Who is your hero?

WORD 2day: Monday, 4th week in Ordinary time

February 1, 2021: Hebrew 11:32-40; Mark 5:1-20

There is a book with an interesting title, 'even God has His champions!' It speaks of 120 saints and martyrs in history who have borne God's message to the world of their times. 

The first reading from the letter to the Hebrews lists today a set of heroes, heroes of valour and vigour, heroes in history on whom the people pinned their hopes! But the letter adds an important but realistic twist... these heroes, they were all gone in the way of their fathers. That is an inevitable fact. However good or great they are, they are to be gone in time! 

Today we too have our own heroes - persons or role models or absolute values or needs or priorities - heroes of various kind. It is important to ask ourselves who is our hero and what becomes the defining value of our lives!

With what Jesus did to the people of Gerasenes, they should have made him their hero. Jesus solved their years of problem in a moment. He just sent the legion of demons away from their living quarters...but was Jesus their hero? No! They asked Jesus to leave - may be because they felt their loss (of the swines) was too much to bear! No, they had some other things as their hero - not exactly what Jesus could offer them. 

The crucial question is back: who is your hero?

ABSOLUTE ALLEGIANCE TO THE ALMIGHTY

like children who cling to their parents...

January 31, 2021: 4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time
Deuteronomy 18: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35; Mark 1: 21-28

It was a home for street kids. As I entered, a calendar caught my attention. It had the words running thus: with the young missionaries of hope and joy. I hoped to see some young religious in formation or some people getting ready to go on a mission. But the picture that accompanied it was more surprising. It was a click of a bunch of street kids with eyes all shining and faces beaming with smiles. They had called them 'missionaries of hope and joy.' Today's first reading came alive to me when I saw this. When the Lord said, the Lord would raise a prophet as good as Moses and that prophet was not only Jesus who did great wonders when he was still alive but in and through Jesus, it is you and I who are called to be prophets today, here and now. 

The second reading points to us the way of being powerful prophets of God... and the way is, an absolute allegiance to the almighty. To profess our allegiance to God with nothing to distract us, nothing to preoccupy us, nothing to hinder our speaking God's word or doing God's works. Today there are any number of conspiracy theories and ideological conflicts, along with the unfortunate things that are happening to humanity and to the whole existence. Regardless of who sounds more logical and what provides more stuff to imagination, our allegiance needs to be to the Almighty and it needs to be Absolute! When that happens each of us become a prophet in our own lives. 

The Apostle speaks of an undivided attention to the Lord - though it upholds the value of celibacy as such, it can be lived in every walk of life. When the right priorities are in place in our personal, family and community life, and these priorities are considered absolute, then we live a life that is inspiring, witnessing and prophetic.

The Gospel presents to us the model par excellence of a prophet of God: the very Son of God who professes and practices such a perfect allegiance to God that every one who saw him, heard him was either taken up or felt threatened. His was an authority that came from his personal integrity and flawless faithfulness to God. 

Our absolute allegiance to the almighty will make us like children who trust and depend totally on their parents. At times even a blind following of the directions given by God would suffice for us to work on our Sanctification and that of those around us.

In faith, towards the real homeland...

WORD 2day: Saturday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 30, 2021: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Mark 4: 35-41

Life on earth, though short, is filled with joys and sorrows, hopes and anxieties, expectations and disappointments, desires and disillusionments - but what can keep us going is the promise of a homeland, a homeland beyond all imagination - a land of repose and total serenity, a land of calmness and tranqulity. Faith alone can help us see this homeland and arrive therein. 

The Gospel presents to us both the realities of the present life of agitation and commotion and the eternal homeland of peace and calm! The experience of disciples on the boat is highly illustrative of our life and the life to come. But there is one dimension to be noted well... in both the realities the Lord is with us! While in the storm of events, the Lord was there...only that they realised the potency of the presence of the Lord very late. Don't you have faith, asks the Lord!

Faith makes us see the Lord present with us and not just that, it helps us see also what exactly the Lord can do for us. Remaining calm in moments of crisis, because we have committed ourselves to the power of the Almighty, can take us a long long way, right to the heavenly homeland, of peace, calm, joy and hope. All that we need to do is recognise the presence of the Lord in faith! 

In faith, we shall journey on, come what may, towards the real homeland, with the Lord all along!

Patient Endurance and Hope-filled Efforts

WORD 2day: Friday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 29, 2021: Hebrews 10: 32-39; Mark 4: 26-34

A popular caricature, a cartoon made popular via the social network, with a man digging a tunnel in search of precious metals and at a point he decides to stop his pursuit. The cartoon allows the viewers alone to see that the man was just a few inches away from the treasure hidden away in the ground! "You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised," says the Word today.

We cannot be like the nursery kids on a class project of growing a plant in the pot. From the time they plant a seed, they would keep returning to the pot every other minute to see if something has grown. The Reign of God grows in silence and obscurity; you will never know it is there around until you really believe it to be. That is why Jesus declared, 'the Reign of God is amidst you; within you' (cf. Lk 17: 21).

In patient endurance and hope-filled efforts one will unlock the levels towards a fuller realisation of the Reign which is already there growing within us, among us and allover us!

Rouse each other to love

 THE WORD AND THE SAINT

January 28, 2021 - Remembering St. Thomas Aqiunas.

Hebrew 10: 19-25; Mark 4: 21-25

The first reading today has a call that summarises our Christian vocation to the full. To love is an undeniable vocation we have; to inspire each other to love and goodness is the complete understanding of it. 

 

Thomas Aquinas, whom we celebrate today, has the unparalleled definition for love... love iswishing the good of the other. It is in true love that we inspire each other and rouse them to love.

This is why the Lord speaks of the imagery of light: to be lighted to light up. It takes a lot of effort to truly love; to rouse others to love it takes much more effort, a lot of sacrifice and a great amount of dedication. Yes! but the key is here, the Lord puts it neatly: the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you!

Where do the seeds fall?

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 3rd week in Ordinary time

January 27, 2021: Hebrew 10: 11-18; Mark 4: 1-20

The Word today speaks to us of living an acceptable life in the presence of God. It is never the case that the Lord rejects us or finds us unacceptable; the Lord said he had come to call the sinners and not the righteous! But the fact is we alienate ourselves from the Lord by the very choices we make on a daily basis and at every moment of decision making. 

We may easily complain...the situation around is bad or that the conditions of life are not conducive. But we are asked to do the best without any compromise, wherever we are or in whatever condition we find ourselves in; the rest the one who has called us will take care. We can plant, water and take care, it is the Lord who gives us the growth!

Where do we permit the seed to fall - the seed is the Word of God which constantly comes to tell us what is right and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord; where do we permit that seed to fall? Far away from us or all around us or in precarious places or right at the heart of our being? If only we prioritise the Word of God and strive to live by it, we shall grow more and more capable of experiencing the grace of God's continual presence. Yes, it all depends where we allow the seed  of the Word to fall!

Fan the flame of your faith

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

January 26, 2021: Remembering Sts Timothy and Titus

2 Timothy 1: 1-8; Mark 3: 31-35

Timothy and Titus are two models we are presented with today. They were both finds of St. Paul on his journeys. Inspiring the listeners to make a life choice is a special gift that some are given with. St. Paul possessed this and used it well for the Reign of God. Timothy and Titus join the great band of apostles that Jesus initiated.

Writing to Timothy Paul instructs, in the passage we reflect on as first reading, to fan into flame the gift that Timothy received when he was prayed over! To fan the flame of faith - is to be aware of the gift that we have received (faith), to rekindle constantly the act of faith, and to keep the faith alive. Keeping the faith aliveis to keep growing in our relationship with God and allowing that relationship to affect every other relationship in life and every other aspect of our lives. 

Today the call remains open: to fan the flame of our faith. The points for reflection are - are we aware of the gift of faith that we have received? How keen are we to keep our faith alive on a daily basis? What do we do to keep the flame of faith burning and consuming? 

May the examples such as Timothy's and Titus' impel us towards action, to fan the flame of our faith. 

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'?