Sermons
(1 Thess 5,16-19)
In our two readings from the prophet Isaiah and from the gospel according to John, we hear of individuals being called by God. We can be sure that these parts of those two books were the last to have been written. It is only in hindsight that it was clear for Isaiah and for John the Baptist that they had been called by God. Prophets do not know the details of their ministry from the beginning.
Let us take the text from Isaiah (Is 61,1-2.10-11). Isaiah eventually discovers who benefited from the words he proclaimed. These were the lowly, the brokenhearted, captives and prisoners. I doubt he began his ministry with that specific audience in mind. But the prophet was convinced that “the Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me” – this is the first line of our reading. In the beginning of his ministry, Isaiah had no idea how this service to his people would evolve, but he knew that he received a mission from his God. Is there a master plan when God calls a person to be a prophet? No, “God’s calling someone to be his prophet” is not accompanied by a hidden master plan! That is rarely the biblical case!
John the Baptist provides an example. Let us look at the prologue to John’s gospel from which today’s passage is taken (John 1,6-8.19-28) the gospel according to John the Evangelist…. – not the Baptist, by the way). We see that John the Baptist was quite certain about the details and direction of his ministry. John the evangelist tells us about John the Baptist:
There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
John understands his place in salvation history so well that he can confidently proclaim: “I am not the Messiah! I am not Elijah! I am not the prophet!” When pressed, he replies,
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just as Isaiah the prophet said. Among you stands one you do not know. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.
From the beginning, Christians have regarded John as the precursor of Jesus: as the person who spent and gave his life to prepare the way for Jesus. No one today denies John the Baptist did this – he did prepare the way for Jesus. But today, already for a long time, one thing has been clear– and this is due to research in the Bible and its context: the historical John the Baptist probably didn’t recognize his role in God’s plan. And he did not understand the meaning of his own death. He did not understand why he was beheaded by Herod. It probably never crossed the mind of John the Baptist that he actually was preparing the ground for the seed Jesus would later plant.
In the light of this, our passage from the letter of St Paul to the community in Thessaloniki (1 Thess 5,16-24) becomes significant. This section is one of the earliest Christian writings we possess. What Paul does is not so much to point out the meaning of the past. But what he does is to try to help his community experience the present, understand the present. I am convinced that Paul wrote this passage for the community in Thessaloniki – and for this community only. Do you really think that Paul wrote this passage with the idea in his mind that it would be read and reflected today, two thousand years later? Paul composed these lines to help his followers imitate Jesus even when they were not 100% certain where the imitation was leading them. Paul commands his people:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. Do not extinguish God’s Spirit. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Keep away from every kind of evil.
I think this is not a bad way to live – especially when we’re not exactly certain where our living is taking us in this time of the pandemic, in this time when we are not certain about so many things that change our lives.
Fr. Wolfgang Felber SJ
“It will be all right!” one of my Jesuit confreres said when he came to breakfast a few days ago. He talked about Corona, about the vaccine, and the possibility of how this vaccine could be transported to the populations and distributed in a just way. Often, we do not agree on things in our community, but this time I can put it that way: we all hope that the pandemic will end soon. We have never hoped for anything so longingly.
Surely every one of you knows other situations in which there was great hope. It was the hope that a job would be offered, the hope that a long-cherished desire to have children would come true. Hope is what defines us as believers. What is the reason for our hope? As we are believers, it is God and his love. God who - in Jesus - sent us his Son. Jesus was a bearer of hope for many people during his lifetime, especially for ordinary people. Many liked to hear him. Jesus was only fought against and rejected by the strong, the mighty, the established and, you have to put it that way, the religious leaders. With his words and deeds, Jesus gave hope and confidence to many people. We hope that God takes part in the life of this world, that God is present in the life of the world and of humankind.
We see this in the reading from the Book of Isaiah. When Isaiah wrote these words, the Jews had just returned to Jerusalem from exile. They were convinced that exile was a punishment from God. The people felt very far from God. They believed that God had left them. Where was God in their suffering? Why did God allow that the longing for HIM lessened and grew cold? Why did God harden their heart? This is what the Israelites asked themselves. It seemed as if God himself had caused people to stop looking for him, had caused that they were no longer longing for him. Nevertheless: the people of Israel hoped, they pleaded, they prayed that God would again intervene and be present in their lives.
In the greatest distance to God, people pray. They remember that God intervenes and is present when they put their hope in him; when they turn to him; when they live according to his commandments; when they ponder his ways. The Israelites feel: “It is only our God who is so close to people. Only our God is a living God.” But they also make an admission of guilt. That God is so far away for them is entirely due to their fault. They had turned away from him. But they realize that God is their Father, that they are always his creatures, called into life by their God. They feel that they owe their lives to God. The Israelites hope that God will give them salvation once again, that He will turn to them anew.
Basically, these are also questions that are asked today, in our time, at the end of 2020. Isaiah's words can also strengthen the hope in God we have in us. Our life, too, should be determined by hope and confidence in the face of any alarmism and pessimism.
Let's take a look at life in 2020. In addition to Corona, we are concerned with the wars and hunger that exist in the world. How many times have I heard that this world is falling apart right now! When it comes to climate protection, a lot of people believe that it's 5 past 12. In a haunting and emphatic encyclical, Pope Francis recommended climate protection and the preservation of creation. We have to live in such a way that this world remains suitable for living, remains livable. To do this, we need to go back to our faith in God. In us, our fellow human beings should recognize what we hope for, should recognize what we stick to. That is: to God! To his love! God made this world. He gave us the commandments as a guide. We have to reconsider and remember them. Those who believe in God will always have reason to hope, despite all the threats we are currently facing. Because God comes and he will redeem this world. He will give us eternal life, salvation, eternal joy.
Paul also wishes this salvation, this experience to the Christian community in Corinth. In his letter he writes: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father”. The grace, the loving attention of God is promised to the Corinthians. In his wish for 'peace', Paul wishes the Corinthians happiness and well-being through God. “Peace” is the translation of “shalom”. To live in “shalom” meant to be one with God. This loving care from God is the basis of life for our actions in this world. This hope can be a source of strength and energy for our lives. But this foundation of our lives has to be acquired again and again. We must strive honestly to achieve it and to keep it. We must not forget that God is faithful. Communion with Jesus is not a possession that one holds in one's hand. People can withdraw themselves from God again and again. People can forget the hope that comes from believing in God.
Let us keep our hope alive in us, let us nourish it, and let us live on it!
Cf. https://predigtforum.com/ 1st Sunday of Advent 2020
Fr. Wolfgang Felber SJ
Sometimes the language develops in amazing twists and turns. Jesus uses the word talent in his parable. When the master entrusted his possessions to his servants, he gave two talents to one, to some others he gave more or less, to each according to his ability. In Jesus' days, a talent meant a huge amount of money, far above the riches any of his hearers could ever dream of. Today we do not speak of talents, but we count in millions and billions, more than anyone of us will have at hand. Yet the word talent remained in use, and now it refers to a particular ability a person may possess. Everyone is gifted in one way of another. Nobody is without any ability, and none possesses all of them.
In the parable Jesus speaks of money, but we are meant to hear him speaking of the gifts and talents God bestowed on each one in a personal measure. They are given to be used, to be developed, to yield worthwhile results. Some servants in the parable did well; they receive praise and their reward. But one did not, and he has a hard time to explain why he did not use what was entrusted to him.
I would like to underline two points with which he tries to make his apologies to the master. “Out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.”
Out of fear. Fear is never a good advisor. Fear is felt, and the stronger the feeling becomes, the more it paralyses the person in thinking, reflection and evaluation. The soberness of mind and judgement melts away, so that the result can be no more than a thoughtless reaction.
Therefore we have to look into ourselves, what fears have crept into our minds and hearts, and whether we are driven by strange anxieties. Such spontaneous fears drive us into forms of behaviour that we cannot explain in the end. Now the Old Testament states repeatedly: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Yes, as long as this fear of God is reverence and not panic-stricken trembling. To keep God in view, in the details of our daily lives, and to remain in the certitude that He called us into life and that we have to render an account whether we lived this life well, yes, that is the beginning of wisdom. And this wisdom will also assure us that God will never demand more than we are able to deliver.
The poor fellow who, out of fear, hid the talent of his master in the ground, did this not only from an emotional disorder, he is moreover plagued by a profound misunderstanding. This betrays itself when he speaks of “your talent”. “Here it is back.”
The other good and faithful servants had understod that the master had given them these talents, they remain the master's possessions in their trust, but they were given to them. They had received them as a gift from the master. The third one, however, would not recognise his talent as something truly given to him. He continued to see the gift as “your talent. Here it is back.” In his eyes, it was not a gift to him, he did not receive it as a gift, he refused to identify the master's affairs with his own. The split, yours there and mine here, dominates the situation; and what is yours is no concern of mine. “Your talent. Here it is back.”
I think we can sense the tragic error that is hidden in these words. God gives us life, health, abilities of many sorts, responsabilities and tasks; they are gifts, goods not of our own making, but now they are ours, truly ours, and we have to handle them as best as we can. There is no escape from what we are given, no hiding in the ground and in the end no “Your talent. Here it is back.”
Whether we think of the human abilites to create and nurture, to guide or invent, to care and love, to be loved and to share, to contribute to the well-being of others, to learn and to teach, to shine in public or to live in private retreat, - in every case we slide into darkness by not accepting them as gifts given to us, as our talents. And we maintain light in and around us when we accept them as gifts from God, as ours from him, and use and develop them without losing sight of God in our affairs. Saint Paul said very beautifully: “You, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness. … For all of you are children of light, and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness.” Amen.
Fr. Lenfers, Miss Afr.