A Lesson from St. Andrew's Cross

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

November 30, 2021: Celebrating St. Andrew the Apostle

Romans 10: 9-18; Matthew 4: 18-22

We celebrate St. Andrew today! Though it could be a digression from the Advent journey that we have begun, still it offers us a special occasion to reflect on our life of discipleship and apostleship! St. Andrew is known in the Gospels for two important things - firstly for being the younger brother of St. Peter, and secondly as a person who brought people to Jesus (in fact John records in his Gospel, that it was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus).

Apart from these, Andrew is known for his Cross - the Andrew's Cross. Incidentally, both the brothers had a similar request to the persecutioners  - Peter asked to be crucified in an inverted cross and Andrew asked to be crucified in a saltire cross (or a X shaped cross); both of them had the same reasoning: that they are not worthy to die on the Cross, just as their Master and Saviour did. 

By the way the inverted cross which was traditionally referred to as St. Peter's Cross, nowadays has come refer to the Cross of the Anti-Christ - this is totally false, ambiguous and absolutely a misrepresentation of facts! Certain antichristian occult groups use it with disdain against the people of God. Now coming back to St. Andrew's cross, we can have atleast two messages to learn from therein.

The first lesson is the absolute dedication and total submission that the apostles had towards their MAster Jesus Christ. They were ready to suffer to any extent - as the Acts of the Apostles reports, when they had to suffer more for Christ, they were more joyful! It reminds us of the immeasurable abyss that lies between the way we reflect and theologise on suffering and in the way we face them in our concrete experiences! 

The second lesson is the true spiritual humility that governed the Apostles' way of following Christ. Today when Pope Francis speaks so much against clericalism, against the so-called Christian faith sans compassion, against closing ourselves within the Church as a fortification instead of opening up the vistas, the Holy Father is challening us towards finding every means of witnessing to the message of Christ, in all its fullness, among the most incredulous of persons.

May St. Andrew who brought so many to Christ, help us to be instruments in this modern world to bring hearts to the One Saviour and Lord.  

The Advent Journey - walking in the Light!

THE WORD IN ADVENT 

November 29, 2021: First Monday of Advent
Isaiah 2: 1-5; Matthew 8: 5-11

We have begun our Advent journey for this year... come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord! That is a perennial call that we have as people of God: to go up to the mountain of the Lord. Lord who can climb your mountain, who can dwell in your tent - those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart, says Psalm 15:2.

We begin this journey as said yesterday, with hope on the promises of the Lord. The Lord's promises are consoling: I will come myself and cure, says the Lord. It is the centurion who said those inspiring words, which we repeat everyday - Lord I am not worthy to have you under my roof, but only say a word and the healing shall take place! That is Hope! How beautiful to become aware of the promise and the hope!

A beautiful imagery that the Centurion speaks of today: the imagery of the servants who carry out the will of their master. That is what we are - servants of the Master of the Universe, humble children of the Father of all creation, the One who created us and calls us to be God's children, in our image, in our likeness, in our life and in our very beings. That is a hope and a promise together: the hope that the Lord is there with us telling us what to do and when to do! It is our duty to promise our obedience, that this hope will lead to the fulfilment of God's promises, that one day we will find ourselves on that Holy Mountain of the Lord!

Let us accept this call, pledge our obedience and begin our journey with hope, walking in the light of the Lord!

HOPE: THE PROMISE THAT DEMANDS

Promise, Project & Prophecy

First Sunday in Advent - November 28, 2021

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - 4:2; Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

 

A very happy new year! May the new liturgical year that unfolds today, bring us closer to the Lord, in and through an ever-increasing love for the Word, the Word become Flesh, the Word become human, the Word who wishes to dwell not only amidst us, but within us! That is the promise; a promise that leads to the hope that everything will be reconciled in the Word; a promise that is consoling but at the same time demanding!

The Word and the Liturgical significance of this day, give us three key terms to reflect on: promise, project and prophecy!

PROMISE: The first reading brings to our mind, the theme central to the new liturgical season that we begin today. Advent is all about promise! Blessed is the one who believes in the fulfilment of what the Lord has promised. The book of Jeremiah, just as any other book of the prophets, enshrines within itself the promises of the Lord, and Jeremiah as one of the latter prophets underlines the imminence of the promises of the Lord.   

The promise of Salvation comes from the Lord of Integrity, the Lord who values truth and justice more than mere pacifying sacrifices and empty rituals. That is where the promise gets exigent – because I am challenged to measure up to the Lord who has created me and who has called me. The Lord promises salvation to me, salvation that comes with my dedication and commitment to integrity; that quality which makes my faith and my daily life one and the same, my words and my works coherent with each other, and my expectations from the other and my disposition to them corresponding to each other. The promise attains fulfillment only in as much as I am committed to the process in the core of my being.

PROJECT: A promise is an element of hope, in as much as it sets in motion a project! The Lord has not given me only a promise, but a project as well. The second reading from the letter to the Thessalonians, reminds me of this project that the Lord has initiated in me. The project of becoming holy and blameless in the sight of God, is a life-long project and on it depends so much the fulfillment of the promises given to me!

The project of holiness, involves love – loving each and every one, the entire humanity, and especially those who do not have anyone who could give them this love! That is the type of life that we are called to live – ‘make progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live’, says St. Paul. As people of the promise, we have a life that we are meant to live, when we fail in living up to it, we fail to be people of the promise! We can have a myriad of reasons – that everyone out there is so selfish and greedy, that everyone is trying to plot and exploit, that no one deserves my love, that no one really loves genuinely as each one has a hidden reason to all the goodness they manifest… none of these reasons can stand their ground before the love of the Lord who has given us the promise and who has given us this project. Because the Lord loved us even when we were sinner; and when we were still sinner, God deigned to send God’s only Son, that we may be saved and loved forever. That is the source and the summit of hope: God’s love.

PROPHECY: Apart from the Word, the liturgical significance of the day today, adds a splendid element – the prophecy! We have lighted the candle of the Prophets this week, and it suggests that the event we are preparing to celebrated was not one isolated event that took place on a particular cold night in Bethlehem. No, there lies a long history, in fact the entire story of humankind, behind that event in that starry night.

The prophecy of the Coming of the Reign, requires that we stay alive, active and alert! That we watch ourselves, our words and our works, our choices and our priorities, our wishes and our prayers! When we pray, ‘your kingdom come’, what do we mean? Do we really mean what Jesus meant: that we be protagonists of the Reign and not those who are surprised by its coming! When problems arise, crises spring up and injustice seems to have its sway, we are called to remain alert to notice it, to remain ardent to denounce it, and thus remain apostles of the Reign who propose a counter culture. By our very lives and our daily choices, we are called to propose a counter culture to this world, and not helplessly and slavishly conform to this world. It is there we see the coming of the Reign and out lives become a prophecy. That is what Advent calls us to: to live lives of prophecy that would announce to the world that is tired and wearied, that the Lord is coming; that the Lord of salvation is coming; that the Lord of integrity is near!

We are called to be prophets of hope today, persons and communities who behold the promises of the Lord, who live by a project of life from the Lord and who hold out a prophecy to the world, that the Lord and our salvation is near! Come Lord Jesus, may your Kingdom Come!  

Stay Awake... in every sense!

WORD 2day: Saturday, Last day of the Ordinary time

November 27, 2021: Daniel 7: 5-27; Luke 21: 34-36

Stay awake!, shakes us up the Gospel today... and the first reading explains, why to! Let us begin with the latter part...that is, why to stay awake? Then we shall see what it means to stay awake!

Why to stay awake - because there is so much happening around me! There are those who are conniving and plotting against goodness and godliness; there are things happening that are fast ruining the little good that has been built up by traditions of ages; there could be impacts created within me wherein I, even without my knowledge, unwittingly giving into fear, psychosis and pessimism! I need to Stay Awake. 

Staying awake is Seeing: seeing within me, around me and into others, that I am observant about the changes happening and am conscious about the effects of these changes on myself. Without really seeing, I cannot understand what is being communicated to me, by the Lord in and through time. 

Staying awake is Syncing: syncing with the whole reality - with the Divine, with the cosmos, with the neighbours, with the entire humanity and all that is! We are not created as isolated beings, nor are we created above everything else! The Creator has given us a privilleged place within the creation, yes! But that is no license to destroy, nor an excuse for dominance; it is a role of care, concern and compassion! To the extent I am able to sync, I shall be godly, for our God is a God of communion!

Staying awake is Standing up: standing up against all the odds that are perpetrated by the godless with disdain - those who are heartless, merciless, senseless, shameless in siding with injustice and truthlessness! How can we stand up against them without staying awake; how can we call ourselves awake, if we really do not stand up againt anything that militates against truth, justice and love!

Let us strive to stay aware, stay awake in every sense! 

Never to pass away!

WORD 2day: Friday, last week in Ordinary time

November 26, 2021: Daniel 7: 2-14; Luke 21: 29-33

A pain reliever statement suggested by many in today's world is, 'this too will pass'. Specially these days battling against the pandemic, every one, whether he or she believes it or not, whether one is convinced of it or not, atleast as a hopeful wish, keeps repeating that mantra: 'this too shall pass'! But, though it may seem contrary, a more stronger promise is the recurring theme of today's Word; it is a reference to something that is here, never to pass away... the Lord's Word, the Lord's Reign, the Lord's sovereignty.

Things may appear to be going totally out of sway, or nothing may seem to be really under the control of anything that is spiritual... but never lose heart, God is incharge; God is in control. There are people who make statements about this pandemic, saying, we shall never return to what was 'normal'; even if we return to normal, it shall be a 'new normal'! As children of God, however bad the readings of the times is, we cannot be too anxious!

The Word speaks to our hearts today: your Saviour knows you and to the the Lord's Reign there is no end. Be firm in faith. Hold on to the One who has formed you, One who has called you and One who loves you infinitely - the One whose Words will never pass away; the One whose Reign shall never pass away, the One whose will shall never pass away...let your faith too never pass away.

With heads held high!

WORD 2day: Thursday, last week in Ordinary time

November 25, 2021: Daniel 6: 12-28; Luke 21: 20-28

Let me begin with a personal note today! Within the circle of our friends, if some one said the words, 'look upon high', it would draw a roaring laughter instantaneously! It is because of a veteran trainer whom we know who would give a famous 'thought-for-the-day'. He would have his ages old notes in his hands and look into it and read the thought for us. There was a funny moment always when he would say 'look upon high' and immediately look down into his notes for the next part! The readings today reminded me of those days from our student life.

Living with heads held high, is a deep imagery offered to us today. Some names like Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa, Sr. Rani Maria, Mrs Gladys Staines or the recent addition of Fr. Stan Swami...these are well known to us not for the great power they wielded or prominent posts they held, but for the endurance they had! The threats and violence and opposition that surrounded them never managed to swallow them in. Because they lived with their heads held high. 

Daniel in the first reading today and Jesus himself from the Gospel, are offered as Biblical models for living with heads held high...never losing sight of that source, from where our help comes. Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth - those are familiar lines for us. Let it not remain a mere phrase, but a real conviction that come what may, I can stand tall, stand tall with my head held high. Because I do not depend on this world or even the best of my well wishers that I find here on earth! They are my sources of sustenance, in as much as the One who us ultimately concerned about me, has ordained this persons, circumstances and systems to be of assistance to me! 

Yes, my help comes from the Lord, and from the Lord alone! Hence, even in the worst of my situations, I can never lose hope! Amidst all the struggles of our daily life, we can live with our heads held high!

The Writing on the Wall

WORD 2day: Wednesday, last week in Ordinary time

November 24, 2021: Daniel 5:1-6,13-14,16-17,23-28; Luke 21: 12-19

Let us have a look around! The pandemic is still ravaging parts of the world and the rest of the world seems to be in fear and anxiety. There is the crisis of climate change and just a few days ago the summit at Glasgow was over, warning us of the imminent and treacherous dangers of the global crisis. Inspite of all these there are the political forces, at loval levels and at international levels who are going on with their inhuman plotting against a peaceful and just human existence. What are we to conclude from here?

The writing on the wall is very clear: we are heading towards an event of mass destruction! Everything seems to indicate the fact that we have already reached a point of no return. That feeds the imagination of many quacks and gullibles who give vent to their talents of fantasising these days. We see predictions and warnings and to-do prescriptions galore! That is not the point...our faith, the gift of the Holy Spirit should help us to make the reflection that Jesus inspires in us today. In fact, Jesus makes a silent point: 

Keep Calm and Go on being Children of God. 

Terror Around? Violence at your doorstep? Fire above your head? Pain and Sickness in the air? Death and dangers all around? Keep Calm; Endure it...can you? Let us pray for that strength, that strength to endure and we shall have our reward - here and now, peace of mind; in eternity, the inheritance of the children of God.

Towards the Author of Life

WORD 2day: Tuesday, last week in Ordinary time

November 23, 2021: Daniel 2: 31-45; Luke 21: 5-11

Both in the book of Daniel and from the Gospel today, we see a prediction of destruction. The destruction and its prediction need not be seen as something totally unexpected. Already from the very constitution of the so called kingdoms that Daniel speaks of and from the types of people spoken of by Jesus, we see that destruction was inevitable and imminent - because of the choices that they had made.

Jesus makes it clear in the Gospel today that there is no point in running after predictions and signs, or after fortune tellers and soothsayers... at times even the so called evangelists and preachers behave like these cheap sensation creators. Speaking of spectacular signs, threatening with worrisome developments and staging incredulous events as a proof of their predictions... these are not strange sights anymore. Every religion has its own set of so-called godmen who are fake, and sadly quite a few from the Christian fold appear on the list. 

There is something that we are called to observe and examine from even the minutest of happenings around us and within us. When we are attentive to these, the wider and larger reality, comes into picture with God's plan for universal salvation. We are called that we make clear cut choices that prevent us from destruction and ruin, and instead unite with the Lord who alone is the author of life.

Choosing God in little things

WORD 2day: Monday, 34th week in Ordinary time

November 22, 2021: Daniel 1: 1-6,8-20; Luke 21:1-4

The world has stereotypical criteria of what is good and what is better; social standards of what makes one good and what makes the other better! The temptation to conform to that social stereotypes is very high and dangerously subtle. Many a times we fall into the trap, though the Word very often warns us, "Do not be conformed to this world" (Rom 12:2), because, "the Lord does not see as the mortals see" (1 Sam 16:7).

That is why, the two tiny coins that the widow drops quietly into the treasury seem more valuable to Jesus than the bags and bags of wealth that the others dumped there. To be his disciples, "let the same mind be in you, as it was in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5) instructs St. Paul. We begin to read from today from the book of Daniel, every day increasingly reminding us of the imminent choices that we have to make for the Lord and not for the convention of the world.

Daniel was special because of this, that God's mind was in him, the wisdom of the Lord was in him, that made him shine to the rest of the world. He knew what to choose and what to let go. He knew what really mattered and what did not. He knew what it meant to be faithful to his Master, the Lord, the Almighty. Just like that old widow, who knew what really mattered in life - not that last two pennies that she had in her hand, but the never failing care of the Divine; not the favour of the self trumpetting people around, but the presence of the everloving God! 

Maybe, I need to ask the Lord today, to give me that wisdom to see things as the Lord does, with the same mind that was in Christ Jesus and choose the right things and let go of those that are immaterial. Choosing the little that truly matters, will win me all that I need - the all, that is God!

THE KING, THE CLOUD AND ALL...

The Solemnity of Christ the King

November 21, 2021: Last Sunday of the Ordinary time

Daniel 7: 13-14; Revelation 1: 5-8; John 18:33-37

We come to the end of the Ordinary time of the year and the very end of the Liturgical Year! On this last Sunday of the liturgical year, as a culmination of our liturgical itinerary, it is apt to mark it with a celebration of the One Supreme Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings...Christ our Lord, to whom all glory and honour be! 

Power, authority, domination of the other, ruling the world, and manipulating every thing and every one around - are some of the highest good sought after by humanity today. All tussles of every nature - be they economic, ecological, socio-cultural, political or familial - seem to have one of these at their roots. That was one of the mindsets and systemic thinking that Jesus wanted to deconstruct - he wanted to prove to the world that you can govern without dominating, that you can be the sovereign without lording it over, that you can lead without a sense of superiority, that you can exude authority without arrogance and that you can be the King without exploiting! What a powerful message for the times we live in, and that is what we have in the Word this Sunday. 

Presenting to us in wholeness the solemnity of Christ the King, the Word of God this Sunday taken together presents us with three key words to behold the central message of the celebration today. These three key words are... three terms or concepts that are present in all the three readings of the day! You will certainly read the Word again see the concordance of these terms and their concepts. What are the three key words?

The first term is the King! The first reading speaks of the King, the sovereign, and the eternal kingship and glory! The second reading presents to us the Ruler of the kings! The responsorial psalm invites us to declare, 'the Lord is King!' And in the Gospel, Jesus declares, "Yes, I am King!". 

The Lord is King - that is the Lord rules over us! That is what Jesus says too - I am King, but with a difference! I am not the king which you imagine: the one who is the most powerful and has everyone at his beck and call. Though it is true that the Lord is the most powerful and has the whole universe at the Lord's beck and call, that is not the salient feature of the Lord's kingship. Because the Lord rules, but rules with love, rules by taking care, rules by providing and not exploiting or hoarding or grabbing everything for oneself! The Lord is King, the most powerful, but also the most caring and the most close to me in my own need and trouble. The Lord is King who does not order me around, but who resides within me, guides me and serves me in governing me. The Lord is King who gives me a model to follow in living with authority, the authority which comes from the Lord and an authority that is exercised in serving the other.

The second term is the Cloud! The first reading speaks of the clouds of heaven which contains the glory of the King. The second reading speaks of the Lord coming on the cloud. And in the Gospel Jesus explains that his Reign is not of this world, but of beyond! Jesus in fact offers us the clue to understand the element of the clouds.

The Lord comes in the clouds - that is, the Lord transcends all boundaries! The coordinates of up and down, east and west, north and south, above and below...they do not make sense at all when it comes to the majesty and authority of the Lord. The Lord has authority over all - in time and space; that is why the Lord is the Lord of eternity; the Lord of time and timelessness, of space and spacelessness! The Lord is the Lord of past, present and future - that is why it is so meaningless to ask certain fundamental questions we have from our limited human mind - questions like, why, why me, why now and so on! We would never have an answer and we would not comprehend it even if we had it. The easiest is to surrender to the Lord and say, 'you know it well! you are the Lord above all!' It may take time to arrive at that capacity to surrender; but the only thing that can give me peace is that surrender - to acknowledge the Lord who comes in the clouds; the Lord above everything else!

The third term is, All! The first reading speaks of all peoples, nations and languages. The second reading refers to all the races of the earth. And the Gospel specifies, who is that 'all': all who are on the side of truth. The all that we speak of here may not be 'all' after all; it could be a little fragment of all, but what is important is, only that is all that will matter. 

The Lord is King of all - king of all, whether one accepts it or not! If I accept it in truth, I will be in that privileged group to remain with the eternal Reign; if I do not accept it, I will go with the rest who rush into the broad open gate to perdition, on my own choice! The Lord is the king of all who abide by truth; the truth that will set us free, the truth that is to be proclaimed and witnessed to, that truth that exists whether the world sees it or not, the truth that alone can save depending on how faithful I am to it. It is not a truth to be known, a secret to be shared or a mantra to be understood - it is a life to be lived. That is why Jesus, when he was asked by the high priests 'what is your point', said: why do you ask me! I spoke in broad day light. Everyone heard me. Ask them. The truth is in the broad day light. The truth is every where! The truth is ALL. You see the truth, accept the truth, respond to the truth, serve the truth and witness to the truth, and you shall be with your King forever! I came to witness to it; and all those who are with the truth are with Me, the King!

Here therefore is the message of the feast we celebrate today: The Lord is King, King above all, the King who is served only by truth and our witness to truth! We have no escape or excuse. Let our loyalty be to the Lord and Lord alone; to truth and Truth alone!