Grace, peace and purpose of Christmas

Time magazine this year declared the Protester to be the 'Person of the Year' - and certainly 2011 was an extraordinary year of protests and revolutions. But it was not the first year to be noted as such - and one event that began a revolution that continues to this day was the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, which we celebrate on this Sunday of the Nativity.

The revolution that Jesus began was not begun with riots and violence, but with a revolution of grace and peace.

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Recorded at St Paul's, Camden

PowerPoint slides

The Kiva.org parish page can be found here: http://www.kiva.org/team/stpaulscamden

First and last

The parable that Jesus tells today, from the beginning of Matthew 20, about a landowner hiring workers for his vineyard throughout the day - some who begin work at 6am and work for 12 hours for the agreed standard wage, and then various other groups who are employed at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm - is probably not your favourite - nor even in the top ten of the 40 parables that Jesus told. Many people find this parable annoying and unfair - particularly people who have been actively involved in the church for a long time!

Strangely, when it comes time to make payment, the owner calls the latest arrivals first and begins by paying them the standard rate - not for an hour's work, but for 12 hours work. Of course, those who had worked longer therefore expected that they would receive a more generous rate of pay - instead they only get what they agreed to in the first place. No matter how much the owner protests that he is not being unfair - he is paying what they had agreed to work for - the parable goes against our deeply ingrained sense of fairness and justice - a sense that even the youngest of children are able to know. To demonstrate this, just try setting unequal portions of icecream before a group of children, or cakes that are different sizes!
So how do we make sense of this parable?

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Recorded at SJV, 8.30am (9'29")

Leviticus and Jubilee

The book of Leviticus doesn't get much of a run within the lectionary readings - just two weekday readings and a single reading during the Sunday cycle in Year A and Year B. Since there were none during the leactionary readings before the Second Vatican Council, this is a vast improvement. Nevertheless, Leviticus still has the record for stopping many valiant attempts to read the whole of the Bible. What this reading from Lev 25 does remind us about is the concern for justice that our God has. The Jubilee - even if it was never fully practiced in the life of Israel - speaks of God's desire to return people back to their basic freedom and their connection with the land.

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Recorded at the Catholic Fraternity Regional Meeting, Brisbane (8'03")

Heaven and earth together

The feast of the Ascension can be one of those feast days that seems utterly bizarre and irrelevant - it is so mythological and pre-scientific to border of pointless. Or if we can reclaim it somehow in our understanding of its place in the life of Jesus, we can still be left wondering what this means for us. One bridge that we first have to cross is the acknowledgment that much of our thinking is not biblical - we are more formed by the systems of thought that the western world has taken from the ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle than they are by the rich eastern and Hebrew spirituality of the Bible. We tend to think of the world in a dualistic way - divisions between spirit and matter, between good and bad, here and there, now and then. When we think of heaven and earth, we try to fit them into one or several of these dichotomies. But this doesn't help us to approach the Ascension and its meaning - to do this we must dive into the original biblical vision.

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Recorded at Mater Dolorosa, 8.30am (11'15")
Ascension Sunday. Acts 1:1-11; Matthew 28:16-20.

Living on the third day

Welcome to the third day - the day when everything is different because of that day - which John calls the first day of the new week, when the tomb was empty. On Friday we waited in silence and we mourned and lamented. We so often live our whole lives on Friday. We are shocked by the latest scandal, disaster, war or sin. We live in quiet despair, in anxiety and fear. We imagine that the darkness that we see around us is all that there is. But that is not the end of the story. Jesus didn't stay on the cross and his body is no longer in the tomb. Everything is different now because we live on the third day. The day when we remember that resurrection changes the game. Resurrection shows us that God has not finished with the world yet - the world that he loved into creation. This world that we call home is slowly being changed and transformed, renewed and restored. God has not abandoned our world and God will not abandon our world, because this is the world that he loves. But it is only when we leave Friday behind that we have the eyes to see how and why everything is different on the third day - on Resurrection Sunday. But the choice is ours. We can choose to stay and live on Friday. Or we can believe in the one who left Friday behind and begin to live with him on the third day - to be children of the resurrection.

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Recorded at St John Vianney (8'49")
Easter Sunday morning.

The voice of justice

If justice and injustice were in the flesh, what would they say to us?
Which voice would commend, which would rebuke — and whose voice would be most familiar?


The Voice of Justice from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.

See more: http://www.thejusticeconference.com/

Offer the left cheek

A story told by Eugene Peterson (the author of The Message Bible - a translation in very contemporary English) of the day when the tables were turned on Garrison Johns - the school yard bully who had beaten up on Eugene every day after school for seven months - highlights the way that we have often read this teaching of Jesus. Perhaps if we reconstruct what this teaching would have meant to the first hearers, we can discover a richer source for reflection.

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Recorded at St John Vianney, 8.30am (9'35")
Sunday 07 in the Year (A)
Matthew 5:38-48

Grace is found beyond justice

Sunday 24 (Year C) - Luke 15:1-32
I heard during the week of an Australian policeman who has been working for many years in the highlands of Papua New Guinea with the local tribes people there. For many generations their custom has been to seek vengeance for any slight or injury through violence, and consequently the incidence of injury by axe and machete is very high. But through this policeman, slowly this community is discovering a different way of dealing with conflict - the way of justice. We could dismiss this as just being the behaviour of people who are much more primitive then ourselves. And yet...
Today, many people around the world are remembering what we were doing nine years ago, when we heard about the events of September 11, 2001. I was on a silent retreat, so it was only when I went to Mass that morning that I heard the brothers in the monastery pray about the events in the Prayer of the Faithful. I am sure that everyone here is able to tell exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news; news that continues to have ramifications across the world, as Australia continues to be part of the so-called coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. We also heard during the week of an American pastor who thought that the most appropriate response to a mosque being built near ground zero was to burn copies of the Koran. All of these responses are simply one level of responding within the boundaries of justice.
But although we worship a God of justice, our God is so much more than just. He doesn't just deal with us according to the demands of justice - he treats us with the mercy that we never deserved. This is one of the reasons that the Pharisees - good, God-fearing, upright and religious men and women who are faithful to the demands of the law, and cannot understand how this Jesus person can bear to share with these notorious tax-collectors and sinners. Unlike St Paul, himself a former Pharisee, who knew that he never deserved to be treated specially or that he deserved to be saved, these people think that they merit the kingdom of God because of their good works and deeds. It is in that context that Jesus tells the three parables that comprise the whole of Luke 15 - the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.

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Recorded at St John Vianney, 8.30am (7'50")

Vapour, riches and hell

18th Sunday (Year C): Luke 12:13-21 & Qoh 1:2, 2:21-23

We have in today's Gospel one of only two times in the parables of Jesus when he describes some action committed by a person that it deserves only one judgement - death. Like the other story (the rich man and Lazarus, also in the gospel of Luke, 16:19-31) the cause of this terrible judgement is not because the person has broken one of the ten commandments, but because of an incredible greed and a selfish disregard for the needs of the poor. This view is reinforced by the selection of the first reading - the interminably depressed writings of Qoheleth (also called Ecclesiastes, from the Greek translation) who at the end of a life filled with riches and pleasure, knows that all of these things are mere vapour ('hebel') - meaningless vanity. So where do we find our hope?

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Recorded at St John Vianney, 8.30am (7'08")

What resurrection means for the world (Easter Sunday)

We celebrate that moment in human history when the stone was rolled away. A sign and symbol of the separation that exists between life and death. A grave-robber had come – but it was God the Father who had acted in human history to defeat death. Death is our greatest fear and worry – human death, but also the death of relationships, business, work, and hope. All of that was changed as a result of Easter. New creation. New life.

But the final line in the Gospel today is telling – the disciples did not yet understand the Scriptures. Perhaps that is still true.

The resurrection is about the transformation of human society. These things do not happen easily or quickly.

- It took 18 centuries for Christians to realise that slavery was wrong and had to be removed from society (a battle that continues – with more slaves now than ever before in human history – some 27 million) – even though there is clear teaching in the Old Testament as well as the New against slavery

- It took another hundred years before women were recognised as equal in dignity and the battle for women’s liberation began – again, even though there is clear teaching, particularly in St Paul, that all are one

- It took the terrible scars of the Holocaust that were the great blight of the 20th century for Christians to finally acknowledge and admit that the Church had deep anti-Semitic roots and had contributed to the many pogroms against the Jewish people and had systematically missed and ignored the deep Hebrew spirituality that is so deeply inherent in the NT

- It was Christians who were at the forefront of the civil rights movements, both in the US and here in Australia – but again this work to eliminate racism continues.

- It was only in the late 20th century that we began to realise and acknowledge that creation was a gift, and we were called to be stewards, not destructors of this incredible gift. We cannot continue to pollute and destroy our environment.

- Perhaps the great shame of the abuse and violence against children and the most vulnerable in our society that has begun to be uncovered in the past few decades will continue to humble the Church and lead to a more realistic and honest return to the ways of Jesus.

- We cannot tell how long it will take for other deep wounds that exist in our world to be transformed. The deep inequality that exists between nations; the power and role of women within our Church; the dignity and respect that is due to homosexual people. These are among many, many issues that cry out to be addressed within our world.

And it is only in the power of the resurrection that we are able to have our minds transformed and renewed so that we are capable of being bearers of the truly good news of human freedom through forgiveness and the defeat of death.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15)

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Recorded at St Michael's, 9.30am (6'55")

Mary the revolutionary

Christmas 2009 – a revolutionary Christmas
Christmas often brings out the very best in us; but of course it can also bring out the very worst. If we are honest, we can probably admit that at times all we want to do is gag at the very mention of it. Sometimes we tell the story of Christmas in a way that is absolutely detached: we talk about all the cute little animals, and eggnog, Santa, snow, reindeer, drummer boys and perfect babies that never cry or soil their nappies.

Luke’s Gospel tells us that “Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken.” (Luke 2:1)
Julius Caesar was the first person to declare himself emperor or use the title Caesar. He had no son, but when he was assassinated in 43BC, he passed on the rule to his nephew, Octavius. There was a power struggle for a number of years, between Antony and Cleopatra on one side, and Brutus and Octavius on the other. Eventually Octavius won, and became undisputed emperor in 31BC, taking the name Caesar Augustus. He would go on to rule for 45 years. He declared his adopted father to be a ‘god’, so Augustus then declared himself to be the son of God. He saw himself as a divine mediator between God and man, and required people who were part of the Roman Empire to greet one another on the streets with ‘Caesar is Lord.’ One of the popular sayings of the time was ‘there is no other name under heaven by which you can be saved, except for Caesar.’

Essentially the whole known world from England and Europe down through Africa to the Middle East and beyond was part of the Roman Empire. If the Roman Army came to your town you basically had two choices – worship Caesar as Lord, or face either slavery or death – usually by crucifixion. There are stories of people who tried to resist the onslaught of the Empire, and the response of the army was to crucify every person in the town, including one report where 6000 slaves were crucified as a sign to prevent others from rebelling.
Now Caesar couldn’t rule effectively such an immense area without using local overlords and rulers. So he would find people that were loyal to Rome. In Israel, the local ruler – Herod - was half-Jewish and half-Edomite. He is most famous for his incredible building program – including at least 8 massive fortress-like palaces, two new cities (both of which were named after Caesar – Caesarea which featured the largest human-made harbour in the ancient world and Caesarea Philippi) and the completely rebuilt Jerusalem temple. But to accomplish all of this, Herod added to the already heavy burden of taxation imposed by Rome, to the point that taxation rates were between 70-85%. And we think that a tax rate of 15-30% is too high!

This led of course to widespread despair, fatalism and doubt. Traditionally, most Jewish families would work the land and would own small plots of land that had been passed onto to them from generation to generation by their ancestors. (Think of all the parables that Jesus tells about farmers and shepherds.) Now, many had to rent themselves out as day labourers; some were forced off the land and had to sell their land and move into the cities just to meet the taxes. There was also a small elite who did very well under Caesar and Herod – particularly those who lived in Jerusalem and were directly on Herod’s extensive payroll.
The question on the lips of so many was – will Herod continue to oppress? Will this burden of taxation continue? Will Caesar continue to rule? Will those who have get more? Will those who don’t have enough get even less and less? How long will this go on?
DOUBT. If God is so good, why is this traitor and this oppressor Herod on the throne? Remember Herod is one of the richest people who have ever lived in the world – he could easily compare to Bill Gates. Why can Caesar call himself God – and get away with it? People are starving and sick – and nothing is changing. What about cancer?

How long will this go on? Where are you God? Why is life so unfair?
Doubt. Despair. Fatalism. How long O Lord?
Maybe you have your own question for God right now. Maybe you have been struggling with something for so long you have forgotten when it even began? Maybe someone in your family betrayed you? Maybe someone you loved desperately died recently? Maybe you lost your job? Maybe your spouse had an affair? Maybe your parents are divorced? Or your children? Maybe they have stopped going to Church? Maybe you have cancer?
How long O Lord? Where are you?

What about...
Taxation. Death. Warfare. Terrorism. Hatred.
Feuds. Betrayal. Violence. Divorce. Adultery.
Refugees. Indigenous. Homosexuality. Church.
Environment. Failure. Destruction. Politicians.
AIDS. Cancer. Strokes. Heart attack. Sickness.

Despair. Doubt. Anxiety. Fear. Failure.
Confusion. Loss. Fatalism. Hopelessness.

How long O Lord? Where are you?

(Musical interlude – Sons of Korah, ‘Shelter’)

Then, out of nowhere, this angel appears to a young Jewish girl – probably only 14 or 15 years old. Do not be afraid Mary. I got news for you – you are going to have a baby! (Luke 1:30-38)
Mary’s done her class in biology. She knows how things work … No, the Spirit of the Lord will do this – and that clears everything up just perfectly!
Mary: Here I am - the servant of the Lord – let’s get on with it!
Mary – Caesar is going down; Herod is nearly at the end. In fact he dies a few months later. Mary knows that God is not some kind of detached, esoteric saviour – floating away over there. God will come into this scene and take care of Herod and Caesar. He will come into the very midst of their trouble and be there with them when they suffer.
God is going to deal with everything that is unjust. Mary: I have seen the most powerful kingdom in human history – the Caesars – and it is nothing compared with what God can do.
Because, in my womb, I’ve got me a baby!
Herod is now just a pile of rocks. We don’t even have a reliable image of him. Caesar is much the same. But we are here tonight celebrating the birth of the baby that she carried.
God knows what we have been through. God has not forgotten us. He still remembers us.
God sent his only son into the world. In the womb of Mary.
Musical conclusion: Lady Mary (Sandra Sears)

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Recorded in St Michael's Hall (9.30am) - apologies for the static buzz - the new sound system obviously needs some work! (16'00")

What must we do?

Third Sunday of Advent (C) - Luke 3:10-18.

When you look through the teachings of Jesus, a number of themes emerge - love, prayer, money and faith. But as you consider the teachings of Jesus according to these categories, it quickly becomes apparent that Jesus talks about money and possessions far more than he talks about any thing else - in fact he talks about money 3 times more than he talks even about love (which conquers all); 7 times more than he talks about prayer; and 8 times more than he talks about faith and belief.

So it should come as no surprise to us when we continue with the teaching ministry of John, son of Zechariah, that he too should talk about money and possessions. You may recall that last week, after almost 490 years of silence - the word of the Lord was once again addressed to one of his prophets. And when John began to preach, he proclaimed that what was needed was repentance and baptism to cleanse us from our sins. Now as people come to him, they ask a single question - 'what must we do?'

John gives simple, practical advice in answer: 'if you have two cloaks, you must share with the person who has none' as well as 'don't rip people of' and 'be content with your pay.' John follows in a long line of prophets like Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel in putting the demands of justice front and centre for followers of the Lord. His teaching has been emphasised by the saints across the centuries and by the popes, most especially since the tradition of the Social Doctrine of the church has been given, beginning with Pope Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum (1891). There, the pope reminds us that once our basic needs have been met (food, clothing, housing, recreation, transport), then everything else that we have belongs to those who are poor. This is the idea that all we have belongs not to us, but to the common good.

"But, when what necessity demands has been supplied, and one's standing fairly taken thought for, it becomes a duty to give to the indigent out of what remains over." (Rerum Novarum, 22)

If we want to be followers of Jesus, then we must do the same. If we dare to ask the Lord, 'what must we do', then we should expect that we will receive the same answer. Establish justice. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless. If you ask - but how much should I give? - then the traditional scriptural teaching is that a tithe - ten percent of your income - is a good starting point. Although not specifically taught in the New Testament (although it is clearly presumed in many places), the principle there is that everything belongs to the Lord and we are only stewards of the things that he has given to us. So if everything belongs to the Lord, then we should be prepared to give everything back to him, to take care of all who are (materially and spiritually) poor. And to whom should we give? Yes, we have an obligation to provide for the Church, but beyond that, we should give to any organisation that cares for the poor and needy and engages in works of mercy, evangelisation or charity.

What must we do? It is a great question to ask ourselves in this mid-point of the season of Advent. But be prepared to first look at our credit card statements and our cheque books before we ask it. Then we can know if we have the courage to actually do what the Lord will invite us to do.

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Recorded at St Michael's, 9.30am (10'54")

Justice and Praise

Justice + Praise is the new album from EmmanuelWorship, the amazing Catholic band from Brisbane. This video clip explains some of the songs that will feature on the new album, to be released in June 2009...

Justice and Praise