Faith

Mea maxima culpa – Saturday, 21st week in ordinary time – Mt 25:14-30

 This final parable in the lectionary of the Gospel of Matthew (On Monday begin with the Gospel of Luke) has many things to ponder about. We could ponder on the final judgment, or the generous trusting master, the Christian disciple’s service, the patience of the master, the character of the master etc.

But parables are never written for us to bring our agenda to a narrative but rather let the narrative’s agenda be communicated to us. Matthew has a single agenda as he winds down his fifth and final discourse and before he launches into the passion narrative, he wants to communicate the characteristics of the Parousia, the second coming of Jesus.

Jesus has left the temple and is sitting on the Mount of Olives (24:3). He is now teaching His disciples privately who want to know more about the Parousia. This He does by weaving descriptions, comparisons, examples and parables. Jesus describes the signs of the end of age in tumultuous terms. Persecutions and false messiahs will be the order of the day. There will be a cosmic upheaval which will help one to rightly identify the prophecies of the Parousia. 

After describing the events surrounding the Parousia, Jesus describes the state of readiness and alertness that the disciple needs to have. This He communicates via three parables; the ‘faithful and unfaithful servant’, the parable of the ‘ten bridesmaids’ (a feminine version of the first) and finally today’s Gospel of the ‘parable of the talents’.

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Opinion

Dear readers,

For over a year and a half most of you have been receiving ‘PottyPadre’ daily. These Gospel exegesis (because they are not based on merely a thought but on sound interpretation) come to you free. In addition I have also begun to podcast the same for those who prefer  to listen to the Gospel message while on their way to work or college. At times the work load of my day permits me to merely write and I have to skip recording the podcast. I hope to be more faithful in this respect too and ask for your understanding till then. Between ministering to a parish, constructing a multi purpose structure for prayer and service to the poor, running a Museum and the Heritage Committee and lecturing to lay people and seminarians, my day often ends with me dozing before I hit the pillow.

It takes me two hours to put this all together and it is often the best part of my day.Today, I write today to make a request. Just as you freely receive this blog, please feel free to pass it on. In our confused and often tumultuous lives, the Word of God becomes a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our lives ( Psalm 119: 105) and when we share His word we become the messengers of His Good  News to those in need.

Social media with its SHARE BUTTON has reminded us to ‘share’ once again and often we share things which may be much less worthy of our time. The Word of God is worth sharing . Thank you for your continued encouragement, especially to those who write in to me and leave their comments . Your encouragement is heartening .

Many of you have also written in with ideas asking me to expand this ministry. While I thank you you I say this to you, I began this blog on Ash Wednesday 2017 at His prompting and I know that He who began a good work will see it to completion ( Philippians 1:6).

In case you do not receive the daily bog via whatsap or email simply log onto www.pottypadre.com

Fr Warner D’souza
PottyPadre.com

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Faith

Access denied; the parable of the ten virgins – Friday, 21st Week in ordinary time – Mt 25:1-13

The reason why the parable of the wise and foolish servants is followed by the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids or virgins, is simply to reiterate a point; the need for readiness for the day of the Lord. These two parables form part of a series of four Matthean parables that illustrate the Parousia and the final judgment.

Matthew, like the Old Testament prophets, employs nuptial imagery to describe the relationship between God and His people (remember the book of Hosea). Clearly the ten bridesmaids are representatives of the disciples whose love grows dim because of the delay of the Parousia (the second coming of Jesus).

The parable which is more of an allegory, employs a number of images that Matthew’s community would have been most familiar with. The Nuptial imagery was further heightened by the banquet imagery, symbolic of messianic banquet at the end times when the blessed would share a meal with the Messiah. Then there was the imagery of the ‘bridegroom,’ symbolic of Jesus Himself.

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Faith

Hell is my neighbour – Thursday, 21st week in ordinary time – Mt 24:42-51

 For some reason the lectionary takes a huge leap and plunges right into the sixth and last discourse of Matthew’s Gospel. Comprising of Chapter 24 and 25, the Eschatological discourse or the discourse on the end times preoccupies itself with the Parousia or the Lord’s second coming.

The Gospel of Matthew was penned somewhere after 80 AD. By this time the apostles had been martyred and so were many of the inner circle of Jesus. The Early Church had constantly lived in the hope that the second coming of Jesus or His Parousia was an imminent reality. That unfortunately did not seem to happen and hope among the followers of Christ was fading fast.

Many of the disciples now began to hanker for a more relaxed form of Christian discipleship as opposed to the more rigorous devotion that had once enthused the community. The desire to ‘work’ for the Church seemed to be lost in materialistic desires. The ‘eating and drinking’ is now in the company of drunkards (verse 49) and fellow Christians are treated like slaves.

Matthew wants to send a clear message of warning to his community; shake off lethargy and shrug off the hopelessness that had set in. The Lord would come as He promised even though He did not come as soon as they imagined or wished for. The disciples need to be watchful like a householder who watches over his home, protecting it from thieves. The message to the community is crystal clear, “you too must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

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Faith

Blood on the dance floor – Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist – Mk 6:17-29

At first the news that trickled out of Herod Antipas’ imposing fortress, Machaerus, was met with disbelief.  His disciples refused to believe that Herod Antipas had beheaded a man whom he considered ‘righteous and holy’; but then again Herod was a people pleaser and a spineless ruler.

John’s body now had to be prepared for burial according to Jewish customs but getting his body was not going to be an easy walk in the park; literally!  Machaerus was a fortified hilltop palace on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. It was special to Herod Antipas for His father; Herod the great had built this palace in 30 BC over the ruins of the earlier Hasmonean fortress.

It was designed to be a defence outpost; its smoke signals of warning could be seen all the way to Jerusalem. It was Herod the great who extensively renovated this defence centre into a lavish palace now inherited by his son, Antipas.

Herod the great chose the peristyle courtyard to be his pièce de résistance. Set within beautiful ionic columns with capitals draped in volutes, this courtyard which saw many great banquets also became the court where treachery and cunningness played out.  It was here that Herod Antipas watched his step daughter, Princess Salome, dance the deadly dance that cost him the life of a man he feared yet protected.

But that day, in 32 AD, saw the blood of an innocent man drip off the platter on which his head was carried. It was a prized but bloody trophy that Herodias had longed to have and now that blood matched the tiles of the roof of the courtyard. It seemed like the colour of blood was everywhere except on the soul of Herodias; for that had long been blackened by sin.

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