St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Boston

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Lent,2nd S,March 13,11,Mt.7:15-27

Lent 2nd S.March 13,11

(Mt.7: 15-27)

The reading from today’s Gospel is a powerful reminder to each one of us about the need for a spiritual renewal in our lives.

Jesus is warning us about the false prophets. They appear to be spokespersons for God but actually they are cheats and deceivers. There is no conformity between their words and actions. They don’t live according to their faith. Jesus warns us to avoid false prophets who are out there to deceive people. They are like bad trees that cannot produce good fruits. Good actions come from those who are good in their lives. People who are essentially bad can never produce good actions. Actions may appear to be good but they are inherently defective.

Jesus, hence, wants his disciples to have their lives based on the solid foundation of their faith in him. Only those who live their lives in conformity with the will of God will have a life that is solid and strong and their lives will never be disturbed by the power of the evil forces.

It is not the words that one speaks but the actions that one does that count in the eyes of God. Those who listen to the words of Jesus and live by those words will have definitely a strong spiritual foundation. They will able to withstand the power of the evil.

In a very few words, Jesus has laid out before us the map of our spiritual life. What is important is the conformity between our faith and our life. Our life should be guided by our faith in God.

Many a time what happens in our life is that we keep a distinct polarity between our faith and daily life. Many of our words and actions come from our selfishness and arrogance. Even when we act in the name of Christ, we are actually acting through our selfish motives. That is why those Christians who are in authoritative positions are such bad specimens of Christ and fail to draw people to Him. We can do all kinds of spiritual exercises in the name of Christ but if they are devoid of the soul of love and compassion, they are worthless.

When we examine our lives as Christians, we find that many a time there is a wide gap between our faith and our daily lives. We live in two worlds. We say and utter words of faith but we don’t see those words translated into our actions. The way we think, act and feel are worlds away from our faith.

We are arrogant and selfish like any one else. There is nothing that makes us different. We retaliate when we are hurt. We abuse others when we are challenged. Our words are contemptuous and derogatory.

This season of Lent is a beautiful opportunity to make a deep change in our lives. Instead of depending on the external rules of fasting, let us go into the innermost depths of our hearts and do some fasting there. It should be a fasting from anger and selfishness, and from biting and sniping remarks.

As Arch Bishop Sheen remarks in his beautiful book, “Lift up your Heart”: “Motive is what makes the saint. Sanctification does not depend on our geography, or on our work or circumstances. The truth is that it makes no difference where we are; it all depends on whether what we are doing is God’s will and done for love of Him.”

All our humdrum tasks of life---typing, office work, work at home, caring for the sick child, teaching, administrative tasks, being subordinate to arrogant bosses, working with gossiping and sniping colleagues---every such task “ can be ennobled and spiritualized if it is done in God’s name.”

May the words of Jesus that we heard in today’s Gospel make us turn a new chapter in our lives and make us better followers of our Lord.




Denaha-Epiphany,2nd S,Jan.16,11.

James Martin S.J. is a prolific writer on contemporary spiritual issues. As a young man he worked in the Wall Street, after his graduation from the Wharton School of Business. But he felt that the work in the world of Finance was not satisfying his inner spiritual hunger. He resigned his job and decided to work full time for God--to become a Jesuit priest. Like Thomas Merton, he abandoned everything he had in the world of material success and opted for total poverty. He wrote a beautiful work called “In Good Company” detailing the spiritual transformation that has taken place in his life. Only those who have deep convictions can witness to those convictions without any fear or anxiety. James Martin belongs to that group.

Today in the Gospel reading, we come across a person with tremendous spiritual strength and confidence who had no fear of men or material powers. It is none other John the Baptist about whom Jesus remarked that “among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”(Mt.11,11)


Jesus has not started his preaching and the voice of John is heard over the hills and valleys of Palestine .People are rushing towards him as if he were the savior. The Jewish leaders are really perplexed at the great crowds John is drawing and at the tenor and power of his words calling people to repentance and to a closer union with God. So they send their emissaries to ask him directly to describe who he is. They ask him whether he is Elijah or a Prophet like Moses or the Christ himself.


It was the belief among the Israelites that before the arrival of the Messiah, one of the great prophets like Elijah or Moses would appear. According to prophet Malachi, Elijah would make final preparations for the arrival of the Messiah. In Deut.18:15, the expectation is for a Moses-like prophet. Hence John the Baptist is peppered with questions concerning his identity.


Refuting all these notions and expectations, he asserts that he is none other than a path-breaker, a voice crying in the desert to prepare the way for the One who is to come after him, the real Prophet and Savior. John also points out the distinctive difference between what he offers and what Jesus is going to offer. He offers a baptism of water, a ritual cleansing whereas the Baptism of Jesus involves the cleansing of the soul. Jesus alone has the authority to forgive sins.


Baptism has a history in the life of the Jews. The rite of immersion once meant legal purification for those who contracted some impurity under the Law. Baptism was also used as a rite to receive the gentile converts into Judaism. John’s baptism is something similar as a sign of conversion or of repentance. But the baptism that Jesus gives confers the Holy Spirit, makes one a child of God and cleanses one of sins.


What comes out of this testimony of John is the awareness of his own limitations and also of his powerful proclamation of the authenticity of the mission of Jesus. In spite of enjoying such a high regard among the people because of his austere life and penance, he is humble enough to acknowledge that he is only a shadow, an echo and that he is not the one who should be given a prime place in their hearts. He is to be considered only a slave as he is only worthy enough to do a slave’s work, untying the laces of the master’s sandals. Referring to John, St. Augustine says that John’s greatest merit lies in his act of humility.


How can we reflect in our life the sense of humility and the power of testimony that John exemplified in his life?

Our arrogant ways, contempt for our neighbors, and our glorification of our achievements etc do not become us as the followers of Christ. Our talents and accomplishments, our family and our resources and everything that we have should be seen as gifts of God. We are just dispensers of the gifts of God. Such an attitude will enable us to become more compassionate and forgiving in our lives.


Many a time we are very shy of bearing witness to our faith in the Lord. Even in our family circles, we are unwilling to share our faith. Parents very rarely share their experience of their faith with their children. Some leave that task of sharing to priests and CCD teachers.


We don’t realize that we live in a world that is unabashedly materialistic and hostile to a Christian way of life. During the Christmas days, people are afraid of even mentioning the word, Christmas. All religious symbols of the Christian faith are ignored. As the Holy Father Pope Benedict has remarked in his recent book “Light of the World”, a negative type of tolerance (not offending anyone) is being created in the minds of people. In such a willful silence, if those who believe do not witness to Christ, it would be a great betrayal of Christ. To quote the Holy Father again,” we need a sort of revolution of faith in many senses---the sense of courage even to contradict commonly held convictions.”(Salt of the Earth,p.33)


It is through our words and actions that Jesus should become revealed. May the words and life of John the Baptist inspire us to become bearers of the Good News.



Denaha-Epiphany,1st S,Jan.9,11,Lk.4:14-22

Holy Father Pope Benedict XV1 in his most recent book “Light of the World” speaks of the need for a new evangelization. He mentions that “ we are not a production plant, but a community of men standing in faith. The task is to live the faith in an exemplary way and to proclaim it….We must summon fresh energy for tackling the problem of how to announce the Gospel anew in such a way that this world can receive it.” On this day , when we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord , the thought that should come uppermost in our minds is how to make this Epiphany relevant in our times and how we can make Jesus manifest through our words and actions.

Like any other Jew of his time, Our Lord went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The synagogue service usually consists of reciting the Shema, a summary of the Lord's precepts, "the eighteen blessings", and a reading from the Law (Pentateuch) and from the Prophets. The leader of the synagogue would invite the guest to read from the Scriptures and talk to them. Following that tradition, Jesus was invited to talk to them. He read the passage from Is.61:1-2 where the prophet announces to the people living in exile that a happy time would come with the arrival of the Savior and that they would experience total freedom from slavery and debts. That freedom would be ushered in by the arrival of the acceptable year of the Lord, referring to the proclamation of a jubilee year every fifty years when debts would be canceled and property would be restored to original owners as described in Leviticus Ch.25.

To those waiting eagerly to hear more about an immediate political liberation, Jesus announces that he is the Messiah and that the prophecy is being fulfilled in him. He is the one who is going to give them freedom, forgiveness and restoration. They expect actually freedom from their slavery to the Roman Empire and prosperity in a material sense. Jesus offers them freedom on a spiritual level.

It is very appropriate for us on this first Sunday of Denaha(Epiphany) to reflect on the words of the Prophet Isaiah which Our Lord uses to describe the nature of his ministry. Jesus offers the people spiritual deliverance from their slavery to sin and restoration to the status of the children of God. He is not a political Liberator who has come to battle with the Roman authorities. His battle is more central to the lives of every human being born on this earth His intention is to give true inner freedom which no power on earth can take away.

The poor and the hungry would no more feel helpless but would find unimaginable strength because of their faith in God. Their poverty and their rags will not be a drag any more. They come closer to God than those who are enjoying the luxuries of the world Poverty is no more a burden and a curse but a blessing and a source of freedom.

What does this mean for each one of us? Our faith should enable us to experience freedom and joy. It should make us aware that in our helplessness and poverty, we are not alone. God is with us.

For a Christian, every year should be a jubilee year. His sins get forgiven when he asks God for forgiveness and he is restored to God's favor. He should, then, be acting in the spirit of the Jubilee towards his neighbors. Hatred and vengeance have no place in a Christian's life. Forgiveness and unbounded charity are the expressions of true inner freedom. As Fulton J. Sheen has beautifully expressed: "It is one of the paradoxes of Christianity that the only things that are really our own when we die are what we gave away in His Name. What we leave in our wills is snatched from us by death; but what we give away is recorded by God to our eternal credit, for only our works follow us."

The celebration of the Epiphany or Denaha offers us an opportunity to proclaim a spiritual jubilee in our personal lives. What are the sins, omissions and lapses in our lives that make our relationship with God as well as with neighbors broken and fragmented? Is the lack of respect or of sensitivity on our part creating pain for those who live with us? Do our violent attitudes make the family life a burden to the members? If so, this is the time to seek the mercy and forgiveness from the Lord and to mend these broken relationships.

Then we too would be able to proclaim the Year of the Lord to those who live and interact with us.

Elia, 6th Sunday, Oct.3, 2010

(Mt.18:1-9)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about humility as the bedrock of our salvation. He demonstrated the nature and the depth of humility by bringing a child near him and telling his disciples to become like the child in its attitudes and behavior. The disciples were looking for positions of authority and dominance. Instead, Jesus offered them opportunities for service and assistance.


St. Augustine very beautifully summarized the teaching of Jesus in the following words: “If you ask me what is the essential thing in the religion and the discipline of Jesus Christ, I shall reply : first, humility; second, humility, and third, humility.”

Those words of Augustine show how fundamental is the virtue of humility for a disciple of Christ.


Without humbling ourselves like a child in our trust and dependence on God, we will never be able to experience God in our lives. If we are puffed up with our ego and are fully inebriated with the spirit of our talents and accomplishments, we will not be able to experience the joy and peace that come from our dependence on God.


The disciples were bothered with the question of the notion of greatness. They saw Jesus as a great and powerful liberator. They entertained in their hearts some vague notions of becoming prominent citizens in the new society that Jesus would bring into existence. In their fantasies, they thought that they would get the kind of prominence at present being enjoyed by the Pharisees and Scribes in their society. So they approached Jesus with the question to find out who would be the greatest in this new kingdom that Jesus would usher in.

The reply was staggering as well as beyond belief. Only those who are helpless, dependant, trusting and simple like children are the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.


He reversed the whole order of values in the secular society. Those who exercised power over people would not be the greatest, instead, humble persons doing all kinds of menial work and service to people would be the greatest. The greatest would not be found in the majestic halls of palaces and cities but in humble cottages and villages.


Jesus also explained to them the right ideas of leadership. Leadership should be exercised for the betterment of people, to make them more attached to God and to deepen their love and trust in God. No one should lead others to sin.


Jesus reserves his harshest rebuke for those who create scandals and are responsible for leading others to sin. Sin is the greatest act of betrayal against God and would involve the forfeiture of heaven. It would be better for us go without worldly conveniences than to lose heaven.

Jesus points out very vehemently that it would be worth taking any amount of sacrifices to preserve our access to heavenly bliss. Even the sacrifice of our body is worth taking if it would secure our eternal salvation. Our earthly travails and agonies are nothing compared with the loss of eternal life. Hence Jesus reminds us not to be a cause for any one to betray his trust and faith in God. It would be better for us to be punished severely than to make a little one to lose his faith in God. Just like a shepherd who goes in search of the one single sheep that has wandered off from the group and then becomes overjoyed in finding it, so too God would come in search of his lost ones and would become overjoyed at their return.


“ We should never give up on anyone who is lost, nor despair of finding them; we should not abandon them to trials and tribulations, nor fail to help them. Rather, we should try to help them to return to the right path if they wander off, welcome them on their return, and rejoice when all those who live righteous and pious lives are gathered together.”(St . Asterius of Amasea)


Let us try hard to remain faithful to the Lord and avoid paths of sin and estrangement. Jesus is our hope and salvation.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart…See if my steps are going astray, and lead me in your eternal way.”(Ps.139)


Dr. George Madathiparampil