 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
 |
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time Mal 1:14b‑2:2b, 8‑10 1. On 14 August 1969, our Jesuit Community in Guyana bought a new Morris Minor 1000, a British car known for its endurance. In 1980, when I was appointed as Parish Priest, the Jesuit
superior gave me that same Morris Minor. It purred like a kitten after 11 years of use. The engine without the need of reboring worked as if new. I made sure the car was working well by changing the oil every four
months whether it needed it or not. In 1999, the Bishop sold that car for twice its original value. The purpose of the car was two fold: to take me to the various parts of the parish, and to take me safely. It did
so. Cars like that are not built anymore. The companies would fold up. Now a days we have what is called built in obsolescence, built in system for the cars to fall apart after x number of years. 2. When God called the prophets, God did not have a built in obsolescence plan. The prophets were there to guard Wisdom, to instruct the people in the Torah and to give Glory to God. Malachi, one of the last of the prophets, worked about 500 years before Christ. He was at the end of five centuries of classical prophecy. He was very sharp in his criticism of his fellow prophets because they failed to give Respect to the name of Yahweh. They were cultic prophets who used this ministry for their own gain. They would be offered “animals without blemish for sacrifice”. They would substitute lame animals, blind animals, blemished animals and keep the change for themselves. They did not couple a commitment to social justice and a care for the poor and needy in the community. 3. In our own times, the priests and other hierarchical officials have the same mandate. However, at times we are concerned with only guarding Wisdom and instructing the people. I lost four out of the nine priest professors in theology. They were and are still good men. They were so caught up in academia, in teaching but with no contact with the people, that soon they found no purpose in the priesthood and “gave it up”. Like the car in my parish, they were functioning very well, but took you no place.
4. We will always need leaders in our community, they might be kings like David, prophets like Isaiah, or leaders like Moses, Esther and Judith. They need not be priests or cultic figures, but their mandate will always be the same: guard the accumulated Wisdom and instruct the people in the Law give Glory to God be committed to social justice and be a defender of the poor and needy. In this respect, the prophets in the time of Malachi received a Failure mark. 5. Paul on the other hand gives his community at Thessalonika an A++. Here is a community that continued to be faithful to the Word of God, because they received it as such. Paul and the other leaders had sown the seed, they had opened the Word of God to the Thessalonians. Now that the leaders had moved on like Jesus move to towns and villages who also needed to hear the Word of God. The Thessalonians continued to build on the foundations laid by Paul and the elders in the community. Paul is commending them for being faithful to the Good News preached to them. They did not water it down to mere human wisdom, but accepted it for what it was: the Word of God which does not return without bearing fruit. 6. In the Gospel, Jesus picks up where Malachi apparently left off. He calls the Scribes and Pharisees to task because they have made Wisdom and the Torah, the Law their own property. They have made this ministry an end in itself and they have not given to God the things that belong to God: Glory and Honour. However, unlike Malachi who weighs into the prophets of his time and criticizes them sharply, Jesus uses a different course of action. He tells his disciples to keep their distance from these teachers of the Law lest they be contaminated with a similar arrogance and pride. These teachers of the law would neither go to heaven nor allow others to go there. They would put burdens on the people and neither advise or help the simple, the needy or the poor. These scribes and Pharisees were the official teachers and hence people had the duty to listen to them; but Jesus advised his own followers against imitating the Scribes and Pharisees or following their example. 7. In our own time, this applies to all of us on two levels. The first, we priests have to be faithful in learning and updating our knowledge of the faith and teaching it to those who come to learn. We have also to be remember the advice given at our ordination: practise what you preach. 7b On the second level, as a people of God we have to be faithful to the promises we made in baptism. Everyone here is either a parent with baptised children, or a godparent of a child/person who has been baptised. In the course of the Baptism Rite, you made a promise to God and to the church community, that you would do everything to bring the child up or help the parents to bring the Child up according to the faith. According to that Rite, you promised not only to teach but show by example how to love God and keep the commandments. Like the prophets of Malachi’s time, there is no built in obsolescence as far as those promises are concerned. We have to guard the wisdom of our church and tradition instruct those for whom we have taken responsibility give honour and respect to God . This has to be coupled with our commitment to social justice and a care for the poor and the needy. My prayer today is that we can merit the praise that Paul had for Thessalonians and not the criticism of Malachi for the prophets of his time. God bless you all. |
||
