The Choice of a Christian Community

WORD 2day: Christmas Octave - December 30, 2023

1 John 2: 12-17; Luke 2: 36-40

World or things of the world as opposed to the love of the Father: by now, this kind of a contrast could be considered outdated way of thinking. Indeed, the dichotomy that is involved and implied is a bit old fashioned - there is no doubt we need to distance ourselves from such dualistic modes of thinking - spiritual and material, body and spirit, and so on! But, hold on... though the dualistic thinking seems a bit irking, the difference between the types of choices with these contrasting perspectives is real and concrete, don't you think?

Even our prayer, for example, could have within itself an impact of the two contrasting perspectives - it is all about the sense of priority or importance that we give to those around us and to the experiences of here and now, at the cost of the a filial and trust-filled love for God, our Father and Mother. It has become a spirituality, justified by its practicality to just look at the imminent and forget the horizon of eternity! 

I remember once a group of youth with whom we were preparing for a major event, when they heard of a last minute forecast for a likely thunder showers, they immediately got down on their knees to pray and say, 'Lord, please stop the rain'! Praying... it was a wonderful and exemplary gesture on their part, but a subtle point to be noted here is: how prepared are we to accept the will of God in things that we have planned; instead of asking the Lord to adjust everything to our designs?

Whoever does the will of God remains for ever, reminds St. John in his epistle today (v.17). Prophetess Anna, or even Prophet Simeon whom we encountered yesterday in the Gospel for that matter, waited for years together, in relentless patience towards the will of God. They knew what it was to abandon themselves to the will of God: a surrender so beautifully symbolised by the Divine Kid in the manger whom we celebrate these days. An absolute choice for God and for God's will without any compromises, is one of the unfailing marks of a true person of faith or a real community of faith. 

The Mark of a Christian Community

WORD 2day: Christmas Octave - December 29, 2023

1 John 2: 3-11; Luke 2: 22-35

One of the earliest marks of a Christian community, which holds good even today or especially today, is that it was a Contrast Community! They were called and commissioned to remain marks of a contrast, to stand out from the rest of the society, that they may call the entire humanity to a particular way of life: the way that is highlighted in the Word today - the way of the Light. The True Light was coming into the world - reminds us John in his Gospel prologue (Jn 1:9).   

Hatred, violence, vengeance, aggression, terrorism, manipulation and exploitation abound today in forms varied and vicious. The tendencies of anti-religiosity, the pressures of self-assertion, the obligation to challenge the established order or convention... these are some of the daily events we experience today in the world. There is constantly a question that resounds everywhere - who is right and who is wrong?

The Word today gives us a neat criterion to judge who is right and who is not: the one who loves one's brothers and sisters is in light. And whoever says he or she is in light, yet hates one's brother or sister, is still in darkness (Cf. 1 Jn 2: 8, 9); he or she is a liar! What matters is love, true love, true love of one's brothers and sisters, which does not make my self-centered desires and greed, priorities over the good of the other and the good of all.

Jesus the light can never cause hatred or division. There can be people who claim to be interpreting the Light but actually cause division, hatred and rivalry. Let them be certain, says the Word, that they are still in darkness. Let love, the light of life, guide us on as we come closer to the end of this year, that we may grow constantly to be children of the Light. 

The Obscurity of a Christian

WORD 2day: Christmas Octave - December 28, 2013

The Feast of the Holy Innocents: 1 John 1:5 - 2:2; Matthew 2: 13-18

These days we are celebrating the continued joy of Christmas, reflecting on the Christian community that testifies to this Word made flesh - we celebrated the martyr heroes who we hold in great esteem; we celebrated the great apostolic evangelisers who shine on the cloud of glory. And today we celebrate those who shine in their obscurity. It looks like a contrast in terms, isn't it? But that is the truth about the feast of the holy innocents we celebrate today. 

Those who died, the holy innocents, did not know who Jesus was, neither do we know these children we died were! All that we celebrate today is the fact that every day there are so many who are being killed, those who lay their lives down, for the sake of truth - without even knowing what they are doing. There are two important considerations that we can have today, from the perspective of our faith:

The first consideration is to recognise the Christians in obscurity - those who are standing up for the Reign, those who are voicing their hope in Truth, those who are ready to give up - be it simple things in life or be it their life itself, those who are ready to lose anything for the cause of true love of humanity. These are truly brothers and sisters of Christ, recognised by God - "all those who listen to the words of my Father and put it into practice are my mother, my brothers, my sisters". 

The second consideration is about the obscurity of a Christian - that a true Christian would live his or her Christian life in the obscurity of his or her daily life experiences. They are not always those in the limelight. Today, there is a craze for limelight; everyone wants to be trending - making statements without need, just creating ripples through the social media just for the sake of it, sometimes not worried about the repurcussions it would have on the common good. Instead, a true Christian, goes on living his or her life, in silence, in obscurity, in a daily martyrdom. 

Let us pray for all the innocents who are made to suffer for the Reign today, and in a special way let us offer the innocent children who are sacrificed at the altars of greed and inhumanity! May God have mercy!

The Joy of a Christian

WORD 2day: Christmas Octave - December 27, 2013

St. John the Evangelist: 1 John 1: 1-4; John 20: 2-8

The Christmas joy continues, even as we commemorate St. John the Evangelist today. There seems to be a wisdom and logic in celebrating St. Stephen yesterday and St. John today! Though this is certainly an unofficial reasoning, I like to hold on it for the point that it makes! Immediately after celebrating the birth of Jesus, we celebrate the birth also of the community around him - yesterday we remembered the representative of those who decide to lay their life down for the their Master, and today John, the only apostle as the tradition says, who did not die a martyr's death! But his undeterred perseverance was a martyrdom in itself - he was the only apostle who did not desert Jesus at the time of passion and he had the previllege of inheriting the mother of Jesus, in the name of the whole Church. It is indeed a great challenge to imitate - for him it was all about joy! 

Although the Gospel reading today draws our attention to the scene of resurrection, the message is about an encounter with Christ that redefines one's life. When a person encounters Christ in all one's earnestness, there is a choice, a categorical choice for Christ and Christ's mission! The joy of a Christian is seen here - John defines this for us today in three fundamental experiences - encounter, union and proclamation! 

"The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus," declares the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (n.1). This is what we are celebrating for the past two days - the joy of having encountered the Word made flesh.

The union that this encounter leads to, is a joyful union with the Father in the Son, with the Son in everyone who is called in his name, with each other in the joy that the Lord fills us with - a complete joy, an overflowing joy, that has to be proclamed by all means!

Just as St. Paul would affirm that it is no merit that an apostle proclaims the Word, but woe to him if he does not (1 Cor 9:16), we see John today explaining in the first reading: He seems to say, "I am called to announce Christ, not merely because others will benefit from it; but primarily that my joy may be complete (1 Jn 1:4)!

For a Christian, a joy-filled proclamation of Christ is the only way to live his or her life - joyfully proclaiming Christ in every word, every action and every choice that is made, at every moment of one's daily life.

The Birth of a Christian

WORD 2day: Christmas Octave - December 26, 2023

St. Stephen the first martyr: Acts 6: 8-10, Acts 6: 8-10, 7: 54-59; Matthew 10: 17-22

Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Christ; today we celebrate the birth of a Christian! Stephen becomes a true Christ-ian, as he follows what his Master taught and lived, in his own life and even in his death! 

One does not become a Christian automatically, one becomes a Christian, through a process of continual imitation of Christ. As Thomas A Kempis, reflects in his classic The Imitation of Christ, "whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ." It is not that we try to understand the words of Christ, in order that we put it into practice, but we strive to practice and we begin to understand what it really means. 

Let us do an exercise: first let us read the Gospel today - Jesus has some strong words to teach us, we might even miss to observe the full sense of it; now let us go to the first reading and read it - that becomes a practical explanation of what Jesus taught! And certainly we understand the depth of it, however painful and frightening it is. That is the beauty of a true Christian life: it becomes a commentary to the teachings of Christ. 

It is not enough to look at Jesus as a child born yesterday, sweet and mild, and celebrate around. It is important to open our eyes to the constant challenges of being Christians, more precisely, challenges of becoming Christians - we are constantly called to become Christians. That is to grow more and more into the likeness of Christ. May St. Stephen the first martyr inspire us in this project of our life. 

BORN UNTO US

Prince of Peace, Divine Shepherd, Wonderful Counselor

The Nativity of the Lord - December 25, 2023

Isaiah 9:1-6; Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 2: 1-14

We celebrate a birthday today, a birthday that initiated a new birth to the entire humanity, a birthday of a very special person! We are not here to celebrate the birth of a helpless infant or a chubby child who would be playing with a globe in its hands... It is not just a child who is born today!

We are here to celebrate the birthday of the One of whom Isaiah spoke: for unto us a child is born, a son has been given to us... he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Is 9:6). 

If it were a mere child, why should the King be so alarmed? Why should the world fear? Why should the world wonder what is in store? The Kings are in fright because the one who is born is a Prince, the Prince of Peace! 

    It was 1914, this very same day, the Christmas eve, it was a friday, the morning was noisy with bombshells and bullet rounds but the evening came and there was a total silence. The darkness thickened as the silence deepened, with Germans on one side and the British and French on the other. But something strange was happening... something was breaking through that darkness - a small lit candle appeared on the German horizon... what a foolish thing to do in the war front - betraying your location, making oneself vulnerable to the guns of the enemy! As the British rose to an alert yet another strange thing happened breaking the silence of the night - a solemn orchestra began a lovely hymn : Stille Nacht, Heil'ge Nacht... It took just a few seconds for that beautiful sound to reach the opposite camp! The British were wonder struck and the guns went down while the voices rose singing the same hymn - the beautiful carol Silent Night, Holy Night. Very soon the French began the same in their language Douce Nuite, Sainte Nuit... One carol followed the other and more candles appeared. The Germans walked over the fence and the British and the French did the same and soon they were in the No Man's Land shaking their hands, embracing each other, exchanging gifts - strange gifts like their buttons and cigars, pipes and lighters - there was an unofficial, unauthorised and unarranged ceasefire! Not a shot was fired all night... In one of the zones the ceasefire continued for the next one week! The whole battalion had to be reassigned another region inorder that the war be continued in that place. This is called the Great Christmas Truce of 1914, in history. The next year in many zones on the border they tried to observe this truce and it was not as successful as in the precedent year. In 1916, there was a strict and deliberate prohibition for the truce! It's more a century since then... the world is still afraid of this prince of peace! Today, as it has been more than a few times, there is so much need for bringing peace to the warring factions - can the Prince of peace not bring peace to humanity, to our hearts, to our families, to our relationships... lets give peace a chance, allow the prince of peace to be truly born!

If it were a mere child which is born, why were the shepherds notified and why is it that they were given such a prominence in the story? Because the One who is born is a shepherd, true shepherd who is born to die, born to lay down his life for his sheep, the Divine Shepherd! Why should God  be born to die! Why? 

    God could have made one of his prophets die for us - why should he die himself? A friend asked another this question and the argument went long...the friend was not convinced. They went their way. The other friend one day invited the former to an outing and asked him to bring his beloved little son along. The outing plan was for a boating on a lake and in the middle of the water, the friend pushed his comrade's son into the water. Shocked and angry the friend jumped into the water got his son brought him to safety and was about to charge on his friend... he stopped him and asked him, why did you jump? You could have asked me to save your son, or the boatman to save or called for a security personnel...while the man shouted back - because he is my son and I love him more than anything in this world! He concluded - that's the same with God. For God so loved the world that God gave God's only son. For God so loved the world that God decided to come into the world in and through God's son. That is the Shepherd we have -who is not worried about making laws that are merciless and insensitive, who is not worried about establishing his own ego and prove to the world that he is capable of things that no one can imagine, who is not power mongering or money minded... he is a shepherd who is love and compassion, who decides to be born to die. Every one is born to live, there was only one who was born to die and that was God's only son! In his death he brought us life!

If it were a mere child who is born today, why should the world fear this child? Why should everyone look at this Child and the philosophy that this child brings into this world, as a threat? Because the One who is born is a wonderful counselor. If only we heed to His counsel! 

    The world has a counsel, an advice - make sure you get your share and a little more if can be, never less than that. Make sure you get and get, and keep getting without anyone cheating you! Doesn't matter what you do, make sure you succeed, you gain, you stand to win! The Child born today has a different counsel. Have you heard of these two brothers - one was married and had two kids, the other remained single. They had a common farm, their inheritance. And they worked together on the farm producing every year grains in abundance. They shared equally the produce. One night the married brother thought on his bed, 'it is not fair that we share halves. He is single and he needs a future that is secure. After all, I have my family to stand by me if anything happens in case!' So, from that day he would get up in the middle of the night take a sack of grain from his barn and quietly slip it into his brother's barn. The single brother thought to himself one day, 'it is not fair that my brother and I share the produce equally. After all I am single while he has three more people to fend for." And he began to transfer quietly a sack every night into his brother's barn from his own. Both of them on their own, were wondering why after all these nights of transferring sacks of grains there has been no difference...until one mid night they bumped into each other, each one with a sack on his shoulder walking towards the other's barn. They dropped those sacks, embraced each other and wept in love. That is Christmas giving! Can we bump into each other with sacks of what we want to give the other? What a place this world would be if we were to take this counsel seriously: Give! Christmas is giving...that is the Christmas advice - give and give and give. That is the most fundamental form of love.

The One who is born is the Prince of Peace, the Divine Shepherd, the Wonderful Counselor - are we prepared to accept that birth? Then, Merry Christmas to Us!

ADVENT - DISCOVERING THE REIGN

Discovering the fullness, the Godliness and the humanness in Christ

Fourth Sunday in Advent - December 24, 2023

2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

The Fourth Sunday of Advent invites us to discover the Reign, which we have been expecting, preparing and celebrating in the weeks that have gone by. This year, the fourth sunday already marks the eve of the great feast of Incarnation, bringing much more into focus the intimate relationship between the mystery of Incarnation and the promise of the Reign. In a few hours we shall already begin our festivities of Christmas, an event that generations have been waiting for in centuries - the Word becoming flesh. 

The first and foremost affirmation in this regard is an oft-repeated truth which we have more than once underscored during this season - the Reign is not something that has to come from elsewhere. It is in our midst and it needs only to be discovered, uncovered, unraveled, beheld. The disposition to discover the Reign is a fundamental capacity that we are called to grow in - the capacity to understand and recognise the fullness, the Godliness and the humanness that stand revealed in Christ.

The key is in these two terms that can summarise, not only the readings of today, but the entire message of Incarnation - 'revelation' and 'response'. Incarnation that we are preparing to celebrate, is indeed a self-revelation of God, entreating a response from humanity. This we see all through the salvation history of the creation - right from the moment sin entered the realm of existence, God's promise has been alive to redeem the whole creation and restore it to life. The plan of this redemptive love was revealed to humanity in varied ways, through the prophets where were sent to "go and tell" as we see in the first reading today, through events and experiences, and finally through the person of Jesus Christ, the promise come alive. All through the beckoning call was that human persons and humanity, as representatives of the whole creation, respond to this revelation from their hearts. 

That the redemptive design of God shall be fulfilled only when we respond to, in our inner freedom, is exemplified in the Christ event - where Mary beholds the revelation and responds to it whole heartedly: I am the handmaid of the Lord, where Jesus beholds his call to be the Lamb of God and responds in all sincerity: thy will be done. Revelation and Response summarise the crucial dynamic of the Reign, which remains to be discovered. 

Discovering the fullness in Christ: Discovering the Reign is discovering the Fullness in Christ. In Christ we see the fullness of everything, the fullness of the entire creation. We are called to recognise that fullness in Christ, "who alone is wisdom" as St Paul reminds us in the first reading today. The Word, the Wisdom, the Son of God reveals to us that our life's meaning is in our union with God. It is this perfect union with God that will amoung to the Reign of God - the fullness that we have lost due to our confused priorities, compromised principles and complicated personal choices - which we call in a word, "sins". It is only Christ, who comes to be like us in everything but sin, who can manifest to us this fullness that can take us to the promised salvation. 

Discovering the Godliness in Christ: Discovering the Reign is recognising the Godliness in Christ, who is the visible image of invisible God, in whom God was pleased to have all God's fullness dwell (Col 1:15, 19). The world thought it was making space for Christ  when he came - the famous Christmas narration is that isn't it - that he came unto his own and his own received him not (Jn 1:11)! But like David in the first reading today, the world thinks it has to accomodate God and give God the space or decide whether God will have a space or not here. How foolish and childish of us to look at it that way! Is it not God who sustains us and wills us to exist, and accomplish all that we do? We will do well to recognise that and come to terms with that truth as soon as possible in our lives, and stop making of ourselves the fools that the Psalmist spoke of -  "the fool says in his heart, there is no God" (Ps 14:1). Christ comes to reveal to us Godliness in such simple terms, for us to see, behold and understand.

Discovering the humanness in Christ: Discovering the Reign is learning to see the humanness in Christ. There is no doubt Christ revealed God to us, but more primarily, he revealed ourselves to us; Christ revealed to us who we really are - the children of a Loving Father, the image of a Compassionate God, the beloveds of a Searching Shepherd, the covenantal people of a God madly in love with God's own! Humanness is all these - it is not merely about sinfulness and limitedness, selfishness and craftiness - it is about love, compassion, forgiveness and relationship. Jesus reveals that in his very self, in his life choices and in his fathomless fidelity to his Father. Our humanness has to strive to reflect the humanness that Jesus reveals, and that is the challenge of discovering the Reign. 

The season of Advent is coming to an end, with this clarion call - to discover the Reign amidst us, to behold it and to sustain it, that the entire creation will know and realise the immense love of God. We are very close to contemplating the great event of incarnation - the highest revelation of God's love to world. May these few hours left aid us to meditate more on the loving mystery we are about to behold and celebrate. 

 

Celebrating the Reign - a Checkpoint!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Third week Saturday

December 23, 2023 - Malachi 3:1-4,23-24; Luke 1: 57-66

We began this week with a call to celebrate the Reign. When the Messiah had to come, there were prophets sent and messages delivered. And more were promised. Elijah was promised as a preparation and John the Baptist came, as we see in the Gospel today, as a messenger before the Son of Man. Today the promise remains alive, that even before the second coming, or that day of Lord, we will be made to know. That is why St. Paul said - it is not as if we are in the darkness that the day should surprise us (1 Thess 5:4). We have known it. We know it. Hence, the question - how prepared are we?

Malachi today speaks of the refiner's fire and the fullers' alkali - that is the type of preparation we need to take on. We are called to sit in front of that fire and purify ourselves, for the time is near. We are challenged to make a clinical evaluation of our beings. We are very close to the day - if we miss this moment, we shall soon be in the midst of the festivities and we shall celebrate certainly, but without a lasting effect on our internal selves. 

John the Baptist is given to us as a sign, a reminder, a warning - like a virus alert that comes from a computer system. The alert is only an alert - it will not set right the impending disaster. If we wish to, we have to take action - avail of all the antivirus possibilities and purge our life of those elements that are affecting our life in God. This is the moment and this is the day! We are called to take stock of our journey thus far and prepare ourselves for a true and meaningful celebration - our prayers, novenas and wreathes, eucharistic celebrations and the sacrament of reconciliation, are they not sufficient measures? 

The Antiphon once again calls upon Emmanuel, the God with us, God is here, now, near and just beside us! Are we prepared to behold the presence, the power and the grace of the imminent God, the incarnate Word, the life giving Spirit? Are we prepared enough to stand erect, hold our heads high and encounter our Saviour who is already here on our thresholds? 

We are at a checkpoint - to check ourselves, not in the sense of a judgement and a sentencing, but in the sense of an ongoing journey. We are here to take stock, shed unneccessary baggage, refill the right energy and embark on another phase of our journey. Once we encounter the Lord we shall have all that is necessary to forge ahead, but to encounter the Lord, are we ready as yet?

     

Celebrating the Reign - the Joy in God's Strength

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Third week Friday

December 22, 2023 - 1 Samuel 1:24-28; Luke 1: 46-56

Joy comes from what we have experienced from the hands of the Lord. Isn't that the Reign of God - the might of God, the power and the magnificence of God, the omnipotence that is revealed in ordinary things of life? Those who are attentive to the Reign, are capable of identifying the hand of God in their daily life. In corrollary, only those who develop the capacity to see the hand of God in their daily experiences, are forming themselves to be Reign-persons. 

We have in the Word today, two Reign-persons - Hannah and Mary, who identified the hand of God in their life. They found a  great presence of the strength of God in their lives and they proclaimed it aloud. We see Hannah in the Temple praying and she sings out that hymn of praise which we prayed as the Responsorial psalm. Luke decides to put those very words in the lips of Mary - because she found herself too amidst the magnificence of God and was a persons highly aware of it - we read that part in the Gospel today. 

The joy of the Reign is the joy in the strength of the Lord which is constantly made manifest in our lives. It requires that first of all, we are recognizant of this strength of the Lord at work in our lives; secondly, that we are ready to recognise the difference it makes; and thirdly, that we grow ever more prepared to surrender to that Strength, instead of relyind solely on our own personal strength or the strength of those who are around. 

The antiphon for the day presents to  us the Lord as the King of the Nations, the king of the people who is the cornerstone of the community of faith, the children of God, the Reign-community. King, because the Lord rules and governs, and is the author of all, who made us from the dust. In front of the Lord, we need to humbly submit and joyfully proclaim every sign of God's powerful presence - that is the lesson we have from the two great women we meet today, as from many others in the Biblical history. 

God's strength surrounds us, all that we need to do is believe in it, submit to it and and rejoice in it, that we experience that strength and trasmit the same to others, empowering all around us, thus becoming usherers of the Reign.   

Celebrating the Reign - the Joy of Relationships

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Third week  Thursday

December 21, 2023 -  Song of Songs 2: 8-14; Luke 1: 39-45

We have been thinking these days of the joy in the presence of the Lord, in the promises of the Lord and the joy in faith... these in fact point to a joy that arises from a true and profound relationship. The Word today presents to us this joy, the joy that comes from relationships, relationships of true love. 

The first reading gives us an interesting picture of how a relationship of faith should be - it should be like a longing for the beloved, says the Song of Songs. Not just happiness in the presence of a person, but a longing for the presence, a lively and dynamic initiative to make that presence felt. And the joy arises from there, from that involvement, from those initiatives, from that reaching out, from that characteristic "going forth" of the community of faith. 

"Let me hear your voice..."  - that longing expressed in the Song of Songs, is reflected in the Gospel when Elisabeth cries out "the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy!" Leaping for joy at the voice of the Lord presumes our readiness to listen to the voice and live by it. Not listening is a loss; listening and not acting is unbecoming of a disciple or uncharacteristic of a son or a daughter; and listening, acting and longing for more is the joy of the Reign. 

The antiphon of the day, presents to us the coming of the Lord, as the radiant dawn, the Morning Star, the splendour of eternal light, the sun of justice who shines on those who dwell in darkness, calling them to light and to happiness, to virtue and joy! Every moment of our life, the radiant dawn, the sun of justice continues to call us to the light of virtue and wisdom, which arises from the relationship we have with God, as children of God, as people of God. 

Our choice for God makes us reach out in joy, just as Mary does to Elizabeth. Such a reaching out is carrying God to the other, by the love that is shared and the care that is shown. Certainly in such relationships there is joy, a leaping joy, a joy that becomes the splendid announcement of the presence of God. This, in short, is the experience of the Reign, the joy in relationships. 

Celebrating the Reign - the Joy of Faith

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Third week Wednesday

December 20, 2023 - Isaiah 7: 10-14; Luke 1: 26-38

God-with-us, or Emmanuel, is the most profound of all promises and it evokes an experience intensely related to our spirits, because we long for an assuring presence in our life - all of us, even the most strong among us. It is a longing that is inherent to every human person, which can be very easily connected to our faith, if we believe that faith is first and foremost beholding a mighty presence that reveals itself to us. That is why, the joy of the Reign is a joy of faith, the joy of receiving, beholding and enjoying the gift of faith, the gift of beholding the presence of God with us. 

The joy of faith consists in our capacity to listen to God, a God who speaks, promises, instructs and interprets the ordinary events of our life, on a daily basis.

The joy of faith consists in our ability to see the Lord present beside us in the most difficult of times, in moments of possible delusion and and surrender to the presence, trusting in the goodness of the One who is the Lord of the Universe.

The joy of faith consists in our readiness to see the hand of God at work, even at the darkest moments of our lives, to feel always overshadowed by the power of the One who is in control of everything. 

That faith is the Key, as the antiphon of the day reminds us - the Key of David who opens the gates of the eternal Reign, the Key that open what no one can close, and closes what no one can open - the power of the hand of God that is at work in history. Faith permits me to see that hand, behold that hand and hold on to that hand, in trust and in love. 

Faith fills me with joy - with faith, we can rejoice even when we run into problem and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance; endurance develops strength of character, character strengthens our confident hope of salvation and this hope shall never lead us to disappointment. Fill us Lord, with the joy of faith today!

Celebrating the Reign - the Joy in the Promises

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Third week Tuesday

December 19, 2023 - Judges 13:2-7,24-25; Luke 1: 5-25

The Joy of the Reign lies in the promises of the Lord! The joy is not all about what we experience today or what we expect today, but in the timeless and eternal promises that the Lord has given us, God's beloved children and the people of the Covenant. "You shall conceive and bear a son", "Your wife shall bear a son" - we find these two promises in the Word today - made to two couples who were apparently beyond the possibility of bearing a child. They are certainly not the only ones... we can begin counting right from the case of Abraham, right up to the birth of Jesus - everywhere what we see is the "promise" active, alive and actualised. 

Be it Samson or John the Baptist - they had their call clearly defined and they were instrumental in fulfilling the promises of God. In history, we see that God has availed Godself of varied people who received the promises of the Lord, trusted in them and thus became themselves bearers of that promise onward to God's people. Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, Samson, Samuel and finally John the Baptist - they were all promise bearers. And finally, Jesus was the ultimate promise and promise bearer. 

When the Lord grants us a promise, there is an injunction that comes along - of course the Lord's promise is a covenant and therefore it involves equally both parties: God and us. For example, today when Samson and John were promised, their mothers were instructed as to what to do and what not to do! They knew that their child was special, a promise to look forward to. After all, every child that is born in this world is a promise, isn't it? We are never left hopeless, the Lord's promises accompany us all through and in these promises lies our true joy, the joy of the Reign. 

As the antiphon for the day explains to us - the Root of Jesse, is the sign to the people... like the experience of Abraham, hoping against hope, we see the promise of the Lord coming to life even there where seems to be no possibility. That is why we proclain, it is the Lord who is our hope; our trust is in the Lord right from our birth! 

Let our celebration of the Reign be firmly rooted in the promises of the Lord, the eternal promise that makes us people of the Lord, people of the Covenant, people of the Reign. 

Celebrating the Reign - the Joy of the Presence

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Third week Monday

December 18, 2023 - Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Matthew 1: 18-24

Among the varied reasons we reflected upon for rejoicing as we await and prepare for the Reign, one of the foremost is the unfailing  presence of God. This week as we are all set to reflect on the ways to celebrate the Reign, today we are given with this experience to come to grips with. This is a traditional experience, right from the times of the Old Testament, when the people felt the presence of God constantly guiding them through various intermediaries - persons like the kings and the judges, events like the pillars of clouds and fire, experiences like the division of the red sea and the crossing of the jordan. This is what is related to us in the first reading, with that hebrew word - Yahweh tsidkenu - Lord our righteousness (Jer 5:6), that is, the Lord who does to us what we need, not just what we deserve, but even more than what is our due... because the Lord is ever present with us and know what we exactly need. 

In the New Testament, we see that God decides to make that presence felt, not through intermediary experiences, but through a concrete personal experience of Godself - Emmanuel, the term we see in the Gospel. A personal presence of God that makes us experiences the proximity of God, all our life. Can there be a joy more than this, more than the unceasing presence of God with us, a presence that saves, justifies, guides, protects and accompanies. 

If we have to celebrate the Reign which is amidst us, we need to first of all recognise the presence of the Lord amidst us. As the antiphon of the day reminds us, the Ruler of the House of Israel, one who gave us the law, one who continues to guide us with his presence, one who teaches us what is righteousness, one who protects us in our integrity, is the Emmanuel, is the God who is with us, is the one who is present amidst us, inviting us to make that presence felt by all around us and share it with the rest of the world. 

Let our celebration of the Reign become more and more concrete each and every living day, that we may incessantly prepare ourselves towards being ever worthier people of the Reign. 

ADVENT - CELEBRATING THE REIGN

Rejoicing Always - in the Lord, in truth and in good!

Third Sunday in Advent - December 17, 2023

Isaiah 61: 1-2, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16:24; John 1: 6-8,19-20

The last two Sundays of Advent had invited us to expect the Reign and prepare the Reign and today, we have the invitation to Celebrate the Reign! There is a premise to this call - that we are convinced that the Reign is here, or else how can we celebrate it? There are two inherent messages in this call - that the Reign is fundamentally a rejoicing and that it is only in the act and the disposition of rejoicing that the Reign can be made present where intended. 

There are enough and more reasons to complain and lament today - would suffice just to look around, at all levels local, national, international, global and the cosmic levels, there are events and facts, happenings and possibilities, news and predictions that can stifle us in our fears and tears. But the people of the Reign cannot let these overpower them. That is the crux of the message to celebrate the Reign here and now. That does not in anyway mean an insensitive going about, without minding what makes people suffer, or what sufferings exist around us. So, what do we mean by celebrating the Reign?

Celebrating the Reign: We expect the Reign, we said, not as if something external is going to come into our reality. We prepare the Reign, and not just passively wait for it to appear from somewhere, because the Reign is right amidst us. If we really believe it is amidst us, one of the first response should be to rejoice, to celebrate that Reign.  And celebrating that Reign means, ofcourse rejoicing, but rejoicing in the Lord.

Rejoicing in the Lord: The celebration of the Reign is a celebration with a difference. It is not merely rejoicing come what may - that may sound sometimes foolish or inhuman, or even arrogant. It is rejoicing in the Lord, because the Lord is with me, come what may! Mary stands out today as a model presented to us: my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour!  All the instances pointed out in that song of praise, that Luke borrows from Hannah's song and places in the mouth of Mary, are instances of misfortune: lowliness, starving, haughtiness, emptiness... but they become experiences of rejoicing in the Lord because we realise the proximity of God. 

Rejoicing in the Lord is a special kind of a disposition of life that is proper to the Reign, which makes it the celebration of the Reign in daily life. The Word today presents to us three specific characteristics of this special call: to rejoice in the Lord.

Rejoicing always: The specific characteristic is to rejoice always - Rejoice in the Lord, Rejoice in the the Lord always, emphasises the entrance antiphon to today's liturgy. The letter of St. Paul in the second reading presents to us terms such as 'at all times', 'constantly', 'never' suppress, etc., all of them pointing to one important fact of rejoicing always. That is because, as we already said, the Lord is present with us always and that is a motive for us and an enought reason for us to rejoice, to rejoice always. If it is truly a rejoicing in the Lord, it will never cease, because the Lord never ceases to be present with us, never ceases to encourage us and never ceases to illumine us to see the reasons to rejoice. 

Rejoicing in truth: A second characteristic of rejoicing in the Lord is rejoice in the truth! It is not a rejoicing that is built on some false promise or an exaggerated aspiration. It is based on truth, the truth that the Lord makes us see. We see John the Baptist presented to us in the Gospel, as the personification of this characteristic - a man who stood by the truth. When he was asked who he was, or when he was compared to the great prophet or to the messiah to come, he in a direct and a matter of factly sense, said a decisive no and went past it. For him all those compliments and limelight did not matter, because he rejoiced in the truth, he looked up to the true joy, the Lord who is to come after him - whose sandals he believed he was not worthy to untie. A humility that is a reflection of truth, can be an unfailing source for rejoicing in the Lord. 

Rejoicing in good: The third characteristic presented to us is to rejoice in the good, in the good of the other, in the for the other - not in wishing one's own good and all that is good for oneself. Returning to the first reading, we see Isaiah explaining to us  the real character of the Reign - the good for the poor, for the broken hearts, for the slaves, for the prisoners, for those who are in need and in affliction. The good here is for the other, not a selfish seeking of what is good and better. True salvation is the rejoicing in the good of all, that is indeed the experience of the Reign, the good of all, the well being of all, the fullness of life of all. The capacity to rejoice in the good that happens to the other, the capacity to make happen good for the other and rejoice in that capacity, is a characteristic mark of a Reign person and a Reign community.

Rejoicing in the Lord would therefore mean combatting three fundamental enemies of the Reign - fear which is against truth, selfishness that is against goodness, and insensitivity that closes our hearts and our minds to the ever present possibilities to recognise the presence of the Lord. Rejoice, reminds the Word today! Let us learn to Rejoice, grow in our capacity to Rejoice, to Rejoice in the Lord and thus Celebrate the Reign that we are part of!

 

Preparing the Reign - The Warning Signs

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second week Saturday

December 16, 2023 -  Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12; Matthew 17: 10-13 

How do we prepare the Reign? That has been the question we asked all through this week and today, we conclude the week with a warning from the Word - beware of your stubbornness! We know, we understand, we realise but we do not wish to accept or change our ways - isn't that called stubbornness? Or is there another name for it? Have we the audacity to justify ourselves - as individuals and as humanity?

The Word today speaks of Elijah - a great figure who connects the Old Testament and the New Testament, who is re-presented by John the Baptist in his person and significance. Two things were similar in Elijah and John the Baptist, that made people think of them resembling each other when Jesus hinted at it. One the fiery zeal - they were not simple ordinary men of average commitment who did what they could. They were extraordinary persons whom people dared not stare at. Secondly, they were forerunners or proclaimers - they both were announcing Christ: one remotely the saving Son of Man and the other immediately the coming of Jesus the Christ.

The message that stands out, again, is two fold: one that the Lord certainly gives us signs of God's message; secondly, that it is our responsibility to behold the sign and act upon it. Preparing the Reign can be a risky call - failing to do it, not only is a failure but can be a cause of our damnation, the reason for our eternal perdition, or the ground for our final judgement. 

Can we say we have not seen the signs? That would be a blatant lie and an escapism - because they are so vivid like a fire, flaring like a torch, consuming like a whirlwind of fire. How can we miss it? Imagine the lessons that the humanity was given, be it in the two major wars of the past century, or the continued armed arrogances around the world that have claimed a toll of thousands of lives only in little more than two decades of this new millemium, or the pandemic that turned our lives upside down in the three years of this new decade - are they not loud and clear lessons to learn? Have we learnt anything at all?

Can we say we have heeded to the signs? Indeed Elijah has come and we have treated him the way it pleased us! How many lessons we have turned down? How many true prophets we have sent to the dungeon? How many warnings we have washed down the drain? And we wish to be yet called the people of the Reign? What excuse have we? What justification do we have to say we are still worthy of the Reign that has been promised by the Lord? 

Preparing the Reign - Learn to Obey

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second week Friday

December 15, 2023 - Isaiah 48: 17-19; Matthew 11: 16-19

How do we prepare the Reign? By learning to obey, by learning what it means to obey and by learning exactly whom to obey and how to obey! Obedience is resented by many - for instance the young resent obeying their elders or parents, the subordinates grudge obeying their superiors, and so on. It is often seen as a sign of subservience and subordination, a lack of autonomy and freedom. As long as we are children, it does not matter; obedience comes naturally. The moment we begin to grow up, the possibility of resentment grows too. It is therefore pitched against growing up, to obey. In this context we understand why Jesus said: unless you become like children you would not enter the Reign!

Becoming like children is not becoming infantile - like what Jesus explains in the parable he narrates today. Expecting everyone to dance to my tunes, or thinking that obedience is to dance to the tunes of someone, is not a very matured manner of understanding 'obedience'. Obedience therefore is the most free act that one can commit oneself to - knowing what the other(s) wants from me, deciding to do what is asked of me and freely choosing to face the consequences of doing or avoiding something following that decision made. 

Obedience to God has to be that free act, from the heart of a child, with trust and hope in the love of God. It is not a grudging fulfilment of a law, nor merely a ritual following of a rubric, nor a blind choice of what we do not understand - it is certainly not a blind leap! Because the Lord teaches us, the Lord leads us, the Lord instructs  us - that we may learn, that we may follow, that we may be alert to what he makes us aware of. There is so much knowledge, will and freedom involved here - that it amounts to faith. That is the obedience of faith that Paul speaks of in the letter to the Romans. 

When learn to obey, we learn to walk by the light. It is not that we close our eyes and go behind the Lord... that is not a very apt expression. That would be more like the children crying out to each other, pleasing each other or wanting to please the other for staying in the good books, or to stay out of problems. Obedience of the Reign is a mature dedication to a purpose, knowingly, willingly and freely. That is what Mary did; that is what Joseph did; and that is what Jesus did in relation to his Father. Thus was the Reign inaugurated in the Christ event.

If we wish to be people of the Reign, that is, if we wish to prepare the Reign here and now, we better learn to obey, just as Jesus did and as Jesus taught.   

Preparing the Reign - Learn to Respect

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second week Thursday

December 14, 2023 - Isaiah 41: 13-20; Matthew 11: 11-15

How do we prepare the Reign? By learning to respect the other, by learning to respect every one, by learning to respect each one for what they are at their core! Every society has its own prefixed notions, as to who has to be respected and who no, as to who has to be regarded more and who less, as to who is more important and who less. At times we are schooled into it, knowingly or unknowingly. It is important with the eyes of the Lord to subject this kind of a stereotyping into a critical judgement. 

We see a rather shocking beginning to the first reading today, when the Lord (in Isaiah's words) calls Jacob a worm, and Israel a puny mite! It may look like a degrading of the people, but the very next sentence explains to us the real sense. "I will help you... the Holy One is your redeemer"... that the Lord chooses Jacob, that the Lord calls Israel as God's own. They will soon turn into a threshing sled, powerful and strong. The message is simple -  however insignificant they are, the Lord is with them and that makes them truly great and respectable. 

We see another startling fact in the Gospel when Jesus says, John the Baptist is the greatest of all born of women, but the least in the Reign is greater even than he is! Jesus is teaching us the about the true greatness - it lies in belonging to the Reign! Not in holding on to the name and fame, the power and position, the possessions and pleasures here on earth - which may be attained by such arduous and esteemable effort, but in belonging to the Reign, in belonging to the Lord that our real and true dignity lies. 

The secret of preparing the Reign lies in knowing and recognizing this fact - the fact of the dignity and respect that comes from God. That is what we are at the core - every one us is created in the image and likeness of God and we are called to recognize this image and likeness in the other, without fail. The moment we fail to recognize it in the other, we fail to realize it within ourselves - thus we even lose the image and likeness that is at the core of our selves. Can we be truly sons and daughters of God then? Can we truly belong to the Reign then? 

Preparing the Reign involves recognizing the presence of God at the core of evey 'other', and respecting them for that - not going by externities and appearances, social prejudices and cultural divides. Every person is to be respected and revered, as a son and daughter of God, as a member of the Reign and that is the way we prepare the Reign. 

Preparing the Reign - Learn to Empower

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second week Wednesday

December 13, 2023 - Isaiah 40: 25-31; Matthew 11: 28-30

How do we prepare the Reign? By learning to empower, by learning to spot the absolute source of empowerment, the Lord himself. Preparing the Reign consists of empowering persons, in their state of confusion and discouragement, in their drooping state of mind, in their lowest moments of life. God has repeatedly revealed Godself, as  the one who strengthens the weak. Look at the way God took sides according to the pages of the Old Testament, the same continues with Jesus.

Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened, calls Jesus to give them rest, the proportionate yoke, and the salvific burden. Jesus never said I shall give you money and prosperity and wellbeing, in the sense of how some preachers of the 'prosperity gospel' today claim and allure. Let us not exaggerate - neither a negative gloom nor an all positive picturesque situation we have in our daily life. Each one has his or her share of burden, the right proportionate yoke and we cannot negate it. If we cannot negate, it means each of us needs a strengthening, an empowerment. Hence the invitation today: learn to Empower.

To learn to empower, first and foremost, I need to learn to be empowered. 'Come', the Lord calls - do we hear that call? do we heed that call? do we let ourselves be empowered by the Lord and Shepherd? That is a prerequisite for us to learn to empower. To experience the empowerment of the Lord, to identify the unfailing source of empowerment in the Lord and to develop a ready reaching out to God when in need of empowerment are essential traits in which we need to grow, before we learn to empower. 

To learn to empower means that we represent the loving Shepherd to the other. It is a call to each and everyone, and that is the key to the Reign. There is a mutual empowerment required and when that happens that we empower each other, the Reign of God is being prepared. Empowerment here is not any false promise, the Lord does not give any. It is not any exaggeration of great prowess. It is all about gentleness and humility, a restful replenishment of our spirits. We really do need to learn this from the Lord - in fact the Lord has that invitation too: learn from me.

To learn to empower is to recognise the constant source of empowerment that the Lord is and to become ourselves in anyway we can, source of empowerment to everyone around, that growing together stronger and firmer, we can prepare the Reign. 

Preparing the Reign - Learn to Speak

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second week Tuesday

December 12, 2023 -  Isaiah 40: 1-11; Matthew 18: 12-14

How do we prepare the Reign? By learning to speak, by learning to speak to the hearts, by learning to speak as the Lord wants. Console my people, speak to their hearts, says the Lord in the Word today. That is what it means to prepare the Reign. Preparing the Reign is preparing the ground and those who are around. How else can we do it, but by SPEAKING the right thing, at the right time and in the right manner?

We reflected on learning to see, yesterday. And it is not enough to see, it is important to make the others see what we see - how can we do it? By speaking to them. Consoling, speaking to the heart, directing, seeking, finding, guiding, leading - these are the imageries that are given in the Word today. All of them amount to that one learning that the Lord wishes from us - that we learn to speak. 

That we learn to speak - what the Lord wants to speak. When we speak, we need to speak the good news, what the Lord wants to say, life giving words, words that build up, words that infuse life and hope. That is learning to speak. When we speak such words of hope and strength, we prepare the Reign in the hearts of people, in the situations we live in and in the communities we form part of. 

That we learn to speak - how the Lord wants us to speak. That we speak in a consoling manner, that we speak in a way that people will be led to God, in a way that will bring back the straying not send a few more astray, in a way that will making things straight, in a manner that will faciliate union and love, in a way that will create a situation of seeing and praising God for what God has done to us and keeps doing to us. That is the presence of the Reign. 

That we learn to speak the Lord, that we proclaim the Lord incessantly - not merely by our words but by our whole selves and our very lives. Shout, Cry, Announce, Proclain - "here is your God" says the first reading. We are called to speak God, whisper God, proclaim God, announce God, share God to the world. The natural prerequisite is that we should possess God! Speaking not from the emptiness, but from the fullness, from the heart that is full of God. 

Let us learn to speak, speak what the Lord wants to speak and in the way the Lord wants us to speak. Above all, let us speak God to all, that way we shall be every day, in every way, preparing the Reign.    

Preparing the Reign - Learn to See

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second week Monday

December 11, 2023 - Isaiah 35: 1-10; Luke 5: 17-26

How do we prepare the Reign? By learning to see, by learning to see the Reign! They were all astounded and praised God, saying,  "We have seen strange things today." This is how the Gospel ends today. They had Jesus all the time with them. They saw cures. They were fed as multitudes, with almost nothing in hand. They saw the blind see and the dumb speak, just as we hear in the first reading. But did they really see the Christ, at action. Jesus makes them SEE that today. 

It was not enough for them to look at Jesus as someone who did wonders or someone who exorcised - because even some of their own, among them, were capable of doing it as Jesus himself asked elsewhere: 'if you say I cast the devil out by the power of beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?' (Matt 12:27). They had to see the Christ, the Son of God, the One who comes in the name of the Yahweh! That is why he says that - "your sins are forgiven"! To free that man from his paralysis, but more to open the eyes of those people. They had to see.

The first reading repeats that theme - they shall see the glory and the splendour of God, they shall see the God who is coming, the eyes of the blind shall be opened... it is crucial that we see! That we see Christ present in our midst, that we see Christ present in those around us, that we see the Reign of God present amidst us, that we see the Lord coming with the Reign. Preparing the Reign first and foremost requires that we see the Reign. 

It is not that easy - there are three tendencies that can make that task difficult. First, our obstinacy, that we wish to see only what we wish to see and we do not want to admit to anything that we do not wish to. Second, our incapacity, that we remain so blind and blocked that it takes so much to be liberated from our mental and intellectual paralysis. Thirdly, our distractedness or wrong focus, which makes us so attentive to what actually does not matter, instead of living our lives on the lines of what our Lord and Saviour has taught us: let's get up and walk, and we shall SEE the Reign. 

ADVENT - PREPARING THE REIGN

The Ground, those around and where we're bound...

Second Sunday in Advent - December 10, 2023

Isaiah 40: 1-5,9-11; 2 Peter 3: 8-14; Mark 1: 1-8

All of us wish to see a change, a change for the better, a change for a more peaceful world, a change for a happier life - a change around us, a change in the world! We know very well that this change out there in the world, cannot come without a change from within us! But the most disturbing fact is that, even if I change, it does not guarantee a change in the world, I need to wait. These are the complexities with which we live the problems and challenges of every day. It is against this background that we continue to reflect on the prospects of the Reign of God this advent. Last Sunday, the first of Advent, we were instructed by the Word to Expect the Reign. We reflected too saying, this expecting is not a passive waiting, but an active working towards. That is exactly the message of this Sunday: Advent is Preparing the Reign. 

Preparing the Reign: The fundamental task given us during Advent is Preparing! We are speaking here of Preparing the Reign - it is no error! We mean to phrase it that way - preparing the Reign, because it is not merely preparing for the Reign, but preparing the Reign. We are not called to prepare for the Reign, as if we have nothing directly to do with the Reign which comes from elsewhere and we prepare ourselves to be part of it when  it comes. That is not the mind of Christ. We need to prepare the Reign, build up the Reign, establish the Reign, wherever we are.

Psuedo Preparation: One danger that rests is that the kind of preparation we do can be a psuedo preparation! 

What do we mean by that? Just imagine the preparations that take place in our surroundings when a VIP is about to visit the place. There are prominently two things that happen - either what is there is covered up not to be seen or what is not there is fakely done up to be seen as present. Are we not familiar with cases where an entire slum was covered up with an overnight barricade or compund, because a dignitary was passing by that way - that is the former type. And of course we know of the roads that appear overnight for the VIP to ride on, only to break away into slithers immediately after the visit - this is the latter type. Both of these are psuedo preparations which are makeshift, eyewash, make believe, fake and deceptions, without any real change underlying. Instead, even these visits could become opportunities for a forging ahead, for strengthening of  infrastructure, for empowerment of people and the localities, if only the preparations are farsighted and authentically motivated. Therefore the question remains, what kind of preparation is the right preparation - that of the ground, of those who are around, mindful of where we are bound!

The Ground: Literally today we see the Word, the first reading and the Gospel, speak of this preparation of the ground - that the highways be made straight, the valleys be filled in, the mountains and hills be laid low, that the cliffs become plains and the ridges become valleys... that there be new heavens and a new earth! The preparation of the ground is the change in the situations - that the situations of inequality be straightened out, that the circumstances of jealousy and hatred be calmed, that the experiences of violence and aggression be tranquilised, that the predicaments of povert and misery be challenged. That is what precisely means preparing the Reign... without these changes the Reign cannot emerge! The sad and the crucial fact is, this cannot happen automatically. It can happen only where there is another preparation that is taken forward - the preparation of those around. 

Those Around: Preparation therefore is not merely of the terrain or of the macro system! It is primarily a change in the hearts, minds and the spirits of those around, beginning from each one of us. That is what the image of John the Baptist stands for today - telling each of us: straighten your hearts, flatten your egos, lift up your drooping spirits, smoothen your fractious priorities, challenge your callous religiosity and prepare for the day of the Lord. Prepare, not in terms of this Christmas, making an annual confession and dropping a few gifts into the hands of some sporadic needy - but in terms of a change of mentality, a reshaping of habits and redefining of your priorities and principles, to become truly Reign-persons and Reign-communities. That is the only way the Reign of God shall come, as we pray every day - 'your kingdom come'.

Where we're bound: The preparation therefore needs a clear pre-requisite and an absolute pro-sightedness. Both of these refer to the same - the Reign; as the letter of St. Peter reminds us - the new heavens and the new earth. The Reign should not be understood as a place little better than what we have today. It is not something that is slightly touched up from what we have managed so far. It is a something new! It is something totally different! It is something that the Lord alone can give - where the wolf will live with the lamb, the lion will eat straw with the ox, the cow will feed with the bear, and a small child will lead them all (Isa 11: 6,7). An entirely new life, that is the Reign that is promised to us and that is the Reign we are called and commissioned to prepare. No, it is not an utopia! It is a call. It is a commission. It is a mandate that we need to occupy ourselves with, all our life! Possible that we may not succeed? May be! But the Lord will succeed in God's own time, and we are called to do our bit. That is what the Advent reminds us of: our Christian commitment to prepare the Reign. 

Preparing the Reign means to prepare the ground, to prepare those who are around, mindful of where we are bound - above all, to begin with preparing the terrain of our hearts and our souls not towards some cosmetic touch ups, but towards a profund renewal in our conscience and commitment. O Lord that we may see, you and your Reign come! 

   

Expecting the Reign - Be Active Apostles

THE WORD IN ADVENT - First week Saturday

December 09, 2023 - Isaiah 30: 19-21, 23-26; Matthew 9:35 - 10:1,5,6-8

Here we wind up the first week of Advent, which we began with the call "to expect". That expectation is not a passive waiting, the Word had reieterated more than once during the week and today, the Word gives us a categorical directive - the right way to expect the Reign is to be active apostles.

We have that call from Jesus himself in the Gospel. Go, to cast the demons out, to cure diseases of all kinds and to raise the dead, said Jesus. He sent them all over, to go and be active apostles - but they had to first know, "apostles of what", messengers of what? What was the message they had to carry? What was the goodnews they were to give with all these actions: that the Reign is close at hand! 

The second question is, why they were to go and proclaim? Because they have received, they were to give! Therefore, what underlies this active apostolate is the realisation that they have received. Isaiah explains that in the first reading today: if you are prepared enough, "your ears will hear these words behind you, "this is the way, follow it"! The Lord has been good to you and if only you realise that, if only you grow mindful of that, you will automatically become an active apostle of the same goodness and hope!

Yes, these are the two objects of our proclamation - the key to the Reign: the Goodness of the Lord and our Hope in the Lord. God is good and we are certain beyond any doubt that God will have the final word, that the Lord will come to bless us, heal us, console us and to lead us. That is the Reign, the hope of the Reign, the Reign of goodness. 

Expecting that Reign signifies that we get into an active apostolate wherever we are and in whichever way we can, to hope in the Lord and spread that hope!