Sunday November 22nd ~ Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King is the final Sunday in the liturgical calendar. In the Gospel today, Pilate is concerned with what type of King Jesus is and what kind of Kingdom he is talking about? To understand what type of kingship Jesus is talking about we need to lay aside a lot of the cultural baggage that we have about Kings and Kingdoms. There are no palaces, no pomp and ceremony involved here. Jesus’ Kingdom is concerned with justice for the weak and the oppressed.

At our baptism we were each anointed as ‘priest, prophet and king’ and therefore we share in this kingship that Pilate is wondering about. We are called to show the world that Jesus’s followers are concerned with love and service of others; that Jesus’ Kingdom is built on a different kind of foundation. With so much brokenness in the world we are called to transformative service. There are no shortage of causes: the refugee crisis; homelessness; climate justice…

At the end of this month, world leaders gather in Paris at ‘COP21’ to try to come to a universal agreement on addressing climate change. We pray that the ‘Kings’ and ‘Presidents’ of this world take strong action to protect our planet. “We pray for the representatives of the nations meeting in Paris, and in every government everywhere—and all business leaders and consumers—that we will see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. (LS 12)” #pray4cop21 

Sunday 6th September "Creation Time"

'EPHPHATHA’ (Mark 7:31-37)

Between 1 September and 4 October (the feast of St Francis of Assisi) Christian churches celebrate the season of ‘Creation Time’. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the gift of our world and to look at our relationship with the planet. There is no better time for us as individuals and as parish communities to consider our responsibilities to act on climate change, especially in light of Pope Francis’ recent encyclical Laudato Si. 

In the Gospel today, as Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man, he says ‘Ephphatha – Be Opened’. May our ears be opened to the cries of the earth and to the poor who suffer the most because of climate injustice. What a wonderful and prophetic action it would be in celebration of ‘Creation Time’ if each parish community committed to beginning a JPiC (Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation) group? Or perhaps thinking ahead to the feast of St Francis, ask ourselves how can we as parish communities celebrate the gift of creation? Great things can happen when small groups of people come together and act locally. How will your parish celebrate ‘Creation Time’? (For more info: http://ecocongregationireland.com/)

‘I wish to address every person living on this planet… I urgently appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all’.

Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 1, 14

Talents ~ Sunday 16th November

The parable we read today is not a lesson in capitalism. We must bear in mind that Jesus is frustrated with those who had been entrusted with ministering to His people. They had excluded the people and laid heavy burdens upon them. When we read the parable in this sense we can understand the exasperation of the Master. The talents should have been used to transform people’s lives; used for embracing those on the margins; for standing up against injustice and inequality in the world. Yet many were afraid or blind to this, so they hid the talents and did not multiply them. It is a safer place to be.

Compare this outcome to the other servants. There is a beautiful verse in both cases which reads “enter into the joy of your master”. Is this not what happens when we find that path that is right for us? Joy! When we use our talents and gifts in work or projects that are life giving and meeting the needs of our communities? Joy is a fantastic emotion; a sign of God’s grace. Despite the frustrations of whatever work we are involved in, the presence of joy is one sign that we are on the Kingdom track. The challenge is not to be afraid to go out there. Pope Francis asks that we have the ‘smell of the sheep’ and calls us to “be courageous. A Church that does not go out of itself, sooner or later, sickens from the stale air of closed rooms”.