Tuesday 29 December 2015

Year C - Epiphany


Epiphany - Year C

Isaiah 60.1-6
Psalm 71
Ephesians 3.2…6
Matthew 2.1-12



To go further

Details

- As ever, upon first view, it is quite funny, yet there is something deeper beyond first glance...
- The kings are looking for the star. One has a map with a hole in it, the other doubts somewhat.
- Yet if we follow the stare of the first king, he sees much further than the map. With his right eye, he looks at you, and with his left eye, he seem to look further still, to the sky. You decide...
- The star which he seeks has six points, just as the star of David.
- In the cartoon, all the stars have 5 points, except for two. One has 8 and we can easily find it.
- If you are still looking for the star with 6 points, read on and I will tell you where it is.
We find it above God, represented in the cartoon (no really). He is represented by the question mark found in the bible verse, right up top. We cannot imagine God, so I have represented Him in this way.
- Last point, in the hole in the map, behind the rabbits head, there are no stars to be seen, because the brightest star here is the illuminated face of the rabbit who has found God.

Questions

- When you have found the star in the cartoon, can you now find the star in your life?
- How is it that the rabbit points his finger towards the star, even though the star is behind him ? I will leave that question open to you.



Monday 19 October 2015

Year B - Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

Jeremiah 31,.-9
Psalm 125
Hebrew 5.1-6 
Mark 10.46-52



To go further

Details

- The rabbit who makes his praise echo is behind (in an orchestra the percussion section is in the last line).
- The cymbals are red, and the "DZIM" too.
- The trumpet player, although on a lower step, now finds himself higher than he who plays the cymbal. The praise of the other has awaken him.
- The blue rabbit finds himself at his place of praise and he holds it loyally. Just look at his face.
- It is his instrument which speaks, his mouth is closed.

Questions

Do not confuse praise (or thanks to God for what He is) and that action of grace (where we thank Him for what He has done). It is easy to give grace then to praise. Yet mankind was created to praise God.
- Do I stick to my role of Christian in my praises ?
- How ?

Monday 12 October 2015

Year B - Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Twenty-Ninth Sunday of ordinary time – Year B

Isaiah 53.10-11
Psalm 32
Hebrews 4.14-16 
Marc 10.35-45



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Details

- Imagine somebody who is truly brilliant, who has all diplomas in all domains. Somebody who knows everything, and knows how to do everything. This person would have nothing missing on their CV, and when (if they manage to) they are recruited in a company they take the broomstick to clean the floor. 
We could interpret this in saying "What a waste, we are not using the qualities of this person !"
Yet the logic of man is not that of God.
This truly brilliant person, it is Jesus. He is so brilliant that he is the light of the world (He, par whom the world is created don't forget !...) He puts himself in last place.
Is He timid, introverted ?No, He is God, and God does not make a noise. He tames men by hiding among them.

Questions

- And I , how am I placed ? What speaks to me in what I have just read ?
- In all of my diplomas and talents, which have I placed at the service of God and humanity ?
- How can I use them, in my place, in daily life?

Thursday 8 October 2015

Year B - Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2)

28th Sunday of ordinary time – Year B

Wisdom 7.7-11
Psalm 89
Hebrews 4.12-13
Mark 10.17-30



To go further

Details

-This rabbit as infinite patience. He is passive. He knows that he will manage to untie the knots, it is only a question of time.
 -If we look at his right hand we can see quite a level of dexterity.
-He works with all of his being (hands, feet, ears)

Questions

-If all is possible to God, that doesn't mean that he will give me anything and everything. Sometimes, we have very specific demands in our prayers, and despite our faith, God does not give us what we have asked of Him. In this case, how should I react ?
-If God does not give me my Ferrari or my castle, do I ask Him why, or do I conclude that God simply does not listen to me ?
-I ask for what I wish, et God gives me what I need (knowing that my gift is not in the immediate but in the eternal life). That which he gives to me, is to prepare me for that life.
-Knowing this, does it stop me from asking the impossible from God ?

Monday 5 October 2015

Year B - Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

28th Sunday of ordinary time - Year B

Wisdom 7.7-11
Psalm 89
Hebrews 4.12-13
Mark 10.17-30


To go further

Details

The word of God is alive, we see this thanks to several points:
-1. The letters "a l i v e" are very warm and sporting an array of colours.
-2. The Bible has yellow pages inside, and a more modern fiery cover, with a light cross design. This signifies that its pages, although ancient, are still relevant now.
-3. The Bible bounces. I had thought about drawing it flying, but when it touches the ground, it gives more of an impression that it is down to earth, easy to reach.
-4. The Bible speaks. Jesus is the creator of words. Each of his words has logic. Jesus goes towards those who do no know them.
The blue rabbit who runs after the words, it is he who wishes to master them, to tame them and dress them up. Yet the word of God is not something one can chain up, it escapes from him. Nobody has a monopoly on the word of God, nobody has the one unique interpretation. 

Questions

-Do I have a real example of whereby the word of God is alive ?
-When did His word touch my heart profoundly ?
-When did it set me moving, to give my life direction ?

Monday 28 September 2015

Year B - Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

27ème Dimanche du Temps Ordinaire – Année B

Genesis 2.18 - 24
Psalm 127
Hebrews 2.9-11
Mark 10.2-16



To go further

Details

-This Rabbit has cold feet for two reasons:
-He's afraid of getting hurt from falling, so he doesn't have much confidence in God ...
-He puts a quilt in front of him, as for protection from God.
It would have been better to put it behind him.

Questions

 -The Torpor, "the mysterious sleep" in the book of Genesis is used by God when he does something very important, as if he plunges a man into a trance so that he can stand it. There is another passage in which Abraham is plunged into this torpor (Gen 15:12) when God undertakes in alliance with him when God passes between the shared animals (why share animals between two people and then pass through the middle when an alliance is made with someone? It was a sign of the word given, and it was final. If I broke the alliance, if I retracted my word, the same could happen to me as these animals). To quickly summarize, it is man who broke the covenant with God, and God (Jesus) who sacrificed himself in the place of man)
-Do I trust the intervention of God to heal me, to save me? Or do I prefer to heal and save myself ?
-According to my answer, how do I experience this each day?

Monday 21 September 2015

Year B - Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Numbers 11.25-29
Psalm 18
James 5.1-6
Mark 9.38-43, 45, 47-49



To go further

Details

-A grey rabbit, proud of his wallet, becayse he has not built this car, he has just acquired it.
-The other rabbit has only one tool in his hand, but without this tool the car is only good for placing in the garage.
-The specialists know how to play with words for the Lamborghini because there is a model called "Diablo", whereas this one is called "Divino"..
-I amused myself by placing an on/off switch under the rear door, close to the back wheel, to show the fragility of an object. Sometimes we hardly need anything for something to break down.

Questions

-Riches and gold ruin us unless they are shared.
-Such riches are poison when they distance us from God, when they make us believe that money removes all risk and we make it the number one goal
-Does money save us ? From who, from what ? To what point ?
-Which are my material riches ? Are they rusted or shared ?

Monday 14 September 2015

Year B -Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

25th Sunday in ordinary time - Year B

Wisdom 2.12,17-20
Psalm 53
James 3.16-4,3
Mark 9.30-37


To go further

Details

-The grey rabbit tests the blue rabbit. He pretends to look the other way by turning the head, but he still keeps an eye on the reaction of the blue rabbit.
-He taps his left hand against the hammer, to make sure how hard it is.
-He whistles two notes at the same time (which is impossible - try it !)
This means he is two things (his innocent attitude and his action, which is less so).
-The other rabbit, the blue one, the one who is beating the world record for the high jump, he says nothing. His silence makes less noise than the two notes of the whistling rabbit. (Careful, don't think for a moment that I am trying to say that one must always suffer in silence and say "Amen" to everything. I am merely placing the spotlight on another point)

Questions

-This verse from the Bible is the thoughts of the villain who wants to test to find out if God will help.
-What tests have fallen upon me ? Provoked by people who wished to see my Christian reaction when pushed to the limit ?
-How do I react to the violence which is aimed at me ? What are the limits which one must not pass with me ? Do I ask God to help me in these moments is it my nature to take it all for myself ?
-Was my reaction a good example for others ? In what way was it a success

PS. We see that the blue rabbit ascends to the skies very quickly, looking at it that way...
:)

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Year B - Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

24th  Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

Isaiah 50.5-9
Psalm 114
James 2.14-18 :
Mark 8.27-35



To go further

Details

-This rabbit has a remote controlled cross on a race car (convenient to transport it).
-The cross is not behind him, but in front. He wants to show it off. He wants us to see it.
-Also, he evaluates it by putting a digit (1) which means "I am the best, my cross is the heaviest, nanananana!!!"
-But he is not fooled by his little game, because looking at his expression, once  unmasked, he feels guilty.

Questions

-To take ones cross is not too choose one. It is, first of all, to accept the one that we have (to accept our defects, our old age, our dependence on others, our family or marital situation, unemployment, handicap, failures...)
-A cross made to measure, it is not a cross. We have many ideas to add to the cross, to make it aesthetically pleasing, to add effort and control the thing. A cross is not something to control.
-Did I choose my little crosses while doing all I could to forget the one that I should be carrying ?
-Do I await a call from the Lord to walk in his footsteps, or do I work away at my little personal comfort as long as no one says anything?

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Year B - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Isaiah 35,4-7
Psalm 145
James 2,1-5
Mark 7,31-37


To go further
Details

-A little surprised this rabbit ... surprised at the promise of God that seems like science fiction ...
-The horizon is flat; he is calm, in the desert, on his camel. There is no relief in his life.
-Suddenly, the torrid country turns into a lake (I know someone who will surf a camel!)
-And here Giddyup galloping to escape the water, because Giddyup is a camel who has plenty of reserves in his hump. No need for more water.
And of course, the rabbit has to find a culprit for this unexpected situation. The first one that comes to him, the weather ...

Questions

-Jesus is the source. Source of life, source of the gift, source of love, source of freedom.
When I seek my source elsewhere, inevitably, I feel a great void after an intense moment of life, love, giving, freedom, since when apart from God, it only lasts for a fleeting moment.
And I will even flee from God, thinking that it is He who prevents me from living, loving, giving, to be free. Could God be so sadistic in harassing humans?
If that's what I think, then the God I imagine is not the true God.

As a complement from the Bible, this reading of Isaiah prophesies the return of Israel to its land, whilst having spent the last 50 years in exile in Babylon. And in order to return home, he has to cross the Arabian Desert. It is not only the purpose of the journey that is a joy, but the journey itself, where the desert will bloom again. How often do we wear ourselves out seeking a goal (for example to accumulate money or to go away on vacation). We then only see the goal, we forget the path to get there. The encounter with God does not happen only at the end of our lives, but throughout. This is the time it takes to get to know him.

Monday 31 August 2015

Year B - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Isaiah 35,4-7
Psalm 145
James 2,1-5
Mark 7,31-37




Monday 24 August 2015

Year B - Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Deuteronomy 4,1…8
Psalm 14
James 1,17-27
Mark 7,1…23


To go further
Details:

-This rabbit has clean hands, that is for sure ! He has a pair of lovely white gloves.
-His tongue is forked like that of a snake and deep red as blood.
-Visibly, his intentions are less than pure, otherwise what would he be doing with a submachine gun and a balaclava ? His approach as he walks is also suspect ...
-The submachine gun fires quickly, with only one barrel. Also, his tongue could fire some deadly bursts.
-The rabbit points his finger accusingly. We do not know who at, or what he is doing. Free judgement...
-The rabbit is covered from head to toe, so that the outside world does not dirty him. On the other hand, we have our doubts about the cleanliness of his thoughts.

Questions

-If my hands are pure, is my heart also ?
-Are my weapons inside or outside ? Which are the most dangerous ?
-In which circumstances do I use them ? For what reason ?



Monday 17 August 2015

Year B - Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Joshua 24.1-18
Psalm 33
Ephesians 5.21-32
John 6.60-69

To go further
 
Details

-There are not really any details that could help in reflecting on this one.

Questions

-In response to the question "You do not want to leave too, do you?" , the answer is clear: YES, straight away even, and quickly !
-When did I want to leave ? By whom or what had I been disappointed? What made me doubt (or makes me doubt now) ? Do I speak about it, or do I carry it alone ?
-If we read again the life of Jesus, he had many reasons to leave, to be disappointed,  betrayed by men. He could have said "OK guys, there is no point in my being here, you don't listen to me. See you ! ". However, he stayed.
-What keeps me here ? What makes me persevere in my faith? What makes me live ?