Sunday reflections

As we begin the season of Lent, we hear Luke’s version of the three temptations of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. His responses will determine the direction of his mission.

This week’s first reading offers the kind of pithy advice that would have been common in the ancient world. In this case, the author of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus as also called, encourages the reader to test the words and actions of others. This way, we avoid looking foolish for endorsing someone with egregious character flaws.

In the Book of Samuel, we find two mortal enemies, David and Saul, in conflict. Saul is the anointed King of Judah and David has been anointed to succeed him. What happens next is an all too familiar human story. David is jealous of Saul’s power; Saul is suspicious of David’s motives.

The banksia, unlike many other Australian native plant species, is not destroyed by bushfires. In fact, the fire’s extreme heat and smoke helps it regenerate. The heat, as well as the chemicals from the smoke and ash, trigger the opening of the banksia’s woody seed cases which releases the seeds within. These seeds are dispersed and subsequently germinate in rich soil.

In this week’s gospel, we witness the all-too-familiar story of Jesus by the Sea of Galilee calling Simon Peter and other fisherfolk to join him in his mission. Unlike similar call stories in Mark (1:16-20) and Mathew (4:18-22), the journey to discipleship in Luke is not a single moment of decisive conversion but rather a gradual process, marked by repeated encounters, personal challenges, and an evolving understanding of Jesus’ identity.

Have you ever wondered what God looks like? Various images might come to mind, but why not turn to the person next to you who is made in the image and likeness of God? But, what if God looks like this baby? A child whose crying wakes us and worries us at moments as we hold them close, a child who depends on us for life.

Returning home after more than eleven years ‘on mission’ overseas has been a challenging and confronting experience. So much has changed. I’ve changed. Society has changed. The Church has changed. So much is unfamiliar to me and I’m ‘unknown’. I feel like a foreigner in the country I call home.

Fresh from her encounter with the angel Gabriel, “Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country” to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was herself pregnant in her old age. This meeting of two Spirit-filled pregnant women, seeking to understand what God is doing in their lives, is remarkable in the way it captures their very human interaction and their prophetic voices.

The two themes of Sunday’s readings are repentance and joy. We do not usually associate these two themes with each other, but they go hand in glove in the kingdom of God.

At the year’s end, God comes – Christ is coming – as a baby at Christmas, coming into the dailiness of our lives, and at the end of time. It may seem odd at the beginning of Advent to hear Jesus speak of the second coming, but when Jesus says we’re to watch and stay awake, he doesn’t say it to play on our fears. Instead, he calls us to be alert to the signs of God’s presence in our lives, encouraging us to have faith in God who is present in the person with whom we are talking, and in the smallest act, though we may only come to understand this sometime later.