Parish of Our Lady & Saint David, Cwmbran

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.

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.