WORD 2day: 12th August, 2014

Obey and be not rebellious...

Ezek 2:8-3:4; Mt 18:1-5, 10,12-14.

When a child places its trust in someone, be it father or mother, or a loved one, or a teacher or a friend, the child obeys without questions. That is what makes a child so vulnerable in front of those. That vulnerability makes the child so special and so valuable in the eyes of the Lord. Obedience, docility, humility, surrender - these are the dispositions that are expected of a child of God, in the presence of God. 

The first reading so figuratively presents through the experience of Ezekiel, the message that Lord gives to each of the Lord's sons and daughters: to be children, to obey and not to be rebellious, but to receive the Word of the Lord, take it in, savour it, understand it, live by it, and announce it to the world. 

"Obey and you will not have sinned" says the famous monastic rule. And that is the strength of obedience. The first sin recorded in the Word is of rebellion, and the atonement for it was offered in Obedience, on the Cross! The Word instructs us today, if you are to be called children of God: Obey and be not rebellious!

WORD 2day: 11th August, 2014

Real Magnificence of Humanity: Remembering St. Clare

Ezek 1:2-5,24-28; Mt 17: 22-27

We belong to a God who is mighty, grandiose and magnificent. And because we belong to this God we too are mighty and magnificent. And this magnificence   loses its true colour if it is detached from its origin, that is God. It dissipates into arrogance or pride and degrades humanity. As long as it is strongly linked to the Lord, it is ready to put up with sacrifices, sufferings, unjust treatments, and so on. As St. Paul would put it, "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us" (Rom 8:18). We remember today St. Clare, the feminine version of St. Francis of Assisi. She, just like Francis, is a lived example of the magnificence of humanity lived in constant union with its source, that is God. We have seen the impact that such persons can have on history. Are we ready to tread the path traced by such as these?

GOD IS...

For all Seasons... GOD IS!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 10th August, 2014

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a; Rom 9:1-5; Mt 14:22-33

The ongoing persecution of Christians in Iraq has shaken the peace-loving part of the world to its core. The Holy Father these days is continuously and strenuously calling for prayers and spiritual support to those witnessing to their faith at the cost of their lives and their dignity as human persons. Explicit and Implicit persecutions are on from various segments of the society against the Christians for their faith and their belonging to the Church. How many times we are segregated and looked down upon for the reason that we are Christians, apart from the cliched idea that 'christians are honourable people'! Leave alone these persecutions and oppositions, what about the daily struggles that we have and what does our faith do to those? These are the questions that fill our mind as we reflect on the readings of today.

Whether joys or sorrows, trials or triumphs, celebrations or temptations, successes or struggles, the Lord is. God is with us! God is present with us and God walks beside our tossed boats. God speaks to us in gentle whispers and caresses in our moments of discernment and decision making. In moments of struggles and strivings he is there as our stronghold. How convinced are we about the Lord's presence with us at all moments: For all seasons... God IS.

However, it is our responsibility to meet God...

We are invited to meet God IN THE CALM OF OUR LIFE... At moments when everything is calm and quiet, serene and simple, we tend to miss the presence of God. Grateful hearts behold that presence instantly and childlike spirits rejoice in that quietude. The Lord invites us through Prophet Elijah to behold the Lord in the "sound of sheer silence" (as the NRSV translation phrases it 1 Kgs 19:13). 

We are invited to meet God IN THE STORM OF OUR DAYS... Our lives never lack moments when storm clouds batter against our weak spirits. We shall not be moved, if we are sure of the Lord who is present with us. We shall remain strong and composed if we know that the Lord is around even if we are not able to see God because of the darkness that surrounds and because of the deafening noise that threatens. At times we may be misled to look at God and suspect God to be a ghost, that is look at things that are happening and villainise God, blaming God for every misery that is around. When things are settled, at hindsight we will recognise how good God is and how God has been with us all through those moments.

We are invited to meet God AS THE NORM OF OUR LIFE... Added to these, the Lord invites us to encounter him as the norm of our lives, special in times of trouble. The life and miracles of Christ are not merely wonders and showpieces. They are lessons to be learnt, ways to be adopted to live our life like him, with him and in him. In the second reading, St. Paul cries over the numerous signs that the Lord gave the Jews, which they utterly missed and totally squandered. Let us not miss the lessons that come through every experience that we live in our daily life. 

The Lord's invitation resounds as it does to Elijah, "Go out, stand and watch! the Lord shall be passing by! Don't let the Lord pass by." St. Augustine makes that inspiring statement in this regard: I fear the Lord, passing by. Let us behold the Lord always, because for all seasons, God is!!!

WORD 2day: 9th August, 2014

Just a bit of faith...

Hab 1:12 - 2:4; Mt 17:14-20

Righteous shall live by their faith!
Faith... if we have it we have everything; if we have everything but faith, there is  a lack that nothing else can complete. This is why Jesus expresses his displeasure in such plain terms to his disciples.

Prophet Habakkuk speaks of the great promises of the Lord and recommends the anxious awaiting hearts to faith and says, in faith the righteous ones shall see every word of the Lord come true! The delay that is involved in the designs of the Lord coming to pass, is a painful crisis to every expectant heart. We would be listed among the ranks of the righteous if we hold on in faith and have the patience of seeing the power of God shine through.

A bit of faith will make us strong, enduring, persevering, resilient, patient, persistent, serene, unassailable... yes, just a bit of faith! That is all it takes.

WORD 2day: 8th August, 2014

The true blessedness from God

Nah 2:1-3, 3:1-3, 6,7; Mt 16: 24-28

Today we hear the hope giving words of Nahum. But just a few days earlier we heard from Jeremiah a sharp criticism of the self proclaimed prophet Hananiah, saying the prophecies of prosperity can be accepted as such only after the things prophesied come to pass. However the words of Hananiah were soon  proved to be  mere search for popular acceptance!

Nahum's promise of the restoration of God's people comes combined with a call to be prepared, alert and girded. Jesus takes that a step forward to say, it takes a ready acceptance of the daily cross and a loving preparedness to walk in the ways of the Lord, to experience the true "blessedness" from God.

Prosperity, fame, popularity, joy, sense of fulfilment, peace and a sense of being loved... these are ofcourse signs of God's blessings...but they cannot be our focus in our daily life, instructs Jesus. When we strive to live acceptable in the eyes of God, all the rest will follow. What matters thus is..the true "blessedness"  in the sight of God!

WORD 2day: 7th August, 2014

A heart worthy of the Covenant

Jer 31: 31-34; Mt 16: 13-23

The day will come when you will not have to teach your loved ones to know God...for every one will know God in those days, promises the Lord. Jesus applauds Peter, saying his knowledge of Christ was exceptional, because it was God given! The day has come when Peter know who the Lord was, as we read in Jeremiah.

The reality is that, though God reveals Godself to us and we get to know God so intimately, our memories are so very fickle and short lived. We give into our human tendencies so easily and readily as if there were nothing so great between us and God! Our memories may be thus short, but not God's. God forgives, waits and and readily renews the covenant that God made with us. 

The Lord promises to give us a new heart, a heart of flesh, a heart that takes after the sensibilities of God, a heart that sees as God does, a heart that hears as God does, a heart that feels as God does, a heart that loves as God loves... a heart that is worthy of the covenant that God has made with us.

WORD 2day: 6th August, 2014

The Transfiguration of the Lord : The call to burn till we are consumed!

Dan 7: 9-10, 13-14;  2 Pet 1: 16-19; Mt 17: 1-9

"A lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" - a wonderful comparison that St. Peter presents to us. It would apply to our faith, our life of witness, our trust, our commitment to the Reign of God and every bit of our faith and its expression here and now, all leading us towards that eternal glory that awaits us as children of God(Jn 1:12), co-heirs with Christ(Rom 8:17), people meant for the future glory (Rom 8:18). 

Our Christian life is rich and its richness will be lost if we lose the sense of mystery in understanding it. Mystery is not merely something that is unknown and incomprehensible, but it is something that is beyond all our rational calculations and empirical conditions; yet it is not totally alien from our experience; it is part of our lived experience, an experience we live on a daily basis, an experience that sustains our faith and offers meaning to our life.

The feast of Transfiguration is a symbol, a prefigurement and a surety of the glory that rests within us, as children of God. However, we are warned not to lose our grip on our daily living, on our concrete initiatives towards ushering in the Reign of God in the pretext of dreaming about a future that is glorious and splendid. 

In practical terms, to be people transfigured is to live our lives with our eyes fixed on heaven and our feet planted firm on ground, to never lose the hope that the Lord offer in Himself and to never rest from our efforts to build the Reign of God here on earth. It is a call to burn until we are totally consumed, totally consumed for the sake of the mission that the Lord entrusts to us, consumed living our daily life to the full, empowering every person to live it to their full. 

WORD 2day: 5th August, 2014

Growing recognizant of the faithfulness of God...

Jer 30: 1-2, 12-15, 18-22; Mt 15: 1-2, 10-14

"You shall be my people and I will be your God": everytime that I hear this statement...I am filled with an awe about the unfailing love of God. What are all my actions in front of this unbounded love of God? What do my so called great sacrifices and pious practices measure up to, in comparison to the immeasurable love of God? How worthy is my faithfulness to God vis-a-vis the faithfulness of God towards me? 

The only concern that should fill my mind is how to translate that awe into attitudes, attitudes of absolute gratefulness, total obedience and boundless humility. If these attitudes develop in us, how peaceful we can grow to be! They would reduce to the minimum our tendency to judge others or consider others unbearable. How irritable we get and how fast we lose our patience with people. Between husbands and wives, between friends, between colleagues, between collaborators of the same team...how forbearing are we? How patient and non judgmental can we prove to be! That would be a reflection of how recognizant we are of the unending love and unfailing acceptance of God!

WORD 2day: 4th August, 2014

Being true prophets: Remembering John Maria Vianney

Jer 28:1-17; Mt 14: 13-21

The readings today remind us of our call to be a prophet... by the way, do we really know that each of us baptised in the Spirit is called to be a priest, a prophet and a prince (or princess)? Of course, knowing is one thing, but being convinced of it is totally another thing.

Being a prophet is not speaking things that others would love to hear from us -like the so called fortune tellers and prediction prodigies do to woo more and more  customers. Jeremiah warns Hananiah today in the first reading against his false sense of prophecy! And we read the sad end of Hananiah. The Gospel has a symbolic message in the same lines.

Jesus chides his disciples for their lack of faith. It might look a bit too demanding on Jesus' part to expect the disciples to remain unperturbed when they are almost sinking. But the point that the Master makes is that his disciples should be perturbed by nothing, absolutely nothing! "Let nothing disturb you", he would say. In today's world so immersed in numerous kinds of concerns, wouldn't it be prophetic to live a life so unperturbed! John Maria Vianney is indeed a shining example in this.

THE LORD REMAINS... DO I?

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 3rd August, 2014

Is 55:1-3; Rom 8: 35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21

Nothing can separate us from Christ, declares the second reading, because we are part of Christ and Christ is part of us. Christ chose to be so!

Christ INVITES us to come, eat and drink from his love, from his generosity, from his compassion. He provides in times of our need, in moments of our struggle, in moments of our crises. Christ reminds us here of Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.

Christ CHOOSES not to part with us. In the Gospel account we find the disciples telling the Lord that they could send the people away. But the Lord insists that they give the people something to eat. It is that compassion that ends in a miracle. Christ chooses to remain with us  forever.

Christ REMAINS with us whether we are conscious of it or not. Nothing separates us from the Lord except our decision to keep ourselves away from Him. In our need, in our troubles, in our struggles, in our concerns...the Lord promises to be with us and provide us with every bit of care we need. Not even death, but our free choice against God can separate us from God. That places the entire burden on our part to remain with the Lord.