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 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! Today’s readings emphasize this renewal and wholeness.

In the first reading, Isaiah announces that the coming of God will cause flowers to bloom in the desert, strengthen feeble hands and weak knees, and bring back the exiles – 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.” Isaiah’s prophesy becomes reality with Jesus’ coming.

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 (patiently and productively) for the precious fruit of the earth”. 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 transforms 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 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

A useful Windows shortcut, and one I use often, is “Ctrl+Z”! By pressing this key combo, one can undo one’s last action. Did I key in a wrong word? 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 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 and turning to God. It 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: 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 (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.”

Today we are a divided people: nations, communities, families are divided. 

In trying to build harmony, we focus on conflict resolution. However, there are issues which are difficult/ impossible to resolve. We need to focus on conflict engagement. We acknowledge our differences and find 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 pupils while they were in hospital to stay abreast with their studies. Once, it sent a tutor to teach a boy, who had been seriously injured in an accident, nouns and adverbs!

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, upheaval, violence. 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.

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; 

- 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; 

  citizens are the poor, the lost, the marginalized;

  crown is compassion 

  throne is the crib and the cross; 

  authority is that of humble and loving service; 

  law is love;

  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; 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/ how the end will happen; it will happen “whenever”.

What is more important is our response to these happenings! We need not be afraid because the Lord will be with us; we ought not to be attached to transient structures; we must persevere and live fully with/ for God always. 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 Thessalonians were unwilling to work and were becoming a burden. 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!”

The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

A CHURCH ALIVE

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22

Readings for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

In 1953, reporters gathered at a Chicago railway station to meet the 1952 Nobel peace prize winner. Suddenly, during the welcome, the man excused himself and walked up to an elderly Afro-American woman struggling to carry her suitcases. He picked up her cases, escorted her to a bus, then returned to the waiting group, and apologised for keeping them waiting.

That was Dr Albert Schweitzer, the missionary-doctor who had spent his life helping the poor and the sick in Africa. A member of the reception committee remarked: “That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.”

Dr Schweitzer understood the meaning of being church: being alive. He was also alive to the reality around him.

Benedict XVI reminded us that “the temple of stones is a symbol of the living church, the Christian community, which… is a ‘spiritual edifice,’ built by God with ‘living stones,’ namely, Christians themselves.”

The readings highlight this fact. Ezekiel emphasises that the temple is the source of life-giving water. St Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are God’s holy building with Christ as their foundation. Therefore, they need to build their lives carefully and live lives worthy of their calling. Through the cleansing of the temple, Jesus indicates that he is the new temple… the source of life and love. These are not separate truths but a movement: from the physical temple to the human heart to the divine presence among us, from structure to spirit.

Do I see myself—and other Christians—as church? Am I—and the community of believers to which I belong—a live church and a church that is alive to the realities around me? Am I a source of life and love?

All Souls’ Day

WHAT LIES BEYOND…

Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40

Readings for All Souls’ Day

A dying man was scared about death. He shared his fears with his doctor, a Christian. Just then the doctor heard a scratching at the door. He paused and said: “Do you hear that? It’s my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient and has come up. He has no idea what lies beyond the door, but he knows that his master is here. It is the same with me! I don’t know what lies beyond the door of death, but I know my master is there.”

This is what our faith and the readings for All Souls’ Day affirm: beyond the tomb, lies our master waiting to welcome us to our eternal dwelling.

The first reading from the Book of Wisdom is emphatic: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God… they are in peace.”

St Paul assures the Romans: “Since we are now justified by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath” and “We shall… be united with him in the resurrection.”

In the gospel, Jesus promises the crowds: “Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Shortly before he died, Jean-Paul Sartre—the atheist philosopher—declared he had strong feelings of despair and he would say to himself: “I know I shall die in hope.” Then in profound sadness, he would add: “But hope needs a foundation.” Christian hope has a foundation: the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

Does my hope have this strong foundation? Do I believe that my dear departed are at peace in the hand of God and will be raised on the last day?

XXX Sunday of the Year

HOLINESS 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 sage 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 sage 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; 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:  his “prayer” is an advertisement for himself, and the subject of his prayer is not God but himself; he has a “holier-than-thou” attitude; he thought his actions justified him and he didn’t need God’s mercy. 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, aware of my nothingness, and acknowledge his 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 link! 

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 grace? 

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 an 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 lady lost her uncle to cancer. Her Christian friend, who had been praying for him, called to condole with her. After offering her sympathies, she said: “But had he converted to Christianity or believed in Jesus, he would not have died. God would have cured him.” 

A family was going through difficult times with one tragedy after another. The “good Catholics” around them said: “If their faith were stronger, they wouldn’t have 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? 

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, his neighbour asked him: “What claims are you putting in?” My friend had not suffered major damage; he answered: “None.” His neighbour couldn’t believe it. He said: “Are you nuts! Here’s your opportunity to collect big bucks; 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.”

It’s easy to criticise the man for his questionable ethics and for falsifying a claim. But securing one’s future is something we do: we spend time 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 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” (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 of my life?

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.