Faith

 

 Catching the bull by it’s tail- Tuesday, 2nd Week of Lent – Matthew 23: 1-12

The Lenten battle is mostly fought in our hearts and while the area may seem no larger than my fist, the enemy through cunning deceit, fights on, so as to not loose an inch. It is a world of deception that he weaves, where even those who work in the evangelizing fields, may end up ruining a bumper harvest. If we get lost by the razzle and dazzle of who we are, rather than what we are called to do, then we end up like the Pharisees of old.  So the words of Jesus are words of caution; not only for preachers, but all who bear the name ‘Christian’, for all are called to be evangelizers. 

By the time of Jesus, the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ lifestyle of the Scribes and Pharisees was out in the open. So their acts of repentance had become merely a ritual. We are told that even the prophets condemned these outwardly demonstration of piety, especially that of rending their garments; and from the description of their phylacteries and tassels, they seemed to have quite a bit of it to do!  That was not all. The gospel of today tells us so much more about their behaviour. They preach but don’t practice; they tie burdens, but will not lift a finger to move them. Their words and actions are merely to win men’s admiration. They love being greeted in public places with their honorific titles.  

For Jesus, His mission was all about getting us to the basics of life; a heart that is pure and a love that is right. So His confrontation with the Pharisees was not with their vocation but how they lived it. He saw their living as divorced from man and God; all chatter, no substance. So as bullish as I may be about this topic, don’t get this text by its tail. A number of Christians see in this text, a condemnation of their local ‘non practicing, table thumping preacher’ and erroneously reiterate  a  forgone conclusion: namely, ‘let’s not go to Church’ or even worse, ‘look at these hypocrites,  it is better not to believe in religion; rather lets embrace the spiritual.’

Hold your horses! Hypocrisy is not unique to a vocation. So let’s not start looking for the splinter in our preacher’s eye without looking at the plank in our own. Jesus never said stop believing or stop going to Church. He simply said that if you don’t like what you see then don’t do as they do, but do what they say’. In short, the message is always true; the messenger may sometimes be flawed. 

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Faith

Six pack coming soon- 2nd Week of Lent- Monday-Luke 6: 36-38

Have you ever fallen for one of those TV commercials that advertise a six pack body without having to go to the gym? Yup your right, if you did, then you’re a sucker! Nothing comes that easy; it’s hard work all the way. So why expect anything different in our spiritual lives?

Consider these three tiny verses of today’s gospel. When you read through, the tendency is to let your eyes glide over the challenges in verses 36 and 37 and then settle comfortably on the promises of verse 38; promises of God’s blessings, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  But to expect the blessing of verse 38 without the application of the previous verses; to be merciful, non-judgmental and forgiving, is like expecting those famous six pack, without stepping into a gym.

Jesus was no fool when he linked those words side by side, give and forgive. He knew that forgiving must begin with giving. I can’t forgive unless I ‘give up’ my right to get even. Jesus does not ask us to forgive for our neighbour’s sake; he asks us to forgive so that we may be at peace with our selves. It is the poison within us that needs to leave our system, for healing to take place.

The heart of forgiveness lies in verse 36; “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”.  Many years ago the Emperor Napoleon had issued a decree that any deserter from his army would be shot on being arrested. The next day a tearful mother turned up to plead with the Emperor, begging for mercy for her son, who fled the battlefield in fear of the terrifying bloodshed. Napoleon boomed, “He does not deserve mercy.” “You are right”, the mother said, “Mercy is never deserved!”

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Art/ Heritage

GOD PROVIDES: ‘The Sacrifice of Isaac’ by Caravaggio (1603)

This is the period of the Baroque and Caravaggio is regarded its father. While the Mannerist school of art strongly relied on allegories and metaphors, the Baroque school used intensified drama and emotions to evolve and involve the viewer into the narrative. Backed by the Counter Reformation, the Baroque catered to educate and enhance the faith of ordinary laymen through elaborate, extra-ordinary forms of art. The surge of this era is witnessed and echoed in today’s painting by Caravaggio titled ‘The Sacrifice of Isaac’; painted for Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII.

Through the centuries the episode of the ‘Sacrifice of Isaac’ for the Christians or the ‘Akedah’ (binding of Isaac) for the Jews has stimulated heated interpretations. Is it a story of a cruel God? or a deluded Abraham? Is it a story of religion at its worst or faith at its best? Or is it a story of divine providence?

Caravaggio, through his brush, places us up close to the scene of the sacrifice, pursuing a first-hand interpretation and understanding.

It is the climax of the story. The moment is tense and full of suspense; the figures are stressed. The Angel firmly freezes Abraham’s hand; Abraham clutches the knife and pins down his only son Isaac while Isaac shrieks. In a fraction the future would be determined. The obscurity and aggressive naturalism of the scene reflects the turbulence in Caravaggio’s own life. Regarded a rabble-rouser, Caravaggio was often caught in rebellious assaults, crime and even murder.

Through his painting, Caravaggio captures the divine in the earthly realm. He intertwines the two worlds through a sensational struggle between unconditional cruelty and unconditional loyalty. Notice the two groups as they connect and dialogue on parallel fronts. The first forming the spiritual composes of the Angel, Abraham and the Ram. The second consisting of the earthly is represented through the figures of Abraham, the knife and the boy Isaac.

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Faith

Hell is not my neighbour- 1st Week of Lent- Saturday-Matthew 5: 43-48

So Jesus’ run in with the Pharisees continues.  It was the Pharisees who interpreted the Torah for four hundred years, in the absence of the prophets, unto the time of Jesus.  In their zeal to be mediators between God and man, they got the law wrong and the spirit completely wrong.  For Jesus the law was the lowest common denominator. His expectation from a Christian was always, more! And so Matthew chapter 5 plays out these six hyper theses, the call for more! Today’s Gospel plays out the last of the six hyper theses.

 The Pharisees had interpreted the law concerning ones relationship with regard to neighbours and enemies in the most conveniently contrived way. They mandated that one was to love ones neighbour and hate ones enemy. Interestingly, the ‘popular quote’ interpreted by the Pharisees and lived by the Jews, was itself, an incomplete presentation of what the law really said.

Leviticus 19:18, the source of this ‘popular saying’ on neighbours and enemies  actually called for the love of neighbour to be in the same measure as one loved oneself, a section conveniently omitted by the Pharisees.  Further, there was no reference, anywhere in the law, about hating ones enemy; again an addition brought in by the Pharisees. So the Pharisees had done a very convenient cut and paste job.

So what was the agenda of the Pharisees? Why mislead the people with half-truths? In limiting love to one’s neighbour, the Pharisees effectively limited the understanding of ones neighbour only to a fellow Jew and by doing that they officially signalled that all non-Jews were the enemy, who could be hated.  This was nothing but state sponsored hate.

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Faith

 

Thoughts from the first talk preached this morning by Lenny Soares at our parish mission at St Jude Church

The invitation of Jesus to us, during the season of Lent is to “come to me (Him) all who labour”. In the season of Lent Jesus does not say to us “go to this mission or attend this programme or activity” ( don’t use this as a justification to not go without understanding the rest of the text) . What Jesus is asking us to do in Lent is to first   BE WITH HIM- He is the reason for the season. No preacher can take centre stage in Lent, the spotlight belongs to the Lord. 

The word He uses is “come”; the call is personal and the invitation is directly from Jesus (to me). This call is not to a select few, for Jesus says,” come to me ALL you who labour.” For Jesus there is no distinction between rich or poor, saint or sinner; all are welcome .

The missions we attend, the Lenten disciplines we follow are tools to come close to Him. They are a means to an end and not an end in itself for Jesus is at the heart of Lent; He is the heart.

#shareHisWORD #CommentsEncourage #pottypadre

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