Luke 12:13-21 The Rich Man (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 31, 2016)

Gospel:

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” 

Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ 

Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Gospel Trivia:

This short gospel has three lessons, all about wealth:

- The first is when a brother asks Jesus to compel his sibling to share the family inheritance.  There is nothing wrong with this, but normally, when the father dies, then the rest of the family is supposed to continue to live together with whatever possessions the father has left.  In this particular case, one sibling is demanding that the inheritance be divided so that each member can go their own way.  Jesus sees through the greed and shares a parable to provide the person a deeper insight on wealth.

- Secondly, the parable is a lesson on the misconception that the length of one's life depends on one's wealth.  In this parable, the rich man has excluded God in his plans.

- Thirdly, the last verse is actually a separate verse from the parable; it is NOT it's ending.  It points to the proper use of wealth -- not for one's self but for sharing with others.


Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul Publications, 1987), p. 166-168.

Luke 11:1-13 - The Persistent Neighbor (17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 24, 2016)

Gospel:

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” 

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. 

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”


Gospel Trivia:

This parable is found only in the gospel of Luke and talks about Jesus’ teaching on prayer.  It tells of a friend who, by his sheer persistence, was able to obtain a piece of bread from his neighbor for an unexpected guest, but only after the neighbor had initially refused to give him any.  The word ‘persistence’ in verse 8 comes from the Greek words ‘an’ and ‘aidos,’ which is the old word for “shame.” 

Note the following gospel trivia:

- Typically, a house of the poor consists only of the ground floor with the living room doubling as the bedroom.  Thus, being in bed and not being able to open the door is a ridiculous excuse since the door is only a few steps away.

- Also, a village would usually just have one oven for the entire community, and people would know who last used it.  The friend therefore knew who in the village certainly had bread.

- Most importantly, hospitality was a sacred duty during biblical times.  It was the obligation of the whole village, not just the man who actually received the guest, for the guest to be given a suitable welcome.  If the neighbor refuses the friend’s request, he will appear stingy and lose face before the entire community, while the friend will lose face in front of his guest.


It was therefore INCONCEIVABLE for the neighbor NOT to give bread to the friend.  The parable therefore is NOT about persistence in prayer, but how inconceivable it is for God not to answer our prayers.   The neighbor’s reluctance does not represent God’s reluctance, but actually His willingness to answer our prayers.  

Luke 10:38-42 - Martha and Mary (16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 17, 2016)

Gospel:

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Gospel Trivia:

The Gospel gives emphasis on the attitudes of the two characters by acknowledging their names: Martha and Mary.   Martha was worried about many things but Mary did the “one thing needed.”

This passage is often interpreted as the tension between being a worker versus being a pray-er in Church building.  But note what Jesus criticized in Martha.  It is NOT her working too much; but it is her WORRYING and being ANXIOUS too much.  Other versions of the bible also used the words “distracted” and “upset” to describe Martha.  Jesus has many other teachings against worrying.  “Fear not” and “be not afraid” are often repeated verses in the bible.

On the other hand, Mary showed the attitude of a true disciple by dropping everything she was doing in order to listen to Jesus’ word (the “one thing needed”).  When we focus on Jesus, we need not worry.  That applies to our career, our family, our problems, our relationships, and everything else in our life.

What are you worried about?

Other Trivia:

For some reason, we sometimes think of this passage as including a scene where Mary also anoints the feet of Jesus.  This is not mentioned in the passage.

Reference:

Nil Guillemette, SJ.  A Kingdom for All, pp. 353-354.

Luke 10:25-37 - Who is My Neighbor? (14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 10, 2016)

Gospel:

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Gospel Trivia:

Jesus affirms the Law of Moses regarding the greatest commandment: to love God and to love one's neighbor as one's self.

Then two questions are asked in this passage:

-     the first is asked by the teacher of the Law: “Who is my neighbor?”

-     the second is asked by Jesus: “Which one was neighbor to the robber’s victim?”

The first question focuses on the RECEIVER of love, which cannot be answered if one has genuine love.  This is because genuine love does not limit the persons that one loves but rather, it is continually expanding and discovering more persons to love.   Jesus asks the second question – hereby shifting the focus on the GIVER of love.  This represents a dynamic point of view: love has no limits apart from what one’s own heart decides to be the limits. 

Jesus dramatizes this point by using a Samaritan, who was regarded as an “outsider” because a Samaritan is of mixed blood, having intermarried with the invading Assyrians following the division of the Kingdom at around the 8^th century BC.  Thus, they were regarded as EXCLUDED from Yahweh’s “chosen people.”

It should be noted that the use of the "priest" and "Levite" (one who also performs religious duties) is not meant as a criticism of the priestly class.  The first two characters did not help the victim because he appeared dead, and Jewish law prohibits touching a dead person (or even the bed he is on) as it would make one unclearn.

The love that Jesus teaches is not written in the law, but written in one's hearts.  We can be a neighbor to all, regardless of our relationship with them, if we allow it.

How can you enlarge your circle of love?