TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY

The book of the Prophet Isaiah is a prophecy proclaimed by three different persons, over a period of 150 years. The first before the People of Israel were taken into exile. The prophet then called the people to turn away from Sin, to be faithful to the God of Israel. The next section from which our first reading is taken is called the Book of Consolation. The people of Israel are in exile. They need hope and strength and comfort. This is precisely the message that the prophet is giving them. The third prophet speaks during the period when the people of Israel return from exile in Babylon (which is present day Iraq.) They find that Jerusalem has been destroyed just like iraq is today.

Now you might say, that is all well and good, but what has that got to do with us today. I prefer to read the Examiner and know where the next band is playing and in which bar in George Street. Actually the first reading is very much a prophecy of hope for us here in the Avalon Peninsula.

2. We have had a series of Church scandals that have rocked the Island 15 years ago. It is history now, especially since similar stuff has hit the Church in other parts of the world. But the pain and the scars are still there.

 As I visit the elderly and seniors, the most common request is: Please pray for my children and grandchildren. They do not go to church. They have not baptized their babies. They are not married in the church, they are just shacking up. It is very much the prophecy of our first reading. The people are accounted stricken, struck down by God and afflicted.

 This afternoon as I was having dinner at the house of a very charming family, that wishes to remain anonymous, the Lady of the House was asking what is going to happen to our three parishes. We do not have priests, we do not have vocations. The three parishes are eventually going to be amalgamated, but which one.

In that sense we are not different from Isaiah 2500 years ago. We too want to hear the message of hope, joy and encouragement. Isaiah tells us what he told the People of Israel in Babylon. “The will of the Lord will prosper, and out of anguish this Christian community will see the light.”

3. Our psalm and second reading have definite signs of facing the crisis and facing the future with joy and strength. In our psalm we said, “ We place all our hope in you” We face the future with boldness, and the reason fro this confidence is because Christ has faced the worst the devil could offer and in the words of Paul, “conquered sin and death.” Jesus says to us: “been there and done that.” You have no need to fear.

4. However we tend to listen and accept the World’s solution, the World’s standard for a solution to the problems. We would like

 a) to win the Lotto 649. It would solve our financial difficulties: We could pay our mortgage, buy a decent car, pay our bills, provide for our children and grandchildren.

 b) we would like our children and grandchildren to come to church, have their children baptized, be properly married and live peaceful and God fearing lives without any problems.

 c) we would like those who hate us to be crushed – to have misfortunes and even death. after all, this is the standard of the world. The survival of the fittest, and the devil take the hindmost.

It is the standard that the Disciples buy into in our Gospel today.

They want to sit at the right and left hand (places of honour) in the Kingdom of God. They want to be the greatest. They do not realize that they are buying into the standards of the World. They are buying into the values that Jesus is trying to eschew. It is the glitter and glory of the Flesh, which is here today and gone tomorrow. It is the glitter and glory that Jesus reminds us that thieves can break in and steal, that moth and rust can destroy.

5. Jesus has a different standard. He says Pick up your cross and follow me. Drink of the cup of suffering that I am going to drink. The apostles are like little children. “We can and we will” They do not understand the full implications. But they are willing to go where the brave do not go.

 Actually it is simply the case of living out our Baptismal Promises to the fullest. These are the promises that our parents made at the time of our baptism, and which we made at the baptism of our own children. Like the Apostles – I wonder how many said “Yes we will” without fully understanding the promises we were making.

 It is an acceptance of a whole new set of standards and values. We promised “to reject Satan and all his empty promises.” It was an acceptance of what Jesus says in today’s Gospel,

• The first shall be last, and the last shall be first
• If you want to be the master, you must serve your brothers/sisters
• You shall wash the feet of your fellow disciples,
• You shall reject pomp and circumstance, and embrace the Kingdom of God.

During the Parish Mission which begins tomorrow at 7:00 we will be looking at the Face of God who has made us in God’s image and likeness. We shall take a look at the values into which we buy and by which we live. It is going to be an exciting time. Come along and bring a friend.