Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
My trip home last month became an opportunity for an a-ha moment. First of all, I took the unfamiliar route to the airport, lost my way and then panicked. I got on the plane just on time. I was not looking forward to my six-hour layover at the Washington DC airport but it helped me catch my breath. The best analogy I can use to explain how I felt is that of a tired and worn out puppy. It was as if I was sitting in the airport huffing and puffing. It was not just the way to the airport. It was the last six months. It is when I sat down that I realized how tired I was. Later after dinner that evening, I decided to read the scriptures and connect with my Creator. My Bible opened to the book of Revelation chapter two. The passage read: ““I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked…. Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first”(Rev 2; 2-5). I sat there in stunning self-realization.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
For the next three weeks our gospel reading will be taken from chapter six of John’s gospel. Most of this chapter is the bread of life discourse. It began last week with the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and will end with many disciples ceasing to follow Jesus because his teachings were too hard to follow. In between these two events is sandwiched Jesus’s teaching of him as the “bread of that came down from heaven” and him being the “bread of life.” Since we have three weeks to understand every aspect of this teaching, I would like to explore every possible meaning of Jesus teaching. I would like to keep the more strictly Eucharistic themes for the coming weeks. Today, I want to reflect on the more unconventional interpretations Jesus teaching on the bread of life.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
On my way to the store in India on my last vacation, I met this crippled man sitting on his wheelchair begging. I have seen him on my previous visits and I have always been generous with him. This time too, I gave him money enough for him to smile. Secretly, there is a sense of contentment every time I do this. I guess it makes me feel good. This time however, even after my return this man has not left my mind. And the question that has been playing in my mind is, why could I not be more generous with him? What stops me from giving him a hundred rupee bill rather than a ten rupee bill? For that matter, why not a thousand rupee bill? After all, I always have a few thousand rupees in my wallet. More importantly, why have never asked him name or where he lives? Why have I not offered to visit his home or do something for him that might change his life forever? What is the harm in being just a little more generous?
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
To understand today’s readings we must understand the context within which Jeremiah prophesied. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet in the year 628 BC when Josiah was the King of Judah. Josiah began a process of reform that would rid the nation of idolatry, injustice and false religiosity. Jeremiah wholeheartedly supported Josiah’s reform. After Josiah, however, under King Zedekiah, the false prophet Hananiah began to counsel the King to revolt against the Babylonians. It was also at this time that the old idolatry and infidelity returned. On instruction from God, Jeremiah opposed the King and the false prophet. As a result, Jeremiah was arrested, imprisoned, and publicly disgraced. Had Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah and stayed faithful to the covenant, perhaps, Judah would be spared. Tragically, the Babylonians pillaged Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, killed thousands of Israelites, took into exile all able bodied men, women, and children, and left behind to die, the aged and disabled.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(This homily was written three years back).
I saw a movie called Whatever Works. It is a Woody Allen film and the central character isBoris Yelnikoff, an eccentric in his seventies who believes that life happens by chance. I mean, what are the chances that one would jump out of the window of a New York high rise and still survive? What are the chances that a pretty twenty-two year old runaway from Mississippi would land up at his door and finally end up marrying him? What are the chances that the mother of this girl would land up at the same apartment and make it big in New York even though it meant happily sleeping between two men? What are the chances that the girl’s father would land up at the same apartment in search of his daughter and wife and finally meet the man of his dreams to live happily ever after. The girl finally realizes that marrying a younger man would make her happier and what are the chances that a hopeless Boris would jump out of the window a second time, only to land on his future wife. The movie ends with all the characters happily sharing a drink. Boris’ lesson to the audience at the end of it all is simple. Life is a game of chance. Take any happiness you get along the way in whatever way it comes. “Whatever works.”
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This entire section of Mark's gospel from which the gospel reading these Sundays are being read deals with faith. Mark gives us stories of faith and faithlessness to make his point. In last week’s reading from Mark 5, we heard two stories of healing that were instigated by the faith of the people who were healed. The synagogue official’s faith saw Jesus raise his daughter to life and the woman with the hemorrhage was healed by merely touching Jesus’ clothes. At the end of the miracle Jesus commended her faith and said, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." (Mk 5:34) The story before these two stories in the same chapter is the story of a demoniac who was possessed by Legion (a multitude of evil spirits). Even these demons acknowledged Jesus’ power and identity.
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I would like to draw your attention to the very first sentence of today’s second reading; “As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also.” (2 Cor 8:7) It is the “gracious act” that I would like to focus on. What is the gracious act that Paul is referring to?
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
What matters for you? Would it matter if your child did not return home from school one day? Would it matter if you lost your job? Would it matter if your spouse or partner was becoming an addict? Would it matter if you were diagnosed with a terminal illness? How much does it matter that Miami Heat won the NBA championship? How much does it matter if the Reds lose their first place in the National League Central division? What does it matter that you gained a pound or two in the last month? How much does it matter when your prayer life is in a mess? How much do you care that according to the best of your knowledge, your life reflects God’s will?
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I celebrate mass with our school kids, I sometimes ask them where heaven is. It is not uncommon for them to point toward the sky and say, “There.” One of the concepts that is very close to the word heaven is, kingdom of God. And because most of us imagine heaven to be up there, we also think that the kingdom of God lies beyond us in the far distant future. Even though we often pray “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is heaven,” we really do not believe that heaven and kingdom of God have anything to do with us in the here and now.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
This August my mother turns 75. When I visit home this July, I want to do something very special for her. I am wondering - should I buy her fabulous diamond jewelry or should I take her in a trip somewhere exotic? Should I cook for her or have a special celebration of the mass for her? Should I get her a new sari or should I get her a brand new refrigerator? Or, may be, I should do all these things? My feeling is that no matter what I do for my mother, it can never express how deeply I love her. The most eloquent words cannot capture the depths of what I want to say to her.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
I spent twelve years in the seminary before I was ordained. Through the first eight years, my only goal was to get to the theology classes because I wanted to get into the depths of the knowledge about God. I plunged into theology with the excitement of a two-year-old about to jump into a puddle. But a puddle is only so deep, right? That is how I felt with theology as well. The best of my efforts to understand God led me only thus far. The best of my theology professors often ended the class with the line, “It is a mystery.” If I heard that statement one more time I could scream. Eighteen years after my ordination there are times, I have to content with that same statement, “It is a mystery.”
Memorial of Saint Justin, martyr
Pentecost Sunday
Most of you know my story of leaving home when I was barely 17 years old. Even though I felt I felt called to be a priest, there was no way to numb the pain of leaving home. I may or may not have told you this, but part of the reason the pain was so intense was because my next opportunity to see my parents would be after two years. When I look back at those two years I am really not sure how I got through them. e-mails, texting, Skype, and Facebook did not exist then. I ached for ‘closeness’ with my family. I still remember that first awful first Christmas without my family. If God has assigned a time for me in purgatory I will remind God of my first two years away from my family. Gosh! How I longed for ‘closeness.’ And I still do. That is why I go home twice a year. Those of you have lost a loved one or have someone you love live far away will understand what it means to long for closeness.
Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
The account of the ascension from the gospel of Mark is a very intriguing passage. Just for a moment picture this: These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” If I compare my ministry with this passage there is every reason for me to feel absolutely inadequate. In fact, I may conclude that I am a complete failure.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
One of the greatest challenges of my ministry is funerals. To help families deal with the tragedy, I try my best to make the funeral as meaningful as possible. Especially the homily, I make it an opportunity to let people discover God in the midst of it all. I also focus on celebrating the deceased person’s life by engaging in a conversation with family members about the deceased. Sometimes after the service the family come to tell me how they appreciated what I said about the person and how I connected the scripture to the life of the person. My response often to them is that I did not have anything to do with the homily except to deliver it. I tell them that, the way we live our lives each day, we are writing our funeral homily. The people or the celebrant can only capture the essence of what the deceased person’s life stood for. They can only reflect of how they lived their lives. As the family thanks me, I often ask them to thank their loved ones for the life they lived.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
There is a story my second grade teacher told us in my catechism class that I still remember. One day, Michelangelo walking through a garden in Florence, saw a block of marble in a corner protruding from the earth. It was half covered by grass and mud. He stopped suddenly, as if he had seen someone. Then he said to his friends who were with him, exclaimed: "An angel is imprisoned in that marble; I must get him out." And, armed with a chisel, he began to work on that block until the figure of a beautiful angel emerged. Each of us is a work in progress too. Each of us is a disciple in the making; we are Christians in the making. And today's readings offer us ways that God can make us who are called to be.
Fourth Sunday of Easter
One of the television shows that I have been intrigued by is Shark Tank. The show revolves around four filthy-rich entrepreneurs who at one time were themselves poor. They are the ‘sharks’ in the show. Each week amateur entrepreneurs appear before them with prospective business ideas. The game plan is to get ‘sharks’ to buy shares in their company in exchange for cash. If the sharks think that there is money to be made they negotiate with these amateurs to make a deal. But here is the thing – it is always about the money. For example, one entrepreneur wanted to keep his manufacturing unit in the country. The reason the ‘sharks’ did not invest in that project was because that would mean lower profits. The show in many ways is a reflection of society. I want to say that there is something evil about the dynamic at work. Self-respect, dignity, charity, patriotism, integrity – they are all expendable for money.
Third Sunday of Easter
Last week I preached that the time after Easter is tougher for me than Lent. Whereas Lent focuses me and keeps me disciplined, the time after Easter makes me relax and lose some of that focus. Since I preached that, I cannot tell you how many people came to me and said that they felt the same way. In fact, I met people whose prayer life has gone into total disarray since Easter. This is what is most disheartening for me – that whereas I experience a letdown after Easter, the readings point to a post-resurrection church which is on fire. That bugs me. Why can we not be on fire like the post-resurrection church?
2nd Sunday of Easter
Easter is over and I am wondering how you are. I am asking you this because for me the post Easter season is often more difficult than Lent. This is because Lent focuses me. I have a goal and I have the discipline to get there. After Easter I get triumpalistic, but then exhaustion sets in It and becomes so easy to let the discipline slip away. The Monday after Easter was the hardest day to stay focused in prayer because I felt that it was time to relax after the fourty days of discipline. So I wonder about you… What does your post-Easter scene look like?
Love Wins is a book about God. The author, Rob Bells writes this book for people within and outside the church whose image of God is unhealthy. For example, think of people so unsure about God that they never quite know what to expect when we meet God face to face; or, people who think that God is like a watchful policeman looking out for infringements; or, that God is far beyond our human experiences. Bells writes for people like this. And his point is simple: that Jesus shows us what God is like. And the most significant thing that Jesus showed us about God is that LOVE WINS.