Heirs of the Kingdom of God

They estimated the crowd that came for the Inauguration of Barak Obama around 2 million. This is the maximum number that attended the event in this country. Why do they have to come and witness this event? They said people from all over the world were there. Many people came ahead of time and booked rooks; many travelled a long distance to be there. What is the reason for their presence? Is it curiosity? Or is it for fun? They have seen Obama many times in the past. Many would agree with me for the fact that they show their love and concern for the country: their patriotism. This man promised us some change: this is my little way of showing my appreciation, because I love my country. We are yet to see what he can do.

But Jesus’ word and deed spread throughout the country. His message of love is seen and experienced by the works of charity. Jesus was able to attract that many people through his unconditional love. Many people were in search of Jesus; they were pressing upon him to touch him. Thank God! There were no terrorists at that time! People coming to Jesus is a sure sign that we love the Kingdom of God. That is the mission of Jesus – to make us heirs of the Kingdom of God.

Travel in those times was very difficult and dangerous. Tyre and Sidon were cursed even. People were ready to make sacrifices to see Jesus; to face dangerous situations for the love of seeing Jesus. This certainly led them to become part of the Kingdom of God. What are some of the risks that we take in meeting Jesus? Are we taking any risk at all? Amen.

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To promote love and life

There are nations accused of number one in corruption, bribery, bad morals and other socio-pathological situations. There are nations that keep all the intensity and anxieties of those socio-pathological situations and manipulate them by justification and even legalizing corruption, bribery and other bad morals. Our society needs to identify those laws and constitutions that not only destroy justice in all forms, but also those that prevent us from loving fully.

The Acts of the Apostles summarizes the whole life Jesus saying, “He went about doing good.” There were so many laws, rules and regulations laid down by the Pharisees, but Jesus promoted those laws that promoted life and love and fought those that were not. Laws are good for all: they bring order and harmony in the society. Our human society should see those laws in the eyes of love. Every law obeyed lovingly is a service done to the society. Every breach is a betrayal on patriotism.

There are many forces that eradicates the sacredness of the laws making them just a bunch of rules with numerous pitfalls. We can turn and twist the meaning and spirit of each law to suit our needs and our selfishness. When that happens, love suffers. This man with the withered hand experienced that love. Let us pray that we as individuals and as community respect the laws of our society and country to promote love and life. Amen.

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Every Christian needs to inspire others

It’s quite amazing to look back on those people who brought us to God: those who through their word and deed influenced us to see God clearly – our parents, relatives, friends or even strangers. Quite often we feel our relationship with God is one-to-one relationship: between God and me. We forget to remember or experience that our faith is a construction of different persons and different ideologies and influences. The faith we have here and now is the outcome of our sociological or religious reach out. We depend on each other for faith; the foundation of our faith is not us but others.

Samuel needed someone like Eli to point out to him the voice of God; Simon Peter needed Andrew to tell him about the Messiah and the disciples needed John the Baptist to point out to them the Lamb of God. They needed the faith, affirmation and certainty of others. Samuel in the first reading and Apostles in the Gospel would carry this faith, this affirmation and this certainty all their lives themselves. This influence includes them in the whole epiphany of God. Past generations influencing the present takes back the root of faith to God Himself – thus making us citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Our participation in the Kingdom demands us one thing: We in turn build others faith, through our own faith, affirmation and certainty. Eli first handedly knew the voice of God in order that he could convincingly tell Samuel that it was the very voice of God. John the Baptist first handedly knew that Jesus is the Lamb of God and Andrew was convincingly sure that he found the Messiah. These revelations are given to each one of us so that we continue to inspire others and glorify God in our own little ways.

All those who received those revelations from others were filled with the Holy Spirit to respond to the call of God. Samuel, the Apostles and of course St. Peter received those revelations and respond to them. The Church needs those strong and vibrant faith, affirmation and certainty in the Love of God. Every Christian needs to inspire the other – that is the sure way of building the Kingdom of God. Let us pray that we continue to point out who God is through our faith, hope and Love. Amen.

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Table of sin to Table of Life

Freedom is traditionally understood as thinking, feeling and doing what we like. There is a great amount of relief in being left free; without people nagging us, no noise, no pollution and no compulsion of any kind. Freedom is more than that. People could be very free still feel they are chained to too many things. Quite often the things that we are chained to are unknown to us.

True freedom is doing what God wants of us. When Jesus passes by, he saw Levi or Matthew: so engrossed in the false notion of freedom thinking that cheating the people will never affect him and what he was doing was great that his pockets were full. His eyes were stooped downward looking at money and never at people who were the source of that money. He was chained by the evil works of money.

‘Follow me’ is a command that make us to look upright: to look up – the people who looked up at the Bronze stand, the people who looked up at the Cross – they are saved. We need to be aware of the forces that make us stoop down like Adam after the sin, Prodigal son after squandering – prevent us to look up. Let us pray that we will be strengthened by God to let go of the things that enslave us, tie us to the table of sin and bring us to the table of life – the altar of the Lord. Amen.

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Our Primary Influence

So many people influence us. There is no such thing as a ‘self-made’ person. All those who have helped us, cared for us, encouraged us in the past and in the present influence us in the future. We have always been influenced by different people. News, media, movies and powerful people always influence us. Those influences shape our character.

St. Peter and all the other apostles were influenced by Jesus. The interesting part in influencing others is that our influence will in turn influence somebody else. The more spiritually influenced we are, our friends and family respond to that influence. If it is a negative the influence it passes the negative energy to others. Through the word and sacrament Jesus influences us daily. From our part we need to influence others with the same spirit.

St. Peter took Jesus home so that his mother-in-law experiences the power of Jesus. This influence continues to spread far and wide as long as this is the primary influence in our hearts and minds. In order to take Jesus to the people we meet, Jesus must remain our primary influence in us. If we do not let ourselves dwell in the primary influence, the unwanted influences haunt us and abuse us even to the point of negating the primary influence. Let us pray that we be loyal to our commitment and take Jesus to others through our word and deed. Amen.

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Father’ joy in the Son is important for the Son’s ministry

The ideal situation for a father-son relationship is one night a father overheard his son pray: Dear God, make me the kind of man my Dad is. Later that night, the Father prayed, Dear God, make me the kind of man my sons wants me to be. This does not happen in normal settings. Often it is: My son is 18. The only time that he acknowledges or talks to me is I ask him a question and then it's a one word answer. He is awfully shy, but talks to my wife a lot more than he does to me. When he was younger we had a lot of discipline problems with him, and sometimes I physically pushed him toward what we wanted him to do and sometimes he would look at me like he was going to hit me, and I usually would say go ahead.
One tradition that they follow in India during a wedding ceremony is kneeling to get the blessings of the parents. I remember when my sister got married and my brother got married, they would bow, kneel and touch the feet of the parents to get their blessings. When they bowed and touched my feet for blessings, I felt an immense joy and responsibility that my brother-brother commitment or my brother-sister commitment ever strengthened. What would have gone through the parents’ minds and hearts?
Jesus’ baptism begins his public ministry. He needed the support of the Father and strength from the Holy Spirit. Baptism opens the heart of God so that we could listen to those words again: you are my son, you are my daughter: I am well-pleased with you. Father’s exuberant joy of the son is inevitable for the Son’s ministry. These words of the Father ends not just in preaching the Good News, curing the sick, working miracles etc, but also carrying the Cross and ending with the submission: It is consummated. St. Paul experienced the same when he said, I have fought a good fight, and I finished the race.
Our life on earth finds its meaning when our parents, our brothers and sisters and our friends tell us that they are proud of us and are well-pleased with the way we live our lives. Christian living starts with Father’s joy and the gift of the Holy Spirit. These words of comfort and joy linger in our hearts as we go along living our lives according to the will of God. Those words become part of us when fathers are able to see in their children that spirit; when children are able to be influenced by the spirit of their parents – the same Holy Spirit who stood as the binding force between God the Father and God the Son. Let us pray that God continues to tell those words to us: My children, you are mine and I am well-pleased with you. Amen.

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Jesus goes back home

I have met many missionaries who have been working in other countries; when they came back they had a difficulty in adjusting with the growth and development and way the way of life back home. There are also tons of happy moments shared with family and friends when they come back. The whole family would be sitting around you asking questions about the mission area and the people and the climate of the place, more importantly the food and entertainment. There is a great joy in going back to our homes.

Jesus is seen in today’s gospel going back to his hometown, where he grew up: Nazareth. This reminds us of His own roots: He comes from God. People who come from God are possessed by power of the Spirit and were given great commissions such as the commission that is found in the Book of Isaiah: to bring good news to poor, proclaim liberty to captives, sight to blind, oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. We come from God and were given the Holy Spirit from the moment we received Baptism.

Many hardly ever came back home and went on violating the commission for which we have been sent to by God. They proclaim bad news to the poor – nothing from me; get away. They are the captives – addicted to many a thing that there is no liberty for their own selves, being blind themselves and oppressing themselves and others. If the original plan of God had to fulfill in us, we need to come back home.

Every week has a holiday. We need to regain the strength for future by coming back home. We need to come back home often. Let us pray that we continue to live as children of homes where God takes care of us and gives us the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Jesus was seen as a ghost

Wise people say that it is not a good idea to decide anything when we are in a bad mood. Unsteady emotional bursts witness a god who lacks eyes, ears, hands and legs, heart or even appear to be a ghost. These emotional bursts are not true in any sense as far as the facts go. They moreover reveal our inability to experience that particular faculty in God. When people say ‘this God does not have ears’ is a revelation that we are unable to experience that God listens to us. They in turn make us lack in all those qualities that we project on God.

The disciples saw that they are in danger. The God of the Jews were often fearful: God every now and then encouraged them to “Fear not or Do not be afraid”. There is a Hindu Goddess named Kali: she is very frightening and terrible, that she cut the head off from the wrongdoers and dances on the dead bodies. Our Christian tradition has the eternal fire in hell to bring responsibility on the minds and hearts of people. They see God who brings fear in people.

But the experience of the disciples here is different. They saw Jesus as a ghost. We experience God in the way we want on account of the whereabouts of our hearts. We experience God who loves us with the human heart; a God who is in search of us. Even in times of utter confusion and danger, we still see and experience a God who is not a ghost but a loving parent. Our confusions and dangers are temporary and God calms everything down only if we have the faith to see it.

Let us prepare our heats prayerfully, proceed positively and pursue God’s heart persistently. God will guide us through. Amen.

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200 days’ wages worth

We are familiar with the saying in Is 55:8, “My thoughts are not your thought”. God’s justice is founded on compassion. The prodigal father showed his justice through his compassion. The Good shepherd showed his justice through compassion on that one sheep. The landowner showed his justice through compassion on those people who came last into his field. Whenever Jesus showed justice it had a shade of this compassion. His Sacred Heart was moved with compassion.

Wages are given to people who have worked. Quite often we feel the wages and salaries are not meeting our needs. If we get a bonus or through some miracle if I get a double salary, how would I feel? I work for myself and my comfort. That one salary is often not enough. What happens when I work for God? The disciples questioned Jesus: “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” – Jesus never answered that question with words, but in action ‘yes’.

One day’s food is 200 days of wages worth. Even if we are earning 50 dollars a day, can anyone spend 10000 dollars for a day’s meal? God can and God does it all the time. That is the justice of God shown through his compassion. His compassion has no limits. Eucharist is the symbolic gesture of God’s compassion where he gives his heart to all who come around his table.

Let us continue to experience the compassion of God and participate in it by being compassionate to our dear and near and also to the strangers, especially the poor and needy. Amen.

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Positive approach to the Sacrament of Baptism

A father is in church with three of his young children, including his five year old daughter. During this particular service, the priest was baptizing a tiny infant. The five year old girl was taken by this, observing that he was saying something and pouring water over the infant's head. With a quizzical look on her face, the little girl turned to her father and asked: "Daddy, why is he brainwashing that baby??"

Sacraments often thought of as some guidance tools or reference notes on ethical and moral behavior of Christians. Baptism takes away our dark original sins; confirmation gives us strength to fight the evil spirit; Eucharist gives us energy to overcome sin and the challenges of life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that Sacraments bring us grace of God. Though the sacraments empower us against the forces of evil - that is not the primary concern of the grace of God.

Sacraments reveal God to us in our different life-stages. We become children of God through Baptism. It should not be understood as a certificate or requirement to become the children of God. Like Childhood in physical life needs guidance and support from the parents and significant people, the childhood in spiritual life needs necessary graces and blessing from God. Child baptism necessarily fills parents with a great responsibility to influence their son or daughter with the grace received through the sacrament.

Baptismal rituals alone will not bring us grace. The first reading tells us that our becoming children of God reveal the true nature of God. We see as He really is. It reminds us of the Baptism of Jesus himself. John the Baptist saw the Spirit came upon Jesus. Though baptism is not a repeated sacrament, baptismal promises are to be repeated very often. We need those promises renewed in order to experience the revelation from God. Let us pray that we be faithful to our promises to see God as He is. Amen.

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