CELEBRATE DIVERSITIES
EPIPHANY

Once President G. Ford was asked to name three persons he considered as the greatest of the century. The first name he mentioned was the name of Gandhi. He had chosen Gandhi’s name because he was a great unifier. He sacrificed his life to bring people together.

The message that the world would like to hear today is the message of dialogue, understanding and unity. Unity is possible if we reach out to the outsiders. The world is divided into two: Insiders and outsiders. This division is based on territory, language, color, culture, religion and so forth. The outsiders are most of the time viewed as potential threat to the insiders. As a result, we are either offensive or defensive in our approach to the outsiders.

The feast of the epiphany invites us to think in a new way. The word epiphany simply means manifestation. In our religious context, it is the manifestation of God to the world. In the birth of Jesus God manifested His intention to the world. By choosing a human body for the incarnation, God joined the human family; God incorporated us into His family. The prophet Simeon took the child Jesus in his hands and said: This day I have seen salvation. This child is a light to the gentiles. Jesus came to remove the Old Testament concept of dividing people as ‘God’s people and No people’. What Jesus did consistently all through his life was to remove the barriers that separate one person from the other.

The feast of the Epiphany, traditionally understood as the visit of the three Maggie to the Child Jesus, symbolically reveals the above said truth. According to one tradition, these three Kings represented three different categories of people: the White, the Black and the Brown. The presence of Jesus brought them together. In the presence of Jesus, they discovered their true image. The question is: Who am I? Am I a divider or Unifier?

To achieve unity we have to go through a radical transformation in our thinking. This may include a number of progressive steps.

LOOK OUT
The Three Wise Men “looked out”. We do not possess the full Truth. The entire universe together constitutes the full reality. Hence, to see this reality, we need to “look out”. All things in this world are symbols that point to the truth. These wise men were kings, they were self sufficient in many ways but they had the humility to explore different possibilities. They “looked out” and they saw the “star”, the symbol of a greater reality. A person who thinks that he knows everything, holds his values as absolute and he does not need help from outsiders, will not see the star of possibilities. The problem with Herod was that he was not willing to look beyond himself.

STEP OUT
The Three Wise Men stepped out of their palaces. It is not enough to simply see the reality. We need to have the courage to step out from our own little ‘palaces of security and world of illusion’ to see the truth and embrace it. The three wise men took the risk. They stepped out of the palace and made the dangerous trip. Very often we travel the wrong path, our values and beliefs are not authentic. But we are not ready to change because we don’t want to take the risk. Success belongs to the Brave.

REACH OUT
After a long, tiresome adventurous and risky journey, the three Kings arrived at the place where Jesus was. They reached out to Jesus out and embraced him. Definitely, they were not sure about the Divine origin of Jesus. The environment did not prove anything either. However, thanks to their willingness to step out of themselves, these three wise men finally reached Jesus, the truth, the way and the Life.

FIND OUT
The meeting with Jesus opened up a new horizon for them. They surrendered what they thought absolute. They found out a New Way and returned home on this way. Herod on the other hand, thought he was everything and had seen everything. He thought of himself as the center of reality. He stepped in to his own world. He was afraid of facing the realities. He looked in, stepped in, and stuck in.

In order to include outsiders into our fold, we need to follow the same steps. A person who lives outside of our geographical territory is no less than us. Diversity is a reality. Every culture expresses certain aspects of Truth. It is not in suppressing diversity but celebrating differences that we make the universe beautiful and bring glory to God. We belong to God and we belong to one another.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We begin our New Year 2010 by celebrating the feast of Mary, the Mother of God. I can’t imagine a better way to begin the New Year. The greatness of Mary was that she brought up Jesus as the Son of God, she accompanied him all the way up to Calvary, and she held together the frightened disciples and prepared them for the day of Pentecost. Mary would do the same to anyone who entrusted his/her life to her care.

On this first day of the New Year, I would like to invite your attention to two key words from the gospel reading. The first word is HASTE. “The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem…” The word haste appears at different places in the Bible. For example, after the annunciation Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah….” What does it mean? What is its significance? When they received their mission, they did not delay or hesitate or show reluctance. They acted upon it immediately. We are being created with a mission. God has a mission to accomplish with our help. Life becomes challenging, purposeful and joyful when we find our specific mission. According to Gandhi, two things are important for a meaningful existence: hope and Commitment. We need something to hope for and we need something to commit to. We find these when we find our mission. What is my goal this year?

The second phrase is REFLECTION. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Mary reflected on everything in the light of the scripture. That gave meaning and insights to her daily life events. Life without reflection is deemed to be a failure. Reflective or contemplative life serves two purposes. First of all, it is a tool for evaluation. Secondly, it brings forth deeper meaning and implication of a particular event. People who are carried away by emotional impulses will complicate even simple things.

A person who is emotionally charged cannot make rational and, much less, practical decisions, because emotions blind our thinking. Emotional Quotient (EQ) is as important as an Intelligent Quotient (IQ). Take time before speaking or acting. Between the Stimulus and the Response (S < >R) there is a time gap. This time gap is redemptive. Make good use of it. A match stick has a head on it, but no brains. Hence when there is friction, it burns. We not only have heads but brains too. One must make use of both.

Let us begin the New Year 2010 with a clear vision and clarity of purpose. Instead of doing things nonstop, let us take times to enjoy, relate and appreciate what we are doing.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS
DECEMBER 25

A few years ago, a young man came to me and said: Father I would like to become a Christian. Naturally I was glad to hear it. However I asked him: Why do you want to become a Christian? He said: I am a seeker. I studied different religions and only in the Bible and in Jesus did I find a God who came to save sinners like me. He is right! As many of you know, many religions believe in the incarnation of God in one form or another. For example, we read in the Hindu Scripture: When there is a moral degradation, God will come down and destroy the sinners and save the Good people. Here comes the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Jesus came, not to destroy anyone but to save all. So when Jesus was born, the Angel appeared to the Shepherds and said: I have good news for you: A savoir is born…He will save you from sin.

Today we come together to celebrate this good news: In Jesus we are a new creation and in him we have life and hope. Jesus gives us salvation in two ways, namely, by offering forgiveness and showing a new way of life.

OFFERING FORGIVENESS

Jesus saves us by offering forgiveness. Many people are captives of the past missteps and mistakes. Many feel that they are unworthy to come closer to God. Many feel that there is no hope. I invite your attention to two Gospel stories: the stories of Zacchaus and the prodigal son. Zacchaus was afraid to come close to Jesus. Knowing his heart Jesus went up to him and said: Zacchaus, come, I am going to stay in your house today. In the story of Prodigal son, even without asking anything of his past reckless life, his father, embraced him. Jesus wants to share this Good News with us: “Do not be afraid! Come to me… I will give you rest…”

OFFERING A NEW WAY

Jesus gives us salvation by offering a New Way. The Old Testament Principal, a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye won’t work any more. They were tested and failed. So after washing the feet of his disciples Jesus said: I am giving you a new way, a way of service, humility and sharing.

At the birth of Jesus the Angels sang: Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth. When we accept the way of Jesus, there will be peace on Earth and Glory in heaven. Because as Paul said: Everyone in Jesus is a New Creation. Let this Christmas be a time to begin a new way of living. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and every blessing of this season.

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HOLY FAMILY
DECEMBER 27

Today, (December 27), we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. This feast gives us an opportunity to reflect on what makes a family holy. A holy family is the foundation of everything good and beautiful. So on this Feast day, let us ask this question: What makes a family holy? How can we make our family Holy?

To answer this question we don’t need to go anywhere, just look at the life of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. For example consider the life of Joseph. I cannot imagine any Husband who went through struggles and pain more than what Joseph had to go through. He found his wife pregnant even before he had any relations with her. He experienced humiliation because he could not find a place for her wife to give birth to her son. He had to flee to Egypt at midnight. But he did all this faithfully. In all these things, what he did consistently was that he obeyed God. He knew precisely whom to obey. He subordinated every thing to the will and purpose of God. That made him holy and his family holy. We see the same attitude in Mary and Jesus too. When Jesus was lost in the temple, Mary asked him, “Why did you do this to us?” Jesus replied, “Didn’t you know that I must be about my Father’s business?” For Jesus, Joseph and Mary, the Father’s business was the number one priority. That made them Holy.

Like many other families, their family was not perfect from a worldly standard. They were poor; they had struggles; there was confusion; there were doubts. But none of these broke their family bond, because they had one purpose in common: To do the will of God. They had one lens to look through: the lens of God. So Joseph did not think of abortion when he found Mary with child. He did not think of separation, accusing her of infidelity. They did not make excuses from doing their responsibility to God. They followed the Tradition and Conventions.

Friends, the family is the foundation of a society. It is the home where we find love and warmth. It is the farm where we saw the seed of a new generation. It is the domestic Church where we meet God first in the love of parents. If the families are broken, our world becomes homeless. To attack the culture of the family is enough to destroy the world. Knowing this reality, there are forces working tirelessly to destabilize families and family values.

TWO THINGS THAT DESTROY FAMILIES

1. PRESENTING RELIGION AS A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
The devil is not tempting us anymore with traditional weapons and materials. They upgraded and modernized its tactics. They trap us today in a very sophisticated way. First of all, they make our lives busy with too many attractive activities and programs. They present these things as vitally important and unavoidable. They convincingly present religion as a private enterprise and make us believe that God and religion can wait. They push God away from the center of our life and make it one among many (secularism). When God is pushed away from the center of my life, then I become the center of my life. My primary concern becomes the glorification of my self and not of God (individualism). How do we measure glory, greatness and success today? It is in terms of wealth and things that we possess/ have. As a result, the driving force of our life becomes the craving for wealth and everything associated with that (materialism). The truth is that we are never happy with what we have. Material things seldom give us fulfillment. They get outdated and out fashioned easily. Nothing seems permanent and stable. Evidently, we look for novelty. We try for the latest in the market (consumerism). The basic principle of consumerism is ‘be different and go for the latest brand’. Eventually consumerism, the ‘use and throw culture’ creep into human relationship and families. People give up relationships for silly reasons and go for new ones. Experimentation in human relationship breaks families and spread chaos in the society which is the ultimate goal of Devil. Devil is successfully using the tactics of taking God away from the family by keeping us and our children busy.

2. Redefining the divine institution of Marriage
Marriage is and marriage can be only between a man and a woman. This is natural law. Even the animal kingdom follows this natural precept. There are concerted attempts from certain corners to destroy this sacred reality of marriage. If their intention is to procure the same economic right and privileges of the married couple to them, they could do it very well through other means.

Friends, we cannot let our family values disintegrate on our watch. It is time to wake up. As we celebrate the Feast of The Family, let us be aware of it and take bold steps to form our families after the image of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

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Forget Father
About And
Me FAMILY Mother
I I
Love Love
You You
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JOYFUL PRESENCE
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

“What should we do to welcome Jesus, the Messiah? What should we do?” Excited by the preaching of John the Baptist, people from different walks of life came to him and said. This was the last Sunday’s gospel reading. On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Church raises another important question: What can happen to a person who comes under the influence of God? What are the fruits of spiritual living? The life of Mary is the perfect answer to this question. Hence, the Gospel story on this Sunday, focuses on the life of Mary. Mary made a fundamental option for God when she said ‘yes’ to the Angel. The result was the complete taking over of Mary by the Holy Spirit. She became all together a different person. God’s presence in Mary’s life found expression in four different ways. Anyone who surrenders one’s life to the will of God will manifest the same fruits.

1. HUMBLE PRESENCE

Mary became the Mother of God, a position no one can wish for even in dreams! Even though she was aware of the greatness of her call, she never claimed her worthiness for it. On the other hand, this made her all the more humble. She said: “The All Mighty one has done great things for me. He has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness.” She credited everything to the greatness of God. Humility is the mark of a genuine spirituality because Jesus, the incarnated Spirit, humbled himself, took the place of a servant and even washed the feet of his disciples. Humility is not denial of one’s dignity but accepting one’s worth in relationship with God. It is walking with God. It is truthfulness. Humility means transparency. It is unmasked presence.

2. OTHER-CENTERED PRESENCE

There are three kinds of visions: I am for myself; others for myself and I am for others. A person who lives in Christ belongs to the third category because Jesus was totally a man for others. A God-oriented person has no problem in finding greatness outside of himself/herself. The first thing that came to the mind of Mary after she received the Spirit of God were the needs of Elizabeth. She was looking for help. Mary did not wait for her to call. Mary did not consider her position as a hindrance for doing something good. She did not keep her blessings for herself. Seeing Elizabeth’s needs, she stepped out of herself in haste and reached out to Elizabeth. We see the same attitude in all holy people. “If a man does not have something worth dying for he is not fit to live. A person’s highest life does not consist in self expression but in self sacrifice.” (Martin Lither King)

3. JOYFUL PRESENCE

Spirit filled people are joyful people. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Mary’s presence became a happy presence. Her arrival not only made Elizabeth happy but the child in her womb leaped with joy. According to St. Therese of Avila, a sad saint is a sorry saint. One thing we all do during this season is exchange gifts. Gifts are symbols of our inner joy. They communicate one’s care and support for the other. They ritualize our appreciation for one another. The best gift, however, is our own presence. Jesus’ presence was a comforting presence. People found rest in his presence. Does my presence brings joy or gloom to others?

4. TRANSFORMING PRESENCE

The visit of Mary not only brought joy to the family of Elizabeth but the presence of the Holy Spirit as well. It was an enriching presence. At the greetings of Mary, Elizabeth experienced the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Mesmerized by the overwhelming outpouring of the Spirit, she said: “How does this happen to me that the mother of My Lord should come to me?” In Mary’s presence, Elizabeth saw God’s work in action. People who came to Jesus returned to their homes taking a new path. How does my presence make others better people?

CHALLENGES…!

In a few days we celebrate Christmas. If we approach Christmas just as a memorial of a historical event, this Christmas too will pass without touching our lives. This must be a personal celebration, a celebration of Christ’s birth in our lives. Jesus has already come into our lives at the time of our Baptism. Therefore, it is a time to awaken the presence of Christ in our lives. It is a time to begin once again living the life of Jesus in our lives by becoming humble, other-centered and joyful people. We must become another Mary. No one is great…no one is less….everybody is equal before the eyes of God. God can use any one of us to continue his saving presence as He used Judah, a tiny nation, to host his Son at his coming. We read in the second reading: “You, Bethlehem-Ephrata, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be a ruler in Israel.” On this final Sunday of Advent, let us say with Mary and Jesus: Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. I have come to do your will.”

REJOICE IN THE LORD
Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means Joy. The Mass for the Third Sunday begins with this Antiphon: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice! The Lord is near (Phil 4:4-5). Zephaniah (3:14-18) and Paul (Phil 4:4-7) repeat the same theme in the first and second readings respectively. For instance, Zephaniah says: “Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Sing joyfully, O Israel. Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.” Isaiah also explains the reason for Joy. He says, “The Lord has removed the judgment against you.” In other words, God is willing to reconcile with us. God – man separation is the root cause for all troubles. Their coming together is the source of Joy.

Zephaniah’s prophesy became a reality with the Incarnation of Jesus. In Jesus God reconciled the world with himself. As John says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…. God did not send His Son to the world to condemn it but to save it.” (John 4:16-17). Jesus became the meeting point of God and Human. As in Jesus God reconciled with the world so in Jesus we can be reconciled with God. God –Man coming together is the real source of Joy.

We all desire for happiness. The motivating forces behind all of our actions are our pursuits for joy. People were desperately looking for happiness during the time of John the Baptist. When he announced the coming of Jesus, (Lk 3:10-18) naturally, people got excited. They asked John: What must we do to welcome him? What must we do to experience Joy? John’s instant answer was: “Repent and produce the fruits of repentance.” Repentance is an active process. It is straightening our priorities, regretting the past wrong doings, repairing the damages done and starting a new behavior. The starting point is making our priorities right. It is rearranging life on the foundation of God. Any kind of arrangement and rearrangement of things without God as the center produces disorder and chaos. When God becomes the center, then other things follow. The story of Zacchaus is the best example of this truth. When Jesus entered his home, Zacchaus started thinking of his responsibilities to others. When Jesus came into his life he started listening to his conscience.

The three categories of people (the tax collectors, the soldiers and the regular folks) who approached John for a change in their lives brought out three major sins that people often do:- the sin of exploitation, the sin of revenge and the sin of hording. John the Baptist’s suggestions to them reflect the life of a person who lives in Jesus. They are in fact the qualities of Jesus.

1. Share
John said to the crowds, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none….” A person who is unwilling to share his belongings with the needy cannot welcome Jesus who shared everything with humanity. God is sharing. According to Mother Therese, whatever we possess more than what we need belong to the poor. As long as they remain with us we are disturbed. Remember the story of Zacchaus. He experienced peace and joy when he started sharing his wealth with the poor.

2. Care
He told the tax Collectors, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Taking advantage of others is a mortal sin. Once, a waiter at a restaurant said: “Father they don’t give me a tip. I can’t complain because I have no proper documents. If I complain they will report my case to the police”. How do we treat others, especially those who come under our authority? Do we exploit others’ helplessness? Jesus was always there at the rescue of the less privileged and the outcast. Like the Good Samaritan how many times did you stop on the way to help a ‘Victim’?

3. Be Fair
He told the soldiers, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone.” Using one’s authority or position to destroy others or taking revenge on them is a grave sin. It is against Christianity. How do we use our authority to protect and promote innocent lives? They must not use their privileged position to take revenge. Jesus even went to the extend defending his adversaries saying,” God forgive them…They don’t know what they are doing!”

4. Be Aware
Finding one’s place in the order of things is important for joy. Everybody has a place in God’s order. John the Baptist was well aware of his place in the economy of salvation. Impressed by his life and preaching people came to anoint him as the Messiah. He could have easily stolen the lime light. He could have denounced Jesus. However John went to the background and said, “ I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming…” Problems begin when one oversteps his boundaries and desperately tries to capture the spotlight. For example, problems arise when a secretary begin to act like his/her boss. Problems begin when one begins to interfere with others business and intrudes into others lives. Whether it is in our family or work place or the monasteries we always see someone doing crazy things for attention and popularities. They not only destroy their happiness but ruin the peace of others also.

Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. A person who lives in the Spirit is a happy person. Therefore, as we come closer to the celebration of Christmas, let us ask this question: What must I do to welcome Jesus in my life and find joy that lasts?
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SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
DECEMBER 6, 2009

The Word of God came to John in the Desert (Luke 3:1-6). If there had been cable network 2000 years ago, then definitely this would have been Breaking News. This happened when Tiberius was the Ruler of Rome and Annas and Caiphas were the high priests of Jerusalem. The irony, however, was that God bypassed the political and religious centers and went all the way to John in the desert. To introduce Jesus the King to the world God had chosen a simple man living in the desert. What does it means?

God centered world order

The purpose of the Incarnation is the transformation of the world. Political and religious powers that operate from a philosophy of domination and power cannot bring out qualitative changes in the world. Transformation happens only on the foundation of God, the source of all goodness. Change takes place only through individuals who are open to God. Hence the word of God went to John who was in the desert. The desert is a free land, totally untouched by worldly pollutions. A desert is also devoid of attraction or distraction of any sort. Therefore, the desert is the place where one can listen to God and discern his plan and start new. Jesus started his ministry from the desert, with the power of God. The new world order that God envisages must begin from the desert, from God. God must be the starting point, the center and the final destination.

Ordinary people:-God’s Messengers

The Word of God came upon John. He was poor in Spirit. The word of God does not go to the arrogant and the mighty, but it apparently seems to go to the unremarkably ordinary citizens. Like Mary said: “He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.” (Lk 1:51-52) The implications are these:
1. God does not depend on our power or strength to accomplish His mission. For example, Abraham was chosen when he was in his nineties. The leadership role of Israel was given to Moses who had a speech impediment. God works through ordinary people who are poor in spirit.
2. If God chose ordinary persons of the world to deliver the message of salvation, then God can come to you and me as well. And this is really the good- news. Jesus is coming to us regardless of our social standing.

Conversion of heart: the basic demand

John was blessed because he was poor in spirit. He was in the desert. He was totally at the disposal of God. As we are preparing for Christmas, John is requesting the same kind of disposition from us. He says, “Repent.” Repentance means conversion of hearts (metanoia). It is straitening our winding roads and smoothening our rough ways. There are two things that one needs to consider.
1. What are some of my ‘exits’ on my journey of faith that are unethical and ungodly?
2. Am I putting obstacles on the path of others making their journey difficult?

We all have blind spots. Conversion is finding the blind spots in our lives and dispelling them by the light of Jesus. Jesus is waiting to come and fill our emptiness. As long as there is emptiness in our lives, we cannot live our lives in its fullness. We must discover our emptiness and then approach him with an open mind. He will fill our life with his richness.

Conversion is not merely regretting the past but moving forward with commitment. It is growing in love, discerning what is of value, producing fruits of righteousness and standing blameless before God (Ph 1:9-11). How do I show signs of conversion in my life during this Advent?