What am I doing to myself!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, Second week in Lent - March 14, 2022

Daniel 9: 4-10; Luke 6: 36-38

God favours the poor; God has not favoured these people; these are some statements we make in our limited capacity as human persons to express what God is and how God relates with us human persons! Because, as Jesus reveals to us - the perfection of God consists in the unconditional and impartial love that characterises God. Then is it wrong to say, God favours the poor or the humble or the weak?

No! It cannot be wrong, provided it is interpreted and understood right. It is not that God takes a side or favours someone, but some one by being poor, by being humble and being vulnerable, places himself or herself in a better position to experience the favours of God, the goodness of God and the protecting help of God. It is natural and logical, isnt it? That, one who is rich or powerful, is so taken up with oneself, that he or she has no space for God in life; naturally depends on oneself and not on God. 

The same logic is true about those who do good to others, or those who judge others and those who are calculative with others. They are accordingly disposed to either the goodness of the Lord or a judgement from the Master. Hence apart from the question, as to what am I doing to the other - giving them, loving them or judging them, there is yet another pertinent question one could post to oneself! That is, what am I doing to myself!

In our stubbornness not to forgive others, in my hardheartedness of hesitating to do good to others, in my arrogance of judging others, I need to really take care of one thing: what am I doing to myself?

TO BE TRANSFIGURED

From the desert to the mountain

Second Sunday in Lent - March 13, 2022

Genesis 15: 5-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 9: 28-36

We found ourselves with the Lord in the desert last Sunday, and this Sunday we find ourselves with him on the mountain! From the desert to the mountain, is a journey that the Lord invites us to make, in this season of lent. It is a journey of constant and continued growth, an experience of unswerving commitment to maturity. The moment of transfiguration amidst the experience of the lent, is not merely an element of hope, but also a reminder of our strength and a challenge towards our efforts. 

First of all, let us behold the call to be transfigured - it is a project proper to the season of lent, but not just that. It is a life project given to each of us disciples of Christ. To be transfigured, not just at the end of our lives, but in and through our lives; yes, in our life and through our life. Once we behold the call to be transfigured, we are left restless, with a few questions. Can we be really transfigured? How can we be transfigured? And what do we do, here and now? We have an orientation to respond to these questions, in the Word today. 

The Final transfiguration - the element of hope: our Communion. 

This is the universal call; the promise of the Lord. Every being created has to be reconciled to God and it shall be so! In a very special manner, the beings created in the image and likeness of God have the call and the privilege to enter into a communion that is eternal and transcendental with the Creator, in Christ. This is what St. Paul affirms in the second reading, Christ will transfigure these wretched selves of ours into transfigured bodies into the Lord. He will reconcile us to God through his blood (Col 1:20) and that is a perfect communion that we await, a communion that would reflect the communion between Christ and the Father. 

That is the final transfiguration, the ultimate transfiguration. It is a promise, a hope that we have in being related to Christ. Anyone who listens to me, believes in the one who sent me, and shall have eternal life, said Jesus. That is the promise, to be transfigured, to be transported from this desert of our earthly life to the mountain of the glorious life in communion with the loving Father and Mother, God our Creator.

The Interim transfiguration - the unfailing strength: the Covenant.

This is the element of help; our help that comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, who made us  and who calls us to that mountain of perfect communion. It is a covenant that the Lord has made with us, to be our Lord forever, especially in our experience of the desert, in our earthly trials and temptations, in our moments of weakness and sinfulness. The Lord is there and we need never to doubt it. When Abraham (still Abram) is asked to count the stars in the sky, he is made to realise that even if it were difficult to understand, we have to believe in the promise of the Lord, trust in the presence of the Lord and take refuge in the protection of the Lord. 

This is the experience of the interim transfiguration, the experiences of our trials changing into moments of growth, our temptations changing into experiences of self realisation, our moments of suffering changing into experiences of internal purification. Whatever we go through in life we are called to go through it all, in the company of the Lord, in union with the Lord who is ever present with us, making even the most trying moments, a phase of learning and growth.

The Immediate transfiguration - the untiring effort: the Challenge.

This is our response to the call that we have received to be transfigured in the Lord, the effort that we make in spite of all our failures and our limitations. The apostles who were present at the event of the transfiguration of Jesus, would have had this sensation very powerful - come what may we shall never give up, we shall never leave Christ, we shall never be separated from Christ. That is why Peter did not want to give up that moment...he wanted to make three tents and stay there! Jesus teaches them, that is not what is expected of them. What is expected of us is to make our own effort, to make our own journey to that mount. We can, because the Lord is with us. We have the way prescribed to us: to listen to the Chosen One. 

This is the challenge of immediate transfiguration, to manifest our untiring commitment to remain faithful to the Lord. There are moments of splendour in our life, when we do something good, something divine, something pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. We need to value them and take all the energy needed from them. There are certainly moments of darkness, when we fail, when we falter, when we fall under the pressure of temptation. We need to rise up, look up and walk up, towards that mountain where the splendour awaits us. Our efforts cannot cease, we need to go on, right until the end! As James says, blessed are those who endure, for those who stand the test will win the crown (1:12). We can have everyday experiences  of transfiguration, when we learn in the school of the Spirit, to change our temptations into life lessons, when we convert our failures into steps to grow and our experience of sin into an opportunity to taste the mercy of the Lord. 

We are called to be transfigured. We are capable of being transfigured. And above all, we are empowered to be transfigured.  

A Covenantal People

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday, First week in Lent - March 12, 2022

Deuteronomy 26: 16-19; Matthew 5: 43-48

One of the self-identities that has come down from the earliest times of our faith, that is even from the Old Testamental times, is the fact that we are a covenantal people. What does it mean being covenantal people: it means there is a mutual pledge of fidelity between the two parties, which here are, the Lord and us. The Lord has pledged to be our God and we have pledged to be God's people. But there is one more element of a covenant - the condition of that pledge or the external sign of that pledge! In our
covenant with the Lord, it is typical love.

The love that is typical to this covenant is brought in by God, as God's very own nature, that nature in which we are called to share. It is not merely governed by a rule or a law, though it involves rules and it is a law. It is all about placing the other at the centre, placing the other before me, placing the other always in the advantageous position. It is diametrically opposed to the typical relationship promoted by the world of business and gain. 

It is not about what I gain, what I can achieve or how I can promote myself; it is about what I can give, what I can render more meaningful and how I can reach out to the other, without counting the cost or the returns. This is the typical love that is taught by God, in they way God relates to us, in the way God has revealed Godself to us, and in the way that God wishes us to live, because we are created in, and called to live by, the image and likeness God, which is love. 

There is a central reminder that is offered us, which can serve us whenever we are frustrated, whenever we are discouraged, whenever we lack the sense of our being - and it goes thus: we are a covenantal people! 

Why forgive to be forgiven?

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, First week in Lent - March 11, 2022

Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26

The Lord never tires in forgiving us! But why does the Lord forgive us? Because, we deserve to be forgiven? Do we merit the Lord's pardon? Much less, can I demand the Lord's forgiveness? This is a precarious question that the psalm so clearly answers: if only the Lord treats us according our sins, how would we survive?

The Lord teaches us today, to forgive before we go into the presence of the Lord. Forgiving my brother or sister is presented as a condition to enter into the presence of the Lord; elsewhere Jesus would present forgiving your brother or sister as also the condition to experience forgiveness from the Lord. It is what the Lord has taught us to pray too: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us! 

But why forgive, to be forgiven? To answer that question, we have to answer another question: why do we not forgive? I do not forgive someone, because I feel or I am convinced that, the person in question does not deserve my forgiveness. He or she is beyond my forgiveness, too evil to be forgiven, or out of my forgiveness criteria. Here is where the message of the Word today comes down on us strongly.

If only the Lord thinks the way we think - whether we deserve or not to be forgiven; whether we are good enough to be forgive or no; whethe we fall within the forgiveness criteria of God! Let us just imagine a little, what would happen to us if we were treated by God, the way we treat our brothers and sisters! 

Forgiving the other is entering into the world of mercy of God; only within that world, our forgiveness from God makes sense! We would never deserve God's forgiveness; but when we refuse to forgive the other, we shall never be part of the mercy circle of God!

How would you like to be treated?

THE WORD IN LENT

Thursday, First week in the Lent- March 10, 2022

Esther 4:17; Matthew 7:7-12

We often experience two contrasting dimensions within us - we are someone in front of those who are more powerful than us and just the opposite with those who are weaker; we manifest a kind of character when we are in troubles and just another when we are free and enjoying; we have a mode of thinking when we are in need and completely another mode when there is someone else in need! How integral does that render us as persons?

Esther today is in prayer before the Lord, just before to taking on the evil in the form of Haman, one who wanted to destroy all the Jews. Esther's humble submission to the Lord, wins her the strength and the wisdom to stand firm for Israel! 

Jesus is placing a simple contrast before us: if you were in a position of dominion and others are weak and vulnerable, what would you do? What if there are persons asking you for something, the needy knocking at your door, or the desperate and frustrated ones searching for meaning in life... what would you do? Will you answer them, open the door for them or help them to find meaning in their life? If you do so, it will be opened for you too, you will have an answer too, and you shall find meaning for your life too!

When you are about to choose the way you would treat someone, in thoughts, words or deed, raise this question to yourself: how would you like to be treated?

The Sign of Jonah

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, First week in Lent: March 09, 2022

Jonah 3: 1-10; Luke 11:29-32

The only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah, says Jesus. And what is this sign of Jonah. Let us dwell on it a little. The sign of Jonah is repentance! How does Jonah become the sign of repentance? 

First Jonah himself was a sign of repentance - we know how he had his own way of thinking, his own judgement of events and people. When God called him to be a prophet, he had to be formed the hard way to really think as God would think, to accept events and persons as God would have them. He repented, and he risked his life, going amidst the people and giving them the hard message that he had from God. 

Secondly, Jonah's words were a sign - the people of Nineveh saw the prophet who had come all the way to warn them with a message from God. They saw in him, a man of God; they saw in his words, the Words of God. They saw the sign that was delivered to them through the words of Jonah, and they repented... saving themselves from a disastrous end. 

Thirdly, Jonah becomes the sign of the Son of God - the event of Jonah resting in the belly of the fish for three days and rising to new life, is given as the sign of the Son of God - the life and resurrection that humanity awaits. Obedience of Jonah is the prefigurement of the Son of God who in his obedience, emptied himself totally for the Will of God, the salvation of all! In our obedience, we shall inherit what Jesus has earned for us.

The Sign of Jonah is relevant even today - the sign of repentance, so loud and clear in this season of lent. It is to pay attention the Word and to change our lives according to it, on a daily basis; to acknowledge the persons bringing the Word to us, whoever it could be "big" or "small", erudite or no; and finally, see Jesus in those who genuinely care for us - if we see Jesus we will hear him speak!

The Word, the words and our ways

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, First week in Lent - March 8, 2022

Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15

We reflected just yesterday that we are called to realise the Image that resides within us - the Image of God. The Word became flesh and lived amidst us as the visible presence of the invisible God. The Word of God becomes flesh even today, the Word of God becomes life, and that is the model given to us, the lesson given today. 

The words of God are life, they are Spirit, they give life, they create, they recreate, they renew the face of the earth. No word that God speaks go waste and the Word today places the same challenge to us - do not babble, admonishes Jesus. in the Gospel today. He says, just as every word from God has its life, so should every word of ours become life - the Word we listen to, and the words we express. 

The Word we listen to comes from God and we need to allow it to have its effect within us. Opening our hearts and our soul to the Word and allowing ourselves to be formed, revived and renewed by the Word is not just a task given to us, but a privillege. Not all have that grace, but the people of God. 

The words we use, need to have life, just as the Words of the Lord. Be it to our fellow brothers and sisters, or to the Lord in prayer, every word we use has to have its life. When Jesus teaches those words of prayer, he not only taught us a prayer, but taught us a lifestyle, a way of life. It contains the crux of Christian life - that we see ourselves as brothers and sisters from One Father in heaven, that we dedicate ourselves to the Will and the Reign of God, that we fend for each other, that we forgive each other and be a source of salvation to each other. What a beautiful prayer, with not just words but our very way of life. 

Holiness - not a call, an identity!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, First week in Lent: March 7, 2022

Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18; Matthew 25:31-46

We are beginning our first week in lent, the lenten journey is slowly intensifying and today, the Word establishes the very purpose of this lenten journey, not only that, but the purpose of our whole life as christians - holiness! The Word inspires us today with a subtle difference, but very crucial to understand. 

We know holiness is a call, a fundamental call that we have as children of God. Be ye holy the Lord says. But that is not all...there is a second part to that statement that we need to pay attention. In fact, that second part makes a crucial difference. Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy! That is all the difference we need to know and understand.

Holiness is not merely a call, it is our identity. If it were a call, we could respond to it the way we wanted: saying either yes or no. We could accept the call or deny it; we could accede to it or reject it. But it is not just a call, but an identity! We cannot but develop and grow in it. 

The Lord created us in God's own image and likeness; we bear the image of God, that is holiness, purity and the splendour of integrity. How sad, that we have to be reminded so often, brought back so frequently and dragged back to our original state so repeatedly! But the Lord does not tire of it. The Lord is never tired of us: never tires of forgiving us, never tires of showing mercy to us and never tires of calling us back to Godself!

All that we need to do is realise that our real nature is 'holiness' because the one who created us is holy, the Image in which we are created is holy and therefore we have to be holy! We have to free ourselves of all that goes against this holiness, all that takes us away from that holiness. Yes, let us remember, holiness is not just a call, it is our very identity!

TESTS - TO FACE OR TO EVADE?

Quality of a Mature Christ-ian

First Sunday of Lent: March 6, 2022 

Deuteronomy 26: 4-10; Romans 10: 8-13; Luke 4: 1-13

The Holy Father quipped the other day: the past few seasons of lent have had unprecedented surprises for us... the last two years, with the waves of covid-19 and the present one with the tragedy of the war that has begun! Testing Times never lack! 

It is not only about the world or humanity in general, but even in our personal lives we do not lack testing times! Every person goes through these times in quite a succession! Lent is proposed to be a workshop to train us for testing times that might come our way, all through our life! The way we go through them would determine the quality of maturity that we have developed as Christ-ians. 

Today the Word gives us three lessons on how to confront these testing times:

1. Our Disposition: Be Prepared to Wander 

The First reading invites us to understand our history! My father was a wandering Armenian - the people are taught to repeat it, in order that they may never forget what they were once in their history. To forget our history is to lose a part of ourselves. When good things happen in life, we praise God profusely and express feelings of tremendous attachment to God. In a short while if a testing moment comes by, we mourn and groan as if we have never known the Lord and the Lord's mighty power! What a schizophrenic disposition that can be!

At times we need to be prepared to wander a bit; that is live in a wonderment, now knowing what would happen next - like we lived those waves of covid, and as we find ourself amidst this absurd war that is on. In fact, every one who has reached some significant point with the Lord in his or her life experience, has definitely passed through a phase of wandering. It is an essential spiritual experience to get closer to oneself, to each other and to the One who leads us. In that moment of wandering we have experiences which we would never have otherwise, are we disposed to gather those experiences from our tests, trials and temptations in life? 

2. Our Approach: Never Cease to Ponder

The One who leads us into the wilderness, knows what is in store! But it is on our part, a responsibility, a task, a requirement to ponder on what happens around. When covid came by, we saw the real stuff people are made of: how some were heartless and how some were golden in their hearts; how some were so scared, and how some were so incredibly courageous. And today we are seeing the colours of many a society and sections of the world, as we see people reacting to this unwarranted war! 

We would miss it all if we do not keep pondering on our way, even as we wander. Pondering is such a powerful exercise that it can makes sense of everything that happens, in its own time of course. When we cease to ponder we run the risk of wandering without purpose; the point is wandering with a specific purpose, in a specific direction...which the Lord alone knows. How will we get to know from the Lord, by pondering. That is why Mary kept everything in her heart and pondered. In God's own time, provided we are ready to ponder deep, things will certainly make sense, even our own weaknesses and failures! 

3. Our Attitude: Be ready to Surrender 

The worst of things that we can do when things are not clear, that is when we are wandering, is to panic! To panic and restlessly look to have a solution as soon as possible. It is in that hurry and restlessness that we make most of our mistakes in life. Be it nations, or governments, or institutions, or authorities, or we individuals, when we panic, we run all the risk of making a mistake. Instead, what we need to learn is, to surrender!

While wandering and pondering, that specific purpose, that specific direction will be revealed to us in time, in the right time! The challenge is to wait for that right time with patience and endurance. Being in the wilderness is not an easy task, isnt it! It is indeed a challenge to surrender and not to fret. Surrendering would first involve the humility of saying to myself: I am not in control of everything. Secondly, it would mean lifting my eyes to accept that God is in-charge. And thirdly, it is a serene acceptance of God's will with utmost cooperation on our part, not rushing through or forcing things. 

No doubt, our life can get tiring and tough, through our testing times. But only when we are tested, we could be sealed TESTED-OK!

Restorers of Ruins

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday after Ash Wednesday - March 5, 2022

Isaiah 58: 9-14;  Luke 5: 27-32

The Word today is calling out, calling out to us to come to the ways of the Lord - to do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word that we may be light that rises in the darkness, to this world which so much needs it.  And we need not worry how we would do it, because the Lord himself shall be our strength, the water that revives us and the light that dispels our shadows. However, the Word makes us note another important element: that is the yoke, the wicked word, the clenched fist, and ruins. This is to say, not that we deserve, but the Lord still calls upon us.

Jesus manifests the same Divine act as he calls Levi, though he was considered sinner. I have come to call the sinners, the weak, the imperfect, the unworthy, declares the Lord. And to prove that it is not out of condescension, the Lord comes to us and idenitifies himself with us, just as he went to Levi's house and ate with the so-called sinners and the publicans. The Lord not only calls us, he identifies with us. But why?

Why does the Lord call us, the weak, the sinners, the ruins! Yes, that we may know what it means to be sinners and yet, be loved, be called, be honoured and be saved! That we can be Restorers of the Ruins! But what do we do: after all that the Lord has done for us, we go about judging others, condemning others, fighting with others and calling names at others! What a shame, as chosen people of God!

We are called to be breach menders, restorers of ruins, peace makers, gatherers of people, compassionate builders of communities. Let these be our lenten tasks, not just skipping breakfast and avoiding meat! How the Lord would wish that we become true loving people of God!