Shepherds without sheep?

A local priest and pastor stood by the side of the road. Doing their good deed for the day, they were holding up a sign that said, “The End is near! Turn yourself around now before it’s too late!” They planned to hold up the sign as a warning to each passing car.

“Leave us alone you religious nuts!” yelled the first driver who sped by. From around the curve they heard a big splash. “Do you think,” said one clergy to the other, “we should just hold up a sign that says ‘Bridge Out’ instead?” (Rib Tickler)

We have been reflecting lately on various Christian roles such as Prophet and Missionary. Today the readings talk authoritatively on being a shepherd. There is a tendency in today’s church to copy the ideas of companies, and pastors try to become CEOs. There was a cartoon in New Yorker recently that portrayed a man standing before a flock of sheep. He is dressed in a cap, windbreaker, slacks and shoes ill suited for the task, and carries a briefcase. He says, “Your shepherd Louie has retired. I m Mr. Smathers. I will be your grazing-resource coordinator and flock welfare and security manager.”

Karl Rahner: Holy priest is neither a mere religious functionary nor an overly zealous fanatic. He is not bitter in spite of the true bitterness of human existence. He does not try to escape into neurotic extravagancies. He is able to persevere patiently with God and to accept from Him his vocation to follow Christ as a priest without demanding the same thing from everyone else. He knows how to give things up, pure and simple, without tarnishing his relationship to the world.

People leave the church, priests leave priesthood but Church goes on. Challenges of priesthood are numerous as the society becomes more materialistic and spirituality becomes a business that could be bargained with a 100 dollar bill. Most often people leave on account of not getting much out of an individual (a priest!) or confused ideologies that conflicts with what we believe to be right. It is like getting a divorce! What guarantee could you give that you will live happily with the second spouse! Second divorce rates are 75% or more.

Priesthood needs to constantly look for the deserts – day offs, simply because it re-creates a person to serve better and to relate better.

Compassion is the one of the best ways through which priesthood is realized. Every parent shares the responsibility of priesthood and compassion is an integral part in playing that role. If you can’t shepherd your own child or children who would shepherd them? They will be like sheep without shepherd. Parents are not CEOs of families. There is a heart element so primary to parenting. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Take the age of your children – say 20. How about tuning yourself 20 times better in loving, accepting and understanding. And children – how about tuning 20 times more careful next time with your words and behavior.

It is our baptismal call that we take part with Jesus in his roles as Priest, King and Prophet. Parenting symbolizes God’s love for the people. When was the last time I wanted to understand my Son or Daughter? When was the last time I wanted to understand my Dad or Mom? Is it right to say sheep without shepherds or Shepherds without sheep?

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Are you still packing?

As a young seminarian I was asked to go the airport in Bangalore to pick up a Missionary from Australia. Since he was coming in to help in our formation program I thought it is good to take someone with me to the airport as there would be bags to carry. To my surprise that Missionary came out with a tiny little bag carrying his habit and a few personal things. It is a great challenge today that Missionaries need more than 1 hour to pack their things to get to their next assignments.

Since the missionary activity of the church is shared by all it is necessary to reflect about the things that rule our lives. Rosary and adoration and other pious practices in the church are still eye-openers to most youth today. ‘The practices that our ancestors practiced 1000 years ago’ and looking at grandma praying the rosary the youth go all the way in asking ‘what are you doing?’. There are many husbands who love their apple computer more than their wives and children. There are wives spend more time on food channel than watching their children browsing the net for jackpots.

Food, clothing, money are all indispensible to every human being. They are preceded by the authority given to us by God to be missionaries of God’s love. Food, clothing and money can be used in our mission to bring people to God and to one another – most of our missionary activities to the poor countries were based on these sources. Expecting that our missionary activities are going to be a success is also a pitfall where most missionaries fall and get frustrated. We have to remember that almost all the prophets (who were primarily missionaries) had a bad ending!

It is so easy to believe the false assumptions and complex confusions of Da Vinci Code, The Secret or The Prayer of Jabez and other works of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan and Karen Armstrong rather than believing in simple truths such as: God trusts us and gives us the authority for this noble task of sharing God’s love with one another. Jesus had a humble beginning, cruel start, tough job, terrible suffering and the worst kind of death – he did not look for his resources from his divine power. Most often we see people divinizing the earthly resources and worshipping them. We need more emphasis on following Jesus rather than worshipping Jesus.

If God wants you to be a missionary what would you take with you? Your computer! Your iPod! Your iPhone? How often we think of taking our family values and have a positive thinking that God is for us, who can be against us? Where would you go? A place of your interest? What would you preach or live? We are given the authority to live fully human and fully alive. Now! Think that everyone of you is being sent today by God with authority to your families. Let us renew our commitments in God as missionaries of His love.

Are you still packing?

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Prophets are challenged!

It is amazing to see how enormous the influence of prophets in Semitic religions is namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Our faith is based on the inspiration from Torah, Bible or Koran. We learn all that God is through the Scriptures and all that knowledge have come from a Prophet at some period in History. Even though other important religions boast of themselves as not founded by any prophets, the Scriptures were written by those inspired men who in Semitic language are called ‘The Prophets’. In our Catholic Tradition, apart from the Historical books and wisdom literature the rest of the OT were written by a definite prophet or the literatures attributed to their names.

A prophet is given the gift of prophecy by God. This gift includes the power and authority of God. Many a times the prophets are associated with the governing office of the Church but in truth it is not so. Almost all the prophets got into trouble for preaching and living God’s word. Though Jesus says the he was not accepted in Nazareth, in truth he was killed in JRS which is not his birth place. The reason for their suffering is being a ‘thorn in the flesh’ to the people and authorities. This compulsion comes from their conviction that the people should be given an opportunity to see the face and heart of God.

We see different people here: normal and abnormal, family and single, divorced, widowed and people who are in grave sin and normal people with normal life. All have our own psychological needs. People who approach this part of the Liturgy (The Liturgy of the Word) with only 40% of us can name more than 4 of the 10 commandments; only 50% of us know the Gospel writers; 12% believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife and 75% of us believe that the Bible teaches that ‘God helps those who help themselves’, when in fact Ben Franklin said this. (Bill McKibben) and similar intellectual challenges, Prophets are challenged!

Liturgy of the Word is just one area of ministry in the life of a prophet. Prophets are stage performers making you laugh or entertained with how much they know, rather they are commissioned by God to break your stony hearts and give you a heart of flesh. A performer makes the people happy; an intellectual makes them think; actors keep the people entertained, teachers make the students to practice but prophets reconcile us with God by fearlessly proclaiming their sins and calls us to a life with God through the prophet’s own exemplary life.

Being a Prophet is our primary call as chosen people of God. How do we witness a prophet? How do we see a prophet in today’s conditions? Are we guided by the Spirit to witness the prophet and see the need to acknowledge prophets in our living surroundings? If we acknowledge a prophet, do we pay full attention to his message by taking his message to our hearts?

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Get up now!

We see different kinds of deaths: natural deaths, suicides, death by killing, accidents and also voluntary deaths. More and more we are convinced that we are punished, deserted, rejected and abandoned by God. Death shakes the sense of meaning in life. Why do I still live? – my mother is dead or my father is dead, or my child is dead.

In anger and depression we feel, “God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects. Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges or was that guilt edges?” (Shack P 66).

We are convinced that life is our right, something that belongs to us and something we are entitled for. Every relationship that we make on earth has been known to God first. God has written forward page or a preface or an acknowledgement even before we start writing our books of relationships. Parents pride themselves of being there for their children from the beginning – God was there for eternity before you ever saw your children. We all owe our existence to God.

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live (Norman Cousins). If a child of twelve could make a great impact on the hearts of Jairus, his family and Jesus’ inner circle of friends, it is nothing but glorifying God. If our deaths have the power to glorify God, how much more our lives have power to do so! Greatest love shown on a dead body is not so much of a detached drops of tears, official handshakes or expensive black fashion show on the funeral, rather an honest gratitude to God for the life of the deceased and a silent meditation on how the deceased taught you the lesson of life.

It is never too late. Every parent should leave back a lesson to their children especially our modern world needs funerals filled with faith and love. Before someone fools you and others, thinking that they can fool God in the name of Eulogy, have a go with your own eulogy. What have I lived for so far? Let your closest friend or spouse write your eulogy while you are alive – then you know what is expected of you!

All those who just saw the dead body of the little girl were sent out or thrown out of the room, but the people who saw and believed that Jesus has something to do with the life of the girl were invited to the room. Let that be a point of reference for all those who come for funeral and all those getting ready for the funeral. “Talitha Koum” is an invitation to a life with Christ. Get up now!

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The Sleep of God!

In May 2008, a 98 year old Polish lady Irena Sendler died. She worked as plumber during WW II for the Nazis. The history tells us that she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children before she got caught by the Nazis that they broke both her legs and her arms and beat her severely.

Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear (Cheri Huber). We always tend to believe that God is absent in the violent squall and waves breaking over out boat. We read in the Creation story that God rested on the 7th day. God was not tired; it was not a rest of inactivity – the 7th day was made holy by God so that we respect and appreciate God’s creation and creative power. Every attempt to respect and safeguard creation we participate God’s creative power and we become co-creators with God.

In the same way, Jesus’ sleep was of prime importance like the 7th day rest. The violent squall and waves and other disturbances didn’t actually spoil his sleep, rather the phobia - the unwanted fear that disturbed Jesus from his sleep. There are different kinds of fear that haunt us in our lives: the fear of death, fear of pain, the fear of punishment.

Infants up to 2 years undergo the fear of falling, loud noises, and strangers.
Toddlers up to 3 years undergo loud noises, flushing the toilets, dogs and other animals.
Preschoolers up to 5 years undergo fear of monsters, imaginary creatures, getting lost, the dark, insects, thunder and lightning, injury, shots.
Early school age children up to 10 years, undergo fear of burglars, divorce, tornadoes, hurricanes, injury, being bullied, losing a parent.

As adults we have outgrown at least most of them. Now we are adults. We need to fight against or outgrow the great fears of our culture: fear of faithlessness, godlessness, mythical world of media, fashions of living together, modern hippy culture of disrespecting parents, elders and our Patriotic sprits.

God gave us the potentials and powers to take care of us and the creation. Why do we still trouble him in his ‘sleep’? That sleep is the Opened Heart of Christ. The more we feel let down or rejected by God, the more his heart comes powerfully on us. In our faithlessness, we project our own sleepy faiths on to the Heart of God.
Is Jesus sleeping or my faith is sleeping?
If Jesus’ sleep is disturbed by these fears – let him be disturbed

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8th Grade Graduation

Think of the very first day at Holy Family School – the anxiety, the dream, the surprises and ambitions. This day is certainly different in some sense but the same in other sense. It is the same because your next venture is still clouded with anxiety, dreams, surprises and ambitions. It is different because your anxieties have been changed into a sense of achievement, and your dreams are made reality and your surprises and ambitions are accompanied by the wealth of gratitude to God and people at school.

President Obama spoke to the graduates in Notre Dame, “Your class has come of age at a moment of great consequence for our nation that require that we remake our world to renew its promise; that we align our deepest values and commitments to the demands of a new age. It is a privilege and a responsibility afforded to few generations - and a task that you are now called to fulfill.”

“That’s it young lady, your grounded! No TV! No Computer! No IPod! No Mobile Phone!” But Mom, I can’t live without those things.” When you get home from school what do you do? In the last 20 years technology has come very far and has become even more popular to the youth today. Approximately 90% of youth use computers, and 59% of them are online. With the world at their finger tips, the youth of today rely on technology too much.

An average teacher wants to see you get through your exams; a good teacher wants to see you being successful in life; a very good teacher wants to see you what you do with the education that you got from them; and a great teacher want to see you when others see you a source of education – a place where people can learn the lessons to not just success but true happiness. George Santayana said, “A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.” You can get all the A’s and still flunk life.

You walk out of Holy Family with a rich background of the synthesis of all those significant people in your life at this stage. Your parents, your teachers and friends shaped you and molded you to who you are today for a bigger stage. Every step you take from now on will have imprints on all the hard works and sacrifices of all those significant people in your life. I hope you still remember the four areas of challenges that we talked about on Saturday – those dark areas could be tackled only by the light of enlightenment that you received from these significant people in your life.

Like the moon that depends on the light from the Sun, we all need the light from God to be the same light for others. So as Robert Frost would say, you have miles to go and promises to keep. Don’t let pride rule you, your good looks deceive you, your tiny brains fool you, rather let God put you on top. It is God who wants you to be the light and salt. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere. Amen.

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Father, Son and Spirit are relational terms!

Hinduism claims many deities, ranging from 1,000 to 33 million gods... but all of them are just manifestations or symbols of the only God Brahman. Brahma is like the Father, the creator, the cosmic mind. Brahma has only one temple dedicated to him in India. Vishnu is like the Son, Jesus Christ, the preserver, the cosmic lord... with 9 reincarnations (Kalki is yet to come), Shiva is like the Holy Spirit, destroyer of the bad things to renew the universe, the transcendent Godhead. Together they are called Sat-Chit-Ananda: In them are found the fullness of truth, wisdom and happiness.

Explaining the Trinity is often forwarded by ‘It is a mystery’ and followed by the story of the boy at the seaside with his bucket. Many even advised children not to pray to the Trinity, since Trinity is an idea of a concept.

The word ‘Trinity’ is not found in the Creed which we profess week by week. But it is altogether Trinitarian in structure. Christian faith is Trinitarian faith. Christian life is Trinitarian life. And Christian spirituality is Trinitarian spirituality (Michael Downey).

We use a language to express ourselves. If that is insufficient we express ourselves otherwise through body language, gesture, our clothing and the rings we wear. We speak through the glance of an eye that comforts or condemns, through dance, ritual, celebration, touch, and kiss and sometimes we speak in action too. Throughout our lives, we are expressing. God expresses most directly in Jesus the Christ
The Father speaks a Word, and his name is Jesus Christ, the Son since God by nature is expressive with his love and life. Jesus is the communication of God. But speaking is not possible without a breath. Indeed, speaking and breathing are inherently related. In Word and Spirit, God is speaking and breathing the divine life in the world. This is the way God loves us and gives us everything thus drawing us closer to the circle of love.

God is not turned in; nor is God the Supreme Being in self-imposed, self-selecting, blissful isolation. God’s very life is expressive, ecstatic, and fecund. ‘Father’, ‘Son’ and ‘Spirit’ are names that designate relationships rather than who God is in God’s fullness. All the three names emerge in relation to one another and to us. Calling God ‘Father’ is a way of naming our relationship to God, a way of responding to the gift of Love expressed in the Word who is the Son of the Father, breathing life and love in the Spirit.

Trinity teaches us the lesson loving relationship in unity and peace. It calls for action on issues of social justice since the equality is the mainstream of the relationship.

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Receive the Holy Spirit

Our Pope preached on Pentecost,“This is the mystery of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit illuminates the human spirit and, by revealing Christ Crucified and Risen, indicates the way to become more like him, that is, to be "the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ" (Deus Caritas Est n. 33).

So many of us think the whole concept of Holy Spirit is so Christian in nature. On the contrary, it is universal. Judaism though does not speak of Holy Spirit as a separate person; the RUAH HAKODESH of God is a strong entity in their faith. This figure of speech gave the Christians certain grounds to understand the third person of the Trinity. Islam on the other hand considers Holy Spirit to be another name for Archangel Gabriel (Jibril). In Sura 2.97, the Quran states that Gabriel delivered the word of Allah to the prophet Mohammad, referring the term ‘Holy Spirit’ to Jibril. Hinduism compares Holy Spirit to Kundalini – the energy manifested in the divine person of Shakti – the wife of Lord Shiva. Kundalini is referred to as the divine intelligence behind spiritual awakening and maturation in yoga (union with God).

We profess in the Creed, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit’. 1 Cor 12:3 states that no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit (divine revelation on Jesus) and Gal 4:6 states that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba Father’ (our attempts to be united to Father). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us “to be in touch with Christ, we must have been touched by the Holy Spirit.” (683). we remember from Genesis that God as his final touch in creating a man breathed on his nostrils to be alive. Jesus breathes on his Apostles and tells them ‘receive the Holy Spirit’: One corresponding and complementing each other.

Jesus was clear in stating that “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Mt 12:31-32). The unpardonable sin of Christianity is more than just a concept. Speaking against the Holy Spirit refers to our whole life against Holy Spirit. It is theologically right to say that every sin that we commit is against the Holy Spirit. Wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord all help us not just to prevent sin, but to do good. Jesus’ breathing is not for safety, but for fullness; not for prevention but for a civilization of love.

Many Christians don’t understand the difference between gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. We have just seen the gifts of the Holy Spirit (7 of them). There are nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness; gentleness and self-control are called fruits because fruits take a long time to be ready. Fruit comes gradually from inside and gifts come all at once from outside (God). So, Love is not a spiritual gift but a fruit to be growing constantly.

The traditional prayer to the Holy Spirit is all about filling the hearts of the faithful by kindling the fire of love in them. Let us pray that we live as people commissioned by Jesus breathing on us the Holy Spirit. He breathes, and receiving is our response: Jesus said “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

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We are still ascending!

Back in my seminary days, I still remember that I was so attached to the senior brothers. I still remember when Avarachan and Shibu left our seminary, I cried like a baby, so helpless. I felt certain emptiness that they are no more in my life. I am sure we all feel that helplessness and emptiness when someone dies or when we are separated from our loved ones. Ascension is one such feeling that the disciples are to experience the loss of the physical presence of Jesus.

From our standpoint this feeling of loss is so strong. Confusion and bitterness takes over us we are hopeless and helpless with the given situation. Why has he to die so young? Why did he give us the pleasant shock by coming to us after the resurrection? When we are so happy and confident that he is with us, he is gone. Why?

From the standpoint of God: By the sin of Adam, we have lost our titles as children of God. The restoration process has begun by Jesus. Human beings are no more to be termed as weak and sinful. Resurrection is the reward of God’s ransom in and through Jesus. The people of the Resurrection are in truth strong and holy filled with Holy Spirit. Ascension is what we do with the gift of Resurrection. Once again God gives us the responsibility of not just the Eden garden, rather the whole world. St. Augustine said, ‘By celebrating this feast, we ascend with our Lord and have our hearts above. "For the Resurrection of the Lord is our hope, and His Ascension our glorification."

We learn that the journey of Jesus did not stop in resurrection. He began from God and ended in God. We began from God and lost our way to turn back. Resurrection is the only sign board that could show us the way to the Father. Ascension is the way to the Father. Where does the Spirit lead me during the feast of the Ascension of Jesus?

Ascension and the last commissioning of Jesus call for a collective force to unite and proclaim the love of God. Jesus united people of differences of opinions and social status and called them friends and Apostles. Our unity is based on the Trinity. All the Sacraments have a bonding element in them, uniting people to God and one another. We need to walk together as resurrected people fixing our eyes on Jesus who is our Light. Every attempt that we make towards unity in terms of peace, love and harmony should be done in place of Jesus. I stand in his place. He has ascended and I am still ascending. Let us pray for our own ascensions. Go therefore, to love… Amen.

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Exercise the ministry of love!

Buddha spoke of Universal Love: “Human life is dukkha (suffering, unhappiness or dissatisfaction) which has two causes—ignorance and desire. People are bound by three fetters: passion, hatred, and stupidity which could be broken by wisdom and love (or compassion).” Our culture truly embodies those fetters in all possible ways.

Our love is first and foremost is seen as a community love. The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility. We as a Church are set to proclaim the Word of God, celebrate the Sacraments and exercise the ministry of love. Love is the responsibility of the Church. This ministry of love though starts from human love, rises to the love of God. We do have a book in the Bible called ‘Song of Songs’. Our human love constantly has to model on God’s love.

Erick Fromm argues that in modern world happiness consists in the thrill of looking at the shop windows. “Attractive” usually means a nice package of qualities which are popular and sought after on the personality market. What specifically makes a person attractive depends on the fashion of the time, physically as well as mentally. In a culture in which the marketing orientation prevails and in which material success is the outstanding value, there is little reason to be surprised that human love relations follow the same pattern of exchange which governs the commodity and the labor market (The Art of Loving).

“Doubled divorce rate, tripled teen suicide rate, quadrupled rate of reported violent crime, quintupled prison population, sextupled percent of babies born to unmarried parents, sevenfold increase in cohabitation, soaring rate of depression – to ten times the pre-World War II level by one estimate” (David G Myers, “Wanting More in an Age of Plenty,” Christianity Today, April 24, 2000).

Gandhi said, “A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.” We are created to love. Love necessarily implies basic elements such as care, responsibility, respect and knowledge.

Care is seen against Cain’s question: Am I my brother’s keep? God is described as a Mother, father who cares, loves, nourishes. Responsibility is seen against all forms of domination and possessiveness. It is interesting to note the gospel calls it a commandment of love: it is indeed a freedom to love. God’s respect for us is love. Respect is seen against misuse and abuse of freedom. Knowledge is seen as the many attempts to get to know the depth of a person.

Jesus is indeed the incarnation of God’s love. In the same way we are the incarnations of Jesus’ love because we bear the name of Christ. We are Christians. As long as we are Christians or even as humans we grow in love because Love is not an automatic gift, it is an art that we all have to learn to bring about a change in our society. Let’s love sincerely and from the heart. Amen.

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