Not knowing

“…for you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:33)

READINGS (COI & paired as between the Gospel and the Old Testament readings)

Isaiah 64:1-9

Psalm 80:1-20

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:24-37

 (Year B: Advent 29^th November 2020)

This past year has been marked by two things: waiting and not knowing. Waiting for the virus to break. Waiting for the virus to subside. Waiting for good news of a vaccine. Waiting to go back to work or regain lost hours due to business closure. Waiting to meet up with loved ones, family, friends and others. Waiting to meet again with other Christians to give thanks and break the Word and the Bread of Life.  Not knowing when or who or how. Only knowing the now and here. Trust – that is all we can do. Trust and pray. Pray and love moment by moment.

Someone – almost with tongue on cheek – suggested recently that Christmas be postponed until late January.  ‘Christmas’ as we know it in the world of retail, gatherings and celebrations is an important economic, social and personal event in the calendar. Yet, the very root meaning of Christmas is Christ Mass. How ironic that this year for the first time most Christians may very well be unable to participate fully in the celebration of the Christ Mass on the 25^th December. We do not know what exactly will be possible on Christmas day and in the days leading up to it and immediately afterwards. I suspect that local adaptations will apply and attendance may be staggered over the surrounding week (giving a whole new practical significance to the notion of an Octave or, indeed, Christmastide). However, January looms, the virus is still lurking in homes and on the streets and the promised land of vaccines is far off yet and looking a little blurred but promising. That’s all.

In our little Western and Northern bubble, we should remind ourselves that there are millions of Christians who go to the Christ Mass on the 25^th December at their peril in parts of the world where to profess Christian faith is a dangerous and courageous thing to do.

In all of this uncertainty and challenge, the significance of Advent comes into sharper focus. We can still light candles at home or in public churches when they are open for private prayer. We can still tune in via zoom or youtube to any service or liturgy you like – high, low, Eastern, Latin, informal or Cathedral setting worship. The choice is yours. Yes, this is a bit like reaching out to your family members in Australia. Lovely to talk, listen and see someone on a two-dimensional screen but not even 10% of real corporeal presence which, as humans, we crave and need.  So, how do we navigate Advent this year?  What is the significance of Advent – the anticipation of coming or waiting that leads up to the special day marking the birth of Jesus? Advent is like a short Lent: it is designed to prepare us through prayer and self-denial and the practice of love to create a welcoming place in the crib of our own souls for the Christ child.  There is plenty to pray about this year and there is much by way of privation because of the trauma that many continue to experience as a result of the pandemic.

The theme running through the appointed readings from the Revised Common Lectionary is one of great change and great expectancy. Far from inviting us to go around with long faces and a gloomy religiosity, we are invited to ‘read the signs of the times’ about us. We are invited to look beyond the chaos, the fear and the uncertainty to what is positive, wholesome, beautiful, empowering and life-giving. We are invited to welcome the Kingdom that has already come and has not come yet.  As the people of God, we are bid to be a people of hope in a world that is often lost and confused.  We do not know what lies ahead but we know and trust that God is in charge somehow of the destiny of this universe and that he is deeply concerned about our lives because he loves us as we are and as we could be and as we are becoming.

In this way, we can afford to take risks and to do so in the knowledge that we do not know what lies ahead and how things will turn out.  We don’t know what the future holds, when we will die, who will be with us and how.  We must live fully in the only reality that we know – the now and the here.

This we can do while keeping our sights on the goal of our lives. We must be, at all times, ready, alert and active because we do not know the day nor the hour.

Vigilance, care, foresight stand to us on the journey of life.  When faced with difficulties or trials of one sort or another we can hold fast to God in silence and stillness while being fully alert and mindful of what is happening around us and within us. Attentiveness to the person next to us in the present moment of life is liberating.

Perhaps it will be a ‘meaningful Christmas’ for us after all this year but not in the casual way that this terms has been used in recent times.

 

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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

Preliminaries

Saint Augustine once wrote:

‘The time present of things past is memory; the time present of things present is direct experience; the time present of things future is expectation.’ Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 20.

24-27:  We will see the Son of Man coming in great glory and power

‘But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven’.

These are the end times and the community gathered around Mark and other evangelists sense that God will act and will act soon. This sets the scene for what is to follow by way of an overwhelming need to watch and to be ready. But, are we ready for what is next? A reading of this passage in Hiroshima in 1945 or at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 might trigger a sense of foreboding and even dreadful reality matching some of the cosmic descriptions in this passage. But, this is less an occasion for gloom and foreboding as a call to each of us to be ready, to be hopeful and to on guard.

The emphasis in the gospel of Mark is not on catastrophe so much as on a glorious coming and reuniting of those open to the message of the Gospel. They will be gathered from the four winds or the four corners of the earth, from times past to the present and what lies ahead.

See Daniel 7:13-14:

‘As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.’

See, also Act 7:56:

 ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’

And Acts 14:14:

Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand! zch

28-31:  A lesson from the fig tree

‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.  Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.'

In nature we see the signs of a mysterious power and love. If we are attentive we see signs of a new world breaking out, constantly, from the old. God is near us; very near. The Kingdom is already here and is emerging around us. Though we do not know when or how we know that it will happen in God’s own time and way. In that we trust. We are, truly, part of ‘this generation’ because every generation is called to wait and to hope and God comes to each of us in a special way when we pass from this life to the next.

32-33:  Watch and pray

‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 

Luke 21:36: ‘Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

The reference to the Son not knowing the ‘day or hour’ may present a theological difficulty for some. However, being fully human and fully divine does not preclude the Son who is addressing his disciples before his death and resurrection not knowing everything. After all, Jesus ‘increased in wisdom and in years’ (Luke 2:52).

34-37:  Keep awake

It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.

To be awake is to be aware of life within us and around us. To be awake and ready is to be entirely centred on God’s will for us in the here and now. that is the only certainty.

The things that we do to each other

“…you did it to me….” (Matt 25:40)

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Psalm 95:1-7

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46 (Year A: Christ the King 22nd November 2020)

This Sunday is, in the Church calendar, the feast of Christ the King. Images of kings and queens don’t quite work in our modern, secularist, non-monarchical age.  Language, rituals and attire befitting medieval Lords and vassals – all under the heavenly King – do not easily sit with 21^st century notions of church as communion served and led by those who ‘come from the ranks’ and are accountable to the ranks.

It is a relief to focus, this Sunday, on the end of Chapter 25 of the gospel of Matthew. After giving a scalding to the religious authorities of his time in previous chapters of this Gospel, Jesus is now turning his attention to matters social. He is bringing us down to earth by turning the notion of Kingship and Kingdom into something so practical and so this-worldly that he overturns the assumptions, practices and interpretations not only of those hearing him but us, today, listening in this place or at this time.

Royalty and images of royalty run through the Old and New Testaments. Jesus adds a new dimension in claiming a Kingdom of Heaven – distinct from the earthly notions and realities entertained in the world around him.  He turns everything upside down by declaring the values of a kingdom where those least powerful, least honoured, least regarded are placed in a position of kings and queens. He goes even further by saying ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ (25:40) The corollary is clear: ‘just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me’ (25:45).

Nobody has ever identified himself or herself so radically and so completely with those in need as Jesus did – neither before then or after then.

Sometimes we can read these passages as being all about good living – doling out a bit of our time and a bit of our money ‘to those in need’. At worst it can become a type of direct debit comfort to the conscience.

The writer, Ron Rolheiser, tells a story about a town built just beyond the bend of large river. One day three bodies were sighted floating along downstream in the river. One body was dead so they buried it. One was alive, but quite ill, so they put that person into the hospital. The third turned out to be a healthy child, who was placed with a family who cared for the child and who took her to school.  ‘However, during all these years and despite all that generosity and effort, nobody thought to go up the river, beyond the bend that hid from their sight what was above them, and find out why, daily, those bodies came floating down the river’.

The story is about how we behave towards one another in a world where our sights need to be raised and our hearts enlarged.  This calls us out of a narrow interpretation of need, its response and our role.

It never ceases to amaze me how some Christians will parse and quote, literally, from the Bible to prove a particular theological or moral point while ignoring wide swathes of scripture. So, let’s get a little bit literal this Sunday….

Bishop Frank Weston, an Anglican bishop from Zanzibar in the early decades of the 20^th century declared in the context of an Anglo-Catholic gathering in 1923:

The one thing England needs to learn is that Christ is in and amid matter, God in flesh, God in sacrament.

He went on to say the following:

But I say to you, and I say it with all the earnestness that I have, if you are prepared to fight for the right of adoring Jesus in His Blessed Sacrament, then, when you come out from before your tabernacles, you must walk with Christ, mystically present in you through the streets of this country, and find the same Christ in the peoples of your cities and villages. You cannot claim to worship Jesus in the tabernacle, if you do not pity Jesus in the slums … It is folly – it is madness – to suppose that you can worship Jesus in the Sacraments and Jesus on the throne of glory, when you are sweating him in the souls and bodies of his children.

Such a challenging insight was not novel. Saint Ignatius of Antioch writing in a letter to the Smyrnaeans, not long after the Gospel of John was written down declared: 

Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead.

And writing two centuries later, Saint Basil the Great said:

The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.

This concludes – for now –  the long discourse by Jesus to his disciples. In the Gospel of Matthew, we move immediately to passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. However, that will wait until Passiontide and Eastertide next year. In the meantime, we enter a new year of readings next Sunday with the beginning of Advent. Roll on Mark for Year B of the Sunday cycle!

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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

Preliminaries

This passage comes at the end of a series of discourses addressed to the disciples of Jesus. The discourses focus on the end of time, the coming of the Lord and the great judgment. The context, audience and aim of these discourses are very much of a Jewish religious flavour.  The very early Jewish-Christian community is finding its way in the midst of huge trials, personal and family trauma as well as unrelenting opposition (mostly) in the synagogues and other places of gathering.  While this passage (which is unique to Matthew among the Gospels) does not explicitly mention faith, it is be clear from all of the New Testament writers, including Matthew, that faith understood as a living personal relationship with Jesus is the first movement within the human heart towards God. The point, however, is that ‘works’ which are the outpouring of faith and its expression fulfils the new law of love

31-33   The Son of Man

'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 

See Daniel 7:13-14:

As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.

See, also Act 7:56

 ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’

See, also Acts 14:14

Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand!The Son of Man is a human being – but when read with the eyes of resurrection faith the Son of Man is human being and God-in-man.  God in Jesus is King, Son, Judge and Shepherd.  Shepherds mind sheep and goats together. However, at night they were separated while the goats usually slept indoors. They are also separated when animals are to be transferred from one place to another.

34-       The Son of Man

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

A kingdom has been prepared for us. However, this does not imply that we are predestined while others are not. The Kingdom is for everyone but some exclude themselves. 

35-       Human suffering and human compassion

 .. for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 

Ireland is known, generally, for its hospitality towards strangers. Yet, we have seen the rise of the scandalous ‘direct provision’ system in recent times. Even if Ireland – North and South – has not seen the level of vicious racial hatred and far-right extremism seen in many other European countries, cases of racism and exclusion are widespread and possibly growing. And, we should not forget that modern Irish history is a sad story of ethnic, religious and political conflict and animosity in which all the churches to a greater or lesser extent have made at least an indirect contribution. That is not to deny the very positive and courageous actions of some in reaching out across sectarian divides.

36-       homeless, sick and excluded

 .. I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 

Our prison population (as a percentage of the total) is not as large as it is in many other countries. However, the state of our prisons has been the subject of many reports which have drawn attention to a violation of human rights and dignity.

And then there are those around us who are mistreated, excluded and discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, ways of life and culture and political opinion.  These latter forms of exclusion are no less real but sometimes subtle compared to the economic and social ones discussed here.

37-39   But where and who?

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 

But, where are you, Lord?  Are you to be found in the heavens or in the sanctuary? Are you to be found in the desert and in the heights of contemplation? Are you listening to our prayer?

Alas, we sought you in the slums and on the streets of Belfast, Dublin and Cork. You were uncouth, rough and we did not know you then.

40-44   I am looking at you right now

And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” 

You were a drug addict and you were one of those who will not find work and earn a living. Move out of my way. It is up to the agencies and charities, or perhaps the police, to sort your sort out. I am busy. I don’t see you. If I do and I give a few coppers I don’t really look at you or greet you as a human being but as some sort of victim or just as ‘one of them’.

45        I am in the one next to you now; I am in the least of all, the poorest, the most despised

Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” 

Proverbs (14.31): Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honour him.

Who is the least, the most vulnerable, the most fragile of human beings in this world?  Might we fail in some way to cherish, protect, feed, affirm and respect ALL human life ALL the time? What of those who hunger to tell their story and to be heard? Victims of abuse or oppression who are not really listened to. These, too, are among the ‘least of these’.

46       Our choice

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

We have choices and we are responsible for these choices.  God does not exclude us. Rather, we may choose to exclude ourselves from the Kingdom. At the end of our lives we will be judged but we will be judged on one thing only – love. Literalists and ‘one-storyists’ be aware!

Use it or lose it

“…for to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance” (Matt 25:29)

Matthew 25:14-30 (Year A: Second Sunday before Advent 15th November, 2020)

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg'd with me useless

(John Milton, 1608-1674)

Living faithfully entails attention to what life has to offer. We look for gold without and beyond not realising that it is within and here. If only we realised the potential within us –  waiting to be released. Were it released we would recognise, name and release talents within others.

It is believed that much of the human brain is not used in the course of a life. This is a major scandal. One of the great tragedies associated with poverty and injustice is that so much talent goes to waste. There are lives half lived, dreams never realised, people stunted by lack of encouragement, lack of opportunity and lack of recognition.

In any parish, community, family, organisation, trade union, chamber of commerce or political party there are a variety of gifts and talents. Intelligence, wisdom and practical ability do not correspond to some quantum from zero to ten. Rather, talents are distributed in different ways and measures.

A person starting out in life may have qualities of leadership, wisdom and courage lacking in one who is 80. Or, a person may have wisdom, tact, insight from a life time of marriage, rearing children, work and civic engagement but be told that they must retire at a set age because that is the rule even though people live longer than ever and maintain good health in many cases. Someone may have the gift of being close to those undergoing great trauma or loss. These, or others, may be gifted in speaking of God by living in God to others.

But we need to watch our language and in doing so to remain faithful to what we have received while being channels of ever deeper understanding and manifestation of what has been received. We need to start from where others are.

There is no point in preparing a meal for others unless we have been equipped and nourished enough to know what we are doing and to bring the gifts we have received to bear on the meal.

Sometimes the biggest barrier to the utilisation of talent is fear:

• Fear within ourselves of failure (the servant in this week’s passage who was afraid of failure and his master’s reaction and who hid his talent in the ground)
• Fear that allowing talent in others to flourish might disturb our security, position or peace.

With the little we have, we have much to give. What is important is the first step. We might struggle over a choice to pursue a course of action because we fear that we will not be able for the challenge and risk failure and loss of reputation.

But, nothing ventured means nothing gained.

God’s reckless love beckons us to be reckless in giving ourselves to his work after due reflection, consultation and discernment.  Talents grow with us. We use them or we lose them like a language learned.

The call to use it lose it is not just directed to individuals. It is directed to the community in which we live or work or worship if we are part of a worshiping community. The truth is that God never repeats himself whether in creating and nurturing individuals or whole communities. 

As Christian disciples, what talents have we been given?  As Christian parents, spouses and partners what are the ways in which we can best serve God’s purposes?  As young Christian adults or children, what special gifts have we been given with which we can reach the greatest and most sustainable happiness in life?  As retired Christian persons, what talents of wisdom, experience or specific competence can we bring to the table of our local or national communities?

Those parishes and ecclesial communities that have the greatest chance of survival, growth and transformation are those rooted in 

(1) a confident proclamation in word and deed of the Risen Christ,
(2) a deep spirituality rooted in personal, communal and sacramental prayer, and
(3) a warm and inclusive welcome towards everyone.

 In addition to these three, the flourishing Christian community is one that reaches out to the world about it not to preach at it or control it but to serve it, to witness to it and work with it towards positive change.

This is what the Kingdom of God means in our villages, places of work and social gathering.  If we do all of this, then we need not fear for the future of our large empty and difficult to heat buildings. Rather, the buildings will be heated and enlivened once again by the sound and activity of many, many persons discovering Christ for the first time or all over again.

Warning – the reward for the generous servant or community is not rest but more responsibility! (Matthew 25:29 – ‘ For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance’)

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Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

This passage is situated in the culture of 1st century Palestine.  In the world inhabited by religious hierarchy, imperial governments, masters and slaves as well as others, Jesus was picking stories from the real world around him. Rich in everyday imageries of wedding feasts (the reading from last Sunday and which immediately precedes this passage in chapter 25 of Matthew), harvest, sowing, baking, eating, grieving, rejoicing, shepherding and all the other facets of ordinary life in a precarious political and natural environment, we get a glimpse of how Jesus spoke about the extraordinary and the supernatural in and through the ordinary and the natural.  So too, we have a job to undertake in translating the message of God in today’s world and experience.

14-15:  The master distributes his goods among his servants

‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;  to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.’

A talent is thought to be the equivalent of a very large sum of money – perhaps as much as many years of a labourer’s wage. A silver talent was the weight of 6,000 denarii.  In modern day terms, this might be equivalent to the value of a large house or a farm. Someone with five talents would have been a very rich person and might, it may be suggested in jest, have savings tied up in some Mediterranean offshore island where corrupt Roman officials also parked their money!

We are not told why this sum of money was given. Nor are we told that the slaves were to use it to make more money. The point is that a huge amount was gifted to each one. However, the gifts were unevenly distributed.

16-18 Different ways of receiving this story 

‘The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.’

It’s called the circulation of capital and the accumulation of value. Some commentators take an interpretation along the lines of saying that God allocates gifts unequally to people. Each makes use of their gifts and makes a return. This view sits comfortably with the notion that people can largely sink or swim: economic equality whether of condition or opportunity is not necessary or even attainable. Instead, Christians should exercise charity and compassion by helping others as appropriate. However, those gifted economically have a duty and a right to maximise their gains (and implicitly use them to reinvest or share with others). Such is the view of some.

At the other end of the spectrum there are Christians who take a very, very different view. For example, William Herzog (Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed) sees, here, a story of exploitation whereby the absentee landlord reaps where he did not sow while the third servant calls his game but pays a price for it (see note on verses 24-25, below).  The third servant is the hero of the story, according to this view, and is an example of how we might act in solidarity with others who are exploited.

Still other interpretations are possible. Whatever emphasis or understanding we take from this story it is rich in possibilities. Neither the individual or the church(es) are free from the influence of culture, economic interest and theological mental frameworks. Everyone, including Matthew and his community, have ‘issues’.

19-23: The rendering of account of the first and second servant

‘After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”’

Each investment of time and effort yields its own return – perhaps invisible and later as in years later. Sometimes, those who give their lives in a cause (even a dubious one) give rise to hidden fruits and results years and decades later. Today, we live and work and move around thanks to the sacrifice of millions in World War 2.  In saying that, huge wrongs were committed by those on the winning side of that conflict though they cannot be compared with the evil that was Nazism.

24-25: The rendering of an account of the third servant

‘Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”'

This servant played it safe. Here, perhaps, we see an image of the frightened Christian who fears risking anything too much.  The bottom line, for him or her, is to stay on the right side of God who is seen as a lonesome, fearsome and angry Judge who weighs our actions and thoughts and is ready to punish as only God can.  May it be suggested that the real God is much too involved in this world and in our lives as a loving and gentle person who invites, cajoles and follows us in all of the valleys, hills and crevices of our lives. That God is less concerned about the aberrations and falls from grace as about the risks taken, the nets thrown out, the unusual paths taken and the attitude of trusting love and compassion.

26-27: Response of the master to the third servant

‘But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.’ 

The poor third servant! He/she gets it in the ear from the master. Had the servant any acumen, he would have, at least, offered the small gift he had to the money lenders and made some gain.  He really angered the master because he should have known the consequences of doing nothing.

28-30: The final word of the master which clarifies the parable

‘So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

We can use what we have or we can lose it.  Talents not put to use wither and die.  Languages learned but not spoken rust and shrink in our minds.  Muscles unused turn to fat. Tools left in the shed stay there and gather rust. Gardens not cared for care for themselves with weeds.  We have only one chance in this short life or ours. We can rediscover joy in the giving of life and the use of the little we have. God will add to it day by day even though we may not be fully aware of it.

Still time to change

 “…But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)

 

Pic: Ten virgins foolish and wise brides

(Year A: The Third Sunday before Advent, 8^th November, 2020)

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READINGS (COI & paired as between the Gospel and the Old Testament readings)

Amos 5:18-24

Psalm 70

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

 

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Good news is important for us today.  On first hearing, the appointed readings for this Sunday, the third before Advent, seem to be full of gloom and doom. There is much happening in our world today that paints a picture of darkness and corruption even if green shoots appear here and there (some too early due to climate change!).  If we listen carefully to the readings we grasp a positive and affirming message running through from the prophet, Amos, writing in the 8^th century before Christ to the psalmist and then Matthew. The good news is twofold: there is still time for us to change course and to do the right thing and, secondly, God will overcome evil on His day of judgement (or the Day of the Lord as Amos refers to it).

Time to change

The story of the ten bridesmaids (or virgins according to some translations) is contained in the Gospel reading. It reminds me of an experience I had the other evening when I was four minutes late for the closing of the outer gates of a large public park (within the 5km Level 5 restrictions I should add). Along with about 12 other motorists I was stuck behind the closed gates.  We could either abandon the cars or wait. As it happened someone (probably a park ranger who had to get home himself anyway) came along some 20 minutes later after the appointed time of our punishment had expired. We were let out. I doubt if any of the culprits will re-offend again soon!  The point of the story in Matthew’s gospel is that the bridesmaids did not gain access to the wedding feast. The door remained shut and that was that.

In life, we have only one chance: one chance, that is, to be happy, to live well and to live properly. We might go astray once or many times but we can come back to the core position and value. However, we only have one chance in this very short and precarious life of ours.  The person standing next to you in the shopping queue may not be alive tomorrow. Or, it may be your turn however unlikely or distant an event that may seem right now.  For us Christians death is not the end but merely a step on the journey. We believe and we live on the truth of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. ‘Therefore encourage one another with these words’ says St Paul in his letter to the Christians at Thessaloniki.

When our hour comes will we be found ready with lamps lit and baggage disposed?

A postscript about ‘Remembrance Sunday’ in some Christian traditions (a personal view of course)

This Sunday is referred to as ‘Remembrance Sunday the purpose of which is ‘to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.’  In a religious context, the remembrance is marked by a special service of prayers, readings, hymns and the laying of red poppies in Anglican churches in Britain and Ireland as well as some Commonwealth countries. This is an important event in the calendar for many who had families involved in the two world wars and other conflicts including, it has to be said, the conflict in Northern Ireland which began in around 1969.  Many gave their lives in the most tragic of family circumstances and the wounds are still very, very real.

It is a noble and honourable thing to remember the sacrifice and love of those who died not only for their country and fellow citizens but for the freedom of nations and the institutions of democracy and autonomy that we enjoy and can take for granted these days.  Lest we might ever forget, Ireland – all of it – was protected from the horrors of Nazism by one country alone – the United Kingdom in the period June 1940 after the fall of France to June 1941 before the Nazis and the Communists went to war as their alliance of convenience crumbled.   No matter how much we Irish suffered at the hands of British oppression over many centuries we ought never forget the sacrifice of American, French, British (including Irish living and working in England and fighting with the British forces at that time) along with tens of millions of Russian citizens and combatants among others in the struggle to defeat the evil of Nazism.

We should not forget that civilians typically make up the bulk of victims of war. Also, the use of symbols associated with one side of another of a conflict is a badge of identity as well as remembrance.  It is a personal (and community choice) about how and when to commemorate the dead and who to remember in a special way. 

I suspect that for the greater majority of those from an Irish Roman Catholic background the remembrance event is something distant and foreign. That is not to deny that tens of thousands of Irish nationalists and Catholics fought and many died in both World Wars. Regrettably their service and sacrifice was ignored and never spoken about. It was only as recently as 1993 that the President of Ireland began to attend the annual remembrance service in the national Anglican Cathedral of St Patrick’s.

By the same token, the greater majority of those from an Irish Protestant tradition or traditions would have mixed views about commemorating Irish Republican events whether from 1916-1922 or from 1969 to 1998. The wearing of an Easter Lilly (whether pinned or stickie) is a badge of belonging and remembrance. Not everyone is comfortable with that. A direct comparison of the Lilly and the Poppy may be viewed as inappropriate. It depends on how you look at it. I have worn the latter on occasions but never the former.  Even today it takes a certain chutzpah to wear a Poppy in public in the Republic of Ireland. You get stared at some of the time and it can happen that you are verbally accosted – even today in our supposedly tolerant and liberal new Ireland. The underlying and unspoken prejudice is that it is OK for Protestants to wear that British symbol but not by someone from our side.

As we move through this ‘decade of centenaries’ starting with the lock-out of 1913 through the 1916 rising and up to the bitter Irish civil war in 1922/23 we are mindful of the importance of respecting and acknowledging traditions with which we may not be familiar or which may not represent the bond of affection and loyalty that others experience. At the same time, we need to be mindful of how our commemorations be they of the Irish nationalist physical force tradition or the British colonial military tradition can impact on others. It is a complicated world and our little island is no exception. May we love the living and the dead, be thankful for those who gave their lives and look forward to that day when we are, all, ‘caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever (1 Thessalonians 4:17).