PALM SUNDAY

A little girl was walking in the garden. She saw a beautiful flower. While enjoying its fragrance and beauty, she noticed the dirt in which this plant was growing. She felt sad. She said: This plant bearing such a beautiful flower deserves a better place to grow. She pulled up the plant, washed the roots, planted it in a vase, and placed it in the sitting room. One can only imagine the rest of the story.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. We commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. People welcome Jesus, acclaiming ‘Hosanna’. Hosanna means: save us…! The crowd acknowledged his supremacy and expressed their readiness to accept his leadership. Hosanna Day was a day of glorification for Jesus. However, the final glory (Easter) came on the Sunday after. Jesus had to go through the ‘dirt’ of suffering and pain before reached his glory. Remember the old saying: There is no crown without cross.

Bloom where you are planted. God has planted each one of us in a certain situation and environment. They may not be pretty or pleasant from a worldly perspective. However, they are the raw materials for us to build our future. Running away from our God given situations because of its unpleasantness will not produce results. Stay on the mission and accomplish it even if it demands sacrifices. This is the lesson of the Holy week.

LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Suppose someone visits you today. You will not right away start sharing with that person about your sufferings and struggles. However, the Gospel presents an interesting story. Some Greeks visited Jesus. All of a sudden, Jesus began discussing with them regarding his imminent death on the cross. Why is that?

According to the gospel of John, at the very beginning of his public ministry, the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus with this question: Where are you staying? We want to see you. They were Jews.

During the time of Jesus, the Jewish people had an interesting concept of humanity. They divided the entire humanity into two categories: the ‘people of God’ and ‘no people’ (gentiles). Those who were outside of the Mosaic Law were the ‘no people’.

Jesus, however, did not come to a particular group. For God humanity is one unit. It is one family. Therefore, Jesus waited for the entire humanity to come before he revealed the secret of the Kingdom of God. With the arrival of the Greek who represent the ‘no people’ that ‘hour has come’ for Jesus.. Hence, Jesus started talking about things that matters.

Jesus said: If you want to see me wait until I would lift up on the Cross. In other words, if you want to see me look at Calvary…look at the cross. It is on the cross you realize who I am. It is on the cross you would see my identity. Remember the statement of the soldier who was part of the execution team. Seeing the way Jesus dying on the cross, he cried out: He is truly the Son of God. He got it. The sight of dying Jesus wrote a new law in his heart: the unconditional and ever forgiving love of God.

On the cross, he saw the heart of God…The heart that is full of love and forgiveness. Any understanding of Jesus devoid of his crucifixion is a wrong perceptive of Jesus. For, on the cross Jesus revealed the heart of God to humanity. Therefore, as soon as, Peter confessed that ‘you are the Messiah’, Jesus started talking about his suffering and death.

To see Jesus look at the cross and to follow Jesus walk to the path of Calvary. Jesus explained it in a very fine way saying what happens if a grain of wheat fails to fall on the ground and dies. It will not produce fruits.

REDEMPTION, NOT CONDEMNATION
4 SUNDAY OF LENT

There is a great statement in today’s gospel reading (John 3:14-21). John says: For God did not send his Son to the world to condemn the world, but the world might be saved through him. It is redemption, not condemnation and that is the core of Christian spirituality and theology. Paul underlines this view in his Letter to Ephesians. Paul writes: God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love he had for us, even when we were in dead in our transgression, brought us to life with Christ.

The gospels have numerous stories of Jesus’ redemptive love. Consider the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. The crowd waited for Jesus to pronounce the verdict. According to the Law of Moses, people of such crime deserved capital punishment. However, Jesus rewrote the law. Instead of singling out one person, he challenged each one of them to prove each one’s credibility. In the process, Jesus saved everybody.

This redemptive dimension of Jesus’ mission has a couple of practical applications.

1. The Divine Love of Jesus is available to anyone who comes out of darkness. The gospel reading starts with a reference to Nicodemus. He wanted to follow Jesus. However, he came to him in the dark. Nicodemus was in a bind. He wanted the light of Jesus but at the same time, he wanted the protection of the dark. Half-hearted people never experience the blessings of God. A hundred percent willingness like Zacchaeus is necessary to experience God’s grace. This story is interesting. An angler who was out of fellowship with the Lord was sat the sea with his godless companions when a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. His friends begged him to pray. However, he demurred, saying: It has been a long time since I have done or even entered a church. At their insistence however, he finally cried out, “O Lord, I have not asked anything of You in 15 years, and if You help us now and bring us safely to land, I promise, I won’t bother You again for another 15!”

2. Redemption, not condemnation must be our basic attitude in life. Our general human tendency is to find fault with others. As somebody said if we can overlook much and correct a little, then we will be able to do more good than otherwise we are able to accomplish.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Two days ago I went to Ventura to attend a funeral mass. The traffic was horrendous. I took a detour. I got lost. I found it difficult to get back to the right direction. All of a sudden, I remember about my GPS. It was somewhere in the car. I used it and thus reached the place without making any more mistakes.

We are travelers. We have a destination to reach. Our focus during the season of lent is on our final destination and the way to reach there. We often mess up our way. Often we get lost. We need a GPS to travel on the right track. Our GPS is the Ten Commandment. Even though there are Ten Commandments, each one of them focuses on the same theme: relationship. The first three talks about our relationship with God, the forth one talks about our responsibility to our parents and final six are on how we treat our brothers and sisters.

The goal and purposes of religion and worship is to foster relationship and communion. Hence, Jesus was angry when he saw religion was misused and manipulated for selfish interests.

LISTEN TO HIM
II SUNDAY OF LENT

A priest visited a patient to administer the last sacrament. He invited the patient to make the profession of faith.
Priest: Do you believe in God?
Patient: He did not respond.
The priest repeated the question several times. Each time he refused to respond.
Finally, the priest asked him the reason for his reluctance to make the profession of faith.
“I do not want to take a risk until I know where I am heading to.” he replied.

Today is the second Sunday of lent. At this time, we need to ask this important question: Where am I heading? Am I on the right path or not?

The gospel reading today is the Transfiguration of Jesus. This event reminds us of the destiny God wishes for every human being - that they share everlasting life with Him in heaven

"Many years ago, when Leonardo da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he looked for someone to be a model for Jesus. Eventually he found a local choirboy in a church in Rome named Pietro Bandinelli, who not only had lovely features, but also lived a good life. Years passed, but the painting was still not finished because he needed someone to use as a model for Judas Iscariot and he wanted someone whose face was hard and sinful. At last, he saw a beggar on the streets of Rome with such an evil face. He thought twice about asking him; but he did so, and painted his face on his canvas. As he finished, he asked the man his name and he replied, 'I am Pietro Bandinelli, I also sat for you as your model for Christ. The sinful life he had lived had so disfigured the face that had first attracted da Vinci, he now thought it to be the most villainous in the whole of Rome!"

The second question we need to ask is “how do I look today”. We have to look in the mirror of Jesus. In the image of God, we were created. We are the Children of God. There is a possibility that we disfigured our image through our sin. This is the time to transfigure our image by turning to the Gospels.

The way God recommended for us is the way of Jesus. Our general inclination is to approach God with our plan. Peter did it. He said: It is good to be here. We will build three tends. God disapproved his suggestion. Instead, God said,” Listen to Jesus and accept his plan. He is the way”. As Paul said to the Romans: If God is for us, who can be against us? Abraham realized this. Hence, he never doubted about ‘who comes first in his life’.