ASK, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU

XVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 11:1-13

The disciples were impressed by the way Jesus prayed. And they would like to learn from him. This desire led one of the disciples to make a request that we must repeat time and again: Lord, teach us to pray. Indeed, we do not know how to pray and what to pray for.

As a model for prayer, Jesus taught them the “Our Father”, the prayer that distinguishes us as Christians. Addressing God as Father, we declare ourselves to be his children, recognising his loving care, which fills us with trust and confidence. As we feel loved by God, we can approach him without fear and we can present to him all our needs. Calling God “our Father”, we affirm that we are linked to everybody else with strong bonds of brotherhood. We belong to the same family and together we acknowledge His love and affection. Then, we present before him our requests. And we pray: “Hallowed be your name” as if God’s name was not holy and our prayer would make it holy. However, it is not so, since God is the Holy One, without any shadow of evil or imperfection. In fact, we are addressing Him in an act of praise and thanksgiving, proclaiming that He is holy and asking that his holiness may be present in us. In the Law of Moses, God told the people of Israel what he is repeating to each one of us: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2). 

And we pray that his “kingdom come”, that is we pray for a human society in which God may be present and recognised as the giver of life; may God’s presence be manifest in a worthy existence, where our human dignity is recognised and where each one of us finds what he needs for a worthy existence (the “daily bread). God’s kingdom can only manifest itself in reconciled society;  thus we pray for the forgiveness of sin, which is granted by God on the condition that we are ready to be merciful and to forgive those who are “in debt to us”. Prayer cannot be an individualistic exercise; in all its dimensions, prayer connects us to all brothers, that is to the community, to the Church.

As we pray, we recognise that because we are weak and vulnerable, we go astray and easily fall prey to temptation. In order to find guidance, discernment and the strength to make the right choices, we pray: “lead us not into temptation”.

God always gives us the best, especially the best of all - the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches us to have confidence in the love and care of the Father and to be persistent in prayer. We must approach God as someone who feels lost or as someone who is drowning and with desperation grasps the lifebuoy thrown at him. 

“So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.”

TO BE WITH THE LORD IS THE BEST PART

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 10:38-42

St. Augustine, in one of his sermons, reflected upon this Sunday’s gospel, speaking of Martha as representing our life here on earth, travelling towards our heavenly home; and of Mary as representing our life with God, as citizens of heaven.

“Our Lord’s words teach us that though we labour among the many distractions of this world, we should have but one goal. For we are but travellers on a journey without as yet a fixed abode; we are on our way, not yet in our native land; we are in a state of longing, not yet of enjoyment. But let us continue on our way, and continue without sloth or respite, so that we may ultimately arrive at our destination.

Martha and Mary were sisters, related not only by blood but also by religious aspirations. They stayed close to our Lord and both served him harmoniously when he was among them. Martha welcomed him as travellers are welcomed. But in her case, the maidservant received her Lord, the invalid her Savior, the creature her Creator, to serve him bodily food while she was to be fed by the Spirit. For the Lord willed to put on the form of a slave, and under this form to be fed by his own servants, out of condescension and not out of need. For this was indeed condescension, to present himself to be fed; since he was in the flesh he would indeed be hungry and thirsty.

Thus was the Lord received as a guest who came unto his own and his own received him not; but as many as received him, he gave them the power to become sons of God, adopting those who were servants and making them his brothers, ransoming the captives and making them his co-heirs. No one of you should say: “Blessed are they who have deserved to receive Christ into their homes!” Do not grieve or complain that you were born in a time when you can no longer see God in the flesh. He did not in fact take this privilege from you. As he says: Whatever you have done to the least of my brothers, you did to me.

But you, Martha, If I may say so, are blessed for your good service, and for your labours you seek the reward of peace. Now you are much occupied in nourishing the body, admittedly a holy one. But when you come to the heavenly homeland will you find a traveler to welcome, someone hungry to feed, or thirsty to whom you may give drink, someone ill whom you could visit, or quarrelling whom you could reconcile, or dead whom you could bury?

No, there will be none of these tasks there. What you will find there is what Mary chose. There we shall not feed others, we ourselves shall be fed. Thus what Mary chose in this life will be realised there in all its fullness; she was gathering fragments from that rich banquet, the Word of God. Do you wish to know what we will have there? The Lord himself tells us when he says of his servants, Amen, I say to you, he will make them recline and passing he will serve them.”

(A reading from a sermon by St. Augustine (Sermo 103, 1-2, 6: PL 38, 613, 615) for the Feast of Saint Martha sister of Mary and Lazarus on July 29.) 

IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE A FUTURE OF WELLBEING AND PEACE…

XV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 10:25-37

Nowadays, many people despise God’s commandments and consider them oppressive, denying us what we most desire: happiness. However, we are misguided in this attitude, which comes from the misconception of confusing happiness with material well-being and pleasure. Moses had a different conception of life and, being convinced that God’s word is the true guide to happiness, he advised his people to listen to the voice of God and to accept his commandments. If we pay attention and listen to God’s voice whispering in our hearts, we will know God’s way, which is the true way to a meaningful life. God has put within us his commandments so that we are able to discern between good and evil and then have the strength to choose good and reject evil. Indeed, “the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance” (Dt 30:14).

In this Sunday’s gospel, we read the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the most powerful parables told by Jesus. It is good to listen to it attentively and we should put ourselves in it and become aware of how we would react. Maybe, we may identify with the victim, since nowadays there are plenty of people who see themselves as victims and make demands on everybody else. However, in this parable, the victim suffered terribly, and, being left half-dead, he is not able to make demands on anybody. That’s why the parable concentrates on the attitude of the passers-by towards the victim. The priest and the Levite - two people who dedicated their lives to God - did not want their daily routines to be disrupted and refused to get involved and so they ignored the suffering of the victim, leaving him to die. 

If we look at our modern society and try to scrutinize it, we can easily discover certain patterns of behaviour which have become common, such as an enormous individualism and hedonism. We are only concerned with ourselves and our wellbeing, and this leads to an attitude of indifference towards the others. Being very selfish, we avoid anything that may inconvenience us. Nowadays, we may take pictures of someone drowning and publish them on social media, without making the slightest movement to rescue him/her. With our selfishness, we have become extremely callous. And like all others in the past, we go on being concerned with eternal life, that is with our own future wellbeing. However, the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that we will never enjoy eternal life unless we pay attention to the suffering of the others and do something to relieve them of that suffering. Our love of God only becomes credible if we love our neighbour as well. 

The love of our neighbour is not a platonic love, shown in words and feelings; it implies commitment. In the manner of the Good Samaritan, we must allow ourselves to be touched by the sufferings of the other, whoever he may be and we must be the ones approaching him/her, becoming his neighbour. Christ is that Good Samaritan who never passes us by or walks away from us. Before those who suffer, Jesus never remained indifferent; it was as if he felt an ache in his heart, forcing him to do something. Like the priest and the Levite, we may think of ourselves as good and holy, but we are cheating ourselves if we do nothing to relieve the suffering of those whom we encounter in our daily lives.

THE SENDING OF THE DISCIPLES

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 10:1-12,17-20

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus prepares his disciples for the mission, not only giving them the principles that should guide them but also making it possible to have a personal pastoral experience. So “the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit.” We may be surprised by the number 72, and ask ourselves about its meaning, since most of the numbers in the Bible are symbolic. In Genesis 10 (in the Septuagint), we are presented with a list of 72 nations, which stand for the whole world. Choosing 72 disciples, Jesus indicates that the mission entrusted to the disciples is universal; he sends them to all peoples and nations. Jesus is aware that the mission is bigger than what they can manage: “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few”. It has been like that throughout the centuries, and the situation seems to be getting worse. That’s why we must heed Jesus’ advice: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.”

The disciples go in the name of Christ and with the mission of Christ. The message they are going to preach is a message of peace, the peace that is God’s gift and which accompanies his Kingdom. 

As he sends them out into the world, Jesus warns them of the dangers that they will face: they should not expect an easy life; instead, they will be attacked by wolves, that is they will be rejected and persecuted.  As for themselves, they should have a simple and poor way of life. They must concern themselves only with the mission entrusted to them. Single-minded about that, they should not waste their time on things that distract them from their mission.

Like those first disciples, all of us are sent so that we announce the good news of God's gracious and loving gift: God offers peace to all because he calls all to his kingdom. We are sent as a community, and the mission entrusted to us cannot be accomplished by each one of us individually. We have to walk together, being in communion with one another. We must bear witness as families and as a community. Let us not have illusions, we will encounter difficulties, opposition and rejection and, perhaps, even persecution. But it is being like Christ that we will draw others to Christ. Nothing - be it wealth, power, or glory - must be a hindrance to our proclamation, which must be simple and direct: "Know that the kingdom of God is at hand."

The mission of those first disciples was very successful, and they came back full of happiness. Jesus acknowledged their success but warned them about the danger of allowing themselves to be inebriated with power and glory. Their only reason for joy is that the Lord has their names written in heaven.

WHEN CHRIST FREED US, HE MEANT US TO REMAIN FREE

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Galatians 5:1,13-18

There is a universal struggle which reverberates through all cultures and all civilisations - the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, life and death. This is a very old theme, which has been a subject of discussion throughout the ages because human history is pervaded by this struggle. At all times, humanity has been presented with choices that may lead us in completely different paths. Whenever we recognise the others, respect their rights and accept their freedom, we walk on the road which leads to a peaceful society; or we may choose a different path, the one in which we oppress and exploit the others. There are times, when we are ready to make war on others, sowing destruction and death in order to affirm ourselves and to lord over them.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of an internal struggle, happening in our hearts - a struggle between self-indulgence (the flesh) and the spirit. If we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, then we will live by the Spirit and our actions will be guided by the only commandment that is according to the Spirit: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Paul's words sound very timely as if they were written for the modern man, who seeks to affirm human rights at all costs, being preoccupied with the exercise of freedom. In this affirmation of human rights and of freedom, our modern western society forgets that they are embedded in Judaeo-Christian tradition, which claims that our common human dignity comes from being created in God’s image. Paul gave a step forward, affirming that we are not slaves, but children of God (Ro 8:15-17). There is no reason for discrimination of any kind since all of us are one in Christ (Gal 3:28). We have been set free by Christ and therefore we are "called to freedom." However, while we are aware of the importance of social and political freedom, inner freedom of heart is the most fundamental. Without it, freedom becomes self-indulgence, and, under the pretext of freedom, we may become slaves to the vilest passions, which destroy us. Thus, the affirmation of "my" rights without any concern for "my" responsibilities leads to selfishness and hedonism that end up corrupting and destroying society. We must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit who makes it possible for us to “serve one another in works of love”. Indeed, Paul presents the law of love, also known as the golden rule, as the norm of all morality: "Love your neighbour as yourself”. If we ignore it and allow ourselves to be guided by the desires of the flesh, that is, by worldly values ​​and instincts, we end up oppressing and exploiting others. If we let ourselves be led by the Spirit, we will be truly free and allow others to exercise their freedom.

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME

XII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 9:18-24

There are simple questions, which are difficult to answer, even when the answer seems to be obvious.  “Who am I?” is a question that will leave me searching for an answer. Jesus asked such a question to his disciples, starting by asking them what people were saying about him. Indeed, many things are said about Jesus. However, what the others say is just a prelude for our own answer. About Jesus, there are many misconceptions and also many false expectations, so that we can be led astray. What others say may be helpful or become a hindrance. Jesus demands a personal answer, my own answer. His question is directed at each one of us: Who do you say I am? What do you say about me? 

In the name of the apostles, Peter gave the answer: You are the Messiah (the Christ). It sounded like the true answer, even though it was an incomplete and misguided answer. Jesus was indeed the Messiah, but not the kind of Messiah that Peter and his friends were hoping for. With all the Jewish people, the Apostles expected a powerful religious and military leader who would congregate the people of Israel, defeat all their enemies and become the ruler of the world. For them, the Messiah would be the king of kings, establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. However, Jesus was not going that way and he would not be that kind of Messiah; that’s why he forbade the apostles to speak about that, keeping it a secret.

Jesus presented Himself as the Son of Man who is rejected goes through suffering and is crucified.  The first reading, from the prophet Zechariah (Zech 12:10-11,13:1), speaks of the citizens of Jerusalem as feeling the guilt of someone’s death, whom they have pierced and whom they mourn as if he was their only son. The Church has understood those word as referring to Jesus who was crucified in Jerusalem. At that moment, the disciples could not understand that, and Jesus had to make it clear that all those who want to become his disciples must be ready to walk on his footsteps, going through suffering and carrying their cross as Jesus himself was going to do. Jesus’ way is not an easy way, but hard and difficult. One must be ready to lose his life in order to be faithful, as Jesus was.

GOD’S DELIGHT IS TO BE WITH THE CHILDREN OF MEN

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY - Romans 5:1-5

FIRST READING - Proverbs 8: 22-31 - Surrounded by peoples and cultures worshipping many gods, the Israelites became aware of their difference, for they believed in one God. Since Abraham, the first man to respond in faith to God’s call, the people of Israel discovered that it is always God who takes the initiative, revealing himself and calling human beings into a relationship with him. Even though they were tempted time and again to adopt the beliefs and customs of the neighbouring peoples, the Israelites remained as a people set apart, believing in one God, Yahweh. From the beginning, they realised that the Lord (Yahweh) is a God who wants to live in a relationship with the man and the world. And gradually, guided by the Spirit of God, they discovered that this relationship with the outer world reveals God as being a relationship in Himself. Therefore, the first reading presents us with the wisdom of God (who is God) in relation to God, who also establishes a relationship with the human being, because his delight is "to be with the sons of men".

SECOND READING - Romans 5: 1-5 - We are "justified by faith" and therefore "we are at peace with God," since we have been reconciled with him "through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is through Jesus Christ that we have access to grace, that we live "supported in the hope of the glory of God" and that we find the strength to go through tribulations and difficulties because "hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us”.  By his great love, God has a plan of salvation for us, calling us and reconciling us in Jesus Christ, his beloved Son. By the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, our hearts are filled with His love, uniting us to Jesus Christ and making us His children. God wants to recognise in us the face of his Son. In Himself, God is love and communion, calling us to be in this world an active and committed presence of love and communion.

GOSPEL - John 16: 12-15 - Jesus tells us about the relationship of the Holy Spirit with him and with the Father. The relationship of the Father with the Son is so profound and complete that they share everything so that what is said of one can be said of the other. The Spirit receives everything from the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit of truth who will guide us to the full truth, making possible the knowledge of the will of God and his plans. What he gives us is taken from Christ.