From Rowdiness to Paradise

2nd Sunday in Advent

Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 71:1-2,7-8,12-13,17; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12

Picture: cc Michael 1952

Sisters and brothers, have you ever seen chaos being transformed into peace? What was it like? Imagine, for example, just for a moment, that you are now entering a rowdy secondary school classroom? Try to picture what it looks and feels like? … Probably the first thing that hits you as you go into the room is the noise. Everyone is talking at the same time. Some even shouting at the top of their voices. You see a group of students chasing one another around the room. Another bunch climbing over the desks and chairs. Throwing things at one another. A few others are sword-fighting. Using rulers and hockey sticks. Whatever they can get their hands on. Some are laughing. One person is crying, because s/he’s been bullied by classmates. But nobody takes any notice. Everyone is busy doing his/her own thing. Everything except the one thing these students are supposed to be doing. Studying.

Not too difficult to imagine the chaos, right? But then, suddenly, everything changes. The noise ceases. The restlessness subsides. The one being bullied is rescued. Order is restored. How does this happen? Typically, the change takes place when a teacher steps into the room. But not just any teacher. Especially not a timid, inexperienced one. No. It has to be someone able to command respect. Maybe the Form Teacher. Or the Discipline Mistress. Someone to whom each of the students is willing to listen. Someone credible. Someone with charisma. It’s only when such a person arrives that order is finally restored. The once rowdy classroom transformed into a peaceful place. The rebellious youngsters converted into obedient lambs. This transformation is possible only when each student is willing to recognise and to accept the teacher’s authority.

A recognition of authority. Leading to a radical transformation. Of chaos into order. Of rowdiness into peace. And it’s not only classrooms that undergo such transformations. Countries do as well. Isn’t this why South Africa is occupying such a prominent place in the news these days? Isn’t this why the whole world is mourning the passing of Nelson Mandela on Thursday night? Mr. Mandela did for South Africa what an effective teacher does for a rowdy classroom. He rescued those being bullied by an oppressive social system. He used his own considerable authority and charisma to help transform his beloved country. From the chaos of racial discrimination and oppression. Towards justice and equality. Towards reconciliation and peace.

And the good news for us, sisters and brothers, is that what is possible for classrooms and countries, can also happen to the whole of creation as well. Isn’t this what we are preparing to celebrate in this Season of Advent? Isn’t this what we find in our Mass readings today? In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah paints for us an incredible picture of a radical change in the whole of creation. An unbelievable transformation, in which natural enemies actually become intimate friends. The wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion feed together… They do no hurt, no harm… for the country is filled with the knowledge of the Lord.

The savage violence of Nature transformed into the blissful harmony of Paradise. How does this happen? In the first reading, this amazing change comes about with the arrival of a great leader. A charismatic king. Born of the royal House of Jesse, the father of King David. Someone upon whom the spirit of the Lord rests. A person who, not unlike Nelson Mandela, will be sought out, not just by his own people, but by the nations of the world as well. Sought out because this person rescues the poor and the oppressed. He cares for those whose eyes are constantly filled with tears, because they are being bullied by unjust social, political and economic systems. Structures that favour the rich and powerful, to the detriment of the poor and the vulnerable. As we heard in the responsorial psalm, he will have pity on the weak and save the lives of the poor. In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.

It is to proclaim the fulfilment of this great promise, made so long ago through the prophet Isaiah, that John appears in the gospel today. By preaching a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, the Baptist announces the coming of a charismatic leader. Christ Jesus himself. Who, through his life, death and resurrection, will transform chaos into justice. Rowdiness into peace. I baptise you in water for repentance, says John, but the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

But in order for people to enjoy the peace that Christ brings, they must first be willing to recognise and to receive him. To obey him. To entrust their lives into his hands. Isn’t this why John has such harsh words for the Pharisees and Sadducees? John tells them that they cannot hope to enjoy the peace of God simply by relying on their own status as descendants of Abraham. Or even just by going through the motions of water baptism. They need to do more. They need to show signs of true repentance. They need to produce the appropriate fruit. But what are these signs? What is this fruit?

We find the answer in the second reading. Here, St. Paul tells the Christian community in Rome that they should not give up. Instead, they should continue placing their hope in God. By continuing to treat one another in the same friendly way as Christ treated them. Be tolerant with each other, Paul writes, following the example of Christ Jesus, so that united in mind and voice you may give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Friendliness and mutual toleration. Unity of mind and heart. Living for the glory of God alone. These are the signs of true repentance. This is the appropriate fruit borne by those who are ready to recognise and to receive Christ. Those who are able to enjoy the peace that Christ brings when he comes.

Sisters and brothers, if this is true for the Pharisees and Sadducees. If this is true for the Israelites and the Romans. Must it not be just as true for us as well? Into the chaos of our world, into the rowdiness of our lives, Christ continues to want to enter. Bringing justice and equality. Reconciliation and peace. Are we not called to continue preparing ourselves to welcome him? By bearing appropriate fruit in our own lives? By treating others in the same way that Christ treats us. With understanding and toleration. With mercy and compassion. Taking care, especially to reach out to those who may be crying, because they are being bullied in some way. To rescue those who are helpless and oppressed. Even to treat the environment with greater respect and care.

Sisters and brothers, in this Season of Advent, we continue to await the arrival of Christ our charismatic Teacher. Who comes to transform the rowdy classroom of our lives into the justice and peace of Paradise. What can we do to better recognise and receive him today?

Rising To The Advent Challenge

1st Sunday of Advent (A)

Readings:  Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 121:1-2,4-5,6-9; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44

Sisters and brothers, do you recognise the name Yusman Wright? Those of you who do will know that it belongs to the 43-year-old real estate agent who won this year’s Mediacorp Subaru Challenge. You know, of course, what the Subaru Challenge is, right? It’s an annual endurance contest held in front of Ngee Ann City along Orchard Road. 400 contestants compete with one another to see which one of them can  keep the palm of one hand on a car for the longest period of time. The winner gets to keep the car. This year, the prize was a Subaru Forester 2.0i Premium, worth S$85,000 (less COE). And Yusman Wright beat all his fellow contestants with a winning time of 75 hours and 1 minute. Imagine that. Keeping your hand on a car for 75 hours. That’s more than 3 days! Quite a feat. Especially if you consider that the contest is held out in the open. Exposed to sun and rain. Not only that, but this was actually Yusman’s 5th attempt.

What do you think, sisters and brothers? What is it that drives someone like Yusman Wright to keep entering a contest like this, year after year? What is it that enables him to keep his hand glued to a car, without caring about anything else? Oblivious to pain and discomfort? Heedless of any other distraction? According to Yusman it’s all about focus. This is what he told the press after his win: if you join with the right focus in the mind… if you just go on what you want to achieve... win this car, then just focus on that. I think it's all in the mind…

Just focus… It’s all in the mind… Much easier said than done, right? And yet, this man was able to do it. He was able to focus only on winning the car. And if he was able to do this, it must have been because he wanted it really badly. His desire was strong. The car’s appeal irresistible. Such that he just could not bring himself to let it go. The strength of desire. And the power of attraction. Surely these must have been the things that enabled Yusman to rise to the Subaru Challenge.

The strength of desire and the power of attraction. These are also the  things that we find in our Mass readings, on this 1st Sunday of Advent. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks to us of a great prize that is waiting to be won. A prize far more precious than a brand new SUV parked in front of Ngee Ann City. The prize is the very presence of God Himself. Isaiah proclaims that a time is coming when the God of Israel, who lives in the Temple on Mount Zion, will make his Presence known to the whole world. God will wield authority over the nations, and God’s reign will bring true peace. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.

And it is because of this great prize, it is out of their desire for this precious gift, that people from all nations will be attracted to Mount Zion. They will be drawn to it irresistibly. They will leave their respective countries and go to where God is. Much like those 400 contestants in the Subaru Challenge detached themselves from the comfort of their own homes. But only so that they could attach themselves to their desired prize. I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord!

The strength of desire and the power of attraction. A desire that leads people to search relentlessly for God. An attraction that moves people to disregard all distractions, and to focus on God alone. A desire and an attraction that enables people to claim the prize of peace in the presence of God. Much like how Yusman Wright kept entering the Subaru Challenge, kept his hand stuck to the car, until he won it. But let’s face it. Not everyone is a Yusman Wright. Not everyone is able to do this. Not everyone can remain focused on the prize, focused on God, in this way. It’s not an easy thing to do.

As Jesus tells us in the gospel, on the day when the Son of Man comes of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left. When God comes to visit us, bringing the prize of peace, not all will be able to receive it. Some of us will not meet the grade. Why? Not so much because God is stingy. But more because our desire may just not be strong enough. The attraction we feel for God not powerful enough. We may allow themselves to be distracted by many other things. By eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands… Also by buying condominiums, enrolling children in the best pre-schools and tuition centres, fretting over PSLEs and IB programmes, worrying about KPIs and other measures of productivity. Not that all these things are bad in themselves. In many cases, they are important and necessary. But we need to take care that we do not let our concern for all these things make us lose our focus on God. Make us lose touch with the concerns of God. By all means work in the field. Grind at the millstone. But always remain focused on God.

Isn’t this what Jesus means when he tells us to stay awake? To stand ready? Even as we may busy ourselves with many things, we need to somehow remain in contact with God. Remain in touch with our desire for God. Continue to feel the attractiveness of God. St. Paul speaks of the same thing in terms of light and darkness. The night is almost over, he writes, it will be daylight soon. The night of selfishness and loneliness. Of resentment and vengefulness. Of jealousy and greed. Of pain and sorrow. All this will soon be no more. On the day when the Lord comes. But to win this prize. To share in this light. To experience this peace. We must keep training our desire. We need to continue cultivating our attraction to the Light. This may be easier for those of us experiencing darkness of some kind. Those undergoing pain and suffering in some way. Our experience of darkness can help us to deepen our desire for God. To increase our attraction to the Light. We keep crying out to God, until God hears and answers us.

But, even if we may not be experiencing darkness in our own lives, we should not fail to notice that we live in a very dark world. A world where many continue to suffer terribly. People like the victims of a terrible typhoon in a distant land. But also people much closer to home. People who may be living as close to us as the room next door to our own. Or even in our own bed. People who need us to reach out to them in some way. In care and compassion. To make their concerns our own. Isn’t this how we can do what St. Paul tells us to do in the second reading? To let our armour be the Lord Jesus Christ. To put on Christ. To make his concerns our concerns. And his concerns are always for the poorest and most needy of all.

Sisters and brothers, Yusman Wright was able to rise to the Subaru Challenge by remaining focused on the prize. A brand new SUV. Advent is a time for us to sharpen our focus on God. To increase our desire for the things of God. To deepen our attraction to the concerns of God. So that we can claim the prize of God’s Coming.

What can you do to rise to our Advent Challenge today?

Flame On!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Readings: Malachi 3:19-20; Psalm 97:5-9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19

Picture: cc Riccardo Di Virgilio

Sisters and brothers, are you afraid of fire? If you are, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You have every reason to be afraid. For we all know the destructive power of fire. Isn’t this why all our buildings are usually equipped with fire escapes and alarms? With fire extinguishers and sprinklers? We are justifiably afraid of fire. So we prepare for the time when a fire might flare up unexpectedly. Not only that. We also try our best to prevent fires from breaking out in the first place. From a very young age, for example, we have all been taught not to play with fire. Preparation and prevention. These are the two main ways by which we guard ourselves against the destructive effects of fire. But are they the only ways? Is there another? What do you think?

Are you familiar, sisters and brothers, with the Human Torch? Those  who are will know that he’s a superhero. A member of a group of superheroes collectively known as the Fantastic Four. While on a journey into space, this foursome was bombarded by cosmic radiation. Upon their return to earth, they found themselves endowed with superhuman powers. As his name suggests, the Human Torch has the ability to envelop his whole body in fire. Without doing himself any harm. And, whenever he does this, the Torch usually yells out a signature phrase. Do you remember what it is? That’s right. Flame on!

Flame on! That’s what the Human Torch shouts out when he ignites himself. When he transforms himself into fire. Isn’t this, sisters and brothers, a really cool way of guarding yourself against the flames? Not just by preventing a fire from starting. Or preparing to put it out should one flare up. But by actually becoming fire. For, if you are already fire, what do you have to fear from fire itself? So, not just preparation or prevention. But actual ignition. Transformation. Flame on!

I know what you’re probably thinking right now, sisters and brothers. You’re thinking that I’ve been reading too many comic books. Or watching too many movies. Or maybe even suffering from a delusion of some kind. And you may well be right. After all, the Human Torch is but a fantasy. What possible relevance could he have for the often harsh realities of our daily lives? How could someone in his or her right mind expect to survive being enveloped by fire?

And yet, curiously enough, our Mass readings today seem to point us precisely in this apparently delusional direction. You will, no doubt, have noticed that both the first reading and the gospel, speak to us of a day that is coming. A rather strange day. A day of the Lord’s visitation. A day of terror and tragedy. But also a day of safety and salvation. In the first reading, the prophet Malachi describes it in terms of fire. The day is coming now, he proclaims, burning like a furnace. A fire is coming. But notice that the prophet does not tell his listeners to try to prevent this fire. Or even to prepare to put it out. Instead, he seems to assume that the fire will come anyway. How then to safeguard oneself?

To answer this question, we need to consider the curious effects that this fire has on different people. According to the prophet, the arrogant and the evildoers will be like stubble. Like straw. The fire will burn them up. But on those who fear God, those who put God first in their lives, this fire will have the opposite effect. For them, the harsh fiery furnace of God’s coming will turn into a gentle sun of righteousness. Bringing wholeness and healing. Instead of death & destruction.

We see something similar in the gospel too. Here, although there is no explicit mention of a fire breaking out, scripture scholars tell us that St. Luke is writing about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, at the hands of the Romans, in the year A.D. 70. In the gospel, this terrible event is something that is going to take place in the future. But notice that Jesus focuses not so much on how this destruction can be prevented. Or how preparations can be made to overcome it. Instead, Jesus speaks about how it can be endured. Although many will perish, those who cling to their faith in God, those who remain steadfast to the end, will be saved. Your endurance will win you your lives.

What are we to make of all this, sisters and brothers? What is it about the God-fearers in the first reading, and the faithful disciples in the gospel, that enables them not just to survive, but even to thrive, in the face of terrible suffering? As with every question that life poses to us. Every question that’s worth asking. The answer is found in the life of Christ himself. For, as we well know, Jesus too faced a fiery furnace. He too encountered a day of destruction. When he had to carry a cruel cross. Only to be crucified upon it like a common criminal.

And, because Jesus remained faithful and steadfast to the end, he was crushed but not destroyed. Rather, he was raised to life on the Third Day. How did this come about? How was Jesus preserved in the furnace of suffering? Was it not because he himself was constantly already on fire with the love of his heavenly Father? Even at the tender age of 12, Jesus was able to tell his poor perplexed parents that he had to be in his Father’s house. Doing his Father’s will. And when it came time for his public ministry, Jesus began by first allowing himself to be immersed in the waters of the River Jordan. The waters of our frail human condition. The waters of his Father’s will for him. And, having done so, Jesus experienced himself being engulfed by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Who descended upon him like a dove.

Sisters and brothers, if Jesus was able to thrive in the furnace of adversity, it was only because he was always already aflame with the love of his heavenly Father. Always already engulfed in the fire of the Holy Spirit. And can we not say the same of the people in our readings as well? In the first reading, it is because they are already on fire, that the people are able to continue walking in the ways of God. In the gospel, it is because they are already on fire, that the disciples can be expected to transform their terrible trials into opportunities for bearing witness to Christ. In the second reading, it is because the Thessalonians are already on fire that Paul can encourage them to turn away from idleness, and to work quietly and diligently instead.

To continue burning with the love of God. Sisters and brothers, isn’t this also what we are all invited to keep doing every day of the week? And isn’t this also why we gather here to worship every Sunday? Even as we may have to face the furnace of the inevitable challenges of daily living. We are able to survive and to thrive. To turn painful trials into precious opportunities for bearing witness. Only to the extent that we continue to allow ourselves to be set alight with the love of God. To be transformed by the Holy Spirit into fire itself.

I saw an image of this fire last Friday evening. When we gathered in this church to express our solidarity with the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. A slideshow was screened. In the midst of the many images of terrible suffering. Of pain and anguish. One image caught my eye. It was a picture of a group of people who appeared to be waiting for something. Perhaps for supplies to be distributed. A young woman in this group had her arms wrapped around something to which she was clinging tightly. Almost desperately. It was a large statue of our Blessed Mother. I saw on that woman’s face a quiet determination. A firmness of resolve. A courage and a strength that were signs of a fire burning deep within her. Keeping her going in the midst of her trial.

And what about us? How do we face our trials? Only by prevention and preparation? Or also, most of all, by ignition & transformation. Sisters and brothers, how can we keep shouting flame on today?

Some Things Have to Be Custom-Made

Wedding Mass of Rachel & Andrew

Readings: Genesis 2:18-24; Psalm 148; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8; Matthew 5:1-12

Pictures: cc Stefan Z

Andrew and Rachel, my dear friends. Have you ever noticed how so many of the things we use these days are mass-produced? Even something as complex and as sophisticated as a smartphone? I imagine that the parts that make up a smartphone are manufactured and assembled in factories that churn out many thousands of units a day. And it’s a good thing that we’re able to do this, because it makes the products more easily available. Also more affordable.

But, even though we may have the technology to mass-produce a lot of useful stuff. A factory-manufactured product is not always the most suitable. Some things still need to be custom-made. Especially if we want them to fit well. I know someone, for example, who recently needed a new set of dentures. The process of making them was really quite laborious. Not to mention expensive. It involved several visits to the dentist. First, to have a couple of teeth extracted. Then measurements had to be taken. Moulds and adjustments made. And, even after the dentures were finished, it took some time for the wearer to get used to them. At first there was some pain and discomfort. But, thankfully, the last time I checked, the person is finally happy with the final product. The dentures fit comfortably now. But only after a rather long and costly process. Only because they have been custom-made.

Today, many things can be mass-produced. Very quickly. And very cheaply. But some other things continue to have to be custom-made. If this is true of dentures, it’s even more true of marriages. Isn’t this the message that you, Andrew and Rachel, are trying to bring to our attention, through the scripture readings that you have chosen for our celebration today?

In the familiar first reading from the book of Genesis, we have an account of something being made. At first glance it may seem like the reading provides us with a description of how the first woman is created. And that’s true. It does. But that’s not all it does. For notice how the reading ends. It ends not just with a woman. Standing alone as a finished product. The reading ends rather with a relationship. We’re told that the man and the woman become one body. Quite clearly, the first reading is a description of how a relationship is created. And not just any kind of relationship. Not just a relationship where one creature exerts mastery over another. But a relationship of true equals. Of mutual respect. Of deep intimacy. Of oneness of heart and mind and body. This at last is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!
And notice how this unique relationship comes about. Notice how the man rejects all other animals. The same animals that God had earlier mass-produced, so to speak. These are found to be unsuitable. What the man is seeking requires something more than mass-production. The relationship that he desires requires more time and effort. It must be custom-made. And notice what this customised process involves. First the man is made to fall into a deep sleep. And then something is taken from him. Something that is actually a part of his very self. A rib is taken from the man. And made a part of the woman.

Now, my dear friends, I may be wrong. But I think that for us modern Christians, this process may at first look like nothing more than a surgical procedure. Like something we may find, for example, in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. And, what’s more, we may even think that it’s a procedure that’s rather unethical. The man is drugged, and then his rib is stolen from him. But perhaps there is really something more going on. To appreciate what this is, we need to turn our attention to the second reading. Again, very insightfully chosen by you, Andrew and Rachel. Here, we find St. Paul reminding us of the crucial importance of love. If I give away all that I possess, Paul writes, if I even let them take my body to burn it (or my rib), but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.

Paul’s words should help us to see more clearly, what is happening to the man in the first reading. First, his ego is put to sleep. His tendency to seek only what’s good for himself. First, his self-interest has to be tranquillised. Only then can he make a donation of himself to the other. To the woman. For her good. Not just his own. It is only then, only through this loving self-donation, that the intimate relationship between man and woman can come into being. Marriage is the custom-made product of love.

And this process doesn’t take place only in the Garden Eden. Only at the beginning of Creation. Or even only on a wedding day like today. Or even only during a romantic honeymoon. This laborious custom-made process needs to continue at every moment of every one of the days to come. It has to continue, for example, even when both the man and woman come home after a long and tiring day at work. Looking forward to some down time. Some me time. Eager perhaps to enjoy some tender loving care from the other. Which is all very legitimate. But, for one to receive care, there must also be another willing to offer it. Another willing to take time to put self-interest to sleep. So that self-donation can take place. It is only when both man and woman are willing to do this for each other. And, when children come along, for them as well. And on a regular basis. That the marriage relationship can continue to be created. Continue to be custom-made.

All of which, as those among us who are already married will tell us, is much easier said than done. I imagine that there will perhaps be days in a marriage when, having already given much of oneself, a husband or a wife may feel as though there is just no more to give. How then to carry on? Which is why it’s important for us to consider something else in our readings today. Notice who it is who is ultimately responsible for the process of Creation. Not just the man and the woman. They are involved. But only as generous and obedient collaborators. The process is ultimately in the hands of God. It is God who manufactures the parts. It is God who assembles them. It is God who supplies the power to bring the relationship to life.

Isn’t this why the gospel that you, Andrew and Rachel, have chosen is so important. Here, we’re told that certain kinds of people are blessed. The poor in spirit, the gentle, the mourners, those who seek what is right. What do all these have in common, my dear friends, if not the humility to recognise that what is needed most we are unable to manufacture for ourselves. My dear friends, Andrew and Rachel, the love without which no marriage can survive, is ultimately the precious gift of God. A gift that God happily showers upon us, especially in the Mystery that we are celebrating at this Mass. A gift that we need to continue to beg from God. And to offer to one another in the days to come.

Rachel and Andrew, my dear friends, many of the things we use everyday can be mass-produced. But a marriage needs to be continually custom-made by God. How are we being called to collaborate with God in this creative process today?

Between Automation & Attention (Rerun)

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Readings: Wisdom 11:22-12:2; Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10
Picture: cc Andrew Seaman

Dear sisters and brothers, do you ever sometimes marvel at the wonder of automation? When I do my laundry, for example, all I usually have to do is throw my dirty clothes into the washer, add detergent, and press the right buttons. I can then go off and do whatever else I need to do. Have my breakfast, read the newspapers, check my email... Then I return a little later to transfer my clothes to the dryer. On those rainy days when I can’t hang them out to dry. Again I press the right buttons. And, before I know it, all my clothes are washed and dried. What’s wonderful about the whole process is that I don’t have to stick around to watch over the machines as they do their work. I don’t have to pay much attention to them at all. They know when to stop on their own. That’s the wonderful thing about automation, isn’t it? It saves us from having to pay constant attention to something.

But, even though modern technology is now so far advanced, not everything is automatic. I know someone, for example, who once left a large pot of beans over the stove to boil. And then went off to do something else. Completely forgetting about the pot. Unfortunately, unlike the washer and the dryer, that stove was not automatic. It didn’t know when to stop boiling those beans. It needed more attention than my friend was able to give to it. So, as you can well imagine, there were no beans for dinner that night.

Automation is great. But not everything is automatic. Some things still require our close attention. This is true not just of a stove. It’s also true of something that our Mass readings are inviting us to reflect upon today. The relationship between God and creation. What is this relationship like? Some people may think that it is not much different from the way in which I relate to the washer and the dryer. It’s a relationship of automation. God simply pushes the buttons at the beginning, and then leaves the scene. Returning only much later. At the end of time. And, if the results are not up to God’s expectations, people will be punished.

This is probably the kind of understanding that we find St. Paul arguing against in the second reading. It is likely that the Thessalonians have received a forged letter. A letter claiming to be from Paul. But actually written by someone else. A letter telling the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord has already arrived. That Jesus has come for the second time. And the poor Thessalonians are alarmed. Worked up. Perhaps they think that, like the pot of beans my friend placed on the stove, they have been left all alone to prepare for the Lord’s second coming. And they’re not ready. They’re worried that God will return to find nothing but burnt beans. But Paul says that God has not left them alone. Paul assures them that he and the other leaders are praying continually that God will make them worthy of his call. Implying that God does not just leave us to prepare for the Lord’s coming automatically. The way I leave the washer and the dryer to do my laundry for me. Instead, God pays constant careful attention to us. Continually offering us the help that we need.

And the first reading helps us to deepen our understanding of God’s careful attention, by reminding us that no created thing could persist or be conserved, if not called forth by God. In other words, the very fact that we (and everything else) continue to exist is itself a sign that God is paying careful attention to us. God does not just create us and then leave us to make the best of our lives on our own. Instead, not only does God remain close to us, but the first reading even goes so far as to insist that God’s imperishable spirit is in all of us. Continually calling and guiding us. Consistently caring for and paying close attention to us.

And it is this same spirit that we find at work in Jesus in the gospel (see Lk 4:18). This is the spirit that moves Jesus to journey to Jerusalem. The spirit that sends Jesus to seek out and to save what was lost. In the ministry of Jesus, God pays continual and careful attention to all those whom God has created.

But that’s not all. There is something else very significant in today’s gospel. Notice how the reading begins by telling us that Jesus had originally intended only to pass through Jericho. But he ends up staying at the house of a man named Zacchaeus. What causes Jesus to change his mind? What is it about Zacchaeus that enables this senior tax collector and a wealthy man, to benefit from the ministry of the Lord?

The answer is not difficult to discover. Again it has to do with attention. Notice how, rather than simply allowing Jesus to pass by, Zacchaeus takes the trouble to climb a tree. Although he knows that people don’t like him, he’s still willing to draw attention to himself. But only so that he can himself pay closer attention to Jesus. And Zacchaeus does this–he pays closer attention to God–not just by climbing the tree. We're told that he also gives half his property to the poor. In our reading, taken from the Jerusalem Bible, Zacchaeus’ words express something that’s going to happen in the future. He tells Jesus: I am going to give... But bible commentators tell us that, in the original Greek, the sentence actually expresses something that’s already happening in the present. What Zacchaeus is telling Jesus is that he is already giving half his property to the poor. On this reading, more than just climbing a tree, the tax collector, whom everyone thinks is a great sinner, is actually a generous benefactor of the poor and the needy. Isn’t this why Zacchaeus is able to benefit from Jesus' attention? It’s because Zacchaeus himself already constantly pays close attention to God. Especially to God present in the poor. As a result, when Salvation comes around, It doesn’t just pass him by. It decides to stay, and to shower blessings on Zacchaeus and his entire household.

All of which should lead us to reflect upon our own situations today. We all benefit from modern technology. We all enjoy the wonders of automation. And isn’t it true that sometimes we can too easily forget that not everything in this world is automatic? That some things just need more attention from us? Things like my relationship with God for example. Not enough just to go to Mass every Sunday, and expect the relationship to deepen by itself. It won’t. Not if I don’t make the time and the effort to communicate meaningfully with God. To pray from my heart. To pay closer attention to what God might be trying to show me. Through the people and the events that God is sending into my life.

And the same can be said for my other relationships as well. Relationships with my spouse and my children. With my friends and my colleagues at work. Unlike washers and dryers, these relationships are not automatic. They need my attention. Or they will die. And what about helping those who are less fortunate? Doesn’t this also require attention? Even if I may sometimes be tempted to think that it is only a question of paying my taxes on time. And hoping that the government will take care of the problem. Isn’t it true that the government cannot do everything? Could it be that there is something more that I need to do as a Christian? Closer attention that I need to pay? Greater efforts that I need to make? To reach out to those who could really use my help?

Sisters and brothers, in our readings today, salvation comes to Zacchaeus and his household because of the close attention the tax collector pays to God and to the poor. To God present in the poor. What about us? You and me? How are we being invited to continue moving from automation to attention today?