A Man of the Reign

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

January 31, 2022: St. John Bosco, Father and Friend of the Young 

Phillipians 4:4-9; Matthew 18: 1-5

We celebrate today a lovable saint of charity and of indefatigable commitment to the salvation of the young - St. John Bosco, or otherwise lovingly called Don Bosco. The Word that is proposed on his feast day so appropriately sums us what he is... a Man for all times, a Man of the Reign! We can identify three characteristics of his, outlined in the Word today.

The first is his insistence on joyous living of life. Rejoice, Rejoice in the Lord, Rejoice in the Lord I repeat, says St. Paul and that is what John Bosco told his boys and his collaborators always. He insisted on a joyful living of one's life, as a sign of the people of the Reign. The Spirituality he inherited from St. Francis de Sales (incidentally, this is the 400th anniversary year of St. Francis de Sales), was based on joy and optimism and that is the Christian humanism that flavoured the thoughts and teachings of Don Bosco.

The second is the primacy and priority for God. Whatever is good, whatever is true, whatever is noble and whatever is acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, choose them! This was a guiding principle for not only Don Bosco, but also given by him to others who followed him. His very motto - give me souls, take away the rest - was a reflection of this choice, the primacy and the priority that he had for God and what is acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. What a foolproof criterion also for us today - whatever is acceptable in the eyes of the Lord - that would be the choice of the Reign.

The third quality highlighted is the simplicity. If you do not become like the children, simple and innocent, you cannot enter the Reign of God, declares Jesus, thus making it so clear that Don Bosco was truly a man of the Reign. He remained a simple boy from a simple village called Becchi, right until he died as a great founder of a movement, a missionary par excellence of the young, a counsellor and confidant to great Nobles, ministers and even to the Holy Father! He remained the same simple priest that he always wanted to be! He was truly a man of the Reign.

PROPHETS OF THE LORD FOR TODAY

Called, Challenged and Comforted in Love

January 30, 2022: 4th Sunday in Ordinary time

Jeremiah  1:4-5,17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 4: 21-30

We live our Christian faith in an increasingly pluralistic world; to be precise, it is not pluralism that is increasing but forces that make that pluralism more and more felt even on a daily basis, are making their presence more felt! One very simple and straightforward example could be what is going on in Tamilnadu, South India for the past one week. An unfortunate suicide of a school student, is used as a pretext to sow hatred in the minds of the public against the Institution she studied in, which happens to be a Catholic Institution run by a congregation of nuns. The Institution is blamed for its forced conversions and that is cited abetting the suicide of the girl. This action cannot be seen as one isolated case of accusation against the Religious Minority institutions but has to be understood within a larger plot by certain anti-secular forces at work in a nation such as India, where pluralism has for time immemorial remained an integral part of the social texture. That said, we need to look at the other side of the scenario too!

We still, in fact more these days, find the so-called Christian preachers and evangelists putting up shows and exhibiting pathetic gimmicks, in the name of proclamation, healings and spiritual awakening... the unnecessary popularity shows, the unchristian greed for money, the inhuman deceptions in the name of God... are these truly becoming of a messenger of God? Ashamed and embarassed by these treacherous manifestations, can we completely blame those fanatics, without taking the onus also on ourselves? It is against this background that the Word speaks to us today, calling each of us to be Prophets of the Lord, today, here and now!

We are Called... I have called you and appointed you my Prophet to the nations, affirms the Lord. Each of us is called, by our very baptism, we are called to be prophets of the Lord, wherever we are. Being prophets of the Lord to the nation means that we take the message of the Lord, that we take the Spirit of the Lord, that we become the presence of God for the world. Being prophets, by the very word 'prophet' can mean three things: pro-phetes...could be, on behalf of the Lord, in front of the Lord, or in favour of the Lord. We are called to make present God, before the people who look for God, and God's comfort. We are called to be persons of God in the eyes of the Lord, not merely putting up an appearance in front of the people. We are called to be in favour of the Lord, that is, we are called to present the true Lord in front of the world that constantly goes away from and turns against God. This is the call of a prophet!

We are Challenged... In fact, it is very clear that the task just mentioned above are not so simple. They are difficult, challenging and highly risky. The Lord never has hidden that detail from us: they will fight against you, says the Lord in the first reading; and Jesus says no prophet shall be accepted in his hometown, by his own people. Hence, when we take up our call to be prophets we agree to take up also the challenges that come along - opposition, derision, struggles, turmoils, plottings, violence and at times even death! We are challenged, and just because we are challenged and we are struggling, the Lord does not lessen our burden. There is no compromise... the struggle is always the same, in fact it intensified as time goes on. What are we to do... get trained for it, get formed for it, get going with it! How far can we?

We are Comforted... the Lord comes with comfort and consolation, affirmation and assurances... I am with you; I was treated the same way; I have gone through all that you might be going through now...so be firm and keep going! Do not be dismayed in their presence, for I am there to deliver you, says the Lord. It is not the acceptance of the people that will confirm that you are a prophet of God - for Jesus was just praised a moment, right at the next moment they tried to throw him down the precipice. The true confirmation of a prophet and the real comfort comes only from the Lord. And that would come only if we live up to the criterion that God has set for us as prophets... Love!

We are called, challenged and comforted in Love. Love is the litmus test of our life as prophets. Love means wishing the good of the other... not wishing my own good or fending for my own happiness. Love is doing everything for the other, love is living my entire life for the other, love is readiness to give of myself totally for the other. There is no place for selfishness or deceit in love; there is no place for greed or ego in love; there is no place absolutely for any trace of unforgiveness or evil in love. It is with these criteria that the Lord calls each and every one of us Christians, to be prophets of the Lord to the world today. 

Can we realise and accept our call to be prophets in Love? Can we look at the challenges posed by the world today in living our call as prophets, and accept them all with love? Can we really feel the comfort of love from the Lord and share the same loving comfort to the suffering masses of the world today? Can our daily life of being Christians, being children of God, become a concrete life of the prophets of the Lord for today!

A pure heart!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 29, 2022: 2 Samuel 12:1-7,10-17; Mark 4: 35-41

"A pure heart create for me O God" -we repeat those beautiful and moving words of David, today as responsorial. It is an important grace to ask from God - a pure heart, for blessed are those who are pure in heart, they shall see God. But the question always remains, especially for us weak and frail human beings... can our heart be pure?

That is precisely why we need to pray for that grace! David is a powerful example of a man who was swayed by his weakness and his frailty and at a point of time, he thought he could get away with it, thinking that no one would ever know his secret thoughts and plotting. But the Lord revealed to him that everything is as bright as the day before the eyes of the Lord. 

The goodness of David rests in the fact that when the Lord made him aware of his mistake, he immediately accepted it and surrendered himself to the Lord - that is the purity of heart, that is a grace! That is the grace we seek from the Lord... we may not be as pure and holy as angels, but within our weakness and our frailty we are called to maintain the purity of our hearts. When we do that we shall see God, listen to God, feel God, and be illumined by the presence of God. 

With that pure heart, righteous and humble, we shall be able to face all the turbulence in our hearts, in our lives and in our small worlds. We would be able to look at situations that are frightening and command them to silence. We shall be able to calm the sea and the storm, above all our hearts within us. That peace and calm comes from a pure heart!

Beware! the small is big!

WORD 2day: Friday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 28, 2022: 2 Samuel 11:1-4,5-10,13-17; Mark 4: 26-34

Although today is the memory of the great theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, we could carry on with the flow of the Liturgy of the Word these days...as there is a continuity that is intended in the entire week's Word of God...today we are called to pay attention to another aspect of the seed: the smallness, the littleness, the seemingly insignificantness of the size of the seed... but the message is to beware, because even the small is big!

Jesus presents to us the imagery of the small, tiny seed that grows into a great big shrub, becoming home to hundreds of birds. He draws our attention to our small gestures, little words, simple smiles, loving looks that can really grow into the Reign of God. He invites us to pay attention to our daily faithfulness and faithfulness in small things, that can measure up to the mighty big Reign of God, even without our knowledge.

It does not stop there. The first reading adds another nuance, which though Jesus did not say, he would have certainly meant. Just as small acts of goodness and virtue can grow up into the Reign of God, our small acts of vice and negligence of virtue can grow into a mighty big blunder. That is what happens to David... David who was in most of the ways acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, permited little weaknesses and vices within him, to take the better of him. They grew to the extent of making him a treacherous murderer...for which he had to bitter repent at a later stage. On his part, he at least repented...but today not many are ready even for the repentance! Then how will the Reign grow?

Hence the warning today: beware of the seeds of vice and weakness within you! However small and negligible they look, they can grow into an entire ruin of your life! Beware! the small is big!

Investing in the Lord

WORD 2day: Thursday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 27, 2022: 2 Samuel 7:18-19,24-29; Mark 4: 21-25

David is denied the privillege of building the Temple for the Lord - given the impetuous character of David, one would expect a ruckus or atleast an infantile rebellion from David. But that is not what happens today in the first reading...David submits to the Lord in all earnestness and humility, with gratitude and acknowledgement of the goodness of the Lord. And not just that, he pledges his faithfulness to the Lord, not for himself but for all his generation, his entire household. That was a great invenstment on the part of David - an eternal investement with boundless dividends. 

Faithfulness to God is not an easy virtue, given the trouble and suffering it can cause at particular moments of life. But it is an investment, not just for oneself but for the entire generation. Believe in the Lord, and you shall be saved, you and your household - is a familiar promise repeated in the Acts of the Apostles. And as St. Paul affirms, the one who sows aplenty shall reap in abundance; those who sow sparingly shall reap only sparingly (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:6). Faithfulness to the Lord is a mightly investment and it shall never fail! 

Any investment is giving away, letting go, a losing of what one has... and so is faithfulness to God. The so-called promises and the attractions of the instantly glamourous world, can take us away from the right perspective of eternity - from that perspective, one who gives away more shall be given more, and only those who have more shall think of investing more! Without minding the hardships, temptations and struggles, let us resolve to invest more and more in the Lord; and in God's own time we shall reap every bit of its dividend. 

The Sower, the seed and the Fruits

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

January 26, 2022: St. Titus and Timothy

2 Timothy 1:1-8; Mark 4:1-20

What is sown shall certainly bear its fruits, but the fruits depend on the condition created and the care taken. The Lord has sown within us, God's own image and likeness, God's goodnews and all the goodness with which the Lord has created this whole universe! Much depends on how we care for what has been sown and the condition we create together as people of God. 

First lesson is to be convinced of the fact that God has sown within us great treausres - beginning with the image and likeness of God because of which we are made true children of the Almighty, the Spirit of the Lord which the Lord has poured into our hearts which make of us great signs of God's presence and the Message of Jesus Christ, the Kerygma of God which makes us bearers of God's tidings to the entire world.

The second lesson is to care for what has been given within us - that we may grow to be truly children of God, that we may forever bear the presence of God to others in whatever situation we find ourselves in and that we may translate our very lives into a goodnews, that the Lord our God is with us and we belong to the One Lord.

Finally, the lesson is to bear fruit - the fruits of our identity,the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of the Message of God - that everyone who comes across a Christian finds in the person an inspiration, a guidance, a sign post and a clear direction how to live as human persons in this world. At times, today the life of a Christian or a Christian community not only fails to give this witness, but becomes a counter witness; not drawing people to God but driving people away from the One True God. 

The Sower who has sown the divine seeds within us, awaits our cooperation and our fruits... are we on the path of our growth?

Conversion: the call and the commitment

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

January 25, 2022: The Conversion of St. Paul

Acts 22:3-16; Mark 16:15-18

In celebrating the event of the conversion of St. Paul we celebrate the Christian theology of Conversion. It is not merely about someone abandoning one's previous faith and embracing another faith, a phenomenon which seems to be creating so much of a controversy down the history. It is about discovering, or rediscovering, one's call and commitment, the original call and the fundamental commitment. 

Paul was called...and he knew it well. He did not realise the crux of his call, but he was convinced he was called. We as children of God need to have that conviction that we are called, a fundamental self-identity that sets us apart and keeps us close to God. At times we may mistake, misunderstand or misinterpret the call that we have received...but what is important is the search to remain faithful to God. 

Paul committed himself to God and God's mission, with all his heart and with all his soul. Even when he was a persecutor of the Christians, he was doing it all for God and that authenticity in Paul, brought him to the right path in the same drammatic way that he loved God. His commitment was exceptional and that is why when his whole direction was changed in life, Paul continued with the same zest within him. There was inbuilt within him, a sense of absolute commitment to his call.

Conversion, therefore, is a rediscovery of the original call that we have received from the Lord. The call and the reminder is to remain always alert to discern the purposes of the Lord and be ready always for an absolute commitment to God's ways!

Division, Unity and the Spirit

WORD 2day: Monday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 24, 2022: 2 Samuel 5:1-7,10; Mark 3: 22-30

The Word today speaks to us about how a house divided within itself shall become a victim of the evil one and how the house of Israel united themselves under one servant of God - the King David. The Spirit unites...anyone who sins against unity, sins against the Spirit; anyone who sins against the Spirit, denies oneself of a place in the presence of God. 

During the unity octave that we are in, which ends tomorrow, we are inspired to reflect on the Christian call to unite! Becoming One in the Spirit is the fundamental call of the People of God. Those which spread division, instead, are unnecessary ego-play and inhuman surrender to evil. 

There are presons today in the world today who seem to have given themselves to the evil one, having made a pact to further the cause of the evil at the cost of peace and tranquility of the entire humanity. This is an unfortunate development, and it shall not be too long before they ruin themselves and damage so many others around them.

More dangerous are those who are given into ego-play, who even without their own knowing will be furthering the cause of the evil one. At least those who are deliberately evil and pronouncedly on the side of the evil can be identified and warned against. But those who are guided by their own ego, over and above every other good, are persons who will cause much more damage to themselves and to others... we are infact witness to such experiences. 

 

LIFE IN THE WORD

Understand, Unite & Undertake

January 23, 2022: Third Sunday in Ordinary time

Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30; Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21

One of the most popular identities of the people of God is that of being the people of the Word! In fact, there is a famous term that is used in the semitic circles - the People of the Book: the Islamic tradition uses it for themselves and for Chrstians, some Jewish sects and Chrstian denominations use it to refer to themselves and some common sources use it to refer to the people of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All because, the faith tradition of these communities of persons has a strong link to their Holy Book. The Holy Book for them does not mean merely a printed book, but a living tradition. 

For us Christians, the Holy Bible, the Scripture, the Holy Book is not merely a living tradition, but a living Person! Yes, we are not merely people of the Book, but we are People of the Word. Because in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. In and through the Word everything was created and there was nothing created that was not for the Word...such is our link with the Word. Infact our whole life is lived in the Word. The liturgy this Sunday invites us to reflect on this life in the Word.

Our Life in the Word, consists of three important phases in terms of our growth in faith. These three phases are essential to make ourselves, or grow into, true people of God or people of the Word. But before we look into those phases, we need to stay clear of an unnecessary confusion; that is, calling ourselves People of the Word, are we undermining the importance of the Sacramental life, the Social life and the Spiritual practices that form so much part of our Christian faith-living? No, it can never be the case, because being people of the Word, makes us people of the Sacraments through which we experience the closeness of the Word, people of Social commitment who see the Word in action in daily life and the people of the Spiritual Practices that authentically translate our love for the Word into daily and concrete actions. In fact the three phases we refer to, ensure this holistic picture of the People of the Word.

Phase One: Understand the Word

People of the Word, does not mean those who blindly get stuck to a written word, or those who fanatically prioritise a formula or a written phrase over anything and everything, merely because it is written. This written-oral tradition controversy has always been present in the history of human and religious crises. That is why Nehemiah today, uses the term "understanding" the Word repeatedly, while presenting the Word to the people. 

The Word has to be understood; it has to be interpreted; it has to be made sense of in a living context, because as we said it is a Living Word and one cannot get stuck to an old sense made and deny anyother possibility of meaning and sense from it for life. Men and women, and children old enough to understand... that is what we read in the first reading. Listening to the Word is an art and we need to grow in it, men, women and chidlren of God. The Holy Spirit can give us the grace to grow in that competence which is so necessary for us to know what is right, what is valuable and what is God-willed for each of us, in our own life and experience. Apart from the assistance of the Holy Spirit each of us needs to grow more and more familiar with the Word and with the exercise of listening to the Word, in order to Understand the Word and what the Word expects from us here and now. 

Phase Two: Unite in the Word

People of the Word means, people who are united in and through the Word. At times, ironically, the very written word, or the Scripture has been a bone of contention for very many Christian denominations, leave alone considering different religions. The Word makes us one people and gives us one mission; uniting us in identity and quality as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, disciples and apostles, persons and communities in fellowship and love. 

St. Paul in the second reading today, outlines to us how the people of God are one body, united in the Head that is Christ, the Word that makes us one. Truly, people of the Word are those who keep looking for reasons to unite, come together, live together and spread the cause of the community. This unity does not come easily, because it is not based on uniformity. It is easier to unite in terms of uniformity...but what results will not be rich but a repetition of the same 'n' number of times. While the unity of the Holy Spirit is based on diversity, specificity, uniqueness of individuals, variety of gifts, diversity of capacities, the contribution of different individuals towards a common identity - that is truly Christian Unity. We are living through the Unity Octave these days (18th to 25th January)...and this is exactly what we are called to celebrate. The diversity that we have, should not divide us but unite us in our richness, making us before the world, people of the Word, who stand together united by the Word and the Spirit. This unity has to begin first of all from within every individual, avoiding any sentiments of competition or threat and looking at the other as a brother and sister in the Word. Secondly, it has to be reflected in every believing Community, which needs to stand together as one people of the Word without internal divisions and descriminations. Thirdly, it has to be presented as a witness to the  world, in varied Christian communities coming together in mutual love and appreciation, promoting the common good of humanity, united by the Word. 

Phase Three: Undertake the Challenge of the Word

People of the Word are those who are filled with the Word and who feel the impulse to go out and announce the Word, in the Spirit. God's Word is the Spirit and life, it gives meaning to a Christian living, That is why St Paul once declared: woe to me if I did not proclaim the Goodnews! In fact the whole Christian life is all about announcing the Word... not so much as an activity, instead as the very style of living. 

The two passages from Luke that are brought together into one, as the Gospel passage today, give us an incling into what is intended - that we announce to the world, as Luke wrote and announced, that our very call is to announce! Jesus realised it and that is why he declared it: God's Spirit is in my heart and I am appointed to go and announce. We, as people of the Word, are challenged too, to realise our call to go and announce. To announce in our very lives, to announce in and through our way of thinking and reasoing, to announce in our priorities and policies, to announce through our decisions and options, to announce in our actions and attitudes, to announce in our relationships and interactions, to announce in the way we live in our personal lives and family ties, to announce in the way we build our communities of faith, to announce in the way we go out as individuals and communities towards the good of whole humanity... catering to the poor, the sick, the unfortunate, the needy, the oppressed, the victimised, the helpless and the suffering. Let this begin in each of our lives: each of us, in our way, undertaking the challenge that the Word presents to us in our daily lives. 

We are a people of the Word and we need to make that known to the world, through our life in the Word. 

Out of our minds!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 22, 2022: 2 Samuel 1:1-4,11-12,17,19,23-27; Mark 3: 20-21

Jesus today is considered out of his mind, by his own people. The reason was very simple - he was totally taken up with the others, with preaching, healing, feeding, befriending, forgiving, consoling, and so on. He had no time to care about himself. Food and drink were absent from his daily categories of thinking. Naturally people thought he was out of his mind.

Those who were around David that day when he lamented so bitterly for Saul and Jonathan, would have considered him too, out of his mind. At least Jonathan was his friend, but Saul? He was his rival, a threat who was trying to kill him! With Saul's death, should not David heave a sigh of relief - that is how the society would think. Even Jonathan, though being a friend, without him David has no block towards ascending to the throne! According to the world's standards, David should take advantage of the situation; nothing less! But David did not do that.

Jesus and David, seem to have a similar mind - not just out of mind as the people around judged, but a mind of God, a mind of genuine love, a mind that prioritised love over everything else. Today we do not dare to live that way because we are afraid the society will brand us 'out of our minds'. But the Lord? How the Lord would wish more and more of us go 'out of our minds'!