Key of David - The Joy of Faith

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 21, 2021: Fourth Tuesday in Advent

Song of Songs 2: 8-14; Luke 1: 39-45

We are given to reflect on three personalities today: the first and second from the readings, especially the Gospel - Mary and Elizabeth, both of whom were so eagerly and joyfully waiting for the coming of the Lord.  To their list is added David, for whom it was an irreplaceable joy to be united with the Lord. 

In and through these personalities the key element of reflection offered us is the Joy of faith and the faith of true joy!

Faith which is a personal relationship with God, inspires great joy obviously, when the Lord comes to visit us. It is the joy of being united with the one whom we love; it is the joy of counting the blessings that God has showered on us; the joy of standing on the promises of God. The joy doubles when we know the Lord not only comes to us, but comes for us and comes to be with us. This is the joy of Faith.

Joy, in its purest form, has its source in the Divine; every other pleasure or good-feeling, is but a faint copy of this true and profound joy. When it comes from some other thing, or event, or experience that is transitory, the joy itself becomes transient! Whereas, the Lord promises, the joy that I give, cannot be taken away by anyone or anything! And it is this true joy, that binds a soul to God; the longing for that true and unsurpassing joy, the eternal joy that draws the soul to the Divine! This is the faith that is born out of true joy!

Finally, it is faith and joy that makes us people of God... and we shall dance before the Lord, regardless of the world that stands around cynically! 

O Emmanuel - the Servant life-syle

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 20, 2021: Fourth Monday in Advent

Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1: 26-38

We are getting very close to the great feast of the mystery of incarnation, and our respobsibility thickens too! Today we have two terms to pay attention to.

The first is the maiden who would bear and give birth to a child and the reference to Mary as the handmaiden who accepts the will of the Father as the plan for her life! The term that is suggested by these elements is Servant. Servant, not in the sense of a slave or a dependent, but in the sense of someone who takes up the cause of the One who orders everything. That is what we are called to be: behold I come to do your will - we heard that passage just this Sunday. Just like Jesus became  servant, so are we called to become. Just as my Father sent me, so I send you out, said Jesus.

The second term is inspired by the experience of Emmanuel - God with us. Emmanuel is that experience of God as someone very close to us, someone living and moving with us, someone who is one among us. 'God with us' need not be only an experience from elsewhere, it can and it should become a life-style! That is, it becomes the way we  live our daily life.

Bringing the two terms together: Servant lifestyle is a crucial experience of God and an experience of a person of God! 

FAITH - THE BLESSED ASSURANCE

Obedience of faith, promise of love and trust in the Lord

December 19, 2021: Fourth Sunday in Advent
Micah 5: 1-4; Hebrew 10:5-10:Luke 1:39-45

Faith is the ultimate celebration of Advent and that is what we begin this Sunday! We celebrate our faith - the promise of love from the Lord and our obedience of faith in trust!

The Obedience of Faith is signified in the purpose with which Jesus came into this world - here I come to do your will! That is the purpose of our lives too and it adds meaning to our existence!

The Promise of Love is the blessed assurance that is given by the Lord - a promise that comes right from the origin of creation, when we were promised a redeemer, a never-ceasing care for our fullness of life.

Trust in the Lord is the source of peace, hope and joy that we have been celebrating all these weeks... and our Blessed Mother is given as the highest of examples: blessed is she who beleived in the promises of the Lord. 

The blessed assurance that we have in our life is faith: the relationship that we have with the Almighty who created me and the continued presence of the Lord.  

Adonai, Lord our Integrity

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 18, 2021: Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Matthew 1: 18-24

The Lord of history, Lord of all generations and Lord of the entire universe, is our Lord. It is giving up on all this majesty that the Lord chose to be Emmanuel, God with us. Though all the titles - the Lord of might and power, the Lord of glory and honour, the Lord of hosts and dominions - are all perfectly fitting for the Lord - the title most preferred by the Lord: Emmanuel, the Lord with us! 

This is the Lord of Integrity, the Lord who is with the little and the weak, with the poor and the simple, with the opressed and the down trodden. Where there is truth, justice and righteousness, there the Lord is; when we opt for these, we opt for God. The moment one searches for power, wealth, popularity and prestige at the cost of values and righteousness, he or she ceases to be a presence of God. 

The Lord our integrity, inspires us to understand our call to be people of God, in all senses. In our way of life, in the choices we make and in the decisions that we make, we are called to be persons of integrity, persons of God and persons who build up the community into a people of God. Let our prayer today be: O Adonai, Our Lord and the Ruler of the house of Israel, who gave the law to Moses on Sinai, come and save us with outstretched arm. Amen.

The Sceptre of Wisdom

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 17, 2021: Genesis 49: 2,8-10; Matthew 1: 1-17

The Word today orients our attention to the faithfulness of the Lord from generation to generation; it is basically an account of the relationship, the covenant between God and God's people. That relationship on our part is a privilege that we experiece, whereas on the part of God, it is in fact an authority that God has on us, God's children!

It is in fact the sceptre that God wields over us, a sceptre that would not end, a sceptre that would not bow down before any forces, a sceptre that would make everything new, a sceptre that would order and govern everything in the world and in our lives. It is indeed a sceptre of rule and governance!

But beyond all these, it is a sceptre of Wisdom... the eternal Wisdom that ordains everything for good, according to the Holy Will, the everlasting plan of God. Within this eternal plan everything has its place - and specially we, we have a place. The reminder at Christmas, when the eternal Word became flesh, coming into time and space, is that we become persons who bring God into this world, into our time, into our space, into wherever we are!

That which helps us do it, is the Wisdom of God... and we therefore exclaim to the divine Wisdom:  O Wisdon of the Most High, ordering all things with strength and gentleness, come and teach us the way of truth! Amen!

The Joy of choosing God's love

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 16, 2021: Third Thursday in Advent
Isaiah 54: 1-10; Luke 7: 24-30

For the mountains may depart, the hills be shaken, but my love for you will never leave you - the most consoling words that one can hear from God! Yes, the love of the Lord gladdens our heart, it gives us a reason to rejoice! It is said, every tiny child that is born into this world is a sign that the Lord has not given up on us. And the child born, whom we are preparing to celebrate, is not only the sign of God's love, but God's love itself made flesh.

This great joy that the Lord gives, does not depend only on God. If it were so, we would have no problem in experiencing it. But not all experience it and definitely not all in the same level or degree! Hence, there is another variable involved here and that is: my personal choice for God!

Joy is ensured by the Lord and the Lord's love; but it has to be chosen by me, freely and willingly - not grudgingly and half-heartedly. When you went to see the Baptist, Jesus says, you knew it would be difficult to digest who he was, what he said and what he demanded from you! But still you went - why? Because it was a choice, a choice for what is godly. 

This is the criteria to enter the Reign: to experience and witness for the joy of choosing God's love, over anything else. You could be famous, talented, popular, sought after, admired and respected, but that does not in anyway take away the importance, the significance and the absolute need for a personal choice for God and all that is godly. This is  the joy of choosing God's love!

The Joy of Seeing the Lord

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 15, 2021: Third Wednesday in Advent
Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25; Luke 7: 19-23

I am the Lord - reveals the Word...and the Lord, as we know has always been and is a self-revealing God. God has multiform ways of revealing Godself to us. The highest form of revelation has been the Word becoming flesh in the great mystery of incarnation that we are preparing ourselves to celebrate. 

The greatest good that can happen to us is, beholding the revelation of God - to get to know God, to get to know who we are in the eyes of God, to get to know what God wants of us. But all these begins with acknowledging the revelation of God, seeing the Lord who is revealed!

Seeing the Lord involves a lot of discipline in life and a sense of true focus - discipline, because we need to train ourselves to avoid all other distractions and grow towards fuller understanding of God; focus, because there are so many situations and experiences that can take us away from the right sense and meaning of life. 

True and deepest joy of life consists of knowing the Lord and being prepared to see the Lord in our daily life - in the other, in the events and in the experiences that come our way on a daily basis. The Lord we have is a self revealing Lord, may we grow in the joy of seeing the Lord. 

The Joy of Simplicity

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 14, 2021: Third Tuesday in Advent

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13; Matthew 21: 28-32

This Sunday we were reflecting on the joy of simplicity as the joy of the Reign. It refers to the peace and serenity that would govern the life of a person who lives what he or she talks, the courage and authority that would mark the personality of the one who proclaims what one is conviced of and the righteousness of the one who never compromises on what is right, just and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord.

It is easier to look for honour in the eyes of the world and live a false life, deceiving every one around with compromises and appearances; but what a sad life it would be - ensuring peace and tranquility only in the short life that we have here and now. However, even that is not ensured, because the person has to live all the time cautious of not being exposed!

True joy comes from integrity, from simplicity of life - that is a life that is lived from the heart, a life lived at the core of our beings, a life that is lived in the presence of the Lord, totally open and transparent. The Joy of Simplicity gives us the foretaste of the joy of the Reign!

The Joy of Wisdom

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 13, 2021: Third Monday in Ordinary time

Numbers 24:2-7,15-17; Matthew 21: 23-27

The Joy of the Spirit is guaranteed when we know the ways of the Lord... the wisdom of the Spirit lets us grow in the quality of discernment, to get to know the right thing to be done at the right moment! When we are guided by this spirit of discernment, we shall not be answerable to anyone, other than the One who has sent us. 

When the Pharisees and the Scribes questioned Jesus or even threatened him, Jesus never trembled or feared. He was certain about what he was and who he was; and above all these, he trusted in the One who sent him and did everything that his Father commissioned him to do.

The message is simply this: that we develop within us the joy of the Wisdom of the Lord. The Wisdom of the Spirit fills us with three specific capabilities - to know the right thing to do; to do the right thing at the right time; to take responsibility without any diffidence for all that we choosee to do.

The Joy of Wisdom, is to possess the light of the Lord and dare to walk by it all our life

JOY OF THE REIGN - THE LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

Sharing, Simplicity & Sincerity

December 12, 2021: Third Sunday in Advent
Zephania 3:14-18; Philippias 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 10-18

Gaudete Sunday... the call is to Rejoice! Rejoice, Rejoice in the Lord, shouts St. Paul today to us and that is what the first reading calls usto do - to shout in joy! Why all these Joy? Because the Lord is near; and we are half way through the preparation that we began towards encountering the Lord, who comes to meet us. 

The call to Rejoice comes to us in a time that may not so easily concede us the possibility to rejoice... with the pandemic fears still looming, with new virus threat that is keeping the world still quizzing, the increasing uneasiness with regard to immigration and climate crises...these are some urgent concerns that may instill more fear anxiety than joy, naturally speaking! Exactly... naturally speaking, it is so... but spiritually speaking?

Spiritually speaking, we are called to Rejoice! And it is possible to rejoice, whatever be the situation around us! And not just that, as Pope Francis says, "The Christian life is “joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17), for “the necessary result of the love of charity is joy; since every lover rejoices at being united to the beloved… the effect of charity is joy” (Gaudete et Exultet 122). Pope Francis instills in our minds the centrality of Joy in Christian vision of life - the Joy of the Gospel, the Joy of love, Rejoice and be glad... these exhortations of the Holy Father reminds us what it means to live as Christians in these times.

The Word this Sunday explains to us, we are called to rejoice and it is not merely having all fun. It is as reflected in Rom 14:17, joy in the Holy Spirit. It is the Joy of the Reign! The Joy of the Reign is all about, Sharing, Simplicity and Sincerity.

The Joy of the Reign is about the joy of Sharing! It is not having all the fun, as we reflected already. It is spreading happiness, making people smile, standing with the poor, joining hands with the just, fighting for the exploited, seeing the weak strengthened! That joy is not a selfish hedonism. The tendency to hoard on, the selfishness of grabbing, the wickedness of exploiting... these are diametrically opposed to the sense of joy in the holy Spirit. When the Baptist was asked to counsel the people about what to do, for the imminent coming of the Lord, he said - Share! To share what one has is to feel for the other, to give up what one has for the other, to feel compassion for the other - what else is the Reign of God, but this! To Share...not from our abundance, but from our love and care for the other. Once we begin to care for the other, the Reign begins to flower!

The Joy of Reign is about the joy of Simplicity! Simplicity is being without complication; being straightforward; being what you are without pretence. When the tax collectors asked the Baptist for what they should do, there was a bit of pretence in it...they were not in anyway ready to leave their jobs as tax collectors. But just because they wished to show their enthusiasm of the moment, they dared ask him that counsel. And he spared no one: you need not be what you are not! You are tax collectors, collect just tax and no more, he said. In our jobs and life situations, we are in a particular context and within that we have the choice to be righteous or not! The choice that we make there, clear and straight forward, would give us a peace of mind, out of which shall be born true and simple joy, the joy of the Reign.

The Joy of the Reign is about the joy of Sincerity! John the Baptist had every opportunity to enjoy a popularity and recognition that really did not belong to him. He need not have claimed to be the Messiah, enough to have been silent, they would have given him all the honour and respect. But what mattered to him was, his sincerity and that is what made him a person of the Reign, and one who was greater than anyone born of a woman! Sincerity is all about knowing the truth, sticking to the truth and daring to live by it. Sincerity is the source of true joy of the Reign. 

There is a baptism that we are called to, invited to, challenged to: the baptism of the Spirit. The Baptism of the Spirit leads us to a life in the Spirit: a life of sharing, a life of simplicity, a life of sincerity! The Joy of the Reign is what the Lord promises us, provided we are ready to wait on the Lord, behold the Lord's promises and live by the Spirit. Let us rejoice, we have the Lord with us!