THE MAN, THE MESSAGE & THE MESSENGER

Reign of God is at hand!  

14th Sunday in Ordinary time - July 7, 2019
Isaiah 66: 10-14; Galatians 6: 14-18; Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20

The history of salvation is one long process by which the Almighty has continually tried to reveal to humanity, who God is and what human beings are in relationship to God! As the letter to the Hebrews declares it succinctly, "Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son", the Son who personified Godhood, yet participated in the humanity to the full. One who was like us in everything except sin. He was a Man, a Man who was the Incarnate Son of God. And when he set about revealing God to us, he revealed in terms that no one else had done so far and no one else could do thenceforth. 

That was the Man - He was the Lord, not the Messiah in the sense that the Jews of his time wanted, but the Lord of the Cross and the Lord of Consolation! He came to bring Consolation to the last, the lost and least... as Isaiah promises in the First Reading. He said, I came to call the sinners, ate with them, moved with them, worshiped with them and spoke to them of the boundless forgiving love of God and gave them an immense consolation. That was his mission, as Luke says 'the consolation of Israel'(Luke 2:25). 

But that was not all, he was also the Lord of the Cross! The mission of liberation, the act of salvation, the moment of consolation, he accomplished through the Cross! It is not just about the wood on which he hung pouring out his last drop of blood and water, but the whole life - a life filled with rejections and ridicules, contradictions and conflicts, plotters and traitors! That is the life he chose for himself, suffered but remained faithful to his mission - that of announcing the Reign of God! 

That was his Message - the Reign of God! The message of hope and light to the humanity. While there is so much of crisis and cruelty, so much of selfishness and pride, so much of injustice and pain, the message of the Reign of God- assures happiness, serenity, fullness of life, justice and prosperity. All this on condition that we place God first and foremost. A situation where humanity adheres to God, listens to God's will and strains itself to take God's project forward. This Message is first to be Received by us, that is welcomed in our hearts and lived in our days. 

Not just receiving, but the Message has to be Recounted, that is, passed on to the others. And that is what Jesus was particular about! When his disciples accepted his message, he did not stop with that he sent them forward, to go and to announce, to recount their story of having found the Messiah, their experience of having tasted the Reign in the person of Jesus Christ. That is that sign of truly and totally having received, to long to recount.

These are the Messengers - the medium and the message, those whom he sent were not just to announce in words but primarily through their lives. And that is why Jesus gave them so many directions as to how to conduct their lives; he forms them into his model of discipleship - characterised by Total Dependence on God and Utmost Respect for Human Liberty. The Church today carries out the same mode of evangelisation - total dependence on God and utmost respect for human liberty. The Messengers were first of all asked to be the Medium, that is they were to be worthy of the message that they carried. 

Secondly, they were asked to be the message itself! As Jesus who came to reveal God and he was God himself, the messengers are today called to manifest Christ to the World and be another Christ themselves. Mere words and claims can never inspire any hope in the tattered world today, selfless actions and an authentic life alone can. This requires that thoughts and attitudes change and grow up, grow up to be like Christ: put on the mind of Christ, says the Apostle Paul.

We are the Messengers today who are first of all called to listen to the Message that Christ has for us, believe in that Message and transform ourselves! As transformed believers we are called to take that message to others through our own lives, founded on Christ; thus becoming the presence of Christ to the others, true to the name that we assume - Christ-ians.

In a world that is so filled with crises and cruelties, can our lives truly offer a message, a message of hope and love and peace? Can we free our minds from demands and expectations, fill our lives with gratitude and recognition, thus inspiring the world towards real joy and true peace!

To be predilected children!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 6, 2019: Genesis 27: 1-5, 15-29; Matthew 9: 14-17

Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you! To be God's "predilected" child (if I can use that term) is an incredible honour; and that is what we are. (How beautifully John expresses this in 1Jn 3:1-3!). In the corrupt culture of the day, it is pretty easy to understand this predilection...  a VIP's son or daughter, or a person who has the backing of a key personality in the society gets above anybody and everybody else to win favours in the society! 

Jacob was the chosen one, he was the one picked to bring forth the 'predilected' people of God. And because he was chosen, everything works in his favour. Unjust! Unfair! Undeserved! - we might say all that and all that is true! God's love that is 'poured' into our hearts (Rom 5:5: not just given but poured into our hearts); it is unjustly given, unfairly lavished, undeservedly heaped on us. What a way to communicate that truth via the story of Jacob - a cheater yes, but who becomes an identity for God on earth - God refers to Godself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and God of Jacob! 

This logic is totally different! This logic will not fit into the usual logic of the give-and-take, the cause-and-effect; this is a totally different logic of God's love, God's prodigal love for each of us. And if we try to fit this into the normal logic we will be frustrated, like pouring new wine in old skin, or old wine in new skin or stitching a new cloth to an old shrunken one! The call is to be drenched in this entirely unconditional love of God, and to understand how privileged I am to receive this love; and the most important of all, to exhibit that awareness in concrete, day to day actions and attitudes. 

Mercy not Sacrifice

WORD 2day: Friday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 5, 2019: Genesis 23:1-4,19, 24:1-8, 62-67; Matthew 9: 9-13.

Mercy not Sacrifice! Mercy and Sacrifice actually stood for two paradigms that were in confrontation as a result of Jesus' life and teaching. God and one's relationship to God was explained purely in terms of sacrifice, sacrifice which stood for fulfillment of the requirements based on regulations and customs. The challenge is alive even today - that we do not make our spirituality a sacrifice-based spirituality. 

Fulfillment of the precepts, keeping the commandments, making vows and carrying out the same, offering suffrages and being faithful to our prayers to be 'said'. Mercy, instead is fundamentally a relationship. I remember our Scripture professor explaining the meaning of the hebrew word for mercy - rahamim (or rachamim) which comes from the root, rehem (or rechem) which means "womb". 

Biblically, as Jesus uses, mercy thus refers to a compassion one feels to a child in the womb or a bond very intimate that arouses a warm feeling towards the other! Far from, doing something to help the other or giving something to someone in need, Mercy is to feel one with the other, specially to someone who is really in need. That is why the statement of Jesus that follows, I have come not to call the righteous but the sinners - a feeling one with the needy! 

When we really feel one with someone in trouble, or difficulty, or temptation, or a struggle, much before branding that person a 'sinner' or a 'weakling' or a 'traitor' or a 'infidel', we would try to stay close to him or her, find out what actually is going on and share moments of solidarity that would walk that person right out of that situation. That is what Jesus did and that is what he expects of you and me!

Faith - an Unquestioning Submission

WORD 2day: Thursday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 4, 2019: Genesis 22: 1-19; Matthew 9: 1-8

Abraham and his story has reached its climax today! An episode that escapes all rational discourse on God, God's will, God's mercy and Faith. If it is so difficult for us today as we read and reflect, it is not difficult to imagine the perplexity of a man who could possibly in Abraham's shoes. He would have been battling in his mind as to what really God wants from him, why does God give and why does God want to take it away so prematurely! 

Perplexities are more for one who believes more and one who believes more is prepared for more perplexities. Abraham personifies this fact - but in all his perplexities - he gives us a definition of what means Obedience of Faith (that latter becomes a key word for St.Paul in his letters). 

Obedience of Faith, in simple terms is putting God first. Placing God's will before anything else, before my will, my desire, my plans and projects, my dreams and my treasures! It is perfect submission to God's will, even when I really do not understand what that actually is. Abraham never understood what God's will was, just as the pharisees and the Scribes never understood who Jesus was. But the difference was, Abraham was ready to submit but the latter did not want to. They held on to their judgments and prejudices, which did not allow them to see God's presence and action unfold right in front of their eyes. 

Our call to faith - that is our call to respond to God who loves and communicates to us so personally - invites us to make this loving leap of faith in God as did Abraham, without doubting the presence of the Lord at any point of time. Faith is a total, loving and unquestioning submission to the Divine Will.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Celebrating the Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle

July 3, 2019: Ephesians 2:19-24; John 20: 24-29

The first reading celebrates the unity we have as a community of faith, with the Apostles. The Apostles are the foundations of our faith says the reading and the liturgy proclaims the same truth too! Celebrating St. Thomas today, the diverse legends not withstanding, we thank God for this great Apostle, specially for having brought Christian faith to the South of India. 

"Bringing Faith", "Passing on Faith", "Transmitting or Communicating Faith" - these terms puzzle me. Faith is a gift from God, a grace, an inspired response given by a person to the Self-revealing God! If so, can faith be 'brought', 'passed on' or 'transmitted or communicated'? The question does not in anyway negate the process that is referred to here with gratitude and recognition of history; instead it offers an opportunity to bring forth a nuance that dazzles within it. 

Transmitting faith or Communicating faith, means primarily testimony of one's faith, that inspires faith in others! The testimony of one's personal response to God, that inspires the others to respond likewise! The Apostles' way of transmitting faith was that, they responded to the God who revealed God's self and in that response they challenged all who were around to respond to the same Lord! 

The story told of St. Thomas and his evangelising activity in the southern part of India, is basically a testimony lived and held out as a challenge. The Challenge is not merely to accept the testimony, but to become a testimony ourselves and continue being the salt and the light of the earth! 

May St. Thomas inspire us!

Troubles all over... but we in perfect safety!

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 2, 2019: Genesis 19: 15-29; Matthew 8: 23-27 

Fire and brimstone all over, but Lot and his family in perfect safety... all because of, says the scripture, one man who walked in the presence of the Lord - Abraham! It was on Abraham's account, due to his faithfulness to God and his unswerving decision to live in the presence of the Lord, that Lot is saved! Even there, nothing could prevent the perishing of his wife, a typical representation of the category of persons who have lost their heart and soul to overly attachments. 

How closely parallel the scene is, to that of the Gospel today - storms and waves all over, but disciples in perfect safety... all because of one person who WAS the very presence of the Lord - Jesus, the Son of God! They had nothing to fear, for the Lord was with them. But there was panic and desperation, for their heart and soul was not focused on the Lord who was with them... they were focused on themselves and their problems and their dying prospects. When Jesus rose, he first rebuked the disciples; only then the storm and the sea. 

Today, don't we find ourselves in a similar situation too? Problems and Weariness all over, but we are in perfect safety... all because the Lord's presence is with us! The Lord journeys with us, lives with us, and acts on our behalf... all that we need to do is like Abraham, "Be Still and Know" that God is!

A Negotiating God!

WORD 2day: Monday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 1, 2019: Genesis 18: 16-33; Matthew 8: 18-22

The first reading of today is a bit confusing! It presents a scene which looks as if God is waiting to destroy and Abraham is trying to appease the wrath of God. Though apparently that is how it is narrated, the message communicated is quite different. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities filled with filth and sinfulness, wickedness and devilishness and on account of these, they were cities that were running themselves into destruction! It is like the ecological crisis and the nuclear risks that we have created today! One day or the other we are bound to reap its fruits! 

The Wisdom of God in warning against this and pointing the right way is either rejected or belittled. The natural law and the divine law that is imprinted on our spirits, is the only guarantee towards a peaceful life. But we have ruined our prospects disrespecting and discarding any law that comes from God! When Jesus discourages one from following him and chides the other for not following him, he knows exactly what is good for each of them. God has set laws and order, keeping in mind the needs, wants and requirements for peaceful living of the entire humanity. In human pride, irrational greed and ruthless selfishness, we have made a mess of the world entrusted to us. 

The warning is to all of us today, if we do not mend our ways and return to the ways of the Lord, we are leading ourselves and our world into destruction. As he did with Abraham, the Lord is negotiating with and through every good willed person even today!

NO TURNING BACK

Leave, look and live...

June 30, 2019: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 19: 16b, 19-21; Galatians 5: 1,13-18, Luke 9: 51-62

To follow or not to follow: that is the question!

Today, following is a term which is found all over. You can decide to follow someone on Facebook, on Twitter, on Google Plus, on WhatsApp... here, to follow is to get to know all that the person is doing and have your own comment to pass or your like button to press, or not! Following, in Jesus' terms, is not that simple! When Jesus tells you, Follow me - that is a serious affair. The Readings today lay bare to us the elements of a real following, following in Jesus's terms. 

First of all to follow Jesus, is to leave your past behind!

There can be no compromise, no mere walking the line, when it comes to following Jesus. I am challenged to go all the way. Today, Elisha is given as the model for us - he kills the bulls and burns the yoke, and follows Elijah - a call for us to leave our past behind and follow Jesus. It is a symbolic act and St. Paul develops that same symbol for us in the second reading - never to return to the yoke that Jesus has freed us from! The yoke of slavery to sin, to worldliness, to love of comfort. We are called to leave behind these yokes and walk in the liberty that Christ gives us. It is Faith that helps us to make this leap. Whole of last week, we have been reading about Abraham, who took that step in faith, he left everything and walked in the way that God showed him.

The second element of the following is to look to the future!

To leave behind something that we have always held on to, is not that easy. One needs an impetus to really take that decision. Jesus offers us the impetus in the Reign of God. Jesus calls us to be sons and daughters of the Reign, to look forward with Hope the coming of the Reign, and not just that, but to proclaim, promote and make present that Reign wherever we are. That is the meaning of being a follower of Christ, who lived and died and rose again to make us the liberated Children of the Reign. To go and Proclaim the Reign is the mandate that Jesus gives each of us and He expects that we do it everyday, through our words, our gestures, our attitudes, our priorities, in short, through our testimony. Amidst the crisis and the gloom that we find ourselves in, we are called to remain people of Hope and announce a future that is found only in the Lord!

Thirdly, to follow Jesus is to live the present in His way!

Leaving the past and looking to the future, is to ensure that we live our present fully and in the way that God wants us. St. Paul underlines the mode of living when one chooses to follow Christ. It is to walk by the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit! It is love of God, through love for one another, loving one another, reaching out to the needy - all done in Love.

It is not an easy journey, following the road map laid out here! It throws numerous challenges. Jesus does not hide anything. He says everything in clear terms - if you wish to follow Christ you may not have anywhere to lay your head; you will have to lose things that you consider dear, you will have to walk towards your own suffering! In spite of all these, there should be NO TURNING BACK... If you turn back, you are not worthy of the call that you have received. The trophy is only at the end, the finish line is the last part of the race, the end finishes the journey... our job is to keep on walking, to keep on running, to keep on journeying with the Lord... that is truly following the Lord.

As I thought of this no turning back I was reminded of the famous story told of Hernán Cortés, the Spanish Conquistador, about burning the boats. When you decide on your target, there should be no turning back, no second thoughts, no rethinking absolutely! That is the true sense of following the Lord. May be to end the reflection you can hear that story narrated by Andy Andrews: Burn your Boats

Sent and Delivered

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 29, 2019: Celebrating the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul

Acts 12: 1-11; 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16: 13-19

Feast of Apostles Peter and Paul. Being an apostle is no privilege, it is a challenge; living my life as an apostle is no accomplishment, it is a duty! That is why Paul said, "Woe to me if do not proclaim the Gospel"(1 Cor 9:16) and Peter said , "we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). 

They are apostles because they were "sent" in God's will to be the stones on which the communities of believers will be built. Everyone baptised is called to be an apostle, and the way to be an apostle is outlined so vividly by Peter and Paul today... to proclaim the Gospel even at the point of death; and to be stones on which the community will be built and not be the crack from which the community will be divided! 

Killing the apostles pleased the Jews - those were the times when the first apostles braced themselves to stand for the goodnews of Christ. They found themselves at the point of being sacrificed, but nothing discouraged them from bearing witness to Christ and his message! It is a fight, a race - not just a glamorous show to be an apostle today. The lion's mouth, the evil that surrounds and the powers of death are certainly to be found, when I begin to understand, accept and live fully my call to be an apostle... but at no point will the Lord's deliverance be lacking! 

When I decide to run the race, to fight the good fight, 'the Lord will rescue me from every evil and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.' 

The Heart Affire

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 28, 2019: Ezekiel 34: 11-16; Romans 5: 5-11; Luke 15: 3-7

One of the striking elements of the image of the Sacred Heart is the flame that accompanies it. That is the only thing that this naive generation has left out, from the Sacred Heart, when they adapted its symbol to indicate the love between two people! The heart with an arrow piercing it...you have seen it for sure, haven't you!

But this flame is a special symbol of the Heart of Jesus and it has three significant messages and challenges to give us:

1. Sacrificing: the flame establishes that the sacred heart is a sacrificing heart, not an expecting heart! The flame burns and it consumes the heart...the love that Jesus has for us consumes Jesus...the sacrifice on the Cross, the giving of Jesus' body and blood  -they are all clearly evidences of this quality of the heart of Jesus. How sacrificing is our love?

2. Seeking: the flame is also characteristically something that seeks to reach out. Look at a fire as it burns will it remain in just one spot and be satisfied? No. It seeks. Jesus seeks, seeks to reach out to us, seeks to warm our hearts, seeks to enlighten our paths, seeks to ease our troubles, seeks to meet our needs as a Shepherd seeks the troubled sheep.

3. Shining: the flame is radiant. It shines forth, it shines to invite us to follow the model. The shining flame is an open challenge - can you be like me, can you love like me, can you care for the others like me, can you be sacrificing like me, can you seek to serve others, can you be affire as I am, passionate about filling this world with true love and make it a better place, a heaven on earth, the Reign of God here and now!