Pope
at Santa Marta : Fear of God’s gratuity
(Vatican Radio) At Mass in Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday morning
Pope Francis noted that deep down people are afraid of God’s gratuity, we find
excuses not to go to Him and end up thinking the world revolves around us.
The Pope based his homily on the parable recounted in the Gospel
of the Day of the man who gave a great banquet to which he invited many. The
Pope said that this parable makes us think, because “we all like being invited
to dinners”. But there was something about this dinner that three guests
did not like, and these guests are an example of many of us.
One says that he has to go and examine his field, he needs to
see it in order to feel “powerful, vanity, pride and he prefers this to sitting
at table among others”. Another guest had just bought five oxen and thus is
taken up with his business and doesn’t want to waste time with other people.
The last guest excuses himself saying that he is married and doesn’t want to bring
his bride to the dinner. He wanted to keep her affection all to himself:
selfishness”.
Pope Francis noted: “In the end prefer their own interests
rather than sharing dinner together: They do not know what it means to
celebrate”. This form of self-interest is what Jesus described as
“repayment”.
“If the invitation had been for example:
‘Come, I have two or three business friends from a foreign country, we can do
something together’, no one would have excused themselves. But what
shocked them was the gratuity. Being one among the others,
there…this form of egoism of being at the centre of everything..It is so
difficult to listen to the voice of Jesus, the voice of God, when you believe
that that the whole world revolves around you: there is no horizon, because you
become your own horizon. And there is more behind all of this, something
far deeper: fear of gratuity. We are afraid of God’s gratuity. He
is so great that we fear Him”.
This, he said, "is because quite often our life experiences
have made us suffer”, like the disciples of Emmaus who turn away from Jerusalem
or Thomas who wants to touch to believe. The Pope then used a popular proverb:
When "the offer is so great even the Saint is suspicious", because
"the gratuity is too much". And when God gives us a feast like
this," he said, we think it is "better not to get involved".
"We feel safer in our sins, in our limitations, but feel at
home; leaving our home to answer God's invitation, go to God’s house, with
others? No. I'm afraid. And all of us Christians have this fear hidden deep
inside ... but not too hidden. Catholics, but not too Catholic. Trusting in the
Lord, but not too much. This 'but not too', marks our lives, it belittles
us".
Pope Francis continued "One thing that makes me think is
that when the servant reported this to his master, the master is angry because
he had been despised. He sends his servant to call the poor, the crippled, he
sends him to the squares and the streets of the city. The Lord asks the servant
to compel people to come to the dinner. "So often the Lord has to do with
us the same: with trials, so many trials":
"Compel them, for here is the
celebration. Gratuity. Compel that heart, that soul to believe in God's
gratuity, that God’s gift is free, that salvation cannot be bought: it is a
great gift, the love of God ... is the greatest gift! This is gratuity. But we
are a little afraid and this is why we think that we can obtain holiness with
our own things and we become a little Pelagian eh! Holiness, salvation is
gratuity".
Pope Francis concluded: Jesus “paid for the banquet, with His
humiliation unto death, death on a cross. And this is the great gratuity. When
we look at the crucifix, we should think of it as an invitation to the banquet.
Yes, Lord, I am a sinner, I have many things, but I look at you and go to the
banquet of the Father. I trust. I will not be disappointed, because you have
paid for everything. Today, the Church asks us not to be afraid of the gratuitousness of
God". “Instead we must open our hearts, do our part as much as we
can, because He will prepare the banquet".
(Emer McCarthy)
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