Nov 13th - Luke 21:5-19 ‘Endurance’

At some point we have all seen and heard someone shouting on the street or on the internet about the end of the world. You’d be forgiven for thinking that today’s Gospel is trying to achieve the same thing. We are reading the final chapters of Luke’s Gospel for Year C. Jesus is in Jerusalem and the passages we hear are talking about end times. The people gathered are obviously excited having seen how magnificent the Temple is, having come ‘up from the country’ and Jesus is trying to calm them down. The time for excitement might not be just yet. Jesus reminds them, and us, that these things are short-lived and we should not be too bothered about ‘fine stonework’ and ‘votive offerings’. These things do not last.

Jesus tries to comfort the people regarding various crisis that will happen; the call is to take perspective, to look at the bigger picture. Endurance is the message of today’s gospel. The people of Jerusalem will witness the destruction of the Temple, the disciples will face persecution, people of faith will have tough times ahead. Whatever crisis may come, Jesus is affirming people to keep going, to stay focused and not be afraid.

“Lord, when we are young we think that we become great through our achievements. Life has taught us the truth of Jesus’ words: it is by endurance that we win our lives” Michel de Verteuil

Sunday November 6th 2016: Luke 20:27-38 ‘Children of the Resurrection’

In today’s Gospel the Sadducees are trying to trap Jesus using a slightly exaggerated and absurd case study. They have no faith in the resurrection and therefore do not grasp that in a place of peace, justice and freedom, people cannot be ‘owned’ or ‘given’. We should not be too preoccupied with questions like theirs: ‘Whose wife will she be?’ ‘Will I look old?’ ‘Will I have a body?’ Questions like these ignore the radical freshness of the Kingdom of God.

We are all ‘children of this world’ who are called to be ‘children of the resurrection’. You might recall today someone who has passed away, but who is very much alive because of their influence on people, their generosity and kindness and the difference they made to those around them. They are ‘children of the resurrection’.  They make huge sacrifices for the liberation of people around them, for those who need healing or are oppressed in any way. They ‘cannot die’ even though they, like Jesus, can be condemned by society.

“You were born a child of light’s wonderful secret— you return to the beauty you have always been.” (Aberjhani)

Feast of All Saints

On the feast of All Saints we celebrate those saints who are with us on our journey, those canonised and those saints we know personally and love. Saints have to work against the grain and be counter cultural. Saints are all around us, pointing the way for us, teaching us something about God through their lives. They persevere in all they do for their families and communities, especially those on the margins. They are the blessed ones. We read the Beatitudes for this feast and we are invited into each one. The Beatitudes may shock us, but they force us to think and to ponder the paradox in each statement. There is much human experience within each Beatitude and as you read them you may recognise your own ‘urban saint’.  Matthew’s community would have been very familiar with what it means to be persecuted because of their beliefs and the final beatitude in the Gospel today calls for perseverance. Perhaps that is the making of all saints.

 “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words” ~ St. Francis.