image-i-nations trésor

34th Sunday of Year B, Feast of Christ the King – 2021

He came, long ago, but some still speak about him.
What he said, what he did, what he taught, how he related to people.
It was said that: “Nobody ever spoke like this man” (John 7:46).
 
He was… different, yes, everyone could see this, different yet…
There was something about him that drew people to him.
He did not look for glory or fame, no, he was concerned about others.
One day, they had tried to make him king (John 6:15) but he had escaped –
this was not at all what he had in mind.

Brought before the authority, he told a Roman procurator why he had come to our world (John 18:33-37):
“The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

If he came back to our world today…
If he came back, would he repeat these words?
Would he find people ready to listen to his voice?

He would be all too aware of:

the fake news,
the unfounded revelation of presumed facts,
the systematic distortion of evidence,
the prevailing disinformation,
the exaggeration of narratives,
the manipulation of witnesses,
the bias of some medias,
the misrepresentation of events,
the falsification of documents,
the attempts to pervert justice…

“Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Would there be some?
Would we be among them, no matter the cost?
 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/34e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-fete-du-christ-roi-2021/

 

Source: Image: www.pinterest.com

14th Sunday of Year C – 2019

Many people long to be well-known and popular.
Eager to be famous, they want their reputation to spread far and wide.
They want their names to appear in newspapers or important publications.
They expect their realisations to be broadcast and their names acknowledged in social media.
For them, being forgotten, worse still being ignored, is a disaster and they cannot accept not to be in the limelight.

And yet… yet… is people’s opinion that important?
Being considered famous, even being recognised as a genius, is this the aim of life?

This reflection came to me as the last line of today’s gospel (Lk.10:1-12,17-20) was read.
To his apostles, overjoyed with the miracles they have been able to perform, Jesus says:

“Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
 
Long before, through the prophet Isaiah, God had said:
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands”. (Is.49:16)

Does the rest really count for that much?
This is how close we are to God – someone he simply cannot forget!
If only the reverse were true!…

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/14e-dimanche-de-lannee-c-2019/

Source: Image: thechurchinmalta.org