MEAL, MEMORY AND MANDATE

MAUNDY THURSDAY: 2nd April, 2015

We have some 3s to remember today...

     - Supper, Sacrifice and Service

     - Priesthood, Eucharist and Identity

     - Meal, Memory and Mandate

Supper that Jesus shared with the disciples as a sign of his love for them; the Sacrifice that was prefigured in the bread and the wine shared at table; and the Service for which Jesus gave his lived example!

Priesthood that Jesus personified and shared with his apostles; Eucharist that Jesus himself was, the symbol of self giving love; and the mark of Identity that Jesus offered - the love with which the world will identify us as Christ's disciples!

Meal, that shows the relationship that the disciples shared with Jesus; Memory, that Jesus wants to leave behind in his own body and blood; and the Mandate to love each other as Jesus loves us, with a love that is so unconditional, so unlimited and so selfless!

The last three that we can go home with today:

- thanksgiving in our hearts for all the bountiful gifts that the Lord keeps giving, specially through our priests; 

- determination in our will to remember the Lord in our daily struggles that call for sacrifices; and finally 

- a resolve in our minds to love everyone and keep no stock of the hurts and negative experiences we have received from others for no fault of ours. 

THE SPY WEDNESDAY

Wednesday of the Holy Week: 1st April, 2015

'One of the Twelve'...not necessarily just one of the twelve as the Gospel begins today, but almost all of them were proving traitors in there own turn. They were anywhere between mere onlookers and involved game players, when it came to the climax of Jesus' ministry: the passion and death! It begins of course, with Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve!

At times people say Judas just played a role that he had to! Let us not be carried away by that type of an interpretation, because Judas had the time and the freedom to choose otherwise. Jesus had given him ample chance to fall in line and think as Jesus would have it: in terms of God's will and not our own schemes!

Just today, I read a quote from the famous writer Paulo Coelho: a mistake repeated more than once is a decision. Out of our deliberate choice, out of our habit or out of a psuedo inability to decide otherwise, we make wrong choices sometimes and those choices are actually moments when we turn traitors!

As the letter to the Hebrews challenges us: are we ready to fight sin to the point of shedding our blood? (cf. Heb 12:4).

THE PREACHING TUESDAY

Tuesday of the Holy Week: 31st March, 2015

'Hear me', 'Listen' calls the first reading today. This day, Jesus spent with his disciples and all those who were following him into Jerusalem from far and near... He taught them not because they were going to transform themselves ultimately, not because they were deserving of all his kindness and concern for them. No, definitely not! He did know how weak their flesh was in spite of the spirit that yearned to be strong. 

Today the challenge to us is to weigh our spirit and our flesh, our daily life and its priorities, against the love of God. Jesus not only knows the persons who will be soon turning against him, but that does not stop him all the same from loving them, speaking to them and being compassionate about them.

How much quality time do you spend with people who genuinely care for you?

THE CLEANSING MONDAY

Monday of the Holy Week: 30th March, 2015

'Six days before the passover', begins the Gospel today. And today was the day when Jesus entered the Temple of Jerusalem, and chased out the merchants and the money changers, expressing his burning zeal for the house of the Lord! That was the climax of the clash between him and his enemies, they thought he has reached the blasting point and they wanted to contain him as soon as possible! But Jesus knew where it is all leading.

The Cleansing Monday, invites us to look at things that we need to cleanse our soul of. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and does it need a cleaning at present? Right note to begin this journey of the week... by cleansing and preparing ourselves for all the events!

FIND YOURSELF IN THE CROWD

PALM SUNDAY 2015: 29th March, 2015

Beginning a journey with the Lord

The day marks the beginning of a journey with the Lord: as a crowd of people, a crowd of people with so many mindsets...

There were those who were there to find fault with him and arrest him...

There were those who were there curious to see some spectacle of signs...

There were those who were there to see if what they heard about this man called Jesus was really true...

There were those who were there who did not have a clue as to what was happening, they were carried away by the crowd...

There were those who were there enjoying the fun of the crowd, and having a great time of festivity...

There were those who were there who had made it from far places, merely to see if they can catch a glimpse of Jesus whom they heard of...

There were those who were there who had followed him right from Galilee, who were unable to leave his side because of the personality that he was...

There were those who were there who were so involved in his teachings, who found his words too precious to be missed...

There were those who were there who were part of his life, they shared his everyday and shared his every dream...

There were those who were there who were concerned about him, aware of the impending danger, but still wanted to be there for him...

Now...take a look within..where do you find yourself in this crowd?

What is your mindset today... as we begin this week long journey with the Lord? It is going to be a trying journey, a journey of sorts, a journey which is going to be a real challenge! Where do you find yourself? 

THE WORD IN LENT -39

To gather into one

Fifth week in Lent: Saturday, 28th Mar, 2015

Ezek 37: 21-28; Jn 11: 45-56

Going around places these days with a team of people, putting up an hour long lenten programme, I consider it a moment of pride and never miss out on the opportunity of introducing the volunteer team, and of it a very special person in the team! The person is a brother in Christ from a Pentecostal Church! We have another person, in fact a pastor, from a mainline non catholic church. And our team is a Catholic organisation!

The readings today seem to give us a clue to understand the mission of the Son of God. As he himself announces, it is to gather into one all the dispersed children of God, dispersed geographically, spiritually, economically, politically and in every other way. Jesus seems to be the son of David, promised in all eternity to gather not merely the two nations (Judah and Israel), but all dispersed children of God into one. We are called to be agents of unity and harmony, uniting people in love and building a humanity that is joyful. If we are against such unity, even though merely in thought or merely in single instances, we are not in line with the mission of the Saviour. He would say, 'if you don't gather with me, you scatter!' (cf. Lk 11:23; Mt 12:30). How much am I ready to do, by way of bringing true peace, harmony and love, wherever I am?

THE WORD IN LENT -38

In distress for the Lord

Fifth week in Lent: Friday, 27th Mar, 2015

Jer 20: 10-13; Jn 10: 31-42

Jeremiah seems a perfect foreshadow of Jesus, but in one case! He was in distress too for the sake of the will of the One who called him; he was cornered for nothing and taken to task for his dedication to the Lord and the task handed to him by the Lord. But differing from Jeremiah, Jesus does not wish to see the vengeance that the Lord would take on those who did not heed the call, those who were persecuting him for wrong reasons, those who refused to see such an obvious point made by Jesus' words and deeds. Jesus wishes that they turn to him, believe in him, in his words and in his works and realise that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Both Jeremiah and Jesus, give us an example of persons in distress for the Lord: Blessed are those who hunger for justice and peace, for they shall be filled; Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of God. How prepared and ready are we to be in distress for the Lord! 

THE WORD IN LENT -37

Understanding the Covenant

Fifth week in Lent: Thursday, 26th Mar, 2015

Gen 17:3-9;Jn 8: 51-59

Though they claimed to be people of the covenant, they do not grasp the real meaning of the covenant that the Lord had made with them. They considered it to be only a material blessing, giving them prosperity and posterity. Jesus tries to drive home to their minds the holistic difference that the Lord makes in our lives, in and through the covenant: the covenant actually makes us like God - eternal and all spiritual. Whoever keeps my word will never see death, declares Jesus. In Jesus we have a much deeper reality to observe and accept: that God wants to share with the God's very nature -the nature of eternity, the aspect of timelessness, the quality that our earthly life is just a part of the entire existence we possess, in the mind of God earlier and in union with God later. If we accept this perspective, we would understand the folly of an exaggerated insistence and dependence on material prosperity. Are we ready to understand the true meaning of the covenant we have with God or are we picking up stones against it?

GOD BEGINS...

Feast of Annunciation: 25th March, 2015

Is 7: 10-14, 8:10; Heb 10: 4-10; Lk 1: 26-36

Even as a  boy, I was always taken up by that subtitle in the prayer of the Angelus: God Begins! Our God is not merely a God who responds...Our God begins, God initiates, intervenes at the right time even without an asking. That is why St. John proclaimed, we love God because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). The feast of Annunciation is a splendid manifestation of this nature of God, the nature of intervening at the appointed time.

We see three people involved here, who in unison give the humanity a holistic life giving message. 

The Angel: stands for Faith - a concrete sign of God's relationship with us. Angels are God's spokespersons, God's messengers and God's extensions which make present God to us. Our Faith is that God continues to live with us, even amidst all the worldliness that we are surrounded by.

Mary: stands for Hope - a concrete sign of Our relationship with God. Mary shines as a counter witness to the hopeless humanity today. Indifference and Individualism marks the humanity of today and Mary's 'yes' is a revolution that spells hope to the world and to the entire humanity. 

The Child: stands for Love - a concrete sign that God still loves the World. God has not given up on us and God will never do! A love that is ready to give totally of Itself (Rom 8:32). The Child that is promised is a sign of God's everlasting and unconditional love that gives life and light to the otherwise darkness filled world today.

THE WORD IN LENT -35

When the Lord is lifted...

Fifth week in Lent: Tuesday,  24th Mar, 2015

Num 21: 4-9; Jn 8:21-30

They thought they were finishing his story off. Little did they know they were giving rise to an all new history. The Lord was lifted and as he had said,  he drew all to himself when he was lifted. Today,  as always the blood of some children of the Lord is being spilled for no reason,  but it is not a signal to the end of the Reign of the Lord. Let the world beware that the Lord is being lifted up. And when the Lord is lifted up,  he will definitely draw people to himself.  

All that we need to do is like Jesus himself guarantee that we do not act as we like but according to the will of the One who had called us.As Jesus himself testified it was his doing the will of his Father that gave him the meaning of his life. As the Scripture points through St. Paul it is the obedience to the Father that placed Jesus above every being on earth and gave him the name that is above every name ( Phil 2: 8-11)