THE WORD:
Advent begins at the end -- the promised return of Christ at the end of time. For the faithful disciple, history is a moving forward, a journey to the fulfillment of God’s reign when God’s Christ will return as Lord of all. We therefore live in a permanent state of Advent: watchfulness, preparation and perseverance as we await the return of the Holy One who has already come.Christ the King
Welcome to Jesus’ place . . .
Every evening you and your family gather around the table in your kitchen for supper. The entree might be some epicurean delight from the pages of Bon Appétit -- but more often than not it’s Chinese takeout or pizza from Domino’s. As everyone digs in, the table buzzes with talk of tomorrow’s soccer game, a crabby teacher, the current fix-up project, the latest office crises, and a new knock-knock joke. Here at the kitchen table, parent and child give and receive encouragement, consolation, forgiveness and love. Especially love. If there is one safe harbor on earth, one secure, sheltered place where you are always welcome no matter how badly you mess up, the kitchen table is it. Your kitchen – the place where Christ rules.
The Bridg - Trust in God
A man was walking on a shaking bridge, he prayed for help. He saw God on the
other side of the bridge and asked God to come near, but God didn't come. Man
got angry, with great difficulty he crossed to the other side and saw God
holding the broken bridge. Trust in God. His ways are always amazing.
33 Sunday B
From Fr. Tony Kadavil:
1) T he end time phobia: French "prophet" and astrologer Nostradamus (1503-1566), foretold that the world would end when Easter fell on April 25. This happened in 1666, 1734, 1886 and 1943; it will occur again in 2038. In 1379, St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), a Spanish Dominican monk, basing his prediction on the number of verses in the Book of Psalms (2,537 verses), predicted the demise of the world in AD 3936. By the end of 1998, the Mount of Olives Hotel, run by Palestinian Muslims, wrote to 2,000 Protestant Christian groups in the U.S. asking "How would you like to be reserving your rooms at the Mount of Olives Hotel, to wait for the ‘second coming’ of Jesus on the first day of the new millennium, 2000 A.D.?" Scientists, also, fueled public anxiety by citing a series of possible ways, including, nuclear war and collision with a comet, in which the world could come to an end. A very popular book in 1989 was 89 Reasons Why the World will End in 1989. The Jehovah’s Witnesses frightened gullible followers at least 3 times during the last century with their “end of the world” predictions in 1914, 1918 and 1974. It is this paranoid fear that led people to die in the mass suicides organized by Heaven’s Gate and Jim Jones. The film Omega Code, released in October, 1999, was an independent movie funded by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Evangelical Christian TV network in the U.S. It was promoted by a team of 2,400 U.S. Evangelical pastors. The plot involved a portrayal of the “rapture” at the imminent “Second coming” of Jesus , when “born again” and "saved" Christians, both alive and dead, are supposed to fly upward in the air to meet Jesus. The film was rated in the top 10 grossing movies for October, 1999. Over 17 million copies of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' novel Left Behind on the “Second coming,” were sold by July 27, 2000. This is how modern man reacts to the reality of the coming of the end of the world. Hence, today’s readings remind us that we should be well prepared and always ready to meet Jesus at any time, daily in our brothers and sisters and at the end of our lives or the end of the world, whichever comes first.
Sudha's Copper Coins: A Train Ticket
Sudha Murthy, chairperson, Infosys Foundation is known for her ability to glean interesting stories from the lives of ordinary people. The following is extracted from her latest collection, 'Bombay to Bangalore':
It was the beginning of summer. As I boarded the Udyan Express at Gulbarga, I saw that the 2nd class reserved compartment was jam-packed with people. I sat down and was pushed to the corner of the berth. The ticket collector came in and started checking people's tickets. Suddenly, he looked in my direction and asked, what about your ticket? 'I have already shown my ticket to you', I said.
It was the beginning of summer. As I boarded the Udyan Express at Gulbarga, I saw that the 2nd class reserved compartment was jam-packed with people. I sat down and was pushed to the corner of the berth. The ticket collector came in and started checking people's tickets. Suddenly, he looked in my direction and asked, what about your ticket? 'I have already shown my ticket to you', I said.
32 Sunday B: Poor Widow's Copper Coins
From Fr. Jude Botelho:
In the first reading from the book of Kings we hear the story of the widow, whom Elijah meets in the town of Sodom, which is experiencing a famine. Now the prophet requests her for a little water and a meal. The widow has only a little left for herself and her son. The widow does not first ask: "Will you ask God for a special blessing on me if I give you this meal?" She is just ready to give up everything and die! Her total generosity is blessed by God's equally generous gift: she will never more know need. We can never outdo our God in generosity. Everything we give comes back to us in double measure, though the motive of our giving should not be that we should receive with interest! That would be business!
In the first reading from the book of Kings we hear the story of the widow, whom Elijah meets in the town of Sodom, which is experiencing a famine. Now the prophet requests her for a little water and a meal. The widow has only a little left for herself and her son. The widow does not first ask: "Will you ask God for a special blessing on me if I give you this meal?" She is just ready to give up everything and die! Her total generosity is blessed by God's equally generous gift: she will never more know need. We can never outdo our God in generosity. Everything we give comes back to us in double measure, though the motive of our giving should not be that we should receive with interest! That would be business!
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