22 Sunday C / 010913 / I HAVE A DREAM...

50 years ago on the 28th Aug.1963 Dr. Martin Luther King jr delivered his famous speech in Washington DC  " let freedom ring from every hill...
"And wenn this happens, when we allow freedom to ring from every village...
from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual 'free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last"

G. Williams said: MLK's words constitute one of the most passionate political statements of the 20th century, a source of inspiration in the quest for freedom in so many different countries around the world.

2000 years ago JvN also declared his dream: "The kingdom of God is at hand".
The Gospel of today put his dream in practice Lk 14.1-24 At a great meal with Pharisees, Jesus was invited and took the lead:
A (14.2-7): The holy LAW is meant for the liberation of mankind (healing!)
B (14.7-11): The one who humbles himself will be exalted (stay in service !)
C (14.12-14): option for the poor (marginalized / not one let behind !)
D (14.15-24): be awake! there is a danger to loose the chance (kairos !)

In 2013 Pope Francis in Rio de Janeiro (World-Youth-Day) has shown his dream
saying to millions of people:
go...   (ite missa est!) don't do nothing; be engaged; make your dreams come true
without fear...   against all difficulties; with courage and wisdom;
to serve...    give hands to the marginalized, to the handicapped...

In our Sunday-Celebration, as we come together to praise God, we may ask or wonder which DREAM God may have for all his creation, for the whole humanity.
There are many people, mostly named Profets, they mirror the DREAM of GOD.
But one is sure: To make the dreams come true - it needs our engagement.
Therefore at the end of the Holy Mass we say very clearly:
As now God is with you ... go... and lend a hand...

21 Sunday C / 250813 / BIBLE Sunday

As we bring the BIBLE into the Church by procession, we like to show everybody:
The BIBLE is a message for the CHURCH, she may go into the heart und brain and hands of all believers. And the CHURCH brings this message to the World as an offer as an invitation.

Some people, busy with the mystery of God, became and become convinced: they
have understood  whats going on in the mind of God; they got knowledge about the will of God; they know what God is doing! These people are so convinced: they started to write down their discovery. The message about God as the message of God. And the CHURCH has chosen 72 books as holy, as the right interpretation
of the will of God. And this interpretation-work should go on...

As you read the BIBLE, you may read book after book (starting with the Gospels,
then the Letters, then the Psalms, then the Prophets etc... and finally the Genesis) or you may read the 3 Readings of the following Sunday. Your reading is best as you keep in mind the question: what is the message for me/ for us?
If you didn't get any message, your reading is strange. If you like to study the Bible
that's something else; it means you like to find out: how the message  is constructed, translated and onderstood in earlier times.

The Bible is not a reality-report; this is the work of your eyes. But the Bible is a dream, where the reality may go. It's like the speech of Martin-Luther King:
"I have a dream". And the dream is on the way becoming true, changing the reality.

The reader of the Bible must be aware that he has not any more the eyes of the
writers, the composers. We today see things different. We have today not any more the natural eyes, we have x-ray-eyes, or many have special glasses, making  the world dark or changing the colours or the perspectives etc...
If the reader don't know with which kind of glasses he/she reads, there will be no real biblical understanding.
The biblical paradies is not a place to find 150'000 years ago as the homo sapiens came up. It's a dream to see God and Humans united as well man and wive are united. A dream we may never forget...

Maria Himmelfahrt / WHY NOT ?

Der 20. Sonntag C war auch der Festtag von Maria Himmelfahrt.
Die Kirche war natuerlich uebervoll. Ein kleiner Chor hat Lieder in der
Tswana-Sprache vorgetragen... am meisten singen wir Afrikaans + English.

Die Predigt hat guten Eindruck hinterlassen:
1.) Als religioese Kuenstler machen wir uns ein wunderbares Bild von Maria,
mit Phantasie und Wuenschen wird sie uns zur vollkommenen Frau. Es muss
aber klar bleiben: die reale Maria ist uns total unzugaenglich; wir gestalten die auf uns zukommende Realitaet stets "human-compatibel": die Schwingungen machen wir zu Toenen und Farben, die Atom-Anhaeufungen zu Gestalten.
Das Geheimnis Gott verstehen wir so: dass es diese Frau, mit Leib, Geist und Seele nicht nur angenommen hat (akzeptiert) sondern sogar aufgenommen hat
in sein Reich. Es ist gut fuer den heutigen Menschen zu wissen (im Glauben),
dass Gott ihn aufnimmt: in seiner eigenartigen Leiblichkeit, in all seinen Gedanken-
spielen und in all den seelischen Hoffnungen.
Akzeptiert zu werden, gar aufgenommen zu werden: das gibt ein gutes Gefuehl;
das ist heilsam, macht uns gesuender und besser.
2.) Das Fest zeigt uns Gott als einen der Maria akzeptiert und aufgenommen hat,
wir feiern das Fest in leiser Hoffnung, dass uns das selbe geschieht; wir wiegen uns ein in die heilige Willkomm-sphaere.
3.) Wir sprechen heute ueber Maria, ueber den aufnehmenden Gott, aber wir wollen auch unsere taegliche Wirklichkeit uns vor Augen halten. Wie steht's mit unserem An- gar Aufnehmen von Menschen um uns herum? Kennen wir
solche die uns akzeptieren, gar aufnehmen und solche, die wir recht deutlich
akzeptieren und die wissen, sie sind von uns aufgenommen. Fuehlen wir uns faehig,
ein irdisches Willkomm-Klima hervorzuzaubern?
In der Praefation wollen wir heute beten:
In Wahrheit ist es unser Recht und unsere Pflicht; es ist uns Erloesung und Heil;
immer und ueberall die Menschen zu akzeptieren, ja sie sogar in unser Leben
aufzunehmen. Wie wir an- und aufgenommen sind, so wollen wir diesen Glauben
bezeugen im An- und Aufnehmen unserer Mitmenschen. Auf diese Weise schaffen wir ein ertraegliches Miteinander, schlussendlich gar ein befreiendes Fest.

15th August: Mariae ASSUMPTION

Here in Namibia we celebrate this feast on the following Sunday (18.08.13)
The Cath. Church of Orvetoweni in Otjiwarongo is dedicated to this dogma.

For this holy feast I like to consider:
Whatever we see: we realize our particular view; we never see the reality as a whole; we see selectiv, contextual, modelling,, restricted, framed...

Now we look at Mary; the Church has decided to offer a special view:
A) it's about "assumption"; Maria is accepted, assumed - she will become part of
a new reality, of a new world, of a new group. To be assumed is a wonderful feeling;
we wish it to every child, to every human - depraved, excluded gives a terrible feeling.
B) it's about "VIRGIN". Don't be as unclever and bring in your biology.
"Virgin" means open for the grace of God; not yet used; free at disposal...
C) it's about "MOTHER". Receiving life, caring for life, giving birth...
Is there something more connected with Life than mother? Life is the highest level of matter. The contrary of Life is "dead-nothing".
D) It's about "JESUS". A profet, we see acting like God; a healing person full of mercy; totally engaged with his issue (the kingdom of God / fullness of Life).
E) it's about "HEAVEN". Forget for a moment your cosmology. Heaven is unlimited happyness; the most perfect situation;
F) it's about "GOD". The ineffable Holy MYSTERY.

This special view is framed and modelled by our history, imagination and awe...
The compassion uses the strongest language, the highest words...
pls realize: it's not the reality of Mary we speak about;
               it's our constructed view!
A girl, open for grace, conceived, give birth to a profet - life proved - we give her the perfect situation. And so many many stories goes about her...  we keep her present in our own lives.

We are encouraged to dare the same with our friends... not only to keep them in our minds but rather in our lives. Assumption...   is Salvation!

20 Sun C / "blaze the fire"

Lk 12.49-51 offers us an insight into the self-understanding of Jesus.
1.) "I'm a fire-bringer". We remember once the homo sapiens maybe 150'000
years ago has discoverd the fire. Later, maybe 40'000 years ago, the holy fire
was defined. And now a new "fire-bringer" - for us: 2000 years ago. Every Easter
night we recall this fire-history: the wood-fire, the fire in the hand of the people,
the Easter-Candle-fire.
I'm coming to present the engagement for the Kingdom of God.
I'm actualizing the participation with the fulness of Life.
2.) I wish the fire blazing...   it's incredible, what a picture... the world a blazing fire! We normally see a cosmos shaped by the logos... now in strict order...but Jesus is in favour of the fire, in favour of a total renewal...
3.) I have to undergo the Baptism of "death and resurrection". Like everybody!
That's the way into the fulness of Life. Life is light and shade, chaos and cosmos,
heaven and earth. Engagement is storm...
4.) I'm in great distress...  why?
Because the fire is burning down the world ? or because of the Baptism?
becaue of the chaos you bring? or because the fire is down to ashes?
It's not the fire-engament and not the natural baptism who brings distress!

Jesus knows he brings division! But his aim is unity You may be one...
He is doing what he don't like...   later: St. Paul has the same experiences!
This famous contradiction in the human existence brings him distress!
He likes to bring peace and causes division (one against the other).
Where is the salvation of such a situation? Your love brings hatred...
Jesus didn' have the time to solve the problem, the cultural evolution didn't
yet offer a solution... we must engage in this direction: not any more
self-understanding but we-understanding.

We have to negotiate the use of the fire until the fire blazes in favour of all.
We have to distribute the gold until everyone get his share.
We have to learn until everyone knows.
We have to believe until everyone recognizes.

19 Sun C / incredible...

notice: on the 18th Sunday C (04.08.13) I was in Otshikuku to participate
with the AGA of the APC's.

Lk  gives us a sentence of Jesus (Lk 12.32), the most people are not able to believe; it's too much for every understanding:
IT HAS PLEASED GOD TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.
It has been a pleasure for God to give to all humans the fullness of Life.
It's not only an offer, it's a fact (already happend).
If you take this message for real, you will stop to ask again and again:
please give us (like children not knowing how much they already got).

This basic teaching of the CHURCH is not accepted by many; esp. in the Liturgy
and in the Spirituality. Too many people feel before God as beggars: please give me / give us...   and because they can not believe to be well gifted, they are not
able the understand the importance of the following consequences:

1. now as a well gifted person, be dressed for action...
2. now as a well gifted person, keep your lamp lit...
3. now as a well gifted person, be ready to enter the door...
4. now as a well gifted person be awake (waiting for the Master)...

In reality it means we must give hands to each other and do our part
1. to wait for the day, for the sun, for the chance...
2. to receive what is given.... to learn to receive, to enlarge the capacity to receive, to avoid the feeling: now it's enough...
3. to become active; to shape the day and the world; to distribute all the
received gifts and to share ...  and one day: to give thanks!

The whole Gospel of today is a wake-up call...  and now as we go into the spring-time: we may discover how the plants bring the blossom - and this, oh wonder - without rain. There is a lot of resources all around - given to all - but we must become acvtive, to shape the Community.