22nd Week, Saturday, Sept 9
Colossians 1:21-23 / Luke 6:1-5
Sin alienates us from God: Christ reconciled us back to God.
Webster's Dictionary defines the word atonement as "the reconciliation of God and man through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ," It is this reconciliation that Paul talks about in today's reading. What the dictionary doesn't say is how the word atonement came into being. Back in 1526, when William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English, he couldn't find an English word to express the idea of our reconciliation with God through Jesus' death. So, he made one up. He joined two words: at and onement, thus making the word atonement, or atonement. In other words, by the death of Jesus we were reconciled or "made one" with God. ***
How often do we meditate on Jesus' death? "Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the saviour of the world." Mass Liturgy
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Paul reminds his Colossians that before their conversion they were estranged from God. Now that they have been reconciled with God and one another, they should remain so.
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To reconcile means to make friends after an estrangement. Sin is the cause of an estrangement. We would like to hide from God when we have committed a sin. Just as Adam did. We find it difficult to pray. As in everything, God reconciles us through his son. God always takes the initiative: He created us without sin. He loves us. So much did God love us that he gave us his Son. He is the first. How great his love is, he showed us in this that he did not spare his own Son. God always takes the initiative. In creation, we do not even have to respond to that. Not so in reconciliation. Here we have an obligation to do our part. We would like to hide from God when we have committed a sin. The aim of reconciliation is our holiness. Then only are we really friends of God " when we strive after holiness. Reconciliation demands loyalty. The sincerity of our faith and hope is the only guarantee that we strive after holiness that makes us loyal friends. That Faith is in danger in Colossae.
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Let us say that this morning, or later in the morning, we meet someone and wished that person "Good morning". But what we get was a sullen silence or a cold stare, or some unwarranted reply like: What's so good about the morning? There will be two things that we might want to do; either we get into a tangle of heated words with that person, or we just let it be and walk away from that sticky situation and be at peace with ourselves. So, in almost every situation, there can be a reaction or a response. A reaction can be quite scorching, much like a volatile chemical reaction; a response would be more gentle and sublime.
In the gospel, the Pharisees reacted to what the disciples of Jesus did. But Jesus responded to their reaction; He made them think and reflect about what they said. So, in all kinds of situations, we have a choice: we can either react scorchingly, or we can respond sublimely.
In the 1st reading, even St. Paul would urge the Colossians to have a new way of thinking and acting because of their faith in Christ. A reaction to a situation would only result in tension. But we can only give a Christian response when we stand firm on the solid rock of faith and not drifting from the hope promised by the Good News.
Jesus is the master of the Sabbath. Let us let Him also be the Master of every situation. That is our best Christian response.
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A frequent sign of their own insecurity is that people seek security in laws and traditions. The more they insist on these, the more they try to bend people to these, the greater their insecurity. Laws are supposed to be in the service of the community, not vice versa. They may never become a block or a screen between people. They are not absolutes but servants of people.
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Prayer
Lord our God, Jesus your Son came not to abolish the law but to fill it with the dimensions of love. Do not allow commandments and rules to stand between you and us nor between people, but let them lead us gently, as good educators, to you and to our neighbour and teach us to go beyond the law in generosity and serving love. Make us free with the freedom brought us by your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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Saint Peter Claver
Feast day September 9
Have you ever been really, really thirsty? Maybe you were hiking or mowing the yard on a hot summer day. Maybe you just came in from the playground or off the basketball court. Think how good a drink of cold water would be. If some kind person brought you water, how would you feel? Peter Claver was that sort of person. Peter felt he was called to be a missionary. When he was 29 years old, Peter left his home in Spain and went to Cartagena (in what is now Colombia), South America. There he continued his studies and was ordained a priest.
Cartagena was a busy city, but its economic success came from dealing in human misery. Cartagena was the main market for the slave trade in the New World. Hundreds of thousands of people were brought there from Africa, herded into warehouses, and auctioned off to the highest bidder. They had been captured, chained together, crowded onto ships, and neglected during the long journey to South America. The conditions were so terrible that an estimated one-third of the captives died during the journey.
Whenever a ship carrying Africans arrived in port, Peter was there. He would hurry down with a jug of water, and a basket full of medicine, fruit, bread, and clothing. He would greet the slaves by giving them a drink of water. His first concern was to tend to their human needs—to ease their suffering and somehow restore their sense of dignity. He saw the suffering Jesus in the people he served. And he heard in their cry: “What you do for others, you do for me.” Peter nursed many back to health and, while they were in warehouses awaiting their sale, he told them that Jesus loved them and gave them the sacraments.
Peter Claver could not eliminate the strong hold that slavery had on society. The hearts and the consciences of many people had been so hardened that they refused to see this evil of slavery in their midst. But Peter did what he could. He tried to be a visible sign that the African slaves were indeed human beings, children of God. By bringing the love of Jesus to them, he was laying the foundations of justice and charity for the future. During his 40 years in Colombia, Peter Claver baptized nearly 300,000 Africans.
A man of deep prayer, unbounded energy, and steady devotion, Peter Claver realized that it was his relationship with Christ that nourished his spirit and gave him the courage to go on when so many problems surrounded his work. When he died the city that had opposed so many of his efforts honoured him.
