2nd Sunday of Lent (Cycle B)

Gen 22:1-2,9a,10-13,15-18                Rom 8:31b-34              Mk 9:2-10

In African countries, they used to eat tortoise, turtle, snail etc. as normal food. The way they are cooked is astonishing to note. First, they take the big vessel and fill it with water. Then they place the small tortoise, turtles alive inside the water and slowly the water is then heated up. When they are placed inside the water, the tortoise and the turtle move inside the water and when the water slowly gets warmed up, they feel the warmth of it and feel comfortable and begin to settle down and enjoy the atmosphere. But when the water is still more heated up and at the boiling point, they realize the discomfort and die.

Sometimes our lives too are like the tortoise and the turtle. In life, as we grow, we choose to remain in a comfort zone and think that it will last forever. But the truth is otherwise. When we feel comfortable at a particular comfort zone, it is not a message for us to stay in that zone, but it is a caution that we should begin to quit the zone. Life is a continuous struggle within and without. And that alone qualifies our human status.

In today’s gospel, we note, Jesus takes along with him Peter, John and James to Mount Tabor for a new experience. When Peter saw the magnificient vision and the beautiful atmosphere around, which was momentary, he said, “it is wonderful for us to be here” (Mk 9:5). He was quite comfortable with the situation. He even thought that, that state should continue for a longer time. Therefore, he desired to put a dwelling there. But Jesus did not show interest in what Peter desired. Jesus did not allow them to stay for longer. He immediately brought them down from the mountain, because there was mission and ministry to be fulfilled.

Jesus was very clear, that his disciples should not stay in a state of comfort rather they should face the life realities. Lasting comforts would make humans, lethargic and dormant. Therefore, while steping down the mountain, Jesus was even hinting about his forthcoming suffering that he was to endure.

At this point, it would be interesting to raise a question why Jesus strongly instructed his disciples not to utter any word until his resurrection about the experience they had in the mountain. The answer is simple. Jesus was aware that the three disciples did not comprehend fully what they had seen and experienced. Their comprehension of the event did not include the other phase of life which is embraced with discomforts, with sufferings, with unpleasant situations. Jesus was keen that their sharing about the experience should not make the other disciples blind about the discomforts of life. It should not give them a picture about the glorious aspects alone about Jesus Christ. He wanted them to comprehend that he is also the suffering servant of Yahweh as Prophet Isaiah remarked (Cf. Isa 52:13-53:12).

Jesus instructed them not to share about it until his resurrection, because resurrection would follow after a period of His passion and suffering. This suffering experience of Jesus Christ would make a deep imprint upon his disciples, then they would possess a balanced comprehension of life which is a blend of both comforts and discomforts.

In the garden of Gethsamane, our Lord Jesus Christ wished to avoid the discomfort of the cross which he was about to bear, but he was quick to regain his senses and prayed to the heavenly Father, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42). During every moment of his public ministry, Jesus was well aware that his path of life would not be a bed of roses, rather mingled with thorns too. He never failed to remind to himself and to the others, that his life is filled with discomforts. Once he said: Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Lk 9:58). Again, thrice he spoke about the passion that he was about to endure. Mk 8:31-32 says: Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. All these statements of Jesus indicate his wider understanding of life realities and his mission.

Life has many passing realities. But with a childish mentality we wish to make certain realities which give comfort to be lasting and static. This is impossible. Even the best of people who enjoy comfort soon begin to experience discomfort. The question for us is that do we possess a disposition to take both comfort and discomfort, joy and suffering, pleasant and unpleasant situations with equal value.

Most of the parents want their children to be in the comfort zone. Therefore, they pamper them too much. The result of such an approach makes the children handicapped in course of time to face life realities. We do not want our children to suffer even a little. We protect our children from experiencing difficulties and hurdles. Therefore, we try our best to give immediate solutions to their needs and desires. As a result, they lack the endurance capacity when they face with unpleasant issues and also lack the real ability to solve any problem in their adulthood.

Today’s gospel also has another point of thought. Jesus’ quickness to bring the disciples down the mountain without allowing them to remain for a long time in that pleasant atmosphere has a lesson for those who stay in a state of spiritual luxury. Being moderate in any area of life is always appreciable, even in spiritual matters. There are people who spend full time in churches and prayer halls just forgetting their day to day duties. These people live in a state of spiritual luxury.

A deep spiritual experience with God is always a glorious time, which Peter, James and John had. Nothing can compare to a session of deep communion with God, and there is always the wish that we could remain in His presence. But such is not our calling. Our present call is to bear the cross and its message, and not to wallow around in deep spiritual experiences. We are not just contemplatives alone, but also part of an active life. Our spirits do need to be spiritually renewed, but they are always renewed for a purpose: to strengthen us for going out and bearing a much stronger winess for our Lord. Jesus took good amount of time to commune with the heavenly Father, but he did not do that at the cost of his ministry to the people. The four gospels speak at length about his active ministry and preaching as well as makes a short and strong remark about his contemplative and prayer life. Jesus striked the balance between both. We need to have this balance amidst our approaching joys and sufferings, comforts and discomforts, and thank God for both.

Let us be prompt to move away from comfort zones once we become aware of it and unlike the tortoise and the turtles, never lose the unraveled precious gifts that life has in store.

6th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

Lev 13:1-2,44-46        1Cor 10:31-11:1        Mk 1:40-45

We are well aware of what happened to Mahatma Gandhi during his youthful age as a lawyer in the country of South Africa. On 7^th June 1893, while he was travelling in a train from Durban to Pretoria on a first-class ticket, a European man called the railway authorities to remove him from the coach, as Gandhi did not comply with the racial segregation rules of travel. Eventually, he was thrown out of the train. Gandhi faced social rejection for the first time, which indeed shocked him. This experience gave him the first provocation to begin his act of civil disobedience.

Rejection is the most agonizing thing a person could endure in his or her life. This rejection can come from a well-acquainted friend, from the family members, from a group of people, or at large, from the society. Whatever it is, rejection in any form is painful to anyone. The gravity of this pain depends from whom rejection emerges. If it is from the closer circle, the pain would be more. Social analysis shows that the underlying reason for suicidal attempts is the miserable experience undergone by a person due to rejection.

There are medicines to make dormant, to make passive the physical pain endured by a person. In the medical field, they are called as pain killers, pain reliever, aspirin, morphine, sedative, tranquilizer, dope, anesthetic, etc. They are available easily for money. Irrespective of the persons situation and mental health, when those medicines are applied to the human body, it works. It makes the person unconscious of the physical pain for a fixed period of time. But to soothe the mental agony endured by a person, it is not that easy. Even in a state of active moment, the mental pain makes the person restless. This restlessness may be due to the unpleasant situation encountered by the person. Mostly it occurs in an atmosphere of human relationships, misunderstandings, rejections, etc.

The leper whom we encounter in today’s gospel was one who underwent such a restlessness due to the social rejection he experienced by his own Jewish community. From what we heard from the first reading, we are able to understand the social status of a person who is affected by leprosy. The book of Leviticus 13:45-46 says: The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be uncombed; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

The leper who is the victim in today’s gospel too, as per the Jewish custom was considered unclean. More than his physical pain, it was his mental agony that made him to approach Jesus Christ to be cured and get relieved of the social rejection he was undergoing. Jesus targeted the wider recognition of that person. He targeted the uprooting of the social stigma attached to that person. Therefore, as soon as he cured him, Jesus was insistent that he should show himself to the priest to be certified that he is no more a leper, so that he could regain his social recognition and wider acceptance by others. In the Jewish society, according to the Jewish law, a priest was an icon to certify and proclaim that a leper is fully cured from leprosy. That certification was important for social recognition.

In our society too, there are people who face social rejection. They are secluded from the main face of the society. Even today we have lepers’ colony, were lepers live in seclusion without having a normal way of life like others. Moreover, we have people who are affected by the ailment of AIDS. They too, are seen with a negative stigma. There may be various reasons for having been affected by HIV+. It may be due to their negligence, carelessness or free lifestyle. Whatever may be the reason, but there is a wrong social stigma attached to these persons, that they have led an immoral, infidel life.

Also, this is the case with homosexuals. Our church is keen to point out the distinction between homosexuals who are conditioned by birth and those who engage in individual homosexual actions. Regarding those who are homosexually conditioned, they are intrinsically disordered and have no taste for a heterosexual life, and they stand not responsible for such a sexual orientation since the time of their birth. They have the difficulty to overcome that tendency in their normal lifestyle because their sexual orientation is fixed during their birth.

Our mother Church encourages the faithful to be understanding towards this kind of homosexuals but certainly does not approve of their sexual acts. In a report titled Relatio post disceptationem, which was issued during the 11^th general assembly of the synod of bishops while debating on family issues, article no.50 states: Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities? Often, they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?

Ultimately the point is this: Are we able to provide a fraternal space for those who are seen with certain stigma in the society, whether it be a leper, an AIDS patient, a homosexual, a transgendered, etc. All these people are basically human beings. They too carry the image of God in themselves. They are not alien beings. Since the time of the Old Testament, any Jewish leper carried the stigma of being unclean, and therefore, he or she is an untouchable. Even in our country India, the evil of untouchability is obvious. There are many social reformers who fought against this social evil. Mahatma Gandhi was also one among them. Today’s gospel is an episode, where we see Jesus silently fighting against such a social evil. It is an indirect silent scream of Jesus Christ.

We need to have a check upon our perception of people, in general. Why do we brand people, why do we stamp people with certain stigma? Our social culture has created a closed mentality among many, not to disclose what they are undergoing, since a stigma is attached to what they are enduring. In our society, an AIDS patient is not able to have a normal public life like others, due to the negative perception interwoven with what he or she endures.

It is we human beings, who create a hell in this earth by our negative perceptions. This world is a beautiful and wonderful world created by God to live a happy life and to make others life happy. Everything is a matter of perception and perspective. Acceptance and rejection are just an outcome of these perceptions. Our perception and perspective design this world to be either a heaven or a hell. Let us examine and see where do our perceptions stand? What does our perceptions make this world for the other – HEAVEN or HELL?