher,
and that Teacher is Christ. Our Gospel today contains the model of prayer he
gave to his disciples. It was preceded and followed by some of his teaching on
prayer.
Both before and after the Prayer he taught his disciples, our Lord gave some
simple instructions on prayer. “When you are praying, do not babble on and on
as do the pagans. For they think that in using an abundance of words they will
be heard. Do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you
ask him.” Our prayer ought be offered in the presence of the One we know to be
our Father. He loves us, he is almighty and he knows what we need before we ask
him. So then, we ought begin our prayer placing ourselves firmly in the
presence of our great Father who we know loves us. Saint Teresa of Avila,
doctor of the Church on prayer, defined prayer in those very terms. Prayer, she
writes, is an intimate conversation with the one who we know loves us. He
understands us through and through. If we are filled with the thought of God
being our Father, our prayer will be simple. Let us think again of the Parable
of the Pharisee and the Publican, and notice the verbosity of the Pharisee’s
prayer in contrast to the brevity of the prayer of the Publican. The Publican’s
prayer was truly sublime, and it involved repeating over and over again, “God be
merciful to me a sinner.” Cardinal Newman once said (in a sermon on this
parable) that the prayer of the publican expressed the essence of true
religion. It was a variant of the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us
our debts.” When, therefore, we think of that petition let us think of the
prayer of the Publican. But now, in respect to this simple prayer for mercy,
let us notice what our Lord adds to it: “Forgive us our debts, as we also
forgive those indebted to us.” If we wish God to forgive our failings we must
forgive others their failings too. Who could imagine the Publican of our Lord’s
parable failing to forgive others their offences against him? He was too
contrite and too desirous of God’s forgiveness to do otherwise. Our Lord’s
conclusion is clear and ominous. “For if you forgive others their offences,
your heavenly Father will forgive you yours too. But if you do not forgive them
neither will your Father forgive you yours.” (Matthew
6:7‑15) In his instruction both before and after the Prayer he taught
his disciples, our Lord has given us a great work full of consequences.
The Lord’s Prayer offers food and guidance for a whole lifetime. The Church in
her teaching on prayer down through the centuries comments on the Lord’s Prayer
in her catechisms and makes it the basis of everything. Let us ponder on the
instruction given by our Lord prior to it and following it in the version of
today provided by St Matthew. Let us realize we are speaking to God our Father
who knows us far more than we know ourselves, and let us not fail to forgive
from the heart all those who have offended us.
Venial sins do great harm to the soul. — Therefore God says in the Song
of Songs: 'Catch the little foxes that make havoc of the vineyards'.
(The Way, no.329)
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Scripture today: Jonah
3:1-10; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19; Luke 11:29-32
Jesus said to the crowds
who were thronging to him, “This generation is a wicked generation: it
asks for a sign, and no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah
the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninivites so shall the Son
of Man also be to this generation. The queen of the south will rise in
the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them
because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh
will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it
because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater
than Jonah is here.(Luke 11:29-32)
The
person of Jesus
Let us notice something of a paradox in our Gospel passage today. The crowds
are thronging to our Lord and, despite this, he says that “this generation is a
wicked generation.” Why? It was asking for a sign. Let us ask why
this was so serious, and what was really behind it. It
is clear from various texts of the Gospels that the crowds who followed our Lord
were there for a variety of reasons and carried with them a variety of views
about our Lord himself. Most accepted him as a prophet but it seems that
relatively few got beyond this. It is a high point of the Gospels when our Lord
asked his Apostles what they themselves thought of him. Peter answered that he
was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This is to say that the person of
Jesus himself is at the centre of the Gospel message and of what Christ came to
reveal. But what does our Lord say the crowds were seeking? In one form or
another, they were seeking “signs” (Luke 11:29‑32).
They wanted spectacles and benefits and were missing the point of what God was
doing. They wanted proofs, they wanted a show, they wanted signs and wonders,
they wanted their sick cured and their hunger satisfied and their dead raised.
As St Paul wrote, the Jews ask for miracles, the Greeks wisdom. But as to the
person of Jesus himself, when it came to a point, fundamentally they were not
interested. They were interested in signs, not in him nor in his real message.
They were deaf to his message about repentance and about the change of heart
that entry into the Kingdom of God required. They were blind to the uniqueness
and merits of his person, and this was culpable. They were not interested in
the gift of God that was Jesus himself. The pagan queen of the South had
perceived the wisdom possessed by Solomon, and the pagan Ninevites had
appreciated the preaching of Jonah without signs and wonders — so too should
have the people of our Lord’s time. But no, and this was due to a blameworthy
disposition of their hearts.
Of course, our Lord is not accusing everyone of his “generation” of this
culpable disinterest and refusal of heart. But he is at least saying that this
was the case with very many. What it says to us is, in the first instance, look
at Jesus! He says to us and to the men and women of every generation, look at
me! Come to me and learn from me! Enter into my acquaintance, form part of my
company, live with me and in me. Abide with me and become my disciple. He
directs this invitation to every man and woman in the world, and we know this
because just before he ascended into heaven he entrusted a tremendous charge to
his Apostles. He said they were to go to the whole world and make disciples of
all the nations. So it is an inescapable and essential feature of the Christian
religion that the world is viewed by it as being called to the knowledge and
love of Christ. This does not mean simply that the world is called to get to
know the worth of his teaching and the beauty of his example. No, the whole
world — all the nations — is called by God to enter into a personal relationship
of friendship with, and obedient discipleship under him. Our Lord’s judgment on
his “generation” and on its “evil” disposition makes it clear that, at least
with many, the failure to respond to him and to his message is evil and sinful.
So then, let us resolve to spend time with Jesus getting to know him and taking
to heart his message. We need to do this every day. In the life of the
Christian there has to be regular time set aside just to be with Jesus, coming
to appreciate and love his person, and because of this accepting unconditionally
his message. Christianity is a personal relationship with another Person, and
that relationship is expressed in loving and obedient acceptance of his message
and teaching. This personal relationship, forged in daily prayer, prayerful
meditation, spiritual reading, the reception of the sacraments and fidelity to
ordinary duties, will be the foundation of the entire moral and Christian life.
Let
us read our Gospel text today as a warning not to allow disinterest in the
person of Christ to grow in our hearts. In our Gospel text our Lord is asking
for obedient faith and love. He is our salvation. Let us guard against the
temptation to refuse to accept our Lord on his own terms rather than on ours.
How sad you make me feel when you are not sorry for your venial sins!
For, until you are, you will not begin to live real interior life.
(The Way, no.330)
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Jesus said to his
disciples, “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one that asks, receives.
He who seeks, finds. To him who knocks, it shall be opened. What man is
there among you who if his son asks for bread would hand him a stone?
Or if he were to ask for a fish would give him a serpent? If you then
being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask
him? Whatever then you would have men do to you, do you also to them.
For this is the law and the prophets.”(Matthew 7:7-12)
Trusting
prayer
There are (quite naturally) two tendencies in what we might call natural man’s
sense of God. There is the tendency — probably the more common — to picture the
Supreme Being as distant. Broadly speaking he creates or organizes the world
and then withdraws with his work done. Lesser spirits then enter the scene and
dominate the religious life of the society.
The Supreme Being is remote. But there is a very different tendency, which is
to imagine the Supreme Being as very near, but without much of a face. He is a
vague presence. He is often sensed to be the Voice within the conscience,
monitoring and warning. Consider the religion of Deerslayer in James Fernimore
Cooper’s novel (1841). For the hero of the novel, Deerslayer, God is a
Providence, he is the Creator of the woods, the rivers and the world around, and
above all he is the One present in man’s conscience. At one point Deerslayer
says to Judith that conscience is his “King.” But throughout this novel in which
features the religion of the protagonists, and in which Christianity is the
religious backdrop of the heroes, Christ is never specifically mentioned (though
the work of redemption is, in ch.26). Basically it is a natural religion, a
religion prompted by nature. When this form of religion is set against the
Gospel texts, the tremendous novelty of the Christian revelation stands forth
with clarity. God has a face, and a very loving one at that. His face, as Pope
Benedict has often said in his writings over the years, is the face of Christ.
“He who sees me, sees the Father,” our Lord says elsewhere in the Gospels. God
our Father is not remote, nor is he merely a vague even if very real Presence.
He is highly personal, and the very Image of him has appeared and lived among
men. His Word, in and through which he reveals himself, became flesh and dwelt
among us, speaking to us of God our Father. In our Gospel today he tells us
that he responds concretely to our pleas. “Ask, and it will be given you.
Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one
that asks, receives. He who seeks, finds. To him who knocks, it shall be
opened.” (Matthew 7:7‑12)
Let us return to the character, Deerslayer. He is one whom we might dub a saint
of the wilds with a moral character very much larger than life. I do not recall
him during the tale ever actually asking his God for a favour. Deerslayer lacks
the human being’s profound sense of need leading him to appeal to God. He does
not seem to pray much except in the vaguest sense, even though he is very
religious in disposition and sentiment. He is, of course, a myth created by
Cooper, but one that exemplifies a view of religion. By contrast, our Lord
tells us to ask, to seek, and to knock at the door. We have our daily needs and
we are profoundly conscious of our poverty and vulnerability. Our Lord tells us
that we have an almighty Father, and that Father is the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. He attends to all our requests and we may approach him with
confidence. By turning to him we shall find. We shall receive. The door will
be opened to us. What this will mean in the concrete is a further matter
because God is all‑wise and knows what is best for us. What we ask for in the
concrete may be not at all good for us, and in any case let us beware lest “the
god” we address be a mere projection of our own desires. He is the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord’s words are clear. If we humbly place ourselves in
the presence of God our Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
make our requests, we should feel confident. We ought pray with persistence and
trust in the love and power of our Father in heaven, and do so in union with his
divine Son, Jesus Christ. Time and time again we hear stories of prayers being
answered either quickly or over the course of time. The key is to take our
Lord’s words to heart and to pray as to the God Jesus himself describes, the God
who is our Father, a Father wanting to hear and answer our prayers, the God who
is able and desirous of giving us what we need and far more besides.
Our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel passage speak to us about God and about the
marvellous power of prayer. The model of our prayer is the Lord’s Prayer. Our
Father! You are in heaven! May your name be held holy! Your Kingdom come! Your
will be done on earth as it is done in heaven! Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our offences as we forgive those who have caused us injury. Keep
us from evil and temptation. Marvellous and simple, this prayer of the Lord
Jesus! Let us, then, fill our lives with persistent and trustful prayer.
You are lukewarm if you carry out lazily and reluctantly those things
that have to do with our Lord; if deliberately or 'shrewdly' you look
for some way of cutting down your duties; if you think only of yourself
and of your comfort; if your conversations are idle and vain; if you do
not abhor venial sin; if you act from human motives.
(The Way, no.331)
Prayers
this week:
Sing a new song to the
Lord! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Truth and beauty surround him,
he lives in holiness and glory.(Psalm 95: 1.6) All-powerful
and ever-living God, direct your love that is within us, that our
efforts in the name of your Son may bring mankind unity and peace. We
ask
this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Presentation of the Lord At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an
unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations
she describes is the Epiphany (January 6), the observance of Christ’s
birth, and the gala procession in honour of his Presentation in the
Temple 40 days later—February 15. (Under the Mosaic Law, a woman was
ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to
present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.”
Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or
death—excluded a person from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes
Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification.
The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and
sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth
on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after
Christmas. At the beginning of the eighth century, Pope Sergius
inaugurated a candlelight procession; at the end of the same century
the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day
became part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name:
Candlemas.
“Christ himself says, ‘I am the light of the world.’ And we are the
light, we ourselves, if we receive it from him.... But how do we
receive it, how do we make it shine? ...[T]he candle tells us: by
burning, and being consumed in the burning. A spark of fire, a ray of
love, an inevitable immolation are celebrated over that pure, straight
candle, as, pouring forth its gift of light, it exhausts itself in
silent sacrifice” (Paul VI). (AmericanCatholic.org)
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Scripture today: Malachi
3:1-4; Psalm 24:7-10; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
In accordance with
the law of Moses, after the days of her purification were accomplished
they carried him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is
written in the law of the Lord, Every male opening the womb shall be called
holy to the Lord. They came also to offer a sacrifice, according as it
is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young
pigeons. Behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man
was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the
Holy Spirit was upon him. He had told by the Holy Spirit that he would
not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He was led by
the Spirit into the temple. When his parents brought in the child Jesus
to do for him according to the custom of the law, Simeon also took him
into his arms and blessed God, and said, Now you may dismiss your
servant in peace, O Lord, according to thy word, because my eyes have
seen your salvation which you have prepared for of all the peoples, a
light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of your people
Israel. His father and mother were wondering at those things which were
spoken concerning him. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his
mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the rising of
many in Israel, and for a sign which will be contradicted, and a sword
will pierce your own soul too that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. She was far advanced in years, and had
lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. She had been a
widow till her eighty four years and never left the temple fasting and
praying day and night. Now she, at the same hour, came in and praised
the Lord and spoke of him to all who looked for the redemption of
Israel. And after they had performed all things according to the law of
the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their town of Nazareth. The
child grew, and became strong, full of wisdom. The grace of God was in
him.(Luke 2:22-40)
The Holy
Family and Christian marriage As
we think of the Holy Family in the Temple, let us think of marriage and family
life. Most people are what many would call ordinary people and most families
are ordinary families. That is to say, they do not stand out and that is in no
way a point against them because very many who do stand out have been
despicable, although others have been admirable.
Being notable does not necessarily mean being good or true or beautiful. There
was a famous book written many years ago by E.F. Schumacher, called Small is
Beautiful. He was articulating a philosophy of work and economic
structures, but by implication his point applies to the small and ordinary
person. Indeed, he wrote that man is small and therefore small is beautiful.
Bigger does not necessarily mean better. The subtitle of his famous book is,
Economics as if People Mattered. Every little person matters and, we could
add, so does the ordinary family with its round of simple duties, joys,
sufferings, achievements and failures. Life is ordinarily small and repetitive,
and Schumacher’s point is that smallness and seeming ordinariness can be
something very beautiful. It all depends on how an ordinary life is lived and
how an ordinary work is done. But has there ever been a shining example of this
immensely important point, a point so very important because in the nature of
the case it relates to so very many people? There is indeed a superb instance
in history of the small and the ordinary being of incomparable beauty, one that
provides fascination and inspiration to those who contemplate it. It is the
model for each of the ordinary individuals and families who constitute the
ever‑renewing ocean of humanity, which means all of us. Who am I speaking of?
I am speaking of an obscure family in an obscure backwater village on the
periphery of the Roman Empire. That family was very ordinary indeed in the
sense that in the eyes of its society it did not stand out at all. It did what
families and individuals beyond number did and do, and yet it was good and
beautiful and true beyond compare. In its case, small was beautiful indeed,
beautiful beyond imagining in the sight of God.
I am speaking of the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In today’s Gospel
for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we have before us the Holy Family
of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. For some three decades this family proceeded to live
in obscurity. Mary toiled away at her homemaking chores while Joseph and his
foster‑son Jesus worked at village carpentry and building. It was small‑time.
Theirs was an ordinary life in a very ordinary village, but what grandeur was
theirs! Hidden in their home life was a world of holiness and moral beauty no
one could possibly estimate. It was immersed in ordinariness. All three lived
utterly in God and all three lived with a love for one another that is
indescribable. Jesus their son was God, the God of holiness and love who had
become man. Holiness was not God’s gift to him. No, it was his possession by
nature. He was its very source inasmuch as his spirit was the very Spirit of
God. The divine Spirit of holiness proceeded from both him and the Father. He
was all‑holy, and here he was living an ordinary family life in a very ordinary
village. Consider his mother. His mother was endowed by God with a holiness
that filled her and which increased day by day. By God’s gift and by the merits
of her Son’s future sacrifice she was full of grace such that no sin ever
touched her. She received grace upon grace. Consider the love, then, between
Jesus and his mother. It was the purest imaginable. But then, consider too the
love between Joseph and his wife Mary, and that between Joseph and his
foster‑son Jesus. It is surely the fondest thing of all to imagine their life
together, day after day, evening after evening, doing their duties together,
sharing their joys and their concerns, conversing together day after day. Think
of the holy death of Joseph, with Jesus and Mary by his side as he breathed his
last. Think of the funeral procession with Joseph being taken out for burial,
and Jesus and Mary returning together to their home to take up life without
their beloved and holy household head. For thirty years this family and in
particular Jesus the Saviour of mankind lived an ordinary life, the kind of life
lived by the overwhelming percentage of the vast family of mankind. It was not
larger than life, as we might say. No, it was small‑time. It was an ordinary
life. But it was beautiful with a beauty beyond compare and that was because
they loved God with their whole heart and lived in perfect obedience to his
will. That family is the model for every family.
The holy family of Nazareth is the most beautiful thing in human history and out
of it came the Redeemer and his redemption of the world. That holy family is
the paradigm showing the good that issues from a truly Christian family. The
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph should be the constant inspiration of
every family. They ought return again and again in their hearts to this
all‑holy family for their spiritual nourishment and their renewal as a married
couple. As Saint Josemaria Escriva was fond of pointing out, holiness involves
beginning again and again in an ongoing and persevering renewal. Led by the
spouses, the Christian family begins again and again in two senses. Firstly it
renews its inspiration again and again by gazing repeatedly on its grand model,
the Holy Family. It perseveringly contemplates the Holy Family all through
life, beginning during the months of preparation for marriage, and continuing
thereafter to the very end. It ought always begin there, again and again. This
contemplation is a prayerful gaze on Jesus, Mary and Joseph, remembering their
life at Nazareth and in their living presence humbly and persistently asking
their help in becoming more and more like unto them. The great work of a
Christian couple is to become like the Holy Family in the midst of the
ordinariness of everyday life. But secondly and together with this ongoing
contemplation, the Christian couple returns again and again to the Holy Family
by actually sharing in its life by grace. The grace of the Holy Spirit filled
the Holy Family of Nazareth. In the Sacrament of Matrimony the spouses share in
this grace that filled the life of the Holy Family. By this grace of the
Sacrament they are empowered to grow in imitation of the Holy Family. By the
grace that comes to them in the Sacrament of Matrimony the couple is able to put
on the likeness of that which is their model of family life. St Paul writes in
one of his Letters, let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. The
married couple is called to put on the mind of the Holy Family, and for this
life‑long undertaking they are not left in their own incapacity. They are not
left to their own resources. At the moment of their exchange of marriage vows,
Christ comes to them in a new way by the power of the Holy Spirit and endows
them anew with the life of grace. This grace constitutes their share in the
life of the Holy Family. The task ahead is to become like the Holy Family and
to be filled with its life. In this will lie their beauty.
There is an old piece of advice for every couple. It is this. At the end of
each day to ask, what have I done today for my marriage? Then the next
morning to ask, what shall I do today for my marriage? Marriage is to be
worked at amid life’s humdrum. Most people, most families, live an ordinary
life. The Holy Family lived an ordinary life. In the midst of their
ordinariness the Holy Family lived a life of incalculable yet hidden beauty.
That beauty sprang from the life of grace. The calling of every Christian
couple is, however ordinary they may be, to become more and more like the Holy
Family, and more and more filled with the grace that filled the life of Jesus,
Mary and Joseph during those years at Nazareth. May the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit abide constantly with every married couple. With their intercession
may Mary and Joseph aid each Christian couple in the one thing necessary, which
is to know the will of God as it is taught by the Church our mother, and then to
put it daily into practice. In this way, as our Lord once said, they will be
brother and sister to Jesus our Lord both now in this life and forever in the
next. Heaven is our homeland, and the way to there is in and through Jesus,
together with Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family.
gets up, the seed sprouts and
grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn— first
the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. As soon as the grain is
ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. Again he said,
What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to
describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in
the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden
plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.
With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could
understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he
was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
(Mark 4: 26-34)
Christ’s
employment of parables is part and parcel of his Incarnation. Had God chosen a
different people to be his own, and therefore had the promised Messiah been of a
different race, the method of his teaching may well have been different. Had
the Messiah been a Greek, his discourses may have been much more abstract in
expression. Had he been an Egyptian, or a Roman, or a Persian, his mode of
teaching would have had characteristics of those peoples. Jesus Christ was a
Hebrew, and his human intellect and imagination was therefore Hebraic. As man
he thought very concretely, and this, we might say, was surely the most
successful way to teach — with concrete imagery. There is this to be mentioned
too, that if we compare the teachings of Jesus Christ as they are presented in
the Gospels, with the teachings of the prophets before him, are not those of
Jesus Christ outstanding in their clarity? In large measure this is due to his
use of the parable. There is no prophet in the Scriptures who used the parable
so extensively as Jesus Christ. As a result, while the Gospels are the most
important part of the entire corpus of inspired writing, they are perhaps the
clearest. The most educated read them, as do those of very limited education.
However, one result of this clarity, this concreteness and use of everyday
imagery and story, is that we can easily deceive ourselves into thinking that we
have plumbed the parable more or less to its depths at a mere several readings.
But no. We ought remember who it is who devised the parable in question, and
how constantly we ought be returning to it for fresh insight and inspiration.
We ought love the imagery used by Jesus Christ and make our home in it.
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What
is meditating on Christ? it is simply this, thinking habitually and constantly
of Him and of His deeds and sufferings. It is to have Him before our minds as
One whom we may contemplate, worship, and address when we rise up, when we lie
down, when we eat and drink, when we are at home and abroad, when we are
working, or walking, or at rest, when we are alone, and again when we are in
company; this is meditating.
