Sunday reflections

Two common images presented to us in the Scriptures are those of shepherds and banquets. First and foremost, God shepherds his people Israel by caring for them like sheep, keeping them from danger, and preparing a banquet for them.

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernadone was wealthy, popular and influential. Yet, he renounced his wealth, privilege and lavish lifestyle to follow Jesus and to proclaim the good news of the Gospel. Francis of Assisi, as we now know him, embraced poverty, dressing himself in a coarse woolen tunic, the dress of poor Umbrian peasants.

The three main characters in this week’s readings suffer rejection and humiliation. Their pain is summarised in the Psalm: “Indeed, all too full is our soul with the scorn of the rich, with the proud man’s disdain.”

Today we continue with readings from Mark’s gospel. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus has demonstrated his divine mastery over destructive forces of nature (in calming the sea) and over a legion of demons who were afflicting a man (in the exorcism of a deeply troubled person).

The Shetland Islands are north of Scotland and just below the Arctic Circle. They are a group of one hundred islands with only sixteen inhabited. There is a daily ferry for travellers, but also private boats for hire.

Most things start small. Someone asks you to be part of a group and a few years later, on reflection, it turns out to have played a significant part in your life. You just kept turning up and something grew there almost unawares. Then, at a particular point, you may have come to understand God was present there and had been all along.

When people hear the word ‘myth’, they often think ‘fiction’ or ‘untrue’. However, in ancient times, myths – stories rich in symbols, expressions, and characters that were easily recognisable and familiar to audiences – were the primary way for people to ponder and talk about events and experiences that were important to them, but beyond their understanding.

In the gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to prepare for the Passover, a Jewish feast celebrating the Hebrew’s liberation from slavery in Egypt which is also known as Pesach which means “to pass over,” commemorating the fact that God spared the Jewish firstborn from the final plague.

The Jesuit spiritual writer, Mark Link, begins his widely read book Experiencing Prayer (1984) with an extract from Eugene Ionesco’s play The Bald Soprano (1950). In the scene, a couple meet and enter dialogue about their lives. They discover that they share much in common – they live in the same city, on the same street, in the same apartment, and they each have a daughter named Alice.

At the centre of Christian faith is the great paradox: there is only ONE God; yet God is THREE [Father, Son and Spirit”]. We know this because of the witness of Jesus’ own life and the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus’ promises his disciples.