Daring to die: people of the covenant in losing oneself!

THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday, Fifth week

March 21, 2024: Genesis 17: 3-9; John 8: 51-59

Through the desert God leads us to freedom, and we are reflecting these days, that this freedom does not come as long as we dare to die - unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it shall not bear the fruit that it needs to! What does it mean to dare to die: to be people of the Covenant. How does it amount to dying? We are led to understand that, through two figures that dominate the Word today: Abraham and Jesus. 

Abraham is given to us here as a bridge that connects the Old Testament and the New Testament, in fact the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Noah, Abraham and Moses have been identified at the origins of the Old Covenant - making the people, people of God, people of the covenant! But that covenant repeatedly failed, solely because of the infidelity of the people. To perfect that old covenant sealed by the blood of the sacrificial animals, the New Covenant was sealed with the blood of the Lamb of God, making that covenant - New, Eternal and Never failing.

This is what Jesus seems to explain to the Jews who were not prepared yet to understand - Abraham wanted to see this - the perfection of that covenant making it eternal and never failing, and making us, the people of God forever, by the merits of the mercy of God. Jesus' identity was totally the identity of the Father - I tell you solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I AM. That was too much for the elders and the priests who were listening to him. It would have been the same even if it were you and me in their place. But today, we understand what Jesus meant, precisely because this was not a glory that Jesus was ascribing to himself, but a negation, a total self giving, a losing oneself - that is what we shall be remembering shortly in the coming week!

Jesus is the most perfect model we can have in becoming the people of the covenant - by losing ourselves fully in the identity that God gives us, in the mission that is entrusted to us, in the life of the covenant that we are called to live on a daily basis. I shall be your God, and you shall be my people: being God's people has to fill our minds, our hearts and our lives so much that in losing ourselves, we become truly people of the covenant! 

Daring to die: recognising the immanent Truth

THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, Fifth week

March 20, 2024 - Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28; John 8: 31-42

Through the desert God leads us to freedom. Qualifying this journey to freedom, the Word has begun to speak to us this week about the grain of wheat that has to die, in order to rise and bear fruit. It is clearly reaching the culmination of the call from the Word, inviting us to an ever deeper understanding of our call as children of God and as disciples of Christ. We are called to dare to die... what does it mean to dare to die?

It means recognising the Truth, and the Truth alone can set us free. The guaranteed way to freedom is Truth, teaches us Jesus today. How do we make sense of it? Let us begin with the lesson from the first reading- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were they they only Jews in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar? Why is it that only these three were dumped into the furnace? Because, they were the only ones who stood by Truth. The others who were Jews too, were ready to compromise and were ready to give up the truth they believed it. 

The temptation is alive even today: to compromise on truth. Normally, we do not like to say lies; but that does not mean we decide to speak the truth. Very often we find a via media which actually is not so. There is not midway between truth and falsity! Anything other than truth, is not less true... it is false, it is a lie. The temptation is to not stand by truth without accepting that fact; or deciding not to recognise the truth present right before our eyes! The problem is when we recognise the Truth, just as the three in the first reading, we will find ourselves amidst trouble. 

Jesus tells us today - unless we recognise the Truth present right beside us, we cannot call ourselves free children of God. Certainly when we choose truth, we shall be in trouble as Jesus himself was - but look at the furnace again, there were four; look at Jesus again, he was not alone. Just so, when we recognise Truth, we shall not be alone, the Lord shall walk with us. There will be the empowering presence of God, because of which we shall be troubled but never broken! 

The Truth is immanent, the Lord is always with us! We need to recognise the Truth, acknowledge and commit ourselves to! That is daring to die, but only then can we rise to new life, life of freedom, freedom of the children of God. 

St. Joseph - Silent, Simple and Sleeping

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

March 19, 2024 - Solemnity of St. Joseph
2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

St. Joseph occupies a huge space in the climax of God's salvific plan which was accomplished in Jesus - still he remains a quiet, noiseless and unassuming person! In a noisy world of today which claims recognition for every little thing and clamours for attention, his mode of living his life, carrying out his mission and responding to his call is a lovely lesson. Apart from this, there are three dimensions of this saint that we can notice emerging from the Word today.

Silent Protagonist:

He had a very important role to play within the historical events that were unfolding in time, and he played it to perfection. The extraordinary quality that we see in this personality is the silence - how he remained recollected in his depths, to receive the directions from the Lord and execute them to the letter. The prefigurement of this image is seen in Abraham, presented to us in the second reading - how he spoke very little too! He listened and obeyed! St. Joseph too listened and for that he chose to remain silent!

Simple Person:

He was simple as a person... this does not mean he had just an old fashioned dress and no sandals on feet - that is how 'being simple' is understood these days! Simple is opposed to complicated! He was not complicated in anyway - an yes meant yes and a no meant no. He thought of rejecting Mary, he was told to accept and he accepted. He thought of returning to Judea, but was told not to and he went to the district of Galilee. He was a simple man who had no air of ego around him nor any self-interests to hang on! The figure of David is presented to us in the first reading drawing our attention to a way of life that was simple. Though the man had limitations within him, he had no ego absolutely. When he was pointed out, he immediately repented. He was called to be a servant of the Lord and even as a King he remained so! St. Joseph never complicated his role or his person, he remained as simple as he was called.

Sleeping Prophet:

Sleeping St. Joseph is a popular devotion by now... a renewed perspective reminded by our present Holy Father. It is not a mere novelty of thinking but a perspective of faith: the Lord provided for God's beloved even as they sleep (Ps 127:2). It is one lifestyle to spend sleepless nights thinking about something. It is completely a different life style to leave it to the Lord and sleep over it, for the Lord takes care of me even if I am asleep! It is a choice. It is a prophetic sleep when it is out of total surrender to the Lord - Joseph of the Old Testament, the namesake of the saint we celebrate, is a beautiful example of this lifestyle. He surrendered himself totally to the Lord and lived his life like a dream. St. Joseph too was so surrendered to the Lord that even as he slept, he felt protected and directed.

Daring to die: absolute commitment to righteousness

THE WORD IN LENT - Monday, Fifth week

March 18, 2024 -  Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62; John 8: 1-11

Through the desert God leads us to freedom, and we are in the last lap of this journey as we begin the last week before the Holy Week. This week the Word shall lead us through a reflection on what it means to dare to die! And today we have a radical signification: it is an absolute commitment to righteousness.

Let us begin with the first reading - the famous story of Susanna. She had made an absolute choice for righteousness. Come what may, she did not give up her choice for righteousness, she detested any compromise. The result: she was plotted against, cornered, accused falsely and judged to deserve death. What did she do? Looked for ways to redeem herself by hook or by crook? No, she dared to die, for the sake of her commitment to righteousness. She stands an iconic precedence of Jesus Christ, who had done the same - chose to remain righteous and dared to die for it.

Turning our focus to the Gospel - we have another woman here, who had not chosen initially righteousness as her way of life! She was not accused falsely, although there was nothing that warranted the righteousness of those who accused her. What did she do? She had resigned herself to death. She knew she would not live any more, but to her surprise, life was given back to her, with a challenge: go and sin no more! Now what did she do? She chose righteousness, we guess and remained a disciple of Christ! 

The message is clear: our call to righteousness comes from our very identity as children of God. If we made an absolute commitment to righteousness right from the beginning, blessed be the Lord, we shall stand testimonies to the presence of God. But if we had failed or even if we fail repeatedly, there is the call to recommit to righteousness, how ready are we to commit ourselves? That is the question. 

Now the added challenge is: when we commit to righteousness, which in itself is a difficult task, there will be more challenges and crises to face. What would we do? Dare to die? Then we shall rise with the one who is the Eternal Righteousness. We shall rise to glory, but we need to dare to die, in our absolute commitment to righteousness. 

DARING TO DIE, RISING TO GLORY

Law in the hearts, tears in the eyes, resolve in the spirit!

THE WORD IN LENT - FIFTH SUNDAY

March 17, 2024 - Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Hebrews 5: 7-9; John 12: 20-33

Through the desert God leads us to freedom, and the journey is nearing its end. Jesus has started speaking intensely about his death, the imminent suffering and the desperate things that have to happen, in order that the glory of God may be revealed: "Father, glorify your name!" he prays today! It takes great courage to make that prayer, for he knew very well what it amounted to. 

The Word today apparently can seem to say too many things, it may look like dissipated in focus, but that is not true. Everything converges in one line - the need to die in order to rise! It is a constant movement that is expected of us - something has to die within us, in order that something new arises; in the final analysis, we need to die, to rise anew! Dying is as much spiritual as the longing to rise; that is why rising to glory requires daring to die. Daring to die and rising to glory, belong to the same continuum, there is no rupture in between. It is not a movement from bad to good, or evil to holy, but a choice to be made on a daily basis, to ground ourselves, get rooted and thus grow to be what we are, in the deepest of our beings.

In this the first consideration could be that of grace, that in God's mercy God has placed the law in our hearts. We know the Lord. Knowing the Lord is a grace; it is God who enables us to know. Knowing the law of the Lord, hearing the Word every day, listening to the Lord speak to us and becoming aware of that voice resounding all around us, is a profound gift to us. The Lord speaks to us through  Jeremiah telling us once again how God has made a covenant with us and how at no point of time God will turn unfaithful to that covenant; that is a reminder of the numerous times that we have retracted on the baptismal promises that we have made. It does not matter the Lord says: I forgive your iniquity and never call your sin to mind. The marvellous gift of the sacrament of reconciliation invites us in this season to experience this profound grace. 

The second consideration needs to be our will, our readiness to respond to the grace of God. The sign of that is the tears in our eyes. We obey the Lord. Obeying the Lord is at times dying to our ego, dying to our selfishness, dying to our self-seeking, dying to our tendencies to please ourselves. This is a matter of tears, that is a matter of humility and sincere effort. The silent tears of Jesus that the letter to the Hebrews refers to, enunciates the heart writhing efforts to remain faithful to the Lord - that is obedience; it is not just doing what is convenient to us and what is pleasing to us. Neither is it asking the Lord to do things that will make us feel good! There are so much tears involved in every journey that leads us back to the Lord - the challenge is how ready are we to undertake these journeys and in what frequency. 

A third consideration is about perseverance, our determination to remain when everything seems to be dead, our resolve in the spirit. We see the glory of the Lord, even at the darkest moment of our lives. When those Greeks, arriving at Jerusalem for worship, heard about Jesus they wished to see him - just as so many others wished to see Jesus; think of Herod who wanted to see him, think of the leaders and elders who constantly demanded for signs and the masses who were frenetically looking for some wonders. But with a difference, the Greeks did not get lost in their curiosity, they sought to see Jesus, and they found ways - they approach Philip and moved him to speak to Andrew and probably the disciples led them to Jesus! The resolve to see, to see the real glory of Jesus, can take us to arduous circumstances - that is why we need to dare!

To dare to die is to recognise this grace from the Lord to know the Lord, allow the grace to move us to a willingness and readiness to obey the Lord, and endure till we see the real glory of the Lord. As the grain that dies, remains in obscurity, but endures that time to break the ground towards seeing the light of day, so does our spirit need to remain, persevere and actualise the choice to obey the Lord, remain faithful to the Lord and rise to manifest the glory of the Lord. 

When Jesus says those words: Father glorify your name, he submits himself to the One who was animating him and that is the daring choice, daring to die! When Jesus promises to draw all children of God to himself, he speaks of his rising to glory in the Lord - because of his submission, his obedience, his self-emptying, his dying. The Word this week invites us to reflect on this dying - and that reflection will bring us closer to rising in glory. Let us pray that during this last week before we begin the Holy week, we would be led to that courage and grace of daring to die, that we may see the glory and rise to glory! 

Be Glad... in the Lord, the shield and refuge!

THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday, Fourth week

March 16, 2024 - Jeremiah 11:18-20; John 7: 40-52

Through the desert God leads us to freedom. The freedom or the state of salvation that the Lord leads us to, does not come from nowhere or we do not reach it without passing through the desert. But that does not warrant our being sad or gloomy, or grieving all our life. A sad Christian is a sorry Christian - that is the message we had yesterday. The Word has been insisting with us through out this week the need for us to rejoice, and especially yesterday, we reflected on how important it is to rejoice even in the face of trials. 

The Word today gives us the secret of those who succeed in rejoicing even when they are through trials and torments... they have taken refuge in the Lord. We are called to be glad, not just in our experiences and accomplishments, not even in our troubles overcome or temptations won over, but in a reason much more fundamental: in the Lord, in the very presence of the Lord. For the Lord is our shield and our strength, our protection and our refuge.

Jeremiah in the first reading tells us how without knowing the treachery around, a person who believes in the Lord, could suffer torments. But the person knows he or she need not lose heart, for the Lord is there with him or her. The person knows readily to take refuge in the Lord and that is a typical trait of a child of God. 

Jesus in the Gospel, is a level ahead - it is not that a person does not know what treachery is going around, but even knowing it very well, he or she is able to go ahead with serenity and calm. John very specially, in his Gospel, often emphasizes the fact that Jesus knew who would betray him, Jesus knew the heart of the people to whom he was speaking, he knew that they cannot be trusted and so on. Jesus knew the manoeuvrings arond him, but nothing disturbed him. He went about secure of his steps, because he had taken refuge in his Father.

At times, when difficulties and troubles, conniving persons and conspiracies around, destabilise us, apart from appealing to the Lord, we need to think why they are perturbing us so much. Have we truly surrendered to the Lord? Even in these circumstances, if we have taken the Lord as our shield and our refuge, we shall not fail to rejoice!

Be Glad... irrespective of the circumstances!

THE WORD IN LENT - Friday, Fourth week

March 15, 2024 - Wisdom 2: 1, 12-22; John 7: 1-2,10, 25-30

Through the desert God leads us to freedom. This week beginning with the laetare Sunday, we have been hearing the Word indicating to us various reasons to rejoice: the untiring mercy of God, the love of God that reaches out, the covenant that the Lord has made with us and so on. While we can thus list out many such reasons to rejoice in the Lord, the Word today presents to a much deeper truth: a true person of God does not look for reasons to rejoice; he or she rejoices in the Lord irrespective of any circumstances!

When St. Paul exhorts us to rejoice always, and emphasizes the capacity to be glad whether in plenty or in want, this is the quality he underlines. The fact that we are loved by God and we are surrounded by God's mercy, does not guarantee that we would have nothing to suffer. At times, even when we wish no harm for another, there will be those who might want to hurt us, or there might be circumstances that might put us on a rough patch in life. There are moments in life, when we are prone to observe what the lines from the book of Wisdom tells us today: our life is short and dreary, nor is there any relief when one's end comes. There could be some lurching in dark to see us fall. In all these circumstances, what we manifest as our mindset is what will define us - whether we are people of God or not, whether we really are persons rooted in the Lord or not. 

Jesus leads the way and shows us what it means to be convinced of being a son or a daughter of God. He never gave up his identity, or never compromised on it, neither threatened by those around nor seduced by the possibility of pleasing them in some way. He held on to his identity, and spoke and did what the Lord wanted him to. There was something about him, that made his strong, and stronger in the face of the evil that opposed him and wanted to see his end. That would be true of any son or daughter of God, and that would be characteristic of any people of God. 

The Church today, we the people of God today - we are challenged to be glad in our identity and vocation as people of God. There may be oppositions from within, from around and from out there! Nothing would disturb us if we rejoice in the fact that the Lord who gives us this identity is always with us. It does not matter if our hearts broke with these circumstances, the Lord remains close to those broken hearts. Irrespective of the circumstances that could assail us, let us be glad in the Lord, we know him and it is he who sends us!

Be Glad... but beware of obstinacy!

THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday, Fourth week

March 14, 2024 - Exodus 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47

Through the desert God guides us to freedom. Beginning the past Sunday, we have been seen reasons why we need to rejoice in the Lord, specially in the Cross of our Lord, for God so loved the world that God deigned to offer God's own Son for our eternal joy! The central theme of Word in the past two days, continues today - the discourse of the covenant. God made the covenant - but even as the covenant was being made, what did the so called people of God do? They went away from the Lord. This is so dramatically pictured in the first reading today. 

That scenario continues even today - as persons find the easiest excuse to fall away from the image that Lord has given us or decline to be what the Lord continues to make of us, through the covenantal relationship. It is true that God never gives up on us, but that is not enough for us to grow towards experiencing that greatest of all gifts from God - a sense of salvation. 

That the Lord has made a covenant with us, is a huge reason to be glad and to rejoice! But let us beware, the same can become the reason for our eternal tragedy, if we do not live up to it. This is what is brought forth to our understanding by the imagery of Moses! The very same Moses who is presented in the first reading as the intercessor, is named by Jesus as the probable judge who would condemn the very people - Moses who stands out as the symbol of God's old covenant. 

The new and the eternal covenant personified in Christ our Saviour, has the same overture! It is true that God's mercy is boundless and limitless! There is nothing that can come between us and God's mercy, Jesus has made it absolutely clear. Nothing can come in between, except our own obstinacy! Every day is an added opportunity to grow closer to realising this merciful covenant of the Lord. But let us beware, every missed opportunity, every delayed moment, every day wasted in our stubbornness of heart, we have to answer for! Today, for the mercy of the Lord which sustains us, let us be glad, even as we promise the Lord to become aware and work on every bit of our tendency to obstinacy. 

Be Glad - the Lord makes us a covenant people

THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, Fourth week

March 13, 2024 - Isaiah 49: 8-15; John 5: 17-30

Through the desert God leads us to freedom. Among the varied reasons pointed to us these days by the Word to rejoice, today we have the typical of all self identities promoted by the Word of God: being the covenant people.

First of all, this self understanding as we reflected on yesterday, is a gratuitous gift given to us by God who reaches out to us. It is God's initiative, undoubtedly, that we are people of God. As we get to understand in the first reading today, we have not merited this identity or status as people of God but we are given, we are gifted with it. This is the sense of giftedness that we need to celebrate and rejoice about.

Secondly, this giftedness entrusts us with a call - to be recognizant of this fact, of this state of our being. We are called to be, to consciously be, the covenant people. To remain faithful to this covenant, that is to remain true to our identity, means to live in perpetual consciousness that we are people of God everywhere and in all circumstances. It requires that our life manifests a clear difference for the world, the society, that we are covenant people, in faithful relationship with God. Jesus explains that from his own life and life style - I am because my Father is, he seems to say. That's being a covenant person.

Thirdly, there is a challenge that comes along with this gift and call - not just to be covenant people, but to be the covenant to the people. The Word tells us in the first reading today: I have formed you to be the covenant to the people, that is, reminders, signs and indicators of God's covenant with persons; a call to all, towards a conversion to God, an invitation to return to the Lord. This is a much deeper call, a vocation to be missionaries of the love of God, to be announcers of the real meaning of being God's people. This is in short the life that Christ lived, as the Son of God made man, showing us what it ultimately means to be a Christ-ian.

Be glad, the Word invites us today, because are chosen to be the people of the covenant, because we have a specific purpose in life - to live as people of the covenant, because we are formed to be covenant to the people. Let us rejoice, for the Lord is gracious and merciful, the Lord of eternal covenant.

Be Glad - the Lord comes to encounter us!

THE WORD IN LENT - Tuesday, Fourth week

March 12, 2024 - Ezekiel 47: 1-9,12; John 5: 1-3,5-16

Through the desert God leads us to freedom. This freedom is, beyond the cross and through the cross that stands tall drawing our attention; it is through the desert which offers us some valuable learning experiences that we are led to freedom, to salvation, to new life. Just as these days of lent take us towards that experience of resurrection, so does out journey of lent take us towards new life, new life in the Risen Lord. 

One of the strong symbols of the Paschal feast is water - being the waters through which the pasch of the Israel brought them across the Red sea; the waters of Jordan that signified conversion to the people who lined up before John; the living waters Jesus said - let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink (Jn 7:37) - the water that is promised for those who need rejuvenation, renewal and new life. Here is where the Word gives us an reason to rejoice... while we are given this offer of the life giving water, in God's bountiful mercy, the water flows to us, instead of we going to the waters.

We see that in the Gospel today, so symbolically expressed. While the man was waiting to go to the waters to draw life from it, the water was coming to him, the life giving water, the life transforming water was reaching out to him - Jesus comes to encounter him, asking him, "do you wish to be well again?" The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. The Lord comes to encounter us, just as the waters flows from the presence of the Lord towards Ezekiel in the first reading. 

Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live, says the Word. When the Lord comes to encounter us, we shall live, we shall be born again, we shall be touched and transformed, we shall be asked to pick up our mats and walk - walk towards a new life, towards our eternal life. How glad we should be, that the Lord chooses to come to us. There are stagnant voices, festering waters, infested with negativity and prejudice, all around us. But we are called to focus on that flowing water from the eternal presence of the Lord... the Lord comes to encounter us, let us behold him and rejoice!