THE REIGN PEOPLE

Solidarity in the Lord

September 26, 20215 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary time

Numbers 11: 25-29; James 5: 1-6; Mark 9: 38-43,45,47-48

We are living, not just in the time of plurality, but in a time of post-truth plurality! Are you wondering what this term 'post truth plurality' is all about? We shall first reflect on it, clarify it first and then enter into the Word of God for this Sunday, because the Word has a challenging call to give us! We know what plurality is - specially if one is from a context like India - we experience plurality on a daily basis. Plurality of religions, languages, proveniences, socio-political ideologies and so on, are our normal life situation and it is a universal condition. But what is this post-truth plurality? 

Avoiding a whole lot of philosophical excursus on what 'post-truth' means, we can simply understand it in these terms: it can be a precarious stand that persons (or societies at large) take when it comes to truth, accepting what vibes with their convictions as truth and insisting that they should have the freedom to hold it so, but at the same time not allowing the other/s to have their opinion or their judgement on things. It is a kind of relativism that is self-centred or autoreferential. Now taking off from that description, post-truth plurality is - affirming and appreciating a plurality that is convenient to oneself and failing to see the goodness or the possible positivity in another similar experience of plurality! Don't we have realities today which boasts of 'unity in diversity', but looks at difference as a problem, diversity as a threat, plurality as a dangerous multiplicity and not a richness! Why all these discussions - simply to hightlight the fact that we, the so-called people of God, that is 'Reign people,'  cannot have such a mentality of pseudo-openness of convenience or hypocritical and empty dicourses of being one people of God but in fact, feeling divided and egoistic. The readings bring out this message with such power, in three exhortations today.

Intracommunitarian Solidarity: The first exhortation from the Word, to be Reign people is, to practice Intracommunitarian Solidarity, that is, solidarity with those who are with me, my fellow believers in the Lord. In the first reading, when the enthusiasts with Moses get upset with those two of their fellowmen - Eldad and Medad - because they were getting popular by themselves, Moses grabs the opportunity to give them the lesson: we need to live in solidarity in the Lord. It is not about who does what, but about for whom we do what we do! Within a believing community, it has to be for the Lord, only then we are truly Reign people. How many times within our parish communities, religious communities or even within the family, there arise problems because some one is doing good! Our ego and our sense of jealousy makes us uncharitable to our own brothers and sisters, making every one's life sad and miserable! How can we be called Reign people?

Intercommunitarian Solidarity: The second exhortation towards being Reign people is, to promote intercommunitarian solidarity. This has to be lived in varied levels - taking a family as the fundamental unit of a people of God, it takes the form of a sense of solidarity among families; solidarity among one believing community and others (as St. Paul used to insist with the early Christian communities); interdiocesan communities or among religious congregations... at whatever level, without love and unity, we fail terribly in our vocation. The worst scandal we can give the world is our disunity. Just imagine the interdenominational or interconfessional problems we create and nurture, without understanding all these differences will turn obsolete in the presence of the Lord, in the Reign of the Lord. Jesus teaches this in the Gospel - you should not stop them from performing miracles, anyway they did it in my name, isn't it, he asks the disciples who looked so apprehensive about someone else taking away their coveted place. Jesus' point is , to be Reign people, we need to transcend all these demarcations and convince ourselves, that we all belong to that One, Powerful, loving God!

Extracommunitarian Solidarity: The third exhortation towards being Reign people, is to be, as Pope Francis repeats so often, 'being a Church that reaches out!' We cannot be closed in within ourselves, if we need to be truly people of God, authentically persons of the Reign. Looking out and reaching out, in particular to the poor, the exploited, the oppressed, the down trodden and families in crises. James begins with a conceptual painting of partiality in a community, dual standards in treating people and so on...and ends with this teaching on woe to those who are insensitive to the other. This is in fact one of the essential criteria for a Reign person - to have the capacity to see the sufferings of the other. Jesus taught it in clear and lucid terms, and the apostles learnt from it. To reach out to the needy, to help and empower the poor, a kind word to the worried, a simple smile to one who is sad and lonely, these are some simple  gestures endorsed by the Spirit of the Lord who works through anyone, absoluetely any one.We cannot let the black clouds of hierarchical thinking, chosen-people syndrome, and fear of the Truth, obscure the light we have within us as children of God. 

To be Reign people, in short, is to grow in communion with the Lord, with the rest of our brothers and sisters, and with the entire universe. That communion is really the Reign of God that we are called to proclaim and make present. doing that we shall grow to be Reign people. 

God and God alone

WORD 2day: Saturday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 25,2021: Zechariah 2:5-9,14-15; Luke 9: 43-45

Beginning with last Sunday the Gospel has been dwelling on the theme of Jesus announcing his suffering. However, it is not yet the close of his ministry, if we carefully watch the context of the passages reflected upon. What then is Jesus proposing to teach? 

Life with the Lord is not a career, it is not a life securing strategy. It could be infact, on the contrary, a challenging self giving. When we make a choice for God, we are taking a risky step of giving away our traditional concepts of security, social upward mobility, self satisfaction and so on... but beyond all these insufficiencies there is the only Reality that can give meaning and fulfillment: God and God alone! 

I shall be a wall of fire for my people, says the Lord, an unassailable protection with an undying love. What a great guarantee we have in this promise of the Lord. But let us beware, it does not happen automatically. It is not that we are in that protection by default. We need to positively and by choice submit ourselves to that protection, it involves a definitive life style and deliberate daily choices. When we whole heartedly submit to the Lord, the magic happens - the wall of fire surrounds us, our divine shepherd guards us.

It is this underlying conviction based on the almighty presence of the ever living God that gives joy to a God's child, happiness beyond all struggles, calmness beyond all anxieties, loveliness beyond all brokenness. God and God alone, can fill our beings truly!

Shake Up the World

WORD 2day: Friday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 24, 2021: Haggai 1:15 - 2:9; Luke 9: 18-22

A little while now, and I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, says the Lord in the first reading. Shaking up was a characteristic experience that Jesus gave to those who were around him. Jesus' self understanding and his consciousness of the Divine mandate was so strong and clear that it shook the earth and heaven; not merely that once when he died on the cross rejected and condemned, but every time he came in touch with an old fashioned clichéd concept of spirituality. 

He shook up the pharisees, the saducees, the high priests, the lawyers, the herodians, the traditional Jews...and among those whom he shook, some became his followers and some others disciples and apostles. There were some who could not accept it and they wanted to do away with him and they did it, when they tried him and nailed him on the Cross. But all that remained was another shake up for them! It is Jesus' characteristic mark, to shake up those who are with him.

The same shake up happens everytime a follower of Christ lives up to his or her call and mandate. A follower of Christ, that is a Christian, has to be filled with the glory of the Lord from within. Look at some people who have lived very close to our times: Maxmillian Kolbe, Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa, Cardinal Newman or the thousands of Christians who stand up to their faith even if it were to cost their lives. 

The call for us today, is to be mindful of every situation or opportunity that would give us the possibility of manifesting the glory of the Lord enshrined within us, and by the shake up the world wherever we are! Can we?

Rebuilding the Body of Christ

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

September 23, 2021: Remembering Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Haggai 1:1-8; Luke 9: 7-9

It is important to know that the house is in ruins and more important to know the reason. The world today is experiencing that ruin in many fronts. The wounded peace, the wrecked ecology, the neglected humanity, the despised helpless, the insensitive power centres and added to all these the ravaging pandemic... these are the experiences of ruins. If we carry on our lives paying no attention to these, but trying to live our religious lives as mere ritual requirements, we will be like Herod who was more curious to see Jesus than earnest to see himself in the light of Jesus.

The Saint we celebrate today, a saint of our times - hardly fifty years ago did he die. He stood as a reminder to the world, calling attention to the ruins of humanity, the ruins of human soul, the ruins of total wellbeing. As a dedicated pastor, he vehemently opposed the hypocritical practice of religious traditions and called people to an uncompromising commitment to Christian vocation. He stands today a great testimony that challenges every Christian to question and appraise oneself and one's commitment to the Lord. He reminded everyone whom he came across that we belong to God and as one community we build up the Mystical body of Christ, here on earth.

Today, to reflect on our house of ruins is not merely to criticise ourselves or everyone else who is around, but to look at ourselves in the light of Jesus and his Mystical Body. The Mystical Body of Christ is the communion of believers, the communion of human persons, a true communion of heart and spirit. Are we building up such a presence amidst us? If not, Jesus' body, the house of God, is in ruins! It is important that we know that the house is in ruins and more important that we analyse to see where really lies the problem. 

A bit of sincerity and a lot of dedication will set this house back in order - am I doing my part in it?

Set out... restore the ruins!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 22, 2021: Ezra 9: 5-9; Luke 9: 1-6

Looking at the world today, one has enough to criticize, enough to lament and enough to detest. But that is not what a disciple of Christ could do at his or her best. The Lord invites and challenges us to 'Set out to restore the ruins'. God called in history people like Moses, Ezra and Nehemiah, the other prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus himself, Francis of Assisi and many others; just as much does God call you and me today, in our own way to restore the ruins and certainly not to add to them.

Even in and through our facebook messages, whatsapp forwards, blogposts, tweets and circulated mails we are given with opportunities and scope to restore ruins and not create more havoc. There are enough hate-spreaders, we need not add to those numbers. Our justice need not be a justice of an uncharitable self righteousness; it has to be filled with charitable holiness. Even when they reject you, move on shaking the dust off your sandals, the Lord suggests.

It is not so easy in a world so dominated by egoistic agenda, divisive mentality, exploitative mindset, vindictive perspectives and inhuman developmental processes! The majority of the world tends to play it according to the tunes of the mighty and the rebellionists find it an easy task to reject everything that the majority holds on to, spreading therefore ungodly leanings that strive to alieate human persons from the merciful God. 

Can we truly root ourselves on evangelical charity and fend for the weak, stand by the oppressed and think from their perspective? That would truly be restoration of the ruins in the eyes of the Lord.

The Call and our Response!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

September 21, 2021: Remembering St. Matthew
Ephesians 4: 1-7, 11-13; Matthew 9 :9-13

We come across the touching scene of the call of Matthew in the Gospel today, as we celebrate the feast of this great evangelist. The image that accompanies this reflection is by the famous painter Caravaggio...and it brings out the sentiment of the Gospel in a dynamic sense. There are a few clear messages that this episode of the call of Matthew can offer us... let us pick on just three of those:

- God hates sin not the sinners: there is no condemnation for those who believe in Christ, says the letter to the Hebrews. The Mercy of God cannot be an excuse for compromise between good and evil, sin and virtue, sinfulness and holiness. The call of Matthew is yet another splendid example to understand the fact that God hates sin, but loves that the sinners repent and get back to true holiness.

- When it comes to God's call there are no Jews and no gentiles; there are no favourites by default. We become favourites depending on the prompt response we give to that call. Many are called but few are chosen (Mt 22:14)... we are chosen depending on the response we give to the call we receive. Those who are chosen are strengthened, that they may stay on with the Lord as disciples and apostles!

- God dares enter my private home and dine with me no matter who the others are, whom I have invited. We may say, Lord I am not worthy that you should enter my home...but God enters! Should I not be prepared, ready and in a position to receive the Lord? Do I dare to let God come over, to the home of my inner self - are things in order, presentable?

The calling of Matthew reminds each of us of the call that we have received... how are we responding to that call, in our day to day life?

Roused in the Spirit

WORD 2day: Monday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 20, 2021: Ezra 1:1-6; Luke 8:16-18

Sentiments of grief, suspicion, hatred and violence is strewn all over the news these days. Every day we rise to newer and newer challenges against peaceful life on earth. Direct killings and terrorist fundamentalism on the one side; the hidden agenda and delirious deceptions of the dominant forces on the other side, normal peace loving human being is compelled to feel out of place today.

Do not be worried dear sons and daughters of God, says the Word today. The Lord is in control. The Lord made use of an alien king Cyrus to raise God's dwelling back to its glory and God's people back to their dignity - the same Lord is in control even today! Just as the Lord roused the Spirit in Cyrus, so shall we feel the rousing of the Spirit within, towards a new creation of heaven and earth!   

All that children of God need to do today, is be roused in the Spirit - yes, be roused in the Spirit, share the Word more and more, speak the mercies of the Lord to everyone, set the world ablaze with the love of the True God. Only then you can be called people of God. The light that is kindled in our hearts has to light up many more hearts and rouse up the Spirit in the entire community of faith, the Church. 

Here is the call for us in concrete: be children of God, be roused in the Spirit, be lights of the world, burn bright and help people give praise to the Almighty! 

CHOOSE GOOD; CHOOSE GOD!

Shunning evil and welcoming good

25th Sunday in Ordinary time: September 19, 2021

Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20; James 3:16 - 4:3; Mark 9: 30-37

Choosing God is choosing good; choosing good is being good; being good is being absolutely good! The good versus evil conflict is as old as the creation itself and we know it very well. Our origins are undoubtedly good, because it is only good that can create, not the evil; evil only destroys or evil creates only destruction! We are created by God, the ultimate goodness and we are created for goodness. Holiness is at the root of our existence - it becomes so difficult to understand, believe, accept and live by it, because of the unfortunate and miserable interplay of the evil, basically the negation of God, that is the negation of all that is essentially good. 

Choosing good, is not an easy option considering the situation we live in today and all sorts of tenedencies and forces that lie in wait to ambush our good will and our natural godliness that we find within us as humans. The socio-politico-economic troubles that are experienced everywhere, the rat race logic of individual progress, the corporate dominant globalisation of consumerism, the manipulation of science and technology by the mighty and the moneyed are not just global phenomena, but they affect even the individual human persons. The personal and interpersonal values in the society are subject to all these evil forces that destroy true happiness and joy. It is in this circumstance that we are called, by the Word this Sunday, to choose God, by choosing good. 

To choose God by choosing good, involves three dispositions in our daily life: to shun evil, to welcome good and to be good! 

Shun evil, with all your might! This is the first disposition that we need today to be people of God, because the leeway  between the good and evil has been drastically reducing through the ages and today it has reached a level that permits such a large proportion of compromise! We cannot give into this sad situation. The word today draws our attention to three types of people who get themselves associated to evil in varied degrees. The first, are those who say, "let us see what happens". They may not be the ones causing the evil, but they are still the causes as they permit evil and assent to it in their passivity, which is a classic example of compromise. There are the second type of people who lie in wait, they do not want to be identified as the causes of evil, but they rejoice in it and wait to reap all the fruits of it. And the third are those who plot, who kill, who terrorise, who destroy, who thrive on evil. All these three groups we see in the Word of God today - whatever be the degree, an association with evil is always ungodly, that is why the book of Wisdom calls them, 'the godless.' If we are to be God's people, we have to shun evil with all our might and choose to have nothing with it!

Welcome good, with all your heart! A positive and proactive way of shunning evil is, welcoming good, that is identifying the traces of goodness anywhere, not missing any scope of goodness, not being prejudiced of anyone or any situation, but being open to good from anyone and everyone. It is being attentive to the goodness in the other, recognising it, promoting it and enhancing it. Welcoming good is welcoming God. When Jesus spoke of welcoming the children, or welcoming the little ones, he was refering to everyone who had still alive, that original goodness, that innate goodness, that God-particle within each of us. Jealousy is refusing to see the goodness in the other and to rejoice in it. Ambitiousness is refusing to see the goodness within oneself, which is already present though to be perfected. It is refusing to accept who I am and striving to be someone else for the sake of proving a point, which is truly not there! Welcoming good is tending towards good, even though it is clear that it can cause inconveniences of all volumes! We are God's people when we identify good, wherever it may be, and welcome it with all our heart.

Be good, come what may! Doing good is good, but not good enough. The call is to be good, from which goodness, comes all the good that we do. At times people may look to be doing good - be it in the world at large, or in our societies, or in our families or communities - but beneath all the good that they do, there could be a tint of selfishness, jealousy, competetiveness, ambition and other hidden agenda... doing good here, does not necessarily come from a spirit that is good! Hence the admonition to stay clear of all hypocrisy and manipulation. That will lead to harmony within a person, harmony among persons, harmony in a community, harmony in a society and harmony in the world over. Peace in the world cannot come from broken persons or split persons; it is a gift that only a person of integrity can offer to the world. And that integrity is goodness in the core of one's being. Being good is the seed from where all peace and joy can sprout and spring into being. As people of God we are called to be good, come what may... being delivered into the hands of evil, being tormented with pressures, being threatened to death...nothing can stop us from being good. Being good is being godly, because God is good all the time. 

Choosing good is choosing God, and it involves shunning evil with all our might, welcoming good with all our heart and being good at the core of our being, come what may! May the Spirit of the Lord, the eternal wisdom, grant us the grace to choose God and choose God above all.  

To see and perceive and to listen and understand!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 24th week in Ordinary time

September 18, 2021: 1 Timothy 6:13-16; Luke 8:4-15

Jesus draws an important difference between seeing and perceiving, and between hearing and understanding. And he offers us an explanation that is so practical and down to earth. We can refuse to see; or hardly manage to see; or see but do not really perceive; or see, perceive and behold!

The times are such that there is so much talk about the end of times...the pandemic, the vaccine, and various others discussions relating to it. Though it is true that every now and then in history, there are times like these when the theme of end of times has emerged strong, it cannot be a mere matter of light headed comments. It should set us thinking how important a theme it is but how flimsily understood and handled. Today Paul speaks of it too, to Timothy. 

For all that we may believe, Christ is not going to "come", as if he is not here! He said I am with you always. Christ, who is already here with us, will be revealed in fullness of glory, in God's own time. Till then it is our duty and our call to see and perceive Christ in every person suffering and every person in need; to hear and understand Christ speaking in every cry for justice and every groan in pain. 

If we have to behold the Lord when the Lord is fully revealed... we cannot refuse to see; it would not help if we hardly manage to see; and it would not be sufficient if we see but fail to really perceive. We need to live in the presence of God, be conscious of that presence of God and draw inspiration from that presence so much that, we grow in our capacity to see and perceive, to listen and understand, when the Lord is finally revealed in all God's glory!

Keep fighting his fight!

WORD 2day: Friday, 24th week in Ordinary time

September 17, 2021: 1 Timothy 6: 2-12; Luke 8: 1-3

The Word today establishes that to be a follower of Christ, it does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, a jew or a gentile, of noble birth or from a sinful past, all that matters is from the moment you decide to be Christ's follower, to manifest that in your normal conduct and your everyday choices. Christ should make such a difference in your life that you look at everything in a way different from that of the rest of the world. Especially at times when sufferings surround you and crises engulf you, you need to manifest yourself as disciples by your constancy, different from the world that looks for instant solutions and immediate outcomes.

Yes, most in the world today follow a hit and run policy, with regard to sufferings and struggles, but wish to call themselves strong, mature and rational. At the most they agree that they are rebellious, but they fail to understand their weakness -  of questioning God during their difficulties but not staying on long enough to get the right answers. Once a person approached a pastor saying that it has been long since the person had left the Catholic Church, because the person had lost a dear friend just around 25 years old. The person had raised questions such as, Why this person? Why now? and so on and left the Church in rebellion against God. The pastor asked a gentle question to him: you raised a question unto the Lord, did you wait for an answer at all?'

Living a life of discipleship requires an authentic mind, a humble spirit and a patient self. There is nothing wrong in raising questions to God, but we should be ready to wait for the response. Wait long and wait hard - that is what we mean a fight, a good fight of faith. There will be a response, an answer from the Lord - but you should be there to behold that response. Only then you would be in a position to say: I have fought the good fight of faith! Until then there is one thing we are called to do: Follow the Lord and Keep fighting his fight!