Following the Samaritan Woman

We all have private parts of our lives which we would rather not have broadcast. These might details of present or past behaviour or relationships, misdemeanours or just embarrassing times and events. It is not that these details are hidden from everyone; it is just that it is not the right of all others to know everything about us. We like to reserve parts of our lives for those closest to us, or those whom we trust and want to share them when the time is ready. We do this because not everyone is worthy of our trust. As we age the list of both those who are worthy of trust and those who are not grows longer. To those who are worthy of trust we continue to share deeply and accept their wisdom. This is the preferred way of growing in relationship with others. Incidentally, it is one of the great reasons that confession is individual and secret, not public and published. It is reasonable to assume that the woman at the well lived with the same assumptions, so imagine if a stranger came up to you and revealed the hidden parts of your life.

Jesus arrives at the well and can see that something is amiss. In desert climates the only people who draw water in the middle of the day are those who want to avoid others. Obviously this woman wishes to avoid others. She is confronted by Jesus, a complete stranger and from her traditional enemies, the Jews, who is able to tell her a large part of her story without denigrating her. He showed her respect and dignity. When confronted with this, she has the option of withdrawing into herself or seeing in this kindly prophet as a possibility of growth. Jesus tells her part of her own difficult story and she chooses growth; far from being ashamed, horrified or angry, the woman is excited and becomes a prophet for her people. The man who knows all about her dies not judge, but offers her this thing called living water.

In the Western Desert, living water is spring water that comes from the depths of the earth.  People travel great distances to obtain this water, since it is reputed to have unique qualities, bringing life, healing, health and happiness. Interestingly, desert people go to great lengths to have living water used at baptisms. The analogy is the same as in the Gospel. This living water is the word of God, accepted joyfully by the Samaritan woman and offered to us all day after day. This living water, this revelation of God to us is not something to fear. The coming into our lives of someone who accepts us as we are and who we are celebrates this and urges us on to greater things is a person to hold on to and follow.

If we try to go through life entirely on our own resources, we will eventually thirst, like Israelites in the desert, as anger, frustration and torment take their toll. Moses offered the people water, and people became thirsty again. Jesus offered the Samaritan Woman his spirit and assured her that this was the way to avoid the pitfalls of life in the future. St Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, reminds us that Jesus gives us this gift without receiving our answer. His death on the Cross was given freely for all people, while we were still sinners. Our task is to use and live this gift. Paul tells us that this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts buy the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

We can listen to this voice and grow in faith, continuing to allow our loving God into our life, or we can harden our hearts like the Israelites did at Meriba and Massah. One way leads to life, the other to stagnation and death. This Lent the Samaritan Woman leads us to open our hearts and lives to the living water of Christ’s Spirit.

Homily, 27th March 2011, 3rd Sunday in Lent, Year A, OLQP.

Journeys of Life

We hear so often that life is a journey. Somebody said that to me the other day, again. When people say that around me I am tempted to say: So do you know where its starts, ends and where on earth we are now?

This year and particularly this week week our TV screens have been full of death, which admittedly, is a big part of that journey. As we see the nuclear disaster in Japan and the human carnage in Libya, our hearts go out to those affected by human tragedy. On the local front we have seen the community of Warmun literally washed away, thankfully after its people were evacuated, which is only the most recent of a steady stream of natural disasters affecting our country. Just this morning I was texted a photos of water lapping at homes in Noonkanbah and Fitzroy Crossing. On a very local level, our town of Broome last night saw the end of the earthly journey for Elizabeth Puertollano, a giant of our parish.

So what does this all mean? Where does this journey start and end? We are not alone in asking these questions. Our scripture shows us that it is a necessary part of humanity, as is discovering the answer.

When Abraham journeyed with Isaac, neither knew the destination nor the reason, but they both trusted in God. They had to travel far and hard, physically, spiritually and mentally. Abraham threw in his lot with God and followed, not understanding the purpose. He was rewarded with descendants as many as the stars of the heavens.

Peter, James and John were chosen by Jesus to journey to Mount Tabor. They didn’t know the destination or the purpose. They went because they trusted Jesus to lead them to God. They journey led them up a steep and dangerous mountain.

Abraham’s eyes were opened when he saw God’s purpose. The apostles eyes were opened when they saw Jesus’ purpose. For both their trust was well placed. The journeys were neither an isolated one, nor was it pointless.  Abraham’s trust gave birth to a nation planted in faith and trust. Jesus’ journey allowed his apostles to see that Jesus was not a one man band. Even he who was the son of God followed the footsteps of Abraham, Moses and Elijah. Abraham was their father in faith, Moses received the law and Elijah the great prophet. The apostles saw that Jesus was indeed planted in solid faith.

We follow in the footsteps of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and Jesus. We are on the solid ground of faith in our journey. This journey does not end on earth, but continues through death to new life. Last night Elizabeth Puertollano began the next stage of her journey. Among the many gifts she left to her family and this parish is that of complete trust on God. She knew her God and the journey on which he called her. In her time of decline she made sure everyone, family and friends, knew the priorities of her long life: God, family, and faith.

In our journey we remember that we are people who know the end, we know our destination. We know that we travel with the wisdom and prayer of our ancestors in faith. Lent is our opportunity to focus so that we can see the big picture, so that we can appreciate the journey. On the shoulders of these giants that have gone before us in faith, we recognise Jesus as the presence of God among us, and listen to him and are able to move forward. 

Homily 21st March 2011, Third Sunday of Lent A, OLQP Broome

No Lazy Ways To Remain True

When I first came to Broome, I often used to go down to the Roey beer garden on a Friday night where Scrap Metal, the precursor to the Pigram Brothers, used to play. One of their songs used to get me into a really reflective mood, and it still does. The refrain goes:

If you find a lazy way to remain true

To everything you through so right and so good

Don’t want to know

Don’t want to share your narrow dreaming

Howling at the Moon

This song has always spoken to me of Lent, of choosing again the narrow path, recognising the reality of our lives and the fact that there are no short cuts to a life of integrity, no free ride.

Today we are presented with Jesus being tempted by the Devil. The Devil promises him everything, and promises that it will all be so easy. That is the same temptation that comes to us, that we can get something that we are not entitled to without repercussions, that there are no consequences to our actions.   Jesus is wise to that one. You don’t have to be Einstein to realise that if something looks too good to be true, it usually is!

The Temptations of Jesus remind us of our priorities in Lent. He is tempted to rely on himself rather than God.  Jesus’ answer is to turn to prayer, to every word that comes from the mouth of God. He is tempted to power and control, and he chooses not to out God to the test. We do the same when we stick close to the teaching of the Church and not to invent our own teaching, ignore or twist divine teaching to suit our own ends. The last temptation is that of who is our God, the first commandment. Jesus answers by telling the Devil to leave. We do it by examining our lives and honestly answering whether God is important in my life by the amount of my time that I devote to God and the work of God. Examining Jesus’ answers and ours can sometimes give us some unwanted answers!

Lent is our time of saying loudly and clearly that there are no easy ways, no short cuts, but that the hard slog is not done alone. In this season we nurture our spiritual lives together, as the Church. At times we can and should fast, pray and give by ourselves but Lent is our time of doing it together.  The other day I asked someone why they went to Zumba classes. They answered that they knew it was good for them and found it hard, but it was much easier in a group that encouraged each other. It is the same with us, except that we not only have each other, but the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us as well.

The first reading assures us that temptation has been around since Adam was a boy, so we can be sure that temptation will come our way.

Lent is our time to nurture our spirits by being aware of whom we are, of the dignity God has given us, the integrity to which he has called us, and the gifts God wants us to share. 

There are no lazy ways to remain true.

First Sunday of Lent, Year A, 13th March 2011.

Rock of Faith or Sand of Relativism

In 1932, eighty years ago, Aldous Huxley, in the futuristic novel Brave New World, wrote that falsification would be the decisive element of modernity[i]. In other words, truth would not matter, and what was true for one could be false for another. In a democracy, this must lead to the opinion of the majority and in other systems the pronouncements of a ruling person, party or junta holding the ethical standard. Pope Benedict calls this a dictatorship of relativism. When the search for truth abates or dies, the opinion of the majority or the ruler is called upon for the most important decisions of life. Thus we in Australia find ourselves in a society where the decision to euthanase the vulnerable, the very young or old, the sick and frail, is likely to be decided by a parliamentary vote rather than being enshrined as a human right. The Holy Father, who lived through Nazism, knows only too well the dangers that this relativism courts.

Jesus calls us to build our house on firm foundations, on the rock. Pope Benedict is passionate when he talks on this strength that we have as church. As Christians our calling is to discover and live the truth. This presupposes that there is a reality called truth, and that it is worth pursuing. The truth we seek is not something that moves. It is not relative, nor is it affected by how I feel at the time; it is not my opinion. Sometimes this truth is unpalatable and uncomfortable, it may be misunderstood or misrepresented, but it exists. There is truth, divinely placed, and we are called, urged and given to perseverance to continue on the path of uncovering this truth. I our egalitarian society we run the risk, in the cause of making things simple and easy, of reverting to the opinions of relativism.

Christianity is built on the rock of the search of Israel and the Church since Christ for truth. In this quest the church has employed the best philosophy, science and art available, and still does. Mistakes have been made, but the quest has always been clear. The foundations have been solid and have formed the basis of most human rights as we know them today. If we stand on the firm foundation of faith, built on the foundations of those who have gone before us, we will be able to withstand great challenges and threats as individuals and a society.

This will be in stark contradistinction to those whose moral system can change depending on one’s opinion on the day. The relativist house is built on opinion rather that the search for truth, and as such has no foundations.  Thus the house is built on sand, and moves with the tide. This system can only end by crashing.

The search for truth is a lifetime project, and requires enormous amounts of wisdom, patience and understanding. Patience, because the search for truth is slow, requiring study and trust; Understanding, because we will disagree strongly with others on the way, and we need to remember that they too are on the same quest; Wisdom, because truth is to be found in the quiet places of our heart and world, away from the noisy demagogues.

We are offered what can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the decisions we make.  As we stand at the cusp of the season of Lent, may we commit ourselves to the long road of integrity, faith and wisdom which leads us to truth.

Homily, 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, March 6, 2011.

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[i] Benedict XVI Light of the World: A Conversation with Peter Seewald, (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2010), 50.

God and Money

I have a friend who has been successful at business, and to my knowledge, quite wealthy.  I have known him to be very generous to people in need and good causes. All of his giving was done quietly.  I caught up with him recently, and during the conversation, he mentioned where he was living. I sensed something was wrong, and I was right. He had lost most of his money through either unwise investments or unscrupulous colleagues. He wasn’t quite on the street, but close to it. The strange thing was that he was smiling was he was telling me this story.  He was unfazed about his present predicament and confident in the future. He expressed no doom and gloom and clear about what was important. He had that wonderful gift described by Isaiah, the gift of trust in God.

The God that Isaiah shows us is my friend’s God.  That God is yours and mine as well. This is the God who will never abandon us, who is always near, always accessible. This is the God who calls us, and in whom we will find rest. We prayed in response to the psalm “In God alone is my soul at rest”. As Christians our trust is in this God, and because of this trust we are able to live our lives without anxiety. It does not mean that we will not stress or be anxious, it means that we know that these things are not necessary and will not change a thing. God is in charge; we do our best and allow God to do the rest. 

I remember a cartoon once of a big man looking in a mirror saying: I am a self-made man and I worship my maker! As he did, we have to make the fundamental choice whether to trust God or trust in our own material abilities. Since we are here, we have made the first move in the right direction. We go onwards from here. My mate knew that whatever business in which he invested had to be done well, to benefit the maximum number of people, and to do it with integrity and justice. Whatever proceeds he made then needed to be used for the good of the maximum number of people, not just for his own desires. His family came first, but then the needy, and there are always plenty of these.

Each of us shares in this challenge. We are all part of the economy of our town and country. As Christians we are called to participate in this economy with justice and integrity, not just to make money. It is not good enough for a Christian to do a job or invest in something just because it makes money. To do this is to be on the road to being a slave to money. To take a very local example, there is no moral justification for the gas plant at Price’s Point to go ahead just because it will make money. For a Christian there has to be fuller reasoning than money, and of none is found, it should not be supported.

The Christian puts everything to the integrity and justice test. To do this requires faith and trust. The benefits of this are a lack of stress and anxiety, as well as the knowledge that God is in charge, and we are doing our best to co-operate. May God give us open eyes and hearts focused on building his world on earth to prepare for the kingdom of heaven.


Homily 27th Feb 2011, 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time,  OLQP Broome