The Logic of the Reign

WORD 2day: Monday, 31st week in Ordinary time

October 31, 2022: Philippians 2: 1-4; Luke 14: 12-14

There is a principle that I am fond of repeating frequently: what we do is something very important, but it is more important why we do what we do! A person who used to be coming to me for a little spiritual help was once saying, sounding very dejected, "no matter how much efforts I make, such and such a person is not happy, the other one has only criticism...no one is satisfied with me! I know my behaviour is not right; but I am not able to change!" All that I thought of saying was this - "why do you want to change; why do you want to alter your behaviour? To please someone? To receive an affirmation from someone? To impress someone? If it is so, you are bound to fail!" 

Why do you have to please someone, by all means? Much worse it is when you begin to prove yourself right, or good, or meritorious before someone! Do nothing to prove yourself! We have nothing to prove to anyone! Anything we do, without a personal conviction and a purposeful decision, loses its value however well it is done. This is a golden principle to remember, if we wish to remain serene and calm.

Reflected from this point of view, the readings today offer us a clear picture of why we are unhappy at times or why it makes so little sense after having moved a mountain. If our ego, our selfish motivations and our childish calculations dominate, however big an action, it would matter nothing. Instead, even if what I do is something absolutely ordinary, when it is done out of genuine love, selfless concern and mercy, it becomes so remarkable in the eyes of the Lord. 

Jesus makes his point doubtlessly clear today: the logic of the Reign is completely different and it takes a different mindset to understand it. Give, offer generously and wish nothing in return, you will see how blessed you feel!

SALVATION... TODAY, HERE & NOW

Eagerness, Encounter and Enthusiasm

31st Sunday in Ordinary time: October 30, 2022
Wisdom 11:22 - 12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11 - 2:2; Luke 19:1-10

Salvation is the theme that dominates the liturgy today. The two special days that we have in the coming week would help us to get into this theme more profoundly. The first day of the month we are about to begin, would remind us of those who shine as stars having reached the due destination; and the second day, those who have completed their earthly lap and are bound towards the eternal abode; both these would make us reflect on our future, as something certain and glorious. And that is salvation. The word salvation, sometimes can be understood in terms of salvaging something that has gone wrong. Though this dimension is definitely present in the Salvation that Jesus wants to offer us, Salvation for a Christian should mean much more, much broader and more holisitic. It is wholeness, fullness, oneness, where nothing is lost, nothing is dissipated, everything is intact, everything is reconciled into One, whole cosmos reconciled in God, in and through one Saviour Jesus Christ. It is not merely an other-worldly phenomenon, but a concrete experience here and now, says the Gospel today through the example of Zacchaeus.

An essential eligibility for this salvation is an Eagerness towards it. This eagerness is present in every person, every being. As St.Paul says in his letter to the Romans, the whole creation longs for it, as in a labour pain (Rom 8:22). It is God's will that nothing should be lost (Jn 6:39), that everything should be reconciled in Him (Col 1:20). The first reading expresses it in simple terms, that the Lord loves all things that exist and wills that they be united in the Lord. This is the oneness that we long for with the eagerness that is exhibited in the whole creation, and we as sons and daughters of God, have this longing much more. This longing is manifested in Zacchaeus in a gradually intensifying degree... first as a mere curiosity to see Jesus, then as an openness to listen to him and then as a longing to have him under his roof! Our eagerness too has to grow in these degrees... from a willingness to know, through an openness to listen to the Lord, to a longing to belong to Him for ever.

Salvation is not only something that happens at the end of time or at the end of my life... but it is the moment of truth that is occasioned every time the Lord encounters me - through daily events, through persons around, through a challenging situation, a needy person or a moment that demands a choice from me. As both the first and the second readings explain, the Lord strives to make the creation worthy of its original nature, the perfection which the Lord willed them. It is in this framework we understand every intervention of God, especially that in Jesus Christ, the Word made human. Once the Lord encounters me, I can never remain the same! That is why we keep dodging and avoiding the gaze of the Lord. But when it does happen, it is a moment of reckoning, the moment of Truth. It was so for Zacchaeus, he was encountered by Jesus at the Sychamore... an encounter that transformed him totally, initiated a salvific process in his life. He listened to Jesus' call, obeyed and came down from the tree, and his life was changed for ever. We are invited to listen to the call of the Saviour, come down from our obstinacy and our life too shall be changed for ever!

Salvation is not an imaginary state of life...it has to be seen in concrete living. It should be seen in our Enthusiasm for life. We see Zacchaeus enthusiastic about his new life...he is ready to return whatever he has unjustly extorted, not just that, but four times! This is what we call enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm, comes from the roots 'en' and 'theos', which combine to mean, 'being filled with God'...being enthusiastic in life means to be filled with God every moment of our life. Salvation has to be evidenced in this enthusiasm to live life to the full... not ever compromising with the unjust state of affairs, not giving into selfish considerations of me and mine, but looking at everything from the perspective of God, from the perspective of wholeness that consists of reconciling everything, the whole creation, in God.

We are people of Salvation; as St. Paul says, "God chose you from the beginning for salvation" (2 Thes 2:13); Let us live our life with a never ending eagerness for this wholeness in God, ever prepared to encounter the Lord and be corrected and made perfect by the Lord. Let our enthusiasm in our daily life proclaim to the world that we are people of salvation. Today, the Lord offers, as he did with Zacchaeus, to be our guest. If we receive the Lord with our whole heart, Today, here, and right now, we shall experience the power of God's Salvation.

Be gone with Christ!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 29, 2022: Philippians 1:18-26; Luke 14: 1, 7-11

I wish to be gone and to be with Christ, says St. Paul today in the first reading. He is certainly not despising the present world or the present life, but longing for that life in Christ, that union with God, that life in eternity. The psalmist expresses the same in the words - my soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life. 

Jesus goes a step ahead and speaks of living this life, with the sense of eternity. The virtue does not lie only in longing for eternity, but in making that eternity come closer to our lives by the choices we make and the prioroties we take. Jesus' teaching today is one of those means to live with the sense of eternity.

Those who humble themselves will be exalted, and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Humbling oneself is an experience of valuing eternity; it is to understand how limited and little we are, inspite of the celebrated titles and trophies we attach to ourselves. The more we are able to look at this perspective, the more we grow aware of the presence of the Almighty, the significance of Eternity and the meaning of life from the mind of Christ. 

Being gone with Christ... is that way of life, being taken up with Christ, thinking like Christ, living like Christ, and looking at everything, every person and every event from the perspective of Christ. When we do that, according to the world we would be misfits, strangers, we would be considered "gone"... but for us, we will be in union with Christ, closer to Christ, in the footsteps of Christ; we would be gone with Christ. 

The Family of the Apostles

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

October 28, 2022: Celebrating Apostles Simon and Jude
Ephesians 2:19-22; Luke 6:12-16

You are no longer alien, no longer strangers, you are part of the family that the Apostles belonged to, the family that was initiated as the starting point of the Reign of God. This familiarity is the greatest gift according to Paul, as he insists that we could have been no people, but God made us God's people through Christ. That is what we are, God's people!

Of Simon and Jude whom we celebrate today, Judas Thaddeus, is said to be close to Jesus in his family ties and in his appearance. However, Jesus would not have made a big issue of it - for him those who listen to God's word and put it into practice are more familiar than anyone else! There is a tendency everywhere, when we have the possibility of doing some favour to someone, we have a very narrow way how we pick and choose, as to whom to extend that favour to! May be it is important to evaluate that.

Simon was called the zealot... someone who belonged to the group which believed in getting things right through force and exertion, much more than conviction and coversion. Certainly Jesus would have had a tough time to get him change his mind, but he never gave up! And today we have Simon in the ranks of the Saintly Apostles. A point of evaluation here is to check how readily we give up on persons and judge them out of our minds!

Simon and Jude, as all other apostles, teach us the lesson that Jesus wants us so much to learn: it does not matter which nation, or tribe, or clan or caste I belong to - the only thing that matters is that I belong to God and I form part of the family of God, the family of the Apostles!

Being a Christian: is it simple?

WORD 2day: Thursday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 27, 2022: Ephesians 6:10-20; Luke 13: 31-35

Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens (Eph 6:12). Yes, our life is a struggle! We know that very well... enough to look around - the wars, the economic crises, the political altercations, the subversive forces, the misleading claims of rights that obscure duties and values, the misplaced priorities that make life so complicated and some times even meaningless!

Yes, we are struggling to live an authentic life. That is why we are the Militant Church... the church that is fighting its way through, towards the eternal life, towards that crown that is promised and prepared for us. The Triumphant Church, who are the saints who have gone before us, is our shining model and an inspiring example... we will soon be celebrating them altogether. However, today let us just heed to the message that the triumphant Church gives us, in the clear tone of the Word today. As we heard from Luke a few days ago (12:4) - Do not fear those who can kill your body, but can do nothing to your soul! And Jesus lives that teaching in the Gospel today: 'Go tell that fox'...referring to Herod...'that I will be here today, tomorrow and the third day!'

Jesus feared no one, because he was certain that God was with him. St. Paul today gives us a whole armour to put on; every kind of protection against every kind of danger. The Lord is our stronghold, the Lord is our refuge; whom should we fear? All that we need to do is stand firm in faith. Let us not deceive ourselves saying, being a Christian today is simple or natural; it is not! Neither shall we lose hope saying, we cannot! 

Jesus teaches us by his example today the technique of a Christian fight: Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong! (1 Cor 16:13)

To be saved... any short cuts?

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 26, 2022: Ephesians 6: 1-9; Luke 13: 22-30

Will only few be saved? Who will be saved and who will not be? Will so and so be saved? These are questions we hear more often than not. Jesus when he was posed with the same question, not even once did he answer these questions direct. He always gave an explanation that made them think more and think of something else! Once he said the parable of the camel and the eye of the needle and another time he explained to them that it is possible with God and impossible with merely human effort, and so on.

However in today's Gospel, he says there are no categories of people who would enter by default, nor are there selected races who would enter with ease the Reign of God! Anyone can enter and in fact, everyone is invited to enter the Reign of God, provided they have the right disposition and the right life style!

St. Paul in the first reading explains what this particular disposition or life style has to be. It is nothing but living our life wherever we are, in a manner that is pleasing to God. It is easy to blame the others or the situation for a life lived below the standard that is expected of us and the Lord today challenges us to 'strive to go through the narrow door'... that is the only door that leads to the Reign! 

In Paul's words, we are called to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:!2); it is not about fretting and fidgeting but about being diligent and dedicated in whatever we are called to be, wherever we are. Striving, living with endurance our day to day life, working hard... these are the terms we hear in the Word today, because there are no shortcuts, to be saved!

Being in Christ is all that matters

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 25, 2022: Ephesians 5:21-33; Luke 13: 18-21

Once I was addressing a group of young couples regarding the attitudes that they should have towards each other... when some tough statements came around, one of them jokingly remarked. 'these things coming from Paul, it's difficult to accept, given the fact that he was an unmarried man!' And immediately another one added looking straight at me, 'Paul writing it and you quoting it... both are difficult to accept'. There was a big roar of laughter. That aside, there can be heated debates on issues that Paul speaks of today- who has to be subordinate to whom! That need not be our focus! Whether husband or wife, whether leaders or followers, whether I am subordinate or head, I am called to be IN Christ - that's the focus.

Whether I am a subordinate or a head, an apostle or a servant, a renowned person or a so-called nobody... I am called to be in Christ. Being in Christ, even if I am just a mustard seed I can grow into a mighty tree. Being in Christ, even if I am just pinch of yeast I can make a difference for entire dough. Being in Christ, even if I am just a spark of glow, I will light up the world to its extremeties. 

At times it is a hard fact to digest... but it really does not matter what we do, what we gather, what we achieve and what titles we earn... but the whole world is after these, is it not? Even among spouses, there is a conflict as to who commands and who obeys; even within a family there are feuds as to who gains more and who has the benefits; even among so-called friends at times there are misgivings that feed the individual egos. Can I really say a definitive no? 

We will be able to say that no, if only we are convinced that being in Christ is all that matters!

Be compassionate because...

WORD 2day: Monday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 24, 2022: Ephesians 4: 32- 5: 8; Luke 13: 10-17

'Children of Light', that is how St.Paul addresses us in the first reading today. The reading also paints a clear picture of what it means to be children of Light, or the children of God...it means to be kind, compassionate, forgiving, filled with love... in short, being like God, simply because we are children of God. 

Love and compassion have to be the defining characteristics of our personalities - be it individual personality or a collective identity, as disciples or followers of Christ. Nothing can stop us from being compassionate... no difficulty should hinder us from being compassionate, no rule or regulation, no tradition or custom, no practice or policy can stop us from being compassionate; because it needs to become our very nature,  as children of the Compassionate Father and Mother, God who has loved each of us into existence, who continues to loves us inspite of our unworthiness, and who promises us never to deny us of this love come what may. 

Is our love modelled on this love? Is our mode of life matching this way of being of God? Is our list of criteria and our set of priorities, in keeping with this perspective of life? Are we convinced that we need to be compassionate, because, and simply because, we are the children of that Compassion without limit?

EMPTINESS - WHERE GOD ENCOUNTERS

Lack, Lifestyle and Liminality

30th Sunday in the Ordinary time - October 23, 2022
Ecclesiasticus 35: 12-14,16-19; 2 Timothy 4: 6-8- 16-18; Luke 18: 9-14

You cannot fill a cup that is full ...

God is not partial, God knows no favourites says the first reading but all the while speaking of a God who takes his stand by the poor, the widow and the orphans, the oppressed and the lowly. There is no paradox here, neither is there a partiality. It is natural that water flows where it is low. Isn't it true that we can fill only that which is empty!

Today we are reminded of the Spirituality of Emptiness! Emptiness, is not merely an absence of things. Emptiness is not merely a state of something not being there. If it were so, it is so easy to reach that state - all that you need to do is remove what is there! Instead, emptiness is a positive reality. Emptiness is where God encounters us!

Emptiness can be due to a lack! The first reading speaks to us of the oppressed, the widows and the orphans...persons who lacked, who lacked their rights, who lacked some on to lean on, who lacked people who cared. God encounters us in that state...that is a condition! A condition in which one knows that one lacks, when one knows that he or she is not complete. In our inabilities, in our lacks when we turn to God, and accept God as the one who can fill me... God fills me!

Emptiness can be a lifestyle! One can have, one can possess, but still can decide to live in a state of emptiness, not giving into attachments and bonds that can cripple one's existence. God encounters him or her there, in that emptiness. That is not a condition, but a choice! St. Paul, speaks in the second reading of how he had emptied himself for the sake of the Word, for the sake of the Lord, for the sake of the Lord's people. It is a lifestyle ... a mindset...the mindset of Christ... For he did not consider equality with God as something to be held on to,...but emptied himself (Phil 2: 5-7) - the lifestyle of Christ, the Son of God! Emptying yourself is a choice to allow God to fill you!

Emptiness is liminality! Liminality is a word that is used to mean, 'to stand at the threshold', a state of passage, a state where one is changed from what one was, but has not yet become what one is yet to become! One is not complete yet, but he or she is well on the way to being complete. We can be reminded of the words that St. John writes, 'We are children of God, what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is' (1 Jn 3:2). When we empty ourselves, we are moving towards being complete. When we are too conscious of being so complete and perfect, we actually are closing ourselves in and we become dead. The more we empty ourselves, the more God fills us!

O God, who alone is complete...

behold my emptiness, and make me ever conscious of it,
that I may be filled, filled by you,
to become complete, just as you are...
... so ready to empty myself for the others,
that I may be once again be filled by you, who alone is complete!

Let's grow up, folks!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 29th week in Ordinary time

October 22, 2022: Ephesians 4: 7-16; Luke 13: 1-9

The first reading today will lend itself so well for an interdenominational war and a catholics-protestants feud, one blaming and accusing the other of human trickery and deceptive scheming. Let us grow up dear friends! St. Paul challenges us to grow into the full stature of Christ and that is nothing but love. Let us grow in love, love for God, love for each other, a patient acceptance of each other and loving fellowship of brothers and sisters.

How long would we go on calling each other names and breaking the Body of Christ into non negotiable bits and pieces? If we go on like this, Jesus says that twice in the Gospel today: 'you will all perish!' It's high time we realise our call to grow up and bear fruit. 

God has given us enough and more chances. Let us equip ourselves, not with offences and defences, but with arms of love and feet of generosity. Let us prune our ego and till our arid hearts. Let us sow seeds of love and reap the fruit of brotherhood and sisterhood. Love is our identity and nothing else is: by this they will know that you are my disciples, by the love that you have for one another (Jn 13:35). 

There can be no worse scandal than a divided Church and of course, there can be no better proclamation of the Gospel than a loving and united community of faithful, who live together as brothers and sisters, one in the Lord and in the Spirit!