Get back to Galilee!

MONDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 13, 2020: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Matthew 28:8-15

Easter people are people filled with hope, a hope that never fails. Things had gone bizarre for the disciples - the three years spent with Jesus seemed waste of time, Jesus seemed to have just disappeared into a thin air, their life seemed in danger, they looked like they were fugitives from the law, they were all quarantined as most of the world is today - afraid of something, but they know not what?

Added to the confusion, some where claiming Jesus is risen, at least his body is not in the tomb where it was placed and no one has reportedly taken it away from there... what to make of it no one knows. And there were conspiracy theories spun around it, as it is done today with people creating and spreading their own theories how the COVID crisis began and how it would end up. 

In spite of the plotting against the resurrection of Christ, Jesus never gives up! Just like he was, when he was moving around with them, Jesus keeps to his singular focus: doing the will of the Father! Until the time that people in their desperation give up all these attempts of thwarting the Truth and believers were showered upon with grace after grace. 

Monday of the Easter Octave, we hear the plan of those who wanted Jesus dead and gone, and now to deter further any spread of the Good news of Christ. What does Jesus tell them: Get back to Galilee... that phrase means... you have seen the Lord, you have seen what the Lord did in your life and in the lives of those around, you have seen the glories and the blessings that the Lord brought wherever he went - GET BACK TO IT... go be a blessing to the other, go be a beacon of hope to the world, go shine as light to those in the darkness of doubt and fear! Get back to Galilee, get back to your great time with the Lord and you will regain the strength to start your life again.

BEING EASTER PEOPLE TODAY

EASTER SUNDAY: April 12, 2020

He is risen and he goes before you to Galilee, announces the angel today! Yes, the Lord is Risen! Alleluia! And he has resumed his life… we have to keep pace with him today! The Risen Lord invites us to be Easter People Today. Amidst the cry of helplessness that arises from a world that is stricken with sickness right now, we need to cry out with hope and joy, reinvigorating the world, rejuvenating humanity. We are called to be Easter people today!

The world is in need of Easter People; if I am not an easter person there is one hope less in the world. The Resurrection of the Lord invites us to a life of difference, to know the difference, to make a difference and to feel the difference! We cannot conform to the world, the Lord calls us to a transformation of the mind and spirit (cf.Rom12:2), that we may challenge the world - that is what we have been preparing for all this lent! This non-conformity to the world is what marked the Early Christians from the rest of the people… the world recognized they were a different people, that they were easter people!

From the unreal to the Real
The world today poses promises after promises for a happy life – possessions, comforts, popularity, power, pleasure… all these are presented to us as sure means of happiness in life! But a closer look at the situation today will let us know instantly how unreal these are. They make you slog with a promise of a great future till you suddenly realize, that future never comes… you slog, slog and slog only to finally leave everything behind with a heavy heart and a resentment of the lost past. From these unreal promises, the Risen Lord invites us to the Real: to know the difference, the difference between the fleeting promises and the promises that stand forever! 

Being Easter People Today demands that we know this difference, the difference that the Lord wants to make in our lives. He has risen precisely for that, that he may make a difference! Shifting our focus from the unreal promises of an unreal happiness, the Lord invites us to focus on the Real promises of joy: that my joy may be in you and your joy may be  complete (Jn14:11). It is in living our life in union with the Lord, experiencing the love of the Lord and sharing it generously with our brothers and sisters, that our joy can be Real, lasting and permanent. Don’t you think as Easter people we have something concrete to offer to the world in this regard?

From the darkness to the Light
The world today reports darkness and darkness everywhere – Contagion, death, conspiracies, domination, superpowers, exploitation, killings, direct and indirect terrorism, crisis, abuse, deception, suicides and such news of desperation fill the dailies and the news-tubes today. There is darkness everywhere because people have gone a long way with the unreal images and misleading guideposts. But the Risen Lord fills us with hope that there could no point of no return, if we are in the Lord! There is always hope, if we as Easter People accept our call to move from the darkness to the Light. The same Lord who said, “I am the Light of the world” (Jn 8:12) looks at each of us and says, “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). Arise! Shine! For your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you, says Prophet Isaiah (Is 60:1). 

No darkness can overcome the Easter People…we are people of the light and this light we have to let it shine, let the world see, let the world be guided. Often times, the sad fact is that we do not realize who we are and continue to lament on the darkness that surrounds, not only lament, but spread it ourselves too… there is unrest, there is crisis, there is hatred, there is desperation… yes they are there, but what have I done to make a difference! What have I changed within myself? What  have I contributed to my setting, what have I changed around me to make a difference? Without really having done anything to make a difference can I claim myself to be an Easter Person? What meaning would it have to celebrate Easter then?

From death to Eternal life
The world today is rushing into a culture of death, warned us Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, long long ago. Hopeless pessimism, inhuman utilitarianism, exaggerated materialism, heartless skepticism and limitless consumerism… these are signs of the Reign of the Evil one, of the kingdom of death!  The Risen Lord invites us from this reign of death to the glory of eternal life. An unfailing optimism, love filled relationships, balanced understanding of development and advancement, use of things and love for people…these are the signs of eternity, because they will never end. We are called to be people who feel the presence of these signs within us and witness to these infront of the world today. 

An Easter person has to be filled with life and has to fill those around him or her with life. Standing against the culture of death we are called to witness for optimism rather than desperation, to opt for love rather than exploitation, to liberate ourselves from slaveries and challenge the world to a liberated life style. The Risen Lord fills us with this life… a life that is filled with Joy, a life that is lit with Truth and a life that is defined by hope. Let us take it to the rest of the World as the disciples took the risen Lord to the rest of the world.

Being Easter people today demands that we know the difference between the unreal and the Real, that we make a difference and lead the world from darkness to Light, and that we feel the difference that the Risen Lord offers us: the promise, the gift and the hope of Eternal Life.

WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY EASTER...BE FILLED WITH THE HOPE OF THE RISEN LORD!
BE EASTER PEOPLE WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!

LOVE REMAINS

Holy Week 2020 - SILENT SATURDAY

April 11: In Sacred Silence

What happened after Jesus died and before he rose? What was he going through? 

He was silent! 
He was waiting! 
He just remained! 

This is the call of this unique day of the year in the Church: this is the only day in the whole of the Church when no Eucharist is Celebrated...the altar remains stripped, the tabernacle remains empty and the Church remains silent: waiting in patience to see what is going to happen next.

The Lord rests in the tomb this day... everything is silent! There will be a dawn very soon... but until then we are invited to Remain Silent, Remain Patient and Remain Waiting. 

It is not so easy to remain silent in a moment of crisis. Multitudes of questions, thousands of thoughts will pass by our mind breaking our silence. One could see that - in these moments of quarantine - how many issues, how many conspiracy theories, how may fake messages doing their rounds and how many stress creating discussions! Only the one who has an unwavering faith in the Lord can remain silent at these moments.

We have grown slaves to instant results. We seem to have have lost the natural patience of our forefathers, in the name of development and technology. Only the one who hopes in SomeOne greater than oneself, can remain patient and see things happen.

Compare waiting for a public utility, may be a transport or one's turn in a crowded office, with waiting for one's beloved! While former seems irritating, the latter looks exciting. The difference is the love that is involved: Only the one who loves the Lord immensely, remains waiting, for the Lord to act on his or her behalf.

Today is the day to remain...to remain silent, to remain patient, to remain waiting, because the Lord is getting something beautiful ready for us! The Lord waits...and let us wait on the Lord too!

LOVE DIES, FOR YOU AND ME

Holy Week 2020 - GOOD FRIDAY 

April 10: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

We are at the peak, the peak of our Christian faith, the peak of the eternal salvation plan of God, the peak of calvary which has transformed human history forever and from eternity. From this peak today speaks to us the love of God - telling each of us: I died for you! I emptied myself for you! I gave totally of myself for you!

The liturgy today invites us to dwell on three C's...

The first is the Cross - the centre not merely of the liturgy of today, but of our entire Christian life, theology and spirituality. The Cross is the true symbol of love, not the heart with a piercing arrow! The cross is the symbol of that total self-giving, total to the extent of the last drop of blood and water. Suffering accepted for the other, suffering taken up as a mode of self-giving, suffering endured as an act of love, is salvific! This is both an inspiration and an invitation that we need to hear every time we look at the Cross. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!

The second is the Crown - do you know another word for a crown... Corona! We are so filled with this word, these days as we battle against the COVID 19 crisis, all over the world. When sufferings come our way, when trials visit us in our days, when burdens weigh down our shoulders, when disease and death threaten us from the dark corners, we need to remember this crown! Just imagine an athlete running a race, if right at the beginning he is given a crown and said, all that you need to do is reach the finish line... the crown is certainly yours, it is guaranteed! That is actually a real Christian vision of life... yes we have to run, yes we have to toil, yes we have to strive... but the crown is ours, already! Any crisis, any suffering, any temptation, any trial, is there just to be endured and traversed; let us remember, we are all running with the crown already on our head...if only we are ready to live through them all in faith! Nothing can overtake us, nothing can overcome us, for there is someone who has overcome everything - sins, world, even death and his crown we have on our heads, the crown of salvation. Into your hands Lord, I commend my Spirit. 

The third is Calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation! The first time I visited Calvary, I was disappointed. When the programme of the visit said, Calvary, my mind had imagined an impressive hilltop up there - but all I beheld was a dozen steps to climb with the place of crucifixion marked. We had already made the climb walking the gradually rising slope leading to the Church of Crucifixion. But that is precisely the message: Calvary is not that one hill perched high right in the middle of our life - it is one whole life, it is a life long experience, something that we gradually climb and come to grips with everyday. Amidst the daily chores, amidst the experiences of failures and faults, amidst the trying relationships and discouraging life situations, we behold our calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation. All that we need to do is, be ready is go through these mindful of the fact that there is God's Holy Will which is guiding us and be ready to surrender ourselves totally. Thus we can finally say, 'it is accomplished!'

Let us heed to the call of the Cross and understand the role of suffering in our personal salvation and the salvation of the humankind. Let us behold the crown of salvation and live the mystery of calvary every day in our lives, firm in faith, filled with hope and fired by love. 

LOVE SERVES IN EVERY WAY

Holy Week 2020 - MAUNDY THURSDAY

April 9: Exodus 12:1-8,11-14; 1 Corinthian 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15

Love is basically a willingness to submit oneself to a way of life that wishes the good of the other. Knowing the needs of the other, without having heard from him or her is a sign of love. Committing myself for the good of the other, without ever thinking of what I would gain, is an attitude of love. Being ready to lay down one's life for the good of the other is the ultimate act of love. There can be no love better that one being ready to lay down one's life for the other and it all begins in being at the service of, the other and the good of the other. The world has grown so callous to 'the other', all that matters to one is oneself and one's own - where is love here? and where would service be here at all!

Maundy Thursday is the day on which the Lord gave us the famous mandate, the mandate of love: love one another as I have loved you; love in action - wash each other's feet; love to be identified as belonging to Christ. The day is filled with so many things to thank the Lord for. 

First of all, the Eucharist instituted today is a loving service in action, by the Son of God who gives himself up for our good. Love serves by making itself the food for the other, by destroying oneself that the other may live!

Priesthood that is initiated today is a service, a ministry of bringing the Lord to the people. It is an offering of love that persons chosen and called make for the Lord, to the Lord's people, for the Lord's mission towards the Reign of God. 

Then comes the commandment of love - the spoken words of Jesus, that would be lived out in his action of serving the disciples, washing their feet and waiting on them at the table! A love in concrete action.

In every one of these, that which stands out is love. Love is our identity, love is our mission and love is our meaning. Love is seen in service, true and selfless service.

LOVE HURTS, NEVER RETORTS

Holy Week 2020 - THE SPY WEDNESDAY 

April 8: Isaiah 50: 4-9A; Matthew 26:14-25

Starting Monday, we have been hearing the three songs of the suffering servant from the book of Isaiah... a set of songs that expresses the sufferings that a servant of God or the prophet of God undergoes. It becomes a prefigurement of Christ's suffering. A servant of God, even the Son of God, finds all around  him, those who plot his downfall, those who want him to fail, to be destroyed: how prepared are we to face such people and still go about with dedication and commitment to the Will of God. 

Do you think it will be possible to go on loving even at these moments? It is simple to remain with the Lord and say 'I love', when things go on well; but when things do not go the way we want them? That is what led to the fall of Judas! But look at Jesus... it hurt him to have loved these people - the one who betrayed, the one who denied and those who abandoned him... but he never ceased loving them, much less react. Yes, true love hurts! But it goes on and on. 

"From that time on, he looked for an opportunity to hand him over" ...says the Gospel today. The plot thickens and the tempo builds towards the climax. There are eyes that keep watching out for the right moment to lay hands on Jesus...and the most unfortunate fact is that it is led by one from the innermost circle of Jesus' collaborators! Yes, love hurts, but the one who truly loves, never retorts!

It is a divine quality to love, even when that love is not reciprocated, much more when it is repaid with indifference or hurt! But if we believe we take after the Lord, that we are created in God's image, that we are brothers and sisters of Christ, then as Mother Teresa would often say, we have to love until it hurts. 

LOVE NEVER GIVES UP ON GOD

Holy Week 2020 - PREACHING TUESDAY

April 7: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38

"Though I thought I toiled in vain... yet my reward is with the Lord", this feeling expressed by Isaiah in the first reading fits perfectly the state of Jesus' mind, as he bids a bitter farewell to his disciples today. Arriving at the fag end of his ministry, Jesus knows what is in store and prepares himself for it. Judas' betrayal, Peter's denial...he foresees everything and forewarns them too, but everything in vain. However, he knows that in everything God works for the good of those who love God (cf. Rom 8:28). 

Just after the cleansing of the Temple and the controversy created by it, Jesus is found preaching at the Temple, for the last time. The Jews, the high priests and the scribes, have always challenged Jesus regarding the authority with which he is doing all that he does! Jesus does not care to prove his authority, not because he could not but because it was so obvious. His words were accompanied with signs, his teachings were authenticated with his living and no one needed any proof for Jesus' authority. The problem was that they were not ready see the obvious truth. But Jesus' love does not let him lose heart...he goes on. That is true love - it never gives up. 

These days, experiencing a totally strange holy week, a holy week in quarantine, there could be anxieties, helplessness, doubts and fears in the minds of all...but let us remember, Love never gives up. God has never given up on us and we shall never give up on God, if we truly love God. Let us learn to see and believe the presence of God amidst whatever the situation be.

Believing involves repentance! Believing comes from a conviction, from an experience. Repent and believe - that was the invitation with which the Lent began! 

How far have we progressed in it? 

LOVE CONSUMES ONESELF

Holy Week 2020 - CLEANSING MONDAY 

April 6: Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11

The flame burns more vigorously as it is about to quench itself, they say. The perfume spreads itself more vivaciously when it is about to vanquish itself. The love for his father and the passion for his mission, burns ever brighter as Jesus nears the cross. Jesus is about to enter into his last few days, and more and more begin to believe in him and come to him. Even while these happen, the stubborn heart of Judas does not give way, the plotting spirit of the high priest and scribes does not change! 

This day within the Holy week is called the Cleansing Monday, as we see Jesus after entering Jerusalem, paying a visit to the Temple and cleansing it! Don't make my Father's house a den of robbers, he cries. As the scripture says, the zeal for his house consumes him, the love for his father consumes him, the love for his mission consumes him. 

All the good that Jesus did, all the signs that marked his mission did not manage to convert that one section of the people, because they had their hearts hardened and their eyes blinded. May we hear today the yearning cry of the Lord to true conversion. May we make up our mind to truly break away from some act or tendency that we habitually fall in. As Jesus cleanses that temple, the invitation to us is clear: our body is the temple of the Lord, is it maintained as the Lord's dwelling place or has it turned into a robber's den. Isn't it time for us to take note of it and cleanse it for all its impurities. Our love for the Father, for the Lord and for being the dwelling of the Spirit, should consume our selves! 

True love consumes oneself, true wish for the well being of the other shall lead a person to consume oneself. That is what is happening with the Lord - and are we ready continuously cleanse our love for each other, for the whole humanity, for God, so true as we are prepared even to be consumed ourselves!

LOVE CELEBRATES LIFE

Palm Sunday 2020 - April 5

Love, Live and live to the full 

Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66

Jesus enters Jerusalem. Jesus knows well what awaits him there... he had told his disciples that the Son of Man would be handed over to be tried and tortured; he had seen people plotting against him and waiting for a moment to lay hands on him; he had heard the whispers against him that it is better that one man dies for the whole of Israel. In spite of all these, Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem, he enters Jerusalem.

We are traversing an odd moment in history, not just odd, but hard too! The other day a Governor in the United States of America, speaking to the press said, 'many pose a question, when will be back to normal? Let me tell you, after these experiences, we can never be back to normal; we would only be back to a 'new normal'.' That is more or less the intensity of the experience we are living through these days. And the season of lent this year has been for a great extent intensely tinted with this sadness and anxiety. Not merely amidst the usual lenten sobriety, but amidst this unusual calamitous scene all around us, this Sunday we are invited to a festivity; to a joyous reception of the Lord into our dwellings! Exactly so did Jesus find, the joy of those people as he entered Jerusalem. His face was fixed on a Jerusalem that was waiting with condemnation and the Calvary that was holding out the Cross to him! But still, Jesus joins the rejoicing people in their celebration, notwithstanding the anxiety that clung to his soul. When someone suggested that he stop the people from all the frenzy, he disagreed with them and allowed the jubilation and joined them in it. True Love celebrates Life, come what may!

Jesus' solemn entry into Jerusalem, is not merely a road show; it is much more. Like the disciples who had the transfiguration experience to sustain themselves, the common believers are given this solemn reception as something that they can fall back on when things would look to be going wrong. He wants them to understand the celebration and the following confusions, the jubilation and the following tragedies, the triumphant entry and the shameful exit...all of these as part of a grand plan, the salvific plan. How is it possible?

It becomes possible for when realise that life is from God's hands and when we learn to live life from God's hands. That is what the world as a whole has lost, forgotten for a while. The world and humanity has taken every thing into their own hands - life and death, nature and space, living and non living creatures... everything has been usurped into the selfish hands of the world and the materialistic humanity! And here is the call to surrender every thing, every little thing that happens - joy or sorrow, challenge or victory, opportunity or obstacle... surrender every thing into the hands of God and find its meaning from there. This is living life from God's hands! When we do this there will be no dearth for celebration in life, come what may.

Jesus was constantly motivated by the Mission that was entrusted to him by the One who sent him. It was this mission that defined his thoughts, words and actions. When there was a temptation of resting on the glory of the wonders that were happening, or the pressure from the people to make him their king, or the tendency towards attachment to a particular place or people, Jesus had his mind clear. He always said, we have to go to other villages and proclaim the good news! Getting lost in the glories of victories or getting absorbed into the failures of human frailty - neither of this happens with a true apostle of the Lord! How does this happen?

It happens when we know what it means to live life for God's Mission - that was all that mattered to Jesus. That is why a call from Herod for signs or a plea from Pilate for a submission or the threats from the high priests - all of them fell on a deaf ear. He could call Herod a 'fox' and he could snub Pilate saying he was after all a puppet in the hands of the people and in God's hands.  Jesus' mind was focused on just one thing: living life for God's Mission. Nothing that seemed a threat could deter him on his mission!

The self definition of Jesus in relation to his mission was so categorical: I came that you may have life, life in all its fullness. The true glory of God is a human being fully alive, and Jesus is the prototype of this. Difficulties, rejections, let downs, oppositions, criticisms and condemnations, nothing really mattered for Jesus. The only concern that was uppermost in his mind was his call to live his life to the full - nobody, nothing, no situation could stop him from that. He was not moved by praises, nor bogged down by criticism, neither was he overwhelmed by a need to prove himself to the world. How could he be so calm and serene?

It was so because Jesus was convinced that living life to the full consisted of all these experiences put together. Amidst the challenges, anxieties and sufferings, what matters is hope, trust, and courage in the Lord with which to leap into the future, filled with joy, splendour and peace that God alone can give. Behold, I come to do your will, says the Son and challenges us to do the same: to live our life to the full. Not to give up at the first of problems; not to give in to the least of the tests; but to remain faithful to the will of God, and obey with the same humility as the Son of God who emptied himself to the point of accepting death on the Cross. 

Let us look at the picture that the readings paint today...the man who foresees a terrible time amidst the people gathered around in extraordinary jubilation; the calmness of Jesus and the excitement of the people. This is living the moment to the full, living every thing that comes our way with intensity, this is celebrating life come what may! Jesus was capable of this, because he loved his Father and he was so convinced that God loved him absolutely! That is the secret - amidst all our uncertainties and anxieties, we need to ask ourselves: do we love God with all our heart; and how confident are we on the love that God has for us?

The sign that we truly love the Lord and are absolutely certain of the love of the Lord, would be that we live our life from God's hands, live our life for God's mission and live our life to the full, after the example of our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes!

To be people of the God of love

THE WORD IN LENT - 5th week, Saturday

April 4, 2020: Ezekiel 37: 21-28; John 11: 45-56
Point for Dialogue #31: Our selfish nature and our spiritual self

What a contrast we are given to notice today- while God longs to give life and bring the people to new birth, the people plot to kill the Son of God and do away with him. On the mountain of the Lord, there will be no killing and no hatred! How far we are from the Reign of God when we harbour thoughts of hatred, jealousy, rancour and ruin! 

The obvious call is to initiate a dialogue within us, between our negative tendencies wishing the ruin of the other, vengeance and vindication and the spiritual tendencies of wishing the good and the wellbeing of the other, forgiveness and compassion; between our selfish nature and our spiritual self.

Personal feuds or Political Wars, Communal clashes or cut-throat competitions... they are all against the God of love who dwells amidst us, as God once promised through the covenant made - I will make my dwelling amidst you; you shall be my people and I shall be your God! How many conspiracy theories are making their rounds these days, even about this health crisis that the world is suffering through - the saddest part of it is, most of them seem frighteningly believable and logical!

In the Gospel, we see that the plot thickens today as Jesus is marked to be put to death! Jesus knows he is surrounded by enmity and hatred, but avoids taking it in and remains the love that he is, the love that he came from. How blessed and Christ-like we shall be to decide and choose not to be influenced by the negativity that is purposefully spread by the evil one!

It is a direct call for each of us to analyse whether we are worthy to be called the people of the covenant, children of the God who is love, disciples of the one who offered himself as ransom for many. Let us return to the God of love, be children of that love, be people who will emanate only love and thus make the world a better place, a place closer to the Reign of God, the God of love.