Martin Jumbam

Catholic Meditation - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

By Martin Jumbam 

Mother Church celebrates the 28^th day of July 2013 as the 17^th Sunday in ordinary time in the Church’s year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “God is in his holy dwelling; he will give a home to the lonely, he gives power and strength to his people. Amen.”

Prayer is at the center of the readings of this day’s Holy Mass. In the first reading, from the Book of Genesis, Abraham intercedes with God on behalf of the condemned cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, again illustrating, as we saw in the first reading of last Sunday, that Abraham holds a special place before God and enjoys a close friendship with him. The intimacy between God and Abraham reminds us of the close relationship God had with our first parent Adam before the latter fell into sin. With Abraham, God reverses Adam’s fall and shows that he is a God who listens to the pleas of his people.  In the second reading, from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, we see Paul’s converts being harassed by Jewish Christians, who want them to obey the old Law of Moses, particularly the law on circumcision. Paul argues that baptism in Christ is all that matters to a Christian because it brings to the baptized the effects of Christ’s death and resurrection. By rising from the dead Christ freed them and us from sin, a feat the ancient Law could not achieve. In the passage of Saint Luke’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his own disciples. They realize that their future preaching and mission will need constant help from God. Christ then teaches them to persevere in their prayer to God, who is their Father in heaven. As God listens to Abraham’s persistent appeal for mercy on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, so too does he listen to us when we appeal to him for help, either individually or collectively, especially during Eucharistic celebrations. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the courage of perseverance in prayer.

Catholic Meditation - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

 

 By Martin Jumbam

Mother Church celebrates Sunday, July 21, 2013 as the 16^th Sunday in ordinary time in the Church’s year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “See, I have God for my help. The Lord sustains my soul. I will sacrifice to you with willing heart, and praise your name, O Lord, for it is good. Amen.” This Sunday is generally called “hospitality Sunday” because the readings center on welcoming visitors into our homes.  In the first reading, from the Book of Genesis, Abraham receives three mysterious visitors and, without hesitation, washes their feet, offers them food and prepares a place for them to rest. Unknown to him, he was actually welcoming God into his house. Because of this hospitality, God promises Abraham that he will have what he has always wanted most: an heir, a son.   In the second reading, from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, Paul says that Christ suffered that the Gospel might be preached. Paul must now preach in Christ’s name, even though this will bring him persecution as it did Christ.  The Gospel from Luke is another story about hospitality. It contrasts two sisters, Martha and Mary, who receive Jesus in their home. While Martha is concerned about the daily things of life, particularly food, her sister, Mary, opts instead to listen to the teachings of her Master, Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, we are sometimes so busy trying to solve the problems of our daily lives that we forget to do like Mary, that is, take time off our busy schedule to listen to our Lord and Saviour. Let us pray, in the course of this holy Eucharist, for the courage not only to dedicate ourselves to service, that is to hospitality, but also to take time off to pray and listen to God talking to us in the silence of our hearts.  

 

Catholic Meditation: 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year C.

By Martin Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, July 14, 2013 as the 15^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “In my justice I shall see your face, O Lord; when your glory appears, my joy will be full. Amen.” 

The first reading is the final discourse which the sacred writer of the Book of Deuteronomy attributes to Moses. He tells his people how God takes initiative to save them. His covenant of loyalty, however, requires a response from his people because he puts before them life and prosperity, death and disaster, and the choice is theirs. God’s revelation to them has created them as a nation consecrated to doing his will on earth. They should therefore love God and his precepts with all their heart, mind and soul. In the second reading, Saint Paul tells his converts of Colossae that Christ is the fullness of God’s power and glory. Everything was created by him and in him. Only he was present at the creation and all things were made for him. He took human nature in order to reconcile us with the Father and to make us co-heirs of his divinity. Saint Luke tells us the well-known story of the good Samaritan who helps a Jew, whereas a priest and a Levite, men vocationally committed to God walk on the other side of the road, leaving unattended a fellow Jew, wounded by thieves, even though the law obliges them to help. Through this story, Jesus tells them, and us, that they should not simply preach the law, but they also have the obligation to put what they preach into practice – which they fail to do. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to be cheerful and friendly neighbours to have, and to come to the assistance of whoever may be in trouble, friend and foe alike.  

Catholic Meditation: Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C

 By Martin Jumbam

Mother Church celebrated Sunday, July 07, 2013 as the 14^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “Within your temple, we ponder your loving kindness, O God. As your name, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with justice.  Amen.”

Our first reading comes from Second Isaiah, what is generally called the “Book of the Consolation of Israel”. It looks forward to the promises of God’s redemption and restoration of Israel through a new exodus. God promises his people peace that will flow like water.  Our God, the ‘Prince of Peace’ will gather all people into his kingdom of happiness. Jerusalem will be a mother once more, protecting and nourishing all her children. This message of consolation will be fulfilled by Jesus and his disciples when they bring peace to the holy city of Jerusalem, making her the mother of all the churches of God.  The second reading is the final verse from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, which gives a summary of his teaching. All those who have become a new creation through baptism in Christ belong to a new people of God. There is therefore no distinction between Jew and Gentile, all being one in Christ Jesus. They should only boast of being Christ’s disciples because Christ’s death should give them a different view of life. They should thus reject the old way of the Law of Moses which no longer holds any power over the new people of God.