Curiosity or care to change?

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 34th week in Ordinary time

November 22, 2022: Revelation 14: 14-19 ; Luke 21: 5-11

When will these things happen? We are more interested in knowing when certain things will happen and curious about predictions and premonitions, than understanding what is the right thing to be done and make the right moves in life at the right time. Curiosity, is denoted as one of the most prominent spiritual enemies of growth, because knowing for the sake of knowing makes us more infantile than mature. What does it matter knowing, when it does not really affect my life towards a positive and mature transformation?

Mistakenly, and sometimes lazily, we postpone the necessary and crucial transformations in life for an opportune time. At times that opportune moment never comes or it gets too late by the time they come by. The month of November insists on the urgency that is involved in personal conversion and community dedication to growth and maturity in faith. And specially these days leading us to the season of advent, give us a better understanding of the end time spirituality that we are called to live in these times.

Mindful of the short time that we have, we have a calling to live: live our lives to the full, a life worthy of the Lord who has given us the gift of this life!

Chosen, marked and... Given?

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

November 21, 2022: Presentation of Our Blessed Mother 

Revelation 14: 1-3,4b-5; Luke 21:1-4

We are chosen and marked with the names of Our Lord and His Father, the mark that we received at Baptism and renew at every sacrament we receive, in and through the Spirit! We are chosen, in the name of the Lord to bear the name of the Father, to be dwelling places of the Spirit of God. We are marked to represent the Lord here amidst other people and bring to fulfillment the plan that the Father has for the entire universe! 

We are chosen by the Father and marked by the Lord...What should our response be?

Our Blessed Mother answers that question perfectly: our response should undoubtedly be, a total self giving! 

Whatever little we have, whoever little that we are, we are called to give that totally into the hands of the God and we will see miracles happen. As long as I keep something of me in reserve, I prevent the free flow of grace. When I give myself without reserve and when I offer myself totally...wonders begin to happen, God's plan begins to unfurl, love begins to flow and mercy finds no bounds!

This is the meaning of the memory we celebrated today, where the total self giving of Mary as a beloved daughter of God is prefigured in her presentation at the temple! This is an apocryphal tradition that we celebrate, ofcourse it has no mention in the canonical scriptures of the Church - but it is certain to have happened, just as it would have happened for any jewish child of jewish family. But the way Mary lived out that presentation in her life, in her total self giving to the Lord, in her unreserved submission to the holy Will of God - that is what we celebrate in reality!

There is no doubt, I am chosen, I am marked...but the crucial question is, have I truly given myself to the Lord? And how much of myself have I given?

JESUS CHRIST THE KING

Yesterday, Today & Forever!

November 20, 2022: Solemnity of Christ the King

2 Samuel 5: 1-3; Colossians 1: 12-20; Luke 23: 35-43

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever! Jesus Christ is the king - yesterday, today and forever! We celebrate the Kingship of Christ this Sunday - what a wisdom for the Church to invite the faithful to end the year with their King. And next Sunday we begin a new liturgical year. Today, the readings invite us to reflect on the kingship that Christ holds and the way he exercises it! St. Paul summarises the entire feast in just three verses in the second reading - Col 1: 17,18,20.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together(Col 1:17). The first reading establishes the kingship of Jesus in the line of David - God makes David the king of Israel and promises that his line will never end. Infact, in God's mighty plan, the kingship seems eternal, without beginning or end, for God places David a king, to rule in God's name and for Israel it was always Yahweh, who was the King! Every leadership in Christian community therefore derives from God; it is an invitation, a commitment to act on behalf of God, at the service of God's people! Jesus Christ is King, Jesus Christ has been king from eternity, as the first-born of all creation, to him all glory and majesty!

Through him God is pleased to reconcile all things on earth or heaven (Col 1:20). The verse speaks to us of a future, of the universal harmony in One Lord, One God, the new earth and new heaven where only Love will reign, that is, only God will reign, for God is love (1 Jn 4:8). Jesus Christ is King, Jesus will be forever the king. Everything, everyone is moving towards that union with God, in Christ our Lord. It fills us with a hope, despite all the tribulations we go through here and now. But it is not automatic, it all depends on the choices we make today. If we choose the Lord, we endear the Lord. On the contrary, if we choose the passing glories and fleeting pleasures of the moment, that is what we will have. As St.Paul instructs us elsewhere, if you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit (Gal 6:8).

He is the head of the body, the church (Col 1:18). The Gospel presents us a strange sort of a King. Jesus is the one who rules... who rules from the Cross as his throne, who rules with the thorns as his crown, who rules not with the sceptre in his hands but with the marks of nail on his hands, who rules not with laws but with love, a love that abounds without any measure whatsoever. Today the ruler has appointed you and me as his ambassadors - the ruler is not understood, so will we be - not understood; the ruler is not welcome into the schools and public places and the moral arena in the world today, so will we be - not welcome to voice our opinions for truth, for justice and for God. But as His ambassador, what am I doing? What am I ready to do? Yes, Jesus is King, but I am his ambassador, wherever I am... in my service of love, in my witness of faith, in my joy of hope, in my testimony of humility, in my commitment to truth and in my yearning for justice, I have to prove myself that I am the ambassador of that Eternal King.

Today we celebrate the Kingship of Christ - yes, Yesterday, Today and Forever, Jesus is King, and I am his ambassador. How worthy am I for the King whom I represent! How faithful and loyal am I to the King who has died for me, and who calls me to do the same! You are the people of God, Royal Priesthood says the Word, and that is what we are... we share the kingship with Christ - a kingship that consists in loving service to humanity and loving surrender to the Lord!

Long live our King! And let us live everyday worthy of our King!

The God of the Living

WORD 2day: Saturday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 19, 2022: Revelation 11: 4-12; Luke 20: 27-40

The God of the living: that is how Jesus presents his God and Father, and our God and Father.

Resurrection is the foundation of our conviction that our life is not merely made of the few years that we spend on this earth. Our life is part of the Eternal Stream, that is God and we have but a few years here on earth. We come from and we are meant for a union that is eternal and all our efforts during this life has to be towards ensuring that union for ever.

What would be the fall out if we had this truth right in front of our minds while we live? We would not unnecessarily fret to make ourselves comfortable at the cost of the other. We would not long to possess something or someone, leading to undue striving to control the other and manipulate situations. We would not harm others or harm nature just because at present we would like to make more money or make life more easy. We would not calculate everything in terms of gain and profit and dividends and surplus. What a life that would be...truly worthy of the Lord who has given us this life!

But should we wait for a terrifying moment to repent and reset our values? Jesus offers us a wonderful criterion: the criterion of Resurrection. Live as Resurrection-people; live as people of the Eternity; live as people who really believe that your life does not end here and now! In short, the Lord invites us to be ever mindful and live as people of the God of the living!

Sweet in the mouth; bitter to stomach

WORD 2day: Friday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 18, 2022: Revelation 10: 8-11; Luke 19: 45-48

Jesus was very attractive; people rallied after him so willingly and readily. He was interesting to listen to; so many pharisees and scribes hung on to his lips. He was famous; the mere name drew not just crowds but even prominent persons like Zachaeus. He had charming ways; even Herod wanted to see him atleast once! All these were true only in as much as they all looked at Jesus from a distance. When Jesus got near, or when they got closer to Jesus...he turned demanding.

The people came to him and he challenged them to live a life of destitution, with no place to even lay their heads. The people listened to him and he called them whitewashed sepulchers, inviting them to true personal conversion. Individuals approached him and he challenged them to total reformation of their personal and public lives. The people led him with such celebration into the city of Jerusalem and he enters the Temple and drives out the vendors and money lenders. So much for all the welcome we gave him, they would have regretted! But that is Jesus. And that is how the Word of God is. It looks sweet from afar, but if we take it seriously, the Word is demanding!

Yes, the Lord's promises are sweet, but when we take it to heart they can be demanding. If we truly listen to the Word of God, we cannot remain the same forever, we would be challenged to change, to transform, to become more and more like the Lord himself. The Word may be sweet in the mouth; but for sure it will be bitter to stomach. 

The collateral effects can be challenging as the Word would certainly churn out the unwanted elements and strive to pave way towards the Reign. Are we ready for the effects? 

Smile upon or Weep over?

WORD 2day: Thursday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 17, 2022: Revelation 5:1-10; Luke 19: 41-44

The Gospels picture in two places, Jesus weeping: once in the Gospel according to John (11:35) at Lazarus' tomb; and the other is the passage we have today from Luke (19:41). In the first instance he wept for his friend; and today he is weeping for Jerusalem, that is the chosen people of God, the people called to come under the wings of the Lord who wanted to protect them all as a hen does to her chicks. But the people weren't prepared. Jesus wept thinking of their obstinacy, their choice against God's plan of salvation!

In the first reading we have another instance of weeping: John who weeps for the fact that there was no one worthy to open the scrolls. Opening the scrolls means being the mediator between God's ever present love and our absolute need for that merciful love. There is one who is worthy: Jesus, the Son of God...the One mediator who revealed to us who God really is to us and what we are called to be. In our obstinacy we can remain in our own shells and do merely what pleases us, instead of opening our hearts and letting Jesus in, letting that only mediator act in our behalf. We can be so hardhearted that we can miss out the greatest of treasures presented to us, in simple and ordinary ways, everyday.

The choice is ours - to make the Lord smile upon us and takes us into his loving and merciful embrace, or to make the situation so grim as to make the Lord weep over us! Let us not be people over whom Jesus would have to weep. Being sensitive to the messages that Lord gives us on a daily basis, through the Word, through the daily events, through persons we encounter, through the insights that dawn on us... we will be prepared to receive the Lord and the love of God that he mediates. 

Let the Lord smile upon us, not weep over us!

The call to Praise the Lord!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 16, 2022 - Revelation 4: 1-11; Luke 19: 11-28

John impresses upon us how important and essential it is for us, as creatures of the Creator Almighty, to give praise to our Lord and King. Praising God - can never be done enough and it is always in want, in relation to the boundless glory that the Lord possesses! The Word today distinguishes among three types of people who give praise to the Lord:

The first are the Psuedo Praisers: who praise the Lord with their tongues but are far away in spirit from the Lord. They are those who deceive themselves putting up a mere show of their allegiance to God, while in fact are all the while doing their own will. Wantonly, they make of themselves people unfit for the Reign.

The second are the Pointless Praisers: who think praising the Lord alone is enough to inherit the Reign. Their praising is pointless, in fact the Lord himself had declared: 'not all those who call me Lord Lord, will enter the Reign of God' (cf. Mt 7:21). Ultimately, they fall short of entering the Reign.

The third are the Profound Praisers: who do not consider praising the Lord as a duty in itself. Their very words, actions and life give praise to the Lord. Their witness leads, not only themselves, but even those around them to praise the Lord to the heights. They live their life to the full, and seeing their lives, people are inspired to give praises to their King and Lord. 

These are the real People of the Reign, true and profound in their praise.

Letting Jesus enter our homes!

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

Novembre 15, 2022: Revelation 3: 1-6, 14-22; Luke 19: 1-10

To welcome Jesus into our homes: that is the task given to us by the Word today. Obviously when Jesus comes its a blessing - 'today salvation has come into this house' (Lk 19:9). But it is more than being a mere blessing; it is a Challenge - 'because you are neither cold nor hot, i will spit you' (cf. Rev 3:16), says the Lord. Once the Lord comes, things can no more remain the same! You cannot remain both dead and alive at the same time; or hot and cold at the same time; or belonging and not belonging to the Lord at the same time! You have to make a radical choice and that could be a real challenge.

Secondly, you cannot even say, 'let me wait, there will come a time when I would be required to make a choice and then, I shall take it seriously!' No... the Lord says, Look, behold, here I am... I am standing at your door and knocking. If you hear, and you open the door, I shall enter and come to you! The choice, the challenge, the call is imminent. We cannot be postponing it to another opportune moment! The call is here and now! I have to make a choice and choices are everything! 

Like Zachaeus who receieved the call, heard the knocking and opened the door of his home, changed his life for ever. He not only changed from his old ways but made up even for the mistakes, for his wrong doings and every thing that made others' lives less happy! We are indeed called to make some drastic choices... to change our ways, to realise our follies and make up for them, reaching out to the other and being extra loving to people around! 

The choice is ours - to keep to our old ways or to let Jesus enter our homes. The home that he enters, the heart that lets him in, is blessed, is transformed and is marked by salvation! But at the same time, they are radically different from the rest, and from their own past. That can be a challenge...are we ready to let Jesus enter our homes, the homes of our heart? 

Lord, that I may see again

WORD 2day: Monday, 33rd week in Ordinary time

November 14, 2022: Revelation 1:1-4, 2:1-5; Luke 18: 35-43

Repent and get back to your original ways, invites the first reading today. With a plenty of good will and an abundance of spirit we begin something new and good, very many times on our spiritual journey... just imagine the day of our first communion, for some others that of confirmation, for still others the day of their religious consecration, for many others the day of your wedding... how well and with what spirits we began it all! 

But in a short while the energy drains, the spirit goes faint and a mere good will becomes drastically insufficient. The reason if we analyse it carefully: we are not attentive enough to note the initial changes that happen in our life and experience... we remain so insensitive to what is happening within us that we are caught unawares at much crucial time. That is why the important prayer today: "Lord grant that we may see again!" (Cf. Lk 18:41).

Staying in touch with the Lord keeps us in touch with ourselves, to constantly check our pride, insensitivities, arrogance, unforgiving attitude, judgmental tendencies, loose talks, needless critiques, personal attacks, childish complaints and compromises against true love: these are the blindnesses that set in, if we are not careful or attentive! We become so blind that we do not even realise what sad levels we tend to reach in our life. We are blissfully unware at times how inhuman we grow, leave alone the talk of becoming unholy! 

Doubtlessly, at these moments, it is the Lord alone who can restore the original spirit by enabling us to see... empowering us to realise and restart... "to make us see again!" We are reaching the end of this liturgical year...and it is time now that each of us make it our prayer: Grant Lord, that I may see again!

THE END TIMES

Lend, Amend and Transcend!

November 13, 2022: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary time - 6th World Day of the Poor
Malachi 3: 19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12; Luke 21: 5-19

Today is the penultimate Sunday in the Ordinary time, and next week we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King bringing the liturgical year to a close. Six years ago Pope Francis initiated the practice of celebrating this Sunday as the World day of the Poor! The Word that Pope Francis shares with us this year is: Jesus Christ became poor for your sake (2 Cor 8:9). That is a reminder that we have to empathise with the suffering, to cry with the moaning and to do our part on removing this scar from the humanity - the scar of misery, the scar of homelessness, the scar of the sense of being oppressed. 

And the Word this week reminds us of the second coming of the King, that is the END times! Some get a strange a kick out of talking about the end times and spiritually terrorise those who listen to them. There have been cases of people who had bought trenches to secure themselves when the mystery stories did their rounds in 2012... just imagine 10 years have passed since then! Every time some one says there is a stone in the space flying across, or a planet coming too close, or some forecast climatic disaster, these groups activate themselves with all their preposterous imaginations! Let us remember dear friends that we have been living in the end times for the past 2000 years!!! Even St. Paul had to warn the Thessalonians not to make too much of these!

For a true Christian what should the 'end time' mean? Should it be terrorising? Should it make one go into a delirious tantrum or a plaguing paranoia? Those are in no way Christian responses to the thought on end times. Because for the one who believes in Christ, the Lord who has overcome the world (Jn 16:33), the Lord who has gained victory over death(Rom 6:9), the end time is not dreadful, it cannot be a threatening darkness! The first reading says that so plainly: "but for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays!" (Mal 3:20).

The readings today instruct us, on how we should confront the end times. What if the end of times were tomorrow, or today or now! We have begun our life journey, a journey of perfection towards union in Christ and this journey has to necessarily end, and that end is nothing but union with Christ - how my soul should long for that: Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul longs for you, my God! (Ps 42:1)

The first reading tells me, all that I need to do to prepare myself for the end times, is to LEND my ears to the Lord. When I hear the word of the Lord and live it with all my heart (Jas 1:22), not beset by occasional set backs but ever trusting in the mercy and goodness of the Lord, I need to fear no one; I need to fear nothing, not even the gates of hell! But the secret is eagerness to lend my ears to the Word of the Lord.

The second reading challenges me to AMEND my ways in the Lord, go on living my every day life with serenity and peace. There is nothing to worry or fret as the Thessalonians did, for my soul finds rest in the Lord, and my salvation comes from God (Ps 62:1). All that I need to do is remain mindful of my ways! A sincere humility and daily conversion leads me to a genuine Christian life. When I begin everyday in the presence of the Lord planning my life and end it in God's presence evaluating it on the basis of God's teachings, I come to know of the things that I can be happy about and the things I need to grow in. A saint is not someone who has never failed, but is someone who has never remained the same after a failure! The secret is my willingness to amend my ways to walk in the light of the Lord.

The Gospel invites me to TRANSCEND all fears and trust in the Lord. Humanly speaking, I cannot end all my fears, but I can transcend every one of them. When my heart trusts in the Lord, when my eyes are fixed on my Saviour, when my hand rest in the hands of the One who leads me, I can transcend all my fears - like Peter who dared to step on to the turbulent sea and walk, like Paul and Barnabas who stood before the angry Sanhedrin and spoke, like the apostles who defied every authority and spread the message of Christ... they were all once filled with fear... they were the same weak men but with the Spirit they could transcend all fears! Nothing - no threat, no punishment, not even death - could frighten them. The secret is my capacity to transcend all fears with the Spirit of power, love and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7).

The End of times is near... infact we are living in the end times... it is not a matter to be spoken of in alarm or in whispers... the message of end times is, a call to lend my ears to the Word of the Lord, a challenge to amend my ways in the way of the Lord and to transcend all fears with the Spirit of the Lord! 

Let us live every day of our life, as if it were the last day of our life, every moment as if it were the last. Let us live our lives to the full, ever acceptable in the eyes of the Lord!