The real glory of a true disciple

WORD 2day: Tuesday after Ascension

May 26, 2020: Acts 20: 17-27; John 17: 1-11a

"Father the hour has come, give glory to your Son, that your Son may glorify you!" prays Jesus. The glory that he talks of is the baptism of blood, the cup of suffering that Jesus was preparing to take up! Not just himself, but all those who believed him were destined to that cup and to that baptism, says Jesus (Mk 10:39; Mt 20:23). 

St. Paul understood this perfectly. Though he knew well, instructed by the Holy Spirit, that suffering and imprisonment awaited wherever he went, he does not hesitate. He was more than prepared for the cup of suffering, for the baptism of blood! Today we hear him say that in terms so clear: I consider life of no importance to me! For him all that mattered was to carry the Good news to the farthest that he could! 

For us it sounds good, means great and appears lofty, but does it really become our way of life? Every time a suffering comes my way, the first thought that crosses my mind is, why me! And as if it were alright some other time, why now? The fact is that whatever be the moment we would ask that same question. As soon as a grief or a burden befalls someone, we have to take a giant effort to justify it and negate it and decry that God would prevent, and protect, and deliver and so on and so forth! Why all these fretting? Why are we so slow to submit ourselves to the eternal design of God? Why is it so difficult to surrender to the plan of God, instead of suggesting all types of adjustments to the Lord?

How many times I would have languished that I don't get any consolation from God for belonging to God, for being on God's side and for speaking on behalf of God! Do I really understand in Jesus' terms, the real glory of a true disciple?

As disciples of the Lord who has conquered the world...

WORD 2day: Monday after Ascension

May 25, 2020: Acts 19:1-8; John 16: 29-33

Take courage, I have conquered the world, declares Jesus! With Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father (cf Eph 1:20), the apostles and the early Church, found a great power in their witness and in their proclamation. The gift of the Holy Spirit was an absolute boost to the faith community and their faith, and its expressions reach a totally different level with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of the Lord is the Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (cf. 2 Tim 1:7) and that is what the Lord fills us with. We are the temple of this Spirit and the Spirit dwells in us. At times we live like sleeping giants, with the Spirit stifled to be dormant within us. The days to follow are days in preparation towards the feast of Pentecost: a reminder of the Spirit that we are all gifted with; a challenge to surrender to the Spirit and become active agents of the Spirit.

Let us thank God that we are not in a position to say, "we have never even heard that there is a holy spirit" ( Acts 19:2). However, let us become aware of the power that the Spirit brings to our life and our faith. With the Spirit, and only with the Spirit, can we be true disciples of the Lord who has conquered the world!

GONE... TO BE WITH US

May 24, 2020: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1: 1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28: 16-20

It was just after the vigil mass of Ascension, a youngster was overheard speaking to her friends, almost arguing, 'but, why did the disciples just let Jesus go? They should have created a ruckus and made sure Jesus couldn't go. I would have done it, if it were me!' The young assistant parish priest thought it was a good point for him to offer an explanation as to what Ascension of Christ truly means. For many of us too, who think Jesus need not have gone, the explanation could be a crucial fact to remember. 

Jesus had gone; but he had not abandoned us, as he himself had promised. Jesus' ascension does not mean Jesus has gone away but Jesus has gone up to be with us more than before. If Jesus had continued to stay on in that incarnate form forever (think of it just an hypothesis), he would have remained in Jerusalem, Judea and the surroundings. But Jesus went up to the Father and thus he has begun to stay with every one worldwide. As Jesus promises in the gospel today: I shall be with you till the end of times. To be with us, Jesus had to go; he went, and that is what we celebrate today - the Ascension.

Going to the Father did not mean for Jesus, distancing himself from us! It was a way of involving himself more into our lives. To be close to all, and not just to a few! Jesus goes, so that he can be everywhere and with everyone and always! 

Going to the Father did not mean for Jesus, forgetting his self emptying! Jesus gave up the status of being God and emptied himself. Going back to the father is not merely taking up once again the Godhood but becoming the mediator. We have a mediator par excellence!

Going to the Father did not mean for Jesus, that he is done with the humanity! Jesus continues to challenge humanity to grow up, and follow him to the Father's house. Jesus gives us a roadmap, a precedence, a clear plan of life. Keep growing until you ascend to the Father.

Jesus would not have kept his promise, "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age," if he were not to ascend to his Father. In fact, in ascension we remember the fact that he is gone to his father, he is gone so that he can be with us always and everywhere. The second reading explains to us that Jesus has ascended to his Father and sits on His right, thus being present to us universally and incessantly.

The event that we celebrate today, has three biddings for us to hearken to, the three things that the readings speak to us:  

The first message is: GO! Why are you standing and staring at the sky... he is gone, now it is time for you to go! Jesus ascends to the Father to remind us that we are not permanent here, and our permanent abode is elsewhere. "We are longing for a better country; the heavenly one!" says the letter to the Hebrews (Cf. 11:16). Ascension, is a reminder to go, to keep going, not to get fixed, not to grow complacent, not to get stuck! Again the movement upwards is very significant in this regard. 

The second message is: GO and PROCLAIM! The Lord commissions the disciples as they surround Him for the final farewell. It is a parting commission, the last wish - that the believers go and make disciples. Making disciples is first of all through inspiration, through the contagious fire within, through the life style that challenges even the onlooker to get closer in order that he or she may understand what makes all the difference that there is. To proclaim is the parting task entrusted to us!

The third message is: GO, PROCLAIM and FEAR NOT! As we heard the Lord saying a few days ago to St. Paul: 'Go on speaking, and do not be silent... for I am with you (Acts 18:9,10). The Ascension of the Lord fills us with hope, a hope that the Lord is ever with us. This hope rules out any fear of future and judgement. It is only in the absence of fear that love gets deepened. Fear not, hope in me, for I am with you, I will be with you until the end of the ages.

To go is a challenge; to go and proclaim is the command; and to go, proclaim and not to fear is the promise of the companionship of the Lord. The Lord ascends today but we are not abandoned, because the presence of the Lord continues to be. The Lord has gone, but he has gone so that he could be with us, evermore effectively and universally. It is upto you and me, to realise that presence, believe in that presence and draw strength from that presence, to live our daily life worthy of the One who loves to remain with us!

The Name: Jesus, the Christ

WORD 2day: Saturday before Ascension Sunday

May 23, 2020: 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, 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! That 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 not an opportunity to judge the "others" but it is gratitude that should fill our hearts for the privilege given. 

Ask a question, Is Jesus my Christ? If you very easily said 'yes', ask that question again looking closely at your values and attitudes of daily life: Is Jesus really my Christ?

The Divine Assurances

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

May 22, 2020: 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.  What an assurance and a what a challenge!

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. Look at the metaphor that Jesus offers - the childbirth. Can there be a better one at that? It is a matter of life and death for the mother; but at the climax of it all, when she holds the baby in her hand, it is a whole new life, a whole new world, a whole new reality not only for her, but for all those who are connected to her, for the entire family.

The strengthening presence of the Lord and the awaiting joy in the Lord: we are called to claim these promises in our daily life and more importantly, we are called be the fulfillment of these promises for those around us who are needy, the real poor, the suffering and the troubled in spirit. Instead of questioning how the Lord is present amidst sorrows, can I strive to be God's strengthening presence to the weak and the suffering? Instead of being critical about a future joy promised, can I be the source of simple joys for those around me?

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 within each of us, leading us to be the joyful, strengthening presence of the Lord for everyone we encounter today.

To Leave... it is a missionary challenge!

WORD 2day: Thursday, sixth week in Easter time

May 21, 2020: Acts 18: 1-8; John 16: 16-20

Today is the Ascension day! But in many places (not all certainly), in order to celebrate the Solemnity on Sunday, they continue till the end of the week, as weekdays of the sixth week in the Easter time. So here too, we shall reflect on today's Word.

Paul leaves; he leaves Athens for Corinth, he leaves the Jews for the Gentiles. Jesus leaves; he leaves his earthly life and his friend disciples and prepares to go to his Father and our Father! You should glad that I leave, because I go to the Father and from there I shall draw you to myself, because where I am, you shall be too: what lovely words of Jesus these were! 

Be it Jesus, the missionary of the Father or Paul, the missionary of Christ the Word from the Father, they were able to 'leave' because their eyes were fixed on the mission that was entrusted to them: nothing that came in between, neither success nor failure, neither helps nor hindrances, neither pains nor pleasures - nothing could keep them back, no affections or no attachments. 

Another point the readings today point to: 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 were 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... it is indeed a missionary challenge!

In Him...

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

May 20, 2020: 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 has a very special insight into understanding Jesus' mind.  That is why he was able to declare, "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me!" (Gal 2:20). Christ lives in me, when I decide to live IN HIM. That decision I can arrive at only in the Spirit.

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, "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 it is simple: keeping His commandments; that is the secret of living in Him.

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, a life lived in Him, lived in the Spirit, lived in Christ, lived in the Risen Lord, lived in the very Author of life!

Let us prepare ourselves these days to receive the Spirit, the Spirit of the Risen Lord, the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom, which the Father will send after Christ the Son ascends to the Father's right hand. The crux of Christian perfection is not in anything that we DO, it is in living, moving and having our being, IN HIM.

Welcoming the Advocate!

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

May 19, 2020: 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.

It is the Advocate that Jesus promised to his disciples who makes the entire difference and the difference is enormous. 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. 

Added to this, Jesus says, when the Spirit comes the Spirit will 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. In spite of these, if the person chooses to fall, decides to choose the evil, sides the evil and despises good, ignores the truth and passively permits the untruth...who is to be blamed? Is not a conviction needed there!

Sin, righteousness and judgement - they decide the quality of one's witnessing life. Receiving the Spirit is not merely receiving some magical power but it is facing the truth, encountering the all-knowing Divine, opening yourself completely before the finger of judgement. Are we really prepared to welcome the Advocate who is to come?

On our way to the Reign

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

May 18, 2020: Acts 16: 11-15; John 15: 26 - 16: 4

Jesus has begun to speak of the Spirit to the apostles, from last week onwards... a sign that there is a different kind of a presence that we have to get prepared for. A different kind of a life style, a new graduated kind of a life and habits and attitudes. The life in the Spirit, is the new existence we need to prepare ourselves for. 

"The Spirit of truth" that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel is witnessed to be at work in the first reading event from the Acts of the Apostles - that 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.

This discrepancy comes to the fore in our day to day experience too, when we find the Spirit at work within us. We will feel an urge to spread the Word, but will be faced with obstacles and hurdles: it is the Spirit of the Lord who leads us to discern the right way that a believing community should take at a particular point of time. Priorities differ, principles of decision making change, the criteria of choices are update, because we are in a graduated phase, and well on our way to the Reign.

The persecutions may abound, yet the final result will be a 'revival'...and that is what we hope for. Let our hearts, homes and our households be filled with the Spirit of truth, that we may set in motion real journey, always mindful of the fact that we are well on our way to the Reign of God. 

THE CHALLENGE TO GRADUATE

The need to move on, move in and move up!

May 17, 2020: 6th Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:5-8,14-17; 1 Peter 3: 15-18; John 14: 15-21

Our life is a process, a process of continuous growth; so is faith. Our faith is not a static assertion of some facts or some set of information, as we often mistakenly imagine it to be. Faith is a dynamic experience, a rapport within and with persons and realities around based on the relationship we have with God as its foundation. In this progress, we are called to keep moving on! This moving on need not be always moving out, it could also essentially be a moving in. And especially in faith, it is basically a call to move up, ever more closer to the One who has called us, scaling up towards our perfection. We have today from the Risen Lord, the challenge to Graduate in our life our faith!

Jesus seems to be winding up his course... and he challenges his disciples to Graduate. He does the same to us: he challenges us to Graduate, in our life of faith and not remain the same little children we began this journey as. And the challenge can be broken up into three movements - moving on, moving in and moving up!

Move on! says Jesus to his apostles and to us. In a little while the world will no longer see me, tells the Lord. He prepares to bid them farewell, telling them the current phase is getting to a close, and the new phase is round the corner; they need to get ready for it. Move on, don't get stuck - be it to good times or to trying times, don't get stuck. There were glorious times when they went around with the Lord and saw miracles and wonders, healings and resuscitations. There were tough times when they saw the very same Jesus being crucified and buried, hid themselves from the threatening powers. The Risen Lord invites them not to get stuck to any of these, for they were phases of transformation, periods of growth, through which he wanted the disciples to graduate, progress, grow up. The apostles understood this...they moved on! They were all over the place preaching Christ and ushering in the new phase that Jesus had promised them. In the first reading today we see Phillip doing that in the Samaritan quarters, opening up the Jewish world to the rest of the human kind and reaching out with the love of God, a love that was universal - that was a graduation, a moving on!

Today, we are called to move on too... from this experience of fear and anxiety of the lock down to the next phase of opening up our minds and hearts to the next level. We are called to move on too... from our tendency to think only about ourselves and not about the other, the others, the common home, the universe, the entire reality that we are part of. Let us move on, moving on is an essential mark of graduating in our faith life. Let us not get stuck to our individual experiences but look at them as a source of inspiration for progress, for moving on, for graduation!

Move in! clarifies Jesus. As a means and an aid to graduate, Jesus promises an advocate. I shall ask the Father and the Father will give you another advocate, the Spirit of Truth and Jesus goes on to clarify: the Spirit is with you, the Spirit is in you! The Indwelling Spirit is the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promises as the guarantee of graduation. Though graduation is moving on, it may not always mean moving out, it could be more moving in. Moving into oneself. Becoming aware of one's own innermost thoughts, attitudes, tendencies and priorities and working on them with the help of the Spirit who dwells within us to assist us and to strengthen us. St. Peter invites us to exactly this, when he calls us in the second reading to live a life in the spirit, that we may be raised as Jesus was raised in the spirit - and that involves suffering for the right, for truth, for righteousness, for justice and for integrity. 

Quarantine and isolation, need not be always a painful experience. It could well serve as a school of solitude! To enter that interior castle within our self, understanding ourselves at a closer view, analysing ourselves and growing through it... that is moving in, moving in to ourselves, moving in to our conscience, moving in to our interior self, moving in to the core of our being and becoming aware of what and who is at work there! Is it the Indwelling Spirit...that is would be a sign of graduation in faith. 

Move up! invites Jesus. Move up, as an expression means to get closer to a person, in order to say something or do something! And Jesus invites his disciples to move up to the Father and experience in the Father the love that Jesus came to share with them. Jesus is challenging them, and us, to graduate to that experience where "you will understand that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you!" Naturally Jesus seems to be instructing his disciples towards the next level of their encounter. He seems to be telling them: I came in order that I may put you in direct touch with my Father, and here comes the Spirit to sustain that relationship...here you go, grow in that communion! A true graduation of faith life.

Our life of faith is not merely doing something or fulfilling some requisites, it is a relationship, a communion, an integral harmony within and without, where everything dissolves into One, True Bliss (Sat Cit Ananda). There cannot be contrasts and confusions, there cannot be competitions and compromises, there cannot be hatred or indifference... what remains in that graduated faith life is - Oneness, Love and Eternal Happiness! Love each other as a sign of your love for the Divine who loves you so intimately, unconditionally! In that love and harmony, you shall sense the indwelling divine, the Advocate the Father has given you, the presence of God within that you need to become more and more aware of. 

Graduate, is the challenge today! To graduate in our life our faith and move on to the higher plane of living your faith, to move in and find the source of true meaning within you and to move up to the Divine and establish a long lasting relationship. May the Risen Lord, the Spirit of God and the love of the Father help us grow everyday!