Sunday, November 30, 2014
WORD 2day: 1st December, 2014
Monday, First week of Advent
Is 2: 1-5; Mt 8: 5-11
Compare these two sayings from the first reading and the Gospel respectively: "Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord"(Is 2:3) versus "I will come and cure you"(Mt 8:7)... it is in fact an integral part of the new paradigm of revelation that begins with Jesus' coming. We are today reminded of the incarnational paradigm of our faith! From a state where we were expected to go in search of God, we arrive at a state where the Lord comes in search of us. 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us' (Jn 1: 14).
What should our disposition be: the centurion teaches us! It should be one of humility, readiness to change and a eagerness to experience the transforming grace of God. That exactly is what Advent is all about!
To look at ourselves in humility, to be willing to alter our perspectives and priorities and to long and yearn for a closer encounter with the Lord are the directions that should take us forward this Advent.
W.A.T.C.H.
1st Sunday of Advent: 30th November, 2014
Is 63: 16B-17, 19, 64:2-7; 1 Cor 1: 3-9; Mk 13: 33-37
Happy New Year! This Sunday marks the first day of the New Liturgical Year that we begin. This Sunday also marks, by the wish of our Holy Father Pope Francis, the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life (30 Nov, 2014 - 02 Feb, 2016). On this beautiful and happy day, we begin a fresh journey and the first phase is going to be a preparation to receive the King! And what does the Word say, right at the outset? It says: WATCH.
W: Wake Up
It is a moment to wake up! The call to wake up rings all over the readings today. Let us get in touch with an ordinary experience of our's. Which is difficult: to wake up from sleep or to decide to get up from bed. We wake up, but not really; the sleep lingers on! That is a risky terrain, we miss a lot in that zone! Hence the call is to wake up; to decide to get up, shake oneself up, open one's eyes fully and see that it is time to begin, time to journey on, time to start again.
A: Awaken Others
Your life is not lived alone! Your faith has to be lived in communion, in relationships of love and unity. Awakening each other is a special call that is given to us, but it requires that we are awake. I remember some times when we used share rooms as seminarians, there will be one of us who has the responsibility to wake up the one who has to use the toilets and the bathing rooms first. The person will wake up the concerned person half asleep and go back to sleep till his own turn comes to use the toilets and the bathing rooms! Funny, but that is sometimes how we awaken others; we ourselves half asleep! That does not work. That is why the Holy Father has called the persons living their Consecrated Life, TO WAKE UP THE WORLD. It would first of all mean they (we) wake themselves up, reach out to the others and share the experience of being awake and thus make the whole humanity awakened! Advent is also the time to call out to each other, remind each other and journey together.
T: Thirst for the Lord
The first reading presents us a model of thirsting for the coming of the Lord. The prophet yearns for God's coming and wishes that it happens right away. In various ways he expresses the longing for the Lord, the Father, the Potter to come and shepherd us, protect us and mould us. The thirst for God has to be expressed in our concrete seeking for the Lord. We need to seek the Lord, on a daily basis: in those who are around us, in the situations that surround us, in anxious faces and hungry stomachs, in hearts longing for love those darkened with hatred...we are to dig deep and look for the face of the Lord! He is coming; indeed He has come! It is upto us to unveil the Lord's presence amidst us.
C: Cleanse yourself
To seek the Lord, it goes without saying, is a moment of cleansing, a moment of self purification. It is only through this purification that we can really get to see the Lord. The Lord is near and we need to feel the urgency of purifying ourselves. What a gift we have in these four weeks, if only we use them to the full! Pick up one element a week and begin working on them; report the progress to the Lord at the end of the week and start on another element in the new week! That would be a great journey and that is the journey of self purification that the Lord invites us to.
H: Hold firm to the Lord
In the second reading, St. Paul hits the nail on its head: 'God is faithful', he declares! Yes, in our yearning to behold the revelation of Lord Jesus Christ in our own life and in our times, God is faithful. The point is we need to hold firm to the Lord. Perseverance is a rare virtue. We are good willed, and spirit filled...but for only a while. That would surely not suffice. We need to persevere in our good will, we need to hold on to the choice for the Lord, we cannot give up even when we face all the possible odds. Let us stay firm and hold on to the Lord and the Lord will see us through all moments of crisis and confusion.
We begin a journey today, to WATCH.to Wake up, to Awaken, to Thirst, to Cleanse and to Hold on to the Lord who is to come. Let us embark upon this journey, together as a community of loving people, and feel close to each other and feel the Lord close to us. The Lord's words resound today in the Gospel: What shall I say to you, I say to all: WATCH.
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