“Having forgiveness as an essential ingredient in our living together!”

(Based on Dan 3:25, 34-43 and Mt 18:21-35 – Tuesday of the 3rd Week in Lent)

Mary and Susan – neighbours – had a heated argument over some issue about their backyard fence.

The next day, Susan however, found Mary knocking on her door…
… with a plate of freshly baked cookies.

Bewildered, Susan asked, “I thought, the way we fought yesterday, we were done!”

Mary chuckled, as she handed over the cookies, and said, “As neighbours, I realised…
… that forgiveness always needs to be an essential ingredient, in our living together!”

How about us?

Is forgiveness an essential ingredient in our living together?

The Gospel of the Day is an exhibition of this aspect of the Lord going beyond all boundaries…
… in dealing with the beautiful virtue of forgiveness.

The passage begins with the Lord’s chief and one-of-the-first apostles Peter, raising a query to his Master, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Mt 18: 21)

It was probably a genuine doubt of Peter, which arose from his own personal experiences.

He must have had some difficulties in forgiving, out of his wavering temperament, perhaps!

But he now puts forward to Jesus a doubt as to what should be the limit of one’s forgiveness.

Peter sought to know the exact boundaries that one must limit oneself, while forgiving.

He wanted clear-cut rules to define the maximum threshold and frontiers of generosity in pardoning.

But the Lord replies firmly, “I say to you, not seven times, but seventy seven times” (Mt 18:22)

The Lord does away with the mathematical rules in forgiveness!

“Seventy seven times” would refer a number, unlimited and uncountable!

The frontiers for how many times to forgive are done away with…!

As the Lord spoke these words to Peter, the apostle would himself have recalled…
“Once beside the sea of Galilee, when I encountered the Holy Master, I realized that I was drowning in the waters of sin… and I had asked pardon from the Lord.

Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man (Lk 5:8)”

These words of the Lord would have again echoed in the ears of Peter, later on, after the resurrection of Jesus….

Once again, beside a Sea… this time, the Sea of Tiberius, Peter experienced the forgiving power of the Lord in accepting back, though he had betrayed Him three times (Jn 21: 15-18)

Many times he had sinned against the Lord…
Many times he had caused pain and ache to the Lord…

But every time, the Lord forgave, wholeheartedly!

The Lord was truly the Master, “who practised what He preached”

This Lord, today seeks to impress on us too, this same attitude of forgiveness.

The book of Daniel invites us to make an offering of a “contrite heart and a humble spirit.” (Dan 3:39)

The teaching on forgiveness, is most certainly easy said than done!

To forgive… especially to forgive repeatedly…
… is certainly no easy task!

But it would require a deeper experience of the unconditional Love of the Lord and our own determination…
… along with His Grace, to reach out in forgiveness and pardon to our constantly erring brothers and sisters!

Let’s learn to “have forgiveness an essential ingredient in our living together!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Learning the Gentle and Humble ways of the Lord, and becoming persons, who are open to the workings of the Holy Spirit!”

(Based on 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab and Lk 4:24-30 – Monday of the 3rd Week in Lent)

A former and famous world heavyweight boxing champ…
….considered among one of the the greatest sportsmen of all time…
… was also infamous for bragging, often saying – “I am the greatest!”

Once, before the take-off on an airline flight, the stewardess reminded this boxer to fasten his seatbelt. “Superman don’t need no seatbelt,” he told her with pride.

The stewardess was unwilling to compromise….

So she retorted, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either.”

The boxer was naturally discomfited in his pride.

In shame, he fastened his seatbelt without saying an extra word.

Pride can block a person from being open to the views, trends and wavelengths of other people and situations.

This is much more true, when it comes to spiritual matters

A proud mind rejects the plans and workings of God in one’s life…
… and makes one to say, “I can manage my life by myself!”

A haughty spirit opposes any movements that causes one to get out of one’s comfort zones…
… and makes one to say, “I know what’s best for me! None need to teach me!”

The Gospel of the Day presents the rejection of Jesus, in the Synagogue at Nazareth, by the people, who displayed a proud mentality, a haughty spirit and an arrogant heart.

Jesus, is in His hometown.

He entered the synagogue and began to teach.

Though initially, there was a wave of excitement…
… the words of Jesus caused a major setback to the people.
This caused the people to reject Jesus…
… they even try to kill Him ( Lk 4: 29-30)

St Luke uses a very strong word to describe the feelings of the people…
“When the people in the synagogue heard, they were all FILLED WITH FURY”

Or another translation… “… they were all FILLED WITH WRATH”

When one’s pride is hurt…
… one tends to become restless and agitated.

When one is made to get out of one’s comfort zones…
… one tends to become angry and hurt

This is what happened to the people in the Synagogue.

Their pride was hurt..
… because Jesus spoke to them on the need to be humble, and accept the “all-embracing” love of the Lord!
They were made to get out of the comfortable zones…
… because Jesus spoke to them on the need to change their closed ways of thought-pattern, and to accept the “all-merciful” invitation to the Kingdom of God!

This “instigation” can happen in our life too…

When we are challenged to move out of our “traditional” style of thinking…
…. and accept instead, the merciful and compassionate ways of God
When we are forced to change our crippling attitudes of rejecting people on the basis of caste, creed, colour, language etc…
… and accept instead, the “all-welcoming” style of the Kingdom of God

Human tendency it is, to sometimes “get used to” comfortable situations…
… even if they are fruitless or unproductive and useless

In 2 Kings 5:1-15, Naaman’s initial pride and resistance to Elisha’s simple solution reflects the human tendency…
… to “resist change and to move out of the comfort zone!”

The Lord today challenges us in our proud mentality, a haughty spirit and an arrogant heart.

There is a constant invitation by Jesus:
“Learn from Me.. for I am gentle and humble in heart”

Let us learn the Gentle and Humble ways of the Lord, and become persons, who are open to the workings of the Holy Spirit.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Quenching our thirst with the unconditional love of the Lord!”

(Based on Exod 17:3-7, Rom 5:1-2, 5-8 and Jn 4:5-42 – 3rd Sunday in Lent, Cycle A)

One of the very simplest moral stories that all of us have heard is that of the thirsty crow.

One warm day, a thirsty crow flew all over, looking for water.

For a long time, he could not find any.
He felt weak, and lost all hope.

Suddenly, he saw a water jug below the tree. He flew straight down, and was delighted to see some water inside it!

Sadly, he found that the neck of the jug was too narrow and it was impossible for him to access the water.
He tried to push the jug to tilt, for the water to flow out but the jug was too heavy

The crow thought hard for a while.

Then looking around it, he saw some pebbles and an idea struck him.
He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug.
As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising.

Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink.
His plan had worked!
His thirst had been quenched!

The moral of this story is to “Think and work hard, you may find solution to any problem”.

But when we consider this story from another perspective, we notice that it also shows the deep craving inside every creature, to satisfy one’s thirst.
One is restless till this thirst is fulfilled…
One is impatient till this craving is satisfied…

This agitated thirst is also innate in every human being…
… a thirst for the Divine, for the Transcendental.

And this thirst, compels humans…
… to search… to seek…
… for the source of satisfaction
… for the fountain of fulfilment

But how wonderful it would be to be knowing and to be convinced that this “thirst” can find its fulfillment only in God.

And how wonderful it would be, if all human beings could be properly guided and correctly directed on this path of finding true contentment.

The Gospel of the Day presents the beautiful incident of a “thirsty” Jesus who quenches a “thirsty” woman

The “thirsty” woman – Samaritan woman – expresses her desire for water…
… “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water” (Jn 4: 15)

The “thirsty” Jesus promises fulfilment and contentment to all those who come to Him and believe in Him – the source of Divine Waters of Life….
… “Whoever drinks the water I shall give, will never thirst; the water I shall give, will become in him, a spring of water welling up to eternal life (Jn 4:14)

The Samaritan Woman in her encounter with the Lord is led, from a lower level to the higher level…

Talks on material concerns
(“How can you, a Jew, ask a Samaritan woman for a drink?”)
(“Sir, you don’t even have a bucket…where then can you get this living water?”)
(“Sir, give me this water that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming to draw water”)

Talks on spiritual matters
(“Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you people say that the place to worship is Jerusalem”)

Talks that would lead to a complete life transformation.
(“Go call your husband and come back”)
(“I am He, the One Who is speaking to you”)

This is the story of our experience with religion and spirituality.

Many times, many of us perform religious practices…
… only for material concerns
Some of us, practise faith and spirituality…
… to merely engage in spiritual talks and reflections

But the higher level is the one…
… which leads to life transformation.

The Samaritan woman was led by Jesus, in having this life transformation…
… and she would go on to lead an entire town to believe in Jesus (Jn 4: 39-42)

This entire incident is built around that simple premise: A desire
… a desire that is expressed in the form of “thirst”

The desire of the Samaritan woman – to receive water, so that one may not be thirsty again – is the innate desire and longing within each human being…

In the Old Testament, the people of Israel had murmured and complained against God, in the wilderness for the struggle in food and water…
… “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our cattle with thirst?” (Ex 17:3)

They longed to have their thirst quenched and their desires fulfilled…

Each of us, deep within, are thirsty and hungry…
… wanting to drink water that will quench the longing, forever.

It is this search that makes people to go out and seek the various sources of satisfaction.

Some feel to have found this fulfilment…
… through worldly pleasures and bad habits like smoking, drinking, obsession with sex, drugs etc, which only lead to momentary external satisfaction and short-lived bursts of thrill.

Some claim to have found this fulfilment…
… in the various philosophies, new-age patterns of life and naturalistic means of spirituality etc, which may have traces of truth, but fail to provide authentic and fullness of life.

But Jesus, today, boldly and unambiguously declares that its only in HIM that true and complete fulfilment of life can be found:
… “Whoever drinks the water I shall give, will never thirst; the water I shall give, will become in him, a spring of water welling up to eternal life (Jn 4:14)

Jesus also tells…
… “He who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6: 35)

Are we convinced of this fact, that its only in Jesus, that I can achieve true and complete happiness…?

Like the Samaritan Woman (Jn 4: 16-18)…
… we may have strayed away from this path of truth, to seek our own means and ways to find happiness and satisfaction.

But the Lord, today, calls us back to Him…
… to His Heart… … to His Church… to His Eucharist
… to experience Him fully.

To those who have strayed…
… the call of the Gospel, is to come back to the paths of truth

To those who are holding on to Him…
… the call of the Gospel, is to deepen the conviction, that in Him alone, can the hunger of my soul and the thirst of my heart be fulfilled.

To those who have strayed…
… the Lord invites to build the virtues of humility, docility and openness to the Spirit.

To those who are holding on to Him…
… the Lord invites to build the virtues of patience, firm trust and a passionate longing.

The Lord has displayed His unconditional and unparalleled love for each one of us, by offering His Life on the Cross for all of us, sinners…

“God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!” (Rom 5:8)

May Jesus, the Source of Life-giving Waters…
… the One Who alone can quench our thirst
… the One Who loves us unconditionally
… always be the source and summit of our Christian living!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Staying true and good, in faithfulness and obedience!”

(Based on Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 and Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 – Saturday of 2nd Week of Lent)

A group of teenagers were planning for a party…
… and someone suggested that they go to a certain restaurant-cum-bar for a “more enjoyable” time.

“I’d rather go home,” said Jeffrey, to his friends, “My parents don’t approve of that place.”

“Haha! Are you afraid your father will hurt you?” one of the girls said sarcastically to him.

“No,” Jeffrey replied, “I’m afraid I might hurt my Father!”

The young boy understood the true meaning of staying true and good…
… not because of fear of punishment
… rather, for fear of hurting the one who loves you!

When you love someone, you remain true to the person…
… in faithfulness and obedience
… in sincerity and respect

The Gospel of the Day – the Parable of the Prodigal Son(s) – is the beautiful exposition of the “lost sons” realising the true meaning of Love…
… one, who experienced the Unconditionally True Love of the Heavenly Father!
… the other, given the invitation to experience the Father’s “Merciful logic” of forgiveness!

The Parable of the Prodigal Son(s) is surely one of the most popular, the most loved and the most touching parables of Jesus.

This parable has three main characters and we could view any of them as playing the main role in the story:

1) The Younger Son – the Prodigal Son
He went away from the love of his father
Inheritance was given to children only after the death of the father

In asking the inheritance, therefore, alluded to the fact that the Prodigal son considered his father to be dead!

But having spent his life in useless living, he realised the emptiness and vacuum that filled his heart.
And so he decided to turn back…
… and go to his father

2) The Elder Son – the Prodigal Son
He remained the faithful “servant” of the house

But when he saw, that his brother – who had wasted away the inheritance, was received with so much warmth, his temper rose!

He couldn’t digest the fact that his brother who lived a “wasted life” was honoured….
… whereas he was never given the chance to “enjoy with his friends”

The context of the parable is Jesus speaking to the “Pharisees and scribes” who were “complaining that Jesus always accepted sinners” (Lk 15: 1-2)

In this context, the character of the Elder Son portrayed the attitude of the Pharisees and Scribes.

3) The Beloved Father
But beyond these two characters towers high the Image of the Father – the Father who loved and accepted his lost son!

He suffered a deep pain when his younger son went away and his elder son stayed away

He underwent immense pain waiting for the son to come back
He went through moments of dilemma when his elder son was opposing the welcome of the younger one

Yet through all this, the Character of the Father towers high!

He is the Father of Mercies…
… Who accepts all, just as they are
He is the Father of Love…
… Who loves everyone, unconditionally
He is the Father of Compassion…
… Who receives all to His loving embrace

In our life, often as children – like the Prodigal Sons – we go away.

We try to do something good…
… but our life turns into a mess!

Our student life gets messed up with lack of commitment and failures
Our marriage hits the rocks with misunderstandings and lack of acceptance
Our family life gets into a crisis with lack of unity and peace of mind

We feel our life is all in a mess…
We find ourselves lost, frustrated and upset!

But in all such situations, we need to look up…
… and see how the Loving Father is waiting to embrace us…
… and love us!

Yes, the Merciful Father is waiting for each one of us…
… Whatever be the mess, that my life may be in!

Let us run into His embrace of Love…
… with a sincere repentance and contrition of heart
And pledge to live for Him, and with Him…
… forever!

Let us stay true and good…
… not because of fear of punishment
… rather, for fear of hurting the One Who loves us the most!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Making Jesus as the ‘cornerstone’ of our life and faith, and being responsible stewards for the Kingdom of God!”

(Based on Gen 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a and Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 – Friday of 2nd Week of Lent)

A patient in a hospital – lying on the bed – accidentally knocked over a cup of water, kept on the side-table…
… which spilled on the floor, beside the bed.

The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of the bed, so he asked a nurse’s aide to mop it up.

The patient however, didn’t know it; but the hospital policy said that…
… small spills were the responsibility of the nurse’s aides
… while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital’s housekeeping group.

The nurse’s aide decided the spill was a large one…
… and she called the housekeeping department.

A housekeeper arrived and declared the spill to be a small one.

An argument followed.
“It’s not my responsibility,” said the nurse’s aide, “because it’s a large puddle.”

The housekeeper did not agree. “Well, it’s not mine,” she said, “the spill of water is too small.”

The exasperated patient listened for a while, wondering at this “futile game of passing the responsibility of who mops the spilled water'”….
… then took a pitcher of water from his night table
… and poured the whole thing on the floor, as he retorted: “Is that big enough now, for you two to decide?”

It was…
… and that was the end of the argument!

Very often, we tend to ‘close our minds and block our hearts’ and stay away from doing our responsibilities…
… citing excuses and claims which favour our personal agenda.

Am I also engaged in the “futile game of passing the responsibility?”

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus confronting closed minds and blocked hearts, in recognizing Him as the Messiah and Saviour…
… with an invitation to “take up responsibilities in life!”

Jesus puts forward the parable of the tenants.

The tenants were entrusted with the vineyard by the Master, and were expected to provide the produce in due time.

They were entrusted fully with the taking care of the vineyard.

The Master places a lot of trust in the servants.

He gives freedom – a responsible freedom
… which could be meaningfully used and nurtured
… or which could be woefully misused and manipulated.

However, the tenants, who were trusted immensely, probably lost their focus on the real trust…
… and diminished in their commitment and responsibility to their Master as well as their duty.

Their personal interests gained greater prominence over their entrusted duties.

This led to them to a total denial of all the emissaries and servants of the Master, who were sent to collect the produce.

This denial was extended even to the Master’s own Son!

This denial of the Son led to the letting loose of the anger and fury of the Just Master!

A squandering away of the responsible freedom, led to the downfall of the tenants!

A failure to give heed to the emissaries and servants caused them to face the Master’s rage!

Are we also, as Christians, as tenants of the Heavenly Master failing in our responsibilities and duties?

The Lord presents Himself as the cornerstone…
… “the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone..” (Mt 21:42)

In ancient practices of building, the cornerstone was the principal stone.

It was placed at the corner of the edifice or the building.

The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the whole building structure.

A cornerstone gives direction to the rest of the foundation.
It is also the support on which the rest of the building relies for strength and stability.

Jesus is the cornerstone…of Salvation… of the Church… of His People!

Conversely, Jesus can also be “a stumbling block”

As it is written in Romans 9:33, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense; and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame”

To those who believe, Jesus is the cornerstone of their faith and their life.

To those who do not believe, Jesus is the stumbling block in their faith!

Who is Jesus in our life?

The cornerstone? or a stumbling block?

The cornerstone to build a wonderful life in God and grow in holiness…
… or a stumbling block which causes us to take pride in our own merits, and not depend on Him?

The cornerstone to stand firm and strong in faith to withstand every storm of life…
… or a stumbling block which makes us uncertain, hesitant and cause a collapse in life?

The Season of Lent is a reminder of the call to take up responsibilities in our life…
… to stop the tendency to ‘close our minds and block our hearts’
… and citing excuses and claims which favour our personal agenda.

Let us make Jesus the “cornerstone” of our life and faith…
… and be responsible stewards for the Kingdom of God!

God Bless! Live Jesus!