Hey Theopholis – lover of God?

Today Jesus declares “‘the year of God’s favour”. This is one of the most powerful passages in the New Testament. If Jesus were running for president, this would be his campaign speech. The ‘year of God’s favour’ refers to a Jewish concept of Jubilee where all debts are cancelled and there is a redistribution of wealth and property amongst the community. In the OT this is said to have been declared every 50 years as God interrupts the human systems that create poverty. Imagine a community that lived in such a way. When things went wrong or when people got into trouble, we declared ‘Jubilee’ and started afresh. Jubilee is so called after the ram’s horn that was used to declare it. Jubilee was meant to dismantle structures of inequality. It shows us God’s unending compassion, mercy, generosity and justice. It was a year of restoration. Remember the year 2000 (Jubilee) ‘Drop the Debt campaign’? Imagine a world where every few decades we declared the year of God’s favour and all debts were cleared, slaves set free, and wealth redistributed amongst the community. That is economics according to God. That is how the early Christians tried to live. And so we continue a reading of Luke’s Gospel – one that is concerned with justice, poverty and the rights of all.

“Although they heard you Lord, they failed to listen. They heard only what they wanted to hear. The truth hurt them, you made them feel uncomfortable, and they rejected you…Show us how we may seek your Kingdom and help to bring peace to a troubled world” (Christian Aid ~ Tony Singleton). Jane Mellett ~ Intercom 2013

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ The Wedding Feast at Cana

As we leave behind the Christmas season, we move into the stories of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the Church calendar we have entered into what is called ‘ordinary time’. However, there is nothing ‘ordinary’ about ‘ordinary time’ as it is during these weeks that we hear about all the extra-ordinary things that Jesus did during his earthly life. Today’s gospel of the Wedding at Cana is no exception. It follows on from the story of the Wise Men, and of Jesus’ Baptism in revealing to us who Jesus is. For Jews, a wedding was a great symbol of the Kingdom of God. John calls this account a sign, something that is pointing us to a deeper reality. We don’t know whose wedding it is and no one is addressed by their name apart from Jesus. It is a strange story. We can focus on the generosity of the gift in this story. Each stone jar could hold between 20 and 30 gallons of water, six of those would be 120 gallons of water. So how much wine did Jesus provide for the wedding? Let’s say about 120 gallons (500 litres!). This was no small amount of wine that Jesus gifts to the couple.

It is showing huge generosity and quality (he saved the best wine until last). We can thank God today for the abundance of gifts that he has given us – family, friends, creation, food, health. What else are you thankful for today? Jane Mellett Intercom 2013

Sunday 13th Jan 2013 ~ Be A Signpost

John the Baptist was a man whose life was driven by one mission: to point people to Jesus. We may think today of all of those people in our lives who have inspired us, strengthened our faith and pointed us to Jesus. Luke places a special emphasis on Jesus at prayer in his gospel. Jesus prays at the most important moments of his life. In today’s gospel, while Jesus is praying we hear that the heavens opened. That doesn’t mean it started lashing rain but in Jesus’ time it meant that the barrier between this world and the next had been opened. We get an image of the Trinity as God’s voice is heard and a dove descends. These are all signs to show us that Jesus is the Beloved Son of God, and that this is the beginning of his mission. We can think of our own baptism today and what that means. We are all sons and daughters of God and have been moved into the life of God at our baptism and at our Confirmation. That means that we have a responsibility to be part of God’s mission. We are called to take on that responsibility in our parishes, communities, families and in society. We have a responsibility, like John did, to point the way to God. Jane Mellett Intercom 2013

January 6th ~ The Epiphany

A new born baby usually tends to attract visitors and gifts. The Magi are described as wise men from the east. They may have been astronomers or philosophers but most definitely they were people who had their eyes, ears and minds open to the events going on around them, to the signs of their times. We see in today’s Gospel, how God is working through the people that we least expect. The wise men were not considered to be ‘religious’, or ‘the people of God’. Yet, God is working through them in lots of different ways. They may not have been considered ‘righteous’ in their time, but they are certainly people who have come to bow down and worship God. This story has a clear message: that Jesus has come for all people, not just a select few. Today, perhaps we can think about times when we found God in unexpected places. How did we react? What star, what guidance had brought us there? What gifts did we leave there? What gifts were we given there?

“Whenever the Christ in one of us meets the Christ in another, there will be an exchange of gifts. Let this thought protect us from the patronising attitude that we must ‘convert’ the other to our own way of living the Christ-life” Margaret Silf. Jane Mellett Intercom 2013.