Parish of Our Lady & Saint David, Cwmbran

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.

None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.

This is a very difficult set of readings. The Gospel itself starts with a saying which many find hard to understand: must we really “hate” our family to be the Lord’s disciples? The point is that it is relative: what are we prepared to give up for the Gospel? Are we going to try and make our own cross, or accept whatever we are given? Jesus is probably trying to discourage the crowd of sensation seekers and hangers-on who are crowing round him. He wants real disciples, who are aware of the possible cost: not like the incompetent builder, or the useless king. To be a disciple, one must be prepared to follow Jesus anywhere, whatever it might cost in possessions, family or friends. We may never understand why, but then, “who can know the intentions of God?”

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

The Word This Week

Humble behaviour is the mark of the Christian, as it always was the mark of someone “in favour with the Lord.” In the Gospel, we see Jesus watching the Pharisees: it’s almost amusing to picture them shuffling for the best places, the polite “After you!” to put themselves in a better position. How would they have reacted to his teaching? They may well have remembered the passage we read from the Old Testament, and realised that Jesus was teaching the teachers something they should be well aware of.

Men from east and west will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

The Word This Week

It’s probably a nightmare we all share to some degree or other – being locked out of the house, the sales, the big match, or missing the train, the boat or plane. Contemplating watching the crowds that have got inside, while we can do nothing, can be unnerving. Complacency can leave us in this situation: today the Lord warns all who listen to him to be careful, taking nothing for granted, but making sure that we are (spiritually at least) like the people waiting with their sleeping bags and thermos flasks by the front door of the ticket office.

I am not here to bring peace, but rather division.

The Word This Week

When we consider the Christian life, we often think in positive terms: peace, light, joy, goodness, life. And yet, as the Scriptures remind us today, that Christian life must be lived in the midst of a world which is filled with more negative terms: division, distress, cruelty and death. The words of the Gospel may appear shocking to us: Jesus says that he comes to bring “division, not peace”, and this seems totally contrary to the message of the Gospel! And yet, Jesus is not announcing his desire – of course he wants peace, not division – but showing his understanding of the world in which we live. He is inviting us to weigh up the cost of the Kingdom, a cost he was willing to embrace: as the second reading tells us: “… Jesus, for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, endured the cross…” Whatever weighs us down, let us endure and persevere, so that the fire of God’s love may blaze over the whole earth!

You too must stand ready.

The Word This Week

Vigilance: we wait for glory or ruin, salvation or disaster. This is the choice that faces the Christian each and every day, as we wait for the Lord to return, as he promised he would. We often live our lives leaving such things to a distant, shadowy future – like the person who is going to fix that faulty lock or window-frame, but in the end doesn’t get round to it before the burglar comes. The lamps of our lives should be lit and shining, filled to the brim with the oil of prayer and charity, singing the hymns of the fathers as we wait for the Master to return.