Saturday, 29 February 2020
Sunday, March 1, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Sunday, March 1, 2020 – First Sunday in Lent – Do you usually take the easy way out or the right way out?
To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 2:7-9;3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11
Lent is a forty-day period of fast
and abstinence before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy
Saturday when we go into Easter. Sundays are not counted as part of these forty
days, since Sundays commemorate the Resurrection of the Lord.
While Lent means the spring season,
it translates the Latin term “quadragesima” which means “forty days” or
literally the “fortieth day”. The forty day period is symbolic of the forty
days that Jesus spent in the desert, a detail mentioned by all the synoptic gospels.
“By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the
mystery of Jesus in the desert." (CCC 540).
In all three of the synoptic
gospels the scene of the temptation of Jesus in the desert, follows immediately
after the baptism and thus must be seen in connection with it. In Matthew, at
the baptism of Jesus, the voice from heaven speaks in the third person and so
reveals Jesus as Servant King to the people. The temptation scene which follows
is therefore about whether Jesus will be faithful to this mission entrusted to
him or whether he will cave in and give up. It is a lesson on how this revealed
Messiah conquers every kind of temptation that comes in the way of being who he
is, and so conquers Satan as well. The disobedience of the first human beings
is set right through the obedience of Jesus. The temptation of Jesus is
fundamentally the same as the temptation of Adam and Eve: to become one’s own
god. By overcoming the same temptation that the first human beings had, Jesus brought
to the fore both the field and the focus of his mission: liberation from sin
and its destructive and enslaving effects.
Of the three Synoptic gospels, Mark
does not narrate the “three temptations”, only Matthew and Luke do. However,
the order of the second and third temptations is different in these Gospels. It
seems that Luke has changed the order to have as the third temptation the
challenge to Jesus to jump down from the pinnacle of the Temple. This allows
Luke to have the climactic scene to occur at the Temple where his Gospel begins
and ends.
The temptations in Matthew begin
after the forty day period of fasting, and while the presence of the Spirit
with him during these days will have strengthened him, the physical fast will
have made Jesus hungry.
The first temptation is addressed
directly to this aspect, but has deeper overtones. It is about the means that
Jesus will use to fulfill his mission. By asking Jesus to turn “stones” (not
“this stone” as in Luke) into bread, the temptation is not merely about
alleviating Jesus’ hunger, but also about conforming to the popular
expectations of the Messiah as one who would provide for the material needs of
the people. While Matthew does narrate two feeding miracles (14:15-21;
15:32-38), the response of Jesus here is that true nourishment comes not merely
from physical bread that is eaten but from obedience to God’s word.
The second temptation seems to
concern sensationalism and probably even a desire to “test” God’s providence.
Jesus responds by quoting Deut 6:16 that he will refuse to test divine
providence. He will trust completely and needs no proof of God’s providence. He
does not need God to give him a sign.
The third temptation is the offer
to Jesus of “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them”. This is a
challenge to accept the ways of the world namely: to use domination rather than
service, to accept selfishness rather than selflessness and to be crowned with
gold rather than thorns. Jesus’ response is to reaffirm the mission he received
at his baptism and to refuse to follow anything else except the will of his
father. Here, however, before Jesus can quote the scripture to disprove Satan,
he adds his own words, “Begone, Satan!” (not in Luke) through which Matthew
indicates that Satan has indeed been defeated and though Jesus and his
disciples will continue to be tempted, Satan will not have the same power.
Someone once said to me tongue in
cheek, “The best way to overcome temptation is to give in.” While we might
smile at the humour we also realize that while this was what our first parents
did, it was not the way of Jesus. The overcoming of the temptations by Jesus
stands in stark contrast to the first human beings capitulating to the guile's
of Satan as narrated by the first reading. This is the theme of Paul’s hymn to
God’s unconditional love and grace. Through his overcoming sin and therefore
death, Jesus has attained for all humans for all time the grace of God. He is
the one who justifies us. No one will now condemn.
Unlike the first human beings who
disobeyed God and in their pride tried to define for themselves what was good
and evil, Jesus continued to remain obedient and because he was confident of
his intimate relationship with the Father did not need any miraculous signs of
that presence. Nor did Jesus have to prove his own status by being a wonder
working, spectacular and dominating King. His kingdom will come through
service, selflessness, helplessness and through the cross.
Friday, 28 February 2020
Saturday, February 29, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
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.
Saturday, February 29, 2020 - How will you celebrate today your call to be a disciple of Jesus?
To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 58:9-14; 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.
Thursday, 27 February 2020
Friday, February 28, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
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.
Friday, February 27, 2020 - 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: Isa 58:1-9; 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.
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Thursday, February 27, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
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 fulfillment and not illusory happiness.
Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 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 fulfillment 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 fulfillment 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 fulfillment 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 fulfillment and not illusory happiness.
Tuesday, 25 February 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - Ash Wednesday - YouTube Reflections
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.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - Ash Wednesday - How often have you made “means” ends in themselves?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jl 2:12-18; 2Cor 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.
Monday, 24 February 2020
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Authority as understood in Christianity can never be for domination but is always for service. Management experts today are advocating more and more the advantages of using authority for service and leading by example. In this manner the leader can get more out of the ones he lead than if he/she tries to dominate.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 - The world seems to be saying, “If you are not No. 1, you are NO ONE. Jesus. However, is clear in what he says: If you want to be No. 1, be NO ONE.
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 4:1-10; Mk 9:30-37
The text of today contains the second Passion, death and
resurrection prediction that Jesus makes on the way to Jerusalem and Jesus’
explanation of his way of life to his disciples after they misunderstand what
his kingdom is all about. In this second passion and resurrection prediction, there
is a change in the verb from the first where the verb was the passive “be
killed” (8:31) to the active “they will kill him” (9:31)
If after the first passion and resurrection prediction it is
Peter who misunderstands, here, it is the disciples as a whole that
misunderstand because "on the way" they are discussing who the
greatest among them is, when Jesus is speaking about service and being the
least. Before his teaching on what discipleship means, Jesus sits down thereby
assuming the formal position of a teacher. He speaks first of a reversal of
positions and status in the kingdom, and then places before them the example of
a child. In the oriental world of Jesus' time, the child was a non-person, and
so by this example, Jesus derives home the point that they will have to lose
their identity, become non-persons if they want to gain entry into the kingdom.
Authority as understood in Christianity can never be for
domination but is always for service. Management experts today are advocating
more and more the advantages of using authority for service and leading by
example. In this manner the leader can get more out of the ones he lead than if
he/she tries to dominate.
Sunday, 23 February 2020
Monday, February 24, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
We sometimes think that we are acting independently and all that we have accomplished is the result of our own efforts, forgetting that God is always in the background guiding our way and lighting our path. If we ask for God’s assistance before we start a task or even become aware of his presence in the midst of our “doing”, what we do will become more efficacious and even effective.
Monday, February 24, 2020 - Is there something that you have been struggling to achieve but have not? Will you pray about it today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 3:13-18; Mk 9:14-29
The text of today deals with an exorcism after Jesus has come down from the mountain of transfiguration. It is the only exorcism story in the second half of Mark’s Gospel.
The disciples are engaged in attempting to cast out a demon, but are unable to cure the boy and the father of the boy pleads with Jesus for the cure. However, the father's request expresses doubt and lack of faith. Jesus responds to the father's request by first chiding him for his lack of faith. The father responds in what may be words that each of us can connect with, "I believe, help my unbelief." The father of the boy includes himself in the unbelieving generation whom Jesus has chided, but insists that even in his unbelief, he believes. Even this inadequate faith is enough for Jesus to work the miracle. The cure takes place in two stages. After the command to leave the boy and never enter him again, the demon does come out but leaves the boy “like a corpse” (9:26). Jesus then takes the boy by the hand and lifts him up, which seems to be an indirect allusion to the resurrection.
When asked by his disciples why they were not able to cure the boy, Jesus points out to prayer as the instrument that must be used when we need something from God. Prayer is to acknowledge one’s dependence on God.
We sometimes think that we are acting independently and all that we have accomplished is the result of our own efforts, forgetting that God is always in the background guiding our way and lighting our path. If we ask for God’s assistance before we start a task or even become aware of his presence in the midst of our “doing”, what we do will become more efficacious and even effective.
Saturday, 22 February 2020
Sunday, February 23, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
If the Spirit dwells in each of us, then it is not possible that we will ignore, be indifferent or hate anyone. Our discipleship and following of Christ has to show itself in the manner in which we treat ourselves and others. When there is unconditional love and acceptance, then it is a sure sign that God dwells in us and is present in our communities.
Sunday, February 23, 2020 - Will you be an "Actor" and not a Reactor" today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Lev 19:1-2,17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48
Leviticus 19 is considered one of the grand chapters of the Book of Leviticus. A summary of the whole chapter is contained in the injunction in 19:2 which states, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” In order to explicate this standard, an example is given from almost every aspect. The examples are so wide ranging that they may be considered as a summary of the law.
The last of the five injunctions is on holiness in neighbourliness. It goes right to the core of the matter and states that relationship with neighbour determines one’s relationship with God. Even in case of disagreement there must be ‘carefrontation’ rather than hate. This ‘carefrontation’ can even be open and frank. This is because the unity of the whole community is of prime importance.
The Matthean Jesus takes up this theme in the Sermon on the Mount. In the fifth of the sixth antitheses, Jesus not only affirms the thrust of the Law in opposing unlimited revenge, but also calls for a rejection of the principle of retaliatory violence as well. In the five examples that follow (being struck in the face, being sued in court, being requisitioned into short-term compulsory service, giving to beggars and lending to borrowers) the one point being made is to place the needs of others before one’s own needs. The disciple of Jesus is called to go beyond the call of the Law and do more than it requires.
It is so easy for us to be reactors. If someone does something to hurt us, we think that it is “natural” for us to want to do something to hurt him or her in return. In the text of today, Jesus is calling us to be actors and not reactors and to do what we do because we think it is right and just and not as a reaction to someone else’s action. In the last of the six antitheses Jesus speaks of non-retaliation and love of enemies. While there is no command to hate the enemy in the Old Testament, yet, there are statements that God hates all evildoers and statements that imply that others do or should do the same. Jesus, makes explicit here the command to love enemies. This is the behaviour expected of a true disciple of Jesus. They cannot merely love those who love them, since one does not require to be a disciple to do this. Everyone, even the vilest of people can do this. The conduct of the disciples of Jesus must reveal who they are really are, namely “sons and daughters of God”.
The command to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” is similar to the injunction in Leviticus “to be holy” because the Lord id holy. It does not mean to be without faults, but to be undivided in love as God is undivided in love.
The love we have for others is more often than not a conditional love. We indulge in barter exchange and term it love. We are willing to do something for someone and expect that they do the same or something else in return. It is a matter of “give”, but also a matter of “take”. When Jesus asks us to be like the heavenly Father, he is calling us to unconditional love. However, he too summarises the Sermon in the final words of today’s Gospel when he asks his hearers to ‘be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect”.
This is why Paul exhorts the Corinthian community to treat their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit dwells in each of us, then it is not possible that we will ignore, be indifferent or hate anyone. Our discipleship and following of Christ has to show itself in the manner in which we treat ourselves and others. When there is unconditional love and acceptance, then it is a sure sign that God dwells in us and is present in our communities.
Friday, 21 February 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
The
readings of today invite us to reflect on two aspects in the Church. The first
of these is that authority in the Church does not mean domination but always
service. The model of this service is Jesus and it is him that we must imitate.
The second is that even as we are broken ourselves and sinners, we are called
to heal the world.
Saturday, February 22, 2020 - The Chair of St. Peter - If Jesus were to ask you the question he asked the disciples, what would your response be?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Pet 5:1-4; Mt 16:13-19
The Chair of St. Peter is a feast which celebrates the Lord’s choice of Peter to be the servant-leader of the Church. The choice of Peter is indicative of what the Church is. On the one hand Peter was over zealous, brash, impulsive, spontaneous and ready to die for the Lord, while on the other he would deny the Lord and run away when trouble arose. The Church as a whole has been like Peter. Yet, this is whom the Lord chooses and continues to choose, broken men and women called to heal a broken world.
The Gospel text chosen for the feast is popularly known as “Peter’s Confession”. The question of Jesus concerning his identity is not because he wanted to be informed about people’s opinion of him, but to draw a contrast between people’s answers and the answer of the disciples. Matthew is the only evangelist who adds Jeremiah to the answers of the people. Some think that Matthew has done so because of Jeremiah’s association with the fall of Jerusalem. Others think that Jeremiah is mentioned because of his prophecy of the new covenant.
After hearing through the disciples what the people have to say about his identity, Jesus asks the disciples the same question. The “you” is plural and therefore addressed to all disciples. It is also emphatic. Simon Peter answers on behalf of the group. Matthew adds “the Son of the living God” to Mark’s “Christ”. Only in Matthew does Jesus respond directly to Peter. Peter is not blessed because of a personal achievement, but because of the gift he received from God. Jesus names Peter as rock, the one who holds the keys and the one who binds and loosens. Rock here stands for foundation, and though Peter is the foundation, Jesus is the builder. The holder of keys was one who had authority to teach and the one who binds and loosens is the one who had authority to interpret authoritatively. The reason for ordering them to tell no one is to reinforce the idea that the community founded by Jesus is distinct from Israel who rejected Jesus.
The feast of today invites us to reflect on two aspects in the Church. The first of these is that authority in the Church does not mean domination but always service. The model of this service is Jesus and it is him that we must imitate. The second is that even as we are broken ourselves and sinners, we are called to heal the world. This is because like in Peter’s case so in ours, it was not his merit that made him the leader of the Church, it was the grace of God which worked in him despite his sin.
Thursday, 20 February 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Our
ego often comes in the way of our discipleship. Too much importance to the self
leaves one unable to follow, as one ought to.
Friday, February 21, 2020 - Is there a person, a thing, or an event that is preventing you from following Jesus unconditionally? What will you do about them today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 2:14-24,26; Mk 8:34-9:1
The sayings that make up the text of today are addressed not merely to the twelve but to the crowds.
The denial of self that Jesus calls the crowd to is an absolute requirement if one desires to follow him. The reason for this is that as long as the self remains, following will be half-hearted and incomplete. It will always come in the way of following. This denial thus, is not limited to situations of persecution alone but also to those situations in which personal likes and dislikes will get in the way of the proclamation of the Gospel.
The sayings are difficult to put into practice but Jesus never said that following him in Mission would be easy. The final saying in this section in 9:1 speaks about some who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God has come with power. While this reiterates that the kingdom, which Jesus inaugurated (Mk 1:14-15) is indeed a fact and is indeed near, the referent for the saying has been interpreted in a variety of ways. Some see the referent as the event of the Transfiguration (Mk 9:2-8), that is the recognition by Peter, James and John that Jesus has received the Father’s approval and all power. Others see it as the Passion especially the event of the tearing of the veil of the temple and Jesus acknowledged as Son of God by the centurion (15:38-39). Still others see it as the Resurrection of Jesus.
Our ego often comes in the way of our discipleship. Too much importance to the self leaves one unable to follow, as one ought to.
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Thursday, February 20, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
It
is not easy for us to accept that suffering is a part of life itself and that
there will be times when we are tested and tried. However, as Christians we
must also note that suffering can never be the end and that since God wants
only what is good for us we are loved unconditionally even in our suffering.
Thursday, February 20, 2020 - When troubles come your way, do you ask God to remove them or do you pray for the strength to face them squarely?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 2:1-9; Mk 8:27-33
The story that forms part of our text for today (8:27-30) is titled by many as “Peter’s Confession”. The place where Jesus asks his disciples questions about his identity is termed by Mark as “the villages of Caesarea Philippi” which Matthew corrects to “the region of Caesarea Philippi” (Mt 16:13).
The first question of Jesus concerns the opinion of people or the common opinion. The views expressed are already in 6:14-16, namely: John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets. This obviously is an inadequate description of who Jesus really is, and this is why the disciples as a group are asked about Jesus’ identity. Peter replies on behalf of the group that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ.
In Mark, we come across yet again the command to silence after this confession, and concerns not making known that Jesus is the Messiah. The reason for this seems to be that since the confession is made before the passion, it will not have taken into account that aspect of the life of Jesus. This is why immediately after the command to silence Mark has the first of three passion and resurrection predictions (8:31).
For the first time Mark informs us that Jesus “said all this quite openly” (8:32). On hearing Jesus speak about his suffering, death and resurrection, Peter who had earlier confessed that Jesus was Messiah begins to rebuke Jesus. The meaning is that Peter thinks that Jesus is insane and needs to be exorcised of the demon that has possessed him. Jesus in turn calls Peter, Satan. This is because in his confession, Peter had not included the suffering and death of the Messiah. Jesus will remain obedient to God even if it means laying down his life in total surrender and no one can come in the way of that obedience.
It is not easy for us to accept that suffering is a part of life itself and that there will be times when we are tested and tried. However, as Christians we must also note that suffering can never be the end and that since God wants only what is good for us we are loved unconditionally even in our suffering.
Tuesday, 18 February 2020
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Some
of us have a tendency to pigeon hole God and put him in a compartment. This
leads to seeing him merely as one who fixes things for us or one to whom we go
only in need. We might fail to see that he is always there and is much bigger
than anything we can ever imagine.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - Have you seen and met the Risen Lord? If no, what is preventing you from doing so?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 1:19-27; Mk 8:22-26
The miracle story that is our text for today is the second of the two miracle stories in Mark in which Jesus uses external methods. The first was in 7:31-37 in which Jesus cures a deaf man with an impediment in his speech.
By placing this miracle immediately after Jesus poignant question to his disciples about their lack of understanding (8:21) and just before Peter’s Confession of Jesus as the Christ (8:27-30), Mark probably intends to hint to the reader that the disciples too wall understand. Their blindness will also be healed.
The healing takes place in two stages to probably correspond with the two answers to the questions of Jesus (8:27-30) about his identity. The first is the response of the people who say that Jesus is John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets (8:28) and this seems to correspond to the first stage in which the blind man can see people but who like trees walking (8:24). The second is the response of Peter on behalf of the disciples that Jesus is the Christ (8:30) which seems to correspond to the stage where the blind man can see everything clearly (8:25). At the end of this episode, Mark leaves his readers with the question of whether the disciples like the blind man will also be able see.
Some of us have a tendency to pigeon hole God and put him in a compartment. This leads to seeing him merely as one who fixes things for us or one to whom we go only in need. We might fail to see that he is always there and is much bigger than anything we can ever imagine.
Monday, 17 February 2020
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 - What is the leaven (influence) that is affecting your vision of who Jesus really is? Will you cleanse your heart to see rightly today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 1:12-18; Mk 8:14-21
The text of today contains a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples and ends the long sequence, which began with Jesus teaching the crowds from a boat (Mk 4:1-8). This is the third of the three incidents at sea in which the disciples seem to be at sea in their attempt to discover who Jesus really. The first was in Mk 4:35-41 when Jesus calms the storm so that the disciples have to ask, “Who then is this?” the second in Mk 6:45-51 when Jesus comes walking on the water and Mark comments that “the disciples were utterly astounded for they had not understood about the loaves for they did not understand about the loaves but their hearts were hardened” (Mk 6:51-52) and here in the third incident in this section they also fail to understand. (Mk 8:21).
The disciples think that Jesus is rebuking them because they had forgotten to carry food, when in fact he is rebuking them for their hardness of heart. When Jesus questions the disciples about the feeding miracles, the focus of his questions are not on the number of people who were fed (this would be asked to indicate the magnanimity and abundance of the miracle) neither are they on the smallness of their resources (which would indicate the stupendous power of Jesus) but on the breaking and gathering. The disciples know the answers, but are not able to perceive that Jesus is able to provide anything his disciples’ need. They are taken up with his power, but do not really understand.
Like the disciples we tend sometimes to focus on things that are not really necessary and so lose sight of the bigger picture. We can get caught up in details and so not see the whole. We might have a narrow view of the world and so lose sight of the fact that we can find God in all things and all things in him.
Sunday, 16 February 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Monday, February 17, 2020 - What sign are you seeking from the Lord? Will you continue to believe even without this sign?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jas 1:1-11; Mk 8:11-13
The text of today appears immediately after the second feeding miracle in the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus has fed 4000 people with seven loaves and a few fish. The Pharisees demand a sign. The sign they demand is some form of divine authentication. Jesus’ response is to sigh deeply in his spirit, which could be akin to throwing one’s hands up in despair. He refuses to perform a sign. This refusal on the part of Jesus could be interpreted as a sign of Jesus’ rejection of “this generation”. Mark portrays Jesus here as a prophet announcing God’s judgement against this generation.
There are times in our lives when everything seems to go awry. Nothing seems to be going right. At times like these we might keep asking God to give us some sign that he is on our side and cares for us and we might not receive it. It is possible that this might lead us to lose faith and to stop believing. We need to have the courage to believe even without any signs. This is what true faith means.
Saturday, 15 February 2020
Sunday, February 16, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Sunday, February 16, 2020 - Will you interiorise all that you do today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Sir 15:15-20; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37
While the commandments in the Old Testament are ten in number, these are summarised by Jesus into two which actually is one. This commandment is to love neighbour and in neighbour, one loves God. When Jesus speaks in the Gospel text of today as having come to fulfil the law, he means that he has come to take the law to a higher level which is the level of interiorization. This is to state that one follows the law not out of compulsion or fear, but from the heart. This means that Jesus will go beyond a purely legal interpretation to a broader perspective. He will remove the focus from the mere external and concentrate on the internal. The focus will be more on the attitude than merely on the action.
The next verses are about how the righteousness of the disciples of Jesus must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. In the six antitheses (5:21-48) that follow.
Each of the six begins with what was said of old and what Jesus is now saying. The first of the six (5:21-26) is about the Law’s prohibition of murder (Exodus 20:13; Deut 5:18). After stating the law and adding a supplementary, the Matthean Jesus then radicalises the law and calls for an interiorization of it (5:22). The call seems to be to submit one’s thoughts about other people, as well as the words they give rise to, to God’s penetrating judgement. It is a call to realise that God wills not only that human beings not kill each other but also that there be no hostility between human beings. The next verses (5:23-26) are an application of what Jesus says. Reconciliation is even more important than offering worship and sacrifice. The disciples are called to work for reconciliation in the light of the eschatological judgement toward.
In the second (5:27-30) Jesus reaffirms the prohibition against adultery (Exodus 20:14), but goes beyond i.e. to the intention of the heart. In the third (5:31-32) which is related to divorce, Jesus simply prohibits it.
The fourth of the six antitheses is completely a Matthean composition. There is no precedence for the absolute prohibition of oaths in Judaism. Rather, an oath invoked God to guarantee the truth of what was being sworn or promised, or to punish the one taking the oath if he was not faithful to his word. The Matthean Jesus here rules out oaths completely. He rejects not only false and unnecessary oaths, but also any attempt to bolster one’s statement claim to truth beyond the bare statement of it. It is a demand for truthfulness in everything that one says.
Thus Jesus reiterates and states even more emphatically what Ben Sirach had written centuries before namely that one chooses to obey the commandments of God as a matter of one’s own free choice. To choose obedience is to choose life. God will respect the free choice of every individual.
In order to do this we require wisdom, which is a gift from God. It is God’s Spirit which is given freely which helps us choose always what is right and good.
While laws, rules and regulations are necessary and help towards order, it is also possible that they can become ends in themselves and not as they are meant to be, means to an end. We might follow in some cases the letter of the law, but miss out on its spirit. We might even follow the rule or law only because we are afraid of getting caught and punished and not because we are convinced of it.
There is sometimes in our understanding of Christianity too much emphasis on what constitutes and does not constitute sin, and on how far we can go before we commit sin. The real question we must ask is how far we must go in love.
Friday, 14 February 2020
Saturday, February 15, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Saturday, February 15, 2020 - Has my abundance motivated me to “give” at least a little to someone else? Or do I prefer to keep it all to myself?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Kgs 12:26-32,13:33-34; Mk 8:1-10
Today’s reading contains the second of the two feeding miracles that are found in Matthew and Mark. It has largely been regarded as a Gentile feeding as opposed to the first feeding miracle (6:35-44), which is considered as a Jewish feeding. One reason for this is that the setting of the previous miracle of the healing of the deaf man with an impediment in his speech was possibly in Gentile territory and it is presumed that the setting for this miracle too is the same. Another reason is that this feeding is the less abundant of the two. While in the first feeding miracle fewer loaves (5) and fish (2) are required to feed more people (5000) and more baskets are gathered after the feeding (12), here more loaves (7) and fish (few) are needed to feed fewer people (400) and lesser baskets are gathered (7).
Here too, however, like in the first feeding miracle, the crowds eat and are satisfied. This indicates the abundance of the messianic age and what the coming of Jesus represents.
All that we have is given to us in trust by God and is to be used not selfishly but for the good of others. We can decide to hoard and store for future generations of our nuclear families, or we can decide to share at least a little of what we have with the less fortunate.
Thursday, 13 February 2020
Friday, February 14, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
We can use our faculties of hearing and speaking to hear selectively and to speak unkind and demeaning words, or we can use them to listen attentively to the world around us and to speak words that are kind and result in building up others.
Friday, February 14, 2020 - How often have you used your tongue to demean people? Will you attempt to speak only words that enhance today?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19; Mk 7:31-37
The text of today is a miracle that is found only in the Gospel of Mark. The friends of the man who is deaf and has an impediment in his speech bring him to Jesus.
This is the first of two miracles in Mark in which Jesus uses external methods. The other is in Mark 8:22-26. The healing occurs immediately and the confirmation of the healing is shown in the man’s beginning to speak. Jesus gives the crowd a command to silence, but it is disobeyed and his reputation keeps spreading. The comment of the crowd indicates that they are becoming aware that with Jesus the messianic age has dawned, since according to Isaiah 35:5-6, healings of the blind, deaf and persons who were disabled were signs that the messianic age had indeed dawned.
We can use our faculties of hearing and speaking to hear selectively and to speak unkind and demeaning words, or we can use them to listen attentively to the world around us and to speak words that are kind and result in building up others.
Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Thursday, February 13, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
No one has the power to hurt or insult you unless you decide to give the person that power. When someone says something, I need to decide whether I will sulk because I find it insulting or whether I will use what he or she has said to learn something about myself and so use it to my advantage.
Thursday, February 13, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Thursday, February 13, 2020 - When at first you do not succeed, will you try and try again?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Kgs 11:4-13; Mk 7:24-30
At the beginning of today’s reading we are told that Jesus has entered Gentile territory. His reputation seems to have preceded him because though he did not want anyone to know that he was there, his presence cannot be kept secret.
When the mother of a girl who is possessed by an evil spirit makes a request for healing, Jesus responds that the Jews (children) must first have their fill (Jesus’ reaching out to make whole) and only then can the dogs (Gentiles) be fed. While in Mark the response of Jesus accepts the possibility of a Gentile mission even if after the mission to the Jews. In the parallel text in Matthew (15:24-26), it is clear that Jesus’ mission is exclusively for the Jews and not Gentiles. The woman is not deterred and responds in a manner that bests Jesus’ response. In Mark, the concluding saying of Jesus makes explicit that the daughter of the woman is healed because she has won the argument. She has turned the metaphor to her advantage.
No one has the power to hurt or insult you unless you decide to give the person that power. When someone says something, I need to decide whether I will sulk because I find it insulting or whether I will use what he or she has said to learn something about myself and so use it to my advantage.
Thursday, February 13, 2020 - 1 Kgs 11:4-13; Mk 7:24-30
Thursday, February 13, 2020 - 1 Kgs 11:4-13; Mk 7:24-30
Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - Have you focussed more on your “doing” than on your “being”? Is your “being” good?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Kgs 10:1-10; Mk 7:14-23
The text of today continues the discussion of the earlier text, which was read yesterday (7:1-13). If the earlier part was a response to Jewish teachers, this part is addressed to the crowds. Jesus asserts that nothing from outside has the power to make one unclean. Instead of being concerned with externals, Jesus challenges those who listen to him to focus on the internal, since uncleanness comes from within.
Mark presents this teaching of Jesus as a parable and so there is a need to explain it. In his explanation to the disciples, Jesus makes clear that what goes into a person from outside enters the stomach and not the heart and so cannot defile. It is what comes from within, that is from the heart that defiles and makes unclean.
Sin comes from within. While external circumstances do have an effect on us and influence us, we cannot put the blame for our actions on these. The actions that we perform are ours and we must accept responsibility for them.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 1 Kgs 10:1-10; Mk 7:14-23
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 1 Kgs 10:1-10; Mk 7:14-23
Monday, 10 February 2020
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Monday, February 10, 2020 - YouTube Reflections
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - Is your “worship” lip service or heart service?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Kgs 8:22-23,27-30; Mk 7:1-13
In the text of today, the Pharisees
and the Scribes see that the disciples of Jesus eat with unwashed hands, and so
ask Jesus a question concerning what they consider as defilement. In his
response to them, Jesus takes the discussion to a higher plane, by focussing
not merely on what defiles or does not defile a person, but on true worship,
which stems from the heart.
The quotation from Isaiah 29:13 is an apt
description of the sham worship offered, when God wanted heart worship. To
illustrate his point, Jesus gives the example of Corban, in which the
Pharisees’ would dedicate, something to God, and so not allow anyone else
including their parents to use it, but would use it themselves. In case others
wanted to use it, their answer would be that they could not allow them to do so
since it was “Corban” (dedicated to God) and so belonged to God alone.
There are times when we find way and
means to get out of fulfilling our obligations to others. We come up with
flimsy excuses when we cannot keep a commitment, and try to absolve ourselves
of our responsibility. At these times we too can be accused of lip service.