Temptations are a regular part of our lives. When I was still living in Macquarie Fields, five days a week, I’d go out in the morning and take an hour walk.

The person suffering with leprosy, in today’s Gospel, takes the initiative to come to Jesus, and in a way, puts the ball in Jesus’ court and says, “If you want to, you can cure me.”

Today’s gospel summarises the early activity of Jesus in Galilee. He went about the villages preaching the Kingdom of God and healing people – a sign that the Kingdom of God was already present among the people. 

One of the best experiences I had with my parents was when in 2011 I toured them for four weeks around Australia and New Zealand.

Imagine you got the windfall of a lifetime. You’ve just won the top prize in lotto, which was worth millions of dollars. What would you do with this windfall?

Our Gospel reading for this 32^nd Sunday of ordinary time challenges us to be vigilant and wise. We often hear people say that “she has lots of wisdom or he has lots of knowledge”.

Let me read to you once more the wonderful message of John’s apocalyptic vision:

For those of us living here in Australia or in New Zealand, if you take notice, you’ll see that on all of our coins, we see the image of Queen Elizabeth II or whoever is the ruling monarch in England.

Beloved in the Lord! There are just two points I would like to share with you this morning. From the first reading, I highlight the deep concern of the vineyard owner for the future growth, development, and produce of his grape vines. He did all he could to ensure that growth and future harvest.

I’d like to borrow a very good story from Miguel de Umanumo, a Spanish philosopher and novelist from the 20^th century about the origin of hell.