PLANTED IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD THEY WILL FLOURISH IN THE COURTS OF OUR GOD.

 VIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 6:39-45

In the first reading and in the gospel, we find several pieces of advice that should guide us in our daily lives and relationships with others. 

• the blind cannot lead blind people. However, that happens time and again in political and religious spheres. Some leaders pretend to be enlightened despite their ignorance and lack of common sense and give themselves the right to show the way. They end up falling into a ditch. They should be unmasked and denounced.
• As true disciples, we must follow in the footsteps of our teacher, Jesus Christ. We must be ready to be rejected as he was. Like him, we must carry the cross.
• We find it easy to point out others’ shortcomings and failures, ignoring and covering up our own. We must be hard on ourselves before being hard on others.
• The goodness of a tree is known by its fruits. In the same way, the goodness of a man is shown in his actions. Good behaviour comes from “the store of goodness in his (a man’s) heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness.”
• “For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.” The first reading, taken from Sirach, stresses the importance of the words as they reveal a person’s heart: “ The test of a man is in his conversation.” And it continues: “Do not praise a man before he has spoken,   since this is the test of men.” (Sirach 27:8).

In the second reading, taken from the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of our sharing in Jesus’ victory. With Him, we will overcome death, being able to sing a hymn of victory:

“Death is swallowed up in victory. 

Death, where is your victory? 

Death, where is your sting?”

“So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Co 15:54-58)

BE MERCIFUL AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL

VII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 6:27-38

Being created in the image of God, we should reflect His inner qualities in our lives and behaviour.

In the Holy Scripture, three passages set forward the ideal proposed to us by God:

• “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev 19:2)
• “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
• “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36)

According to the letter to Ephesians, God “chose us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ep 1;4). Holiness is the goal God established for us. Once we achieve that, we will be perfect, as the Father is perfect. We may think that God is aiming too high, proposing to us something unachievable. Indeed, by our means, we will not get there. However, he will grant us the perfection in Christ. For that, we must become one with Christ, and the image of Christ must be present in us. It is a long way that demands effort and continuous conversion, only possible by God’s grace. Having received mercy from God, we must be merciful to others. God’s compassion and mercifulness are the clearest signs of his holiness.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus presents the path of mercy to his disciples: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.” It is a difficult path because our hearts, moved by a false sense of pride, are set on vengeance. Inside our hearts, we carry Cain, allowing ourselves to be dominated by jealousy and envy that lead us to violence.

In the first reading, we are presented with David as a role model for the greatness of exercising mercy within the political realm. David had done nothing to provoke Saul’s wrath. On the contrary, he had been a faithful servant. He was on the run to escape from Saul’s pursuit. Then, he had the opportunity to avenge himself and kill his enemies, However, with gracefulness, David chose to leave revenge in the hands of God. Vengeance belongs to God:

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Ro 12:19)

Let us learn with Jesus to be merciful, thus imitating the Father who as been merciful to us.

WE PUT OUR TRUST IN THE LORD

VI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20

Within us, there is a profound desire for life, and we never accept death as the end of our lives. Despite being confronted by death, we never get used to it. We pray and hope that death will not have the last word. For those who believe death is the gateway to God’s world, where we will be welcomed by him to share in his glory. However, we may be called upon to face reality and accept inevitable death as the end of our dreams.

In the Church of Jesus Christ, his disciples meet every Sunday to celebrate his resurrection, believing that we will rise to eternal life with him if we pass through death with him. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the nucleus of our faith. We, the followers of Jesus Christ, believe that Jesus rose from the dead and became the “firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18), with us following him behind. As he rose, we shall rise to eternal life in his Kingdom.

Faith in the resurrection of Jesus has been faced with doubts and denial from the beginning. The religious leaders in Jerusalem accused the Apostles of stealing Jesus’ body and then spread the lie (falsity) of his resurrection. When Paul announced the resurrection of Jesus in Athens, people laughed at him, considering it a fairytale. It is no surprise then that many people refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead. That’s why, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul had to reassert this essential point of the Christian faith: “If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?” And Paul concludes: “... if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins.” “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.”

The resurrection implies that our bodily dimension will share in the glory of God. Paul wrote to the Philippians: Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil 3:21). The whole person will be saved, body and soul.

We must strengthen our faith in the resurrection, which is the source of our hope. We know that God will remain faithful to his promise, and he will set us free from the corruption that enslaves us. We put our trust in the Lord. Indeed, “Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.”

CHOSEN AND CALLED TO BE FISHER OF MEN

V SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 5:1-11

In this time of ours, whoever doesn’t accept the politically correct is excluded and cancelled. DEI - diversity, equity and inclusion - are essential parts of political correctness that supersedes even religious belief. Thus, it has spread the idea that all religions are the same and all lead to God. Therefore, there is no need to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ or call people to conversion. If that is so, this Sunday’s readings are out of step with that way of thinking. Isaiah heard God’s call and answered: “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8). He was ready to be at the service of the Lord, making God’s word known to the people.

In the Gospel, Jesus calls Simon, proposing the mission of being a fisher of men. In carrying out his mission, Simon will have to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, calling people to repentance and conversion. They must turn away from the false gods that enslave them and keep them away from the true God. As we announce the Gospel, we denounce the idols that lead us to condemnation. Certainly, we cannot impose on others the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. We propose a way of Life that has Jesus as the role model for the ones who choose to live as children of God.

Can we have Isaiah’s attitude of service and obedience? Are we ready to be faithful to God’s call, or do we allow ourselves to be carried away by novelties that ignore the gospel? When questioned by Jesus about their loyalty and faithfulness, Peter answered in the name of the disciples: Where shall we go? Only you have words of eternal life. Indeed, only in Jesus can we find life and salvation.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that he teaches what he was taught. He did not introduce novelties but remained faithful to what he had received, mainly about the resurrection and the eucharist. And he repeats: “... what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed” (1 Co 15:11).

JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD – Luke 2:22-40

According to the Law of Moses, the first born should be consecrated to God. Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for that purpose. In the temple, they presented and consecrated Jesus. He belongs to God, the Father. Thus, it is not surprising that, as a young adult, he remained behind in his Father’s house, where he belonged. However, to take Jesus with them, they had to offer “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Being the Son of God, he chose to be born under the Law to rescue those who were under the Law. According to the second reading taken from the letter to the Hebrews, Christ shared with all of us the same things that we have, flesh and blood «so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.» Sharing in everything that we are and have, except sin, «he is able to help those who are being tested», because «he himself was tested by what he suffered».

Taken to the temple to be consecrated, Jesus is recognised by Simeon as the Saviour, a «light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Before him, everybody will have to make a choice: either they accept or reject him. Nothing will remain hidden and the inner thoughts, feelings and decisions will be brought into the open. In Jesus Christ, we will find salvation or fall by the side. Simeon puts it clearly: «This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.»

Let us accept Jesus as the light for the paths of our lives and proclaim him as the Saviour of the world.

In this feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we celebrate the day of Consecrated Life. Let us pray for all those who have surrendered their lives to the Lord, that they may remain faithful to the end.