WORD 2day: 12th April, 2014

RETURN TO THE GOD OF LOVE

Ezek 37: 21-28; Jn 11: 45-56

What a contrast we are given to notice today- while God longs to give life and bring the people to new birth, the people plot to kill the Son of God and do away with him. On the mountain of the Lord, there will be no killing and no hatred! How far we are from the Reign of God when we harbour thoughts of hatred, jealousy, rancour and ruin! 

Personal feuds or Political Wars, Communal clashes or cut-throat competitions... they are all against the God of love who dwells amidst us, as God once promised through the covenant made - I will make my dwelling amidst you; you shall be my people and I shall be your God! The plot thickens today as Jesus is marked to be put to death! Jesus knows he is surrounded by enmity and hatred, but avoids taking it in and remains the love that he is, the love that he came from.

It is a direct call for each of us to analyse whether we are worthy to be called the people of the covenant, children of the God who is love, disciples of the one who offered himself as ransom for many. Let us return to the God of love, be children of that love, be people who will emanate only love and thus make the world a better place, a place closer to the Reign of God, the God of love.

WORD 2day: 11th April, 2014

RELEARN NOT TO COUNT COST

Jer 20: 10-13; Jn 10: 31-42                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Dedication to God's mission and distress are at times inseparable, as the world has forces working intently against God and anything pertaining to God. "We must be on the guard against the presence of evil in world," reminds the Holy Father. Explicitly or indirectly, we are bound to face oppositions and criticism when we choose to stand by God and carry God's message to others. If for long we do not find any opposition, it would be high time to review whether we are really doing God's mission, carrying out the design laid out by God. 

Both Jeremiah and Jesus chose to stand by God and they were derided, tortured, were considered liable unto death. But they were unmoved, unperturbed; they counted no cost and were prepared for anything for the sake of the God's will. 

Would we be able to repeat what Jesus says in the Gospel today: the Father is in me and I am in the Father. We would be able to do, if only we relearn not to count the cost when it comes to love for the Lord and commitment to the Lord!

WORD 2day: 10th April, 2014

RELEARN THE SENSE OF ETERNITY

Gen 17:3-9; Jn 8:51-59

It was a shocker, when Jesus said, "Before ever Abraham was, I AM." In this, apart from the statement on the divine participation of Jesus in the One who sent him, there is an important message for each of us and our identity. 

The first reading establishes the foundation for it, as it reminds us of the covenant made with Abraham. We are made sons and daughters of God, in faith. And Jesus assures that, 'if we keep the covenant; if we keep the Word; we will always be sons and daughters of the Lord; we will partake in the eternal life of God.' The Jews were unable to understand that, because they did not have an idea of the eternal life Jesus was speaking of. For us today, it is not anymore as strange as it was for the Jews.

We believe in resurrection and in life everlasting! And what matters within eternity is not who came first and who came next, but what relationship and what intensity of commitment one shows in relating to God our Father and Mother, who loves us into existence and watches over us every moment. For Jesus, that relationship was absolute; that defined everything that mattered to him! And it is to that same absolute sense of relatedness to God, that Jesus calls us his brothers and sisters... it comes with a strong sense of eternity!

WORD 2day: 9th April, 2014

RELEARN INTEGRITY OF LIFE

Dan 3:14-20,91-92,95; Jn 8:31-42

'Truth will set you free', declares Jesus today. And if Jesus were to have been asked to define what he meant by Truth, he would have said, 'Truth is what is'... It's no mere philosophy, it is a Spirituality! 

Truth is what is, and it never changes. No situation, no circumstance, no crisis will ever change it; if they manage to change it, it had never been the Truth. Compromises, justifications, manipulations, adjustments, conveniences and inconveniences... these considerations at times, drive us away from truth and we experience a sort of split life, split between what we profess and what we practice, between what we believe and how we behave, between what we say and what we are! 

The absence of that split is called Integrity. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were persons of Integrity and no one doubted them on that. Neither were they ready to give up their identity. And they found God; it was cool in the furnace. Let us heed the call of the Liturgy today...to heal ourselves of all splits that we may learn to live in integrity of life, an integrity that would set us free. 

WORD 2day: 8th April, 2014

Turn to look to what is above

Num 21:4-9; Jn 8:21-30

To look to what is lifted up or the one who is lifted up, or in short, to be people 'from above', is the crux of the Word today. 

The first reading speaks of the bronze serpent that was made and lifted up and that anyone bitten by the serpent who looked to it, lived. In the Gospel Jesus speaks of himself, that when he is lifted up, the world will really know him. 

Jesus invites us too to be lifted up, in our thinking, in our attitudes, in our priorities and in our perspectives. He challenges us to be 'people from above'...that is, to have the mind of Christ, as St.Paul puts it in his letters (Phil 2:5). To look at God and the relationship I have with God, in the same way as Christ looked at; to look at my brothers and sisters, with compassion, empathy and commitment, as Jesus did; to look at everything that happens to us and around us, from the perspective of the Reign of God as Jesus did: this is what Jesus means when he says, "I belong to what is above" (Jn 8:23). 

Let us turn to look to what is above, thus enabling ourselves to be people from above. Thus we will be worthy to repeat Jesus' words: 'I always do what is pleasing to Him."

WORD 2day: 7th April, 2014

Relearn Christian Empathy

Dan 13; Jn 8: 1-11

"Slow to anger and abounding in love", those are the attributes oft repeated about God. If we have to speak of our tendencies today, we should put it this way: 'Quick to judge and totally merciless!' Regardless of who the person involved is, it has become a culture to pass unjust judgments, circulate untrue gossips and entertain unwanted evaluations... Is it a 'Christ'ian attitude? 

The first reading tells us - even if the whole world around you joins together to tear a person into pieces, you stand aloof and act by the Spirit. The Gospel reminds us - even if it were true that a person has made a mistake, give the person another chance, for God has been endlessly patient with you! Aren't these truly 'Christ'ian attitudes? 

And these are possible only when we empathise with the affected person. Christ empathised with the woman brought to be stoned, he empathised with Zachaeus, with Matthew the tax collector, with the Samaritan woman at the well, with Peter who denied his master... Christian Empathy, does not approve of the wrong doing or the limitation, but loves and respects the person who is involved. That love and respect, inspires the person to 'Go and sin no more.' 

வாழ்வின் மக்களாய்

CALLED TO BE PEOPLE OF LIFE

LENTEN PROJECT 2014 - SUNDAY #5 - 6th APRIL

Ezek 37:12-14; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45

The signs of life are newness, change, growth, freshness and development. We are called to be People of Life. Being people of life is not that easy today, because we live in a Culture of Death. Death is signified by a state of stand still, a state of no change, a state of decay, a state of giving up, a state of discouragement. The world today is filled with these signs - everyone seems to be giving up very easily. People see corruption and mismanagement, but give up that nothing can be done. People see sinfulness and decadence, but give up saying that is the order of the day... Are these really people of life? Can a Christian take this stand towards life?

The Readings today invite us to be PEOPLE OF LIFE... because we are children of the God of Life. God gives us life and constantly renews us. In the first reading, we are invited to reflect through Prophet Ezekiel, the gift of Life that is given to us by the very author of life, that is God. In faith we have a relationship built between God and us: You shall be my people and I shall be your God...that is the alliance that God has made with us, and is faithful to. You shall be my children and I shall be your father and mother; You shall be my flock and I shall be your shepherd; You shall be my beloved and I shall fill you with my love..says the Lord. Today the Lord promises us amidst all the darkness of the world and the shadow of death, to fill us with God's Spirit and make us live. As those dry bones, gathered together and stood up to life, so can we rise up in this world as people of life, IN FAITH.

We are constantly challenged and threatened by the darkness that surrounds us, as the darkness that surrounded Lazarus in the tomb. Lord it's been four days since he has been laid there, they said. Four days...the Jews believed that from the fourth day after death, the process of decay began. The decayed body comes to life, the situation of total hopelessness is brought to life by the Hope of Resurrection...Jesus declares, I am the Life and Resurrection. In Baptism we are all united to the death of Christ on the Cross, and that gives us the hope of sharing the Resurrection of the Lord. We are called to live as People of life, people who look to the light, people who look up to resurrection, people who are filled with joy and optimism, people who live IN HOPE.

If we are people of life, it has to be seen in our daily life... we cannot live a life that is like anyone else and call ourselves people of life. We cannot grumble and mourn like everyone and call ourselves people of life. We cannot give up and groan like the rest of the world and call ourselves people of life. We cannot just succumb to sinfulness and evil and still call ourselves people of life. St. Paul in the second letter makes it clear to us...we are to live our life in the Spirit, not the life of flesh. Life in the Spirit is filled with light, radiance, joy and above all, Love. The Spirit of the Risen Lord has to fill our life and thus we will be light to the nations, witness of God's love to the people around, testimonies of the Resurrection that is promised to us and signs of the eternal life that we are called to. The foundation is love...to live a life that is filled with love, love for God who loves us abundantly and love for our brothers and sisters, with respect and dignity to each and every child of God. We will stand for, radiate and uphold life as people of life, IN LOVE.

Let us heed the call that the readings give us today: to be people of life, in faith, in hope and in love. Turning to the God of life in Faith, Returning to the Life and Resurrection that is Jesus Christ, in Hope and Relearning to live the life in the Spirit in true Love.

WORD 2day: 5th April, 2014

RELEARN THE LOVE FOR TRUTH

Jer 11:18-20; Jn 7: 40-53

"Then each went to his own house" - that is how the Gospel reading ends today! In spite of the witnesses who saw that there was something extraordinary in Jesus, in spite of the good that Jesus accomplished, in spite of the wonderful things that they saw, the pharisees took pride that they did not give into believing Jesus. The meaning of pride is not merely lack of humility, but it is lack of openness to truth! When one is open to Truth, one is ready to face struggles, persecutions and threats to stand by that truth, as Jeremiah tells us in the first reading. When one is stubbornly closed up against anything other than what he or she knows, one is locked up in "one's own house"... the experience of Massah and Meribah where the people tested the Lord because of their stubbornness of heart, is what continued in Jesus' life as they refused to understand who Jesus was. In fact, it continues even today, when we are selective in our perceptions and choosy in our reflections. We take what is convenient for us and neglect what is not. Truth does not matter to us as much as living without trouble. Truth does not matter to us as much as having everyone nod to our thinking and choice. When they don't agree, we tend to neglect them, sideline them, persecute them, hate them, or atleast ignore them! Is this a Christian attitude?

WORD 2day: 4th April, 2014

RETURN TO THE RIGHT KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Wis 2:1A,12-22; Jn 7: 1-2,10,25-30.

The prime question today in the liturgy is "knowing God"... what kind of knowing is truly knowing, when it comes to the knowledge of God? What  matters most is not knowing about God, but knowing God. What is the difference here: one is information and the other is transformation. Knowing philosophical concepts and theological finer points is merely information, but allowing those to affect our lives, forming our values based on those and living a life that is coherent to our beliefs is more than mere knowledge; it is more than knowing about God; it is knowing God! The people in the Gospel today, knew so much about God, but they did not know God when God really lived and moved amidst them. Knowing the biblical verses by heart and quoting them in season and out of season, reflecting on the depths of theological ruminations and reaching the heights of mystical formulations will not guarantee true knowledge of God. Jesus says of God: "I know him because I am from him" and that is the true knowledge of God. Knowing God is to belong to God, to be open to God's promptings, to listen to the Word and to see God's will in it, ever ready to accept, live and stand for God's plan, will and design. To carry out God's will is the direct route to true happiness; it arises from right rapport with God translated into right, respectful, just, genuine and loving relationships.