Fr Bernard writes…
Sunday 17th February 2019 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Curse and blessing are on offer in the first reading from Jeremiah depending on where we out trust. If we rely solely on ourselves or on other human beings, if our hearts are turned from the Lord, then we are like ‘dry scrub in the wastelands’. If, on the other hand we put our trust and hope in the Lord, we are like trees by the waterside, we have ‘no worries in the year of drought’. This comparison is continued in the responsorial psalm, with those delighting in the law of the Lord being the ones who yield fruit in due season, rather than the wicked whose ways lead to doom. In the gospel Luke gives his version of the Beatitudes with four blessings and four curses, ‘Happy are you who are poor…Alas for you who are rich.’ Jesus does not want people to live in abject poverty, suffer from hunger, be mournful and rejected, he came so that we might have life and live it to the full. He wants those who have the wherewithal to bring about change. There is a radical nature about Luke’s Gospel, addressed to rich and poor, healthy and sick, young and old, successful and failure, virtuous and sin laden, urging us towards life in the Spirit which is beyond the basic values of health, wealth, family, success and so forth. It challenges Institutions and Governments in how they use their authority and power, and it challenges us to examine the choices we make.
This weekend is Racial Justice Weekend and the 2nd Collection is for Racial Justice. Next weekend Bishop Marcus has asked that a 2nd collection be taken in response to the Refugee crisis.
Please see this week's newsletter for details of other news and events.
