1-Jun-2008
Dear Friend,
We often tend to believe that we love God because we perform the rituals that
are part of religious worship. We measure our holiness by the number and length
of our prayers, the novenas we attend, the pious practices we partake of, and
the number of masses we have participated in. But all these can be empty
practices if they do not make us more humble and loving towards our brothers
and sisters. God does not desire our sacrifices but a loving heart. Have a
weekend discovering God in others! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Tenth Sunday of the Year -‘I desire love, not sacrifice’
8-June-2008
Readings: Hosea 5: 15- 6 :6; Romans 4: 12-25;
Matthew 9:9-13;
The first reading is from the prophet Hosea, who was married to Gomer, who was
unfaithful to him and prostituted herself. Yet Hosea was courageous enough to
care for her and accept her back in spite of her infidelity. Gomer too was
courageous enough to confess her weakness and ask for forgiveness. Both are
symbols of how Yahweh loved his people in spite of their constant infidelities.
In today’s reading the prophet scolds the people for their light-hearted
conversion and chides them for their superficiality and formalism. Yahweh
demanded a profound faithfulness and obedience to the law and the prophets.
Such a love was comparable to the fidelity of a wife to her loving husband. In
the absence of love the whole of the cultic worship of the Israelites was
useless and the source of even greater condemnation. The prophet reminds the
people of the essence of religion: “What I desire is love not sacrifice.”
Parable of the Prophet and the Prostitute
You are in a Church to attend a celebration of marriage. You are waiting for
the couple to enter the Church. The groom enters with the flourish of an organ,
elegantly dressed and takes his place in the front. Then comes the bride. The
mother of the bride stands and all stand to watch the pure elegant young woman
slowly glide down the centre isle with her father. From a distance you can see
that something is unusual. Her wedding dress is splattered with mud. Her veil
is askew. She comes closer and you notice that she has a cigarette drooping
from her lips. Her lips are painted red and she has too much rouge on her
cheeks. And as she walks by your aisle, you smell booze on her breath. She
finally arrives at the front, and the groom is broadly smiling at her like a
Cheshire cat. He lovingly looks into her eyes and the two of them stand before
the altar to be married. Indeed this is the strangest wedding that you have
ever experienced. -But this parable is
profoundly true. This is the story of the Hosea and his wife Gomer. But this
parable of a wedding is the exact imagery of the Church with Christ being the
perfect groom and the Church being the imperfect bride. This parable is a
parable of grace, that God loves sinful imperfect people. And that is what
grace is all about. And that is what the book of Hosea is all about.
Edward Markquart in ‘Sermons from Seattle’
In the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul places before his
listeners the example of Abraham their father in faith. Abraham believed in the
promises of God and lived his life accordingly. Though he was old and reaching
the end of his life yet he clung to the promise given to him and his wife
Sarah. He believed that he was justified and made righteous before God not
because he was worthy but because God always fulfilled his promises. Hoping
against hope that he would be the father of the nations he did not weaken in
faith but rather steadfastly believed in God. Paul challenged the Romans to
follow his example. God honours great faith and great faith honours God!
Film -A Beautiful Mind
Nobel–prize winner Robert Nash is extremely gifted intellectually, but the
development of his mind has dwarfed his lack of development as a whole person.
An accomplished mathematician, his obsession to find an ‘original idea’ that
will distinguish him isolates him from his peers and leaves him alone and
lonely. Into his lonely world enters the faithful love of an amazing woman
Alicia, who is herself a brilliant student. The struggle he has with this
beautiful woman is that he still attempts to create logarithms to describe all
of life, including the experience of love. On the night he has decided to ask
Alicia to marry him, he asks her to help him with his need for ‘proof’ on which
he can base his decision of marriage. With wit and charm, Alicia helps him
understand that some things have to be taken on faith, even within the realm of
mathematics. “It is the same with love”, she explains. The beginning step of
faith and moving beyond the
imprisonment of his mind begins the process of salvation that Nash needs when
he is diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. When he is imprisoned in a
psychiatric hospital Alicia commits her life and her safety to stay with him.
With Alicia’s help Nash develops a heart to match his mind and is empowered to
live a Nobel-prize winning level of life as a professor of Princeton
University. Our creator did not inspire his prophets to describe him as: “God
is intellect”. The inspiration of scripture is that “God is love.”
Hal Conkin & Denny Wayman in ‘Cinema in Focus’
In today’s gospel Jesus wishes to demonstrate to his followers the meaning of
true discipleship. Faith is seen not in the rituals one follows but in the life
one leads. Jesus came to preach the good news that God loves all people
especially sinners and he set before his followers an example by associating
with publicans and sinners. He chooses as his disciple Matthew a tax collector,
who was considered a public sinner because of his profession. Jesus went and
ate and drank with the Pharisees and tax collectors and sinners. To eat with
someone was a sign of friendship and intimacy with the person. Jesus’ behaviour
shocked the Pharisees who distanced themselves from sinners and did not
associate with those they considered sinners, the pariah elements of society.
Jesus expressed solidarity with them. His behaviour was condemned by the
Pharisees, the separated ones, the purists of Jesus’ day. Jesus’ response to
the condemnation of Pharisees was not
of condemnation. Rather he showed them that the proper attitude to social
dropouts was one of acceptance, familiarity and service. In Jesus’ eyes the
Pharisees were descendants of the hypocrites of Hosea’s days who were most keen
on attending the liturgies in the sanctuaries, but at the same time grinding
the faces of the poor. The Pharisee’s rightful insistence on purity should lead
them to reach out to the unenlightened. Jesus’ mixing with the Pharisees was
not to condemn them or their action or situation but to help them to raise
their level of understanding and to show them a possibility of a new life and a
new practice of faith. He could not do this unless he was sympathetic towards
them. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Those who are sick
need not condemnation, but a healing touch.
Know your doctor…..
A man lived on the same street as a doctor. Since he enjoyed excellent health,
he had no reason to visit the doctor. Hence, he had only a nodding acquaintance
with him. The doctor seemed to be a nice person, and he had heard people who
had been to his surgery say that he was very compassionate and kind. Then the
man got sick and immediately went to see the doctor. The doctor welcomed him.
He spoke gently to him and examined him with patience and thoroughness. He
diagnosed what his trouble was and prescribed some medication. Within a week
the man was well again. Now the man knew at firsthand what kind of a man the
doctor was. Prior to this he knew him only by hearsay. Now he had experienced
his kindness. But this happened only because he got sick. Later he said to a
neighbour, “No one wants to get sick. But if one should get sick, it is nice to
know that there is a doctor like him around.” –If we are sinners – and which of
us is not a sinner?
–then Christ loves us not less but more. It is in and through our sins that we
experience the goodness and mercy of Christ. If we never sinned we would never
know his forgiveness. This is not an excuse for sinning. But it is nice to know
that this is how Jesus receives sinners.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
Film -Weapons of the Spirit
“……We, in this congregation, are called to do what comes naturally(!) for one
who has considered the costs and believes, one who has in her back pocket the
promises of God as recounted in our Psalm today…. And what comes naturally is
moving ahead. (!) The community of LeChambon, France did this. During World War
II these protestant peasant French Huguenots hid, housed, fed, educated and
welcomed hundreds of Jews. They set their faces firmly towards Jerusalem –with
all its suffering, glory, uncertainty and promise. I believe their story helps
illuminate Jesus’ greatest hopes and expectations for his disciples. (!) A
Jewish man, who was a baby when his family was embraced by the people of
Lechambon, created a documentary film about its story. Put a picture of these
people in your head. All in their 70s and 80s at the time of filming, they are
neatly dressed in well worn vests and simple aprons, walking sticks in hand,
rosy faced, vibrant. The
filmmaker remarks that hugging one of them is like hugging a tree –these are
solid people. Again and again when asked why they risked their lives for their
Jewish brothers and sisters, the peasant farmers responded matter-of-factly
with comments like: “Sure we gave up our bed when there was no choice.” “It
happened so naturally, we can’t understand all the fuss.” “The bible says feed
the hungry and visit the sick. It was the normal thing to do.” In an interview
with Bill Moyers about Lechambon, the filmmaker remarks, and I am paraphrasing,
“These days we seem to think that good people are those who agonize. They
‘sleep on it’… and maybe in the morning their conscience gets them to do the
right thing. No –this idea is wrong. People who agonize don’t act. And people
who act don’t agonize.” Descended from a persecuted people themselves, the
French Huguenots, theirs was a community who took great pains to remember the
past.
As good Calvinists, they had a very high view of the OT and looked to the
prophets to nurture their faith and conduct. Their most often sung hymn says,
“May the spirit that gave our ancestors life, inspire our children to follow
their example.” They credit their natural giving now with the simple fact that
they remember their own story. “Theirs was not a sentimental faith. Not
extraordinary. It was a solid faith that was put to the test and not found
wanting.”
Anonymous
Gandhi and the untouchables
In India the untouchables did not belong to any caste. They were barred from
the temples. In the cities they lived in the slums, and did only the most
menial jobs. In the country they were forbidden to use the wells. Yet it was
precisely the untouchables whom the great Mahatma Gandhi befriended. He ate and
drank with them and played with their children. He once said: “I do not want to
be reborn. But if that should happen, I would like to find myself among the
untouchables in order to share the suffering they are subjected to. In this
way, I would have a chance to liberate them and myself from their miserable
condition.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
May our attitudes towards others reveal our true love for God!
Fr. Jude Botelho
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
Bring your gang together. Do your thing. Find your favourite Yahoo! group
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