THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Mal 3:19-20a // II Thes 3:7-12 // Lk 21:5-19
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
We all are well aware that Halloween is over a couple of weeks before
and yet I feel like this Weekend as a scary weekend/Sunday. Why do I say? The
readings we just heard are not pleasant; it speaks about judgement and
punishment. It is simply in black and white; it reminds us about the end of
everything.
So, let me tell you a story:
Once upon a time, a poor woman with her infant child lived in a remote
village who struggled to find her daily living. Her poverty was so intense and
she was even afraid that her only child would die deprived of nutritious food.
She cried to God to open some ways so that she and her child will live happily.
God heard her prayer, of course, God hears any intense prayer, and send an
angel to her. The angel appeared to the woman, consoled her and told her God
heard her prayers and wanted to give her enough of wealth so that she and her
child can live safely in the rest of their life. In a short span of time, the
angel led the woman and her child to a cave. The cave was closed and at the
entrance of the cave the angel gave some direction to the woman.
The angel told,
“Look, this is a cave covered with full of wealth. You are given an hour
of time and you are free to take as much as treasures from here with in this
time. After an hour you have to come out of the cave and the doors of the cave
will be closed; it will never be opened for you. So be sure that don’t forget
to take the most valuable treasure of your life.”
The woman went inside the cave with her child. You can imagine she was
stunned by the enormous wealth stored in the cave. Then coming back to her
senses, she laid aside her baby and began to grab gold and precious stones.
Time to time, the angel reminded about the time and told her don’t forget to
grab the precious one. Finally, the time arrived, she has to get out of the
cave. She worked until the last minute and managed to get out. The doors of the
cave was closed for ever. The woman was so happy that she has collected the
wealth for generations. She looked everything once again and began to hold it
with pride. Then she remembered about her child and realized that she forgot to
take the baby from the cave. The Baby is inside and the doors are closed. The
woman cried out to God again with great pain. The angel came back. And told
her: Honey, I told you each time don’t forget the most precious one; but you
didn’t get me. We have no way to get into the cave. What is the worth of those
wealth if she loses the child for whom she collected the wealth?
We heard in the opening of the gospel that the people of Jesus’ time
were so proud to say about the beauty of their only Temple. They were so
admired about the beauty and riches and they thought that the beauty will be
there eternally. Just as the people in the
Gospel, we tend to admire the beauty and riches of the Temple which means the
beautiful reality of this world or the firmness of our human institutions, as
if they were permanent, eternal and able to offer a solid foundation for our
hope. However, on the other hand, just as Qoheleth says (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4), "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" No human
reality can stand firm, all is mere appearance, all these things we experience
(again, even our solid institutions) will disappear.[1] This is
a contrasting situation in which we tempt to think transitory objects are real
and the Real are momentary.
What is the attitude of people that we meet in today’s
Gospel?
The people of Jerusalem praised the temple for its
permanence and they placed their confidence in the transitory things. They were
glorifying momentary and perishable things as if they were perpetual and
eternal. Here, Jesus message is clear: none of the things that could offer
security and firmness to their lives (including the most important religious
reality, the Temple), would stand for a long time.[2] It is
true in our life too none of the things that we are holding now including our
wealth can offer security in our life. These are transitory which may lead us
to God if we make good use of them.
This is the question, then we are asking today?
Where am I clinging to? Am I holding on God or things
that have only momentary values?
St. Augustine raises a wonderful question. When soul
depart from one’s body, we say the person is dead? What happen to a person if
his / her soul loses God? St. Augustine Says the person is spiritually dead.
Because, just as the soul, itself, is the life of the body, in the same way,
God is the life of the Soul.[3] So if God
is absent, away from one’s soul, how we can say that a person has life in its
fullness. For that person it is the end of everything.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I encourage you all to listen to the Spirit and ask
yourself whether you are experiencing the presence of God in your life and in
your family. You may have a God problem in which you find some difficulty to
believe something, something that is not meaningful to your rational mind. That
is ok. But i am asking you keep looking for God who is missing from your soul.
Because, If God is away from your center of life, your soul, what is the worth
to say that you have a life and you have everything else? So don’t forget to
hold on to the most precious thing in your life.
Friar Tony Vattaparambil
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