4th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

Deut 18:15-20        1Cor 7:32-35         Mk 1:21-28

In the world history, the regime of Hitler is unlikable by many. Because of the totalitarian authority he exercised, great masses of Jews were put to dehumanizing, agonizing, excruciating, painful death. It was in wartime that Hitler's authority showed itself in an absolute form. As Commander-in-Chief of the army, Hitler made himself so central to the strategic planning of the war that everything had to go through him. He ran the war, a situation which left his generals frustrated. They knew he was making major errors, yet they felt they could not stop him. Hitler’s authority was such that, he extracted unconditional obedience from his subjects. It made them even to act against their humane conscience. Hitler’s authority was feared by many in his time.

In this background we need to have a look upon the authority of Jesus Christ which is incomparable with any human authority. In an atmosphere of people who love freedom, words such as authority, dominance, supremacy is disliked. But in today’s gospel, we see people perceived the authority of Jesus with awe. His authority was looked at with wonder and surprise, unlike the authority manifested by the Jewish leaders. It is true, a desire for domination is inherent in every human person, and hence some people turn out to be power mongers. The authority of Jesus did not have the trace of domination. Rather it was a manifestation of his love towards the people.

We see in the first reading taken from the book of Deuteronomy, that God authorizes a person to be a prophet to take his word to the people of God. The prophet is only permitted to say what God has asked him to say nothing less or nothing more. Before the people of God, the prophet stands with authority in the name of God. It is not his personal authority that he exercises over them but the authority bestowed upon him by God. In such case, the prophet is expected not to misuse the authority given to him by God. Therefore, we find a strong statement in the first reading where God says: Any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak – that prophet shall die (Deut 18:20). The decisive reflection we imbibe from this is that, any misuse of power or authority, in God’s name for personal gain is subjected to condemnation.

Jesus never used the authority endowed upon him by God for his personal gain but only to institute the Kingdom of God among the people and for their well-being. There were many Rabbis in the Jewish society equally speaking about the Scriptures like Jesus, still Jesus made a difference from them.

Normally, human beings exercise their power and authority over other human beings. But unlike them, Jesus exercised power and authority over the unclean spirits. He was never so stern with anyone as he was stern with the unclean spirits. Jesus who had remarkable power over the unclean spirits, was so loving and compassionate towards the people and did not lord over them. That is why, with amazement they commented: What is this? A new teaching – with authority! (Mk 1:27). This was a rare combination, they found in him. Since it was a rare blend of compassion and authority in a single person, we note in the gospel these words: At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee (Mk 1:28).

Why the fame of some people spread so fast? For example, we are aware about the fame of celebrities. It is because of their extraordinary nature or talent, they enjoy good fame. It is because of their behaviour or talent or temperament or personality being unusal than the ordinary people, they gain popularity so soon. This is what happened in the case of Jesus Christ too. His manifestation of authority was something unusual than the rest of them. The reason for this unusual behaviour was his strong personal integrity.

Personal integrity means the undivided personality in a person. Integrity is the qualification of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards. In ethics, integrity is regarded by many as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. There lies perfect synchrony between the person’s thought, words and deeds. It is always a challenge for everyone to establish this synchrony in themselves. It needs great courage to evolve such a synchrony.

Most often, it is a difficult task for us to speak out boldly what we think in mind. We do not express so easily whatever thought that arise in our mind. We need purity of mind to do that, but we lack that as vulnerable beings. Again, it is also challenging for us to keep to our words. We also fail to keep our words or act according to our words. Jesus did not have this difficulty or challenge within his personality. He boldly spoke to anyone what he thought in mind and always acted as per his words. There was perfect synchrony between his thought, words and deeds. Nobody was able to find a disharmony among them. This aspect of his authority founded on his personal integrity also had a link to the authority that was given to him from above.

Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18). By this, he did not mean an authority against human beings. It is not even an authority of man over man. It only means that the above given authority has to be synchronized and personalized in one’s personal integrity. While meditating on these words of Jesus, St Pope John Paul II once stated, “It is the authority that enables man to be revealed to himself in his royalty, in all the fullness of his dignity. It is the authority the specific power of which man must discover in his heart, through which he must be revealed to himself in the dimensions of his conscience and in the perspective of eternal life.”

The great Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.” Jesus strengthened his authority in his calmness, silence and serenity. For thirty years he did not enter into the public domain. All these were silent years of strengthening his authority and forming his personal integrity, in order to manifest his authority that was marveled by many in his days on earth. Our quest for building integrity in our personality should be modelled after the personal integrity of Jesus Christ.

We need to seclude ourselves in calmness and silence from our routine busy life like Jesus, to understand that authority is for serving the people in a wider context, and not to use them for one’s end. Finally, let us take into our heart, the advice of St Peter, who was the first pope of the Church: Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away (1Pet 5:3).

2nd Ordinary Sunday (Cycle B)

1Sam 3:3b-10,19        1Cor 6:13c-15a,17-20       Jn 1:35-42

‘Come and see’ is the catch word in today’s gospel. In common understanding, this three-worded phrase is an invitation to experience something worse or better. In 1985, the feature film titled ‘Come and see’ was a large box-office hit in the Russian screens. This was a Soviet war drama film portraying the horrifying experience and witness of a young Belarusian boy. The horrifying experience takes place in an atmosphere of Nazi punitive action. The title of the movie ‘Come and see’ points to the tragic experience of a boy turning from a cheerful teenager into a gray-haired old man. But in today’s gospel, the same title comes as an invitation to a joyful and spiritual experience. It came as a response to the enquiry made by Andrew and his companion. Though short, it is a very fascinating phrase to ponder about.

Apart from considering the phrase as an invitation, there is another side to it when seen from the standpoint of a person who utters it. Very few people have the guts to utter this short statement. Only those people who possess personal integrity could invite others to enter into their internal forum and influence them to follow their belief, philosophy and lifestyle. Jesus was one such kind.

When Andrew asked him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (Jn 1:38b), Jesus could have simply replied him by just mentioning about the place of his stay and would have went away. Most of us would do that only. But Jesus was different and unique. He immediately said, “Come and see” (Jn 1:39). That made all the difference in those who encountered him. With that approach, Jesus was able to attract a cluster of people to God’s own advantage and His mission. In inviting various persons to join in his discipleship, Jesus always had a direct style of telling them, either “Follow me” or “Come and see”.

But, the first reading presents the vocation narrative of Samuel which was of different style and extraordinary in nature. It was beyond the ordinary way and something supernatural. Either way, whether ordinary or extraordinary, vocation to a noble life comes from God. The same applies to our Christian vocation and discipleship.

The vocation narrative of St Andrew, in the gospel, presents a model of how a progress should happen in vocation to Christian discipleship:
- First, he hears the testimony about Jesus from the mouth of John the Baptist
- Secondly, he receives a direct experience of Jesus, the Messiah, by staying with Him
- Thirdly, he passes that testimonial experience to his brother Simon, to the extent of turning Simon into a disciple of Jesus

Therefore, we see the reception of a testimony, the experience of that testimony, and powerfully transmitting it by witnessing to that testimony. Our Christian call and life should have these three elements. A similarity we see in St John the Baptist too.

Before John the Baptist could witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God, he had the experience of Jesus Christ while he was conceived in the womb of Elizabeth. While Mary visited Elizabeth being conceived of Jesus Christ in her womb, Elizabeth said to her, “As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy” (Lk 1:44). This leaping for joy was an outcome of John’s experience of the presence of Jesus Christ in his vicinity. Then, as per the desire of God, he grew with the mind of becoming a forerunner of the Messiah. When the time came, he witnessed to Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, and made others as witnesses to the same fact by baptizing with water.

Hence, any witness should pass through these three noble stages of receiving a testimony, experiencing that testimony, and finally, witnessing to that testimony. Our Christian vocation would be in vain, if it does not culminate in a life of witness. Sadly, our Christian life stops with the reception stage. Hardly it switches over to the experiential stage. Very rarely it reaches the witnessing stage. Most often our Christian living is non-persuasive, and mediocre.

Till the time of Jesus’ resurrection, the Christian vocation and discipleship of Jesus’ disciples did not have the expected depth in their witnessing. But after experiencing the Spirit during the feast of Pentecost, they turned out to be powerful witnesses of Christ. They were able to spread the gospel of Christ to various corners of the world, though they lacked the current advantages of media, technology and transport.

Through the gospel, today Jesus utters the words ‘Come and see!’ to each of us as an invitation to a responsible Christian living. Our priorities in life dictate our choices and our choices determine the outcome of our lives. Whether we arrive at the right destination or not depends on our choices that are often between alternatives that appear equally attractive but lead to entirely different results. A responsible Christian living rests on the right choice we make between available alternatives. Certainly, one of the alternative would point to the gospel values of Christ. It needs real guts to opt that in this current world of so many pressures. When we live a responsible Christian life, that will be a witness to the faith we have accepted in Jesus Christ. We need not become great preachers in the pulpit to witness about Christ, rather our responsible Christian lifestyle would be sufficient to echo the gospel values of Jesus.

A company advertised an opening in its sales force. It received more than thousand applications for the job. But, of those many letters and resumes, one letter stood out: “I am presently selling furniture at the address below. You may judge my ability as a salesman if you will stop in to see me any time, pretending that you are interested in buying furniture. When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. I will have no way of identifying you. That way, the sales abilities I exhibit will be no more than my usual everyday approach and not a special effort to impress a potential employer.” The sales manager took the applicant up on his challenge and visited the furniture store. The red-haired man got the job.

Like this salesman can we challenge God to check on our disposition to a responsible Christian living? A tree is assessed by its yield of fruits and not its leaves. Similarly, our Christian witness is shown by our good attitude and its eventual actions. God does not look for pretensions in our life of witness. Our witness should be real and genuine. How enthusiastic and authentic we are, to respond to his call?

4th Sunday of Advent (Cycle B)

2Sam 7:1-5,8-12,14,16                  Rom 16:25-27                  Lk 1:26-38

The legend of the exquisitely beautiful girl Shakuntala and the mighty king Dushyant is a thrilling love story from the epic Mahabharata, which the great ancient poet Kalidasa retold in his immortal play ‘Abhijnanashakuntalam’.

While on a hunting trip, King Dushyant of the Puru dynasty meets the hermit-girl Shakuntala. They fall in love with each other at first sight and, in the absence of her father, Shakuntala weds the king in a ceremony of ‘Ghandharva’ - a form of marriage by mutual consent with mother Nature as the witness. When the time comes for Dushyant to return to his palace, he promises to send an envoy to escort her to his castle. As a fond remembrance he gives her a signet ring. One day when hermit Durvasa stops at her hut for hospitality, Shakuntala, lost in her love thoughts, fails to hear his calls. The angry sage turns back and curses her: “He whose thoughts have engrossed you, would not remember you anymore.” On the plea of her companions, the enraged sage relents and adds a condition to his curse-statement: “He can only recall you upon producing some significant souvenir.” Days roll by and nobody from the palace comes to fetch her. Her father sends her to the royal court for their reunion, as she was pregnant with Dushyant’s child. While travelling, Shakuntala’s signet-ring accidentally drops into the river and gets lost. When Shakuntala presents herself before the king, Dushyant, under the spell of the curse, fails to acknowledge her as his wife. Heart-broken, she pleads to the gods for help. Meanwhile, a fisherman finds the signet ring in the stomach of a fish and hands it over to king Dushyant. On seeing it, the king recollects the past and suffers from an intense feeling of guilt and injustice. Then, Shakuntala forgives Dushyant and they are reunited happily. She gives birth to a male child. He is called Bharat, after whom India gets her name.

This legendary story tells us how a promise was made, forgotten and then, fulfilled. But today’s story from the gospel tells us how a promise was never forgotten, unfailed, unbroken and fulfilled.

Today’s gospel is a passage we have heard on different occasions and feasts, like the feast of the annunciation of the Lord and on various Marian feasts throughout the annual liturgical period. But, in the context of advent season, this conveys to us that God has been faithful, is faithful and will be faithful to the promises He has made. The announcement about the conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary is a sign of God unfailing to keep His promises. God promised a Messiah and a Saviour to the Israelites and the humankind at large, to liberate them eternally from the clutches which manifested in various forms. The long awaited coming of the Messiah was ensured during the moment of annunciation.

This element of God fulfilling His promises and never failing on that is a great lesson for us today, because as humans, we face the challenge of how hard we struggle to fulfill the promises we have made. Quickly our promises are relaxed due to its incompatibility with our struggles of life. Even otherwise, when we face with a profit or benefit to our end, we are prone to give up the promises we make to others. The priority of our promise shifts pushing the self-benefit to the first position. Such an unpromising behaviour is unjust. A promise is always a promise. A vow is always a vow and cannot be revoked. The integrity of a person is revealed through the promise one makes and fulfills it.

We are not without the practice of promises in our human life. Trust is built on a person, when that person shows himself or herself to be promising in character. Our blessed mother, Mary whom we encounter in today’s gospel proved her to be promising throughout her life, without ever going back on her promise. From the human community, she stands as the epitome of a promising character. From the divine side, God projects Himself to be of promising nature. We see an exchange of promise between God and Mary.

There are different areas of life, in which people make their promises. During the sacrament of matrimony, the couples exchange their promise of fidelity and love to each other. In the life of priestly and religious vocation, the concerned candidate gives the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity. In the contract between two parties, they sign the agreement. In receiving loans, we sign the surety paper. Life is filled with promises but only a few are fulfilled.

Broken promises are always a source of mental agony and suffering. We know the pain when one of the spouse betrays the partner in a marital relationship. That is the most agonizing pain a person could encounter in a human life than the pain a chronic physical ailment could offer. That is the effect of a broken promise.

When looked at from the perspective of promises, the salvation history is nothing but another version of God’s unfailed promises interwoven with Israelites’ broken promises. The life of Israelites is a recurring story of broken promises at different times, but still God had sustained to be faithful to His promises. It is ironical to note that a single promise of God continued to be alive amidst an atmosphere of human dead promises. The embodiment of God in the human form of Jesus Christ became the pinnacle of God’s promise actualized. The embodiment of God is celebrated as Christmas.

Even now, if we fail to fulfill the promises we make to God or to others in the name of God, He continues to be faithful to his promises He gave to us. We read in Mt 20:28, the last promise made by Jesus before he ascended into heaven, which is, also the last verse in the Gospel of St Matthew: Look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. Here, we note that ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God is with us’ (Mt 1:23) closed his earth’s journey with a similar note. To consider this promise of Jesus as fulfilling or as failed is a matter of our faith.

The parable of the two sons (Mt 21:28-32) said by Jesus exposes the second son to be failing on his promise. While the first son, who refuses to his father’s instruction, later changes his mind and does what his father wants, the second son, who says, “I go,” makes a promise that he never fulfills—and possibly never intends to fulfill. His word contradicts his performance. To his father, he conceals his determination to disobey. The warning to us is not to be a son who promises to work, then neglects to keep his word. God has called us, and we have accepted that calling, during the renewal of our baptismal commitment on every Easter vigil service, promising we would do what God expects. Now we must perform what we have promised.

Only a person, promising in small things would be entrusted with great things. Lord Jesus said: “Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great” (Lk 16:10). Let us introspect, whether we are promising in little things. If yes, there are greater responsibilities awaiting us!

2nd Sunday of Advent (Cycle B)

Isa 40:1-5, 9-11                  2Pet 3:8-14                  Mk 1:1-8

A woodsman was once asked, “What would you do if you were given eight hours to chop down a tree?” He answered, “I would spend the first six hours sharpening my axe.”

Rigorous preparation is the key to success for many endeavors. There will be no effect without a cause. No effect will happen without a cause. Similarly, no organized event would become an actuality without being preceded by a preparatory stage. Whether it be a marriage event, a birthday celebration, a farewell function, all have its own preparations prior to it. So also, our forthcoming celebration of Christmas. In view of that, today’s liturgy provides meditative points for us to reflect in order that we may worthily prepare ourselves to approach the historical event of Christ birth.

Our Church provides the icon of St John the Baptist, to instruct us towards a need for change both within and without. Straightening the herky-jerky, unsteady, uneven, coarse, rugged paths of the Messiah was the mission entrusted to St John the Baptist. The path that would be travelled by the saviour is the path of the human soul. The human soul is at a loss of peace within due to its herky-jerky, unsteady, uneven, coarse, rugged nature. Its path needs straightening. We go to parlours to straighten our hair to appear good. As humans, we give good importance to the externals than the internals. This tendency is because of our fragile nature. Therefore, this gives a priority call to straighten the path of our soul.

We always complain about the uneven roads because it makes our journey tiresome and annoying. Even if it is cost effective, we like to take the toll roads to have smoother journey and also to reach faster to the destiny. Similarly, our journey towards the celebration of Christ birth needs a smoother travelling experience. As a matter of preparation, our mind and attitude need to be shaped, evened, flattened, straightened before we encounter the celebraton of Christ birth.

Anything that does not allow change, has to face the state of stagnancy. Anything that stagnates, is prone to vanish and become extinct quickly. Hence, change is inevitable for any being in this universe. All the more, it becomes vital for a human being to change towards betterment. Without change, nothing would encounter growth or betterment. Change should not be towards the worst, rather, its movement should be towards the best. We do not like monotony. We become bored of a song, when we listen to it again and again, however we have liked it in the beginning. This applies to anything that we are attracted towards in the beginning. Therefore, we look for change in our surroundings to keep ourselves happy. But the secret of happiness lies in our positive change within. A refreshed mind each day is the secret to happiness.

When we go to a shop to buy some product, it is our usual experience that if the shop keeper hands a product in which its outer cover appears unclean or little damaged we ask him to give another one. In such cases, we do not even check the actual product inside a box cover rather we are very particular about the outer cover. The important thing is to check the actual product that resides inside the box whether it is working in good condition. Most often, we check the actual product after returning home and make a complain about our carelessness of not checking it at the right spot. What does this tell us? We have a tendency to be quick in worrying about the peripheries and the superficials rather than the foundations and internal matters.

This awareness is expected of us in the light of today’s gospel to march towards real repentance and transformation. Our growth consists in becoming nobler and nobler each day. There should be change in us for something better. That is why there is difference between a primitive man and a modern man. A modern man is not similar to a primitive man. There is a lot of progress in a modern man in comparison to a primitive man. But we cannot speak about the difference between a primitive lion and modern lion, a primitive buffalo and modern buffalo. Human beings alone possess the capacity to become better every day.

Robin Sharma makes a powerful statement in his spiritual novel, The Monk who sold his Ferrari: There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.

It is true that every day we need to become superior to our former self by refining our own self, our inner thoughts, our soul. Every time we need to ask these questions:
- Am I better in my attitudes at present compared to my past?
- Am I better in my thoughts today compared to yesterday?
- Am I better in my motives now compared to the earlier moment?
If we ask these questions and positively act according to it, PEACE IS NEVER AT A DISTANCE. We need strenuous effort on our part to become better in our attitudes, thoughts and motives.

In such efforts, we also become tired sometimes saying to ourselves: However, I try my best to become better, my surroundings remain the same and people around me are no better. Therefore, we ask the question: To what end this change is helpful? What is the point in me alone or one person changing oneself, when the whole world is acting contrary to what I desire, the desire for peace and love? Is it just for my personal spiritual advancement alone without leaving any effect in my surroundings? Let us not forget what natural law states: Any change will not stop with a single entity rather it creates ripples of changes in the other entities and the surroundings, like the single stone thrown in the lake creates continuous ripples in the layer of the water. No social change will occur in mass level without being initiated in a single person.

Let me conclude by sharing with you the story that was told by Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarti from India in his Nobel Lecture while he received Nobel Prize for Peace for the year 2014, along with Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani young girl: A terrible fire had broken out in the forest. All the animals were running away, including the lion, king of the forest. Suddenly, the lion saw a tiny bird rushing towards the fire. The lion asked the bird, “what are you doing?” To the lion's surprise, the bird replied “I am on my way to extinguish the fire.” The lion laughed and said, “how can you kill the fire with just one drop of water, in your beak?” The bird was adamant, and said, "But I am doing my bit.”

Let each one of us do our bit!

Solemnity of Christ the King (Cycle A)

Ezek 34:11-12, 15-17                1Cor 15:20-26, 28                Mt 25:31-46

A woman who was working in a factory and whose job was to inspect the meat products stored in the factory’s industrial meat freezer, ended her work shift with a final visit to the sub-zero temperature room before calling it a night when catastrophe struck! As she entered the frigid zone, the door, which only opened from the outside, accidentally closed, leaving her locked inside with slabs of frozen meat products, and not a soul in sight to witness the incident. The woman screamed and pounded on the several inches thick metal door, but no sound was heard as all the other workers had gone home for the night, and the sound-proof room effectively muffled her calls for help. As time passed, the woman felt the cold starting to seep into her bones, and she began to experience the early symptoms of hypothermia. After five hours spent trapped in frigid temperatures, she finally resigned herself to the inevitability of death, as all of her extremities started going numb, and a deep cold sleep slowly invaded her consciousness. To her great surprise, the freezer’s vault door suddenly opened, revealing the night security guard’s image. The woman was saved! When she was back to normal, she asked the security guard why he had opened the meat freezer, something that wasn’t within the normal scope of his routine during his night rounds. His answer was totally unexpected and moved the lady to tears of gratitude. The guard said, “I have been working in this factory for 35 years, hundreds of workers come in and out everyday, but you are one of the few who greet me in the morning and say good bye to me every night when leaving after work. Many treat me as if I am invisible. Today, as you reported for work, like all other days, you greeted me in our simple manner ‘Hello’. But this evening after working hours, I curiously observed that I had not heard your ‘Bye, see you tomorrow’. Hence, I decided to check around the factory. I expect to your ‘hello’ and ‘bye’ everyday because they remind me that I am someone. By not hearing your farewell today, I knew something had happened. That’s why I was searching every where for you.”

How often does this happen in real life? Do we treat people we see everyday at home or at work like invisible entities, taking them for granted like pieces of furniture? In our foregone indifferent gesture of treating others as invisibles, we fail to see the visibility of Jesus Christ in them. In such a context, the following words of Jesus in today’s gospel become appropriate: Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me’ (Mt 25:45).

A simple question that emerge from this insight is –
- Whom do we favour much?
- What kind of people form our closer circle?
- About whom we say things that are positive?
- Whom do we consider as influential?
- What kind of personalities we feel proud about? 

Certainly, for majority of us, the least, the needy, the vulnerable, the marginalized, those on the periphery will not fit into the answer to the above questions.

What category of people are found in the close circles of those who rule and command the people. Not the simple and the least! Rather the powerful, the wealthy, the reputed, the strong, the influential are the kind of people who form the nearer circle of those who govern the people, for the simple reason, both the dominant class receive their mutual benefit at the cost of the dominated. But Christ, the king whose solemnity we celebrate today centralizes the least and the burdened as the primary citizens of His kingdom. And those who care of these primary citizens are in the advantageous position to receive God’s favour and inherit the kingdom that was prepared from the foundation of the world.

Our mother Church portrays our Lord Jesus Christ, as the king of a different kind and unique nature. He is a king who favours mostly the unnoticed. Today’s gospel presents the criteria of how a king should be. It presents,
- What should be the king’s primary concern?
- What should be his priorities to give a good governance?
- What should be the criterion of justice to assess his subjects and people?

The Old Testament portrays God as the king of justice all through. The same portrayal is seen in today’s gospel. However, the criterion of justice is based on the merciful acts expected of each one. We see the application of the Golden Rule: In everything do to others as you would have them do to you (Mt 7:12).

God is always wanting of radiating His mercifulness and so expects the same mercifulness returned to Him by we, being merciful towards His creatures. When that is done, he rewards us with the inheritance of the kingdom that was prepared from the foundation of the world. When He does not see the mercifulness returned, He punishes by departing us into the eternal fire. This is the criterion of justice that emerges in today’s gospel. Jesus Christ in all his teachings resemble this attitude of the heavenly Father through various parables like the Pharisee and the tax collector, the parable of the vineyard workers, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, the parable of the prodigal son and others. In His approach with people, Jesus manifests the merciful face of God which surpasses justice.

It is surprising to note in today’s gospel that on the final judgement, the criterion of justice would be through the assessment of one’s merciful acts. Though God’s mercy surpasses His own justice, God would never spare anyone during the final judgement if merciful acts would be missing in a person’s life.

As we are the loving subjects of the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to radiate the same attitude of Jesus Christ with our fellow human beings. As subjects of His kingship, we enjoy a different kind of citizenship unlike the one we experience as a national citizen. Our Christian citizenship is not confined to any boundaries but it travels beyond borders. Our Christian citizenship is not a submissiveness to some authority but a surrender to the surpassing love of God. Our Christian citizenship is not targeted on seeking positions, but aims at human concerns.

A good king is one who puts his feet into the shoes of the other and really feels what it is like. Unlike the others who govern and rule, Jesus Christ the King, was not the one who sympathized with the suffers but empathized with them. If we acknowledge ourselves to be the loving subjects of Christ the King, are we ready to empathize with the needy?

32nd Ordinary Sunday (Cycle A)

Wis 6:12-16                1Thess 4:13-18                Mt 25:1-13

A guard in charge of a lighthouse along a dangerous coast was given enough oil for one month and told to keep the light burning every night. One day a woman asked for oil so that her children could stay warm. Then a farmer came. His son needed oil for a lamp so he could read. Another needed some for an engine. The guard saw each as a worthy request and gave some oil to satisfy all. By the end of the month, the tank in the lighthouse was dry. That night the beacon was dark and three ships crashed on the rocks. More than one hundred lives were lost. The lighthouse attendant explained what he had done and why. But the prosecutor replied, “You were given only one task: to keep the light burning. Every other thing was secondary. You have no excuse.”

We may complain about the five wise virgins saying that they were hard hearted not to share their sufficient oil to the other five virgins on their request. But the story about the lighthouse guard gives a sharp point for our thought what the five wise virgins did was right. Here it is not a question of being charitable to the other virgins but it is a question of

-  how far the righteous can allot their charitable space with those who are behaviourally careless,

-  how far the wiseful hardworking category of people have to substitute their merit with those who are complacent,

- how far the watchful can spare their time to those who are non-vigilant.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, presents the foolish virigns as personification of those who are behaviourally careless, complacent in nature and non-vigilant.

Certainly, those who do not have the opportunity for a meritorious and commendable growth deserve help from those who are meritorious. It is obvious that the child which is mentally ill or physically-challenged deserve more attention from the mother than other children who are normal.

Those who are not gifted naturely with smartness always have their share of right from those who are smart. But those who naturally possessed the wiseness, do not deserve the support of others when they failed to be diligent and hardworking. Those who are clever do not deserve a helping hand from others, when they have wasted the resources that were available at their hands. The resources would mean the capital, the opportunity, the human support and the time factor. They are like the third servant in the Parable of the Talents, who hid his master’s money without using it to procure more. The foolish virgins are no different from this foolish servant.

To understand how much the wise virgins, stand as praiseworthy, we shall refer to another parable said by Jesus, i.e. the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Lk 16:1-8). Jesus points to the smartness, astuteness, shrewdness, cleverness, wiseness, prudence of the dishonest manager who cleverly used his master’s possession to his own end and well-being. Though what was done by the manager in forwarding his master’s property to his own benefit, is unjust, still Jesus points out that his master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. Then Jesus goes on to say: For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light (Lk 16:8).

If the children of this world are smart enough, then how much more, we Christians, who are children of light are expected to be smarter in keeping ourselves to the Lord’s ways and desires. This is the point of thought, Jesus wants us to reflect upon. If the people of this world and age are clever enough to safeguard their body and its ramifications, then how much more the people of light have to be diligent in caring for their souls.

The five wise virgins stand as a prototype of those who all keep their soul undiminished from the ray of divine light. Whereas, sadly, the foolish virgins stand as a model of those who made their glowing lighted soul extinguished at a moment. These are the kind of people who are surrounded by a circle of unawareness, and they become a prey to the wrong directions of the world. They are being trapped into a veil of ignorance. They think that they are clever, but their cleverness resides only within a mesmerized circle of ignorance.

Just imagine what would have been the dialogue between the wise and foolish virgins before they could begin waiting for the bridegroom. To a question whether they should take extra oil, the reply of the foolish virgins would have been that: “we know the time of the bridegroom’s arrival and why we should unnecessarily carry extra oil and burden ourselves.” This happens within their veil of ignorance due to their unawareness.

A foresight was missing among the foolish virgins whereas the wise virgins had that. It was not only their lack of foresight but also their reluctance to invest extra effort of carrying some more oil. Their intention to forgo the extra effort made them land in a sad situation. This may happen to any of us if we try to forgo the extra effort that is wanted of us. Every good work has the ingredient of extra effort. If there are no good works from us, then it is simply the lack of extra effort.

- Do we compromise our foresight by forgoing our extra effort?

- Do we compromise our foresight by our lethargic nature?

-  Do we compromise our foresight by being over-confident?

These are the queries that should linger in our mind as we reflect on the ways of the foolish virgins.

Referring again to the attitude of the foolish servant in the Parable of the Talents, he failed even to invest his extra effort of lending the money with the lender, for his master cursed him saying: you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return, I would have got my money back with interest (Mt 25:27). Surely, the master was not profit-minded in character. Certainly, if the foolish servant would have used the money to procure more, and incurred a loss, his master would have appreciated him for his attitude of investing his energy and effort.

Attitude is the mark of a person’s personality and character. Attitude defines the real merit of a person. Attitude is the little thing that makes a big difference, the difference between the wise and the foolish bridesmaids. Through the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Jesus ultimately points out the kind of attitude that underlied their eventual results.

We are invited through today’s liturgy of the word to overcome our complacent nature with our diligence, to overcome our lethargic nature with our extra efforts, to overcome our ignorance by our foresightedness. This overcoming exercise could begin only with our rightful attitude towards our Christian vocation and life. Let our attitude be noble and righteous!

29th Ordinary Sunday (Cycle A)

Isa 45:1,4-6                 1Thess 1:1-5               Mt 22:15-21

Once God called the leaders of America, China and India for an emergency meeting. The leaders rushed to the meeting spot with excitement. God arrived at the appointed time and told them that He will annihilate this world in three days. “Just as Jonah did, you have to proclaim this news to your citizens,” God said. Their excitement turned into sorrow. However, the leaders made a pact that they will carry out the mandate entrusted to them by God. The leaders returned to their countries and called for a press meet in their respective capitals. The Amercian president said, “We have a good news and a bad news. The good news is that God exists. The bad news is that the world will be annihilated in three days.” The Chinese president said looking at the reporters, “We have a bad news and the worst news. The bad news is that world will be annihilated in three days. The worst news is that, contrary to our belief, God exists.” The Indian prime minister adjusted his microphone, denounced the opposition party and proudly announced, “I have a good news and a better news. The good news is that God exists. The better news is that poverty will be annihilated from India in three days.”

We have become the protagonists of half truth and shades of truth. Even the Pharisees of Jesus time were such protagonists of half truth and shades of truth. They projected themselves to be loyal to the Jewish tradition, thereby opposing the reign of Ceasar over them and at the same time, using the icon of Ceasar to trap Jesus. This was their double standard. But Jesus being well aware of their trap, wisely answers their question and also teaches a great lesson of being loyal to both God and the State.

During the time of Jesus, there were two false concepts of citizenship seen in the Pharisees and Herodians. The first false concept is that religion is supreme. This is seen in the view of the Pharisees. They believed strongly in the heavenly world, so much so they believed that all obedience and loyalty were due God and God alone. In fact, all things on earth were due God. The state and all other power and authority were to be subject to religious rule. Therefore, they were strongly against paying taxes to a foreign king. Such was an infringement upon God’s right.

The second false concept is that the state is supreme. This is seen in the view of the Herodians. The Herodians were not a religious party but a political party of Herod, the King of Galilee. They were supportive of Rome, compromising wherever they could in order to preserve their own power and influence. They had compromised to such a point that they gave some degree of consent to pagan temples. They held that government was dominant over religion; consequently, they would agree that taxes must be paid to Caesar rather than to God.

The Herodians and the Pharisees were bitter enemies. To find them together was strange indeed, but their hatred of Jesus brought them together against Jesus whom they considered a common enemy. The Gospel of Mark 3:6 witnesses to this fact thus: The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against Jesus, how to destroy him. Therefore, it is obvious, that the question raised to Jesus about the paying of tax was a plot to trap him. But Jesus used the occasion to teach the truth about citizenship, a truth which was both astounding and earth-shaking to the people of that day – earth-shaking because the Jews believed that the loyalty of a citizen belonged only to God, and the rest of the world believed that loyalty belonged to the ruling monarch of their territory.

A total submission to the state or a total submission to the religion, both these extremes are not advocated by Jesus. Jesus does not centralize either. Jesus himself sets the model, he submitted himself fully to the heavenly Father’s will and at the same time, he too paid the taxes. We are expected of possessing this balanced attitude of Jesus.

Jesus surprised the world of His day by declaring there was an earthly, physical citizenship to which some things are to be given; and there was a spiritual, heavenly citizenship to which some things are to be given. He revealed a very important truth for believers of all ages, that is, they have a double citizenship. They are citizens of heaven, but they are also citizens of this world. They have an obligation to the government under which they live. They receive the benefits of government just as the other citizens do: for example, roads, sewage, water, protection, public transportation, etc. Therefore, believers are to pay their due share. In the Indian context, in the wake of new economic evolution of GST (Goods and Service Tax), this teaching becomes all the more imperative.

Though Jesus’ view about double citizenship is surprising to us, it also appears to us that Jesus seems to contradict. He says in Mt 6:24 – No one can serve two masters for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. But Jesus also tells in today’s gospel to render what is due to God and to render what is due to the state. God and the state are two masters and how can we be loyal to both? This is where we need to have a clarity. St Paul gives a clarification in this regard. He says: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God…. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them – taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honour to whom honour is due (Rom 13:1,6).

The state does not stand as a structure in contradiction with God as per the biblical tradition. In the history of Israelites, we see, they were a cluster of people who were directly governed by God. But at a stage, when they requested for a human kingship, though God was unwilling he granted them king Saul. His successor was King David, a man of God’s own heart. From then on, God led the people of Israelites through the human kings. Their obedience to the human leaders, meant obedience to God himself, provided that the leaders walk in the way of the Lord. It is not serving two masters but serving the one and only master, God.

A government is a God appointed institution, to take care of the common good of its citizens. If a government provides needed goods and services then we must, in justice, give back to the government our loyalty and support. As Christians, we must discern to what extent a given government and its policies merit their loyalty and support. Finally, let us basically understand that the duty to the nation as a citizen is very much interwoven with our obligation we have received through our vocation to a Christian life.