XXV Sunday of the Year

IS GOD UNFAIR?

Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16

Readings for the XXV Sunday of the Year

Robert De Moor shares an incident from his childhood: “When the apples ripened, mom would sit all seven of us down… with pans and knives until the mountain of fruit was reduced to neat rows of filled jars. She never bothered keeping track of how many we did… When the job was done, the reward for everyone was the same: a chocolate-dipped cone. A stickler might argue it wasn’t quite fair; I can’t remember anyone complaining about it. A family understands it operates under a different set of norms than a courtroom.”

When we understand the kingdom of God as a family – with a different yardstick of fairness/ equality – we will cease ‘complaining’ about owner of the vineyard!

The landowner does seem unfair. Human justice argues that those who work more should get a bigger wage than those who work less. 

However, we must note that the landowner pays the full-day labourers the agreed-upon wage. He pays the ‘late comers’ what he considers just: a full-day’s wage – the average ‘daily wage’ was enough only for the ‘daily bread’ for a family; were the owner not to pay the late comers the full daily wage, their families would go hungry.

This parable is about God’s invitation to collaborate in his kingdom. The kingdom cannot be earned through our effort. True, we must do all we can to receive it: sow the word, launch the boat and cast the net, love with all our strength. But we do not merit the kingdom.

This parable is not about labour laws or justice. It is about the gift of grace. Ralph Milton describe how grace works: “All we need to do is say ‘Yes,’ and God gives us the whole bundle.” God does not partition grace into different amounts for different people; he gifts his grace abundantly and equally to all regardless of the hour they accept his offer.

Unfair? The first reading reminds us: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” 

Will I begrudge God’s fairness to the late-comer forgetting that I am a late-comer, too, and do not merit his grace? Will I do my part of the kingdom work and allow God’s grace to do the rest?

XXIV Sunday of the Year

REMEMBER GOD’S MERCY

Sirach 27:30—28:7; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35

Readings for the XXIV Sunday of the Year

Corrie ten Boom lost her whole family in the Nazi concentration camps. After the war, she travelled about Europe lecturing on forgiveness and reconciliation. After a talk in Munich, a man came forward and put his hand out to shake hers. She recognized him as a guard at Ravensbruck where she was interred! Corrie froze. She felt a deep resentment and coldness. She, who had spoken about forgiveness, couldn’t forgive the man. She writes: “It could not have been many seconds that he stood there… but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.”

We can empathise with Corrie’s experience. Forgiveness is difficult. We think we have forgiven, but then we meet the person who hurt us and the feelings resurface. It is almost physical. 

It’s not surprising, therefore, that Peter asks Jesus in the gospel: “How often must I forgive my brother?” It was Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgive his brother thrice. Peter doubles the rabbinic three, adds one, and suggests that forgiving seven times is enough. Jesus’ answer reverses the old law of vengeance: “If Cain is to be avenged seven-fold, truly Lamech is to be avenged seventy and seven-fold” (Gen. 4:24). For the Jews, there was no limit to hatred and vengeance; for Jesus’ disciples, there can be no limit to love and forgiveness.

Jesus emphasises this through the parable of the two debtors. The contrast between the debts is staggering. The offences we suffer from others are nothing compared to our offences against God; while God forgives all, we do not. 

We often say: “I can forgive but I can’t forget.” It is when we forget God’s forgiving love that we cannot forgive. Corrie ten Boom did forgive the ex-Nazi guard! She remembered God’s forgiving love towards her, prayed, and woodenly thrust her hand into the man’s. Then a healing warmth flooded her being; she grasped the man’s hands and forgave him.

What unforgiven hurts still torture me? Is there anyone I have not forgiven? Let me remember God’s immense compassion towards me and pray for the grace to forgive from the heart.

XXIII Sunday of the Year

BUILD BRIDGES NOT BARRIERS

Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20

Readings for the XXIII Sunday of the Year

In The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis writes that hell is like a vast city inhabited only at the periphery; it has rows and rows of empty houses in the middle – empty because the residents quarrelled with their neighbours and moved. Then, they quarrelled with their new neighbours and moved again. This process of quarrel-move-quarrel slowly left the old neighbourhoods empty. Hell has gotten so large because everyone chose distance instead of honest confrontation.

Lewis’ picture is as true as it’s stark! When someone hurts us, it’s either fight or – more often than not – flight! “Let it be” is the preferred course of action… with one problem: we do not “let it be”!

In today’s gospel, Jesus sets guidelines for conflict resolution. He challenges us to seek reconciliation by talking to the person instead of about the person! 

The first step is dialogue: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault…” Dialogue is not a finger-pointing venture; it is an honest, specific communication of perspectives/feelings.

If/when dialogue fails, if the other refuses to see his/her fault or rebuffs the attempt at reconciliation, go to step two – diplomacy: “If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you…”

If/when diplomacy also fails, move to step three: “Treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Is step three dissociation? That would be easy, but Jesus loved the Gentile and the tax collector, and never ceased to associate with them. So, step three is deep love (this is not affection!). This is what Paul tells the Romans (second reading): “Love one another… love does no wrong to a neighbour.” The First Reading hints at the underlying reason for this strategy: the Lord tells Ezekiel to speak to people when they are wrong to help them back to the community.

This pericope ends with a reminder that attempts at carefrontation must be in a context of prayer.

We can’t always make peace with those who hurt us, but we can and must still love them… unless we want to live in “hell”.

Will I resolve hurts through dialogue, diplomacy, and deep love, and be reconciled with the people who have hurt me? Will I build barriers or build bridges? How will I restore my relationship with creation?

XXII Sunday of the Year

THE ‘BRAND HEART’ OF CHRISTIANITY

Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

Readings for the XXII Sunday of the Year

Marketing experts say it is important for companies/ organizations to develop a brand identity or the “face” that interacts with the world. They are quick to caution – whatever you create must communicate who you are: the brand heart (purpose, vision-mission, values).

One may see this Sunday’s gospel as a landmark in Jesus spelling out his “brand heart”! Jesus has been schooling his disciples about who he is; through Peter’s confession of faith, they have recognized Jesus as the Christ. Jesus does not fit the popular conception of the Christ as a military conqueror. He begins to show his disciples that he is the Christ who must suffer. He had challenged oppressive powers; this would have tragic consequences. But there is no place for suffering in Peter’s understanding of the Christ; the rock is now a stumbling stone! Jesus tells him to take his place as a disciple (behind the Master) and states that getting behind him entails taking up the cross and following him on his way to Jerusalem. 

The theme of a “brand heart” is found in the first reading too which depicts Jeremiah’s suffering as a prophet. He had to deliver an unpopular message; people heard it as treason and tortured him. Jeremiah grew tired of the demands of authentic prophecy and tried voluntary retirement but had to speak regardless of the cost.

Like Jeremiah and Jesus, faithful disciples cannot avoid suffering. It is an integral part of discipleship, a necessary consequence of living by Gospel values, of confronting oppressive forces.

What are the crosses in my life? Am I willing to carry these and follow Jesus? Who are “the elders, chief priests and scribes” I must confront? Who is the “Peter” to whom I must say “get behind me”?

But discipleship is not only about the cross; there is also the crown. Jesus is convinced that God will vindicate him. He promises his disciples that if they carry their cross, they will find a life of union with God.

May we carry our crosses that we may also carry the crown of a life of communion with God.

XXI Sunday of the Year

PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS

Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20

Readings for the XXI Sunday of the Year

Duke Ellington – composer, pianist, and conductor – composed with each musician in mind. He said: “You keep their weaknesses in your head as you write, and that way you astonish them with their strengths.”

That’s the way God works with the leaders he chooses and with us: he keeps our weaknesses in mind and astonishes us with our strengths; he perfects us in weakness. After Simon acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, Jesus gave him a new name, Peter, and a mission, the foundation for the Church.

What kind of a foundation was Peter? 

Soon after being named ‘rock’, Peter misunderstood the nature of Jesus’ mission. During Jesus’ passion, Peter denied him thrice. After the resurrection, Peter could think of nothing more productive to do than to return to fishing. Twenty years later, he withdrew from table fellowship with some Christians because they were Gentiles. By nature, Peter was not rock!

But the weak and human Simon became rock when he was open to divine revelation (“Blessed are you, Simon”), and when Jesus prayed for him (“Peter, I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail”). After Pentecost, Peter fearlessly proclaimed the gospel. He was imprisoned, tried, tortured, forbidden to preach… he did not stop preaching! Through grace, Peter became rock.

There is something of Simon in all of us. We misunderstand Jesus’ mission and words; we deny Jesus; we get engrossed in our career and work… 

Yet God keeps choosing us, with and despite our weaknesses, and strengthens us to be his church. He perfects us in weakness. We will be rocks when we recognize our radical need for God and his grace.

Will I open myself to his grace? Will I allow him to perfect me?

XX Sunday of the Year

MOVE THE FENCE

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28

XX Sunday of the Year

During WWII, a group of soldiers lost a buddy and wanted to bury him in a proper grave. They found a church with a cemetery and asked the parish priest to bury their friend. The deceased was not a Catholic. The priest expressed his sympathy but said the cemetery was reserved for Catholics. He asked them to bury their friend just outside the fence and assured them that he would care for the grave.

A year later, they decided to visit their buddy’s grave. They found the cemetery but not the grave. When they asked the priest, he told them that it didn’t seem right that the soldier was buried outside the cemetery. “So, you moved the grave?” asked the friends. “No,” said the priest, “I moved the fence.” 

Today’s liturgy challenges us to “move the fence” so that we can move beyond barriers and boundaries.

The Canaanite woman overcame three religious-cultural barriers to approach Jesus: she was a woman (in Semitic culture, women did not approach men); she was a widow; she was a foreigner/ gentile. She overcame three barriers from Jesus: his indifferent silence; his statement about his mission “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”; his rebuke about not throwing children’s food to the dogs. Her persistence persuaded Jesus to “move the fence”, to go beyond boundaries—gender, ethnic, religious, and geographical—to cure her daughter. The woman is a Canaanite but addressed Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of David”. Matthew thus presents her as a disciple and emphasises that discipleship is not restricted to Jews; it is open to anyone who believes in Jesus. 

Isaiah (first reading) announces God’s intention to extend Israel’s privileges to all foreigners who love the Lord and join themselves to him. His house is a house of prayer “for all peoples”. 

Paul (second reading) emphasises that God’s mercy is for all, whether Jew or gentile.

In an age of growing communalism and nationalism, we need this reminder of God’s universal love and imitate him.

Do I reach out to all people beyond gender, class, race, or religion? How will I imitate God in going beyond barriers and boundaries? Will I move the fence?

XIX Sunday of the Year

AMID THE STORM

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33

Readings for the XIX Sunday of the Year

We are amid a great storm in our lives – inflation and unemployment; hatred and intolerance; natural disasters and violent conflict in several parts of the world. Many of us are overwhelmed. 

The readings of today feature people who are overwhelmed by events in their lives. Amid an overwhelming chaos, they experience God’s abiding presence.

The first reading features Elijah who fled into the desert to escape the wrath of Jezebel. There he encountered an angel who comforted him and gave him food. Strengthened by that encounter, he journeyed forty days to Horeb, where he faces more chaos: a strong wind, an earthquake, a fire. Then he experiences the presence of God in “a tiny whispering sound”. Elijah’s flight to Mount Horeb ends with an encounter with God.

Paul (second reading) is overwhelmed with sorrow that his fellow Jews had not accepted Christ. His faith is steadied by recalling God’s irrevocable gifts to Israel.

The gospel portrays the disciples caught in a terrible storm which swamps their boat. When they are in disarray, there is more chaos and fear—for they think they see a ghost. It is Jesus who reassures them: “It is I (literally I am); do not be afraid.” These words would have evoked memories of Yahweh’s revelation to Moses (Exodus 3:14). The disciples’ crossing to the other side, interrupted by a destructive storm, ends with an encounter with God.

When destructive forces assail me, let me walk on like Elijah; when the storms of life engulf me, let me keep battling them like the disciples. The Lord is with me to sustain me. And at some point, perhaps when I reaches the “depths”, I will encounter him. I will hear those reassuring words: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” May the storms of my life cease with an encounter with God. Then, like Elijah and Peter, may I walk on.

XVIII Sunday of the Year

HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM

Isaiah 55:1-3; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Matthew 14:13-21

Readings for the XVII Sunday of the Year

Amid the devastation caused by the recent Assam floods, there are touching stories of compassion. While volunteers were distributing relief material across villages, a woman invited them home to have a cup of tea and to share a simple meal despite her own hardships. Another family served the volunteers lime juice despite losing almost everything in the floods.

We see such compassion in the readings of today.

The gospel opens with Jesus withdrawing to a lonely place after he hears of John’s beheading. But he has no time to be “by himself” for the crowds follow him. He is faced with an unexpected demand on himself. 

There are two usual responses to such a situation. a) I ignore such demands because they conflict with my plans/needs. b) I always put aside my plans and respond beyond the call of duty; the result is eventual burnout/frustration. Neither is appropriate.

Jesus’ response? He “had compassion on them” and satisfied their hunger. The “great crowd,” the “lonely place,” and the feeding with “bread” remind us of the way God fed his people in the desert with manna and assure us that God still satisfies his people’s hunger. BUT it is important to note that in John’s version of this episode, Jesus goes away after satiating the people’s hunger because he does not want to make them dependent!

Sometimes, compassion is helping people by giving them resources and myself; at other moments, compassion is helping people find their own resources and themselves. 

There is so much hunger. Is it possible to satiate this hunger?

The first reading asks an important question: “Why do you spend money for that which is not bread…?” If, instead of spending on our wants and whims, we use money for ours and others’ basic needs, we will help alleviate people’s hunger. 

Remember the disciples had “only five loaves and two fish”. Jesus multiplied this “only five loaves and two fish” and it became enough to feed the multitude. 

Today’s liturgy reassures us: God cares for us; he can and will satisfy all our hungers. But he needs me to mediate his compassion.

Am I ready to be compassionate – to share my resources sometimes and help people find their own resources at other moments? Will I give my “five loaves and two fish” and allow the Lord to multiply them? Am I willing to buy only what I need and to give the surplus so others can meet their needs?

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”.