Pick your place with Christ

Saturday, 30th week in Ordinary time

November 3, 2018: Philippians 1: 18-26; Luke 14: 1,7-11

There is a funny saying in Tamil which goes thus - there are some who wish to be the bridegroom if it were a wedding house and the dead body if it were a funeral house! The former is attractive but the latter is fearsome, but of course for someone who longs to hog the limelight anywhere and all the time, nothing is too big. Such persons go to any extent. But does that give one the true joy of life, a joy that lasts and a joy that adds meaning to life? 

Jesus speaks of this with a simple example of our tendency to pick places in gatherings!

Protocols, rules, regulations, respects due and hierarchy are considered sacred these days, more sacred even than the Sacred! This is what Jesus is reminding us of and Paul is confronting us with! Paul speaks of his vision of life and death: according to him both are important but never before Christ! Before Christ, nothing else matters - neither well being, nor success, nor life, nor death, nothing, absolutely nothing! For me, to live is Christ and to die is a gain - what a statement to make!

Speaking of picking places, it is a sound imagery that we can propose to ourselves questioning our priorities in life. What matters to us: honour in the face of persons around, riches to fill our lives with, titles to adorn ourselves with... or Christ for whom we are ready to live and to die? If Christ matters to us the most, we have won over everything else: honour and dishonour, pleasure and pain, comfort and persecution, life and death! 

Just yesterday we remembered our dead loved ones, and prayed that they find their place with God in eternity! Don't you think it begins here? Yes, let us pick our places with Christ here and now, and we shall be guaranteed a place with him in eternity!

It is all about Relationships!

All Souls Day: 2nd November, 2018

Wisdom 3: 1-9; Romans 3: 5-11; Mark 15: 33-39, 16: 1-6

Yesterday we celebrated the memory of the saints...those among us who have gone before us all the way! They shine as they have reached the destiny prepared for them. They are the Triumphant Church, radiating the HOPE that Christ brought to humanity.

Today we keep the memory of those among us who have gone before us, but not yet all the way! They await the mercy of God, to join the band of those who share the glory of the Eternal Light. They are the Penitent Church, united with us in FAITH, the one faith in which we were all baptised, the one faith in which we have a duty to offer our prayers and suffrages. 

Tomorrow onwards we are back to our daily living, as we make our way, amidst the struggles and temptations of the daily life. We are the Militant Church, fighting our way ahead on a daily basis, with LOVE - love for God who constantly accompanies us and love for brothers and sisters with which we accompany those who are around us.

It's all about relationship... we are One Church with the One Lord, with one baptism, one call and one destiny... all of us related to each other. Even the thought of death or of the dead, does not fill us with fear or anxiety, for we are all on the same journey at different stages of the course. The three tier Church is such a holistic view of our life on earth, that it renders every bit of our life and all its struggles so meaningful. It is within this framework of relationship that we think of those brothers and sisters of ours who have gone before us, signed with the same Holy Spirit, that they may receive the eternal reward they have always longed for. But that would be an incomplete exercise, if it does not challenge us to live our life with more hope and more love, here and now that our faith may throw its light on our concrete everyday. 

We are all related! Let that be the message that the day offers us. Let us march on with love, with hope and with faith towards the eternal joy prepared for us.

BEING SAINTS...

1st November, 2018: All Saints Day

Revelation 7: 2-4,9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12a.

O when the saints, 

go marching in, 

I want to be in that number! - 

... a simple but profound thought in those familiar lines of the song. To be saints: that is God's call to each of us. At times we think, becoming saints is reserved for a select few. May be the long and tedious process of canonisation of a person in the Church, makes us feel that way. But the fact is, each of us, all of us is called to be saints. St. Paul states that in clear and unequivocal terms in his letter to the Ephesians (1:4), Thessalonians (1 thes 4:3), and other places. 

The question sometimes is, whether it is, being a saint or becoming a saint! We are created in the image and likeness of God (says Genesis 1:27) and this image and likeness of God is a "given", a nature that we have within us, as a gift. We are reminded of this image and likeness at our baptism. All the we need to do is to remain with that image in our lives. The beautiful symbol used in the rite of baptism, where the priest hands over a white cloth to the child and entrusts the task of bringing it, as it were, unsullied, intact in its purity to the end of days.That, dear friends, is the call - "to be saints"...and not merely to 'become' saints.

The readings today, develop the same thought in three wonderful dimensions:

Being Saints means... being aware of who we are! O Christian, realise your dignity! We are children of God, reminds St. John in his letter, in the second reading. God has chosen us from eternity, before the foundation of the world! This is an initiative from God our Father and Mother, who creates us and wishes that we share in God's love and ever remain in God's image and likeness, as children of the loving God.

Being Saints means... being washed by the blood of the Lamb! The Image of God within us, sometimes is disturbed, smudged, smeared or sullied by the choices we make misusing the human freedom that is granted to us. The evil one will be more than happy when we lose heart at such moments and give up. The Son of God, our Saviour Jesus Christ shed his blood that we may have victory over sin and death. In that blood we are saved, and in that blood we are made clean, each and every time we turn to the Lord in genuine repentance and willingness to regain our original image. Saints are those who have their garments washed in the blood of the Lamb, says the first reading.

Being Saints means... being 'blessed' in the eyes of the Lord! And the only way to be 'blessed', is to live by the promptings of the Spirit who dwells within us. Paying attention to the indwelling Spirit, we will know what it means to be blessed - to be poor in spirit, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be peace-loving - these are ways of being persons of the spirit. In the ordinariness of our daily life, we have to be persons of the Spirit, looking at the reality different from the way the self seeking world teaches us to. 

God's initiative in the call that I have received; Christ's redeeming act of Salvation; the Spirit's indwelling presence that guides me on a daily basis - these are compelling reasons why I need to think seriously about, not merely becoming a saint one day, but being a saint everyday, in my own way!

மீட்பிற்கான எளிதான வழி எது?

அக்டோபர் 31, 2018: எபேசியர் 6:1-9; லூக்கா 13: 22-30

அனைவரும் மீட்படைவார்களா? யார் மீட்படைவர், யார் மீட்படையார்? இந்த கேள்விகள் தொன்றுதொட்டே இருந்து வருகின்றன என தோன்றுகிறது. கிறிஸ்துவிடமே  இந்த கேள்வியை பலவிதங்களில் சீடர்கள் எழுப்புவதை நாம் நற்செய்தியில் அவ்வப்போது காணுகின்றோம். ஆனால் ஒருமுறை கூட கிறிஸ்து ஆம் இல்லை என்று இதற்கு பதில் சொல்லவில்லை; இவர்கள் மீட்படைவர், இவர்கள் மீட்படையார் என்று சுட்டிக்காட்டவில்லை! மாறாக அவர்களை ஆழ்ந்து சிந்திக்கவும், அகன்று நோக்கவும் தூண்டக்கூடிய ஒரு விளக்கத்தை அவர்களுக்கு தருகிறார். 

ஒருமுறை ஊசியின் காதும் ஒட்டகமும் குறித்து ஒரு உவமையை கூறுகிறார். மற்றொரு முறை மனிதருக்கு இவை முடியாதவையாக இருக்கலாம் ஆனால் கடவுளுக்கு முடியாதது என்று ஏதும் இல்லை என்று கூறுவார். இன்று அதே கேள்விக்கு பதிலளிக்கும் அவர், இந்த குழுவையோ, அந்த சபையையோ, ஏதோவொரு குறிப்பிட்ட நிலையையோ சார்ந்தவர்கள் என்ற ஒரு காரணத்தினாலேயே ஒருவர் மீட்படைந்துவிட இயலாது! யாராக இருப்பினும், எந்த நிலையில் இருப்பினும், அந்நிலையில் அவர்கள் வாழும் வாழ்க்கை முறையை பொறுத்தே ஒருவர் மீட்புக்கு உரியவராகவோ மீட்புக்கு தூரமானவராகவோ உருவாகிறார், வளர்கிறார், என்று தெளிவுபடுத்துகிறார். 

பவுலடிகளார் மீட்பளிக்கும் அந்த வாழ்க்கை முறையை விளக்கும் போது ஒரே ஒரு வழியை நம் கண் முன் நிறுத்துகிறார்: இறைவனுக்கு உகந்ததை, இறைவனின் திருவுளத்தை செய்வது என்பதே அது! மீட்படைய எந்த ஒரு குறுக்கு வழியோ, எளிதான வழியோ இல்லை என்பதை நாம் புரிந்துகொள்ளவேண்டும். இருப்பது ஒரு வழியே! இறைவழியே!

இன்று, இந்த நேரம், இந்த சூழலில் இறைவன் என்னிடம் இருந்து என்ன எதிர்பார்க்கிறார் என்று எனக்குள்ளாக தெளிந்து தேர்ந்து நான் செயல்படும்போது, இறைவனுக்குரியவராய், மீட்புக்குரியவராய் நான் வளர்கிறேன்!

To be saved...any shortcuts?

Wednesday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 31, 2018: Ephesians 6: 1-9; Luke 13: 22-30

Will only  few be saved? Who will be saved and who will not be? Will so and so be saved? These questions, it looks like, have been around from age immemorial! Even in the Gospel the disciples raise these questions in various modalities. Jesus not even once when he was asked, answered these questions direct. He always gave an explanation that made them think more and think of something else! 

Once Jesus narrated the parable of the camel and the eye of the needle and another time he explained to them that it is possible with God, and impossible with merely human effort. However today, he says there are no categories of people who would enter default, neither are there selected races who would enter! Anyone can enter and everyone is invited to enter the Reign of God, provided they had the right disposition and the right life style!

St. Paul in the first reading explains what this disposition or life style has to be. It is simply, living our life wherever we are and whoever we are, in a manner that is pleasing to God. It is easy to blame the others or the situation for a life lived below the standard that is expected of us and the Lord today challenges us to 'strive to go through the narrow door'...that is the door that leads to the Reign! 

In Paul's words, we are called to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12); it is not about fretting and fidgeting but about being diligent and dedicated in whatever we are called to be, wherever we are! There are no shortcuts to salvation, there is only one way, living mindful of The Way!

Being in Christ is all that matters

Tuesday, 30th week in ordinary time

Ephesians 5:21-33; Luke 13: 18-21

I remember once that I was speaking to a group of young couples regarding the attitudes that spouses should have towards each other. When some tough statements came around,  one of them jokingly remarked, 'these things coming from Paul,  it's difficult to accept,  given the fact that he was an unmarried man!' 

And immediately another one added looking straight at me, 'Paul writing it  and you quoting it... both are difficult to accept'. There was a big roar of laughter.  That aside, there can be heated debates on issues that Paul speaks of today-  who has to be subordinate to whom!  That is not my focus. Whether I am subordinate or  head,  I am called to be IN Christ - that's the focus.

Whether I am a subordinate or a head,  or an apostle or a servant, a renowned person or a so-called nobody... I am called to be  in Christ. Being in Christ,  even if I am just a mustard seed I can grow into a mighty tree.  Being in Christ, even if I am just pinch of yeast I can make a difference for entire dough.  Being in Christ is all that matters. If anything else matters more to me, it is a clear sign that I am not in Christ!

கிறிஸ்துவில் வாழ்வதே உண்மை வாழ்வு

அக்டோபர் 30, 2018: எபேசியர் 5:21-33; லூக்கா 13: 18-21

ஒருமுறை இளம் தம்பதியினரிடம் திருமண வாழ்வில் தம்பதியர் இடையே இருக்க வேண்டிய நற்குணங்களை பற்றியும் மனநிலைகளை பற்றியும் பேசிக்கொண்டிருந்தேன். இன்றைய முதல் வாசகத்தின் பகுதியை விளக்கியபோது, ஒரு சில சமயங்களில் மிகவும் காரசாரமான விவாதங்கள் எழுந்தன. அதில் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள கடினமான சிலவற்றை பற்றி பேசும் போது ஒருவர், "இதையெல்லாம் பவுலடிகளார் கூறுவது ஒரு விதத்திலே வினோதமாக இருக்கிறது! அவரே திருமணமாகாதவர் அல்லவா" என்றார். உடனே வேறொருவர், "ஆம் அதை பவுலடிகளார் கூறுவதும் நீங்கள் விளக்குவதும் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள கொஞ்சம் கடினமாகத்தான் இருக்கிறது" என்றார். அரங்கம் முழுவதும் சிரிப்பொலியால் நிரம்பிற்று.  

அதை சற்று ஒதுக்கி விட்டு சிந்திப்போம்... பவுலடிகளார் கூறும் கருத்துக்களை முன் நிறுத்தி, யார் யாருக்கு அடங்கி நடக்க வேண்டும் என்ற பெரியதொரு விவாதமே நடத்தலாம். ஆனால் அது அல்ல இங்கு நமது நோக்கம். அடங்கி நடப்பதா, அடங்கிப்போவதா என்பது அல்ல ஆனால் எப்படிப்பட்ட வாழ்வு உண்மையான கிறிஸ்தவ வாழ்வு என்று சிந்திப்பதே இன்றைய வார்த்தையின் உண்மை அழைப்பு.

தலைவராக வாழ்கிறேனா, தொண்டராக வாழ்கிறேனா, திருத்தூதராகவோ ஊழியராகவோ, ஊரறிந்தவராகவோ அல்லது யாருமறியாத எளிமையானவராகவோ.... இவை ஏதும் உண்மையானதன்று. உண்மையான கிறிஸ்தவ வாழ்வு என்பது எந்நிலையிலும், கிறிஸ்துவுக்குள் வாழ்வதே என்பதை நாம் உணரவேண்டும். கிறிஸ்துவுக்குள் வாழ்ந்தால், நான் சிறு கடுககாய் இருந்தாலும் போதும் பெரும் மரமாய் ஓங்கிடுவேன்; சிறு அளவு புளிப்பு மாவாய் இருந்தாலும் போதும் பெரியதொரு மாற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்திவிடுவேன். கிறிஸ்துவுக்குள் நான் வாழ்கிறேனா என்பது மட்டுமே இங்கு உண்மை கேள்வி... இல்லையெனின் அதிகாரம், ஆணவம், அகங்காரம் என்று பலவும் சூழ்ந்து என்னை அழித்து விடும். 

நீங்கள் ஒளியாய் இருக்கிறீர்கள்...

அக்டோபர் 29, 2018: எபேசியர் 4:32 - 5:8; லூக்கா 13: 10-17

'நீங்கள் ஒளியாய் இருக்கிறீர்கள்', என்று  இன்றைய முதல் வாசகத்திலே நம்மை பார்த்து அறிவுறுத்துகிறார்பவுலடிகளார். ஒளியாய் இருப்பதென்றால் என்ன என்பதையும் தெளிவாய் உணர்த்துகிறார்... கிறிஸ்துவோ அதை நடைமுறையாய் வாழ்ந்து காட்டுகிறார்.   

தனிப்பட்ட வாழ்வில் தூய்மை ஒருவரை இருளின் மத்தியிலே ஒளிரச்செய்கிறது. இன்று உலகம் தவறு செய்வதை குறித்து அஞ்சுவதை விட தவறு செய்து சிக்கிக்கொள்வதை குறித்தே அஞ்சுகிறது. வெறும் மற்றவர் பார்வைக்கும் உலகத்தின் புகழுக்கும் வாழப்படுவது தூய்மையானது!

மனித உறவுகளில் உண்மை ஒருவரை இறைச்சாயல் பெறச்செய்கிறது. தான் என்ற அகங்காரமோ, தனக்கு என்ற சுயநலமோ, தனது என்ற பயன்படுத்தும் மனநிலையோ இல்லாமல் வளரும் உறவுகளில் இறைவனே வாழ்கிறார். ஒருவரை கண்டவுடனேயே அவரகளது தேவை நமது கண்களுக்கு படவேண்டும் தவிர அவர்களது பலகீனம் அல்ல. 

ஆன்மீகத்தில் ஊன்றிய அடையாளம் ஒருவரை இறைவனுக்குரியவர் ஆக்குகிறது. இறைவனின் உருவையும் சாயலையும் தாங்கியவர் என்ற உணர்வு மிகுந்தவராக இறைவனுக்கு உரியவற்றையே செய்யும் வாழ்க்கை முறை அடுத்தவரோடு ஒப்பிட்டு அல்ல இறைவனின் சித்தம் என்னை எதற்கு அழைக்கிறது என்ற தெளிவோடு நடக்கவே என்னை அழைக்கிறது. 

சுருங்க கூறின், தனிப்பட்ட தூய்மை, உறவில் உண்மை, இறையுணர்வு என்னும் இவை என்னை இறைவனின் சாயலாகவே மாற்றுகிறது! நாம் அவரைப்போலவே மாற அழைக்கப்படுகிறோம், ஏனெனில் நாம் அவரது பிள்ளைகளாவோம். கடவுளை போல் மாற நாம் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும் என்பதை கிறிஸ்துவே வாழ்ந்து காட்டியுள்ளார். ஒளியான அவரது வழியில் நடப்போம், ஒளியாய் வாழ்வோம்!

Being Children of Light

Monday,  30th week in Ordinary time

October 29, 2018: Ephesians 4:32 - 5:8; Lk 13: 10-17

'Children of Light', that is how St.Paul addresses us in the first reading today. The readings also paints a clear picture of what it means to be children of God...

Personal purity that makes one shine amidst darkness.  The endurance that keeps  one from any compromise merely for the reason  that they are not seen is foundational to this. Today people are more worried about privacy breach, than about what they are upto in their so-called private lives - very indicative, isn't it?

Interpersonal simplicity that makes one godly and does not give into to complications such as ego, discrimination and revengeful rancour. Looking at the other and instantly perceiving the need of the other, not their weakness: that is Godliness. Any type of exploitation or discrimination begins when we look at the other through the selfish filter of usefulness!

Spiritual ìdentity that makes me convinced of my link to the Lord,  so convinced that I am always conscious that it is  the Lord's image that I carry and manifest. I do not compare myself with others but always understand me with reference to my God, who has created me and commissioned me! What does God want of me right now, should be the only question that matters!

In short, growing in personal purity, interpersonal simplicity and spiritual identity means becoming like God, simply because we are children of God. Jesus, our Light, showed us how to live it in his life. He invites us to grow everyday to be truly children of light. Are we growing to be?

MEET THE EMPATHISING LORD ON YOUR WAY

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time : 28th October,  2018

Jer 31: 7-9; Heb 5: 1-6; Mk 10: 46-52

"God"...How do you understand that term... the Almighty,  the Omnipotent,  the Mighty One? ... you are still short of arriving at the God whom Jesus introduced to us. In and through Jesus we have a God who is all these but more than all these,  a God who is close to us,  a Father who loves us,  a mother who cares for us,  a beloved who longs for us,  a friend who stays close to us and a SavIour who came down to save us... in short,  an Empathising God!

How do we understand an Empathising Lord? 

1. LIKE US

We have a Lord who is like us... like us in every way except in our sins. A Lord who came among us,  ate,  drank, laughed,  cried,  enjoyed, celebrated, loved, worked, faced hardships and temptations... He was like any of us,  just like us and therefore, when we suffer,  when we are troubled,  when we have problems and temptations,  the Lord perfectly knows what we are through. He is not someone who would judge us from afar or look down on our weaknesses but some one who would put His hands around our shoulders and comfort us, someone who would sit by our side and say, 'it's okay! I have been there too'! The second reading brings this out strongly.

The Synod that is just concluding today, the Synod of Bishops on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment is an expression of the Church, making present this aspect of God - the empathising God who understands, does not judge but empathises with the youth who form the most affected part of the humanity that is torn apart by the wiles of the world today!

2. LIKES US

We have a Lord who likes us... who loves us,  who feels for us,  who wishes that we were happy,  who wants to heal us,  who wants to give us all that we need,  who wants to walk us to prosperity and fullness,  who wants to give sight to us,  who wants to listen to us,  who wants to reach out to us! God, our Father and Mother, who spared no effort,  giving up even the only Son; the Son who keeps back nothing, not even his own life- his body and his blood;  the Spirit who comes down to dwell within us,  within our poor bodies,  in our lowly conditions,  in our daily toils. This is the Lord who loves us, likes us so much that he is ready to do any thing for our sake. In the first reading and the Gospel we have a exposition of the Lord who is merciful and kind,  who is in love with us. The Gospel in a special way speaks of a Lord who listens to a lone cry amidst the large crowd, and has mercy on that person and heals the person in love!

This is precisely what Pope Francis wants the entire humanity to understand about God and about being Godly - God is merciful; God is abundant Mercy; being Godly is to first recognise the mercy of God and to live the same mercy with each other. God is not about keeping a distance or going about with impregnable securities and safeguards. God is with us and God connects with us all the time, because God loves us!

3. LIKENS US 

The Lord who came down to be like us,  the Lord who dies to show how much he likes us,  does not stop with that... God wants to liken us to Godself. The first and the second readings present to us a God who wants to make us God's sons and daughters,  God's children, God's beloved ones,  God's favourites. God invites us constantly towards this fullness of becoming God's own. We become God's own by opening our eyes of faith. We become God's own by crying out with faith. We become God's own by trusting in faith that God can do and will do everything for us! Thus becoming God's children we will be with God, close to God and like God,  for we will see God face to face,  as says St. Paul.

All that we need to do is cry out from our hearts to God, and not bother about the crowd and the noise around, because the Lord shall single out our cry! And what a privileged moment it shall be when we hear the Lord tell us today: "Your faith has made you whole! Go in peace!" 

Let us never forget the great truth that we have an Empathising Lord who chose to be like us, who likes us and who longs to liken us to Himself. Let us be prepared to meet this Lord on the roads of our daily life!