LIVING THE MISSION OF HOPE

Mission Sunday 2024 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 20: Isaiah 53: 10-11; Hebrews 4: 14-16; Mark 10: 35-45

May your love be upon us O Lord, as we place all our hope on you, we say in response to the Word this Sunday. Hope is a typically Christian value that we are filled in abundance with, when we develop a true relationship with Christ the Risen Lord. The Jubilee year that we are preparing ourselves towards, is going to remind us with insistence that we are "Pilgrims of Hope" in this world which is threatened by the darkness of despair. Spreading Hope is our primary mission!

The basis of hope is faith, faith is nothing but this relationship we just referred to - a relationship that is born in recognising the Lord who communicates and responding in the way that the Lord wants me to. When this relationship goes strong, whatever comes my way, I shall not be moved or shaken or disturbed or distressed! Nothing will ever perturb me! Because, hope assures us that things may go wrong for a while, struggles, temptations, troubles and difficulties might come your way, but do not lose heart - for God alone is everlasting! The final word belongs always to God, to no one or nothing else! At times this becomes too difficult to understand or practice, because the world teaches us things that are diametrically opposed to these values. In fact the call to be pilgrims of hope is actually a call to unlearn these fallacies of the world today.

Celebrating the Mission Sunday today, we are called to take to heart that we are missionary pilgrims sent into this world to hold out hope to every person on earth. Holding out hope is not an easy task... it needs a tough unlearning of certain fallacies that the world teaches its beings ceaselessly! Unlearning these, first of all within oneself and then witnessing before the others, is the mission that we are called to live today. Let us not reduce the Mission Sunday to some monetary contribution we make, or things we collect or some help rendered somewhere! It is our life. We are called to live our mission of hope, the mission of unlearning and helping others to unlearn the following fallacies so widespread in the world of today.

Fallacy 1: Life is all about happiness and pleasure

Fun, thrill, chill, freaking out, just do it... these are considered watchwords for today's generation. At times we justify everything with a statement, 'is it not to be happy after all that we do all that we do here on earth?' No! Isaiah explains today how salvific suffering is, in connection to the suffering servant of God - that, however difficult it may be, is a deeply Christ-ian message!

Life is not merely about happiness and pleasure. There are difficulties, there are struggles, there are sufferings that come our way and they are not just part of our life, but crucial parts of learning in life. Hence hope-filled persons are those who are able to see beyond, without getting obsessed with happiness and pleasure, that there are various other values in life that we need to acknowledge and embrace, with the perspective of our model, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Fallacy 2: I should be totally in control of my life

Planning ahead, programming things, forecasts and foretelling techniques: what are these but signs of the desire to be in control of things, of life and of everything that happens there in. But in spite of all these, there are times when we are caught so unaware and unprepared. But it does not matter, our weaknesses are known to God and our failures mean nothing to God. After all, we have a loving Lord, who has undergone all that we undergo and perceives  us with perfect compassion. 

Yes, life is not totally under our control but that does not mean we are at the mercy of chance! God is in control and the more we realise this, the more wise and mature we become. A hope filled person will never lose his or her cool before unexpected turns of life, because he or she knows for certain wherever life takes us, God is there with us and nothing happens without God's knowledge!

Fallacy 3: Progress is striving to dominate everyone around

In the name of success, development and progress, what the world today teaches us is that we have to look at everyone around as a competition, a threat, someone whom we have to trample upon in order to make our way! We cannot but look with pity on the apostles who were so close to Jesus, but found it so hard to understand his reasoning. They were so keen on ensuring their personal career, looking at the other as a competition and threat. However, we are today living in a world that is filled with more and more insensitivity, cruelty and inhumanity; are we certain we are not adding to those in our own way? 

Hope filled persons shall be counter witnesses to this situation, placing persons before things, relationships before comfort, love before success and peace before progress. These persons are around not to be served, but to serve; not to succeed but to live meaningfully; not to climb high but to live deep.

These reminders might seem difficult, at times even absurd! But this is what Christ lived. He has been in every situation that we find ourselves in and he has lived a life as a perfect example of how we should. Let us look up to Christ our Hope, and stand firm in the way of life that he has taught us! Let us be hope filled persons, conscious of our mission to fill the world with hope today, here and now!

Communion and Commitment: Father, Son and Spirit

WORD 2day: Saturday, 28th week in Ordinary time

October 19, 2024: Ephesians 1: 15-23; Luke 12: 8-12

The Word today presents to us the three dimensions of our faith: the three Persons of the Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. What they together stand for, is a wonderful lesson for the situation today: loving communion and mutual commitment.

Looking at the Church, the people of God world over today, there is so much discord! Why? Is it purely the Reign of God that we are concerned with? This is where the Word invites us to communion - not a sticking together for survival nor a compromise for the sake of pseudo peace! Communion is the oneness of heart and mind, singleness of vision and unity of purpose. In a world so varied and statuses so diverse, only thing that can give us such a communion is the Reign-vision. A vision that goes beyond any claims of authority, power, domination or pride, towards establishing the wellness of all, the entire humanity and the whole universe. This is communion and when it is achieved, the Reign is here.

At times we feel there is so much of talk but they remain merely talks - there is no concrete commitment that is expressed. The Reign of God cannot be built by big talks! It has to be translated into concrete and mutual commitment of all those who are united in the one Lord. Owning up the call from God and standing up for the Reign is something that can never be replaced by the best of speeches or homilies, or grandest of celebrations and festivals, or greatest of structures put up! It comes from the change of heart, the change from where comes a 'Yes' that pertains to all that God wants from me. It is not merely criticism that changes a situation but a sacrificing commitment towards the others and towards the overall well-being of brothers and sisters.

The task from the Word today is that we  grow in our communion with each other and our commitment to God's Reign on earth.

But for St. Luke...

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 18, 2024 - Remembering St. Luke, the Evangelist
2 Timothy 4: 10-17b; Luke 10: 1-9

Today we celebrate St. Luke, the evangelist who has made an irreplaceable contribution made to the Canon of the Bible, that we have as our Scripture. 

If it were not for Luke, we would have no Magnificat -the song of praise sung by our Blessed Mother, no Benedictus -the song of praise by Zecharaiah, no song of Anna! Luke makes it an important point to narrate the stories of persons who sang praises of the Lord - in fact those type of narrations continue in the Acts too! The message he gives us is clear: learn and get into the habit of singing the praises of the Lord, every time you realise the goodness of the Lord. 

But for St. Luke, we would not read the account of John's birth or the narrative on the Ascension of our Lord! He was keen on capturing the supernatural, amidst the run of our daily drill. His invitation is so pertinent: grow ever more conscious of God and the Godly elements in your daily life, because God is with us, all the time. 

But for St. Luke we would not have met Zachaeus in Jericho, the ten leprosy patients on the road, the Women disciples who followed Jesus, the "good thief" on the Cross, or the discouraged disciples on the way to Emmaus. There is a powerful element that Luke wants us to notice - that there is so much darkness and dullness around us that could easily overshadow our capacity to see the goodness of the Lord extending a saving hand to us... it takes a special grace to see the light and turn to the way of the Light. 

But for St. Luke we would have missed the greatest of stories ever told -the Prodigal Son and other inspiring stories of the Good Samaritan, the Rich man and Lazarus and Jesus' walk to Emmaus after resurrection. Luke is very particular about the choices that we have to make at the right moments of our life. If we miss them, we miss the sense of our life and our vocation. The question to us is: are we aware of the ever present light of the Lord and how ready are we to choose its radiance?

There is yet another speciality of Luke, which is his way of making sense of the Reign of God. Though even the other Gospels, be it the synoptics or that of John, they do speak of the Reign of God, Luke in his turn speaks of the Reign of God being amidst us. "Reign of God is amidst you", says Lk 17:21. The same is recorded in Lk 10:9, which we hear today: "the Reign of God has come near to you". The prominent message of Luke here is a call to recognise in action our vocation to be the agents of the Reign of God. It is a call to live our life as the people of the Reign, thus ushering in the Reign of God here on earth and now in our own contexts. 

May St. Luke inspire us to get in touch with the Word of God evermore lovingly and enable us towards making the Reign of God felt, present and flourishing wherever we are and in whatever way we can.

Before God and God alone...

WORD 2day: Thursday, 28th week in Ordinary time 

October 17, 2024 - Ephesians 1:1-10; Luke 11:47-54

It is not an impossible task to make people think that I am good, virtuous and honourable. That actually is the predominant concern for many and that has proved the root cause for many wrong decisions made and later regretted. However, we would do good to realise that we are not called to create images around us and bask in the opinions we construct among others. 

The crux of the problem is that we have the responsibility to account for every special blessing that the Lord has showered on us. As St.Paul today points it out, it is between God and me, and public opinions and image creation will not suffice. "To be holy and blameless before God in love"... that is the task given to us and can there be make-believes when it comes to the fact that God Himself is the judge!

Apart from reminding us of our call to be holy and blameless, St. Paul clarifies that this call is to be lived before God, not paraded before people for appreciation or recognition. An equally compelling tendency that we need to fight against is, the craving, even if not for laurels, at the least to be considered acceptable and reasonable. But as much as recognitions do not matter, criticism should not matter too, provided we are convinced and relentless about being holy and blameless, before God, and God alone. 

Warning! No one shall be spared!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 28th week in Ordinary time

October 16, 2024: Galatians 5: 18-25; Luke 11: 42-46

At times the Word sounds very strong and frightening and one such instance is today: be it in the first reading or in the Gospel, we have a warning clear and loud - no one shall be spared, when it comes to entering the Reign of God! If we are directed by the Spirit, we shall enter the Reign of God, and the signs of it shall already be seen here and now. If we are constantly directed by our self-indulgence and self-pride, we shall not inherit the Reign of God, because we never belonged to it in our daily life! That is the warning!

I cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless I crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires, teaches Paul today. He even lists those self-indulgent behaviours. They are contrary to the Jesus way of life, because of three reasons: (i) because, they objectify our own selves - making our bodies, our persons, a mere object of instant and passing pleasure; (ii) because they objectify the other - making the persons around me objects of my pleasure, or merely some 'things' that I can use for my good; and (iii) because they objectify God - making God an object to whom I give something, I do something, I say something, not realising that God is a person who is looking at everything that I am involved in, even those that I do not dare to manifest to anyone other than me! These self-indulgent tendencies have to be curbed if we have to let ourselves be directed by the Spirit.

The Gospel presents another set of disqualifiers - one cannot belong to Christ, or the Reign of God - if her or she is worried solely about some external acts and not interior dispositions. When Jesus speaks in these terms and strikes against the Pharisees, one of the lawyers speaks up in self-justification, and Jesus lashes out against him too - telling us in clear terms, no one shall be spared! There are no status or titles, roles or functions, achievements or establishments that can give us an entry into the Reign of God... except our daily life, day to day choices and integrity lived here and now - from this rule, no one will be spared!

It's Jesus of Teresa!

Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, one who loved Jesus inspite of her frailties

15th October, 2024

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. It is the 510th year after her birth.  

Teresa had a lot of struggles in her life earlier to love God or whatever pertained to God. But, eventually she grew in her relationship with the person of Christ so much that nothing else mattered to her. In fact that famous statement that is iconic of her: God alone is sufficient, is a candid picture of her soul. She loved Jesus as her own spouse; she referred to him as 'beloved' - so romantic a faith.

Just reminded of a wonderful episode from St. Teresa's life... We know, Teresa was fond of introducing herself to everyone as Teresa of Jesus. Infact, that is another name by which she is known, apart from Teresa of Avila.  It is said that in one of her visions when Jesus appeared she asked, as she was directed by her Spiritual Guide: "who are you?" And Jesus replied, "I am Jesus of Teresa". Nothing can replace a personal love that we ought to have for Jesus. 

St. Teresa of Jesus, inspires us to an ardent love for our Saviour. Needless to say, we would be repaid with a love several times deeper and in fact, we love because the Lord loved us first (1Jn 4:19).

Integrity matters!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 15, 2024 - Remembering St. Teresa of Avila

Galatians 5:1-6; Luke 11: 37-41

Integrity is one virtue that Jesus never compromised on. Dichotomìes and discrepancies between words and actions, between belief and life: they were immediate disqualifiers according to Jesus, in the pursuit of eternal life... such persons had no place in the Reign of God, in Jesus' purview. 

What matters is, goes on to explain Paul in the first reading, the faith that makes its power felt through love; that is a faith that is translated into life. An integrity of what I believe and what I live. The perfect harmony between my so-called religiosity and my daily criteria of choices - that is in short, integrity. 

Even a simple life-practice backed up by a strong conviction can become an entry pass to the Reign. Be it the 2 pennies dropped by the widow, or the vial of perfume broken by the 'sinner' woman, or the simple prayer made by the thief on the cross beside Jesus... they were reasons enough for them to inherit the Reign of God.

The saint we remember today - St. Teresa of Avila - was not the best of persons, according to what we learn about her early life. But we find she was totally recognizant of that - she considered herself so unworthy, that God chose to strengthen her and use her powerfully, towards a reformation of the Religious Order she would belong to and the entire religious life in the 16th centrury. She who was so reluctant about spiritual matters, transformed into a Spiritual Master, a doctor of the Church - simply because there was no hypocrisy in her. Her integrity was all that mattered to the Lord.

Let us believe in what we pray and practise what we preach or hear preached... lest we become "fools"in the eyes of the Lord. In the presence of the Lord, integrity matters!

Freedom is not free!

WORD 2day: Monday, 28th week in Ordinary time

October 13, 2024 - Galatians 4: 22-24, 26-27, 31 -5:1; Luke 11: 29-32

Freedom, is not an all sweet gift. It was the philosopher Jean Paul Sartre who made that provocative but profound statement, "we are condemned to be free" - which is very true! Freedom comes with the duty attached, without the latter the former is simple egoism. 

We are free, free to choose and the responsibility of the choice is laid entirely upon us. It would be childish to clamour for freedom but shy away from the resulting responsibility. We are indeed, free children of God, as St. Paul declares in the reading today, but with that comes the condition that we are to be held responsible for all the choices we make. 

Let us reflect, who actually decides I should be happy or not? Is it not our choice, or rather our choices? Is it not an important fact to realise and accept, that the free choices I make amount to the consequences I face, or that my choices affect even those around me! The Lord grants us the greatest gift of freedom, and leaves us with the responsibility for our choices. That is why, when we choose not to see the presence of God, when we choose not to find the moments of grace, when we choose not to realise the opportunities to do good, when we choose not to identify our brother or sister in the person next to us, we are choosing to rush towards a state that is so sad and so inhuman. 

We are free children of the promise (cf. Gal 4:22-24); yes we are given the great gift of freedom. But Freedom is not free; we have to pay for it with our personal responsibility!

THE WORD BECOMES FLESH

Desire, the Power and the Call

October 13, 2024 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary time
Wisdom 7: 7-11; Hebrews 4: 12-13; Mark 10: 17-30

The Word this Sunday is on the Word.

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us! The truth is not just that... the Word becomes flesh even today... and we cannot deny it, if only we could become as receptive we ought to be, in our daily living. Let us reflect why...

First of all, because the Word is the foundational principle of our Christian life. It is the Word that makes all the difference for the choices we make. The Word offers us all the wisdom we stand in need of to live a life that is meaningful. The requirement is that the Word has to be desired with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength. However, that is easily said than done! 

We have so many things that claim that place - comfort in life, pleasures of the day, the rat race of the times, the trends of the society, the attractions that are made easy, the escapades for all the unjustifiable choices... these make it so hard for any one today to desire the Word, much less choose the Word in place of life, health or wealth. Even the so-called strongest of beleivers in the Lord, when it comes to a choice between life and the Word, would choose life isn't it? That is why we have only a handful whom we venerate as saints and martyrs. 

Secondly because the Word is our Judge, not just the judge at the last juegement, but on a daily basis. This is so, practically because the Word gives us the criteria to live by. When those criteria are met, we are affirmed; when not, we place ourselves on a tribunal before the Word. And the Word is powerful, scans deep into our intentions and motivations, not merely our uttered words and external actions.

Don't we, even as we are making the choices that are not the right ones to make, know and realise that we are making choices that are wrong? Is it not the Wisdom of the Lord that cuts right into our hearts that makes us see that light? This power of the Word is not to make us bewildered about our defencelessness. We are given a taste of it, by the growing technology... it almost a fact by now, that nothing of our life is a secret anymore... where we go, what we say, what we see, what we prefer... eveything is monitored today. We speak of something to a friend of acquaintance, and things we see on our mobiles or email sites have a direct relation to what we have been talking just moments ago... how on earth and heaven does this happen? Right things to wonder, but an important thing to know... but the surveilance of the Word, the all-knowing power of the Word is not a threat but a consolation, to tell us we are not alone, that we are accompanied. 

Thirdly, the Word can become flesh in our lives when we realise that the Word is the treasure that gives meaning to our Christian life. The Word is the call that makes our whole Christian life come truly alive. It is worth giving our life in the service of the Word. At the service of the Word whatever we give up comes back manifold... the Word epitomises our entire existence!

When we hear that call, give everything and follow - it is a reminder how short our life is, as the responsorial psalm reminds us. The moment we realise it, we would be ready to give up: give up our pride, give up our ego, give up our petty fights and cravings to prove, give up our running after the fleeting joys and successes that can ruin the very crux of my life! Life is beautiful, however short it is. If only we heed the Word and give up on all these and embrace the true Life, the life giving Word, we shall have life everlasting, that is a live that would remain meaningful, frutiful and insightful, not here and now, but for eternity. 

The Word, when we repeat it so many times today, is not merely the written word that we are referring to, it is the Living Word, the Word that became flesh, the Word that becomes flesh even today, in our midst, in our lives and in our days! Are we receptive enough to welcome the Word and live by the Word. The Word says: come follow me! 

Being Children in faith

WORD 2day: Saturday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 12, 2024 - Galatians 3: 22-29; Luke 11: 27-28

Being related to God is a faith experience. I do not call you servants but friends, declared Jesus. Remain in my love, he invites. I shall be your God and you shall be my people, was the mind of Jesus, the same as when God made the covenant with the people. Being related to God is a need, a longing, and a recognition that gives me my identity. 

Since it is a need, it has to be sensed by the person proper. Although it is given, a grace, the effort has to be from my part to receive it and make it my own. It has to become a longing, that is a need continuosly felt, not just some sporadic enthusiasm expressed. Above all, it is a recognition of what is already there. There is nothing new to be made of me. I am already a child of God, it is so that God has willed it. But I need to recogonise it so.

However, the fundamental truth to be underlined here is - that identity, does not come by default. Merely because I am baptised I don't belong to Christ or I don't become a child of God. Paul says, I need to clothe myself with Christ. My mentality has to change and be transformed. That is what Jesus means when he says it is more important to hear the words of the Lord and put them to practice than to go around saying I am a Christian.

We need to become children of God not merely by title but in faith.