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Knowing, Changing and Letting Go

Growing up, my family moved a number of times as my father was transferred by the bank he worked for. And when these transfers took us to a new town, we would go out ahead of the move to see the house that we would be living in, the local Catholic school, the branch that Dad would be working in. I remember clearly the first of these moves to a town in the South West Slopes of New South Wales, and the house on the sloping block, with large granite boulders in the front and back yards. As we were being shown around the house we would be moving into, Mum and Dad were discussing which room would be mine and which would be my sister’s. It was a conversation that we had each time we moved, but the reason I remember it so well from this first move is that by the time we moved in a few weeks later, they had changed their minds, and I got the other room. It didn’t really matter in the slightest. But being our first move, I was apprehensive, and knowing which space would be mine meant someth...
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The Good Shepherd and the role of the Sheep

One of the blessings of life in my home parish is that, once a month, we welcome the Ephpheta community for the deaf and hard of hearing into our liturgy. Sometimes I am lucky enough to be rostered on as the commentator at Mass, and I get to use the very few words or phrases in Auslan that I have picked up from them. The deaf community are very generous in their response when I sign Good Morning, Thank You or Peace be With You at various points in the Mass. No matter how poorly I do it. What brings the community to mind for me this week is the Gospel reading about the Good Shepherd. In it, Jesus declares that ‘when the shepherd leads out his flock, the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger because they do not recognise the voice of strangers’ . It is a strong sensory image, and one that makes sense when I think of calling home from overseas and hearing my wife’s voice at the end of the line. Once I can hear her voice, we no longer seem so far apart....
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At Table and On the Road (Easter III)

This Sunday we hear the story of Jesus' post-resurrection appearance on the road to Emmaus.  Luke tells us that Cleopas is returning home with an un-named companion. They have witnessed Jesus' passion and death, but have not yet heard the Good News of His resurrection.  In his account of the crucifixion, John tells us that Mary, the wife of Cleopas, was with Jesus' mother at the foot of the cross.  Tradition tells us that Cleopas was the brother of St Joseph.  His wife then is Mary's sister-in-law, comforting her in her anguish.  In this context then, a number of biblical scholars suggest that the two disciples making their way home on the road to Emmaus are Cleopas and Mary, his wife.  How remarkable is it then that the two who did not know Jesus on the road are His own uncle and aunt, so shrouded are they by their grief?  When Jesus accepts their invitation to stay with them and share bread at their table, it would hardly have been the first time. Bu...
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Doubts, Differences and Time for the Truth to Sink In (Easter II)

Back in February, just as our Lenten journey was beginning, I heard an interview with Australia's newest Winter Olympics gold medalist. When asked how it felt to win, she said that it had not yet begun to sink in. In other words, the initial euphoria of her victory had not yet given way to what it would mean to her in terms of opportunities and future support for her career.  This Sunday we celebrate the Octave of Easter - a period of eight days after the major feast of our faith - an opportunity to extend both our observance and our reflection, to allow what it is that we are celebrating to really sink in.  In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, our record of the early Church's  faith  response to the ultimate revelation of God's love for us, we are told that "the whole community remained faithful" to the teaching of the apostles and the beginnings of what we would recognise as the sacramental life of the Church. In the Gospel, however, we hear the story ...
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The Suffering Servant, and those who continue to suffer (The Triduum)

This week we have entered into that particular time of our liturgical year that defines our Christian faith, and our relationship with God – the Paschal Triduum. From the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s supper on Thursday evening to the vigil of the Resurrection is one liturgical movement, one extended moment of prayer, reconciliation and thanksgiving that gives life to the Church. There is no dismissal or sending forth at the end of the Mass on Holy Thursday, and the vigil itself begins with the Exsultet. We are sent forth only after we have renewed our faith in the living God as Easter people. At the heart of this lies the Passion of Jesus – of the One that loves us even to death on a cross.   We are all familiar with the story of Christ’s passion, and could all do a reasonable job of recounting the story, from the upper room, to Gethsemane, the home of the chief priest, the praetorium and calvary. But it is Isaiah’s account of the suffering servant that draws my atte...
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Burdens, Bridges and Self-Giving Love (Palm Sunday)

 This week we mark Palm Sunday – a unique celebration in that there are two Gospel readings, not the usual one. And as I read them again, I am struck by the contrasts between them.  In the first we hear the account of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, in the latter His rejection, humiliation and crucifixion.  In the former He is met by crowds cheering and waving green branches. They throw their cloaks on the ground as He passes, carried by a humble beast of burden.  In the latter His own clothing is stripped from Him, and the crowd jeers as he carries the burden of the cross, crowned with thorns and our sinfulness.  As the crow flies, from the Palm Sunday road to Calgary is a little over a mile. By contrast the distance between the cries of ‘Hosanna, Lord save us’   and  ‘If you are Son of God, save yourself’ feels more like an eternity. But the bridge between the two is the wood of the cross and the willingness of Christ to lay down ...
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Faith, Life and Love (Lent V)

This Sunday we are presented with the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is a story regarded by many as a prefiguring of Jesus’ own resurrection, but a comment made by a prominent Jewish biblical scholar has made me look at this story in a new light. We have come across Mary and Martha before, two strong willed and independent women that John tells us hold a special place in Jesus’ heart. Together they live with their brother Lazarus, but he is not the head of the household, Martha is. She is the one that goes out to meet Jesus as he approaches. She is the one in Luke’s Gospel that offers him the hospitality of their home. She is the one that accompanies Him to the tomb.  So, where does this leave Lazarus in this family?  We never hear Lazarus speak. And unlike others whose lives have been touched by Jesus, he doesn’t become a witness proclaiming Him as Messiah.  All we know is that he is deeply loved, and that his passing causes Jesus, Mary and Martha g...
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