Faith

Part of God’s plan – Tuesday, 30th week in ordinary time – Lk 13:18-21

Compared to the other synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of Luke has just two parables that focus on the kingdom of God. Unlike the Gospel of Matthew and Mark whose parables on the kingdom focus on the contrast between the smallness of the beginning and the greatness of the end product, the parables of the kingdom in Luke focus on growth. It is growth that is at the heart of the parables on the kingdom in Luke’s Gospel.

The two parables must be placed in its larger settings. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and the disciples by now have become painfully aware of the opposition that Jesus has faced and will continue to face. The two parables are thus given by the Lord to afford these disciples the hope that they seek. All will not be lost and the kingdom will not fall by the way but will grow. Ironically the Lord uses two examples both of which are very different from each other.

 In the first case the kingdom of God is compared to a mustard seed planted by someone in his garden. The mustard seed was often planted by farmers in Palestine and could produce a tree 30 feet tall. In time, this seed becomes a tree, large enough to shelter the birds of the air. In the scriptures birds represent diverse human beings who find refuge in Gods kingdom. The Gospel of Luke which is Gentile friendly gives hope to the disciples, not only will the kingdom grow it will be a kingdom which will welcome all ( this is an important theme in Luke’s Gospel). The parable held a promise for Christians down the ages. This tiny seed now in danger from the forces of opposition will surprise every one with its growth.

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Faith

Back to back – Monday, 30th week in ordinary time – Lk 13:10-17

Jesus, we are told, is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath; however we are not told what He teaches. By doing this St Luke wants us to focus on the matter of importance at hand. So he glides over many details to settle on the woman in the narrative and then places a microscope over her.

She is a woman and this should not be taken for granted simply because we live in this century. She has a spirit in her, quite obviously an evil one. She is a cripple for eighteen years, bent over and unable to stand up straight. That’s a lot of detail considering how sketchy the Bible can be! Interestingly we are not told her name.  

Just for a moment read this text bent over (like the woman) and in a flash your every action will be tedious challenge. Yet the woman has no complaint about her disability, in fact she did not even ask for a healing. It seems that she has accepted her suffering.  Nothing, they say, misses the Lord’s eye; He noticed her, He noticed her fidelity to synagogue worship and that despite her disability she was there.

It is the Lord who seeks to set her free from her ailment and she accepting His gracious healing touch stood up in faith. If there was any doubt that still lingers in the reader’s mind about the woman’s fidelity to God it should be put to rest by the Biblical evidence that is given to us. Her first reaction to her healing was “to praise God.”

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Art/ Heritage

IN-SIGHT: ‘Healing of the blind man of Jericho’ by Lucas Van Leyden (1531)

We are in the Dutch provinces of the 1500’s. The Dutch Revolt (1568 – 1648) and the Reformation (1517 – 1648) brought a serious strain to the role of the artist. The Protestant insurgency and iconoclasm claimed violence all over the provinces. Churches were sacked, stained glasses crushed and images destroyed. As a result Dutch art witnessed a sharp shift from the sacred to the secular.

Artist began depicting pedlars, peasants, beggars, courting couples, money changers and other local figures in their art works. This gave rise to what is called the ‘genre’ movement which further enhanced the development of painting in the Dutch Golden Age (17th century). The humorous portrayal of the ‘uncivilised man’ or the ‘dysfunctional mortal’ in art helped ponder and reflect on human virtues and vices.

The beauty of this genre is wonderfully expressed in today’s painting. The subject is that of ‘The healing of the blind man of Jericho’. The theme of ‘the restoration of sight’ was in itself revolutionary. Promoted by the Council of Trent, it symbolized the purification of the Catholic Church post the Protestant Reformation. The work in consideration is executed by Lucas Van Leyden, a Dutch engraver and painter who achieved much in his short life span of around 39 years (1494 – 1533).

The painting forms a part of a triptych (three panel painting) which was intended to feature on the walls of a hospital in Leyden as an assurance of physical and spiritual recovery. Therefore the hinged wings of the triptych feature not saints but rather the commissioners of the work of art. The figures stand tall holding heralds depicting their coat-of-arms. Interestingly, the woman is portrayed sans footwear, perhaps alluding to her simplicity and humility.

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Faith

Only leaves – 3rd Sunday of Lente – Lk 13:1-9

Luke is the only source we have who mentions the two incidents that are spoken of in today’s Gospel. These incidents are mentioned only in the Bible and are not found in secular sources. It is possible that these two tragedies which struck Jerusalem at around the same time were perhaps very local to Jerusalem and hence never found mention in secular sources.

When tragedies take place, humanity seeks to attribute a cause or find an explanation to it and those present with Jesus were no different. So, was this bad karma or was such a tragedy reflective of a sinful life? The mind-set of the crowd seems to be reflective of the question that often plagues our minds; do bad things happen to bad people?

The two incidents mentioned in this pericope may or may not have happened but they are most certainly plausible. We know that Pilate was ruthless and it was not beyond him to have some Galileans slaughtered in the temple while they were making an offering. We also know for a fact that on another occasion when the Jews protested against the use of temple funds to build the aqua duct, Pilate had his soldiers mingle in the crowds and at a predetermined signal, had the crowd slaughtered.

For that matter the pool of Siloam which was built during the reign of King Hezekiah (715–687/6 BCE) to provide water inside the city in case of a siege could have been undergoing an expansion to accommodate a tower. Perhaps it was the same tower that crashed on eighteen Galileans working on it. Interestingly, both narratives mention Galileans as the victims of these unfortunate incidents. It was no secret that the Jews of Jerusalem looked down on their brothers who lived in the north for they accused them of infidelity to Israelite laws while in exile. Their contempt finds mention even in the Gospel when they are referred to as ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ (Matthew 4:15)

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Faith

Blowing in the wind ? Friday, 29th Week in ordinary time – Lk 12:54-59

Yesterday we heard the Lord declare how stressed he was until His mission was completed. There was no doubt that the Lord himself felt hemmed in at times. Perhaps for many, the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem was like walking between a rock and hard place; damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Yet He was not deterred by popular opinion as He resolutely walked to Jerusalem.

We know that Jesus faced criticism from the Jewish religious establishment. He declared this himself in 12:1 when He asked His disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, namely their hypocrisy. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus condemns the hypocrisy of the people because they see God’s key moments of salvation history present in Jesus’ kingdom ministry (12:56) and yet they ignore the message of salvation.

The people of antiquity were earthy people in tune with nature and in tune with society. They had no need of a weatherman; their sheer experience of the seasons had made each one of them meteorologists. Ironically, they who have sufficient intelligence and can interpret the appearance of sky and earth, stubbornly resist the interpretation of the present time of grace ushered in by Jesus.

And so Jesus warns the people to judge their behaviour; for the truth of salvation is evident to all. Yet the Jews continue to be delusional as they walk with Jesus (their accuser) to the court of the magistrate, who is none other than the Father himself. Jesus exhorts the crowds to settle their case, to come to their senses while ‘on the way’ lest they be confronted by the righteous judge who will pass sentence.

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