Jesus the Christ - the name above all names

WORD 2day: Saturday before the Ascension Sunday

May 28, 2022: Acts 18: 23-28; John 16:23-28

Jesus was the name and Christ was a faith experience! Jesus, the Christ is no syntax error! Today we encounter Apollos, another contemporary preacher with Paul. It looks like there were some little misgivings in the Acts of the Apostles between the followers of Paul and followers of Apollos. But Paul makes no notice of such bickerings. Another great lesson we have is Priscilla and Aquilla instructing Apollos in the right doctrines! The role of the laity in the formation of the apostolic ministers comes out strongly...all of this to make people understand, Jesus was the Christ!

Jesus in the Gospel seems to harp on the same point too: anything you ask the Father in my NAME, my Father shall give you. He seems to say, you have a direct hotline with the Father through me, because I am the Christ. As Acts so clearly says in another place (4:12) that there is no other name given in all the earth by which one could be saved! It is Jesus, because Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the one anointed and set apart for our salvation! 

Having that singular name of salvation, should not make us haughty as if we have the monopoly over that name, but it should make us humble in questioning our daily lives and priorities. Are we living worthy of that name? It is certainly not an opportunity to judge the "other" but a reminder of the gratitude that should fill our hearts for the privilege given us.

Let us ask a question to ourselves, Is Jesus my Christ?

If you instantly and very easily said 'yes', repeat that question to yourself looking closely at your values and attitudes, priorities and choices of daily life: Is Jesus really my Christ?

The Assurances of the Lord

WORD 2day: Friday, 6th week in Easter time

May 27, 2022: Acts 18: 9-18; John 16: 20-23

Today's readings have two of the most repeated and most affirmed promises of the Lord: Do not be afraid, for I am with you (Acts 18:9,10) and Your sorrow will turn into joy (Jn 16:20). For both these, the provision given is: go on speaking and endure the griefs. Though what is expected of us: that is to go on speaking and to endure suffering, might seem a bit too demanding, the consequence of it justifies everything! The promised presence of the Lord and the promised joy in the Lord are incomparably filled with assurances that can brighten up our todays and our tomorrows.

We are called to claim these promises in our daily life and more importantly, we are called to be the fulfilment of these promises for those around us who are needy, those who are suffering, those who are broken hearted, those who are troubled in spirit. The assurances of the Lord, are certainly for us, but for the sake of taking it forward to the others. That is how we become people of God, apostles of Christ, people sent by the Lord.

The ascension of the Lord which we intend to celebrate this weekend carries precisely this message for us: the continued and unceasing presence of the Risen Lord, more often than not, in the form of our presence with the others.

Let the Spirit help us today to feel the presence of the Lord with each of us and lead us to be the presence of the Lord for everyone we encounter today.

To leave - a missionary challenge!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 6th week in Easter time

May 26, 2022: Acts 18: 1-8; John 16: 16-20

Paul leaves; he leaves Athens for Corinth, he leaves the Jews for the Gentiles. 

Jesus leaves; he leaves his earthly life and his friends (disciples) and prepares to go to his Father and our Father! 

They were able to leave because their eyes were fixed on the mission that was entrusted to them: there was nothing that came in between, neither success nor failure, neither helps nor hindrances, neither pains nor pleasures - nothing could keep them back from where they were bound to.

There is yet another point that the readings speak of, in continuation: whenever they left something, something greater awaited. Christ left his worldly stint, to remain with the Father and thus with us for ever, to the end of ages. And Paul leaves place after place, and everywhere there are more and more people being touched by the Lord and won over for the Lord.

Leaving behind is not an easy task. The most challenging of all 'leaving behind' is to leave behind one's own desires and dreams, personal plans and projects, one's loves and longings! At times, if we have to witness to the Lord and the Gospel that the Lord wants us to announce, there is no other choice but to leave. To leave, it is indeed a missionary challenge!

In him!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 6th week in Easter time

May 25, 2022 - Acts 17: 15, 22 - 18:1; John 16: 12-15

In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28), is one of the most expressive faith statements of St. Paul. Paul had the grace of a very special insight into understanding Jesus' mind. Jesus in the Gospel today says, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit will get everything from him and make it known to the believer! "Get from him" would mean 'get from the Father', since Father and the Son are one (cf. Jn 10:30). Jesus invites us to a state where we realise this fact that he said: "On that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you" (Jn 14:20). And the way to that awareness, is simple: keeping His commandments.

Commandments are not merely some do's and don't's; they are actually the basic elements of a way of  life that Jesus wishes to create within us. It is not so much about doing something as about understanding the purpose and the importance of doing it, that matters. It is not so much what we avoid doing or refrain from, as why we choose not to do something, that matters. In simple terms, Jesus is asking us to understand his mind, think as he does, reason out as he does, look at life as he does... as that is what God our Father and Mother would want of us. This is the simple explication of the profound experience of Union with God. 

When we live in union with the Lord, a union in heart and soul, keeping the Lord's commandments will not be a demanding task but a natural way of life. It is the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of truth who will inspire us to such way of life. Let us prepare ourselves these days to receive the Spirit, the Spirit of the Risen Lord, the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom. 

The crux of Christian perfection is not in anything that we do, it is in living, moving and having our being, IN HIM.

MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

From the heart of a Salesian of Don Bosco
May 24, 2022

The Original Painting of Don Bosco's
Mary Help of Christians from
the Basilica at Turin

Mary Help of Christians... such sweet words to the ears of any Salesian! Our Lady of Don Bosco, Mary Help of Christians, is celebrated today with such joy and gratitude for the guidance and providence the Church feels through her.

Sometimes I have thought (as I still do now), coming from a country like India, where we live our daily lives with a majority who are not Christians, that the title Mary Help of Christians, is a bit too sectarian or even fanatical. But we know that the term has a historical significance that cannot be denied or forgotten. It is not just a title, but the expression of faith of a people from a particular period of time, who experienced God's closeness through the special interventions of the Mother of God.

Mary Help of Christians as a title has been attributed to our Mother since the 2nd century, but it came to prominence in the 16th century and became popular in the 19th century! Considering the historical significance of the title, directly linked to the battle of Lepanto in the 16th century and the Pope's exile in the 19th century, we tend to think today that this title is revived as the fight against the Catholic Church deepens in the world.

Don Bosco's experience of an ever-present mother in Our Lady, especially when the anti-Catholic Waldensians were against him, led him to argue about the Mother Help of Christians. For a Salesian today, this experience is not simply handed down by Don Bosco as tradition, but lived and shared daily with the presence of this Mother, so close and caring. The invocation Mary Help of Christians, Pray for us... could go as far back as John Chrysostom in the 4th century, historically seen from the 16th century onwards; but in today's experience, it is identified with a spirituality lived and transmitted by Don Bosco to his sons and daughters.

Even if today many, like me, replace this invocation with a neutral invocation such as 'Mary Help of Christians', the original title evokes a specific experience of faith that implies an affectionate relationship that a Christian should have with this heavenly mother so graciously given to us by the Saviour.

The episode of Cana is an event par excellence that speaks to us of a mother so sensitive and concerned for us. She intercedes with her Son and instructs the people on how to relate to Him - do whatever the Lord says. This is exactly the role she plays today as well. Let us thank this mother of ours, and learn from her the art of living close to her Son!

May Mary Help of Christians help us Christians of today to live our faith to the full! Amen.

The Advocate Aflame

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week in Easter time

May 24, 2022: Acts 16:22-34; John 16: 5-11

Beaten, bruised and bound, they sang the praises of the Lord! Will not the glory of the Lord be revealed there? The act of Paul and Silas in the prison was such a powerful witness that the prison guards expected anything anytime. They were capable of it, because of the Spirit that filled them, fueled them and fired them. They were ordinary men, but rendered extraordinary by the Spirit of the Lord, the advocate from their Master.

Yes, the Spirit was the Advocate that Jesus promised to his disciples, who made the entire difference and the difference was enormous, it still remains unbelievable! We see this in the very first moment when the apostles come out to speak in public. The frightened band of messengers had been turned into fiercely blazing firebrands. How does the Spirit render someone powerful? It is through an internal dynamism that is marked by integrity and total availability. The apostles had become persons of integrity - that is, there was nothing but truth, honesty and purity with regard to their lives and their perspectives. Secondly, they had totally surrendered themselves into the hands of the Lord, that the Spirit of the Lord, used them powerfully. 

Because of these traits, Jesus says, when the Spirit comes, the Spirit shall convict the world. Every heart is given the possibility to know what is true, good and just; every human heart has a longing for someone beyond oneself; every person called by the waters of baptism realises at the core of one's being, the need to be a righteous witness. Sin, righteousness and judgement - they decide the quality of one's witnessing life. Our integrity and availability to the Lord will prove what quality we possess as people of God. It is in these qualities that the Spirit is manifested and these qualities come from the very Spirit!

The Spirit of Truth

WORD 2day: Monday, 6th week in Easter time

May 23, 2022: Acts 16: 11-15; John 15:26 - 16:4

"The Spirit of truth" that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel is witnessed to be at work in the event from the Acts of the Apostles that we see in the first reading - that event of the lady and her household, who accept the Lord and get baptised! While on the one hand there are people who are waiting to take the apostles to task and persecute them in all known ways, there are at the same time a multitude who are ready to protect, help and fend for them.

The tension between these two sections, is experienced in our personal lives too, and that is when we need the Spirit to work within us. We would feel an urge to remain worthy of the Word and spread spirit of obedience to the Word... and we may find situations that may encourage such a disposition, a community that supports such a style of life, and a group of persons that may wish to stand with us and follow us. 

But there could also be another situation - that the world around may ridicule the stand we take, people might make us a laughing stock, the culture might brand us as unfit for the times, and some may be even against us and plot our downfall or threaten us! What would our response be? Can we still hold on to the Truth - only the Spirit of truth can help us do that. 

Let our hearts, homes and our households be filled with the Spirit of truth, that we may set in motion real journey towards the Reign of God, with determination and courage.

GOD WITH AND WITHIN US

Community Called, United and Led

May 22, 2022: 6th Sunday in Easter time
Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29; Revelations 21:10-14,22-23; John 14: 23-29

The Word today sums up the readings we have been listening to in the past week. There is a kind of a premonition, a kind of nostalgia, a sense of something already there and still yet to come. Its a kind of feeling that students of the final year of School would have before they close for their study leave... a feeling of 'a-lot-to-do' and a feeling of 'are-we-missing-each-other'... Jesus keeps telling his disciples that they need to learn to live on their own, not that he is about to abandon them, but that they have to graduate to the next level. Jesus prepares them for the same.

Look at the community in the readings these days - the first communities of Christians getting together, who felt something uniting them, but still were conscious of all the differences among them. That is the crux of the Word today... we are called to live as a community... a community of persons who feel so united because of something that unites us, something that is with us and within us...in spite of all the differences that is among us.

The fundamentalist group that creates a commotion, the reaction of the rest, the emergency council convened and the heated discussion therein, the misunderstanding between two top leaders, the break-up: no, we are not talking of something that happened in a neighbouring parish these days, but what happened in the Early Church, right in times of the Acts of the Apostles. We are a community of human persons each with our own ego, our own interests and personality traits. There are differences of opinions and perspectives, without that there is no richness and variety.

We can here think of an analogy given by Paulo Freire, highlighting the difference between a pavement and a mosaic - both made of smaller units which make up the whole; the former made of units that are of same size and shape to create the uniform pavement that we see on the sidewalks of a road, the latter a grand art formed by tiny parts each in different shape and size and shade adding its uniqueness to bring out ONE GRAND MASTERPIECE.

To be God's people we are not called to sacrifice our uniqueness, rather we are called to live it to the full - 'I have come that you may have life, and have it in abundance!'(Jn 10:10) We are not called to sweep under the carpet the differences and the disagreements we might have - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.(2 Cor 3:17) To be God's people all that we need to do is be mindful that we are God's people - that is, to be conscious that inspite of our differences we have something that unites us, someOne that unites us!

That which unites us is the fact that we are called by One God, our Father and Mother, to be sons and daughters, to be beloved children in spite of our idiosyncrasies.  We are commissioned to form one community by the Risen Lord, the head of that mystical body! The Risen Lord lives with us and within us, through the Spirit who keeps us together and leads us on. 

'Let your hearts not be troubled!' says the Lord. When I see in my community human elements of ego and pride, misunderstandings and slandering, discouragements and dirty politics... the Lord says, let your hearts not be troubled... face it with courage, wisdom and grace that the counselor brings you!

The secret is this:

1. That we feel God living with us and within us: we note this in the way the disciples handled the discussion...'for it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,' they said - the expression is fantastic to hear... speaking of the Holy Spirit as someone who lived with them and decided along with them... that is the faith that sustained that early faith community! That is what we call, feeling God with you and within you!

2. That we fall back on the Community for discernment: whether you are the leader of the community or one of the members of the community, fall back on the community for a process of discernment. Deciding on one's own whims and fancies is not going to help in any way. You have a community; you are a community, convened by God! Hence what is normal is that we find God's will as a community, for the good of the community.

3. That we find the Light of God illumining our life: the light of the Lord shines on you and you walk in the light! There is no need to confound yourself for in the light there is nothing that is hidden. What is needed is the eyes of faith and a patient heart. The Spirit of the Lord teaches you all that you need to know, provided you feel the Spirit's presence and yearn for the Spirit's direction!

What a People we are - God the Father and Mother, has called us; the Risen Son of God unites us and the Spirit of the Living God enlightens and leads us! What thanks can we give the Lord almighty! 

Let all the Peoples praise you O Lord! Let all the Peoples praise you!

Don't Worry; Be Happy!

WORD 2day : Saturday, 5th week in Easter time

May 21, 2022: Acts 16: 1-10; John 15: 18-21

People around you find you a pain in the neck, for the right reasons... be happy! People call you outdated and impractical and living in a world that does not exist because you stand by values... don't worry!  People dump you and wish to see you destroyed because you disturb their "peace"... don't worry! you are in fact, blessed!

On the contrary, everyone, even the worst among the lot, seems to be comfortable with you... be careful! No one has any problem with your ideas and absolutely every one seems fine with your values... look into yourself! There is no opposition at all to what you do and not even those who discourage you... beware! There is something that is not really alright, in terms of Christ!

Yes! That is what the Lord says today. If you stand by truth and live by values, you are sure to be branded 'utopian' and kept aside from the so called 'steps forward'. If you are really what you call yourself - Christian, that is a follower of Christ - then you are bound to be opposed, derided, persecuted, and even crucified! If nothing of this sort happens, even to the minimal level, may be you are not sufficiently what you claim to be! 

In fact, when everything was going very smooth and the Church was growing there, Paul found he was not anymore needed there - he felt called to move to another place and help out there! That is what a Christian call is all about. It is not seeking our comfort zones, but seeking problem areas and making them more and more God-filled. 

In our day to day life, it is wonderful to be acceptable to all, but at what cost? As long as you are committed to the values of Christ, whatver happens - don't worry; be happy!

Friends of Christ

WORD 2day: Friday, 5th week in Easter time

May 20, 2022: Acts 15: 22-31; John 15: 12-17

While the readings on the one hand insist on making the burden easy for the new converts to faith, on the other hand we find lofty demands such as even giving one's life for one's neighbours! The point is clear... Our faith is not a matter of do's and don'ts; it is a matter of relationship and commitment.

Our faith defines our relationship with God, it infact redimensions our very identity - from mere creatures we are given the identity of God's beloved children, and moreover, friends of Christ! Our identity is defined in terms of relationships... not position, prestige or status, but our relationship with God, which affects all other relationships in our daily life.

Being called friends of Christ, it is natural that the demands are high. After all, did not Jesus insist that, "from the one to whom much is given, much will be demanded" (Lk 12:48)? But the demands are not merely to do something and to avoid something else, but the demand is about an entire lifestyle. It is to model our life after that of Christ.

The relationship with Christ, or the friendship with Jesus affects all other relationships of ours. The friends of our friend, should be our friends too! The love we have for the Lord compels us to be loving persons with every person around us: not just our "friends", but even with so-called strangers, people whom we just casually bump into, or specially with those who might have offended us. Even if we do not lay down our lives, are we not expected to lay down at least our ego, when it comes to our relationships?