Saturday, March 8, 2014 - How will you celebrate today your call to be a disciple of Jesus?

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa58:9-14; Lk 5:27-32

The call of Levi the toll collector and his response to that call is the text for today. Toll collectors like Levi was were those individuals who paid the Roman authorities in advance for the right to collect tolls. Since they decided the value of the goods being brought in, they could abuse the system and many did. Due to this also because they were seen as colluding with the Romans, they were despised by the people and made targets of scorn and ridicule. The calling of Levi is a revolutionary act on the part of Jesus. When almost everyone else would have seen Levi as a thief and corrupt individual, Jesus was able to see him as a potential disciple. This is an indication not only of the deep insight into  people that Jesus had but also of God’s grace which is given without any merit on the part of the individual. It is a gift and not earned but gifted.

Levi on his part accepts this call. He leaves “everything” for the privilege of following Jesus. Luke’s Gospel alone mentions the word “everything” to stress the total sacrifice that Levi was called to and made. It is an indication that he left his old way of life behind to take on a new kind of life that Jesus was calling him to. He then arose and followed Jesus. The sequence of the actions of Levi is interesting. He gets up and follows, only after giving up.

Levi then gives a feast in his own house to celebrate his call. The scribes and Pharisees complain about the scandal of sitting at table with tax collectors and sinners. By doing so those who sat at table with them were making themselves unclean, but they were also showing social acceptance of a group that was considered as outcasts. Jesus’ response is in and through a proverb and a statement. It is obvious that the services of a physician are required by those who are sick not be those who are well. The mission of Jesus is very clearly directly to those who need him: the sinners. Repentance is not the condition for following Jesus; it is his purpose for coming into the world. He has come in order that sinners might be transformed.

The call which Jesus made to his disciples and here to Levi is startling brief: “Follow me”. This is because his call was a call to a personal commitment to him. It was not a call to a set of values or principles. It was not a call to any kind of philosophy or theology. It was not a call to a particular political programme. It was a call that had as its base and origin Jesus himself. The only reward that one could expect from such a following was that others would be drawn to Jesus because of one’s own commitment and perseverance.

The call is made here to Levi, who was considered as an outcast and one who was beyond the bounds of God’s mercy. This indicates that no one is excluded from the Mission of Jesus. Everyone has a place, all are called. Like Levi it is important to give up the former way of life and then to get up and follow. This requires God’s grace surely, but also human response.

Friday, March 7, 2014 - Do you often do the right thing at the wrong time or the wrong thing at the right time?

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa58:1-9;Mt 9:14-15

The question of fasting is raised by the disciples of John the Baptist. They want to know why they and the Pharisees follow the rule of fasting, but the disciples of Jesus do not. Jesus’ first response is that the guests at a wedding do not fast at the wedding. It would be absurd to do so. Since the coming of the kingdom has often been portrayed as a messianic banquet, Matthew seems to want to insist that Jesus is the messianic bridegroom and with his coming the wedding feast has begun. There will be a time when the bridegroom is taken away and that will be the time to fast. The “taking away” of the bridegroom refers to the death of Jesus.

The book of Ecclesiastes points out wisely that “there is a time for everything”. There is a time for feasting and a time for fasting. But here is the rub: To know which time is for which. Even as we discern about the times for suitable actions, we must keep in mind that rules and regulations can never be ends in themselves. They are only means to an end. All rules are at the service of humans no matter how good or noble they may be. If the rule becomes an end in itself, it loses its relevance and meaning. Also, if following the rule makes one less tolerant of others and leads to pointing out the faults of others, then it may be better to give it up.

HAVE A BLESSED LENT

FOR THURSDAY'S TEXT CLICK HERE

Thursday after Ash Wednesday - March 6, 2014 - At the end of today will you consider your life as having been one that has been worthily lived?

To read the texts click on the texts:  Deut 30:15-20;Lk 9:22-25

On the day following Ash Wednesday, the church makes explicit through the choice of the readings what the overarching theme of the season will be. It has to do with suffering, the cross and death, which here, is not primarily physical death, but death to self and the ego.

This is seen clearly in the first passion and resurrection prediction in the Gospel of Luke which is part of the text for today. Like in the other two synoptic gospels, the prediction in Luke appears immediately after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ. Immediately following Peter’s confession Jesus sternly commands the disciples not to tell anyone of this. This is because he does not want to be misunderstood as a glorious and triumphant Messiah or as one who will come conquering, but as a Messiah who will suffer and die. This is because God has ordained it and Jesus will always be obedient to God’s commands.

Anyone who wishes to follow Jesus must be of the same mind. The first saying on discipleship which follows emphasizes not so much the readiness to die for Jesus as much as the courage to persevere in following him. This is why Luke adds the word “daily” after the call to take up the cross. It is in spending oneself for the good of others rather than pursuing one’s own selfish ambitions that true joy, peace and fulfilment can be found. Paradoxically, spending one’s life for others results in gaining one’s life. The final saying of the Gospel of today cuts the ground from under our preoccupation with material and temporary wealth. What will we have gained, even if we acquire all the possessions in the world, but lose ourselves in the process? This saying reminds us that there are dimensions of life vital to fulfilment and happiness that are not satisfied by financial security or material wealth.

The impulse to succeed in a given profession, to acquire material possessions, and to prosper is powerful. In a materialistic culture we are easily seduced by the assumption that security and fulfilment are achieved by means of financial prosperity. We strive for things that do not last and in the process of our striving, are not able to see the beauty that life has to offer. We exist without really having lived. The challenge is to seek for that which brings real fulfilment and not illusory happiness.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014 - ASH WEDNESDAY - Let your fast today be from food, but also from anger and anything that is negative. Lessen Each Noxious Trait.

To read the texts click on the texts: Jl 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6,16-18

The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and is derived by counting back 40 days {not including Sundays} from Easter day. Ash Wednesday is so called because of the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful, which serve as a reminder of the call to repentance and to believe in the good news. The period of Lent is a reminder of the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert before taking up the mission he received from his Father at his baptism.

Immediately after the six antitheses (5:21-48) in the Sermon on the Mount, there follows instructions on three practices that were common among the Pharisees as a sign of closeness to God namely almsgiving, prayer and fasting. All three though only a means to reach God can be made ends in themselves. Almsgiving can be ostentatious, prayer can be used to show-off and fasting can be used to point to one’s self. Jesus cautions the listeners about these dangers and challenges them to make them all internal activities that will lead the way to God rather than being made ends in themselves. The focus thus is on the motivation with which one does what one does. If the motivation for doing good is to win the admiration of human beings, then that action is selfish and self motivated and so does no good at all. If the action is done out of a sense of duty or obligation, it cannot be called pure and is instead diluted. However if one does the action and accepts that the reward is in the performing of the action itself, such an action can be salvific. This is the challenge not only of Ash Wednesday, but of the whole season of Lent, “to give and not to count the cost, to labour and to look for no reward.”

For us as Christians, Jesus has simplified matters. There is absolutely no obligation in the Christian way of life except the obligation to love. When there is love then all our actions come from our hearts and spontaneously without counting the cost. Almsgiving becomes generous and spontaneous, prayer becomes union with God and leads to action and fasting is done in order to show our dependence on God and not on earthly things.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014 - What is the thing, which is the person, what is that event which is preventing you from working for the kingdom? Will you give it up today?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1Pet 1:10-16; Mk 10:28-31

In response to the statement of Jesus that it is impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, Peter states that they as disciples have left everything to follow Jesus. The response of Jesus is a reassurance that what they have given up will be replaced by the new bond that they will share with each other both in this life and in the life to come. It must also be noted that the Marcan Jesus also mentions persecutions as being part of the lot of the disciples. These are to be expected by anyone who is a true witness of the Gospel. The last verse of this pericope speaks about the reversal of status that will be part of the kingdom indicating that that the values of the world do not apply in the kingdom.

When we sacrifice something for a cause we must realise that our reward must be the sacrifice itself. The reason why we sacrifice is because we believe in the cause, whether it is helping the poor, reaching out to the needy or any other and we must gain our satisfaction from the understanding that someone has lived more fully because of the sacrifice that we have made.

GETTING READY FOR LENT

Monday, March 3, 2014 - Do I possess riches or do riches possess me? Do I use things or do things use me?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1Pet 1:3-9; Mk 10:17-27

This text is made up of two parts. The first is the story of the rich man who is unable to accept Jesus’ invitation to discipleship (10:17-22) and the second part contains the sayings of Jesus on the danger of riches (10:23-27).

The rich man addresses Jesus as “Good teacher” and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus shifts the focus from himself and makes God the focus. In Mark, Jesus cites six of the commandments of the Decalogue (Ex 20:12-17; Deut 5:16-21). The response of the rich man is to affirm that he has followed all of these. Only in Mark does Jesus look at the man and love him. This love results in the issuance of an invitation: the invitation to follow Jesus. The invitation is to forego even the privilege of alms giving for the sake of sharing Jesus’ life style by depending on god while at the same time proclaiming his kingdom. The rich man is devoted to God’s word, but cannot bring himself to accept the invitation. His riches become an obstacle to his following.

After his departure, Jesus turns to the disciples to instruct them on the danger of riches. Jesus uses a metaphor of a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle. Even this impossible as it might be to imagine is possible and easier than for a rich person to enter the kingdom. The amazement of the disciples while understandable also brings out powerfully the obstacle that riches can pose to seeing rightly.

We are living in a world, which keeps calling us to possess more and more. We are bombarded from every side with advertisements inviting us to be owners of land, property, houses, and electronic and other goods. While we must use things and plan properly for own future and the future of our children, we need to be careful that we do not become so obsessed with the future that we forget to live in the present.

DO NOT WORRY

ALL THE WORDS ARE IN THE READINGS OF TODAY. CLICK HERE FOR THE TEXTS

Sunday, March 2, 2014 - EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - Do your best and let God do the rest.

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 49:14-15; 1 Cor 4:1-5; Mt 6:24-34

Stress is considered one of the major causes of most illnesses today. The main reasons for stress may broadly be seen as regret about the past and obsession with the future and consequently not living in the present.

Often, the reason why we regret the past is because we did not do what we had to do to the best of our ability. The reason why we did not work to the best of our ability is because at that time we were thinking about the future. As someone once said “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday”. The texts of today call for a tension free and worriless life. They call for a life that must be lived to the full without stress and anxiety. The prohibition, “Do not worry” in the Gospel text of today dominates the whole text and is used six times in it. The call to look at nature (the birds of the air and the lilies of the field) is a call to learn how God in his providence provides for them. This does not mean that human beings do not have to work for their living, rather it means that even after working as hard as they can, humans must realise the life is much more than simply work and earning a living. It has also to do with being. We are much more than our bodies.

Another aspect of looking and contemplating nature is that when we do so we realise that nature is what it is. One never sees a sunflower trying to imitate a rose or a cat attempting to bark like a dog. Each is content being what it is. With us, however, this is often not the case. We keep comparing ourselves with others. This makes us feel superior in some cases and inferior in others. It can lead to pride and arrogance and also to depression and dejection. When Jesus asks his disciples and us to look at nature, he is also asking them us to be who we are and glory in our selfhood. Each of us is made in the image and likeness of God and is unique and special. There is no need whatever for us to imitate others or to try to be someone else. To be sure we might want to imbibe the good qualities of others and learn from them, there is no need for us to be like them. We can practice those qualities by being ourselves.

This is what Isaiah stresses in the first reading of today when he states that God cares for each of us as if we were the only person on earth. The analogy of likelihood of a mother forgetting her baby is almost negligible. Yet, even if this was possible, it is impossible that God will forget us. Indeed, God has each of us carved on the palm of God’s hand.

This is also why Paul when writing to the Corinthians speaks of being faithful to what has been given him to do. He will not concern himself with the future and God’s commendation nor will he live in the future. The present is all that matters to him and he will do all that is required of him in the present. He will compare himself with no one and let no one but God influence his course of action. The reason why he does this is because God is always the one in control and what God does, he does for our good.

To be sure, there are many distractions in life, which sometimes can take us away from where we ought to look and focus. While planning for the future is good and desirable, what is undesirable is useless worry or anxiety. It is totally unnecessary to live in fear of what is to come or to regret what has been done. The way to live is to correct the mistakes of the past in the present or if they cannot be corrected not to repeat them and learn from them in the now.  

Any comparison is odious. The way forward is to be content with who and what we are and to accept ourselves totally. We can do this when we realise the uniqueness that each of us possesses and that in our uniqueness and because of our uniqueness we are loved unconditionally by God. Our God is a God who cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Our God cares for the grass that is here today and burnt in the oven tomorrow and so will certainly care for all our needs.