"Increase our faith" (Sun C 27 / 021016)

It's an interesting cry (Lk 17.5), executed by the Apostles: "Increase our faith".
Question: Is this really our cry, our vision, my wish ?
On the one hand: the Lord agrees: Yes: a great faith makes wonders. And faith in a servant is exactly what is needed, that he will do his service, his duty. On the other hand: we know our best reproach: "Lord I cry for help while You will not listen, You will not save". Hab 1.2
Remember: The Lord shows a way to fulfil our vision: "Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets and the vision is for its time eager for its fulfilment". It means: Our cry "Increase our faith" must be taken more than serious. And Tim (1.6-8) gives the advice: "The gift, God gave you, you have to fan into a flame."

It's clear: it's up to us to make our vision, our cry, our wish well known for us and for all!
"Write it down" means: make your vision well known, keep it strong, keep it through all difficulties. And most important: your cry/vision must be visible. People around you must know: you are a personality who likes to be a strong believer. Exactly for this you fan your little faith into a flame.

How to make it ?
a) To belief means to decide. You know God and his Grace is given, poured out. It's like 
a spiritual air. But you have to breathe it in; if not...
b) Faith is poured out visibly, recognisable in the Church-Community.Go to this Community, discover their faith and take it over; breathe it in. Faith is not your property, 
faith is a Community-Gift. Live the Christian-Community-Life and your faith will increase.
c) You feel unsure? You feel God is away, not helping? It's exactly the modern experience of Mother Teresa, the new Saint. She has learnt: do your vacation, do your work - God's Grace and Mercy is given anyway; you believe it or not. There is trouble or joy, satisfaction or disappointment - doesn't matter. Spiritual security ist something of the past...
d) Your knowledge is good - but surely framed, limited - you never know all...  After your
intuition, experiences and knowledge has done the work - the time for decision is coming. Without taking risk - there is no faith-way. Life-Waves: believe - know - believe...
e) A spiritual guide will be of great help - don't make decisions alone.
f) Everyday make it a point to bring your faith at least into your consciousness.

The sanctification of richness... (Sun 26C / 250916)

Together with Luke we know Jesus is the one who is risen from the dead. And together with Luke we know a lot of people do not listen to Jesus...  it means Mr. Abraham is right...   they do not listen to Moses not to the Prophets not to Jesus, the risen Word...
(Luke 16.19-31).
We know more: Moses, the Prophets and Jesus are all doing their best to help Mr. Rich;
they are in favour of him, they like him...  they wish Mr. Rich may get the fullness of Life...
but...  Mr. Rich is strange! He is rich...  and why ???  It is supposed that he knows only himself; all his richness is for him - only! The prove is Lazarus...
Mr. Rich never think about the eradication of poverty, he never think about SHARING.
He is living in his world, for himself...  other people do not matter. He loves only himself, he appreciate only himself, he cares only about himself. He lives in a closed own world. The value, the experience of SHARING - he don't grasp it. He is unable to listen to Moses, to the Prophets, to Jesus. His empathy is dead; no sympathy, no mercy, no warm heartfelt relationship..   Poor Mr. Rich !

Dear Reader... what about you?  Q 01: Are you rich? You should know it!
Did you ever make a bookkeeping...  write down all your richness? your talent, your skills, your friends, your education, your knowledge, your empathy, your hope, your faith, your communities, your family, your health, your dresses, your shoes and all material at your disposal or in your possession... Please discover that you are rich...
Q 02: What are you doing with your richness? All at your disposal - good. You care for yourself - good. You love yourself - good. That's all ??? Are you living alone?
Q 03: Show me the prove that you share. Write down the names of people you share with... maybe make a remark: WHAT you share with ...  soul, mind, body...
Q 04: You work in order to get more rich, richer and richer?  - good.
And did you ever develop a healthy strategy of SHARING?
Q 05: Do you know that God has given the richness of your personality,of your relations etc... the richness of the Kosmos - because it's the start of the fullness of Life.
Q 06: You and your personality, your world and your relations all is given into he hand of others; and you accept it - SHARING means we are given into the hand of each other
and we enjoy it. Now you are very good.
And if you are a Religious...  make the vow of SHARING and forget about poverty. You are called to become an expert of SHARING...   did you ever hear Jesus ???
The "BREAD of LIFE and the WINE of JOY" is broken and given to be shared - 
on the way into the fullness of Life for all...   

The sanctification of poverty (Sun 25 C / 180916)

AMOS (8.4-7) is angry about the swindler - the people who work in darkness to cheat the other one's - these swindlers are people they like to get rich - sorry they have chosen the wrong way, an exploiting way. The real poor people cannot do so - if you have no money, you cannot buy up the poor for money; that's the same for people with poverty vow. In the eyes of AMOS poor people cannot be cheaters - they are sanctified.

1. Tim 2.1-8 gives us an advice... that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives... if we pray for  the King (President, General, Bishop etc...) then the King will be good in any case and you will live in peace. Such a logic is only for poor religious people.

Today Luke is too much emotional (Lk 16.10-13): God or money - slave in every case.
Mother Teresa has done service to the dying people accepting money to do this. She was in no way a slave...  she has done her work by her own decision. God has not helped her with money... but some rich people. God has disappeared into darkness, some rich people came to the fore. 

To Mr. AMOS:  pls listen! Your God of revenge is no help any more. Go to the Education Minister and advice her to educate people to get rich by a honest way...  it means pls educate people: HOW to get rich by a honest way... if there is one; if not - build one.

To Mr. Timothey... today it's proven: the prayer for the King don't make him better You are a herald of a very strange doctrine: pay a ransom to God and God will be pleased. Are you serious ???

To Mr. Luke - sorry - we are not slaves any more. But worse: today we believe in God and appreciate the richness, God has offered by his creation. We are so joyful that we see: the right way is to share, to distribute the richness...  if we are supposed to be poor - we can
not share! only make a vow...
But sorry, the new God of Mercy is in favour of poverty, like the people who vow to be poor... poverty is sanctified; there is no vow to get rich... and all who like to eradicate poverty are not only bad people - against the sanctification of poverty - but also swindlers because they do it also for themselves and for all. 

Jesus a provocateur

This picture Lucas gives us in 6.6-11 is an extraordinary one. Not many time we see such a clear picture of Jesus as a provocateur. In the time of Lucas it was urgent to see Jesus this way. The Jesus-Movement has to understand why they are excommunicated from the
Holy Jewish Community.

Jesus knows - as Lucas paint it - that all the scribes and pharisees are watching Him. It seems Jesus is glad to get a chance. A) He calls the hand-wounded-man into the middle
(not to a secret place). And more: B) Jesus put an provocative questions to all these holy men. C) The answer is clear: every pious Jews knows: the sacred religious LAW is in every case to be kept. But not Jesus. He likes to announce, to proclaim: The religious LAW, given by God or whoever is - in the eyes of Jesus and therefore for the Jesus-Movement - under the "NEW LAW" to heal (and to unite) people.

Jesus has in mind: as you see the situation of the people, of the Nation, of the World - healing is first priority. The Soul and the Body must be healed... only then we are able to build up a better world in the sense of the Kingdom of God.

Since the Baptism every Christian is called to become a Healer - once and today.
It's good to know the 10 Commandments, the Creed, the Prayers... but it's a holy need
to become a Healer. Something we have forgotten by the instruction of all our Sacraments. Every Sacrament has to be a Healing-process, a Healing-chance, a Healing-manifestation - if not, something has gone wrong.
This is a modern learning-process in the Church: HOW to Heal!
Therefore all religious people who keep the religious LAW as the highest will begin to discuss the best "way of dealing with Him" - it means to eliminate Him.
I hope the canonisation of Mother Teresa has been for many participants a healing (and uniting) manifestation.
And our celebration of the Holy Mass - a really Healing process ???