WORD 2day: 5th May, 2016

Your Sorrow will turn into joy

Thursday, 6th week in Eastertide

 Acts 18: 1-18; Jn 16: 16-20

Your Sorrow will turn into joy, the Lord promises! At times it seems a lofty promise and many look at it suspiciously. That is not because the Lord is wrong today, but our understanding of true joy is not right at times!

Ever heard of the anecdote about this monk who went into contemplation and came out "enlightened"? Since everyone considered him "enlightened", a man approached him with a question...what difference do you find between the world as it was when you went into contemplation a decade ago and that of today? He said, "when I went in the land was down and the sky was up there, there was summer and winter, and there was day and night." "And Now?", the questioner asked with curiosity rising! "Now the land is down and the sky is up there, there is summer and there is winter and there is night and there is day!"

Are you wondering that the story is incomplete if I end it there? No! The fact is, even if things remain the same, the way enlightened persons see them is completely different from the way others see it! Your sorrow will turn to joy, not only because everything around you will turn upside down, but because you will find yourself different, your priorities different, your concerns different. That will make all the difference! When they rejected Paul outright, he couldn't care less! He was just the same and walked off cool, because for him that rejection mattered nothing!

For him sorrows had turned into joy, everything was joyful for in everything he sought the Lord!

WORD 2day: 4th May, 2016

The Spiritual Capacity to accept Truths...

Wednesday, 6th week in Eastertide
Acts 17:15, 22 - 18:1; Jn 16: 12-15

There are ways in which a person responds to a data that is beyond one's perception or beyond ordinary explanations. The first way is to outrightly reject it and the second is to ridicule it just because one cannot understand it. These two  display an arrogance that is not even humane, leave alone spiritual. One could begin to enquire about it and make a scientific effort to understand it, that would be human. The Greeks in Areopagus laugh at Paul and some consider him 'confused'!

A Spiritual disposition in approaching new experience would enable a person to perceive the truth in what is said, understand its true meaning and find relevance for one's life. This mind will not reject something merely because it seems new or it has not been so till then. The one who empowers a person towards such a disposition is the Spirit of truth says Jesus in the Gospel today. 

Openness, respect and a sense of wonder are prerequisites for one to have real Spiritual Experiences!

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

Celebrating Apostles Philip and James

3rd May, 2016

1 Cor 15:1-8; John 14:6-14

The Word today calls our attention to the mention of the names of the Apostles whom we celebrate today: James and Philip. The James we speak of here is not James the son of Zebedee , the one who was among the closest three namely, Peter, James and John! But this is James the son of Alphaeus, who is referred to for the sake of differentiating, as James the lesser! Though that term is odd, it brings out the fact that he was among the less prominent bunch of the Apostles but however he was one of the 12 pillars and Jesus appeared to him! Philip is seen in the Gospel today inducing Jesus to make some intense pronouncements about himself and the Father! Philip is also seen in two other places - at the scene of multiplication of the bread and the later when some Greeks wish to see Jesus.

The Feast can communicate three realities that can help our faith communities today. 

1: That differences are natural when a group of persons are involved. The differences are not only inevitable but they are beautiful to paint a holistic picture.

2: That differences do not mean division, or comparison or envy. That Philip and James and some others were not so prominent, never caused a rift among the apostles. They were able to live united in the Lord.

3. Each one has a specific call within the entire design of God and when one fails to play his role, however little and insignificant it could be, there is a lack in the whole!

The message is clear: avoid comparisons; avoid envy; realise the one call and remain united in the Lord!

WORD 2day: 2nd May, 2016

The Mutual Delight: The Lord and His People

Monday, 6th week in Eastertide

Acts 16: 11-15; Jn 15:26 - 16:4

The Christian faith had already taken root in that short time and it is beginning to take wings as we see! Spreading far and wide, the faith in Christ was not merely an intellectual assent to some truths the apostles were sharing, but it was a dedication of their concrete lives. We have two different examples of that in the Word today.

The first is that of Lydia, who finds her new found faith impelling her to sustain the proclaimers of the Word. She would take no refusal, about she hosting the apostles in her home, says the first reading. She was delighted in the Lord! The second is the Apostles, who were moving from one place to another without any lag or slackening. Because they were so delighted in the new apostolate entrusted to them. Looking at these sorts of His children, the Lord was taking delight in his people says the responsorial psalm today!

This is what Christian faith is all about: the delight that the Lord has in each of us and the delight we manifest in having the Lord as our God! That Mutual Delight, of the Lord and the Lord's people turns into a tremendous testimony to the World. Some in the world are disturbed, there are others who are questioning. There will surely be a great number who be delighted to join the band. Let us be delighted in the Lord and let us delight the Lord with our daily lives!

A 3D APPROACH TO TRUE PEACE

6th Sunday in Eastertide: 1st May 2016

Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29; Rev 21: 10-14,22-23; Jn 14: 23-29

Peace I give you; My peace I give to you! The Community of the Risen Lord is called to be a Community of Peace and Peacemakers. The Word today outlines to us the approaches to establish true peace among the people of God. It is a 3D approach, a three dimensional approach.

D1-First Dimension: Self - Deep Seated Faith

Faith is the spiritual tranquiliser at any moment of crisis or trouble. Faith is the assurance of the presence of God with me, which makes me courageous enough to accept the situation I find myself in. The Community of believers were going through a time of crisis, as two factions among themselves began to take exceptions to each other. However, the situation was brough under control, but the way the decision was made is remarkable as we read it even today. "It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves..." That is the key to their peace, their deep seated faith that God was right amidst them all through the crisis. When crisis come our way, one of the first things we negate is the presence and empathy of God. But peace comes with a deep seated faith that never ever doubts the empathetic presence of God with me!

D2-Second Dimension: God - Divine Familiarity

The Christ-ian understanding of God is not a God who is up above the sky looking down on God's children and judging them. But it is a God who dwells with them, within them and among them. This is what Jesus promises today: If you love me, you will keep my word and my Father will love you and we shall come to him and make our home with him.When God makes our home with us, we would have no lack of peace. The true peace comes from the fact that the Lord lives with us. The first readings speaks of the Holy Spirit living with us, the Second reading speaks of the Father and Son making their resplendent presence amidst us and in the Gospel Jesus speaks of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit coming to make a family with us! That is peace, a sense of total assurance that I am surrounded by the Lord!

D3-Third Dimension: Others - Dialogue and Discernment

The First reading once again brings to the fore the need and the importance of Dialogue and Discernment. Peace and Understanding reigned in the Early Christian Community because of the presence of Dialogue and Discernment. Dialogue and Discernment are two phases of a single process. Dialogue is the phase where the two parties involved have their views and opinions presented to each other. Discernment is the phase where they both come to a common ground, look over and beyond their point of view and come to a consensus towards a common decision. The One who inspires this common view is the Holy Spirit who is the source of all discernment, the third party who mediates the dialogue. When this third party is not involved in our dialogues they end up without proper discernment and lead only to two stubborn sides. Dialogue and Discernment presupposes three dispositions: one, that I am convinced of my stand; two, that I respect the other; and three, that I believe that the Spirit is at work.

When a community has these three dimensions clear, the Lord's peace reigns. Such a community glows to be truly Christian!

WORD 2day : 30th April, 2016

They hate you? Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Saturday,  5th week in Eastertide
Acts 16: 1-10; Jn 15: 18-21

People around you find you a pain in the neck,  for the right reasons... be happy! People call you outdated and impractical and living in a world that does not exist because you stand by values... don't worry!  People dump you and wish to see you destroyed because you disturb their "peace"... be blessed!

Everyone,  even the worst among the lot,  seems to be comfortable with you... be careful! No one has any problem with your ideas and absolutely every one seems fine with your values... look into yourself! There is no opposition at all to what you do and not even those who discourage you... beware!

Yes!  That is what the Lord says. If you stand by truth and live by values,  you are sure to be branded 'utopian' and kept aside from the so called 'steps forward'. It is wonderful to be acceptable to all,  but at what cost?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Remembering St. Catherine of Siena

29th April, 2016

1 Jn 1:5 - 2:2; Mt 11:25-30

For the popularity that she enjoyed and the wisdom she possessed, if Catherine of Siena were to have been a male religious, she would have certainly been a Bishop and a Cardinal, or could have even gone on to become the Pope! That is why the Gospel of the day fits in so well with this saint: you hid the truths from learned and clever and revealed them to mere children. 

Catherine was just 33 when she died and she learnt to write only towards the end of her life, while in her life time she had accomplished feats as great as convincing the Pope Gregory XI to get back to Rome from Avignon, negotiating peace between Rome and Florence, serving at the Papal Court of Pope Urban VI as a counsel!

Dedicating herself to Christ at an early age of 7, she did experience a hurdle at the age of 16 when her family wanted her to enter into a marriage. But she rededicated herself to the Lord and became a Third Order Dominican. That gave her the possibility of moving with people and directly working for their welfare in the world. She considered strongly that she was mystically married to Christ and did everything in her life at His bidding. In an atmosphere of rising promiscuity, Catherine of Siena seems a great model of what young disciples of Christ could achieve in life.

WORD 2day: 28th April, 2016

To Remain in his love

Thursday, 5th week in Eastertide

Acts 15: 7-21; Jn 15: 9-11

Peter, Paul, Barnabas, James... what great names in today's first reading. All heavy weights in faith, the greatest apostles coming together to determine the future course of the Way. The Congregation that was gathered was divided. They had differences of opinions. There was a traditional group, infact James was part of it. There was a progressive group and Paul and Barnabas were championing it. Peter was the bridge, the "pontiff" - right enough! And we see the Apostle James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem steering the entire discussion in such a godly fashion.

The whole argument was resolved on one fact: what is important is not circumcision nor uncircumcision (cf. Gal 5:6; 6:15) but faith working through love; what is important is REMAINING IN HIS LOVE. That is the crux of Christianity. It is not rules or rubrics, it is not law or legal fulfillments, but the love of Christ that gives meaning to our lives. Anything inspired by true and genuine love for God and for the people of God, leads us to true life in God. Anything that divides the people of God and brings hatred among them, is not from God and is against the Spirit of the Lord. Keep Reflecting!   

WORD 2day: 27th April, 2016

Christian Mode of Conflict Resolution

Wednesday, 5th week in Eastertide

Acts 15: 1-6; Jn 15: 1-8

We see a conflict arising in the Early Christian Community - two factions: the Conservatives and the Progressives. When the conflict arose, they immediately fall back to the roots, they come together and resolve it. The moment conflict arose they thought of getting together and not splitting into groups - that is a Christian Attitude.

A truly Christian attitude of conflict resolution is an attitude of unifying, a promotion of solidarity, a strengthening of bond and an assurance of fellowship. The growing number of denominations and divisions within the so-called Christian Community, is a counter witness, says the erstwhile encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi. The greatest scandal to the world is a divided Church.

It is not so difficult for us to get back to our communion even amidst all conflicts because we are all branches grafted on to a single vine: Jesus Christ! I am the vine says Jesus today, inviting us all to resolve our differences in him. A beautiful tamil hymn on love has an admirable phrase which expresses the following sentiment: let us respect the differences and live in harmony! (வேற்றுமை நிலைகளை மதித்திங்கு ஒற்றுமையுடனே வாழுவோம்) 

The more we are ready to get back to Christ and remain united in the One Lord, the more Christian we remain. Moments when I begin to contemplate division, I am disregarding the vine I am grafted on to.

WORD 2day: 26th April, 2016

Fear versus Peace

Tuesday, 5th week in Eastertide

Acts 14: 19-28; Jn 14: 27-31

The other day I got to see a forward that someone sent, a lady speaking about an alleged intellectual subversion that is happening in India. And her entire argument was that the intellectual cream of the nation is getting together under the patronage of Non-Hindu forces and subverting the entire Hindu Rashtrya, and that the dream of Hindu Rashtrya is being squashed to nothing. I could see the fear that was in her and that she intended to drive home into the minds of the listeners, giving the example of South Korea which was just 4% Christian in 1900, 18% in 1970s and over 40% in 1990 and she likened that fact to Kerala in India! Again, what I could see there was all FEAR...as we see in the first reading today. The Jews feared the rising acceptability of the new Way that they witnessed.

On the other hand we have the apostles in the same scenario: Paul and Barnabas and even others - they were calm and composed, fearless and daring, unmoved even in the face of death. What we can see here is all PEACE. The Word is teaching us today, the opposite of Peace is Fear! Where there is fear there is no peace! When fear disappears, Peace reigns. Jesus was about to go, not on a pleasant journey but on a trial and a real suffering unto death, but there is absolutely no trace of fear in him. The reason: he loved his Father and he was convinced his Father loved him! And he wishes that his disciples loved him much, and believed in his love for them. 

When we love God, and when we are convinced of the love that God has for us, we will have a Peace that no fear can take away! Peace be with you!