Dear Friends in Christ,
Year C, Luke
Luke sets the historical scene at the start of John the Baptist’s ministry. Pontius Pilate, Herod and his sons, and the high priests Annas and Caiaphas all failed to respond to God’s word and its messengers. None of them welcomed Jesus; some were implicated in his death. Yet it was precisely into this unwelcoming world that God sent John the Baptist to inaugurate an age of mercy and salvation. God saves his people, despite their perversity and hardness of heart. God has the last word, not man. John’s mission was to prepare the way of the Lord by ‘preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’. John was a bridge who brought people to Jesus and his kingdom. He demanded from them both repentance and a renewal of their lives. He prepared their hearts to receive Jesus and his gospel.
The main emphasis of John’s preaching – repentance, change and renewal – still remain the way to Jesus and his kingdom. His message invites us, as individuals, to take on the same spirit of repentance, change and renewal: ‘Man is the first agent of all social and historical change, but to be able to carry out this role he himself must be renewed in Christ, in the Holy Spirit. This is a direction thw6 holds great promise for the future of the Church. (St. Pope John Paul II).
The message of repentance and renewal always speaks powerfully to the human heart, for it offers the possibility of forgiveness and a release from the burden, as well as the promise of healing, change and a new start. Into our world of sin, failure and broken promises, the Lord’s word still comes with conviction and power, as it did in the time of John the Baptist, to set us free and save us.
The Gospel of mercy invites us into a new time of grace. During Advent God’s word challenges us to repent and be renewed: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight…The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth’. As we respond with sincerity, we shall ‘put on the robe of righteousness from God’.
Jesus is King and today we celebrate the feast-day of Christ the King.
God’s plan form the very beginning was that the Son would reign over us as our Lord and our King. Tradition informs us that Lucifer and his realm were the first to reject God’s plan and refused to bow down before Jesus. We, seduced and led astray by this very same Lucifer (more commonly called Satan or the devil), also rejected and rebelled against our good Creator. God’s plan was thwarted, but, since nothing can prevent God’s will unfolding, the very One who was to be King came instead as our Saviour. Scripture testifies that a time will come when all will bow before Christ the King and declare, ‘Long live Christ the King!’
The imagery of darkness, falling celestial bodies and the heavens shaking is disturbing to the modern mind – as it doubtless was in Jesus’ time, even if the language was more familiar then. Such events, we are told, will precede the glorious appearance of the Son of Man, who will come with his angelic cohort to the earth. When this will happen no one knows (except the Father) – but happen it will! There is a tendency to relegate this vital truth of our faith to the back of our minds. We may think of such language and sentiments as archaic, and find it hard to see it as an essential teaching of our faith. Our scientific world-view makes us uncomfortable with the talk of the end of the world or the consummation of human history.
We need to be wary of those who purport fantastic theories and predictions about the end of the world and return to Christ. However, we need to balance our caution with a desire to renew our faith in the blessed hope of the Church, the return of Jesus. The renewal of this hope sharpens our desire to live by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we pray in our hearts, ‘Come Lord Jesus’, a desire for the Second Coming is awoken within us. This living hope can strengthen and fortify us as we seek to live the power of the Spirit.
Bartimaeus is in such need. Unperturbed and undaunted by those who try to silence him, he shouts even louder. He is full of determination. Despite his blindness, he recognises clearly who Jesus is: ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ His boldness, courage and persistence are rewarded and he is called forward.
Selfish ambition, self-advancement and self-promotion are often hallmarks of clerical ambition. Pope Francis, for example has put a stop to the plethora of young clerics being awarded the title Monsignor. Under his pontificate a cleric cannot be made a Monsignor until he is the age of 65! One or two have slipped through the net, mind you, but that is understandable; the disease of clerical ambition isn’t easily eradicated from the Body of Christ.
Jesus uses this display or worldly ambition to teach about the new way in his kingdom. If we want to be great, we have to choose to be small. If we want to be first, we must choose to be last. If we was esteem and recognition, we must serve and not be served. Jesus attacks the wisdom of this world which looks to dominate, manipulate and control. To be meek and to serve is a sign not of weakness but of true strength and character. To adopt the disposition of a slave is not to be trampled on but to rise above selfish drives which compel us to serve ourselves and not others.
The Lord wants us to come to him for salvation to arrive at the point where we discover our weakness and frailty and then turn to him for grace, strength and life. It is essential that we discover this moment in our lives at least once or, as is more likely, again and again. Do we depend on ourselves or on God? The heart of ‘being saved’ is acknowledging our need and depending on God. We cannot taste the goodness of the Lord id we rely only on ourselves.
When we are following Jesus everything else in our lives loses importance: ‘I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’. The young man clung to the security of his possessions because he could put his trust in Jesus’ love for him. Only by experiencing Jesus’ love shall we be able to believe his promises and act upon them without counting the cost. Therefore we need to pray persistently to grow in our knowledge of his love for us. This is the key to following Jesus. Then not lacking one thing, we shall have treasure in heaven.
We are appealing for Bottles of Wine and Spirits. We are aiming for 300, in that way we can make the bottle stall much bigger this year. If you have bottles of 
Every year I try to enter into the full spirit of the Parish Bazaar; I run a stall with really excellent prizes. They are all donated by your good selves! I appeal to the whole parish community for really good quality gifts for my stall. Thanking you all in anticipation of your generosity! Flat Screen Television is a must! A Christmas Hamper; I Pad or I Pod; Kindle; Crate of Wine; Theatre Tickets; CD Music Player; X Box; Restaurant Vouchers, Theatre Vouchers and any other luxury goods that you might think worthy of a special raffle. Thanking you in anticipation! 
Are always popular at a Parish Bazaar, if you have any toiletries can you let us have them as soon as possible. Please ensure that all toiletries and unopened, and unused. Please try to make a very special effort in even providing one item for the Toiletries Stall. Thank you!
We need help in sorting out the gifts that are donated on a weekly basis; also transporting the gifts and items to the presbytery or the storage room at the back of the parish hall. If you can help in the process we would be most grateful. Sadly these tasks are usually just left for the few, the more help we have the more we can get done! 
