Cake Sale this Sunday
We are hosting a Cake Sale to raise money for CAFOD's Ukraine Appeal in the parish hall this Sunday morning, after our service.
All are invited to pop along and buy some goodies, kindly organised by Daisy, a local teenager who wanted to do something to help those in war-torn Ukraine. Please come along and support her in her charitable endeavors.
Thank you to Deacon Vincent for your Reflections for 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
1st Reading from the prophet Amos 8: 4-7.
Amos is writing about the year 760 BC, a time when Assyria was in quiet mode, and the upper classes in Israel were enjoying a degree of material prosperity whilst there was acute poverty among the lower classes. Amos as we will read is fierce in his challenge to the wealthy. He is not a professional prophet, he was called personally by God, and he has a strong sense of his calling, which leads him to attack the moral and religious decline of the Northern Kingdom. Amos is a Southerner, and they are never especially welcome to Northerners. He came from near Bethlehem on the edge of the Negev desert and was most probably an independent farmer of sheep and sycamore trees. In this section we get an idea of just how fiery his sermons are. His writing is vivid and picturesque, no punches are pulled. Those of us who live in the wealthy part of today’s world will do well to reflect upon what he has to say. It is very relevant in any age. Like the Gospels his prophetic imagery is timeless.
Psalm 112: 1-2, 4-8.
A song which proclaims how God looks after the poor and those in need. We continue with the theme of God’s option for the poor. There are echoes here of Mary’s “Magnificat”.
2nd Reading from the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy 2: 1-8.
Paul is revealing himself within these few passages. His desire to live in harmony with all, he is not trying to overthrow existing rulers or authorities. His desire is for us to live peaceful reverent lives quietly, because there is only one God and one mediator, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for all. There is a requirement for us to be respectful to all, and conduct ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ should behave, a people of peace, always trying to follow the Father’s commandments of love.
The Holy Gospel according to Luke 16: 1-13.
This is a very disquieting parable, and something might have been lost in translation. Is the steward unjustly accused and not allowed to argue his case? He decides to ingratiate himself with other masters that he might find another job when he is thrown out. He is quick and obviously bright and able to work out which way the wind is blowing and making sure he knows how to find shelter. Maybe Jesus is encouraging his followers to be more proactive in following him. Maybe we should be more careful in cultivating good friendships which help us on the road to the kingdom of heaven. When things are going wrong for us, seek out more radical approaches to amending our lifestyles. Jesus is not saying the steward behaved correctly he is saying that the steward was active in resolving his problem, and maybe we should become more attentive to our outlook on life, our friends, avoiding temptations that could take us in an opposite direction from God. There is a responsibility for us to analyse our particular way to salvation, not just waiting for Jesus to come and get us out of the messes we make for ourselves. Jesus has given us the vision of how to find the kingdom of heaven, we must take advantage of everything he has shown us and put it into action. He will always be there to converse with us when we think we cannot go on, he will always point us in the right direction to complete the journey. We need to converse with him constantly and study the Gospels assiduously, “going from gospel to life, and life to gospel.” St. Francis of Assisi’s guidance.
God Bless us All on the journey to the Kingdom.
Deacon Vincent
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