22/09/2025
Monday 22 September 2025
25th Week in Ordinary Time Year C
Ezra 1:1-6; Lk. 8:16-18
Fr. Dufe Joseph OFM Cap.
Faith remains totally a proposal – and that is how, by creating and endowing man with freedom, God intended it to be. In Jesus’ ministry, a call never took away this wonderful gift of man. Not even Our Lady was void of this faculty. When we say yes to a proposal, we are applying the gift of freewill to its fullest by aligning it to God’s Absolute Will. We embrace our faith, either because in Baptism our parents (or others) presume this response for us, or we do it ourselves, if we are already mature enough to respond after due information or education. And if we live our faith well, it will naturally draw others to itself. In he first reading of today, from the Book of Ezra, we hear the word of the Prophet Jeremiah being fulfilled, as the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue a royal proclamation, that all the kingdoms of the earth under him go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. Assistance for this is by free-will offerings.
Forcing human beings, the use of arms, is a sign of the failure of authority – religious, political and otherwise. Inviting people to “come”, “look” and “see”, to hear the message and have a personal experience of living it, is what we are called to do. The gospel message offers a way of life that brings great happiness into the lives of individuals and whole societies, if it is really followed. This starts from within us, from where the scriptural message takes root – the human heart. This means that part of communicating the message is as much through our lifestyle. Each of the sayings in today’s gospel passage concerns the role of the disciple. There can be no anonymous discipleship. The gospel calls us to live in light and truth, no matter what the cost may be. Secret discipleship is a contradiction in terms, for either the secrecy kills the discipleship or the discipleship kills the secrecy.
As St. Francis of Assisi tells us: “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary”. To be a Christian is not to reach a certain level and stay there; it essentially means constant growth and development. To stay still or to stagnate is to go back. “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lamp-stand, so that those who enter may see the light”. Jesus wants his followers to let their light shine, so that it can be seen by others. This is a call to us to live according to the light we have received. No baptismal holiday! Though at times this can be challenging. Being laughed at, and sometimes being physically persecuted for acting upon our sincerely held beliefs, requires divine help. Jesus, however, has promised to be with us, and to give us his unfailing help to the end of time.
The lamp is lit for a purpose; the light it gives shows itself at its fullest potential. When loving others, we automatically express our love of God. Our acts of kindness, thoughtfulness or thanks are ways in which we can be lamps that are lit. To be able to understand the damage that could be triggered by lack of kindness, lack of thoughtfulness and lack of gratitude, it is sufficient to live in a context where electricity has been taken away for a great length of time, where people live in darkness for most of the 24 hours, or for 24/7, and for months – for a year, and counting. Thank God they could start to devise other means for the generation of energy so that they could light their bulbs and power their appliances – solar energy. Where the required human qualities are lacking, Christians are invited to be innovative – to develop other means of bringing it among themselves. Finally, Jesus asks us to pay attention to how we listen, to notice how we notice, pay attention. Where we see only deficiency we will lose everything; if we are able to recognise, appreciate and receive blessing, we can trust in God’s goodness and love.
