Anticipate the incredible

The WORD in ADVENT - Second Monday

December 5, 2022: Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 5: 17-26

When the Lord comes you witness the incredible! The Lord is around and when you let the Lord into your life, things you consider incredible just happen from nowhere. It is not a mere imagination or a wishful thinking, it was a prediction based on concrete experiences. Israel certainly had experienced great things in history. 

Isaiah's prediction is made true by the event in the Gospel and the reaction of those high priests and scribes. Jesus was very subtle in making them understand that he had the power from God and with God anything was possible! Some were praising God for the experience, and there were others who were angry and upset about the same events - now arises the crucial question. What made the difference between these two sets of people?

One set of people were ready to expect the unexpected, anticipate the incredibe and praise God for what they say. The other set, the so-called learned and "theologically formed" set of people were so fixed in their ideas that they would impede even God from doing what they did not expect from God. What a presumptious way of living!

In our lives too the Lord stands knocking at the door, to change things and to change the way we see things and to change the entire experience of humanity... but it is upto us to let the Lord in. We would let him in when we are able to expect the unexpected, behold the unprecedented, and anticipate the incredible - for with God all things are possible, and nothing is impossible! 

THE SPIRIT OF THE REIGN

Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit

December 4, 2022: 2nd Sunday of Advent 

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12

Repent, for the Reign of God is near! Last week, the first of the season, we had an invitation from the Lord! And today, as a sign of acceptance of that invitation, we are given a clarion call by the prophets, to prepare ourselves in a worthy manner to receive the King, to receive the Reign. This king we receive, is someone different, some one unique, and has a style and outlook totally different from all other rulers that we know of! He does not force himself on us; when he passes by, if we are worthy and ready to receive him, he will enter, remain with us and rule in our hearts, our homes and our land! If not, he passes by, and we are the losers...for the axe is kept at the roots, and the worthless shrubs will stand no ground. The readings today instruct us through the great prophets Isaiah, John the Baptist and Apostle Paul, as to our disposition to receive the Reign; they invite us to possess the Spirit of the Reign!

The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety and reverence of the Lord - that is the Spirit we should possess to be people of the Reign. The Reign will come, the Ruler will appear, but the question is, you and me: will we be prepared to receive it today! The Reign is not merely plenty and prosperity, it is not merely a state of pleasurable feeling with nothing to worry, at times we imagine so. As St. Paul would define to the Romans, the Reign is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17); it is this Reign that the prophets announced; it is this Reign that Jesus inaugurated through his life and mission; it is this Reign that we are commissioned to make present in the world today - and the way is, through Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit!

"Bear fruits worthy of Repentace" cries the voice in the desert. Our King is a righteous king, righteousness shall be his girdle says Isaiah. The call is that we turn to righteousness, make our paths straight, leave the acts of darkness and live as people of light, going about our daily duties with diligence and dedication. The Spirit of Righteousness, will show us the right way, the right sense and the right direction to take in life.

"Live in harmony with each other" reminds the Apostle. In his days righteousness shall flourish and peace abound, because our King is the Prince of Peace. We are challenged to be peacemakers in our daily life - when so much of competition and corruptions abounds, while people deceive and denounce each other, amidst the political forces that want social unrest and antisocial elements that brood over hurt and harm, we are called to hold together the frail humanity, in peace and serenity, by our thoughts, words and choices, all governed by love, the love of God. The Spirit of Peace, will hover over our days, healing the hurts and binding us in forgiveness, to build up the Reign of peace and serenity.

We shall give praise to the Lord among the peoples and sing to the Lord's name, for the Lord comes to Reign, and we are called to be part of the Reign. Righteousness and Peace fills us with joy, the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Spirit, the joy that comes from an endless hope that the Lord fills us with. It is not merely a situation of having no problems, but a sense of inner strength to face everything with the help of the God of endurance and encouragement. That is the Spirit of the Reign. That is why the Holy Father Pope Francis repeats so often - a Christian can never be sad, a Christian has to be joyful, because inspite of all the problems of our life, we have the Lord with us! The Spirit fills us with joy, a joy that wells from within us, from that core of our being where God dwells.

Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit - that is the Reign of God... that is the Spirit of the Reign. The Ruler comes... let us make the paths straight, let us imbibe within us the Spirit of the Reign...and we shall welcome the King, we shall inherit the Reign!