predication.net

Martha received the Lord Jesus warmly and immediately began to take great pains to serve him. When she was not up to it herself and saw that her sister Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him, she turned to Jesus with a question: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister leaves me to serve myself? Tell her to help me!” The Lord answered her: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and anxious about many things, and only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen a better portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Lk 10:40-42).

Now you may say to yourself. So hard-working Martha worries about working in the kitchen and serving at the table, and in the end, she gets even more reproach!
Mary, who doesn’t feel like serving, conveniently sits at the Lord’s feet and listens to Him instead of working. And she is commended for having decided on a better portion that will not be taken away from her.
How is it possible, then, that Martha must continue to struggle with eating alone, but everyone will eat? On the other hand, if everyone acted like Mary, who would care about the Lord and his disciples?
Yet the words of the Lord Jesus cannot be understood as a rebuke of the diligent and a commendation of the lazy. Therefore, we need to reflect more deeply on this response of Jesus.
Let us look at the lilies of the field, which neither toil nor spin. Let us remember the parable of the mustard seed. In it, Christ compares the kingdom of God to a source that grows and ripens on its own – without human intervention. In this way, he gives us an example of a life surrendered to the will of God.
When Jesus rebukes Martha, he points out her over-concern for many things and, thus, the unhealthy overindulgence she would like to impose on others. In Mary, on the other hand, Christ commends not inactivity or laziness but attentive listening to his words. The ability to choose at that moment what is most fitting and necessary.

We too often think, like Martha, that activity is the most necessary. Just doing, always realizing something, organizing. We have the impression that the time set aside for prayer, meditation, and listening to the Word of God is a waste of time, which should be reserved for action. Like Martha, we are often concerned about what we can do for the Lord and not what the Lord can do for us and what He can provide us with. Thus, such an encounter with Jesus is crucial, for only he will grant us God’s wisdom, love, and eternal life. Without this connection, there is no true religion. This union with God in prayer, contemplation, adoration, and collaboration with the Eucharistic Christ is the only thing necessary. Other items can only be helpful.

This example sums it up very well.

An old banker was driving a young college student in his boat. The student noticed that on one oar was written “ora” and on the other “labor.” So he asked the older man a question: – Please, why does the one who works need to pray?
The old man did not answer immediately but let go of the oar, which was written “ora,” and rowed only with the other oar. The boat began to turn round and round. “But we won’t get any further this way,” said the student. “Of course,” replied the old man, “he who only works and does not pray will get nowhere.”

Now, you may object that work, affairs, and engagements are duties and necessities that no one can avoid, and therefore one must choose work or prayer. No, such an objection will not stand! Because both prayer and work must be selected. These two concepts are not mutually exclusive, as many think, precisely because they know neither work nor prayer. When one works and does not pray, and when one prays and does not work, exhaustion comes anyway. So it is possible, even necessary, to pray while working and to work while praying.
Praying does not mean saying a lot of words. Prayer is lifting the mind to God, which can be done in the factory, the school, the market, the operating table, and even the department.

Well, brothers and sisters, what lesson is there for us in all this? Indeed, our religiosity must also have both components: it must be contemplative and active.
Our life is very crowded with activity, so there is a danger that we will have no time left for contemplative life. Worrying about our future, family, jobs, and livelihood could gradually alienate us. It is, therefore, essential that we do not neglect this part of our religious life altogether, that we know how to find a moment for prayer, contemplation, adoration, and above all, for an encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in the Holy Mass. For genuine religiosity is not only in action, but at times it is necessary to be able to sit at the feet of Jesus in the spirit and to listen attentively to his words because they are required as the speech of life, as the speech that is of more excellent value than all the other things of this world – it is the speech on which our life, even our death, depends.

Let us strive to understand this, and ask Almighty God to do so today, that we may be a little Martha and a little Mary if we all want to be among the friends of Jesus.

The saying goes: “He who asks much learns.” A young child asks questions of his parents over and over again. He asks everything. And we enjoy his curiosity. The pupil or student also often raises his hand and asks questions. The teacher wants and does not feel tired when he sees the interest of his listeners. The adult also needs to ask a question himself from time to time. That, too, is right. He searches, he investigates, and he wants to prove something.

In today’s Gospel, we have witnessed the dialogue of the expert in the Law, who nevertheless tempted Jesus with a question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25).

What shall we do? What is God’s will for us? But then we are afraid to wait for the answer. We are so scared to hear Jesus’ response because we know the answer to that question within ourselves. We are so scared of being struck by Christ’s imperative: You are doing it right, you sense, you feel, you know, you see, you understand. Do this, and you will live!

The expert in the Law asks this question of Jesus, only to catch him in speech. Jesus, however, puts this issue on the right track of practical living. He does not instigate a discussion but points to a concrete example with the parable of the Good Samaritan. In this way, he forces the scribe not to speculate, to argue in speech. Jesus does not tell him: This I commend to you, I command you, remember this, but he says: “Go and do likewise.” (Lk 10:37).
It was tough to talk to the scribe because the Jews hated the Samaritans. They considered them Gentiles, so a wall of envy, hatred, and prejudice had formed between them. And the Lord Jesus, in this parable, singles out the Samaritan who has a better heart than the Jewish priest and Levite. The Samaritan, touched by a noble spirit, comes to the aid of his neighbor, even if it requires a sacrifice on his part.

The scribe’s answer was simple and correct, but the daily practice was challenging.
Love is one and simple, always and everywhere. But its ways are also different. It starts from our little self, but it must always lead from Jerusalem to Jericho through friendships, relatives, and various obstacles and pitfalls. It must go on, from breaking bread to breaking a heart of kindness, graciousness, forgiveness, and the sacrifice of life. In today’s modern world, neither computers nor atomic energy can take our place in this, for the only one who drives it is Christ, God, who is Love. These are not heroic acts of love but ordinary, everyday ones. Let’s consider today’s Gospel example and which character we act out.

The ringing of the telephone awakens us. The wife who answered it says to me:
– Mrs. Lattenberg has a heart attack. You’re supposed to go there right away.
– You know very well that the car is in the shop. Let them come for me.
– My husband is not at home; he is at work – comes from the other side.
The sick woman lived in a secluded place far outside the village. In summer, it’s a walk, but in winter, now… I started to get dressed. I, too, felt my sick heart.
– Call a neighbor to take me there.
The neighbor will drive back:
– Now, at midnight? We have the right to rest!
– They have the right, and what about me? They will need help one day; they shouldn’t forget that. After all, it’s a man’s life! That lady already had a heart attack once!
– You’re right; maybe they’ll admit it, – the wife retorts.
While I went to get my briefcase, my wife dialed a number. But no one answered. Even the Hausers were sitting in front of the TV and refused. They said they wanted to rest.
The wife said:
– What are you going to do? Walk to the crossroads; possibly, someone will pick you up.
Distrustfully, I put on my coat, lambskin, and warm gloves and walked out into the thicket.
– It’s my duty, – I sneered.
A car was coming from the town. I stood on the side of the road and waved my battering ram. The car passed close by, and the driver pulled up and continued in the direction I was headed.
– Villain!” came out of my mouth, and my arms were getting heavy.
Mr. Lattenberg shook the snow from his hat, slipped on his boots, and pulled a key from his bag. Before he could unlock it, the door opened. He saw a pale mother. Behind her crouched his two boys.
– I thought it was the doctor, – she said, disappointed.
– A doctor, why?
– Albina is sick. Probably her heart again. I telephoned him, but he won’t come immediately because his car was in the shop. His wife said he was walking, that he’d hitchhike someone at the intersection.
Mr. Lattenberg was puzzled. He pictured a hunched figure with a briefcase waving a battering ram in his mind. But why should he get his car dirty?
So that was him? Do you say he was waiting at the crossroads?
– You saw him? Why didn’t you pick him up in the car? Why?!
The mother’s face changed:
– You sucker! You know very well that he, too, has a sick heart and has to go slowly. He won’t come! And your wife will die! My God!
– Don’t cry; I’m coming for him. I’m coming…
He turned around, but his brother’s voice stopped him:
– You don’t have to, Charles. Albina has just died…

Which character in the story is similar to me? Who acted like a close person? Who can say: Do I have the right?!
Here, too, we can see what love can do. True love. A genuine Christian looks not only to his advantage but also to the needs of his neighbor.

Now we are sympathetic to the Good Samaritan. And whoever has not yet given himself the answer to the question “What to do?”, let him go and do like the Samaritan.
Go, don’t stand still, move! Open your eyes, and look around you! Is there anyone near you who requires help? Maybe it’s right in your family. Perhaps it’s your father, your mother, your children. Don’t wait for your big day, for the moment when someone hits you in the eye. Be a Samaritan, and do not spare the wine of love and the oil of consolation! Do it knowing that your eternal life is at stake.

A child asks, and when he grows up, he acts. The student, when he understands, will enlarge the ranks of the learned. The Christian today responds with acts of love.

Try to put yourself in this situation: an old, life-worn father, who has raised two sons, is alone. He wanted to live the rest of his life among his own and die in their circle. But they are not interested in the father. They are ashamed of him. They openly made him feel it not only by word but also by decreeing that he be admitted to a nursing home. However, he did not survive a single night in the house. He died. His heart failed due to the pain of being despised, disliked…

The Lord Jesus suffered similarly. He performed several miracles in Korozain, Bethesda, and the same in Capernaum, but they did not accept Him as their Lord and God. He said to them, but also for our edification: “He that hearth you hearth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me. But whoever despises me despises him who sent me” (Lk 10:16).

Contempt hurts very much. It offends. It can hurt very deeply. We know that the Lord Jesus came into the world out of love to bring the world back to the Father. He has often shown His love in the cities mentioned above by His miracles, yet He must sigh sadly: “Woe to you, Korozain! Woe to thee, Bethesda! For if the miracles that have been done in Tyre and Sidon had been done in you, they would be long ago have been sitting in ashes in repentant garments and repenting” (Lk 10:13).
These are solemn words of caution, for rejected love brings just punishment. Whoever denies the Lord Jesus rejects the God who sent him, for according to the old diplomatic law, it is still true today that “an ambassador is like the one who sends him.” We know that it happens from time to time that whoever offends a diplomat who represents his nation somewhere offends the whole country in him. So it is with God. Whoever insults the Lord Jesus does not receive His love, despises it, and thereby offends and despises God Himself in all the three Divine Persons.

Sometimes in your rashness, in your hastiness, under the pressure of crosses and difficulties, you may have wished for a miracle to happen to confirm the truth of faith, the existence of God. But we know that even if this were to happen, it might not be beneficial. No miracle will disprove human objections and bring about conversion, for we see this in the performance of the Lord Jesus. His miracles, healing, resurrections from the dead, and satiation in the wilderness did not convert the majority of the Jews. They persisted in their bias against the Lord Jesus.

Therefore, our faith does not have to be based on miracles, but we are to believe the words of Jesus. It is the same then as it is today. Back then, actual people saw the Lord Jesus face to face and could touch Him. We today have the Church’s teaching that Christ is the same yesterday and tomorrow, and though He is veiled, we believe in His presence in the sacraments. He says that wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he is present among them also. Let us accept the words of the Lord Jesus, let us listen to them, and let us not despise his love. Whoever hates the teaching of the Church hates Christ himself, for Christ is the same in the Church.

Indeed, children who are ashamed of their father and have no place for him in the house must realize that they are calling down punishment upon themselves. The father’s heart broke with pain. Christ’s heart was pierced on the cross. But let us see that our intervention does not repeat the drama of Golgotha.

The Feast of the Archangels is a great thanksgiving to God for His goodness and incomprehensible desire to help and protect us from evil. The existence of God’s angels confirms God’s desire to provide safety and happiness for people on earth. Angels are God’s outstretched hand that protects us so that we reach our destination, eternal life, safely.

St. Gregory the Great describes the nature and meaning of the pure spirits: “It should be known that the name angel denotes service, not nature. Although these blessed spirits in the heavenly realm are spirits, they cannot always be called angels. They are angels only when they convey a message. Those who convey messages of lesser importance are called angels, and those who convey messages of great importance are called archangels.”

And St. Bernard, full of wonder at God’s care for our earthly life, explains the role of the angels. Thus, “You send O God, blessed spirits to do us service, commission them to watch over us, and command them to educate us. You have commanded your angels to guard you in all your ways… They are, therefore, with you to help you; they are not only with you but also for you. They are with thee to protect thee; they are with thee to prosper thee.” God sent the angels we think of today to deliver critical messages in salvation history, which is why we call them archangels.

The archangel Michael, whose name means “Who is like God,” was tasked with protecting first the chosen people, now the Church, from the main threat posed by the evil spirit. He is the victor over the demons. When we feel threatened by the workings of malevolent power, we have the help we need in the archangel Michael.

Archangel Gabriel, whose name means “God has shown His power,” has been given the task of proclaiming the great works of God. He announced the birth of John the Baptist and also Jesus Christ. His messages showed a God who has the power to do things infinitely beyond human ability. When we feel helpless and have humanly insoluble problems in life, we have help from the Archangel Michael to believe in God’s omnipotence and providence.

Archangel Raphael, whose name means “God has healed,” has the task of helping us in our sickness. Jesus, through his public ministry, clearly demonstrated God’s will to heal in body and soul. The Archangel Raphael brings us God’s graces to heal when various illnesses occur.

Let us repeat: Today’s feast reminds us that God cares for our happy life on earth and a glorious eternity and provides every necessary help for this. There is one more critical thing concerning how his service comes to us. This is the subject of today’s Gospel. Jesus said to Nathanael and the other disciples, “You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This means that God’s angels will come with God’s help only where Jesus Christ is. And Jesus Christ is always where two or more believers gather in Jesus’ name. Just as Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, so we should bring others to faith in Jesus Christ and then to prayer together.

In everyone’s life, there is an event that happens or is happening now, that a person is misunderstood, no matter how hard he tries, people do not understand him, do not want to understand him. Those from whom he least expected it throw logs in his way, making his life complex and unpleasant.

Today’s Gospel is strange in that the evangelist Luke describes the rejection of Jesus in a particular Samaritan village. At the same time, Jesus rejects another with words when he offers to be his disciple: “The foxes have their hiding places, and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Lk 9:58). And immediately afterward he says: “Follow me!”, but he refuses and says: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Lk 9:58-59).

From these words, we feel a reminder of the fact that every person, without distinction, has a specific, God-given mission. Jesus, too, has a mission. He has to restore humanity to God the Father.
For the rejected good, there must come a great love that will undo the rejection. Jesus goes directly to meet suffering, death, and resurrection, first to be infamously rejected by the world, by his fellow citizens, even the apostles, then to gloriously end his pilgrimage on earth in Jerusalem with his ascension.

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus must pass through the hostile territory of the Samaritans. If the traveler confessed that he was traveling to Jerusalem, he put himself in danger. It often happened that Samaritans robbed or even killed such people. The Samaritans hated Jerusalem and everything connected with it. After Solomon’s death, they despised and rejected the Israelites, so they stopped going to the Temple in Jerusalem and offered their sacrifices in Samaria on Mount Gerizim.

Jesus does not want to reject anyone. Remember also the Samaritan woman to whom Jesus offered the water of life.
And now his messengers have returned sadly. The apostles are furious because of the rejection. Some glorify Jesus, and these Samaritans reject him. The most irritated are the sons of Zebedee – the “Sons of Thunder” – the “Boanerges,” as Jesus had already named them at their election.
They interpret this rejection as an insult to the Master, and the matter deserves to be punished. And so it occurred to them that they had recently received power from the Master to cast out devils and to work miracles. Therefore, they demand that he allow them to use this power in return for their refusal of the Samaritans. Jesus, however, rejects the zeal of the apostles. They are petty, bigoted, and earthly-minded. They are more concerned with revenge than with justice.

The first condition for a disciple of Jesus is patience with failure.
Rejected, Jesus goes away to be rejected by him. Why? Jesus leaves because there is only a momentary soulfulness in this man’s words, I will follow you wherever you go, and not the result of mature reasoning. But Jesus accepts him in the true sense of the word. He tells him so that he will understand. The one who follows him in this way quickly sobers up.

The second condition for the disciple of Jesus: is to learn to struggle with obstacles.
The life of Jesus is full of poverty and discomfort. He was driven out of Nazareth by his fellow citizens. He had no place to be born as a normal human being, but was rejected; he was born in a stable. He knows that he will be rejected by the nation and live to see the greatest disgrace of his time, namely, death on a cross. And now, he is left, even by the hospitality of a Samaritan village.

Jesus whispers to you at this moment: With me, it is often challenging. You will not usually have a roof over your head for me; I will only offer you the same hardships I have now. You, too, may be rejected.

Jesus compares himself to the animals: ‘The foxes have their hiding places and the birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Lk 9:58).

Consider: the disciple’s situation will not be better than the teacher’s. We don’t know how it turned out, but Jesus tells the next person: “Follow me!” (Lk. 9:59). This one, however, begs Jesus to allow him to hold his father, who has just died. Jesus does not allow him to do so, though he asks only for a reprieve of a few days. “Let the dead bury their dead. You go and proclaim the kingdom of God!” (Lk. 9:60).

We wonder what manner of ways it is that a man cannot even say goodbye to his father for the last time. After all, it is human and natural! And what about things after the funeral? Everything needs to be put in order. The bereaved mother, the siblings…
The request is legitimate, and yet Jesus refuses it. Jesus knows this one would get entangled in unnecessary worries, and he calls him elsewhere. He asks for such a sacrifice and will not tolerate any delay.
And he tells the third one to his face that he is not fit for the kingdom of God. He is not working for it. Jesus sees straight to the heart. Jesus calls and wants the one called to serve him, to share his joy and sorrow. Jesus is stern.

Did I see myself in any of the characters?
In the behavior of the Samaritans who refused to accept Jesus, are we overzealous at all those who harm the Church and want to call down death, disaster, and sickness on them? Let us not be petty; let us not be earthly-minded.
Or do we want to follow Jesus blindly?
No, Jesus does not want blind love. Jesus accepts us when we put obstacles in our way. Jesus then prepares us for the difficulties of confessing his teachings. Jesus wants our whole hearts. That’s why he calls everyone: Follow me!

Today, in this society, in this century, he wants us to be apostles, messengers of peace, truth, and the Gospel. He does not want us to look back once we have put our hands on the plow. For encouragement, let us recall the words of Jesus: “and whoever for my name’s sake forsakes … father and mother … …shall receive a hundredfold…” (Mt. 19:29).
Don’t put off your work as an apostle – when I retire, I will walk… Then you will be sick, infirm, and who will guarantee that you will live to see tomorrow, let alone old age? Nobody has the right to tell Jesus that he doesn’t feel, doesn’t want to, or doesn’t have the talent. Ask, and ye shall receive, seek, and find – the answer to these problems.

We have many examples in the Church to learn from. John Fischer was a bishop and martyr, but also Thomas Morus, a chancellor, judge, scholar, philosopher, and finally a martyr. You know the events surrounding these martyr-men of faith from the book U m m r i, b l a z o n!

Both lived during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. One was his tutor and teacher, and the other his chancellor, the chief magistrate of the land. When the king succumbed to the whims of women that ended in violent death, these two got no fear and followed Jesus faithfully. Why? Because they cared more about the honor and glory of God than the sympathy of a king who demanded public apostasy and public sin from them. They accepted Jesus. Thomas’s wife and daughter came to Thomas in prison and begged the father to sign away the king’s evil. No, he would not betray himself, his convictions. He will not reject Christ, who wants to live in his life. He can be called a “fool” by an absolute fool – King Henry VIII. For this stubbornness, he was beheaded on July 6, 1535.

We have realized, we have convinced ourselves, that the rejection of Christ is the greatest ingratitude of man and especially of the Christian, the most incredible nonsense and an insult to God. Let us be proud to be Christians and therefore accept the invitation – Follow me – even in the words of this prayer:

Lord, though all the world may not understand us, you know a loving heart. We want to apologize for the lovelessness of the world that rejects the love of Jesus. Thank you for the invitation and give us the strength to move forward without limitations, excuses, rash questions, and forceful words.

When James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven and destroy a Samaritan village whose inhabitants refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus rebuked them for it. Why did the Lord react so harshly to the words of His closest disciples? Because He loved them too much to leave them trapped in a vicious cycle of repeated sin. Jesus wanted them to be free from sin’s power, not just keep apologizing for it. In yesterday’s Gospel, closely linked to today’s, we heard Jesus call his disciples to repent of their desire to exalt themselves over one another. Just imagine these men looking down at the ground in shame, and how the word “I’m sorry” finally comes out when Jesus confronts them directly with their thoughts.

But Jesus wants to accomplish much more with this contrition than “get” his disciples and us, to say “I’m sorry.” He wants to give us more, especially when we fall into repeated sins, for Jesus longs for us to experience freedom. He rebukes James and John precisely because they fall into the same trap as before. This rebuke certainly affected them, but that is exactly what Jesus wanted: He wanted to shake them hard so that their repentance would penetrate deeply to the root and cause of their sin.

Repentance and contrition are not just unpleasant duties to fulfill when we do wrong to someone. They are also an opportunity for change. Jesus wants us to correct our wrong thinking and to allow our wounded hearts to be healed and softened. Sometimes the voice of the Holy Spirit can also rebuke us in the same way that Jesus rebuked James and John. What the Holy Spirit will show us will probably not be very pleasing initially. But if we allow the Lord to reveal what is in our hearts, forgiveness and healing will be able to penetrate much more profoundly than we could have imagined. In Christ, repentance and contrition can genuinely bring us freedom from sin! And to live in this freedom is lovely.

Today, there is a struggle, competition, and rivalry not only in sports but also in all areas of production and management, and often in an improper, even dishonest way. Even in church affairs, we encounter this unhealthy, even sinful, behavior. And so it happens that the brother of a brother, the friend of a friend, and the subordinate of superior slander for the sole purpose of advancing higher, getting ahead, owning more, receiving higher rewards, of ding a more comfortable life… The uncritical person often overestimates himself and desires what not only does not belong to him but also what he does not have and cannot afford. This is a severe problem that Luke talks about in today’s Gospel.

“The thought crossed their minds as to which of them was the greater” (Lk 9:46).

The apostles are in Jesus’ school. He called and chose them from among many, and often in different ways. They know that their mission is to proclaim the teachings of the Lord Jesus. They have been given a prominent position, a distinction, an honor. Perhaps because they are not yet well versed in the teachings of the Lord Jesus, but surely also so that their wrongdoing may be a lesson and a warning to us, too, from Jesus. Therefore, he allows the apostles an unhealthy desire to be somebody, that is, ambition and jealousy. They wonder who is first among them. Peter thinks: will it be me? For the Lord Jesus shows His confidence in me and puts me at the head of the apostles. John, to whom the Lord shows more love than the other apostles, also thinks: Will it be me? Each of them saw his virtues, abilities, and “I”! They have forgotten that the one who chose them, in whose school they are, is God, who sees into men’s hearts; he knows their minds. The Lord Jesus knows their thoughts; He knows their dialogues with each other on this subject. He does not blame them for anything but will teach them a lesson by a beautiful example. Jesus puts one of the children who were nearby in front of the apostles and illustrates where true greatness, the first place they are arguing about, lies. The Lord Jesus will show it to them in humility: ‘For he who is least among you is great’ (Lk 9:48). He pointed to the child: innocent, pure, full of love…

This practical lesson belongs not only to the apostles but also to us. It is also true for us today that the first in the Church is the one who knows how to humble himself without pretense, how to serve others humbly, and how to realize that he is totally and entirely dependent on God. He realizes that all his virtues and gifts are not his own but gifts given to him by God. And this can only be proved by faith. Let us look around us, and often, in the odd man, the sick, and the less educated, we find an example, a model, and an encouragement. We are also to see Jesus in them. We can say that this is a real lesson in jealousy, and let us admit that not only to the apostles but also to us. John misunderstood, and his words emphasized even more what Jesus wanted. John tells us that a Jewish magician, seeing what Jesus was doing, tried to cast out the devil in Jesus’ name. This did not please the apostles, for he was not one of the Twelve; he did not walk with them, so they objected to his behavior. Here, too, their jealousy of the immature apostles was manifested. The Lord Jesus puts this misconduct of theirs in the right way. And here He instructs them as a good teacher and tells them: “Do not hinder him, for he who is not against you is for you.” (Lk. 9:51). That is, if the apostles had had a deeper faith, they would have known that every good, even if it arises outside of them, that is, outside of Christianity, is not directed against the Lord Jesus, but is with him.

We realize that much good is also outside the Church. That is why we see that the leadership of the Church, the Holy Father, and the episcopal conferences worldwide recognize this good and cooperate with it, even though they are often ideological enemies, and this is precisely under the influence of today’s Gospel.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has been working with everyone concerned about social progress and peace in the world. The Church recognizes that all that is good in the world is an enrichment for us, and so she fulfills the principles of the Kingdom of God on earth. Even in our circumstances, the Church is condemned by many believers for collaborating, for dialogizing with those who oppose it. We know that in history it happened that even Saul did not want to accept Ananias into the Church in Damascus when he spoke in a vision to the Lord Jesus: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. He also has power from the high priests to bind up all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him: “Only go, for I have chosen him to be a vessel to carry My name to the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:13-15). We know that this was fulfilled in the letter.

May there be healthy competition among us as well. May we desire values, but never sinfully. Let us, therefore, put aside ambition and jealousy!

When we hear Christ’s prediction that he will be delivered into the hands of men, we think: into the hands of those wicked Jews, the elders, chief priests, and scribes, of course. But when will we finally realize that Jesus was delivered into the hands of all men, into our hands, into the hands of those here, and into each one of us? The chief priests and scribes, Caiaphas, Pilate, and the others – were, of course, the culprits in the Lord’s immediate suffering and death. But that suffering and death were the fault of each of us and necessary to each of us as the only way of atoning to God’s justice for our guilt. Christ’s suffering – that immense act of our injustice, was planned, intended, foreseen – with us in mind from all eternity.

Through every human sin, Christ the Lord is delivered into our hands – to atone for that sin of ours on the cross; it is we who sacrifice Him in satisfaction for our unfaithfulness; it is we who first of all caused His suffering, and then only the scribes. As St. Peter said in his first sermon, we nailed Jesus of Nazareth to the cross and murdered him by the hands of those wicked men (Acts 2:22-23). When we pass by the cross, do we realize that our business, Christ, is delivered into our hands?

Christ is delivered into our hands not only as an atoning sacrifice. He is returned to us through his saving word, with which we can do as we please: accept it or reject it. Christ is given into human hands in the sacrament of the Eucharist, where he becomes the foundation of our building up the kingdom of God, the foretaste of our life in the kingdom of heaven.

And yet, on this occasion, let us remember that each one of us, whether we want to or not, is also delivered into the hands of the people whom we serve by our work and willingness and also – like Christ – by the suffering we offer for the needs of the world.

Until a few decades ago, we might have felt that the world was more or less understandable, and we could lean on the unquestioned certainties of three-dimensional space, solid matter, and fixed time. Twentieth-century physics, however, has led us astray and looking at an open book, the reader is not sure whether he is reading from a science fiction story. At the end of the twentieth century, it was clear that the universe was a far more remarkable place than we could ever have suspected, that things were far more complex than our everyday experience suggested.
With the development of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, it became apparent that only a tiny fraction of dimensions behave reasonably and customarily: the world at minimal and vast distances is very different. It acts very differently from the world we grew up in, the world of our spaces. The certainties have broken down for us: the masses are full of empty places, the room has all kinds of strange twists and turns, and the clocks always point differently in different areas. Everything is different! A solid mass and, at small distances, boils, and bubbles; most of all, it resembles a stormy sea or boiling foam. The black holes are somehow encapsulated in space, space can be torn like a sponge for washing, and there are many more dimensions than our usual four. My hands, which are now writing this text, are not material but bundles of dancing strings. Man on Earth suddenly seems like a settler who emerges from his comfortable cottage, where he is warm and light, and finds a storm raging outside and angels flying and dancing fairies. The world is very different from what we imagined! We live in a quiet bubble of space-time: at high speeds, great masses, and distances large or small, everything is different.
I think contemporary physics has vastly outstripped the imagination of science fiction writers: reality is more interesting than the best science fiction story. The more physicists investigate the Big Bang Theory and the initial parameters of the universe, the more unexpected they come to. If just one of the many constants had a slightly different value than it does, neither galaxies, stars, nor we would ever have come into existence. The probability of the initial parameters being “correctly” set is so tiny as almost zero. Except that’s precisely what happened. To somehow avoid the problem, astrophysicists define the so-called anthropic principle. One and its form says that the universe must be so we can live in it. Maybe there are many universes where the constants are set. Nobody will ever know because life cannot exist in them (at least in that form as we know it). Because we are here, the universe must look like this. It’s strange: because of people on a tiny planet, a small galaxy, the universe looks the way it does. Since the Middle Ages, our cosmic self-consciousness has somehow faded.
It was generally assumed that the center of the universe was the Earth, around which everything revolves, figuratively and literally. Galileo Galilei and Nicholas Copernicus made it clear that the center of the universe is the sun. In 1750 Tom Wright discovered that the Milky Way in the night sky is our view inside the galaxy of which we are a part. Today, we know that we and our solar system are stumbling somewhere on the edge of this galaxy. It was probably the philosopher Immanuel Kant who first, in 1755, wrote that at least some of the nebulae we see in the sky are circular disks about the same size as our galaxy. Today, we know that there are millions of galaxies like ours in the universe, that galaxies form clusters and superclusters of galaxies that are also in the universe very irregularly distributed as if they were imaginary walls of some unimaginably large spatial cell. We know the universe is not infinite, but we can hardly imagine its size.
To Immanuel Kant, who marveled at the starry sky above him, with whom he recalled one clear night at the opposite end of the planet, in Antar …on the other side of Antarctica. I wish you could experience the feeling of the limitless depth of space when, on a solitary walk, I suddenly had the impression that I was standing upside down and seeing the starry sky below me, looking into the endless depths of a universe that had no bottom. For our healthy humility, it is sometimes a helpful warm-up to try to look at our galaxy from somewhere very far away until it looks like a blurry speck in space: then, we can more easily grasp the comicality of all dictators and our lust for power. Karel Capek in his play. In the Life of Insects, he develops a battle of ants in a poisonous scene: they fly through the air with orders and big words about glory as we are used to them from our human wars. Only later does the viewer realize that the whole war is being fought over a piece of forest land, over a single blade of grass. Too bad Capek didn’t live to see the Hubble telescope.