In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted and you delivered them…
Trust in God is a theme that runs consistently through our readings today with perhaps the exception of Job whose complaint against God is a rather bitter one. Having endured an attack on his character, losing his property and children and suffering a loathsome skin affliction, Job feels (maybe with some justification) that God has abandoned him.
In Psalm 22 we pick up similar sentiments in the cry of desolation, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Most of us would be familiar with that haunting cry which of course echoed from the cross. As with Job, however, whose fortunes are eventually restored, it is important to note that Psalm 22 follows a pattern found in most of the Psalms of address and complaint to God, a plea for help, a confession of trust and finally a vow of praise. When Jesus began his painful recitation of Psalm 22, he knew exactly how it ended.
The Psalms give us permission to complain to God, they give us the freedom to raise our hands in despair and challenge our God who occasionally feels as if he has gone AWOL – absent without official leave! But again the thing to note about the vast majority of the Psalms is that they rarely stay with the anger. We are not, it seems, allowed to wallow in pain and bitterness rather, as in the Psalms; we must actively try to work our way through the darker emotions until we can get to a point where we can offer up words of praise. Underlying this movement from pain to praise is absolute trust in God, trust that God will hear our prayers and our pleas for help and respond.
Trust in the goodness of God forms the basis of our Gospel reading from Mark where a rich man is invited to throw caution to the wind, to relinquish his trust in money and place it instead in the hands of God.
This is a story I believe that many of us could relate to. The rich man feels a sense of emptiness; life for this fellow has lost a bit of its zing, a bit of its sparkle. He sees in Jesus an opportunity to get more out of his life. “What must I do,” he says eagerly kneeling before Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He must have been very pleased with himself indeed when Jesus proceeded to list the social commandments of the Decalogue, the commandments dealing with how one should treat ones neighbour, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth … I have ticked all of those boxes, what else is there to do or have I done it all? Have I already inherited eternal life?”
“Not so quick,” says Jesus, “and not so easy … you lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Jesus is calling this man into a relationship of absolute love and trust, with his neighbour, with Jesus himself and with God. Such a relationship cannot properly be achieved by merely ticking a series of boxes. You shall not murder … tick; you shall not commit adultery … tick; you shall not steal … tick; you shall not bear false witness … tick; you shall not defraud … tick; honour your father and mother … tick. It’s easy to tick these boxes and still lead a life that is removed from love of God and neighbour.
Jesus invites this man to move beyond a perfunctory tick-a-box mentality. The rich man is invited to a total transformation of life.
Jesus challenges him to transform his life in the radical fulfilment of his obligation to his neighbour … sell what you own and give the money to the poor. In doing so he will create the sort of security in his life that his money could never give him, a security that rests on the faithfulness and generosity of the “good” God, a security that reaches beyond this present life, a security that transcends the barrier of death… treasure in heaven.
We know how this story ends. Jesus’ words shock the rich man and he walks away grieving. What he sought in the beginning with such confidence he cannot win because the pull of his many possessions holds him captive. He takes his eyes off Jesus and the relationship being offered, and thinks only of his wealth and his own incapacity to let go of it.
The rich man retains his wealth – and whatever temporary security it may offer – but in place of the joy and freedom he might have known in loving companionship with Jesus he has the sadness of knowing he is trapped, controlled and prevented from gaining his deepest desire.
Are we like the rich man?
As individuals do we cling to money, to status or reputation, to possessions, to ideas or concepts, to routines or habits that we think provide us with some sort of security but in actual fact trap us, control us, stunt us and ultimately prevent us from gaining our deepest desires?
As a parish do we cling to particular ways of doing things, to memories, to buildings, to our little bit of turf, to things that give us comfort, that make us feel secure?
Are we like the rich man?
Why don’t we look upon this story today as a fresh invitation from Jesus to, metaphorically, sell everything we own, to give away that which traps us and controls us and prevents us from growing into the full maturity of Christ … the attitudes, the possessions, the ideas, the habits, the routines, the reputations, the buildings and the memories … let’s cast off these shackles, lets leave these things that weigh us down behind, let’s really commit ourselves here and now to following Jesus, let’s place our lives, let’s place the future of this parish totally in the hands of God trusting that he will deliver us.
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Texts:
Genesis 1:20-25 – Six days of Creation
Psalm 104 – God the creator and provider
1 John 16b - 21 - God is love
Matthew 6: 25-33 – Do not worry
God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind … and God saw that it was good.
O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
Each of our portions of Scripture chosen specifically for today’s Mass reflect in some way the Judeo – Christian belief that God cares deeply and intimately for that which He created – the heavens, the waters, the earth and its vegetation, fish, birds, reptiles, insects, animals and human beings. But not only does God care, He takes great delight in and derives much joy from His creation.
In the Book of Genesis, God created women and men in His own image and likeness and in so doing God sought to endow humanity with His care, His delight, His joy and His responsibility for the created world.
Sadly, as we all know, humanity has fallen woefully short of this divine mark. We have raped, pillaged and plundered God’s creation. We have polluted our atmosphere and contaminated our waterways; we have despoiled forests and destroyed habitats; we have hunted animals to extinction and exploited them for our own gain whether for food or labour or experimentation or entertainment; we tolerate the existence of battery hens and production line piggeries and puppy farms; we routinely read about cruelty to animals … native birds targeted with bows and arrows, horses starving in suburban paddocks, a puppy called Buckley whose ears and tail were severed with scissors, a domestic cat who survived being shot several times in the head. Our animal shelters, filled to the brim, symbolise the lack of commitment, the lack of care, the lack of compassion in this disposable society of ours, where the things we purchase or use for our own convenience (including beaches, rivers, forests, airspace and animals) seem to reach their use by date very, very quickly.
Today’s gospel forms part of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus seeks to encourage in those who are gathered around him a readjustment of their priorities in life. He says, do not be angry with your brother or sister, rather seek to be reconciled to them; he says turn the other cheek and love your enemies; he says be generous in your alms giving and in the time that you spend with
God in prayer; he says, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, do not be so obsessed with your security that the amassing of wealth becomes your sole priority in life; he says, do not worry about food or drink or clothing rather strive first for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Jesus says to his disciples, Jesus says to us right here and now, set your heart upon God whose love extends to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Set your heart upon God who loves us and calls us to love in turn, not only our human sisters and brothers, but also our sisters and brothers in the created world … our brother sun and sister moon, our brother wind and sister water, our brother eucalypt and sister waratah, our brother wombat and sister platypus, our brother dog and sister cat, our brother goose and sister chook, our brother mouse and sister ant, our brother fish and sister amoeba … for if we can truly say that we love these our brothers and sisters then, and only then, can we rightly say that we love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all strength.
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Texts:
1. 2 Samuel 18:5-9,14,31-33 – The defeat and death of Absalom
2. Psalm 130 – Waiting for divine redemption
3. Ephesians 4:25-5:2 – Rules for the new life
4. John 6:35, 41-51 – The bread from heaven
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
When St Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he was counselling a community to set aside previous lifestyle choices that had been self-centred, insular and (ultimately) destructive for a new life as Disciples of Christ marked by the Spirit and in imitation of God.
The Ephesians had willingly come to Christ. They acknowledged Jesus as the Saviour of the world and as the source of all physical, mental and spiritual knowledge and activity. Now, St Paul says to the Ephesians, you must practice what you preach. If you declare yourselves to be members of Christ’s body, a new people and children of God, then you must show by your actions who you really are. He says:
· Put away falsehood.
· Speak the truth.
· Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
· Labour and work honestly with your hands.
· Share with the needy.
· Let no evil talk come out of your mouths rather let your words give grace to those who hear.
· Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
· Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice.
· Be kind to one another and tender hearted
· Forgive one another.
· Be imitators of God.
· Live in love.
St Paul knows well that the only way for a community to maintain unity is, quite simply, by being kind to one another. Being authentically kind, however, requires integrity and strength of character and the willingness to put to death all of those little cruelties, in thought, word and action, that can result in a community tearing itself apart.
Kindness involves sacrifice. Christians, of course, should not be fearful of the concept of sacrifice for it lies at the very heart of our faith and our belief in Jesus who, “loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (5:2)”
We should not fear sacrifice because, as with Christ’s ultimate act of kindness, his sacrifice on the cross, we will experience transformation and new life. Remember, we look through and beyond the tortured corpse of the crucified Jesus, to the glorious body of the risen Christ.
As it was for the Ephesians it is for us now, following Christ means being committed to a life of sacrifice, to a life long process of dying and rising, of being open to change and transformation.
There can be no other way for the Christian. We are and always will be a pilgrim people taking up our cross daily and following the Christ who had nowhere to lay his head. As Jesus travelled from Galilee to Jerusalem he was constantly faced with and challenged by unpredictability and change, because that’s what life is like on a journey. You never really can predict what each new day will bring. There are so many things that are out of our control.
Jesus travelled lightly and because he was open to the possibility of change he was not constrained by anything, he was free to respond fully and wholeheartedly to the challenges, which God threw at him.
As surely as God challenged Jesus, he will challenge us. When we become complacent and cosy in our faith, God will throw something across our predictable paths to force us to change direction or look at something in a new way. Like Jesus, like the Ephesians, we have to learn to live provisionally; we have to be prepared to sacrifice some things that we cherish, to let go of past certainties, to respond to the new whenever and however that might appear.
This is no easy task. Living provisionally can be stressful. Sacrificing things that we cherish, letting go of the past is painful and upsetting and yet that is the life to which we have always been called as Christians. When we were baptised, we made a vow to turn to Christ. Obeying Christ’s call to follow him will involve dying – at the end of our life’s journey and in all of those lesser deaths along the way. But our faith tells us that death will always bring new growth.
As a parish, we are experiencing a death of sorts at the moment. All of those past certainties, reflected in the large and ornate Churches we built, in the overflowing Sunday schools, in the pews that were filled, all of those past certainties seem to be decaying. The state of our buildings, perhaps, is symbolic of this.
How are we going to respond to this present crisis. Will we throw up our hands in despair? Will we slink off into a corner and sulk? Will we tear each other apart as one or the other of our three Churches seeks some form of ascendancy? Or will we see in our current situation a loving challenge from God to change direction, to allow some things to die in order to encourage new growth, to look at our parish life and the way in which we proclaim the gospel in fresh ways?
In all that us faces us though we must remember that we are the Body of Christ. We are called to unity of purpose. We are called to be kind to one another, tender hearted and forgiving. But above all, we are called to, “be imitators of God” and to, “live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
In the name of God Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Texts:
1. 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a – Nathan condemns David
2. Psalm 51:1-12 – Prayer for cleansing and pardon
3. Ephesians 4:1-16 – Unity in the Body of Christ
4. John 6:24-35 – the bread from heaven
We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about … but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ …
Today in these living words from Holy Scripture St Paul challenges all those who dare to confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour to put aside childish ways, to put aside the petulance and churlishness, the tears and the tantrums, the brattish self-centredness that can all to often dominate the lives of adults, (particularly adults under stress) … he challenges us to put aside such childish behaviour for the maturity, the measure of the full stature of Christ that has been endowed to us by virtue of our baptism and membership of the Christian family.
In Ephesians, Paul emphasises the central place of Christ in the plan of God and in the life of the Christian believer. Jesus is the one on whom the Father has set his seal. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus satisfies our hunger and quenches our thirst. All that is required of us is faith, the belief that this is indeed so.
Faith never comes easy. There are many things that can whittle away a person’s faith. The early Christian communities to whom St Paul wrote were constantly battling with issues of faith and belief, which is why Paul pleads with the Ephesians, “You must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” Rather, he exhorts this community to, “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”
While acknowledging the variety of gifts possessed by members of the Christian community, Paul pleads for unity of faith, unity of belief, unity of vision, unity of purpose, unity of mission. United, the Christian community will stand, divided the Christian community will struggle and perhaps fall.
Today, we are being reminded of our need to, “lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called.” Today, we are being reminded of our duty to build up the body of Christ, with its many and varied members, through our unity of faith in the Son of God, in Jesus Christ. If we fail in this task the consequences could be quite drastic.
I was at the football yesterday watching the Doggies, third on the ladder, playing Fremantle who are currently second last. In the third quarter I saw for myself what can happen when there is a lack of unity amongst members of a team. Fremantle came out after half time with unity of purpose and a hunger for the ball. The Doggies came out, I think, a little bit cocky. Perhaps they were thinking they had the game all sewn up? Their complacency was obvious and Fremantle took advantage, firing off several goals in quick succession. The Dogs were struggling. They had become like children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind. They seemed to be working as individuals and it looked as if, for a short while anyway, that they had forgotten about the drills, the set plays, the rehearsed strategies … all those sure things, those foundational beliefs, that lend strength to a team.
As we know, in football and in other team sports, each player has a distinct role, but no one player is bigger than the team. When all the individual players remember that their combined roles give strength to the team, then the team will experience a greater rate of success.
We are members of a team. We are members of the Body of Christ. Christ is the head, and depending on the gifts given to us we are the fingers or toes, the hands or feet, the ears or eyes or nose or teeth or tongue or muscles or tendons, or cells or vessels. We are one or the other of those fantastically unique and essential parts that must work together in unity for the greater good of the whole. As all of us would know, when one or the other of these parts fail, the body fails also.
We know that bodies need to be kept healthy. A body that stands still, that doesn’t exercise becomes fat and moribund, slow and sluggish. A body needs to move, to exercise, to keep alert, to be aware of the health and vitality of its different members. A body needs to be fed and to be nurtured, to be rested and respected if it is to achieve all that it is capable of.
As the Body of Christ in this place I don’t believe that we are achieving all that we are capable of.
What has happened to our body? Perhaps we might be suffering through lack of exercise (are we keeping abreast with what is happening in the Church, in fresh ideas and ways of doing things, do we read, study, enquire, discuss, participate in groups or programmes). Perhaps we might be suffering through complacency (someone else will support us, will bale us out, will make the hard decisions for us, I’ve done my bit for the Church, it’s no longer my problem). Perhaps we are experiencing some form of denial (it’s not really that bad … things will get better we just have to sit tight and stick to the things we’ve always done). Perhaps we are suffering because of an inability or maybe an unwillingness to ingest the right sort of nutrients and our body is tired and worn out as a result (how often do we pray, do we meditate, read our scriptures, come along to Mass other than on a Sunday?) Are we listening to our head? Remember our head is Christ. What is Christ saying to us now in our present circumstances? When we look around at our buildings in a state of decay, what is Christ saying to us? When we bemoan our empty pews, what is Christ saying to us? When we become stressed over our financial circumstances, what is Christ saying to us? Are we prepared to listen? Are we going to behave like children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind? Or are we going to behave like mature adults, using our gifts (whatever they may be) to equip the saints for ministry in the 21st century and to build up the body of Christ here and now?
As members of the Body of Christ our task, until the day we die, is to love, to be humble, to be gentle, to be patient and to be peaceful. But above all, as members of the Body of Christ we are called to unity. We must pull together as a team. While the world around us is tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, when the certainties of the past crumble and disintegrate before our very eyes there is one thing that we can rely upon, that is, our common purpose as Christians, which we will find in our belief in one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
This is the belief that we have to share with all of those people beyond these Church doors. This belief is the foundation upon which we must seek to re-build our body here in this place.
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
