GOD’S WORD

2

DUTY CALLS

Doing our duty is a central theme of today’s Gospel. Jesus tells a parable about what is expected of servants. The situation he describes would have been familiar to his audience, that of a medium-sized farmer who can afford to employ a single worker as a jackof-all-trades. The job spec would have been agreed upon when the servant was taken on and included working in the fields and helping around the house.

It would be unthinkable for the employer of such a servant to prepare the servant’s dinner and wait on the servant at table. It would always be the other way around.

Jesus applies the parable directly to the disciples. They are servants of the Kingdom of God; therefore, they shouldn’t expect to be thanked simply for doing what is required of them. They have no right to expect special treatment for doing what they are supposed to do anyway.

Today’s Gospel reminds us of the importance of duty in our lives and the need to honour it. Duty is a dull word. It speaks of routine, obligation, reliability, monotony, having to do something. And yet there’s a beautiful nobility about being dutiful. Family life and society could not function if people were not dutiful, if they did not fulfil the monotonous everyday tasks expected of them – cook dinner, do the shopping, take the children to the creche or school, iron clothes, put out the rubbish, help with homework, head out to work every morning whatever the weather. At its heart, duty is a practical expression of love in action. There are countless people who think of themselves as ordinary and do mundane but heroic, loving things every day.

Today’s Gospel also reminds us of another form of duty: that of witnessing to our Christian faith and handing it on. To live the faith as best we can is to do our duty. It is returning the love that God has shown us.

OCTOBER That means not only the routine things like going to Mass, but more heroic things, too, like standing up for the Gospel in a culture that is increasingly anti-religious, and sacrificing your time and money out of love 27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME for neighbour or in service to the poor. As people of faith, doing all of this is doing no more than our duty. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples they should never expect a pat on the back to do what they are called to do anyway as disciples. He is saying the same to us too. We should not expect to be congratulated for witnessing to our baptismal calling. We do it out of love. We do it out of gratitude for what God has done for us. And we know that when our hour of judgement comes, it will be sufficient reward.

TODAY’S READINGS

Hab 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Ps 94; 2 Tim 1:6-8. 13-14; Lk 17:5-10

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THANKS A MILLION!

Christians are a Eucharistic people, which means we are thankful people, and today’s Gospel account of the healing of ten lepers is about the necessity of giving thanks.

In the time of Jesus, skin diseases frightened people to death. They were seen as highly contagious, and the Bible has detailed rules for dealing with them. It sees them not just as a medical condition but as one with religious implications. People believed that such diseases were God’s punishment for sin. That is why the Bible gives a priest the responsibility for assessing the disease, as we see in today’s Gospel.

People with skin diseases were obliged to live away from their families and community. The Book of Leviticus says: “The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be dishevelled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the village.”

And so, victims suffered in two ways: from the physical effects of the disease but, even worse, from the heartbreak of being cut off from their families and ostracised by the community.

The lepers in today’s Gospel are probably living together in an isolated settlement. But when Jesus passes nearby, instead of keeping their distance as they are required to do, they pluck up the courage to ask him to take pity on them. Jesus tells them to go to the priests as the law requires. On the way, they realise they are cured.

They are thrilled, over the moon. Their lives have been restored to them. Their isolation is lifted. They can go back to their families.

OCTOBER

28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME No wonder the first thing they do is rush home, completely neglecting to thank Jesus. It wasn’t bad manners – simply that they couldn’t wait to meet their loved ones. The extraordinary thing is that one of them had the presence of mind to thank Jesus in person.

In restoring the ten to health, Jesus overcomes ‘dis-ease’ – the distancing of suffering people from the community where they should be loved and cherished – every bit as much as he overcomes physical illness. It’s a lesson for how we should treat the sick and those on the margins.

TODAY’S READINGS

Kgs 5:14-17; Ps 97; 2 Tim 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19

OCTOBER NEVER GIVE UP

The opening line of 16 today’s Gospel makes it clear that this parable is about persevering in 29TH SUNDAY IN

ORDINARY TIME prayer. The parable involves a conflict between two stock characters. The widow stands for the most vulnerable kind of people in Israelite society. With no husband to ensure their rights, widows were at the mercy of others, including even male family members. We don’t know what this woman’s case is, except that she wants justice against her enemies. The rather self-important judge, who neither fears God nor listens to public opinion, isn’t going to allow a defenceless woman like her to get the better of him. At least, that’s what he thinks. For a time, he ignores all her demands for justice.

At this point, Jesus includes some humour that gets lost in most of our translations. As is often the case in his parables, Luke lets us into a character’s inner world. Here he shows us the judge’s innermost thoughts. Unbending he may be, he realises he will have to yield to this defenceless woman. Why? Our translations usually say something like “because she will persist in coming and worry me to death.” The original word in the parable can be translated as something close to “she will slap me in the face” or even “she will give me an uppercut.” The judge fears that this powerless woman’s exasperation will know no bounds, and her persistence will finally spill over into violence. So a judge who doesn’t fear God or care about public opinion is brought to his knees by the most defenceless of women, a poor widow!

Jesus applies the parable to how God deals with persistent prayer. God will reply to those who cry day and night, even though it may look as if their prayer is unanswered. The riddle of unanswered prayer is one of the great tests of faith and something the Bible does not ignore. When the Israelites cry out under the burdens of slavery, God “hears” but does not immediately answer. The Book of Job is built around the problem of a good man who suddenly loses everything he has, to whom God seems deaf until God and Job finally become locked in a dramatic argument.

In the last line of today’s Gospel, something of a reverse takes place. The main character of the parable was an earthly judge and not a very good one at that. Another judge is coming, the Son of Man, who will be even more searching than the most stringent earthly judge.

TODAY’S READINGS

Ex 17:8-13; Ps 120; 2 Tim 3:14-4:2; Lk 18:1-8

HUMBLY SPEAKING

You could say that this Gospel is asking a question: who prays best? Is it the professional, who knows all the techniques, or the amateur, who doesn’t even trust himself to get it right? The opening words make it clear that it is addressed to those who pride themselves on being virtuous and look down on everyone else. The characters represent the two extremes of Jewish society in the time of Jesus.

The Pharisee was the totally dedicated religious professional. Strictly speaking, the Pharisees didn’t have any place in the religious hierarchy. They were a fellowship of likeminded Jews that included priests and laity but their influence came from the popular esteem they enjoyed. The Pharisee’s prayer could be described as a commercial for the movement.

Tax collectors, or publicans, were at the other end of the social scale. They bought the rights to collect the taxes of their own people from the Roman occupying power. If that wasn’t bad enough in a strongly nationalist society like Palestine, they made their profit by adding a percentage to the taxes for themselves. Throughout the Gospels, tax collectors are presented as outsiders, who had long ago abandoned any loyalty to their own, so that ‘tax collector’ and ‘sinner’ effectively means the same thing.

One might imagine Jesus’ audience waiting in expectation to hear what such a person would pray for. The surprise is that, quite unconsciously, it is this person rather than the religious one who knows instinctively how to pray. He is not there to overwhelm God with a catalogue of his good deeds. Even his demeanour speaks of a humble heart: he stands barely inside the area of the

OCTOBER temple reserved for prayer, he keeps his eyes 23 downcast, he strikes his breast as a sign of penitence and pleads for mercy. After his prayer, he returns home “at rights with God”. 30TH SUNDAY IN Why was the prayer of the Pharisee without ORDINARY TIME effect? It was because he made the fatal mistake of comparing himself favourably with others and judging that God would not hear the prayer of the tax collector. In other words, he was playing God. Luke rounds off the parable with yet another reference to one of his favourite themes: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

TODAY’S READINGS

Ecc 35:12-14. 16-19; Ps 32; 2 Tim 4:6-8. 16-18; Lk 18:9-14

OCTOBER CALLED TO BE SAINTS Today’s Gospel is a beautiful story about conversion 30 and how it can happen even to the most unlikely people. 31ST SUNDAY IN Zacchaeus is one of the chief tax collectors

ORDINARY TIME in Jericho for the hated Roman occupiers. His occupation has made him rich, but it has also made him an outcast. To his people, he is a traitor and public sinner.

Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is coming to town and is anxious to see him. He climbs a sycamore tree to get a better view.

As he sits there watching, he nearly dies of shock when Jesus stops right under his tree and asks to spend the night in his house. The crowd is shocked, too – and outraged. “He’s gone to a sinner’s house as a guest,” they murmur.

But Jesus ignores them. He looks Zacchaeus in the eye, sees the good that’s in him, and invites him to change. And Zacchaeus changes. Feeling loved and accepted by a fellow Jew for the first time in years makes him a new person. He joyfully receives Jesus and opens his house, heart, and coffers. He will not cheat anybody anymore; instead, he will pay back those he has cheated four times the amount. And he will give half his possessions to the poor.

Now that he is a follower of Jesus, Zacchaeus becomes a new person. He is aware that he has ripped off people in the past and that such behaviour does not correspond with Jesus’ way. Because Jesus looked on him with love, Zacchaeus can now look on others and himself with love. His life and manner of living are transformed.

TODAY’S READINGS

SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 6 Across: 1. Abacus, 5. Nimbus, 10. Pasteur, 11. Trouser, 12. Iron, 13. Caver, 15. Bald, 17. Dig, 19. Gospel, 21. Rustle, 22. Novices, 23. Sphinx, 25. Xanadu, 28. TNT, 30. Logo, 31. Resin, 32. Soar, 35. Chapati, 36. Ishmael, 37. Chrism, 38. Nimrod. Down: 2. Bishops, 3. Crew, 4. Spread, 5. Nutmeg, 6. Moon, 7. Upstart, 8. Spring, 9. Bridge, 14. Visions, 16. Henna, 18. Susan, 20. Lox, 21. Rex, 23. Solace, 24. Hogwash, 26. Avocado, 27. Unruly, 28. Tedium, 29. Titian, 33. Magi, 34. Sham. Winner of Crossword No. 6 Maura Hannon, Tuan, Co. Galway

ACROSS

1. Brooded sullenly. (6) 5. The only South American nation with

English as the official language. (6) 10. Knotty problem solved by Alexander the Great. (7) 11. Birds of prey. (7) 12. An accompanied elaborate song for a solo voice in an opera. (4) 13. A course of treatment for drug dependence or disability. (5) 15. Napoleon’s 300 day island home. (4) 17. A line of seats in a theatre. (3) 19. A business providing services for another business. (6) 21. Container and large boat. (6) 22. A vehicle equipped for living in. (7) 23. Marker for a comment. (6) 25. Berber person with a nomadic lifestyle. (6) 28. An offence against God. (3) 30. A grape plant. (4) 31. Dwell on with malevolent smugness. (5) 32. So be it at the end of a prayer. (4) 35. A vain act in Rome. (7) 36. The day of worship and rest. (7) 37. Wading birds and lifting devices. (6) 38. Countries bound together by treaties. (6)

DOWN

2. Divided country on the Black Sea. (7) 3. Make a garment with wool and long needles. (4) 4. Potential harm in the garden. (6) 5. A crude and boisterous laugh. (6) 6. A sharp of high-pitched bark. (4) 7. Ribbon-like strips of pasta. (7) 8. American arboreal lizard. (6) 9. Country where the official languages are

Arabic and Hebrew. (6) 14. Hamlet’s most trusted friend. (7) 16. The capital of Ghana. (5) 18. The second planet from the Sun. (5) 20. Himalayan beat of burden. (3) 21. A barrel and a tax. (3) 23. Restore to life. (6) 24. A province in sternum. (7) 26. A period of violent behaviour by a group of people. (7) 27. The leader of India’s drive for independence. (6) 28. Ancient weapons for throwing stones. (6) 29. A feeling of sickness or of disgust. (6) 33. Look at all parts carefully to detect some feature. (4) 34. The second son and the first to die. (4)

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