IS GOD LISTENING?

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Today’s readings raise some interesting questions about prayer. How does God actually “hear” our prayers? Does our prayer change God’s mind?

The gospel passage (Lk.18:9-14) shifts the questions from the openness of “God’s ears” to the openness of our ears and minds and hearts. Luke’s familiar story portrays in the Pharisee a man who is completely filled with himself. We know from our experience that when we are full of ourselves, there is little room for anyone else. If God’s word is to take root and grow in us, if the needs of others are to find their way into our hearts and consciousness, there must be room for that to happen.

Prayer, most surely, is not about trying to change God’s mind or heart about anything. It is all about changing us. Prayers can indeed be answered by a God who can ”get through” to prayerful people. It is the humble tax collector who has opened a place for God’s entry into his life.

And this is how God hears our prayers, as well. Do we want peace? Then we must pray to become peace-makers. Do we want forgiveness? We must pray for the ability to forgive one another-and ourselves. And so our prayers are as effective as our willingness to be poured out and filled up with something new. It has been said that prayer is a very dangerous endeavour, because it opens us to the risk of change. Not God’s change, but our own. We are invited to do more listening than speaking. In our listening, God might tell us stories about the needs of one another that only we can fill up. In our listening, we become God’s ears “for others”!

Finally, if we expect to hear anything, we must be prepared to act. For “the Lord”, says Sirach, “will not delay. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Blessed be the Lord!

World Mission Sunday

(Abstract of text from "World Mission Sunday: Homily Notes")

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today is World Mission Sunday. The theme suggested for us this year by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith is “Go! Proclaim the Gospel!”

What does that mean for us today? Perhaps we can find the beginning of that answer in the last line of today’s gospel: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” Faith in what? Faith in whom? Let us look closer at today’s readings.

In the first reading from the book of Exodus (17:8-13), God’s chosen people, like many refugees in our world today, are vulnerable as they start on their long migration out of Egypt. They suddenly find themselves surrounded by a fierce enemy, the Amalekites. In the scriptural passages leading up to this latest threat, we witnessed several examples of how faithful God lovingly protected this tiny fractious remnant on its journey; making a path through the Red Sea, providing bread from heaven and so on. Their leader, Moses instinctively turns again to God for help. Trusting in God once more, Moses tells Joshua to form a small army and to prepare to defend the Israelites. In a drama that must have been a sight to behold, the elderly Moses having climbed a hilltop, extended his arms in prayer to God, “from morning… until sunset.” It was a communal effort. When Moses became tired Aaron and Hur sat on a stone and held up his arms. In the midst of fierce action, there was prayer. In the context of prayer, there was action. Prayer and action go together, linking God and his chosen.

In today’s gospel parable about the widow and the judge (Lk 18:1-8), Jesus speaks similarly “about the need to pray continually, and never lose heart”. In Africa, even today, the family of a husband who has died can legally come and claim his house and possessions, putting the husband’s widow and children literally on the street. Perhaps that is what had just happened to the widow to whom Jesus referred. Once more, we witness prayer in the midst of a particular struggle and struggle sustained by prayer.

Perhaps the main message we can take from the theme of Mission Sunday this year and in the context of today’s readings, is that God is on the side of the poor and the vulnerable in our midst, whether it be a nation or an individual, and that we as followers must imitate this example. On the side of the poor and vulnerable is where Christians belong.

Gratitude

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This week the praying assembly ponders gratitude as a necessary spiritual posture for disciples. Two models of gratitude are held out for our edification and encouragement. One is a leprous Syrian General called Naaman whose cure has been narrated in the 1st reading (2Kings 5:14-17). Our other model is an unnamed Samaritan leper (Gospel, Lk.17:11-19) whom Jesus made whole and holy.

Although both of these men were, no doubt, overwhelmed with gratitude at the dramatic change that was effected in their lives by God through Elisha and through Jesus, the words “thank you” and “gratitude” do not appear in their stories. Indeed, in Hebrew there is no specific word for thankfulness. This grateful posture is described in the Jewish scriptures by the verbs “to praise”, “to glorify”, to “bless”. Ancient Israel’s gratitude issued forth in prayers that praised, glorified and blessed their God. Notice that when Naaman and the Samaritan were healed, their response took the form of a proclamation of faith and a declaration of praise for God and for Jesus. Through the centuries, this character of grateful prayer has been preserved and practiced.

Since the liturgical renewal sponsored by the Second Vatican Council, similar prayers have been introduced into the great Christian prayer of praise and thanksgiving, the celebration of the Eucharist (at the offering of the gifts). In the Christian scriptures, thanksgiving is a characteristic feature of the institution of the Eucharist (Mt. 26:27, Mk. 14:23, Lk. 22:17,19, 1Cor. 11:24) as well as in the multiplication of loaves, which prefigured the gift of the Eucharist (Mt. 15:36, Mk. 8:6, Jn. 6:11, 23). How fitting that the summit toward which all the activity of the church is directed and the fount from which all its power flows is fully imbued with thanksgiving.

Walter Burghardt insists that the Eucharist is a genuine thanksgiving only if we ourselves become Eucharist for the life of the world – only if we are willing to be taken by Jesus, blessed by him, broken with him and fully given as he was. A thankful Eucharistic heart lives each day in an alert awareness that all we are, all we become and all we are empowered to do must be acknowledged as gift.

Faith As Consecration

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Increase Our Faith”. This is the request made by the disciples of Jesus as featured in today’s Gospel. This is the request that must be made daily by all who would be Jesus’ disciples. But, what is faith? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, faith is (1) a confident belief in the truth, value or trustworthiness of a person, idea or thing; (2) belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence; (3) belief and trust in God; (4) a body of beliefs. While these definitions do approach what we call faith, none clarifies the reality of faith as God’s gift. For this clarity, believers are invited to turn, not to dictionaries, but to other believers.

For our Jewish ancestors, faith meant listening to God and obediently attending to the ways and will of God. As the father of those who believe, Abraham continues to be held forth as a model of faith to emulate. For the early Christians and authors, true Christian faith is a surrender to God in all things, at all times, all places. “Faith is”, as Thomas Aquinas once said, “allowing God to work within us”. In the book “And It was Good: Reflections on Beginning”, author Madelaine L’Engle insists that faith consists in the acceptance of doubts, in working through them, rather than in repressing them.

Soren Kierkegaard called faith a restless thing. It is health, but stronger and violent than the most burning fever. Faith expressly signifies the deep, strong, blessed restlessness that drives the believer so that he/she cannot settle down as rest in this world. Those who settle down have ceased to be believers because a believer cannot sit still – a believer travel forward in faith. Habakkuk knew of the restless, burning fever of faith, as we see clearly in the 1st reading (Hab. 1:2-3, 2:2-4). Aware that faith requires constant tending in order to grow and develop, the author of 2 Timothy (1:6-8, 13-14 2nd reading) calls upon Jesus’ disciples to stir the flame of faith as one would stir the embers of a fire in order to keep it burning and productive.

Lived faith or service is a natural expression of professed faith. Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel (Lk. 17:5-10) challenges all who would be his disciples to live so as to keep that expression authentic and obvious. Spiritual writer Evelyn Underhill (The Fruits of the Spirit, 1949) emphasized this necessary connection by defining faith as “consecration in overalls”. It means making faith real in thought, word and deed. This is the challenge Jesus holds out today and every day of our lives.

The Great Reversal

Message from: Fr. Jose

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in today’s Gospel (Lk. 16:19-31) is a fine example of the theme of “great reversal” found in Luke, the first reading from the prophet Amos (6:1, 4-7) is an excellent complement to that. Citing their complacency (v.1) Amos warned his listeners that the luxuries they enjoyed were in jeopardy, not because their wealth was intrinsically evil but because they refused to see the needs of the poor and use their considerable resources to alleviate their plight. In short, Amos affirms that the Lazaruses among us have been ignored form time immemorial.

The rich man in today’s parable followed a map that did not include Lazarus and therefore he could pass by the poor man at his gate. The disciples of Jesus are not permitted to follow such a map. To do so would be to reject the new mores of the kingdom that would perceive Lazarus as a needy brother, deserving of help.

If we open our eyes wide enough, we will see Lazarus at our gate. In her book “God’s Lost Children: Letters from Covenant House”, Mary Rose McGeady describes homeless children who sleep nightly on America’s streets as scared, cold, hungry, alone and most of all, desperate to find someone who cares. Wendy, for example has been in twelve foster homes and is now pregnant, 18 and alone. Michelle was physically abused by her mother and sexually molested by her father. Christy, a runaway, telephones her mother, only to hear, “Things are so much better now that you’re not here”. Kareem, about to jump off the highest bridge he could find, is stopped by a New York taxi driver, “You’ll only be holding up traffic”, he yells.

Victims of New York’s sex industry, illegal immigrants employed for just $2.00 per hour due to the lack of a green card. Forty million Americans with no access to health care, those unemployed for weeks due to downsizing and those left in the nursing homes without any visitors are other faces of Lazarus.

Each Lazarus we meet constitutes a challenge to our humanity to the quality of our Christianity, to the authenticity of our discipleship. Have we eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand and hands to help? Do we feel like supporting the victims of the hurricanes? The Lazarus is at the gate. Shall we tend to this person now or, like the rich man in the Gospel, shall we wait until it is too late?

Responsible Stewardship

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore informs the public about the consequences of abusing the earth and its resources. A combination of human ignorance, greed and indifference has resulted in an excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, creating what scientists call global warming. As a result of this preventable phenomenon, glaciers are melting, plants and animals lose their natural habitats, severe storms and droughts are much more frequent. The number of category 4 and category 5 hurricanes has doubled in the last 30 years. Global warming has also caused malaria to spread well beyond the tropics to higher altitudes. Unless this warming is checked, scientists predict that more than a million species could be driven to extinction by 2050.

Today’s liturgy, especially in the first reading (Amos 8:4-7) and Gospel (Lk 6:1-13) , makes it clear that a sense of stewardship is expected of believers. Amos was convinced that such stewardship was inseparable from justice – not mere legal or ethical or retributive justice, but biblical justice, that is fidelity to the demands of a relationship. For believers this relationship binds each to God, and in God to all others. Relating to this biblical justice, author Walter Burghardt affirms that justice and stewardship it dictates concerns relationships to God, to people and to the earth. (“Justice: A Global Adventure”, N.Y. 2004) Love God, says Burghardt, love every human person, enemy as well as friend, as a child of God, fashioned in God’s image. Touch things – God’s material creation – with respect and reverence, as gifts to be shared generously.

Amos was convinced that such justice was to govern all interpersonal dealings, especially between the rich and the poor. As just stewards of this earth’s goods those who have must address needs of those who have not; justice demands a stewardship that cares and shares. When Amos was ignored, he was harsh in his criticisms and chastisements.

When the steward featured in today’s Gospel found himself among the “have-nots” of his society, he took means to assure his survival. Though dishonesty cost him his job, he is praised by Jesus for taking the initiative to save himself and secure his future. Similarly imaginative and even risky measures are required of Jesus’ disciples today. We are stewards of the earth and upholders of justice, and so we are thereby responsible for one another and all others in Christ.

---

Stewardship Toronto

Lost and Found

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

According to a study released in October 2002, by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an estimated 797,500 children were reported missing in the United States in 1999. Of these children who go missing, too small a fraction are recovered. When a child is found and returned home, that homecoming is marked by a relief and rejoicing that cannot be measured.

Having tapped into the contemporary pathos that surrounds children lost and children found, let us allow those strong deep feelings to enable our better understanding and appreciation of today’s scripture readings. In the first reading from the book of Exodus, it is the nation of Israel, God’s chosen sons and daughters, who have lost their way. Rather than remain faithful to God in whose image they had been created they preferred to bow down before images that they themselves had created. This golden calf represented a willful and disobedient departure from God. Nevertheless, God, through Moses’ mediation, welcomed back the prodigal people and was reconciled with them. Israel’s story of returning home to God anticipates and complements the Gospel wherein a lost sheep will be found, a lost coin will be retrieved and a lost son will be restored to the love of his father and the secure comfort of his home.

Today’s second reading will draw us into the experience of Paul. Describing his own as a life of loss and sin, Paul regarded his encounter with Christ on a Damascus road as the moment he was found, forgiven and saved. Moreover, he offers his readers the example of his own experience as a pledge of what God can and will do for all who are lost in sin.

The experience of the wayward son featured in today’s Gospel (Lk 15:1-32) is also represented as an example and pledge of God’s loving mercy for sinners. So extreme was the son’s experience of being lost that Luke refers to him two times as being dead (Lk. 15: 24, 32). His experience of being found is so exuberant that it is twice equated with being alive. As Fred Craddock has explained in his book “Luke” there is something worse than death: being lost and alienated from a forgiving God. So also there is something better than life: being found and welcomed home.