Belief in resurrection is not the same as the conviction of the immortality of the soul. The latter is based on the makeup of the human person; the former rests on the fidelity of God. The doctrine of resurrection is grounded in the concept of covenant, which claims that God has established a relationship with human beings. Jesus assures us that death is not powerful enough to break the ties that bind us in covenant with God. This is the hope in which we live by the grace given us from God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our future is already present and, therefore, we are called to live lives that have been radically transformed. However, the future has not yet completely dawned, and so we find ourselves living both in this age and in the age to come. Thus we live future lives, but we live them in the present. As difficult as this may be, we have the promise that the Lord will strengthen us and guard us. We have the instruction of our religious tradition that directs our minds and hearts. When we live lives of the future, we truly enable that future to dawn in the present.
Zacchaeus’ short defence has usually been taken as an expression of a conversion he has just undergone, a statement of intent to amend his sinful ways and adopt in the future a new pattern of life. The problem with this is that in the Greek text the verb is in the present, not the future. Zacchaeus does not say, ‘… I will give to the poor and, …, I will restore‘, but ‘I give …., I restore’. He seems to be stating present policy. Maybe he is not such a bad tax collector after all. Maybe he is not the one who has to undergo conversion – or at least not the only one.
Jesus extols the humility of the one who admits being a sinner, and can accept the implications of that admission. This is the kind of prayer that is described in the reading from Sirach and the Psalm response. It is those who can admit that they are needy who turn to God in that need. It is those who trust that God will be their strength in the face of their weaknesses who are strengthened. Paul’s own prayer demonstrates the attitudes that should be ours as we pray. Like the Pharisee, he acknowledges his success. He has competed well; he has finished the course; he has kept the faith. However, unlike the Pharisee, he acknowledges that God is the source of any good he has been able to accomplish. The Lord stood by him and gave him strength. If there is any glory, it belongs to God. Paul’s confident prayer springs from a humble heart.
The idea of prayer changing us, changes our prayer – giving it greater dynamism and urgency. While we may not know the mind or will of God, we often know our own thoughts and desires. We can usually pinpoint what needs recrafting or reshaping in us so that we may live out the goodness and love of God more clearly. Confronting and converting these obstacles, with God, can see our prayer at its boldest and bravest. At these times we can enjoy God’s healing and forgiveness. And because conversion is a lifetime process, Jesus encourages us not to lose heart but to pray always and hold on to faith even when the going gets tough. May this Eucharist help us to move away from demanding that God change his mind or will, to allowing his love to keep converting and changing us.
The leprosy of Naaman and the ten men in the Gospel serves as a metaphor for sinfulness, the condition that makes us unfit for the presence of God and despicable in the eyes of others. Separated from God and alienated from society, we are truly in a deplorable state, a state out of which we are unable to extricate ourselves. Into these seemingly hopeless conditions step the prophet Elisha and Jesus. Each in his own way brings the healing power and the saving grace of God. After healing comes gratitude and praise. Both Naaman and the lone Samaritan are so filled with gratitude that they return to the one responsible for their healing. They are not so preoccupied with their good fortune as to forget that it came to them as a gift. Their response is the kind of thanks and praise that is proclaimed in the psalm and that is also celebrated at each Sunday’s Eucharist. We have been saved from our alienation from God and from each other so let us give thanks to the Lord. Those who know that they have been healed, who realize that this was a gift freely given to them, and who return to give thanks have, by these acts of devotion, stepped over a threshold into a new way of living.
Faith in God is a gift for which we pray. Jesus uses the image of the tiny mustard seed to illustrate how very little faith is needed to accomplish extraordinary feats. It enables us to move mountains. As unprofitable servants, we do not earn it; we have no right to claim it as our own. We are the ones from whom faithful service will be expected. We will be sent to plough the fields and tend the sheep. We will be called to serve at table, fulfilling our duties faithfully and doing what is required as a disciple. The faith that is ours has been mediated to us through the community. We have heard about God and about Jesus from others, from our parents and families, from our teachers and those who preach, from those with whom we work and play. Faith comes from God and we should strive to live out this faith each day with our family, friends and the people around us.
World Migrant and Refugee Sunday encourages us to ask how we can build a better future together. As with other large goals such as addressing climate change, this can seem overwhelming. The task is enormous and the resources are few. In all worthwhile human enterprises though, small is beautiful and we need to find a patch of rock at which we can chip away and go from there. There are many ways in which we can give to refugees our time, our resources, our voice and our heart. We can take refugees into our heart by supporting them in our own communities and taking practical steps to advocate for issues affecting their lives and futures. Reading their stories, listening to them speak, allowing time to imagine what it must be like to flee fearing for your life and desperate to find food and a night’s shelter for your family are some of the ways we can also connect with them. Through using our voice, heart, time and resources – we have the opportunity to advocate for actions we can take now that will help build the future we want: an Australia that welcomes people seeking asylum and treats them with humanity and compassion.
In the gospel, the steward is praised for his prudence because he recognises that his future will not be secured by gathering up his commissions [or more], his part of the rich man’s wealth. He uses the wealth to make friends who will welcome him and support him in the future. Jesus taught, and Catholic social teaching has long emphasized, that a successful human life is not measured by the accumulation of wealth or power. The ‘good life’ is the fruit of strong and loving relationships, bonds of friendship and justice, and commitment to community wellbeing. ‘Mammon’ means ‘what we trust in’. Jesus is uncompromising: we cannot put our trust in both God and money. The severe socioecological crisis in these times makes very clear how pursuing and valuing a practical idolatry of wealth, above all else, threatens and destroys God’s gifts in creation. It betrays our sacred mission to care for creation and share it in gratitude and love.
Like the younger son in the parable today we can ‘come to our senses’, turn around, and make a new start. Each of us can do something, each of us has a role to play in order to bring healing to our common home. As we all ‘come to our senses’ in relation to the climate and biodiversity crises, Pope Francis tells us in ‘Laudato Si’ to never underestimate the power of small actions which can have a ripple effect across a community; he tells us that ‘Truly, much can be done!’ (LS §180). So today, during this Season of Creation, we are invited to take up this call, to listen to the voice of creation and discern where we are being called to act, in our own homes, in our local communities, to care more deeply for our common home.
We are now in the Season of Creation, from 1st September through to 4th October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. It is a time for the whole Church to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion and action. The symbol of the burning bush that you will see in the Church, and on slides, is the symbol that will take us through this season, recalling God’s presence in creation and the great reverence of Moses standing before God on God’s holy mountain. From this is taken our theme: “Listen to the voice of creation”. We pray, during this season, to be reconciled with God, each other and the earth.