Conversion - An absolute choice for God

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

January 25, 2021: Conversion of Saul to Paul

Acts 22: 3-16; Mark 16: 15-18

The feast of Conversion of St. Paul invites us to reflect on our conversion. Unfortunately, in today's context, the word 'conversion' has more political connotation than spiritual! 

In fact today is a beautiful occasion for us to remind ourselves that conversion is not about numbers and increasing the fold. It is a personal decision to go towards God, an about-turn (as the Greek word 'metanoia' suggests); it is an absolute choice for God! Choice for God...because we begin to see the role that God has played in our life and choose to actively acknowledge it; Absolute... because nothing else matters as much as God and God's will do! 

We are called to conversion... may not be as dramatic as that of St. Paul's, as we read in the first reading today, but more demanding! Yes, we are called to daily conversion. To be aware, each day and each moment, of those things that take us away from our progress towards God. Nothing - no demonic powers, no distracting languages, no cunning serpents, no poisoning lifestyle - should lead us away from God... we are called to make an absolute choice every day, for God and for God's Word. Not merely in words but by my very life, I am obliged to proclaim God's message. "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel," reminds me St.Paul (1 Cor 9:16). 

Notice the very first question that Paul asks the Lord after he recognises it was the Lord: What am I to do Lord? That is a relevant question for each of us to ask every day: What am I to do Lord, to turn to you and to make an absolute choice for you! 

GOD CALLING...

What is my response today?

January 24, 2021: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Just imagine you get a call on your mobile today: GOD CALLING...What would be your response! In fact, the Word today speaks to us of a reality close to it. The Lord calls each of us today; right now! What is our responnse going to be?

We can DECLINE it...swiping the red button! I have been given the freedom to say "yes" to God. I can use the same freedom to say NO. And that is the fact - many in the world today are continuously saying that no to the Lord. In the choices that they make, in the attitudes that the take, in the decisions they abide by, even by the silence that many observe in the face of things that revolt, militate against God, many are saying no! They are declining that call that God gives on a daily basis.

We can set a REMINDER to it...saying, 'may be, I will decide on it later!'. But the Lord says, "The time has come... you cannot postpone it any longer'. We cannot postpone it, we cannot have it our way! Today, we need to respond to the Lord. Today, we need to take up the cause of the Lord. If I wait for a tomorrow, the difference that I have to make will no more be relevant. If the Lord calls me today, to do something, to say something, to take upto something, there is a particular purpose for it. I cannot postpone it. The disciples did not postpone it, they left everything and instantly followed Christ.

We can send a MESSAGE to the Lord... saying, 'you see, it is not convenient right now or it is not convenient the way you want it' - oh, how presumptuous of us! Jonah tried it. He had difference of opinion from the Lord. He resisted. He wanted his way. We know the Lord gave him an unforgettable experience to realise, after all the Lord had it right! The Lord is always right, we do not understand things that happen in our life. At least, Jonah has the openness to throw himself into the hands of God and allow God to take him where God wanted. 

The ideal is to ACCEPT the call! Yes Lord, Here I come to do your will. Take me O Lord and use me as you wish! I shall be a humble instrument in your hand, do great things for the world. I shall be a simple harp in your hand, make my life a music. I shall be a little pencil in your hands, go ahead and work your masterpiece! Yes, Speak O Lord, I am listening!

Getting out of our minds!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 23, 2021: Hebrew 9: 2-3, 11-14; Mark 3: 20-21

They thought Jesus had gone out of his mind - because of the hectic programme he had for himself. But for Jesus it was a clear choice: my food is to do the will of the one who sent me, he declaredn (Jn 4). He rejoiced with the little ones who recognised God, and cried with those who struggled to feel God close to them. He empathised with the poor and the sick and sought out the sinners and the outcast! Indeed, his choices were considered strange and he was judged to be out of his mind, even by his own relatives.

The first reading relates to us, why this choice on the part of Jesus - because he had a special calling and he was aware of it. He took that call so serious, that his choices were radical. He was bordering on the state of being called 'strange' and 'abnormal'. But all these, for the sake of the Reign of God, Seek ye first the Reign and every thing else shall be given unto you (Mt 6:36).

As people of God, as children of the Almighty Father and Mother, as brothers and sisters of Jesus, as disciples of Christ, as people of the Spirit, we are called too, to imitate Christ in his commitment to God's will. Are we ready to "get out of our minds"? 

The world today is going out of its mind too...for the sake of money, pleasure, possession and power, persons are going crazy, and wierd. They dare do anything to hoard money, increase pleasure, hold on to possessions, and garner power over others! But when some one shows a similar commitnent in things pertaining to God and Spirituality, he or she is considered 'strange', 'abnormal', 'queer' and 'lunatic'! 

The question today is: how passionate are we about the Reign and its values... how ready and daring are we about 'getting out of our minds'?

New People: with and in Christ

WORD 2day: Friday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 22, 2021: Hebrew 8:6-13; Mark 3: 13-19

New covenant, new people, new faith, new community, new life: for behold I make all things new. ..this is the theme that dominated the life of the early Christians. And that was what made them so attractive. Their life style and values brought freshness and zest for life. All this newness came from one fundamental experience - the experience of a new relationship with Christ and in Christ.

Their relationship with Christ defined their new existence. Their identities were renewed and their lives were transformed, Christ and relationship with Christ was not one of the things that marked their meaning to life, but was that which pervaded their entire life and reality, changing every bit of life and its significance.

Another salient feature of their new found life was their relationships in Christ - in Christ they found a new relationship with God and with one another. Their relationship with Christ affected their relationships in Christ... they began to see themselves as sons and daughters of God, beloved and blessed; they found in each other true brothers and sisters in Christ, bonded in love and not bound by some give and take transaction. Their relationships in Christ created a whole new society, a whole new world!

Let us make this two-fold reflecttion today: how is my relationship with Christ who wishes to draw me closer to himself every day; and how are my relationships with others founded in Christ? These will make us New people with and in Christ!

Power from above

THE WORD AND THE SAINT 

January 21, 2021: Remembering St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Hebrew 7: 25 - 8:6; Mark 3: 7-12

Jesus possessed the power from above and that was sensed by all, specially by the evil spirits that he often encountered. It is not that some did not notice it, because it was so obvious - only that, some were not ready to acknowledge it. It is by this power from above that Jesus became the high priest who can save all of us - the power given to him by the Father. 

Each of us has received our share of this power to be called the people of God and to live a life that is proper to that call. What if we are mindful of this power and start using this power - of course the opposition from the enemy camp will be more, but will we not set ourselves up as great signs of God's presence to this world that needs it so badly? 

Another question that is more crucially relevant is: to what end are you willing to use this power - your own selfish ends or for the greater glory of God? In a world that is torn between compromises and mixed allegiances, St. Agnes' example shines forth as a splendid beacon, beckoning us towards concrete and daily sanctity, as a manifestation of the power invested within us. The Power that comes from God does not make us arrogant or aggressive, but it makes us more meek, humble, gentle and totally belonging to God -thus making us signs of God's presence to the world around. 

Let us remember this day and reflect everyday - we are made children of God by the power from above! And if only we decide to live every moment as true children of God, without compromises or connivances, we shall remain great signs of this 'power from above.'

Worship: Total Self Giving

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 20, 2021: Hebrews 7: 1-3,15-17; Mark 3: 1-6

The readings today speak of two religious disciplines that mattered much to the Old Testament people of God: the practice of tithing and the observance of the Sabbath. Both of them taken in their legalistic sense, would be practices very simple but of less significance. A tenth of your possession given grudgingly, or as in the example of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5) trying to make it as less affecting as possible, will bear no spiritual fruit. 

Keeping Sabbath as a day of dead and insensitive inactivity, instead of holy and active worship to God, will be of no spiritual value. The key to right understanding of true worship is given here - not giving of what we have, but giving of what we are: a true and total self giving.

Faithfulness vs faithfulness

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 2ne week in Ordinary time

January 19, 2021: Hebrew 6: 10-20; Mark 2: 23-28 

The crux of the the first reading today, or for that matter even of the whole Gospels, is the fact that God is faithful forever. God's faithfulness never ceases and the question is, how do we find our faithfulness vis-a-vis that of God! 

In demonstration of God's faithfulness, God gives! God gives without count, without any limit, without restraint, without conditions, without anything expected in return. What do we do to demonstrate our faithfulness to God? A weekly appointment and a few fragmented moments every day and some special day's activities? All of them so legalistically followed sometimes with such insensitivity towards expressing our true love and gratitude...today let's give this dimension a serious thought: God's Faithfulness versus our faithfulness!

God's faithfulness is manifested all through history and in our daily life to. The words of the psalmist, 'if you should consider our iniquities, who would stand before you O Lord,' is a practical reminder of the fact of God's faithfulness towards us. St. Paul writing to Timothy explains, 'if we are faithless, God is faithful' (2Tim 2:13). God's faithfulness is a gift, a reminder and a challenge, that invites us to remain faithful. The concrete expression of our faithfulness towards God, is our faithfulness towards fellow human beings and towards humanity as a whole.

The rising conflicts in relationships at all levels, personal, familial, social, global and so on, is but a sign of how unfaithful towards God we are growing to be! The havoc that is done by this faithlessness, is enormous and we are witness of the damages. Is it not high time to halt, think and renew our faithfulness to God, modeling ourselves after the faithfulness of God?

The New people

WORD 2day: Monday, 2nd week in Ordinary time

January 18, 2021: Hebrew 5:1-10; Mark 2: 18-22

When the Lord announces in the book of revelation, 'Behold I make all things new,'... we know well that it's not merely about some "things" to be made again or re-created; it's primarily about a new mentality, a new perspective that God wants to instil and inspire in us. The source and the spring of this new perspective is Christ himself. He is at the same time the priest and the sacrifice; the prophet and the Lord of the prophets!

In fact with a new way of relating with us, with the unique way of sharing our very nature, Christ makes us a new people! And that is what the Lord wants to see in us: our new selves, free from the shackles of the past and the prejudices of the ages, to relate with each other anew and to live with each other without any conditions or preconceived notions.

Being new persons is not being strange, but being recreated in the Spirit, being imbued with the newness of the Gospel and being inspiring and to some extent being even scandalous. Some truly Christian attitudes are scandalous - forgetting the evil done to oneself, forgiving the harm intended, loving the one who hurt you, doing good in spite of the evil done against you, helping someone whom you hardly know or from whom you can expect no return, standing by the weak and the helpless despire the inconveniences and discomfort that is cause to oneself - these are scandalous, aren't they? 

We are called to conform to the Spirit of Christ, not conform to the practice and system around. That is the crux of being New people today!

COME, SEE AND BE

Inspiration, Invitation and Institution 

January 17, 2021: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary time 

Samuel 3: 3b-10,19 ; 1 Corinthians 6: 13c-15a, 17-20 ; John 1: 35-42

Our life is a call and more specifically our Christian life is a demanding call. Having reflected last week on the Call of Jesus, last week with his Baptism, this week the Word speaks to us of our call from Jesus! It involves an inspiration, an invitation and an institution! 

The first reading, from the life of Samuel highlights the inspiration we have received. Inspiration is from within. It requires that we are attentive in order that we do not miss it. A friend of mine recently resigned his job and opted another underpaid job. When asked why, he said that he felt that the former job was keeping him away from the Church, eating away his Sundays and a great portion of even the other days. I asked him how he did come to decide on such a thing. And he said, 'I just felt it'. It is significant to note that he had very recently become a Catholic, in spite of strong resistance from the rest of his family.

Inspiration is the intervention of Spirit into our concrete lives, making us discern the will of God and work out our salvation. There are directions that come our way, as to what to do and what to choose, and if only we are attentive to the signs and events, we would know exactly what choices to make! At times we care so less about what God wants of us, that we decide on something wrong and reap the fruits of it - complaining that the Lord is too hard with us! How great a gift inspiration is!

The Gospel extends the invitation to come and see. The fact that we are inspired is undeniable, for every one of us is guided and led by the Spirit who resides within us (as the Second reading reminds us). But the crucial element is for us to 'see'... to take note of... to understand what we are inspired about. The invitation is to behold the message from the Lord, to make our contact with the Lord an experience and not just an appointment.

There is a standing invitation from the Lord to belong to the Lord, in body and soul, in spirit and mind, in time and space! The invitation is at the same time a challenge, challenging us to belong to the Lord. That invitation and challenge has been age old - Hear O Israel, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your might and with all your strength. That love is indeed a challenge to belong to the Lord and to the Lord alone.

The call to be a Christian is not a call of an individual, it is a call to be a communion of persons, to be an institution. It is a call to form One Body with the Lord - united with the brothers and sisters in love, instituted into a sign of hope to everyone around who is looking out for something to hold on to in life. The world today may appear so critical about Christians, but it is only an expression of the expectations they have of us: that as one family of hope-filled people, one institution of Christ filled persons, we radiate the joy that the humanity stands in need of.

Let us be attentive to the inspiration within, heed to the invitation from above and belong to the institution that we are called to become - the Church, the people of God, the believing Community, brothers and sisters in love!

Divine Solidarity that makes us complete

WORD 2day: Saturday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 16, 2021: Hebrew 4:12-16; Mark 2: 13-17

The Word became human and lived amidst us, sharing every bit of our reality, everything except sin. The same Word lives with us and within us today, enlightening us, sustaining us and making us complete. 

As the psalmist instructs us, the Lord knows me through and through, knows when I sit and when I stand, even before a word is on my mouth, the Lord knows what I am about to say and knows even the thoughts in my heart. 

These knowings are not for judging me or conditioning me, they are not means of labeling or categorising me...they are means of Divine Solidarity that makes me Whole. God the only Complete Being, chooses to complete my being, in spite of my unworthiness and imperfections. 

This Divine Solidarity is a grace and a vocation. Grace, because we know we are loved forever without conditions or limits. That is our Identity - people loved by God. It is a Vocation, because we are called to imitate the same solidarity in Empathy - not judging and gossiping, calumniating and scandalising, but feeling one with the weak and healing those with hurts. We are called to empathise, build up solidarity among us because, one of the fundamental expressions of true love is solidarity.