Being forsaken and Moving ahead!

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

November 4, 2023: Romans 11: 1-2,11-12, 25-29; Luke 14: 1,7-11

At times we dare ask that question: has God forsaken me? All the expression of an endless love on God's part notwithstanding, I ask that question and wait for an answer - how cheeky! 

Forsaking, is not within the precincts of God. Being Forsaken -is an absolutely human parlance! God never forsakes, not even if it is the worst of beings that God is faced with. Because when God creates someone, God does so out of love! That love never changes, as does God's righteousness never change. 

God's righteous love, accepts me whatever state I might be in. But what truly happens is that I reject God, I keep myself away from God, I remain indifferent towards God and finally blame it all on God! I look for other things - human respect, worldly success, material affluence, social status and mundane glory more that what God matters to me! God is sidelined and forsaken. 

Jesus challenges us today: move ahead my friend! Grow up and realise that it is not God who forsakes you; you forsake God! Realise it... and then you will be truly able to move ahead and get on with God.

What stops me from doing good?

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

November 3, 2023 - Romans 9: 1-5; Luke 14: 1-6

I would willingly be condemned if it helped my brother or sister, dares Paul. What if you criticise me for curing on the sabbath, I dont mind, as long as it liberates a son or a daughter of God, says Jesus in the Gospel. The message is loud and clear: doing good to the other cannot wait, much less, be stopped!

In fact, the passage of the first reading and the episode of the Gospel today, can lead us to reflect on one important question in our Christian living: what does stop me from doing good to my brother or sister? Let us reflect on top-three blocks that could be: 

The first is mindless self-centredness - because of which I fail to think beyond myself, my whims and fancies, my petty comforts and my comfort zones. I am unable to look around, look out or look up to anyone, unable to learn anew or change my perspectives in order to reach out to the other. This is what St. Paul points out in the first reading today. 

The second is infantile fearfulness - because of which, though I know what is right to be done, I fail to do it out of fear of criticism or fear of being ridiculed for the good I do. It may look too flimsy a reason, that is why it is infantile. But this is a very wide spread reason. Just imagine how many of us have this question before we do anything at all in our daily life: what will others think of me! Jesus challenges such a thinking in the episode we see in the Gospel today. 

The third is obstinate wickedness - because of which, I choose deliberately what is against good; I choose to do harm, hurt, destroy, exploit, use or abuse, the other for reasons known only to me! What a wicked way of life it can be! Sadly, there are many in this mode of thinking and living, which causes so much evil in the world. Here is where a true Christian has to make a real difference today in the world. 

Yes, the crucial question to me today is: what stops me from doing good to my brother or sister?

Hope - that makes us Christian!

All souls day - November 2, 2023

What is the difference between a Christian and an unchristian outlook on anything?

Hope! The difference is hope. It is hope that makes us see a possibility even in the worst of our daily problems. Hope gives one the serenity and tranquility to approach every day problems with grace. One big unsolved question for the whole humanity is how to understand the end of life and beyond.

For a Christian, life is changed, not ended; it is transformed not terminated, explains the preface of the Mass for the dead. Jesus' resurrection fills us with hope and that hope does not disappoint us. The hope is towards eternal life, it is the eternal destination that characterises the culmination of this journey on earth.

Death is just the horizon beyond which we are not able to see what really exists; for if we see, there is no more place for hope (Rom 8:24). All that we see is the Risen Lord, who lives with us and lights our path. And in the Risen Lord is our hope. We hope, to see every one of our brothers and sisters gone before us, united in the Risen Lord, as do the saints we celebrated yesterday. Our prayer today is that these brothers and sisters of ours join their ranks and that we, at the end of our journey, join that wonderful family, the family that is founded on faith, united in love and kept alive in hope! 

It is this hope that makes us truly Christian, everyday!

BEING SAINTS

It is not just becoming saints...

November 1, 2023 : All Saints Day

Revelations. 7: 2-4,9-14; 1 John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12a.

O when the saints, go marching in,

I want to be in that number! -

... a simple but profound thought in those familiar lines of the song. To be saints: that is God's call to each of us. At times we think, becoming saints is reserved for a select few. May be the long and tedious process of canonisation of a person in the Church, makes us feel that way. But the fact is, each of us, all of us is called to be saints. St. Paul states that in clear and unequivocal terms in his letter to the Ephesians (1:4), Thessalonians (1 thes 4:3), and other places.

The question sometimes is, whether it is, being a saint or becoming a saint! We are created in the image and likeness of God (says Genesis 1:27) and this image and likeness of God is a "given", a nature that we have within us, as a gift. We are reminded of this image and likeness at our baptism. All the we need to do is to remain with that image in our lives. The beautiful symbol used in the rite of baptism, where the priest hands over a white cloth to the child and entrusts the task of bringing it, as it were, unsullied, intact in its purity to the end of days.That, dear friends, is the call - "to be saints"...and not merely to 'become' saints.

The readings today, develop the same thought in three wonderful dimensions:

Being Saints means... being aware of who we are! O Christian, realise your dignity! We are children of God, reminds St. John in his letter, in the second reading. God has chosen us from eternity, before the foundation of the world! This is an initiative from God our Father and Mother, who creates us and wishes that we share in God's love and ever remain in God's image and likeness, as children of the loving God.

Being Saints means... being washed by the blood of the Lamb! The Image of God within us, sometimes is disturbed, smudged, smeared or sullied by the choices we make misusing the human freedom that is granted to us. The evil one will be more than happy when we lose heart at such moments and give up. The Son of God, our Saviour Jesus Christ shed his blood that we may have victory over sin and death. In that blood we are saved, and in that blood we are made clean, each and every time we turn to the Lord in genuine repentance and willingness to regain our original image. Saints are those who have their garments washed in the blood of the Lamb, says the second reading.

Being Saints means... being 'blessed' in the eyes of the Lord! And the only way to be 'blessed', is to live by the promptings of the Spirit who dwells within us. Paying attention to the indwelling Spirit, we will know what it means to be blessed - to be poor in spirit, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be peace-loving - these are ways of being persons of the spirit. In the ordinariness of our daily life, we have to be persons of the Spirit, looking at the reality different from the way the self seeking world teaches us to.

God's initiative in the call that I have received; Christ's redeeming act of Salvation; the Spirit's indwelling presence that guides me on a daily basis - these are compelling reasons why I need to think seriously about, not merely becoming a saint one day, but being a saint everyday, in my own way!

Hope - confidence in the goodness of God

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

October 31, 2023 - Romans 8: 18-25; Luke 13: 18-21

Longing for a brighter future is a human reality. Within the framework of faith this ordinary human reality takes the form of Hope. 

If faith is a total childlike surrender to God, hope is the blind joy that fills the heart in that surrender. Even in a moment dark and grim, this joy lights up one's life. Haven't we seen persons who have faced years and years of struggle, who have experienced tragedies after tragedies, but have still remained strong and serene? Those are real saints for they live in a spirit of hope, in holy patience that St. Paul speaks of.

We need a very special spiritual capacity to behold the Reign of God - it is patience in problems, endurance in trials, optimism in setbacks ... a certainty, that in everything, simple little things or great grand events, it is God who is in charge. That in one word is, hope! 

Hope is not a great sign or a grand manifestation. It is a subtle disposition and a tiny little spark. Like the mustard seed or the yeast in a dough, it is an elusive attitude, but inevitable to become truly children of God. Yes, it is hope that makes us truly children of God because Hope is the unassailable confidence in the goodness of God.

Never slaves, but heirs!

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

October 30, 2023: Romans 8: 12-17; Luke 13: 10-17

The point of discussion in the Word today is the difference between slaves and heirs, and their respective traits.

A slave is governed by fear, is ruled by law and bound to restrictions. A slave cannot think beyond oneself. Gaining favours by pleasing the one in command is all that is there on the slave's mind. A slave, even when he or she is doing everything for the other, is all the time self centered, thinking all the time of how one will be judged or considered by the one in control.

An heir, instead, is governed by freedom, is guided by love and empowered with spontaneity. Freedom rules out restrictions, love transcends fear and spontaneity despises calculations. An heir never schemes! He or she just lives, lives every moment, lives in freedom and lives in total self responsibility.

Jesus proves to be the rightful heir, experiencing God as 'Abba' and feeling the need to render every child of God, wholesome in everyway. Laws and regulations did not matter to him; threats and warnings looked despicable in his sight. The greatest of all good news is, Christ has given us the same Spirit that was in him, that in our spirit we may be convinced that we are rightful sons and daughters of the merciful God. 

We are never slaves, we are rightful heirs of God, children chosen and beloved. 

The Family and the Household

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

October 28, 2023: Remembering the Apostles Sts. Simon and Jude

Ephesians 2: 19-22; Luke 6: 12-16

The memory of the Apostles takes us back to the original experience that gave rise to a new movement, a new family around the person of Jesus of Nazareth and the wondrous experiences with him. Being Christians does not only mean to have a set of beliefs and practices related to them. It means, that we belong to that movement, that family, that household... we are all members, fellow citizens, brothers and sisters with the apostles and saints. 

Jesus called the Apostles by name, that they may pass on that experience of belonging to the household of God, to others right to the end of the world! And we have been the beneficiaries... we have been built together as the dwelling place of God, the Temple of the Spirit. 

United in our hearts, with genuine love that goes out to each other, as brothers and sisters we are invited to become Temples, where persons can come in to feel the presence of God. Celebrating today the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, we are called to feel one with each other, under that experience that unites us - the experience of belonging to Christ. 

When we stand united, we are built into the dwellings of God, for the Lord had assured: We shall come to them and make our home with them (Jn 14:23).

Alert and Awake; Humble and Holy!

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

October 27, 2023 - Romans 7: 18-25; Luke 12: 54-59

For I do not do the good I want; but I do the evil I do not want - we all know well when we falter. As the psalmist words it: "for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me" (Ps 51:3). Sin, that St. Paul speaks of today, is something that I do, or I give into consciously. 

None of us can feign ignorance and Jesus explains precisely that today in the Gospel: knowing exactly what is coming up the horizon! If only I am more sensitively aware of what happens within me at a given moment, to what I am committing myself to, of what I am giving into, of what I am permitting into my mind, my thinking and my life... I can preserve myself from so much of pain and patch up. 

The statutes are present within me in my heart, the Saviour abides ever at my side... all that I need to is turn to the Lord and to the Word of the Lord to be assisted, strengthened and saved! 

Let us be ever alert, not to fall prey to the evil; let us be humble to accept it when we actually fall; the fall may be slow and gradual but 'we will not be released until we pay the last penny!' Alert and awake, humble and holy - that is our call!

With hearts set on fire...

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

October 26, 2023: Romans 6: 19-23; Luke 12: 49-53

With hearts set on fire... that is the way to live an authentic Christian life, declares the Gospel today. 

Fire can symbolically mean light that dispels darkness; one can choose either to live in the light or slumber in the shade - "the work of each will become visible,...because it will be revealed with fire"(1Cor 3:13) says the Word. 

Fire can symbolise the purifying fire which tests the genuineness of our faith, faith which is more precious than gold(1 Pet 1:7). It is all about choices! The choices we make, define the persons that we are. 

Every moment of our life, in our words, in our acts, in our thoughts, in our priorities, in every little decision that we make, we are making choices, we are continually defining who we are, to ourselves first of all and then to the world. Its a choice fundamentally - for death or for life! When we choose things that are ungodly we choose death. When we choose righteousness, the way of the Light, the fire of the Lord, we choose eternal life in Jesus Christ. 

The question here is, are our hearts on fire?

Integrity: being slaves to righteousness

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

October 25, 2023: Romans 6: 12-18 -18; Luke 12: 39-48

Jesus continues his instruction as to how we need to be prepared for that hour of reckoning at any point of time in our life. Infact, Jesus is ridiculing all the funny discussions and calculations about when that hour will come - some self proclaimed eschatalogical quacks make much ado of the end and its timings and miss the entire point that Jesus is driving home here. No matter when and where, you know what to do and why to do it. Take care how you do it - not seeking human attention but going by merely God's approval. 

There is a discussion in the world today: who is more corrupt and who is less corrupt. This is the kind fallacy that Jesus is questioning. You are either corrupt or not corrupt! Where does this more and less corrupt come from? When we speak so much against people of corrupt nature, it could be politicians or leaders or officials or persons in authority, we may be stating facts but are we justified to speak so? Aren't we corrupt too in our own way? Even doing something good for the sake of being praised is a form of corruption. 

This is what we call Integrity where I don't need an external recognition; I have developed an internal system of convictions and criteria that makes me almost a "slave" to Righteousness... doing nothing but good, speaking nothing but good, thinking nothing but good, no matter how unlikely the returns are, or what the consequences would be. I am good and righteous and there is no need of a because!