Real glory of a True disciple!

WORD 2day: Tuesday after the Ascension Sunday

June 4, 2019: Acts 20: 17-27; John 17: 1-11a

Both Paul and Jesus are seen bidding farewell to their loved ones in the Word today. There is a sense of satisfaction and a feeling of having accomplished the task entrusted to them!  To live my everyday life conscious of the fact that I am commissioned,  that I dont have all the time that is available,  and that I have to play my part right... that will give me a sense of vocation and a feeling of satisfaction. 

"Father the hour has come, give glory to your Son, that your Son may glorify you!" prays Jesus. The glory that he talks of is the baptism of blood, the cup of suffering that Jesus was preparing to take up! Not just himself, but all those who believed him were destined to that cup and to that baptism says Jesus (Mk 10:39; Mt 20:23). 

St. Paul understood this perfectly. Though he knew well, instructed by the Holy Spirit, that suffering and imprisonment awaited wherever he went, he does not hesitate. He was more than prepared for the cup of suffering, for the baptism of blood! Today we hear him say that in terms so clear: I consider life of no importance to me! For him all that mattered was to carry the Good news to the farthest that he could! 

How many times I would have languished that I don't get any consolation from God for belonging to God, for being on God's side and for speaking on behalf of God! Do I really understand in Jesus' terms, the 'real' glory of a 'true' disciple?

It's Graduation time

WORD 2day: Monday after Ascension Sunday

Acts 19: 1-8; John 16: 29-33

It is graduation time now...you ask a child this season - which class are you studying? You would get a typical reply, something like: fourth to fifth. smiling? Yes...it is graduation time.

I have conquered the world, says the Lord and why are we still going desperate about managing it? Because we are not yet convinced that the Lord has conquered the world. The Divine Counselor is right within us and why are we still looking all over for directions and suggestions?  Because we do not have sufficient knowledge of the Spirit. 

In the Word today we see people graduating to the next levels...Paul introduces Apollos and others to the Holy Spirit; Jesus finds his disciples finally beginning to believe him. The call is the same to us today: as we have celebrated the feast of Ascension just yesterday, to graduate. To grow into people of the Spirit. The journey is begun...today is already the 3rd day of the Novena in preparation for the feast of Pentecost.  The invitation is that we become more aware of the indwelling presence of the Lord in our lives. The Lord rests with us and the Lord is acting on or behalf. Why not we make room to behold it in our day to day experience? 

The Spirit of the Lord is all around us and once we behold the presence and be filled with that presence, we would be able to understand that our Lord and Saviour has conqured the world! Knowing the Spirit is the task given to us today, getting to know the Spirit that we may not react as the people did to Paul: we do not know that there is something called the Holy Spirit. At times our fears and thoughtlessness can exhibit such responses unconsciously.

The primary key to being people of the Spirit: Knowing the Spirit!

UP WITH THE LORD

The Event, the Effect and the Edict

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: June 2, 2019

Acts 1: 1-11; Ephesians 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 46-53

As the Lord goes up, let us reflect on the 7-UP

The Lord ascends today to his Father and our Father! It is not an abandoning, as he himself very rightly had already assured us. It is an invitation! The invitation is to Go Up with the Lord. And this invitation to go up is given in 7 steps... let's call it 7-UP!

In the first reading we are presented with the THE EVENT: 

Christ ascends to the right hand of the Father!

Christ, GAVE UP the divinity and became like one of us (Phil 2). 

     How prepared are we to give up! The world tends to tell us to hold on, hold on to power and domination, to popularity and gain, to limelight and adulation. That is how we prepare even the upcoming children, convincing them it is important to prove oneself and make everyone know one's own utility and importance.

Christ GOES UP today, by his obedience and fulfillment of the Divine Will (Heb 10:7) 

     Going up, is a consequence and it happens because the Father draws us up! The Father who had sent Jesus, the Christ to the world, had found in him, an absolute obedience and a childlike trust - those are the very messages imparted to us by the Ascending Lord, in order that we may measure up to the standards of the Father and go up.

Christ will SHOW UP leading everything to its fulfillment (Heb 10:36)

     You will see the Son of Man come the way you saw him go, says the messenger from the Lord. Yes, the Lord shall show up, soon - but we need not panic or fret. Christ shall show up and we shall rejoice in it, if we live a life that is founded on the words and the commands of the Lord. 

The second reading highlights THE EFFECT: 

Because of the Son who was raised by God to God's right hand, you and I are made worthy to accede to the presence of God!

We are RAISED UP by the fact that Christ became like us (2 Cor 8:9) 

     As Peter would remind us elsewhere, 'we were once no people; but now we are made people of God'. We are the people of God and not that we deserve to be! We were raised up, we were given an identity that is so great and enviable... the challenge is that we live up to it. 

We are DRESSED UP by the virtue of our baptism, (Col 2:12) 

    Receive this white cloth and bring it unsullied to that encounter with the Lord at the end of your life, was the challenge we accepted at our baptism. We are dressed up and our character is defined in such precise terms. All that we need to know is shape ourselves into that character, be transformed into it and grow in that identity. 

We are BUILT UP into the family of God (1 Cor 10:17).

     The challenge I have received is not just mine - its ours. The call is given within a family, the family of God's people, God's sons and daughters. I am built into a family, a temple, an abode for God. I am living my call fully only as long as I am living in unison with the rest of God's family- divisions, discriminations, and defamations are all deviations!

The Gospel from Luke reminds us of what Jesus passed on to us, THE EDICT: 

You are and you shall be my Witnesses on the Earth!

We are challenged to STAND UP for the Lord in the World today (Rom 12:2) 

     The world has its own standards, priorities and agenda. If I am truly a son or a daughter of God, I have stand of the Lord amidst all these contrasting and contesting priorities. That is why St. Paul gave a standing order: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed! To be transformed is to be become like the Lord - if we live in the Lord, we shall die and rise in the Lord! Ultimately, we shall go up with the Lord!

The Name: Jesus, the Christ

WORD 2day: Saturday before Ascension

June 1, 2019: Acts 18: 23-28; Jn 16:23-28

Jesus was the name and Christ was a faith experience! Jesus, the Christ is no syntax error! Today we encounter Apollos, another contemporary preacher with Paul. It looks like there were some little misgivings in the Acts of the Apostles between the followers of Paul and followers of Apollos. But Paul makes no notice of such bickerings. Another great lesson we have is Priscilla and Aquila instructing Apollos in the right doctrines! The role of the laity in the formation of the apostolic ministers comes out strongly...all of this to make people understand, Jesus was the Christ!

Jesus in the Gospel seems to harp on the same point too: anything you ask the Father in my name, my Father shall give you. He seems to say, because I am the Christ. As Acts so clearly says in another place (4:12) that there is no other name given in all the earth by which one could be saved! It is Jesus, because Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the one anointed and set apart for our salvation! That should not make us haughty as if we have the monopoly over that name, but it should make us humble in questioning our daily lives and priorities. Are we living worthy of that name? It is not an opportunity to judge the "others" but it is gratitude that should fill our hearts for the privilege given. 

Ask a question, Is Jesus my Christ? 

If you very easily said 'yes', ask that question again looking closely at your values and attitudes of daily life: Is Jesus really my Christ?

God in the midst of us

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 31, 2019: The Feast of Visitation

Zephaniah 3: 14-18a; Luke 1: 39-56

We celebrate the feast of the Visitation of our Blessed Mother to Elizabeth. When Mary entered Elizabeth's household, there was a sense of God that was felt, for two reasons. The first, Mary was carrying Jesus within her and the effect was felt! The second, Mary herself was transformed into the presence of God for Elizabeth! 

The first reading today turns our attention to the words of Zephaniah explaining what the Lord in our midst is doing: God exults, God renews and God dances! 

God exults in the wonderful gifts that we are to Godself. 
God renews those parts of us that are not as good as they can be! 
God dances with joy over everything that we are able to do in God's eternal plan. 
Anyone who expresses this exultation of the Lord, this call for renewal and the rejoicing of the Lord in God's children, is a reminder of the presence of God.

In fact when Elizabeth says, 'what have I done to deserve that the Mother of my Lord should visit me!', she becomes the reminder of the presence of God to Mary! When Mary turns to Elizabeth and says, 'My heart exults in the Lord and my soul rejoices in the Lord my saviour', she becomes the reminder of the Lord's presence to Elizabeth and to the entire household!

We are called to be reminders of the presence of God, to be the presences of God to those around us. When we exult in the Lord, when we do our part to renew those around us, correcting them with care and love, when we rejoice in the goodness of others and the good things that happen to them, we become God's presence amidst God's people!

Can we be today, God's presences wherever we are!

Your Sorrow will turn into joy

WORD 2day: 6th Thursday of Easter

May 30, 2019: Acts 18: 1-18; John 16: 16-20

Your Sorrow will turn into joy, the Lord promises! At times it seems a lofty promise and many look at it suspiciously. That is not because the Lord is wrong today, but our understanding of true joy is not right at times!

Ever heard of the anecdote about this monk who went into contemplation and came out "enlightened"? Since everyone considered him "enlightened", a man approached him with a question...what difference do you find between the world as it was when you went into contemplation a decade ago and that of today? He said, "when I went in the land was down and the sky was up there, there was summer and winter, and there was day and night." "And Now?", the questioner asked with curiosity rising! "Now the land is down and the sky is up there, there is summer and there is winter and there is night and there is day!"

Are you wondering that the story is incomplete if I end it there? No! The fact is, even if things remain the same, the way enlightened persons see them is completely different from the way others see it! Your sorrow will turn to joy, not only because everything around you will turn upside down, but because you will find yourself different, your priorities different, your concerns different. That will make all the difference! 

When those people rejected Paul outright, he couldn't care less! He was just the same and walked off cool, because for him that rejection mattered nothing! For him sorrows had turned into joy, everything was joyful for in everything he sought the Lord!

The Spiritual Capacity to accept Truth

WORD 2day: 6th Wednesday of Easter

May 29, 2019: Acts 17:15, 22 - 18:1; John 16: 12-15

"When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked...", we read in the first reading today. Some experiences are beyond our grasp at an initial instant, some experiences may be totally confusing while others may leave us with nothing to say. There are ways in which a person responds to a data that is beyond one's perception or beyond ordinary explanations. The first way is to outrightly reject it and the second is to ridicule it just because one cannot understand it. These two  display an arrogance that is not even humane, leave alone spiritual. 

The second type of response would be a bit more humane or simply human. That is, the person could begin to enquire about it and make some scientific efforts to understand it. 

The Greeks in Areopagus laugh at Paul and some consider him 'confused'... hardly a few tried genuinely understanding him! It was so difficult because they were not gripped by the Spirit... a Spiritual disposition alone can lead to some truths to be comprehended.

A Spiritual disposition in approaching new experiences would enable a person to perceive the truth in what is said, understand its true meaning and find relevance for one's life. This sort of a mind will not reject something merely because it seems new or it has not been so till then. The one who empowers a person towards such a disposition is the Spirit of truth, introduces Jesus in the Gospel today. 

The beautiful expression of St. Anselm, 'faith seeking understanding', is a grace! "When the Spirit of truth comes, the Spirit will guide you into all the truth"... the truth of what i am upto, the truth of who i really am and what i am called towards. Openness, respect and a sense of wonder are prerequisites for one to have real Spiritual Experiences!

Once again today, let our prayer be: Let your Spirit guide us O Lord!

What do I do to be saved?!

WORD 2day: 6th Tuesday of Easter

May 28, 2019: Acts 16:22-34; John 16: 5-11

"What must I do to be saved?"... that must have been a very familiar question those days! We hear that addressed to Jesus by the rich young man and in a little different words by the disciples. Later, to the disciples it is addressed quite a few times as recorded in the Acts: the crowds on the day of the Pentecost, Cornelius to Peter, and today the jail guard to Paul and many such events... 

After Christ has been raised, the question in fact is redundant! For Jesus says, I shall send you the Holy Spirit and the Spirit shall enlighten you on everything. Today, we live as people of the light, for whom everything should be clear as things in a daylight. But we find still so much of darkness, despair and delusion. What could be the reasons?

The most probable reasons are these: lack of sense of sin, compromised vision of righteousness and a careless attitude of judgement. These are what we witness today in the world, and sometimes sadly, within each of us! Might be, that our values, priorities and choices blur the light that the Spirit wishes to shed on our minds. 

Let us submit ourselves to the Spirit and pray, 'you stretch your right hand and save me O Lord'. Let the enlightening Spirit of the Lord guide us on!

The Mutual Delight: the Lord and His People

WORD 2day: 6th Monday of Easter

May 27, 2019: Acts 16: 11-15; John 15:26 - 16:4

The Christian faith had already taken root in that short time and it is beginning to take wings as we see! Spreading far and wide, the faith in Christ was not merely an intellectual assent to some truths the apostles were sharing, but it was a dedication of their concrete lives. We have two different examples of that in the Word today.

The first is that of Lydia, who finds her new found faith impelling her to sustain the proclaimers of the Word. She would take no refusal, about she hosting the apostles in her home, says the first reading. She was delighted in the Lord! The second is about the Apostles, who were moving from one place to another without any lag or slackening because they were so delighted in the new apostolate entrusted to them. Looking at these sorts of His children, the Lord was taking delight in his people says the responsorial psalm!

This is what Christian faith is all about: the delight that the Lord has in each of us and the delight we manifest in having the Lord as our God! That Mutual Delight, of the Lord and the Lord's people turns into a tremendous testimony to the World. Some in the world are disturbed, there are others who are questioning. There will surely be a great number who be delighted to join the band. Let us be delighted in the Lord and let us delight the Lord with our daily lives!

A 3D APPROACH TO TRUE PEACE

Faith, Familiarity and Discernment

May 26, 2019: 6th Sunday of Easter 

Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29; Revelations 21: 10-14,22-23; John 14: 23-29 

Peace I give you; My peace I give to you! The Community of the Risen Lord is called to be a Community of Peace and Peacemakers. The Word today outlines to us the approaches to establish true peace among the people of God. It is a 3D approach, a three dimensional approach. 

D1- The First Dimension: SELF - DEEP SEATED FAITH

Faith is the spiritual tranquiliser at any moment of crisis or trouble. Faith is the assurance of the presence of God with me, which makes me courageous enough to accept the situation I find myself in. Right now in India we have a situation - the new political powers at work! It has been one long process of polarisation, resulting in suspicion, bitterness and mutual frustrations! There are so many issues at stake in the near future. What are we going to do: give in to the frustration and give up peace?

The Community of believers were going through a time of crisis, as two factions among themselves began to take exceptions to each other. However, the situation was brought under control, but the way the decision was made is remarkable as we read it even today. "It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves..." That is the key to their peace, their deep seated faith that God was right amidst them all through the crisis. When crises come our way, one of the first things we negate is the presence and empathy of God. But peace comes with a deep seated faith that never ever doubts the empathetic presence of God with me!

D2- The Second Dimension: GOD - DIVINE FAMILIARITY

The Christ-ian understanding of God is not a God who is up above the sky looking down on God's children and judging them. But it is a God who dwells with them, within them and among them. This is what Jesus promises today: If you love me, you will keep my word and my Father will love you and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Imagine a child who is walking home in the dark of night - alone and hence so frightened and freezing. Just right then the child's father comes by and places his hands on the shoulders of the child - how would that child feel? Has the darkness disappeared? Has the sun risen yet? No! But the very presence of the Father gives the child an assurance. 

When God makes home with us, we would have no lack of peace. True peace comes from the fact that the Lord lives with us. The first readings speaks of the Holy Spirit living with us, the Second reading speaks of the Father and Son making their resplendent presence amidst us and in the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit coming to make a family with us! That is peace, a sense of total assurance that I am surrounded by the Lord!

D3- Third Dimension: OTHERS - DIALOGUE AND DISCERNMENT 

The First reading once again brings to the fore the need and the importance of Dialogue and Discernment. Peace and Understanding reigned in the Early Christian Community because of the presence of Dialogue and Discernment. Dialogue and Discernment are two phases of a single process. Dialogue is the phase where the two parties involved have their views and opinions presented to each other. Discernment is the phase where they both come to a common ground, look over and beyond their point of view and come to a consensus towards a common decision. The One who inspires this common view is the Holy Spirit who is the source of all discernment, the third party who mediates the dialogue. When this third party is not involved in our dialogues they end up without proper discernment and lead only to two stubborn sides. 

Dialogue and Discernment presupposes three dispositions: One, that I am convinced of my stand. I have made all efforts to understand the issue, go deep into its various possible dimensions and I have sufficiently thought about its pros and cons. Second, that I respect the other. I am ready and willing to listen, listen to the other and not just get fixated with my prejudices. And finally, the third disposition is that I believe that the Spirit is at work. After the Elections results were announced for the Indian pa'rliament, someone asked: "after all the prayers and implorations why has God allowed this?" What is important here is not the question 'why has God allowed' but 'what is God communicating to us' here! We need to believe that the Spirit is at work! Be still and know that God is! (Ps 46:10)

When a community has these three dimensions clear - the self strengthened by deep seated faith, God with whom we enjoy a genuine familiarity and the other with whom we are ready to dialogue and discern, the Peace of the Lord reigns. Such a community glows to be truly Christian!