Who is your hero?

WORD 2day: Monday, 4th week in Ordinary time

February 1, 2021: Hebrew 11:32-40; Mark 5:1-20

There is a book with an interesting title, 'even God has His champions!' It speaks of 120 saints and martyrs in history who have borne God's message to the world of their times. 

The first reading from the letter to the Hebrews lists today a set of heroes, heroes of valour and vigour, heroes in history on whom the people pinned their hopes! But the letter adds an important but realistic twist... these heroes, they were all gone in the way of their fathers. That is an inevitable fact. However good or great they are, they are to be gone in time! 

Today we too have our own heroes - persons or role models or absolute values or needs or priorities - heroes of various kind. It is important to ask ourselves who is our hero and what becomes the defining value of our lives!

With what Jesus did to the people of Gerasenes, they should have made him their hero. Jesus solved their years of problem in a moment. He just sent the legion of demons away from their living quarters...but was Jesus their hero? No! They asked Jesus to leave - may be because they felt their loss (of the swines) was too much to bear! No, they had some other things as their hero - not exactly what Jesus could offer them. 

The crucial question is back: who is your hero?

ABSOLUTE ALLEGIANCE TO THE ALMIGHTY

like children who cling to their parents...

January 31, 2021: 4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time
Deuteronomy 18: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35; Mark 1: 21-28

It was a home for street kids. As I entered, a calendar caught my attention. It had the words running thus: with the young missionaries of hope and joy. I hoped to see some young religious in formation or some people getting ready to go on a mission. But the picture that accompanied it was more surprising. It was a click of a bunch of street kids with eyes all shining and faces beaming with smiles. They had called them 'missionaries of hope and joy.' Today's first reading came alive to me when I saw this. When the Lord said, the Lord would raise a prophet as good as Moses and that prophet was not only Jesus who did great wonders when he was still alive but in and through Jesus, it is you and I who are called to be prophets today, here and now. 

The second reading points to us the way of being powerful prophets of God... and the way is, an absolute allegiance to the almighty. To profess our allegiance to God with nothing to distract us, nothing to preoccupy us, nothing to hinder our speaking God's word or doing God's works. Today there are any number of conspiracy theories and ideological conflicts, along with the unfortunate things that are happening to humanity and to the whole existence. Regardless of who sounds more logical and what provides more stuff to imagination, our allegiance needs to be to the Almighty and it needs to be Absolute! When that happens each of us become a prophet in our own lives. 

The Apostle speaks of an undivided attention to the Lord - though it upholds the value of celibacy as such, it can be lived in every walk of life. When the right priorities are in place in our personal, family and community life, and these priorities are considered absolute, then we live a life that is inspiring, witnessing and prophetic.

The Gospel presents to us the model par excellence of a prophet of God: the very Son of God who professes and practices such a perfect allegiance to God that every one who saw him, heard him was either taken up or felt threatened. His was an authority that came from his personal integrity and flawless faithfulness to God. 

Our absolute allegiance to the almighty will make us like children who trust and depend totally on their parents. At times even a blind following of the directions given by God would suffice for us to work on our Sanctification and that of those around us.

In faith, towards the real homeland...

WORD 2day: Saturday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 30, 2021: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Mark 4: 35-41

Life on earth, though short, is filled with joys and sorrows, hopes and anxieties, expectations and disappointments, desires and disillusionments - but what can keep us going is the promise of a homeland, a homeland beyond all imagination - a land of repose and total serenity, a land of calmness and tranqulity. Faith alone can help us see this homeland and arrive therein. 

The Gospel presents to us both the realities of the present life of agitation and commotion and the eternal homeland of peace and calm! The experience of disciples on the boat is highly illustrative of our life and the life to come. But there is one dimension to be noted well... in both the realities the Lord is with us! While in the storm of events, the Lord was there...only that they realised the potency of the presence of the Lord very late. Don't you have faith, asks the Lord!

Faith makes us see the Lord present with us and not just that, it helps us see also what exactly the Lord can do for us. Remaining calm in moments of crisis, because we have committed ourselves to the power of the Almighty, can take us a long long way, right to the heavenly homeland, of peace, calm, joy and hope. All that we need to do is recognise the presence of the Lord in faith! 

In faith, we shall journey on, come what may, towards the real homeland, with the Lord all along!

Patient Endurance and Hope-filled Efforts

WORD 2day: Friday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 29, 2021: Hebrews 10: 32-39; Mark 4: 26-34

A popular caricature, a cartoon made popular via the social network, with a man digging a tunnel in search of precious metals and at a point he decides to stop his pursuit. The cartoon allows the viewers alone to see that the man was just a few inches away from the treasure hidden away in the ground! "You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised," says the Word today.

We cannot be like the nursery kids on a class project of growing a plant in the pot. From the time they plant a seed, they would keep returning to the pot every other minute to see if something has grown. The Reign of God grows in silence and obscurity; you will never know it is there around until you really believe it to be. That is why Jesus declared, 'the Reign of God is amidst you; within you' (cf. Lk 17: 21).

In patient endurance and hope-filled efforts one will unlock the levels towards a fuller realisation of the Reign which is already there growing within us, among us and allover us!

Rouse each other to love

 THE WORD AND THE SAINT

January 28, 2021 - Remembering St. Thomas Aqiunas.

Hebrew 10: 19-25; Mark 4: 21-25

The first reading today has a call that summarises our Christian vocation to the full. To love is an undeniable vocation we have; to inspire each other to love and goodness is the complete understanding of it. 

 

Thomas Aquinas, whom we celebrate today, has the unparalleled definition for love... love iswishing the good of the other. It is in true love that we inspire each other and rouse them to love.

This is why the Lord speaks of the imagery of light: to be lighted to light up. It takes a lot of effort to truly love; to rouse others to love it takes much more effort, a lot of sacrifice and a great amount of dedication. Yes! but the key is here, the Lord puts it neatly: the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you!

Where do the seeds fall?

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 27, 2021: Hebrew 10: 11-18; Mark 4: 1-20

The Word today speaks to us of living an acceptable life in the presence of God. It is never the case that the Lord rejects us or finds us unacceptable; the Lord said he had come to call the sinners and not the righteous! But the fact is we alienate ourselves from the Lord by the very choices we make on a daily basis and at every moment of decision making. 

We may easily complain...the situation around is bad or that the conditions of life are not conducive. But we are asked to do the best without any compromise, wherever we are or in whatever condition we find ourselves in; the rest the one who has called us will take care. We can plant, water and take care, it is the Lord who gives us the growth!

Where do we permit the seed to fall - the seed is the Word of God which constantly comes to tell us what is right and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord; where do we permit that seed to fall? Far away from us or all around us or in precarious places or right at the heart of our being? If only we prioritise the Word of God and strive to live by it, we shall grow more and more capable of experiencing the grace of God's continual presence. Yes, it all depends where we allow the seed  of the Word to fall!

Fan the flame of your faith

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

January 26, 2021: Remembering Sts Timothy and Titus

2 Timothy 1: 1-8; Mark 3: 31-35

Timothy and Titus are two models we are presented with today. They were both finds of St. Paul on his journeys. Inspiring the listeners to make a life choice is a special gift that some are given with. St. Paul possessed this and used it well for the Reign of God. Timothy and Titus join the great band of apostles that Jesus initiated.

Writing to Timothy Paul instructs, in the passage we reflect on as first reading, to fan into flame the gift that Timothy received when he was prayed over! To fan the flame of faith - is to be aware of the gift that we have received (faith), to rekindle constantly the act of faith, and to keep the faith alive. Keeping the faith aliveis to keep growing in our relationship with God and allowing that relationship to affect every other relationship in life and every other aspect of our lives. 

Today the call remains open: to fan the flame of our faith. The points for reflection are - are we aware of the gift of faith that we have received? How keen are we to keep our faith alive on a daily basis? What do we do to keep the flame of faith burning and consuming? 

May the examples such as Timothy's and Titus' impel us towards action, to fan the flame of our faith. 

Conversion - An absolute choice for God

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

January 25, 2021: Conversion of Saul to Paul

Acts 22: 3-16; Mark 16: 15-18

The feast of Conversion of St. Paul invites us to reflect on our conversion. Unfortunately, in today's context, the word 'conversion' has more political connotation than spiritual! 

In fact today is a beautiful occasion for us to remind ourselves that conversion is not about numbers and increasing the fold. It is a personal decision to go towards God, an about-turn (as the Greek word 'metanoia' suggests); it is an absolute choice for God! Choice for God...because we begin to see the role that God has played in our life and choose to actively acknowledge it; Absolute... because nothing else matters as much as God and God's will do! 

We are called to conversion... may not be as dramatic as that of St. Paul's, as we read in the first reading today, but more demanding! Yes, we are called to daily conversion. To be aware, each day and each moment, of those things that take us away from our progress towards God. Nothing - no demonic powers, no distracting languages, no cunning serpents, no poisoning lifestyle - should lead us away from God... we are called to make an absolute choice every day, for God and for God's Word. Not merely in words but by my very life, I am obliged to proclaim God's message. "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel," reminds me St.Paul (1 Cor 9:16). 

Notice the very first question that Paul asks the Lord after he recognises it was the Lord: What am I to do Lord? That is a relevant question for each of us to ask every day: What am I to do Lord, to turn to you and to make an absolute choice for you! 

GOD CALLING...

What is my response today?

January 24, 2021: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Just imagine you get a call on your mobile today: GOD CALLING...What would be your response! In fact, the Word today speaks to us of a reality close to it. The Lord calls each of us today; right now! What is our responnse going to be?

We can DECLINE it...swiping the red button! I have been given the freedom to say "yes" to God. I can use the same freedom to say NO. And that is the fact - many in the world today are continuously saying that no to the Lord. In the choices that they make, in the attitudes that the take, in the decisions they abide by, even by the silence that many observe in the face of things that revolt, militate against God, many are saying no! They are declining that call that God gives on a daily basis.

We can set a REMINDER to it...saying, 'may be, I will decide on it later!'. But the Lord says, "The time has come... you cannot postpone it any longer'. We cannot postpone it, we cannot have it our way! Today, we need to respond to the Lord. Today, we need to take up the cause of the Lord. If I wait for a tomorrow, the difference that I have to make will no more be relevant. If the Lord calls me today, to do something, to say something, to take upto something, there is a particular purpose for it. I cannot postpone it. The disciples did not postpone it, they left everything and instantly followed Christ.

We can send a MESSAGE to the Lord... saying, 'you see, it is not convenient right now or it is not convenient the way you want it' - oh, how presumptuous of us! Jonah tried it. He had difference of opinion from the Lord. He resisted. He wanted his way. We know the Lord gave him an unforgettable experience to realise, after all the Lord had it right! The Lord is always right, we do not understand things that happen in our life. At least, Jonah has the openness to throw himself into the hands of God and allow God to take him where God wanted. 

The ideal is to ACCEPT the call! Yes Lord, Here I come to do your will. Take me O Lord and use me as you wish! I shall be a humble instrument in your hand, do great things for the world. I shall be a simple harp in your hand, make my life a music. I shall be a little pencil in your hands, go ahead and work your masterpiece! Yes, Speak O Lord, I am listening!

Getting out of our minds!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 23, 2021: Hebrew 9: 2-3, 11-14; Mark 3: 20-21

They thought Jesus had gone out of his mind - because of the hectic programme he had for himself. But for Jesus it was a clear choice: my food is to do the will of the one who sent me, he declaredn (Jn 4). He rejoiced with the little ones who recognised God, and cried with those who struggled to feel God close to them. He empathised with the poor and the sick and sought out the sinners and the outcast! Indeed, his choices were considered strange and he was judged to be out of his mind, even by his own relatives.

The first reading relates to us, why this choice on the part of Jesus - because he had a special calling and he was aware of it. He took that call so serious, that his choices were radical. He was bordering on the state of being called 'strange' and 'abnormal'. But all these, for the sake of the Reign of God, Seek ye first the Reign and every thing else shall be given unto you (Mt 6:36).

As people of God, as children of the Almighty Father and Mother, as brothers and sisters of Jesus, as disciples of Christ, as people of the Spirit, we are called too, to imitate Christ in his commitment to God's will. Are we ready to "get out of our minds"? 

The world today is going out of its mind too...for the sake of money, pleasure, possession and power, persons are going crazy, and wierd. They dare do anything to hoard money, increase pleasure, hold on to possessions, and garner power over others! But when some one shows a similar commitnent in things pertaining to God and Spirituality, he or she is considered 'strange', 'abnormal', 'queer' and 'lunatic'! 

The question today is: how passionate are we about the Reign and its values... how ready and daring are we about 'getting out of our minds'?

New People: with and in Christ

WORD 2day: Friday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 22, 2021: Hebrew 8:6-13; Mark 3: 13-19

New covenant, new people, new faith, new community, new life: for behold I make all things new. ..this is the theme that dominated the life of the early Christians. And that was what made them so attractive. Their life style and values brought freshness and zest for life. All this newness came from one fundamental experience - the experience of a new relationship with Christ and in Christ.

Their relationship with Christ defined their new existence. Their identities were renewed and their lives were transformed, Christ and relationship with Christ was not one of the things that marked their meaning to life, but was that which pervaded their entire life and reality, changing every bit of life and its significance.

Another salient feature of their new found life was their relationships in Christ - in Christ they found a new relationship with God and with one another. Their relationship with Christ affected their relationships in Christ... they began to see themselves as sons and daughters of God, beloved and blessed; they found in each other true brothers and sisters in Christ, bonded in love and not bound by some give and take transaction. Their relationships in Christ created a whole new society, a whole new world!

Let us make this two-fold reflecttion today: how is my relationship with Christ who wishes to draw me closer to himself every day; and how are my relationships with others founded in Christ? These will make us New people with and in Christ!

Power from above

THE WORD AND THE SAINT 

January 21, 2021: Remembering St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Hebrew 7: 25 - 8:6; Mark 3: 7-12

Jesus possessed the power from above and that was sensed by all, specially by the evil spirits that he often encountered. It is not that some did not notice it, because it was so obvious - only that, some were not ready to acknowledge it. It is by this power from above that Jesus became the high priest who can save all of us - the power given to him by the Father. 

Each of us has received our share of this power to be called the people of God and to live a life that is proper to that call. What if we are mindful of this power and start using this power - of course the opposition from the enemy camp will be more, but will we not set ourselves up as great signs of God's presence to this world that needs it so badly? 

Another question that is more crucially relevant is: to what end are you willing to use this power - your own selfish ends or for the greater glory of God? In a world that is torn between compromises and mixed allegiances, St. Agnes' example shines forth as a splendid beacon, beckoning us towards concrete and daily sanctity, as a manifestation of the power invested within us. The Power that comes from God does not make us arrogant or aggressive, but it makes us more meek, humble, gentle and totally belonging to God -thus making us signs of God's presence to the world around. 

Let us remember this day and reflect everyday - we are made children of God by the power from above! And if only we decide to live every moment as true children of God, without compromises or connivances, we shall remain great signs of this 'power from above.'

Worship: Total Self Giving

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 20, 2021: Hebrews 7: 1-3,15-17; Mark 3: 1-6

The readings today speak of two religious disciplines that mattered much to the Old Testament people of God: the practice of tithing and the observance of the Sabbath. Both of them taken in their legalistic sense, would be practices very simple but of less significance. A tenth of your possession given grudgingly, or as in the example of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5) trying to make it as less affecting as possible, will bear no spiritual fruit. 

Keeping Sabbath as a day of dead and insensitive inactivity, instead of holy and active worship to God, will be of no spiritual value. The key to right understanding of true worship is given here - not giving of what we have, but giving of what we are: a true and total self giving.

Faithfulness vs faithfulness

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 2ne week in Ordinary time

January 19, 2021: Hebrew 6: 10-20; Mark 2: 23-28 

The crux of the the first reading today, or for that matter even of the whole Gospels, is the fact that God is faithful forever. God's faithfulness never ceases and the question is, how do we find our faithfulness vis-a-vis that of God! 

In demonstration of God's faithfulness, God gives! God gives without count, without any limit, without restraint, without conditions, without anything expected in return. What do we do to demonstrate our faithfulness to God? A weekly appointment and a few fragmented moments every day and some special day's activities? All of them so legalistically followed sometimes with such insensitivity towards expressing our true love and gratitude...today let's give this dimension a serious thought: God's Faithfulness versus our faithfulness!

God's faithfulness is manifested all through history and in our daily life to. The words of the psalmist, 'if you should consider our iniquities, who would stand before you O Lord,' is a practical reminder of the fact of God's faithfulness towards us. St. Paul writing to Timothy explains, 'if we are faithless, God is faithful' (2Tim 2:13). God's faithfulness is a gift, a reminder and a challenge, that invites us to remain faithful. The concrete expression of our faithfulness towards God, is our faithfulness towards fellow human beings and towards humanity as a whole.

The rising conflicts in relationships at all levels, personal, familial, social, global and so on, is but a sign of how unfaithful towards God we are growing to be! The havoc that is done by this faithlessness, is enormous and we are witness of the damages. Is it not high time to halt, think and renew our faithfulness to God, modeling ourselves after the faithfulness of God?

The New people

WORD 2day: Monday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 18, 2021: Hebrew 5:1-10; Mark 2: 18-22

When the Lord announces in the book of revelation, 'Behold I make all things new,'... we know well that it's not merely about some "things" to be made again or re-created; it's primarily about a new mentality, a new perspective that God wants to instil and inspire in us. The source and the spring of this new perspective is Christ himself. He is at the same time the priest and the sacrifice; the prophet and the Lord of the prophets!

In fact with a new way of relating with us, with the unique way of sharing our very nature, Christ makes us a new people! And that is what the Lord wants to see in us: our new selves, free from the shackles of the past and the prejudices of the ages, to relate with each other anew and to live with each other without any conditions or preconceived notions.

Being new persons is not being strange, but being recreated in the Spirit, being imbued with the newness of the Gospel and being inspiring and to some extent being even scandalous. Some truly Christian attitudes are scandalous - forgetting the evil done to oneself, forgiving the harm intended, loving the one who hurt you, doing good in spite of the evil done against you, helping someone whom you hardly know or from whom you can expect no return, standing by the weak and the helpless despire the inconveniences and discomfort that is cause to oneself - these are scandalous, aren't they? 

We are called to conform to the Spirit of Christ, not conform to the practice and system around. That is the crux of being New people today!

COME, SEE AND BE

Inspiration, Invitation and Institution 

January 17, 2021: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary time 

Samuel 3: 3b-10,19 ; 1 Corinthians 6: 13c-15a, 17-20 ; John 1: 35-42

Our life is a call and more specifically our Christian life is a demanding call. Having reflected last week on the Call of Jesus, last week with his Baptism, this week the Word speaks to us of our call from Jesus! It involves an inspiration, an invitation and an institution! 

The first reading, from the life of Samuel highlights the inspiration we have received. Inspiration is from within. It requires that we are attentive in order that we do not miss it. A friend of mine recently resigned his job and opted another underpaid job. When asked why, he said that he felt that the former job was keeping him away from the Church, eating away his Sundays and a great portion of even the other days. I asked him how he did come to decide on such a thing. And he said, 'I just felt it'. It is significant to note that he had very recently become a Catholic, in spite of strong resistance from the rest of his family.

Inspiration is the intervention of Spirit into our concrete lives, making us discern the will of God and work out our salvation. There are directions that come our way, as to what to do and what to choose, and if only we are attentive to the signs and events, we would know exactly what choices to make! At times we care so less about what God wants of us, that we decide on something wrong and reap the fruits of it - complaining that the Lord is too hard with us! How great a gift inspiration is!

The Gospel extends the invitation to come and see. The fact that we are inspired is undeniable, for every one of us is guided and led by the Spirit who resides within us (as the Second reading reminds us). But the crucial element is for us to 'see'... to take note of... to understand what we are inspired about. The invitation is to behold the message from the Lord, to make our contact with the Lord an experience and not just an appointment.

There is a standing invitation from the Lord to belong to the Lord, in body and soul, in spirit and mind, in time and space! The invitation is at the same time a challenge, challenging us to belong to the Lord. That invitation and challenge has been age old - Hear O Israel, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your might and with all your strength. That love is indeed a challenge to belong to the Lord and to the Lord alone.

The call to be a Christian is not a call of an individual, it is a call to be a communion of persons, to be an institution. It is a call to form One Body with the Lord - united with the brothers and sisters in love, instituted into a sign of hope to everyone around who is looking out for something to hold on to in life. The world today may appear so critical about Christians, but it is only an expression of the expectations they have of us: that as one family of hope-filled people, one institution of Christ filled persons, we radiate the joy that the humanity stands in need of.

Let us be attentive to the inspiration within, heed to the invitation from above and belong to the institution that we are called to become - the Church, the people of God, the believing Community, brothers and sisters in love!

Divine Solidarity that makes us complete

WORD 2day: Saturday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 16, 2021: Hebrew 4:12-16; Mark 2: 13-17

The Word became human and lived amidst us, sharing every bit of our reality, everything except sin. The same Word lives with us and within us today, enlightening us, sustaining us and making us complete. 

As the psalmist instructs us, the Lord knows me through and through, knows when I sit and when I stand, even before a word is on my mouth, the Lord knows what I am about to say and knows even the thoughts in my heart. 

These knowings are not for judging me or conditioning me, they are not means of labeling or categorising me...they are means of Divine Solidarity that makes me Whole. God the only Complete Being, chooses to complete my being, in spite of my unworthiness and imperfections. 

This Divine Solidarity is a grace and a vocation. Grace, because we know we are loved forever without conditions or limits. That is our Identity - people loved by God. It is a Vocation, because we are called to imitate the same solidarity in Empathy - not judging and gossiping, calumniating and scandalising, but feeling one with the weak and healing those with hurts. We are called to empathise, build up solidarity among us because, one of the fundamental expressions of true love is solidarity. 

Faith is a Verb

WORD 2day: Friday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 15, 2021: Hebrew 4: 1-5,11; Mark 2:1-12

Faith is not merely accepting a set of truths in theory and professing to believe it. Faith takes the most concrete form of expression in one's personal life and in the life of a community and brings the entire reality, personal, communitarian, social, economic and political, together affecting the whole being of a person and a community. In fact, faith is not merely a quality or a feeling, it is a verb.

When we say faith is a verb, it means faith is an action word. It takes a doer, an action done and the one towards whom the action is aimed. The classical definition of faith too upholds this vision : faith as the personal response to a self revealing God, involves me, God, and my response, the response being a concrete expression in action.

The Word today presents is with persons who had faith in Christ and moved by it they did something that was incredible...they broke all barriers that kept them away from Christ. Their faith was expressed in most concrete way possible. They decided to take that crippled man to Christ, they had a problem, they over came that problem and did what they decided to do - because they had faith in Christ. Nothing could stop them.

We would do well to reflect :

How concrete is my faith in Christ?

How determined am I to stay close to Christ?

What are those things that hinder me from getting near to Christ?

What am I prepared to DO, because I believe? 

Ready and Willing

WORD 2day: Thursday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 14, 2021: Hebrews 3: 7-14; Mark 1: 40-45

If you wish, you could make me well, prays the man with leprosy! What does God wish for us? God wills that we live to the full, that we live every day and every moment to the utmost, regardless of the situation that we find ourselves in. For I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your ruin, says the Lord through Jeremiah (29:11). When it comes to giving us life, and fullness of life, God is ever ready and always willing. The question is, are we?

Are we ready and willing, to listen to the Lord and live up to the status that the Lord had given us: to be coheirs with Christ. Just as the man says to the Lord in the Gospel passage today, the Lord says to each of us - if you wish, you could be coheirs with me to the Reign! Again the question is, are we ready and willing?

To be ready is to be prepared to act, to respond and to face a situation. It consists of being aware of what we could possibly be encountering, to be equipped to face that situation and to make the preliminary effort to live life to the full even in a changing scenario.

To be willing is even more fundamental...it is to make up one's mind to accept a situation, with all its exigencies. It involves trust and hope; trust that the Lord will always be in favour of our life to the full, and hope that nothing that happens is hidden from the omnipotent and beloved presence of God. Isn't that a disposition that we need to grow in?

The Lord wishes that we be well, be blessed and live our lives to the full... Are we ready and Willing? 

The Lord with us

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 13, 2021: Hebrew 2: 14-18; Mark 1: 29-39

The Lord be with you, is a daily greeting we have! The Lord being with us, in Christ-ian terms, means that the Lord is for us, the Lord is in our favour, the Lord cares for us - in short, the Lord is with us. The Lord with us - Emmanuel, is not merely a presence that is spatial, but a presence that is total - in every way. 

The Word explains today the ways in which the Lord is with us. The Lord is with us emotionally - for the Lord knows what we feel, what we are going through and what we make of what happens to us. The Lord is with us spiritually - for the Lord inspires our spirits to make choices, set priorities and walk in righteousness. The Lord is with is concretely - for the Lord experiences with us all that we experience during the day and all through the day. 

In the daily routine of Jesus that is presented in the Gospel today, we are given with a picture of what his life was like, giving us a hint that there should be enough space for the other, for the needy and for God in our daily lives. Jesus shows us by example as to how to live a life, where the Lord shall be with us!

The Lord is with us, in every way! Let us never fret or despair, even in the worst of scenarios, for God knows what we are going through, because Jesus has gone through that himself!

Jesus our brother

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 1st week in Ordinary time 

January 12, 2021: Hebrew 2:5-12; Mark 1:21-28

Who do people say that I am, was a famous question that Jesus asked his disciples. Who do you say that I am, was another dimension that he was interested in. Today we have another similar question that is answered in the Word: who are we to Jesus, or how does Jesus look at us or what does Jesus consider us to be?

The letter to the Hebrews repeatedly insists on the human condition that God deigned to assume in the person of Jesus Christ. It is the most salvific of all aspects within the mystery of incarnation. In the very taking of the "human" form the Lord made salvation a universal offer to us... If we conform to the image that the Lord left as a model for us, we shall be in a position to experience that salvation to the full.

Jesus in sharing our nature, becoming one with us in everything except sin, and reconciling us to God our father and mother, makes us on par with himself in relation to the one loving God... We are all, not only brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, but brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. It is a privilege and a challenge at one and the same time.

It is a privilege to be called a brother or sister of Christ, because it makes present the fact that we are all created in the most awesome image and likeness of God. It is a challenge because to be a brother or a sister of Jesus is a tough call :the one who hears the words of my father in heaven and puts it into practice, is my brother and my sister!

We are exhorted in the beginning of this Ordinary season of the liturgical year to get consciously deeper into the task of resembling Christ, for in it we grow in the image and likeness of God. It is difficult but not impossible, because we have a strong support and inspiration in Jesus our brother. 

The Reign Call

WORD 2day: Monday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 11, 2021: Hebrew 1:1-6; Mark 1: 14-20

We have come to the end of the Christmas season and Ordinary Time begins; 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, as the Word made flesh, and as the climax of all precendent prophecies and preparations! 

And Jesus begins, by proclaiming the Reign for which he stood all his life, even unto death! His message, his life and his mision was all summarised in that one reality: the Reign of God. The Reign of God is the single term explanation of all that Jesus taught, in words and actions. It is not only about Jesus, but even all that the prophets and the law spoke of till Jesus... ushering in that moment when Jesus would inaugurate the definitive phase of the beginning of the Reign. Yes, the Reign has begun...but ofcourse, not yet completely established.

The Reign will never be completely established until the last person on earth who rebels against truth, justice, love and peace converts himself or herself to the love and mercy of God. It begins with each of us, just leaving our nets, our boats and our attachments, to follow Jesus - follow the values of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus and the very life style of  Jesus. This is the Reign Call that is given to each of the Christians of all times.

The Lord 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, and follow the Reign Call?

UNWRAPPING JESUS

The Love, the Covenant and the Beloved

January 10, 2021: Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 55: 1-11; 1 John 5: 1-9; Mark 1: 7-11

Christmas season draws to its close with the Baptism of the Lord, because the manifestation is made as clear as possible at this point when the voice from heaven thunders, "this is my beloved Son!" The moment definitively seals the greatest of the gifts that God has ever given humanity: God's only Son...Jesus the Christ, the Word made flesh! The gift that came down to us on that Christmas night, in the lowliness of the manger, has been gradually unwrapped these days, with manifestations - first to the shepherds, then to the wise men and slowly but strongly to Mary and Joseph, as they beheld that Son of God, in their humble hands.

Today is the culmination of the unwrapping...Jesus the gift of God is unwrapped so magnificently in the Liturgy today. We are called to behold that gift, so that the warning that John gives in his Gospel: he came unto his own and his own did not recognise him, may not happen in our case.

We are called to behold Jesus, the LOVE OF GOD. Jesus is the love of God personified. God's love takes flesh and pitches the tent amidst us... in the person of Jesus! Wherever Jesus went there was healing, life, happiness, forgiveness, in short he was the presence of God, the presence of love, love which lived among people. That is what we are called to perceive, as perceived John in the second reading today! To perceive Love living amidst us, manifest today by the very voice of God. Perceiving the presence we are called to transform ourselves into presences of love...for the same voice cries out to us today, in the suffering world, in the marginalised persons and in the exploited brothers and sisters!

We are called to behold Jesus, the COVENANT OF GOD. Isaiah proclaims those beautiful words, : I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations. A covenant is more than a contract; a covenant is more than an agreement. It is something that is etched into the lives of those who are involved. It is taking responsibility for each other, that is why the Church defines marriage as a covenant! Jesus is the sign of the responsibility God took for his children; God did not spare even God's only Son, writes the Apostle. Perceiving Jesus as the covenant of God, we are called to take responsibility for our brothers and sisters, we are called to concern ourselves with the blind and the deaf of our society, the poor and the needy of our locality, the marginalised and the oppressed in our contexts.

We are called to behold Jesus, the BELOVED OF GOD. The voice declares it in all clarity, as wrote Isaiah of old. "This is my beloved, in whom i am well pleased!" In declaring God's love for Jesus, the voice today declares to each of us: you and I... we are the beloved of God...in whom God takes delight! In our Baptism, God made us God's own, and we belong to God and our God takes delight in us (Ps 149:4). 

In baptism we are made sons and daughters of God...that is brothers and sisters of Jesus, the greatest gift of God, Jesus the Love of God, the covenant of God and the beloved of God...and in Jesus our brother, we are called to be in our contexts, the presence of the love of God; in Jesus our covenant, we are called to be the signs of the covenant of God with the suffering humanity today; in Jesus the beloved of God, we are called to live our lives, every day and every moment pleasing to the Lord, who longs to declare, regarding each of us, "This is my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased!"

The Best Man's Call

WORD 2day: Saturday before the Lord's Baptism

January 9, 2021: 1 John 5: 14-23; John 3: 22-30.

The stage is all set for the Baptism of the Lord. We have, in these days, 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 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 to grow in our relationship with Christ, to an extent that we would be considered close to Christ. Everyday is an opportunity to grow in this relationship. It is a life journey, a journey we make accompanied by the Lord, a journey that is shared with the Lord who walks beside us. 

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 our baptism. Our baptism was the beginning of our journey with the Lord. Have we been conscious of the presence of the Lord with us, on the way? What place, in our daily life, have we given the Lord who is constantly with us? And what about the promises we gave to the Lord, at our baptism, at the beginning of this journey together? 

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!

Heirs of eternal life

WORD 2day: Friday after the Epiphany Sunday

January 8, 2021: 1 John 5: 5-13; Luke 5: 12-16 

As sons and daughters of God, we are made heirs of eternal life, in the Son of God. It is a guarantee that is given to us by God the father and mother, that anyone who accepts the Son and believes in him, shall have eternal life, as a sign of being in the Son. Being in the Son, or being united to God in the Son, happens through the Spirit, through the blood and through water. 

The Word today prepares us towards the great feast we are about to celebrate in a couple of days: the Baptism of the Lord - where the Spirit of the Lord, the blood of the Lamb and the Waters of presence of God, unites us to God, the very source of our being. Being united with God means, sharing integrally in the nature of God... in God's eternity.

One who beleives in the Son, shall have eternal life, declares the Word today. Growing in union with Christ means, sharing in the nature of Christ, the Son of God. The Son of God, rose from the dead revealing to us, the real image that we are made in... the image of God, our true nature of being eternal. But naturally, when we are not united in Christ, we would not share that nature of being eternal. If we do not remain in God, we shall not share in the image and likeness that God grants us. 

Being in God, being in Christ, being in the Spirit, takes for granted that we be in love, because God is love! God is love and therefore one who is in God, is in love; one who is in God, is eternal; therefore, one who loves, grows to be eternal. Yes, the message today is clear: there is only one way of becoming heirs of eternal life - to love one another as God loves us! 

We love, because we are loved!

WORD 2day: Thursday after  Epiphany Sunday

January 7, 2021: 1 John 4: 19- 5:4; Luke 4: 14-22

To love, is not an extraordinary quality. For us sons and daughters of a 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 very 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 brings out 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. 

We love because we have to! That is what shall define our identity as children of God, as disciples of Christ and as apostles of the Spirit. We are given a commandment to love, a commandment that determines whether we belong to Christ or not - if you keep my commandments, you shall be my friends and the Father and I shall come to you and dwell with you!

We love because God loved us first, God loves us still and God will always love 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! When we are not loving from within, we will not be in a position to experience the love that comes from God. 

We love, because we are loved! We love, because that is our identity! We love because without that we shall be what we are called to be. 

God's love surrounds us!

WORD 2day: Wednesday after the Epiphany Sunday

January 6, 2021: 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. Everytime 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 the hands off or left the side, the child never ceased crying! 

The Word today reminds us of that scene: with the Lord around, it does not matter what kind of a situation, we can go through it with calm and quietitude. 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, the Word and the saints continually remind us.  

The love of the Lord surrounds us! Let us live our daily 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. 

And if and when we love one another, God remains in us!

God is Love; Who are we?

WORD 2day: Tuesday after the Epiphany Sunday

January 5, 2021: 1 John 4: 7-10; Mark 6: 34-44

God's image among God's people was continuously evolving...first they thought God was a demanding task master, but later they 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! They gradually came to understand the goodness and sweetness of God, but in no way losing sight of the uncompromising righteousness that was characteristic of God. 

The evolution found its climax in Christ, who reveals God as absolutely compassionate, profusely loving, immensely forgiving and unconditionally accepting...but always uncompromisingly righteous and pure! Jesus manifested this combination in its pristine form. In his firmness with the self-appointed leaders and  hypocritical religious heads and in his compassion with the sinners, the outcasts, the ill and the poor, Jesus was reflecting the image of the invisible God.

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. A challenge 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?

To belong and to proclaim

WORD 2day: Monday after the Epiphany Sunday

January 4, 2021 - 1 John 3:22 - 4:6; Mat 4: 12-17, 23-25

The texts begin to orient us towards the Baptism of Jesus, which is the next major event we would be soon commemorating. Today the Word speaks to us of two key elements: Belonging to God and Proclaiming God! These are the two fundamental marks of identity that we should have as Christians: to belong to God and be God's children and to proclaim God and invite everyone to a life worthy of God who has gifted that life to each of us. 

Belonging without proclaiming would make us dead weights burdening the faith community; proclaiming without belonging would make us false prophets and hypocrites. The order is important too: that we first belong and then we speak up. That is why we see Jesus himself first withdraw into loneliness and ascertain his belonging to the One who had sent him before he began to go around proclaiming the Good News!

Needless to say, the resonance between the personal life of belonging to the Lord and the life of  ommitment to ministry (ministry at various levels: family, parish, congregation, community of faith etc...)is the fundamental quality of integrity that Jesus demands of us, his disciples.

TO BE PEOPLE OF LIGHT

January 3, 2021: Solemnity of Epiphany

Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 2: 2-7 a, 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

The Light came to the earth; the Lord came unto His own but His own received him not! We are people of the Light and that is the feast we celebrate today! The feast which reminds us that we are the people of the Revelation. God has revealed Godself to us and awaits our response.

I remember an experience that I had a few years back. Two of us were sent to pick up a priest from the railway station. This is no strange experience! How many times we would have received people in the airports and railway stations! But the twitch here was. ..we did not know the person we are going to pick up. All that we know was that we are going to pick up a middle aged priest from another State, who was coming to Chennai. We positioned ourselves in a prominent spot and awaited the guest as the crowd started spilling into the platform from the train. Crowds and crowds of people were passing by but we did not spot our guest. Many who were standing alongside with us waiting for their guests were gone. There was one standing beside me for quite sometime. A man with a dhoti and a white shirt with a long grey beard! He didn't even seem to be looking out for someone. The best surprise was when he asked us. ..'so are you waiting for a priest from this particular State? , 'yes'! And when he said. .."I am the one", we didn't know really how to react!

At times, the Lord reveals Godself but we have certain preconceived ideas that don't allow us to see the Lord. Today we are invited to be people of the light., that is people who live in light always, people who are ready and prepared to receive the revelations that God wishes to give us.

The Lord reveals himself to us constantly. ..first of all through extraordinary means: let's pray that God gives that gift to many of us! But there is another way God reveals, the ordinary means: through prayer experiences, spiritual direction, liturgical celebrations, etc. Let's take care when we celebrate these moments in life so that we don't miss the revelations involved.

There is the third way which is more subtle and more challenging: the Daily means. The fact is that the Lord constantly reveals himself through every day experiences...through people we encounter, through challenging situations we face, through successful experiments we have, through people who come to us in need, through persons who demand our responsibility and so on. Let's open our eyes, our ears, our hearts. ..that we may receive the Light that encounters us daily in our life.

Encountering Christ

WORD 2day: January 2, 2021

1 John 2:22-28; John 1: 19-28

The identity of Jesus as both God and Human was a major issue of controversies in the early Church. The first reading we have today is an indication to such feuds that existed. What matters, as John so rightly points out there, is not the philosophical and theological justification of who Jesus is; but the personal experience of the person of Christ, an encounter with Christ.

John the Baptist foretold the coming of Christ and pointed out when Christ really came. His prophetic gift gave him the privilege of understanding Jesus and identifying Jesus when he came. There were many who saw what John saw, heard what John heard...but they did not identify Christ. Even John, at a certain point, sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the Christ. And Jesus sighed, 'happy is the one who never doubted the Son of Man.'

Today we would do well to pray for this grace... To identify Jesus when he comes so that the encounter may enrich our life and bring meaning to it. In varied ways, in our neighbours, in our brothers and sisters, specially in those who are in dire need and helplessness, we are challenged to encounter Christ who is God but who had deigned to assume our nature and live in the poor and the oppressed! The New year that has just begun offers a great scope for the encounter - provided we remain open inspite of the tough times we have had and trying times that may come our way. These situations notwithstanding, we are called to meet Jesus, encounter Christ, in our daily lives.