Faith

They chose the book; He chose the verse – Thursday after Epiphany – Luke 4:14-22a

In his early thirties Jesus had left Nazareth and the family workshop to listen to John the Baptist in the desert. Today’s Gospel tells us of Jesus’ dramatic homecoming to the little synagogue in Nazareth in Galilee. Galilee is significant because of its insignificance! Jesus did not grow up in Jerusalem, the centre of Jewish life and religious practice. Instead, he grew up in Galilee, the hinterlands, a place where many Gentiles live; a nowhere place as far as the religious elite are concerned. A major portion of his ministry is conducted in Galilee. Jesus, the familiar young local carpenter, is home again. Little did that village know that they were about to witness a turning-point in world history.

Right at the outset of His Galilean ministry, Jesus announces his mission for the poor and those on the fringes, especially the Gentiles.  It is in Nazareth that Jesus declares publicly His pastoral mission. There are six incidences in Luke’s Gospel that has Jesus actively involved on the Sabbath; this is the first of the six and it takes place in the synagogue.

The centre of Jewish worship historically was the temple in Jerusalem. However, during the Babylonian Exile and the Diaspora (the geographical scattering of the Jews), Jews established local synagogues so that they might worship regularly. While the emphasis of temple worship was animal sacrifice, synagogue worship focused on prayer, scripture readings, and teaching. For most Jews, temple worship was something that they experienced, at best, a few times in a lifetime. Still others could only hope to make one Jerusalem pilgrimage in their lifetime. Hence, local synagogues met their need for regular worship. The synagogues placed less emphasis on ritual and more emphasis on teaching spiritual values.

The Sabbath service in the synagogue was not a triennial cycle of readings as we have them in Church today nor was it led by the ‘ministerial priesthood ‘. There were no professional clergy. The president of the synagogue invited someone to comment on the scriptures. Luke 4:23 tells us that the people of Nazareth were aware of the things that Jesus had done in Capernaum and in a way acknowledge Him as a Rabbi and so they honour him by allowing him to read the scriptures and preach to them.

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Storm in a tea cup? Wednesday after Epiphany – Mark 6:45-52

Mark tells us that, after he has fed five thousand, Jesus dismissed his disciples and went up the mountain to pray (v. 46). This is something Jesus did very often. Jesus’ life was intensely active, yet he always nurtured his communication with God in silence and solitude. He needed to visit this wellspring to nourish his being.  We know little of how he prayed, what he said, how he sat or stood. It doesn’t seem to matter. Similarly, with ourselves; how we pray is not as important as that we pray. The good advice of an early Christian writer was, ‘Pray as you can, not as you can’t.’

Jesus sent the twelve ahead to Bethsaida. This was the home of three of the apostles and hence familiar territory. But why does Jesus send his disciples away with such haste? To understand this we need to look at the other Gospels where this text appears. This narrative is also found in Matthew 14:22-33 and John 6:15-21. In John’s account, Jesus withdrew from the crowd because he realised that they wanted to impose a kingship on him that was contrary to his Godly mission. Matthew does not tell us why they were sent but does mention that Peter steps out of the boat in an attempt to walk on the water to Jesus. Mark seems to indicate that Jesus wanted solitude for his time of prayer.

We are told that “he went up THE mountain to pray” (v. 46b). The reference to “the mountain” rather than “a mountain” suggests a special or holy place. In Mark 3:13 he went up “the mountain” where he called and appointed the twelve. Ascending the mountain reminds the reader of Moses going up the mountain to meet God (Exodus 24: 15-18). Mark’s intent may be to connect the story of Jesus to that of Moses.

While on the mountain Jesus sees the disciples struggling on the lake. A strong wind had risen against them so that they were having trouble getting anywhere. Let’s talk about the storm.  This isn’t like the violent storm that struck in Mark chapter 4. In his earlier account of Jesus and his disciples at sea, Mark portrayed them as in great danger from a storm (4:35-41) but there is none of that here. There’s no hint that the disciples are in any danger of being capsized or drowned. It is also a story about panic. The disciples are distressed because the winds are contrary, making it difficult for them to make any progress. That however, would be nothing unusual for the fishermen among Jesus’ disciples. They were just facing some tough going. The wind was so strong that they had to strain at the oars, and even then were not getting anywhere. Rather than dangerous, it would’ve just been draining and tiring and that is the point being made

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NO Kings?? – Epiphany of the Lord – Matthew 2:1-12

The Epiphany story is colourful, dramatic, and full of mystery. The Magi, pilgrim astrologers of the East, follow a star in search of the divine and give the story an exotic flavour. They are from the East, a sign that the messiah is for all peoples, not just the Jews. God chooses to reveal himself to outsiders, strangers, and foreigners.

The term Magi is a plural form of magoi, in the Greek language. While Christian tradition holds that the Magi were kings, the evangelist Matthew does not tell us that they were three men or three kings. He simply calls them the Magi or astrologers. Perhaps many have assumed there were three because of the gifts which were a total of three objects.

A more precise description might be that the Magi belonged to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, which paid particular attention to the stars. Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions in the world and we have many Parses, as we call them here in our own city of Mumbai. It was the official religion of Persia before Islam. This priestly caste gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science.

The magi were also reputed to be adept at occult arts, such as the interpretation of dreams, fortune telling, and magic. They were well known for telling fortunes and preparing daily horoscopes. Here they are clearly thought of as astronomers or astrologers, who have found the rising of a star to be of world-historical significance. They were scholars of their day and enjoyed access to the Persian emperor.

As a side note, astrology and horoscopes are still popular. The fact that Matthew treats these magai kindly does not mean that astrology or horoscopes are legitimate. They constitute an alternate religious system incompatible with Christian faith, because they ascribe too much significance to the movement of stars. God is in control, not stars. God’s use of a star to guide these magai to Jesus was a one-time thing. God’s primary means of revelation are prophets, scriptures, sacraments, and Son—not stars.

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Go and see – Tuesday after Epiphany – Mark 6:34-44

This is the story of a spoiled retreat and a miraculous feast.  Jesus had  sent out the twelve   on a short-term mission trip. He gave them power over the unclean spirits and sent them out in pairs. They went out and cast out demons, healed the sick and proclaimed the good news about Jesus, calling people to repent. Jesus trusted them to join in his mission and in his work; he even shared his power with them. By all accounts they were successful. Now, in verse thirty they’ve come back.  There’s a lot of energy and excitement as they gather around Jesus. You can imagine them all pumped up, eager to tell him everything that they’ve done, all that they accomplished in his name.

However the disciples must have also been exhausted by all the unscripted coming and going of the crowds. So, Jesus said, ‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.’ He invited them to a retreat at a quiet spot on the lakeshore. This is the origin of the Christian practice of making a retreat: a lonely place, where we can drop our public mask, reflect on our life, and rest.  Many people are afraid to be alone! Do not be afraid of being alone. Fear rather the opposite. As Pascal wrote, “The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”

When they reached the other side they find another great crowd waiting for them! Mark says there were so many people around them. The crowd is so large the disciples couldn’t even sit down to share a meal with Jesus. This means more demands, more conversations, more pressures upon them just when they’re meant to be having a break. So much for their quiet time! You can imagine how disappointed the disciples must have felt. This was meant to be their time alone with Jesus, their time to have a break, to rest and recharge.

But what is also interesting is that the crowds gladly followed Jesus even to a “deserted place”. Think about it, there was no luxury of a Church or a special area. This was a deserted area and yet they followed Jesus. They do so because they are hungry for the WORD. This is the difference between the good shepherd and the bad ones mentioned in verse 34. If our people are being fed with the WORD they will never ask how many mountains they have to climb or is the retreat in an air conditioned hall. They will simply come! We are told that Jesus, seeing the crowd had compassion on them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. This statement is an indictment and a scathing critique on the religious leadership in Israel. However, in  his compassion, Jesus puts the people’s needs first and calls on the twelve to serve these thousands who are evidently hungry

The solution of the disciples was to send the people away. The disciples wanted something to be done; Jesus showed them what they might do. He said to them what he says to us today, ‘You give them something to eat!’. Real prayer involves a change in my behaviour. So I need to be like the bewildered disciples here and ‘go and see’ what resources I might use to serve the needy. The words ‘go and see’ contrast to the ‘come and see’ of the earlier meetings of the disciples with Jesus. Jesus encourages us to go out and discover the needs of the people. Do I share his concern for the many in today’s world, both old and young? Have I anything to offer a hungry world? Can I help even one person? Can I be ‘good news’ to even one of the millions who are in need?

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St Jude Church, Malad East
Celebrating 50 years ( 1971-2021)

Mass timings today (31st December 2020) and tomorrow (1st January 2021)

31st December, 2020 ( today )

7 pm mass (of the day )
9 pm – Holy Hour

Both the above will be celebrated LIVE

Friday, 1st January, 2021 ( New Years Day)

9 am mass – celebrated LIVE by H.E. Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay

Please note that physical attendance at this mass is by invitation only as we are restricted by numbers. Kindly join us in this our Golden Jubilee celebration via online mass.

PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE with friends and families

The link for all services to St Jude is https://bit.ly/fr-warner-youtube

Fr Warner ÐSouza
31st December 2020

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