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Saint Matthew paints a great picture of the Judgement at the end of time. His imagination runs riot in a heavenly courtroom, complete with angels. A room filled with suspense. The fact of judgement is a given but the criteria are not yet clear. The Son of Man King begins, as Matthew always likes Him to begin, by dividing the nations in two. Sheep to the right, goats to the left. The goats are nervous now but it is not yet clear what the Son of Man King is looking for in terms of success or failure.
This text is often called, 'The Gospel of the Final Surprise!' but in reality, the criteria has been there since the foundation of the world. Now, the Father of the Son of Man King is blessing those who were good to His Beloved Son. The sheep' ministered to Him when he was in need or in trouble. This is the "Open Sesame" into the Kingdom of the Father. The sheep are surprised. What about keeping the rules? Or making great Art? Or visiting the Temple/Church/Synagogue/Mosque? Is all that counts how you treated the Son of Man King? The sheep are confused. They cannot seem to remember seeing the Son of Man King in distress. But He reassures them that he is so connected to all creation that even when they did it for the 'least' they did it to Him. And it seems there is also a fire which has been prepared since the foundation of the world. The goats warrant this final home because they did not help the Lord in distress. They did nothing. The goats are confused, asking the same question as the sheep. But the Son of Man King is clear that they did not care for the least. Although the sheep and goats share the same confusion, the sheep clearly just attended to the suffering of people around them without considering their 'status' or their ability to pay them back in money or influence. The goats did not see the Son of Man King, but if they had known it was He, you can be sure they would have helped. This would have been a good deed with a guaranteed payback. 'If we had known it was you, O King, and not some miserable nobody, of course we would have helped. Sheep care without calculation. Goats care only with calculation. Saint Matthews' Judgement scene is exciting. It suggests that the genuine qualities of those who have been filled with the Spirit of God are first, that they act without hesitation to help someone in need. Secondly, they do so without calculating if there is anything in this for themselves. Lastly, their actions remain hidden. This reminds me of the story of a woman who went with some friends to an Ashram. She described this experience as touching the 'real thing'. Asked what she meant, she said that they stayed about six weeks, at the end of which she had a chance to talk to the famous spiritual teacher who lived there. She told him that everything they had experienced during their stay was remarkable. Without missing a heartbeat, he replied, "Everything you see here is because of the grace of my grandmother". You see, she said, he had no need to promote himself or call any attention to his abilities. He knew they were a gift from elsewhere. When caring just happens, and no one is claiming the credit, we know the Spirit of God is present. So, if I was a reporter interviewing the sheep lounging around in their newly inherited Kingdom, and asked them how they managed to find themselves such amazing digs, I imagine them saying, "We just cared for every person we met, immediately and without calculation. And it wasn't a big deal". Or so it seemed!
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 Wise sayings, or proverbs, are usually written on the back of experience. ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, ‘A stitch in time saves nine’. Our first reading this weekend is taken from the Book of Proverbs. In a nutshell, if we are looking for a perfect wife, husband, friend or partner – we will never find them. But if we are lucky enough to find someone who is wise, we will probably be as close as we’re going to be to the dream. So, while Wisdom is praised, and praised again as more precious than money, so too is reverence for Sacred Things. The Psalmist declares that those who move with reverence in the world, in their homes and communities rarely lack anything, and are never lonely. We can find many examples of this through all of Sacred Scripture.
Then, just when we thought that we were beginning to understand the spiritual laws that govern our lives, Jesus comes along and stands them on their head. The format of this weeks’ parable is tried and tested. Usually, after the Master has given his gifts and instructions and then departs, the first two get it wrong and the last one gets it right. When it is told in this way, everyone loves the comedy and are delighted to see the underdog winning for a change. But Jesus’ version turns the story into a tragedy. Worst still, the one who has the least going for him, gets it wrong and loses even that! What’s going on here? Notice that the servants are not in a competition with each other. But they are in a competition with themselves. What will they do with what has been given to them? Well, first they have to understand the spiritual laws that govern their lives. God gives everything to them freely. They are then invited to give away what they have received. According to physical laws, when we give something away, we no longer have it. But according to spiritual laws, when we give it away we are astonished to see that it doubles! Now comes a new understanding of how Spirit grows and a greater responsibility to make that happen. This is what the parable calls, ‘entering into the joy of your Master.’ The Master who knows spiritual laws, calls these servants ‘good and faithful’. They have been faithful to goodness by imitating it. It was given to them, they gave it to others, and now they watch it grow and unfold. But alas, the same law of the spirit proposes a ‘use it or lose it’ adventure. If Spirit is given away, it increases exponentially. If it is buried, it is lost. The Master, who knows the flip side of the law of happiness, takes the talent away from the one he calls, ‘wicked and lazy’. And, since it cannot stand alone, it is given to the one who has ten. The Master calls this servant, wicked and lazy but the servant rejects this description claiming that his whole life was diminished by being afraid of everything – especially the Master! Notice, the Master does not disagree. In fact, he repeats what this servant has said. But then he draws a different conclusion. Either way, he should have acted to double the gift he had been given. His failure to understand puts him in deeper darkness with only tears of regret for company. So, here’s the thing. We should not take God for granted and instead, nurture in our lives a healthy reverence for what we do not yet know. At the same time, we must never, ever, ever, turn God into a terrorist. Our own experience in prayer should give us a clearer view of the tenderness which enfolds us. If fear immobilises us, we need to find a new strength with the support and presence of good and faithful servants of the Lord. They have much to teach us. But perhaps the most shocking aspect of what Jesus does with this Parable is to remind us that when we lose the Icon of Gods’ Face from our hearts we can talk ourselves into spectacular loss.  It's turning colder and the days are getting shorter. It's great to be able to flick a switch to push the darkness and the cold away. We live in blessed times! But how do we switch on to the teaching of Jesus, especially when we sit with Parables like the one given for this Sunday?
The Kingdom of Heaven is first, a new way of seeing reality and a new way of living in that new reality. Disciples must be transformed away from the ordinary and have the courage to act in the world in an extraordinary way. This is not easy. Saint Paul, writing to the new community in Corinth (2:5,17) said that 'anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.' Today's Parable explores this theme but highlights the danger of missing the main event. From the outset the Parable is strange. Usually only one person awaits the bridegroom - the bride. But here we have ten. The bridegroom is obviously Christ but who are these others who are separated as wise or foolish? The call goes out that in the darkest moment the bridegroom has arrived. Lamps must be lit so He can recognise the faces of those who are waiting for Him. But lamps don't work without oil. The foolish have none, and the wise seem to be really selfish when they tell them to 'go and buy some for yourself'. The truth about the oil is that we have to have our own. Each of us must listen to the teaching of the Christ and make it our own. We cannot fly on the ticket of anyone else. Each person’s lamp must produce its own wattage. In the writings of the early Christians, Isaac of Nineveh wrote, " There is a Love like a small lamp, fed by oil, which goes out when the oil is ended; or like a rain-fed stream which goes dry, when rain no longer feeds it. But there is a love, like a spring gushing from the earth, never to be exhausted". The wise virgins are in touch with this river. So their oil is continuously replenished and not consumed. The foolish have not found it yet. They live by buying and selling. They keep looking outside of themselves for what can only be found within. Worse still, right to the end, the foolish think that it is Jesus, implored as Lord, who will open the door for them. They have not understood that the Kingdom of God has been given to them and they can only open the door by themselves. It is the lamp of their new vision and the oil of Love which will open the door. The Parable insists that must grow up, stand on our own feet and do the will of the Father for ourselves. Even the disciples who claim to have healed, prophesied and cast out devils 'in Jesus name' (Matt,7:21-23) are told it is not enough. The Parable concludes with a caution that we must stay awake to this truth. Every breath we take is the day or the hour when He might come. Gandhi once said, "My life is my message". St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel, but use words only when necessary". The last words of Buddha to his followers was, " Be a light unto yourself". Martin Luther cautioned, "You are going to die alone, you better believe alone". Silesius asked, "What good if Gabriel hails the virgin and does not hail me?" This is the delicate balance needed to be a disciple of Jesus. On the one hand we proclaim from the heart that "He is Lord", yet worshipping Him from afar with extravagant praise and petition is not enough. We cannot ride Him as if he was a horse. He must be invited to take up residence in our hearts. Allowed to build us up from the inside. To confirm us a beloved daughters and sons of God and as sisters and brothers all who really, really care for each other. This is how the Divine pleasure flows through us. Perhaps that is why Saint Paul wrote to the Galatians, "it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ living in me". (Gal:2,20). The Parable of the Ten Virgins alerts us to the situation where we might know everything about Him, except the one thing necessary. But if we awaken to the truth. If we take His Truth to heart. The door opens. We are like a person locked in a room, calling to be freed, who realises we had the key all the time  This weekend, let us joyfully unite ourselves with all people of good will and remember the special bond of love we have with our sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Bamenda.
If we are doing something that makes us miserable we need to stop doing it. Finding joy in ourselves and in our lives, is the first call of the Gospel. We have to know that the ‘yoke’ of the Gospel is easy. Its burden light. In Hinduism there is a saying “Some carry Scripture the way a donkey carries sandalwood. They know the burden but not the fragrance”. Some people, religious and otherwise, love making rules for everyone else to live by. Along the way, they can be inclined to make exceptions for themselves. Those who make laws often think they are above them! Their ambition, of course, is to have increased status. In today’s Gospel, the poor old Pharisees parade their piety to promote themselves. If you didn’t know, Phylacteries are long boxes containing sacred texts. Although these sacred texts are meant to be written on the heart, to become their eyes of the heart, they carefully keep the word of God at arm’s length. They abandon love of God and of their neighbour in favour of Love for themselves and the honours they can manipulate others into giving them. Jesus offers His disciples and new vision of community, freed from this oppressive hierarchical structure. The new humanity will have only one Father and one Teacher or Master and will abandon the use of these titles for one another. The vision is of a new community where everyone is first. A community that thrives on the flow of Grace where all are receiving from God and giving to one another. In the flow of abundance, the striving for status, recognition and exemption will have less power. This is the exact opposite of their experience with the Pharisees. But the question still remains if the disciples of Jesus have ever actually done anything better than the Pharisees in today’s Gospel. Given the history of the Church, and our own personal experience, it looks as if we are doomed to repeat the old mistakes unless we try something new. No one practices what they preach. We can have a clear vision of what is possible. But when we try to live it out, we bump into ourselves, our old habits, our egos and secular social pressures. The Sufi teacher, Pir Vilayat Khan has pointed out that the holiest teacher can fall from Grace when doing their annual tax return! So, practicing what we preach involves what Joh Sobrino has called, ‘an endless openness to conversion’. This need for conversion does not mean we are failing. It comes with the territory of following something large enough for us to betray. So, when we speak of a new vision for community and a new humanity to serve that vision, we should be wise enough to keep the sackcloth and ashes within reach and our eye on the nearest confessional. |
Father Danny
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CATHOLIC PARISH OF ST JOSEPH & ST MARGARET CLITHEROW
St Joseph’s Church. 39 Braccan Walk, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1BE (Directions)
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
South Berkshire Pastoral Area
The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871
St Joseph’s Church. 39 Braccan Walk, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1BE (Directions)
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
South Berkshire Pastoral Area
The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871