Tag Archives: gods kingdom

Did Jesus really talk about Hell too?

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26th Sunday, Year C

Luke 16:19-31 The rich man and Lazarus

Here we come face to face with the concepts of Heaven and Hell in the teaching of Jesus Christ. Imagine that – the Catholic Church didn’t make it up!

Most people refuse to believe that a loving God could allow such a reality as Hell.

But it’s not about God.

It’s about you and me, and the choices we make.

The rich man could have taken Lazarus out of his suffering. He could have lifted him up, treated his sores, gave him food and shelter, but he chose not to. He chose to leave Lazarus in his personal hell.

Now all this gives rise to a basic question about our world.

Is there justice?

The first thing to note is that we all want justice.

We all have a sense of what’s fair … but where does it come from?

Even the most notorious prisoners – who’d been anything but fair to others – had a sense of fairness when it came to their own lives. (I served as a prison chaplain for a number of years)

We all have a sense of fairness but we’re not always fair! But where does it come from?

It’s the presence of God in us.

In other words, our human words and language, our desires, are reflections of eternal realities.

This of course is one of C.S. Lewis’ great arguments for God.

The second thing to note is that we do attempt to create justice but often our attempts are at best approximations.

How can we give justice to the families of missing persons?

How can we give justice to the families of murder victims? Can we give them back to their families? Approximations!

How can we give justice to a young terminally ill mother of 4 children or to her husband and children? We can’t – but we do try!

The simple truth is; life is not fair. We try to make it fair … but it’s not fair.
Of course, life would be much fairer if we just observed the Ten Commandments! But it still wouldn’t be fair.

Unless there’s an after-life, a putting to rights beyond our immediate grasp, a transformation of the human (prefigured in the risen body of Christ still bearing the marks of his suffering), realities that we call heaven, purgatory and hell, then there is no true justice.

But worse still, the world, our lives, everything is ultimately meaningless.

We are going nowhere, absolutely nowhere!

Jesus didn’t embrace sinners unconditionally saying peace, love, everything is OK. He’s saying it’s not OK!

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24th Sunday Year C

15th September 2013

Luke 15:1-10 The Lost Sheep / Drachma

Here’s a piece that’s often mistakenly used to justify, tolerate and accept behaviour that is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ.

More often than not, you’ll find a very selective focus on the Good Shepherd that effectively denies the reality of sin, denies there’s a real danger to the lost sheep.

Surely it’s the danger to the lost sheep that provokes the loving Shepherd to leave the ninety nine and go in search of the one?

So, effectively, while Jesus tells us much about himself, he’s also telling us that sin is not OK!

Firstly, the Gospels use the terms sin and sinners. Indeed they are terms that Jesus affirms. If you remove sin and sinners from the Gospels, Jesus Christ becomes meaningless.

Secondly, when Jesus tries to explain sin He tells stories / parables that understand sin as loss, potentially fatal. He uses sin and loss as if they’re interchangeable.

Thirdly, the sinners are seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say. It’s not a case of Jesus embracing sinners unconditionally saying peace, love, everything is OK! On the contrary Jesus is saying it’s not OK!

Nowhere is this more obvious than on the Cross.

ILLUSTRATE USING CRUCIFIX

This is what sin does to God.

But since this (Jesus Christ) is also man, this is also what sin does to humanity.

That’s why Jesus is interested in the sinner, but he’s interested like a shepherd facing the potential permanent destruction of one of his sheep.

Therefore, far from justifying, tolerating and accepting sin as OK the scriptures, indeed Jesus himself, actually argue and teach the very opposite.

If you can’t be trusted with money how can you be trusted with the Kingdom of God?

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25th Sunday Year C

22nd September 2013

Luke 16:1-13

As we’d say in Wexford, there’s fierce sense in this piece. It’s common sense.

Jesus takes everyday experience and uses it to teach us about eternity.

In this case He argues that if we can’t be trusted with money, how can we be trusted with the riches of Gods Kingdom, with Heaven?

It’s common sense. If you’re an employer and you can’t trust a particular employee with your money, do you make that employee the manager?

So, if God can’t trust you with money He’s not going to give you his Kingdom! He’s not going to give you Heaven!

Can’t trust us with money yet give us the power of angels? It’s not going to happen!

Notice Jesus’ descriptive terms (how he describes things); ‘genuine riches’ against ‘money, that tainted thing’

There’s always a tension in the teaching of Jesus between making provision for our earthly life (money that tainted thing, what is not yours) and making provision for eternal life (genuine riches, what is your very own)

Let me put it this way:

How many people in Ireland buy a lotto ticket every week? Why? There are very good reasons but generally it’s about making provision for our earthly life.

Jesus makes the point that we’re very good at making provision for our earthly life but not so good at making provision for eternal life; the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.

Now compare the intensity, the expectancy, the anticipation, the hope, the sense of possibility with which we approach the lotto (or our business or other interests), compare that with our approach to the Church, to Mass and the Sacraments, particularly Holy Communion.

What do you find? A kind of unawareness that God can make us happy, that God is the source of true happiness, that we’re designed for union with God.

When Jesus speaks of genuine riches, what is yours, He means himself, his life poured into ours.

How many Catholics started to build but didn’t finish? Sunday 23, Year C, September 08 2013

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Be sure to read the Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33

The first thing to say about that piece is; it’s about us and God. But since God by his very nature is not interested in Himself (he doesn’t need to be) we can take it that it’s really about us, about our good.

Without hating my father, mother, wife … What could that mean?

Hating in this piece means second place, any place but not first place! So Jesus Christ gets first place, everybody and everything else comes second …

Jesus is saying; put me before parents, wife, husband, children … Why on earth would you do that?

Jesus Christ is suggesting He’s the true source of happiness. This is radical stuff, completely counter cultural.

What’s the goal of our culture? What’s our cultures vision for you, for the human being? Consume, so that you will be happy! That’s it, nothing more. It’s the biggest lie ever told on the face of the earth.

Jesus says; I’m your true goal.

By the way, anyone who thinks there is no basis in the teaching of Jesus for priestly celibacy needs to have a look at this!

The king going out to war is you and me, indeed particularly priests, going out against an enemy that’s far greater than us, the world and all its allure, (ultimately it’s a spiritual war) and very often we sue for peace, meaning we compromise, sometimes we give up altogether.

How many priests have gone that road? How many ordinary Catholics? How many started to build but couldn’t finish – it’s a tough environment! Don’t you get it? It’s war, spiritual warfare, like one King marching to war against another King!

Why practice religion? If you practice with your heart it’ll take you into the Divine Life. But so many never even start! Others get side-tracked along the way. Some object to others and leave …

Behind this radical call, this seemingly crazy task of putting Christ first there resides the most important truth often unknown to humankind; life in Christ (grace) is our true goal. He is our happiness, knowing Him, loving Him.

God alone can satisfy the human heart!