TENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – C
(1 Kings 17:17-24; Gal 1:11-19; Luke 7:11-17)
Theme: Let Us Get Up and Keep Walking In Life With Hope
Reflection:
God is the Father of All
- We are entering into the tenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. The readings of today invite us to take courage and to get up and walk ahead in life. The words that Jesus has directed to the dead young boy are: “Young man, I say to you, rise!” (Lk 7:14). The same compassionate and life-giving words are reaching to us today: “You, my children, who are spiritually lost and dead, rise up and keep living.” In fact, Jesus words are of kindness and mercy. He does not will that anyone one of his sheep loose the way and remain passive and dead in life. He calls us to life. He calls us to hope. He calls us to the courage of facing the life.
- Indeed, Jesus has come to give us life and life in abundance (John 10:10). There is no other person in whom the fullness of life exists expect in Jesus because he is the life (John 14:06). His entrance into the world and his mission for the world is centered upon pouring out his life for the life of the humanity. His entire life and mission are the novelty of God’s love. He reveals God’s love of being with and for the humanity. It is the entire humanity that he embraces and synthesizes in himself. He has not come just for one group of people, Israel, although he is born and brought up in its place and culture. He has to start his human process from somewhere and he has preferred it to be from the chosen people of God. It is because the God’s design of salvation has to be a continuation in history and the promise of God is to take its realization. But soon the small camp of his birth, life and work will become universal embracing the entire world without barriers. Love has no limits and confines. His presence and his mission touches every sphere of human life.
- This God’s love to reach out to everyone, be it the chosen one or the stranger, is revealed from the beginning of Jesus’ entry into the world. The novelty of Good News of Salvation consists in this: God love all, touches all, embraces all and brings all into his arms. Soon in his ministry Jesus unveils this truth: God is the Father of all. Specially Luke is very particular in this aspect. The entire Gospel of Luke reveals that God takes the side of poor, small, humble and the rejected of the society and shows them his mercy and kindness. This is the general context of the Gospel passage we have listened today. Jesus raises the dead young man of the widow at Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Prior to this we can find another healing that Jesus extends to the Centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10). Initiating from here Jesus goes out to meet and to be with the flock that is outside the chosen sheep-fold. He is sent to all those who are in need of divine touch. He proclaims until now the salvation to all by preaching about the kingdom of God and doing miracles. Now he cross the borders of the Israel. He embraces also the others. For him there is no difference between the own and the pagan.
- With this Jesus starts revealing the unconditional love of the Father to everyone who is found in difficulty and depression. In fact, he throws the invitation to all: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Math 11:28). His invitation includes all: physically over-loaded with the slavery and unjust labor, psychologically burdened with the mental agony of doubts and confusion, socially dejected with the deprivation of common goods, and finally spiritually blinded with the struggle between passion of the world and faith of the religion. He answers everyone and he heals every heart because he has taken the human face because of love which feels one with the pain and suffering of humanity.
Readings
Human Face of God – He Moves in Compassion
- Jesus rises up the widow’s son in the village of Nain. The calling of the dead young man to life is not a miracle automatically accomplished by Jesus because he is divinely capable. It is a dynamic miracle which contains the dramatic action of Jesus. The dramatic action of Jesus is this: he is moved with the compassion. He feels for the widow who is in deep depression of the lost of her son. His feeling is elevated to the level of compassion. What is the meaning of compassion? Literally, compassion means “passion with” – suffering with. Its significance is not only physical and mental but contextual and situational. It is not just a movement of the eye to cry-with. It is not just an extension of the hand to help the needy. It is more than that. It is the beating of the heart for the person. As such, it means assuming the pain of the other, to be identified with the other in the condition and it is a participation in the feeling of the other.
- It is with such compassion that Jesus is moved with he saw the woman cry. The Gospel narrates it well: “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep’.” (Luke 7:13). The miracle of Jesus is initiated and accompanied by the compassion. This feeling of Jesus for her makes him to enter into the dramatic action for her. First of he feels himself one with her. He takes her pain as his. He participates in the cry of her. Finally, he rises her son from death. Jesus never wants that someone cry. He does not permit that the tears to tear the person apart.
- God is human also. In Jesus he becomes human. He assumes the human nature. He takes upon himself, thus, the entire existential condition of man. Like a man, he begins to eat, drink, sleep and rest in his body. Like a man, he begins to think, respond and grow in knowledge of the mind. Like a man, he also begins to have faith, trust, respect and love for God and for neighbors in his spirit. As man is an integration of body, mind and soul, so also Jesus enters fully in these aspects. He experiences as man experiences all the facet of life: joy, sorrow, cry, pain, suffering and finally death. He is fully human, as he is fully divine. It is in his fully human nature that Jesus not only becomes man but also becomes a concrete example for man’s living. Entering into the world, Jesus feels for many situations and is put under many temptations but never deviated the right path of true humanity. Whereas, man fluctuated and often carried away from his true human nature by the sickness, tribulation and the suffering. Man has not learnt to accept his human nature which is prone to various changes in the world because of the outside passions and of the inside struggles. In this context, it is Jesus who is truly human, becomes a ever living example for the transcendence of man.
- Jesus has conquered the entire fragility of human nature with his passion, death and resurrection. He has risen from the dead. He is ascended into heaven. He sends his Spirit to be with the man. With his Spirit present in the world, Jesus touches every human heart, penetrates deep into his being, and calls him back to life. His words are clear: Get Up and Walk. Falling is human but getting up is divine. Each human being carries within him the elements of divine nature because basically he is a spirit, a spirit that gets up and keep going ahead and a spirit that transcends towards the higher standards of life. Indeed, Jesus’ invitation to man to get up and walk is important, particularly, in this age of rapid growth. why? In the age of philosophy, science and technology, there is a tremendous change and unimaginable development. Man grows day by day. He learns to reason out and analyze the situations. He learns to prolong and sustain life by the scientific researches. He learns to make the life easy with the technological instruments. It is a good and positive side. But it is not enough because there is another shade for this rapid growth of the man’s capacity. And it can be answered only by Jesus.
Conclusion
Trust In Jesus – He Will Wake Us Up
- The world is undergoing tremendous and unreachable changes. It is the fruit of the brain of man. His capability is at peaks. If he wills he can achieve anything. This is the positive side of human potentiality. But the unfortunate reality exists side by side. The another side of the coin is this: his movement is proving to be only horizontal. In his horizontal movement man gives importance to himself. He wants to be the master of his life. He wants to command the entire creation as though he is the creator. Someone may ask: but what is the wrong in it as long as man is such a capable being in the world? There is nothing wrong as long as he grows in knowledge, science and technology. But the problem is that he completely neglects the vertical movement. Let us keep aside, for time being, the aspect of faith and religion. Even his own human nature and its values are at stake with these rapid changes. He has no time to feed his spirit which is the dynamic element of his entire human life.
- Without the spirit, life becomes just biological and mechanical. Man is moving towards this: he becomes either animal which looks only for the needs of the body or he becomes a machine which lacks the breath. If he neglects, one day he may realize and turn back. If he consciously reject the spiritual sphere what could be his future. He lack the true spirit and therefore he is not able to accept the true human nature. He becomes so strong and powerful in the external growths. He strives every second for the luxurious and comfortable life. He wants to avoid the slightest situation that troubles him. It is true that he learnt to grow and keeps himself living. But when he is confronted with the hunger, difficulty, trouble, incomprehension, sickness and suffering, he is deeply confused. He has no way out. He becomes either reluctant and defensive or loses completely his control of life. Why? Because he learnt to grow but he did not leant to live. What is living? Confronting the situations that come on the way with the courage of the human spirit. When man lack such spirit he lack the possibility of true living. This is the present condition of the man in the world.
- The world that is surrounded by the realities of pain, sorrow and death. Every human nature is prone to these changes. It is normal. Man becomes depressed in front of these difficulties because he did not learn the truth of life and accept its challenges. He tends to forget or neglect that human life is comprised of the mixture of emotions and changes are part of it. Though he remembers and knows that these are part of his human condition, he has not learnt to accept. Knowing and accepting belong to the sphere of the Spirit. When man lack it, he actually dies. In this context, the words of Jesus bring consolation and courage to the human heart. It is in Jesus that the mysteries of pain and death are revealed and illuminated ultimately. Jesus balances the both: the pain and the glory of life. He knows what is glory and pain. Above all, be it glory or be it cross, he accepts them in humility and obedience. He knows and accepts because he is always accompanied by the Holy Spirit. With the power of the Spirit he carries within himself the fullness of human nature with its both transcendence and fragility. Thus he becomes the ultimate example for man. The latter can learn from him how to accept life and balance it with the Christian spirit. Modern man is lacking this spirit because he is utterly controlled by the passions of the body and mind alone. It is the faith in Christ Jesus that brings him back to the true life. Having the power of calling man to the possibility of receiving life he says: Do Not Be Discouraged! Get Up and Keep Walking Ahead in Life.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
TENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - C
TENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – C
(1 Kings 17:17-24; Gal 1:11-19; Luke 7:11-17)
Theme: Let Us Get Up and Keep Walking In Life With Hope
Reflection:
God is the Father of All
- We are entering into the tenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. The readings of today invite us to take courage and to get up and walk ahead in life. The words that Jesus has directed to the dead young boy are: “Young man, I say to you, rise!” (Lk 7:14). The same compassionate and life-giving words are reaching to us today: “You, my children, who are spiritually lost and dead, rise up and keep living.” In fact, Jesus words are of kindness and mercy. He does not will that anyone one of his sheep loose the way and remain passive and dead in life. He calls us to life. He calls us to hope. He calls us to the courage of facing the life.
- Indeed, Jesus has come to give us life and life in abundance (John 10:10). There is no other person in whom the fullness of life exists expect in Jesus because he is the life (John 14:06). His entrance into the world and his mission for the world is centered upon pouring out his life for the life of the humanity. His entire life and mission are the novelty of God’s love. He reveals God’s love of being with and for the humanity. It is the entire humanity that he embraces and synthesizes in himself. He has not come just for one group of people, Israel, although he is born and brought up in its place and culture. He has to start his human process from somewhere and he has preferred it to be from the chosen people of God. It is because the God’s design of salvation has to be a continuation in history and the promise of God is to take its realization. But soon the small camp of his birth, life and work will become universal embracing the entire world without barriers. Love has no limits and confines. His presence and his mission touches every sphere of human life.
- This God’s love to reach out to everyone, be it the chosen one or the stranger, is revealed from the beginning of Jesus’ entry into the world. The novelty of Good News of Salvation consists in this: God love all, touches all, embraces all and brings all into his arms. Soon in his ministry Jesus unveils this truth: God is the Father of all. Specially Luke is very particular in this aspect. The entire Gospel of Luke reveals that God takes the side of poor, small, humble and the rejected of the society and shows them his mercy and kindness. This is the general context of the Gospel passage we have listened today. Jesus raises the dead young man of the widow at Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Prior to this we can find another healing that Jesus extends to the Centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10). Initiating from here Jesus goes out to meet and to be with the flock that is outside the chosen sheep-fold. He is sent to all those who are in need of divine touch. He proclaims until now the salvation to all by preaching about the kingdom of God and doing miracles. Now he cross the borders of the Israel. He embraces also the others. For him there is no difference between the own and the pagan.
- With this Jesus starts revealing the unconditional love of the Father to everyone who is found in difficulty and depression. In fact, he throws the invitation to all: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Math 11:28). His invitation includes all: physically over-loaded with the slavery and unjust labor, psychologically burdened with the mental agony of doubts and confusion, socially dejected with the deprivation of common goods, and finally spiritually blinded with the struggle between passion of the world and faith of the religion. He answers everyone and he heals every heart because he has taken the human face because of love which feels one with the pain and suffering of humanity.
Readings
Human Face of God – He Moves in Compassion
- Jesus rises up the widow’s son in the village of Nain. The calling of the dead young man to life is not a miracle automatically accomplished by Jesus because he is divinely capable. It is a dynamic miracle which contains the dramatic action of Jesus. The dramatic action of Jesus is this: he is moved with the compassion. He feels for the widow who is in deep depression of the lost of her son. His feeling is elevated to the level of compassion. What is the meaning of compassion? Literally, compassion means “passion with” – suffering with. Its significance is not only physical and mental but contextual and situational. It is not just a movement of the eye to cry-with. It is not just an extension of the hand to help the needy. It is more than that. It is the beating of the heart for the person. As such, it means assuming the pain of the other, to be identified with the other in the condition and it is a participation in the feeling of the other.
- It is with such compassion that Jesus is moved with he saw the woman cry. The Gospel narrates it well: “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep’.” (Luke 7:13). The miracle of Jesus is initiated and accompanied by the compassion. This feeling of Jesus for her makes him to enter into the dramatic action for her. First of he feels himself one with her. He takes her pain as his. He participates in the cry of her. Finally, he rises her son from death. Jesus never wants that someone cry. He does not permit that the tears to tear the person apart.
- God is human also. In Jesus he becomes human. He assumes the human nature. He takes upon himself, thus, the entire existential condition of man. Like a man, he begins to eat, drink, sleep and rest in his body. Like a man, he begins to think, respond and grow in knowledge of the mind. Like a man, he also begins to have faith, trust, respect and love for God and for neighbors in his spirit. As man is an integration of body, mind and soul, so also Jesus enters fully in these aspects. He experiences as man experiences all the facet of life: joy, sorrow, cry, pain, suffering and finally death. He is fully human, as he is fully divine. It is in his fully human nature that Jesus not only becomes man but also becomes a concrete example for man’s living. Entering into the world, Jesus feels for many situations and is put under many temptations but never deviated the right path of true humanity. Whereas, man fluctuated and often carried away from his true human nature by the sickness, tribulation and the suffering. Man has not learnt to accept his human nature which is prone to various changes in the world because of the outside passions and of the inside struggles. In this context, it is Jesus who is truly human, becomes a ever living example for the transcendence of man.
- Jesus has conquered the entire fragility of human nature with his passion, death and resurrection. He has risen from the dead. He is ascended into heaven. He sends his Spirit to be with the man. With his Spirit present in the world, Jesus touches every human heart, penetrates deep into his being, and calls him back to life. His words are clear: Get Up and Walk. Falling is human but getting up is divine. Each human being carries within him the elements of divine nature because basically he is a spirit, a spirit that gets up and keep going ahead and a spirit that transcends towards the higher standards of life. Indeed, Jesus’ invitation to man to get up and walk is important, particularly, in this age of rapid growth. why? In the age of philosophy, science and technology, there is a tremendous change and unimaginable development. Man grows day by day. He learns to reason out and analyze the situations. He learns to prolong and sustain life by the scientific researches. He learns to make the life easy with the technological instruments. It is a good and positive side. But it is not enough because there is another shade for this rapid growth of the man’s capacity. And it can be answered only by Jesus.
Conclusion
Trust In Jesus – He Will Wake Us Up
- The world is undergoing tremendous and unreachable changes. It is the fruit of the brain of man. His capability is at peaks. If he wills he can achieve anything. This is the positive side of human potentiality. But the unfortunate reality exists side by side. The another side of the coin is this: his movement is proving to be only horizontal. In his horizontal movement man gives importance to himself. He wants to be the master of his life. He wants to command the entire creation as though he is the creator. Someone may ask: but what is the wrong in it as long as man is such a capable being in the world? There is nothing wrong as long as he grows in knowledge, science and technology. But the problem is that he completely neglects the vertical movement. Let us keep aside, for time being, the aspect of faith and religion. Even his own human nature and its values are at stake with these rapid changes. He has no time to feed his spirit which is the dynamic element of his entire human life.
- Without the spirit, life becomes just biological and mechanical. Man is moving towards this: he becomes either animal which looks only for the needs of the body or he becomes a machine which lacks the breath. If he neglects, one day he may realize and turn back. If he consciously reject the spiritual sphere what could be his future. He lack the true spirit and therefore he is not able to accept the true human nature. He becomes so strong and powerful in the external growths. He strives every second for the luxurious and comfortable life. He wants to avoid the slightest situation that troubles him. It is true that he learnt to grow and keeps himself living. But when he is confronted with the hunger, difficulty, trouble, incomprehension, sickness and suffering, he is deeply confused. He has no way out. He becomes either reluctant and defensive or loses completely his control of life. Why? Because he learnt to grow but he did not leant to live. What is living? Confronting the situations that come on the way with the courage of the human spirit. When man lack such spirit he lack the possibility of true living. This is the present condition of the man in the world.
- The world that is surrounded by the realities of pain, sorrow and death. Every human nature is prone to these changes. It is normal. Man becomes depressed in front of these difficulties because he did not learn the truth of life and accept its challenges. He tends to forget or neglect that human life is comprised of the mixture of emotions and changes are part of it. Though he remembers and knows that these are part of his human condition, he has not learnt to accept. Knowing and accepting belong to the sphere of the Spirit. When man lack it, he actually dies. In this context, the words of Jesus bring consolation and courage to the human heart. It is in Jesus that the mysteries of pain and death are revealed and illuminated ultimately. Jesus balances the both: the pain and the glory of life. He knows what is glory and pain. Above all, be it glory or be it cross, he accepts them in humility and obedience. He knows and accepts because he is always accompanied by the Holy Spirit. With the power of the Spirit he carries within himself the fullness of human nature with its both transcendence and fragility. Thus he becomes the ultimate example for man. The latter can learn from him how to accept life and balance it with the Christian spirit. Modern man is lacking this spirit because he is utterly controlled by the passions of the body and mind alone. It is the faith in Christ Jesus that brings him back to the true life. Having the power of calling man to the possibility of receiving life he says: Do Not Be Discouraged! Get Up and Keep Walking Ahead in Life.
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