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.

The year 2020 has been one like no other. The whole COVID catastrophe has meant that we have had to rethink our Annual Fete so that it has become ‘A Fete like no other.’

Due to the health restrictions, we have to abandon the usual format and instead we are simply asking folk to see if they are able to make a contribution to the parish. It may be that you are able to offer a similar amount to what you usually give, or you may be one of the many who have been adversely affected and not be able to offer as much.

The parish will be setting aside November as ‘The Fete like no other’. If you are able, you can make a donation electronically, please use these details. NAB BSB: 083 -663 Account 51580-7866. Similarly  you may post it through the parish office slot. For our records, it would be helpful if you could let us know that these are ‘Fete donations’.

We have written to our local businesses who usually support us for the Fete. We have let them know that we will not be seeking any donations this year and also expressing our gratitude for their help in the past. A list of these businesses is included with this letter / pew sheet. You may like to express your gratitude to them by supporting them.

In these difficult times if you or anyone you know need pastoral care, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Thank you for your understanding and support both to the parish and to me.

It is a well known secret that Moses is one of Fr. Davids pin up boys. In the beginning Moses was just minding his own business,  he naively turned aside to go and see what the problem is with the burning bush.Moses argues strenuously with God that he doesn’t want to deal with Pharaoh  and his bully boys but eventually gives in.Then follows the 10 plagues. After each plague pharaoh relents and says that he will let the people go and each time he changes his mind.Then we finally get the escape through the Red Sea and you might have thought that was the end of Moses' troubles. But no... for 40 long, tortuous years the people whinge and bicker and complain. And just when the promised land is in sight, Moses is told that he doesn’t get to go over with his people, but rather he must stay on the wrong side of the border and there he dies.

Clearly there was no such thing as a decent workplace contract.In today's first lesson Moses is again going head to head toe to toe with God. “Well God”  starts Moses. “I have asked for a work buddy but you haven’t given me one. You have said that I know your name and that I am good boy, but you haven’t shown me your ways and I don’t know your name.  And furthermore,...  How will I know if I have found favour in your sight. How do I really know that I got a gold star? Show me your glory. You are a God who lies hidden ...show yourself.”God does relent... sort of...“OK” says God ..  “See, that  place over there by the rock ... you go and stand there and while my glory passes by. I will put you in the cleft of the rock, but I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;  then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but you won’t see my face.”It is close, so tantalising close. God hides Moses in a rock and will walk past but Moses is not allowed to see his face. Moses can only see the back of God.

Mmm...This experience of Moses resonates strongly with me and perhaps it does with you. God comes close, and yet he seems so very far away. He speaks, but in an indiscernible whisper. He is the God who is revealed and yet he is the God who lies hidden.And it begs the question, Why? Would it not be a better marketing exercise for God to have a Facebook page, a twitter account, an instagram account, publish some memoirs and do video live zoom chats twice a week.

So if God is not doing any of those things, if he is still remaining frustratingly hidden, then where might we find him? Where might he reveal himself? I put it to you that God reveals himself chiefly in the little things. The little broken piece of broken bread and the sip of wine. God lies hidden in his blessed sacrament. You know how it goes ... This is my body,  this is my blood. God lies hidden in the poor and the destitute, the sick and the dying. God lies hidden in those we don't particularly like very much. God lies hidden in that awful, agonising silence when we listen patiently, or perhaps not so patiently, for him to answer our prayer, or just say something.. anything would do. God lies hidden in the problem that just won’t go away.

He lies hidden behind the mask of the person you say hello to in the supermarket and He is the person who you think you might know behind the mask but you’re really not quite sure.  God lies hidden on the other side of the screen of the TV, the laptop, the IPad and the phone. But perhaps most importantly he is the God who lies hidden in each and everyone of us. And it is our very privileged vocation to reveal him to everyone around us. We do this by what we say and most especially by what we consciously choose not to say. By what we do and most importantly by what we consciously choose not to do. And like Moses this work, this absolutely vital work, will seem tedious and boring and frustrating. We may well be misunderstood and misinterpreted and we will make mistakes and our work will often seem unrewarded and unheralded. And like Moses the very best we can hope to see of God is his back disappearing away from us.

But we do it not for the sneak peek of God. We do it not because we want a pat on the back from our chums, but we do it because He first loved us and it is the God who lies hidden, surrounded by angels and archangels who cheers us on even today, even now.

We do it to the praise of the Hidden God. And we will continue to do it until that day when we do not need a mask, not just because the whole COVID catastrophe will be over, but because He will be revealed to us as He truly is.

We shall see Him as He truly is and we shall ourselves as we truly are. Cherished and adored Children of God.

I have often read with frustration the call of Matthew. It’s infuriating because it’s all over in just one verse. Jesus simply bowls up to Matt’s office and says “Follow me”. And Matthew does. The whole incident is over in just 30 words. What’s going on?

Presumably, this is not the first time that Jesus and Matthew had met. I mean, you just don’t leave a well paying job, a plush office, company car and bonuses at a moments notice to follow some itinerant who’s wandered in off the street.

No, this is  the culmination of a relationship that has been bubbling along for some time. Straight after this little verse Jesus is at Matthews place and having a dinner party with some pretty shady characters. Probably this is not the first time Jesus had been at Matts to enjoy a couple of glasses of red ned and a roast lamb.

But there is something else that is puzzling. The masters selection criteria for one of the most important jobs on the planet. This would not be a popular choice for the electorate. Matthew was not the sort of guy you promote to the cabinet, not even the back bench or the local council.

So I must conclude that The Master saw something in Matthew that we of course can’t. Not now in the 20th century. When Jesus sits down at the highly polished large oak desk, he doesn’t see a tax collector, smartly coiffured with a Gucci suit. He sees Matthew for who he truly is.

Matthew gets this. He understands that he is being approached for no other reason than he is wanted for himself.

No wonder Matthew quickly emails his boss and quits. He’s got a better offer. Now if we had eyes to see and hearts to understand…

I read something as if for the first time the other day. It went like this.

“ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom…” Well you know how the story ends.

I quickly point out that both the hero and the heroine did not come out smelling of lavender in this story. Both were seduced and both tried to pass the buck, thereby ‘diminishing’ their culpability.

Even though I had read this fable countless times before, it had escaped my notice that the lady in story had three plausible motives for harvesting the fruit, even though she had explicitly been told not to.

The fruit was good for food, it was good to look at and it gave you wisdom. Now if I spotted something like that, that was within easy reach and free…

But what piqued my interest was the ‘gaining of wisdom’ bit. Over the past few months I have made all sorts of crazy predictions to myself. I reckon by this time… this will happen. At every turn the exact opposite has happened. So now I am taking more deep breathes and I am relishing the joyous liberty of being able to say. “I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer”. So I find myself asking. On what date did I allow myself to be seduced into thinking that I had to have the answer for everything?  When did I get so insecure that I started to bluff and bluster?

Friends, its very OK to say “I don’t know.” Sometimes it is better not to know and just get on with the things that we are sure of. The guy and girl in story understood that wisdom comes gift wrapped in consequences.