GOD’S WORD

3

CARRY ON MY MISSION!

Not long before the episode which we heard about in our Gospel reading today, Jesus had sent out the Twelve on a mission of preaching the Kingdom, accompanied and illustrated by works of healing and exorcism. Now, Jesus sends out a larger group with a similar commission and they come back to report that their mission has been successful. We might note that, for Luke, the Twelve are essentially disciples of Jesus among a wider group. They have been specially chosen from this larger number, among whom Luke specifically mentions women by name. Thus, the sending of the seventy-two mirrors the sending of the Twelve.

The twelve apostles represent symbolically the twelve tribes of Israel. They are, in the Gospel tradition, essentially witness to the risen Jesus, but are eclipsed very shortly by the deacons and then by the apostle Paul, who had not known Jesus during Jesus’ earthly life. Luke shows that Jesus includes the wider group of disciples in his mission: it is not restricted to Peter and the other members of the Twelve.

Jesus tells the disciples that if the citizens

JULY of a town refuse them hospitality, a sacred duty in the culture of the time and place, “it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.” The sin of Sodom to which Jesus refers was the breach of the law of hospitality, 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME which is the reason why the disciples should leave, shaking off the very dust of the place as a sign to those who failed to live up to their obligations to the stranger and traveller.

TODAY’S READINGS

Is 66:10-14; Ps 65; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10:1-12. 17-20

JULY WHOSE NEIGHBOUR ARE YOU?

10 In today’s Gospel extract, we hear of a hostile encounter between a 15TH SUNDAY IN

ORDINARY TIME lawyer, who obviously wants to catch Jesus out on a point of law, and Jesus himself. Jesus sidesteps the trap of being lured into a legalistic debate on theoretical questions by getting straight to the heart of the matter: what is the moral value at stake here?

Jesus answers his interrogator by placing love of one’s neighbour equivalent to one’s love of God. Love, in the Bible, does not refer to an emotional attachment, but has more the sense of proper treatment, respect, concern. Jesus’ illustration by the parable of the Good Samaritan is an exquisite treatment of this theme. We are, in our reading of today’s Gospel during Mass, in Samaria, a region in which the hostility towards Jesus and other pilgrims to Jerusalem would be particularly acute. Hence, Jesus’ reference to official religious figures is especially critical: the wounded individual may be dead, therefore to approach his corpse rendered anyone who approached it ritually impure and therefore excluded from public worship and community activities.

The person who shows human, and religious, compassion for the injured person, whom the others may not realise to be still alive, is one of the most despised groups in cultural Jewish thought at the time.

Jesus turns the lawyer’s question back on him. His questioner asks, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus is posing the question the opposite way round: “Whose neighbour are you?”

TODAY’S READINGS

Deut 30:10-14; Ps 68; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37

WHAT DOES JESUS REALLY NEED?

In the course of his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus is welcomed into the house of a woman named Martha and her sister, Mary. Women feature more prominently, and by name, in the Gospel version of Luke than in the other accounts.

In this episode, Jesus encounters hospitality, not just friendliness or politeness, but an essential element in the culture of that time and place. Up to now, we have heard warnings and examples about hostility and rejection. But even in this apparently cosy, domestic scene there is a message.

Most of us would feel sympathy for Martha: we can imagine the clashing of pots and pans increasing in volume as her frustration at being left in the kitchen to prepare the meal alone grows. Eventually, her patience runs

JULY out and she bursts into the conversation between Jesus and Mary. But if she had her 17 way, Jesus would be left sitting alone while the two of them busied themselves in the kitchen. Is that what hospitality means? Does 16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME it centre on the accepted duties of the host being fulfilled, or is it a matter of meeting the needs of the guest? What were Jesus’ needs at this point? A meal, or rather human company and attention? Martha is clear about her duties towards her guest. But Jesus gently points out that perhaps she has got her priorities wrong. It is Mary who is presented as “choosing the better part”. Luke is suggesting that that the Word of God takes precedence over other considerations. On a practical level, the story of Martha and Mary is posing an important question: what does the person in front of you really need? Whose needs are you addressing: theirs or yours?

TODAY’S READINGS

Gen 18:1-10; Ps 14; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42

TEACH US TO PRAY

One feature of the writings of Luke is his emphasis on prayer. From his first appearance as an adult, at his baptism, Jesus is shown as praying at significant points in his ministry, as well as regularly, as in our Gospel reading today. The disciples have noticed him spending time communicating with God and ask him to instruct them how to do this themselves. They are not asking Jesus simply as an individual teacher, but one with the authority of a prophet, someone in the line of John the Baptist. Jesus the prophet is another theme running through Luke’s version of the Good News.

Luke’s presentation of the Lord’s Prayer is shorter, less detailed than Matthew’s (the one we normally use). It consists of five requests:

JULY the first two refer to God and the coming of God’s kingdom: God’s name being held holy 24 and the establishing of God’s kingdom are, in some ways, the same thing. The other three petitions concern the 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME reader and reflect important themes of Luke’s Gospel. These are, firstly, asking for our daily needs to be met: the second request is that God forgives us our sins, but we might note that God’s forgiveness depends on our willingness to forgive those who have offended us in some way or other; the third and final appeal asks that we may not be put to the severest test, which means standing up for what we believe in the face of persecution, because we might well not pass the test. The second part of our Gospel extract today emphasises the importance of keeping on praying and not giving up, even if we seem to be receiving no answer.

TODAY’S READINGS

Gen 18:20-32; Ps 137; Col 2:12-14; Lk 11:1-13

TO HAVE OR TO BE?

Throughout Luke’s Gospel, the theme of riches and possessions and the danger they pose to the human person keeps recurring. In today’s extract, an anonymous person in the crowd surrounding Jesus asks him to intervene in a family dispute concerning inheritance. Very often, a rabbi would be asked to adjudicate in such a matter. But Jesus dismisses his request, and rather abruptly at that: he has more serious issues which he wants his hearers to consider. Jesus does not think that the matter is as simple as ensuring fair shares all round: he uses it as a springboard for teaching about avarice, or greed, quite a different subject. Money or possessions may well be necessary for human life, but when they become an obsession, when people think that this will bring them security, they are sadly mistaken, as Jesus illustrates in the parable of the rich fool: this follows his warning about never being satisfied, but always wanting more. Both these responses are provoked by the initial, perhaps seemingly reasonable, request from the voice in the crowd.

The rich man thinks that he can assure his life by what he owns: he does not grasp that life is a gift from God, and that it is God who decides when to withdraw his gift. Another element in the stories of people accepting Jesus’ message is that it puts possessions and money in a different light. One result

JULY

31 18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME of being converted to Jesus is to share what the person has, that the person becomes free in themselves and is no longer shackled to what they own. Life is a gift and should be treated as such.

TODAY’S READINGS

Ecc 1:2, 2:21-23; Ps 89; Col 3:1-5. 9-11; Lk 12:13-21

7

LEADERSHIP EQUALS SERVICE

Our Gospel reading today turns towards the final judgment at the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus’ audience are advised to remain in a constant state of readiness, as they do not know when the Master will return. However, judgment is ongoing in the present, as the Lord is aware whether people are living up to their responsibilities or taking advantage of the master’s absence.

It is difficult to overemphasise the shock of the householder’s reaction towards the faithful and watchful servants who are

AUGUST

19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME awaiting his return. He does not expect them to serve him a meal, but instead puts on an apron, sits them down and waits on them himself. Such a reversal of roles would be unthinkable in a society where a person’s position in the social hierarchy would determine their behaviour. But we do find in the gospels this idea of authority as service, expressed here as table service and, elsewhere, Jesus sets this out as the model of leadership for his disciples.

Jesus responds to Peter’s question about who this parable applies to, but Jesus answers generally with another parable, this one about what kind of person the steward in charge of the household should be. This official was responsible not just for carrying out the instructions of the owner of the house, but also for the welfare of the servants in his charge. So, to be a faithful steward to the master, this person had to be attentive to the needs of the other members of the household. Thus, service is not just vertical, upwards to the one above, but also horizontal, toward the other members of the community.

TODAY’S READINGS

Wis 18:6-9; Ps 32; Heb 11:1-2. 8-19; Lk 12:32-48

JESUS THE SOURCE OF DIVISION?

Luke presents Jesus as a prophet, the bearer of the Word of God. People are challenged to make a decision: do they accept the prophet and the prophet’s message or not? However we understand the opening sentences of today’s Gospel reading, there is no mistaking the urgency with which Jesus sees himself and his mission.

Jesus is not encouraging or approving family quarrels or disputes. He is saying, as a prophet, that people have to decide where they stand in regard to himself and his message. This will inevitably lead to disagreements, even splits, within family and other close relationships. But this is a consequence of individuals deciding for themselves whether they accept Jesus and his preaching. It is a matter of faith and theology, the person’s understanding of God, not of human domestic or personal relationships.

Often, the image we have of Jesus is a compassionate, perhaps harmless, teacher of religion. The idea that Jesus could promote fierce arguments within families or the wider community does not figure in most people’s imagining of the Gospel narrative.

Jesus, in line with the biblical tradition, teaches

AUGUST the doctrine of reconciliation. The process requires the person initially to confront the 14 other with the perceived wrongdoing: if that does not resolve the issue, then the wider 20TH SUNDAY IN community becomes involved, but the desired ORDINARY TIME result is not the conviction of an offender, but the restoration of the relationship. Peace at any price is not the teaching of the Scriptures. If someone decides not to remain within the community, then God will accept their decision. Jesus asks us all to decide where we stand.

TODAY’S READINGS

Jer 38:4-6. 8-10; Ps 39; Heb 12:1-4; Lk 12:49-53

MARY, OUR MODEL

In the Hebrew scriptures, there are certain types of stories which have a definite structure. One of these patterns is known as ‘birth annunciations’. This means that the child to be born is of particular significance. Luke has two of these narratives, concerning the coming arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus. The final element in such a structure is the giving of a sign. The purpose of a sign in this context is to guarantee to the person who has received the message that they were not dreaming: to confirm the reality of their experience. The sign given to Mary during her visionary encounter is that her elderly cousin Elizabeth is (unexpectedly) pregnant. So Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is not an act of charity but part of a literary pattern: she goes to confirm the angel’s communication.

The unborn John the Baptist makes his first announcement of the coming of the Lord by leaping for joy in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth greets Mary with a beatitude for the one who

AUGUST “believed that the promise made her by the 15 Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary responds with her song, the Magnificat. In this scene, many of the themes which run through the Gospel FEAST OF THE of Luke are stated: the importance of believing ASSUMPTION (or trusting) in the Word of God; the Lord’s concern with those who are on the margin of social and religious society; the reversing of human social structures.

TODAY’S READINGS

Apoc 11:19, 12:1-6. 10; Ps 44; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:39-56

WHO WILL BE SAVED?

Luke reminds us at the beginning of our Gospel extract today that Jesus is on his journey towards Jerusalem and to his destiny, which he discussed with Moses and Elijah on the mountain in Galilee just before he set out. The theme of prophetic preaching returns: Jesus emphasises to his hearers the importance of living out the Word of God in their – and therefore our – daily lives.

A major vision of the later prophets was the gathering of the scattered people of God in Zion, in Jerusalem. The question about who will be admitted to this community is put in the familiar Christian terminology of ‘being saved.’ Jesus makes it clear to his Jewish audience that simply being a member of the people will not guarantee being allowed through the door and the imagery recalls the story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids and the importance of being ready.

Salvation in the Bible does not mean confirming the present order: in the opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel we find Mary’s song, the Magnificat, which presents God’s saving action as the reversing of human structures. This idea is captured perfectly in Jesus’ pithy

AUGUST comment that “there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.” 21 We also have another strong teaching from Luke, that God’s concern for human beings 21ST SUNDAY IN is universal: the ingathering of the scattered ORDINARY TIME people of Israel can also be understood as the coming to the Lord of people from over the world, and they may well take priority over those who imagine that they have a claim to be included.

TODAY’S READINGS

Is 66: 18-21; Ps 116; Heb 12:5-7. 11-13; Lk 13:22-30

AUGUST YOU ARE INVITED… The community to which Luke belonged 28 apparently had a sizable proportion of non-Jewish members: hence, elements of Gentile or Greek 22ND SUNDAY IN culture would be understandable to the readers of

ORDINARY TIME his Gospel account. Thus, the setting of a banquet meal would be quite in line with discussing matters of a serious nature about human life and religious belief. This occurs several times in the Third Gospel and finds its highest expression in Jesus’ teaching at the Last Supper.

We might note a couple of interesting details from the first line of our Gospel reading today: Jesus has obviously been invited to a meal with a prominent member of the Pharisee party. To accept such an offer to share table fellowship suggests that Jesus had no fundamental issue with his host, otherwise he could not have gone to his house. But there are a couple of warning bells ringing for the reader: first, this occurs “on a sabbath day”, usually heralding a controversy of some sort; secondly, the unspecified others “watched him closely” in a hostile manner, waiting to catch him out.

Jesus’ remarks to the other guests about not pushing themselves forward at social occasions is not just a matter of good manners or etiquette: there is, as in all parables, something deeper at work. Jesus illustrates his teaching about God reversing human order with the parable about the guest who is embarrassed by having to give up the place at table, to which they had assumed they were entitled, to someone more important. He also warns them against being apparently generous but expecting to be rewarded, or compensated, in return.

TODAY’S READINGS

Ecc 3:17-20. 28-29; Ps 67; Heb 12:18-19. 22-24; Lk 14:1. 7-14

SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 4 Across: 1. Jotter, 5. Inhume, 10. Pouting, 11. Funeral, 12. Oxen, 13. Zulus, 15. Scan, 17. Tax, 19. Sat-nav, 21. Ignore, 22. Western, 23. Sphinx, 25. Eerier, 28. Apt, 30. Hobo, 31. Epsom, 32. Myth, 35. Succubi, 36. Surplus, 37. Sirens, 38. Lunacy. Down: 2. Opulent, 3. Twin, 4. Ragout, 5. Influx, 6. Hank, 7. Morocco, 8. Spooks, 9. Plunge, 14. Laptops, 16. Pawns, 18. Agnes, 20. Vex, 21. Ire, 23. Schism, 24. Hibachi, 26. Idyllic, 27. Rehash, 28. Aphids, 29. Tonsil, 33. Luke, 34. Erin. Winner of Crossword No. 4 Enda Hayes, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

ACROSS

1. Ancient and current counting device. (6) 5 Type of cloud. (6) 10 French chemist who helped makes milk safe. (7) 11 Take something surreptitiously (slang) (7) 12 Fe. (4) 13 Underground hobbyist. (5) 15 Without hair. (4) 17 Archaeological excavation. (3) 19 The book of revelations. (6) 21 A sound like the movement of dry leaves. (6) 22 Probationary religious. (7) 23 Giant Egyptian statue near the

Pyramids. (6) 25 The beautiful home of Kublai Khan. (6) 28 Type of high explosive. (3) 30 Sign of a company or group. (4) 31 Material applied to violin bows. (5) 32 Fly or rise high in the air. (4) 35 A thin Indian pancake cooked on a griddle. (7) 36 Abraham’s first son and narrator of

Moby Dick. (7) 37 Anointing oil, also called myrrh. (6) 38 The mighty hunter of the Old

Testament. (6)

DOWN

2. Senior clergy. (7) 3 The people who operate a ship. (4) 4 Padres for a snack. (6) 5 Spice and a greyish-brown colour. (6) 6 The natural satellite of Earth. (4) 7 Trust Pa is an arrogant and presumptuous person. (7) 8 Move suddenly into a season. (6) 9 Card game and billiards hand support. (6) 14 Mystical visual experiences. (7) 16 A reddish dye for hair. (5) 18 Lazy revolving tray for a woman. (5) 20 Smoked salmon by another name. (3) 21 A Latin king. (3) 23 A close comfort in sorrow or distress. (6) 24 Ridiculous speech or writing to get a clean pig. (7) 26 Alligator pear and dull greenish colour. (7) 27 Difficult or impossible to control. (6) 28 I muted the boredom. (6) 29 Italian painter who gave his name to a colour. (6) 33 Casper, Melchior and Balthazar. (4) 34 Hams hide something false. (4)

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