Religion of the Heart

22nd Sunday in ordinary Time
(Dt. 4:1-8; Ps 15: 2-5; James 1: 17-27; Mk 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Jesus said, “I have come not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.” Very seldom do we see Jesus obeying the Jewish laws. The Bible reported many incidents where he broke the sacred law of the Sabbath. In fact, this was one of the accusations against Jesus.

We cannot imagine a situation devoid of laws। Lawlessness creates chaos. Obedience to the law is the foundation of discipline and discipline is the mother of life. Law creates order and order produces life. The purpose of any law is order and life. A law that does not serve this purpose is not binding anybody. Let me give an example. On our highways and in our cities we have traffic regulations. Traffic rules are for our safety. They are made to help avoid accidents and help save lives. At a red traffic light, we must stop the car. Ignorance of this rule will invite accidents and the loss of life. So we observe traffic rules to save lives. But an ambulance can continue to go ahead even if the signal is red. Why? For, the ambulance may be carrying a patient who is seriously ill. A delay may cause this persons’ death. The ambulance breaks the law to save a life.

The criterion of law is, therefore, whether it protects and or promotes life। Jesus violated the law to heal the sick, to feed the hungry and to save a life. He came so that we may have life. He is life and his activities are life giving.It is not the letter of the law but the spirit of the law that is binding.

On the basis of this discussion we can talk about two kinds of Religion: Religion of the Heart and Religion of the Rituals. Pharisees and Scribes belong to the religion of the rituals. They are happy if the rituals are performed correctly. As they were obsessed with rituals, they missed the core of religion that is relationship. The purpose of religion is to facilitate relationship. Jesus focused on this aspect of religion: Conversion of the heart and the resultant growth in fellowship. So Jesus said’ “What comes out of man make him defiled or undefiled.”

Religion must help us to grow from ritual to relationship. Jesus therefore summarized all the religious laws into a single law: Law of Love. There is only one law for Jesus- ‘Do what is more loving in a given situation.’

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I will be on vacation during the month of September. Reflections will continue in the month of October.
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Choose Life

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18, Psalm 34: 3-21, Ephesians 5:21-32, John 6:60-69)

When Jesus finished his teachings about the Bread of Life, his disciples came to him and said, “Many returned to their former way of life, saying, ‘this teaching is hard; who can accept it?” However, Jesus’ reply was simple. He said to them, “Do you also want to leave?” By making this seemingly harsh statement, Jesus was inviting them to make a radical decision in life – a decision for or against life.

Life is a series of decisions। There are only two choices:-Life or Death. The first man (Adam) was confronted with this challenge. He was asked to make a fundamental decision – a decision, either for life by denying the fruit of the tree or for death by eating it. He failed the test and paid the price. At the very outset of his public ministry, Jesus, too, was asked to make a similar decision – to eat the bread of the earth or to eat the bread of the Father. Jesus came out victorious in this test. He said, “Doing the will of my Father in heaven is my food.” God the Father approved his decision and introduced him to the world as his beloved Son. Before sending the disciples out for their mission, Jesus gave the same test to them: “To eat the flesh and to drink the blood of the Son of Man.” They, also, passed the test. Peter, representing all, said to Jesus, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Now, it is our turn…! Jesus is inviting us to make a fundamental choice. Life is a constant struggle to make the correct choices, because in every person two principles are at work – the life principle and the death principle. (S.Freud). It is easy to opt for death (the pleasure principle) as it is less demanding and immediate in terms of results. The pleasure principle is behind the fast development of the instant or consumer culture. Instant culture is tolerable as long as it does not enter into human relationship. When it becomes a style of human relationship, the result will be ‘adultery, divorce and abortion’. Option for life is difficult, though it is messianic. It is difficult as it demands sacrifices. But the result of delayed satisfaction (Sacrifice) is eternal happiness and peace.

Like Joshua addressed his people, Jesus also tells us today, “Decide today whom you will serve?” Can we answer with Peter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the holy one of God.”

The Eucharist, The Basic Sacrament

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A few days ago I visited a Bible Study Group. They were discussing about the Catholic Faith. During our conversation I asked them: “Can you please summarize the Catholic Faith into a single word?” There was a long pause. A gentleman finally broke the silence. “The Eucharist,” he said. I thought that was a great answer. The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our Faith. Everything else is centered around it.

THE EUCHARIST, THE BASIC SACRAMENT
The importance of the Eucharist in Christian Spirituality is an undisputable fact. First of all, the Eucharist is not just one among the seven sacraments. For example, while the Eucharist offers Jesus himself, other sacraments confer his grace. Through the Eucharist, we share in the life of God and become part of the body of Christ. Secondly, in the Eucharist we have a complete encounter of the Risen Lord. All other forms of Jesus encounters are real but partial. The Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus. A story is told about Emperor Napoleon. This incident happened during a Sunday Eucharistic Celebration. The priest while saying the words of consecration, all of a sudden went into an ecstasy and cried out with wonder and awe:
“I can see Jesus in the Host. Come on everybody and see Jesus in the Bread.” Everybody but the little Napoleon rushed to the altar to see Jesus in the Eucharist. After the mass, Napoleon’s parents asked him, “What is wrong with you? Why didn’t you run to the altar to see Jesus in the Eucharist?” Napoleon replied, “I feel sorry for you. Only today you see Jesus in the Eucharist? I see his presence every time I come to Mass.” Thirdly, the Eucharist is our food for the Journey (viaticum). Life is not a destination in itself. It is a journey. Life continues after death. Manna provides nourishment only for our earthly pilgrimage. We need bread that keeps our life alive until we reach eternity. Jesus offers that bread in the Eucharist. Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John: 6). Fourthly, the Eucharist is the ultimate sacrament that takes away the sin of the world. During the Last supper Jesus said, “This is my blood, the blood of the New Covenant which will be shed for all for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mt: 26:28). Finally, the Eucharist offers us an action plan for Christian Life. When Jesus said ‘Do this in memory of me” he was inviting his disciples to begin a new life style; a life of sharing their blessings and bearing others burdens.

A PROPER APPROACH TO THE SACRAMENT
The Eucharist being so precious and beyond human imagination in its significance in our lives, it is vitally important to approach this sacrament with right respect and disposition. To make our participation in the Eucharist meaningful and experiential I would like to suggest three things.

1 REVERENCE
Jesus was angry when he saw people making the Temple less reverential. He said, “Stop turning my Father’s house a market place.” (John 2:16). Often people show me pictures of their visit with Pope. They dressed like queens and Kings and are at the best of their behavior. Going to a town Hall meeting and going to the Church (temple of God) is different. How respectfully we enter the Temple of God? Proper attitude brings proper disposition.

2 PREPARATION
The amount of preparation one takes shows the importance of the event that one is going to attend or the importance of the person whom one is going to meet. To make the Eucharistic celebration memorable, two kinds of preparations, namely, remote preparation and immediate preparation are necessary.
1. Remote preparation. The key to remote preparation is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Remember the words of Jesus: “If your brother has something against you, reconcile with him before you offer your gifts at the altar…” (Mt: 23). St. Paul repeated the same in a more aggressive way. According to Paul sharing of the ‘cup and bread’ with a blemish heart will invite curse not blessing.
2. Immediate preparation. Before we start any game or sports, we spend a few minutes for warm up. Today as we are busy and are distracted by too many things, it is not easy to switch over from one activity to another like a machine. We need time to dispose ourselves for the next item in the agenda. This is true with regard to the liturgical celebration too. Once a lady said: “ I am there at the Church at least five minutes before the Mass begins. I open the mislet and go through the readings of the Mass.” Another person said:
“When I enter the Church, I mark the sign of the cross on my forehead and reflect about my baptismal call.” We need to develop a way to create the right disposition.

3. PARTICIPATION
The entire Eucharistic Celebration is one single action. If we miss one part then, we miss the whole. For instance, through the penitential rite we prepare ourselves to listen to the word, listening to the Word prepare us to make the commitment (offering), offering enables us to receive Jesus in our hearts and this in turn transforms us and commissions us to serve the lord. Active and conscious participation in the full celebration is not an obligation, it is a right and a privilege.

Bread of Life

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The central theme of the readings for our liturgy these days is ‘The Bread of Life.” The first reading (1Kings 19:4-8) narrates an interesting tale from the life of Elijah. He was on a forty year journey towards mount Horeb. On the way, however, he lost hope, spirit and energy. Totally frustrated and exhausted from the burden of life, he slept under a tree praying for his death. An Angel appeared from heaven with food and drink. He ate the food, received power and continued his journey.

Two things are significant here. First of all, forty years of journey in this particular context symbolizes a person’s span of life. In those days there were no medical facilities as we have today to extent and expand their life span. Even though some may claim today that they can live the full span of their life with the support of science, the truth is the opposite. Without God’s help we are just dust. Secondly, even though Elijah could continue his journey with the bread from an Angel, he still could not reach the destination, the Mountain of God. The bread was still made of material things. This ‘food and drink’, however, foreshadow the Eucharist.

It is important to notice two things here. First of all, our life does not end with death. Secondly, because our earthly life is a destination in itself we need bread that sustains our life after death. In the Gospel reading, Jesus introduces himself as this bread. Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6: 41-51)

Bread of Life has two levels of meaning in the Bible. First, bread of life is the Word of God. The Hebrew Bible used the word food for Torah, the Law. (Ps 119) Jesus also used the word bread, with the same meaning when he said, “My food is to do the will of the One who sent me and to carry out his work.” (John 4.34) With his incarnation, the Torah (the food) became Flesh in the person of Jesus, so that every word that came out of his mouth became bread for Salvation. The way of Jesus became the True path (food) for eternal life.

Secondly, not only his words but with His sacrifice on the cross, his body and blood, the acceptable offering of God, became our bread of life. Today we find this bread in the Eucharist. In the breaking and sharing of bread we receive enlightenment, nourishment and hope as experienced by the Emmaus Disciples.

The breaking of the Word and the breaking of the Bread, together constitute the Bread of Life. The word of God enlightens us to see the things above and the Eucharist grafts us to God like a branch of a tree attached to the main trunk. The immediate effect of this relatedness with Jesus is the New Way of life as mentioned in the Second Reading. Live in love as Christ loved us. (Ephesians 4:30-5:2).

RIGHT VISION AND CORRECT PATH
(18th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

There was a King. One day he gave his golden cane to his minister and said, “Travel all over my country, find the poorest of the poor and give him this golden cane as a support.” He started traveling from place to place, searching for the poorest man; however, he could not find any one who was really poor. Finally he gave up his mission and returned to the palace. By that time, the king had already developed a serious illness and was almost at the brink of his own death. Seeing the minister the King said, “My days are numbered…. I may die in a day or two…. I am afraid to die because I have earned nothing to carry with me when I pass from this life to the next.” The minister could not control his demeanor. He said to his King, “At last, I have found the poorest man in this country. You are that person I was searching for. You knew that you would die one day. Yet, you did not reserve anything for that day. You are the poorest man.”

Two things are important in our life: a clear vision of our destination and the right path to reach there.

St. Paul, in the Second reading (Ephesians 4:17,20-24), talks about the goal of life. He says, “Put on the New Self.” This new self, created in God’s Way, according to Paul is Jesus himself. The whole purpose of life is, therefore, to grow into the fullness of Jesus, who is life and resurrection. We put on the New Self at the time of our baptism. The growth towards Jesus is to be continued until we fully conform to the glorified Christ as revealed in the Transfiguration Event. Therefore, our Challenge is to continue our Journey of life focusing on the things above until we reach our final destination.

It does not mean that we must detach totally from the world. Daily bread is important. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. In fact, Jesus condemned the Idle Person as recorded in the parable of the Talents. As good stewards, we are responsible and accountable for our growth and as well as the growth of the world. By our labor we are called to enrich the world.” Problems arise when we make ‘manna’ the ultimate goal of our life. The story of manna underscores this point. God said, “Gather only your daily portion.” In other words God told them not to be distracted by “What they eat and drink”. God will provide the faithful with what they need. As we read in the first reading (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15), God sent manna and birds when He saw people were struggling in the desert for food. For God, there is no place as a desert and nothing is in short supply.

Jesus repeated the same message when People came to him looking for Bread. Jesus said, “Work for Food that endures for eternal life.”(John 6:1-15). This is important as we are wired to God. Because we are destined to God, compromising with anything less than God will never fulfill our ‘Thirst and Hunger’ for happiness. Jesus identifies himself with this food that satisfies eternal thirst and hunger. He said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus said the same in numerous ways. “I am the life and resurrection” and “I am the way, the truth and the life” are a few among those.

Finding Jesus in one’s life is our destination. Peter found Christ in his life. He said: “Master, where shall I go? You have the words of life.” Paul echoed the same feeling when he said: “For me life is Christ.” After a long search for truth, the Samaritan Women confessed, “I have found the Messiah.” Where do we find Jesus today? It is in the breaking of the bread, in the Eucharist…

The readings for the 18th Sunday invite us to continue our Journey fixing our eyes on the goal that is life in Jesus and working for the things that ensure our passage to everlasting life.

BE PART OF THE SOLUTION
(17th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Problems are part of life. How we approach problems is what matters. The Gospel reading for the 17th Sunday (John 6:1-15) presents a problem. The problem is this. There was a huge crowd in a deserted place. They were hungry. There was no way to get enough food to feed them. Jesus, however, said to his disciple to give them something to eat. A challenging situation! Two disciples approached this situation differently. The way they responded to it tells us a lot about ourselves too.

PART OF THE PROBLEM!
One of the disciples, Philip panicked. He thought Jesus was crazy. He said: “How do we get enough food for 5ooo people in the Desert? Let them go.” A totally negative, uninterested and disappointed response! He did not want to get involve. He even made it bigger by his attitude. He became part of the problem.

PART OF THE SOLUTION!
Andrew, another disciple, had a different approach. Even though he found the problem challenging, he did two important things. First, he looked around to find a way out. His effort yielded a result. He found a boy with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. Secondly he led the boy to Jesus. A miracle happened. He became part of the solution.

There is a big contrast between these two approaches. Philip tried to solve the problem by himself. It is not possible to solve everything by oneself. We need to resort to the help of others. Ours is not an isolated existence but a shared one. No one can solve all the problems alone. We need others. It is equally important to turn to God. Nothing is in short supply with God. In his hands everything multiplies. Andrew realized this.

A HELPING HAND!
It is not enough to turn to others and God to solve all the problems, we need to do our part too। The boy played a crucial role in solving the problem. He was willing to share. The result of sharing was a miracle.

Our surplus is not ours. It belongs to the needy. God has provided the world with more than what is needed. He has shared everything with us. He even shared His Son. He needs our cooperation. In a certain sense, He has only whatever we offer back to Him.

What may happen if we are unwilling to share? I shall never forget this little incident. In the monastery, I was in charge of the orchard. All kinds of fruit trees were growing there. The main attraction of that particular season was a mango tree. It had only two branches. Both branches produced more fruits than each branch could support. Children started to come by and eventually they started to pluck the mangos. Because of this, we had to hire a watchman to keep the children away and protect the mangos. One morning when I came to the orchard, I could not believe my eyes. Both branches were broken and were lying on the ground. The mangos were also scattered on the ground. Apparently, the weight of the mangos was too much for the branches to support.

God is so generous. He comes to us every day with so many blessings. If we do not share them, these very blessings will become the cause of our destruction. The rich man, in the story about Lazarus in the Bible, was punished not because of his wealth, but because of his unwillingness to share. Alone we are helpless but together we are strong. Togetherness must start with me. We are called to be part of the solution.

TIME FOR ONESELF
(16th Sunday in Ordinary Time-B)

A few days ago we celebrated the feast of St. Benedict, the Father of Western Monasticism. He is known for his spirituality of moderation. According to Benedict a genuine spiritual life consists of three elements: Time for prayer, time for rest and time for work. In spite of our hectic activities, the importance of time for rest cannot be ignored. Jesus understood this point more than anybody else. The gospel reading for this Sunday underlines this point. When the disciples returned after their mission trip, Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Matthew 6:30). Before assigning them another mission Jesus invited them to rest.

Time for oneself (rest) is important for various reasons. It helps to discover who we are, to evaluate our previous actions and to get recharged for future plans. A story is told about William James, the founder of Behavior Therapy. One day a lady called him at his office for an afternoon appointment for the following day. William said, “I sorry, I already have an appointment at that time tomorrow. Please visit with me another time.” The following day, she happened to pass through his residence in the afternoon. To her surprise, she saw William James lying in the garden enjoying the breeze. She was very upset. She approached him and said: “You are a liar. You denied me an appointment saying that you are overbooked.” William said: “I did not lie to you. I have an appointment. My appointment is with myself. The time I spend for myself rejuvenates me to help others more effectively.”

Meeting with oneself is important. This becomes more productive if we discover ourselves in the presence of Jesus. In the second reading (Ephesians 2:13-18) Paul says, “Our peace is real when we come closer to Jesus because as we read in the Psalm, “When He is at my side I fear no evil.” (PS 23). Jesus invited his disciples to rest with Him. “Come to me, all you labor and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28)

Jesus invited his disciples for a rest because He was attentive to their needs. Often we are aware of our needs and privileges. How often are we sensitive to the needs of others? Like a good shepherd Jesus had a personal knowledge of his sheep. He was a person-oriented leader. A task-oriented person is not concerned about the need of his subjects, only his own personal benefits. For him the task is important not the person. For Jesus, the wellbeing of the messenger was as important as the message. How do I treat people who are entrusted to my care?

Overemphasis on oneself, however, can lead us into selfishness. Here Jesus himself is the model. Even though Jesus withdrew to a deserted place with his disciples, when He saw the crowd coming towards him, his heart was moved with pity for them. He forgot about himself and made himself available to them. Jesus had the right priority and the right priority gave him the right balance.

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