The Solemnity of Christ the King
We are celebrating the Feast of Christ the King under the shadows a very violent two weeks in the Holy Land. In two weeks more than two-hundred people have been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Palestinian forces. This is a political conflict but this is also a religious conflict. Jesus was not immune from the very same kind of conflict and violence. As a child he had to flee into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. When he returned to Nazareth he grew up under the shadow of the conflict between the Romans invaders and the Jewish zealots. There were insurrections and the brutal suppression of any effort at Israelite independence. It is truly intriguing that in spite of the violence around him, Jesus became the kind of person that he was – non-violent, non-resistant, teaching love of enemies and finally forgiving his murderers from the cross. But that does not mean that he was weak. He was king and Messiah but his message was a message of humility, service and love. Two thousand years after Jesus death we know that no other man influenced the course of human history like he did.
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Three years back when I reflected on the reading we have today, the movie 2012 was just released. Based on the Mayan calendar, people were beginning to predict the end of the world on the winter solstice Dec 21, 2012. The movie was a blockbuster. Since we are only a few weeks away from the deadline, I decided to search the internet about the latest news about the prediction. Nevertheless to say, the website December212012.com still exists and it still has a clock counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds. Surprisingly enough, on the same website you can also find a 72 hour survival kit. I am not sure why if the world is going to end I would need a survival kit but that is beside the point, right? For those who want hard core evidence about the end of the world, the NASA website also has something to say about the end of world. It states categorically that the world will not end on Dec 21st because there just enough any evidence to think otherwise. I really think that Jesus was smarter than both the doomsayers and NASA put together. He simply stayed away from predicting whether the world will or will not end or a particular day. I must agree with Jesus. I too, simply do not know. In fact, to focus on prediction of the end of the world is to simply miss the point of today’s readings.
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
This election, both the presidential candidates together spent close to two billion dollars on their election campaigns. This is just the spending on the presidential election. Closer to home Sherrod Brown and Josh Mandel spent $ 60 million on their campaigns. I find it difficult to imagine what $ 2 million looks like or for that matter what 60 million would look like. All that money was spent to assume an elected office! Let me change the scene. School kids often write to me when they give their tithe envelops. One kid wrote: “Dear Father, you may not have heard m in Church today because my voice is hoarse because I am sick. (I had to go to school today because my mom and dad are at work, I am glad I did so I could go to church). But I did try to sing loud today Could you hear me? Probably not. At least you know now that I tried, right?” Another letter was a prayer. This kid started writing the ‘Our Father,’ went all the way up to “as we forgive….” And then she writes, “I can’t go on. God knows what I mean.”
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
These are very crucial times. Numerous things stare us in the face. First the super storm, ‘Sandy. I am sure that most of you like me are immensely saddened by the devastation. Second, two days from today is the presidential elections and we find ourselves to be an increasingly divided nation. Some have proposed that we are now two nations within a nation. And third, we have the readings for today. Perhaps we are not impressed by the radicalness of gospel reading because we are so far away from what Christ did. Christ radically transformed the meaning of the Torah when he brought the 613 laws of the Jewish tradition under two seemingly similar commandments – Love God and love your neighbor.
These are crucial times. If God’s word is alive and active, we have got to interpret these words as a people of faith.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Right after I was ordained in 1994, India’s corporate sector was introduced to a very influential and effective thinker, Stephen Covey. Many of us as priests also read his very popular book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This book sold more than 20 million copies in fourty languages. In 1996, Dr. Covey was recognized as one of Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Americans and in 2002, Forbes named The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People one of the 10 most influential management books ever written.Stephen Covey died last July but continues to influence the management world. I for one was a Stephen Covey’s fan. One reason for this was that he gave new insights into my own following of Jesus. Here is one statement that influenced my discipleship: “There is no involvement without commitment.” For example, my priesthood require both commitment and involvement. What would my priesthood look like it I was not committed? What would the celebration of this Eucharist look like if I was not involved? Whether it is marriage, friendship, work or sports or the following of Christ, there is no involvement without commitment and there is not commitment without involvement.
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Most of you and I have enough of the rhetoric surrounding the presidential elections. The manipulation of data, the misinformation, the political opportunism, the verbal attacks on one another… I can’t wait for it to be all over. Today’s reading could not have come at a better time.
Today’s readings approach the theme of discipleship from a very different angle than last week. The first and second readings combined with the very last statement in the gospel, “for the Son of Man came not to be served but serve and to give his life as a ransom for many,” encourage us to draw lessons for discipleship through the concept of “atonement.” The first reading from Isaiah which is also read on Good Friday, talks about the suffering servant who “gives his life as an offering for sin,” and who “through his suffering shall justify many.” The second reading from Hebrews is also read on Good Friday and once again the context is atonement. It is because of Jesus’ atonement that we can “approach the throne of grace and receive mercy and find grace for timely help.” Jesus, in today’s gospel reading says to his disciples that they must view their life in the context of Jesus who came to give his life as a “ransom” for many. We cannot ignore this call to discipleship in the context of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This gospel story of the rich young man needs to be understood well before we can interpret it for our personal and community life today. If we begin with the premise that the only way we can individually and collectively follow Jesus is by selling everything and giving it to the poor, then we are making it impossible for us to follow Jesus. Let us then look at this passage realistically. First, this rich young man’s refusal to follow Jesus comes from his unwillingness to adopt the simple and itinerant life-style that Jesus lived. Jesus invitation to this rich young man to be an itinerant disciple like the rest Jesus disciples is very different than the invitation that Jesus gives to us. Society and the way social life is conducted these days leaves very little option for people like us to adopt an itinerant life-style. Second, the economic setting within which Jesus functioned is very different than manner in which our economic affairs are conducted. To compromise health and its insurance, safety and security of our loved ones and not paying for the utilities and services provided for us would at best be irresponsible. Having presented these two caveats, there is something important we should know. The entire gospel of Mark is written from the perspective of discipleship. This is not my personal opinion but scripture scholars tell us that Mark’s primary purpose apart from telling us the story of Jesus is to give the readers a lesson in discipleship. Mark wants his audience to know that discipleship involves throwing one’s entire weight behind Jesus. The fact that we cannot be itinerant followers of Jesus and that our economic life-style differs from Jesus’ times does not take away the radicalness and urgency of the call to being disciples.
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our parish we are observing this year as the year of “Being Church at Home and Home at Church.” It is only fitting that we reflect seriously on today's readings that revolve around relationships, marriage, family and home. I want to do this in three points.
1.Before anything else, before God even spoke the first creative words, there was RELATIONSHIP. God as Father, Son and Spirit is a community of persons. God did not create man to be alone because God is community. No wonder then that man felt alone. Man’s search for a companionship and finally finding one mirrors the oneness between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Just like the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, so now man and woman are one. Notice that the word ‘love’ does not occur anywhere in the narrative of the man and woman. What is emphasized is self-giving. Creation is an act of God’s self-giving; the woman is formed from a rib taken from a man; the man and woman become one by their sacrificial leaving of father and mother and cleaving to one another. This is also love.
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week Hospice of Dayton called me called to give the last sacraments to someone from out of State. I rushed there to find this very small frail man lying in a fetal position. Throughout our conversation this man never opened his eyes. I spent much time just sitting by his bed and comforting him. At one point I said to him that it will be all alright. And he said to me, “I do not know, Father.” And then he said to me, “I have been a very bad man, Father… very bad.” I did not ask for any details but I let him know how God’s love is greater than our sins and how Christ came to save us. “We are all sinners,” I said. “But you don’t know me, Father.” It was almost a protest, a disbelief that God could save him after all that he had done. And I said to him, “Yes, I do not know you, but God knows everything.” Then I asked him if I could pray with him, give him absolution and bid him a Christian farewell. He reluctantly agreed and I think it was because he was still wondering how he could get away with his sinful life so easily. I did not see any visible signs of relief when I left him because his eyes were still closed.
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
An Egyptian-Coptic Christian makes an anti-Islamic movie, social media websites allow its video cast, four Americans are killed as are many protestors in Islamic countries and the world moved further away from sanity. Newly trained Afghan recruits kill their Western trainers, the Chinese in Japan and Japanese in China fear for their lives because of a dispute over islands in the East China Sea, the contenders for the presidential elections in the United States continue their vitriolic attack on each other and hundreds of government and rebel forces continue to die in Libya. These are just some of the headlines that dominated the news over the last week. Is there any compelling and credible voice that is calling for peace? If there is, it is not heard.
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Over that last few weeks the second reading has been from the letter of St James. Because of our emphasis on the parish retreat and the related themes in the gospel, I chose not to comment on the readings from James. In the process we have sidelined some very practical and important ethical teachings from scripture. Briefly, let me recall a few important statements from these readings. I have to insert a caveat here. Some of James’ writings are all too direct and difficult to digest at first. He writes: “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.” Last week we heard him say, “For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here, please," while you say to the poor one, "Stand there, " or "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Today we heard James say, “So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
I would like to pay special attention to the gospel reading today. If we read deeper into the passage we will realize that this is not a simple account of the healing of a deaf and mute man. First of all, this passage is a direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy in today’s first reading. “Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.” (Is 35:4) The reference to God here is a reference to Jesus. And as Isaiah continues, “Then the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.” (Is 35:5-6) Mark, in this way presents Jesus as the prophesied Messiah.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is a common phrase these days, “I believe in God but not in organized religion.” Or, I have heard people say, “I am a spiritual person but I just do not want to belong to any religion.” More and more people are finding this to be an attractive alternative.
All the readings today are all about organized religion. The first reading talks about the statutes and decrees that Moses gave to the people to observe. The second reading gives us James’ understanding of religion that is pure and undefiled. He says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” And Jesus in today’s gospel tries up to correct false religiosity particularly as he encountered it in Pharasaical Judaism. Quoting Isaiah he says, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.”Jesus was clearly juxtaposing authentic religiosity against and mere human traditions.
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Recently, researchers conducting a WIN-Gallup International poll about religion surveyed people from 57 countries. The poll suggests that in the Unites States, since 2005:
•The number of people who consider themselves religious has dropped from 73% to 60%
•Those who declare themselves atheists have risen from 1% to 5%
From the Christian perspective and from the point of view of church attendance, there are numerous reasons for this decline. But there is no one single reason that stands out. Conservatives and liberals have both weighed in on the statistic. Conservatives say that that the Church is not traditional enough for people to stay true to their faith and the liberals say that it is the Church’s conservative stand that is leading many people to abandon their faith. Either way, religion seems losing its hold on the people.
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week I spoke to you about God speaking to me through the scriptures about returning to the love with which I first loved God. There were two realizations that came to me: first that I needed to return to God with all the love in my heart and allow God to lead me; and second, that God concretely and really spoke to me. God did not discard me or abandon me, but rather, God actually cared enough to be present to me and draw me back. In recent times, this has been the most real experience of God’s presence in my life. I truly know that God still loves me.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
My trip home last month became an opportunity for an a-ha moment. First of all, I took the unfamiliar route to the airport, lost my way and then panicked. I got on the plane just on time. I was not looking forward to my six-hour layover at the Washington DC airport but it helped me catch my breath. The best analogy I can use to explain how I felt is that of a tired and worn out puppy. It was as if I was sitting in the airport huffing and puffing. It was not just the way to the airport. It was the last six months. It is when I sat down that I realized how tired I was. Later after dinner that evening, I decided to read the scriptures and connect with my Creator. My Bible opened to the book of Revelation chapter two. The passage read: ““I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked…. Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first”(Rev 2; 2-5). I sat there in stunning self-realization.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
For the next three weeks our gospel reading will be taken from chapter six of John’s gospel. Most of this chapter is the bread of life discourse. It began last week with the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and will end with many disciples ceasing to follow Jesus because his teachings were too hard to follow. In between these two events is sandwiched Jesus’s teaching of him as the “bread of that came down from heaven” and him being the “bread of life.” Since we have three weeks to understand every aspect of this teaching, I would like to explore every possible meaning of Jesus teaching. I would like to keep the more strictly Eucharistic themes for the coming weeks. Today, I want to reflect on the more unconventional interpretations Jesus teaching on the bread of life.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
On my way to the store in India on my last vacation, I met this crippled man sitting on his wheelchair begging. I have seen him on my previous visits and I have always been generous with him. This time too, I gave him money enough for him to smile. Secretly, there is a sense of contentment every time I do this. I guess it makes me feel good. This time however, even after my return this man has not left my mind. And the question that has been playing in my mind is, why could I not be more generous with him? What stops me from giving him a hundred rupee bill rather than a ten rupee bill? For that matter, why not a thousand rupee bill? After all, I always have a few thousand rupees in my wallet. More importantly, why have never asked him name or where he lives? Why have I not offered to visit his home or do something for him that might change his life forever? What is the harm in being just a little more generous?
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
To understand today’s readings we must understand the context within which Jeremiah prophesied. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet in the year 628 BC when Josiah was the King of Judah. Josiah began a process of reform that would rid the nation of idolatry, injustice and false religiosity. Jeremiah wholeheartedly supported Josiah’s reform. After Josiah, however, under King Zedekiah, the false prophet Hananiah began to counsel the King to revolt against the Babylonians. It was also at this time that the old idolatry and infidelity returned. On instruction from God, Jeremiah opposed the King and the false prophet. As a result, Jeremiah was arrested, imprisoned, and publicly disgraced. Had Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah and stayed faithful to the covenant, perhaps, Judah would be spared. Tragically, the Babylonians pillaged Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, killed thousands of Israelites, took into exile all able bodied men, women, and children, and left behind to die, the aged and disabled.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(This homily was written three years back).
I saw a movie called Whatever Works. It is a Woody Allen film and the central character isBoris Yelnikoff, an eccentric in his seventies who believes that life happens by chance. I mean, what are the chances that one would jump out of the window of a New York high rise and still survive? What are the chances that a pretty twenty-two year old runaway from Mississippi would land up at his door and finally end up marrying him? What are the chances that the mother of this girl would land up at the same apartment and make it big in New York even though it meant happily sleeping between two men? What are the chances that the girl’s father would land up at the same apartment in search of his daughter and wife and finally meet the man of his dreams to live happily ever after. The girl finally realizes that marrying a younger man would make her happier and what are the chances that a hopeless Boris would jump out of the window a second time, only to land on his future wife. The movie ends with all the characters happily sharing a drink. Boris’ lesson to the audience at the end of it all is simple. Life is a game of chance. Take any happiness you get along the way in whatever way it comes. “Whatever works.”