The goodness of God is seen in the extravagant generosity with which God gives gifts. This is described in the psalm in the boundlessness and universal scope of God’s generosity. Like the rain that falls on the entire landscape, the blessings of God are showered on all. These blessings are true gifts. They have not been earned, nor can they be repaid. God’s openness is also seen in the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews and in the Gospel. All are invited to approach the heavenly city; the heavenly banquet will be open to the poor and to those who have no way of repaying. As we have received from the bounty of God, so we are called to give to others. Only those who have received with a humble spirit can give with the generosity of God, for they know that they do not deserve God’s goodness and they do not require anything in return.
Conversion of heart is not something people can afford to put off indefinitely as God’s ways are not our ways. Daily the Gospel challenges the narrowness of our thoughts and the limits of our generosity. To allow this to happen is, in effect, to go in by ‘the narrow gate’, the gate that strips us of the ‘baggage’ our selfishness makes us acquire. For those prepared to live in this way, the question of salvation barely arises. It can be safely left in the hands of the all-generous God whose only desire in our regard is to call us to the banquet of life.
In a rather confronting Gospel passage this week, we hear how Jesus’ message of peace will not always find receptive hearts. The increasing hostility to his message that he encounters will come to a climax as he approaches Jerusalem, the city of destiny. This leads him to see himself as a person who provokes prophetic hostility rather than peace. It seems best to understand the ‘fire’ that Jesus says he has come to bring to the earth as the gift of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had prophesied that the coming One would baptise ‘with the Holy Spirit and fire’ (Luke 3:16). And indeed at Pentecost the gathered disciples will receive the Spirit in the visible form of ‘tongues as if of fire’ (Acts 2:3). But the Spirit cannot be given until Jesus has faced and gone through the destiny that awaits him in Jerusalem.
Today’s readings remind us that God has chosen us all as his own. They also highlight the importance of our humble faith and trust in God, who calls us to ‘joyfully take courage’ in the world. The First Reading recalls the night of the Passover, when the Jewish slaves put their trust in God and escaped the oppression of Pharaoh. The Second Reading meditates on the history of Israel, inviting us to imitate people like Abraham and Sarah as models of faith. Faith is the virtue that enables us to keep watching and waiting for the Lord’s presence in the ups and downs of our daily lives. The Psalmist celebrates all peoples: women and men who are chosen by the Lord, and in turn, place their trust and hope in him. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches that while the Kingdom of God has, in one sense, already arrived, in another it is still to come: it is both a gift and a challenge to us. It is therefore vital that we are awake to meet the Master whenever he returns, committing our hearts to the unfailing treasures of his kingdom.
Approached by a man who wants him to act as arbiter between himself and his brother, Jesus points out the futility of a life spent in amassing material possessions. In the parable, the rich man is not censured because of his wealth. Nor is he criticised for not attending to the needs of those less fortunate than he. His foolishness is much deeper; it is the attitude of greed that underlies his actions. Such an attitude determines how he values his wealth and what he will do with it. The man’s death is not a punishment for his greed. It is simply the end of his life of excess. Jesus draws out the moral of his story: It is foolish to devote one’s life to the amassing of goods and to be bereft in what matters to God.
While still on his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus offers his disciple a model of prayer. God is addressed in the same personal, trusting way that a child has, with utter confidence in its parent. In traditional Jewish manner, the prayer begins with the sanctification of God’s holy name and the longing that God’s reign would soon break into this world. The disciple is then taught to pray for a sustenance that only God can provide; that each day we may receive what we truly need for our journey. In this teaching, Jesus reveals that the essence of prayer lies in our relationship with God. Our utter neediness makes an irrefusable claim on God. What hinders prayer is a forgetfulness that God is our creator and that all we are, and all we have is gift. In prayer, we acknowledge who we are and who God is for us, and such habits of prayer are the basis for a constant sense of being in relationship with God.
We know that we cannot lay aside the responsibilities of our lives in order to sit with Mary at the feet of Jesus. However, we cannot allow ourselves to be held captive by these responsibilities, regardless of how legitimate they may be. And so we continue to struggle; to carry the burdens that are ours for the sake of the people that we serve; to serve the people in our care realising that we will probably not be able to accomplish all of our tasks or at least as well as we would like. It is in this way that the reign of God struggles to be born.
The First Reading commands us to love, and gives us the means to do it. The law, or word, is not beyond our reach but is as close to us as our hearts. And the help and compassion of the Lord for the poor and needy can be seen by our service. It is through this that, hearts will revive (Psalm). The Second Reading makes clear that all is possible by Christ and his cross. He holds everything in being from the beginning and, even now, is drawing us together in deeper unity. Finally, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Gospel) gives us a concrete example of what this service, this command to love, this deeper unity without bias or prejudice, looks like. This weeks Readings give us renewed confidence, trust, and hope in the Good Samaritan who comes close to us in our need, that we might go out so that God’s desires for all people might be seen by our loving response.
We are called and sent to bring the deep peace of the kingdom of God into the world. The prophet Isaiah (First Reading) proclaims a joyful time of peace that flows like a river from the healing, comforting love of God, which is compared to the intimate, tender bond between a mother and a baby. The same spirit of contented happiness is reflected in today’s Psalm of jubilation, where the whole earth cries out with joy to the Lord. The members of the Early Church community in Galatia are encouraged to be at peace with one another through Christ, who makes us a new creation in him. Christ is the source of all peace and unity in the world (Second Reading). In the Gospel, Jesus sends seventy-two of his followers ahead of him. He is confident that they will have all they need for their mission through all they have learnt from following his way. He instructs them to bring his peace and healing into the communities that they visit. In a world that cries out more than ever for the peace of Christ, this is our calling today. Jesus stands among us and sends us before him, to declare his peace and to heal and encourage people in the knowledge that the Kingdom of God is very near.
This Sunday’s readings focus on the commitment needed to respond to the Lord’s call, a reminder that true faith comes from the heart. The Gospel tells of the wholehearted commitment required by Jesus of his followers – not coercion, as suggested by James and John. Jesus makes the three who come forward aware of what following him really means: it is not to be imagined as a part-time or ‘easy’ option. Jesus does not want his disciples to hesitate. In the First Reading, Elisha responds quickly to being ‘anointed’ by Elijah. He shows his desire to serve the Lord by leaving his livelihood and home, empty-handedly following Elijah. In the Second Reading, St Paul emphasises the importance of freedom. However, he warns the Galatians, and us too, that this is not an excuse for self-indulgence. The Spirit will guide us so that we love our neighbours as ourselves. Living in freedom encourages us to take total responsibility for our own lives, rather than blame others for any personal difficulties. If, like the Psalmist, we trust and follow the Lord’s path of life, it will lead us to eternal joy. Let’s pray this week for the grace of freedom in being able to accept unconditionally God’s will for us.