XVII Sunday of the Year

STAKE EVERYTHING ON ONE THING

1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52 (13:44-46)

Readings for the XVII Sunday of the Year

A member of a youth-group, an Infosys employee, was leaving for the US and wanted to sell his Infosys shares. The others in the group were willing to do anything to buy those shares. One guy was willing to sell his bike; now this guy wouldn’t allow anyone to touch his bike! Anything for Infosys shares.

Many youngsters in our shelter homes have run away from home chasing a dream. Their dreams are different but they have one thing in common: they have left everything – home and family – to achieve that goal.

Were Jesus living now, he might have used a different parable to speak about the kingdom! Rather than speak about a pearl merchant or a farmer, he might have spoken about a youngster who gave up everything to realize his goal! What’s common to the pearl merchant, the farmer, the shares-seeking-youngster, and the dream-chasing-kid? Each is willing to stake everything to possess something valuable.

That is Jesus’ point in today’s gospel parable. The farmer, who stumbles on a treasure, and the pearl merchant, who finds an invaluable pearl after a great search, appreciate the value of their find; they sell everything to possess their find. To an outsider, these men might appear insane; they risk everything on one object. But the men are certain about the wisdom of their act: they give up something valuable to get the one invaluable treasure; their investment is total. 

Jesus gave up everything he valued – his family, his home, his profession – to do his Father’s will. For Jesus, there was no treasure greater than his Father’s will. 

In the first reading, we have something similar: Solomon chooses “an understanding heart” over a long life, riches, his enemies’ lives. That was his treasure.

Jesus asks us whether we see the kingdom as a treasure. 

We might stumble over it (like the farmer); we might find it unexpectedly after a long search (like the pearl merchant). One thing is clear: we will experience great joy when we discover it! 

The question then is: Am I ready to stake everything on it? What must I give up to possess it? 

Let us pray that we stake everything on the right thing!

XVI Sunday of the Year

DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43 (13:24-30)

Readings for the XVI Sunday of the Year

A bishop, sailing on an ocean-liner, found that he was sharing a cabin. After he unpacked his bags, he went to the purser to leave his valuables in the ship’s safe. He remarked that he was afraid that his co-passenger might not be trustworthy. The purser smiled, accepted the valuables, and said: “Bishop, I’ll be glad to keep your valuables. Your cabin-mate has just been here and left his valuables for the same reason!”  

Jumping to conclusions is an exercise most of us get! We are quick to judge and want to do away with wrong doers, without knowing facts/ circumstances/ motives.

Instant judgment and intolerance are a major problem today. Think of the number of kangaroo courts especially on social media!

Instant judgment and intolerance were attitudes that plagued Israel. They wanted instant punishment for their enemies. Jesus was in conflict with the Pharisees precisely on the issue of intolerance; they condemned all who failed to keep the law. Today’s liturgy strongly challenges these attitudes. 

The first reading asserts that God is patient and merciful; he gives people time to change. He asks his people to be patient towards one another, even their enemies. 

The psalmist sees God as a forgiving God, who is slow to anger!

God’s patience appears again in the Gospel parable of the wheat and the weeds. The workers want to uproot the weeds. The owner knows that wheat and weeds look identical until they ripen! So, he cautions the workers: “Wait till all the facts are in; don’t jump to conclusions! Else, in your zeal, you might uproot wheat.” It is worth pondering on the landowner’s confidence that the wheat would survive the effect of the weeds and his trust in goodness which outdoes wickedness.

Consider some characters in scripture: Moses, a murderer; David, an adulterer and murderer; Paul, a persecutor; Peter, a coward. What if God had considered them weeds and uprooted them! 

There are times when we must make moral decisions. But this parable counsels patience – amid our failures; amid our urge fix things; amid our tendency to act on instant judgments about others.

What are the “weeds” in my life where I need to be patient with myself? With whom do I need to be patient? 

God is patient with us. Let us be patient with ourselves, with others, with the world. Let us stop jumping to conclusions.

XV Sunday of the Year

KEEP SOWING

Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23 (1-9)

Readings for the XV Sunday of the Year

“I’m leaving!” said a priest as he and I were vesting for the Eucharist. Before a stunned me could respond, he explained that his province was quitting an area because after thirty years of ministry, they were not seeing the fruit of their labour. They planned to relocate to places where people were receptive.

It is frustrating to not see the results of our labour. Parents, educators, mentors… we’ve been there and felt it. We want to throw our hands up and say: “I’ve had enough.” Today’s word is addressed to those who want to quit: keep sowing because God’s word is efficacious.

Let’s situate the parable of the sower. The disciples are disheartened; Jesus has had very little “success”: the Pharisees are against him; the crowds come to him only for their benefit. 

Every Israelite listening to the parable could identify with every detail: some seed fell on hard ground; much of their land was limestone and beneath a few inches of soil there was rock; some soil had fibrous roots of weeds. Every detail was commonplace except one: the size of the harvest! A farmer who reaped a five-fold harvest was fortunate; a seven-fold harvest was attributable to God and was reason to celebrate. A thirty-fold harvest? Unheard of. Sixty-fold, hundred-fold? Impossible! Jesus’ emphasis: when we sow God’s word, there will be miraculous success despite initial frustration. 

The first reading gives us the reason for confidence in an abundant harvest: just as rain inevitably brings forth fruitfulness, God’s word is efficacious. 

The sower knows soils are different and seeds grow differently. He sows anyway and everywhere. 

And so we ought. In an age that looks for quick results, we need to sow the seed with patience and in hope that what we sow will, eventually, produce a harvest –even when it appears that every inch of ground is worthless. Keep sowing the seed because God’s word is efficacious. Will I quit or will I keep sowing?

XIV Sunday of the Year

COUNTER THE CULTURE

Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9, 11-13; Matthew 11:25-30

Readings for the XIV Sunday of the Year

Extracts from Ellen Goodman’s editorial, “Battling our Culture is Parents’ Task” in the Chicago Tribune:

One of your main jobs as a parent is to counter the culture. What the media delivers to children by the masses, you are expected to rebut one at a time. We need parents who know how to say “no”. But it occurs to me now the call for “parental responsibility” is increasing in direct proportion to marketplace irresponsibility.

Are the kids being sold junk food? Say no. Is TV bad? Turn it off. Counter the culture. Mothers and fathers are expected to screen virtually every aspect of their children’s lives.

Parents see themselves in a struggle for the hearts and minds of their own children. It isn’t that they can’t say no. It’s that there’s so much more to say no to. It’s not just that families have less time with their kids, it’s that that we must spend more of this time doing battle with our own culture. 

What society compels parents to do today is what Jesus challenged his disciples to do two thousand years ago: counter the culture! Christianity is counter-cultural!

Some indicators of his counter-cultural way: 

▪ God’s revelation is not to “the wise and the learned” but to the “little ones”;

▪ Freedom comes not from escapism but from surrendering to the well-fitting yoke of Jesus; 

▪ God’s preference is for the “childlike” and the poor.

Why should we be counter-cultural?

The second reason is because Jesus challenges us to be counter cultural. 

The first reason is the example of Jesus, who: 

▪ rides not a horse but a colt, a symbol of peace; who proclaims not war but peace; who does not build but destroys weapons (cf. the first reading); 

▪ took the form of a slave, was born in human likeness, and shows us that authority comes not from power but from service;

▪ calls us to learn from his meekness and humility.

Being counter-cultural is not about boycotting companies, signing online petitions, protesting on streets – though these are sometimes needed. Being counter-cultural is living gospel values, living the way Jesus lived.

Will I imitate my God and be counter-cultural? Will I learn from him who is meek and humble of heart? Will I submit to his yoke?

XIII Sunday of the Year

MAKING ROOM…

2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42

Readings for the XIII Sunday of the Year

The lady of the house instructed her butler before a banquet: “Bentley, I want you to stand at the front door and call the guests’ names as they arrive.” “Very well, madam,” he replied, “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”

I guess we have all felt like Bentley and wanted to call our guests names – at least occasionally when we have had to welcome people who aren’t particularly welcomeable. But think of the times people welcomed us warmly, perhaps, with a broad smile, open arms, comforting words. It felt good! 

The Shunamite woman did just that for the prophet Elisha (first reading). The woman was childless but didn’t focus on her condition! She welcomed Elisha and was hospitable to this “holy man of God.” Her hospitality was extravagant: she gave him a furnished room “so that when he comes to us he can go in there.” How thoughtful, how sensitive, how generous! Though her hospitality was without strings attached, God acted powerfully for her because she was kind to one of his own.

The message about hospitality finds an echo in the Gospel. Jesus reminds his disciples about the cost of discipleship but urges them not to worry. As they travel with his message, they will meet people, like the Shunamite woman, who will recognize them as prophets, righteous men, and disciples. They will find welcome and hospitality. 

For the Israelites, a traveller was a reminder of their struggle as enslaved strangers in Egypt and as wanderers in the desert. 

We need to return to biblical hospitality! Like the Shunamite woman, we need to build room for others – in our lives and hearts. 

Let me pick one person whom I will welcome in my life. How will I welcome and be hospitable to this person in the week ahead? 

I may have to give my time, my talents, my resources, my life. My life may be interrupted. My privacy invaded. My patience tried. Let me ask the Lord to help me. Let me understand God’s hospitality!

XII Sunday of the Year

FEARLESS IN PERSECUTION

Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

Readings for the XII Sunday of the Year

On 06 June, Bishop Osório Afonso, Bishop of Quelimane in Mozambique, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. According to the World Watch List, last year 4,849 Christians were killed and 388 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. Today, as always, those who proclaim the Gospel and its values, those who stand for justice and truth, are ill-treated and persecuted. Some give up; most fight on. What sustains them? Today’s liturgy gives us an indication!

The first reading describes Jeremiah’s difficult mission: to denounce the abomination of the people and to warn them of God’s wrath. His friends denounced him; the army council threw him into prison and threatened him with death. Human that he was, Jeremiah was afraid, but he did not allow fear to write his script; he refused to be intimidated. What sustained Jeremiah was the profound belief that God was on his side: “The Lord is with me as a dread warrior.”

The gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ commissioning of the apostles. In the verses preceding today’s text, he warned them about imminent persecution. Now he tells them to preach without fear. He keeps repeating “do not be afraid.” How can the apostles not be afraid in the face of persecution? 

The antidote to fear is God’s care. Jesus illustrates the Father’s deep care through the example of the sale of sparrows. Sparrows were sold two for a penny; five for two pennies (with one free). Jesus says: “Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” God cares even for that one “worthless” sparrow! How much more does he care for us! This knowledge of God’s love and protection overcomes all fear. 

Jeremiah and the apostles could face their persecutors with courage because they were deeply aware of God’s love for them.

We are called to be prophets – people who fearlessly denounce the wrong and stand up for the right – at home, in our workplaces, in society… everywhere. 

Am I willing to acknowledge Jesus despite intimidation? What are the fears which keep me from witnessing to Jesus and his values? Do I believe that God cares for me?

XI Sunday of the Year

CALLED TO SHARE GOD’S COMPASSION

Exodus 19:2-6a; Romans 5:6-11; Matthew 9:36—10:8

Readings for the XI Sunday of the Year

Every evening at the Oratory at Don Bosco Matunga (Mumbai), the kids play for a while before they study. I watch them as the captains choose their teams for basketball or cricket. The younger ones have their heads down and shuffle their feet as they hear the captains call the names of the older kids or the better players. Sometimes, a captain does not see an older or stronger player and calls the name of a younger kid. The joy on his/her face is a sight to behold.

Human elections everywhere – whether in politics or business or sports – is the same. We choose the best.

The attitude and behaviour in human election are in sharp contrast to divine election: God’s choice of Israel (first reading) and Jesus’ choice of the apostles (Gospel).  From the human perspective, God’s choice is strange! 

He chose a weak, landless, wandering nation as his own. He called them to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Israel has the privilege of communicating God’s message to the rest of humankind and of reflecting his holiness.

Jesus chose those of limited education and means – fishermen, a tax collector, a teacher of the Law, a zealot – to be partners in his ministry. He called the apostles to be shepherds to care for the people and to be signs of God’s compassionate love. Further, he sent them to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” to announce that the kingdom of God was near.

God chose whom he wished and gave them the gifts they needed to accomplish their mission.

God continues to call people. He has something for you and me to do in building his kingdom, in spreading his compassionate love.

Question neither his wisdom in choosing you nor his ability to equip you with all you need for the task. Say “yes” and be his ambassador to the world to bring his compassion to all.

 

The Body and Blood of Christ

WE BECOME WHAT WE EAT

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

Readings for the Body and Blood of Christ

We give a lot of thought to the food we eat. And that’s good, because our diets significantly affect our lives and the planet. In many ways, we become what we eat.

We need to pay greater attention to our spiritual diets because these affect us even more. Our minds gnaw at the stressors in our lives and soon we find we’re consumed by them. Media bombard us with quick-fix ads, hateful speech, violent entertainment, and negativity. It’s so easy for us to become angry, bitter, and materialistic. In the spiritual sense, it’s even more true – we become what we eat.

The readings on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ highlight the importance of spiritual nourishment. 

Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel takes place at the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread, which recalled how God nourished the people with manna and with his word in the desert (cf. first reading). While reiterating that memory, Jesus emphasizes that the bread he gives is different from the manna in the desert!

- The manna that was not eaten within the day had to be thrown away. After Jesus fed the five thousand, twelve baskets of fragments were gathered and saved; this indicates that this bread lasts.

- The manna was limited and only for the Jews. The bread which Jesus gives is for always and for all people. 

- The manna nourished the people only during the journey to the Promised Land. The bread of life nourishes us with eternal life. 

Jesus emphasizes that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life. We become what we eat!

St Paul (second reading) reminds the Corinthians about the significance of the Eucharist. By participating in the Eucharist, we become the body of Christ; we become one. We become—or we ought to become—what we eat.

Jesus nourishes us for always by giving us his word, and his body and blood.

Am I satisfied with the junk food the world offers or do I feast on Jesus the Word and the Living Bread? Do I live in communion with those around me or is the Eucharist only a ritual act I perform?

May our celebration make us what we eat: one with Christ and one with one another.  

The Holy Trinity

GOD LOVES AND FORGIVES

Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9; Daniel 3:52-56; John 3:16-18

Readings for Trinity Sunday

Thomas Edison was working on his crazy contraption: the “light bulb”. It took his team twenty-four hours to put together each bulb. Once, after the team finished crafting a bulb, Edison gave it to a boy to carry up to the storeroom. The youngster took each step with extreme and watchful caution. At the top of the stairs, he dropped the priceless piece of work. When the team finished the second bulb, after twenty-four hours of work, and it had to be carried upstairs to the storeroom, Edison gave it to the same boy!

Why would Edison forgive someone who destroyed his handiwork? It’s bizarre. It defies understanding.

So does the reality that our God always forgives us though we constantly and repeatedly destroy his handiwork.

The readings on Trinity Sunday are not incomprehensible theology explaining the doctrine of the Trinity. They highlight something more incomprehensible and yet deeply consoling and hope-filled:  God’s forgiving love! His love is not a sentimental love but a non-condemning and forgiving love.

The first reading describes the incident after the debacle of the golden calf. God is willing to renew the covenant with Israel despite its incessant infidelity. Why? He tells Moses that he is “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” This succinct poetic description of God is an oft-repeated statement of Israel’s belief and describes God’s relationship with his people, one which is portrayed right through the Old Testament.

The gospel is a summary and the core of the Good News! Jesus tells Nicodemus that God sent his Son not to condemn the world but because he loved the world. Through his entire life and ministry, Jesus lived out this core of the Good News – he sought out the sinner and the outcast. 

Grappling with the mystery of the Trinity – three persons, one God – is tough. It’s tougher to live out the mystery of the Trinity: to love as God loves, to forgive as God forgives. And yet this is what God calls us to do.

In the second reading, Paul gives us a program to imitate our Trinitarian God: “Encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace.”

Do I forgive and love like God does? Whom will I forgive and love in the week ahead? How will I encourage and live in peace? 

Pentecost Sunday

SHAPED BY THE WIND OF GOD

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

Readings for Pentecost

A parish priest narrates a conversation he had with a farmer about the effect the wind has on things! The farmer said that, over time, trees that stand out in the open become shaped in the direction the wind is blowing. Unless there are other trees around to block it, a tree will eventually be shaped by the force and direction of the wind. Then, the farmer began to point out tree after tree that had been shaped in this way; the field was filled with them! All shaped by the wind!

Something similar happened to the disciples on the day of Pentecost. They were shaped by the wind of God—the Holy Spirit. 

The apostles were afraid after Jesus’ crucifixion and confused after his resurrection. They shut themselves “in one place together”; there’s safety in numbers, I guess!

At Pentecost, the wind of God blew “like a strong driving wind” and shaped the disciples in three ways: 

- from being fearfully behind closed doors, they moved with bold freedom into the open; 

- from being silent spectators, they became vibrant and fearless preachers of the gospel;

- from being a cluster of individuals, they became a community and a church with a definite mission and mandate to be agents of peace and reconciliation.

The same Spirit—which Jesus “breathed on” the apostles and which descended on them “like a strong driving wind”—is with us. He helps us move from fear to freedom; from silence to proclamation; from being individuals to being community; from division to reconciliation… when we stand out in the open and allow ourselves to shaped by the wind of God.

Do I as an individual, and we as a congregation, show any evidence of being shaped by the wind of God’s Spirit? If not, what blocks the action of the Spirit in my life?

The Ascension of the Lord

CONTINUING THE MISSION

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20

Readings for the Solemnity of the Ascension

Leonardo da Vinci was working on a large canvas in his studio: he chose the subject, sketched the outline, applied the colours. Then he stopped, summoned one of his students, and invited him to complete the work. The horrified student protested that he was unworthy and unable to complete the work which his master had begun. But da Vinci silenced him: “Will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?” 

Our master began his work of proclaiming the good news by what he said and did, and by his passion, death, and resurrection. Then he stopped and summoned his disciples to complete the work. 

This is the thrust of the Ascension. Jesus gives his disciples a program (witness to him) and a promise (the Holy Spirit). 

This focus comes through beautifully in today’s selection of readings.

In the gospel, Jesus commissions his disciples to teach all nations and to make disciples of them. He promises to be with them “always, until the end of the age.”

In the first reading, the program and the promise are similar. Jesus calls his disciples to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” and promises them the power of the Spirit.

There are three aspects about Christian witness.

a) in a court, a witness cannot give hearsay evidence but personal experience; a Christian testifies to a personal experience of God. 

b) witness is not of words but of deeds.

c) the Greek word for witness and for martyr is the same: “martus”; to be a witness means to live the mission of Christ no matter what the cost.

Christian witness sounds a tough task. And it is… if we attempt it alone. That’s why Jesus promises his presence and the Spirit, the Comforter (which comes from the Latin fortis, which means strong). The Spirit strengthens the disciples to carry on the mission of Christ.

Like da Vinci’s disciple, we may think we are unworthy and unable to complete the work of our master. 

Will his life not inspire us to do our best? How will I witness to Jesus and carry on his mission? Will I live the program and rely on the promise?

VI Sunday of Easter

NOT ALONE!

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21

Readings for the VI Sunday of Easter

Home Alone. The real-life experience, not the movie, of many people. 

Here’s just one story: “I am sixteen. A year ago, I lost the most important person in my life: my grandmother. She was my world, and suddenly she was gone. I was alone. I cried for days, cursing God, her, and even myself for her death. I had no idea how to get through my freshman year, but I did. Now I remember her and do what I know she would want me to do: help people.”

Alone. On their own. That’s perhaps the way the apostles felt during the Last Supper.

Jesus, the most important person in their lives, has repeatedly told them about his death. Jesus promises them his Spirit to comfort and lead them: “The Father... will give you another advocate to be with you always... I will not leave you orphans.” He reminds them: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

A promise and a reminder! The promise of the eternal, comforting, abiding, and advocating presence of the Spirit. The reminder that they will experience the full presence of the Spirit when they love… because the Spirit is love.

We see the promise and the reminder unfold in the first reading: with the power of the Spirit and with love, the disciples go out to proclaim Christ to the people of Samaria. Like the sixteen-year-old, when they reach out, they are alone no longer.

We, too, have been given this gift of the Spirit. Why do we still feel lonely and troubled? Perhaps because we have forgotten the promise and the reminder. 

Am I open to the comforting and guiding presence of the Spirit? Do I keep the commandment of love? Then… I will not be alone. I will not feel “orphaned”.

V Sunday of Easter

FEAR BUSTERS

Acts 6:1-7; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

Readings for the V Sunday of Easter

A little boy was scared to sleep alone. He called out to his dad: “I’m scared. Please stay here with me.”

Dad said: “Son, nothing will happen to you. Mom and I are in the next room.”

“I know, Daddy. But I’m scared.”

“There’s no reason to be scared. God is there with you.”

“I know that, also, Daddy. But I want someone with skin on.”

The little boy’s fear is like the disciples’ fear. Jesus—their master, for whom they left everything—is leaving them. They are afraid to face the world alone; they fear staying in their “room” alone. 

Jesus assures them that there is no need to be afraid and gives them three fear busters.

The first fear buster: faith in God and his Son. “You believe in God, believe also in me.” 

The second fear buster: God is with us. Jesus tells Philip: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” In and through his Son, God is by our side, is present with skin on, is deeply involved in the events and crises of our world.

Jesus says: “I am going to prepare a place for you.” God has a special place for each one of us in the church and in the world. We need to find that place/mission/role. The third fear buster: finding our place and mission in life.

Does this mean we won’t have problems? No! The first reading describes the problems the fledgling church has in the food distribution system! 

The fear busters help the church overcome this problem. Faith in God and the awareness of his presence with them keep the apostles from getting overwhelmed. They find their place and role in the church: the apostles focus on preaching; they appoint deacons to look after the administration.

 

The little boy’s fear is like our own. Problems assail us, the darkness of our “nights” frighten us. We need someone—with skin on—by our side. 

Do I have faith in God? Do I believe that he is with me in his Son and in people? What am I doing to find my place in life?

May we hear the Lord say: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

IV Sunday of Easter

DO I STILL HEAR THE SHEPHERD?

Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 2:20b-45; John 10:1-10

Readings for the IV Sunday of Easter

An Amerindian and his friend were walking in midtown New York. Decibel levels were deafeningly high: people chatting, vehicles moving, horns honking. Suddenly, the Amerindian said: “I hear a cricket.” His friend exclaimed: “That’s crazy! You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all this noise!” 

The Amerindian insisted that he had heard a cricket. He walked to a big plant, looked under the branches and… found a cricket. 

His friend was stunned: “That’s incredible! You must have superhuman ears!” The Amerindian said: “My ears are no different from yours. It depends on what you’re listening for!” He pulled out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them on the sidewalk. Every head within twenty feet turned to see if the money that had tinkled on the pavement was theirs!

“See what I mean!” said the Amerindian. “It depends on what your ears are attuned to, and that depends on what’s important for you.”

Today’s liturgy highlights the importance of having ears attuned to God and his word.

The gospel has two parables. 

In the first, the imagery is of a sheepfold into which the shepherd and a prowler seek to enter. It is a challenge to Israel’s religious authorities: will they listen to and heed Jesus’ message? Jesus can offer no external credentials for his authority.

The second parable concerns the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd, and between the sheep and a stranger. Jesus indicates that a small group respond in faith to his message because they hear in it the authentic voice of God.

Both parables make the same point: The Lord is our shepherd who cares for us, accompanies us, protects us, and gives us abundant life; we need to listen to him and allow him to be our shepherd. 

The first reading is an “enactment” of the second parable! The people listen to Peter’s admonishment. “They were cut to the heart” and ask what they must do. They heed Peter’s voice: they repent and are saved.

If Jesus and his word are important for us, we will hear him above the bustle of our lives, above the noise of consumerism and materialism. If our ears are attuned to power, prestige, and pleasure, we will hear those. To whom/what do I listen? Whom do I follow? Do I still hear the shepherd and follow him?

The quality of our life indicates to what our ears are attuned! If we do not live “abundantly”, we are listening to and following not the shepherd but a stranger.

III Sunday of Easter

GOD WALKS WITH US

Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35

Readings for the III Sunday of Easter

The film “The Miracle Worker” is the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. It depicts how Sullivan broke through Keller’s isolation, confusion, and anger, which came about because of her inability to communicate with people. For 49 years, she journeyed with Keller—first as teacher and then as companion. She showed Keller the meaning of words; she helped Keller transform herself from a wild girl into a world-famous speaker, author, and advocate for differently abled people. 

The two disciples on their way to Emmaus had a journey like Keller. They have just experienced a great loss. “We had hoped,” they say. Past tense! They have left the community of disciples and are walking away from Jerusalem… away from the place where their hopes were shattered! And then Jesus walks with them. They went from despair to hope, from looking downcast to having burning hearts after the Risen Jesus journeyed with them as teacher (he broke the word to them) and companion (he broke bread with them). After this walk, they became messengers of hope to the other disciples.

The second reading is an excerpt from 1 Peter written for Christians in Asia Minor whose acceptance of the gospel alienated them from society. Peter bolsters their faith. He tells them that during the time of their sojourning, the Risen Jesus sojourns with them.

“God walking with us” is a recurrent theme in the Bible: he walked with Adam and Eve in the garden; he walked with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he walked with the Israelites in the desert; he walked with the exiles; he walked the shore of Galilee healing the sick and comforting the anguished.

We are often on an Emmaus journey. God walks with us in our times of anguish and despair, confusion and pain, when we cannot make sense of the events of our life and our world. Do I recognise him? Or do discouragement and despair prevent me from recognising him? 

God continues to explain his way and his word to us. Will I listen to him and attempt to understand? Do I walk with others?

May you and I be aware of God walking with us on our “Emmaus” journeys! May the opening the scriptures and the breaking the bread strengthen us to walk with others to bring them hope.

II Sunday of Easter

STILL BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

Readings for the II Sunday of Easter

After a lecture on mental health, Karl Menninger—the famous psychiatrist—answered audience questions. One person asked: “What would you advise a person to do if he/she felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Duh! the obvious answer: see a counsellor! Menninger caught everyone off guard with his response: “Lock up your house… find someone in need and do something to help that person.”

Brilliant advice! And it applies to all sorts of situations: when you have problems of your own, get out of yourself.

That’s what the risen Jesus advises and commissions his disciples to do when he finds them “on the evening of that first day of the week” behind closed doors “for fear of the Jews”! He sends them out with the Spirit to proclaim God’s love and forgiveness. 

A week later, he finds them still behind closed doors. Little wonder, then, that Thomas refused to believe that Jesus was risen. They were—in Pope Francis’ idiom—the first “Christian bats”! 

They eventually do go out of the closed room. The result? They “suffer through various trials” (second reading). They also experience fellowship—sharing of material resources and spiritual moments—and growth (first reading).

A natural reaction when we are afraid is to focus inward. Sometimes the “unnatural” works better. 

Moreover, our closed doors do not stop Jesus; he comes to us in our fear, doubts, confusion… with his peace and with his Spirit. He keeps returning week after week... in the word, in the bread and the wine. And he keeps sending us out of our closed rooms into a world that needs his gifts of life and peace.

What are the fears that keep me behind closed doors? What makes me a Christian bat? 

May I live in the awareness that Jesus is always with me. May I get out, help those in need, and proclaim God’s love and forgiveness.

Easter Sunday

BECAUSE HE LIVES

Readings for the Easter Vigil

Genesis 1:1—2:2; Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 14:15—15:1; Isaiah 54:5-14; Isaiah 55:1-11; Baruch 3:9-15, 32—4:4; Ezekiel 36:16-28; Romans 6:3-11; Matthew 28:1-10

Readings for the Easter Vigil

Readings for Mass during the Day

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

Readings for Easter Sunday

The new pastor—fresh out of seminary—was visiting Joe, an elderly and terminally ill parishioner. After talking about everything else, the pastor finally asked: “Joe, doesn’t it bother you? Aren’t you frightened?” 

Joe smiled and said: “Padre, I know I’m not going to make it, but I’m not afraid. You see… I’ve peeked at the end of the book.”

“What do you mean?” the priest asked.

Joe replied: “Ten years ago, I had a massive heart attack. I remember the doctors thinking I was dead. I also remember the tremendous feeling of being surrounded by God’s love. The doctors revived me. Ever since that day I have been unafraid to die. I’ve been there; I’ve seen the future and it doesn’t frighten me. I know that one day soon I am going to sleep and I believe that when I awaken, I will be surrounded by God’s love.”

Joe peeked at the end of the book. And this made him unafraid to die. We have read the beginning, the end and through “the book”.

The tomb is empty. Christ is risen; he is alive. And we too, shall live… because he lives! Because of the Resurrection, we have a glimpse of the future, of what awaits us; and we can live transformed and fearless lives.

It is the Resurrection that gives meaning to our Christian life. Recall Peter’s address to the crowd on Pentecost (First Reading): he emphasizes that God raised Jesus to life. Recall how the apostles made sense of all that Jesus said and did—during his public ministry—in the light of the resurrection. Recall Paul’s words: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). We shall live… because he lives!

How do we live this new life? First, we commit ourselves to living this new life by renouncing values and ideologies contrary to the way of Jesus. Second, the risen Lord sends us to proclaim his resurrection: “Go and tell my brothers and sisters…”

How will I live like an “Easter person”? To whom and how will I proclaim the good news of the Resurrection?

May we live as an Easter people… because he lives!

Palm Sunday

THE CHEERING STOPPED

Matthew 21:1-11

Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14 – 27:66

Readings for Palm Sunday

Gene Smith’s book “When the Cheering Stopped” tells the tale of US President Woodrow Wilson. After World War I, Wilson was a global hero; on his first visit to Europe after the War, cheering crowds greeted him everywhere.

After a year, Wilson ran into opposition: his League of Nations was not ratified; at home, his party was defeated in the elections; in Europe, leaders were more concerned with their own agenda. As long as he “spoke” peace, Wilson was heralded as the new messiah. When he called for change that would lead to peace, the cheering stopped. Wilson became a broken man and a failure.

 

It’s a sad but not unfamiliar story. Jesus faced something similar during his journey to Jerusalem!

As long as Jesus fed the hungry and healed the sick, he was popular. As long as the people saw him as a political messiah, they gave him a royal welcome. 

When Jesus emphasised that he was a king of love-peace and not a military hero, when he showed that he would rule through humble obedience, when he broke social and religious barriers, when he became a threat to the religious authority and political standing of some people, when he loved all people unconditionally, when he called people to change… the cheering stopped. It turned to jeering. On the cross, Jesus became (literally) a broken man and a human failure. 

One who makes people feel good is popular. When one wants to change “feel good” to “do good”, when one challenges people to amend attitudes and action… the cheering stops.

Will I be the popular guy who makes people feel good or am I ready to be the unpopular guy who challenges people to be good? What will I do if/when the cheering stops?

I need to remember: The Jesus “story” does not end on the cross; there is the empty tomb. It does not end on Friday; it begins a new chapter on Sunday.

V Sunday of Lent

REVERSAL!

Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

Readings for the V Sunday of Lent

I was in Grade 5 when the school showed us a film. It was a thrill to see the shades drawn in the school library and a 16 mm projector set up facing a blank wall. After the film, a few students were hanging around; the art teacher, rather than rewind the film, showed it in reverse. We laughed at the strange images: disintegrated objects were reconstituted, buildings crumbled by earthquakes took shape, people who had been knocked cold came back to life. It was fascinating!

Today’s readings are a vivid description of God’s power to run the film of life in reverse and to revive the lifeless.

Ezekiel (first reading) tells the exiles—dead in heart and spirit—that God will open their graves, raise them, and put his life-giving spirit in them.

Paul (second reading) writes to the Romans that God’s spirit gives life to our mortal bodies.

The story of the raising of Lazarus (gospel) shows us the kind of God we have: our God

- does not intervene every time to remove pain/suffering and death;

- is with us amid our suffering; he is one with us, compassionate and empathetic;

- gives us life.

The recurring narrative today is one of fear and death. We can easily get overwhelmed and bury ourselves in a tomb of fear. Jesus tells us what he told Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life” and asks us the same question: “Do you believe this?”

The liturgy challenges me to 

- make an act of faith that God feels my pain and is one with me. 

- spread the hope that God will revive our lifeless and listless world.

- be a life-giver through empathy with people who are suffering.

IV Sunday of Lent

FROM BLINDNESS TO SIGHT

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Readings for the IV Sunday of Lent

 

Author John Griffin was blinded in an explosion during World War II. Twelve years later, he suddenly began to see what he described as “red sand”. A specialist later told him that a block to an optic nerve had abruptly cleared causing him to see. Commenting on his experience, Griffin said: “You can’t imagine what it is like for a father to see his children for the first time.”

The blind man of the gospel had an experience like Griffin’s: after Jesus anoints the man and he washes in the pool, a son saw his parents for the first time! He saw more than his parents; he saw Jesus as his Lord.

While his physical sight was instantaneously restored, his spiritual sight grew in stages: Jesus is the man called Jesus, a prophet, a man of God, and finally Lord.

The Pharisees/Jews make an opposite journey; they become increasingly blind. They expel the man from the synagogue. Even his parents disassociate themselves from him out of fear.

For the evangelist, this is not merely another miraculous cure. John is writing to a community that is experiencing rejection from Jewish society. Through this sign, he presents the blind man as a model of spiritual growth to encourage them to continue to “see” Jesus as their Lord.

Like the blind man, we have been anointed and washed in the waters of baptism.

Have I grown in my faith response to Jesus: do I “see” him as my Lord… or is he merely a man, a prophet, a man from God?

Am I ready to risk rejection in my desire to see Jesus?

III Sunday of Lent

THIRST QUENCHER

Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42

Readings for the III Sunday of Lent

 

Several years ago, I was trekking with friends. By mid-day, after trekking a few hours, we were half-way to our destination and out of water! There was no water source/ human habitation in sight. An hour later, we chanced upon a tiny stagnant pool of water. We were tired and thirsty. And so, though the water was dank, we drank!

Thirst! This was the condition of the wandering Israel. 

It was thirst that made them grumble against Moses; lament their liberation from Egypt; question God’s presence among them. 

God’s response? He gives them life-giving water: a reminder of his continued and powerful presence among them.

Thirst! This was the condition of the Samaritan woman.

It was physical thirst that made her come to the well in the noon-day sun; emotional thirst which took her through six relationships; spiritual thirst which made her dialogue with a male Jew.

God’s response? Jesus gives her live-giving water. He satisfies her longing for love and understanding; he treats her as a human person with respect and dignity. Through a seven-part catechesis, he guides her from ignorance to faith; she grows progressively in her knowledge of Jesus’ identity: a Jew, sir, prophet, and Messiah. 

Her growth in the faith journey culminates in her leaving her water jar behind; she goes from being a social outcast to becoming a disciple and a missionary.

Thirst! This is our condition too. 

We, too, have our physical, emotional, spiritual thirst. God’s response to our thirst is like his response to the thirst of Israel and the Samaritan woman. He fills us with living water! We need not go back to the well because the source of living water is within us… from our baptism. 

Do I still go to other wells, or do I allow the living water to be my thirst-quencher?  In what way can I, like the woman, invite people to “come and see” and encounter Jesus, and drink of the living water that I have drunk?

II Sunday of Lent

LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Genesis 12:1-4a; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matthew 17:1-9

Readings for the II Sunday of Lent

A king received two falcons and gave them to his head falconer for training. Months later, the head falconer informed the king that one falcon was flying majestically; the other had not moved from its branch. The king summoned his ministers and sorcerers; none could get the bird to leave the branch. The king promised a reward to the one who made the falcon fly. Several people tried and failed. One farmer succeeded! The king was thrilled; he asked the farmer what he had done. The farmer replied: “Your Highness, I cut the branch on which the bird was sitting.”

If we want to find our place in life, we need to get off our branches, we need to leave our comfort zones. Today’s readings emphasize this truth.

In the first reading, God tells Abraham to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house – his “branch” – and journey to the unknown. Abraham experiences many difficulties and sufferings because of this “leaving”; the result is a life of blessing and glory.

In the verses preceding today’s gospel, Jesus predicts his passion, death, and resurrection. Today’s text ends with Jesus’ command to his disciples: “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Matthew thus indicates that there is a necessary connection between suffering and glory, between death and life. He skilfully drives home this point: the three disciples who are at the Transfiguration will be at Jesus’ agony at Gethsemane! 

It is not easy to leave a comfort zone; our natural impulse is to stay! On the mountain, surrounded by magnificence and glory, Peter wants to remain! But the voice tells them “to listen” to Jesus’ teaching that the way to life is through suffering and death. 

This was not easy for Jesus; it is not easy for us. The Transfiguration assured Jesus that the Father was with him and strengthened him on his road through suffering-death to the resurrection. It strengthened the disciples’ faith on their journey of discipleship. God’s love will sustain us as we leave our comfort zones and journey through suffering to life.

Am I ready to leave behind familiarity and security? What are the “branches” I must cut or the comfort zones I must leave to experience new life?