An experience that grips - Resurrected Beings!

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

April 21, 2021: Acts 8: 1b-8; John 6: 35-40

When things were getting worse the believers were getting stronger. They were scattered, but once in diaspora they continued their witnessing. There was something in them that made them just reckless, going about excited with their new experience. That experience was so gripping that it made them forget all the pain they had to go through. 

Amidst difficulties and sacrifices, who do you think, are those who would go on with enthusiasm and fire within them? Only those who are gripped by an experience! Be it the persons in love who challenge all odds to be with each other; or parents looking for their children or children looking for their parents who wish to find each other come what may; or a situation of someone who loves life and freedom and is kept in captivation but get a slight clue that there is a possibility of an escape...these are situations you can picture in your minds. Imagine the fire that would burn within the person making all the efforts...it is because the person has experienced something - may be love, may be freedom, may be care...that experience which grips them and goads them on!

We keep receiving news about people who are ready to give up their life at the hands of some heartless fanatics. Just two days ago (18th April) there was a news about Nabil Habashy Salama, a 62 year old man who was killed by the IS militants as a warning to the other Christians who are fighting against Islamic militancy in various parts. This elderly man killed had established a coptic church in Beir el-Abdtown in Sinai. This is but one case, among many such that continue to happen. These persons are capable of it because they are gripped by the experience they have had...which is primarily the experience of the Risen One. 

Leaving alone these extreme sacrificing experiences, look at the ordinary daily experiences such as forgiving the other, bearing with the faults of the other, accepting burdens for the sake of the other... are these even possible without being gripped by a life changing experience? 

For me today Jesus has to become that experience, that experience which grips me to a total transformation that I will fear nothing, for I know my Lord will raise me up on the last day, come what may! Once I am gripped by that experience, nothing, absolutely nothing can threaten me. I will be a Resurrected Being!

A chip from the same block - the Image of Christ

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 3rd week in Easter time 

April 20, 2021: Acts 7:51 -8:1a; John 6: 30-35.

Sometimes when we speak to the youngsters (even to others for that matter), about the suffering that Jesus underwent, about his endurance of passion, his capacity to surrender into the hands of God, his capacity to forgive etc., they tend to retort saying: 'but after all, he was son of God! he could bear that!" That is a heretic way of thinking, we need to be very careful about it!

Yes, Jesus was the Son of God but he was a human person and fully so. He was not appearing to be a human being, he WAS a human being. As the letter to the Hebrews says, he was like us, a human being in everything! That is infact the most challenging part of our faith. That Jesus lived our life, he went through all that we experience ourselves: feelings and temptations, sufferings and anxieties, irritations and all of human realities. The challenge is that we live in his footsteps. The early Church was highly conscious of this call and we have today in the first reading the fruit of this.

The first reading today presents to us, the first martyr Stephen  - he was a chip from the same block as Christ. The apostles performed miracles and healings, just as Jesus did and of course the Word records them all. But as death, it records only that of Stephen, because he died like Christ! Just like the apostles lived like Christ, Stephen died like Christ! There is a special call in this - to imitate the life of Christ, life-project of Christ and the life style of Christ, right upto death. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ, said St. Paul...who was standing there as young Saul and watching Stephen die! Oh what beginnings the Church had!

Do we carry the same spirit within us today, as people of God - the spirit of Christ? When we do, we shall not only imitate Christ, we shall become alter christus, another Christ... that is what we are called to be: to be a chip from that same block.

To Shine in the Lord

WORD 2day: Monday, 3rd week in Easter time

April 19, 2021: Acts 6:8-15; John 6: 22-29

His face shone like an angel. But they decided to kill him all the same! They saw the great works and words that Jesus had but they ran after him only for the food they could get. At times we kill the things that pertain to God not only by being against them but by even not being attentive to the true spirit of it. Unwittingly we kill Jesus, in our words, deeds and attitudes without even being conscious of it - however, the effect is equally bad.

In fact. it is easier to ward off dangers from the quarters that are known to be contrary to us. But the more dangerous ones are those that seem to take a neutral stand within us and amidst us... they can be real spirit dampeners and blind leaders. Called sometimes as 'sleeper cells' these days, there are elements that do not fit into our way of thinking, that come into our lives and slowly change our very way of thinking, being and acting. This is the kind of leaven that Jesus warned us against. 

That kind of a phenomenon can be seen, not only in the society but also within each of us. That is what we need to be careful about - because it is the work of the evil one. It is said, that the tempter, the devil, does not use things that are abhorrent to tempt us, but things that are pleasing, things that seem acceptable, things that seem "natural" and "not harmful", to begin with. Looking for Jesus, to be fed by him, or to see the great magical things that happen around him, was not anything bad. But Jesus observed right through them, there was something that was happening... on indeed something that was not happening. The people were attracted to him, but were not really ready to change themselves, taking up their personal conversion seriously.

The Jews and Chiefpriests, saw all that the people saw; nothing changed them. In spite of seeing the face shining they were not ready to change their minds or not ready to go deeper and find out what makes it shine! However, we are called to shine, to shine in the Lord. Be illumined by the Lord, be transluscent, to allow the light of the Lord to pass through us and make us shine out - in our thoughts, words and deeds - witnessing through out personal transformation and fundamental surrender to the Lord and the Lord's ways. That is the call that we all have: to shine in the Lord!

THE EASTER LESSON OF HOPE

Repent, Decide and Witness

April 18, 2021: 3rd Sunday of Easter 

Acts 3:13-15,17-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24: 35-48

Easter is the highest celebration of hope, and hope is the core message of Easter! This is a known fact. Easter is a celebration of hope, hope that the Risen Lord brings into our life - by the very fact that Jesus Christ has overcome death, overcome the world and reigns supreme and we have inherited that hope in the Spirit, through our baptism. We too have overcome death - death is no more the end of our life, it is but a transformation to new eternal life. We too have overcome the world - in Jesus our Lord we are new creatures, new beings, new persons and we are called to that newness of life in the Risen Lord. We are rulers, we reign in the name of Christ, in the power that Christ has obtained for us as children of God. Hence, come what may - troubles and trials in life, crises and confusions around, death and disease right in front of our eyes, nothing, absolutely nothing can perturb us: Peace be with you, says the Lord. I have overcome the world, I have overcome death and I am with you! This is the Message of Hope that Easter gives - how much needed it is in the context of fear and false promises all around us during these pandemic times! 

But the Message of Hope is not automatic! Yes, Jesus has overcome the world, overcome death, defeated evil - but that is no guarantee that I would automatically overcome death, win over evil and stand firm for eternal life. No. This hope that Jesus gives, has to be personalised, received, believed in, grown into, made my own, and practised in my daily concrete life! That is the lesson that the Risen Word gives us this Sunday: the Easter lesson of Hope

Lesson 1: Even if you did without knowing, you need to Repent for your wrong doings.

Father forgive them, for they know now what they do, prayed Jesus. Peter says today in the first reading, 'we know neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; this was the way God carried out what God had foretold,' but however he says, 'you must repent and turn to God.' Forgiveness is given to those who repent, it is not a right; it is a gift; a gift that is received only by those who truly behold it, make themselves worthy of beholding it - the prerequisite is repentance! That is what happens to the prodigal son - he repented and he received the forgiveness from the father. That is what the elder son missed - he failed to repent and never entered the joy of the father! 

God in God's magnanimity has mercy on us children and deigns to excuse us saying, after all you are my children! But we on our part have to be ready and willing to repent of our ways, or that forgiveness that is freely given can never reach us; we would ourselves build a barricade blocking its coming. The Lord is ready to shine God's face on us that we have light and life for eternity, but we need to turn towards the light to received it, to behold it and to be illumined by it. That is the basis of hope! Hope is not something that is given to us, without our effort - it is our effort to understand our unworthiness, without giving into despair. Yes, I am an unworthy sinner, but I can never be lost, for my Father and Mother, the Shepherd of my soul is abundantly merciful.

Lesson 2: Repenting is Deciding to keep God's Commandments

At times repenting is explained and understood in romantic forms and imaginative metaphors! But John strikes the root and puts it in simple, straightforward words: 'anyone who says, I know him and does not keep his commandments, is a liar!' Keeping God's commandments, is the easiest touchstone to conversion, to repentance. You cannot say, I have repented but I will not forgive; I have converted, but I will not love my difficult neighbour; I am a person of God, but I cannot relate to my brother or sister, or take care of a needy person next to me! What are you, but a liar! You cannot justifiy, prove or even claim that you have repented, if these fruits are not seen in you: the fundamental of the fruits - keeping God's commanments.

Hope is not some imaginary state of life; it is the guarantee of goodness created by my conversion of heart towards God. When I convert myself, there is one problem less in the world, they say! When I repent and decide to do what God wants me, there is one more guarantee for goodness, for virtue, for God's will to be done: that is Hope! We need to fill this world with hope: not by doing extraordinary feats of prophetic nature, but by simple submission to God's will, by humble obedience to God's commandments. It requires that I keep my ego, selfishness, arrogance and pride away and return to God as a child, simple and humble., ready to keep God's commandments. 

Lesson 3: Be Witnesses to the Nations and spread Hope

Jesus appears to the disciples repeatedly and gives them signs of his real presence amidst them, not merely to make them feel good, but to strengthen them to go out and be witnesses all over the world. That is what happened - the message of Hope that Jesus gave them, had to spread: it spread, far and wide, in spite of the unworthy, ill-prepared, underqualified, fear stricken persons that the apostles and disciples were. This was due to the assurance of Hope that Jesus gave them, that hope to which he wanted them to be witness and bear testimony in front of the entire world. 

In the hope-draining situation of this pandemic today, how hope-filled are we, how hope-emanating are we, how hope-witnessing are we? If we were easter people, we would effuse hope from within, not fear; we would take others by surprise with our proaction not put them off by our reactions; we would make a difference in our daily concrete lives and not be swayed by the contradicting, lopsided, manipulated, and illogical claims of many with vested interests. But neither can we give into a naive negationism or switch to rebellious separationism! We need to be witnesses to Hope, witnesses that inspire persons to get up and walk; to open their mouths and speak; to tune their ears and hear; to stretch their hands and embrace each other giving Hope.

We are made easter people; people of hope; people of light; people of eternal life... we would do well to repent, decide and witness to the enormous hope of the Risen Saviour.

The stir in the sea: Complaints

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

April 17, 2021: Acts 6: 1-6; John 6: 16-21

When we get together, we will surely have misgivings and clash of opinions, unless we fail to think freely and forget our individuality. As long as each one has the capacity to think for oneself, and the freedom to express oneself, there are bound to be misgivings - but without these, the conditions are not human at all! We see in the first reading today the earliest of misunderstandings and complaints that arose in the new born church! The way the apostles dealt with it, was so Christ-like. 

When the sea was stirred with the storm that arose, and the hearts of those in the boat were disturbed too, Jesus walked up to them and said: It is I; do not be afraid. He assured them, the stirring will cause no damage, if you understand the Lord is with you. The storm will not upset the boat, until you know that it is the Lord who is in charge! 

When the complaints came up and accusing fingers pointed at each other, the Apostles were not alarmed, they were not reacting to the complaint, they did not try their best to silence the dissenting voices or command everyone to compliance. They knew that it was a sign the Lord was giving them, for their own growth and for a sense of transcendence. 

Confusions, complaints and contradictory opinions were instrumental moments through which the Lord effected solid evolution in the Christian faith experience post resurrection. Individual convictions, daring discussions, evolving mindsets...these are signs of growth. At times we can get threatened and have recourse to control and oppression - be it in families or in larger communities. That is not truly a Christ-like mentality. In the parish communities, or in the basic christian communities, or religious communities, or in the families, how do we look at differences of opinions? Is there a true freedom of expression? Are we matured enough to look at these as experiences of growth? 

That requires a true mindset of faith. Amidst the stir in the sea, the Lord walks up to us saying: fear not, it's I. 

The test of time - Endurance!

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

April 16, 2021: Acts 5: 34-42; John 6: 1-15

One term that unites the two readings today is the term, "test." Jesus himself is tested with such a big number to feed. He tests his disciples with a task given them. And in the first reading we have Gamaliel setting up a test of time for the believers! All of these are tests that bring out the quality of Endurance. 

Jesus could have very well said, let the people go and find their own means of food, after all they came on their own; they were not obliged to come! Won't we do that, when we plan some activities for others or in ministry? But that would have been on Jesus' part, an escapism! When Jesus asked the disciples where they could buy bread for the crowds, they could have easily said it wasn't possible! Or later in the Acts of the Apostles, when they were threatened and jailed, the disciples could have, at the first instance said, why should we break our head over the salvation of these people! That would have been shirking the responsibility given to them. As a community the first Christians could have remained calm, quiet and comfortable within their small circle loving each other and fending for each other. But that was not to be the case!

If Jesus were to have taken an escapist mode of reaction to the situation, or the disciples the shirking mode, or the first believers a comfort seeking compromise mode... we would have nothing of what we believe and belong to today. The revelation of the limitless love of God in the person of Jesus, the Christian community that experienced that love and handed it down to the generations, the prophetic presence of the Church, as the sacrament of God's salvific love - these are grand signs of a simple decision that Jesus, the disciples and the community took - to endure the test!

Endurance is the time tested virtue that enables us to stand the test of time. The Martyrs of old, great saints in history, the holy ones of our times, all of them stand proofs to one fact: Endurance helps faith mature and endurance is a mark of a mature faith! Our faith is true, strong and alive, only in as much as it endures, especially the test of time!

A Notification from the Blogspot!

Those who get my blog posts on your email...since you have subscribed it so, there may be a problem with regard to the email delivery from June onwards I think..therefore, in addition to subscribe through email...also click the "follow" button, in order to access the posts, just in case any changes happen. I post here the message sent to me from the FeedBurner, which manages the subcribe through email, for blogspot.com....

Here is the message they sent:

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Obedience: the promptings of the Spirit

WORD 2day: Thursday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 15, 2021: Acts 5:27-33; John 3: 31-36

We must obey God rather than men; we must obey God's directions rather than men's directives; we must obey the promptings of the Spirit rather than the rulings of men! What a clarity on the part of the disciples. If only we had today that same clarity! But it could be problematic too, as evidenced in these COVID times in many places! It is a dilemma that we face, think along!

Do not conform to the standards of the world; rather renewed in Spirit conform to the mind of Christ, instructed St. Paul well in this line (cf. Rom 12:2). At times we justify conformity and compromise on the grounds of "peace in the house"; other times we create division and sport rebellion under the pretext of being unique and convinced, while it could just be a way of promoting one's own convenience! Our own innermost self is our judge, and of course the one who resides there: the Spirit of the Lord!

Today, with the pandemic situation and the measures to contain it, there are governments and the international organisations that are tending to make rules and controls, forcing people at large to obey, at times even blackmailing masses into submission. What are we to do? Does out religiosity, our faith, our spirituality, come into play in this scenario? They have to. If not, what are they for?

So, do we abide by what they say or do we not? The question is - not whether we need to abide or we need not; but whether we can think logically or not; whether we can spiritually reason out or not; whether with the help of the Spirit, we can think holistically or not! Not with selfish concerns and sub-human criteria, but with true Spirit-filled mindset and truly all-embracing mindset, what is our judgement of things that are being said and being forced on us? It is not conformity or non-conformity, but our sense of faith and sense of clarity based on the wisdom of the Spirit!

Obedience is not merely conformity to the rule; nor its opposite mere negligence of the rule. It is all about being sincere to the innermost promptings of the Spirit. Being understood when one follows that promptings, is not always guaranteed. Being misunderstood cannot prevent me from being sincere to those promptings. One who obeys will see life (cf. Jn 3:36).

The Spirit Frees - Towards Light!

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

April 14, 2021: Acts 5: 17-26; John 3:16-21

From the prison to freedom, from the chains to an unfettered spirit, from fear to total commitment... the Spirit strengthens one to walk towards the light! The disciples were a transformed lot... they were the same who ran away when Jesus was arrested; the ones who denied and betrayed when there were pressures; the ones who closed themselves up for fear of the Jews who killed Jesus...but now, they are totally different!

They were standing up in public places and speaking up; they were answering the authorities back and affirming their connection to Jesus the Christ; they did things that were controversial and vouched for it and claimed responsibility; they were arrested and they expressed happiness about it; they were warned and threatened, and they cared nothing about it... they were a transformed lot! They stood for truth - to which Jesus said he came to bear witness; the truth that Jesus claimed that he was! They stood for that same truth!

At times truth hurts and at times it costs much, but if in the Spirit, we would count nothing too demanding! This is what they learnt from Christ, understood in the Spirit and lived in their concrete lives. They were ready to give up anything...their safety, their comfort, and even their lives.

Even today, people like Bro. Mario of Chalakudi fame, who have risked their lives for the sake of Christ... and many others similar, but not known in the public forum, are living illustrations of the episode from Acts that we read today. A youngster known to me, whom I consider a great inspiration to me, born in a hindu family, but chose to be a Christian and chose to become a priest and threw his well paid engineering job in a firm and disappeared from his family, to join a religious congregation, because they were mad at him in the family.

If I have the courage to see the Truth, accept it and live for it, nothing can stop me, not even death; because I have within me eternal life. And the Spirit is Truth, truth is light...in the Spirit, I am constantly moving towards the Light!

The Key: From Above

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 13, 2021: Acts 4: 32-37; John 3: 7b-15

The first Christian Community gives us a challenging example today, a prophetic witness! Just imagine that to be the state of our parish communities, or our basic christian communities...or even the Religious Communities of Consecrated life... can this model be emulated today? It is easy to brush it aside, calling it an outdated model, or an impractical ideal, or an utopian imagination, or a time proven failure! Call whatever you may, the challenge remains.

Along with the challenge there is also a doubt that lingers on: could they have really lived that way! Really! Sometimes youngsters dare ask that question aloud too, when we have sessions or seminars! Isn't it an exaggeration, a kind of figure of speech that hightens the reality for the sake of creating the appeal that is intended? The answer is, a categorical NO. They lived that way! The records are true and the records are not only in the Bible...they were also historical communities which caused the many a eyebrow raise! 

Jesus provides us with the key to the challenge, that is the secret which helped them live that way: it is, to live your life as if from above. We have received our life and everything in life as a gift from above. And when it is time for us to report back from where we come, we will go without anything in our hands. When we see things from above then, we would laugh at our folly as does the Lord now from heaven (see Ps 2:4). 

This was the fact...the early Christian community saw Jesus live and come back to life and go back to his Father...they expected him to come back shortly...even while they were still living. That is why they were prepared at anytime to report to the Lord...this gives us the clue how they managed to live such a detached life. Though it seems a reduction of their high noble ideals, the fact is clear: they were living a life from above!

Just look at your life, as you live it today, just from a little above! You will understand how foolish we can be... with our attachments and avarice, jealousy and treachery, ego and selfishness, and every other inhumanity for the sake of things that do not matter at all! Have we not totally lost the real sense of our lives? 

Let us remember the key given to us by Christ: live your life as from above. Learn to look at life from above and you will have a clear picture of what is important and what not!