During this advent season I’m offering a mini series entitled “Gifts for God” reflecting on the gifts the magi brought to Jesus. Gold, Frankincense and myrrh.

On the 4th Sunday of Advent, we will be pondering on the mystery of Mother Mary, not just because it is very close to Christmass, not just because the whole shebang could not have happened without her, but because she also gave a gift to God. Our Lady gave her very self. Her whole being,  Body and soul to God.

But for today, the first gift that the Magi come and give is the gift of gold. Gold symbolises that this precious bundle of humanity and divinity all wrapped in one and all wrapped up in a blanket, is nothing less than a king. But more than that he is King of all kings as Handel majestically crafted in his stunning work The Messiah. So by offering gold to Jesus  the magi might be saying something like this.“From one King to another, I recognise and honour your kingship. Further I perceive that you are a far greater king than I will ever be, even though you are so very young and have not made any policy speeches or announced any programs, or spoken a word.

You are king not just because of what you have not done, not just because of what you will do. You are THE king simply because of who you are. I place at your feet this gold as an outward gesture of my understanding that you are God. I am honoured and awed to be able to do this.” Now there are lots of really nifty things about being a king. You have hot and cold running errand people to carry out your every whim. You never have to worry about where your next meal is coming from and you get to make a lot decisions which will affect people's lives, hopefully in a very positive and life changing way. Kings also have really cool expensive stuff.

They have the best and the best that could be offered was the gift of gold.Gold is a soft metal, but it is also long lasting and expensive. The magi understood its significance and those who dabble precariously, perhaps foolishly  in the Stock Market in the 21st century also understand this. They flock to gold in perilous COVID times because they know it is a very safe commodity. Many of us know of someone or are privileged to wear a gold wedding band. It’s gold because our marriage is special and sacred and precious.At a wedding service the golden rings are given and received between husband and wife. There is a symbolism here too, just as there was with the magi and Our Lord.First, the golden wedding band is a symbol of the fidelity between the happy couple.

You know how it goes ‘forsaking all others’. So just as the husband and wife pledge themselves to each other, so too the Magi was not just saying that Jesus was any ordinary young King, but the magi was saying that “You are my king and there will be no one else as significant in my life as you. You are at the pinnacle of all my priorities, but even deeper and more mysterious than that, just as the bride and groom become one flesh and bound together in an indescribable but profound way, so too the magi as he lays is gift at the feet of the Christ child, is saying by this outward action, that you Lord Jesus and I are one. It really is what Christmass is all about; God and man becoming one flesh.Second thing about the symbolism of Gold. Gold lasts for a really long time.

The wedding ring goes round and round in an endless circle with no beginning or ending, so the vocation of the couple is that their love for each other will also go on and on. It might change, it might develop, it might mysteriously mature and evolve into something that it was not at the beginning. I would like to think that the Magi’s desire for an unending relationship with the Lord was his deepest yearning.

Finally, what pervades all of this, is a most marvellous sense of joy. The couples joy for each other. The marvellous joy for the Christ-child, the Lord’s joy for all those who make pilgrimage to Him. You don’t give gold to someone who you are hostile towards. You give gold to someone who makes you happy. Something to think about the next time you see a golden ring on someone's hand, or maybe even your own.

A little prayer for the season.

Heavenly Father, the Magi came on bended knee to adore your Son and offer their gifts.
Implant deep within us that same sense of mystery and awe for all your generous gifts to us.
So fill our hearts with your love, that we may come one day and see what they saw,
the face of your beloved son, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

I was reading something rather insightful the other day. It was about trying to adjust to the ‘new norm’ when we are not quite sure what the ‘new norm’ actually is. The new norm is rather slippery and changes even before we have begun to get our head around it. No wonder there is a sense of weariness. It's just a lot of hard work. Perceptive Tara Haelle who is a photojournalist, educator, author, and science writer penned these words.“Most of us have heard for most of our lives to expect more from ourselves in some way or another. Now we must give ourselves permission to do the opposite. We have to expect less of ourselves and we have to replenish more. We are asking ourselves ‘Where do I get my energy? What kind of down time do I need?’” Now the phrase that really smacked me across my left cheek was the bit about expecting less of ourselves. We are a driven sort of a world and we are more frantic, more competitive and more antsy than we have been for some time.What if instead of allowing our blood pressure to froth, we just poured ourselves a fragrant bubbly bath with a refreshing beverage, some chocolate and soothing music? What if that was all we expected of ourselves and that was everything on our to do list?

Wouldn’t we be more likely to treat ourselves better and each other more kindly? The Master put it this way. “Come to me all you that labour and are heaven laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

The usual path for the intrepid preacher for today is to encourage the patient listener to reach  out and care for those who are less fortunate and at this point in history there are plenty of them.

In the gospel reading these are the stranger, those in prison, the hungry and the thirsty. And the punch line for this very fine homily is when The Master points to that reality which we lose sight of so very easily.

Whatever you do for the least of these you do it for me. So the challenge is to see Our Lord in the down and out, the rough and tumble, the squashed and the bruised, the angry and the sullen, the hardened criminal in prison and the beggar on the streets. These are in fact Our Lord, thinly disguised.

The other half of this homily is a solemn warning that when we fail to care for the destitute we fail Him. Nothing more nothing less. So to neglect the less fortunate through sloth or indifference or condescending attitude is sin. It is to miss an opportunity to minister to the Masters wounds. With so many that are needy it’s a gargantuan gig.

However, Mother Theresa of Calcutta who spent a lifetime caring for the most vulnerable and neediest of the world would remind us that

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one”.

This is a really good track for the preacher to walk down and to offer to those who would listen, so I’ll save it for another day.

When you scratch the surface of this gospel reading you can’t help but see that everyone is surprised. Those who have ministered to the underlings of society have no idea that they are in for a gold star and elephant stamp.

“The righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸ And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹ And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” You see… not a clue. Fr. David at his shiny naive best.

Similarly, those who have been neglectful had no idea that they were shirking their responsibilities.

“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?”

So what are we to make of this. How can we be expected to do the right thing and see with the clarity that is required of us? How can we glimpse who it is that is really before us, especially at this time  when we only see the screen or at best a mask?

Perhaps the answer is that every encounter is an opportunity to minister to the divine.

The other dimension of this, is that we have no idea of how potent or lovely someone else's ministry is. And the more hidden it seems, the more powerful and splendid is that ministry.

Scratch around a little deeper. Just as we don’t often realise our hidden sins and our missed opportunities, so too, and I actually think this is more the case, we often do not realise the good that we do. We have no idea just how powerful our ministry is and what effect we have on people. Often I think that if one person, just one soul is nudged just one millimetre closer towards heaven then it will all have been worthwhile and there is no copyright on that if you find it helpful.

Something to reflect on. Usually when we read this gospel we think of everyone else as those who need ministry. It’s everyone else that we should be reaching out to. But I put it to you friends that there is a flip side to this.

What if we had the humility and the integrity to fess up, raise our hand  and say ‘Yes please I too need pastoral care. I am hungry for nurture and companionship and someone to just to sit quietly and listen. I am thirsty for love of the gospel. I too am in-prisoned by my sins and especially the ones that I see only from time to time out the corner of my eye’.

We need ministry from others And We need HIM.

Today is the feast of Christ the King and we come to realise again, that our King, like us, is the one who is also bruised and broken, vulnerable and little, pierced and yet princely because He is lovely in his lowliness.  And here with the sacrament of the broken bread, all we can do is make a throne for him with the palm of our hand and take Him deep into ourselves. Our King really is all powerful for His vulnerability, His brokenness and most of all His love.

In praise of Sir Paul

The text for today “Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.”

A music worm is one of those tunes that you hear and just can’t quite get out of your head. We’ve all had them and will continue to do so. A good example is the tune to “Shine Jesus shine”. I had a music worm the other day and it was the Beatles song “Let it be”. It begins with some words that you would not necessarily expect from the lips of Paul Mcartney.

The song begins

“When I find myself in times of trouble mother Mary comes to me.. Speaking words of wisdom let it be”.

For me they speak quite potently in these very troublesome times. It is far too easy, perilously easy, wickedly easy, to slip quickly into the argy bargy of cases and bubbles and masks and leaders and media updates and predictions and numbers. Hindsight is a merciless mistress who can lash us and everyone else relentlessly. When we feel our angst and blood pressure rising, sin is already courting us and seducing us. Winking seductively, murmuring alluringly to us ‘Come hither, dance with me, cling to me.’

There is a very telling line in the song about the need to agree, even if, as mature grown up ladies and gentlemen we agree to disagree. The lyrics speak of broken hearted people of which there are many today and perhaps we might include ourselves in that category.

The line goes like this

“And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer let it be”.

So only when we agree, just to simply get on and care for each other the best we can and never give up, then we will discover that we are living the answer that Sir. Paul wrote about. We will learn afresh that the person in the mirror is the answer.

In these times that I am actually glad of my little music worm.

“When I find myself in times of trouble mother Mary comes to me.. Speaking words of wisdom let it be”.

If only I just stop to breathe for a little while and ask mother Mary to come to me.. always  She does. She has always been there and all I have to do is remember is that she has always been there beside me, with me, calmly inspiring me and praying for me. She gently points me again to what is important. The love of her Son. In many religious images she holds her son with one arm and the other hand points to Jesus. It it is that clear, that difficult and that easy. This is where you need to focus. This is what it is vital. Just it let it be, let it be in him.

But,… to let it be takes a conscious act of will and a persistent trying to be calm in order to make it happen. Mother Mary is the powerful, yet gentle advocate who knew just about every travesty and consequence of the human sin even to the foot of the cross. Yet she stood there and just let it be.

Like Paul Mcartney Mother Mary says to me “There will be an answer… let it be.”

Don’t cling to the junk and sin. Focus rather on what God wants for you on this day, at this moment and what he wants perhaps more than ever I suspect in this grumpy old time, is for us to just let it be.

The chorus of the song is still niggling away in my ears as I type. Let it be.. let it be.

Like the Archangel Gabrielle coming to Mary, the real answer finds us. It's not just our endeavour, not just our efforts, not  just our solution and most certainly not our initiative. It is always Him. God comes to us first. It is His effort, His solution, His endeavour, …His love.

At first I was a little annoyed when this music worm found its way into my head. Now I am not so annoyed. It will be a good mantra for me if I just have the presence and peace of mind to listen and respond accordingly.

Perhaps I should give the last word to Paul Mcartney today.

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer, let it be

A bit of background might help us understand this parable.

The marriage custom in Jesus day was as follows: The Groom would prepare a place for his bride. It might be his own house or a place at his father’s house. Then he would go to the father in law's place to get her. There might be a small party at her house, so there was a small delay. Then the Bride and Groom would return to the groom's father’s house for the marriage feast or banquet (which usually lasted for seven days). They had great parties in those days.

The ten young ladies would be somewhere along the route between the bride’s house and the groom’s house. They would wait for the bride and groom to return and they would hope to join the procession and enter with them into the party.

Now on first reading of our parable it appears as though the 5 wise bridesmaids are being rather selfish. I mean how hard can it be to share a little oil? It seems a little harsh to send the others off to the BP service station at midnight to go and see if he’s still open to get a little oil.

So what are we to make of their stingy ways?

My best guess is this.

That what Matthew is really saying is that you can’t borrow another person's relationship with God. Everyone has to work at it and work it out for themselves. We have to cultivate my own spirituality. Nobody can do it for you.  Someone can’t believe for you.

Which leads us down the path to some other thoughts. When confronted by the stranger, the person we don’t like or the person who is sparkling, we might think we know how much or how little oil they have. We might think that we know exactly where they are up to with their relationship with God, but the reality is that we have no idea what quality oil, how much they have and where they got it from. No idea at all. Some get their oil from the inspiration of others. Some get their oil from a crushing experience. Some would say that it has just always been there. Our job is not to speculate about everyone else’s oil, our job is to make sure that we have plenty in our own lamp and that our wicks are always trimmed and ready to go., that you are shining ever more brightly. I am the light of the world. You are the light of the world. We are the light of the world.

A few other things about this parable. There’s a lot of waiting… just hanging around.. and that is so true for us. The computer tells me that there are at least 129 references to the word ‘wait’ in the bible; so if we find ourselves getting a little tetchy, a little impatient, then this is nothing new.

Do not despair In the middle of the night, even in the deepest darkness, a cry of joy will wake us. The night cannot last forever; the Bridegroom will return. Do not put your lamps away in a closet but have them on hand and lit, even if the world says that it’s foolish and pointless

So in this parable the night becomes frustrating: things don’t happen as the bridal party had hoped. God doesn’t work according to our schedule and the Bridegroom does not arrive when we want him to, in the way that we want Him to. He comes at his own time, his own schedule, his own itinerary, in his own way.

Now according to the parable, everyone falls asleep: both the wise virgins and the foolish ones. It is as if to say that falling asleep is inevitable, a fact of life. It is not avoiding sleep that differentiates the wise from the foolish. The problem of the foolish virgins is not sleepiness, but something more fundamental. They never took care of the lamp that they were given and there is a not so subtle hint in there about taking care of ourselves. Clergy are just as good as anyone else, in fact we are sometimes better than most, at not taking care of ourselves. You can’t shine brightly if your oil/resources/energy is all used up.

Finally, the parable centres on different symbols: the lamp and the oil. They are common symbols throughout the Bible. The lamp reminds us of Jesus’ invitation to be the light of the world,

Remember this bit

Jesus said “I am the light of the world.” Now what would happen if we claimed that saying for ourselves? What if we could look in the mirror and say with joy.

“I am the light of the world?” Claim that truth for yourself brothers and sisters. Against the dark backdrop of these times please, please know, that you are shining ever more brightly. I am the light of the world. You are the light of the world. We are the light of the world.

By a happy coincidence All Saints day falls on a Sunday this year. It’s a day when we think about the high profile saints. St. Paul, Our Lady, the Big 12 and you can probably think of a few yourself. In this parish we have St. Mark, patron of Cavendish, St. Peter patron of Glenthompson and of course Penshurst is under the patronage of All the saints.

We give thanks for the lives of the saints, their example, and their ongoing prayers and support for us in 2020. And all that is right and joyous and celebratory and worthy of a party. However there is a two edged trap with this. In our mind we can elevate them to such giddy heights that we can forget that they were people just like you and I. We forget that they had their sins and failings. We choose to overlook their faults and flaws. Think of St Peter in tears on Holy Thursday. Think of St. Paul who presided over the stoning death of Stephen, or James and John who got their mum to ask for box office seats in heaven. So when you think of these great ones, remember also that they were flawed. The good news with these prominent saints is that they fessed up and knew that they were forgiven. They knew who they were. Selection criteria number one for being a saint is to know that you are a forgiven sinner.

They led pretty ordinary lives and they just got on with it. They said their prayers, met for fellowship, supported and encouraged each other. They were very much like us not only in their mirky bits, but also in their own tedious struggle of achieving heaven. The same struggle that sometimes enlivens us and more often bewilders us.

The other little part of the trap is that we can think that the eminent saints were so whizz bang and fantastic there is no hope at all for us. They were just so amazing and if that is the criteria for getting through the pearly gates, then we might as well just give up now, pull the doona over our head  and wait for our inevitable demise. The good news is that this is not what God wants for Fr. David and it is not what he wants for you either. We are to be inspired by the saints and we are daily encouraged by joining in the worship of heaven with them whenever we get to the altar. You know how it goes … “Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven…”

So how to be a saint?A few little starting points

In the beatitudes, holiness is equated with being poor in spirit, it is about being meek, it is those who mourn. A saint is someone who hungers for righteousness, who is merciful, and clean of heart.There is no mention of "blessed are the rule-makers, the obedient, the self-righteous or the judgmental". Jesus was about reaching people in their hearts, giving them reasons for hope and joy. He encouraged true and lasting conversion. This is the work of a saint; this is also our mode of operating. This is why we get out of bed in the morning. This is our attitude.

So what else do we know about saints? Saints know that they are to be sent forth. They are women and men whose lives flow seamlessly from prayer to action and from action to prayer in a continuous loving way of life. One feeds the other and for a saint there is little or no distinction. In this they would probably say something wise and profound like “Being a saint means that your action makes prayer visible.

A saint is like a window. A sacred window that allows others to see the beauty and wonder and splendour of God. And yep, sometimes the window gets grimy just from lack of attention and scrubbing. Sometimes stuff falls upon it from an unknown source and a great height. That stuff needs cleaning off but underneath it is still a window. It is the person or place that we look to that can be relied upon to show us the face of God, even if the window is a bit grubby sometimes and we have to squint a bit harder.

Saints are the uncomplicated, everyday people. They are like the bread and wine of the Eucharist. They bring God into the lives of others and like the bread and wine, they are sustenance of everyday life. These are the people deep within our community who bring God into your life and into my life. They are the vehicles of grace and the hope of glory. These are some of the things we know about saints and when we stop and think about it …why goodness gracious, the saints are people just like you and I and that is today's very good news.

All Souls day is on Monday November the 2nd. Mass will be livestreamed from our Facebook page at 10am. If you would like souls remembered please have their names to Fr. David by Bedtime on Sunday 1st.

This is a bit zany so just hang in there. Zoom meetings are all the go right? If you want to have a conversation with someone legitimately, but are not in their bubble, then Zoom is for you.

So what if we could have a Zoom meeting with You Know Who? Yes…Him..The Almighty… The Master. OK, I know it’s all a bit cooky but it is such a good idea right? I would go across to the Lady Chapel, set up the device, log into “god.com" and Voila! There He is on the screen. How good would that be?

Except… that maybe… I would have to ask St. Peter to mute his microphone, or get God to turn his microphone up, because He seems to be awfully quiet. We might be interrupted by the odd angel flitting across the lounge room in the background, or Gabrielle bringing The Master a glass of good quality red straight from the wedding at Cana. Maybe Our Lord would have a strategically placed platter of loaves and fishes to one side or a self-autographed copy of ‘My Greatest moments’.

Think of what could be achieved if you could meet God over Zoom. A cure for COVID, relationships restored, an endless supply fresh homilies.

But… it wouldn’t be the same. There wouldn’t be the ponderous quiet where we just sit companionably in gentle enriching silence. There wouldn’t be the struggle that not only tests the relationship, but also knits it together. The trouble with Zoom is you feel as though you have to fill up the spaces with something. The old fashioned way of doing prayer is realising that the void has already been filled and you don’t have to do anything much. Just simply enjoy the closeness which is Him.

I’ve just come from the stimulating experience of vacuuming the car. Something that I have putting off for far too long. Why is that? It's not painful, it didn’t cost anything and yet for some indiscernible reason I was happy to let the grime, the grit and the lolly papers accumulate in nasty dark corners where I could cheerfully ignore them. Yet when this ‘car birthday’ experience is over I wonder what all the fuss is about. There is a shiny irrepressible sense of virtuous self righteousness. More of that ‘What a good boy am I’ syndrome.

I find this too in my relationship with the Master. There is some stuff that I allow to settle in the interior places deep within me. To my detriment and often to others as well, somehow it is easier to allow it to stay there, ignore it, pretend that it isn’t there or worse, kid myself that it doesn’t matter, when of course, it does matter. It matters very much.

So I take a deep breathe, put a line through the diary and go and do my spiritual vacuum. Again I am surprised at the brevity and the ease of the process. Why did I dread this moment of liberation and joy? This is what has been needed for so long. How did I forget the exhilaration of finally getting my stuff together?

We all have these ‘cleansing tasks’ to accomplish. Scrubbing the floor, weeding the garden, that exercise regime, the card that needs writing. Fessing up and saying sorry. We procrastinate about them for far too long.

So I cheer you on friend and encourage you. Take a deep breath and do want you know to be right. Go on… you know you want to. OK.. so you know you need to.