Were not all ten healed (28th Sunday)

 When we are sick and need it, it is easy for us to seek the aid of another. We are aware of our own helplessness and poverty, especially when we are beset by our own weaknesses. Yet in the midst of this petition, we are called to be open to the one who can heal us. Many studies show that our healing from both sickness and poverty means a belief that the person who walks alongside us speaks the truth to our condition. We see this in the ten lepers who came for healing. They had faith that Jesus could heal them, but it was only the Samaritan who saw his life transformed and thanked him. This faithful response is that it is not just about a physical healing but a spiritual reshaping of his life.

This is where the faith can lead us to recognise how our choices in life need to be examined in the environment in which we live. We do not wish away our troubles, but in the midst of these difficulties, we seek to encounter the person of Jesus who walks by our side. We notice the way of life that addicts us to specific patterns of behaviour that prevent us from living in a way that is life-giving for God, others and ourselves. By surrendering ourselves, we discover that Jesus cannot disown his own self. It is in realising this that our lives can change for good. It calls us to hold firm even when faced with these difficulties to acknowledge how we resist that grace and to surrender our whole self in thanksgiving to his life.

Naaman is challenged by this revelation when he is called to bathe in the Jordon. He has to overcome his own pride and attachment to power to allow God to not only heal his leprosy and his resistance to accepting a gift without price. He notices that he is called to become a person whose life is offered wholly to God. In this, we discover that holiness comes when we surrender ourselves entirely to God's healing touch. 

Increase our Faith (27th Sunday)

 The belief that faith is an external product that can be obtained is contrasted by Jesus' statement that if our faith were the size of a mustard seed, it could move a mountain. This is more than wishful thinking or magic but rather a willingness to hear his voice and not to harden our hearts. We discover that we are part of the transformation process. In being called to the table of the Lord, this is not just about indulgence but rather participation in preparing the meal. We are called to be people who are ready to see our whole life as an act of service born out of love. 

This is not a spirit of timidity but rather a spirit of power, love and self-control. This is not just about having the strength of our convictions, but also about a willingness to witness to the Lord, even though we may face many difficulties in life. This is where the flame of faith is called to burn deep within us so that we may share the goodness of the gift that we have received.

Being people of justice and compassion is not just about acknowledging that we are powerless against the things that oppress us and others. When we look at the violence and outrage in the world, it is easy to become overwhelmed. To believe that this is the way of the world rather than the way we have made this world. We are called to be faithful and be eager for the fulfilment of the vision of God. That no one is abandoned to their own failures, but that God reaches out to heal, reconcile and nourish those who do not harden their hearts to the voice of God. 

More than skin deep

 I remember once attending the musical 'Les Misérables' that deeply touched my life. This modern-day parable touches the reality of both justice and redemption through compassion. The way the story unfolds invites the person to notice the contrary forces present in the human heart. This story is told by Victor Hugo as a way of seeing how the good news touches every human life and invites a response about where we find hope and meaning.

Yet at the end of the performance, we can walk out of the theatre into the reality of our daily life. We can observe the contradictions of our own day, where we are free to attend such moving performances, yet also witness the unfolding tragedies in the world. The stark reality is that these events do affect who we become both as individuals and as a global community. We are called to be people who prayerfully consider how what happens to another does influence how we respond. We cannot close our eyes and ears to the suffering of others. 

The question then is, how can we respond with hope? The call by Pope Leo to pray for peace in the world during October by praying the rosary is a crucial opportunity to hold this intention in our hearts. There is also an opportunity to explore ways to alleviate the suffering of others. This may be achieved by making a donation to charity or by being informed about what can bring peace to a part of the world experiencing conflict. Lastly, we can consider what first step we may take to become people who nourish, forgive, and heal others that we encounter each day. 

How do we spend our time? How do we spend our money?

 When we spend time in prayer and reflection, do we consider what God may be guiding us towards? So often, we can focus on how much money we have and how little time we have in which to spend it. The pressure can cause us to spend more of our time seeking greater wealth so that we can relax and take it easy! Yet there are only 24 hours in a day!! This calls us to consider what is most important to us and what actually brings us life.

In an age where we face the reality of being able to afford the necessities of life, it is easy to see how our focus can be on earning a decent wage. People need to have the security to make good choices. Yet when we stake everything on money, we can start to lose a sense of our own worth. If we measure our success or our status on something that is here today and gone tomorrow, we can start to feel like we are victims of circumstances beyond our control.

What we value and treasure can more easily direct our choices. This will allow us to become wise and good stewards of the gifts that we have been entrusted. Such an approach enables us to recognise the value and worth of each life and person. When this is at the heart of our living, we can start to be people who transform the community in which we live.

In Coventry Cathedral in England, they pray the following Litany of Reconciliation each day at noon.

Litany of Reconciliation

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,

Father forgive.

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own,

Father, forgive.

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,

Father, forgive.

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,

Father, forgive.

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,

Father, forgive.

The lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children,

Father, forgive.

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,

Father, forgive.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/reconciliation/reconciliation-ministry/litany-of-reconciliation)

Encountering the Cross

 Each of us will face challenges in life. This can often confront us with the reality of suffering and sin. We can start to ponder what has caused these events to occur and what remedies will lift this cross from our shoulders. Sometimes what we struggle with is the bad choices that we make in life, and how we tend to believe that the world revolves around us. This can especially narrow our perspective on things to what influences those choices and how we need to change our lives. It can tend to shut out other people and even shut out God. How can I be transformed in these moments?

Part of the mystery of the Cross is how we seek to live it out in the midst of our own suffering and sin. We often see the cause of our suffering as something to be eliminated from life. This can be especially prevalent when we seek out a priest for confession. We can often notice what burdens our hearts and what seems like a deadweight in our lives. We seek to confess our sin and change our lives, but we are usually drawn back to those short-term fixes that take away some of the pain. Yet we also notice how we can become addicted to these remedies that often seem hollow and counterfeit. We are called to confess our sins, not to create extra burdens, but to discover how God meets us in our struggles. This is also linked to our celebration of the anointing of the sick; God meets us in that suffering, not to condemn us but to share our burden. Thus, our lives are not called to be lived in frustration and despair but to discover how God meets us even in our darkest night.

I believe this is where the feast of the Triumph of the Cross helps us to encounter God. In the midst of the suffering, we discover a God who is willing to give everything for our good. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus notices this meeting of what it means to be fully human and fully divine. It is not by walking away from suffering, but instead by allowing us to meet God in a rawness that reveals the reality of how deeply we are loved. This is not just calling us to a stoic resolve or a fatalistic resignation to the truth of sin and suffering. Rather, it seeks to notice how God does not abandon us at these moments. He became incarnate for us not because of us. This helps us to acknowledge that we are accompanied, especially at times of our greatest need.

As a Church community, we acknowledge how we seek to be people of justice and mercy. This is especially true when we seek to become communities that safeguard our most vulnerable, who can be so burdened by the reality of the sins of others and the suffering that they continue to endure. The fact that this feast is also commemorated as Safeguarding Sunday acknowledges that we can not take the Cross for granted. We learn ways not only to build communities that care for the sick and suffering but also seek to be places that heal and reconcile the darkness that can so easily affect our lives. In entering into the mystery of the Cross, we strive to be people who discover that our lives meet a God who sacrifices everything for our good so that we can find the reality of compassion. A God who does not abandon us to suffer or feel powerless against the cause of the suffering. We can be seen even when we feel lost, resurrected even when we feel close to death, and to discover that it is in our wounds that we are healed by Christ.

Knowing the mind of God

 I remember hearing an interview with Paul Davies, an English Physicist who had just a book called "The Mind of God. I remember the interviewer being enthralled by the discussion so much so that at the end of the hour that he apologised for going through the usual interludes for time checks, the news headlines and the usual announcements. What struck me in listening to the interview and later in reading the book was the author's belief that mathematics was the language with which God wrote the universe.  I hear the audible groans and memories that people may have had in learning mathematics as abstact and an arcane discipline. Yet I sense that God speaks in a language that can be understood and helps us to discover more about our universe. In fact it may well be that quantum physicists may be helping us to deepen our understanding of how the mystery of God touches every aspect of our lives.

This wisdom helps us to understand how God is our refuge. We discover that this is not as a security blanket but a discovery of how God touches our hearts and our minds. It helps to allow us insight into the work of God that is ever creative and ever new. It transforms how we view ourselves as part of the unfolding of creation and builds on foundations that are eternal. It helps us appreciate how we can participate in that unfolding. This allows us the possibility to notice how we can have a positive influence on those around us and how we can be instruments of peace.

It also notices how every day acts of compassion, justice and kindness can shape our lives. In Paul's letter to Philemon he focuses on his relationship with Onesimus. This is a practical story of forgiveness and reconciliation where a person is no longer considered as the property of another but rather as a brother in Christ. Thus we see Paul encouraging Philemon to welcome Onesimus as though he was Paul. This shapes each of our encounters because it helps us to notice how we can meet Christ in the people with whom we share our lives. If we see the other person as Christ this realigns our everyday relationships  that allows us Christ to be at the centre of our universe. In this we discover a new language that helps us to know the mind of God.