7th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle C)

1Sam 26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23            1Cor 15:45-49            Lk 6:27-38

Once upon a time in an Eastern city there was a riot. The people were hungry and blamed the Caliph. When he rode through the streets of the city some of the citizens mobbed him; and one man more desperate than the rest, caught him by the beard but was saved by the guard. Later, order was restored, food distributed, and the discontent subsided; but a shopkeeper named Hassan sought to curry favour with the Caliph by telling him of the name of the man who had pulled him by the beard. The man’s name was Khasim. The Caliph sent for him. Khasim arrived at the palace trembling with fear. He threw himself at the Caliph’s feet, begging for mercy. But the Caliph said: Get up Khasim. I did not send for you to punish you, but to warn you that Hassan is a bad neighbour; for he it was who told me that you were my chief assailant in the riot. Go in peace, and never trust a tale-bearer!

We can trust the enemies but not the betrayers or tale-bearers. Therefore, Benjamin Franklin said: An open foe may prove a curse, but a pretended friend is worse. In today’s gospel, Jesus advices us to love our enemies, which is a unique teaching of Christ. Some say that Jesus is asking too much. Jesus throws before us a teaching which is so challenging and not that easy to follow. His teaching stands opposed to the usual human behaviours. He tells us to offer ourselves again to those who offend us, to allow ourselves to be taken advantage by those who strongly hurt us and still not to judge them.

As adviced by Jesus in today’s gospel, to love the enemies and not to judge others are not two different teachings which follows one after another, but one and the same teaching which is closely interconnected. St Mother Teresa used to say: If you judge people, you will have no time to love them. One of the main reasons we quickly hate our enemies is because we judge them wrongly without giving sufficient time to understand them and their background or situation. Therefore, persons turn out to be enemies for us in our mindset and in our thinking pattern. Jesus’ strong belief is that when a chance is given to them by way of an expression of love, change could happen in their hearts towards a positive understanding of us.

What does Jesus mean when He commands us to love our enemies, and to do good to them? It does not mean that we have to throw our arms around our enemy when we meet him or her. It does not mean that we may not use legal means to get back what has been unjustly taken from us. Rather, it means that much of what we consider the work of an enemy is imagination, or that a little thoughtlessness is blown up into a big insult. Further, even when we are positively sure of an evil intention we must forgive. An example to it, we see in today’s first reading: Even after being aware of the evil intention of Saul, David did not kill his enemy Saul even when he had an opportunity for that. That was the great heart of David to untouch the Lord’s anointed. David still valued the anointment in his enemy Saul who was with evil intention.

There is a general conception among many that human beings are hard hearted and stubborn, that they lack softness in accepting those who have offended them. But God did not create a stony heart which is unflexible. There are many stories which echo the union of two hearts which have been ripped apart due to hurt feelings. One such best story is found in the old testament, which is about the beautiful reunion of Esau with his younger brother Jacob.

Esau was the first born of Issac. He had the right for the first blessing from his father Issac. According to the Israelites tradition, it was his birth right as the first born. But taking advantage of his father’s physical blindness, cunningly, his younger brother Jacob stole the first blessing which was the due of Esau. Because of which, Jacob had to earn the vengeance of his elder brother Esau and therefore, he escaped from his sight to a far away place. After many years, it happened that Jacob had a wonderful chance to meet his elder brother Esau face to face at Peniel. Though Jacob was afraid to meet his brother, Esau on seeing his brother Jacob, ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they both wept (cf. Gen 33:4). During that lovable encounter, Jacob said to Esau: truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God since you have received me with such favour (Gen 33:10). This is the fruit of turning our adversaries into allies. Turning foes into friends will manifest the face of God in one’s own face index.

Jesus asks a very pertinent question in the gospel: If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? … If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? (Lk 6:32,33). Anything that is repaid or done in return is of no credit to us. To act extraordinary is only by giving and receive nothing. Loving an enemy is of such a stand but difficult. Love can increase only when hatred decreases.

Here are a few ways we can follow the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

- Pray for the person you think has offended you.

- Ask God to forgive that person like Jesus prayed to the heavenly Father to forgive His persecutors on the cross: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Lk 23:34).

- Ask God to help you forgive.

- Ask God to help you find some way to prove that you have forgiven that person.

- Think of some way of communicating with your so-called enemy – a smile, a greeting, a note, a phone call, even some big or little act of kindness.

These are a few little possible suggestions we can attempt to do. But more than these, Jesus instruction invites us to go for a more radical and extraordinary way of loving our enemy. Here is an incident from history to motivate us.

During the Revolutionary War in America during the 18^th century, Peter Miller was the pastor of a little Baptist Church in Pennysylvania. Near the church lived a man who constantly criticized and abused Miller and his congregation. At a particular moment, this critic was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by General George Washington. As soon as the sentence was pronounced Peter Miller set out on foot to appeal to General George Washington for his enemy’s life. When Washington replied that he could not grant his appeal for his friend, Miller exclaimed: My friend! Why, he is the worst enemy I have. “What, you have walked sixty miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. Pardon is granted” declared Washington. Pardon in hand, Miller hurried to the place of execution, fifteen miles away. He arrived just as the traitor was being led to the scaffold. Noticing Miller, the condemned man shouted: There is old Peter Miller. He came to get his revenge by seeing me hanged. Miller stepped forward and gave him his pardon, signed by Washington. As Jesus desired, there are many Peter Millers in the human history. Now the question to you is: Are you one of them?

5th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle C)

Is 6:1-2,3-8              1Cor 15:1-11              Lk 5:1-11

On 6 January 2001, at the beginning of the new millennium, St John Paul II, issued the apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, in which, at the very beginning of the apostolic letter, he recalls the words of Jesus Christ which we heard in today’s gospel passage: put out into the deep (Lk 5:4). St John Paul II says that these words of Jesus invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence. The simple reflection elaborated here is: the fishermen remembered their past catch of fish with gratitude, and enthusiastically followed the words of Jesus and casted their nets at that moment, and they got a good catch of fish which was an outcome of their futuristic confidence amidst their prior frustration of no catch the whole previous night. A similar attitude and disposition are needed in our lives.

The encounter of Jesus and that incidental experience made a deep impact in Peter, where he realized his unworthiness in being near Jesus. Therefore, he said: Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man! (Lk 5:8). This link from today’s gospel text synchronizes with the other two readings of today. Prophet Isaiah and St Paul, too expressed their unworthiness. All the three were able to see their own past and were realizing their unworthiness in being the servants of the Lord. They were also confident to follow the Lord to work for the kingdom of God. This is the beauty of God’s ways: He calls the unworthy and makes them worthy.

As highlighted by St John Paul II in his apostolic letter, the strong instructive words of Jesus: put out into the deep (Lk 5:4) should reverberate in our mind. These words invite us to travel deeper within, for a deeper search. It is a call towards an inward journey, to find the beauty of God’s image and likeness that dwells within us. Like the good amount of fish that stayed beneath the sea waters, our real beauty rests deep within us. We should make efforts to dive into our inner selves beyond the outer shell of our unworthiness to get hold of the good wonder that is within.

Jesus, by profession was not a fisherman. But Peter and his companions were experienced fishermen. Still they were unable to make their livelihood inspite of their whole effort throughout the previous night. The inclusion of Jesus in their company made all the difference which they have never experienced before. It was a new experience for them in their profession of fishing because the gospel text tells us: they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink (Lk 5:6-7).

When we try to search for something precious trusting in our human efforts alone without the divine support, the effort may lead to futility. But with divine support, the precious is reacheable in great amount. This applies to our search for our own beautiful selves which is covered under our outer shell of impurity and unworthiness. Peter consciously felt the greatness of Jesus. He did not see him as a wonder worker or a miracle performer. Rather, he saw the divinity in Jesus Christ which made him to utter: I am a sinful man! (Lk 5:8). During the Holy Eucharist, we are before the divine sanctuary of the Lord which should drive us to realize our unworthiness and should instigate us to move towards holiness like Peter.

Again, the words: put out into the deep (Lk 5:4) of our Lord Jesus Christ is an invitation not only just to realize our unworthiness within, but also an invitation to find our real call and purpose of life. In the popular spiritual book, The Purpose Driven Life, the author Rick Warren writes: You are not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it… Regardless of the circumstances of your birth or who your parents are, God had a plan in creating you. It doesn’t matter whether your parents were good, bad, or indifferent. God knew that those two individuals possessed exactly the right genetic makeup to create the custom “you” he had in mind. They had the DNA God wanted to make you. While there are illegitimate parents, there are no illegimate children. Many children are unplanned by their parents, but they not unplanned by God. God’s puspose took into account human error, and even sin.

Emphatically, Rick Warren writes in the very first chapter of that book: The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfilment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

This applies in the case of Peter. The real miracle in the gospel text is not the good catch of fish, rather Peter’s catch of his own purpose to follow the Lord. Therefore, he left everything and followed the Lord. Most often the time we set apart for our personal prayers, recollections and retreats remain to be superficial and does not transform into a real soul-searching exercise. In Peter’s case, so far, what remained to be a superficial search, turned out to be a deeper search. He was able to go deep within himself to find his call. To our astonishment, as an eventuality, he was the first supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church, that is, the first shepherd to lead the sheeps. He became the rock upon whom, our Lord built His Church.

We too are called by the Lord to put out into the deep to catch our purpose of life. Only Jesus was aware where the good amount of fishes stayed. Therefore, he was able to instruct them where to throw the fishing nets. Similarly, the search for our purpose of life cannot begin with ourselves. The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That is because we typically begin at the wrong starting point, that is, ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like: What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.

For example, we would not be able to understand the purpose of a newly manufactured gadget or would not know how to operate it. It is simply because we are not the creator or the inventor of that gadget or product. Only the manufacturer who made it could tell us its purpose and the way to use it. Similarly, our purpose of life too, rests with God, because He is our creator and He only can reveal the purpose of creating us. Peter was able to find his purpose of life through the divine master Jesus Christ and he fulfilled it. Encouraged by the divine words of Jesus, let us not stop our search of life just being satisfied with what we are now, rather, move further towards a purpose that is deep.

Baptism of the Lord (Cycle C)

Is 40:1-5, 9-11          Tit 2:11-14; 3:4-7          Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

Amidst many heresies advocated against the magisterium of the Catholic Church, Arianism is the most harmful heresy advocated by Arius in the fourth century. Arius falsely preached that Jesus was not the true Son of God. The emperor Theodosius promoted this false teaching. It was the same time emperor Theodosius made his sixteen-year-old son, Arcadius, an equal partner with himself on the throne. Many were invited to celebrate this event. Among them was a famous old bishop, Amphilocus, who spoke some words of congratulation and then prepared to leave. Looking at this gesture, the emperor became furious and shouted: Do you take no notice of my son? Don’t you know I have made him partner with myself?” Fearlessly, the bishop replied: Do you resent my apparent neglect of your son, because I do not give him equal honours with yourself? What must the eternal God think of you, who have permitted His co-equal and co-eternal Son to be degraded below His dignity as Son of God?

Many people today, even some so-called Christians, deny or question the divinity of Christ. This is what we believe and profess about Jesus Christ in the Nicene Creed: I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. From today’s gospel too, we heard that the voice from above which is from the heavenly Father affirmed: You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased (Lk 3:22). In a world where Jesus Christ is highlighted as just a historical man only, we Christians have the mandate of proclaiming His divinity to everyone. This is the invitation to us through today’s feast of the baptism of the Lord.

Today, we are beginning the ordinary time in the liturgical year which initiates us to reflect on the life and public ministry of Jesus. The baptism event sets the beginning scene of the public ministry of Jesus Christ. As per the gospel records, three incidents are marked as incidents of manifestation or revelation by the biblical scholars. They are:
1. The visit of the three kings, which we celebrated last Sunday,
2. The baptism of the Lord, which we celebrate today,
3. The miraculous transformation of water into wine at Cana, which was the first sign manifesting Christ glory.

The visit of the magi marks the proclamation that, as promised, a saviour has been given, not only to the Israelites but to all the people in order to be salvified. And the feast of the baptism of the Lord marks the beginning of its actualization by way of Jesus openly starting his public ministry by proclaiming the gospel. Calculating the time duration, it is clear that the baptism of Jesus Christ had taken place thirty years after the visit of the three kings. The event of baptism makes Jesus to move from one phase of his life to another phase of his life. Already we hear from the Lukan account that Jesus was well-versed in the scriptures in his young age and he had the capacity to begin the public ministry being the Son of God. We read that while his mother Mary was in search of him in the Jerusalem temple, Jesus said to her: Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? (Lk 2:49). This shows that Jesus was in one mindset of accomplishing the mission that was entrusted to him even in that young age.

Then, why these thirty long years in order to begin the public ministry? This simply tells us that a long hidden and unseen preparation is needed to be powerfully exposed. Though short, the three years of public ministry had a long-lasting effect, an effect that lasts even today because of those unexposed long years. It still creates a rippling impact in many human hearts. For this to happen, those thirty years were essential. Diamond stays inside the earth for many years to acquire its value as a diamond. The single drop of water stays inside the shell under the sea for longer period to be transformed into a pearl of high value. Jesus too was never hurrying, but patient enough to wait for the favourable time.

Jesus always took time to manifest himself. We hear that during the wedding at Cana, Jesus said to his mother: My hour has not yet come (Jn 2:4). Therefore, Jesus Christ was humble enough to stay confined and prepare himself to launch the God given project of salvation at a favourable time. In this sequence of patient awaiting, His total submission to God’s mission interwoven with obedience brought a great affirmation from the heavenly Father during his baptism: You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.

This affirmation from the heavenly father, invites us to reflect on the obedient sonship of Jesus Christ, which is a challenge to us. Jesus was an obedient Son to the heavenly Father, and therefore He was well pleased with him. A good child is one who is obedient to the parents. The parent too would be appreciative of that. But these days we face many disobedient activities. Because of our self-defendant nature and unreasonable questioning attitude, the virtue of obedience and its practice is slowly vanishing.

The scripture teaches us that obedience is better than sacrifice. 1Sam 15:22 says: Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice. And again, Jer 7:22-23 says: For in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you”.

The major mistake of the chosen race, Israelites was, they were interested in appeasing the anger of God through sacrifices but contrarily increasing His anger by failing to obey His commandments. It was an irony and paradox in their life. But still God was merciful to them. The pleasing obedience of Jesus Christ to the heavenly Father stands out as a sharp contrast in the background of the displeasing gestures of the Israelites. Therefore, the words of the heavenly Father during the baptism of the Lord is a reward endowed upon Jesus Christ for his unquestioning submission to God.

During each of our baptism, we all became the sons and daughter of the heavenly Father. And also, during the same sacrament, we all have accepted the mandate of obeying the commandments of the Lord. Today, let us be reminded of our baptismal commitment. The feast of the baptism of the Lord is a day of reminder for all of us. The question before us is: Are we all well-pleasing sons and daughters of the heavenly Father like Jesus Christ? Let this day, provide us the grace to rejuvenate ourselves to recall our baptismal commission and to set right our ways accordingly. May the Holy Spirit whom we have received during our baptism guide us in this path!

28th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

Wis 7:7-11           Heb 4:12-13          Mk 10:17-30

There was a man who had worked all of his life, had saved all of his money, and was a real miser when it came to his money. Just before he died, he said to his wife, 'When I die, I want you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the after life with me.' And so he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he died, she would put all of the money in the casket with him. Well, he died . . . He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there in black, and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said, 'Wait, just a minute!' She had a box with her; she came over with the box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down, and they rolled it away. Her friend said, 'I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in there with your husband.' The loyal wife replied 'Listen, I can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him.' Immediately her friend asked, 'You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him !!! ?' The wife said, 'I sure did. I got it all together, put it into my account and wrote him a cheque. If he can cash it, he can spend it.'

St Paul says: We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it (1Tim 6:7). Today’s liturgy of the word, invites us to reflect upon the worldly riches we possess which we never take with us when we leave this world.

In today’s gospel, we see, a man came eagerly to Jesus seeking for eternal life. But when Jesus made a last note: “Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor and… then come, follow me,” (Mk 10:21) he was shocked and went away grieving, for he was a man of great wealth. It was indeed a great challenge for him to forgo his wealth in order to inherit eternal life. The same words of Jesus are addressed to each one of us now and it stands as a challenge to us. We are not people of great wealth but we have attachment to certain things and it is a hard reality for us to give up even those. In order to point this as the hard reality, Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Lk 10:25)

Once Italian most renowned and honoured actress Sophia Loren sobbed about the theft of her jewellery and was telling it to Italian film Director Victoria De Sica. Immediately Director Victoria replied, “Listen to me, Sophia. I am older than you and if there is one great truth I have learnt about life, it is this: Never cry over anything that can’t cry over you.”

Some of us might have insured a life insurance policy. Even I have one. An interesting definition I read about Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die rich. It looks funny but we still carry on with it. I do not mean to say that all those who are insured are fools.

By all these examples and quotes I only invite you all to reflect deeper about life realities. Often we fail to realize that the things that we seek most and rely upon are really paradoxical. May be we have not really initiated a serious thought about it. But today’s gospel initiates such a thought in us.

Today’s gospel invites all of us to ask one important question: What is our real possession? What we posses in life like our houses, jewels, money, cars, etc. can we consider them as our real possessions? The rich man in the gospel believed what he had as great wealth as real possession and found it hard to forgo those.

Let us always remember that what is temporal, cannot be the sustainer of what is eternal? We as Christians are called to inherit eternal life. Therefore, our worth and value is much more than that of what is temporal, tangible and perishable. The created is never greater than the Creator. The material things are never greater than the author of life who is God.

As we are called by God to a Christian way of life which is a greatest gift, we are God’s own possession. If we are God’s possession, what is the point in, we rely ourselves on other possessions which has no power in itself. While Jesus sent his twelve disciples on a mission, he instructed them not to carry staff or bag or bread or money or a spare tunic (Lk 9:3). It is an indication that any possession even in small form would very much hinder our real Christian journey.
- It would deviate our right orientations
- It would shake and shatter our strong convictions and determinations
- And ultimately, it would terminate our good will

Jesus says: Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworm destroys them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too (Mt 6:19-21) What is the best way to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven? The best way is to share our possessions with others who are in real need which Jesus gives as an advice to the wealthy man. For that, we need the heart to look at others with genuine love.

Once, a rich man met a Rabbi requesting him to teach one important lesson in life. The Rabbi took him near to the window glass and asked him, “What do you see?” The rich man replied that he sees men, women and children walking in the streets. Again the Rabbi took him before a mirror and asked him, “What do you see?” The rich man replied, “I see myself”. The rabbi said, “What you saw in both was through the glasses. Through one, you were able to perceive others whereas in the other you were able to see only yourself. The one in which you saw yourself was glass which had silver coating on one surface. Similarly, when you attach yourself to wealth, money and possession you will see only yourself and not others.”

It is true that as long as we have core attachment to the worldly possessions, we will never have the heart to turn to God or to others in the real sense. St Paul acknowledges that: ‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds (1Tim 6:10).

To the man who was following the commandments of God very faithfully, Jesus pertinently pointed out: You lack one thing? If non-sharing of wealth is that which lacked in the wealthy man in the gospel to inherit eternal life, let each one of us ask to ourselves: What is that which is lacking in me?

Pentecost Sunday (Cycle B)

Acts 2:1-11                 1Cor 12:3b-7,12-13               Jn 20:19-23

How often we make prayers addressed to the Holy Spirit directly? In our prayer sessions, usually we address our prayers to the heavenly Father or Jesus Christ or Blessed Virgin Mary or any saints, but hardly we invoke the Holy Spirit. It is because we have not been habituated in that way in our upbringing. This is a point of thought today as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Spirit which is a commemoration of the Pentecost event as we heard in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

The presence of the Holy Spirit is not an unbelievable thing. People easily deny the working of the Holy Spirit for many reasons. One of the reasons is Holy Spirit is not visible to the naked eyes. On the contrary, it is surprising to note that people easily believe the presence of the evil spirits and its various activities like unusual paranormal phenomenon, demonic possession, black magic, witchcraft, sorcery, etc. From another angle of thought, if Holy Spirit is denied on the ground of non-visibility, then the human spirit or soul should also be denied on the same ground. But, the human soul in an undeniable aspect of the human features. Many religious and other traditions have affirmed its indispensable presence. These traditions say that the human physical body may perish but the human soul continues to exist even after a person’s death. We look for eternal life which is founded on the existence of the human spirit. This is a foundational belief of the human existence. But we should be surprised to note, that a few religious traditions and some philosophical schools have even denied the existence of the human soul.

One of the first stumbling blocks that people often encounter when they learn about Buddhism is the teaching on Anatta, often translated as no-self or no soul. This teaching is a stumbling block because it does not fit well with the pre-dominate Judeo-Christian background, which assumes the existence of an eternal soul or self as a basic presupposition: If there is no self, what is the purpose of a spiritual life? A spiritual life is necessarily primary for the human soul or spirit.

Even otherwise, if we deny the presence of the Spirit based on non-visibility then we have to deny the various forces that act in the universe such as inertia, potencies, energy, electricity, magnetic force, gravitational force, which are the physical properties that exist and act and also proven to be scientific. Moreover, the atomic bodies like electron, neutron, proton which has inherent force within an element also proved to exist but unseen to the naked eyes. If science could categorically affirm the existence of all these, then thinking in a logical line, the existence of the spirit could not be denied because somehow, we feel the presence of it. Just think about the paranormal reality shows that are telecasted in the western television channels. They speak in volumes about the presence of the unseen forces that affect human existence.

In today’s first reading, we note the powerful acting of an unseen force. There was an unseen force that made the people of 17 different ethnicity to hear in their own vernacular even when others spoke in their own mother tongue. It was translation of various language on the spot without any third-party intervention. In today’s internet world, translations are available at hand, on single mouse click. When we open some of the webpages, our desired language can be opted. And there is a back-hand technology doing that process. This is no miracle, since it is just an execution of a pre-installed computer programme. But to think of, on the spot translation being heard directly to human ears without any gadgets 2000 years ago, is a miracle. Even today given the advancement in technology, that mode of, on the spot translation without the intrusion of the technical gadget is an impossibility. That was the powerful working of that unseen force during the feast of the Pentecost. God’s Spirit or Holy Spirit was that unseen force.

Even today that unseen force is acting but we fail to realize it. Every baptized Christian is a beneficiary of that unseen force already from the time of baptism. You and I are its carriers. Today is a day to be reminded of Holy Spirit’s presence within us and to realize its functioning modality. God has a way of his own to trigger the functioning of His Spirit among each individual.

One of the inspiring spiritual books I have ever read and reflected is one by the author, Rick Warren. The title of the book is The Purpose Driven Life. Some of you may be quite familiar with this book. Rick Warren shares a beautiful reflection on the writings of St Paul in the letter to Galatians, chapter 5, verses from 22-23 which exposes the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the way in which how God makes His spirit function: When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

These nine qualities are an expansion of the Great Commandment, Love and portray a beautiful description of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is perfect love, joy, peace, patience, and all the other fruit embodied in a single person.  To have the fruit of the Spirit is to be like Christ. How, then, does the Holy Spirit produce these nine fruits in your life?  Does he create them instantly?  Will you wake up one day and be suddenly filled with these characteristics fully developed?  No.  Fruit always matures and ripens slowly.

This next sentence is one of the most important spiritual truths you will ever learn:  God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you are tempted to express the exact opposite quality!

For instance, God teaches us love by putting some unlovely people around us.  It takes no character to love people who are lovely and loving to you. God teaches us real joy in the midst of sorrow, when we turn to him.  Happiness depends on external circumstances, but joy is based on your relationship to God. God develops real peace within us, not by making things go the way we planned, but by allowing times of chaos and confusion.  Anyone can be peaceful watching a beautiful sunset or relaxing on vacation.  We learn real peace by choosing to trust God in circumstances in which we are tempted to worry or be afraid. Likewise, patience is developed in circumstances in which we’re forced to wait and are tempted to be angry or have a short fuse. God uses the opposite situation of each fruit to allow us a choice. (Cf. Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, pp.201-203)

It is true that some of the fruits have not ripened in our being. Let us understand this functional mode of the Holy Spirit and learn to appreciate the situation we are placed with, because it is a God planned situation to make the fruit to mature in us.

14th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

Ezek 2:2-5               2Cor 12:7-10               Mk 6:1-6

There is a Greek mythology about the character called Procrustes whose name meant ‘the stretcher’. He was an iron smith. With the best of his ability he made an iron bed. He kept a house by the side of the road where he offered hospitality to passing strangers, who were invited in for a pleasant meal and a night’s rest in his very special bed. Procrustes described it as having the unique property that its length exactly matched whomsoever lay down upon it. He had very strange method of achieving that property when his guest laid on the bed. As soon as the guest laid down Procrustes went to work upon him, stretching him on the rack if he was too short for the bed and chopping off his legs if he was too long. Procrustes continued his reign of terror until he was captured by Theseus, travelling to Athens, who fitted Procrustes to his own bed and thus killed him.

From this mythology, the word ‘Procrustean’ is thus used to describe situations where different lengths or sizes or properties are fitted to an arbitrary standard. This mythology is also told to affirm the impossibility of attaining the universal uniformity. This line of thought fits well in the background of today’s gospel event. Jesus points to the fixed and prejudiced mind of his own people. According to that fixation, they perceived Jesus. Today’s gospel text tells us that they were astonished by his teaching. They said to each other, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him (Mk 6:2-3).

Their astonishment was not an outcome of their positive outlook but it was their expression of non-acceptance due to their prejudice about Jesus. St John in his gospel too observes the same fact thus: He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him (Jn 1:10-11). Sometimes we are no different from Procrustus. We have a set of fixed viewpoints of others and do not accept them and moreover, we do character assassination if they do not fit to our fixed viewpoints. Jesus faced continuous opposition and rejection from his own people due to this reason.

The man of the 20^th century, scientist Albert Einstein used to say: It is easier to break an atom than to break the prejudices. We know that breaking an atom is not so easy. But it is even harder to overcome our fixations and prejudices about others. We find it hard to alter our prejudices and expect others to change themselves as per our fixations. This is an unjustifiable expectation. An interesting story is said to make this point clear

Once there was a king who became sick suddenly. Many doctors were called to diagnose on his sickness but every effort was in vain. As a last effort they decided to surrender to the spiritual power and invited a sage to cure the king. The sage visited the king and said a simple solution for the king to be cured. He said, “Everything the king looks at, should appear green in colour.” Then, he went away. After few days, the sage happened to pass by the king’s palace and wanted to visit the king. As he was about to enter the palace gate, the guard stopped him and poured upon him a bucket of green paint and allowed him inside. The sage was irritated and shocked. As he met the king, he asked the king why such a treatment was given to him. The king said to the sage, “Since you said that whatever I see should appear in green colour, whatever is in front of me is given green coating. Now, I am healthy because of your advice.” The annoyed sage rebuked the king saying, “You foolish king, instead of changing everything around, it is enough that you wear a green spectacle.”

Most often we are like this foolish king. Instead of changing our perspective about others, we expect others to fit to our frame of mind. We do not easily collaborate with those about whom we have prejudices like the people of Nazareth did not cooperate with Jesus Christ. It is easy for us to accept an advice from a book written by an author whom we are not acquainted with. But if the same advice was shared by a person whom we are well-acquainted, we do not easily accept it because of the prejudice we have about that person. In such a situation, we say to ourselves, “What worthiness he or she has to give this piece of advice to me?” Due to these prejudices and fixations, even misunderstanding between two persons occur.

I would like to share a talk delivered by the spiritual mentor, Gaur Gopal Das. Interesting talks by him are available in youtube.com. A teacher was teaching mathematics to a class of 6-year-old students. She asked a boy called Arnav, “Arnav, if I give you 2 mangoes and 2 mangoes, how many will you have?” Arnav said, “5.” The teacher again repeated the question, and still Arnav replied, “5.” The teacher was upset but remembered that Arnav’s mother had said that Arnav does not like mangoes, but he likes strawberries. So, she changed her example, and asked, “If I give you 2 strawberries and 2 strawberries, how many will you have?” Now Arnav said, “4.” The teacher was happy by the change of strategy. Just to confirm that Arnav had understood mathematics rightly, she asked Arnav again, “If I give you 2 mangoes and 2 mangoes, how many will you have?” Arnav said, “5.” The teacher was very annoyed and shouted, “How can 2 and 2 strawberries be 4, and 2 and 2 mangoes be 5?” Arnav replied, “I already have one mango in my bag madam.”

Who was right? Was the teacher wrong? No, because 2 plus 2 is 4. Was Arnav wrong? No, because 2 plus 2 is 4 and one mango in the bag makes it 5. Is it not a fact that all kinds of conflicts come because of the gap between technical rightness and practical or realistic rightness. The teacher was technically right. Technical rightness means to see the obvious, to see what is visible. Arnav was practically and realistically right. Realistic rightness means to see beyond the obvious, to see beyond what appears or visible. Realistic rightness means to see the hidden mango. Very often, all our conflicts come because of the gap between technical rightness and realistic rightness.

Whenever you find that your spouse is not loving you enough, you may be technically right, that he or she may not actually love you that much. But are you, realistically right? Why he or she is not loving you? You child may not be listening to you and technically you are right, that your child is not listening to you. But are you, realistically right? Realistic rightness expects you to see beyond the obvious, why your child is not behaving right.

The next time you see someone not fitting into your definition of what is technically right, please do not be judgmental. Go beyond the obvious and try to look for the hidden mango which will truly help you to understand the person and resolve the conflicting situation that you are in.

4th Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)

Acts 4:8-12                 1Jn 3:1-2                 Jn 10:11-18

A shepherd was tending his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a dust cloud approached at high speed, out of which emerged a shiny silver BMW. The driver, a young man in a well-dressed suit, poked his head out of the window and asked the shepherd, “Hey! If I can tell you how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?” The shepherd looked at the man, then glanced at his peacefully grazing flock and answered, “Sure.” The young man parked his car, plugged his microscopic cell phone into a laptop and briskly surfed to a GPS satellite navigation system on the internet and initiated a remote body-heat scan of the area. While the computer was occupied, he sent some e-mail via his BlackBerry and, after a few minutes, nodded solemnly at the responses. Finally, he printed a 150-page report on the little laser printer, turned to the shepherd, waving the sheaves of paper, and pronounced, “You have exactly 1,586 sheep.” “Impressive! One of my sheep is yours.” said the shepherd.

He watched the young man select an animal and how he bundled it into his car. Then the shepherd said: “If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?” Pleased to meet a fellow challenger, the young man replied “Yes.” “You are a consultant,” said the shepherd without hesitation. Being impressed, the young man said, “That's correct! How did you guess?” The shepherd replied “It was not a guess. You drove into my field uninvited. You asked me to pay you for information I already know, answered questions I have not asked, and you know nothing about my business. Now give me back my sheep.”

By the gestures of the young man, the shepherd assessed the profession of the young man. Still, generally speaking, a shepherd cannot be equaled to the informational knowledge of a professional or an expert. But the wisdom and experiential knowledge possessed by the ordinary shepherd is something unique and philanthropic in nature that speaks in volumes about the love and care, he has for his flock. The shepherd in the story was well aware that the young man being a consultant cannot give good care to the sheep which he gave as a prize for the challenge won by the young man. Therefore, he was particular to get his sheep back through his wisdom. A good shepherd would never entrust even single sheep of his flock into another’s care.

All of us love to be protected. All of us love to be under someone’s care and affection. This is an undeniable emotional need of every person. The imagery of the shepherd and the sheep, centrally brings this message of care and protection. There cannot be a better imagery to bring this message so sharp and touching. The significant point of this message is that the protection enjoyed by the sheep is at the risk and cost of the shepherd’s life. The shepherd is ready to face any risk in order to protect the sheep under his care. It manifests his genuine love towards his sheep. When Jesus expresses himself as the Good Shepherd, he tries to expose these characteristics in relation to each of us.

Let us have look at the characteristics of a shepherd who is good, in the light of today’s gospel. The following are the characteristics:

- A shepherd is one who loves his people genuinely and authentically without any pretension

- A shepherd is one who sacrifices for his peoples’ well-being even to the extent of giving his life
- A shepherd is one who will not run away when his life is endangered
- A shepherd is one who will face any reality for the sake of his flock
- A shepherd is one who knows his people individually and personally
- A shepherd is one who will relate with his people to the extent the people also knows the shepherd personally
- A shepherd is one who is not only concerned about his own flock but also the uncared that belongs to other flock
- A shepherd is one who is particular not to lose even single person from his flock
- A shepherd is one who sees to that the single lost is brought back into the herd
- A shepherd is one who protects each individual in the flock to the extent that no one snatches it away

So far, we have been reflecting only on who is a good shepherd. Jesus Christ not only presents the characteristics of a good shepherd, but also sharply denotes the character of the good sheep. Therefore, the question that comes to our mind is: Who is a good sheep? Jesus surprisingly points out only one characteristic of a good sheep.

A good sheep is one who listens and follows the voice of the shepherd and does not go by the voice of the stranger. The good sheep should have good acquaintance with the shepherd in order to always recognize the voice of the shepherd, otherwise it would be misled by a stranger’s voice. A personal rapport with the shepherd becomes inevitable here

There are two options of being misled. One, by mistakenly recognizing the stranger’s voice for the original shepherd. Secondly, by willingly being fascinated by the stranger’s voice and following him. In either option, the sheep is in a dangerous position. The first is a matter of unawareness but once awareness happens, it can be rectified. But the second is a matter of volition and voluntary willingness to be yielded to a new path. It is a matter of one’s discretion and decision. It is a matter of conviction and determination. The change of a determined mind is not so easy. Bringing back to earlier path, cannot happen suddenly but needs longer time. Sometimes, it would also result in vain. Rather the change of an unknowingly misled mind is easier to be brought back of the earlier path.

Today, the world is filled with so many teachings and philosophies. These are different voices of various shepherds. These voices promise various benefits like longer life, complete enjoyment, accumulation of wealth, highest fame and so on. But these cannot promise eternal life, but only the voice of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. The sad fact is that, the voice of Jesus is counted as one among many voices. To the world and others, the voice of Jesus may seem to be one among the many, but to us, that is the only voice to be followed. It is a matter of belief for all of us to rely only on it fully.

We are in the pathetic state of being confused by many voices calling us. Everything seems to convince us of various benefits. We need to have a proper discernment to rightly respond to our Good Shepherd, Christ’s voice alone. This is how we could prove ourselves to be the good sheep of the Good Shepherd. If our love for God is true, we would only hold to Christ’s voice. Let each of us take time to ponder over this question: Which voice I constantly heed to?