Love: the Supreme Law of Life
February 29, 2008
Gospel: Mk 12:28-34
It is said that St. John the apostle lived to a very old age. Towards the end of his life he was so feeble that he had to be carried to the church. Though he was unable to preach at length because of his advanced age, he always wanted to say something to the people during the Eucharistic celebration. His messages were brief and always the same: “my children love one another”.
Everybody was bored with this repetition and finally someone told him “Master why do you always say the same thing? John patiently and calmly replied, “Because it is the command of the lord; if only this is done, it is enough”
The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements. They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries. They tested Jesus to see if He correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose.
In response to the question about which was the greatest commandment, Jesus first cited Deuteronomy 6:5, “you shall love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”. And then He cited Leviticus chapter 19:18, “you shall love your neighbor as your self”.
St. John says, ‘if any one says I love God and hates his brother then he is a liar”. John also writes: “God is love”. We are created in the image and likeness of God. Hence our image should be love. So, as Christians, and on a daily basis, we have to brighten up God’s image in us day by day by loving our brethren. St. John of the cross has a beautiful phrase: “In the evening or your life you will be judged by love”. God the supreme love will judge all of us, according to the measure we love in our lives. God bless us all.
We Are One - Love Everyone
February 28, 2008
Are You With Me or Against Me?
February 28, 2008
Gospel: Lk 11:14-23
Are you with me or against me? Jesus throws down an open challenge to all Christians in today’s gospel. Let us use this now for what it is; an aid, provided by the Son, for further reflection into God’s purposes for our lives.
At the beginning of the gospel, we see a mute person possessed by a demon. Each of us can see our own selves in his place; our situation prior to our baptism. Thanks be to God that, through baptism, we all are brought into salvation by Jesus Christ. Still, the question remains: where do we stand? With him or against him?
Due to our fallen nature, we all are inclined to sin. There are many of them, and today’s gospel clearly speaks about one of them, slandering; speaking ill of another person with an intention to destroy his, or her, name. This is very clear in the gospel. The enemies of Jesus could not stand the fame and popularity He was gaining among the people and, thus, they try to explain away his miracles, often associating them with Beelzebub.
Friends, we all have a tendency to listen to slander, or derogatory tales about others. This is the secret of the newspaper industry. They thrive on this principle. They know that, to get noticed, one must publish the scandalous dimensions of the news. It is nothing but the defamation of truth.
Today, when Jesus tells us “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters,” know it involves a lot of things. It is He himself who told us that he was, and is, the truth. So what does it mean? It means whoever is not with the truth, is not with Jesus.
Let us follow the maxim: “when we have nothing good to say about someone, let us say nothing”.
May God bless us all.
Law and Love
February 27, 2008
Gospel : Mt 5:17-19
Jesus always criticized the Scribes and Pharisees for being too legalistic. Of course they were very strict about the laws and regulations and wanted to impose them on simple people. But when we read today’s gospel, we get the impression that Jesus himself appears to be a legalist. His words “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law”,and “those who break the law and teaches others to do so will be least in the kingdom of heaven”.
But when we understand the words of Jesus in their proper meaning and context, they are much more enriching than being a scolding or correction. At the beginning of the Gospel Jesus tells us, “…do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill…”. Through his life, He showed us that the fulfilment of the law was, and is, Love or charity. Charity should be the governing force in the execution of any law. His words, “Sabbath is made for man, not man for Sabbath” and, “I desire mercy than sacrifice”, explain to us why love should be the fulfilment of the Law.
Observing laws and regulations, or imposing them on others for their own sake does not serve the purpose. But when they are observed for love of God and neighbour, for the good of the community and for the arrival of God’s kingdom, then they become the means of sanctification in our lives. Today, in a special way, let us pray for the lawmakers of our country, and for those who dedicate their lives so those laws lead to peace and harmony. May God bless us all.
Reconciliation and Forgiveness
February 26, 2008
Gospel: Mt 18:21-35
The 18th chapter of the gospel of Matthew is known as the chapter of reconciliation and forgiveness.
When Peter posed the question, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?”, he also gave an answer to Jesus - seven times. He thought Jesus would be pleased with that answer. If one had to forgive only seven times then Jesus would have to send Peter away much earlier. The answer of Jesus was quite surprising to Peter and his friends; seventy times seven, without any limit and without any conditions.
At the root of Jesus answer is God’s nature of forgiveness. Our God is a forgiving God. It is not that we deserve God’s forgiveness; but He is a forgiving God, and that is his nature. The Bible teaches us that we are made in the image of God, so God expects us to do the same; which is, forgive our brethren unconditionally. It is an obligation that we take upon our own selves each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Only a prayerful person can forgive from the heart. Saying our prayers does not make us a prayerful person. When we return to the Lord with the whole heart, in prayer, as we read in the Psalms “remembering the mercies of the Lord towards us” we become aware of the reality of sin in our personal lives and understand how often God forgives us, giving us opportunities to come back to Him. Naturally, that experience will enable us to share his forgiveness with others. God will shape our hearts to forgive seventy seven times.
Dear friends, let us not spare any effort to forgive our offenders, again and again. If it is not possible to tell them directly that we forgive them, at least let us forgive them from our heart and try to pray for them daily. Our prayers for them would ultimately prepare us for a complete forgiveness. May God Bless us.
(photo on front page from searchwarp.com)
Grocery List
February 25, 2008
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store.
She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.
John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: “Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.”
John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, “Do you have a grocery list?”
Louise replied, “Yes sir.”
“O.K.,” he said, “put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.”
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, “I can’t believe it.”
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
“Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.”
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said, “It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.”
(contributed by Jimboy Sabolboro)
The Pain of Rejection
February 25, 2008
Gospel: Lk 4:24-30
Of all the difficult things that we mortals have to deal with, perhaps, the most difficult is rejection. It comes in various forms and different degrees of seriousness. When we were children, sometimes we were excluded by our friends from playing with them. During our teenage years; in dating, for instance, some of us become more popular than others. And when we become adults rejection becomes a constant experience.
In marriage, the husband may reject the wife or the wife may reject the husband; creating a scenario where they may end up demanding a divorce from each other. In our offices, our boss may reject us, and we may hear those frightening words “you are fired”.
Some are rejected because of their colour or culture, or for being poor, or because of their faith, and even the age can be a factor for rejection. But the result is always the same: it always hurts.
What does our Christian faith say about this difficult experience? The greatest consolation is that Jesus himself was there. He knows how it feels to be rejected. That is what we read in the gospel. At first he was accepted and praised but soon as he begins to demand change of their lifestyles, the worshipping crowd become a murderous mob, expelling Jesus from the synagogue and even trying to kill him.
So there should be comfort in the fact that the most worthy person who ever lived had experienced rejection like any one of us. It is universal. No one is exempted.
What else does our Christian faith tell us about rejection? It tells us about a God who accepts us always as we are. His love for us is unchanging. Even when He punishes, his punishments are not punishments in themselves. They are the means to bring us closer to him. Even when we stop being his children He never stops being our Father. The love is always there.
Today’s word may not move you or touch you. But next time when you go through an experience of rejection this message can make a difference. Remember three things: 1. God loves you. 2. Christ understands you for He was there. 3. The church accepts you just the way you are.
May God bless us.
Photo on frontpage: Cosmos Magazine
“Water, Water Everywhere…”
February 24, 2008
Gospel: Jn 4:5-42
“…But not a drop to drink…”
The woman at the well had a mighty thirst; a thirst so big it led her through five husbands, and who knows what else. And still she was thirsty — though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was she was longing for. Jesus could see her sadness, so He helped her see what that dry, parched, empty feeling inside her was really about. She was thirsting for love that would last, love that would fill her fully and give purpose to her life. Nothing less would do. By His kindness to her, as well as by His words, Jesus showed her where that kind of love is to be found. He showed her, and her heart caught fire.
We all have a mighty thirst, like the woman at the well, a thirst for a love so big that it can give purpose, and shape, and meaning to the whole of our lives. We’ve looked for that love in all sorts of places, often in dead-end streets. At times we’ve caught a glimpse of it and then got distracted and let it slip away. We may go after, among other things, approval from other people, fame, power, position, so on and so forth: they are like the wells that can never satisfy our thirsts. But we have someone who told us, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but 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.” He is the well, the fountain from where we have to drink to quench the thirsts we have in our lives. Amen.
What is this water that Jesus speaks about? It is God’s Spirit which comes to us in Baptism. Baptism is not just a ritual producing magical effects. It is the outward, symbolic sign of a deep reality, the coming of God as a force penetrating every aspect of a person’s life.
And this happens through our exposure to Jesus and to the Gospel’s vision of life and our becoming totally converted to that vision. This can only happen through the agency of a Christian community into which we are called to enter. It is not just a question of a ritual washing, or immersing, and saying magic words but of a real drinking-in of that Spirit. The spirit quenches our thirst, not by removing our desire for God’s presence, but by continually satisfying it.
May God bless us all.
Photo on frontpage: RIT.edu
God, The Prodigal Father
February 23, 2008
Gospel: Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
Our gospel for today is Jesus’ greatest parable, one of the greatest stories ever told. The parable of the prodigal son. In one sense, all that one has to know about spiritual life is in this parable. Listen how it opens: “a man had two sons…”. This is the great metaphor in the bible for our relationship with God. God is like a father, a mother; like a parent. And we are like his children. We have everything from God; all that we are, all that we have, and every moment is from God. We are his children who participate in his life. God is like a father, who gives and gives and gives. We are the children of this ultra- generous father.
If we look at the three figures in this parable; younger son, older son and the father, we all behave like them at different times. We have in us something, or the other, of the three of them.
There are moments in our lives we act like the prodigal son, thinking that we can do everything by our own selves without the help of God. We think that we can do better without God. And we wander away from his love. What is important from our part is to have the courage to get up and return to the forgiving love of God. The season that we are in, this lent, is such an occasion; to come back to the Lord, like the prodigal son.
Other times we act like the elder son. And, humanly speaking, we cannot blame him. He was just being human. Any one of us could easily fit in his shoes. That is the way we humans are. We may feel that others are getting what they do not deserve and we are denied what we deserve. Let us take it positively. It is because, as the father in the parable says, we were always with God, or we are still trying to be with him, whereas others were far away and need more forgiveness and grace from God than us. The forgiveness of God is nothing but the outpouring of his love. Ours is to rejoice at their return and join the table of celebration.
Finally, some like to call this parable as the parable of the of the prodigal father, because of the unconditional and forgiving love of the father. There are those few moments when we act like the father. The moments in which we reach out to others in love and forgiveness. Innumerable are the times when you were able to forgive each other in your married life. Innumerable are the times you parents have forgiven your sons and daughters. Innumerable are the times we forgive each other in our society, parish families. We have in us what it takes to be a forgiving person, because we are created in the image and likeness of God who is all forgiving in the fullness of love.
Friends, the good news of this parable is that even if we might have wandered away from our father’s Home; still, we have not gone, and never will be, far from His heart’s regard. We may have left this banqueting table, but not His family. May God bless us. Amen
Illustration on frontpage: Pastor Bryan
Forgiveness in Christ
February 22, 2008
Gospel: Mt 16:13-19
Peter, as a man and disciple, is representative of all of us. In each of us is a Peter who believed in Jesus as Son of God, and a Peter who wants to run away from suffering with the Christ.
We love Jesus from the bottom of our hearts; and at the same time, due to the weakness of our faith, we fail to understand him, and his message, fully. Once we accept Jesus as our redeemer, we should be able to accept him in all his aspects. We may desire to be with him at Mount Tabor, and like Peter, we may want to tell him, “Lord, we shall be here!” But, like Peter, we would run away from him when faced with trials and crosses. We do not like to be with him on Mount Calvary. By nature, this is what we are.
As we contemplate our selves reflected in Peter, let us remember also, that in the same Peter, we also carry the seeds of hope within us. The Peter we see after the resurrection of the Lord is a totally different person. It took so much time for him to mature in his faith in the Lord. Each time the Lord forgave him, his closeness to the the Lord also grew. He knew the depth of Christ’s love, as he bore witness; and the whole experience transformed him into the extraordinary human being that he turned out to be.
Today, Peter invites us to do what he did. To love the Lord unconditionally, even when we know that we may run away from him. Because mercy and forgiveness will bring us back to Him, again and again, until we know him fully. Only, love Him first.
May God bless us all. Amen.