Deacon Patrick Writes: The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

he artwork I am sharing with you this week, is a photo taken inside Banksy’s own bathroom… ‘Burglary Rats’ is the title of the work. We can see rats causing mayhem inside Banksy’s bathroom. The detailing is clever. The objects are placed in a perfect position in relation to the stencil sprays. We associate rats with thriving in sewers, in filth, but also with being independent thinkers and cunning creatures. So they carry this dual aspect, which is why Banksy uses them so much in his art. Rats carry negative and positive connotations. Like a street artist, furthermore, the rodent multiplies in retaliation to society’s attempts at pest control. The rats grow in numbers; the graffiti artists grow in numbers and in their criticism of society, and as society becomes more polarised. But in order to thrive, both rats and graffiti artists have to be highly alert to their surroundings.

That is the theme of our readings this Sunday: alertness! We are called to be alert to our surroundings and live out the Christian life within it. The little creatures in our artwork and graffiti artists just feed off the goodness that surround them and critise, but we on the other hand are called to actively contribute goodness to our surroundings. Our alertness drives us to this awareness of being awake for Christ and actively witness him in our world.

The Christian life is a matter of conscious choice, of being awake and alert. But Jesus also draws up another beautiful image in our Gospel reading. He says ‘if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house’. Things can suddenly happen to us and creep up like a burglar in the night. These may be sudden health issues, or the loss of a loved one. Whilst seemingly nothing can prepare us for these events, we can be ready for any such things by having a closeness to Christ, day in day out. To be alert to his continuous presence, will help cushion the impact of any such unexpected results.