The Spirit that convicts!

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

May11, 2021: Acts 16: 22-34; John 16: 5-11

Jesus wishes that his disciples moved on to the next level. He is pushing them to it, goading them to make them not merely servants but friends, not merely working hands but leaders, not merely followers but inspirers. He is trying his best to introduce them to the Advocate, the Divine Counselor! This week, the Word presents to us, the varied aspects of a Spirit-filled Christian life... today's readings bring out one important aspect of this advocate, promised by Jesus: the aspect of the Spirit which convicts individuals, communities and all those who truly believe.

The Spirit when around makes things clear - about sin, righteousness and judgement, says the Word. No one can escape from the omniscient Spirit of the Lord, for even the innermost of the sinful tendencies are known to the Spirit. One who is righteous is sustained by the Spirit, that amidst even the worst of oppositions and criticism, the one who is conscientiosuly righteous, knows nothing can affect him or her. One who is in the Spirit knows that the judgement is at hand and lives not by fear, but by righteousness and in abhorrence of sin! In fact, receiving the Spirit, thus becomes a mode of equipping oneself to live a truly Christian life.

Receiving the Spirit is not an ordinary task. It is a divine mission that the Lord promised to those who sincerely ask for it. For when the spirit comes... the Spirit would convict the person. The person automatically goes into a self-examination mode, evaluating and appraising oneself on, how worthy one is, of the life to which he or she is called.

"What should we do to be saved" ... that is the question that would fill our hearts, when the Spirit overshadows us. What should I do to be acceptable in the eyes of God? What should I do to reject sin? What should I do to be righteous in the eyes of God? What should I become to face judgement with hope? We have a great help to answer these questions: the Spirit that convicts!

True Christian Love: Are we convinced not to kill?

THE WORD IN LENT: Friday, 2nd week in Lent

March 5, 2021: Genesis 37: 3-4, 12-13, 17-28; Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

 

There is a common phrase in today's readings: come let us kill him! 

At times we target a helpless individual just because the person is different from us or thinks different from us. In spite of knowing well that the person is just and could well be right, we tend to gang up against the person merely because he or she is a hindrance to our way of thinking or our way of being. 

Our words, or judgements, the remarks we pass, the comments we circulate can be really killing the person, worse even than sentencing the person to death. Character assassinations, insensitive treatment of persons, selfish manipulation of individuals and exploitations of all types are some ways we do away with persons around us – they are actually modes of killing. 

The moment a person has an opinion different from mine, the moment a person does not do what I want, the moment a person finds that my way of thinking may not be the ideal and expresses it so, I begin to think that the person is against me! Once I decide that he or she is against me, I am out to destroy that person - in whichever way I can: intellectually, morally, psychologically, socially... only thing that is left is destroying physically, which happens by itself! Is this not killing?

Even the best of preachers, specially the television and media preachers of today, fall prey to this murderous tendency - trying to destroy the other with facts and fallacies, allegations and imaginations. Forget the politicians and businessmen, the so-called "religious" people are the worst of this kind, killing each other in words and in deeds! The call to each of us today is: to restrain ourselves from killing the other. 

Towards forming ourselves in true Christian love, let us ask ourselves: are we really convinced not to kill?

 

Neither inaction nor hyper action!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 34th week in Ordinary time

November 28, 2020: Revelation 22:1-7; Luke 21: 34-36

Behold I am coming soon! At times it annoys when we hear people go hysteric about this statement. However, it is not a statement to make everyone panic, but a gentle reminder as to how one should live one's daily life. It is not something that should make is run for cover or throw spiritual tantrums, but a constant life style that should make us conscious any time in our life about who we are and what we are called to. 

St.Paul understood this well and instructed the Thessalonians: "For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ...But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness" (1 Thess 5:2,4). If you are frightened of it or if you are interested in frightening the world about it, imagine how far you are from being true children of God!

The message is clear: that neither inaction nor hyper action is expected of us; neither carousing nor drowsiness! It is not a call to live your life on pins and needles, anxious about the next moment; nor is it a call to live our life in mourning and bewailing for the lost moments. The call is to make the best of this moment and live the 'here and now' to the full, conscious and loving. 

The Gospel presents us that call: be vigilant at all times! Neither inaction, which is the product of lamentation of the past, nor hyper action which is a frenetic preparation for an unknown future at the cost of the present, would help us, says the Word today. What matters is we live our daily lives, every moment, with responsibility to God and availability to our brothers and sisters, conscious of our choices and conscientious of our failures. But all the time serene, because one who says he is coming soon, is our Saviour!

The secret is to live our lives as children of the light, here and now, calm and composed, but awake and vigilant!

Judgment: our choice!?

WORD 2day: Thursday, 34th week in Ordinary time

November 26, 2020: Revelation 18: 1-2, 21-23, 19:1-3, 9; Luke 21: 20-28

Happy are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb...the final banquet, the moment of redemption...the end of days, the judgment seat... these are all the pictures that the Word paints before our eyes today. Let us not create for ourselves an idea of some horror stories or sort of shake-up narrations. They are, after all, logical ends towards which we are all journeying.

But a further fact to remember is that these need not be always an end time phenomenon, instead it has to be an everyday experience...the judgment is a continuous happening and it is not entirely an act of the Lord; the choices that we make at any given point of time, at any moment of a given day, the choice of our words, thoughts, actions, decisions...those are already judgments that we bring upon ourselves (cf. Jn 3:18).

The reason is this: our choice! Every time we react in a way to something or someone, we make a choice! You may say, "No! but it was just a spontaneous word, or a spontaneous act; not premeditated at all!" But remember, though it is a so-called spontaneous word or act, it has a history; there is a whole lot of experience behind it; there is a whole lot of judgement that goes with it. Why you choose a word, not another; why choose a particular way of reacting and not some other... they depend, even if unconscious or subconscious, on the attitudes or the disposition you have towards that person or that event. That is where our judgments, the judgments that come on us, rest too! That is why Jesus said: judge not, you shall not be judged!

Coming back to the parable...we are all called to the wedding feast, that is to unite with the Lord and enjoy the eternal bliss. But the choices we make on a daily basis, at a particular point of time, is our response and that decides whether we enter the banquet or not. Hence, instead of yarning tales of suspense and horror, let us realise our responsibility in making right choices, conscious choices, charitable choices, holy choices, Christ-like choices, every moment of our daily life: Judgement is our choice, indeed!

The Fear of Examination?!?

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 29th week in Ordinary time 

October 20, 2020: Ephesians 2:12-22; Luke 12: 35-38

All of us have had, and some would still have, a fear of examinations! And the usual remedy proposed by teachers is, learn your subjects on a daily basis, revise your classes everyday and when the exams come you will be better prepared. The real point is, examinations are not something for which we need to prepare, they are just one specific moment within the long and complex process of learning. At times when we do not have the right study habits and attitudes, exams become a separate entity and a great hurdle to be crossed and not merely a formality to be undergone as part of the process. Now, that was not for a Study-skill session...but to bring out the crux of today's message from the Word. 

The Word reminds us how the Lord has chosen us and given us an identity that is entirely a grace: the identity of being the people of God, of being the offsprings of God, of being God's beloved children. When we are conscious of that identity on a daily basis, conduct our affairs accordingly and gradually keep growing and maturing in that identity, we would not need to prepare, or be afraid of, or fret about what is called the judgment moment! There are people and groups who make a huge issue of the judgement day, when we have to meet the Lord and render an account - let us stop that madness! The Lord did not create us to give an account. The Lord created us to live, live to the full, live with the true identity and inner joy of the children of God.

Added to that judgement is not a matter of merely the last day! Every choice that we make is a judgement we bring on ourselves... whether it is monitored or not! When I know that I am a child of God, that I am a son or a daughter of God and I live, believe and behave worthy of that identity, why should I fear and what should I fear? When God is with us who can be against us! In our daily choices and everyday decisions, if we are against God, who can really help us? 

It is like the Spiritual Master who was asked as he was having his cup of tea, 'what would you do, if the world ends this moment?' The Master calmly said: "I would continue having my tea." That is what our disposition should be, if we are truly children of God. What if!!! What if the world ends now! What if my death comes now! What if I have to stand before the judgement seat of the Lord right now! If I have to be fearless, my choices have to be right every moment. There can be failures, repeat attempts, improvements, reappearances... but fear of examination - no! it never serves the purpose! 

KEY PERSONS UNTO THE REIGN

The Role, Wisdom and Personal Knowledge of God

August 23, 2020: 21st Sunday in Ordinary time
Isaiah 22: 19-23; Romans 11: 33-36; Matthew 16: 13-20

Look around the world today - what do we see? Crises, confusion, uncertainty, conspiracies, controversies, cries of agony, protest and grief, unrest and dissatisfaction. Even amidst all these, there are nations threatening each other to prove who is superior to whom; there are Corporates clashing with each other to claim the topmost slot in the economic world, not hesitating to exploit even the health crisis that is around; there are factions and groups in the name of religion, language, ethnicity and race playing havoc, making of humanity a worthless value to uphold; there are those in the garb of god-men fending their own nests and exploiting every one else for it; there are politicians who pose to be liberators of the masses while they are hand in glove with every agency that goes diametrically opposed to the common good... What is all these manipulation about? What are they trying to prove to themselves and to the world? They want to identify themselves as the key persons, or key groups, wherever they are! Aware of this background let us listen to what the Word has to tell us today.

One image that dominates today's liturgy of the word is the image of the Key...every person, every entity, every nation, every society, every corporate wants to be a key entity in its field. That is what we see in the entire list of examples we just enumerated. But, in truth, becoming conscious of one's mission and situating it within God's plan is the real secret behind being key persons in the eyes of the Lord. Every prophet, we see in the Old Testament, is enamoured by the love of the Lord and surrenders totally to the Spirit shining as a key person within the believing community. We do observe in persons within some of our Christian communities that we are part of, or youth groups that we belong to, or an association or sodality we take part in... a similar urge to be key persons! For example, the tasks of being part of the Parish Pastoral Council, the cooperators to the animating nucleus of the Parish at the zonal or the division levels, are some key roles that people aspire for today (of course the lockdown has locked down even all these possibilities!). We are indeed called to be key persons, yes! But not unto our own glory as we see all around but unto the Reign that the Lord wants us to build here on earth. 

To be a key person is to realise your GOD GIVEN ROLE: 

Being key persons unto the kingdom would mean, we understand our key role from the perspective of God. At times politics enters the religious ambit and faith communities, and shatters every bit of truth that can exist. Lack of focus and confusion of meanings are the outcomes of such an influx and personal integrity is left at stake. The Lord reminds us in the first reading that it is the Lord who robes one with, or strips one of authority. 

We have heard the phrase, God writes straight through crooked lines, all that we need to be is those straight strokes, for God to straighten those crooked scribblings of human selfishness and greed. If I am not available there will always be someone within God's eternal plan, but I, on my part, will totally miss the purpose of my life! And I need to be very attentive to the inbuilt purpose that my Creator has for me!

To be a key person is to be GUIDED BY WISDOM:

Wisdom is not merely knowing; it is knowing that one knows and knowing what is to be known at a particular point of time. It is, more than a capacity, a grace! A key person unto the Kingdom should be equipped with wisdom much more than anything. To make the right decisions at the right time and to make the right changes at the right time towards an authentic growth towards being true people of the Reign! The key persons would be those who are guided by Wisdom.

At times right discernment is hindered by the overshadowing selfish thinking, overpowering greed for dominance and overflooding desire for momentary pleasure. Key persons cannot be led by these...they need to pause every now and then, take stock of their internal motivations and innermost purposes and remain always on the side of Wisdom, which comes from the Spirit of the Lord.

To be a key person is to have PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD:

The Gospel today gives us the ultimate criterion to be key persons unto the kingdom: it is to know God, on a personal basis. To have encountered God, experienced God, tasted God, felt the concrete presence of God is one of the fundamental criteria to play any key role in a community of faith, a community of people of God. Mere borrowed experiences and brainwashed theories cannot make one an authentic key player within the community of the Reign. 

Knowing Christ is knowing God. The person of Jesus Christ, his life and teachings, his values and priorities, his choices and decisions, are the parameters for any person of God, anyone who wants to belong to the Reign, anyone who wishes to really be a child of God, making God present wherever he or she is. That is what Jesus did - made present God and God's Reign as he moved around among the people. Key persons are those who know Christ, understand Christ and put on the mind of Christ.

Each of us can turn to be a key person unto the Reign, if and only if we realise the God given role that we have, be guided by Wisdom and yearn for a personal knowledge of God in our lives. The more key persons there are, the more efficacious the Reign can be on earth, here and now. 

A self-critical conscious Choice

WORD 2day: Monday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 22, 2020: 2 Kings 17: 5-8, 13-15, 18; Matthew 7: 1-5

Judge not, and you shall not be judged, instructs Jesus today. Not to judge others does not mean justifying whatever he or she does. Between judging the other and justifying the other there is an attitude that Jesus deems Reign-worthy and that is, a Self-critical Conscious Choice.

The first need is to be self critical. When I find something wrong in the other, charity requires that I first become critical of myself... it is seeing the log that is in your eye before offering to remove the splinter from your neighbour's. Once I am aware that I too possess the same, or a similar, or a bigger weakness, my attitude changes completely. I am in a  position to act with prudence and humility.

The second need is to set the home tidy first. "Do not do like they do" ... that was the instruction that the Lord had given the people when they come into contact with other people in their wanderings. St. Paul too has a similar warning for us, isn't it? Writing to the Romans, he tells us: do not be conformed to the world, instead be transformed in the Lord (cf. Rom 12).

The third need is to make a conscious choice. Do not let yourself be carried away by your emotions and the anger of the moment. How many times this happens, that we lose our cool in a moment of restlessness, and feel bad to have said something or done something that we can never undo! If we judge and react to our brothers and sisters merely in the whiff of the moment, it would not be a conscious choice, and later we will have no other choice than to regret it all our life.  

In short, the Word invites us today to live our daily lives conscious of who we are, what we are called for and where we are bound to! Let us take our daily life seriously and live on a daily basis with sound self-critical conscious choices... the Word shall be the lamp to that path!

WORD 2day: 7th September, 2016

Never lose the Focus

Wednesday, 23rd week in Ordinary Time

1 Cor 7: 25-31: Lk 6: 20-26

The first christian community in fact expected that they would see Jesus around in his second coming already in their time... they were preparing for it intensely. The moment they began to realise it was getting delayed, they began to grow lax in their life of virtues! It is in this context that Paul writes to them...about celibacy, purity and single minded dedication to the Lord. His call was: never lose focus, for everything will come to pass in no time!

The second coming may be at an appointed time which the Lord alone knows and we wait for it, with patience and focus. But, if we believe that the second coming is a moment of judgement, that moment is here and now... for our choices every moment determine the judgement that is going to be! Every time I choose something or avoid something, I am bringing upon me a judgement by myself. That is what Jesus tells us in the Gospel: I make myself blessed or unfortunate! I need to be informed, alert and categorical about my choices - they determine what I will be judged to be. The crux is that I never lose the focus, even as I am involved in hectic activity!

WORD 2day: 18th May, 2016

Poor in spirit depend on God

Wednesday, 7th week in Ordinary Time

Jam 4: 13-17; Mk 9: 38-40

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3). How do we understand the expression 'poor in spirit'? The Word today has a simple description: they depend on God. Two traits that are enlisted as opposition or rebellion to God are Pride and Jealousy! Pride claims illegitimate credits for things; Jealousy detests anyone being better in comparison to me.

James hits out against pride, which claims that we are in control of our entire life! I know of a person who has written down what he would be doing the next 25 years in succession! One thing is to have a plan, while it is totally another matter to be too sure about taking control of everything! 

Jesus speaks of jealousy in subtle manner, without hurting the sentiments of his own apostles. He instructs them about not monopolising the role of being God's instruments! Anyone could be used by God, just as you could be! When you are used by God for God's purposes, rejoice and be glad. When someone else is used by God, give praise to God all the same! This comes from two important qualities we need to develop: stop comparing and place God at the centre, not yourself!

When we work out of these two temptations: of pride and jealousy, we would be well on our way to sanctity...for that is a sign that we depend on God, that we are poor in spirit, and the kingdom of heaven belongs to us!

HOLY WEEK 2016 - The Spy Wednesday

THE TASK: TRUST

23rd March

Judas, can easily be presented as the epitome of the ills that the present society is infected with. There are three tendencies in Judas that we are called to beware of:

- What will you give me? Looking for a gain, a personal gain, a sordid gain, a material gain, from whatever the situation be! The society today is growing in this tendency, that not only persons see each other as potential gain or loss, but they manipulate each other towards one's own gain!

- Is it I Lord? Not really getting the grips of oneself. The society today is quick to blame the others for all evils, unable to point to oneself and get in touch with the personal limitations that add to the social scourge! Issues that affect our society like corruption, caste and other discrimination... aren't they arising from individual insensitivities?

- It was dark outside... because he did not have God in his heart, he had only the money bag in his mind. As he left, it was not only dark outside, more dark within him! He was going through a tough time: whether to trust God or to take things into his own hands and push it forward - a likely temptation that many of us undergo: to trust God or push our way forward! 

Let us learn to Trust God and wait on the Lord's will.

MERCILENT 2016 - 5th March

BE SPIRITUAL: it is to grow more and more loving

Saturday, 3rd week in Lent

Hos 5:15 - 6:6; Lk 18: 9-14

Being Spiritual at times is confused with being self-righteous! Being self-righteous involves a large dose of judgement of the other. When you judge, you do not love. So being self righteous you begin to love the other lesser and lesser, and yourself more and more! It is a kind of narcissism (a pitiable condition of excessive self love). Whereas today the Word invites us to love more than to sacrifice, to get to know who the Lord is and who we are in relation to the Lord, than making our spiritual efforts mere rituals. 

Being Spiritual truly should mean growing more and more loving. More loving towards God and more loving towards those around us. Growing more loving means, that we grow more and more open, to appreciate the other sincerely, to sensitively confront the other in their shortcomings, to readily accept my own limitations with gratitude when pointed out, to reach out to the other in whatever way I can even if it costs me a bit.

Being Spiritual means to understand within me what the Spirit wants of me and to lead my life in the Spirit's path. The Spirit of the Lord wants us to grow more and more loving and less and less judgmental. The Holy Father seems to be repeating this time and again and infact this quality is the crux of true mercy in dealing with each other.  

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Relate lovingly, become conscious of your tendency to judge and grow more and more loving!

WORD 2day : 14th October, 2015

No Favourites ... just Righteousness
Wednesday,  28th Week in Ordinary Time
Rom 2: 1-11, Lk 11: 42-46

God had no favourites says the first reading and Jesus demonstrates that in the Gospel. Jesus spared no one - whether it was the pharisees or the lawyers or the chief priests or Herod or Pilate - everyone got their share! They were in no way judgements passed on people but they were an appeal to their conscience to change their ways towards righteousness. It was done with concern for their salvation.

The thin line between Righteousness and Self righteousness has to be trodden with diligent care. Judgements arise from self righteousness while righteousness make us just and loving and above all lovable!