Risk-takers

Feast of St Andrew, Apostle (Friday, 30 November 2018)

Romans 10:9-18. Psalm 19:2-5. Matthew 4:18-22.

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men and women. At once, leaving their nets, their boat and their father, they followed Jesus.”

The gospel reading is Matthew’s account of the calling of the first four disciples. “Come after me and I will make you fishers of people,” he says and they drop everything and go after him. They leave behind all their security and means of livelihood and even their family. They follow Jesus in complete trust, unaware of where he is going or what will happen to them. Following Jesus is a liberating experience. To be a Christian is to be free. Let us never forget that.

Yet the story is more symbolic than actual because we know that later they would return to their boats and their fishing and their family. The point of the gospel is that Jesus gave people major vision and challenge. Jesus always appeals to risk-takers. Somehow he did fascinate people and with some ease they left the things that they we doing, and followed him.

Shockingly, those men called by Jesus leave two things. They leave their families and their occupation. A heresy, perhaps! Family and occupation are the two sacred cows of kinship culture. One doesn't call those into question. Yet Jesus does! Family and job are not bad things. But falling into easy pattern can keep us from asking new questions about life. But we also need to mention that if we are open to love's demands, our family relationships can challenge us to the core. Coming to the gospel story again, it's also significant that Jesus does not tell his followers to stop drinking and burn their Playboys—the hot sins—and then come and follow. He says leave your father and your nets and come follow me now.

What does this mean? Jesus is calling you to break away from your Mama's and Daddy's dreams for you and get a bigger worldview. It may not mean to leave your family geographically (although sometimes it can help), but eventually you have to leave them spiritually and psychologically. You must look at their values critically and form your own, not necessarily opposed to theirs, but not just have some values just because they are parents' values. You need to break away from the conventional family wisdom that tells you to be a nice kid! You need to find your own soul. That means you have to leave your comfort zone and discover your True Self.

It also means you need to be critical or at least question even what is obvious. In many organizations, there are questions you cannot ask. Even if these questions may not be against the law, you will certainly find yourself in a spot of bother. Can business persons be critical of maximizing profit at the expense of workers, communities or the environment? Can a military person question individual wars? Can a person in the church question the Vatican for its policies? Will people ever move beyond their families' emotional permissions?

Think of Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, who has become a dissident, traitor and criminal just because he questioned and even acted against the mass surveillance policies that the various governments and companies were involved in. He states, “I don't want to live in a world where everything I say, everything I do, everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity and love or friendship is recorded.” [Ed Snowden is an American computer professional, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013. His disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments.]

To follow Jesus would mean to be a high risk-taker. Jesus is meant for no security-monger!

Prince of Peace

Celebrating Christmas is a beautiful way to come together as brothers and sisters. I thank you for this opportunity that you have given me to share my thoughts with you. But above all I thank you for your presence, because celebrating Christmas is a way to share peace with the world, and to give peace to all who need it now.

Celebrating Christmas is celebrating the Prince of Peace, who was born more than 2000 years ago. He was poor, but he stood for non-violence and peace, he stood for truth and compassion. If we have gathered here together to celebrate Christmas and the Prince of Peace, then we too need to stand for what he stood: love and peace, joy and truth, and non-violence. In my opinion, we should not merely celebrate this event, but carry home the values that Christ stood for. We too in a special way need to be convinced of peace.

Yes, dear friends, celebrating Christmas also means that we need to value peace in our hearts, in our homes, in our country, and in our world.

But at the same time, war, violence and conflicts have become normal in our day. We are no more surprised by the various terrorist attacks that happen around the world. Fights between nations are escalating by the day. Is there any hope? Can we even talk about peace? Is it even worth talking about Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace?

Living in the North East of India, we too have our share of problems of violence and strife. We too like elsewhere in the world have experienced ethnic conflicts and cultural conflicts. But we need to ask ourselves, “What could we learn from the various cultural conflicts that the region has experienced in the past few decades?” Interaction among cultures is no more an option or exception, but the rule. So much of growth can come about by these interactions, and at the same time there can be misunderstanding and conflicts in this process. We need to avoid such misunderstandings and conflicts, but more importantly we may have to learn how to handle them. That is the major challenge of all the cultural groups around the world, not just in the North East.

How can we be peacemakers? It begins by being peace ourselves, by connecting with the source of peace within ourselves. It also means standing up in non-violent resistance to systems of injustice. It involves learning the skills of non-violent communication and conflict resolution.

We are connected to each other as human beings. Peace is nothing but maintaining this connection, and not losing the focus of our inter-connection between each other. We cannot avoid one another any longer, and we do only at our own loss.

There will always be differences among us. But that is only way to maintain our richness. We are created by God with a lot of differences. So I should say that we need to celebrate the differences between us. Celebrating Christmas is also celebrating our differences: cultural differences, language differences, tribal group differences, religious differences, etc. By celebrating our diversities and differences we can be united as one. And that is one important way to achieve peace in our world.

So by helping each other we can create peace in the world. But there is another way that should go along with this method. That is nothing but allowing God who is the Prince of Peace to rule our hearts and our families. Without God our project of peace will not take shape. We need God’s help, and guidance. We need God’s blessings for our peacemaking efforts.

Therefore, dear friends, brothers and sisters, let us be convinced about the necessity of peace and non-violence in the world. Violence is not a solution to violence and war; violence is never a solution to any problem in the world. Some of us might think that I want to do good by using war and violence. But how can I wage a war against war? Can I use violence against violence? Can I use blood to wash blood? Is that possible? Of course, I feel with the victim, I suffer with the victims. That is compassion. The world is suffering, and I acknowledge it, and I accept the suffering that comes from the human condition. But am I not using the same standard of violence and destruction if I want to “destroy” someone else. Violence begets violence, violence is not the solution, it is always a problem.

Today I would like to leave the example of Etty Hillesum, who was not even 30 when she was deported and killed in Auschwitz concentration camp by the Nazis. This young woman found peace and God amidst her pain and suffering. She also found the deepest meaning of life amidst pain and suffering. She created little spaces of freedom for herself and others. She beautifully puts it: “Each of us must destroy in oneself all that we think we ought to destroy in others. Every atom of hate that we add to this world makes it still more inhospitable.” We must let go of our anger and violence however small it may be.

Dear friends, there is no way to peace, but peace is the way. There is no way to love, but love is the way. There is no way to compassion, but being compassionate is the only way. I repeat, there is no way to peace. Peace is the way. Means are as important as the end. Means and ends must be in complete agreement. Violence as means will be always beget violence. War will always produce more war. Violence can never bring about true peace. We cannot balance one evil with another. Therefore our means should be peaceful means. That is the only way to achieve unity, harmony, peace and true joy in our region, and in our world.

And let us remember that: When we find God we find peace, and whenever we find peace we find God.

God the Almighty is the Prince of Peace.

I would like end this talk with the words of Bible—from Psalm 85:

I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace,

peace for his people and his friends and those who turn to him in their hearts.

His help is near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land.

Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.

We can’t achieve peace by ourselves; we need God’s help and we need each other’s help.

Let us achieve peace in our hearts, and that’s only way we can give peace to the world.

Be the peace that you want to see in the world.

Don’t just pray for answers, be the answer!

Grace

34th Week in Ordinary Time - Thursday (29 November 2018)

Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9. Psalm 100:2-5. Luke 21:20-28.

“Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”

In the Bible, grace is also portrayed as banquet, food, wedding feast. In fact, we can assure, that the central theme of the Bible is grace.

Grace is the divine generosity that is unmerited, and that is available everywhere, totally given, and usually even undesired from our part. Our catechism books define grace as that which confers on our souls a new life, it is a sharing in the life of God Himself. To repeat, grace is a sharing in God's life. And this is pictured as a wedding feast in today's first reading. All of us are invited to this wedding banquet.

Grace is God's unmerited favour, His unaccountable love. Unless we understand something of grace, we can't understand God or His word. If we have not experienced the radical character of grace then we will always misinterpret the meanings and direction of Christianity and of the Bible. Grace cannot be understood as a register book of merits and demerits, of sins and virutes, of good and evil. No. Grace is not that which is earned by being worthy; it is totally freely given—or rather it is a totally free self-giving. We cannot understand grace by our calculative, accounting and dualistic minds. It is God eternally giving away God—for nothing—except the giving itself.

Grace is the life energy that we see in creation. It is the energy that which we see in the blooming of flowers, in the growth of trees, in the raising of the young ones in the animal kingdom, in the resilience of baby getting up again and again in order to walk, in the silence of the country side, in the noise of the cities, in birth and re-birth of stars and galaxies. Another name for grace is abundance, largesse, excess.

We are all invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. Jesus symbolizes the grace of salvation in a meal, the Passover meal. He opens up a new tradition of common and open table fellowship. But we need to remember that there are two kinds of this meal: a bread-and-fish tradition and a bread-and-wine tradition. Perhaps we have forgotten the first, but at least preserved the second in sacramental, liturgical form.

Jesus has table fellowship with all kinds of people: sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, Pharisees, his disciples, friends, and even with large crowds. A common meal itself is a message from Jesus. All are invited. He eats with everyone, and anyone. He becomes a glutton and a drunkard. He tells stories of banquet and meals. He likes partying (in the modern sense). Eating and drinking.... that's all. This becomes the symbol of salvation and eternity. How strange and interesting! No one is forced to join the party. It's all about feasting and enjoying the meal, if only you want to!

Endurance

34th Week in Ordinary Time - Wednesday (28 November 2018)

Revelation 15:1-4. Psalm 98:1-3, 7-9. Luke 21:12-19.

“Not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.”

The world scenario can discourage us deeply: the growing gap between the rich and the poor, poverty and even misery in many cases, the lack of education and health care in the greater part of the world, the increase of crimes or the growing prison population, the lack of political will in effective social interventions, the corruption among church, religious and political authorities, war, violence, strifes, the nuclear arms race, and so on. Why so much evil? Why so many conflicts? Why so much confusion in the world? We may have many similar questions on our world. We may even blame God for the suffering in the world.

God can be blamed in a way for all the evil and suffering in the world. Not for having caused them, but for having created us capable of doing evil. Of course, that's the part of the package. He created us humans as free beings, capable of the highest form of creativity and sacrifices, but also capable of the worst destruction and harm. God did not create us as machines. How boring and monotonous that would have been! God created us in love, and love is not love unless it's free.

Mind you, love protects us from nothing, we are exposed to everything. You don’t need much imagination to know that those who feel the need to work for justice—charged as they are by God’s Spirit—will get into difficulties in the world as the world is now. Jesus makes that very clear when he says, “You will be seized and persecuted; you will be handed over to governors for the sake of my name.” And he adds, “That will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

There are conflicts outside of us that we need to deal with. But (shockingly) all the conflicts and contradictions of life must find a resolution in us before we can resolve anything outside ourselves. Only the forgiven can forgive, only the healed can heal, only those who stand daily in need of mercy can offer mercy to others. At first it sounds simplistic and even individualistic, but it is precisely such transformed people who can finally effect profound and long-lasting social change. It has something to do with what we call quantum theology. The cosmos is mirrored in the microcosm. If we let the mystery happen in one small and true place, it moves from there! It is contagious, it is shareable, it reshapes the world.

In this project, Jesus promises that he won’t leave us alone: “I myself will give an eloquence and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist.” Our Lord is our guide, we need only to allow ourselves be guided. Isn't this perseverance or endurance after all? As Jesus tells us today, “Your perseverance will win you your lives,” and it can also change our world.

There's no point in saving the world if you can't be happy.

Signs from Heaven

34th Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday (27 November 2018)

Revelation 14:14-19. Psalm 96:10-13. Luke 21:5-11.

“And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.”

Today's gospel passage is another example of apocalyptic literature, but connected to some historical events. Chapter 21 of Lucan gospel speaks of three destructions: Destruction of the Temple, destruction of Jerusalem, and also the destruction of the world. But, Luke warns us, disciples should not confuse the destruction of the Temple with Jesus' return as Son of Man. It is further interesting to remind ourselves that the gospel of Luke was written around 85 CE, i.e., 15 years after the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem (70 CE). Perhaps Jesus' prediction of the destruction of the Temple is written retrospectively from a knowledge of what happened in 70 CE.

This complex passage given for our reading today has not merely a scholarly interest, but as God's word has a deep message for us the followers of Christ. Most of the happenings that we read in this passage are not special events that would happen just once. All these do happen almost every day. Earthquakes, plagues, famines, natural disasters, wars, revolutions, and conflicts between nations are events that we encounter very often. You need only to just put on your television news to have a glimpse of what we have been listing. Jesus our Lord, therefore, would recommend vigilance and faithfulness at all times. The end of history or the end of the world is not so much a sensational or dramatic event that we need to wait for. But it is that which is happening right now at your door step.

God comes to us not only in the joyful events that we encounter, but also and primarily in those events that disturb and shake us to the core. He reveals himself in our sufferings and persecutions. All these things have a meaning in our Christian lives. These are all “signs from heaven” (another word for “miracle” could be “sign”). Who said we need only positive signs from heaven to strengthen our faith? “If we take happiness from God's hand, must we not take sorrow too?” (Job 2:10). And today Jesus assures of his presence even amidst our hard times, “Do not be frightened.”

There are only two things that can transform us deeply: great love and great suffering. These open us to our deepest, truest nature. They keep us inside the mystery of life, instead of having a competition-mode in our lives. Suffering is the only thing strong enough to break down our control systems, explanatory mechanisms, logical paradigms, desire to be in charge, and our carefully maintained sense of control and power.

Etty Hillesum (1914-1943) was not even 30 years old when she was deported and killed in Auschwitz concentration camp. She found the deepest meaning of life amidst suffering. She created little spaces of freedom for herself and others. She writes, “I somehow want to suffer with you, God. All this suffering is somehow your suffering, and I want to participate with you in it.”

When we encounter suffering, we find our capacity growing if we stay connected to Reality—if we stay connected to God. When we participate in suffering, we participate in God's Mystery itself.

Code-Breaking

34th Week in Ordinary Time - Monday (26 November 2018)

Revelation 14:1-5. Psalm 24:1-6. Luke 21:1-4.

“The redeemed has Christ and his Father's name written on their foreheads.”

When you think of spies and secret agents, you might think of lots of things: nifty gadgets, foreign travel, dangerous missiles, fast cars and being shaken but not stirred. You would also probably think of cracking codes and unravelling the true meaning of secret messages. Interestingly, the Bible too contains many codes in some places. To understand the deeper message one has to know how to break codes! Some biblical literature use veiled language; you need to go beyond the literal meaning for the text to reveal the true message. The Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) was a document written during time of persecution, many references in Revelation are expressed in a code which would only be understood by those within the persecuted community.

In today’s first reading, the followers of the Beast, who are branded with his name and number, are now contrasted with the followers of the Lamb marked with his name and the name of the Father. And just as there was a “remnant” of Israel that returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, here we have the “remnant” of the new Israel, the faithful Christians who have survived persecution and who will begin the restoration of God’s kingdom once its enemies have been destroyed.

John has a vision of Mount Zion. Originally Mount Zion referred to the fortress of the pre-Israelite city of Jerusalem before it was taken over by David and made his capital. The term in time became synonymous with Jerusalem itself and, in Revelation, it refers to the “heavenly Jerusalem,” the place where God lives for ever with his people. At the end of Revelation, it comes down to the “new earth.”

Here John sees the Lamb with 144,000 faithful followers, all of whom have the name of the Lamb and of the Father on their foreheads, again as a sign of ownership. The number 144,000 is a multiple of the perfect and complete number 12. These are the ones who have not compromised their faith and have persevered through times of persecution by being ready to give their lives for their faith in Christ. They are the martyrs (a word which means “witness”), those who gave the ultimate witness of their faith. They are the nucleus of the Kingdom.

We too have been marked in baptism with God’s sign of ownership on us. But that still requires our total commitment and response to his call. Contradiction and opposition were certainly the lot of Jesus. As Jesus began to share his mission, he forewarned the first apostles that they too would have to face opposition, rejection and persecution. “You will be hated by all men and women on account of my name” (Matthew 10:22). “If they persecute me they will persecute you too” (John 15:10).

Growth in spirituality entails a foundational trust in the midst of suffering, some ability to bear darkness and uncertainty, and learning to be comfortable with paradox and mystery. Our Lord makes himself present in the midst of suffering and persecution. Perhaps to encounter him who is hidden in our lives we need to unveil messages that come to us every moment of our lives. It is also a code-breaking!

For a reflection on the gospel passage, please see “Bothersome Widows,” https://anthuvanmaria.blogspot.com/2018/11/bothersome-widows.html.

King

34th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B; Christ the King (25 November 2018)

Daniel 7:13-14. Psalm 93:1-2, 5. Revelation 1:5-8. John 18:33-37.

“My kingdom is not of this kind.”

Today the church year draws to a close with a gospel scene from the Passion Narrative according to St John. Jesus stands on trial before Pilate accused of being a king. With death staring him in the face his reply is crystal clear. He admits to being a king, but not in a recognizable worldly manner of kingship, as his horizons are not limited to earthly life. Christ is a spiritual leader who rules by truth and love. He is out to touch the hearts and minds of all people and claim their souls for God. His mission on earth is to unfold a vision of this new world, to announce the Good News that God counts us as family, regards us as His children and in return seeks our allegiance.

The feast of Christ the King is a relatively new feast. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 through an encyclical letter called "Quas Primas" (In the First). It is interesting to note that this new kingly feast coincided with the fall of monarchies—the rule of the kings. Honouring Christ under the title of king seemed oddly out of tune with the times. Nationalism was the dominant ideology of the period. People were encouraged to give their allegiance to a flag, the symbol of the new nation-state, and no more to a person. It is strangely interesting that we started celebrating a feast of a king, when all the talk was about democracy: practically it was death to kings.

It is also strange that we are able to understand God as king. The only kings (and queens)—for most us—are those that we meet on our books or a pack of cards. Our history books and story books present kings as those unconcerned with daily, ordinary lives; at least most of them appear to be so. Kings are usually ruthless persons associated with bloodshed and violence, and even injustice. A compassionate and kind king was an exception rather than the norm.

So the celebration of our God and Christ as King has no continuities with the legacy of human (but not humane) kings. It's a break from the tradition! As Jesus says in today's gospel, “My kingdom is not of this kind.” Here is a king who defines and determines his kingdom through non-violence and vulnerability. There is no force of law, but only love. No force, only freedom. His peace is not as the world gives, but that is born out of love and freedom.

Let us today celebrate our relationship and loyalty to this person who keeps us in existence, who gives us life and love. Let us allow Him to rule our hearts, our families, our worlds, and (in and through us) the whole universe.

Resurrection

33rd Week in Ordinary Time - Saturday (24 November 2018)

Revelation 11:4-12. Psalm 144:1-2, 9-10. Luke 20:27-40.

“In God all people are alive.”

Is there anything that I need to do first to merit God's love? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We don't earn or merit God's unconditional love; He has loved us before we were conceived in our mother's womb, from the beginning of the universe, and even before this universe took shape. Alive or dead we belong to the Lord. We are His Beloved, no matter what. His love for me does not depend on my worthiness, or on my good works. He always and everywhere loves me, He loves me whatever condition I am in. Sinful or holy, just or unjust, good or bad, ugly or beautiful.

So death is not a barrier for God's love. Love is stronger than death. God's love does not change ever! How can a loving God suddenly become a stingy, revengeful and punishing God? That's not possible. This is the beauty of God, never-changing beauty of God's compassion and love. Therefore, resurrection is all about experiencing God's love in its fullness. It is only a final stage of our journey perhaps. It is all about starting the experience here and now. It is all given to me already and always. Let us have no fear. God's life and his transforming love is given to me freely and abundantly. There are no terms and conditions for this. This is resurrection, this is eternal life.

Once as Thomas Merton finds himself at the junction of a busy, crowded shopping locality in Louisville, he is suddenly overwhelmed with a mystical realization that he loves all those people. He writes, "They were mine and I theirs. We could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. I have the immense joy of being human, a member of a race in which God became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun. Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.

         At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely."

Resurrection experience is a discovery that we are immortal and pure diamonds that we already are: an experience and a discovery that starts here and now!

See also "Participating in the Mystery of God," https://anthuvanmaria.blogspot.com/2018/06/new-power-and-new-life.html.

Door of our Hearts

33rd Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday (20 November 2018)

Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22. Psalm 15:2-5. Luke 19:1-10.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to share her meal, side by side with her.”

At the beginning of time

the clock struck one.

A drop of dew

and the clock struck two.

From the dew grew a tree

and the clock struck three.

Then the tree made a door

and the clock struck four.

Then man came alive

and the clock struck five.

Count not

waste not

the hours on the clock.

Behold I stand at the door and knock.

If you have seen the film The Railway Man, or read the autobiography of Eric Lomax by the same name, then you will remember the above-quoted poem. It is a true story of reconciliation and forgiveness. Eric Lomax, a British Army officer, is one of thousands of Allied prisoners of war forced to work on the construction of the Thai/Burma railway during World War II under the supervision of the Japanese Army. After the secret radio he built to bring news and hope to his colleagues is discovered, he is interrogated and tortured by the young Japanese officer Nagase Takachi. But his experiences leave him traumatised and shut off from the world even long after the end of the war. Discovering that Nagase who still haunted him is alive, Eric decides to confront his tormentor only to end up converted. Eric and Nagase become friends.

The words of Jesus, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” contained in the poem become words of consolation even in extreme torture to Eric. Our Lord is at our behest and call. He is waiting for our yes to be with us. This is one of the most beautiful images in the New Testament and it has been extended to encompass the desire that Jesus has to come into and be part of all our lives. But his coming in depends entirely on us. Love is not love if it is not free.

The gospel story of Zacchaeus completes the image. Jesus dines at his house, after inviting himself to a sinner's house, “I want to stay in your house today.” Jesus eats with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes. He exemplifies God's unconditional love for us. God does not love you if and when you change. God loves you so that you can change. God loves us as we are, and when we accept and receive His love, we are transformed by love itself. This is also portrayed in the transformation of Zacchaeus, who at the end promises to give half of his property to the poor and repay four times the amount to those he cheated.

Let us open the door of our hearts to Jesus, and hear his words along with Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

Seeing

33rd Week in Ordinary Time - Monday (19 November 2018)

Revelation 1:1-4, 2:1-5. Psalm 1:1-4,6. Luke 18:35-43.

“Sir, let me see again.”

Today we have Luke’s version of the story of the blind man, whom Mark calls Bar-Timaeus (i.e., the son of Timaeus). The story is situated in Jericho, a very ancient city, located about 8 kms west of the River Jordan and about 25 kms north-east of Jerusalem. Jericho was the last main stop for Jesus before arriving in Jerusalem. When Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” the man responds, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus immediately acts, “Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well, has healed and made you whole.”

Spirituality is about seeing. It’s not about achieving or earning something. It’s about relationship and not about results. Once you see, the rest follows. It’s like you are in the river. The river is already flowing. You don’t have to push the river, because you are in it. The life is lived within us, and we learn how to say yes to that life. Trust the flow, trust the life that is within you. Your life is not about you, but you are about Life. “I live now not I, but Another Life lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Life is so large and deep and spacious that it even includes its opposite, death.

We have to learn to see what is there. We need to learn “how” to see. Not what to see. The point is to see what is already there. We need to learn how to see whatever is there. We don’t dictate to reality, but we accept whatever comes to us. We don’t divide the field. Prayer and spirituality are training you to see the overlooked wholeness in all things.

So we need to get rid of all illusions so that we can be truly present to reality. To life in itself. In that way, we can see what is, see who we are, and see what is happening.

People who do not believe in miracles never see miracles. We need to train our eyes to see. We need the light of the Holy Spirit. We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are. So we need to cleanse the lens from the inside. We need help from the inside, from the One who dwells inside. That’s why our prayer is, “Lord, let me see.” Prayer is not one of those 10,000 things, but it is by which you see those 10,000 things. Everything becomes enchanting with true sight.

We always become what we behold. We become what we eat; we become what we read; we become what we take in; we become what we see. I am now a part of what I am trying to see. Our perceptions are nothing but the projections of my depth – both conscious and “unconscious.” I see what I project on to reality. Therefore, by spiritual seeing, everything in the universe becomes a mirror. We are immersed into this Fuller Reality, we are fused into grace, we are stuck into this Consciousness. I allow the divine in me to take control of all the reality around me. Less of me, more of Him.

The End of the World

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B; World Day of the Poor (18 November 2018)

Daniel 12:1-3. Psalm 16:5, 8-11. Hebrews 10:11-14, 18. Mark 13:24-32.

“The stars will fall from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”

The above quoted verse from today's gospel makes an interesting reading. Even with our limited knowledge of cosmology we could ask, is it possible for the stars to fall on earth? Let us do a mental experiment. The nearest star to our planet is the sun. It takes 8.3 minutes for light to travel from the sun to the earth. Let's say if the sun moves a few light minutes away from the earth, then all of us on this planet here will be frozen to death. Let's say if the sun moves a few light minutes towards the earth, then the earth will become too hot for any life to survive. It's mind blowing. It's not even necessary for the sun to fall on the earth, the earth will be R.I.P. much before that! Now which is bigger: the sun or the earth? The sun, of course. It is so gigantic and humongous compared to the earth that about 13,00,000 planet earths can fit inside of it. Surely mind-blowing! We are talking of just one star, imagine the billions of stars in the universe. Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine!

At any rate, we need to agree with Albert Einstein, God does not play dice with the universe. What today's reading gives us is a commonsensical picture of the end of the world. This mind-blowing and beautiful universe of ours will have an end, but we may not be able to witness it, I suppose. The above quote of Arthur Eddington can surely be applied to the Creator of the universe: God is not only stranger than we think, but God is stranger than the mind is capable of thinking! Everything is perfectly arranged in the universe (cosmos, meaning order). Even the seeming chaos is all in a balance. Whether we come to know or not if the universe is ending, there is only one thing we can be absolutely sure of regarding our future: We will one day die. No matter how healthy you think you are, you are suffering from an incurable condition called human mortality. Jesus had to die; Mary had to die. All humans are destined for an end.

But our death is not really an end. It is perhaps a beginning, or rather a continuation of the best that we can ever think of, and even more! In death, nothing is lost, everything is transformed. We need a sense of perspective, not only to cherish our planet, but also to eventually detach ourselves from this passing world. When it does finally end (that is through our physical death), we should merit Daniel’s prophecy from today's first reading: “The learned will shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who have instructed many in virtue will shine as bright as stars for all eternity.” And thus move on to embrace the God-Mystery even more fully.

Are we ready to meet this God who is full of surprises?

Praying Constantly

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Saturday; Memorial of St Elizabeth of Hungary (17 November 2018)

3 John 1:5-8. Psalm 112:1-6. Luke 18:1-8.

“Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.”

The parable of the unjust judge and the widow is a beautiful lesson on prayer for individuals and communities. Never lose heart in prayer. We need to remain faithful in prayer to God, who never abandons His people. Prayer therefore is a response to God who acts first, who loves first, who provides first. The widow in the parable is an image of powerlessness. If she, who is in a helpless or hopeless condition, can achieve her purpose by continuously entreating an unjust and irreligious person, we don't have to doubt about God's generosity and providence even when there is an apparent delay from God's side. God never delays, He always acts on time. This is our faith, this is the nature of our ever-loving God.

We have questions, irritations, even doubts about prayer. They are very real. But still, a spiritual life without prayer is like the Gospel without Christ. We need at least a minimum clarity about prayer, even if we do not have a grand and systematic theory of prayer.

When we think about prayer, we usually regard it as one of the many things we do to live a full and mature Christian life. If we are fervent in our conviction that prayer is important, we might even be willing to give a whole hour to prayer every day, or a whole day every month, or a whole week every year. Thus prayer becomes an important part of our life.

From the above parable and the Bible we know that prayer is not merely a part of life. Not even an important part of life. Prayer is all of life. Prayer is not merely something that we should not forget. It is our ongoing concern.

So it is not about praying once in a while, regularly, or often, but it is about praying constantly, unceasingly, without interruption. Jesus does not ask us to spend some time of every day in prayer. No, Jesus is radical. He asks us to pray constantly. As St Paul too exhorts we need to pray day and night, in joy and in sorrow, at work and at play, without intermissions or breaks. Therefore, praying is like breathing. It cannot be interrupted without mortal danger.

But how is it possible to do it always? Prayer is not one of the ten thousand things that we do; it’s that by which we see the ten thousand things. In prayer we see all things in a new light. Praying is living in the here and now.

Praying is living. Prayer pervades every aspect of our lives. It is the unceasing recognition that God is wherever we are, always inviting us to come closer to celebrate the divine gift of being alive. It is a relationship primarily. Not an act. Not an activity. It is being aware of God's presence always and everywhere. It is being with the One who loves you endlessly.

To pray unceasingly would be completely impossible if it meant to think constantly about God. It means to think and live in the presence of God. But if we begin to divide our thoughts into thoughts about God and thought about people and events, we remove God from our daily life to pious little niche where we can think pious thought and experience pious feelings.

In our spiritual life we need to set apart time for God and God alone. But please don’t restrict prayer to that 20 or 30 minutes. Prayer can only become unceasing prayer when all our thoughts – beautiful or ugly, high or low, proud or shameful, sorrowful or joyful – can be thought in the presence of God.

To pray unceasingly is to lead all our thoughts out of their fearful isolation into a fearless conversation with God. Jesus' life is a life lived in the presence of God his Father. He kept nothing hidden from his Father’s face. His joys, his fears, his hopes, and his despairs were always shared with his Father.

Punishment

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Friday (16 November 2018)

2 John 1:4-9. Psalm 119:1-2,10-11,17-18. Luke 17:26-37.

“When the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed, anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe.”

God never punishes. Then why does today's gospel and a few other passages in the Bible speak of God as getting angry, or punishing people, or taking revenge? The anthropomorphic portrayal of God is not uncommon in all religious traditions, including the Bible.

We need to understand the fact that the development of human consciousness is clearly seen in the Scriptures. This development also includes a better understanding of God. We cannot understand everything about God, who is beyond the human mind and human history. God evades all definitions, even our best theology. So the best way to describe God is to use images, pictures, stories, similes, analogies, illustrations and metaphors. In a word, it is a metaphor. The Greek root of the word metaphor means "to carry across" a meaning from one place to another. The paradox is, all metaphors by necessity walk with a limp.

All our efforts in understanding God is a circling around; there can be no direct way to explain or define the Mystery of God. We will always be imperfect in our theological language—which is only an approximation. Therefore, we can say that all religions are metaphors, our holy books are metaphors, the Bible is a metaphor. All these our endeavours are fingers pointing to the moon! The moon is the focus, not our fingers. So why should we fight about the best way of pointing to the moon?

Only over time humanity came to understand that God's love is unconditional (=steadfast in love). The earlier understandings that God is a punishing God, or that His love is conditional and limited are inadequate. God cannot not love, He can never punish us.

Even Jesus is looking for metaphors, for possible language to try to describe his own inner dynamic. We can find, hiding in plain sight, his natural and lovely way of knowing reality—passed on to his earliest apprentices and, by extension, to us. Today's gospel is filled with imagery and metaphors. These texts are not intended to fill us with fear of a revengeful God. They are suggestions to remain alert to meet the Lord. It is good advice for every day and every moment of every day. If I am not attentive I can easily miss His presence.

By living continuously and consciously in the presence of God, in that “divine milieu” of the Kingdom discussed yesterday, in the ever-present NOW, we don't have to be afraid of our last days or the last days of the world. Far from being afraid, we will look forward to the day with anticipation, leaving totally in God’s hands the hour of His call. In practice, too, that final call will not coincide with the end of our planet but with the moment when our individual life on this earth will come to its end. Of the inevitability of that end there is no doubt.

We are all destined for transcendence and endless horizons. It is not a matter of “if” but “when.” The God that Israel—and Jesus—discovered is consistently seen to be “merciful, gracious, faithful, forgiving, and steadfast in love” (Exodus 34:6-7). Let us only believe in this God; only in this credo of five adjectives.

Here and Now

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Thursday (15 November 2018)

Philemon 1:7-20. Psalm 146. Luke 17:20-25.

“The Kingdom of God is among you.”

Here is a beautiful passage from Luke instructing us that the Kingdom of God (reign of God) is among us here and now. Jesus was asked by some Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come. In their mind, it was a definitive time that would be suddenly realised by the arrival of a triumphant Messiah-King. Jesus says it is not going to be like that at all. The Kingdom cannot be found by looking around for dramatic signs so that you can say it is ‘here’ or ‘there.’ No, says Jesus, “the reign of God is already in your midst.” In other words, it is right in front of them.

For some of us God and His Kingdom is either a past concept, or a future concept. But today's gospel is clear about it. The Kingdom is a present reality. God is present here and now, He can only be experienced at the present moment. We need to bring our minds and hearts to what is present, what is given to us at this moment, in which God is to be found fully and concretely. This moment is as perfect as it can be. The saints called this the “sacrament of the present moment.”

If God is present for us, and if His Kingdom is already active, then the most sacred moment is now and the most sacred place is here. God is not far away. He is not far away from my joys and sorrows, troubles and struggles. He is not far away from my problems and weaknesses. He is truly present in this place, in this time. It means everything around us can become a sacrament. The reign of God is already here among us and we need look no further than the daily experiences of our own lives to know and experience the power and presence of Christ Jesus.

Therefore, this universe is a safe place, this time of history is just meant for me arranged by God, for my growth and development into a mature and happy human person. I can truly know that the world is okay as it is, and that things are okay as they are. God is present for me, but I can miss Him and His Kingdom easily looking for greater dramatic signs. For me it’s enough to know that I am really okay and the world is okay, too. All is well in my world! Here and Now!

Faith and Gratitude

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Wednesday (14 November 2018)

Titus 3:1-7. Psalm 23. Luke 17:11-19.

“Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

The story of Jesus healing ten leprosy patients occurs only in Luke's gospel. Just only one of the cured persons comes back to Jesus “praising God in a loud voice” and in deep gratitude falls at the feet of Jesus. A beautiful lesson in gratefulness for us.

And the one who returns to thank God and Jesus is a foreigner, a Samaritan, and not a Jew. Jesus, looking around at the Jews in his company, expresses surprise that ten were made clean but only one came back to give thanks and he was a despised foreigner. “This man was a Samaritan.” The words are loaded with meaning. For it is presumed that the rest were Jews. In the first place, Jews and Samaritans could not stand each other and the Jews tended to look down on the Samaritans as ungodly and unclean. But, in the misfortune of their leprosy, these Jews and Samaritans, rejected by both their own peoples, found common support in each other’s company. But, now that they are cured, only one of them comes to say thanks and he is still – in the eyes of the Jews – an outcast. As leprosy patient he is an outcast, as cured also being a Samaritan he is still an outcast. But he finds the right attitude, he returns and thanks Jesus. Here is another good Samaritan for us to imitate.

Only hour by hour gratitude is strong enough to overcome all temptations to resentment. Without this right attitude we may find ourselves in a spot of bother always.

To the man who returned Jesus says, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has made you whole again.” That “stand up” or “rise up,” which Jesus often uses with those he heals, has echoes of resurrection and entry into new life, a life of wholeness brought about by the man’s trust in Jesus and his acknowledgment of the source of his healing.

In the Gospels, Jesus seems to praise faith more than love. Now, what is faith? Of the many descriptions about faith, I like the following. Faith is simply to trust the real, and to trust that God is found within it—even before we change it. It is an initial openness that says "yes" to God and His designs. It is a surrender, more than self-reliance.

Faith is trusting in God's guidance and mercy and not in your own perfect understanding. You're always "falling into the hands of the living God," as Hebrews (10:31) says, letting God's knowing suffice and His arms save. Let faith and gratitude accompany our life journey, as we proclaim, "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want" (Psalm 23:1).

Everything is Grace

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday (13 November 2018)

Titus 2:1-8,11-14. Psalm 37. Luke 17:7-10.

“We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty.”

The movie Amadeus was quite popular a few years ago, whose theme is a theological issue. The film is about a confession. Salieri, a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and also a composer, confesses that he is probably the cause of Mozart’s death. He wanted to murder him because there was something he never had understood: How was it possible that Mozart, according to Salieri, a promiscuous, vulgar and superficial person, was able to write such beautiful music so effortlessly? All Mozart had to do was sit down and the most magnificent melodies flowed from his pen.

And he, Salieri, a serious man who had dedicated his whole life to God and lived an almost ascetic life, had such difficulty in getting music on paper.

The issue is about that total gratuitousness of God’s gifts that Jesus speaks of in today's gospel: “When you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are useless servants; we have done no more than our duty.’”

I think some of us might have the problem of Salieri. We too have questions and some doubts like he had. Why is God good to bad people? Why doesn't God punish the wicked? Why do evil persons thrive and do well in life? Bad people are also happy and have many blessings: how is this possible?

The above questions try to fit God into our human image. But let us clearly state that God is beyond our thoughts and thinking. He is not petty-minded, He cannot be controlled by our good or bad lives. He does not punish anyone. God is always good. His love does not depend on the worthiness or unworthiness of the objects. He makes the sun shine both on the just and unjust, He sends rain to the just and the unjust. God's love has no boundaries or conditions. He gives us everything freely, gratuitously.

All we can do comes from God. All is given, everything is gratuitous, everything is grace. Where does the poet get his words, the painter his colours, the architect his shapes, the sculptor his forms, the doctor his healing power, the mechanic his skill, the computer programmer his creativity, and the author his inspiration, if not from God?

Even after all we might have done and all the awards we might have received, if we are honest about ourselves we will have to admit that “We are useless servants; we have done no more than our duty.” Haven't we?

Obtaining Forgiveness

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Monday; Memorial of St Josaphat (12 November 2018)

Titus 1:1-9

Luke 17:1-6

“And if your brother or sister wrongs you seven times in one day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I am sorry,' you must forgive them.”

If a fellow-Christian is clearly in the wrong, she should be corrected. And, if she clearly repents, then she is to be forgiven. Even if she commits the same offence any number of times and each time expresses sincere sorrow, she is to be forgiven. This is not to say that a person can keep doing wrong and expect forgiveness simply by saying she is sorry. Some kind of controlling action may have to be taken. This is especially the case where the person is not in control of oneself, which could be the case with someone who is an alcoholic, a drug addict, a sex abuser or the victim of some other compulsive behaviour. But even here, punishment alone cannot be a satisfactory solution but every effort must be made to heal and rehabilitate.

When Jesus suggests that we should be willing to forgive each other up to seven times a day, he turns forgiveness into a way of life. That doesn’t mean that we should take forgiveness lightly. But obtaining forgiveness is a serious issue even when it becomes our way of life.

To obtain forgiveness or amnesty in the reconciliation process in South Africa under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu a confession has to be made, the truth about what went wrong has to be revealed, and regret and sorrow have to be expressed. It is only when those conditions are fulfilled that amnesty is granted.

Sister Helen Prejean, who wrote the startling book (which was also made into a movie) Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, tells about a father, Lloyd Leblanc, whose seventeen-year-old son was murdered by two brothers, Patrick and Eddie Sonnier. Patrick got the death penalty. Lloyd had told Sister Prejean that he would have been satisfied with life imprisonment for Patrick. He decided nevertheless to go to Patrick’s execution, but not to see justice done or out of revenge. He hoped that Patrick would show regret and would apologize.

He was not disappointed. Before sitting down in the electric chair Patrick addressed Lloyd. He said, “Mr. Leblanc, I want to ask your forgiveness for what me and Eddie done.” Lloyd Leblanc nodded his head, as a sign of the forgiveness he had already granted.

Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it is the only way to overcome the past, and to bring our world together. The most difficult one to forgive is often yourself. But forgiveness is the only way to keep yourself together, enabling you to live on!

Bothersome Widows

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B (11 November 2018)

1 Kings 17:10-16. Hebrews 9:24-28. Mark 12:38-44.

“This widow put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

This Sunday's liturgy celebrates two widows. In the legendary story from the collection of stories about Elijah we meet a widow reduced to starvation because of drought and consequent famine (1 Kings 17). Assured by Elijah, she expresses her faith in a simple yet extraordinary way. She shares with the prophet the meager food she has got. God promises to bless and protect her. The psalmist celebrates this God who in a clear and preferential way cares for the forgotten and discarded in human society (Psalm 146).

The widow noticed by Jesus has a basic characteristic by which Jesus described himself, “The Son of Man has come to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45) and the widow is commended when “she put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” “Her two small copper coins” dropped into the treasury as a gift to God are the symbol of her self-giving, a total gift. Note, she could have kept one! But she didn't. Total self-offering, total generosity.

The narrative has some interesting features. Jesus, busy all day, sat and watched the crowd putting money in the treasury. The narrator allows us to watch with Jesus’ eyes. His attention moved from the many rich people who were putting in large sums to the poor widow and her two copper coins (the contrast could not be greater). His words to his disciples, called to his side, first of all correct the obvious prevalent view, probably shared by the disciples. Let us recall to our mind some Jesus' remarks about the wealthy, including "that tainted thing" that we reflected on yesterday. Jesus says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” This view would value the religiosity of people in proportion to the size of their contribution. Jesus emphasizes that the poor widow has put in far more than all, including the wealthy with their large gifts. He also compares not only their abundance and her poverty but the total gift. Therefore, he commends her.

Both widows are bothersome as they make us uncomfortable–our “all” is really just a portion, often quite small. Jesus invites and challenges us to a self-giving that embraces more and more of ourselves. Love in marriage and friendship also matures, deepens, and grows the more we approach “the all we have.”

Contrasted to this wonderful widow we have the sanctimonious and hypocritical scribes who devour widow’s houses! Unfortunately, down the centuries the clergy have often been seen to be the successors of these scribes. The indictment is sharp and harsh. There is a sobering realism about both scenes. The Lord Jesus we are with in prayer and the Eucharist is no fool. He has seen life, seen through the masks we wear; and knows us too well. He cuts away with a surgeon’s knife all the pretense in human life and asks us to look at truth. Religion can mask so much hypocrisy, and so many apparently good attitudes and actions.

Let us allow the two widows to disturb us, and also remember the widows whose “houses” are plundered. Let us allow God to take centre stage in our lives and loves.

That Tainted Thing

31st Week in Ordinary Time - Saturday; Memorial of St Leo the Great (10 November 2018)

Philippians 4:10-19

Luke 16:9-15

“You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”

One of the biggest problems of this world is the abuse of money. We know about corruption at all levels of the government, church, organizations, etc. We are well aware that the universal church too, especially at the Vatican, is struggling with a lot of financial scams (the other problem equally acute is the cover up of sexual abuses within the clergy). We also know that there is no easy solution for these problems. But there is one thing that we can do, and that is our own clarity with regard to money, and our own integrity. When we look into ourselves we will surely see a solution or a way-ahead to this problem. We are part of the evil that we are fighting against.

Many of us do still think that money can give us happiness. This is a lie that we need to fight. Money and wealth can't give us true joy. We need material things, we need to possess things. But isn't it true that material things start possessing us (at least at times)? Don't we find ourselves collecting things that we don't need? How many of us are poorer than our Master Jesus? Don't we find ourselves craving for more than we need? Have we given in to greed and avarice in our lives? It's true that the world needs to deal with its financial scams and problems, but first of all I need to solve my own issues with greed and abuse of money.

Have we become a slave to money? Do we find ourselves serving money rather than God? Who or what is the centre of our lives? If we don't find God at the centre of our lives, then we need to start from our hearts. When there is no experience of the True Sacred, we will always fall into the worship of the false sacred. If God is not God, we will ourselves become gods and create strange gods or idols in our hearts. One of the idols is money. Other idols may be celebrities, jobs, self-image, security, family, power, sex.

The idols or strange gods would be easy to recognize and dethrone if they were obviously evil, ugly stone statues, or the pagan gods of religions other than our own. But the substitutes for the True Sacred are probably as well denied and disguised today as they were in Jesus' time. Money was an obvious idol that Jesus was fighting as today's gospel would witness.

Let us listen to his own words, clear as crystal: "I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?"

I think we as a church have neglected these clear instructions of Jesus. His approach seems to say, "Let us take care of ourselves, giving the first place always to God, and not to money or anything else or anyone else. If we are honest with small things, that would be a great start."

Father's House

Dedication of the Basilica of St John Lateran (9 November 2018)

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; Ps 45; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22

“My Father's house... Zeal for your house will devour me.”

The account of Jesus cleansing the temple is always a controversial passage. Jesus gets angry (or that's what it seems) and makes a small whip of cords and begins driving out those selling animals and overturning the tables of the moneychangers. He tells them, “Get out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market place!” We may ask if it is okay to get angry. Is it not sinful for Jesus to get angry and become violent?

Anger is no sin; anger in itself should not be identified with something wrong. It is a positive emotion that can be used either for good or for evil. It is a God-given gift that should be used for God's glory, not for our ego-enhancement. Jesus, in today's gospel passage, seems upset, but he didn't cause harm to any person or animal. His violence, if there is, is not directed to doing any harm to people, but perhaps to material things. But certainly his strong expression drives home a point. He says, “Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father's house into a market.”

Jesus goes to the temple to destroy the system of buying and selling, the system of consumerism. Until that mind is somehow changed, you cannot understand the gospel. The symbolism is not accidental: Buying and selling invariably takes over the temple itself. It defeats the essential work of religion, or at least as Jesus understood religion. It obviously made Jesus quite angry, and if there is any violence in Jesus' life, this is it, but he directs it towards any attempts to “buy” God. His violence is not against people, but at self-serving religion and its frequent alliance with power, prestige and money. Also Jesus is quite angry at any attempt to “buy” God's love or to make religion into an exclusive club, which is shown by the overtly inclusive quote (seen in the Synoptics but not in John's gospel) that he takes from Isaiah, “My house is to be a house of prayer for all the peoples” (Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).

If God is our Father, all of us are His children. The material structure of a church or a mosque or a temple should not bring division, hatred, exclusivism, but it should point us towards God as One, as our Parent and Care-taker, as a Person deeply interested in the affairs of the world. We all become one, because God is our Father who created us all, and who keeps us in existence. The external structures should further point to a deeper truth, as today's second reading affirms: Each and every one is the Temple of God. St Pauls says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? The temple of God, which you are, is holy” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The Holy Koran also affirms: God is nearer than our very pulse; St Augustine states: God is more intimate than one’s innermost being; moreover, the mysticism of ancient India confirms that the human person is one with Brahman. As all our cultures and religions point out, let external structures of religions convince us that God is within us, that God is actively involved in our lives here and now.

We are all created in God's image and likeness, whether Hindu or Muslim or Jew or Christian.

Metanoia

31st Week in Ordinary Time - Thursday (8 November 2018)

Philippians 3:3-8

Luke 15:1-10

“There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous persons who have no need of repentance.”

Today's gospel reading narrates that our Master kept company and ate with tax collectors and sinners. “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” A scandalous act by him. Socially unacceptable.

What does this tell of Jesus? His love and compassion has no boundaries. There are no divisions in God's heart. All of us are his children. His love does not depend on our worthiness. Sinner or virtuous we are His Beloved. The social identities or divisions have no say in God's view. Everyone is equally loved, everyone is equal in God's eyes. It's only we who make all discriminations. Even the above quoted verse that there will be rejoicing in heaven does not show that God has favourites, but all are accepted equally by God.

The Greek word metanoia has been poorly translated as "repentance" in the Bible. It quite literally means "to change your mind." Until the mind changes the very way it processes the moment, nothing really changes long term. "Be transformed by a renewal of your mind," Paul says (Romans 12:2), which hopefully will allow the heart to soon follow. Jesus teaches us the art of metanoia, or “going into the larger mind.” This may be a better understanding of metanoia: beyond (meta) the mind (nous) and into the heart. Conversion is about operating from the heart and not from the mind. In fact, underlying all Jesus' teaching is a clarion call to a radical shift in consciousness. It is an invitation to a transformation of consciousness. Instead of operating from our egos, our Lord is inviting us to live from our hearts. Only then can we understand the universe of divine abundance. (Perhaps only this way we can understand, as Alan Watts affirms, that the primary concern of the Bible is mystical, not moral.)

Very often it is our mind that gets into the job of alienation, comparison, judging, condemnation and polarization. Every now and then when we are tempted to put down someone or judge someone, let us try to perceive the situation or the person through the heart and not with the head. Only our heart can show what is really real; and only then can we stop our political games of Us and Them, Good and Bad, Sin and Virtue, Right and Wrong, Leftist and Rightist, Acceptable and Unacceptable, Moral and Immoral.

For most of us, conversion is not a one-time event; it happens again and again throughout our lives at ever new levels of insight. It seems to be a daily event. True conversion never stops. To repeat, conversion really means a transformation of consciousness. It takes time. It takes much of our life. We need to pray for this vision in life—to see how God sees. We cannot convert ourselves; we can only be converted and transformed by grace. Let us allow grace to transform us inside out.

Transformed people transform people. The world needs transformed people, not just people with all the answers!

Challenge of Christianity

31st Week in Ordinary Time - Wednesday (7 November 2018)

Philippians 2:12-18

Luke 14:25-33

“If anyone comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple.”

The above words from today's gospel could cause difficulty in some of us. How is that our Lord who asks us to love all asks us here to “hate” our dear ones and ourselves if we have to be his disciples? This strong word “hate” here is a Semitic expression not to be taken literally; it means a letting-go and self-emptying (which we have been discussing the last two days). We can be sure of this because the whole of Jesus’ teaching is based on love not only of blood relatives but also of strangers and even enemies. It is rather a dramatic way of saying that anyone who puts any person, even those closest to them, before total commitment to Christ and his mission is not ready to be a disciple. There can be no compromise here; it is all or nothing. This is one of the radical and uncompromising demands that Jesus makes on his followers.

We also have to say that Jesus is not recommending a literal abandonment of one’s family and relationships. That could be highly irresponsible and a violation of that commandment of universal love. But at the same time, where there is a choice between the clear call of the Gospel and personal attachments, they have to let go of the latter. No one can be a disciple of Jesus who is not ready to let go of everything she has. Following Christ should not be a matter of convenience, but should be absolute and unconditional. That is the great challenge of Christianity!

Following Jesus is a demanding thing; it is being “radical.” Mediocrity is a real possibility when one is not radical enough. We cannot be a Christian for convenience sake, for namesake. Jesus says, “No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.” In other words, he speaks about the price all of us must pay to be considered one of his followers. Suffering, misunderstanding, loneliness are not mere possibilities, but they are certainties when we follow Christ. Only those who are able to embrace these challenges can be true Christians.

As someone said, God is not an uncle, not a Santa Claus like uncle, God is an earthquake. He shakes us up, and leads us out of our comfort zones to new places. He leads us all, like Abraham, out into a new country. To paraphrase what God said to Abram (later Abraham), “Leave your native country, your relatives, your family, your culture, your tribe, your conveniences and luxuries, your favourite persons and things, your plans and agendas, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing to all” (see Genesis 12:1-2). God’s love is not cruel, but that which brings blessing. He will never lead us into where we will not be cared for or provided for. Our abandonment will lead us to true joy. It is giving up our false self and false securities; it calls us for a great trust and self-surrender. My petty kingdom has to go, only then will God's Kingdom come in all its glory.

God promises us a spacious place within our souls. This is salvation. It is not an achievement, but a gradual discovery. God is already giving us the joy that we are searching for, only that we have a hard time in believing it. The more we let go, the deeper will be our joy.

Self-emptying

31st Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday (6 November 2018)

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 14:15-24

“His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself.”

Today's first reading gives one of the earliest hymns of the Church, where St Paul portrays Christ Jesus emptying himself totally, and not clinging to his Godhead. In fact, the above quoted words, in their fullness, can be applied not only to Jesus but also to the entire Trinity. The Three Persons live in a perfect and generous self-emptying (in Greek: kenosis). We can give a thousand names and more to the One, Two and Three of God: Infinity, Imminence and Intimacy; Father, Son and Spirit; Unconditional Love, Unconditional Forgiveness and Unconditional Presence.

But interestingly the names, energies and roles of the Three are interchangeable. The Father is not just the Unconditional Love, the Son and the Spirit too are. The Spirit is not just the Intimate One, the Son and the Father too are so. All is absolutely given to the other and let go of; but for the sake of our mind, it's helpful to identify this dynamism as three persons.

So as St Paul says we need to imitate Christ himself; we need to imitate God Himself in His generosity and self-emptying. We are drawn into the divine qualities so that we may cherish and enjoy God's life within us. The more we accept God as love-forgiveness-presence, we too want to do our best to love and forgive and be present to the other. We too feel the importance of self-emptying. Emptiness alone is prepared for fullness!

If we are still protecting ourselves and are just interested in securing our own self-image and identity, then we are not generous enough. Our ego perhaps is still at the centre of our lives. The moment we embrace God's mystery of self-emptying, then we too become so. We become the Fourth Person of the Trinity!

Some very good examples of self-empyting come from those persons who are differently abled. They teach us trust, communion, solidarity, relationship. The more they are vulnerable, the more they are in need of others. They profit from mutuality; they are always in relationship. Life teaches us the same. In the weakest and most fragile moments of our lives, we really feel the need for strength and support. At these moments, our relationship is at its best (or has the possibility of it).

Isn't this why today's gospel instructs us to go out quickly into the streets and alleys and open roads to bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame: the differently abled?

The poor and the differently abled have ability to save us from our apathy and mediocrity. They can teach us the meaning of self-emptying. They can show us the true meaning of our Christian lives: to imitate God Himself in His generosity.

(For another reflection on the gospel passage, please see https://anthuvanmaria.blogspot.com/2018/08/attracted-by-god.html)

Letting Go

31st Week in Ordinary Time - Monday (5 November 2018)

Philippians 2:1-4

Luke 14:12-14

“Do not invite those who might be able to invite you back.”

We might have heard of the popular doctrine of “nishkama karma” from the Bhagavad Gita, also part of the great epic Mahabharata. When Arjun is filled with a strange sympathy during the battle of Kurukshetra, and not wanting to continue the fight, his charioteer Lord Krishna exhorts Arjun to act for the sake of his duty, without any thought to the consequences. Krishna believes that the moral worth of an action lies in a person's motive rather than in the consequences of the action. He says, “Be intent on the action, not on the fruits of action.” Nishkama karma is selfless or desireless action, it is an action performed without any attachment to fruits or results. It is a letting go of all rewards.

In a similar tone today's gospel tells us, “Do not invite those who might be able to invite you back.” It reminds us of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount about loving those who love us. “Even the pagans do that.” Sharing meals with friends and loved ones is a lovely thing but the point that Jesus is making is that our mutual entertainment should not be at the expense of those who do not have enough to eat. It will be a real act of love; and will not be a form of self-seeking or ego-enhancement in a never-ending entertainment circus.

We might say that there is no such thing as pure altruism, that is, an action that is done purely for others with absolutely nothing for self. Everything we do, we do ultimately for ourselves. We have no choice but to seek our own good; to act otherwise would be quite silly and even wrong. This is true. But it is possible to do something without expecting any great favours. It is possible that we can do something without using, manipulating or exploiting the circumstances (or persons) for our selfish ends.

Today Lord Jesus is asking us to use our energies for the good of others. In doing so, there will be a feeling of satisfaction in doing the right thing. We do, of course, have to seek our own interests. But are we doing that at the expense of others? Or like Jesus do we realise that it is by a life of sharing that we become enriched in a very special way?

Mature spirituality is about letting go. A letting go of one's own plans and agendas; a letting go of one's own ego, one's false self; a letting go of one's own comfort zones. It is also a letting go of one's own hurts and fears, and one's own limited self-image. Haven't we noticed in ourselves the movement from one entertainment to another, from one ego achievement to another, from one excitement to another? Isn't this mere escapism? An avoidance of what we are at the deepest? Instead of trying to deal with myself, or changing myself, I change the programmes and events around me. Move from one event to another, and thus avoid dealing with my own shadows and growth!

As Jesus says we should go out of our way to invite beggars, the crippled, the lame, the blind—and be happy that these people can do nothing by way of repayment. But many of us first have to learn to embrace the leper within us before we can embrace the leper outside. In the final analysis it's the same act of compassion. And it's not a compassion that we produce, but a compassion that's given to us. If we learn to acknowledge and love the poor man and the poor woman in our soul, we'll understand the truth that is hidden in the poor man and the poor woman whom we find outside ourselves.

Love

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B (4 November 2018)

Deuteronomy 6:2-6

Hebrews 7:23-28

Mark 12:28-34

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.”

Love is the only commandment. Love is the only law. This is the only thing that our Lord asks from us: to love. Nothing but love. To make things clear: Jesus' commandment isn't, “You shall be right,” but “You shall love one another.” Our obsession with being doctrinally correct, theologically right, dogmatically sound, etc., have shifted our focus from love to many other marginal elements in religion. Religion is about giving our self to God and to our neighbour at the same time in love. If we don’t focus on love, then we can easily separate religion from life.

Love of God is completely interwoven with love of our neighbour. You cannot separate one love from the other. Otherwise it is not true love. True love includes everything, everyone. In other words, we are not called to love God or the world. Rather, we are called to love God in the world. We love God by loving the world. We love God through and with the world. We cannot love God unless we love the world.

But, what is love? Love is all about relationship. Truest relationship is love. A truly loving person is one who keeps and maintains all her relationships at all costs. On the other end of the spectrum, are people who are toxic, psychopathic, or sociopathic, those who cannot maintain relationships, who cannot sustain relationships. They run from them. Usually, either they are loners or they make all relating with them very difficult. So love is about connecting our self with all that is around us, it is about including as many persons and beings as possible inside our consciousness. To exclude anything that appears in our universe is not love. Love joins everything.

The Mystery of God is a mystery of love and relationship, the only perfect model of love for us. Whatever is going on in God is a flow, a radical relatedness, a perfect communion between Three. If God is relationship, we too are relationships. Therefore, love is not what we do, but it is what we are. It is our deepest vocation. It is our True Self. Love is where we came from and love is where we are going. It's not something we can buy or earn or merit. It's not something we can attain. It is the presence of God within us. Even the physical structure of this universe is love.

If you wish, take a few moments to realise this love using your breath as prayer. As you inhale, listen to God’s silent “I love you” in which His sustaining love is pouring itself out and giving itself to you as the gift and miracle of your very life. As you exhale, whisper a “I love you” to God, who makes this miracle of life possible. If you are sad at this moment, listen to God’s “I love you” in this sadness as you inhale; and respond to Him with a “I love you” in that same sadness. So too you could do with bodily pain, with feelings of fear and confusion, of loneliness or quiet joy and amazement that may rise and fall within you as you sit in prayer. Everything is filled with love.

Realise the gift and miracle of your very life, of your very self. This is love.