Reflections of Caritas

Dear friends,

Responding to the question of the Teacher of the Law: ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law? Jesus stressed the direct relationship between love of God and love of neighbour.  He explained that the rest of the laws are based on the two. They are like the hinges on which the entire law hung. Loving God and loving our neighbour is the heart of our daily lives, the springboard of our actions, the basis of our decisions, the reason for our prayer life, the motivation of our lifestyle and the very reason why we live together on earth. What is most important in our life? Not pleasure, nor wealth, nor health, nor beauty, nor fame, but only love. And as St. Paul says, without love, everything else in life becomes merely booming gongs or clanging cymbals, profiting us nothing (1 Cor 13:1).

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Whenever we share a meal with those we love, there is a sense of joy, community and belonging which is experienced by those around the table. Stories are told and new memories are created. We all love to share a good meal in the company of our friends and family.

The same was true at the time of Jesus. We know from the gospels, that Jesus sat and ate with many people. He often ate with those who were ignored, hated and dismissed. Nobody was excluded or dismissed by Jesus; all were invited, welcomed, and included.

In the gospel this Sunday the image and symbol of the meal and banquet are used to let us know how generous God is. The table is set and the food is ready. However, those invited gave various excuses why they could not go to the feast. In response, the king invited and welcomed strangers, good and bad alike. They were the ones who enjoyed the food and wine.

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Dear friends,

The gospel this Sunday uses the image of the vineyard to speak to us about the patience and generosity of God.

Jesus tells chief priest and the elders a parable. The owner of the vineyard sends workers into his vineyard to collect the harvest. However these poor servants do not receive a positive welcome. They are attacked and beaten. The owner then sends more workers into the vineyard. Sadly these workers are treated in much the same way. Lastly, the owner decides to send his son in the hope and belief that they will treat him with respect. Alas, his hope is ill placed; they kill his son. It comes as no surprise to us, that the owner of the vineyard represents God and his son is Jesus Christ. Also very clear in the parable, is that those who killed the servants and the owners son are Scribes, Pharisees and the elders. Imagine their shock and anger when they heard this!

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THE 19 TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

Dear friends,

In this Gospel passage, Jesus is once again alone and taking time to pray and he essentially tells
the disciples that He will meet them on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  So the disciples are in the boat, they are on their own and they are maybe half way across, a few miles out. In this dark part of the night, they are facing opposition, not from human enemies, but from nature. The wind picks up and it is against the boat. It is looking very dangerous!

In that dark part of the night, when nature is in her full fury, they see Jesus. He is not performing a trick on the water but He is coming towards them while walking on the water. This is Jesus coming to them with His presence on these waters. And remember that the waters are not calm, the storm is whipping up a chaos and it is in this chaos that Our Lord and Saviour makes Himself manifest. And the disciples are of course, as each of us would be, terrified and they cry out in fear. Immediately, Jesus does not let them to remain in anxiety. He quickly says, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid”. Jesus reassures them and their faith strengthens.

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