Readings:
2 Thes 2:1-3, 14-17
Matthew 23:23-26
Reflection:
A few nights ago, I was listening to Triple J’s Hack program, and the topic was funerals. One of the speakers was suggesting that we might change the way in which we conduct funerals in the 21st century, as more and more people are feeling disconnected from the “old” way of gathering for a funeral. Now, of course, he was speaking anecdotally, from his own experience and that of his friends, however, there is a kernel of truth to what he is saying.
How often do we get caught in the trap of thinking, “this is how it’s always been done!” and therefore assume that this is how it should always be done. As Jesus says, we pay our “tithe of mint and dill and cumin,” and forget some of the deeper realities of our current age.
The Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, reminds us about this call: “… the Church has always had the duty of scrutinising the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which humanity asks about this present life…” (GS #4)
Perhaps we can scrutinise the signs of the times in our own lives today and respond to the internal realities that Jesus is talking about, the “weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith!”
Luke Bulley CP serves as the assistant priest at St Paul Apostle in Endeavour Hills. He is also a co-founder and Team Leader of The Francis Project, an interdenominational school for Church renewal.