All the parables of our Lord start with a catch to attract the attention of his audience. Now today’s catch is particularly clever. For on hearing it, one fumes with anger: it is unacceptable to pay the same salary to the one who worked for only one hour as to the ones who “have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat”. And this was as true in Jesus’ time as it is today.
The attention of his audience, and a bit of anger too, being focused, Jesus will take up the issue at stake: namely the relationship of Israel with other nations. Since the beginning, Israel had been told that they were they were the chosen ones of God and that, as such, in the kingdom to come, they would occupy the seats of honour. A well-deserved reward since they had to suffer so much for it through the years.
But then comes this Jesus of Nazareth who pretends to speak in God’s name and tells them that the pagans, who never cared about the true God and even persecuted the Jews for their faith, would be treated equally by God. In the parable, they are the ones who worked only one hour and yet will receive the same salary as the others.
This might be what we call love at work. What God wants is not uniformity but equality. With God, we are no more in a relationship of employees to an employer but rather in a family one. That is equal love but unequal treatment according to one’s needs. Parents love equally their children but will give more time to the sick one than to the healthy one. In other words, it is the parable of the prodigal son at work. The Father loved equally his two sons but gave more attention to the one who was in the greater need. It is also the parable of the Good Samaritan. He was on an important business trip but put aside his business preoccupations to help this anonymous wounded man. God’s love does not go with merits nor with profit. It goes with needs. Such is God’s way. And this is the way we are asked to live with our fellow human beings. Amen.
Homily September 17, 2023
Mt 18:21-35
Today’s parable sheds new light upon Jesus. Usually, parables give us a model for us to follow God’s way of acting. God does this, so act like this. But here it is the opposite: It is God who copies the actions of man. Indeed, we ourselves often experience the same situation as in the parable: a neighbour, a friend or a family member urgently asks us for financial assistance to pay a debt. Because it is a neighbour, a friend or a family member we happily accept. Even if they do not pay us back by the deadline, we accept it precisely because they are a neighbour, a friend or a family member. And we accept the delay because it is neighbour, a friend or a family member who asks us to do so. The decision to allow the delay doesn’t take long, we do it without even thinking because it is a neighbour, a friend or a family member. This seems so natural to us that we don’t even ask ourselves if it is a good decision, for we know it is the right decision.
Now this is precisely what the king in the parable does. He willingly accepts the postponement of repayment of the debt because his servant asks him to, even though the sum of 10,000 talents is enormous. And he doesn’t even ask for a written agreement, all he needs is his servant’s word.
What can we learn from this parable? First of all, that there is good in us because God offers us as models, so let’s stop considering ourselves as “no good” or “good for nothing”. This is not true. Each of us here this morning has good in us, even if, in our childhood, we were treated as if we were “no good” or “good for nothing”. The attitude to develop is to trust others. But this is a difficult attitude to live with because we have become suspicious of everyone. We are always so afraid of being played. God took huge chances with us but Peter denied him, Judas betrayed him and all of his disciples abandoned him when he needed them most. It seemed as if God had lost his bet with us. But contrary to all appearances, He was the one who won. Let’s put our trust in Him. We have a much better chance of winning than with a lottery ticket. Amen.
Homily September 10, 2023 Mt 18:15-20
Today’s readings focus on the importance that forgiveness should be given in our daily lives. A touchy issue for everyday we witness terrorist groups beheading people, criminals being pardoned, mild sentences being given, not mentioning the wounds that daily life inflicts upon us or the grudges that we bear towards people, sometimes for years. The word itself seems to have lost its sting, if it ever had one. In our minds, forgiveness sounds like resignation, weakness and failure.
It is a fact that, through history, violence and retaliation have always appeared as being the only fitting response to insults and attacks. We have always been prone to believe that the best way to cope with evil was to kill the evil doer. Our daily experience though, teaches us otherwise. At first sight, vengeance may appear sweet and gratifying, but in the long run, it goes nowhere and only starts an endless spiral of violence. We also know, and always through our own experience, that to keep and feed a grudge against someone, ends up destroying not them but us.
On the Cross, in a situation of extreme, unfair and uncalled for violence, Jesus said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” It is noticeable here that the first thing that Jesus does in such a desperate situation is to look for someone to talk to, namely his Father. It is also noticeable that the first words that he utters are “Forgive them” for he knows that forgiveness is the only way to regain inner peace. And he adds “for they do not know what they are doing”, implying that if they had known, they would not have done it. Forgiveness is always a call to the better part of the offender’s mind and heart. And as such, it reaches the very core of our faith: we have been created in the image of God. Then each one of us has something good inside of us.
To forgive is never easy, has never been and will never be. But it is a tribute to the greatness of human beings and is the royal way to peace of mind. Amen.
Homily September 1, 2023 Mt 16:21-27
When Paul speaks in today’s second reading, God is all about forgiveness, benevolence, tenderness and mercy. But he does not speak with the words that Jeremiah uses in today’s first reading, where he says that God enticed him and so deeply that, even if he tried to refuse to preach about him, there was that “burning fire in his bones that he could not hold in”. When Jeremiah and Paul speak about the love of God, they do not refer to the condescending attitude of a God who deigns to look at us from time to time but rather to a devouring, consuming passion which totally changed their lives and the direction of their lives. The same with the saints whose writings are so explicit about it that they sometimes make us uncomfortable. Thay speak of God as a frantic lover who never stops running after their souls and wants them for himself alone. This is the spirit into which we have to understand Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel. He calls Peter Satan, which is quite shocking. After all, all that Peter wanted was to spare Jesus the flogging and the cross. Why then would Jesus be so hard on him? Because, unknowingly, Peter puts obstacles to the love of God for humanity. Such a consuming love for God may appear impossible to live or reserved for a few exceptional believers. But like the rest of the message, it is proposed to every one of us. We are not asked to reach the peak tomorrow morning but we are invited to start on the way which leads to it and make a few steps every day. As Jesus says, do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will have enough worries of its’ own. Amen.
Homily August 27, 2023 Mt 16:13-20
In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples about himself. Who do you think I am? There comes a time in a couple, in a family or among friends, when we need to know who we are for one another. Because, in the humdrum of everyday life, inevitably habits and routine take over. That is why, from time to time, we need to sit and talk. The same with Jesus. After a few years with his disciples, he wants to know where they stand towards him and his message. Hence his question and Peter’s answer- “You are the Son of God.” This Peter’s answer deserves a few reflections. Peter speaks here not only for himself but in the name of all the disciples, which shows a surprising degree of understanding on their part. Even if during the two years that they have been with Jesus, they have been quiet does not mean that they did not understand or were indifferent. The same with children or friends: they may seem indifferent to what we say and not care about what we do. This is wrong. Whether we like it or not, our words and behaviour always have consequences. This is an invitation then to responsible behaviour. Jesus’ answer to Peter’s profession of faith shows that every gift from God calls for a responsibility. The gift of life is a call to give life. The gift of love is a call to love back. The talents we are endowed with at our birth ask to be developed on pain of being deprived of them. To dream of a life without responsibility is not only a fancy on a human level but a sin on a spiritual one. And we will be judged on what we will have done with the talents we have received. Peter was given the gift of faith and in return he was put in charge of the Church. Let us ask God to enlighten our hearts and minds that we may find the right direction for our life. Amen
Homily August 20, 2023 Mt 15:21-28
There is a remarkable unity among today’s three readings. The first one recommends that strangers be accepted not only in God’s temple but on the altar itself. The second one recommends to Christians to look at their Jewish fellow citizens as equals. A surprising assertion when one thinks how Christians, Pagans, Jews and Muslims have massacred one another through history and always in the name of God. And in the Gospel, Jesus fully welcomes a pagan, which is unheard of in the Jewish tradition of the time. In these three cases the, the acceptance of strangers is presented as the express will of God. The message is clear: strangers, whoever they may be and whatever be their nationality, creed, colour or race, have to be accepted unconditionally. And why? Because all human beings have been created by God to his own resemblance and are consequently equal in God’s mercy. An attitude which implies for us full acceptance of everybody without suspicion or fear.
This does not mean though that we have to become blind to other people’s limitations and hang ups. We have to keep our eyes open and our minds keen. To use our Lord’s words, we have to discern the wheat from the hay. Which is what our Lord himself did when he accepted unconditionally the twelve and gave them an equal chance, which was not maybe the best thing to do since Peter denied him, Judas betrayed him and all of them abandoned him when he needed them most. But in the long run, he proved right in giving them a chance. This is not an easy way. It asks for a lot of listening, a conversion of our attitudes and mentality. But it is God’s way. And consequently, is how we choose to behave as Christians, it has to be our way. Amen
Homily August 13, 2023 Mt 14:22-33
The fact that Christianity has been around so long and has impregnated our lives so deeply can bring one to believe that it has always been so. Well, it has not. In the beginning, that is in the time of Jesus, Christianity was a very small thing. And not only because Christians were few but because of the very nature of Christianity. As today’s readings show, the emphasis in faith is not about what we do but about who we are with God and with our neighbour. What Jesus addresses, when he speaks to me, is not first my technical talents, my capabilities, my possessions but rather my mind and my heart. Like in a family, the most important is not what every member can do but who they are together in terms of respect, mutual admiration and fondness. This is the meaning of God’s appearance to Elijah in the sweet breeze. To Moses, God had appeared in thunder and lightning. Which was hard to miss. But to Elijah, he appears in a sweet breeze, which requires attention and silence. From Jesus, people were expecting miracles. But Jesus prefers meekness, humility, attention, prayer and peace. There is a clear intention here from the part of the Gospels to lure Christians away from the fascination for terrifying and spectacular divine manifestations. Our God is a person and as such, speaks to the heart. So let us not be afraid. The world will change, we will get older, friends will go, our physical strength will fade away but do not be afraid says Jesus to Peter. Even in the worst storm, he says, I am there. At the end of his life, a reputed Bible scholar was asked by his wife what he thought was most important in the words he had preached, the lessons he had taught and the books he had written about God and the Bible. He answered “Do not worry. I shall be safe.” Amen
Homily August 6, 2023 Mt 9:2-10
It is certainly not easy for us to figure out what Jesus looked like when we read that he was transfigured before the Apostles. The only detail the Gospel gives about it is that his clothes became dazzling white “such as no one on earth could bleach them”. When the Bible talks about God, it often uses the image of whiteness and light. Here Jesus clothes are “dazzling white”. When Moses comes down from the mountain after his encounter with God “the skin of his face was shining” (Ex 34:20) says the Bible. And in the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen’s face “looked like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). These expressions convey a double meaning. First that men can meet with God but also that we can meet with God, not only in our minds and hearts but through our body also. And not only through the strong and nice looking body of our twenties, but also through the shaky, wrinkled and crippled body of our old age. This message might be of some use to us who are tempted to refuse the aging of it through all kinds of lotions, cremes, hair planting, plastic surgery and so on. Today’s reading may be understood as an invitation to accept our body as it is, for it can be a meaningful witness to our faith. The late Pope John Paul II was no less persuasive at the end of his life, when he was nailed in a wheelchair, than in his prime when he travelled the world at an Olympic pace. The smiles of the hospital beneficiaries move me more than the made up ones of the TV stars. In the second reading Paul says that nothing will separate him from the love of Christ. Let us make this option ours and become witnesses of Him in our mind and body. Amen.