This Sermon is prepared by

Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US



ஞாயிறு மறையுரைகள்

மதிப்பிற்குரிய அருட்பணியாளர்களே, துறவிகளே, அருட் கன்னியரே, உங்கள் ஞாயிறு மறையுரைகளை எமது இணையத்தளத்தின் ஆன்மீக வலத்தில் பிரசுரித்து, ஆண்டவர் இயேசுவின் நற்செய்தியை எல்லோருக்கும் அறிவிக்க விரும்பினால், info@tamilcatholicnews.com என்ற எமது மின்னஞ்சலுக்கு உங்களுடைய ஆக்கங்களை அனுப்பிவைக்கவும். உங்கள் மறையுரைகள் உலகெங்கும் இருக்கும் அனைத்து தமிழ் உள்ளங்களையும் சென்றடையும்.



இதோ! ஓநாய்களிடையே ஆடுகளை அனுப்புவதைப்போல நான் உங்களை அனுப்புகிறேன். எனவே பாம்புகளைப்போல முன்மதி உடையவர்களாகவும் புறாக்களைப்போலக் கபடு அற்றவர்களாகவும் இருங்கள்.
(மத்தேயு 10:16)

நீங்கள் போய் எல்லா மக்களினத்தாரையும் சீடராக்குங்கள்; தந்தை, மகன், தூய ஆவியார் பெயரால் திருமுழுக்குக் கொடுங்கள். நான் உங்களுக்குக் கட்டளையிட்ட யாவையும் அவர்களும் கடைப்பிடிக்கும்படி கற்பியுங்கள். இதோ! உலக முடிவுவரை எந்நாளும் நான் உங்களுடன் இருக்கிறேன்
(மத்தேயு 28:19-20)

நீ அவற்றை உன் பிள்ளைகளின் உள்ளத்தில் பதியுமாறு சொல். உன் வீட்டில் இருக்கும்போதும், உன் வழிப்பயணத்தின் போதும், நீ படுக்கும்போது, எழும்போதும் அவற்றைப் பற்றிப் பேசு.
(இணைச்சட்டம் 6:7)








25th Sunday of Ordinary Year

Stewardship is happiness… ….…not ownership….!

Am8:4-7, 1Tm2:1-8, Lk 16:1-13, 16

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus, we are grateful to the Almighty as we have been given a new week to begin with the Lord’s Day. We shall offer all our experiences of the past week at the Eucharistic altar. There might have been some joyous moments! We might have also gone through some difficult times. Our offerings comprise both praise and petition. While we seek happiness through prayer, the invitation for all of us through this Sunday liturgy is… stewardship is happiness. We shall commit to being stewards at home, in our neighborhood and in our community gathering. We shall renew our happiness in this gathering of brothers and sisters around the breaking of the bread.

Eric Weiner, in his book The Geography of Bliss, declares from his own extensive travel and exploration, that small and simple countries top the list of happiest nations in the world. He admires Iceland and Bhutan for having declared that their national priority is national happiness. Bhutan has a very low crime rate, murder is almost unheard of, it is the world’s first non-smoking nation, there is no sale of tobacco, it was the last country in the world to have television and there are more monks in Bhutan than soldiers. How is this possible? Weiner says it is possible, in a poor country such as Bhutan, when its citizens are more important than money. Weiner came to this conclusion after raising the following questions: What are the essential ingredients for a good life? Why are some places happier than others? How are we shaped by our surroundings? He used ancient philosophers and the much more recent “science of happiness” as his guide. It is true, as the UN has declared Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway as topping the list of happiest nations in 2016. Small countries with moderate population are content with living, and they express human concern for one another.

In the first reading Amos was called from the Southern kingdom of Judea to challenge and warn the people about their obsessive attitude toward money, wealth and business, and their compromising of worship and the practice of human charity life. He was an ordinary shepherd boy who responded to Yahweh’s invitation to be a prophet; that a spokesperson for God. He served nearly 40 years during the reign of King Uzziah of Judea. He was sent to the Northern kingdom of Israel by Yahweh to defend the poor from the clutches of exploitation by the wealthy and to have a pure, sincere and community liturgical worship. People celebrated the beginning of a new month and a new week as new moon day. Their celebration was to be giving the whole day of Sabbath to God as a community and family. They offered the fruit of their labor and shared to all those in need. There was stewardship and there was joy. The phrase “pride of Jacob” from today’s reading says how arrogant the Israelites had become, wanting to do business on the Sabbath day, too. The rich built their homes on stone with decorations made of ivory wood. They left the poor to live in huts or be homeless. They loaned to the poor and charged interest. Wheat and oil were the popular commodity, so the poor gave these when they could not pay back the money.

There was discrimination and exploitation by the rich through accumulating things by cheating the poor. Their worship was not connected to their life. Now we can understand the strong words of Amos calling to be stewards of happiness by bringing back the joy of the nation. In the gospel, Jesus invites us to build friendships, to be equal and to be stewards to one another. He clearly says that love for money and wealth will make you children of darkness. Possessiveness and selfish attitudes for things, wealth and money will make one’s mind distant from sharing, caring and helping the poor and the suffering. One becomes arrogant looking for permanent ownership rather than stewardship. In the gospel Jesus looks at the steward, prudently winning friends, proving relationship is greater than money, which makes the master tp appreciate that little act of goodness and charity.

Building stewardship is bringing happiness to humanity; bringing happiness to humanity is keeping God as the center of our life. Jesus’ words are very blunt and clear to the arrogant rich law makers of His time. Our gatherings should foster happiness in our community by being good stewards to one another. We read in Sir3:29-30, “He who does a kindness is remembered afterward when he falls; he finds a support”.

We know this well-known hymn:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail and mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.
This is the spiritual auto biography of Englishman John Newton (1725–1807). He lost mother before the age of 7, went as seaman with his father at 11. His youth behavior led to be one among the slaves, later helped by his father’s friend. He became a slave trader, a ship captain, taking ships to Africa and leaving with thousands of Africans. He was after money and wealth at the cost of human lives. Once on his way to America, in the middle of the ocean, in the midst of deadly storm, he felt emptiness in spite of all his wealth and money. After his deliverance, he realized he was not a happy man at all. Right then, he turned the ship back toward Africa, to return the slaves to their homeland. He began living a life of preaching, proclaiming and inviting to be stewards of happiness in Jesus kingdom of forgiveness and peace. His song Amazing Grace explains his journey –Amen.