Wisdom 12:13.16-19 Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43

Today’s readings from the Holy Scripture provided us with a very powerful message. The First Reading from the Book of Wisdom spoke of God’s righteousness. Respect for God leads to countless Blessings.  There is no God like the true God. He cares about everyone, shining in righteousness and patience towards all. Righteousness is His strength. He will not judge anyone unjustly.  The Second Reading from the Letter to the Romans speaks of the intercession of the Holy Spirit on behalf of the children of God. We are united to God in the Spirit. The Reading from Gospel of Matthew announces how, at the end of the age, the children of God will be separated from the children of the evil one. The Gospel in fact extends last Sunday’s theme namely the Kingdom of God.  Matthew in these parables speaks consistently of the “kingdom of heaven” and it could be, for some people, a misleading phrase because it seems to refer to the after-life, another world, our future existence.  In fact, Jesus and the Gospel are speaking very emphatically about the world in which are living now.  The Kingdom represents the kind of world that God, through Jesus, wants to see realized among us here on earth.  We pray for it daily in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”  And it will only come about in so far as we co-operate, work together with Jesus.

The subject matter of the parables of Jesus is the kingdom of heaven.  Theses parables emphasize the mysterious ways in which the kingdom grows. It may begin in a small way but end up as something very big.  It may be a struggle with something not so good like the weed and ultimately there is the victory of the good persons.  From experience we know that a garden or a farm has all the desirable plants and also the weeds. Similarly our faith communities are made up of imperfect individuals.  Each of the parable mentions of the purification. But there is a time for it. In the parable of the weed, the farmer waits for the right time to pull out the weeds from the field, lest the removal can hurt other righteous. Similarly, God also does not prune at once. He will do it quietly at his own correct time, waiting for their true nature is revealed. Like the farmer God also knows every thing perfectly and acts accordingly.

Matthew constantly speaks of the “kingdom of heaven”.  We need to remember that this gospel is written mainly for a Jewish readership.  Out of respect, the Jews did not like to use the name of God directly.  “Heaven” then is a euphemism for “God”.  And Matthew uses other devices to avoid mentioning God’s name directly.  “Kingdom” in the Gospel does not refer to a place, either here or hereafter.  The Greek word basileia is better translated as ‘kingship’, or ‘reign’, or ‘rule’, so some translations speak of the ‘Reign of God’.  The Kingdom is primarily an environment, it is a set of relationships, and it is a situation where God’s values prevail.  And what are God’s values?  In practice, they are the deepest human values and aspirations as mirrored in the life of Jesus, who is himself the revelation of God to us in accessible human form.  These values include truth, love, compassion, justice, a sense of solidarity with all other human beings, a sense of trust in other, a deep respect for the dignity of every other human person, a holistic concept of human growth and development.  People who, individually and collectively, try to live these values belong, with Jesus, to the Kingdom of God.  They are united with the rule of God in trying to build a world we would all like to see happen.  It is very much something for the here and now. 

In today’s Gospel reading we have three images or parables of the Kingdom at work among us.  The first is the parable of the weeds among the wheat.  The owner allows them to grow together while the slaves want to destroy those weeds. The Kingdom of God clearly calls for people of the highest ideals and great generosity.  It also calls for a great measure of tolerance, patience, judgment and understanding in seeing the Kingdom become a reality. The parable is saying that people who are filled with the vision and values of God and Jesus must learn to live side by side with a whole spectrum of people who, in varying degrees, do not yet share or live this vision and these values.   We can go even further.  Each one of us is a combination of wheat and weeds.  In each one of us there are elements of the Kingdom and elements that are deeply opposed to it.

The next two parables point to two other characteristics of the Kingdom.  The parable of the mustard seed shows that the work of the Kingdom has tiny beginnings, whether we are talking of the small Church which Christ established or any newly established Kingdom-inspired movement today.  And wherever the vision of the Kingdom becomes truly rooted, it will experience certain and inevitable growth. The growth is quick and phenomenal. The results are extraordinarily large. there is no attempt to explain how it happens. The growth of the kingdom is miraculous and mysterious and rooted in the things of our common experience.  The challenge is to see the extra ordinary in the ordinary. But there is always the need of patience and tolerance.

In the third parable, the Kingdom is compared to a small amount of yeast in a large batch of dough.  Its presence cannot be easily detected for it is totally blended with and part of its environment, as a good Kingdom community should be.  At the same time, it has an energy of its own which produces a remarkable influence of growth in the whole.  Perhaps part of our Christian problem is that we are too exclusively concerned with the growth (or even the survival) of the Church in general or of our little corner of the Church and not sufficiently with the growth and wellbeing of the whole community to which we belong.

We must remember that often we tend to categorize things as good and bad, but spiritual truths run much deeper than outward appearance.  God alone judges and a truly Christian response to this truth is not mere acceptance but deep gratitude.  God allows those who are evil to continue to live their evil ways to their last minute. That will not change anything! In the end, they will still be damned because, through their own free will, they have chosen to be damned.

 Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23

We human beings communicate with words.  Sometimes the words spoken wound hearts and launch wars and at times cement relationships; sometimes make promises and at other times console those suffering as again bring hope to those in despair. We have also the word of God. This Word of God comes into the world in diverse ways and we are not yet ready to receive that word. Today’s Gospel tells us the story of the farmer who goes to sow the seed.  Here our faith tells us that the words in creation brought life and light. Our faith tells us of the word of God that says I am your God and you are my people, tells them that all are his own. Faith says, go and sin no more or again, forgive, make disciples, love your neighbor. It reminds us of the word made flesh and this creative word pitched his tent among us. Today Jesus wants us to bear fruit a hundred fold and win life eternal.

 In the first reading we have the power of the word of God: it is like snow and rain which will not go back till it has yielded sufficient fruit. The second reading tells us of the creation that is groaning, waiting for the redemption of our bodies. The Gospel has the parable of the sower and the seed. The parable has strong links with the First Reading from Isaiah.  In both we are told that God shares his abundance with us and his plans will not be frustrated.  God’s creative and nurturing work is compared with rain and snow falling on the earth and not returning until it has given moisture, “making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating”.  In the parable, it is true that the seed falls many times on inhospitable soil but some will undoubtedly fall on rich soil and produce an abundant harvest.  Here we have the promise of the Lord that the word of God will not return empty.  It will always fulfill the purpose for which it was sent.

The Gospel has three distinct parts: parable, interlude, and explanation of the parable.  This is the way in which Jesus tells the story and his words are very striking. This is followed by a theological interpretation of the parable, perhaps the interpretation emanating from the early Church and providing a definite message.  To an ordinary cultivator the parable itself is clear, placing the emphasis on God the sower of the seed or the creator, who works and produces results.  The interpretation of the parable is on the individual or the ground, the soil and the ways in which a person can respond.  The interlude or the comment in between gives the key to our response and subsequent fertility of the seed.

In the whole of Scripture God’s word is not just a spoken word.  It is a doing word, a creating, life-giving word.  It is like a life-bearing seed.  Where do we encounter that word?  If we are sufficiently sensitive, we encounter it unceasingly in every experience of our lives, whether that experience is joyful or sad, a success or a failure, pleasant or painful.  We Christians in particular experience God’s word in a very special way and that is in Jesus Christ.  For Jesus is the Word of God.  Everything that Jesus said, everything that Jesus did was God communicating to us through him.  Not just his teaching but his whole life, from the hidden years of Nazareth through his public life to his death and resurrection - in all of this Jesus was, and is for us today, the Word of God.

And yet, as in the parable, much of that Word fell on barren soil.  Many refused to hear or to see.  Even Jesus’ closest disciples did not provide, at first, very promising soil.  Jesus’ life and mission seemed to end in tragic and dismal failure.  There was not a single disciple in sight.  His enemies laughed and mocked him.  It was precisely at that moment as the seed “fell into the ground and died” that the Word of God began to take root in people’s hearts.  Beginning, like the tiny mustard seed, like the small amount of yeast in a large batch of dough, the seed, the Word of God, began to grow and flourish against all odds.”The word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.”  As with Jesus himself, so with us today we need to be reminded that God’s plans will not be frustrated, that the Kingdom will be established.

But to his disciples and followers Jesus says, “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear!”  Many before Jesus’ time longed to see and hear but never got the privilege of Jesus’ followers.  The key word today is ‘hear’.  It is a very scriptural word and contains essentially four elements namely, to listen with a totally open and unconditional mind; to understand what one hears; to accept and appropriate fully what one understands; this acceptance flows out into impementation. One can listen but not understand and one can understand without accepting and one can accept without implementing.  All four are necessary for conversion and healing.  All four are necessary for full hearing.

All of this leads to the interpretation of the parable on the level of different kinds of hearing.  Some seed falls on the path.  There is no soil here and hence there is no possibility of the seed taking root.  Ears and eyes are closed and unreceptive to the Word of God. The seed falls on rocky ground in the field where there is a thin layer of soil.  The seed takes root, begins to grow but soon gets burnt up by lack of water and the heat of the sun. It is like those Christians who, after some spiritual experience, have a great rush of enthusiasm for God but, under the slightest pressure, soon run out of steam and fall away.  The seed falls on soil where there are many weeds and thorns.  It gets smothered by the competing plants.  They want to be a good Christians but also want to have all the things of the world. It won’t work.  They cannot at the same time totally serve God and be a part of the materialistic, consumerist, “success”-hungry world.  Finally, some of the seed falls in rich, nutritious soil.  This soil is like the person who hears and understands and yields a harvest” in varying degrees of abundance.

Jesus has a special place for the disciples.  After giving the Parable of the Sower to the crowd, Jesus tells them that it is for them to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven and not to others. They are specially chosen to listen and to understand. To the disciples it was meant to know the way to the Kingdom of God because they were persons with a mission. Those whose eyes are opened and whose ears are able to hear the Word of God, they know the way, the truth and the life that leads to the Kingdom of God.

Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9.11-13; Matthew 11:25-30

The theme of today’s readings is very much one of peace and consolation.  The God of peace comes to us in a very special way to give us his consolation and accept us as his own. During the Gospel reading today, we heard Jesus say that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. When we live our Christian life as a new creation, enjoying the gifts that we have received during the Sacrament of Baptism, we think spiritually. In the First Reading from the Book of Zechariah, we heard the Old Testament prophecy that promised the coming of our King who would arrive in Jerusalem, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  The scene is one of humility but also of peace.  This event identified Jesus as the One who was to rule as the King of kings in the spiritual Jerusalem from above.  As Saint Paul tells us in today’s second reading that if the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies by His indwelling in us. But to continue to dwell in us, we must welcome the Holy Spirit. We must have faith in Christ.

Our God is a God of peace and consolation. We have the message at his birth given by the angels to all: Peace to those of good will.  At the resurrection Jesus appears to the disciples and the first message that he gives is of Peace. He tells them Peace be with you. And he wants them all to have it to the full. Yet when we read the Gospels we are not just given that peace. He tells his disciples that he has come to bring the sword.  There will be the divisions in the family.  He tells his disciples to be his followers only after they set aside their parents relations and al worldly attachments. He tells them not to be in a hurry to be his disciples. He wants them to sit and count the cost. Following Christ is all or nothing, you cannot at the same time serve God and long for material possessions. He is a master who makes heavy demands of his followers before accepting him.

Today’s Gospel further continues to make similar demand to give one’s self to the Lord. It still calls for total giving of self, not as the denial of that self but as the only way to find one’s true self.  At the same time, our God is a God of infinite patience and compassion as we stumble along in our efforts to unite ourselves fully with him.  He says, “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”  Whenever we are confronted with difficulties, hardships, challenges, he is there close to us giving us his support.

Certainly we are all familiar with the story of the foot steps. Once a man had a dream and he dreamt that he was walking with God on the sea shore. As he went he could see on the sky two sets of foot prints.  But he was surprised to see that at certain times particularly when he was in difficulty or trouble there was only one set of foot prints. He complained about this to God. Then God smiled at him and said, my child those were the precious moments when you see one set of foot prints. That moment I carried you in my arms.

Therefore Whatever demands life may be making on us, Jesus is there as our support.  When we are in difficulties and pain, we struggle and we ask him to take our pains and hurts away.  He may not always do so but we can expect him to restore our peace.   We must remember that Jesus is not to be seen as an escape from our problems but as some one who will give us peace, not from our pain but within our pain.  He is there to carry us in his arms and take care of us.

Jesus’ own life is an excellent example.  He had his own share of sufferings. When in the garden of Gethsemane, he was confronted with his sufferings. His prayer was that his chalice or suffering be taken away from him.   This was indeed a perfectly normal human reaction to the threat of death. But he adds, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you desire.”  His request was not granted but he has his consolation,    namely his inner peace.  His prayer had been answered, although not in the way he had requested.

So Jesus says today, “Shoulder my yoke… and you will find rest…  Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  A yoke we think of as a heavy piece of wood placed on the shoulders of an ox.  But, because of the yoke, the ox can pull the weight of the cart behind it more easily.  It is a burden which is also a help.  The words of Jesus often seem, at first sight, to be very painful and hurting, yet they are also a support.  There is still another way of understanding the image of the yoke.  Think of it as a double yoke, where two oxen can work together better.  We now have a lovely image of Jesus and us using the yoke together, and pulling together.  “Shoulder my yoke” then becomes “Share my yoke”.  Where I go, he goes along with me, pulling together with me and making it all the easier. This coordination with Jesus gives new meaning to life. Thus we have a call from him: We are called to be with Jesus all the way, accepting his life vision, his standards, and his values - unconditionally.  This calls for the simplicity and openness of children rather than intellectual sophistication.  Accepting Jesus all the way is not intended as a burden but as a source of comfort, peace, liberation and joy.

Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19  June 29, 2008

Today we celebrate a special feast of the Church, symbolized by the two great apostles, Peter and Paul. They were the two men around whom the mission of Jesus to establish the Kingdom was centered and from whom it grew and spread to every corner of the world. As the preface for today’s Mass puts it: “Peter raised up the church from the faithful flock of Israel. Paul brought your call to the nations, and became the teacher of the world. Each in his chosen way gathered into unity the one family of Christ. Both shared a martyr’s death and are praised throughout the world.” Each one represents two very distinct roles of the Church in its mission to the world. While St. Peter had been chosen to bring most of the Jewish people into the Body of Christ as stated before, St. Paul was chosen as God’s instrument to bring the Name of the Lord before the Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel.

In the Gospel we have the familiar passage of the confession of Peter and the beginning of the church. But it has something more, a call to decide which Peter does and we seem to forget it. Here Peter offers the confession of faith.  The issue is not what others say of Jesus but what they personally think he is. In other words it is not just to know about Jesus but to know Jesus. It is the personal relationship which Peter communicates to Jesus and to us.  Paul on the other hand understood Christ and identified with him.  For me to live is Christ and all else is waste he says. He who had not seen Christ could visualize him in his divinity and at the same time in his identity with humanity.

Peter represents that part of the Church which gives it stability, built the traditions, showed continuity, indicated the structures, gave consistency and unity and gave leadership to the community. In the Pope we see that continuity the symbol of the unity of the church. He was the one who understood the master and was able o move with him and Jesus kept him close to him. Paul, on the other hand, represents the prophetic and missionary role. He was a visionary the apostle of the gentiles. He was instrumental in the spread of the church to different regions and also provided the spiritual leadership, dynamism and courage. He could face persecutions for Christ and lead people into the new life built on Christ. Paul’s love for Jesus is so intense that he finds it difficult to choose between staying alive and working for the Kingdom or dying and being reunited with Jesus, his beloved Lord. As he said once in an unforgettable phrase: “For to me life is Christ, to die is gain.”

The readings today emphasize the presence of God in the work of his Church. Peter’s faith and acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah-Christ and Saviour-King are rewarded by his being made the foundation on which Christ will build his Church. Through Peter, Jesus gives his Church a guarantee of never-ending protection. And he gives to Peter, as his representative, the powers, which he himself had received from the Father, the “keys of the Kingdom”. We see that in the First Reading where Peter is thrown into jail for preaching the message of Christ and the Kingdom. As Paul, who was himself in prison more than once, will say later, the word of God cannot be bound. Peter finds release and then goes back to the only thing he can do - proclaim the message of his beloved Master. The miraculous release from prison symbolizes that protection over his Church which Jesus had promised in the Gospel. It is significant too that Peter’s imprisonment occurred during Passover week, the same week in which Jesus himself was arrested and suffered.

Paul in the Second Reading speaks first with gratitude of how his life has been spent in the service of his Lord. “I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith.” May we be able to say the same as we approach the end of our life. Paul also speaks of how God continued to protect him through all kinds of trials and persecutions. “The Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the non-believers to hear.” He too knows that the Lord will continue to protect him but he also knows that when his time comes he is ready to go. This Second Reading from the Second Letter to Timothy affirms the importance of persevering in one’s living faith. St. Paul further proclaimed that the Lord stood by him and gave him strength so that through him, the message, the Good News of the Gospel, may be fully proclaimed to the Gentiles.

Church history tells us that the Lord has stood by His saints, protecting them against obstacles. Over and above this, Jesus has performed many great miracles as a sign to the faithful that His Divine power was being manifested through the loyal saints who persevered in their living faith… even to this age. This is a sign to all of us that Jesus is not a God of the past, but a God of the ongoing present. He is a God who is reaching out to us, calling us to serve Him so that we may shine as lights in the world. To us, weak human beings, not angels, but human beings, the Lord has given His Spirit to guide us and teach us according to the progressive needs of the Catholic Church for its spiritual growth and enrichment.

Today we have the example of these two saints Peter the Leader and Paul the missionary and both in their own way became powerful instruments of the Lord. May we too be such instruments in the world of today.

 Readings: Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

What we hear in the dark, we are to tell in the light. What is whispered in our ears is to be proclaimed from the roof tops.  For the Disciples of Christ hearing the good news of God in Jesus has the responsibility to proclaim. Like Jesus and Jeremiah we have the duty to proclaim the good news to the unbelieving world. No one likes to hear the truth. If one speaks of peace during war, mercy and forgiveness after the violence, justice in the corrupt world is considered an insane activity.  The follower of Jesus who speaks will be considered a laughing stock in today-s community.

Today’s First Reading from the Book of Jeremiah recalls an event that took place when the Lord God called the great prophet Jeremiah as His spokesman to warn the people of the coming judgment that awaited Israel because of their sins. The unbelievers laughed at Jeremiah. They plotted against him so that they could silence him.  Frustrated with the people who lived in sin, Jeremiah decided to keep quiet, to stop talking on behalf of the Almighty Lord God.  But Jeremiah was burning with such an intense fire within his heart that he could no longer keep quiet. He had to speak on behalf of the Lord. Today’s Second Reading, the Letter of Paul to the Romans, reminds us that by the grace of God the Father, we received a free gift through Jesus Christ. Through the sin of disobedience of one man, Adam, all his descendants were called to suffer eternal damnation. But, thanks to the righteous act of one Man, Jesus Christ, His perfect sacrifice as the Lamb of GodThe reading from the Gospel of Matthew advises us not to fear men.  Jesus asks the twelve disciples not to be afraid. As disciples we stand with Jesus entrusting ourselves to him. Jesus reassures us of our value in God-s eyes and he will protect us as he does with the birds of the air in a loving embrace.

Who is Jesus?  And who are we?  These are the two questions we must ask ourselves when we read the gospel for today’s liturgy.  Who is Jesus?  He is the One who speaks to us!  “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light.”  Jesus is the Word of the Father, he whom the Father begets and conceives eternally in the Spirit of Love!  Jesus is this Man, who is also and firstly God, but who is our Mediator with the Father:  it is through Jesus and in Jesus that the Father makes us his adoptive sons, heirs with his only Son. Who are we?  We are those who speak to the whole world the same Word that we have heard, in Jesus, from the Father!  “. . . utter in the light;  and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.”  Because if we are adoptive sons of the Father, and heirs with Christ, then we are also, in a certain way, mediators of the Father’s Word, the Word that is none other than Jesus himself.  We are those through whom other men and women can also become adoptive sons of God in Jesus Christ!

Jesus tells us not to be worried of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. The history of the church is filled with examples where people have stood for Jesus and sacrificed their lives. A prominent example was when Archbishop Oscar Romero was gunned down in the middle of celebrating Mass by the military rulers of El Salvador, to be followed some years later by the brutal and sadistic murder of six Jesuit priests dragged from their beds in the middle of the night.  All that these men did was to draw attention to the many injustices being perpetrated against the poor and powerless in their society.  There are many others who have died silently and are known to Jesus alone. They can be found, for instance, in the history of the Church in China, Japan and Korea where thousands have shed their blood in the name of the Gospel.  It has been said that there have been more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than in any other since the time of Jesus.

Jesus uses the example of the sparrows, a bird seemingly worthless.  A buyer certainly can have a good bargain while purchasing them. Yet God is concerned about them and they will not be lost without Father’s wish. Jesus wants to tell his disciples that much greater concern is shown towards them by the Father.  It is quite an illusion, which we sometimes live under, to think that the perfect Christian is someone who is loved and admired by all.  On the contrary, such a person is likely to be bitterly hated “for my name’s sake”. To be a fully committed Christian involves loving others with the same love that Christ showed for us but it is no guarantee whatever that we will be loved in return.  We are not Christians in order to be loved and looked up to but to proclaim by word and example the vision of a fully human life that Jesus taught us.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that we do have a responsibility to stand up and be counted.  And, thank God, many are still doing so.  “If anyone declares himself for me in the presence of others, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven.  But the one who disowns me in the presence of others, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.” At the same time, we are assured of God’s protection and help. The greatest danger is not the loss of our lives, although some people will be prepared to make any compromise to survive physically.  As Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”  The greatest fear is not that we may be killed but that we may be seduced into betraying those values on which our integrity as human persons depends.  To save our “bodies” at the expense of Truth, at the expense of Love, at the expense of Justice, at the expense of Freedom, at the expense of Human Solidarity - this is the real danger.  That is the real death.

This is a common reaction to prophets, as in the case of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  It makes it easier for people not to have to listen to their message.  In spite of all, however, Jeremiah knew that God and Truth were upholding him.  “The Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure.”

Readings: Exodus 19:1-6;   Romans 5:6-11;   Matthew 9:36-10:8

The Gospel of today opens with the passage where Jesus looking over the crowds of people with a feeling of compassion for them.  They are “harassed and helpless” like sheep without a shepherd.  They have no one to care for them. Things do not seem to have changed much even today.  So many people are harassed by various forces and are helpless, drifting without any real direction in their lives.  “Do you know where you’re going to?” Diana Ross and the Supremes sang the classical song some years ago.  How many of us can really answer that question as to which direction we are moving? So Jesus tells his followers: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”  Certainly the harvest is plentiful.  There are about one billion Christians in the world today and that seems like a huge number.  Even so we only account for one fifth of the world’s population.  Eighty percent still do not know Christ!  And, even among many of those who carry the name Christian and have been baptized he is, to a large extent, a stranger.

One way we can ask the Lord to send laborers into his harvest is for each one of us to say to him: “Here I am, Lord.  Send me.”  So often we pray for “vocations” but we do so in a very narrow way as if the only vocation was to be a priest or religious.  And somehow we always seem to be thinking of other people, people we do not know, certainly not people in our own family or our own children.  Today, let us hear the call made to ourselves and reflect on how we can answer.

These disciples are called “apostles”.  The apostle is on who is sent on behalf of another. They are called by name, all the twelve of them.  It may surprise us that this is the only time this word is used in Matthew’s gospel.  They are the disciples and a disciple is a follower, someone who learns from a master and becomes more and more like him.  The word ‘apostle’ is a more active word.  It implies someone who is entrusted by his lord and master with carrying an important message to others.  Obviously, of course, one has first to be a good disciple before becoming a reliable apostle.

Why twelve?  Because in the old Israel there were the twelve sons of Jacob, who became the patriarchs and the heads of the twelve tribes into which Israel was divided.  These twelve men are the leaders of the new Israel, the new Kingdom being established through Jesus. They were certainly a mixed bunch of people.  Some of them were probably illiterate, which was not such a serious handicap in those days when there were hardly any books.  One of them was a former tax collector, one of a class much despised for the greed and corruption.  Another seems to have been some kind of anti-government rebel or subversive.  And one, of course, turned out to be a traitor. Some were ordinary fishermen. Therefore it does not give us much reason to say that “I am not good enough to do the Lord’s work”.  When we look at the Church today in all its vastness and complexity and in the extraordinary cultural richness it has given to the world.  We are amazed that this was all begun by people of such limited competence.  If Jesus could use them, he can certainly use any one.  Can we say to him today, “Here I am, Lord; use me”?

The twelve are chosen from the many that were called.  The calling of the apostles is important. In Prophet Isaiah we read that the person is called by name because he is God’s own person.  The Jews believed that to call some one by name was to take possession of the person and only God could do it. They could not utter God’s name and in the Bible they substituted it with Adonai, the Lord.  Some of the names do not come again in the Gospels but they are important because Jesus has called them on a mission.  Secondly, twelve was an important number we read in the old Israel there were the twelve sons of Jacob, who became the patriarchs and the heads of the twelve tribes into which Israel was divided.  These twelve men are the leaders of the new Israel, the new Kingdom being established through Jesus. At first, these apostles are told only to go to the ‘lost sheep’ of Israel and to avoid the Samaritans and Gentiles.  God’s message is first for his own people and, in general, Jesus’ own work is almost entirely confined to the Jewish community.  Later, of course, the mandate is extended to people everywhere.  And what are these missionary apostles to do?  They are to proclaim that “The kingdom of heaven is near!”

The apostles are to show the nearness of the Kingdom by curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, casting out demons.  These are all signs of God’s loving power reaching deep into people’s lives. In modern terms that could mean: Bringing healing into people’s lives.  People can be sick in many ways, and not just physically.  We can all be agents for bringing healing and wholeness back into people’s lives, especially those we come in contact with.  We cannot literally raise people from the dead.  We can, however, help people to recover an interest and zest for living.  People can be physically alive but dead in many other respects.  Cleanse lepers.  For us, that is to rehabilitate and bring back fully into our communities all those who, for one reason or another, are marginalized, rejected, despised, ostracized on the basis of race, nationality, marital status, religion, gender, sexual orientation…

Cast out demons.  In our day demons are all those suffocating and enslaving forces which dominate, manipulate and restrict our freedom to live in truth and love.  Finally, says Jesus, “You received without payment; give without payment.”  Yes, all that we have are God’s gift to us.  God’s gifts to us are literally price-less.  They are meant to be used freely and liberally for the benefit of all.  We are not in the business of sharing our faith for the money or the kudos it brings.  To paraphrase President John Kennedy: “Ask not what others can do for you; but what you can do for others.”

However, we must remember that kingdom of God is not a place.  It might be better to speak of the reign, the kingship of God.  The kingship of God is a situation because of the presence of Jesus Christ.  We enter the kingdom not by going somewhere but by aligning ourselves totally with the Way of Jesus, when his thoughts become our thoughts, when his ways become our ways.

Readings: Hosea 6:3-6;   Romans 4:18 -25;   Matthew 9:9-13

All the three readings give us the single theme:  God’s invitation to faith demands repentance. In the Gospel we see Matthew a despised tax collector is going about his normal daily routine. Jesus stops close to him and says, “Follow me.”  What power there must have been in the gaze of Jesus and the firmness of his voice? Matthew has no hesitation; he gets up, leaves everything and follows Jesus. Then he makes a celebration out of it calling all his friends and to show that he has begun a new life. In the first reading, God says, what I desire is steadfast love and not sacrifices, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. The Lord will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.  In the Second Reading Paul speaks of the faith and trust of Abraham in God.  Because of this God remains faithful to him and grants him a son in his old age.

The Gospel reading describes the call of Matthew or as some evangelists say, the call of Levi.  Perhaps he was the evangelist Matthew himself or some person much involved in his worldly ways whom Jesus calls to be his disciple.  On that day, something very special and totally unexpected came into this man’s life.  The poetic words of the First Reading are realized here: “Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that he will come is as certain as the dawn his judgment will rise like the light, he will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.”  Yes, the Lord comes to all of us in the most unexpected ways and at the most unexpected times.  Matthew was ready with his response when he came.  Jesus called him and in a generous spirit Mathew said yes to him.

For Mathew this was the divine call. A divine call is always intimate and personal.  There is an invitation and response. Every human being is called by God at different levels. The first call which every human person gets is at birth when God calls personally, by name. He takes possession of the individual.  He gives all the life and shares his very life with the person. Secondly there is a call of a higher level, to be Christian. A special call is given to the individual to die to the world and to be reborn in Christ, a call to baptism. Finally a unique call is given to individual towards a choice of life to be particularly close to Jesus, to renounce all and be with him and follow him. This is a special call where all are called to be faithful to the evangelical counsels and be followers of Jesus in the vocation they have chosen. Like every person, Mathew received this call.

Certainly, Matthew was a highly unlikely candidate for discipleship.  After all, he was a tax collector.  Tax collectors were among the most despised group of people in Jewish society of the time. They, like lepers were the outcasts of the society because of their association with the Romans.  Tax collectors never could be particularly popular, given their distasteful job and during Jesus’ time they were collecting taxes on behalf of a hated and pagan colonial ruler.  As such they were seen as collaborators and traitors both to their own people and to their religion.  The Romans had the custom of farming out the collection of taxes to volunteer agents.  These paid up the amount that the Romans demanded and then had to get back the money from the people.  In order to make a living from such work, they needed to collect more than they had paid the Romans.  This was like the zamindari system in India followed by the British rulers. They had their “commission” but there was often an element of extortion and corruption in the whole practice.

Jesus now invites one of these despised people to be his chosen follower.  We can imagine Matthew’s astonishment at being picked out in this way.  Jesus does not judge a person from his exterior behaviour and Jesus also shows that we have no right to pass any judgment. His choice is unique, special and personal which goes beyond any reason. Our God is indeed a God of surprises. We see this in the Second Reading where Paul speaks of the faith and trust of Abraham in God.  Abraham and Sarah already advanced in age and are longing for a son to carry on the family name.  They are rewarded because of their trust and faith in God and in his promises.

Now Jesus does something more drastic and totally unexpected thing. He accepts Mathew’s invitation and goes to his house for dinner with his disciples and joins Mathew’s tax collector friends. It looks as if it was altogether natural for Matthew to celebrate his new calling with his friends.  Seeing this some Pharisees are shocked and scandalized. For Jesus it is a lesson that he teaches to all, namely, to be a model of the Church community where Christians gather to listen to him and experience his healing.  The Pharisees complain about this act of Jesus but Jesus responds saying it is the sick that need doctor.  Jesus is the healer or as we heard in he first reading, where God says, what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.” The lost sheep has to be sought out and found and not the ninety nine faithful ones who already have been filled with the divine love.

The lesson of today’s readings is clearly relevant for our own day.  When looking for potential followers of Christ we wonder at times at the wisdom of God’s choice.  When we look at the twelve apostles, they were indeed a strange bunch.  Full of faults, fragile in their faith but in the end they started something extraordinary which today plays a central part of our lives. Secondly Jesus looks for compassion and love and not wisdom and eloquence. He will give his spirit and will transform his chosen ones.

Anecdote: Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example of an unrestricted calling by God. Once there was a coupe in a particular village and the wife told the husband, my dear I am afraid of my brother. He has planned to leave the world and for the past three months he has been sacrificing bit by bit his food special dishes and his rich clothes to be accustomed of being a sannyasi (mendicant). The husband smiled and said, my dear you need not be afraid. Those who plan to leave the world this way will never leave it. She was surprised and said then how does one leave and become sannyasi?  The husband said, do you want to know? Look. He got up, tore his flowing garments, wore a loin cloth, took a stick and begging bowl, bowed to his wife and said from now all every woman to me is like a mother and left the house never to return.

Readings:  Deuteronomy 11:18.26-28; Romans 3:21-25.28; Matthew 7:21-27

The first reading of today tells us that there are only two ways to follow, the good or the evil, and no in-betweens. Every person has to make a choice and accept the way of life, built on truth, justice and love, and built on the inseparable link of love of God and those around us, which God in Jesus presents to us.  The second reading tells us how the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament all point towards Jesus the Messiah, yet God’s justice has been given through faith in Jesus. This for us is the means of salvation given by Jesus and purchased by his Precious Blood and granting us the remission of sins. The gospel of today taken from the closing verses of the Sermon on the Mount tells us that Jesus is the true foundation of faith and if we rely on him we will be strengthened and fortified and no storm can destroy us.

Let us reflect a while on the Gospel we heard today taken from the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount gives us the ethical norms to be observed by every Christian. It gives us a practical way of living and observing the norms. A person is not to be measured simply by what he does and says however religious or “holy” he may seem to be. It is not enough, for instance, to keep saying “Lord, Lord…” That by itself will not bring a person under the kingship of God. It is not enough to preach brilliant sermons before huge crowds or work miracles or show wonders.  True disciple is someone who is totally united to God in his heart, soul and mind.  He is one who listens to Jesus’ words and carries them out.

What do we mean by “listening” to Jesus?  First, we have to hear what Jesus is saying. We can only do that by being in touch with the Word of God which we find in the Scriptures, in the people, in the work, in our activities and above all in our own community.  Secondly, we need to understand what we hear and read of the Word of God. This understanding of the word does not come without some effort.  Every one must put in all effort to comprehend the word, to grasp the inner meaning.  Thirdly, we need to accept fully and to assimilate into our very being the word we have come to understand. It is possible to hear well, to understand clearly, but not to accept or assimilate it. In other words make it part and parcel of our life. Fourthly, when, like Paul, we have fully assimilated as part of our own thinking what we have heard and understood, we naturally act accordingly, that is we live that word.. It is a question of seeing things in the same way as the Gospel. As Fr Tony de Mello used to say, “It is all a question of attitude.” When we see life and relationships the way the Gospel does, our behaviour is likely to follow quite naturally. It is only when all this becomes a reality in our lives that we can say we are truly disciples of Jesus and, as he says, that is the only sure foundation on which to build our lives.

Jesus was an expert in scriptures and also expert in life in all its minute details. Here he gives us the picture of two builders of houses, something that really took place in Palestinian situation.  The builder had to be a practical person making proper choice of the place to build a house. In winter the rains could be torrential and the rivers could easily change direction and wash away all that had no strong base or foundation.  The ground was mostly sandy and the builder had to look for a strong rocky place.  Such a house well built, could withstand any storm. The house without foundation even though may look beautiful, cannot withstand any storm. It is important for us to understand this in the context of today’s Gospel. When we become Disciples of Christ and live the life he calls us to, built on strong foundation of the word of God.  We do that, not on the basis of our own efforts, but in response to his coming into our lives. All we do, we do “through him, with him and in him” being united with him.

Jesus demands of his followers what each person must do. The person must have the personal knowledge and love of Jesus. Knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action. A person may know his religion very well and still may not be a follower of Jesus.  Knowledge must become action; theory must become practice; theology must become life.  The hearing and doing must go together in life. These two words are summed up in one single word: obedience.

There was once a report in paper about a sailor being severely punished for lack of obedience. All the newspapers condemned this act except for a retired sailor. He gave his own experience in a ship. Once when all crew was busy working suddenly there was a command from the office in charge, “down.” All the sailors just fell on the floor. Just then a snapped wire zoomed like a snake over them and if any had disobeyed, they would have been killed. Obedience saved their lives. Jesus demands that obedience.

To live a Christian life only on the surface, that is, only with words and externally conforming behaviour, is like building a house on sand. Once we come under attack, we will collapse because we have no deep foundation inside. We see that happening frequently when people who have lived in an outwardly Christian environment move to a purely secular situation. They fall away very quickly. So let us be like that sensible man who builds his house on rock. The Rock is the firm foundation that is Christ, together with the vision of Christ which becomes also the light that guides our own life, a life built on truth and love.  But true Christians do not ask whether something good is legal or illegal. They love God, they love Jesus, and they love their brothers and sisters and act. Their only concern is how they can serve and love them more. They want to work with Jesus and with their brothers and sisters to build the Kingdom of God. No matter how much they do, they know there is always room for doing more in life.

The readings: [Deut. 7:6-11; 1 Jn. 4:7-16; Mt 11:25-30]

Today’s celebration of this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus echoes the Divine love of God that was manifested in both, the human and divine natures of our Lord Jesus Christ. Linguistically speaking, the word “Sacred” is synonym to “Divine” and the word “Heart” is synonym of “Love.” As such, when reference is made to the Sacred Heart, it is understood to be a reference to the Divine love of God that echoes the Sacred nature of the Lord; “God is love.”  In the Sacred Heart is revealed the undeserved love of God that was manifested through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.

During today’s First Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard Moses say to the people, “You are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be His people, His treasured possession.” They are called and chosen to be his people, his precious possessions.  God made a Covenant with a people and over time, the Covenant was dissolved because the people turned their back to God, refusing to obey His commandments. This first Covenant was finally replaced by a second in Jesus through the Eucharist and cross. The initiative and the love of God is manifest. Today’s Second Reading from The First Letter of John touched on this subject. Faith in Christ and the manifestation of love towards our brothers and sisters are the twin signs of fellowship with God. If we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we love God and we have fellowship with God.  As children of God, we must love one another because love is from God.

St John tells us that God’s love for us was revealed through His Son, our Lord Jesus. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Eternal life here is not defined as living forever. Rather, it means to know God as He knows Himself. It means to enjoy to eternal beatific vision of God.  St. Paul tells us that of faith, hope and love, the greatest of these is love. It is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, these being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

In the Gospel of today we have the prayer of Jesus.  According to this prayer of thanksgiving to the Father we learn that the wonders of our faith have been hidden from the wise and the intellectuals. In accordance with the gracious Divine Will of the Father, they have been revealed to infants, the peasants, simple people and the working class. It does not require wisdom and understanding to grasp the message of Jesus. It is made known only by revelation. This does not mean that the message of Jesus was denied to the wise and the intellectuals. No, indeed, the message of Jesus was and continues to be proclaimed to all, this being revelation. But unfortunately, only the simple accept the insight that the Father grants to those who wish it.  In Jesus, the simple, the infants, the peasants and the working class perceive the manifestation of God the Father. In faith, they move forward in their spiritual growth. The wise and the intellectuals, they are hung up on the “how.” They must know how this is possible, that God the Father incarnated on earth through Jesus. They cannot overcome the obstacle because they have created a blockage, an intellectual blockage that demands answers. At this point, even if the Holy Spirit inspired the truth to them, they would not hear it. For they have hardened their hearts.

Who are these simple people? They are like the shepherds who could hear the word of God, see the babe Jesus and proclaim the good news. They are like the disciples who are called to remain close to Jesus and listen to him with open heart. They are like Martha and Mary who could listen and serve. They are like the women of Jerusalem who could trust they could role the stone at the tomb and anoint the Lord and yet believe him when they encounter him. Those who are simple, when they look at a holy picture or a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who do they see? In Jesus, they perceive the whole fullness of the Blessed Trinity dwelling bodily. First they see Jesus, then the Father and the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus, they find their way to the invisible Father who manifested Himself in bodily form through Christ.

The Gospel Reading concluded with the words, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  The invitation to the weary and the burdened is an invitation to the poor who have had the good news proclaimed to them. They are “the blind who receive their sight, the lame who walk, the lepers who are cleansed, the deaf who hear, the dead who are raised, and the poor who have good news brought to them.” When one submits himself in humility and obedience to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the peace and joy that he receives in the love of God is so overwhelming that the yoke becomes easy, the burden being light. The recompense that one receives from living in the love of Jesus is so great that life obstacles, no matter how great they are, become meaningless. It is no longer the individual who is carrying the crosses of life; it is Jesus Himself.

Anecdote: Crossing  the Water   those simple and filled with love of God:A farmer’s daughter duty was to carry fresh milk to customers in various villages had, one of whom was a priest. To reach his house, the milkmaid had to cross a good-sized stream. People crossed it by a sort of ferry raft, for a small fee.  One day the priest, who performed worship daily with the offering to God of fresh milk, finding it arrived very late, scolded the poor girl. “What can I do?” she said, “I start out early from my house, but I have to wait a long time for the boatman to come.”  Then the priest said “What! People have even walked across the ocean by repeating the name of God, and you can’t cross this little river?” This milkmaid took him very seriously. From then on she brought the priest’s milk punctually every morning. He became curious about it and asked her how it was that she was never late anymore.  “I cross the river repeating the name of the Lord,” she replied, “just as you told me to do, without waiting for the ferry.” The priest didn’t believe her, and asked, “Can you show me this, and how you cross the river on foot?” So they went together to the water and the milkmaid began to walk over it. Looking back, the woman saw that the priest had started to follow her and was floundering in the water. “Sir!” she cried, “You are uttering the name of God, yet all the while you are holding up your clothes from getting wet. That is not trusting in God!”

THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI)

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord.  This feast is the final celebration of the Easter mystery in the liturgical cycle.  Here Jesus invites us to participate in the meal where he himself is the food and drink. At the Last Supper he gave bread to the disciples and said, this is my body and the cup of wine he shared saying, this is my blood. Jesus also says that unless we eat his body and drink his blood we will not have life in him. In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to God as the Creator of all. Melchizedek, who was a priest and a king, offered sacrifice of bread and wine to God. When the Israelites wandered without food in the wilderness, God gave them manna, the bread from heaven to keep them alive. This miracle is often recalled by the people of Israel that their very soul and life depended on the bread of the Word of God.  St Paul in the second reading tells us that the cup of blessing is the participation in the blood of Christ and the bread we break is the participation in the Body of Christ. We have the words of Jesus in the Gospel where he says that he is the Bread of Life.

Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfil what he had announced at Capernaum, namely, that he would give his disciples his own body and blood which is a sacrificial meal, to deliver them from eternal death and destruction. The new Passover of Jesus’ passing over to his Father through his death and resurrection, is anticipated in the Passover Meal, Last Supper. This event fulfils the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom at the end of times. During this meal Jesus invites his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood that is his invitation to accept his life into the very centre of their being. That life which he offers is the life of God himself.

Let us spend a while  reflecting on today’s Gospel. Jesus tells the Jews that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will have eternal life and he will raise them up on the last day. Then he adds: “for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood will abide in me, and I in them.” In other words there is a new mystical bond that will take place. The Jews understood this concept well. Normally in the temples food was offered to the deity and then was shared by all with the belief that they participated in the divinity. Therefore when Jesus said in similar words to partake, they knew that he spoke of his divinity and asked them to participate in it. This was a call  to assimilate totally into their very being all that he teaches, his vision, his values, his understanding and purpose of life.   St Paul understood this to say that it not I but Christ lives in me. Again he tells the Philippians’ church, let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus”

Eucharist is a communal sacrificial meal, shared in faith by the community of believers, in remembrance of Jesus. The sharing of the meal is done in the community of believers where Jesus is truly present. It is a sacrifice offered as a memorial, to remind God the good things done in us by Jesus. Today, the Body of the Risen Jesus also includes all his followers united in Christian communities all over the world. And we only truly belong to Christ when we are consciously and actively participating members of that Body, loving, serving and caring for each other.  Eucharist is shared in the community and it is the sharing of one bread and one cup. It is given in the form of a communal meal and all called on to share in it. In our social life, we end every celebration with a meal shared as a sign of our togetherness. This meal is a meal of gratitude and shared in his memory. For Jesus the meal at the Last Supper was a Blessing and Thanksgiving. Blessing as it includes the divine presence and thanksgiving to God for all the good things he has done in us through him, namely, through his life, his teaching, his suffering, death and resurrection.  But we also remember and give thanks for all the personal experiences of being touched by God’s love in our lives.

The Mass, by itself, does not make a community.  It presupposes a community already existing.  It is the celebration and the strengthening of that community that takes place during the mass.  Where there is no real community there can be no real Eucharist. The church reminds us that Mass is not just praying; it is a time for celebrating community.  That cannot be done in isolation; it can only be done by being together as a community.

Community means healing and reconciliation as prescribed by Jesus. He does it by washing the feet of the disciples. He shows it to them with the greeting of peace: a gesture of friendship, reconciliation, and forgiveness. Then we can approach the table of unity and togetherness. In the Sermon on the Mount he says: “If you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go at once to make peace with your brother; then come back and offer your gift to God. Reconciliation is more important than sacrifice.

Eucharist for us emphasises the prime event namely that it is a shared experience.  We begin the Communion liturgy by saying together the Lord’s Prayer, where we speak to God as our Father, where we ask him for our daily bread, where we ask for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, where we join hands together.  And this is followed by the greeting of peace: a gesture of friendship, reconciliation, and forgiveness for all those around us before we approach the table of unity and togetherness. The Eucharist is truly a sign.  A good Eucharist is the sign of a living community.  A boring Eucharist is the sign of a dead one.  The more we become aware of Christ living and acting in and through us as his Body, the more meaningful will be our gathering around his table.

Anecdote: Love Symbol of Eucharist

A person had a friend who grew to be very close to him. Once when they were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before him and said: “You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love.”  As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds. This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love…they try to posses it, they demand, they expect… and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings. Give and don’t expect.  Advise, but don’t order. Ask, but never demand. It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.”  Remember: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away…..