A disturbing message

There is a  sharp, focused and disturbing message that comes across clearly in most of the parables of Jesus.

Many of the parables of Jesus have two groups of people. There is the first group for whom everything goes well. They are the close friends of the master, they work hard the whole day in the vineyard and in the field, they don’t wander far  from home but stay close to the father, they go right up to the altar and pray with uplifted hands, they say ‘yes’ when father requests  them to work in the field.

There is a second group for whom everything seems to go wrong. They live in the lanes and by lanes, they are lazy and report for work at the eleventh hour, they take risks and wander in far away countries wasting the father’s property, they come close to the church door but don’t enter in,  they rebel and say ‘no’ to their father’s request.

What is impressive  about the first group is their virtues: They are hardworking, and chaste, they stay close to the altar, they are friends of the master, they  say ’yes’ to the father’s request, they pray with uplifted hands, they are punctual, dedicated, chaste, sacrificing, obedient. They are not thieves, they are not adulterers. Everything seems to go well with them. They are friends of the master, they are respected, they are held in high esteem by people. These could very well be considered candidates for Canonization!

  What is evident about the second group is their sins: They are disobedient, they rebel,  they wander, they are lazy, they are thieves, rogues, and adulterers. Their friends their families, society and they themselves know their sins.

What is shocking is the conclusion of these parables. The good ones turn out to be the grumblers, unhappy, resentful, jealous, angry and refusing to go inside the house. Instead, the rebellious  ones are celebrating at home, they are happy and contented. While the rebellious son who wandered far is celebrating inside the house,  the hardworking obedient elder son is in the servant’s quarters refusing to go in. The lazy ones who reported at the eleventh hour for work are going home whistling and singing while the hard-working ones are bitter and angry. Those from the lanes and by lanes are in the banqueting hall celebrating, while the close friends of the master are outside busy with  fields and bulls and wives. While the rebellious ’no’ son repented and did  the father’s will the ‘yes’ son refuse to do what the father wanted. The sinner near the door of the temple goes home sanctified while the Priest in the sanctuary  goes home satisfied.

What message has these parables for us who are good Christians, Priests or Religious? To which group do we belong? We are often  hardworking, staying close to the altar, presbytery bound, never seriously disobeyed authorities, mostly chaste, have said ‘yes’ to the father’s request.

These parables offer a message of hope and forgiveness to those who have wandered far. At the same time, it is a warning and a challenge to those who consider themselves ‘good’ and ‘holy’. It is better to be a sinner who repents than a ‘saint’ who counts his virtues and condemns others' failures. It is s better to live in the lanes and by lanes and accept the invitation and  attend the wedding banquet than to be friends of the master and take his invitation for granted and be busy with buying, accounting, and building. It is better to say ‘no’ and repent and do the father’s will than be the ‘yes’ sons and daughters  and never do what the father wants. It is better to wander and come back home and celebrate with the father than to be at home and never know the father. 

-        Fr TVGeorge sdb      

 

 

                                     

“ The beginning of a better world”

( A Marian Reflection )

Pope John Paul II, now St John Paul uses a beautiful phrase for our Blessed Mother, “the beginning of a better world.”

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and God saw that it was ‘good’. He created man and woman and he found it ‘very good.’ The first chapter of the first book of the Bible is so positive about creation and it reflects the optimism of the ancient world, particularly of the Jewish nation, about the world and man.

God did not stop with the ‘good’ and the ‘very good’, the better and the best would follow.

Unfortunately the ‘good’ and the ‘very good’ creation did not allow  God to continue with his plan. Even before he learned to stitch clothes for himself Adam wanted to be like God! The craze for power, the disobedience, the rebellion, of our first parents, resulted in a ‘naked’, dark, and sinful world. God would not allow his good creation to be destroyed and he promised one day he would restore his good creation and even make it still better.

Days, years, and centuries passed. God was not in a hurry. He may delay but he will not forget his promise. God cannot be blamed for the delay, he wanted man’s collaboration in making the world a better place. It took centuries before he could find one who would fully cooperate with him.

“Hail, full of grace” the angel announced to Mary. It was the first time, one of the human race, has been addressed as, ‘full of grace.’ Mary’s Immaculate Conception and her ‘Yes’ to God was, “the beginning of a better world.”  

The Fathers of the Church call Mary, ’the dawn of a new day.’ Between the night and the day, there is a period called ‘the dawn’. The ‘naked’, dark, sinful night is over. The day is at hand. Mary stands in between night and day. She is ‘the dawn’, the ‘better’ creation. She will initiate the day. Soon the Sun will rise.  The Best is yet to come!

At the time of the Baptism of Jesus, a voice was heard, “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.“ The creation that was ‘good’, and became ‘ better’ with the ‘Yes’ of Mary, has now become ’well pleased’ with the baptism and the inauguration of the public life of Jesus.

While the three synoptic gospels, tell us about the baptism and the voice from heaven, St. John’s Gospel does not speak about the details of the baptism of Jesus nor about the Father’s voice. Instead, St. John gives the miracle of Cana, to initiate the public life of Jesus. Instead of the Father’s voice, ‘Listen to him’, St John gives the mother’s voice, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ The message of the Father and of the mother are the same. Just as Jesus listened and obeyed the Father’s voice, he now listens and obeys the mother’s voice.

At the Annunciation, Mary said ‘Yes’ and the result was the Incarnation. At Cana Mary renewed her ‘Yes’ and the result was, in the words of the steward, ‘the best wine’. “You have kept the best wine until the end. “, complained the steward.

 God kept the best until the end. There is always a climax to every story. So is the story of the Creation and Redemption. The Creation that was ‘good’ at the beginning, became ‘ better’ at Mary’s ‘Yes’, is now  ‘the Best’ with the inauguration of the public life of Jesus. The ‘best wine’ is symbolic of the ‘best world’ that God had in mind, which Jesus inaugurates at Cana.  Cana will lead to Calvary. Mary will be there once again to renew her ‘ Yes’ and initiate 'a new heaven and a new earth.’

Insist on the Best! The Best is Christ! But the way to the Best is, the ‘good’ and the ‘better’. Creation and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are the first chapters of a  great story – the Story of Jesus. 

-        Fr TV George sdb