Parish of Our Lady & Saint David, Cwmbran

Your endurance will win you your lives

The Word This Week

As we approach the end of that part of Saint Luke’s Gospel before the Passion narratives, and approach the end of the Church’s year, our thoughts are turned towards the end of time and the Second Coming of the Lord – this will led us into Advent in two weeks’ time. Saint Luke’s message is very distinctive: the Lord will come, but there is a lot to be lived through first. The coming of the Lord is not going to be a “quick fix” – we will have to live through (and endure) all the mess of human joy and suffering. The Lord is clear too that we have to be aware of the personal cost of belonging to him – think back to last week’s readings, and the stories of religious persecution from every place and every age, even to this day. Even as this sounds gloomy and depressing, it is worth noting where the Gospel passage starts – in the material beauty of the Temple – and where it ends – something far more precious will be saved: our lives.

First reading:  Malachi 3:19-20

Res: The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness

Second reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12

Gospel Reading: Luke 21:5-19 

He is God, not of the dead, but of the living

The Word This Week

It is fortuitous that this passage of the Gospel is normally read near to the beginning of November, when we have celebrated the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, since it is a strong proclamation of the reality of life after death and the resurrection of the body. This Sunday is not without its difficulties, however, since this message is framed in two very sensitive passages: we have a story of cruelty and martyrdom in the first reading, and a controversial (and possibly upsetting) question about marriage in the Gospel. Remember that the example that the Sadducees bring is ridiculous, legalistic and completely misses the point: Jesus’ reply does not mean that we are not with our loved ones after death – quite the contrary, he proclaims that we will all become one with God and each other as children of God.

First reading:  2 Maccabees 7:1-2.9-14                                         

Res: I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord               

Second reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:16 – 3:5

 Gospel Reading: Luke 20: 27-38

The Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.

The Word This Week

There is a subversive humour in today’s Gospel which turns upside down the conventions of everyday life: we see a senior tax official climbing up a tree for a glimpse of Jesus, and the faintly ridiculous scene where Jesus stops, looks into the branches of the sycamore and says, “Zacchaeus, come down!” Did Zacchaeus worry about what people thought? The rest of the story shows that he did not. It would be easy to laugh at little Zacchaeus – and people in the town probably did, in between muttering about his extortionate taxes. And yet he has understood the message of God more clearly than others: he reveals the meaning of the first reading, since he understands that God is gentle, merciful and loving. Jesus corrects him, “little by little…so that he may abstain from evil and trust in the Lord.”

First reading: Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2

Res: I will bless your name for ever, O God my king.

Second reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – 2:2 

Gospel Reading: Luke 19: 1-10

The publican went home at rights with God; the Pharisee did not.

A few weeks ago (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time) we had a Gospel about humility in social life – today we hear the Lord reiterating the message, but this time in reference to our prayer lives. The two Gospels are linked by the last words today, which also appear in the other story: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” This phrase is obviously a key part of our Lord’s teaching! The sin of “self-exaltation” consists in putting others in a lower place – as the Pharisee does to the tax collector. Perhaps the most telling phrase in today’s Gospel is where Jesus refers to the Pharisee saying “this prayer to himself,” rather than offering it to God! And since the Pharisee wasn’t talking to God, how could he expect to be heard?

First reading: Ecclesiasticus 35:12-14.16-19

Res: This poor called; the Lord heard him

 Second reading: Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18

Gospel Reading: Luke 18: 9-14

God will see justice done to his chosen who cry to him.

The Word This Week

Perhaps the hardest Olympic event is the marathon: not only does it demand strength and fitness, but it calls for immense perseverance and endurance. Life in general and the Christian life in particular, is a marathon. We will face hills and mountains as well as valleys and gentle slopes in life: we will face obstacles and pressures which will make us want to say, as the prophet Elijah did, “Lord, it is enough!” Especially in our lifetime of prayer, there will be times when we say “Lord, I can go no further.” Jesus himself understands the need for perseverance in prayer, and the temptation to lose heart, which is why he offers us this parable and teaching today. And remember the thought from the first reading: sometimes we may need to hold each other in our praying!

First reading: Exodus 17:8-13

Res: Our help is in the name of the  Lord who made heaven and earth

Second reading: 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2

Gospel Reading: Luke 18:1-8

No one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.

There are many messages in today’s Gospel: the power of God to heal, the compassion of Jesus for those in need, the fact that a despised foreigner (the Samaritan) is the only one who recognises what has been done, the role of faith and the importance of thanking God for gifts received. But because this Gospel is twinned with part of the story of Naaman the leper, the idea that the Church brings out most clearly is that of thanksgiving, or acknowledging what has been given to us. From an early age we are taught to say “Thank You” – to recognise that someone has gone out of their way to give us something or do something for us. Our thanks strengthen the relationship that binds us together, and it is the same with God. As we recognise the good things that come from God, so our faith is deepened and the bond of the Covenant in Christ Jesus is strengthened.

First reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17

Res: The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations

Second reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13

Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11-19

If only you had faith!

The Word This Week

Faithfulness, faith and trust. These most invisible and difficult things are what God asks of us – just as we, in our own way, ask them of those who love us. “Trust me”, we say, “all will be well.” And if someone does trust us, the reward is simply that trust was well-placed. We have done our duty. Sometimes when we talk about “faith” we put the emphasis on “believe and accept”. Today’s readings (especially the passage from Habakkuk) invite us to think in terms of “trust”. The request of the Apostles is interesting: “Increase our faith” could also mean “Make it easier for us,” or “Prove that you are who you say you are.” Jesus replies that he can’t do that – you can’t make someone trust you. It has to be a gift, freely given.

First reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2: 2-4

Res: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

Second reading: Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

Good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony.

The Word This Week

Following on from last week (“You cannot be the slave of both God and money”) we see a practical illustration of what this means. The division between rich and poor was very striking at the time of Jesus: popular understanding, however, said that to be rich was a blessing from God. Jesus reminds people that riches carry their own responsibility – the duty to notice the poor man, especially when he lies at your own gate. In this parable, Jesus is subtly attacking the people’s lack of acceptance of the teaching of the prophets – “They have Moses and the prophets…”, but they obviously haven’t listened to them. The twist in the last line is powerful: “…they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.” Since our world still sees a division between rich and poor, how true those words have become!

First reading: Amos 6: 1, 4-7

Res: My Soul, give praise to the Lord

Second reading: 1 Timothy 6: 11-16

You cannot be the slave both of God and money

How easy to take the words of Jesus out of context: “Use money to win you friends,” is one of those lines that sounds strange to us outside the context of the parable and the teaching in today’s Gospel. Even the parable itself can seem a little strange – is Jesus really recommending that we act like dishonest stewards? No, of course not! The point that reveals this is hidden half way down: “The children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind…” Jesus in a way praises the effort of the dishonest steward, but wishes that it was directed less to worldly things, but to the things of heaven. And this is the message that we are to take: where do we direct our energies – to making money, fame, fortune and success, or to finding “friends in heaven”?

First Reading: Amos 8:4-7

Res: Praise the Lord, who raises the poor

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-8

There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner.

The message of God’s forgiveness is one that we are familiar with, but which the Lord still wishes to emphasise. Our human approach to forgiveness is so often flawed – we hold grudges, erect barriers, make demands and establish conditions. Jesus wants to remind his listeners – and us – that God’s forgiveness is overflowing and bountiful. Saint Paul was well aware of this: he had persecuted the Church, calling himself “the greatest of sinners”; and yet, thanks to the “inexhaustible patience” of God, he can count himself a believer. We must be open to the gift of forgiveness for ourselves, and also (as the Parable of the Elder Brother shows) open to that forgiveness offered to other whom we would condemn.