Mary, the Mother of God

RESOLVING TO LIVE AS GOD’S CHILDREN

Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21

Readings for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

A video I saw recently has a four-year old say she has “problems with new year resolutions”! Ah! Doesn’t she speak for all of us? 

But the wise one says resolutions are problems not because she’s “bad at them” but because “most people think that’s it… it’s the one time to change.” Resolutions are not about that “one big moment” but working through several little ones. 

What could be a good new year resolution?

In the second reading, Paul recalls a fundamental truth of our faith: the incarnation has freed us and enabled us to be adopted as sons and daughters of God. A good new year resolution (and one we need to make every year) is to realize more fully this new life as children of God.

How do we do this? The gospel presents Mary as a model of this new life! Mary said “yes” to God. She did not understand the immensity and implications of that “yes” which was not restricted to that “one big moment” but involved several little (and difficult) yeses. 

How did Mary live her mission? The gospel tells us after the shepherds narrated what the angels had said, “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” After the boy Jesus was found in the temple, we read again “his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” 

Mary treasured the word of God and pondered it to discern his will for her at every stage in her life as his handmaid.

For us, too, life’s choices are rarely clear. We often cannot understand what God wants of us. The example of Mary shows us how to live out our calling as children of God.

Let me today resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure his word, and ponder it in my heart. Then shall I be able to realize my new year resolution of a new life in union with God.

The Nativity of the Lord

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Readings for the Mass at Night

Isaiah 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14

Readings for the Nativity of the Lord: Mass at Night

Readings for the Mass During the Day

Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18

Readings for the Nativity of the Lord: Mass During the Day

A family was making its Christmas crib; everybody was contributing, putting in the statues and the hay. Five-year-old Scott suddenly ran into his room, brought a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and placed it overlooking Mary and Joseph. It looked so menacing in that manger.

The dad was tempted to tell Scott: “Look, that dinosaur lived millions of years before Jesus was born. He wasn’t around during Christ’s time. And it didn’t look good in the manger.” He added: “I caught myself because I realized that, in essence, he had caught a truth of Christmas. For Christmas came to help us face the dinosaurs in life… those menacing terrors that seem to be so strong, so powerful. Christmas came to defeat them.”

We have so many fears in life! We fear life, we fear death, and everything in between. We fear rejection. We fear an uncertain future. There is fear caused by epidemics and disasters; by a changing economics and a warming planet. We have and face so many dinosaurs!

The antidote to our fears is found in the coming of Christ into the world. Recall that the first words of Adam are “I was afraid.” But the first words that herald the birth of Jesus (the second Adam) are “Do not be afraid.”

There are four times when Gabriel says “Do not be afraid” in the Christmas Story: to Zechariah because his prayer for a son was answered; to Mary because she was the favoured one who would bear God’s Son; to Joseph to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Spirit and would save his people; to the shepherds because he brought good news of great joy. In each case, Gabriel had to tell the recipients of his message not to be afraid.

We still have our fears. And to us, too, the message is: Do not be afraid because our God has provided the remedy for our fears: he has come; he has pitched his tent among us and has given us power to become children of God. He is the light that shines in the darkness to overcome it. 

And so: Do not be afraid! Happy Christmas!

IV Sunday of Advent

LISTEN – OBEY – COOPERATE

Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

Readings for the IV Sunday of Advent

Elisabeth Elliot (who worked for several years with the Huorani in Ecuador) tells of two adventurers who came to see her, loaded with equipment for their adventure in the Andes. They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians!

She writes: “Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me—confident and, we think, well-informed and well-equipped. We know what we need… a yes or no answer to a simple question. Or perhaps a road sign. Something quick and easy to point the way. But has it occurred to us that with all our stuff, something is missing? What we ought to have is the guide himself.”

I guess we can identify with Elliot’s experience. In moments of difficulty, we come to God but seldom to seek his guidance; we come to ask him to approve our plans!

I guess Joseph would identify with Elliot’s experience!

When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, he knew that law and custom required him to denounce Mary. But “since he was a righteous man, and unwilling to expose her to shame, he decided to divorce her quietly.” Joseph decided to go beyond law and custom; he let compassion guide his decision. 

But God intervened and made clear to him that he would have to recognize the child in Mary’s womb as his own. Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him”. He goes even beyond love; he allowed God to guide him and took a leap of faith into an unknown and difficult situation. 

This listening-obeying-cooperating with God’s action results in the birth of Jesus.

Mary did the same. She, too, listened to God, and despite questions, obeyed his will, and cooperated with him. The result: the incarnation.

Paul, in the second reading, is another example of this divine-human dynamic: he, too, listened to God, obeyed him, and facilitated the birth of Jesus in the new churches.

God’s coming in our world still depends on “Josephs” and “Marys”: men and women of humility and docility.

In moments of dilemma, do I seek merely God’s approval and rely on my own strength to arrive at decisions? Or do I listen to his voice, obey his will, and cooperate with his plan for me? 

May you and I listen-obey-cooperate and make Christmas still happen!

III Sunday of Advent

HE RENEWS ALL THINGS

Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

Readings for the III Sunday of Advent

Dr Verghese Kurien, the Milkman of India and the Father of the White Revolution, helped establish Amul. His brainchild “Operation Flood” became the world’s largest dairy development program and transformed India from a milk-deficient nation in 1949 to the world’s largest milk producer forty years later. He helped farmers improve their financial and social well-being: his work lifted millions out of poverty (three-fourths of the price one pays for an Amul product goes to the producing dairy farmer) and contributed to the transformation of rural India. 

What Dr Kurien did for dairy farmers in India, Jesus does for all peoples: he transforms us; he makes all things new!

The readings of today on this Third Sunday of Advent emphasize this renewal and wholeness.

In the first reading, Isaiah announces that the coming of God will cause abundant flowers to bloom in the desert, strengthens feeble hands, makes firm knees that are weak, and brings back the Babylonian exiles. There will be a radical renewal.

In James’ letter, the coming of the Lord is likened to “the precious fruit of the earth.” 

This renewal is evident in the gospel, too. Jesus answers John’s question (“are you the one?”) in the language of Isaiah: “The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” What Isaiah foretold becomes reality with the coming of Jesus.

The same Jesus comes again to renew all things – every day and at the end of time. What should we do while we await his coming? 

In the words of St James, we ought to “be patient” and wait with “hearts firm” like “the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth”. A farmer waits patiently and productively! When we do this, the Lord will make all things new in his time and on his terms.

Will I wait patiently and productively for the coming of God? Do I believe that he can and does transform my reality or do I look for another because his action does not meet my expectations? How can I be his instrument of transformation?

May we be partners with God in the rainbow revolution and cooperate with him as he makes all things new.

II Sunday of Advent

CTRL+Z

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12

Readings for II Sunday of Advent

One of the most useful Windows shortcuts, and one that I use most often, is “Ctrl+Z”! By pressing this key combo, one can undo one’s last action. Did I key in a wrong word or letter? Did I delete an entire paragraph by mistake? No problem! I just press “Ctrl+Z” and return to where I was before my mistake.

All of us have done things in our lives that we regret and would like to undo: poor decisions, unkind words, wrong acts… it’s part of being human, and sometimes we wish we had Ctrl+Z in our lives.

Advent offers us a Ctrl+Z time and program, summarised in the call of John the Baptist: “Repent… make straight his paths”. 

Repentance is undoing our errors. It is turning away from sin (whatever breaks my relationship with God, others, myself, and nature) and a turning to God. It is what happens when – like the prodigal son – we come to our senses and return to the Father. It is moving from selfishness to selflessness, from defending oneself to donating oneself.

Our ancestry, religious affiliation, social status do not matter. What matters is bearing good fruit: we ought to live justly, in harmony with one another, and in total dependence on God.

When we repent, we collaborate with God in the realization of the ideal realm (which Isaiah foretold in the first reading) and of his kingdom (which Jesus brings and where justice, peace, and harmony reign). 

That’s what Paul exhorts the Romans: “Think in harmony with one another… Welcome one another.”

And yet today we are a divided people… nations are divided, communities are divided, families are divided. 

In trying to build harmony, we focus on conflict resolution. However, there are issues which are difficult to resolve and some which can never be resolved. Psychology and spirituality tell us that the focus should be on conflict engagement. We acknowledge our differences and figure out a way to live in harmony. We acknowledge someone’s perspective without agreeing with that perspective. Not easy but possible!  

In what areas of my life do I need Ctrl+Z? How can I foster peace - justice - harmony… and so collaborate in the realization of the kingdom? 

May our celebration of the Eucharist and of Advent be Ctrl+Z time and help us return to our original state of being.

I Sunday of Advent

HOPE CHANGES EVERYTHING

Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44

Readings for the I Sunday of Advent

A school tutored its students, while they were in hospital, to stay abreast with their academics. Once, it sent a tutor to teach a boy nouns and adverbs, which his class was studying. The boy had been seriously injured in an accident.

When the tutor reached his room, she was unnerved by his state, and stammered: “Your school sent me to teach you nouns and adverbs.” The next day, a nurse asked her: “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher thought she had done something wrong and began to apologize. The nurse said: “No, no! Since yesterday, his attitude has changed; he’s fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to live.”

Later the boy explained that he had given up hope until the tutor arrived. Everything changed when he realized that “they wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy!”

Hope changes everything!

Isaiah (first reading) writes during a period of wars and intrigue, alienation and division. In this time of discouragement, his is a message of hope: our faithful God is with us and is bringing us together. He predicts a time of unity and peace symbolized by people transforming “swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks” (changing weapons of war into tools for growth).

This is the message we need today!

No matter where we live, there is uncertainty, violence, upheaval. We need to hope… and make it change everything. In Paul’s words to the Romans, we need to throw off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; we need to live upright lives.

The gospel, too, is a hopeful reassurance that the Lord will come. We need to stay awake and be prepared.

God doesn’t send his Son into a “dying” world!

During this Advent season, will I hope and make it change everything? Will I allow light into places of darkness? Will I work for reconciliation and unity in my family/ community/ society? What swords do I need to beat into ploughshares and what spears into pruning hooks?

Jesus Christ the Universal King

THE POWER TO FORGIVE AND TRANSFORM

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

Readings for the Solemnity of Christ the King

In the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Archbishop of Paris preached: 

Some years ago, three young tourists—rude and cynical—came into this cathedral. Two dared the third to make up a confession. The young man went and arrogantly made his confession. The confessor told him: “For your penance, stand before the crucifix, look into the face of the crucified Christ and say: ‘All this you did for me, and I don’t give a damn!’” The young man went out and bragged that he had completed the dare; but the other two insisted he finish the dare by doing the penance. So he re-entered the cathedral, stood before the crucifix, looked up into the face of Christ and began: “All this you did for me and I… I… I don’t… I don’t give…” he couldn’t continue. 

At this point, the archbishop leaned over the pulpit and said: “That young man stands before you to preach today.”

This is the power of our King has: the power to forgive and transform through love and the cross.

On the cross, stripped of everything—clothes, strength, dignity—Jesus retains his power

- to forgive: he forgives his persecutors, the executioners, and the repentant thief; 

- to change hearts: he transforms the thief, the centurion, and the people.

Paul’s hymn to the Colossians (second reading) emphasizes that in Jesus we have the forgiveness of sins; through him, all things are reconciled.

In a world which gives importance to territory, power, wealth, rhetoric, and show… Jesus is a king

  whose kingdom has no boundaries and goes beyond nationality; 

  whose citizens are the poor, the lost, the marginalized;

  whose crown is compassion 

  whose throne is the crib and the cross; 

  whose authority is that of humble and loving service; 

  whose law is love;

  whose life and death was among sinners.

Is Jesus my king? If so… Do I imitate him and his way of love and mercy, humility and service? Do I allow him to transform me with the power of his love and his cross?

XXXIII Sunday of the Year

LIVE FULLY… NOW

Malachi 3:19-20a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19

Readings for the XXXIII Sunday of the Year

A warrior was struck by a poisonous arrow. His companions wanted to remove the arrow. But he would not allow them until he had answers to his questions: the characteristics of the shooter and his origins; the wood of the arrow; the bird from which the feathers came; the type of bow; the material of the bowstring. His companions cried out in frustration: “For heaven’s sake! Stop speculating and pull out the arrow!”

In this Sunday’s gospel, there is the speculative warrior in the people: they live in a present which is tense, and they want to know when the end will happen and what signs will indicate the end.

Jesus lists three phenomena which people might assume are indicators of the end: persecution, the appearance of false messiahs, disasters. But he indicates that it is pointless to speculate when and how the end will happen; it will happen “whenever”.

What is more important is our response when these things happen! 

We need not be afraid because the Lord will be with us; we ought not to be attached to transient structures. We need to live fully with and for God always, to lead lives of perseverance. Then, it will be future perfect! “There will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (first reading). In the second reading, St Paul gives us another response: hard work. Some people in the church at Thessalonica were unwilling to work and were becoming a burden to others. Paul presents himself as a model and advises all to work hard and quietly!

Am I going to allow the speculative warrior in me to “wonder” about the future and the end of the world or will I “pull out the arrow” by working hard and living a full life?

Let us not re-live the past; not pre-live the future; let us live fully now. As Joan Borysenko writes: “The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live!”

XXXII Sunday of the Year

LIFE IN A WHOLE NEW WORLD

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38

Readings for the XXXII Sunday of the Year

In the film Aladdin, Aladdin sings to and with Princess Jasmine the song: “A Whole New World”. The last verse of the song is:

A whole new world; that’s where we’ll be

A thrilling chase, a wondrous place for you and me!

These words sum up the thrust of the readings of today.

In the gospel, the Sadducees—who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead—reduce this belief to absurdity by using a far-fetched example of seven brothers, who are married successively to the same woman and die before having children. They ask: “At the resurrection which of the brothers will be the wife’s husband?”

Jesus indicates that their question betrays their limited perspective. He draws a sharp distinction between this world and the “coming age”. The latter is not an extension of this world; it is a whole new world, in which a human being is a child of God and not a piece of property. 

In this life, marriage and procreation are needed for the continuation of humanity. In the “age to come” people will neither die nor be born; there is no need for marriage and procreation. 

We enter new relationships with God, we will be his children; and with people in relationships that transcend blood and marriage.

We will have a new way of being like angels! We will live forever in the fullness of our person.

The reason/basis for our hope in this new world is God!

The first reading is a narrative of seven brothers and their mother who are killed for their faith in the God of life. They believe that he will raise them to a higher life because they have lived faithfully on earth. 

The way to prepare ourselves for this new world is living on this earth without making ideas, things, persons, and relationships into gods. We need to nurture our rootedness in God and to live faithfully by his values and ideals.

A little girl and her father were walking on a clear, starry night. She turned to him and asked: “If the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what will the right side be like?” 

When it comes to answering that question, we’ll just have to leave it up to God! We’ll do our part of living right on the wrong side of heaven!

XXXI Sunday of the Year

ALLOWING GOD TO FIND ME

Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10

Readings for the XXXI Sunday of the Year

John Powell writes about Tommy, a student in his theology of faith class at Chicago’s Loyola University. Tommy, Powell writes, was the “atheist in residence” and a serious pain in the back bench! 

At the end of the course, he asked: “Do you think I’ll ever find God?”  Powell emphatically said: “No!” and added: “Tommy! I don’t think you’ll ever find him, but I am certain that he will find you!”  Tommy left Powell’s class and life.

Sometime later, Powell heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. He returned to Powell to tell him that God had found him. When the cancer was detected, Tommy said he “got serious about locating God… and began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not come out.” Then “one day I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with him… Apparently God does things in his own way and at his own hour. But he was there. He found me. He found me even after I stopped looking for him.” Tommy found God when he opened his heart to love his own father and the people to whom he was close. 

The story of Zacchaeus is like Tommy’s. Zacchaeus went in search of Jesus the wonder worker… and God found him. Rather, he allowed God to find him when he opened his heart to love the poor. 

Two questions!

Why does God—the hound of heaven—seek us and wait till we allow ourselves to be found? We have an answer in the First Reading: “You have mercy on all… and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent. For you love all things…” Love is the reason why God waits for us; love does not compel.

Why do we take so long to allow God to find us? Perhaps because God challenges us to change, and we don’t like/ want to change! Luke probably intends the story of Zacchaeus as a contrast to the earlier story of the rich young man (18:18-23). Both are rich and look for Jesus. The young man has observed the commandments from his youth; Zacchaeus is a tax collector and a sinner. The young man is saddened by Jesus’ challenge to sell his possessions and follow him; Zacchaeus responds with joy and repentance to Jesus’ invitation to stay at his house.

Today’s liturgy reminds us that God constantly seeks us and waits for us to respond to his love.

Will I allow God to find me? Will I change my life and open my heart to love? What is the change that I need in my life?

May you and I do this so that the Lord can say: “Today salvation has come to this house”!

XXX Sunday of the Year

HOLINESS/PRAYER IS NOT WHAT I DO

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

Readings for the XXX Sunday of the Year

A man boasted to a spiritual master that he had achieved quite a degree of holiness: “I rise early in the morning; I fast from food and drink; I work tirelessly, and I discipline myself with a whip.”

The spiritual master walked with him through a field and pointed to a donkey. He said: “That donkey rose early in the morning. It hasn’t been fed or given a drink. It has worked tirelessly and has been whipped.” He asked the man: “What makes you any different from that ass?”

We could assume that we can become “holy” primarily through our efforts – good deeds, sacrifice and penance, the sacraments – and become proud. Today’s gospel reminds us that holiness isn’t about self-actualization, that there’s more to holiness than doing good deeds! 

The Pharisee in the parable did all the good practices he listed, which have their merit. The problem is 

- his “prayer” is an advertisement for himself with too many I’s (six!); the subject of his prayer is not God but himself! 

- his “holier-than-thou” attitude.

- he thought his actions justified him; he did not need God’s mercy and love.

The tax collector knew that he was a poor sinner and that he needed God’s grace/mercy and love to help him. 

Jesus speaks “this parable to those who were fully convinced of their righteousness”! Holiness or righteousness is not about what we do and achieve. It is about recognizing our need for God. It is what happens when we bring our emptiness before him and let him pour his love into us. It’s only then we – like the tax collector – are justified, that is, set right with God.

The first reading from Sirach reiterates this truth: “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal.”

In the second reading, Paul boasts that he has finished the race and that the crown of righteousness awaits him. But he boasts in the Lord.

Do I tell God what I have done for him? Do I compare myself with others convinced of my righteousness? 

Or do I stand humbly before God, with full awareness of my nothingness, and acknowledge his goodness, love and mercy to me?

XXIX Sunday of the Year

PRAY ALWAYS

Exodus 17:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8

Readings for the XXIX Sunday of the Year

Perseverance is a trait that is admired in society. We have examples in daily life: Dipa Karmakar who, despite flat feet and flawed systems, came fourth at the Rio Olympics; APJ Abdul Kalam who overcame poverty to become India’s foremost scientist, missile man, and then our ninth President.

The first reading and the gospel seem to posit a link between perseverance and blessing: as long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight with Amalek (first reading); the widow’s persistence finally pays off (gospel).

There are two problems with this lesson! 

First, we believe in a God who freely and unconditionally graces his people what they need. How can we assert that only when we pray hard enough, God will give us what we want? 

Second, it could create guilt in some (and pride in others). When we don’t get that for which we prayed, does it mean we haven’t prayed enough or our faith is not deep enough? How can we tell a person who is terminally ill or who has lost a child; those in financial difficulty or in abusive households; those affected by hurricanes and floods… that they haven’t prayed enough? 

Persevere and be blessed is not “good news”!

What is today’s good news? Read the first line of the gospel: “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.”

In the parable, Jesus contrasts God and the judge: if a corrupt judge renders justice because the plaintiff is persistent, how much more will our loving-caring God answer us? Jesus challenges us to pray always, trusting that God will act in his way and in his time to answer our petitions, not necessarily in the way we want.

In the first reading, we have the example of Moses who prayed always (despite becoming weary) while the Israelites battled the Amalekites. 

We have examples in our time: Mother Teresa “prayed always” despite enduring spiritual despair and loneliness for nearly fifty years; Pope John Paul II “prayed always” though he suffered greatly because of Parkinson’s disease.

In moments of trial and tribulation, do I still trust God and pray without losing heart? Or do I abandon God and prayer when things don’t happen as I think they should?

We pray not because we have to beat a path to God’s door before he will open it, but because until we beat the path, maybe there’s no way of getting to our door (cf. Frederick Buechner).

XXVIII Sunday of the Year

BE GRATEFUL… IT PAYS!

2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

Readings for the XXVIII Sunday of the Year

I came across two studies on the effects of gratitude.

One study examined the effects of writing letters of gratitude. The results indicated that writing such letters increased participants’ happiness and life satisfaction; it decreased depressive symptoms.

In another study, participants were assigned to one of three groups: problem-listing, gratitude-listing, and neutral life events. They kept records of their moods, health, and life appraisals. The gratitude-outlook group exhibited heightened well-being across several outcome measures.

The bottom-line: being grateful has emotional benefits; gratitude pays. 

This evidence from experimental psychology confirms evidence from scripture! The first reading and the gospel are stories of the healing and gratitude of two lepers.

Acting on the word of Elisha, Naaman is cured of leprosy. He returns to give Elisha thanks and takes back some earth to build a shrine to the Lord. He recognises not only the healing but also the healer. 

Acting on the word of Jesus, ten lepers are cured. Only one, a Samaritan, returns “glorifying God in a loud voice” to thank Jesus. 

The gratitude of both “foreigners” is more than a simple act of politeness; it is a deep profession of faith in the saving power of God. 

Giving thanks is far more important than we think! Grateful people are well equipped to face the disappointments of life: they can (like the healed Samaritan) “stand up and go their way” with enthusiasm and energy. Ungrateful people or those who take everything for granted progressively journey to loneliness, isolation, and bitterness. Perhaps there is a connection between the words “miser” and “miserable”!

The anecdote at the end! A man stumbled upon a barn. He discovered that this was the devil’s seed storehouse. Curious, he began exploring. Most of the bins were labelled “discouragement seeds”. Just then one of the devil’s helpers arrived to pick up a bin. The man asked him the reason for the abundance of discouragement seeds. The helper laughed and replied: “They are very effective and they take root quickly.” The man asked: “Do they grow everywhere?” The helper said in sullen disgust: “No! They never grow in the heart of a grateful person.”

This is just a story, but it points to a pay-off: grateful people are seldom discouraged.

Am I grateful to God (and to his mediators) for his numerous blessings and graces? How do I manifest gratitude to God and others? For whom and for what am I grateful today?

XXVII Sunday of the Year

FAITH IS A GIFT AND A TASK

Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10

Readings for the XXVII Sunday of the Year

A family I know has been going through difficult times: one member died in a tragic accident; two have major illnesses; some of the younger ones face career uncertainty. It is overwhelming. And the “good Catholics” around them have been questioning their faith: “If their faith were stronger, they wouldn’t have all these troubles”! 

Experiences like this make one question: What is faith? A mantra to recite or a magic wand to wave… and whoosh… problems solved?! I wish it were, but it is not!

This Sunday’s readings help us to understand what faith is.

Habakkuk (first reading), writing in a time of turmoil, dares to question God about his apparent silence at the injustice he and his people are suffering from foreign conquerors. God persuades him to wait patiently for deliverance for “it will surely come”. The attitude required of his people is “faith”: steadfast loyalty and holding on in obedience to God’s law even when it apparently pays no dividends.

St Paul reminds Timothy (second reading) that God has gifted us “a spirit of… power and love and self-control” and invites him to bear hardships “with the strength that comes from God.”

Jesus instructs his disciples (gospel) that it is the quality (and not quantity) of their faith that matters. The size of faith doesn’t matter because God is the one doing the moving! He urges them to do their duty, that is, to serve God unconditionally without counting the cost. He cautions the disciples against supposing that faith (and the service of the Lord) establishes a claim for reward.

Faith is a gift of the Spirit – that moves us to wait patiently and humbly – while steadfastly doing our tasks – in the knowledge and hope that God’s will and word will be fulfilled. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms: “to obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard… Abraham is the model of such obedience… the Virgin Mary is its most perfect embodiment” (144). Didn’t they have problems and difficulties? Through all their ordeals, their faith never wavered. 

What kind of faith do I have: a mantra to recite or a magic wand to wave or steadfast loyalty to God and fidelity to duty through (and despite) difficulties? 

May the Lord increase my faith!

XXVI Sunday of the Year

FAILING TO SEE THE LITTLE ONES

Amos 6:1, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Readings for the XXVI Sunday of the Year

A botanist was observing heather-bell (a tiny flower native to western Europe) through his magnifying glass. A shepherd approached and asked him what he was doing. Rather than explain, the botanist invited the shepherd to observe for himself. When the shepherd saw the wonder of the flower, he exclaimed: “My gosh, and I have been tramping on them all my life!” 

With his eyes blinded by the cares of his world, the shepherd had failed to see the tiny flower; it took a special lens to see it.

That was the sin of the rich man in the gospel parable. He was not cruel to Lazarus. His life of luxury blinded him from seeing the nondescript Lazarus lying at his door. Dogs noticed Lazarus, the rich man did not. 

In torment in Hades, he sees Lazarus. It takes the lens of suffering for him to see Lazarus. But even in Hades, the rich man clings to the illusion of his superiority and “commands” Abraham to send Lazarus with water to cool his tongue! Even in his misery, the rich man saw Lazarus only as a servant.

Like the upper classes in Jerusalem at the time of Amos (see first reading), the rich man cannot grasp the reality of his situation and persists in thinking that he can secure his family’s future. 

The parable does not condemn the man for being rich; remember that Abraham was wealthy, and he isn’t in the place of torment. The parable condemns him for being blinded by his luxurious lifestyle, for being an untrustworthy steward, for his apathy that neither Moses nor the prophets nor even the one who rises from the dead can penetrate. 

In our busyness and in our pursuit of our wants and expectations, we become quite adept at shutting the world out, not seeing or hearing the Lazaruses in our lives.

Who are the Lazaruses that I fail to see in my life? What is it that blinds me to them? What lenses do I need to see the tiny and nondescript people in my life and stop “tramping” them?

May we have the eyes of Jesus who saw the poor and reached out to them, who saw the sick and healed them, who saw the little ones and blessed them, who saw the crowds and had compassion on them. 

May we see…

XXV Sunday of the Year

SECURING OUR FUTURE

Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13

Readings for the XXV Sunday of the Year

A friend of mine survived Hurricane Katrina. A few days later, a neighbour asked him: “What claims are you putting in?” My friend had not suffered any major damage; he answered: “None.” His neighbour couldn’t believe it. He said: “Are you nuts! Here’s your opportunity to collect a few bucks. The insurance companies are writing cheques on the spot. How can you pass up putting in a claim for $5,000 for… whatever? You’ve been paying premiums all these years. Get a little back. Secure your future.”

The neighbour’s ethics is questionable and it’s easy to criticise him for falsifying a claim. But securing one’s future is something most of us do. Think of the time spent working out which bank gives the best interest, which mutual funds give the best returns, which courses to do to improve our market-value. We are trying to ensure a secure future.

That’s what the steward in today’s parable does. When he gets the pink slip, he does everything, even cooks the books, just to secure his future. 

The parable has nothing to do with the steward’s dishonesty. Jesus challenges us to be as resourceful and committed to secure our future with God as the dishonest steward was to secure his future in this world. 

Jesus gives us some sound investment advice: “Make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon.” The Aramaic “mammon” is related to “emet” the word for faithful; it stands for something upon which one depends. We tend to think that our security lies in material possessions; that putting money in a safe place is the best way to assure our future. Jesus tells us to exchange it for bonds of mutual appreciation and to use our resources to build relationships because people, as the steward discovered, are more important than money. The most important relationship is the one with God!

Jesus asks his disciples to imitate “the children of this world” who are totally committed to a single cause and serve only one master.

Today’s liturgy challenges us to secure our future with God. 

What am I going to do to secure my future? In whom and what am I go to invest my time and my resources?

Will I use the resources that God has given me and serve him with all the shrewdness, effort, and resources that I put into other areas in my life?

XXIV Sunday of the Year

LOST – FOUND – FORGIVEN

Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32

Readings for the XXIV Sunday of the Year

An ocean liner was headed to the middle east. Nine hundred miles out to sea, the crew sighted a sail on the horizon. As the liner drew closer, they saw that the boat had run up a distress signal; the small vessel was lost. For nearly an hour the liner circled the little boat and gave its crew its correct position. There was a great deal of interest in the proceeding among the passengers of the liner. A boy of about twelve was on the deck watching all that was happening. He remarked aloud to himself: “It’s a big ocean to be lost in.”

It is a big universe to be lost in, too. And we do get lost! We make mistakes, we break relationships with God, others, self, and creation. We deserve the wrath of God.

That is what the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ time maintained. But what we get is a search and rescue operation, and God’s caring and forgiving love!

Through the three lost-and-found parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son(s)—Jesus emphasizes that God is like shepherd who cares for all his sheep and diligently searches for one lost sheep; like a poor widow who treasures all her coins and relentlessly searches for that one lost coin; and above all, is a Father who cares for his children and yearns to have them close to him but respects their freedom and waits patiently for their return. The point of the parables is that God’s mercy comes after us, finds us, and rejoices when it finds us. 

God’s forgiveness is the thrust of the other readings too. In the first reading, though Israel’s sin of worshipping a molten calf calls for God’s wrath, he relents and forgives her. In the second reading, Paul acknowledges that God has mercifully treated him who “was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant” and this mercy is an example of God’s patience. 

The readings communicate the good news that no matter how lost we are, God searches for us, waits patiently and eagerly for us to “come to our senses” and return home; he delights when he finds us and forgives us. We are the object of God’s relentless and untiring search; we are the recipients of the gaze of that love which we picture on the face of the father in the parable. 

Do I believe that God loves me with an immeasurable love, that I need never despair even when I am hopelessly lost? 

When I am lost, will I allow God (and his search party!) to find me? Will I return home trusting in his caring and forgiving love?

May I realise that I will never fall into the “lost forever” category and that the Father never tires me.

XXIII Sunday of the Year

DISCIPLESHIP: COUNT THE COST AND COMMIT

Wisdom 9:13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

Readings for the XXIII Sunday of the Year

Some time ago, a priest invited me to preach a retreat for his school boys. Since he is a good friend, I said yes. I did not consider my community and province responsibilities; I did not consider my health or that I’d have to manage a hundred boys. And I struggled. Before, during, and after! And I wished—quite often—that I had not said “yes”!

Have you ever felt that way? We accept invitations, take up tasks and responsibilities without realizing their demands, and then we either fail or struggle to honour our commitments.

Over the past few Sundays, the gospels have been about aspects of discipleship and Jesus’ invitation to follow him. Today he tells us that we need to know the cost of discipleship and consider whether we have the resources to meet the cost before we commit ourselves. 

He uses two parables to stress the point: before beginning construction, a builder would work out the cost of his defence tower; before battle, a king would consider whether his outnumbered army would be able to face the enemy. The advice is clear: sit down, look at the demands, and figure out whether you can meet them. 

There are two demands: total and unconditional loyalty (expressed in strange terms: “hating father-mother, wife-children, brothers-sisters”) and carrying one’s cross. 

A clarification! In Aramaic, “hate” is not a feeling word; it is a priority word: to say that I love one and hate another means that I choose to carry out my commitment to one in preference to the other when the commitments are in conflict. No commitment, however important, can come before our commitment to God. 

The second reading expresses the cost of discipleship for Philemon!

Were Philemon not a Christian, he could have killed Onesimus or punished him so severely that he would never again consider running away. But as a Christian dealing with a Christian, he had to accept the runaway slave and accept him as a brother!

What is the cost of discipleship for me? Do I have to give up my hatreds and resentments against those who injured me? My attachments to people and things? What are the commitments and relationships that I must hate so that I can commit myself to Jesus?

XXII Sunday of the Year

KINGDOM ETIQUETTE

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

Readings for the XXII Sunday of the Year

Someone asked Leonard Bernstein, the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, to name the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation, he replied: “The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.”

Most of us want to be in the spotlight. This Sunday’s readings challenge us to be humble, and to be willing to play second fiddle.

At a Sabbath dinner, Jesus notices guests jockeying for positions of honour. He teaches them kingdom etiquette of humility; he echoes the wisdom of Sirach in the first reading: “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favour with God.” Humility is not self-abasement but a realistic understanding of oneself and of one’s strengths and weaknesses. It is an “interior at-homeness”, being at home with oneself!

In the second part of the gospel, Jesus shifts focus from guest etiquette to host etiquette. Through his preferred guest list, he reminds us of his preferential option for the poor. Throughout his ministry, Jesus sought the least, the lost, the forgotten. Further, he wants inclusion, not exclusion; he has opened wide the narrow door of last week to let all people in.

We live in an era which fosters self-glorification and emphasizes the self. We live in a world that judges mainly by externals: clothes, degrees, positions, designations… we believe that these determine our status.

In kingdom etiquette, status—which society confers—counts for nothing. Our status is measured not by our rank/ occupation, but by the quantum of love we offer God through service; it depends not on how others look at us, but on the care and compassion with which we look at them.

Do I jockey for position in church and in society? 

Am I humble: do I acknowledge my strengths and shortcomings, and recognize others’ feats and forgive their failures? Is there place in my heart/life for the world’s “nobodies”: the least, the lost, the forgotten?

May you and I learn kingdom etiquette!

XXI Sunday of the Year

EVERYONE’S INVITED…
… THROUGH THE NARROW GATE

Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

Readings for the XXI Sunday of the Year

Over the last few years, we have become used to seeing “no entry” signboards: “no mask, no entry”; “no vaccine, no entry”. These are health-related bans. 

Outside a place of worship in South India hangs a signboard that reads: “No entry for dogs and Christians.” There are some beaches and restaurants in India where no Indian is allowed! Shocking!

But there are many places with equally shocking “no entry” signboards even if these are less obvious and perhaps invisible.  Some churches in India do not allow Dalit Christians to enter. In Anumanthanpatti, they have a separate cemetery and an exclusive hearse. 

Very little has changed from biblical times! The Jews, especially the Pharisees and the Scribes, had a “no-entry” sign on the gate of heaven: there was “no-entry” for non-Jews; there was “no entry” for tax collectors and prostitutes; there was “no entry” for those broke the smallest of the commandments. The Jews considered that they were the “chosen ones” and the kingdom of heaven was exclusively for them.

This attitude prompts the question we heard in today’s Gospel: “Will those who are saved be few?”

Jesus, typically, does not answer the question. He refuses to speculate on numbers, on who’s in and who’s out. He looks forward to the time when people will come from east and west and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. He looks forward to the fulfilment of Isaiah’s vision in the first reading (Isaiah foretells a time when people from all nations, on all modes of transport, shall come to Jerusalem). 

The “no-entry” signs are off. Jesus’ signboard reads: everyone’s invited; there are neither reserved places nor favoured people. But there is the fine print: entry is restricted to those who choose the “narrow gate”! Jesus changes the focus from general statistics to the individual and to individual responsibility. We must walk his way of the cross and keep his commandment of love.

All of us have no “no-entry” signboards. 

What are the “no-entry” signs in my life? Whom do I exclude from my circle of life and my circle of relationships? 

What is the meaning of the narrow gate for me? Am I ready to choose the discipline of the narrow gate? 

Let us ask Jesus who welcomed all, who loved all to help us remove the “no-entry” signs from our lives and to give us the strength to walk through the narrow gate.

XX Sunday of the Year

JESUS BRINGS DIVISION

Wisdom 18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48

Readings for the XX Sunday of the Year

“The Robe” (the Lloyd C. Douglas’ novel, which Henry Koster directed as the epic film) explores the experiences of the Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio. Marcellus won Christ’s robe after the crucifixion. He set forth to find the truth about the robe, a quest that took him to the roots and heart of Christianity. He and his slave Demetrius became Christians. Eventually, Marcellus’ father disowned him as an enemy of Rome, and Demetrius’ physician denounced them to the authorities. 

“The Robe” captures the division that Jesus brings within families… a division that he experienced and predicted.

Many see religion as a major source of division, suffering, and war in our world. However, this division is not about religion; it arises because of a conflict of values. 

To understand the “why” of this division, we look at the peace that Jesus gives: it is not a compromising, anything-for-a-quiet-life kind of peace; it is a peace that comes from living according to God’s will and kingdom values. 

Recall Jesus’ experience: each time he did the Father’s will, it divided him from those who would not take the step with him, and it moved him deeper into the peace that comes from being true to oneself. When we understand this meaning of “peace”, the talk of “division” is no longer strange! 

Further, we forget how unconventional and counter-cultural Jesus was! He befriended sinners and outcasts; a Samaritan was the hero of his story; he asked the disciples to love their enemies! His open-hearted approach divided him from those with closed and hard hearts. The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews sums this up: “He endured such opposition”!

The first reading portrays the rejection and condemnation Jeremiah faces at the hands of his own people. For fearlessly speaking the word of God, he is left in a muddy cistern—without food and water—to die. The one who rescues him is a Cushite, a foreigner!

Living by kingdom values—love, justice, peace—will bring us into conflict those who do not accept such values… even when they are family. Promoting human dignity, rights, and freedom will inevitably bring us into conflict with those who want to subjugate and oppress the poor for their selfish ends.

 

Will I live by the values - lifestyle - choices of the kingdom (and my convictions) even at the risk of division in my family? Will I do God’s will and become the person he wants me to become even if it means going against my own?