Holy Week 2019: The Spy Wednesday

THE TASK: TRUST

April 17: Isaiah 50: 4-9; Matthew 26: 14-25

Today can be called the Spy Wednesday within the Passion week... because it would have been this day that Judas approached the Jewish authorities and offered to hand Jesus over to them. The plot is darkening here!

Let us have a look at the key player today: Judas. He 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 the 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, creed 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 John symbolically adds at the end of his account of this episode, it was dark outside. When Judas left, it was not only dark outside, but much 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! 

At times we think we are more practical than God, we are more precise in responding to a situation than God and so we make hasty decisions and then lament when we face the repercussions! This is a common tendency we see in the world. The lesson is clear; the Lord knows best and the Lord has a plan for everyone and everything! Why don't we allow the Master of the creation to take control of things and situations?

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

Holy Week 2019: The Preaching Tuesday

THE TASK: LISTEN

April 16: Isaiah 49: 1-6; John 13: 21-33,36-38

After Jesus cleansed the Temple and drove the money changers and vendors out of it, he did not hide himself somewhere safe, but he intensified his preaching among the people. He was seen talking to people, instructing his disciples and challenging the folks. This day he went around preaching amidst the people and probably this was the last day that he was seen preaching, because tomorrow, that is Wednesday things would already begin to develop towards the end!

As the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke of the people, in spite of all his passionate preaching, the people did not really understand what they heard, though they were hanging on to the lips of the Lord. He spoke to the disciples about the imminent things to come, but they were equally unprepared when things began to happen. Jesus did not want them to be caught by surprises, but they were not keen enough to grasp all what Jesus said.

The invitation is also to us today: to Listen. 

To listen and not merely hear. We hear the Word so much but nothing in us changes. We hear and speak and discuss but fail to grasp the essential meaning of the Word or fail to see the transformation that it can create within us and to yield to it.

To Judas, to Peter, to the disciples, to the people, Jesus speaks his heart out but they are all so occupied, or rather so preoccupied, with their own thoughts and plans that nothing of what Jesus says really makes sense to them. They only come up with insensitive doubts and unrelated questions. They were hearing all that Jesus said, but were finding it so difficult to listen to.    

To listen and to be truly transformed, to listen and to understand the Word in its essence, to listen and to put it into practice in our daily life - that is the task entrusted to us today!

Holy Week 2019: The Cleansing Monday

THE TASK: CLEANSE

April 15: Isaiah 42: 1-7; John 12: 1-11

This is the day that the conflict between the Jews and Jesus erupted to its peak. Jesus enters the Temple and begins to cleanse it! The zeal for his Father's House set him afire, and his disciples were obviously enthused about it. Against the background of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem the previous day, the disciples thought it was the beginning of some kind of a revival of Israel. They never imagined that would be the beginning of the end of Jesus' life! Jesus himself would soon become a victim of the evil social order, that Jesus picks the whip against today. 

The task entrusted to us today is to Cleanse... as Jesus cleanses the temple!

We are called to cleanse our lives, cleanse our social lives of the unjust order, cleanse our family life of unholy priorities, cleanse our personal lives of sordid impurities. Cleansing is saying 'yes' to the Lord, allowing the Lord to have control over us, choosing to be transformed and built once more into the Holy Dwelling Place of God!

The readings point to us the thickening plot, where the Jews intensely turn against Jesus and everything that is connected to Jesus. They find Jesus as challenging their very existence and they cannot wait to get rid of him. But the Beloved Son of God is upto his duty, come what may! 

The judging looks of the rest of the guests, the personality branding of the society, the hypocritical priorities of the so-called righteous, the unspiritual values of the self proclaimed spiritual leaders...these are what Jesus speaks against in the Gospel and appreciates the humble disposition, profound love, sensitive demeanour and childlike submission of the woman, whom everyone else considered and condemned as a sinner and an untouchable.

Cleanse, the Lord calls us today... cleanse yourself of all your judging attitudes, prejudiced outlooks and prefabricated reactions to events in life: be sincere, loving and non judgemental, you will be declared by the Lord as, the Lord's beloved!

Holy Week 2019: The Palm Sunday

The Task: ENTER

April 14: Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14 - 23:56

Today we begin the Holy Week and as Jesus makes a solemn entry into Jerusalem, the task given to us by the Lord is to ENTER... just as he enters the city of Jerusalem! 

Jesus entered the city knowing well that it is going to lead him to trouble. When we decide to take it upon ourselves to be like the Lord, there will be problems from all sides. There will be those who wait to kill us; there will be those who long to see our downfall; there will be those who criticise us; there will be those who stand by and watch us suffer; there will be those who take pleasure in remaining unconcerned about the cause we stand for! But I am called to enter into that life that the Lord calls me to live, for God and for God's mission.

Jesus entered the city, with joy and enthusiasm of the people. A sad Christian is a sorry Christian. The task that we take upon ourselves to build the Reign of God may be demanding but that cannot take away the joy and enthusiasm from within us. I have to be the cause of joy and enthusiasm for the people, I cannot be an hindrance to their joy and happiness; much more, I cannot be the cause of the grief of the people! I am called to take up the tough task of standing up for the Lord, but with a joyful heart and a glad spirit. 

Jesus entered the city, to complete that task that was entrusted to him. He had his task clear cut, and he was aware of it. He had shared that with his disciples time and again: that he would go to Jerusalem and suffer and be handed over to those who will kill him. Though he prayed that the bitter chalice should pass away, finally he submits himself to God and that is how he becomes our way to the Father. In his obedience Jesus paves a way to our salvation. How far am I prepared to go all the way in obedience to the One who has called me!

The challenge is to enter the life that the Lord wants us to. It may cost our comfort zone, our close acquaintances and even our life. But that is not going to be for too long. I have to go a long way...but the Lord God is with me, and his Word shall protect me. Neither the glories of the present nor the sorrows of the times can in anyway be compared to the glory we have, prepared for us from eternity! The mentality we need to have today is to dare to enter the life with all its demands from the Lord - Hosanna in the Highest!

Be Gathered

Journey to Holiness: Let go of your pride and your selfishness

April 13, 2019: Saturday, Fifth week in Lent

Ezekiel 37: 21-28; John 11: 45-56

'It is better for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed': this is a classical self centered mode of thought that we see in the world, whether of today or of any day! 'It is better for that person to suffer', 'it is alright for that group of people to be exploited', 'it is normal for a category of people to be denied their rights', 'it is no big issue to consume nature beyond a limit'... and how many other versions of this inhuman selfishness expressed in words, works, policies and practices in our society today. 

Added to the fact that this is inhuman, this is totally and drastically unacceptable in the eyes of the Divine. The Lord had created everything and everyone with a purpose and when that purpose is not sufficiently understood or upheld, there arises a crisis that is unsolvable! Almost all of the crises that the whole universe is faced with these days are due to exactly this callous attitude of the humankind - exclusively, humankind! It is they to whom the Lord entrusted everything in this world and precisely they went berserk in their values and priorities.

The only solution to the issues that are ravaging the universe is to realise that we are God's people, God's flock and be gathered into that flock once again, rediscovering the purpose of our creation and going by what the Lord wants us to. Instead of looking for scapegoats to blame it on or shirk our suffering on to, we have to own up our responsibilities and look for means to be gathered. The Lord invites us to gather under the Lord's wings: what better place than our very origins! I shall be your God and you shall be my people!

Holiness tip for Today: Let go of your pride and selfishness; recognise God as one Lord; submit in all your deeds!

Be Dependent

Journey to Holiness: Remember, it's no loss of your self image!

April 12, 2019: Friday,  Fifth week in Lent

Jeremiah 20: 10-13; John 6: 63-68

The days are such that people clamour for recognition and go a long way to hold on to their self image and their "due" credits. It is not anymore rare to hear of conflicts for credits - that someone usurped it from someone else and so on. It goes even to an extent where one even claims credit for what has been gifted so gratuitously by God!

The good that we accomplish is not totally our own for us to claim absolute credit for it. First of all it is the Lord who gives us the opportunity to do that good. Secondly it is the Lord who empowers us to do that good. Thirdly it is the Lord who clears the hoards of hurdles that could possibly arise in accomplishing the said good.

That is why Jesus gives the people the work that he accomplishes as testifying to his origin from the Father. And Jeremiah is not stifled by the enormous attack on him... because he is totally convinced that what he does is God's work and not his own.

The key is to acknowledge dependence on God and to be convinced that it is no loss of one's self image or autonomy or self esteem. As St. Paul would challenge,  'what do we have that we have not received? ' (1 Cor 4:7)

Holiness tip for today: Let us express our dependence on God repeatedly and with real conviction.

Be Eternal

Journey to Holiness: belong to the covenant.

April 11, 2019: Thursday, Fifth week in Lent

Genesis 17: 3-9; John 8: 51-59

Today we have the account of the Abrahamic Covenant - I will be your God and you shall be my people. And Jesus completes that account in the Gospel saying, 'whoever keeps my word will never see death'. The one who believes in the Son and does the will of the One who sent the Son, will have eternal life - this is what Jesus meant and said in various terms at various instances. 

Eternal can have three meanings: 

     Endless (anantha), that is what we are called to: though we have a beginning we are destined to an existence that is endless as we will become one with the Lord, and not just perish. 

     Beginningless (anaadhi) that is what God is: One who is without a beginning or an end.

   Beyond these two meanings there is a third meaning which is very difficult for the human mind to understand. That is, Timelessness. Eternal means timelessness, beyond time, beyond all categories of before and after, earlier and later, and all other chronological considerations. This is what confuses the Jews. How can Jesus speak of Abraham as if he were someone who still lived? 

We can become eternal when we become one with God. We become timeless. We have nothing much to do but just obey, just carry out orders, just live on in the way that the Lord says, make choices for the Lord and the Lord's will, reject anything that detracts our life's paths. Our eternal life can begin right here, when we belong to the covenant.

Holiness tip for today: What does God want of me at this moment? - let that be a constant question on your mind.

Be Free

Journey to Holiness: Hold on to One, True God

April 10, 2019: Wednesday, Fifth week in Lent

Daniel 3: 52-56; John 8: 31-42

Freedom of the Children of God - is a phrase that we are used to hearing. What a tremendous sense it makes when we seriously think about that fact, that we are children of God. It makes us free, secure and sincere!

'Free', because we need not think of pleasing anybody else, we need not compromise to favour someone else other than my God who is beyond anybody or anything. All the furnace around me cannot consume me. All the predators around me cannot prey on me. Because I am a child of God and even amidst the fire, the Lord walks beside me!

Secure because the one who is with me is the most trustworthy one you can ever think of - One who keeps promises, One who keeps back nothing from me for the sake of my happiness, One who treasures me having written my name on His palm.

Sincere because I have no necessity to hold on to anything that is not true. I need not put up an appearance, I need not prove myself beyond what  I really am, I need not be anxious about whether I will be rejected or sidelined, I need not bother how dire the consequences will be. I have come to bear witness to the Truth, said my Master. That is the same vocation I share.

My Lord is my Master and I am liberated, I am free and I don't have to fear anything!

Holiness tip for today: Do not fear; Just feel Free and act Sincere!

Be Drawn

Journey to Holiness: Lift up, look up and live on!

April 9, 2019: Tuesday, Fifth week in Lent

Numbers 21: 4-9; John 8: 21-30

Falling is a daily experience in our life and that is why we need to constantly rise up and move on! It is not falling but remaining fallen, out of laziness or stubbornness, that renders a person 'lost'. However the same experience of a fall, when approached with true humility and a broken heart, can become uplifting and enthuse one to live on. The difference is, we need to be drawn by the Lord, towards the Lord! No one can come to the Father, unless the Father draws them!

How can we be drawn to our God? The Word today gives us the formula: 
lift up, look up and live on. 

Lift up Jesus, as your Lord and Saviour, as the one who alone can rescue you, as the one who has the ownership over you. Declare it from your heart and surrender.

Look up and gaze at that power drawing you to himself, realise you need the Lord and confess your dependence on the Lord. Allow yourself to be drawn into his eternal love and merciful forgiveness! 

Live on; when you lift up the Lord and look up to the Lord, you will live on; you will find meaning in life beyond all the pressures around you; you will find an inner peace inspite of the turbulence that surrounds you; you will have that joy that the Lord alone can give!

Holiness tip for today: Turn to the magnificence of the Lord every now and then and surrender yourself completely.

Be Illumined

Journey to Holiness: Remember, the Light is with you!

April 8, 2019: Monday, Fifth week in Lent

Daniel 13:41-62; John 8: 12-20

We have a dramatic episode in the first reading today. Though the innocent Susanna being blamed is a lent-worthy theme, the point of reference today is Daniel. Daniel, who was illumined by the light of the Lord and filled with the Spirit, delivers Susanna from the treacherous plotters and the mindless mob. 'To instruct the ignorant' and 'to illumine the confused' are spiritual acts of mercy and that is the call that Daniel's episode offers us today.

We are called to fight against the treacherous plotters, deceivers who lead people astray, people with hidden agenda who manipulate the weak and the vulnerable. We fight them by throwing light on the truth and standing by it amidst threats and treason. How relevant a call this is, as we near the all important elections nationwide in India. 

Tougher still is the other task: that of illumining the ignorant and the mindless, who do not have clear thinking of their own, who swallow all that they are told, who follow the mob so blind that they do not even know what they live for. At times our faith choices too become such a following of the mob and that is a crucial element we have to be careful against. 

Jesus is the Light that illumines our minds, reveals the falsehoods and bears testimony to truth. Jesus sheds light on what we need to do, where we need to journey towards, and where we are at this moment!

Holiness tip for today: Surrender to the Lord and pray for his illumination, that you can understand God's ways and share it with others.