Who are these two disciples on the road to Emmaus

Luke’s story of this new beginning focuses on a walk, not in a garden but along a road that two disciples of Jesus take from Jerusalem to their hometown of Emmaus. Jesus joins them on the way, “but their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Lk 24:16).

Jesus inquires about their discussion, and they are incredulous that he is unaware of the dramatic events in Jerusalem during the Passover, how the chief priests had handed Jesus over to be crucified. Their conclusion comes with a note of despair. “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Lk 24:21).

Jesus exclaims, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Lk 24:25-26). Then Jesus walks them through a Scripture study of salvation history, starting with Genesis (Moses) and all the way through Israel’s Scriptures to the prophets (Lk 24:27).

As evening approaches, they arrive in Emmaus. Jesus appears to be going further, but they beg him to stay, and while at table, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them (Lk 24:30). This is precisely the same description given when Jesus takes the bread at the Last Supper. The disciples’ eyes are opened, and they recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread (Lk  4:31, 35).

Once the bread is broken and he is recognized, Jesus disappears. Jesus promised to be present in the breaking of the bread, and now that the bread has been broken with his priestly hands, he is with them, and they no longer need his bodily presence.

Who are these two disciples, so privileged with Jesus’ presence on the very evening of the resurrection? Luke tells us the name of only one of the two disciples, Cleopas; so who is with Cleopas? The answer is simple but easily missed. Who would Cleopas go home with, other than his wife? According to John’s gospel, we know that “Mary the wife of Clopas” followed Jesus and was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Indeed, she was with Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:25). John’s spelling of Clopas follows the Semitic spelling, whereas Luke, naturally, uses the Greek spelling.

Since Clopas/Cleopas was a rare name, and Cleopas is a disciple of Jesus, it is hard to imagine that there is a wife of Cleopas who also is in Jerusalem for Passover, and is a disciple, and is not related to the very Cleopas Luke names. Translators have often assumed both disciples are men, thus translating Jesus’ admonishment in Luke 24:25 as “O foolish men,” when in the Greek it does not mention men at all, but should be read “O foolish ones!”

At the first creation, God walked in the garden amidst a man, Adam, and his wife, Eve. Now, on the first day of the new creation, Jesus walks with a married couple. This couple has lost all hope, and yet by walking with Jesus, their hearts come back alive. When the first couple in Genesis ate the first meal (from the forbidden fruit), “then the eyes of both were opened” (Gn 3:7); as Jesus breaks open the bread at table with the couple from Emmaus, “their eyes were opened” (Lk 24:31). The eyes of the original couple are opened to shame and guilt, whereas the new couple that Jesus walks with to Emmaus have their eyes opened to the resurrected Lord in the Eucharist. The old creation begins with a married couple falling from grace, whereas the new creation begins with Jesus blessing a married couple by breaking open the Scriptures and the bread, where they recognize him in both.

Source: Walking With God – A Journey Through The Bible

Ritual Laws in Leviticus

Scripture – Luke 8:43-44

And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years and could not be healed by any one, came up behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased.

Comment

Some atheists try to mock our faith by quoting Leviticus.

Some of their claims include “why can’t I own a slave or sell my daughter or eat shellfish” in order to suggest that we can pick and choose what in the Bible we should abide by.

*************

Background:

Touching lepers, corpses and menstruating women, especially, was thought to defile a person and make that person, too, ritually unclean. More generally, the Jews, especially the Pharisees, believed that they were defiled by any contact at all with a broad category of people defined as "sinners."

To explain what Jesus is doing in these healings of word and touch, Matthew employs a formula citation from Isaiah (see Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4).

Source: Reading the Old Testament in the New- The Gospel of Matthew – lesson extract – http://www.salvationhistory.com/

*************

I recently came across an audio sermon which dealt with this topic quite well

Fr Barron elaborates on the event in Luke 8:43-44 or Matthew 9:20-22, as follows.

Everything they expected was reversed.

Jesus didn’t become unclean, she became clean

By healing her physically, Jesus effectively restores her to full participation in the community.

He is healing her at every possible level.

What is more important?

Jesus thereby implicitly puts an end to the ritual code of the Book of Leviticus.

By reversing the expectation of Leviticus that He be unclean, He is implying the identity of the New Israel (which is the Church) would not be brought about through ritual behaviours but by precisely through contact with Him.

Ancient Israel believed that by following the prescriptions in the Book of Leviticus and many others they would discover who they were.

Jesus is saying it is not in relation to the Book of Leviticus, it is in relation to Me that you will know who you are.

Source: Fr Robert Barron - Word on Fire audio sermon July 2012

The birth of Christ - Stable and Signs,

The birth of Christ

We have all read many times that Our Lord was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, and we may have wondered exactly what these are. I post here an answer to some questions on the birth of Christ, which contains a number of very interesting observations from Pope Benedict.

 

I take advantage of the occasion to wish you and your loved ones a very happy and holy Christmas and a New Year filled with God’s blessings.

 

I have three questions on the birth of Christ.

1.    Why do we say he was born in a stable when the Bible doesn’t make any mention of this?

 

2.    What are swaddling clothes?

 

3.   And what exactly was the sign announced by the angel of a child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger?

 

 

The birth of Christ has a number of extraordinary aspects and your questions touch on some of these. The first is that the Son of God, the King of Kings, was born in such humble surroundings. Surely God in the flesh should have been born in a palace, a castle, or at least a dignified inn. And he should have been laid in a bed or a cot, not in a manger, a feeding trough for animals.

 

But God’s ways are not man’s ways, and God clearly wanted it to be that way in order to teach us something. From the humble circumstances of Christ’s birth we learn, in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that “To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little” (CCC 526).

 

And from the poverty of the stable we learn that the possession of material wealth, with all its attending comforts, is not as important as the possession of God. Mary and Joseph, while poor in the material sense, were truly rich in having the very Son of God, the King of Kings, in their family.

 

A Stable?

Returning to your questions, why does Christian tradition, and even the Catechism, say that “Jesus was born in a humble stable” (CCC 525) when nowhere in the Scriptures do we find any explicit mention of it?

 

Indeed, St Matthew limits himself to saying that “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea” and, significantly, when he tells of the arrival of the magi he says that “going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother” (Mt 2:1, 10).

 

The reference to a house can be explained by the possibility that after the birth in a stable, Mary and Joseph were finally able to find a house in which they lived at least until the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem forty days after his birth.

 

St Luke doesn’t mention a stable either but he does say that after Jesus’ birth Mary wrapped him in swaddling cloths “and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Lk 2:7).

 

Since a manger is a feeding trough for animals it has always been assumed that Jesus was born in some sort of stable.

 

The Manger

Pope Benedict XVI, in his book Jesus of Nazareth – The Infancy Narratives, comments on the significance of the manger:

“The manger is the place where animals find their food. But now, lying in the manger, is he who called himself the true bread come down from heaven, the true nourishment that we need in order to be fully ourselves. This is the food that gives us true life, eternal life. Thus the manger becomes a reference to the table of God, to which we are invited so as to receive the bread of God” (p. 68).

We might add that the name Bethlehem means precisely “house of bread”.

 

Presence of Animals

But why do we associate the birth of Christ with the actual presence of animals, in particular an ox and an ass?

Pope Benedict XVI, acknowledging that the Gospel makes no mention of animals, writes:

“But prayerful reflection, reading Old and New Testaments in the light of one another, filled this lacuna at a very early stage by pointing to Is 1:3: ‘The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand” (ibid., p. 69).

 

Swaddling Cloths

And what are swaddling cloths?

In ancient times, as often seen in icons of the nativity scene, the newborn child was customarily wrapped round and round with a narrow band of cloth like a mummy. It was thought this would help the limbs to grow straight.

Pope Benedict comments:

“The child stiffly wrapped in bandages is seen as prefiguring the hour of his death: from the outset, he is the sacrificial victim… The manger, then, was seen as a kind of altar” (ibid., p. 68).

The swaddling cloths can be seen too as a reference to Christ’s kingship and his descent from King Solomon, the son of King David. Solomon, in the book of Wisdom, writes: “I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths. For no king has had a different beginning of existence; there is for all mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure” (Wis 7:4-6).

 

A Sign

Finally, why did the angel say to the shepherds, “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12).

Certainly a baby lying in a manger would be a sign, since this was most uncommon.

But probably, since the angel mentioned the swaddling cloths specifically, this too must have been part of the sign.

 

So there is much symbolism and much to be learned from these simple aspects of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.

 

Source: http://fatherfladerblog.com/2013/12/

 

 

Can You Spot Yourself at the Manger

 Scripture Luke 2:12

 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Comment: Can You Spot Yourself at the Manger

Of all the scripture passages that resist interpretation, the infancy narratives must lead the charge.

Somehow we manage to sidestep addressing why the obligatory donkey, ox and camels creep into the scene while they remain obstinately absent from the Gospels accounts. 

As for the number of wise ones, the place of birth and questions of whether there was any flight to Egypt, these are all swept aside as we decide where to place the drummer boy.

Yet maybe there is an invitation here to embrace the beauty and simplicity of the nativity scene. 

 

Which of the characters depicts us as we prepare for Christmas?

Are you a Joseph, feeling the weight of responsibility? 
    Perhaps you are bewildered by the way events have changed so dramatically during the year. Are you looking for security for those you serve, yet experiencing knock backs and closed doors? Have you settled for something other than what you hoped for despite good planning?

Do you feel like the humble donkey? 
    Have you patiently carried the precious gift of God’s community on a long journey this year? Have you finally arrived, feeling worn out yet at the same time fulfilled, knowing that soon your efforts will be rewarded? Maybe you are a bit like the ox, and circumstances have been thrust upon you.

Suddenly your community has encountered something holy at a time and in a way you could never have anticipated. 

Has it been a year of asking searching questions of yourself and others?

Like the wise ones, have you found yourself on a journey of discovery, searching for enlightenment? 
    Perhaps, at times you have taken the wrong advice, as when the wise ones turned to King Herod. Are you eager to share your gifts with the Lord? The innkeeper and Herod are both notably absent from the nativity scene.

Like the innkeeper, have we needed to shut the door, overcome by the amount of need out there? 
    Or have we shunted new initiatives into some back room, only to have them blossom without any real effort from ourselves? Have we locked Jesus away fearful of what he is calling to birth in our own heart? With King Herod, have we felt threatened by something new? Have we been guilty of stifling a fledgling dream because we perceive it may undermine our own agenda?

Have we confused the truth seekers, the wise ones, giving them mixed messages out of our own insecurity?

Are we a shepherd, transfixed with the wonder of what is happening in our midst? 
    Do we feel unworthy of all the attention or clumsy in our efforts to serve?

Or perhaps we are an angel, confidently sharing the Good News to all that we meet.

And then there is the Mary in us, patiently awaiting the birth of Christ who has already found a home in our heart. 
    Are we eager to bring forth the Word to our needy world, despite the darkness of our surrounds, the perceived inappropriateness of the setting? Do we live in joyful expectation, quietly confident that God’s promise will be fulfilled?

Perhaps we are a little of all these characters.
The star beckons, what will we find on our arrival?

Source: 11 December 2012 | Adult Faith News - Fr John Frauenfelder

The Prodigal Son

Scripture Luke 15:20-24


And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, `Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to make merry.

Comment

The prodigal son came home empty-handed.
He had no trophies to show his father, no achievements with which to earn his praise, his welcome and his love.

He was a failure, worse – he was a sinner.

He deserved to be punished and he knew it.

Yet punishment was the last thing he needed. To punish him would be like pouring water on a dying fire.
What happened?

When his father saw his lost son coming towards him, his heart went out to him, and the next minute they were in each others arms.

It is an extraordinary experience to be loved in one’s sinfulness.
Such love is like a breeze to a dying fire, or rain to a parched ground.

Those who have experienced this kind of love know something about the heart of God.

Source: New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies by Flor McCarthy SDB

The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son


Multiple commentary provided for this parable.
Insights divided into 4 parts

• Luke 15:1-3, 10-12
• Luke 15:12-16
• Luke 15:17-24
• Luke 15:25-32

PART 1

Scripture Luke 15:1-3, 10-12

[1] Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
[2] And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
[3] So he told them this parable:
[10] Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
[11] And he said, "There was a man who had two sons;
[12] and the younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them.

Comment

We are drawn into the story. Why should this be so?
I think it speaks so eloquently of who God is and how we get into right relationship to Him.

Who is God?
How do we get into a right relationship to Him?

It is important to attend to the opening lines of this passage.
We hear that tax collectors and sinners were drawing close to Jesus and that Pharisees and scribes were complaining about this.

Keep those two groups in mind.

Jesus had a magnetic power, especially for those who felt excluded from the love of God.
But He also stirred up resentment, precisely by the very graciousness of His style.
The parable is a portrait of Jesus and of these two groups.
In other words it is a portrait of Divine Love and two typical responses to it.
The response of the sinner and of the self righteously religious.

Lets look at the younger son, who symbolises the sinner.

The one in open rebellion against God. the younger son egregiously insults his father.
How? By demanding his inheritance immediately.
Maybe it doesn't strike us as so negative boy it would have struck a first century listener to the story.
In asking for his inheritance now, the son is basically telling his father "I wish you were dead".
You get your inheritance when the father dies, but to ask for it right now is basically to say I wish you were dead.
Can you hardly imagine a worse way to insult your father than that?

Well that father, oblivious to the insult, gives the son exactly what he wants.
The spiritual symbolism here is quite exact.

Many of us want the gifts of God.
We want existence, life , success, health, love but without a relationship to the giver.

We want those gifts but on our terms.
We want to make them our own possession.
That is why it is so powerful when the younger son says give me my share of the inheritance coming to me.
The Greek work for inheritance means" substance" in a more philosophical way, but it also means money.
The money that I can have and put in my pocket.
You see what he is doing - he is taking the gift of the father and turning it into his own possession.
Give me my share coming to me. Three times he says me, me, me.

But see this will never work spiritually.

Source: Fr Robert Barron www.wordonfire.org


In effect, the father impoverishes himself.
Notably, the son has not told his father what he is going to do with it.
Ostensibly, one could think that the son was looking to simply take responsibility of the family’s goods he would one day receive.
(Though, given the fact that son has basically declared the death of his father, his next actions are not at all surprising).
Yet, instead of sticking around and managing the family estate he has been entrusted with, he takes off with it!

Dr Michael Barber

PART 2

Scripture Luke 15:12-16

and the younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything.

Comment

These gifts come from a giver. They come from a transcendent source. When we wander away from that source, refusing to acknowledge the source, the gifts dry up.

The divine life only exists in gift form. God is the one who gives and that is precisely why the younger son wanders into a distant country (the cora macra) but in the Greek it means the great emptiness. That is exactly where you wander when you wander away from the source.

We hear that he squandered his wealth.
You see, the goods that you have from God when they are divorced from any relationship to the source they will dry up.
That is basic principle of spiritual physics.

When you grab the gifts from God, when you divorce them from the source, they will dry up.

Next we read, a severe famine struck that country. He hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him out to tend the swine.
What an insult for a Jew by the way. He longed to eat his fill on the pods on which the swine fed. In other words he become himself a pig.
But no one gave him anything.
How beautiful.

He is in the Cora Macra - the great empty place. More to it, a famine breaks out.
That is spiritual language about how we dry up and become lifeless when divorced from God.
In fact we become less than human.
One of the keys friends, is that little line at the end of this section – “but no one gave him anything”.

What land has he wandered into?

The land of calculation, of contract, of tit for tat.
I'll give you something, you give me something back.

But it is not the land of graciousness, of gratuitousness. Ahh that is where his father lives. That is his fathers country.

Source: Fr Robert Barron www.wordonfire.org


Not only does he abandon the family, he squanders what he received from his father on debauchery - i.e., “loose living” (Luke 15:13) and harlots (Luke 15:30).
It is interesting that here sexual immorality is linked with the lack of responsibility to family, but here we need to resist an interesting tangent.

Ultimately, the son finds himself without any money in a foreign land.
To make matters, there’s a famine.
He ends up with nothing.

He joins himself to one of the citizens of the country he is in (Luke 15:15) and ends up feeding his swine (Luke 15:16) - which were of course known as unclean animals (Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8; 1 Macc 1:47; b. B. Qam. 82b).

Even the food of the pigs looks good to him (cf. Luke 15:16).
The man has, in a sense, been reduced to the level of the swine - he is among them, one of the “unclean”.

By working for a foreigner, who in all likelihood does not honor the Sabbath command given to Israel, he is essentially completely cut off from his God, his family and reduced to servitude.
It is important to point out that when the famine comes “no one gave him anything” (Luke 15:16).

In fact, the only person who ever gave him anything was his father - the very person he has rejected.

The son opted for the people in this distant land over him, but now that he has run out of money, they have kicked him to the side of the road - or at least, to serve alongside the pigs.

Source: Dr Michael Barber

http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_prodigal_son_new_life_sacramental_imagery/



PART 3

Scripture Luke 15:17-24

But when he came to himself he said, `How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."'

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, `Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to make merry.

Comment (3 insights)

The Father is not a blood-thirsty tyrant whose wrath is appeased by the suffering of Jesus.

He is the loving Father in the story of the Prodigal Son who respects his son’s freedom too much to force him to stay, or to send a posse after him once his sins led him to the brink of despair.

The Prodigal Son walked away in arrogance. He would himself have to travel the road back in humility.

Adam, Eve and all of us walked away in pride. We, their sons and daughters, would have to walk back in humility.
Trouble was, we couldn’t, so deeply had we been wounded by sin.
So God became man and walked the road for us, though it turned out to be the way of the cross.

Perfect humility.
Perfect love.
Perfect suffering.

Relentless and undeterred by every conceivable stumbling block and snare that hell could put in its way.
That is what redeemed us and paid the debt of our sins.

Source: Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio


At this point we hear that the man “comes to himself” (eis heauton erchosthai). Here Jesus uses an idiom that is found in non-biblical literature. The phrase here does not quite mean “repentance”. In sum, the man has simply “come to his senses” by realizing that his fathers’ servants are better treated than he is.

He therefore comes up with a plan.
He will go back and beg his father to take him back, not as a son but as one of his hired hands.

We should note this dichotomy between sonship and servanthood, because, as we shall see, it is key in the story.
The son realizes that he has renounced his sonship.
But even the servants of his father are better than he is in his present state.

You Can Go Home Again
He thus comes up with a good spiel, which he hopes will allow him to return to his father’s house. He plans to go to his father and say: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18–19). He sets off for home.
His father, however, sees his son “while he was yet at a distance” (Luke 15:20).

It seems the father has been looking off into the horizon.
The sense one gets is that he was looking, just waiting, to see his son return.
One is reminded of the story in Tobit: “Now Anna sat looking intently down the road for her son. And she caught sight of him coming, and said to his father, ‘Behold, your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!’” (Tob 11:5–6).

His father’s joy at seeing his son returning is immediately apparent. His acceptance of his son precedes his son’s request for reconciliation - a reminder that we do not need to somehow impress our heavenly Father in order to turn his attention towards us. God is always waiting for us to return to him - He loves us far more than we could ever ask him to love us!

In fact, the son isn’t even able to complete the carefully rehearsed speech he has prepared for his father. He says, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). Yet before he can finish the last lines of his prepared speech (i.e., “treat me as one of your hired servants”), his father exclaims, “‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found’” (Luke 15:22–24).

The son is not welcomed back into the family because of his own clever speech - in fact, the father takes him back even before he can fully get through it.
This is a reminder that salvation is a grace. As St. Paul says, “. . . no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3).

Source: Dr Michael Barber


Having hit bottom, he decides to return home. And so it goes, and this is good news with many sinners.
Maybe many people listening (reading) this right now are finding them in this place.
You think you have entered the high life but divorced from God you have dried up.
Maybe you have been down that road for a long time, the path of self indulgence.

Perhaps you have reached bottom like the prodigal son.

Talk to anybody who is in a serious addition to sex, money, drugs, power and that is exactly the land where they have wandered into and they will inevitably hit bottom.

Notice too please, the young man has to decide to return.
God is love, right through. God is gracious love, that's true but this God, because He is gracious love always respects our freedom.
You see without freedom our lives wouldn't really be ours.
God doesn't want puppets. He wants friends.
It is decisive. It is absolutely indispensable in this process.

You have got to muster the freedom, the courage, the energy to turn back.
But here is the thing.
Grace floods in, the moment this happens.

Because all this time the father has been waiting and watching and the moment he sees his son he runs.

How embarrassing that was. An older man in this Jewish culture would sit. People would come to him. For the old man to run was embarrassing.

So our God full of grace. He embraces this young man.
He puts a ring on his finger and a robe on him.
God is lavishing his love.
He wants to bring us back into the circle of His grace and this grace is above all joyful.
It involves celebration.

"I have come to bring you joy and that your joy might be complete" That is what Jesus says and that is the attitude of the Father.
He gives and gives and gives.
All he wants if for us to receive that grace and then become ourselves a conduit of it.

That is what God wants.

Source: Fr Robert Barron www.wordonfire.org


PART 4

Scripture Luke 15:25-32


"Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, `Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!' And he said to him, `Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"


Comment

Now we get to the older son. Upon hearing that his brother has returned, the elder son refuses to go into the feast and welcome his brother back. His speech to his father is revealing: “‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’” (Luke 15:29–30).

Notice that elder son describes his relationship with his father in terms of a servant—he, in effect, does not relate to him as a son but as a slave. He “serves”, and “obeys his father’s commandments”. Moreover, the reason for his service is not love but self-interest; he resents his father for not giving him anything. In a sense, the elder son, like the younger son, renounces his sonship for slavery.

He even refuses to identify his brother as his brother (i.e., “this son of yours”) - he cuts himself off from the family. He does not want to feast with his family but with “my friends”.

The father however refuses to cut his son off― ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” Just as the father is eager to reconcile with the younger brother, so too he continues to reach out in love to his other son, reminding him of his place in his house.

The elder son may cease to identify himself as a member of the family; the father, however, never ceases to call him “son”.

Source: Dr Michael Barber
http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_prodigal_son_new_life_sacramental_imagery/


But as the party gets underway, the older brother we hear is out in the field.

Remember now the two audiences that Jesus is addressing.
This brother represents the scribes and the Pharisees.
He has stayed, in one sense, close to the father. He is not like his brother who demanded his inheritance now.

He is not like his brother who wandered far away but his attitude reveals that he is very far away indeed spiritually from his father. He might be close to him physically but he hasn't gotten him at all.

He broods with anger and resentment at the party thrown for this wasteful brother of his.
So just as the father went out to meet the younger boy, so he goes out to meet the elder.
Listen to older brother speak. It gives away the whole game.

Look, all these years I have served you and not once did I disobey your orders.
See how little he understands his father. Slaving and obeying are not the responses of one who has fallen in love.

He has not caught the fathers effervescent generosity but rather he construes their relationship as one of contract and calculation, slaving, working, obeying.

This is the religious person who is no fun at all. This is the puritan. The censorious critic. The self righteous Pharisee.
The one who is always sensitive to the illegitimate rewards other people are getting. The one who calculates and measures and weighs. That is the older brother.

Listen now to the father.

My son, you are here with me always. everything I have is yours.
There is the language of grace. If only the brother can hear it. Take the gifts I want you to have. Let them surge through you and become gifts for others and then you would be ready to join in the celebration.

Friends, here is the question - a good Lenten question:
Which brother are you?
Let this story wash over you. Move into the dynamics of the story.

Identify where you are spiritually.
Are you ready to enter in to the rhythm of grace?
Are you ready to respond to this Father who wants nothing more than for you to be fully alive?
If you are you have become a saint.

God bless you.



Source: Fr Robert Barron www.wordonfire.org



Reflection - The scandal of grace

Many of us, if we are honest, will admit to a feeling of empathy with the elder brother of the prodigal son (Lk 15). Here he is, the dutiful son, working hard year after year, doing all his father asks without complaint. "I never once disobeyed you." And for what? His renegade brother turns up after 'swallowing up your property with prostitutes', and is he punished? Not a bit of it. The red carpet is put out, the fatted calf killed and a huge party put on for him. 'Yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends,' he bitterly accuses his father.

In Rembrandt's painting, the elder brother stands with his back to his father. You see his anger, even rage, in his stiff posture, his stern unsmiling look. No way could he join in the 'Welcome back' celebrations for this blackguard of a brother.

His bitterness rises like bile and the image of the good and dutiful son cracks as resentment pours out of him. The unfairness of it. He has worked so hard all these years, sweated his life out, managed the property - and for what? When 'your son'- not, note, 'my brother'- returns after his fun and games, you, our father, welcome him with open arms.

With shocking clarity we see the joyless spirit of this responsible man. Yes, he did his duty, he was the 'good' son, helping his father. And all the while, unknown perhaps even to himself, he harboured a seething resentment. How dare his feckless brother come back, even to be a servant! But worst of all, how could his father open his arms to this wretch of a son? His anger boiled over and now, maybe for the first time, he disobeyed him and refused to join in the celebration, refused to share in the joy of his father.

"He welcomes sinners and eats with them" (Lk 12:2). This complaint of the upright scribes and Pharisees, dutiful keepers of the law, is what triggered off the story of the two sons and their father. The scandal of grace. The scandal of really, warmly, welcoming the sinner. No accusations. No pound of flesh. No punishment. 'Quick!' the father says to the servants. Quick. Don't delay. Don't judge. Quick - make him feel at home. Celebrate.

If we feel for the elder son is it because of an unwanted suspicion that under our veneer of goodness lurks a similar pharisaic persona? Little things give us away; our lack of joy, for example when a colleague gets the promotion we felt was our due. The way we smart when others don't appreciate all we do for them. The resentment that rises up when another is the life and soul of the party while we are left slaving in the kitchen. Whinging and whining, even though it is hidden under our 'lovely' smile, we shrivel and our hearts turn to stone.

Let us take a good look at the elder son this Lent. All the years he lived with this wonderful father and yet did not know him. Are we, with all our years of 'goodness' any better? How well do we know the Father? How well do we know Jesus, the beloved Son who will lead us to him? Can we believe the Father when he tells us, 'All that is mine is yours'? Will we believe him today?

Source: Sister Redempta Twomey is a Columban Sister living in Ireland

http://www.columban.org.au/publications/the_far_east/2009/the-far-east-march-2009/reflection-the-scandal-of-grace.html

Bethlehem - Where Heaven Meets Earth

Scripture
Luke 2:15-16When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Matt 2:1-2[1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying,
[2] "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."

CommentSomething marvellous happened in history and it happened in a cave.
A cave in Bethlehem.

A place where extremes meet.
It is where heaven meets earth.

God comes to make a home in the world and finds himself homeless.
Religion and philosophy come together for the first time
The kings and shepherds kneel down together before a manger in Bethlehem.

Men of different tastes, cultures, lands, education and aspirations all find what they are looking for in the same thing.

The shepherds find their shepherd.
The kings find their king.

It is a story like no other.
The coming of the man called Christ changes everything.

Source: GK Chesterton – The Everlasting Man

Luke 10:29-37 - The Good Samaritan

Scripture Luke 10:29-37

[29] But he (a lawyer), desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

[30] Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
[31] Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
[32] So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
[33] But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,
[34] and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
[35] And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
[36] Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"
[37] He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."


Comment
When we hear about the story of the Good Samaritan we think it is wonderful parable, it is about the moral life, it is about taking care of those who are suffering, even those who are our natural opponents or enemies.

Certainly, that story does have that moralising sense but the Church Fathers saw something and it is reflected in the Chartre Cathedral window in France which shows the story of the Good Samaritan and the story of the Fall of Man intertwined. They saw something at a deeper level and which is evocative of the great story of Christian faith. What I mean by that, is the story of our fall and of our redemption.

True hero of the parable of the Good Samaritan is Christ, symbolised by this outsider who had compassion.

Let us look at this story in light of this interpretive key.

How’s it begin?

A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

In the literal sense, even today people will tell you that the road to Jericho literally goes down and of course Jerusalem is built on Mount Zion but it is a dangerous twisting road.

In Jesus day it was full of robbers and threats.

Now lets read it spiritually.

This man goes down from Jerusalem.

Jerusalem in the Bible stands for heaven, peace, reconciliation with God. It is the City of the Lord, the Holy City.

He went down from there to Jericho. This is a spiritual symbol of our fall from Grace.

Jerusalem stands for our union with God on the Holy Mountain.

Jericho is the place of perdition, the place of sin.

This wanderer is everyone, all of us who have fallen from grace to sin.

Isn’t it wonderful too – he fell victim to robbers.

Christians, when we walk the path of sin, when we go from Jerusalem to Jericho we are robbed of our spiritual powers, our peace, our sense of purpose, our centeredness. When we walk the path of sin we are robbed of the life that God wants us to have.

More to the point, we are beaten up and left half dead, as this man was.

That is a wonderful spiritual symbol.

What has sin done to us?

It hasn’t killed us spiritually. We haven’t lost our image of God.

We haven’t lost our spiritual powers but we have lost the likeness unto God.

That is to say, we have lost our friendship with God.

Sin has literally beaten us up and left us half dead, unable to save ourselves.

Think of sin here, as a kind of quagmire.

A condition we have fallen into and we can not extricate ourselves from it.

In fact the more you struggle to get out of the quagmire or quicksand, the quicker you go under.

So this is a picture of us, all of us.

Spiritually lost, unable to save ourselves.

Beaten up and left half dead.

What happens next in the parable?

A priest happens to be going down that road and when he saw him he past by on the opposite side.

Likewise, a Levite came by and when he saw him he past by on the opposite side.

The priest and the Levite.

Two officials. Two representatives of the religious establishment of the time.

Important figures. Powerful figures.

Those who embodied for the Jews of Jesus time all that was best in their own tradition.

And they can’t save him!

I want to put the stress on can’t rather than won’t.

I think at the heart of this story is the claim that they can’t save him.

Christians, when we are caught in the grip of sin, we are in the quagmire of our spiritual dysfunction.

What can save us?

Nothing or nobody who is in the same quagmire with us.

If we were up to our neck in quicksand, the one person who can’t help you is the person right next to you who is up to their neck in the quicksand.

A basic intuition of the Bible is we all have sinned.

Saint Paul say that, we all have sinned and fall and short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous. Not one.

That means, we are all caught in the web, in the quagmire of this dysfunction.

I don’t care how exalted a poet you are.

I don’t care how insightful a scientist you are.

I don’t care how bold a social reformer you are.

You can’t save anyone from sin.

GK Chesterton said “we are all in the same boat and we are all sea sick.”

That is the human condition. We are all caught in it.

The fact that the priest and the Levite can’t save this man is symbolic of this fact.

Now is this all bad news?

The fact that the priest and the Levite can’t save this man is symbolic of this fact.

Now is this all bad news?

No, because now comes the saviour.

A Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.

This outsider, this half breed.

Of course, the Samaritans were the descendents of those Jews that stayed behind during the exile and intermarried with non Jews.

So they were seen by Jews as second rate, as half breeds.

And this is the one who has compassion and gets down off his beast of burden and cares for the man who is left half dead.

Who is the only who can save us?

No one in the quagmire.

But listen now.

Only someone who is humble enough to into the quagmire with us and yet powerful enough to draw us out of it.

In other words, only that half breed, who is both human and divine.

Low enough to reach us, strong enough to rescue us.

Christians, this is the heart of our faith.

We are all in sin.

No one can save themselves.

We can’t save each other, but yet one comes who is both weak and strong enough, both low and high enough to save us.

And this is symbolised beautifully in this Good Samaritan, this half breed, this outsider.

He is the one who has compassion on him.

All of us are caught in the web of sin. We are all a kind of dysfunctional family. Nobody from within a dysfunctional family can save the family from the dysfunction because they are all too tainted by it. It is only when someone comes from outside of the dysfunctional family that there is a real possibility of resolution. So in our spiritual dysfunction of sin, we need an outsider - Christ, who is both divine and human.

He poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.

That’s terrific.

Oil and wine symbolises the whole sacramental life of the Church.

Oil that is used at Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders

Oil is the sacramental life of the Church, which is a participation in the being and power of Christ.

He pours wine into his wounds. That is the wine of the Eucharist.

When we drink the blood of Christ and we take His life into us.

The sacramental life of the Church is our way of participating in the salvation that Christ offers us.

Isn’t it wonderful how it heals us of our wounds?

What are the wounds of sin?

The darkening of the mind – we don’t see things right.

A weakening of the will – we choose all the wrong things.

Selfishness, violence, hatred.

They are all the wounds of sin.

What do the sacraments of the Church do?

They heal us. Christ pours these in and then He bandages the wounds.

You want to be healed.

Then He lifted him up on his own animal.

That’s a great detail.

He lifts him up and places him on his own beast of burden.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

What does Christ do?

He bears our burden.

Sin is a kind of burden. It weighs us down.

It keeps us from being fully alive.

We can’t lift it off our own shoulders.

We can’t save ourselves.

But the good news is, this one who is weak and strong enough has lifted us up onto his own beast of burden.

Christ bears our sin.

He bears the weight of our dysfunction and thereby saves us.

He takes away the sin of the world.

There is a wonderful final detail in the story.

Finally, he took out two silver coins and he pays the inn keeper to care for this man.

We speak of Jesus as Saviour.

We also speak of Him as the Redeemer – which comes from a Latin word which means “to buy back”.

Sin is a quagmire. Sin is a sickness. Sin is being wounded. Sin is also “being held for ransom”.

The ransom was paid.

We were imprisoned in sin but now in and through Christ that ransom has been paid.

We have been redeemed.

Bought back. Paid for.

And so in this story He took out two silver coins and He pays the innkeeper, liberating us from sin.

Christians, what sets up this story?

Remember it is the man who asks who is my neighbour?

Jesus said love your neighbour as yourself.

Well who is my neighbour?

In response to that question Jesus tells this story.
In light of this interpretation which I have given, which is a very old one, the neighbour is Christ.

He is the one who has emptied himself out of love for us.

He is the one who put us on His own beast of burden. Who paid us back.

Who emptied Himself that we might have life.

The whole point of the Christian life is to be a neighbour to others as Christ is a neighbour to us.

Everything else is commentary.

God bless you.

Source: Fr Robert Barron audio sermons www.wordonfire.org

Scripture Luke 10:29-37
[29] But he (a lawyer), desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

[30] Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
[31] Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
[32] So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
[33] But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,
[34] and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
[35] And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
[36] Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"
[37] He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Comment
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan contains the narrative of salvation history, beginning with the Fall of Adam and continuing through the founding of the Church even until the Second Coming of our Saviour and the Day of Judgment.



The following interpretation is based on the Catena Aurea of St. Thomas Aquinas (Luke 10:29-35).

Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

A man, this refers to Adam (the name means man). Fell victim to robbers, this is the fall of Adam, which was hastened by the temptation of the evil one. Likewise, all who have sinned since Adam, fall to the temptation of Satan and his wicked angels who are robbers. Adam is said to have fallen as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, for Jerusalem is a symbol of paradise, Jericho a symbol of the fallen world. Jerusalem is a sign of sinless-ness and immortality, Jericho signifies mortality and death. Adam first turned away from God, thus he was unable to resist the temptations of the evil one.


They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.

Adam is said to be left half-dead, for our nature was not entirely corrupted by sin, but was left in such a state as to be unable to raise itself to justification before God. Thus, fallen man is not yet dead, but is half-dead.

A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.

The Priest and the Levite represent the Law and the Prophets. These came before Christ and were unable to bring salvation. However, they did make man to yearn for a savior, manifesting our sinfulness (for the Law makes man aware of sin), yet unable to heal our wounds. Thus they passed by on the opposite side; for the Old Covenant did not bring man salvation.

But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim,

Notice that the Priest and Levite happened to come upon Adam, they do not proceed to him with intent. The Samaritan, however, came upon him, indicating that he voluntarily approached the victim.

poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.

The Samaritan, that is Christ, brings that healing which the Priest and Levite could not effect. For the forgiveness of sins comes only from the New Law. Christ poured oil and wine over his wounds, this signifies both softness of mercy (the oil) and sharpness of constraint (the wine). Or oil and wine signify Christ’s union with our humanity (the oil) and his union with the divinity (the wine).

Then he lifted him up on his own animal,

The animal signifies the humanity of Christ, which was an instrument of his divinity. It is by the humanity of Christ that we find salvation.

took him to an inn, and cared for him.

The inn signifies the Church, for none are saved outside the Church of Christ.

The next day

He speaks of the next day referring to his Resurrection, the “day that the Lord hath made.” Christ must make provision for redeemed man, since he was to depart from us and ascend to his Father.

he took out two silver coins

The two silver coins signify the love of God and love of neighbor. Or they signify baptism and the Eucharist.

and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,

The innkeeper signifies the apostles and their successors.

'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'

One is said to spend more when he works tirelessly for the faith, even spending his own life in the service of the Gospel. To such a one, Christ will indeed give the reward of eternal life. On my way back, here Christ foretells his Second Coming and the Day of Judgement

Source: http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2010/07/jesus-good-samaritan.html

Luke 10:29-37 - The Good Samaritan

Scripture Luke 10:29-37

[29] But he (a lawyer), desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

[30] Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

[31] Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

[32] So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

[33] But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,

[34] and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

[35] And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' [36] Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"

[37] He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Comments
Verse 29
Just like a lawyer, he wants all the terms accurately defined so that he will be sure of eternal life. It could be that the question stems from debates about who belongs to Gods people and therefore is an object of neighbourly love.

Verse 31 and 32
It could be that the priest and the Levite were afraid to approach the man because they thought they would be defiled if they touched him.

Verse 33
His love was spontaneous.

Verse 37
The lawyer can’t bring himself to say Samaritan.


Source: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Picayune, MS

http://www.scborromeo.org



The parable of the Good Samaritan provides us with a beautiful image of how to love others. This love goes beyond feelings and cultural and religious boundaries to reach out to whoever needs care along the way. Recently, the ABC's 'Australian Story' featured a man who suffered from severe depression after witnessing atrocities during war time. He unleashed his pain and anguish on his family and came to believe that his life was no longer worth living. It was in realising that there are people worse off than him that he decided to give his time to supplying groceries to farmers affected by drought. This turned his life around.

The Samaritan story invites us to care for whoever needs our support, no matter who they may be. But underneath this is another story, that to care like this for others is to experience the grace of God in our lives, to know the blessing of being able to give without return, to be able to empathise, to be privileged to serve.

Source: Daily Prayer Online

The prayer of a servant:

My Lord God, I confess that I am the priest and the Levite. Not only did I walk past, I walked away. I was too busy, too frightened, my heart was too cold. In my own abundance, I was too poor in spirit to bear the cost. In my own comfort, I was too complacent to suffer any inconvenience. It was the Samaritan, a man despised and without pride of position or parentage, who was faithful and loving and who gave of himself sacrificially.

Father God, in your mercy, say that it is not too late for me. Another may have borne the burden, but I can go to the inn and sit with the traveler while he heals. I can bathe his wounds and feed him and lighten his spirit until the Good One returns.

Grant me the grace to do that little service with a grateful heart; please stand with me so that I will not walk away and shun the greater service the next time.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner. Amen.

Source: http://newmillenia.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/reflection-on-the-good-samaritan/

Luke 10:29-37 - The Good Samaritan

Scripture Luke 10:29-37

But he (a lawyer), desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."



Reflection on the Gospel of the Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan must be one of the most reflected upon and written about Gospel passages. Yet in our church’s liturgical cycle, we hear it just once in every three years at Sunday Eucharist.

This story of Jesus can be viewed through the lens of an act of kindness, compassion and generosity. Such a response is vital and a constant call on our being. Yet, I believe also that this story calls for a very deep inner conversion of attitude and cultural bias out of which I can define human relationships. We can unwittingly place all sorts of limitations on our relationships.

The Jews and the Samaritans had defined each other on ethic and cultural grounds. They seemed to instinctively know what each other could expect from the other. They had in a real sense ‘boxed’ each other in to a predetermined set of expectations and enmities. In the eyes of a Jew, a Samaritan could not do good.

The parable, as the Word of God is like ‘a two edged sword piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’(Heb 4:12). It invites me to cut deeply into my own heart and to identify where any prejudice, bias or resistances to love may reside; where I might be unprepared to open up and to be changed by the Word of God.

Perhaps a question for today is

“Who is not my neighbour and why?”

Who are those excluded from my love?

Who are those, whose perceived unacceptable behaviours might irritate me and so I leave them out in the cold? Against whom do I discriminate and why?

The parable in this context also has a societal dimension. At the present time our Australian society is confronted by the continuation of dramatic disadvantage and poverty of our remote indigenous communities. No doubt other countries have their experiences of exclusion and disadvantage. I concur with the recent statement from the Australian Bishops of 7th July 2007, that we need to demand that any community or government response is always “respectful of Indigenous culture and identity.” Institutional racism cannot be acceptable. We as a nation cannot continue to allow a “rejection of difference (that) can lead to that form of cultural annihilation which sociologists have called ‘ethnocide’ and does not tolerate the presence of others except to the extent that they allow themselves to be assimilated into the dominant culture.”

This parable is part of the prophetic tradition of the scriptures, which calls each and every one of us to allow God as the Kind Samaritan to heal our hearts and our minds from all discrimination, prejudice and cultural bias, so that we can receive our neighbours in just relationships and with integrity of heart.

Sr Clare Condon SGS

Source: Good Samaritan Sisters, http://www.goodsams.org.au/spirituality/spirituality.htm

Luke 2:42, 49, John 2: 13, 16, 17, John.14:1-7 - My Fathers House

Scripture:

Luke 2:42, 49

[42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom;
[49] And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
[50] And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.


John 2: 13, 16, 17

[13] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

[16] And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; you shall not make my Father's house a house of trade."
[17] His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for thy house will consume me."



John.14:1-7

[1] "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.

[2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
[3] And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
[4] And you know the way where I am going."
[5] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"
[6] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.
[7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him."



Comment

After having read these verses many times, the thought of Jesus teaching us all about “my Fathers house” in two separate context, did make me want to learn more.



I have searched for an explanation for quite a while now and found the following insight (edited for brevity):



**************************************

The account of the first Passover in John (2:3–3:2) has prepared the reader to interpret the death and resurrection of Jesus in the third Passover (John 11:55–20:3) as the destruction and rebuilding of the true Temple, and nothing less.



We have here several significant deployments of Temple terms and images.



First, the phrase, “Father’s house,” in John 14:2 recalls the nearly identical description of the Temple in John 2:6 (“my Father’s house”). The two expressions are certainly close enough for the connection to easily be made, yet there is a subtle, theologically significant alteration.



In John 2:6 the phrase used in the Septuagint translation describes the Temple, the palace, and other large buildings in the Temple complex.



In John 14:2, however, the phrase also means “house,” but frequently tends toward a more personal and familial rather than architectural sense—“household,” “home,” or even “family.”



A shift is taking place in John 14:2–3 as compared with John 2:6: The sense of the new Temple is being extended from Jesus’ physical body to the community of God, that is, to God’s “household” or “family.” The Temple concept is being applied to what the later Church tradition would call the Mystical Body of Christ.



The Temple reference in the phrase “Father’s house” is confirmed by other Temple allusions in these verses. The reference to a “house” with “many rooms” could not fail to bring to mind the Jerusalem Temple, the largest and most multi-chambered edifice known to the Jewish reader. Indeed, the Temple’s “many rooms” are immortalized in certain passages of the Old Testament (Ezek. 40–42).



Jesus is telling his disciples that his departure is necessary to prepare a Temple sanctuary for them in which they will dwell with him. Frequently this is understood in terms of a heavenly, eschatological fulfilment—the disciples will dwell with Jesus forever in the “Temple” of heaven.



Jesus clearly speaks of the disciples “abiding” in Christ even now, in this life.



One also must be cognizant of John 4:23: “If a man loves me … my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Thus, Jesus goes to prepare a (holy) “place” for the disciples, with dwellings for them, but simultaneously the Father and Son will come to the faithful disciple and make their dwelling with him.



Therefore, John 4 taken as a whole, describes a mutual indwelling of Father and Son with the disciples, a mutual indwelling which is treated at greater length and more explicitly in the (Eucharistic) vine discourse of John 5:–7, with its stress on “abiding” or “dwelling”. All this suggests that Jesus’ promise to prepare a Temple in which the disciples shall abide will be realized now, in this age, through the mutual indwelling of the disciples, the Father, Son, and Spirit.



The disciples will be constituted a Temple by the Spirit, whom the Father and the Son will send after Jesus departs. The idea of the disciples as Temple—a concept also present in the scrolls found at Qumran —resonates on a deep level with other themes of the last discourse, especially when these are understood in light of Old Testament Temple traditions.



The Temple was the dwelling place of the name of God, the glory of God, and indeed, of God himself.



Compare these characteristics of the Temple with what is said about the disciples during the last discourse:

they are the locus of the name of God: “I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. … I have made known to them your name.”
They have received the glory: “The glory which you have given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:22).
They are the dwelling of God: “the Spirit of Truth … dwells with you, and will be in you” (John 14:17);
“If a man loves me. … We will come to him and make our home with him” (14:23).





Source: Temple, Sign, and Sacrament: Towards a New Perspective on the Gospel of John

Scott W. Hahn - St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Luke 18:1-5 - Prayer

Scripture Luke 18:1-5

And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man; and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, `Vindicate me against my adversary.' For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.

Comment

One of the most difficult duties of the Christian life is prayer.

This is one of the most essential duties, but it is challenging because we are engaging in spiritual exercise and therefore we do not see the immediate fruit in the natural realm. Today’s readings invite us to strengthen our prayer life and to remember that perseverance is the key.

In today's Responsorial Psalm (Ps 121:1-8) we're told to lift our eyes to the mountains, that our help will come from Mount Zion and the Temple - the dwelling of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Joshua and the Israelites, in today's first reading in Exodus (Ex 17:8-13), are also told to look to the hilltops. They are to find their help there - through the intercession of Moses - as they defend themselves against their mortal foes, the Amalekites.

Notice the image: Aaron and Hur standing on each side of Moses, holding his weary arms so that he can raise the staff of God above his head. Moses is being shown here as a figure of Jesus, who also climbed a hilltop, and on Mount Calvary stretched out His hands between heaven and earth to intercede for us against the final enemy - sin and death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26).

By the staff of God, Moses bested Israel's enemies (see Exodus 7:8-12;8:1-2), parted the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:16) and brought water from the Rock (see Exodus 17:6).

The Cross of Jesus is the new staff of God, bringing about a new liberation from sin, bringing forth living waters from the body of Christ, the new Temple of God (see John 2:19-21; 7:37-39; 19:34; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Like the Israelites and the widow in today's Gospel, we face opposition and injustice - at times from godless and pitiless adversaries.

We, too, must lift our eyes to the mountains - to Calvary and the God who will guard us from all evil.

We must pray always and not be wearied by our trials, Jesus tells us today. As Paul exhorts us in 2 Timothy (2 Tm 3:14-4:2), we need to remain faithful, to turn to the inspired Scriptures - given by God to train us in righteousness.

As Jesus points out in the gospel reading in Luke (Lk 18:1-8), we must persist so that when the Son of Man comes again in kingly power, He will indeed find faith on earth.

May each of us grow in the perseverance of our prayer life and have the patience to wait for God’s timing.

May God bless all that you do for Him, and may everything else fall by the wayside.

Source: Catholic Call

Luke 7:30-32 - We piped to you, and you did not dance

Scripture Luke 7:30-32

but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

"To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?

They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, `We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.'


Comment

The role of God and the role of people are reversed in this gospel. People are judging God’s word and finding it lacking.

The reality—wisdom—is that the opposite is true.

Wisdom is, at heart, the acceptance of God’s word. When wisdom is rejected, there is little way that the heart can be open to listen.

John the Baptist appealed to people in a particular way, while Jesus appealed in a different way.

The children of wisdom appreciate and welcome God’s words, however they are presented.

The gospel today shows a message that is falling on closed ears, or rather closed hearts.

The appeals are judged as ‘possession’ or ‘permissiveness’.

Our prayer today is for wisdom and a prayer of praise for our Father who is so generous to all.


Source: Daily Prayer Online

Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 - Two Criminals Crucified Next To Jesus

Scripture Luke 23:32-33, 39-43

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Comment

"Two thieves," because they thought this would make His death more disgraceful-making Him equal to common criminals.

One of these thieves, called the penitent thief, repented of his sins and received Our Lord´s pardon before his death.

The other thief died in his sins.

Holy writers tell us that one of these thieves was saved to give poor sinners hope, and to teach them that they may save their souls at the very last moment of their lives if only they are heartily sorry for their sins and implore God´s pardon for them.

The other thief remained and died impenitent, that sinners may fear to put off their conversion to the hour of death, thus rashly presuming on God´s mercy.

Persons who willfully delay their conversion and put off their repentance to the last moment, living bad lives with the hope of dying well, may not accept the grace to repent at the last moment, but may, like the unfortunate, impenitent thief, die as they lived, in a state of sin.

Source: Catholic.net

Luke 23:33-34 - Jesus is Nailed To The Cross

Scripture Luke 23:33-34

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." …..


Reflection - 11th Station – Jesus is Nailed To The Cross

Wounded, mangled, made to bleed, You consent to the violent attack of the hammer.

Patient in Your agony, You allow the cruel penetration of Your Body to make us one with You.

You give Bread of life to fill us as You receive our nails.
From Your love You bleed.
For love of us, for love of the Father, the Child bleeds for the children.
Brother bleeds for the brother who is killing Him.

You become one with the cross, absorbing completely the burden of sin, allowing it to permeate You – all the rage and loneliness and anxiety and despair and hatred and lust and greed and incessant lies of all mankind through all the ages, sinking into You, filling You up.

You are bombarded with poison and still You love.

Source: Meditations on the Stations of the Cross www.feastofsaints.com

Luke 23:22-24 - Jesus is Condemned To Death

Scripture: Luke 23:22-24

A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him."
But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.
So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted.

Reflection

First Station – Jesus is Condemned To Death

Unjustly accused.
Jesus stands condemned. He is subjected to merciless indignities.
Those participating in the harassment of Jesus are not cruel and heartless persons.
They are everyday folks like us, caught in the fervour of the crowd.
They are afraid; afraid of authentic authority, the Authority of Truth. They are afraid of change

Prayer
O condemned Redeemer and Author of life, we’re afraid.
There have been times when our fearfulness has not let us set aside our pride, our need for security, our need to be right; we have hurt and bruised each other.

Reflecting on your own sentencing, Lord, we lower our eyes in sadness and sorrow.

We have condemned that which is demanding of us. Forgive us and teach us to forgive each other.

Source: Stations of the Cross For Married Couples – Kass P Dotterweich