(Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 4:7-9; Matthew 21:33-43)
Since ancient times, the lands of the Middle East and the Mediterranean have cultivated vineyards. So it is not surprising that the image of the vineyard recurs in their literature. A famous instance is in one of Aesop’s Fables, which gives us the expression “sour grapes,” describing the tendency to disparage what we want but cannot have.
The social media sites have recently been noticed to include photos which people post of themselves or of their beloved ones. These “smart” tools have been used to expose human faces, with tall ears, cat whiskers, and roses on the head that beautify the faces. However, what draws attention is posting photos of children with faces of cats or other friendly and tame “animals”.
Why do humans want to hide behind masks?
Why do humans wear the skin of other creatures and play their roles?
He arrived in India to meet the bishops, his fellow Salesian confreres, but also the civil authorities such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, whom he thanked personally, “for their efforts to secure my liberation”.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16: 24-25)
These words of Our Lord come very close to those of the prophet Ezekiel: “You say, ‘The Lord’s way is inscrutable, mysterious, and above all, not fair!’”
This week we are confronted once again with the question of God’s fairness. It is a matter of expectations.
Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah mounted the podium of the world’s biggest stage to address the UN General Assembly, speaking not only on behalf of his “beloved Jordan” and as representative of His Majesty King Abdullah, “but also as a member of the greatest generation of young people in history”.
The Bible is in not against all alcoholic drinks whatsoever. So how do we interpret Proverbs 31:7?
Proverbs 31:4-7 (RSV):
[4] It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to desire strong drink;
[5] lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
[6] Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;
[7] let them drink and forget their poverty,
and remember their misery no more.
Following is an articles titled, "In search of a leader" posted on oasiscenter.eu which tackles current world affairs from a new perspective:
Marking the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which was widely celebrated in the Middle East, churches celebrated Holy Mass which is reminiscent of the crucifixion of Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, pomegranate beads and pomegranate juice, which symbolize the blood of Lord Jesus Christ, were also distributed as a tradition and fires were lit in all squares adjacent to churches.
The Lord himself takes away the veil of our human understanding to show what is really happening, spiritually, to us on earth.
The Gospel begins, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.”
If we think of Jesus as waiting patiently for us to honor him, we’re wrong. In fact, Jesus himself takes the initiative. He is up early, looking for us, approaching us and inviting us.
And when he finds us, he sends us to his vineyard, not to enjoy a reward — but to get to work.
When Germans go to the polls this Sunday, September 24, they are likely to re-elect Angela Merkel as chancellor, an office she has occupied since 2005. Merkel’s expected victory will be all the more remarkable given that the recent populist backlash against the global establishment has tended to see her as its chief enemy. Many had thought she would not survive the anger that her handling of the refugee crisis inspired.
