The Rise of the Next-Gen

THE WORD AND THE SAINT 

May 6, 2019: Celebrating St. Dominic Savio
3rd Monday of Easter - Acts 6: 8-15; John 6: 22-29

The Word begins to present to us the first generation after the Apostles! Apart from the apostles who were with Jesus, there were ardent disciples for Christ and the true people of the Way that Jesus showed. They began to imitate Jesus to the detail: an excellent example is Stephen, whose face shone like the Angel!

Jesus gives us the reason his face shone so: because he believed in the One who was sent! We too believe... yes! To what extent? Upto death? What does believing mean in practical terms: to follow what the Lord said and live what the Lord lived! Do we live after the example of the Lord? Do we carry out the Lord's teaching to the details?

Or are we clamouring after miracles and running after signs? Are we working for merely material well being or are we concerned about our own spiritual maturity? Looking at the Next-Gen of Christ...should we not take to our heart to be truly Christ-ians in our thought, word and deed?

We have a teenage saint whom we celebrate today... St. Dominic Savio - "a little giant of sanctity" as he was described at his canonisation. His secret was the total and absolute priority that he had given to the Lord and a life worthy of the Lord. Are we prepared to be truly Next-Gen Christians today?

THE MAKING OF THE FISHERS OF PEOPLE

Third Sunday of Easter - May 5, 2019

Acts 5: 27-32,40-41; Revelations 5: 11-14; John 21:1-19

The image that stays in our eyes after having read the Gospel is that of a net filled with fishes, a hundred and fifty three of them! The Gospel is sprinkled all over with a discussion on fish, fishing and fishermen!

JESUS, THE MASTER-FISHER, sets an unbeatable record, with the apostles opening their eyes wide...a man standing on the shore and directing them where to fish, after their toiling whole night. But when they saw the catch, they knew it was the Lord...because they had been in a similar instance before! Remember Luke 5... they witnessed a similar incident! Jesus was just calling his fishermen disciples... it was then that he promised to make them 'Fishers of People' (Mt 4:19; Lk 5:10; Mk 1:17), and that is what they were gradually becoming. Today we have the last lesson of the course; from here they would graduate to be what Jesus promised them to be: Fishers of People! But the making of this, was not an easy task... they had to go through varied phases and at times it was tough and troublesome, including seeing their Master-fisher being killed!

APOSTLES, THE DISCOURAGED FISHERS, at times even thought of giving it all up. For an instance, have a look at what situation we find them in the Gospel today: Peter said, 'I am going fishing'...that is he thought the course was over and he had reached the end of it. Thomas, Nathanael, John, James and two others were ready to go with Peter too...and in fact they were on their fishing trip after a long time - probably they had lost touch? In that state when they were down and out, Jesus meets them! The Master is back, the coach is around, the trainer hadn't given up on them yet! One of the fundamental lessons they were taught while their Master was around with them was, to Obey! They learnt that lesson so well. 'I do nothing on my own', their Master had told them, 'but whatever my Father in heaven tells me.' That was the cue... and when that voice from the shore told them to cast the net to the right, they do it instantly, in spite of the fatigue they were in. Bingo! They rediscovered their Master! Peter could not wait... he could never! He was out even before the boat could turn towards the shore, swimming his way to his Master! They were all, rejuvenated. That is what the Risen Lord wanted: to give them that new life, the new birth from mere fishers to fishers of people! That is what they became, the first reading affirms!

FISHING, FEEDING, AND THE FAITHFUL COMMUNITIES... this is what we have left to reflect on. The Apostles became fishers, they learnt what it meant to feed the communities with faith and the communities grew well nourished with the faith of the fishermen. 'Feeding' is another imagery that we have very strong today: Jesus wanted to feed his beloved friends and he kept the bread and the fish ready; he directed Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep!  It meant, strengthening people in faith: fishing alone was enough, feeding, that is nurturing was needed! Today, this is what is told to us too. It is not enough that you find your first love with the Lord, feed yourself strong with faith, feed each other with your experiences, become strong and grow with mutual edification... so that you are prepared when you have to exercise that strength. The Apostles manifest that strength when they so categorically declare: We must rather obey God than any human authority! They had grown, from what they were (weak frightened lot) to what their Master wanted them to be (strong fishers of people). Nothing could stop them; nothing would; nothing has!

The message to us: Look out for the Lord, who is inviting you to be fishers of people; strengthen yourself in faith that you may be able to strengthen many more in faith and feed them towards growing in the Lord!

Waiting on tables and Walking on the waves

WORD 2day: 2nd Saturday of Easter

May 4, 2019: Acts 6:1-7; John 6:16-21

There are two things that occupy our minds as the Word speaks to us today: one, the bread and the other, the waves. 

Waiting on the Table, which was a regular duty among the believers becomes a concern and some are dissatisfied with how it was going on. The Lord inspires them to understand the concern with such clarity that they do not compromise on the basics. The concern is addressed but nothing of what is essential is lost - they set apart a ministry in order that the centrality of the Word is not lost. 

Waves that rose against the boat, made the disciples frightened. But the Lord walks up to them on the waters, on the very waves and reassures them to row on. Interestingly, they were disturbed by the waves but they were more terrified to see someone walking on the water towards them. The Lord's words, do not fear - comes as a challenge for them to understand what to fear and what not to fear. They were hardly away from the land, but they needed the Lord to realise it.

Waiting on tables or walking on waves, what is important is that we never lose our clarity and priority. Place the right thing first and every other thing will fall in place. 

Let us remember to seek first the Kingdom of God and everything will be given unto us! 

Following the One Lord

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Celebrating Apostles Philip and James

May 3, 2019: 1 Cor 15:1-8; John 14:6-14

The Word today calls our attention to the mention of the names of the Apostles whom we celebrate today: James and Philip. 

The James we speak of here is not James the son of Zebedee , the one who was among the closest three namely, Peter, James and John, and later became the Bishop of Jerusalem. But this is James the son of Alphaeus, who is referred to for the sake of differentiating, as James the lesser! Though that term is odd, it brings out the fact that he was among the 'less prominent bunch' of the Apostles but however he was one of the 12 pillars and Jesus appeared to him! 

Philip is seen in the Gospel today inducing Jesus to make some intense pronouncements about himself and the Father! Though Jesus seems to be getting upset with Philip, it was necessary for the rest of the apostles too, to get clarified about things Jesus wanted them to. Philip is also seen in two other places - at the scene of multiplication of the bread (bringing the boy with five loaves and two fishes to Jesus) and later when some Greeks wish to see Jesus, bringing them along. Earlier he had brought Nathaniel too; in short, he was fond of bringing people to Jesus!

This Feast can communicate three realities that can help our faith communities today. 

1: That differences are natural when a group of persons are involved. The differences are not only inevitable but they are beautiful to paint a holistic picture.

2: That differences do not mean division, or comparison or envy. That Philip and James and some others were not so prominent, never caused a rift among the apostles. They were able to live united in the Lord.

3: Each of us has a specific call within the entire design of God and when one fails to play his or her role, however little and insignificant it could be, there is a lack in the whole!

The message is clear: avoid comparisons; avoid envy; realise the one call and remain united in the One Lord! Remember always, we follow the One Lord!

We and the Holy Spirit

WORD 2day: 2nd Thursday of Easter

May 2, 2019: Acts 5: 27-33; John 3: 31-36

The Spirit and the witnessing to the Lord are very closely knit and that is what the Word brings out today. If we have to witness to the salvation that we have experienced in the Lord - firstly, it is possible only with the Spirit: for no one can proclaim that Jesus is Lord except through the Spirit. Secondly, it is the Spirit that makes the witness efficacious. 

When we submit to the Lord, the Father fills us with the Spirit says Jesus today in the Gospel...and that is what is needed utmost in our lives. It is happily surprising to see the way the Apostles looked at, understood and related with the Spirit: We and the Holy Spirit are witnesses to these things! For them the Spirit was someone who lived with them, within them!

They had three dispositions to the Spirit that were remarkable: first, sense of proximity: they felt the Spirit so close to them; second, sense of collaboration: they identified themselves as co-workers with the Spirit; and third, sense of docility: an absolute obedience and allegiance to the Spirit that they listened to no one else other than God.

Today, our Christian witness would go a long way in bringing the Lord to the people and bringing the people to the Lord, if the Spirit becomes our constant life companion!

God so loves!

WORD 2day: 2nd Wednesday of Easter

May 1, 2019: Feast of St. Joseph, the Worker
Acts 5: 17-26; John 3: 16-21 

Acts of the Apostles, beginning with the Ascension of the Lord, contains as many wondrous events that took place as in any of the Gospels. We see a totally different kind of persons in the apostles. They were confident, truly courageous and absolutely committed - this was never the case when they were going around with Jesus. What made the difference? The difference was that they realised, 'God so loved the world...'!

"God so loves", is such a powerful realisation that it can make many things happen even in a heart that appears to be the most arid of all. The disciples realised what Jesus did to them only after the Lord had left them! They also realised the immense plan that God had for humanity and for themselves, in and through the Christ event. They were so filled with the Holy Spirit that they felt the effect of it all over their selves. The fundamental of all these: the realisation of how much God loved them and us!

Today we have another great person that we celebrate - St. Joseph the Worker. The work that he carried out did not consist only of the carpentry that he supposedly involved in, but primarily, all the running about that he had to do for the sake of the Holy Family! That was within God's plan! If we go to look at it from the standards of the world: Joseph had nothing to gain from it! But he did it all, because he realised how much God loved humanity, how much God loved him and how much God wanted to share God's love with the humanity through God's Son!

On this occasion when we focus on the rights and recognition of the Working classes and their contribution to the common well being of humanity, we are called to realise that true commitment to the Lord and any real conversion can happen only where there is a personal realisation of how much God loves me! And all that I do has to become a fruit of that realisation!

Meditate everyday on the love of God for you personally and you will see the change of perspective it can offer!

From oneself to ONE SELF

WORD 2day: 2nd Tuesday of Easter

April 30, 2019: Acts 4: 32-37; John 3: 7-15

We have today a picture perfect explanation of the First Christian Community. What an inspiring life they had lived, that in no time thousands joined them. The Apostles led by example! But one thing that we need to keep in mind: they were not always the same. Peter did not like Mathew joining the band; James and John wanted the posts of authority and cut a bad figure among the rest; Judas always aimed at the coffer; Thomas cared two hoots for the opinions of others...they were all fundamentally and unsurprisingly a selfish lot. The beauty and the challenge from them is, how they were transformed from their self centered lives to a selfless communion. That was a transformation from oneself to ONE SELF. They could not have done it all by themselves.

This transformation to One Self, is what Jesus means in the Gospel: being born of the Spirit. Being born of the One Spirit, they were all transformed into One Self, One body in Christ, One community of believers, One in heart and mind.

Today we are called to examine our lives - both personal and that in common - whether we are ruled and guided by selfish interests or by the overarching Spirit that makes us One. People filled with the Spirit can give up anything for the Communion that makes the presence of the Lord felt here amidst us.

Let us embark upon this journey, from oneself to ONE SELF.

The Spirit Rocks!

WORD 2day : 2nd Monday of Easter

April 29, 2019: Acts 4: 23-31; John 3:1-8

The Spirit rocks and the Early Christian Community experienced it in concrete. The Spirit rocks, rocks in two ways: one, it rocks the complacency of an individual's or community's heart; second, it rocks the entire thing around that every one experiences something that he or she has been dreaming about. 

There have been people in history who were rocked by the Spirit in their heart...right from Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and the prophets, right upto John the Baptist and Nicodemus today, they were rocked in the spirit and they began searching for the eternal truth. 

When the Spirit raised people, it rocked the entire world and history. Things were changed as they were never before. Today the Spirit awaits to rock the world through you and me. Being instruments in the hands of the Lord is to rock the world in the Lord's name - the Spirit will do it if only we are ready to yield! 

Are we ready to rock... let us let the Spirit within us really rock!

THE MERCY, THE MERCIFUL AND ME!

Divine Mercy Sunday - Second Sunday of Easter

April 28, 2019: Acts 5:12-16; Revelation 1: 9-13, 17-19; John 20: 19-31 

The Risen Christ is the face of the Mercy of God;  the Risen Lord appears to strengthen the Faith of his disciples. They see and they believe. They bore witness to this belief and passed it on and a community was built around. Today we are the continuity of that community, which has the call and the command to make present this mercy... making the Reign of God possible here and now!

CHRIST, THE MERCY: Thanks to Pope St. John Paul II, we have a great feast to celebrate today! The Mercy of God is essentially that aspect of God accepting us as God's children without any conditions. 'If you should see our guilt O Lord , who can stand before you', exclaims the Psalmist. God chooses not to see our limitations and our failures. Just look at the way Jesus overlooks the incredulity of the apostles - we have an illustrious example of Thomas today in the Gospel. The blood and water that flowed from the heart of Jesus is the proof that Jesus is the face of the mercy of God. As the true Son of God, Christ made present God in his words, works, choices and priorities. He lived as the face of the Mercy of God here on earth.

CHRISTIANS, THE MERCIFUL: You believe because you have seen, blessed are those who haven't seen yet believe. Faith is not having to see, not having to look for proofs, not having to rely on evidences but accepting in the depths of our beings the merciful presence of the Risen Lord with us, all our life. The fundamental message of resurrection consists in the hope of the presence of the Lord with us; it experiencing the mercy of God in and through Christ, in such a deep manner that we become personifications of that mercy. Only the merciful can deserve to be called Christians. The disciples knew it. The Apostles were convinced of it. That is why they became extensions of the presence of Christ... they were living testimonies to what Christ had promised: 'those who believe in me shall do what I do, and even greater' (Jn 14:12). They made Christ's presence felt, they became the face of the face of the mercy of God, here on earth. Just as the Father sent me, so I send you... be merciful as your heavenly father is, says Our Lord.

CHRIST'S MERCY AND ME: Relying on the Mercy of God and basing ourselves on the faith we have in Christ, we are called to live a life of trust and mercy. We are called to grow more and more merciful, like the Father Himself. Today we have the call and the way to live it, both outlined in the readings. It is a special gift to grow in that sensitivity with which we readily notice the hand of God in the developments that surround us. Mercy is not merely an emotional momentary response to something that happens. For instance, an event such as the Srilankan Easter Carnage would instantly draw us to an emotional outbreak but that would not sufficiently amount to mercy. Mercy would be a determined convinced choice to stand by the affected, the suffering, the oppressed, the weak, the voiceless, the lonely, the marginalised, the deprived, the exploited, the innocent, the righteous, in short, a choice for the Reign here and now! Am I truly prepared for such a choice? 

Christ, the Mercy of God makes us Christians true instruments of the Mercy of God and it is my choice to make of myself a true Christian, that is a person who is truly Merciful.

May our hearts and our lives be filled with the Mercy of God!

Easter People - the command and obedience

Easter Octave - Saturday

April 27, 2019: Acts 4: 13-21; Mark 16: 9-15

The Apostles in front of the elders and the high priests were not saying anything untrue, nor were they speaking figuratively. They were stating a fact: that they have received a command from their Master and their obedience to that command is absolute. The Gospel presents to us that scene where the command was given. There is something very important to note here. That command was not for the apostles alone!

I remember an experience from our Scout Master's Training days (it is still fresh though 20 years have passed). The Leader-Trainer would demonstrate the drill standing in front of the troop and he would announce: "the Command is only for me" and then proceed with the demo. When Jesus lived with his disciples he was in the command-is-only-for-me mode. But once he demonstrated what it means to take the good news of the Reign of God to the people, he opened the command to the rest of his followers. The command was not for the apostles alone, but for every person who wanted to follow Christ. In fact, it is not that the command is for the apostles but that every one who receives the command becomes an apostle! 

He has shown us by example what it means to live that command on a daily basis, and become truly his apostles. The way to become his apostles is evidently, to realise today, that we have received the command too. 

The threatening circumstances and ruthless fanaticism, like that of the Srilankan Easter Carnage which is still so fresh in our minds or scores of other forms of inhuman realities all around, can warn us as the elders and the high priests did: do not speak of the good news from Christ. But whom are we going to obey? These threatening subhumans? Or the Divine Master who became human and showed us what it really meant?

Let us remember, Easter People know the command and they know whom to obey!