TODAY - that's the key!

January 17, 2019

Thursday, 1st week in Ordinary time

Hebrews 3: 7-14; Mark 1: 40-45

By the time we end the Liturgy of the Word today, we would have heard the word 'today' atleast 9 times (from the first reading and the psalm)! In fact, that is the key to the message from the Word today. 

Any good that we wish to do, any change that we would wish to make in our life, any beginning we would love to make in our ways - the day to do it is today! The time to do it is now! There is no virtue in glorying in the past that is far gone and no use in waiting for an opportune future! Act now and act today. 

When that person with leprosy approached Jesus, he cured him then and there! Jesus was not thinking of a justification as from the past experience whether he should do it or not; he was not concerned about so many who are affected in the society and how he would reach out to all of them... those were questions that never mattered to him. What mattered was the person in front of him, who stood in need of a healing touch, a compassionate caress, a loving embrace - and Jesus gave it right then and right there. 

Don Bosco would often say, do all the good you can when you still have the time! If you wish to do something good, do it TODAY! Doing good to myself: making right choices and right direction changes from things that do not really bring true fullness into my life; or doing good to others: being there for others, setting our hearts to think of others, wishing the good of the others; or doing good to humanity: standing for the right values and perpetrating only life-giving principles... whatever be the good... let us do it TODAY. Let the good begin with me, here and TODAY! 

Casting out the demons

January 16, 2019

Wednesday, 1st week in Ordinary time

Hebrews 2: 14-18; Mark 1: 29-39

Casting out the demons has right from the Old Testament times been cited as one of the signs of ushering in the Reign of God. And that is the tradition that the letter to the Hebrews abides by, when it explains what the Son of God has done to humanity. The first reading explains that one of the key processes of establishing the Reign undertaken by Jesus was to cast the devil away! The Gospel tells us too, that Jesus stayed on and cured the people and cast demons away from their midst.

The primary tool of the devil to control human beings has always been fear! It is through fear that the devil has its way into the minds, hearts and lives of human persons. Fear makes one falter, fear induces needless anxieties, fear takes away the capacity to think and fear makes one slave to the moment! That is when we do something out of fear, it normally goes wrong and later or in the long run, we look back and say, 'how foolish we have been!'

Fear, which is the tool of the devil, cannot be a criterion in faith, that is our relationship with God! The Fear of God that has always been praised as the greatest gift of the Spirit, is not the fear that we speak of here! Fear of God is the due reverence to God and not a fright that compels us to do things or perform duties or obey commands. If I do anything out of fear, it insults a God who is so loving, merciful and concerned about my well being! Instead, one of the signs that we can mature in our relationship with God is to cast our our fear, and place all our hope and trust in the goodness of God. Yes, that is our way to the Reign... casting our fears, casting out the demons from our midst or sometimes even from within us!

Choice: the Lord's and Ours

January 15, 2019

Tuesday, 1st week in Ordinary time

Hebrews 2: 5-12; Mark 1:21-28

I am reminded of a sequence from the movie Avatar as I reflect on the Word today. There would be a whole battalion gathered to attack an aboriginal tribe and occupy their land. And giving the troops a pep talk, the commander would say, "beyond this mountain everything that breathes is out to kill you"... least aware that one of his own men will be falling in love with a girl in that very tribe and with the whole tribe and its land, becoming one among them! Everything depends on the choices that we make. We make of the reality what we choose to make of it.

Speaking of choices, today the Word tells us, the Lord chose us! The Lord chose to belong to us. The Lord did not choose to be like the angels but chose be born like us and live like us, in everything but sin. Because of this choice the Lord brought salvation to each and every one of us, to the entire humanity. It is upto us now, each of us, by our choice to make that salvation our own. This we do, when we choose the Lord, when we choose the salvation that the Lord brought us, above everything else! 

Choosing the Lord would mean, choosing righteousness, peace, joy, serenity, hope and love, whatever it may cost us. It may be inconvenient, troublesome, at times even lonely to make this choice for the Lord. And we cannot ask, 'what do you want of us Jesus of Nazareth?', for we know it. It is all before us - in the very life that the Lord amidst us and the Words that Jesus has spoken to us. What is important is for us to remember - the Lord came to us... the Lord chose us! It is true that the Lord is determined of his choice... the question is, are we?

Reign: the Message and Messengers

January 14, 2019

Monday, 1st week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 1:1-6; Mark 1: 14-20

We have come to the end of the Christmas season and Ordinary season has begun; we have finished celebrating the events around Jesus' birth and we begin to remember the life and ministry of the Lord. Rightly the readings today highlight the revelation made in and through Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, as the climax of all precedent prophecies and preparations!

Just yesterday we celebrated the baptism of Jesus at Jordan, and Jesus begins right away, proclaiming the Reign for which he stood all his life, even unto death! Till now they heard speaking about the Good news from God, and people begin to hear the Good news speaking now! The first call today is this: to be His messengers is not merely talking about him, but letting Him talk, in and through us!

Moving on, as messengers we have a message to carry... His message. His message, his life and his mission, everything was summarised in that one reality: the Reign of God. Opting for the Reign is to accept the Good news, to accept the person of Christ, to accept the life of Christ, to accept the mind of Christ! 

The Word thus calls us today, to make our own, the dream and the vision of the Reign of God; to be in our own way messengers of the Reign. Are we prepared to leave the nets and boats, the comforts and securities, the craving for popularity and love for power... leave all these and follow the Lord? 

BORN AGAIN

In Water, in Spirit and in the Word

The Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord: January 13, 2019

Isaiah 40: 1-5,9-11; Titus 2: 11-14, 3:4-7; Luke 3: 15-16,21-22

Baptism - a moment when one is reborn, reborn through the waters, in the Spirit and by the Word - a moment when one is BORN AGAIN.

The Water: Hailing from Chennai, India, water has a special meaning for me! There have been moments that I have stood still in front of that immensity of water, on the Marina beach looking at the coast of the Bay of Bengal, wondering what a power that lies there. And it did show up once with all its true power - the Tsunami that hit in 2004... and the devastating floods that have come and gone! 

Water is not merely refreshing and renewing, but it is resetting. If that vocabulary from the e-world can be used, it would mean starting from the beginning once again. The waters of baptism claims exactly that effect on us. Being born again is not merely to undergo a ceremony and start judging the rest as damned; go around asking each other, 'are you saved?' and 'are you born again?' or 'are you twice born' and all those ungodly questions! Baptism is to reset my life, restart it with virtues and convictions that give me a new existence altogether, an openness beyond measure, a love beyond compare, because I am born again as a child of God.

The Spirit: The Mark of Ownership, the seal of the covenant between the Father and me, the One who makes me the dwelling place of God and the One who makes me call God, Abba Father! If at all we can use that term figuratively, born again, would mean be born after I am born; yes, after I am born as a human being, I am born again in the spirit as human person! 

Being born again as a human person in the Spirit, is to receive within me that all transforming presence of the Holy Spirit, which does not allow me to be any being, but makes me become a human 'person', a person after the image of God! Being born again is to possess this personal sanctity and interpersonal sensitivity: personal sanctity of purity and detachment from the tendency to sin; the interpersonal sensitivity of accepting each other as brothers and sisters, born of that One Father! These, personal sanctity and interpersonal sensitivity are the marks of the indwelling Spirit - a total absence of unholy arrogance and inhuman pride. 

The Word: The Word, made flesh, who speaks to us and invites us to a life that is modelled after him. To be born again is to be transformed into the image of Christ, to put on the mind of Christ and to bear his likeness. 

I was once amused by the sharing of my elder sister who teaches in a Government School in a village on the outskirts of Chennai. She shared about her children in class, who do not know terms like Christian or Catholic, telling her, "teacher neenga Yesu thaane, appadina leavu mudinji varum pothu sweet eduthuttu vaanga!" (Teacher you are Jesus isn't it? then bring sweets when you come after Christmas holidays - instead of saying, 'you are a christian', they say, 'you are Jesus, isnt it?'). That set me thinking- Aren't you Jesus? Am I not Christ? Have I become another Christ - alter christus? The Word challenges us towards that... to be born again, is to be reborn in the image of Christ: it is not just an event, but an experience; not just a happening, but a process for life,which is begun at the moment of our baptism!

Let us remember today the great gift we have been given in our Baptism and resolve to live that call to be Born Again - in water, in Spirit and in the Word.

The Best man's call

January 12, 2019

Saturday after Epiphany

1 Jn 5: 14-23; Jn  3: 22-30.

The stage is all set for the Baptism of the Lord. All through this week, we have reflected on all the passages around the event of baptism of Jesus! Only thing left is to celebrate the great event of Baptism itself, which we will be doing tomorrow. Today we are presented with the person of the baptiser!

We have the identity and role of John clarified: John calls himself the best man! What a beautiful imagery of a prophet and a minister... one who rejoices for his master! But not anyone would be chosen the best man for a bridegroom! it will be the best friend of the bridegroom who will have that privilege. And he will have the honour of staying the closest to the bridegroom all through the ceremonies of wedding!

The call is very clear: to grow in our relationship with the person of Christ, to an extent that we would be considered persons close to Christ, the begotten children of God. Everyday is an opportunity to grow in this relationship. By this evening we would begin the celebrations of the Baptism of the Lord... this day, let us dwell on our baptism... and thank God for the grace given to us in baptism. 

We have said yes to our call, at our baptism. Have we been entirely true to that yes? Let us make amends in our breach of promises and lack of commitment to the Lord and renew our resolve to grow ever closer to Christ our Lord! Let us renew our baptismal commitment, grow in our love for Christ and become worthy to be called persons close to Christ, the true begotten ones of God!

The Spirit, the water and the Blood

January 11, 2019

Friday after the Epiphany
1 John 5: 5- 13; Luke 5: 12-16

'I have nothing to prove' - that would be an integral way of living! But, the culture today seems to be full of demands for proofs and credentials and a craze to get oneself noticed. We live in a culture of ads and publicity. We are fond of proving to the world, our superiority and our credibility. 

It takes extreme forms like people going to any extent to attain success and parade it to the world or at times even silly forms like craving for 'likes' on a facebook post! There are times today, when we feel we are worth, only when the world around thinks of us so, or only when the society certifies us so. There is a dearth of space for personal integrity and moral authority - everything is ruled by opinions!

The first reading outlines three testimonies for Son, or three testimonies  for the definitive intervention of God in history. The same three testimonies: the Spirit, the water and the blood, are given to us... at our baptism, to testify to our relationship with God: as God's children! The Spirit which is the mark of being God's children(Rom 8:16); the Waters of baptism, the waters of eternal life that spring within us to cleanse us and make us belong to God (Jn 7:38); and the Blood that washes us clean (1 Jn 1:7). It is our life in the Spirit, our waters of belonging to God and the blood in which we are saved, which are the marks of our Christian identity!

We have nothing to prove, we belong to the Lord. Our life, our witness, our love shall be integral proofs of our life in the Lord!

We love, because God loves us!

January 10, 2019

Thursday after Epiphany

1 John 4: 19- 5:4; Luke 4: 14-22

Can we notice that we began this week as a preparation towards the Lord's baptism, but day after day the Word is speaking to us of love? Is it surprising? No, it is in order! Yes, baptism is all about our identity and the crux of the identity that we receive as baptised, as children of God is LOVE.

To love, is not an extraordinary quality for us sons and daughters of God who is love; love has to be our essential nature! The fundamental question is not whether I am ready to love or not; it is whether I am a Christian or not! If I am a Christ-ian, then love has to be my second nature. Where there is no love, there is no God...where there is no God, there is no Spiritual life! True spirituality is true love.

The correlation of two readings bring out to us an all important point: to love is a charism given by the Spirit to each of us; to love is a commitment on behalf of my neighbour. That difficulties and sacrifices are involved, is a matter of fact. But that in no way can take away the call that I have: to love. 

And why should we love? Not because it is easy to do. Not because it gives us pleasure, as the world miscalculates today. Not because it creates a situation of peace and tranquility, then we are using love as a means. We love because God loved us, God loves us and God always loves us! When we don't love the other, we not only hate them, but we conceal ourselves from the love of God, which flows freely towards you and me! Yes... it has to be our nature to love. We love because God loves us!

God's love surrounds us!

January 9, 2019

Wednesday after Epiphany
1 John 4: 11-18; Mark 6: 45-52

It was a long time ago, but the experience has not left my mind. A child, hardly 2 years, had a tumour on her face,which had grown so big that it had covered the eyes and the child could not open her eyes. Admitted in the hospital the child was crying incessantly, firstly due to pain and then due to fear, remember she was not even able to see whether there was someone standing around her. Every time the mother put her hand into the hands of the child or on the tiny body of the child, the child would calm down and sleep; but the moment the mother took her hands off or left the side, the child never ceased crying! 

The Word today reminded me of that scene: with the Lord around, it does not matter what kind of a situation, we can go through it with calm and quietude. In the absence of the Lord, even a mole hill would appear to be a mountain and a gentle breeze a storm! Let nothing perturb you, saints repeatedly say. 

The love of the Lord surrounds us! Let us live our moments caressed in the love of God and become signs and bearers of that love to those around us. Even those who are in the thick of darkness, unable to see anything around, would feel calm and strong, if we bring alive to them the presence of God's love in those moments of their lives. God's love surrounds us, in fact in it we live, move and have our being. If we are mindful of the love that surrounds us, we shall be invariably led to love each other. If we love one another, God remains in us!

God is love; who are We?

January 8, 2019

Tuesday after Epiphany
1 John 4: 7-10; Mark 6: 34-44

The image of God image among the people of God people was continuously evolving... first they thought God was a demanding task master, but later understood God was loving too; first they thought God was an angry God but later they found God slow to anger, abounding in love; first they thought God was an uncompromising God but later they understood he was merciful too! The progressive revelation finds its climax in Christ, who reveals God as absolutely compassionate, profusely loving, immensely forgiving and unconditionally accepting! 

Knowing God to be such a person, is in a way a great news for us; but at the same time a big challenge. A great news because we are cared for and protected in that unbelievable love. There is nothing we need to worry or fret about. Our needs, our concerns, our desires and our hopes are all lovingly taken care of. 

It is a challenge too because, if we are children of God, we need to be defined by who God is. Our God is love; hence we are called to be children of love! From the way we live our life, the world should be able to understand the kind of God we believe in. This is what is called the integrity of faith: the correlation between our faith and our living!

Now that Jesus in his compassion and in his mercy, has revealed God as love, let us ask ourselves, who are we?