The Exaltation of the Cross

THE CROSS SAVES

Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17

Readings for the Exaltation of the Cross

A little girl suffered severe burn injuries in an accident. Every day, the medical team would take her for debridement: a painful procedure to remove the dead tissue. She went through excruciating pain but never complained. She often remarked: “I know you are doing this so that I can get better.” This amazing kid knew that the pain was part of her restoration to health. 

Acceptance of pain leading to growth: that’s an unwritten law of life. Surgery is painful, but it saves. A child leaving home to go to college is painful for parents and child, but it is needed to help the child to become his/her own person.

Acceptance of pain leading to growth, the Cross as the way of salvation – this is what we celebrate today. 

In the Gospel, Jesus leads Nicodemus to the heart of the mystery of the Son of God who descended from heaven and was “lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert”. 

The First Reading describes the Israelites’ grumbling and ingratitude towards God after he provided them with manna. This brought on God’s displeasure: poisonous snakes bit them. When Moses asked God to save them, he asked him to make a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole; whoever looked at it would live. The symbol of their pain becomes the instrument of their salvation! Jesus says that all who gaze upon him “lifted up” on the cross will see their sins with the inevitable painful results. But they will understand them as forgiven and will find again the life of God.

The second reading is the hymn from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians in which the acceptance of the cross is seen as the cause of Christ’s “exaltation”. 

The snake was the curse and the cure. The cross was the curse and the cure. Can the things that are hardest in our life bring us closest to God? What are the crosses I need to accept?

May our celebration of Christ’s death strengthen us to accept our crosses that we may celebrate his resurrection as well.

XXIII Sunday of the Year

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

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 students. 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. 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 fail or struggle to honour our commitment.

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 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-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? What hatreds/ resentments/  attachments must I give up? 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-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: our clothes, degrees, positions, designations… we believe 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? 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

ENTRY FOR ALL…
… 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

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 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 in southern India, 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 for heaven: “no-entry” for non-Jews, for tax collectors and prostitutes, for those broke the smallest of the commandments. The Jews considered that they were the “chosen ones”; 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 does not answer the question. He refuses to speculate on numbers; he looks forward to the time when people will come from all parts of the world 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: entry for all; 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 and 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, a division that 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?

XIX Sunday of the Year

BE PREPARED

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

Readings for the XIX Sunday of the Year

It was exam time during my second year of theology. I was studying after dinner. There was a knock on my door. It was my scripture teacher! 

He said: “I know your exam is day after tomorrow. I have a blood test in the morning, and I will reach late for your timeslot. I am out tomorrow. Can you come for your exam earlier?” Mine was the first slot. I asked: “Earlier? When?” He said: “Come now!” 

Now! I wanted some time to dress appropriately and to glance through my notes. My teacher said: “Come as you are!” I had no choice but to close my door… and go for the test! 

All of us will have to face a much more important—and dead-cert—test at the end of our lives. 

We do not know when Jesus—the “teacher”—will call us for the test; he tells us it will be “on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour.” In this Sunday’s gospel, through the parable of the vigilant servants and the parable of the faithful and prudent steward, Jesus advises his “little flock” to be prepared for this final test. 

An attitude that will help us be prepared is commitment to the task/ mission God has entrusted to us. Jesus calls his disciples to be “vigilant servants” (prepared for vigorous activity and do whatever their master has asked them to do) and “faithful and prudent stewards” (loyally and responsibly administer their owner’s assets and care for those who are in their charge). When we do this, we are always ready for the teacher, and we need not fear the final test.

There is another—more important—reason for being unafraid: Jesus tells us that we are a flock loved by the Father, chosen and intended for the kingdom. 

Like Abraham—our father in faith—we must trust God’s providence which sustains us always and in unexpected ways. Abraham believed that God would fulfil the promise of land and the promise of progeny. In faith, he looked beyond the present moment to a future that is held in God’s hands. 

Am I prepared for the final test? Am I a “faithful-prudent-vigilant steward” committed to my God-entrusted mission? Do I trust in divine providence?

XVIII Sunday of the Year

THE DOLLARS ARE IN THE WAY

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21

Readings for the XVIII Sunday of the Year

Henry Ford asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave him a pair of specs with dollar coins instead of lenses. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. “Nothing,” the man said, “the dollars are in the way.” Ford told him that he should invest in reaching out to others, not simply in making money.

Money is important. It is necessary! But it is only a means to higher ends. When the “dollars” get in the way of our seeing God, others, and the world, it’s time to change/remove our specs! 

In the gospel, when called to arbitrate in a property dispute, Jesus warns his listeners—through the parable of the rich fool—not to focus on possessions. The rich man of the parable is a “fool” not because he is rich; but because 

a) he trusts inordinately in his riches: he cannot see beyond himself; in his barns, there is room only for grain, not for God.

b) he is totally self-centred: when he has a problem, he talks it over with himself; all his planning is for his benefit and comfort only.

The man has riches but is extremely poor in his relationships. This is why St Paul, in the second reading, cautions the Colossians: “put to death… the greed that is idolatry.” The first reading, from the Book of Ecclesiastes, sums up Jesus’ teaching!

This text appears in the section on discipleship. Having spoken of the central place of love and prayer in the life of the disciple, Jesus now stresses the need to be rich in what matters to God: becoming truly human, that is, becoming rich in our relationship with God and others.

Few of us are as rich as the man in the story; but each of us has riches: talents, time, resources, families…

Do my “riches” isolate me from others or do I share my riches with others and use these to build my relationships? Where does my security lie: in the bank or in God? On what do I focus: grain/ green/ God? Are the “dollars” in the way?

XVII Sunday of the Year

NEVER GIVE UP

Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

Readings for the XVII Sunday of the Year

Winston Churchill took three years to get through the eighth grade! Many years later, in October 1941, he was asked to address the boys at his alma mater. His speech supposedly consisted of five words: “Never, never, never give up!”

This may be a legend! But these words sum up the thrust of today’s readings: NEVER GIVE UP on God and on prayer.

In the first reading, Abraham asks God repeatedly and negotiates with him to save the immoral cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the APU program: audacious, persistent, unreasonable!

In today’s gospel, after teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus urges them to be persistent in prayer: ask repeatedly, seek untiringly, and knock loudly… and they will receive, find, and have the door opened.

But for what do we ask, seek, and knock? Jesus gives us the “pattern” to pray. We ought to pray, first, for God’s name to be made holy, for his kingdom to be established, and for his will to be done. We, then, pray for ourselves: for food, forgiveness, and freedom from temptation/evil.

When we pray according to this “pattern”, God – like and much more than a good parent – will answer our prayer!

Jesus’ simple argument is that no father ever refused the request of his son; and so God the great Father will never refuse the requests of his children. A child might not be able to distinguish between stone-bread, snake-fish, scorpion-egg. The parent, seeing the child reach out for a stone/ eel/ scorpion, knows the child is hungry and satisfies not the request but the seen need.

God gives us what we need. Instead of a change in situation for which we may be praying, he may give us strength and courage to face the situation or a new path of action or an enlarged capacity for suffering or looking at things with broader vision. God’s response to our prayer is generous and mysterious: the Holy Spirit.

Will I persist in prayer like Abraham? Will I ask repeatedly, seek untiringly, and knock loudly?

May you and I remember that prayer is to be in harmony with God; to feel the assurance that God is in, around and greater than any circumstance; that prayer is not a trading post, but a line of communication. May you and I never give up on God and on prayer!

XVI Sunday of the Year

BEING WITH AND DOING FOR…

Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

Readings for the XVI Sunday of the Year

One hears parents complain: “I slog from morning till night to give my kids the best. They don’t care. For whom am I working if not for them?” Children also complain: “Dad and Mum never spend time with me.” A dilemma! To be with people or to do things for them?

This dilemma finds an echo in today’s Gospel. Martha and Mary both respond to Jesus’ presence—one by serving him, the other by sitting with him. Both responses are good yet seem to contradict each other. 

It’s not a question of work vs prayer. It is necessary to look at the context of the episode. It comes after the parable of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus concludes thus: “Go and do likewise.” The passage that follows today’s pericope is about prayer. In between we have today’s real-life situation: Martha serves Jesus and Mary simply sits with him. Who is neighbour to Jesus?

Reginald Fuller, a biblical scholar, suggests that the Martha-Mary story is a corrective to the activism in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ command “Go and do likewise” is meaningful only when it flows from hearing the word/prayer. For Martha’s service to be a true expression of love of neighbour, it would need to flow out of being with Jesus.

Further, it’s about discerning what a person needs in a particular situation and at a given moment. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to his passion and death. His greatest need is not “many things” but an empathetic-silent presence. That is what Mary gives him.

Finally, it’s about balance! Some of us are like Martha and some like Mary. We need to combine the two: without sitting and listening—to God and people—our doing leads to anxiety and anger; without doing, our faith and our love are empty, our being is passive. 

Like Martha, the urge to “do” rules our lives, keeping us busy and invested in getting things done; we find it difficult to simply “be” and to quell our distractive urge to “fill” time. Like Mary, we need to spend time with people; this will help us to discern what they need and then we respond meaningfully. 

Will my love of neighbour flow from my being with the Lord? Will I discern a person’s need and then meet that need? Will I strike a balance between being with people and doing things for them? 

XV Sunday of the Year

LOVE KNOWS NO BORDERS

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

Readings for the XV Sunday of the Year

In July 2003, a successful heart operation on two-and-a-half-year-old Noor Fatima, a Pakistani child, put the spotlight on Dr Devi Shetty and Narayana Hrudayalaya (in Bangalore). Patients from several countries continue to visit this hospital. Dr Shetty says: “Pain has no language… reaction to pain and suffering is the same, so our response to the problem is also the same.” 

Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, this is what Jesus tells the scholar of the law who asked him: “Who is my neighbour?” The scholar asks Jesus the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 (which he just quoted). For the Jews, one’s neighbour was the people in one’s own group, camp, area; it had a restrictive meaning. But Leviticus 19:33 reads: “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” The command to love one’s “neighbour” extended to foreigners, immigrants, and sojourners.

Love has no borders and knows no barriers. Love reaches out to anyone in need. Love gets involved regardless of who the person is and regardless of the cost. 

This is what the unlikely hero of the parable does. The Samaritan goes beyond the boundaries of religion and nationality; he reaches out to the wounded man in need, gets involved in his life, spends time with him, and pays the innkeeper to minister to him. Recall that the Jews considered the Samaritans half breeds, thieves, and heretics. The Samaritan—the one least likely to keep the law—is the only one who keeps it.

Jesus gives the “man” no name, no religion, no nationality… in times of need, these are irrelevant. Further, he reverses the question: it is not important who my neighbour is, but to whom am I a neighbour! 

In an era when we build “gated communities” with religious, ethnic-racial, socio-economic fences, when we want to build walls and fences on borders, Jesus challenges me to live the commandment of love by going beyond all barriers and to build his kingdom as a neighbourhood with no frontiers.

How do we respond to people in need: are we moved with compassion and reach out to them with mercy, or do we walk on pretending they don’t exist? To whom and how will I be “neighbour” in the week ahead?

May our love be across borders and boundaries.  

XIV Sunday of the Year

LEAN YOUR WEIGHT ON GOD

Isaiah 66:10-14c; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Readings for the VII Sunday of the Year

A missionary, after working several years in the South Pacific Islands, was translating the Gospel according to John. He couldn’t translate the phrase “to trust in” because there was no word for ‘trust’ in the language; nobody trusted the other! 

Just then an islander entered. Sitting at his desk, the missionary raised both feet off the floor, and asked: “What am I doing?” The islander used a verb which means “to lean your weight on.” That’s the phrase the missionary used to translate “to trust in.”

The Word of God today invites us to lean our weight on the Lord.

In the Gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples to proclaim the kingdom. His instructions are striking: “carry no staff, no money bag, no sack, no sandals.” No one in his/her right mind travelled the Palestinian roads without staff, sack, and sandals. Without a staff, one was defenceless; without a sack, one could not carry money, food, clothes; without sandals, one wouldn’t be able to walk on the rocky terrain or run from danger. Anyone thus travelling would communicate, through attention-getting behaviour, this message: we lean our weight on God; we trust in God for our defence and depend on his providence for sustenance.

Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians with a similar thrust: “May I never boast except in the cross of Jesus Christ.” For Paul, boasting is an expression of absolute confidence, not in himself, but in Jesus. 

In the first reading, Isaiah looks to the restoration of Jerusalem, not by human achievement but by God’s grace. He invites her to lean her weight on God, who nurses her as a mother nurses her infant and who comforts her as a mother comforts her child.

How often we think that the success of our tasks depends on us! We need to lean our weight on God; we need to depend on him.

May you and I “travel light,” lean our weight of God, and live a little more trustingly in him, his grace, and his providence. 

Sts Peter and Paul

OVERWHELMED BY GRACE

Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19

Readings for Sts Peter and Paul

Allen Gardiner was a British naval officer and a missionary to South Africa, Chile, and Patagonia. Despite the many hardships he experienced as a missionary, he said: “While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.” He died, aged 57, of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island. His diary, found near his body, bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entries written with a trembling hand read: “I am, by his abounding grace, kept in perfect peace, refreshed with a sense of my saviour’s love… I am overwhelmed by the grace of God.”

Peter and Paul, like Gardiner, could write/ talk about the abounding grace of God in their lives! 

The first reading recounts God’s dramatic rescue of Peter from prison: four squads of four soldiers each guard Peter, who is secured by double chains; an angel leads a dazed Peter past the guards and past the closed iron gates. The whole episode indicates that Peter’s escape is through God’s grace.

In the gospel, Jesus tells Peter that it is God’s grace alone that has revealed to him that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul’s words to Timothy—“I was rescued from the lion’s mouth”—attest to God’s grace, which has preserved him “from every threat.” Because of God’s abounding grace, Paul could write “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Through the hardships and difficulties of our lives—nothing compared with the hardships that Peter and Paul (and Gardiner) underwent—can you and I feel God’s abounding and overwhelming grace?  

The Body and Blood of Christ

I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO GIVE YOU

Genesis 14:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17

Readings for the Body and Blood of Christ

In 1967, Robert Sténuit—the Belgian underwater archaeologist—discovered the wreck of the Spanish Armada ship, the Girona, off the coast of Ireland. Among the many treasures he recovered was a wedding ring. The top of the ring had a hand holding a heart; the band had these words etched on it: “no tengo mas que darte” (I have nothing more to give you).

The same image and words could be used to describe today’s Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus. The feast (and every Eucharist) is Jesus symbolically saying to us: “I have nothing more to give you.” 

There are three aspects to today’s celebration: self-gift; sacrifice; service.

Self-gift: Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth of everything he has. Jesus challenges the apostles: “Give the people something to eat yourselves.” All they have is five loaves and two fish. For Jesus, this meagre contribution is enough to satiate the hunger of the five thousand… with enough left over to feed another crowd. Luke does not say that Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish; Luke uses words associated with the Eucharist in narrating the miracle! In the second reading, Paul describes Jesus’ total self-gift of his body and blood at the Last Supper; he has nothing more to give us. 

Sacrifice: At the Last Supper, Jesus symbolically and sacramentally gave himself to his apostles. On Calvary, he broke his body and shed his blood for his people; Jesus could truly say: “I have nothing more to give you.”

Service: At the Last Supper, Jesus did more than break bread and share the cup; he washed the feet of his disciples. In his gospel, St John does not have the institution narrative; he has rather a description of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. For John, the towel and basin are Eucharistic symbols. 

Self-gift, sacrifice, service! This is what we celebrate. This is our challenge.

Am I willing to give myself for others? What are the “five loaves and two fish” I am called to share with others? How can I be body broken and blood shed for others? In what way will I serve and love others in the week ahead?

May we relive Jesus’ self-gift, sacrifice and service so that we too can say: “I have nothing more to give you.” 

The Holy Trinity

A PRACTICAL MYSTERY

Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

Readings for Trinity Sunday

The philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote: “The doctrine of the Trinity provides absolutely nothing of practical value, even if one claims to understand it.”

Many agree with Kant! The math (1+1+1=3) is wrong; philosophers/theologians use a term like “consubstantial” to explain it; the doctrine surpasses our understanding. But, Kant got it wrong! The doctrine is a “practical mystery” with radical consequences for our life. 

First: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are unique and distinct. To help us understand that uniqueness, God has revealed to us three separate functions of the three persons—the Father creates; the Son reconciles and redeems; and the Spirit guides and teaches. 

Second: these three unique and distinct persons live in communion; they form a community; God is a family! Today’s gospel text indicates the close relationship they share: “the Spirit will guide you to all truth… he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine.” An intimate and magnificent collaboration! 

The Greek Fathers use the word “perichoresis” to describe this loving communion of the Trinity; the word may be defined as a “dancing together”. God does not exist in solitary individualism but in a community of love and sharing.

What are the implications of the doctrine of the Trinity for us?

Created in the image and likeness of a Trinitarian God, we have qualities like God! 

First, we are unique individuals; and we want to be accepted thus. 

Second, we yearn to live in community/communion. We achieve this communion not by negating/denying differences, but by respecting and nurturing our diversity, and blending our differences.

Third, like the Father, we are called to be productive/creative, and to contribute to the building of our family, church, society, nation; like the Son, we are called to reconcile and to mend what is broken; like the Spirit, it is our task to dispel ignorance and to guide. 

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are unique and distinct. To help us understand that uniqueness, God revealed three separate functions of the three persons—the Father creates; the Son reconciles and redeems; and the Spirit guides and teaches. 

These three unique and distinct persons live in communion; God is a family! Today’s gospel indicates the close relationship they share: “the Spirit will guide you to all truth… he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine.” An intimate and magnificent collaboration! The Greek Fathers use the word “perichoresis” to describe this loving communion; the word may be defined as a “dancing together”. God does not exist in solitary individualism but in a community of love and sharing.

Created in the image and likeness of a Trinitarian God, we have qualities like God! 

First, we are unique individuals; and we want to be accepted thus. 

Second, we yearn to live in community/communion. We achieve this communion not by negating differences, but by nurturing our diversity and blending our differences.

Third, like the Father, we are called to be productive/creative, and to contribute to the building of our family, church, society, nation; like the Son, we are called to reconcile and to mend what is broken; like the Spirit, it is our task to dispel ignorance and to guide. 

How am I going to live the doctrine of the Trinity? 

Pentecost Sunday

PICKED UP AND CARRIED BY “SOMEONE”

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (or Romans 8:8-17);

John 20:19-23 (or John 14:15-16, 23b-26)

Readings for Pentecost Sunday

In a major football game, a player’s performance exceeded the expectations of his mates and coach. In the last five minutes of the game, with the score against his team, he scored two goals! He ran faster and dribbled better than he had ever done. In the locker room, his coach said: “I didn’t know you had it in you.” He replied: “I didn’t either! I was picked up and carried by something outside myself.”

Pentecost is when the apostles “were picked up and carried by someone outside themselves”! The Holy Spirit empowered and transformed them!

The Spirit filled them with enthusiasm (‘en-theos’ which means ‘God within’). Armed with the power of this ‘God within’, they moved out of the Upper Room to proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection. Recall Peter’s speech: “This man… you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up.” 

The Spirit gave them the gifts they needed to proclaim the Good News: belief in the truth; the courage to proclaim it; the willingness/ ability to reach out to people of other languages and persuasions.

The Spirit formed them into one community. The verses after today’s first reading: “All who believed were together and had all things in common.” This in a group which was jostling for position and power!

The same Spirit empowers and transforms us. 

The Spirit empowers us to proclaim that God is our Father, and therefore beyond the tangible differences of region, language, culture, and social status, we are one family. 

The Spirit gives us the gifts and resources we need (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). We need to believe and understand that the Spirit works differently in different people… and give space for that to happen; we ought to use our gifts to build up the church.

The Spirit forms us into one family.

Will I let the Spirit pick me up and carry me… to go beyond my natural strengths and abilities?

What are the gifts that the Spirit gives me, and how will I use it to proclaim Jesus and to build up his kingdom on earth?

The Ascension of the Lord

CONTINUING THE WORK OF THE MASTER

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23; Luke 24:46-53

Readings for the Solemnity of the Ascension

The great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini wrote his final opera “Turandot” when he was stricken with throat cancer. Puccini seemed to have had an inkling of the seriousness of his condition. Before leaving for Brussels for treatment, he visited his favourite student—Auturo Toscanini—and begged him: “Don’t let my ‘Turandot’ die.” He died a few days later. After his death, his disciples studied the score carefully and completed the opera. 

On 25 April 1926, Toscanini directed the world premiere of “Turandot” in Milan’s La Scala opera house. When the opera reached the point at which Puccini was forced to stop, Toscanini put down his baton, and tearfully told the audience: “Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died.” There was silence throughout the opera house. After a few minutes, Toscanini picked up the baton, smiled through his tears and said: “But his disciples finished his work.”

The story of “Turandot” is like the story of Christianity! Before Jesus completed his work of establishing the kingdom on earth, he died. But he rose again and before his ascension, asked his disciples to continue his work. 

The first verses of the first reading connect the Acts of the Apostles with the Gospel according to Luke: Jesus commissioned his disciples to be his witnesses and to continue the work of the Master.  

Right through the Acts of the Apostles, Luke will describe the way in which the disciples continue the work of the Master. It is a sort of déjà vu experience! The life of the disciples in the Acts mirrors—in striking ways—the public life of Jesus.

The Solemnity of the Ascension reminds us that Jesus calls us, like he called the disciples, to continue the work of the Master.

To continue our Master’s work, we—like Puccini’s disciples—must understand the score: the life and ministry of Jesus, as it has been handed down to us through scripture and tradition. 

However, unlike Puccini’s disciples, we are called to perform our Master’s opera not occasionally, but to live it every day; not in auditoriums, but in our families, work places, communities, churches, and society. 

Unlike Puccini’s disciples, we cannot say that we have finished the work of the Master; we can only continue it as best we can. The Master will finish it when he comes again. Until that day, “the disciples continue his work”!

Will I make the effort to understand the work of the Master? How will I continue the work of the Master?

VI Sunday of Easter

PEACE AMID STORMS

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29

Readings for the VI Sunday of Easter

A wealthy man commissioned an artist to paint a picture of peace. 

The artist painted a beautiful country scene: green fields with cattle; birds in a blue sky; a quaint village in the distance. The patron was disappointed and asked the artist to try again.

The artist returned to his studio, thought for several hours, and then painted a beautiful woman smiling lovingly at her sleeping child. “Surely this is true peace,” he thought and took the picture to the patron, who refused the painting.

The artist was discouraged, tired, angry. He thought and prayed. Then, he had a “eureka” moment and began painting. When he finished, he hurried to give the patron the painting. The patron studied it for several minutes and exclaimed: “Now this is a picture of true peace.”

What was this picture? It showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. In a crook in the cliff, was a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace amid the storm that raged about her.

This is the kind of peace that Jesus gives: not the peace of a spot in nature – beautiful and serene; not the peace of a mother and child – tender and gentle; but the peace of knowing that amid turmoil there is a rock which shelters us, a power that keeps us safe.

We yearn and pray for peace. But we look for peace as an end to things that disturb us, as an absence of turmoil and conflict.  

The Hebrew “shalom” is not the absence of things that disturb us but the removal of the cause of the disturbance! Peace is linked with wholeness: being “at one” with God, neighbour, self, and nature. This peace comes through a presence, here and now, that comforts us: the presence of the Spirit.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles is a good example of the way in which the Spirit brings peace. The text details one of the first controversies in the Church: Must a gentile Christian follow Jewish laws? The Jerusalem Council, under the direction of the Spirit, decided that gentile converts did not have to follow every Jewish law. Peace is not the absence of conflict but the resolution of conflict.

Is there conflict and turmoil in my life? Let me surrender myself to the Spirit and allow his peace to fill my heart, a peace that comes from being “at one” with God, neighbour, self, and nature.

V Sunday of Easter

THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN

Acts 14:21-27; Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35

Readings for the V Sunday of Easter

The renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore once lost his passport while travelling. When he came to a border crossing, he hoped the guard would recognize him and allow him to pass. The guard, however, said that many made false claims. Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be. The official said: “We’ll give you a test, and if you pass it, we’ll allow you to go through.” Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. Dore did it so quickly and skilfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed the artist he claimed to be. Dore’s action confirmed his identity.

What is the identification mark of a Christian? 

For Jesus the identification mark of Christians is not the way we dress, not uniforms and habits, but the way we live: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples…” (John 13:34-5). Love is the Christian identification mark. 

Two things to note: 

First, Jesus’ command is not that we like one another. To like or not to like is rooted in our emotions; emotions do not respond to commands. The love of which Jesus speaks is a way of acting towards another that wills his/her good. Love is a decision and an action.

Second, Jesus gives us a standard to measure this love: “as I have loved you.” That is a lofty standard indeed! 

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles recounts how Paul and Barnabas lived this command: they travelled extensively to strengthen the spirit of the disciples. The result: they made a considerable number of disciples. 

It is up to us now to love like Jesus and to encourage one another as Paul and Barnabas did. May we live in such a way that through us people begin to have a glimpse of the unbounded and unconditional love that God has shown us in Christ.

Do I bear the Christian identification mark? What am I going to do to love those around me—in my family, in my community—as Jesus loved me?

IV Sunday of Easter

LED BY THE SHEPHERD

Acts 13:14, 43-52; Revelation 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30 

Readings for the IV Sunday of Easter

In The Preaching Life, Barbara Taylor narrates a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm. He contends that sheep are not dumb: “The cattle ranchers are responsible for spreading that ugly rumour and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep. Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first—namely, their shepherd—who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right.”

Jesus knew what he was saying when he used the shepherd-sheep analogy! Shepherds have names for their sheep and know their personality. Isolated for days with his herd, the shepherd talks and sings to them, and sleeps among them. There may be several flocks in one sheepfold. But when the shepherd calls out, the sheep of his flock will sort themselves and follow him only. Shepherds do not need brands to recognize their sheep!

When Jesus uses the shepherd-sheep analogy, it’s consoling; it’s a wonderful and loving image of care and protection! Our shepherd knows personally. He calls out to us. But in this sheepfold of the world, many voices call out to us: materialism and consumerism, regionalism and communalism; false shepherds make promises of love, happiness, and security. If you and I are his sheep, we will listen to his voice and follow him. We will not let the hooting/loud noises of the world and our passions/ fears drive us.

How do we discern the voice of the shepherd? We form and listen to our conscience, the voice of our shepherd within us! 

What happens when we follow our shepherd? We have eternal life; through sorrow and suffering, we will survive; we will always be in the hands of Jesus and the Father. What more can we want! What more do we need!

Will I listen to my shepherd’s voice and follow him?

III Sunday of Easter

GO FISHING!

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

Readings for the III Sunday of the Year

Sue Bohlin writes: “I was cleaning the grungy bathtub of a family that wouldn’t notice and would never acknowledge or thank me even if they did. I was getting madder by the minute, throwing myself a pity party, when the Lord broke into my thoughts. He quietly said: ‘I see you. I appreciate what you’re doing.’ Whoa! That totally changed everything. Suddenly, I was able to do a menial job—and later, more important ones—as a labor of love… it forever changed my view of work.”

What Sue experienced while cleaning a bathtub, Jesus’ disciples experienced on the Sea of Tiberias! They encountered God in their workplace (so did Moses, Gideon, Paul…).

The gospels portray the disciples as very human: they are bewildered, seldom understand Jesus’ ways, often do their own thing! That continues after the resurrection.  

Jesus has appeared to them twice. But he’s not with them always and he hasn’t told them what to do. They don’t know what lies ahead. So, they do what they’ve done and know how to do: they go fishing! 

They encounter Jesus in their workplace. With his guidance, they catch a large haul of fish. This workplace encounter renews them and they can go back to being fishers of men and missionaries of the gospel (as the first reading attests).

Sometimes we think or act as if life is divided into two disconnected parts: God is in one spiritual dimension and work is in another dimension. The Christian view of work: all of life relates to God and is sacred, whether we’re making a business presentation or changing diapers or teaching someone the faith. Further, God calls us to make him the centre of our lives and wants to be Lord of our work. And as Sue Bohlin experienced while cleaning a bathtub, God sees everything we do; he appreciates it and will reward us, regardless of the type of work we do.

Often, we find ourselves in the disciples’ position. We aren’t sure what to do. Jesus seems to come and go from our lives, or we from his. It’s then we must keep doing what we do. We work faithfully and wait patiently… for an encounter with the Lord… who asks us what we have caught, or who sees and appreciates what we are doing! 

When I am at the crossroads of life, let me “go fishing”! May I encounter God in my work and may this encounter strengthen me for his mission for me.

II Sunday of Easter

NO SHORT CUT

Acts 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31

Readings for the II Sunday of Easter

Robert Johnson, ex-chairman of Johnson & Johnson, was a terror when he inspected his plants. On one visit, the plant manager had a fortunate 30-minute tip prior to his arrival. Hastily he had things spruced up by ordering several large rolls of paper transported to the roof of the building. When Johnson arrived, he was furious. His first words: “What in the hell is all that junk on the roof?” How was the manager to know Johnson would arrive in his personal helicopter!

As every homemaker knows, there are no short-cuts to sprucing up a home! It is the same with life and especially with faith. There are no short-cuts to faith! Faith comes from a personal experience of God and grows through doubt and difficulty.

This is the thrust of today’s gospel. Thomas is absent when Jesus appears to the apostles. And though the others testify that they have seen the Lord, Thomas refuses to believe: “Unless I see… and place my finger… and place my hand.” 

Thomas will not take a short-cut to faith. He is not content with a second-hand faith. He refuses to say that he can believe in the resurrection when he cannot; and is brave enough to express his doubt. Thomas is no different from the other apostles. The apostles did not believe the testimony of Mary Magdalene or the “Emmaus disciples”; it is only after Jesus appeared to them that they believed!

What brings Thomas to belief is not the proof he demanded but an experience of the risen Jesus. Then he affirms the divinity of Jesus.

When we use our God-given intelligence, we will have doubts and questions about our faith. Like Thomas, we need to be honest about our doubts. Like Thomas, we need to allow ourselves to experience the risen Jesus.

Will I boldly face and express my doubts, and seek a response to them? Or will I be happy with a short-cut to faith? Will I be content with a second-hand faith?

Easter Sunday

TRANSFORMED!

Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; John 20:1-9

Readings for Easter Sunday

In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph: 

  The body of B. Franklin, 

  printer, like the cover of an old book

  its contents torn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding,

  lies here, food for worms.

  But the work shall not be wholly lost:

  for it will, as he believ’d, appear once more 

  in a new and more perfect edition, 

  corrected and amended by the author.

Franklin’s epitaph is a near-perfect summary of the transformation that the resurrection brings!

Recall the transformation that happened to Jesus. His resurrected body was radically different from his earthly body! It was so radically different that his own disciples could not recognize him, and he was able to move about as he desired, and through closed doors.

We will experience this radical transformation of our bodies on the last day; our bodies, as Ben Franklin wrote, will appear in a new and more perfect edition. 

There is another transformation that happens now, at the personal level. Look at the transformation in the disciples!

- from fear to joy and bold proclamation

- from doubt to belief 

- from people who fought for position and greatness to people who were of one heart and one soul

After the resurrection, in the words of the second reading, they became “a fresh batch of dough”!

What about me? Do I live like an Easter person with joy and in solidarity with others? If not, what are my fears and doubts that keep me from living as an Easter person and witnessing to the resurrection? What must I do to become “a fresh batch of dough”?

Palm Sunday

CELEBRATE OUR HUMBLE KING

Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14—23:56 or Luke 23:1-49 (short form)

Readings for Palm Sunday

In the movie The Lion King, young Simba sings “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”. He wants to be free, with… 

No one saying ‘do this,’ no one saying ‘be there,’

No one saying ‘stop that,’ no one saying ‘see here.’

Free to run around all day, free to do it all my way!

The people of Jerusalem were like Simba. They just couldn’t wait for Jesus to be king and for a similar reason. They wanted to be free from foreign rule; they didn’t want anyone saying ‘do this’ and ‘be there’ and ‘stop that’!

Their king comes… 

But Jesus is not the mighty king they envisioned. His entry into Jerusalem was a deliberate fulfilling of Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice, O daughter Zion! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey.”

Jesus underlined his kind of kingship. Only during war did kings ride upon horses; when they came in peace they came upon a donkey. Jesus came as king of love and peace, not as the conquering military hero the people expected. He would rule through humble and obedient service.

This theme is reiterated in the readings. 

The first reading is the third “suffering servant” song. The mission of the servant is to encourage, console, and liberate the weary. 

Paul’s hymn, in the second reading, speaks about Jesus’ humility: the Son of God did not cling to his privileges but humbled himself and became obedient unto death on a cross. 

In the Gospel, following the meal, the disciples argue about who is the greatest. Jesus takes the opportunity to distinguish leadership in the Kingdom from forms of leadership seen in the world. 

During his passion, Jesus is betrayed, deserted, disowned; is kicked around like a political football, flogged to pacify a politician’s conscience, and handed to the mob because of cowardice. Despite his suffering, Jesus is merciful and other-centred: he is concerned about the women who follow him; asks forgiveness for the ones crucifying him; promises the repentant thief a place in heaven.

Today’s liturgy places before me two models of leadership: the people’s model of seeking freedom and power to do one’s will and Jesus’ way of humility, self-emptying, and loving service.

Which model of power do I choose and live? May we be free to do it HIS way!