To be people "from above"

THE WORD IN LENT - 5th week, Tuesday

March 31, 2020: Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30
Point for Dialogue #27: Standards of the world and Standards of Christ

To look to what is lifted up or the one who is lifted up, or in short, to be people 'from above', is the crux of the Word today. 

The first reading speaks of the bronze serpent that was made and lifted up and that anyone bitten by the serpent who looked to it, lived. In the Gospel Jesus speaks of himself, that when he is lifted up, the world will really know him. The readings invite us to take seriously a dialogue between the standards of the world and the standards of Christ, between what is from around and what is from above, in our daily life. 

Jesus invites us too to be lifted up, in our thinking, in our attitudes, in our priorities and in our perspectives. He challenges us to be 'people from above'...that is, to have the mind of Christ, as St.Paul puts it in his letters (Phil 2:5). Do not conform to this world, but in Spirit become an acceptable living sacrifice, St. Paul would instruct elsewhere (Rom 12:2). This is what it means to be people from above!

To look at God and the relationship I have with God, in the same way as Christ looked at; to look at my brothers and sisters, with compassion, empathy and commitment, as Jesus did; to look at everything that happens to us and around us, from the perspective of the Reign of God as Jesus did: this is what Jesus means when he says, "I belong to what is above" (Jn 8:23). And we need to belong to it too, to what is from above.

Let us not give into small talks, gossips, prejudices, judgments, selfishness, rancour, greed or anything of that sort. Let us turn to look to what is above, thus enabling ourselves to be people from above. Thus we will be worthy to repeat Jesus' words: 'I always do what is pleasing to Him."

The meaning of Christian Empathy

THE WORD IN LENT - 5th week, Monday

March 30, 2020: Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62; Jn 8: 1-11
Point for Dialogue #26: Our self-pity and insensitivity!

"Slow to anger and abounding in love", those are the attributes oft repeated about God. If we have to speak of our tendencies today, we should put it this way: 'Quick to judge and totally merciless!' Regardless of who the person involved is, it has become a culture to pass unjust judgments, circulate untrue gossips and entertain unwanted evaluations. Nowadays with the thought of the pandemic around, 'the other' is more and more defined and seen as a threat, a threat that could infect you, a threat that could cause you sickness and even death.. Is it truly a Christ-ian attitude? 

The first reading tells us - even if the whole world around you joins together to tear a person into pieces, you stand aloof and act by the Spirit. The Gospel reminds us - even if it were true that a person has made a mistake, give the person another chance, for God has been endlessly patient with you! Aren't these truly Christ-ian attitudes?

The Word today invites us to deepen a dialogue within us between our tendency to expect everyone to stand by us when we are in trouble and our eagerness to stay clear of any trouble when it comes to  standing for someone in their times of trouble, a dialogue between our self-pity and insensitivity! 

And these are possible only when we empathise with the affected person. Christ empathised with the woman brought to be stoned, he empathised with Zacchaeus, with Matthew the tax collector, with the Samaritan woman at the well, with Peter who denied his master... Christian Empathy, does not approve of the wrong doing or the limitation, but loves and respects the person who is involved. That love and respect, inspires the person to 'Go and sin no more.' 

PREPARE FOR A TRANSFORMATION - THE DIALOGUE OF THE PEOPLE OF LIFE

THE WORD IN LENT - 5th Sunday

The Call to be People of Life
March 29, 2020: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

The signs of life are newness, change, growth, freshness, development, and all of them put together, Transformation. We are called to be People of Life, people who are prepared for a transformation, through sufferings and struggles. This message comes out very strongly in the current context - with the world wide lock down and the so called Social Quarantine! Even apart from this, being people of life is not that easy today, because we live surrounded by a culture of Death. 

Death is signified by a state of stand still, a state of no change, a state of decay, a state of giving up, a state of discouragement - if we are going to look at this situation as an isolation, as a punishment, as a terrifying threat to self preservation, we are giving right into that culture of death. The world today is filled with these signs - there seems to be a panic, a self-centered survival instinct unleashed everywhere, a objectifying look that makes everyone other than me a virus out to attack me! Are these signs of a people of life? Can a Christ-ian take this stand towards life?

The Word today invite us to enter into a dialogue proper to the People of Life... because we are children of the God of Life. There is constantly the conflict between the forces of Life and those of death, right before our eyes, in our very own lives, in daily situations and the choices we have to make concretely. If we are people of life, we shall enter into a dialogue of life, being prepared for a transformation. When the Lord promises new life, it does not come out of nothing, not without the process that we have to put ourselves through, not without the struggle, the effort, the self-giving that we need to be prepared for. It is a kind of Spiritual Alchemy that gives rise to a real transformation within. The Lent, and this time of pandemic crisis, is a moment to prepare ourselves for a Transformation.

IN FAITH: God gives us life and constantly renews us. Life is not our making, it is a gift! The more we realise that the more grateful we shall become and the more responsible we would grow in handling it. The first reading, invites us to reflect through Prophet Ezekiel, the gift of Life that is given to us by the very author of life, that is God. I shall give you my Spirit and you shall live, says the Lord. 

In faith we have a relationship built between God and us: You shall be my people and I shall be your God...that is the alliance that God has made with us, and is faithful to. You shall be my children and I shall be your father and mother; You shall be my flock and I shall be your shepherd; You shall be my beloved and I shall fill you with my love..says the Lord. Today the Lord promises us amidst all the darkness of the world and the shadow of death, to fill us with God's Spirit and make us live. As those dry bones, gathered together and stood up to life, so can we rise up in this world as people of life, IN FAITH.

IN HOPE: We are constantly challenged and threatened by the darkness that surrounds us, as the darkness that surrounded Lazarus in the tomb. Just as we are crying out to the Lord, "Lord its been four months the world is grinding through this epidemic crisis," we see the people there telling Jesus, "Lord it's been four days since he has been laid there." Four days...the Jews believed that from the fourth day after death, the process of decay began. The decayed body comes to life, the situation of total hopelessness is brought to life by the Hope of Resurrection.

In hope we need to behold what Jesus declares: I am the Life and Resurrection. In Baptism we are all united to the death of Christ on the Cross, and that gives us the hope of sharing the Resurrection of the Lord. We are called to live as People of life, people who look to the light, people who look up to resurrection, people who are filled with joy and optimism, people who are prepared to be Transformed IN HOPE.

IN LOVE: If we are people of life, it has to be seen in our daily life, in our constant transformation... we cannot live a life that is like anybody else and call ourselves people of life. We cannot grumble and mourn like everyone and call ourselves people of life. We cannot give up and groan like the rest of the world and call ourselves people of life. We cannot panic and get frustrated looking at the suffering, and call ourselves people of life. We cannot look at people as viruses and call ourselves people of life. We cannot become insensitive to the most affected, just because we are also affected, and still call ourselves people of life. We cannot just succumb to sinfulness and evil and still call ourselves people of life. 

In love, when we decide to live our lives, as St. Paul makes it clear in the second reading today...we are to live our life in the Spirit, not the life of flesh. Life in the Spirit is filled with light, radiance, joy and above all, Love. The Spirit of the Risen Lord has to fill our life and thus we will be light to the nations, witness of God's love to the people around, testimonies of the Resurrection that is promised to us and signs of the eternal life that we are called to. The foundation is love...to live a life that is filled with love, love for God who loves us abundantly and love for our brothers and sisters, with respect, dignity, sensitivity and solidarity with every child of God. We will stand for, radiate and uphold life as people of life, IN LOVE.

Let us heed the call that the Word gives us today: to be prepared to be transformed into people of life, in faith, in hope and in love. Turning to the God of life in Faith, returning to the Life and Resurrection that is Jesus Christ in Hope and transforming ourselves to live these moments of trial in the Spirit, in true Love. Let these moments, not be moments of mere isolation or alienation; let these be moments of true internal and communitarian transformation.  

To look for Truth in love

THE WORD IN LENT - 4th week, Saturday

March 28, 2020: Jeremiah 11:18-20; John 7: 40-53
Point for Dialogue #25: Our Goodness and the Goodness in the Other

"Then each went to his own house" - that is how the Gospel passage of today ends (v.53)! In spite of the witnesses who saw that there was something extraordinary in Jesus, in spite of the good that Jesus accomplished, in spite of the wonderful things that they saw, the pharisees took pride that they did not give into believing Jesus. This is the danger that we have to fight every day! We prefer to be in our safe homes, than get out and get to know what the Lord wants to reveal to us. This why Pope Francis keeps crying out for a Church that is in movement, a people of God who are constantly open to the revelations of the Lord in every day events and encounters.

The meaning of pride is not merely lack of humility, but it is lack of openness to truth! When one is open to Truth, one is ready to face struggles, persecutions and threats to stand by that truth, as Jeremiah tells us in the first reading. When one is stubbornly closed up against anything other than what he or she knows, one is locked up in "one's own house." We are called by the Word today to enter into a dialogue between our eagerness to be right and our earnest search of truth; between our belief that we are good and our capacity to see the good in the other. 

The experience of Massah and Meribah where the people tested the Lord because of their stubbornness of heart, is what continued in Jesus' life as they refused to understand who Jesus was. In fact, it continues even today, when we are selective in our perceptions and choosy in our reflections. We take what is convenient for us and neglect what is not.

Truth does not matter to us as much as living without trouble. Truth does not matter to us as much as having everyone nod to our thinking and choice. When they don't agree, we tend to neglect them, sideline them, persecute them, hate them, or at least ignore them! Is this a Christian attitude? What do we prefer, to return to our own house, our own thinking, our own fixed judgements as soon as possible, or to truly look for the Truth in love?

Transformation - True Knowledge of God

THE WORD IN LENT - 4th week, Friday

March 27, 2020: Wisdom 2: 1A,12-22; John 7: 1-2,10,25-30.
Point for Dialogue #24: Mind for Information and the Spirit of Transformation

The prime question today in the liturgy is "knowing God"... what kind of knowing is truly knowing, when it comes to the knowledge of God? What matters most is not knowing about God, but knowing God. Are we aware of the difference between knowing about God and knowing God? Are we even mindful of the fact that there is a difference! 

Knowing about, is information and Knowing, is transformation. These days going through the crisis of the present pandemic, we see every day (also because people are all shut down into their houses) a flood of information - right, wrong and worthless alike. People look for it and keep spreading it... simply because the human mind is curious for information. Will those information alone save the situation? Coming back to the theme of the Word today...

Knowing philosophical concepts and theological finer points is merely information, but allowing those to affect our lives, forming our values based on those and living a life that is coherent to our beliefs is more than mere knowledge; it is more than just knowing about God; it is knowing God! The Word invites us today for a dialogue between that curiosity of our mind for information and the readiness of our spirit for transformation.

The people in the Gospel today, knew so much about God, but they did not know God when God really lived and moved amidst them. Knowing the biblical verses by heart and quoting them in season and out of season, reflecting on the depths of theological ruminations and reaching the heights of mystical formulations will not guarantee true knowledge of God. 

Jesus says of God: "I know the Father because I am from the Father" and that is the true knowledge of God. Knowing God is to belong to God, to be open to God's promptings, to listen to the Word and to see God's will in it, ever ready to accept, live and stand for God's plan, will and design. To carry out God's will is the direct route to true happiness; it arises from right rapport with God translated into right, respectful, just, genuine and loving relationships, in our daily living. 

Remaining with the Truth - compromise versus commitment!

THE WORD IN LENT - 4th week, Thursday

March 26, 2020: Exodus 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47
Point for Dialogue #23: Impatience of mind and Endurance of the will

Testifying to oneself, others testifying, God testifying, the Word testifying... testifying to the Truth is an important element of Christ-ian Spirituality. Jesus speaks of all these today in the Gospel. The point he makes is: a hard-hearted person will never see the truth, however clearly it might be presented. 

Human mind gets too easily tired of seeking the truth! It prefers to ask the question 'what is truth' (as Pilate asked) and much worse the question, 'is there a truth', without really making all the efforts to ask the question, 'how best can I get to it?' The call here is to set a dialogue up between my impatience to hold on to something immediate and my endurance to remain in the draught until I get the closest possible to the truth, that is, between an easy compromise and an enduring commitment.

The people of Israel in the first reading are an ample illustration of the lot that easily gives into compromise, so impatient in mind. In spite of the wonders that they witnessed in Egypt, at the red sea and in the desert, they had the hardness of heart to settle with the gods made of their own hands - just because they could not wait, they could not endure the time that Moses was taking, they could not wait on the Lord anymore! 

Confusions of our daily life, troubles of our regular days, temptations amidst our ordinary experiences, struggles to carry out one's duties, and intense experiences like the one we are through these day with the health crisis  - these can some times make us forget the Truth that we have always experienced. 

Deserting one's faith, abandoning one's traditions, going in search of easy substitutes for the cherished experiences of life... things of these sorts are nothing strange to the world today. It is simply because, the human mind is so impatient and prefers compromise to commitment! How well founded is our faith expreience? In whom have we placed our hope? Let us recommit ourselves to endure any situation to remain always close to the Truth!

Plan, Project and Proclamation

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

March 25, 2020: Solemnity of Annunciation

Isaiah 7: 10-14,8:10; Hebrew 10:4-10; Luke 1: 26-38

God's salvific plan is an eternal design in God's endless love for us, the children of God. The feast of Annunciation is beautiful reminder of how every little thing that happens fits into the wonderful design of God. 

Inspite of the undeserving nature of persons as depicted by Ahaz episode in the first reading, inspite of the impossibility of conditions as expressed by Mary in the Gospel scene, inspite of the improbability of human calculations as evinced by the example of the aged Elizabeth, God's plan of salvation works, and works for the good of those who love God (cf. Phil 8:28). Looking at the situation that the world is facing right now - the crisis of the pandemic... we look at how helpless we are, how weak and vulnerable we are, how suspicious and dangerous we could grow to each other. Everything looks grim and gloomy but it is only a faithful heart that can behold the streak of light that comes through that gloom!

That which makes it possible is the willingness to carry out God's will. St. Paul affirms in his letter to the Romans, as one man's disobedience brought death into this world, so does one man's submission to God's will bring salvation to the entire human race! (Cf. Rom 5:19) Mary, is presented today as the type, the model, for human cooperation! We see in Mary's 'yes', the human version of the obedience of the Word Incarnate: "Behold, I come to do your will". She brings it much more closer and makes it more compelling on us, to listen to God's word, treasure it in our hearts and carry it out to the details, to be persons totally dedicated to live the will of God on a daily basis. 

In God's eternal plan, there is a project made for each of us and every time we cooperate with the plan of God, we proclaim in our own way the majesty of God's love for humanity, as does Mary today in her fiat. 

By the streams of living water

THE WORD IN LENT - 4th week, Tuesday

March 24, 2020: Ezekiel 47:1-9,12; John 5: 1-3,5-16

Point for Dialogue #22: Life threatening situations and the Life giving waters!

The Springs of living waters, that fill us with life, health and joy are pictured today in the readings. With terms all around us such as affected, infected, quarantined, critical care, epidemic, pandemic and so on, which announce death and the fear of death, the Word speaks to us about new life, healing and the life giving streams! 

The life giving waters keep flowing on, it depends on us to approach it and drink from it. Jesus invites us, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me; and let the one who believes in me, drink!" (Jn 7:37-38). It becomes crucial that we engage ourselves in the dialogue between the waters that the world offers - that of fear, anxiety and selfish concerns, and the waters that the Lord offers - that of new life, happiness and true joy.

We are planted by the stream that flows, that is, we are enlivened by the presence of the Lord who surrounds us each and every moment. True spirituality has to arise from there - based on the personal presence of God with us every moment of our life. Special places like the Church or the Sanctuaries and special moments like those of Eucharist and others, should be the springs from where the waters flow on into daily life, affecting our daily life, our every day thoughts, words and deeds! Even if these are placed in crisis, as it is happening right now, our communion with God and each other should be able to sustain itself. 

If that connection is lost or that flow is blocked, then we become lifeless vegetation that remains fruitless. Let us return to the Springs of living waters and make our daily life flourish, for the greater glory of God! Let us choose always to be by the streams of living water!

Be calm and count your blessings!

THE WORD IN LENT - 4th week, Monday

March 23, 2020: Isaiah 65: 17-21; John 4: 43-54

Point for Dialogue #21: The Anxious me and the Grateful me!

Behold, I make all things new, declares the Lord. What a promise to behold, as we are all the time bogged down by the experience and news of the health crisis all over the world. Every day, in spite of the trials and difficulties we are showered with innumerable blessings. If only we are attune to every thing that happens in our life, we will be able to count our blessings, the blessings that make our life every day meaningful. 

If we start every day with the spirit of the Psalms that remind us: this is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it - we would profit by living that day with a grateful heart. It becomes so important today to initiate a dialogue between the anxious me and the grateful me! 

A grateful heart is a humble heart; a humble heart is a grateful heart! The more grateful we grow, the less anxious we become. The less anxious we become, the more holy we grow! The more holy we become, the more we shall realise how true it is that the Lord is in control! Let us never panic, for God is in charge. God who has blessed us all this while, will continue to bless and protect us! We are in the hands of the Lord - nothing can separate us from the love of God: neither sickness nor hunger, neither trials nor temptations, not even death! But one thing will - anxiety. Anxiety will lead to doubt and doubt to fear; where there is fear, there is no love!

The Lord who says in the Gospel, 'Go home and your son shall live,'... tells us, 'be calm, I am with you!' Let us stay firm and count our blessings; let us be grateful and remain firmly united to the Lord. And we will live a life that will be a blessing to us, and a blessing to all who are around us!

LIGHTED TO BE TESTIMONIES - THE DIALOGUE OF PROCLAMATION

THE WORD IN LENT - 4th Sunday

The Requirements of our Call to Proclaim 

March 22, 2020: 1 Samuel 16: 1,6-7, 10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9: 1-41

"We are children of the Light", the readings remind us today and invite us to live in the light! To awake from the slumber of the darkness, to avoid the works of the people of darkness and to acknowledge that we have been anointed to announce the good news to the world - that is the call to be children of the light. It is a dialogue of Proclamation, the dialogue of recognising the Light within me and sharing it with the world! 

These are also the requirements, the demands, the prerequisites to be truly children of the light. We need to be convinced that we have the light within us, the Light of the world is with us and within us. We are lighted to shine, we are lighted to shine as testimonies to that Light which longs to lead everyone to fullness of life. We need to announce the the world, to every one around that they are called to that fullness of light; that they are called to that splendour that God has placed within us, as children of God. 

We are called to SEE. Blindness is not merely of the physical eye... blindness of the heart to perceive the something that is so apparent is the worst of all blindness. Physical blindness is a handicap, but Spiritual blindness sometimes is a choice, a choice against something obvious! Not to see the goodness of the other, not to see the good the other has done to you, not to see the great things that God has done for us, these are the blindnesses out of which the Lord calls us today. 

The darkness within us can surround us so much that we may find so comfortable and cosy within it, not knowing that it is actually eating into us...making us more and more empty. That was the problem of the pharisees and the scribes: they were so cosy in their own world but Jesus disturbed them! He called them to light, he called them to awake. The Word today, calls us to AWAKE and see the Light, shining on us!

We are called to SEE LIKE GOD. As children of God we are called to see like God. The first reading presents to us an incident where the Lord gives us a practical lesson for our life. David, the least of all in the family of Jesse was chosen against all odds to be the ruler of Israel. There are other such occasions too that we find in the Bible: Joseph the sold slave, Gideon the weakling, Esther the orphan girl and so on. The message is clear: to see like God. As the Lord clarifies it (1 Sam 16:7), the Lord sees the heart and not the external appearances; the Lord sees the internal disposition and not the eternal display; the Lord sees the interior openness and not a stubborn self righteousness. 

To see like God would mean to AVOID the works of the people of darkness, who try to close their eyes to any good that someone can do because of a prejudice they have at heart; who look for any lame excuse to judge and vilify others merely because they do not like the other; who look at others as threats and wait to see their ruin.It is a real challenge in the world today, to stay clear of the works of darkness, the thoughts of darkness, the prejudices of darkness, the discriminations of darkness - all in the name of traditions, customs and age old practices. Beware! Avoid the works of darkness and put on the armour of Light!

We are called to MAKE OTHERS SEE GOD. We are anointed people of God, chosen children of God. Peter reminds us in his letter, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pet 1:9). The man in the Gospel was given his sight, as he was 'sent to Siloam'..he was sent, as we are sent! We are sent... with the light... that we may carry that light to all... that light which becomes the judgement of the world. As long as we do not realise it, we are not culpable; but the moment we realise it, we are liable to judgement, we are burdened with this call, we are loaded with a great responsibility on our shoulders as people of God: to be testimonies!

By our baptism we have been ANOINTED and by the sacrament of confirmation we are confirmed in the anointing, and we are sent - that we are to announce to the world the good news of the love of God. That we may see and see like God, we are given the Light of the Lord. The Light shines within us with such splendour that it radiates to the world around us! We are commissioned to be testimonies of the Light, the Light that shines within us, the Light shines in the world. 

If we can say like that blind man in the Gospel - "One thing I know, I was blind and now I can see!" - we are testimonies to the Light that shines within us, the Light that can give meaning to the world. When we really see and see like God, the works of God will be made visible through us and that is what we are called to. Let us thank God for having given us God's light and let us be lighted to be testimonies of the the Light to the world.