Am I a Pagan by the way?

Signs of the Godly: Integrity, Justice and Faith

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 20th August, 2017
Is 56: 1-6,7 ; Rom 11: 13-15, 29-32; Mt 15: 21-28

A couple of days ago, I was sharing a few personal minutes with a person from an Asian country, staying here with us - a priest. Sharing about his own life he said he was ordained a priest just 2 years back. And I asked him, 'were you ordained here?' meaning to say in Italy. To my horror, he darted direct at me, 'here? among these pagans? never! ordination is too sacred to have it here!' I was really disturbed when he said this. He could have said it simply, that he had it back home. But that kind of a statement... still working on this shock, here we have today a strong reflection on that  very word, Pagan!

Pagan is a word that St. Paul uses so strongly and Jesus refers to in the Gospel. What does that word mean? Going into the etymology, it derives from the latin word, paganus which means one who lives in a village or a rustic person. Later it came to mean a 'civilian' that is one who is not conscripted into the Roman Army. When the Christian society began to use this they began to refer figuratively to those who are not enlisted into the Army of Christ. However, taking the semitic background, that is from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic history, it means those who are Godless. The essential difference is those who believe in One God and those who do not! In a final analysis if at all we want to use this word today, we could use it for those who are Godless as against those who are Godly. 

As in that horrendous example that I gave, there are Christians who consider others pagans; there are Muslims who call us Christians 'Infidels'; there are these pentecostals who look at the Catholics practically as if they were 'pagans'...now the question that we are left with is... Who is a Pagan? Infact the first reading and the Gospel clarify that term with such precision. They delineate three qualities of a Godly person, thus telling us who is really not a pagan.

Integrity: That is the first sign of a Godly person. Integrity is being true to yourself, being true to the absolute truth, being true notwithstanding in which situation you find yourself. This is the rapport that you have with yourself. If it is healthy, true, sincere, noble and critical - you will measure up to be a Godly person. If not you will find yourself far from it, though you may be claiming so before the world.

Justice: The second sign of a Godly person is Justice. Justice is giving the other what is his or her due, without grudging it. Greed and avarice, violence and corruption, exploitation and manipulation are directly against justice. Those who are the causes of it and those who are silent witnesses to it are equally perpetrators of the same. They can never be enlisted as Godly! This is all about your rapport with the others. If it is true, sincere, just and mutually upbuilding, then you are Godly, if not you are far from that category.

Faith: The third sign that the Word today gives us for the Godly is Faith. Faith is the unassailable trust we have in God arising from a strong personal relationship with God. It is the fruit of a recognition of God's goodness and God's unfailing presence with us. Unless I have a personal and intimate relationship with God, I cannot truly claim myself to be Godly. Hence this is about the rapport you have with God, true, loving, personal, humble and reasonable. If that is absent your religious practices remain mere rituals and superstitions.

So finally, dear Christian brothers and sisters, a pagan is not a non christian. Dear so-called believers, a pagan is not a non believer. So who is a pagan? 

Taking the signs offered in the readings today seriously, if I ask myself these questions today: Am I really integral? Am I truly Just? Do I have a strong personal faith? ...I would be very close to understanding myself and my spirituality. If I miserably fail in these measures, won't I have a question within me: Am I a pagan, by the way?

CHOOSE TO BE LITTLE

WORD 2day: 19th August, 2017

Saturday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Josh 24: 13-15; Mt 19:13-15

To choose God, to choose God as the absolute, to choose God above all - these would mean today choosing to be little! Choosing to be little is choosing to be laughed at, choosing to be jeered at, choosing to be labelled 'conservative' or 'irrelevant'. I feel this much more in a context in which I find myself - the European West. This culture which was once upon a time so dominated by the God-talk, is today turning, if it has not already totally turned, Godless. It is not our task to be sitting in judgement on the people around, but to take into account our personal daily life, our personal choices and priorities, and the elements of our daily life that truly matter to us. There we will have a clue - do we want to be accepted by the world and found relevant to the times or do we want to choose to be little, to be that little flock that surrounds the Lord, like children who feel secure in the embrace of a mother? What would our choice be?

WORD 2day: 18th August, 2017

Enjoying the Fruits that we never planted

Friday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Jos 24: 1-13; Mt 19: 3-12

Have you heard a brother of Islam speak in public, or even in a familiar gathering? Invariably every one of them will begin with terms like, 'Insha Allah' or 'Masha Allah'... They actually mean 'if God wills' and 'God has willed' respectively. As much as I admire them for this courageous reference to God in relationship to their daily life, I wonder at our own Christian brothers and sisters. How much of this sense of God would they possess and propose to the world? It does so much good to realise everything in my life comes from the Lord - in the name of the Lord, for the will of God.

Dedicating oneself for God, for God's will, for God's task is a matter of choice, not merely on our part, but on the part of the One who is at the root of everything. Every good that we are blessed to carry out is a gift from God - according to God's will and towards fulfilling God's will. At times we make choices that serve our own ego and our own personal plans. But what matters is to realise that we are eating the fruits of plants planted once upon a time and be one such - planters of the tree of blessing. The call is to realise that we are being blessed constantly by the Lord and to understand clearly what our own blessings lead us to. Challenging moments, let us get ready to brave them. Pleasant moments, let us be mindful of the fact that we are enjoying the fruits of the plan we never planted!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

WORD 2day: 17th August, 2017

The Dry Ground Phenomenon

Thursday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Jos 3:7-11,13-17; Mt 18:21 - 19:1

The presence of the Lord with the Israelites was a solid and concrete presence - the pillar of fire and  the pillar of cloud that we have seen and today the splitting of Jordan when the bearers of the Ark step in. The presence made a great difference in the lives of the people and at times the Lord made it concrete because they were constantly forgetting the fact. Today we have the Jordan splitting itself - the upper Jordan and the lower and they saw the dry ground. It is a repetition of the experience when they crossed the Red Sea with Moses, they walked on dry ground even then. In our life too, there are experiences of dry ground - we walk through them without our feet getting wet or dirty or stained or soiled, not by our own merit but by the grand mercy of God. That is what Jesus is reminding us of - when you find fault with your neighbour, when you judge your brother or your sister, when you call them names, when you have your finger pointing at your fellow persons, remember the dry ground phenomenon. You are standing on a dry ground, your feet unsoiled because the Lord has had mercy on you. Remember, your dry ground is not your merit, it is God's mercy. When you are mindful of it, you will surely be a member of the Reign. 

He turns 202 today!!!

O Don Bosco, 

you were a perfect instrument in the hands of the Almighty

you were pliable, flexible and lovable

above all, a cheerful giver, absolutely selfless.

Father dear,

you lived just 73 years on earth
but what you had lived for is worth being spoken for these 202 years

it would be so for more centuries to come.

You turn 202 today,

your life growing more and more a challenge

specially these days when the youth need more persons like you

make us like you, your disciples too!

WORD 2day: 16th August, 2017

Moses, Joshua and You

Wednesday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Dt 34: 1-12; Mt 18: 15-20

Today we listen to an account of the demise of Moses and the taking over of Joshua. Moses was a great prophet, an unparalleled leader, a person who related to God as if to a friend - but that does not mean he would go on forever. He faced his end. Joshua took over and there was an end to him too. None of us is indispensable - neither Moses, nor Joshua, nor you and me! We are all here to do the will of God, each one in our own way, in our personal life. And one thing that will remain to ensure continuity is the community, the faith community, the people of God! This is what Jesus teaches his followers today. The Faith Community, that is, my brothers and sisters in the Lord together as one, have an indispensable role to play. This is where the Church draws its importance. At times we belittle our faith, as if it is between me and my God. Yes, it is so, but it is between me and my God in the context of my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Know the people of God whom you live with. Love your faith community. Be responsible towards the community around you. As a follower of Christ, I am called to express and live my faith, in and among a community, given to me by God. Let love reign!

FAITH THAT LIBERATES

Favour, Faith and Freedom

Solemnity of Assumption of our Blessed Mother - 15th August 2017

Rev 11: 19,12: 1-6, 10; 1 Cor 15: 20-26; Lk 1:39-56

Assumption of Mary into heaven is a celebration of the goodness, faithfulness and mercy of God and not that of an achievement of Mary. Though it is a Marian feast, we celebrate the mighty things that the Lord had done in her and for her! The celebration and the Word calls our attention to three important terms today - Favour, Faith and Freedom!

Favour... Full of grace, filled with favours - Mary was a predilected child of God, because wanted her to be an instrument to bring salvation to humankind through God's own Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. She was granted favours in abundance. Assumption is one last favour that God showers on her at the end of her earthly journey, so occupied with doing God's will and nothing but God's will. We are filled with favours too - to be born, to have life, to be born as children of God, to be loved by God and to have the Lord's presence ever on our side. Are they not enough favours? But what we do with them is a more pertinent question.

Faith... Here is where Mary shines forth as a person. Mary was filled with favours but her merit is seen in the fact that she always remained worthy of those favours by an absolute choice for God. That is faith - that absolute personal choice for God, and God's will. Inspite of all her difficulties and struggles, she stood faithful to the Lord, choosing God above anything else. That makes her a great model for us today. This absolute choice for God, created in her an attitude that kept her totally away from anything that could separate her from God. That attitude is what we celebrate today.

Freedom... the ability Mary had to choose on her own things that were acceptable to God is that which set her apart. That is what liberated her. That is true freedom, to choose God on my own, without any force or pressure, without any fear or threat. That freedom is not merely a freedom from but it is a freedom to...freedom to live my life to the full come what may, freedom to stick to what is right in spite of the repeated despise of the world, freedom to remain with God forever! Mary used her freedom and she was liberated forever! 

The call is simple - a challenge to grow in our faith, in a faith that liberates!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Half a Shekel or Life to the Full

Remembering St. Maximilian Kolbe - 14th August, 2017

Dt 10: 12-22; Mt 17: 22-27

Celebrating St. Maximilian Kolbe, is a challenge we accept to dwell on - a man who did not do anything for the sake of a rule, but for the sake of what his heart prompted him to do for the Lord who loved him. Paying half a shekel was a duty of a slave, according to Jesus. That is not what is asked of a Son or a Daughter. While a slave intends to pay the half shekel that is expected of him, the Son gives the entire life to the Lord, surrenders the totality of one's life, bringing that life to its fullness thus. 

God is not to be bribed, declares Moses. You don't try to appease God by being calculative in what you give, trying to pay your due, for your due is your life, not just some money or some fulfilment of a rule. The heaven, the earth, everything that exists therein and my very life belongs to God and what can I possibly give the Lord - nothing less than the whole of my life! 

That is why when Kolbe decided to die for a man whom he knew not, he did not consider that act a great feat. For him that was what he could do, all that he had to give at the moment was  his life and he gave it - he loved his Lord with the whole of his heart, with the whole of his strength, with his very life. I am called to give not just half a shekel, but my life to the full. 

GOD FOR ALL SEASONS

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 13th August, 2017

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

The mounting pressures of war and violence is felt across the globe today - irresponsible exchange of words at an alarmingly dangerous international level has made many an eye widen with stupor. The ongoing religious persecutions and inhuman fundamentalism is depraving the earth in its core. The Holy Father these days is continuously and strenuously calling for prayers and spiritual support to those who are unjustly made to suffer, those who are fighting a losing battle 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 us Christians for our faith and our belonging to the Church. This is the despicable scenario that fills 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 God is there as our stronghold. How convinced are we about the Lord's presence with us at all moments: Our God is a God for all seasons! 

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 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 our God is a God for all seasons!

WORD 2day: 12th August, 2017

Grow Up! Will you?

Saturday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

Dt 6:4-13; Mt 17: 14-20

What do you have that you have not received, St. Paul would question us (1 Cor 4:7). Isn't it true, that we have received gift after gift, grace after grace from the Lord to begin with from our very life! The Lord has given us, filled us with so many gifts and graces, protected us thus far, provided for every bit of our need - what does he ask for in return? Nothing but faith!

Faith is my personal response to a God who reveals, gives, forgives and loves me so much. How ready, willing and prepared am I to give a personal response to my Lord. At times I am happy and satisfied with doing the minimum possible, as a requirement to be fulfilled - by way of attendance at some Church service, some fixed recitations and regular almost instinctive practices - but are they truly meant and do they come from the depth of my being? What I do in the name of faith, is it truly what I wish to be my response to the love that I don't deserve at all? 

As Jesus gets so irritated with the disciples today in the Gospel, so will it be if Jesus speaks to us in the heart of our hearts - when will you grow up? My Father loves you and does everything for you, keeping you as the apple of His eye. And what do you do in response? Have you truly committed yourself to an intimate relationship with my Father? 

Can we really answer those questions?