Whipping out not slipping out!

THE WORD IN THE HOLY WEEK

Another Passion Week amidst the Pandemic - the Cleansing Monday

March 29, 2021: Isaiah 42: 1-7; John 12: 1-11

We have entered the second Holy Week, the situation of pandemic that tormented us last year, still lingering around with its taunting tentacles! And in this one year we have lived through moments of varied nature and unprecedented outcomes. We are still languishing under the pain and pressure of the pandemic and this Holy Week...let us take a walk with our Saviour and reflect on what he would have done, if he lived this around us. 

The Monday of the Holy Week, is called the Cleansing Monday - refering to that incident when Jesus entered Jerusalem and visited the temple... he was so annoyed with what was happening that he whipped it out against the situation and its perpetrators! 

Beginning with the Gospel, 'six days before the passover' he is found in Bethany, just outside Jerusalem... in the house of Lazarus and his sisters. From here he would enter Jerusalem, as we celebrated yesterday...gloriously wlcomed by the masses. It points to the beginning of a definitive clash between Jesus and the authorities, leading to the tragic crucifixion that we would soon reflect on. One of the point of contention between Jesus and the Authorities was the temple!

When Jesus entered the temple and whipped out the evils from there, it was at the same time a symbolic action and spiritual statement - symbolic action because he wanted the true temple - the people of God - to be cleansed of its iniquities. It was a spiritual statement because his zeal for his Father's house was burning bright within! When he saw the ungodliness of the people of God, the inhumanities of the so-called religious systems and the injustices of the inhuman society at large, he whipped out, and never slipped out quietly. 

As people of God, the Church today, we are called to whip out against all injustices and inhumanities which amount really to ungodliness in the world; we cannot choose to slip out quietly as if we saw nothing, as if it means nothing to us or as if it does not concern us in anyway - much worse, if we ourselves mete out such an injustice or inhumanity on others, in whichever situation we find ourselves in. May the fiery and prophectic Jesus be in our hearts and minds whenever we fail to stand up against evil and lies. 

In the pandemic situation today, there are varied ways of coping: Be a negationist and reject everything that being said about - how blind it could be, after seeing all the real and concrete sufferings of many. Another approach could be, to be a negativist or pessimist finding fault in everything and reading a conspiracy version into everything that is happening aroung - how sad it could be! Another way is to be a careless freak - to go about as if there is nothing abnormal happening. A final, Christ-worthy, approach would be to adapt a prophetic stance - critiquing anything that is against plain logic and integral goodness. There are so many decisions and policies made, with underground dealings and suspicious agenda. What happens when we know them - are we able to stand up and speak up? What about the poor and the marginalises who are pushed to the anonimity in the process of handling and countering this pandemic? It is not oly the pandemic in itself that troubles us, but the politics that surround it, the exploitation that is involved and the inhumanities that prevail. 

Would Jesus, at these moments, have slipped quietly into his silence and security or would he have whipped out against the anomalies? 

BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES

Palms, Psalms and the Passion

March 27, 2021: The Palm Sunday

Mark 11: 1-10; Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark 14:1 - 15:47

The first phase of Lent this year is over, and we enter into the Holy Week, the concluding week that reminds us of so many intense happenings within the Christ-event that have defined our faith, our experience with God and our very identity as disciples of the Crucified and Risen Lord. The entry point is the Palm Sunday - literally the entry point, as we commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. There are three things that mark this day and that would mark the developments during the week too: the palms, the psalms and the passion!

The Palms:

The celebration mode! That is what it was when Jesus entered Jerusalem. They celebrated, they sang and danced around him, they raised slogans and cheered for him! They were so enthusiastic about his coming. Blessed is he who comes they shouted! They saw in Jesus, a messiah, a liberator, a leader, a king, someone who is going to change their lives! 

Yes Jesus was all that! He was the messiah promised; he was the liberator, the redeemer; he was the leader, the shepherd come to gather the flock together; he was the king, the king of all kings, come to set up the Reign of God; some one was destined to change their lives, not just their's, but the whole humanity's. Their enthusiasm was real, it was true but was it the right type of enthusiasm needed. The litmus test of an enthusiasm is, how long it endures! 

They would soon scatter and go their way; they would soon get tired of Jesus because he was not living up to their expectations...he was not the messiah of the type that they expected; he was not the liberator of the warring type that they wanted; he was not the king that they wanted to take on the Romans; yes, he was challenging to change their lives, but they were not ready for the type of changes that he was proposing! They wanted it all their way! 

In our lives too..when Jesus enters, we are all enthusiastic. The question is, how long? Soon we lose the initial enthusiasm, the fervour of the new found experience dies within a while to give rise to boredom and seeking of other experiences. The palms that we hold today tell us: I will dry very soon...will your enthusiasm too wither so fast?

The Psalms:

Blessed is the one who comes, they shouted - that was not any slogan; that was scripture! They were singing psalms. This will repeat itself this week very many times - in the pasch festival that they were gathered for they would be singing and reciting psalms; the disciples and Jesus would sings psalms; Jesus would repeat verses and the high priests will quote phrases...this week there will be so much of the psalms and the sacred scriptures quoted and cited. 

They sang songs, they chanted the psalms and recited the prayers... so regularly and so diligently. But was it making any change in their lives? Were they attentive to the Word who was so alive amidst them and calling them to change and new life? Were they really mindful of what God was working out right in front of their eyes: their own salvation, in the blood of the Lamb! They were too busy with their fixed ideas and ritual performances. They cared nothing for what Jesus was calling attention to. 

It is an attitude that we are called to - not merely parading our knowledge or memory skills or the capacity to make a show of our piety. We are called to an attitude of prayer, an attitude of living our daily lives attentive to the voice of the Lord, the Word of the Lord. It sets the tone for the whole holy week - telling us, this week remain with the Word, meditate on the Word, ruminate on all that the Word made flesh went through for your sake. 

It is an attitude that is asked of us, to spend more time with the Word this week - reading, reflecting, listening, encountering, dialoguing, sharing and opening our hearts to the Word and allowing the Word to touch our very beings. All that we did, or atleast tried to do during the Lent, they can be brought into the presence of the Word and made sense of, asking the Word of God to throw light on the meaning and call that we have for our lives.

The Passion:

This Sunday is also called, the Passion Sunday! Not only because the Passion narrative of the Lord is ready during the Mass, but because the passion, death and resurrection as the culminating episode of the Christ-event was beginning this day. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, there was a new episode beginning...it looked all celebration and fun, but it was ultimately going to be a sacrifice, a covenantal sacrifice, that would change everything that ever was and everything that would ever be! 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the crowd said. Hosanna, they acclaimed. But would soon denounce him and crucify him. Jesus knew it... he knew what is there in store! It was not difficult for him to know it... for all the convictions that he had, for all the teaching about the Reign that he imparted, for all the values that he lived for, for all the critique of the self righteousness and senseless pride that he made... he knew what would be the result! But he did not hesitate.

When he realised that his death was near, he said to those who were around him - I know the hour has come, so what do I do? Should I ask the Father to remove this cup from me? No it is for this I came. Look at that clarity! That was the commitment and dedication that Jesus had for the will of God, towards making present the Reign of God here and now. He was ready for anything. He was prepared for the passion. He was looking square at the face of suffering and death! 

The call is clear, and it is going to repeat itself althrough this week. Are you ready to suffer? How much suffering are you ready to take up? How prepared are you for sacrifices for the sake of the will of God and the Reign of God? We have this whole week to answer that question.

Blessed is he who comes... yes! But are we ready to accept the call that he brings? 

Growing in Christian Faith: An Unfailing commitment to Unity

THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday, 5th week in Lent

March 27, 2021: Ezekiel 37: 21-28; John 11: 45-56

 

The readings today seem to give us a clue to understand the mission of the Son of God. As he himself announces, it is to gather into one all the dispersed children of God, dispersed geographically, spiritually, economically, politically and in every other way. Jesus is identified to be the son of David, promised in all eternity to gather not merely the two nations (Judah and Israel), but all dispersed children of God into one. 

That is the call that Jesus our Master has passed on to every disciple of his. We are called to be agents of unity and harmony, uniting people in love and building a humanity that is joyful. If we are against such unity, even though merely in thought or merely in a few single instances, we can be certain that we are not in line with the mission of the Saviour. He would say, 'if you don't gather with me, you scatter!' (cf. Lk 11:23; Mt 12:30). 

 

It is saddening to see some, even within the Church and within the category of being the shepherds of the flock, spreading division and hatred, sometimes. How hypocritical of those persons to call themselves people of God, much worse, shepherds of the people of God! The Spirit of Christ unites and if I have the Spirit within me, I have to unite! 

 

The only division that can be is the division between the good and the evil…nothing else is a division that comes from the Spirit of the Lord. And if I think of justifying, that is why I wish to divide from those people who are evil, who gave me the right to ‘judge’ a person as evil. Sin is to be shunned, not sinner. Division cannot be justified in the sight of the Lord.

The real question is, how committed am I to true peace, harmony, love, and thus to unity?

Growing in Christian Faith: To be in distress for the Lord

THE WORD IN LENT - Friday, 5th week in Lent

March 26, 2021: Jeremiah 20: 10-13; John 10: 31-42

 

Jeremiah seems a perfect foreshadow of Jesus, but in one case! He was in distress too for the sake of the will of the One who called him; he was cornered for nothing and taken to task for his dedication to the Lord and the task handed to him by the Lord. It is just like today, how those who do good to the society in the name of Jesus are taken to task because they are doing it in that Name! And when such acts of atrocity happen, many of us Christians express sentiments of anger and call on the Lord to teach a lesson to the perpetrators of evil!

 

But differing from Jeremiah, and from us all, Jesus does not wish vengeance, or to see that the Lord would take on those who did not heed the call, those who were persecuting him for wrong reasons, those who refused to see such an obvious point made by Jesus' words and deeds. Jesus wishes that they turn to him, believe in him, in his words and in his works and realise that he is in the Father and the Father is in him.

 

To be in distress for the Lord, is a call in itself. Both Jeremiah and Jesus, give us an example of persons in distress for the Lord: Blessed are those who hunger for justice and peace, for they shall be filled; Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Be happy when they persecute you, revile you, call you by names and denounce you unjustly, because they did the same to your Master – isn’t that the powerful message we get in the Word today? How prepared and ready are we to be in distress for the Lord! 

Let us learn what it means in our day-to-day life, to be in distress for the Lord!

GOD BEGINS...

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

March 25, 2021: The Solemnity of Annunciation of the Lord

Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-36

 

Some prayer books still carry those subtitles in the prayer of the Angelus: God Begins; Human Cooperation; and Incarnation! That is exactly what we celebrate today – the way God began the climax of our salvation history, the plan that God has had in eternity for the salvation of all God’s children.

 

Our God is not merely a God who responds...Our God begins, God initiates, intervenes at the right time even without an asking. That is why St. John proclaimed, we love God because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). The feast of Annunciation is a splendid manifestation of this nature of God, the nature of intervening at the appointed time.

 

We see three people involved in the event that is recalled today, who in unison give humanity a holistic and life-giving message. 

 

The Angel, who stands for Faith - a concrete sign of God's relationship with us. Angels are God's spokespersons, God's messengers and God's extensions which make present God to us. Our Faith is that God continues to live with us, even amidst all the worldliness that we are surrounded by. Angel Gabriel announcing the message to our Blessed Mother was a sign of God’s continual participation in our life and existence, our sufferings and concerns. The call us simple: that we become extensions of God’s presence, announcers of God’s good news to those who suffer.

 

Mary, who stands for Hope - a concrete sign of our relationship with God. Mary shines as a counter witness to the hopeless humanity today. Indifference and Individualism marks the humanity of today. The other matters nothing to me, I either use the other for my benefit or just ignore the other because he or she matters nothing to me! It is against this background that Mary's 'yes' resounds as a revolution that spells hope to the world and to the entire humanity. That there can be commitments taken for the sake of the other, not always for me, mine and my own good.

 

The Child, who stands for Love - a concrete sign that God still loves the World. God has not given up on us and God will never do! A love that is ready to give totally of Itself (Rom 8:32). The Child that is promised is a sign of God's everlasting and unconditional love that gives life and light to the otherwise darkness filled world today.

 

Annunciation invites us to first of all recognise what God is doing for us in history. The further call is to say our ‘yes’ to God’s will that we may become God’s messengers to the world. And the most important of all, that we may become signs and bearers, manifestations and expressions of ’od's concrete love for each other, especially those who are in special and urgent need.

 

May our faith, hope and above all, love make us announcers of good news to the whole world.

Growing in Christian Faith: Decide to be Free

THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, 5th week in Lent

March 24, 2021: Daniel 3: 14-20, 24-25, 28; John 8: 31-42

 

Look at three types of people in the first reading today: the officials who reported three youngsters to the King merely because they were against them and against the King being so much for them; then the King himself who acts on the words of the officials and later gets upset with the officials as if they alone were responsible for the injustice done to the three youth; and then the three youth, you did not consider even burning in a furnace worse than turning away from the Lord - who of these was truly free?

Those officials who were caught up in the prison of jealousy and rancour, wishing the destruction of the other, plotting and scheming, losing their peace of mind and tranquillity of life? 

 

Or the King who is so full of himself, that he cannot see the facts, that he goes by hearsay, that he has not guts to take the blame on himself and tries to blame it on the officials?

 

Or the three young men... who were bound in no way...they were free when they were in the Royal court, they were free as they refused to worship the statue of the King, they were free when they were locked up in the furnace and they were free when they were taking a stroll at the heart of the fire. They were free, because they had the truth with them. Truth will set you free.

 

Once you decided to be true to your innermost self, you will see the tranquility, the serenity, the peace that can come over you! Yes, truth will set you free, decide to be truthful, decide to be free!

Renewing Christian Hope: Lift the Lord on high!

THE WORD IN LENT - Tuesday, 5th week in Lent

March 23, 2021: Numbers 21: 4-9; John 8:21-30

 

They thought they were finishing his story off. Little did they know they were giving rise to an all new history. The Lord was lifted and as he had said, he drew all to himself when he was lifted. Today, as always, the blood of some people of God is being spilled for no reason, but it is not a signal to the end of the Reign of the Lord. Let the world beware that the Lord is being lifted up. And when the Lord is lifted up, he will definitely draw people to himself.  

 

All that we need to do is like Jesus himself guarantee that we do not act as we like but according to the will of the One who has called us. As Jesus himself testified it was his doing the will of his Father that gave him the meaning of his life. As the Scripture points through St. Paul it is the obedience to the Father that placed Jesus above every being on earth and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil 2: 8-11). 

When we do the will of the One who has called us, when we dedicate our entire life for the mission that the One has entrusted to us, then let us understand we are lifting the One Lord high! Not all will like it; not all will support it; some will even deliberately work against it...but all the same the Lord will be lifted high! And then the Lord shall draw people to the Reign. 

 

Hence, when there are difficulties around, when there are discouragements felt, when there are deliberate efforts to foil the goodness of the Lord – just look to lift the Lord - in your words, actions and your life! The world shall surely know the True Lord!

True Christian Love: Condemnation or Compassion?

THE WORD IN LENT - Monday, Fifth week in Lent

March 22, 2021: Daniel 13: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62; John 8; 1-11

 

Susanna's story in the first reading and the story of the woman brought to Jesus accused of adultery, are two grand examples of the fact that God takes side with the weak and the vulnerable. They are two crucial dimensions of God’s love – love for the innocent weak and love for the suffering and exploited.

 

At times the so-called just and righteous will wonder what is wrong with God, the way God takes sides with the so-called sinners and the ‘undeserving’! If we were careful not to side ourselves with the self-righteous and self-proclaimed just ones, we would easily understand our call to play God's role in the situations we find ourselves in: the role of taking sides with the weak, the vulnerable, the little ones of the Lord!

 

These are two different perspectives – one, that of the self-righteous and the other, the Truly Righteous God. The difference between the above mentioned two perspectives is simply this: one itches to condemn; the other is moved by compassion. Depending on what stance we take, we would determine which camp we belong to – to the condemnation camp or to the compassion camp!

 

It is compassion that is Godly and we need to grow seriously out of a vindictive spirit, if we want to put on the mind of Christ. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, declares St. Paul (Rom 8:1). It is so, because God is love and True Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things (1 Cor 13:7).

Let us strive to belong always to the Compassion camp!

ON OUR WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE

Embracing suffering and death, towards life

March 21, 2021: 5th Sunday in Lent

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrew 5: 7-9; John 12: 20-23

The talk of the pandemic has filled the air all around us for more than a year now! The talks of cases and deaths, lockdowns and curfews, have only graduated to the next level adding to itself newer terms such as variants and vaccines; there doesnt seem to appear a definitive solution! In such a context, it is highly probable that a person or we as a society, give up hope! There are other equally unfortunate possibilities too - that we drink in the consipiracy theories and spread their negative vibes far and wide, or we grow terrified with the developments and close in, giving rise to depression and delusion! Yet again this year, the Paschal celebrations run the risk of being hampered by the restrictive measures of the governmental organisations... are we in an eschatological era? In this light, the Word this Sunday seems to drive home a very strong and difficult lesson to our Christian hearts and communities. 

First lesson is to learn to embrace suffering.

It is easy, practical, human and highly justified to entreat the Lord with saying - take these sufferings away from us! Jesus poses that pointed question: is that what we need to do? Is it not to suffer that the Son of Man came on earth - a suffering that he embraced in loving obedience to the Lord, says the second reading. The mind of Christ consists in seeing beyond the suffering, the pain and the misery, and noticing the hand of God accompanying us and guiding us. In suffering and pain, we begin to understand the real implication of the concrete choices we make in our daily lives. For instant joys and passing pleasures we choose whatever does not give us a problem or a difficulty or a suffering. Avoidance of suffering has come to be considered almost an absolute goal in life! But is it so? Jesus says, no!

It is in the 'obedience through suffering' that Jesus brought his identity and mission to their fulfilment! He invites us, rather challenges us to the same obedience through suffering. To embrace sufferings of the daily life, and the hardships of a Christian life, is  an essential faith lesson that we have to learn as early as possible in life. The more we learn this lesson, the more livable our life becomes! If not, our life remains marred by questions, complaints and murmurings. As true disciples of the Suffering Servant of God we are called to embrace suffering, on our way!

Second lesson is to dare to embrace death.

Death rather than sin - that is what we are given to remember when we reflect on the people of whom the Lord refers to, in the words of Jeremiah. That motto of the teenage saint, Dominc Savio, reflects the covenantal life style that we are called to live. I treasure the covenant that I have made with my Lord to the extent that I prefer to embrace death, but not break the covenant that unites me to my Lord - is that our attitude? That is true Christian attitude, the real mind of Christ. "The people broke the covenant," complains the Lord, through Jeremiah, reminding us of our mindlessness and at times, even wickedness. But that Lord wishes to forgive our iniquities, remove the trace of our wrong doings, forget our unfaithfulnesses... provided we are ready to change our ways, and die to our sinful tendencies and ungodly priorities. 

Unless the seed dies, it cannot give life...unless we choose to die to our selfishness and sinfulness, we shall never rise to eternal life. That is the journey that we have undertaken, from the time we were entrusted with the light at our baptism and beckoned to bring that light through to that encounter with the Lord; from the time that we were adorned with the garments of salvation at our baptism and required to bring it unsullied to the wedding feast of the Lamb. The effort to keep that light burning, to maintain that garment unsullied, is embracing death, on a daily basis - dying to our craving for pleasure, dying to our tendencies of selfishness, dying to our sense of stubborness! 

The third lesson is to focus on the glory of eternal life. 

The season of Lent is a time of refocusing, a time when we learn to perspectivise our life and get the right outlook to continue our journey. We are on our way to eternal life - a life in the Lord, a life of glory and light, a life that is endless and limitless. Our souls may be troubled at times. Our spirits may grow weak repeatedly. Our hearts may cry out in anguish and pain. Our light may go faint losing focus. But what need we do to: just as those people ask in the Gospel today, we need to say, "we wish to see Jesus"... we wish to focus on Jesus, the source of eternal salvation, the glory of eternal life that is given to us by God our Father and Mother, as the lamb of the eternal covenant, as the seal of the everlasting covenant, as the promise of eternal life!

We are on our way to Eternal life and on this way we have to embrace suffering and death, just as Jesus did, in order that we keep ourselves alive in the Spirit. When we do so, the Lord who is lifted up from the earth, shall draw us to himself, to eternal life! 

Renewing Christian Hope: Readiness to Genuine Dialogue

THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday, 4th week in Lent

March 20, 2021: Jeremiah 11: 18-20; John 7: 40-53

 

Forming opinions about persons or events without actually knowing the whole truth is a judgement, and of course would be a wrong one at that. Incomplete knowledge is dangerous, and not being aware of its incompleteness is doubly dangerous. Half truths are treacherous pits of ruin, for persons, relationships, communities, societies and humanity at large. But the whole world seems to be operating on bits and pieces of manipulated truths today.

We see this phenomenon at work everywhere: the clashes between religious fanatics, the terrifying threats of some fundamentalists, inter-denominational hatred and divisions, interpersonal issues in the families... everywhere this phenomenon is at work. Half-baked opinions and fully blocked minds, do not allow genuine dialogue but lead only to the slaughter of the minority by the senseless majority, or stifling of the weak by the ruthless strong!

 

The Word presents to us the same picture today, with Jesus taking the place of the minority, the weak, the vulnerable, the affected, the sacrificed lamb. It can be that every day we could be sacrificing someone at the altars of our ego and those of our judgments...and in their persons we could be slaughtering the sacrificial Lamb over and over again. 

 

It takes courage to realise and accept the harm my half-baked opinions and fully blocked mind can do, to me and to others! It takes sincerity to work out of such a treacherous style of life and thought. It takes humility to say, I am ready for dialogue, genuine and sincere dialogue! It takes respect for the other to allow the other to be other, to listen to the other and not what I want to hear, to understand the other as the other is and not as I want the other to be. That is genuine dialogue.

 

Let us check our readiness to genuine dialogue.