Being Godly...

WORD 2day: Friday, 8th week in Ordinary time

May 28, 2021: Sirach 44: 1, 9-13; Mark 11: 11-26

The readings today speak to us of an essential dimension of human life: being Godly. If we can showcase some indication of difference between human beings and the so-called 'lower' beings, it has to be the dimension of being Godly. Because, it is only when God created the human persons, does God say, 'let us create human beings in our own image'. 

However these days the social network seems to present us with cases of many of these animals, the so called 'lower' beings, with qualities and actions much more edifying than those of the humans - feeling for the other, caring for the suffering, mourning for the dead, helping those in need, and so on! They seem to excel in their show of love and affection too, some times! Aren't we therefore obliged much more to manifest this Godliness in our lives, as human persons?

The Word today outlines 2 signs of being Godly...

The first is, being rooted in God - finding one's solace and fulfillment in nothing less than God, finding the hand of God in every bit of one's well being, being grateful for and conscious of the good that God continues to do, standing by to find out God's will and accompaniment in daily journeys of life. ..these are signs of being rooted in God.

Another sign is, bearing forth God's fruits - one who bears forth God's fruits will bear it forth for others and not make a living out of it as it was happening in the Temple; he or she will bear it forth in season and out of season, in abundance and always mindful that the fruits belong to God.

Let us become more and more aware of the fact that we are created, to be Godly!

I Chose you!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

May 14, 2021: Celebrating St Mathias, the Apostle

Acts 1: 15-17, 20-26; John 15: 9-17

Every relationship is a response! Relationships can never be forced upon persons. I wish to relate to a person, I choose to relate to the person and then I leave the response of the person, to the freedom of that person! Only then there is a healthy relationship that blooms. It is the same with God's choice too!

You have not chosen me, I chose you!, reminds Jesus today. With the beautiful example of Mathias and Barsabbas, Jesus brings out another element of the election theology! When God chooses, God chooses individuals (not masses), for a unique purpose and specific plan. As God reminds us through Jeremiah, God has a plan for each of us (Jer 29:11) and God alone knows what the plan is and how it would come through. All that we need to do is submit, surrender to that plan and walk by it.

And when God chooses, God chooses not for merely conferring a privilege, or a position or power; but for commitment, suffering and for giving one's life for the other! As the readings of the past Sunday reminded us, we cannot stop with thinking we are chosen therefore we are special! We are chosen, we are special... but it entails further, that we are specially chosen to strive, fight, struggle, suffer and thus, usher in the Reign of God, wherever we are. 

Mathias is today counted into the band of apostles. Of course a privilege, but with that came the burden of being a Messenger of the Word, the burden of being the Elder in the Community and the burden of being a Shepherd of God's flock. St. Mathias is an inspiring example which tells us, the Lord counts on us... the Lord has chosen us and wishes to count us into the number of his apostles!

Yes, the Word and the Saint of today speak to us: You are chosen! Are you ready for all that it entails?

The task of an Apostle - day in and day out!

THE WORD IN THE HOLY WEEK

Another Passion Week amidst the Pandemic - the Preaching Tuesday

March 30, 2021: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33,36-38

'Listen' is the call of the first reading! And reflecting on the life of Christ the exegetes say, today - this tuesday, might have been the last day that Jesus was upto his usual task with his disciples and followers. He knew the Jews were looking for him, waiting to trap him and do something about him! Yesterday we heard them so desperate about the crowd that was going behind this man, from Galilee! But what did Jesus do: he went on with his task as an apostle, day in and day out.

Jesus was the apostle of God, the apostle of the Goodnews that God wanted to share with whole humanity, the apostle of God's mercy, the apostle of love...nothing could stop him from being that! He was there with the crowds speaking to them, still explaining thing about the Reign of God and about how they could all together become the living temple of God! 

The Pandemic experience has thrown a similar challenge to us: last year things were worse! We were stuck in our houses and could not even go out. And we know how the social media and the television ministry came to our aid... helping us unite ourselves in the paschal mysteries of Christ from home! We thank God for these means.

The problem is not there...because what followed has become more problematic. This year things are not still totally alright, but much better than last year, as there is a possibility of moving out, even though with restrictions. But is there a kind of mindset, a spiritual lethargy that is set in: people preferring TV Masses to the Church services, persons looking for better alternatives and interesting choices instead of commitment to the Lord and the faith community they are called to be part of? 

‘I make you light of the nations,’ promised the Lord to his Servant. Jesus became the Light and said, ‘you shall be light of the world,’ making us just like him, apostles of the Father. Are we committed to our relationship with God our Father and Mother, just as Jesus was, come what may! Or are we giving the easiest reasons and simplest excuses to have our easy way out?

Jesus warned Judas; he warned his apostles; but they were all too naive to take it seriously. Jesus was troubled in spirit, says the Gospel today. Let him not be troubled by our spiritual lethargy and tendency of not prioritising what pertains to God.

Let us strive to be at the task of the apostles, day in and day out!

True Christian Love: Resolve to get nearer to the Reign

THE WORD IN LENT: Friday, 3rd week in Lent

March 12, 2021: Hosea 14: 2-10; Mark 12: 28-34

 

The Word shows us today the easiest way of getting nearer to God and to God's Reign. It is through a life that is Shared, thanks to the pastoral courtesy of the Christian call. 'Return' is the call; but to where?  To the believing community. The Lord awaits us there – in the community of faith, the communion of hearts, the loving union of persons. 

 

Truly getting nearer to the Reign would mean right relationships and mutual respect. Getting nearer to the Reign would mean, getting closer to one another and getting more and more familiar with the One who has called me. Getting nearer to God would mean the ability to notice the Lord close to me, walking beside me, sharing my life on a daily basis…in and through my brothers and sisters in the God given community where I practice my faith.

 

Being nearer to the Reign would mean not experimenting but experiencing. Unlike the Israel who went all around looking for hope and finally with no other options reached the Lord their God, we are invited to look into ourselves and look at the experiences we are through, the subtle ways in which we are led by the Almighty and recognise it all.

 

Being nearer to the Reign would mean not making of the other, one of the options but, the very criterion to decide my course of action; that is, to act keeping the good of the other, the wellbeing of the other, the happiness of the other as the criterion to decide what I would do, in any given situation! Getting nearer to the Reign therefore, would mean to become more God-conscious and Other-conscious than self-conscious!

 

Let us resolve to get ever nearer to the Reign!

Renewing Christian Hope: Switch to the Reign Mode

THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, 2nd week in Lent

March 3, 2021: Jeremiah 18: 18-20; Matthew 20: 17-28

 

The Word today presents to us the stark contrast between the Jesus' way of thinking and the worldly terms of thinking. These are two contrasting paradigms, and we become conscious of them.  

Jesus' way of thinking is Reign mode of thinking; thinking of the primacy of God, thinking of the framework of love, thinking of the criterion of service, thinking of the fullness of life of all! 

The worldly mode of thinking is thinking of one's gains at all costs, thinking of one's comfort mindless about the struggles of others, thinking of scaling the ladder and not serving my brothers and sisters, thinking of every one and every situation as an opportunity for my own gains! Look at the hundreds of millions of scams that are being spoken of these days, even in nations so poor where millions go hungry out of misery everyday... what heights of greed and selfishness!

 

But before pointing a finger, before blaming someone, let each of judge for ourselves, in which mode we live our life today. At times our worldly mode may be the most justified looking at the way everyone else lives all around; and the Reign mode might seem totally ‘out of the world!’ Are we going to give into that conformity to the world? Or sometimes the modes may be off and on; that is, occasionally we may have the two of them alternating between themselves. But which of it is the predominant mode? 

 

When are we going to clearly switch to the Reign Mode? St. Paul instructs in his letter to the Philippians: 'Put on the mind of Christ' (2:5). That is the hope that the Christian way of life can offer to this battered world...but are we living up to that mission? If we have to...let us live our everyday in Reign Mode!

The dangerous leaven

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week in Ordinary time

February 16, 2021: Genesis 6: 5-8, 7: 1-5, 10; Mark 8: 14-21

The Lord invites us, as God's people to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Another significant role the Lord assigns to us is to be the leaven of goodness; the yeast of the Reign. Jesus uses this image of the leaven - both in the positive sense of the leaven of the Reign, and in the negative sense of the leaven of the pharisees to be avoided.

Today, the Lord warns us of a danger that we become a leaven of insincerity, compromises, mediocrity and hypocrisy. Even though we may not outwardly choose to be blatantly evil, we may live a life of double or multiple standards, a life of total discrepancy; that life would not only be unfit for Reign, it would be dangerously against the Reign.

Getting into the ark of the Lord, that is the Reign of God, is not a simple matter that happens automatically. It is a series of deliberate choices to be made, on a daily basis. It does not happen by decisions others have made on our behalf (something like the parents deciding to baptise the kids), not does it happen by mere enrollment on a roll of members in a society or a community! It is a personal choice and an absolute way of life.

We are at the threshold of a holy season... the holy season of lent which begins tomorrow. What a time to impress on our minds this concrete message!

Are we truly Christian?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

February 4, 2021: St. John de Britto: The Red Sand Martyr

Hebrews 12: 18-19,21-24; Mark 6: 7-13

John de Britto, a Jesuit Missionary, who formed part of the famous Madurai Mission, arrived in India in 1673 and was imprisoned in 1684 and deported back to Lisbon, Portugal in 1687. However he came back to India in 1690 and was killed in 1693!

An information to those not from India or South India: the place where John de Britto (Arulanandar) was killed, situated in the diocese of Sivagangai, is called Oriyur! The sand in the particular field where he was allegedly killed, has a texture totally red, so strange to the terrain around! It is considered a miraculous phenomenon and is seen and experienced even today!

A challenge to those from India, especially South India: The feast of John de Britto does not only bring to our mind the wonderful gift that we have received from the Lord through missionaries such as these, it also brings to mind the bitter memories of things that have taken place in the region in the past decade. There is no need to narrate them here or delve deep into them, as the local faithful know it well: the challenge that is very clear - A Church that is divided on the lines of caste, cannot be truly CHRISTIAN. Any number of reasons can never justify dividing a church on those grounds or having internal fights on the basis of caste or clan! 

The Word instructs us on similar lines. When the Lord tell his disciples and apostles, not to take anything with them, he means it. Not to take the baggages of  the background, the race, the colour, the caste, the clan, the tribe, the status, the symbols...nothing to be taken! All that matters is the Reign...which as the letter to the Hebrews explains, "is nothing known to the senses." Every Christian is called and challenged to uphold this grandiose mystery of the Reign...but the question is : Are we truly Christian?

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'?

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?

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!

Our disposition - surrender or manipulation?

WORD 2day: 6th day in Christmas Octave

December 30, 2020: 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 it is considered an outdated way of thinking. Indeed, the dichotomy that is involved and implied is a bit old fashioned but the difference between the two choices, is real and concrete. Even our prayer for example could have within itself a hidden sense of excessive importance to the world and the things of the world instead of our love for God our Father and Mother.

There was a last minute preparation going on for a mega event, while unfortunately the forecast was for a likely cyclone showers! Immediately a group got down to pray and say, 'please stop the rain'! Praying, here is something wonderful, 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 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 for that matter, waited for years together, in relentless patience towards the will of God. The people of Israel waited for Godàs promised redemption...but were unable to behold it, when it came - may be because they were more preoccupied with what they wanted, than with what was within Godàs plan. 

Can we really abandon ourselves to the will of God: a surrender so beautifully symbolised by the Divine Kid in the manger these days! The year is running the final bit of its last lap...can we make an examination of conscience today? What is our disposition: surrender or manipulation?

Persecuted Christians - the epitome of the Reign to come

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

December 26, 2020: St. Stephen, the first Martyr
Acts 6: 8-10, 7: 54-59; Matthew 10: 17-22

Persecutions and Martyrdom have never been alien to Christian Faith. St. Stephen is the first Biblical evidence to it. Continuing in the line of the prophets and persons of God who have been treated at will by the world in the Old Testament, we see Jesus and most of his disciples facing the same end in the New Testament. 

Some time ago, a person posted on the facebook saying he (or she?), was offended when the Churches all over the world were praying for Christians in Iraq and the person questioned: "Why only Christians? Why not others?" Today Christians in Iraq or Syria or Lebanon or China or India... all these 'persecuted Christians' should by now be a collective term for us...it should stand for and remind us of every person persecuted for truth, every person tortured unjustly, every person discriminated and trampled under the tyranny of violence and force! It is not merely Fr. Stan Swamy who is in prison, but every person who is unjustly held, tortured without cause and taken to task for standing by truth, has to be prayed for and sustainted.

St. Stephen knew what it meant to suffer for Christ; it meant suffering for the things that really matter; it meant standing for true beliefs and convictions that can elevate your spirit to the heavens open and the angels coming down! It was Stephen who also imitated his Master literally: while Jesus prayed for those who crucified him and offered his spirit into the hands of his loving Father, Stephen prayed for those who stoned him and surrendered his spirit into Jesus' hands. What an example for us to emulate! The other message, strong and clear, is the fact that it is an integral part of being a Christian, to suffer for what is right, for what is expected of me and for the cause of the Reign, which is justice and truth.

In fact, the crux of Christian identity in the pluralistic context today, is standing up for the Reign - that is, for justice, truth, peace, integral joy of all and the uplifting of the down trodden. Let our Christmas be extended, all through our lives - in becoming ourselves, epitomies of the Reign. 

Face the fire!

THE WORD IN ADVENT 

December 12, 2020: 2nd Saturday in Advent

Sirach 48: 1-4, 9-11; Matthew 17: 9a, 10-13

Elijah arose like a fire, the Word says and John was the expected Elijah! Elijah was a mighty big challenge for the people of his times - the people revered, the kings trembled, and the other false prophets fell flat before him. This is why, the powerful people in the time of Jesus wondered why Elijah should come back, because for them Elijah meant trouble. Obviously, they could not, rather they did not want to see Elijah in the Baptist. And Jesus pointed it out on their face. 

For us today 'Elijah' would be those persons and situations that challenge us to greater commitment and total dedication. And 'John' would be those people who put us into a spiritual uneasiness by their witnessing life. At times we do not want to have anything to do with them. Worse still, we try to interpret their actions and attitudes to be too rude or pretentious,  thus writing them off from the public face. The worst, when we try to get rid of them, whatever it takes.

Look at the scenario today: the increasing compromises in Christian living and the senseless alienation of daily life from the Christian belief; duplicity of motivations in what we speak or do in the public domain; the underground discussions and partnerships that aim at toppling the righteous persons who burn with the fire of the Reign!

Let us keep the figures of Elijah and John in our minds for a practical and concrete dedication towards our call to be people of the Reign. Let us recognise willingly people with such fire within them! Even if we are not one of them, at least let us  learn to face them... let us learn to face the fire, with holy awe!

The Reign suffers!

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 10, 2020: 2nd Thursday in Advent

Isaiah 41: 13-20; Matthew 11: 11-15

Jesus speaks of the Reign that suffers at the hands of the violent. It follows from Jesus' assertion that the Reign of God rests amidst us. Yes, the Reign lives in those who live the values of the Reign. Most of the times our discourses and discussions on the Reign of God, end with a dubious note, a never answered question: "are all that we speak of, possible?  Is it not merely Utopian to think of such ideals? Can we really establish such a Reign in our context?" 

Jesus would today tell us: it is not all about establishing the Reign. The Reign already exists, in the persons who stand for love and mutual care, in persons who thirst for justice and truth, in persons who are ready to give up even their lives for the sake of fullness of life for all. The question is, do we form part of that Reign already in our life or not. And if we do form part of it, it would be seen in our everyday choices, our priorities and the causes we stand for and speak out for. 

When we do it, we will surely not be left in peace. Look at persons who are taken to task, in different parts of the world, merely because they insist on living the values of the Reign - the values of justice, equality, and fraternity! Jesus himself is our model who went right up to the cross and eventual death, for the sake of the values of love and sacrifice that he held on to. Living these days of crisis, this life style of Jesus is a big challenge to us. 

When we intend to live as Christ did, we will certanain have troubles from every corner and the Lord assures us in the first reading today: 'Fear not! I will help you!' Because the Reign of God is the Lord's doing and we are all agents of that the Reign here on earth - and we have the Reign right within us! When we fail to realise that, the Reign suffers!

A Child's traits for the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 1, 2020: Tuesday, 1st week of Advent

Isaiah  11: 1-10; Luke 10: 21 -24

Maria, a 8 year old kid was setting up the crib at home...she brought all her dolls too, to be part of the crib. She had arranged all the animals...lion, tiger, deer, rabbit, bear and panda, all of them altogether, one next to the other! The dad objected to it, 'but my love, they cannot be one next to the other...it does not happen that way. The lion will attack the deer, the tiger will kill the rabbit, the bear will eat the goat!' Maria looked quizzingly at the father and said: 'but dad! why should they! They are all my friends, all of them! They are friends too among them! They like each other!' That is the Child's world...so close to the Reign!

Lion sleeping with the lamb, bear playing with a kid and all peaceful on the holy mount- when we read these lines, we feel like saying, it's utopian; it's like a child's dream! Precisely because of this Jesus makes that exclamation today: that the Father has revealed such things to mere children while the expert eyes are busy prying over the obvious.

The Child's capacity underlined here by Christ and advocated as required traits for the persons of the Reign, are threefold. 

Firstly, it is to see! Having that freshness of perception which would allow the person to observe any simple sign. 'It need not be always that way'...is a fresh attitude of a child. Nothing needs to be the same all the time! We need to see, see the possibility!

Secondly, it is to accept! It is sporting that openness of mind that would not rule out any thing as total impossibility, because with God everything is possible. It is like in a child's world, the dog will talk, the cat shall respond, the dolls shall miss when they are not caressed, even the tables and chairs keep chatting with those in the living room! Accept it...it is possible.

Thirdly, the humility with which one is able to wait on the Lord, as did the kings and the prophets who waited for the day of the Lord. In God's time everything shall take place and all that we need to do is remain open and prepared, waiting and willing!

A KING WITH A DIFFERENCE

Shepherd, Servant and Sovereign!

November 22, 2020: Solemnity of Christ the King
Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17; 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28; Matthew 25: 31-46

Christ the King Sunday marks the beginning of the last week of the Liturgical year and thus it serves as a fitting culmination of the year, a climax to end the year with! The one whose birth, life, death and resurrection that we remembered and celebrated all through this liturgical year, is our King, says this Sunday. 

We celebrate our King today, our King who is madly in love with us, our King who had given up everything for the sake of the love that he had for us, our King who even today is ready to give up on anything, all just for the love that he has for us. Our King, definitely, is different from the rest of the kings we can think or see around. To be served, to have authority over all, to rule over all and to hoard as much as possible for oneself: these are what being a king would mean today. 

Enough to look around we have all sorts: rulers who were all their life hoarding things and died so miserable and despicable; rulers who pose themselves shamelessly as 'greatest ever' and think that they can never be dethroned; rulers who do all they can to please every one whom they can merely to stay in power and hold on to the throne; rulers who manipulate every one and every thing and project themselves to be the saviours but all the time gnawing at the very roots of the happiness of the common folk; rulers who openly suppress rights of people and rule by fear; rulers who have all secret pacts to destroy anyone who stands against them, caring nothing about the innocents and vulnerable who are trampled in the bargain! Oh...what range of them! But we the people of God, are a privileged lot because we have a King who is a contrast to all these !

The King we have is a Shepherd King: he comes in search of us, strains himself for our good, provides for our needs, binds our wounds, leads us, directs us, feeds us, nourishes us, defends us and does everything necessary for our peaceful and happy life. None of us can ever deny the fact that we have the protecting and providing hand of God hovering over us, because without that we would find our life tough and sometimes even terrible. A King who comes in search of us, not one who waits in his throne for us to go begging!

Certainly you have come across that cartoon that was circulated during this COVID lock-down - the devil laughing at God saying, "Ah...I managed to close all your Churches!". And God smiling back retorting, "And I have just opened one in each home!" Whether we go in search of God or not. God is ever search of us. All that we need to do is open the door of our hearts and he shall enter, and make home with us!

The King we have is a Servant King: it is strange that our king, kind of depends on us. All that he is concerned about is not so much to "rule" us as to "serve" us. He wishes that we feed him, clothe him, console him... he says he depends on us! What sort of a king is he who depends on his subjects, a king who wants his subjects to give him in mercy to eat, who identifies himself with his subjects who are in want and in dire need. What sort of a king is he who feels sad when his subjects are sad, feels abandoned when his subjects are left to suffer alone, feels neglected when his subjects are left without no one to care for. Truly he is a servant king, who desires that we play his role, take his side and be his ambassadors when there are our brothers and sisters who are in hunger, in need, in dire want, in loneliness, in suffering! 

If the King is a servant, the subjects and servants of the king, what do they become? Kings? No, servants of the Servant king! The more I humble myself, the more I become a true subject of my King. The more I reach out in service to the needy, the more I grow in the image of my King who came reaching out to me, leaving behind all the regalia of a king. The more I look at every one around me as person whom I need to serve, the more I become like the King who announced: I have come to serve, not to be served! What an example we have!

The King we have is a Sovereign King: every knee shall bow and every tongue confess the he is King and he is Lord! The dependence that we see in the king is not a sign of weakness, it is the very nature of our King and Lord who is a relational Being; God who is a community, God who is three persons, in relationship with each other, and defines what right relationships should be like. God orders the movements of the planets and the heavenly bodies but gives each of his sons and daughters, a divine freedom that fills them with respect and dignity. We are given a royal identity, that we are sons and daughters of the Sovereign king. 

The Creator, the protector, the ultimate judge, the righteous arbiter, the King of the Universe...that is what the Lord is. There can be millions of inventions and thousands of theories with which people in history have tried to do away with God and replace God with something! But it has never worked. There is invariably a point after which no one can proceed without compromising on certainty and clarity in their negation of God. Besides all these, there is no need for anyone to try to prove God! God does not need our proofs...and if God does need them, it cannot be God. We do not try to prove God... we experience God and share that experience with the others. So, let us not get upset when we are not able to "prove" God's existence to people around us...but we need to get worried when we are not able to communicate God-experience to others in and through our life, because we have not had it ourselves! That is what we need to strive for - to have a deep God-experience within us, so that we can share it with all those around us. 

Yes, we have a King who is all powerful, governs every aspect of this universe, but when it comes to his love for us, he loves us so tenderly that he looks so weak like a servant, so humble like a shepherd and yet no one can deny the Sovereign that God is!

Sweet in the mouth; bitter in the stomach

WORD 2day: Friday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 20, 2020: Revelation 10: 8-11; Luke 19: 45-48

Jesus was attractive; people rallied after him so willingly and readily. He was interesting to listen to; so many pharisees and scribes hung on to his lips. He was famous; the mere name drew not just crowds but even prominent persons like Zachaeus, Nicodemus and others. He had charming ways; even Herod wanted to see him atleast once! All these were true only in as much as they all looked at Jesus from a distance. When Jesus got near...he turned demanding. 

The people came to him and he challenged them to live a life of destitution, with no place to even lay their heads. The people listened to him and he called them whitewashed sepulchers, inviting them to true personal conversion. Individuals approached him and he challenged them to total reformation of their personal and public lives. The people led him with such celebration into the city of Jerusalem and he enters the Temple and drives out the vendors and money lenders, challenging the social system that the people were so easily justifying and living with.

The Lord's promises are sweet, but when we take it to heart they are demanding. If we truly listen to the Word of God, we cannot remain the same forever, we would be challenged to change, to transform, to become more and more like the Lord himself. But that is not an easy process, though it has to form part of the life of every Christian. Hardly do we take it seriously... the reason - initially it looks attractive but as we get into it, it gets tougher and tougher.

The Word may be sweet in the mouth; but for sure it will be bitter in the stomach, churning the unwanted elements out and paving way towards the Reign. Are we truly prepared?

Smile upon or Weep over

WORD 2day: Thursday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November, 19, 2020: Revelation 5:1-10; Luke 19: 41-44

The Gospels picture Jesus as weeping, in two places: once in John (11:35); and the other is the passage we have today from Luke (19:41). In the first instance he wept for his friend; and today he is weeping for Jerusalem, that is the chosen people of God, the people called to come under the wings of the Lord who wanted to protect them all as a hen does to her chicks. But the people weren't prepared. Jesus wept thinking of their obstinacy, their choice against God's plan of salvation! 

In the first reading we have another instance of weeping: John who weeps for the fact that there was no one worthy to open the scrolls. Opening the scrolls means being the mediator between God's ever present love and our absolute need for that merciful love. There is one who is worthy: Jesus, the Son of God...the One mediator who revealed to us who God really is to us and what we are called to be. 

In our obstinacy we can remain in our own shells and do what pleases us, instead of opening our hearts and letting Jesus in. We can be so hardhearted that we can miss out the greatest treasures presented to us, in simple and ordinary ways, everyday. We can have the Lord speaking to us all day, we can have the Lord showing us the way, we can have the right persons we need at the right time... but in our hardheartedness, we could miss it all!

Let us not be people over whom Jesus would have to weep. Being sensitive to the messages that Lord gives us on a daily basis, through the Word, through the daily events, through persons we encounter, through the insights that dawn on us... we will be prepared to receive the Lord and the love of God that he mediates. Let the Lord smile upon us, not weep over us!

Called to Praise the Lord

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 18, 2020: Revelation 4: 1-11; Luke 19: 11-28

John impresses upon us how important and essential it is for us, as creatures of the Creator Almighty, to give praise to our Lord and King. Praising God - can never be done enough and it is always in want, in contrast to the boundless glory that the Lord possesses! The Word today distinguishes among three types of people who give praise to the Lord:

The first are the Psuedo Praisers: who praise the Lord with their tongues but are far away in spirit from the Lord. They are those who deceive themselves putting up a mere show of their allegiance to God, while in fact are all the while doing their own will. Wantonly, they make of themselves people unfit for the Reign.

The second are the Pointless Praisers: who think praising the Lord alone is enough to inherit the Reign. Their praising is pointless, in fact the Lord himself had declared: 'not all those who call me Lord Lord, will enter the Reign of God' (cf. Mt 7:21). They keep praising as a part time occupation, doing things diametrically opposed in the rest of their lives! Does it work so? At times due to spiritual laziness and other times due to undue attachments to the unhelpful attitudes, they hardly drag themselves towards the Reign. Ultimately, they fall short of entering the Reign. 

The third are the Profound Praisers: who do not consider praising the Lord as a duty in itself. Their very words, actions and life gives praise to the Lord. Their witness leads, not only themselves, but even those around them to praise the Lord to the heights. They live their life to the full, and seeing their lives, people are inspired to give praises to their King and Lord. They do have their share of weaknesses and faults, but they are quick to rise and get back in line with the Will of God. These are the People of the Reign, true and profound in their praise.

Obviously...apart from God, there is only one who can truly say to which of these categories I belong: Myself!

To be or not to be a Reign person!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 32nd week in Ordinary time

November, 12, 2020: Philemon 7-20; Luke 17: 20-25

Paul does not request or exhort Philemon to forgive and accept Onesimus, not anymore as a slave, but as a brother in the Lord. He almost commands and takes for granted that it is done. This is because forgiveness, love and union of hearts are no more options to choose from. The very fact that one chooses to be a Christian, that is a follower of Christ, he or she has already chosen these to be values of life! They are to be the very way of life for a Christian because: the Reign of God is amidst us.

Misunderstandings between husband and wife, misgivings between the families,  fights among siblings, the bitter experiences of past, nothing of these can give me an excuse to remain stubborn in my shell and refuse to build communion. What a shame it is to see sealed churches, divided parishes, division stricken religious congregations and communities, and hearts with discriminating and dividing sensibilities, within the so called family of God! That should be considered an anomaly, a serious deficiency, an abominable virus!

There is no more a sense of magnanimity in treating everyone as my brother and sister... it is after all what I am expected to do, the normal way of being as a Christian... because the Reign of God is within me! Priding in the fact that we live together, we accept each and we work together, is a sign of immaturity in terms of true Christian lifestyle. It has to be taken for granted that we are brothers and sisters and we accept each other - the mark of maturity however lies in, how genuinely and deeply we love each other as brothers and sisters in the One Lord.

In short, the choice we have is very fundamental: either living a Christian or not, on a daily basis! I am either a Reign person or an anti-Reign person... the choice is mine!