Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 14 October 2018

Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

'No creature is concealed from God,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of God
to whom we must render an account.' (He 4:13)

Human beings are experts at cover-ups! Who amongst us at some point in our life hasn't tried to conceal a small misdemeanour, perhaps something we did as a child, trying to avoid explaining how it all happened or why we did it? Fortunately most of us seem to find a conscience on the way of life and become a bit more open about the rights and wrongs of what we have done, but often we still cover up what we would not like shared about ourselves with others. Is this wrong? It depends doesn't it on what is going on! Systemic wrongdoing of a serious and damaging kind should not be hidden, nor should criminal activity or anything that smacks of oppression and injustice.

There are a number of things we need to be concerned about as inhabitants of Mother Earth, not only in the way we treat others, but also what we do to living creatures and the fabric of our world itself. These things cannot be tackled unless we have the eyes and heart to truly perceive what is going on as well as the love, will, and desire to put things right and get things done. However this requires sacrifice from those of us who claim to follow Jesus. The rich young man in Mark's Gospel actively fulfilled the commandments of `God, did what was required of him, but when he asked `Jesus if there was anything more that he could do, stumbled at the requirement to sell all he had, give it to the poor and follow Jesus. (Mk 10:21).

I often wonder if he eventually thought this through and came back to Jesus? , After all Jesus loved him, he was obviously a thinker and seeker after the Kingdom and the Word would have penetrated his inner self, perhaps his love of possessions and riches were changed in this encounter, maybe to a concern about their use and possibilities of sharing with others? I don't know, but I am sure the story didn't end at his walking away from that connection with Christ, he left that encounter in sadness, but perhaps, just perhaps, the touch of Christ's love transformed into joyful giving?

Why do I think this? Because it's our story too, we go back to my comment about our capacity for small cover ups, when we often try hard not to really think about what we have done ,or all those possessions and gifts we are called to share. We can't hide all the time, it doesn't work, for if we truly love God, imperceptibly the voice of Christ will touch all areas of our lives, call us to an honesty about asking for what is that one thing necessary for us.

Oscar Romero said: …"there is a challenge from Christ to the goodness of humankind. It is not enough to be good. It is not enough to not do evil. My Christianity is something more positive; it is not a negative. There are many who say, "But I don't kill, I don't steal, I don't do anything bad to anyone." That's not enough. You are still lacking a great deal. It is not enough to be good'. Like the young man, this one thing that we are called to do, will be something between God and ourselves, but none of us can escape its call. I sense that the one thing necessary is the simplicity of joy, as Paul VI wrote: "For joy cannot be dissociated from sharing. In God Himself, all is joy because all is giving".

Lectio Divina

A challenge from Oscar Romero

"Those who, in the biblical phrase, would save their lives - that is, those who want to get along, who don't want commitments, who don't want to get into problems, who want to stay outside of a situation that demands the involvement of all of us - they will lose their lives. What a terrible thing to have lived quite comfortably, with no suffering, not getting involved in problems, quite tranquil, quite settled, with good connections politically, economically, socially - lacking nothing, having everything. To what good? They will lose their lives."

Paul VI
GAUDETE IN DOMINO
ON CHRISTIAN JOY
May 9, 1975

Joy always springs from a certain outlook on man and on God. "When your eye is sound, your whole body too is filled with light." We are touching here on the original and inalienable dimension of the human person: his vocation to happiness always passes through the channels of knowledge and love, of contemplation and action.
May you attain this good quality which is in your brother's soul, and this divine presence so close to the human heart!

Let the agitated members of various groups therefore reject the excesses of systematic and destructive criticism! Without departing from a realistic viewpoint, let Christian communities become centers of optimism where all the members resolutely endeavor to perceive the positive aspect of people and events. "Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure."

The attainment of such an outlook is not just a matter of psychology. It is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, who dwells fully in the person of Jesus, made Him during His earthly life so alert to the joys of daily life, so tactful and persuasive for putting sinners back on the road to a new youth of heart and mind! It is this same Spirit who animated the Blessed Virgin and each of the saints. It is this same Spirit who still today gives to so many Christians the joy of living day by day their particular vocation, in the peace and hope which surpass setbacks and sufferings. It is the Spirit of Pentecost who today leads very many followers of Christ along the paths of prayer, in the cheerfulness of filial praise, towards the humble and joyous service of the disinherited and of those on the margins of society. For joy cannot be dissociated from sharing. In God Himself, all is joy because all is giving.