A happy new year to one and all - health, peace and contentment in 2017.
Saturday 31 December 2016
A year of mercy in hindsight
Here is a quick index with links to the weekly 'Sunday Blog' in the course of 2016 (starting in Advent of November 2015). Most entries are based on the gospel of Luke (Year C).
A happy new year to one and all - health, peace and contentment in 2017.
A happy new year to one and all - health, peace and contentment in 2017.
Tuesday 27 December 2016
Unusual families
‘…remain there until I tell you....’ (Matt
2:13)
Matthew 2:13-23 (Year A: 1st Sunday after Christmas Sunday 1st January 2017)
The gospel of St Matthew opens up the New Testament. Joseph, the spouse of Mary, is something of a
dreamer. He hears angelic messages in
his dreams. More to the point, he acts on those divine inspirations and
communications knowing in his heart that he must act decisively and urgently. Dreams
are a key part of the story in this passage from Matthew because it is through
this medium that God sometimes speaks to the key actors in the story. Hanging around was not an option for Joseph
or Mary.
- That Joseph received messages in dreams indicates that he listened to his heart and pondered his situation.
- That Joseph took the appropriate action based on sound judgment and analysis of the situation he and Mary found themselves in indicates that he sought, only, what was best for his family to which divine providence had led him.
- That Joseph waited and stayed the course in that place where he arrived until further clear indications were forthcoming indicates that he did not presume to know when or how the future would turn out. Rather, he stayed the course in patience and in waiting.
In this passage Joseph, the ‘man of honour’, does the
honourable thing; he defends those in his care and avoids what is evil by
removing them from immediate danger. A
romanticised and nostalgic picture of the Christmas crib gives way very quickly
to a picture of violence and the threat of violence and the human response to
this. According to this Gospel story the
first Christmas did not leave a trail of peace in ‘Bethlehem and its vicinity’
especially if you were a family with an infant boy under the age of 2. The consequences
are harrowing and deeply troubling (Matthew
2:18) and echo through the ages to the present day:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’
In a world of violence, power struggles and hatred, families
and small communities on the margins of society continue to survive. For some
it means fleeing and ‘staying the course’ wherever they find themselves after
fleeing. There are no other options or choices when it comes to survival in the
face of death.
And this is the daily lot of 100,000s of refugees right now,
this Christmas, in the Middle East – in ‘Bethlehem and its vicinity’. There are
lots of Mary’s Joseph’s out there still ….and some of them might be nearer than
we think.
How did the flight into Egypt impact on Joseph, Mary and
Jesus? We do not know how long they
stayed in Egypt (see postscript note 1). Is it possible that Jesus was old
enough to learn something of the local language? Did he play with other African
children? How did Joseph and Mary make a
living? Were they accompanied by other family members? And, did they integrate
into a Jewish community settled in Egypt?
My guess is that they were a pretty normal and typical refugee family
for the times they lived in. Many people were crossing to and from on the
highways of what we call, nowadays, the middle east.
The return to Palestine
Joseph returned with Mary and Jesus to the region we know as
Palestine today but did not settled in Judea where, presumably, his extended
family and closer friends resided. Instead, for fear of Herod’s son who had now
taken over from Herod as ruler of Judea, Joseph settled his family in the
relatively obscure region of Galilee in an even more obscure town called
Nazareth out of which many thought no good could possibly come (John
1:46).
In summary we have:
- A pregnant unmarried woman in the first place.
- An apparent father as far as society and immediate family were concerned.
- A birth in outcast settings to a homeless and poor family.
- A major rumpus and massacre of young children in and around Bethlehem.
- A flight of a refugee family into Egypt where they were foreigners for some time.
- A return by the same family from Egypt but, still, as refugees from their normal and original place of abode (which remains unclear in the synoptic gospels).
- A life of hidden obscurity for approximately 30 years following which an extraordinary preacher, healer and disrupter appears in Galilee and finds his way to Jerusalem where he was put to death for his outspoken words and scandalously irreligious acts.
Now who said that God does not work in very strange ways and
using very strange locations and circumstances to achieve his purposes? (see
note 2, below).
Modern day ironies
Is it not just a little ironic that this story of a family
fleeing danger and facing untold hardships through the desert to a foreign land
has echoes of journeys undertaken over land and by sea by tens and by hundreds
of thousands of women, children and men fleeing the same diabolical forces that
elevate power and control above human dignity? Is it not ironic that Joseph
takes Jesus and Mary to a country called Egypt where, today, a large minority
of that population is persecuted and attacked because they bear the name of the
saviour who was taken there for refuge? Is it not ironic that the focal point
of this feast of Christmas is the scene of a crib housing a homeless family when
thousands of families are accommodated in ‘emergency’ accommodation across the
capital city of Ireland? And, then, there is the historical legacy of Palestine
and Israel as two competing narratives of victimhood and human rights (though
different from but not that different to the historical legacies of Ireland).
The causes of homelessness, migration and persecution are
not unrelated. At some point someone, somewhere decides and acts on the
principle that some goal of power or wealth or pride comes before the most
basic human rights to life, shelter and sustenance. It seems that rich societies (at least those
with high levels of GDP per capita adjusted for tax distortion) are
particularly prone to social breakdown and extremes of homelessness and
poverty. Opulence and pressure of affluence coupled with a shortage of
accommodation is driving the cost of renting as well as purchasing living space
to levels well beyond the capacity of the poorest. The problem is exacerbated
and augmented by problems of addiction and ill-health of mind and body to a
point where people end up sheltering in cardboard and blankets in doorways of
well known public buildings and shops on some of main thoroughfares of our
cities.
Food and shelter is provided by a combination of state and voluntary
effort. But, we must understand better the causes of homelessness, poverty,
addiction as well as the power of unregulated markets to wreck havoc on
people’s lives. The Christmas story is not, for us, just a comfortable and
comforting nice story. It is a call to action for justice in a world pulled
apart by war, terror, poverty and homelessness. The feast of Christmas Day is
followed – immediately – by the feast of St Stephen ‘the first Christian
martyr’ (26th December) and the slaughter of the innocents (28th
December). There is a message somewhere in there for us today.
Postcripts
1 Did it really happen (and so what)?
Some academic theologians and biblical scholars might
question the historical nature of the birth stories in Luke and Matthew
including the flight into Egypt which is unique to the gospel of St Matthew.
What matters, in my view, is the key message or messages in these stories that
form part of a living tradition of transformative faith and love. As for the
literal historical truth of these stories and the many details therein
(sticking with post-enlightenment terminology and understanding of terms of
like ‘history’ and ‘truth’) I reckon that unless there is convincing evidence
to the contrary (which there is not) then one may assume that the stories link
to events that ‘actually happened’ as narrated give or take a few details. I acknowledge that this view may be viewed
with some disquiet by some our illustrious and learned academics.
2 Dysfunctional
families in the bible?
Egypt is mentioned a lot in the Bible. The patriarch,
Abraham, went there to avoid a famine in the land where he came from (Genesis
12:10). Joseph the son of Jacob ended up in Egypt after a foiled attempt to
murder him triggered slavery for him (Genesis
37:12-36). And Jacob pulls a smart one on his brother Essau by means of lies and trickery. All of this suggests that
dysfunctional families are not a modern day invention! In Genesis
46:1-7. Jacob goes to Egypt with his family
on a mission of mercy to rescue Joseph. We may note that this same Jacob had
twelve sons (who gave rise to the 12 tribes of Israel) and at least one
daughter – all by two concurrent wives, first cousin Leah (the one with the
‘lovely eyes’ according to Genesis 29:17) and her younger sister Rachel (the
one actually preferred by Jacob who had special taste) and by their handmaidens
Bilhah (referred to Jacob by Rachel for additional procreation) and Zilpah
(referred to Jacob by Leah for yet further procreation). That could pass for a 21st century
soap based on the Tudors! (If you think this is all dodgy check out Genesis
29:1-30:24).
Tuesday 20 December 2016
He pitched his tent among us
‘…And the Word became flesh and lived among us....’ (John 1:14)
John 1:1-18 (Year A: Christmas Day Sunday 25th
December 2016)
The Gospel of St John is different from the ‘synoptic’
gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Where
Matthew opens up a long Jewish genealogy and Luke opens with pregnancy and
birth stories, John opens with a high-theology, contemplative genealogy of the
Divine. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God..’ – so begins this gospel. It starts with something like a hymn to the
Logos – the very utterance of
God-who-is-love. Eastern, Asiatic mysticism could see, here, the manifestation
of the Seed which gives life to many, many other seeds. John knows how to tap into a Jewish audience
and, for that matter, a Hellenistic-Greek one too. The Logos (Word) is identified with Sophia
(Wisdom) and is our life, our light and the very ground on which we are rooted.
The Word is also identified with the Torah
or Law given by God through Moses. However, the Word – or New Law – will be a
key point in the writings of John including the Letters attributed to John
which are read at the daily Eucharist in the closing days of this troublesome
year of 2016.
We are because the Word is. In him we have life because the
Word is not some philosophical idea or code of behaviour. The Word is deeply
personal and relational in a way that is more personal and more relational than
we could ever guess or imagine in our little worlds. The Word is not some mere
manifestation or by-product of the Divine however me might conceive it. The
Word is, as John writes, God without beginning or end.
As with the other evangelists, John has his own emphasis
reflecting his community’s experiences and transmission of the living tradition
of faith and first century Christian discipleship. The very opening of this
majestic and contemplative gospel introduces the reader to the key themes of
what will follow. Already, in the first 5 verses we hear of the ‘Word’, ‘Life’,
‘Light’ and, of course, ‘God’. The first 18 verses of John are referred to as
the ‘Prologue’ and provides a key gospel reading for this Christmas Day which,
also, falls on the Day of Resurrection – Sunday. The significance of the
bringing together of the birth of our Saviour with the day of our liberation in
the rising of the Christ from the dead once every 7 years should not be lost.
John gives a panoramic contemplation of the mystery of
Christ’s coming amongst us. John’s
gospel is one long hymn to the Word or the Logos – made flesh and in whom the
Glory, the life, the light and the saving of this world has appeared. It is
fitting that on this very special day we hear again the good news of God’s own
son made flesh and raised up in glory. Our resurrection is closer at hand every
year that we recall the birth of the baby saviour. In the glory of God
manifested in the ‘house of bread’ which is Bethlehem we see a homeless family
about to be pursued to another country from where they will watch and wait.
Today, we see thousands of people watching and waiting on street doors and in
occupied buildings. A deed of kindness to one of these is done to Jesus.
However, we must see the signs of our times and join with others in struggle to
abolish the very structures, institutions, laws and practices that allow
thousands to go homeless in one of the richest countries in the world.
And so the Prologue of John’s gospel, as the summary of the
entire gospel of John, is our hymn this morning. I have a simple formula that
works for me as a summary of this sublime summary and it goes like this:
In the beginning was the Word / And the World became flesh / And that flesh became bread / Which has now become us / Broken for a united world / At peace and returning to the source from which it came.
Tuesday 13 December 2016
Mindful and ready to receive
‘…Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.....’ (Matthew 1:19)
Matthew
1:18-25 (Year A: Advent 4 Sunday 18th
December 2016)
Another week to go! Those cards, those presents, those
visits, hiding the toys in the attic or with the neighbours, those last-minute
things…
Or maybe ….
Another Christmas with mixed feelings, family politics,
tipsy uncles, that awkward visitor once a year and the silent, deadly dread of
what a new year is likely to bring by way of developing illness, personal
financial debt, job uncertainty or some other impending reality.
Whichever speaks most (or something of both?) we can find
rest in the story of God-with-us or Emmanuel. The name Emmanuel
might sound more like the name of some impossibly impressive film star than the
original Hebrew meaning in the prophecy of Isaiah (chapters 7-8). (See here
for a chapter by chapter reflection on the Book of Isaiah.)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin [young woman] will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us]
Hidden in
the 7th chapter of Isaiah towards the beginning of the ‘Emmanuel
chapters’ from 7 to 12) is a little precious gem – for us who read this
prophecy as Christians with the light of faith and experience of those who went
before us. And if some should doubt or
not believe let them be open to the mystery and beauty of these chapters
interspersed as they are with warnings and cries for change.
Line by line:
‘Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.’ (v. 18)
To be unmarried and pregnant was a source of scandal and
severe punishment in relatively primitive societies. Such scandal and severe
punishment was widely practiced until very recently in these parts of the
world. The great irony of this passage
is that, were Joseph to have carried out the ‘letter’ of the Law he would have
publicly denounced Mary and had her put to death and Jesus also. (See Chapter
22 of the Book of Deuteronomy, for example.)
The bible tells us that Mary was ‘found to be with child
from the Holy Spirit’. We do not know
exactly how but we believe that Jesus – the Son of God – was born of the
‘Virgin Mary’ and that this was by the power of the holy spirit. This is a key
and essential part of our ‘creed’.
‘Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.’ (v. 19)
Some translations render the first part of this verse as: ‘Because
Joseph her husband was faithful to the law’.
Two vital components sit side by side in this verse:
- The faithfulness of Joseph to the spirit of the ‘Law’; and
- Joseph’s strong love and care for Mary and his motivation to not ‘expose her to public disgrace’.
‘But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’ (v. 20)
Joseph listened to his ‘dreams’. Put another way, he
listened to his very own heart and, there, he found the calm voice of Love
speaking through ‘an angel of the Lord’ and gently inviting him to not be
afraid but, rather, take Mary as his wife.
This was going to be a crucial moment of decision and trust on the part
of Joseph. He could have doubted what he
heard. He could have run way and still let Mary go without a public fuss. No,
he said yes to God’s will in a way that made a huge difference not only to Mary
but Jesus who was growing in the womb of Mary.
‘She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ (v. 21)
Had Mary already told Joseph that the angel who visited her
recently had also given the name of Jesus or Jeshua (the one who saves)?
It looks as if Mary kept all this to herself at least until Joseph had
received the name of Jesus in his dream.
‘All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ (v. 22-23)
The
passage of Isaiah
7:14 is taken up in the Gospel of Saint Matthew and is applied directly to
the birth of Jesus Christ. The travails of the people of Israel across the
centuries and books and prophecies find their fulfilment in the promise and
coming of the One who will save not just the chosen people of Israel but all
peoples who turn to the Source of Salvation.
What a gem. What a precious pearl. A pearl of great price. (Matthew
13:44). Later Isaiah will write (45:3):
‘I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.’
‘In man
there is a deep so profound, it is hidden even to him in whom it is’. St Augustine
(Exposition on the Book of Psalms)
‘When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,’ (v. 24)
Joseph was more than a dreamer and recipient of divine
instruction. Joseph was a doer and a doer who would bring upon himself much
adventure, hardship, dislocation, travel and wonder. We do not know much about Joseph except for
those rare occasions when he steps in and steps out again from the gospel
stories. Yet, his role is crucial to the
unfolding of the story in those early years of Jesus’ life. Assuming that Joseph had died before Jesus
began his ministry could we surmise that Joseph’s passing deeply impacted on
Jesus in some way? Might the commencement of Jesus’ ministry have been
triggered by the death of Joseph? Death can have many impacts on those who are
extremely close.
‘…. but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.’ (v. 25)
For some reason the liturgists cut short the gospel
extraction for this Sunday half-ways through a sentence crossing verses 24 and
25. Perhaps they thought that this particular part of a sentence did not ‘add’
anything to the key storyline for this Sunday? Some exegetes have been quick to
rush in with an explanatory footnote that nothing can be read into ‘had no
marital relations with her until she had borne a son’. Whatever interpretation
is held we know that (a) the conception and birth of Jesus was ‘from the Holy
Spirit’, and that (b) what happened after the birth of Jesus is not addressed
by the gospel writers because (c) it is not relevant to the key message of the
Gospel.
The situation that Joseph faced when he received Mary was
one of uncertainty, doubt, a gradual revealing, a struggle and acceptance. He received Mary – and Jesus – into his heart
and home. He welcomed God’s ways which are not our ways and can, sometimes,
stand in quiet defiance of the norms, prejudices and petty judgments of
society.
Tuesday 6 December 2016
Mindful and ready to witness
‘…And blessed is anyone who takes no offence
at me....’ (Matthew 11:6)
Matthew
11:2-11 (Year A: Advent 3 Sunday 11th
December 2016)
On this the third Sunday of Advent we are moving closer to that great feast of the Saviour’s birthday. However, the warnings and unedited declarations of John the Baptist gave way to a new phase in our history of salvation. Now, the focus turns towards the cousin of John. In terms of the Gospel story we skip forward from John at the river Jordan preaching, warning, baptising and clearing the way for someone who is to come to John who is in prison awaiting trial and, presumably, execution.
There is no evidence, on this occasion, that Jesus organised
a protest or a petition to have his cousin released. News of what was happening
outside the prison got through to John.
He had his networks and supporters and, so, he sent messengers to check
out who Jesus really was and what his goal was.
John surely knew Jesus to some considerable degree. After all, their
mothers were closely bonded from at least the time of their pregnancies. John had even leapt in his mother’s womb when
Mary, carrying Jesus, greeted John’s mother, Elizabeth. As they grew up (and they were, of course, of
the same age) did John wonder who this cousin, Jesus, really was? At the end of Jesus’ life (the last 10% of
his total life span, we might say) something extraordinary started to emerge in
Galilee where Jesus commenced his ministry. Down south in Judea a whole ‘movement’
had been generated around John the Baptist. The two ‘movements’ were about to
be joined up. Something new was about to happen.
In his reply to John, Jesus spells out what is happening in
verse 5:
- the blind receive their sight,
- the lame walk,
- the lepers are cleansed,
- the deaf hear,
- the dead are raised, and
- the poor have good news brought to them
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he
sent word by his disciples.
The Gospel of Matthew places a strong emphasis on the
Messiah (or the Christ). This emphasis
would not have been lost on his Jewish audience since the transition from a
baptism with water and prophecy as with Elijah must now, decisively, give way
to a new baptism in the Spirit and a new definitive revelation of God. All of history leads to this event, this era,
this teaching, this prophecy. It was no longer just a question of Jesus the
extraordinary and ordinary cousin of John but it was a matter of Jesus Christ
the ‘he-who-saves’ (Jeshua in Aramaic)
and the Christ or Messiah (Christou
in Greek).
Who were the ‘messengers’ sent by John the Baptist? The old Greek version of Matthew 11.2 has: Pempsas dia tōn
mathētōn autou (πέμψας διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ)
or ‘Now when John had heard in the prison
the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples’ (King James
Version). So, the original text
indicates that two were went and not just one. And these were disciples and not
just any two messengers. Although not
elaborated on we could surmise that these two witnessed together the work of
Jesus and brought this news back to John before his execution. Moreover, these two joined the band of
disciples beginning to crystallise around Jesus. In witnessing to the love of God we never
travel alone. For where two or three are gathered in his name there is the
Spirit of freedom and the spirit of God and the real sacramental presence
of Jesus the Christ.
Here lies the test for us listening to these gospels texts
year after year. When we gather in His name or when we witness, together, are the
‘blind’ given sight as a result? Do the
‘lame’ walk? Are ‘lepers’ healed? Are
the ‘dead’ raised to new life? Does our
message and the way we live set others free let alone on fire? Are the poor,
marginalised and oppressed set free? Does it make any difference? Who are the
‘blind’, the ‘lame’, the ‘deaf’, the ‘dead’ anyway? Could we be counted among
these already?
Sometimes, church-going folk worry and fret a lot over the
decline in ‘religious practice’.
Particular concern is expressed about the free-fall in ‘vocations’ (at
least in the post-modern, post-truth, post-industrial, post-Christian,
post-anything world). Particular
concerns are also expressed about the sharply ageing profile of church
congregations in many places and denominations (some more than others). What’s
going on? The answers, just like the
reasons, are complex and many faceted.
Various zealous returns to ‘orthodoxy’, ‘discipline’,
‘evangelisation/catechisation’ and a host of local innovations do not seem be
able to turn the tide let alone arrest it.
Religion is dead and countries like Ireland are just aligning with this
new post-faith world, so it is claimed by many among the de-churched or the
non-churched. Is ‘religion’ really dead in this part of the world? And what is
‘religion’ anyway? Might it be helpful
to raise two questions at this stage of what might seem like terminal decline in the fortunes of many
mainstream Christian Churches in Ireland (and I am sure the same could be
applied elsewhere):
- Does Christianity need to be rediscovered and re-presented in today’s world as an invitation to relationship, meaning, trust and growth? (people have not given up searching for ways of life).
- Would a truly radical and heart-full return to Orthopraxis release a wave of energy and life that would be so credible, authentic, attractive and new that many are drawn in?
As Pope Francis
tweeted so elegantly the other day:
We are all called to go out as missionaries and bring the message of God’s love to every person in every area of life.
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