Watching the world go by

How do we view others who pass through our lives, those people we see from a distance? Do we make snap judgements about them? It’s what we explore in today’s reflection from the Daily Mass Readings.

The readings for Friday of Week Thirty can be found here

 Some people enjoy being people watchers. They may spend time sitting outside cafes or waiting for a train, watching the world go by, taking delight in the snapshots of people’s lives, observing them and how they relate to one another.

In the gospel reading, Jesus is being watched carefully. The intention, though, is more serious and intense than simply watching passers by as they glide through life. His watchers are trying to catch him out. Once again, they are waiting to see if he will break the rules of the Sabbath. When Jesus throws it back on them as to whether it is lawful to heal on the sabbath, they remain silent.

It is easy to make quick judgements about people who pass through our lives. It could be something about the way they dress, behave or talk, and yet we have no idea what is happening deep within. We can tut at a badly behaved child screaming in the supermarket without realising that he or she is autistic. We can complain about the homeless man and not know that as a child he constantly lived in care because his mother was an alcoholic. We can beep impatiently at a car in front of us and not realise it is an elderly man driving away from the hospice where his wife is dying.

Perhaps at times—as we observe the world around us—we can pause and consider the passing acquaintances. Can we show less judgment and more patience? Who knows—we could be a blessing to them. And they, in turn, could be a blessing to us.

Mass today is at S Saviour’s Splott at 10am

Like a mother hen

Each of us has longings and desires. Jesus longs for us. He desires to gather us in, like a mother hen, so that we can be close to him.

The readings for Thursday of Week Thirty can be found here

“You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.” There have been many different versions of this proverb dating back to the twelfth century. Its meaning is obvious. You can’t always force someone to do what they don’t want to do, particularly a stubborn mule.

Perhaps Jesus’ version of this proverb, would be, “The mother hen can gather her chicks, but she can’t make them stay.” That is what he’s saying of those people who reject his invitation and his loving embrace. The imagery is powerful. Jesus has a longing, a deep desire, to gather all beneath his protecting wings. But many choose not to come or stay. Then he provides a prophecy to his Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. ‘You will not see me until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Days after that welcome they call for his death.

As he walks on the edge of danger, with Herod’s bounty on his head, he continues to long for the children he has come to save.  He navigates his way through the dangers presented by that old fox Herod, and the Pharisees who warn him away. His way is not the easy path.

Whilst much may be asked of us, and life may sometimes be difficult, the first calling comes with Jesus gathering us. All we must do is listen to his voice and be warmed by his desire for us. To know that he longs for us for it is to him that we belong. As St Paul’s says, “Nothing can separate us from the love of shod in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Mass today is at Ss Dyfrig and Samson, Grangetown at 10am

The table is set

Our lives are already filled with so many of God’s gifts and blessings but we can easily take them for granted.

The readings for Wednesday of Week Thirty can be found here

Earlier this month, the famed American Restaurant chain, Popeyes opened a new outlet in Swansea for the first time, with many people queuing overnight, some waiting for up to 18 hours to be the first to try their iconic Chicken sandwich.

Long queues have become synonymous with the chain’s brand name. How long would you queue to get your teeth into a Chicken meal?

In the gospel reading today, Jesus reverts to one of his favourite images of eating and drinking. He says, “People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the Kingdom of God.” It’s a powerful image of the lengths that some people will go, to be in God’s presence and to be part of God’s Kingdom, and it is a reminder that God’s call is to the whole world, and to people of all nationalities and cultures.

It is so easy for us to take for granted the gifts that God has given us – for us to ignore his invitation, to turn our back on his call.  Every Mass is an open invitation for us to feast in God’s presence, to listen to his word, and be nourished by food from heaven. There may be times when we feel a little lacklustre, when we can all too easily find something else to do, or be somewhere different. But the table is set, the doors are open, the food and drink has been prepared and Jesus calls us forward. Come, sit and eat.

Mass today is at St Paul’s Church, Grangetown at 10am and St Mary’s Church, Butetown at 11am

Known by our names

As we celebrate the life and witness of the apostles, Simon and Jude, we are reminded that each of us is known by God by name.

The readings for the feast day of SS Simon and Jude (October 28th) can be found here

Some people seem to have a great gift for remembering names whilst others, like me, can so easily let a name slip especially if it’s not a name I use very often.

Having said that, there are probably many other things I forget. Getting someone’s name wrong can be embarrassing , whilst having our names remembered by someone we may consider to be more important than us, makes us feel a little more important too.

 

The list of twelve names given in the gospel reading today may be well known to us although it can be confusing when different gospel writers give alternative names for the same person. Whilst Simon and Jude are listed, we know very little about them. For centuries, Jude himself became so confused with Judas Iscariot that he became more overlooked.

 

Despite the lack of detail, Simon and Jude were —and remain—significant individuals, called by Jesus as apostles and sent out with the good news of God’s Kingdom. At St Paul reminds us we are citizens with the saints, part of the church built upon the back of the apostles. Because of them, we can stand tall, being built with Jesus into a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. There is one thing for certain—God knows each of us by name, and like Simon and Jude, has a design for our lives.

Mass today is at St Mary’s Church, Butetown at 630pm

What to do?

In today’s homily, Fr Dean explores what it means to do the right thing, even when others think the opposite!

You can find the readings for the Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time here

Many years ago, some priests and their parishioners provided a free Christmas Day lunch for some families on the local council estate. They were assisted by an industrious nun who came scuttling into the kitchen in quite a panic.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “We haven’t even served the soup, and they’ve already eaten the after-dinner mints!” Dining etiquette did not feature on their menu that day!

Knowing the right thing to do at the right time can often save us from embarrassment. But, sometimes we can get so hooked up on what we think will be acceptable that our wings get clipped. Hesitation and a lack of faith and confidence to do what we think is right, can mean we end up doing nothing at all.

Whilst Jesus was more than aware of all the laws of Moses, and the many rules and regulations of living a religious life, he knew the right thing to do on the Sabbath was to heal that faithful woman. She had suffered for eighteen years. He didn’t allow fear of what others may think, to stand in the way of doing good. In the end, the disgruntled synagogue official is the one who walks away with his head bowed, whilst the unnamed woman is the one who stands tall in more ways than one.

Mass today on Monday 27October is at Ss Dyfrig and Samson, Grangetown at 630pm

 

The witness of the martyrs

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers how the martyrs from church history can inspire and encourage us today.

Readings for the Feast of the Six Welsh Martyrs and their Companions: Hebrews 11.32-40; John 12.24-26

It is either deeply ironic or very appropriate that, two days after the head of the Catholic Church and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England prayed together in the Sistine Chapel, we celebrate the feast of the Six Welsh Martyrs and their Companions. These were a group of Roman Catholics – six Welsh, and 34 English – who lost their lives during the religious upheaval in England and Wales in the years following Henry VIII’s split with Rome. Happily relations between the two churches have improved somewhat since then!

The feast of any saint, and especially a martyr or group of martyrs, encourages us to think about the nature of Christian discipleship, and our readings today help us to do this. The reading from Hebrews comes at the end of a section of that letter in which the author reflects on the faith of various characters from the Old Testament. He starts with Abel and talks about Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the people of Israel and Rahab the prostitute. By the time he gets to today’s passage he has run out of time to mention another series of heroes. His point is that they all endured much, but remained faithful to God, even though they did not have the promise of resurrection in Christ.

This promise is spelled out in today’s Gospel. Losing one’s life, as Jesus puts it, can be interpreted in two days. We can see it literally, as was the case with the martyrs; or we can see it as losing our identity when we allow our life to become totally united with Jesus. Either way, Jesus says, once we let go of worldly things we will never be far from the Lord. On this feast of the Six Welsh Martyrs and their Companions, let us be inspired by their faithfulness and also be ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Gospel.

Seize the moment

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers the importance of seizing the opportune moments that God provides to serve him, rather than wasting time on things that don’t really matter.

Readings for Friday of Week 29 of Ordinary Time: Romans 7.18-25a; Luke 12.54-59

Whenever the conversation dries up and we are not sure what to say next, we can always turn to discussing the weather. “Isn’t it mild for the time of year?” “What a miserable day!” “Cold out today, don’t you think?” “Looks like it’s going to rain!” These are all things we might say; the weather in Britain is so changeable that there is always something to comment upon. The same, it seems, was true of first century Israel, if Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are anything to go by. People, he says, were expert at predicting the weather by recognising what was going on in the atmosphere. Jesus contrasts this with people’s inability to “interpret the present time”.

To understand what Jesus means, we need to remember that there were two words for “time” in the original Greek of the New Testament. The word “chronos” was used to refer to the general passage of time. The word “kairos”, however, which is used in this passage, means something more significant. “Kairos” refers to an opportune time, a key moment when God is doing something important in the midst of human history. It is this “kairos” moment that people are failing to recognise and respond to, instead wasting their time talking about the weather.

Sometimes we fall into the same trap as Christians today. We spend our time arguing about internal church matters, or worrying about structures, rather than seeing what God wants us to do to advance his kingdom and seize that “kairos” moment. Like Paul in today’s passage from Romans, we know what we ought to be doing, but somehow fail to actually do it. Paul, however, does not despair at this state of affairs. “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”, he asks, then gives the answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. May Jesus lead us from the blindness and sloth of inaction to the joy of serving him at the opportune time.

Jesus: meek and mild?

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers whether the popular image of Jesus as meek and mild is really an accurate one

Readings for Thursday of Week 29 of Ordinary Time: Romans 6.19-23; Luke 12.49-53

Way back in 1999 the Churches Advertising Network in the UK caused a stir with its poster encouraging people to attend church at Easter that year. It featured an image of Jesus modelled on a famous picture of the Marxist revolutionary leader Che Guevara. The slogan on the advert was “Meek. Mild. As if. Discover the real Jesus”. It caused much controversy at the time, which of course delighted the creators – at least people were talking about it. The message of the advert was surely that the popular image of Jesus is indeed one who is meek and mild, the figure who preached love and forgiveness while blessing children and being nice to animals. The real Jesus, the message went, was more hard hitting than this.

We see that “other” side to Jesus in today’s Gospel. He says “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division”. He then goes on to talk about how families and households will be divided because of his message. There’s not a lot of meekness or mildness here! Jesus is surely trying to underline just how important the Christian faith is in the life of the believer. It is not a hobby or spare time interest; in the words of the great hymn it “demands my soul, my life, my all”. There can be no compromise, and others may find this hard to accept.

Paul uses equally stark language in today’s passage from Romans; he writes that Christians have become “slaves of God”, again emphasising total commitment. And yet we are not subservient, like the followers of an earthly revolutionary leader. As a result of becoming God’s slaves, we have received the “free gift of God … eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Let us rejoice in that!

The master who serves

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers the extraordinary way in which Jesus, Lord and master of all that there is, stoops down to serve each one of us in love.

Readings for Tuesday of the 29th week of Ordinary Time: Romans 5.12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21; Luke 12.35-38

Last month saw the release of the film Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, the third and final film in the Downton Abbey series. The films came on the back of the hugely successful TV series, which ran for 6 series between 2010 and 2015. Downton Abbey was the latest period drama to feature the roles of masters and servants in a British stately home in the first part of the 20th century, others being Upstairs, Downstairs and You Rang, M’Lord? In all these dramas, the masters (those upstairs) are seen as the ruling elite, while the servants (downstairs), are very much on the lower rungs of society. 

This was a social system well known in the time of Jesus. However, in today’s parable, Jesus reverses this social order in a surprising way. The master returns home late from a wedding feast, but instead of expecting to be waited on by his servants, he in fact ends up serving them, as a reward for them being ready for his arrival. This remarkable turn of events points us forward to the Last Supper, and the astonishing moment when Jesus, the Son of God on earth, adopts the role of a servant and begins washing the feet of his disciples. The boundary between master and servant, so clearly marked out in the world of Downton Abbey and the Roman society of Jesus’ day, has been completely erased. As contradictory as it may seem, Jesus is the master who serves. 

That breaking down of the barrier between God and humanity is theme which Paul picks up in today’s reading from Romans. Here, the barrier is not the green baize door separating masters from servants in a stately home; rather it is sin and death, the result of humanity’s disobedience. This is what separates us from God. This barrier has been removed by what Paul calls Jesus’ “one act of righteousness” – his death on the Cross. This is the ultimate act of service, laying down his very life for us. The reward we receive from him is not simply being pampered, as the servants in the parable were. Our reward through Jesus’ supreme act of service is nothing less than eternal life. Let us rejoice that we have a master who serves, so that we might be free for ever.

The greatest treasure

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard explores the Gospel’s view of that most worldly of subjects – money, riches and wealth

Readings for Monday of the 29th week of Ordinary Time – Romans 4.20-25; Luke 12.13-21

Many people are eagerly anticipating the Chancellor’s budget which will be delivered in little over a month’s time. There is much speculation that she will have to raise taxes in order to balance the government’s books. Already in its first year in office, the government has had to raise employer’s National Insurance contributions and has introduced inheritance tax on farms worth over £1 million, whereas previously agricultural land was totally exempt. Meanwhile the Green Party has been making waves with its proposals for a wealth tax – 1% on assets over £10 million, and 2% on those worth more than £1 billion. Should people be allowed to keep the wealth they have amassed, or be forced to share it?

No Gospel addresses the theme of wealth, poverty and inequality more than Luke. In today’s passage, which is unique to his Gospel, a dispute over inheritance leads Jesus to tell the parable of the rich fool. Here the message seems clear: hoarding wealth and possessions is futile if we are not rich towards God. What does being rich towards God entail? Surely it is all about looking outwards from ourselves, rather than inwards. Elsewhere in the Gospel it is the one who acknowledges their need of God, and who reaches out to help others, who is commended. 

In the passage from Romans, Paul tells us that Abraham believed in God’s promises to him, and it was “counted to him as righteousness”. This point becomes central to Paul’s argument that all we need to be justified with God is faith in him – not earthly riches, not great learning, not even good works (though these flow from faith). Faith that God is trustworthy is the greatest treasure we can ever possess.