Sunday 22 A
Mt 16.21-27
Rom 12.1-2
Jeremiah 20.7-9
The Ev-Mt likes to show us: Jesus has discovered: his message brought too much
difficulties for the authority. They will put him to death...
Jesus tells his insight to his disciples. For the loyal Peter it's clear: "this must not
happen to you". What is the solution ? To change the behaviour ? Reduce the
message ? To adapt to the situation ? For Jesus it's clear: there is no other way!
And Jesus makes it public: Peter (with your thinking) you are an obstacle in my path.
Every baptised Christian has to know: life is bread - broken for the salvation for all.
The living body is "bread + wine for the life of the world" - but only as engagement for
the Kingdom of God.
The "new mind" knows: we live in a world where the unclean spirits still destroys
the joy of life. And because we do not model our behaviour on the behaviour of the
old world - for many this means: death-sentence.
Change the world - in the direction of unity, of fullness of life for all... is a cross-way.
Jeremiah has undergone this great trouble... and he shows his temptation:
"I will not think about God any more; I will not speak in his name any more".
On the other side he feels: "there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart"...
the fire of love for the Kingdom of God.
Our Sunday-Celebration opens our eyes and our mind of the reality in which we live:
the world is still in a situation, where the living body of the Christians is to be valued as "bread + wine" given and poured out for the Kingdom of God.
Such a life - where the cross-way is the resurrection-way - is the "perfect thing to do".
Thereof is Paulus convinced. Blessed the one who can take it.
After we got the importance
of transfiguration (6. August),
we have taken a glance at
Mary of Nazareth; She got Heaven
(fullness of Life) as a GRACE and
because she believed that the
promise of God will be fulfilled.
The 20. Sun A (20.08.2017) proclaims:
This GRACE of God is for all people in this World. It's an offer for all...
Already Isaias (56.1...) opens the view "also foreigners who have attached them-
selves to the Lord... these I will bring to my holy mountain".
And Paulus (Rom 14.13...) in a difficult language shows Mercy of God is exactly
in every case for all.
And Mt (15.21-28) gives us JvN as an example: First this JvN is closed against
this strange woman, a foreigner - not my side. But then JvN got a transfiguration
a conversion): He got a new view; He sees later the same woman as a real believer.
And as such she is welcome, she will get what she wants: healing.
In Namibia all Churches are famous about the openness they show against for-
eigners. The RCC has taken over a lot of behaviour and a Church-style and a
formation and a spirituality who is most foreign.
Openness is reality AND graceful if you bring in YOUR OWN AND accept the
FOREIGN - this ground mixture as a real transfiguration-process will bring us
Salvation and a blessed future...
What do you see? First nothing, because she has died long ago. It means we depend on those (the Church , the Evv), who tell us what they know. These stories are surprisingly
revealing:
+ a young girl in the village of Nazareth
+ an Angel brings her an impossible message
+ she put the vocation in question
+ finally she has the answer: "let what you have said be done to me" (fiat).
+ she visit the house of Zechariah (Elizabeth a relative)
+ she gives birth in Bethlehem to a boy named Jesus / Emmanuel (God with us)
+ she cares for the family and called the run-away-boy back
+ she stood under the cross, where her son is crucified
+ she is taken up into Heaven (ascension)
+ she appears here and there
+ she is declared as the New Eve, as the one of immaculate conception
+ she got a lot of appreciation
All these stories are combined in "the Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary the Mother of God".
That's how we are used to see her today.
She got a wonderful Transfiguration. The most what we see in her (because we hear about) is somehow difficult to understand.
But why not? Why not have such a wonderful elevation?
A woman, elevated into Heaven!
That's our Church-based-View.
We are strange people to elevate her this way.
Do we have reasons ??? Some argue: God has chosen her for this elevating way; some argue: religious illusions.
In 2017 we proclaim for the whole world HOW we see a "Lady of Grace".
1. Chosen by God. 2. Able to accept the will of God for the whole life.
In this case her life became an adventure, a way into the fullness of Life.
In 2017 we declare in favour of the whole world:
that's the way we see every woman (and Mary is the prototype of this view):
Chosen by God - able to do the will of God - and so on the way into the fullness of Life.
Your girl-friend, your sister, your bride, your spouse, your mother will be glad to be seen
by you this way. Maybe you tell her this wonder: how the Church-Community likes to see her.
Transfiguration
On this Sunday 06.08.2017
the 18. Sun A of the Church-Year
the Rom. Cath. Church celebrates
the famous "Transfiguration of Jesus Christ"
on the mount Tabor.
"His face like the sun, his dress like light"
Cenored has decided in favour of the Church to contribute strongly to the Feast.
They have switched off on this Transformation-Sunday (as a transformer-agency)
the light from 06 to 18h at least in Otjiwarongo (and some other places).
The consideration behind may be:
On Sunday-Morning all Catholics go to Church (and hopefully all other Christians too).
On this Sunday they have among them (at least in the Church) the real Light like the sun - Jesus the Christ (cf. Mt. 17.1-9)
He told them long ago "I'm the Light of the World". Against such a real Light the Cenored-light is nothing, not counting, so they can switch off the dark-expensive artificial light to let people experience the difference. We are glad that Cenored has supported our Homilies
"Jesus is the real Light of the World" (also for Otjiwarongo). "Jesus Christ is Light for ever and ever, reliable and gratis."
It is to expect Cenored will do this Service to the Church again.
The Cenored-Electricity-Outage on Sunday is also a "sign of the time" that Namibia may convert to the "solar-stove-kitchen". Everyone with a solar stove got a wonderful "Sunday-
Lunch-Roast". And finally Cenored learnt Ailly "Life is possible without TV."
Only myself got lost a moment after 18h - because of winter-time - I could not read any more.I got a short gratis free time in candle-light!
I hope all the other Electricity-Distributor may follow Cenored to work together with the Churches, to promote the use of the sun-light, to concentrate the TV-consumption and
to help us to live together with the Nature.
We have now three lights: the real one: Jesus Christ; the created one: sun-fire as Nature;
the third one: Cenored-light as artificial one.
To work with this triple light makes Life lighter.
