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 ???

About Invitation...

1. You are invited...
* to live your life ! It means to find your place, your role, your style...
* to be a member of the Christian Community;
                                       to declare your status, your expectations, your abilities...
*to become a member of different groups:
      like: family, school, profession, culture, business, sport, Arts etc...
It is supposed YOU have accepted the Invitations  Lk 14.1, 7-14
But now ???  Did you pick up the place of honour ? it's stealing ! or did you work hard for a good place ? And now you are humble ?  maybe you will be honoured...

2. You make an Invitation...
What is the motive ? You invite to get in return a fortune ? Or you are healthy and you invite to share your richness ? You show that you are fortunate, that you are blessed....

3. The letter to the Hebrews (12.18...) let you know:
Yes you are blessed. You are invited to the City of the living God, to the great festival.
You are a "first-born-child", a citizen of the fullness of Life. You are invited to come to God himself - invited to come to Jesus , the mediator of a new covenant...
To know about this Invitation and to accept it... makes you a blessed one!

4. But sorry: the most Christians they know nothing about such an Invitation...
they don't feel blessed...  they feel poor, they are begging as much as possible, they see only the own struggle...   really sorry!

5. Ecclesiasticus (3.17...) has an advice:  + be gentle in carrying out your business...
+ behave humbly...    + an attentive ear is the sage's dream...
As more as you are gentle, humble, listening... as more you will find your place, role, style... and you will discover how much you are blessed, honoured...

6. Now you change the terrible Entrance-Antiphone for this Sunday and you sing a new song: "I call to you all day long - how great you are... full of love for all..."
And you pray a new prayer: "Holy God - every good thing comes from you. You like to fill our hearts with love, you will increase our faith and your constant care encourages us to pour out what you have given... "       when ever we make an Invitation.

Glory to God in he Highest

Today it's about: HOW we honour our God. Isaias shows: to honour the Jahwe-God means to make a pilgrimage to the Temple, to the House of God in Jerusalem. It's a very old custom - go to visit God, bring your Personality to God.
To fulfil the 10 Commandments is also good -  but is not priority!
First comes the pilgrimage to God - bring yourself and then try to live a honest Life.
Mary of Nazareth has honoured her Aenti by visiting her.
Jesus has not changed to custom; but he has changed the Temple; He himself is the new Temple, the House of the Lord... to honour God in Jesus' view means: go to Jesus, listen to him, follow him. A pilgrimage to Jesus Christ...
Later Mahamed: You honour Allah as you make a pilgrimage to Mekka the Holy City.

We in 2016 honour our God as we make a Sunday-Pilgrimage to our Church-Community.
We are glad and in good condition as we have SOMEBODY to honour with all our Heart.
We honour God as we go to Church. That's a priority... integrating into the Community.

For a Catholic - to go to Curch - means to celebrate the Holy Eucharist; to give thanks to God - as Jesus has done...   we bring ourselves to the Community.
Why in Namibia so many Priests are on Sunday's not in their Parish/ Communities?
They are Priest for themselves ? They don't know: a Priest is only Priest in regard of a Community - and he cannot honour God alone - to praise God is a Cty.-Act. Iit's strongly forbidden to take away the Priest from Sunday-Service - but some people don't know it.
Very sorry !

How much do you assume Mary ?

1. The feast of 15 August is not about Mary going back home to Heaven. It's more about the Holy God - the one who gives Life - HE gives Life for ever. His gift is given without conditions... live your Life... and if you go to die... it doesn't matter...  God's call is for ever.
Assumption is like a call...  a request to stay alive...  whatever happen.
This I like to celebrate!

2. Therefore I prefer to celebrate the Assumption of Mary on the 15 August and not on Sunday before or after...   the feast is special...

3. Du you have a date Mary got the Christian Baptism ? Maybe she is not baptised ?
This shows: Non-Baptised-People can be very right.

4. How has Mary seen herself ?     introspection?
4 a) She sees her whole Life (soul) as a proclamation.
4 b) She sees herself as exulting.
4 c) She feels she is looked upon
4 d) She knows she is called "blessed"
4 e) She knows God has done great things for her
What a fulfilling healthy picture has Mary about herself.
Try to have the same view about your own personality.

5. How has Mary seen God ?
a) For her: God is great, is a saviour. God is looking after... and almighty.
b) God does great things for her
c) God's name is holy and mercy
e) God reaches out, show's his power, routed out, pulls down, exalts, fills, sends away,
helps and is mindful.

Maybe you have the courage to change the picture of God as you follow your experiences...
In every case, whatever picture you paint - Mary was able to proclaim God's GREATNESS.

ready for actions ....

For the little flock of believers there is no reason to be scared... because God the Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom of God - this is how Lukas has understood JvN (12.35-40).
But now e hear the famous call to be ready for actions... the precondition of acting are not mentioned because it's high time. There is a time to wait (Advent) and time to act (Now).

We in the Church have already the impression it's now time to act...  a lot of reforms are on the agenda.
Sure, the Kingdom of God is a Gift - but as always: not without human cooperation.
The believer will get the "bread of Life" and the "wine of Joy" only after the Community has transformed (transsubstantiated) the bread and wine.
This changing is a relationship-action - it means: the change of the object and the change of the relationship are going together. Our relationship with the Church has to change - and you will see: the Church will change. it's clear: Where is your treasure there is your heart.

The group gathered for the Sunday-Eucharist is "Church No 1". And this is the first point of changing. It means: we have to learn to constitute ourselves as a Catholic Christian Community - and this very clear. Second: The Community is challenged to formulate Community-goals to be accepted by all members. Then is time for the Word of God - revealing God in his intention to give the Kingdom of God to all.
Exactly this Gift is also realised in Jesus Christ as the given "bread of Life" (nourishment), the gifted "wine of Joy" (engagement). 

A Community - really in touch with each other - is able to realise many of the reforms we are waiting for. As it was by the great Liturgical Reform (1962-1965) many Communities had the courage since ca. 1950 to introduce reforms - and this Liturgical Reform became a wave watering the whole Church until today...
But where are the courages Communities to go on ???