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.
Posted by
Very Rev. Fr. George Madathiparampil, Vicar General
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.
Posted by
George Madathiparampil
Denaha-Epiphany,1st S,Jan.9,11,Lk.4:14-22
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.
Posted by
George Madathiparampil
(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