FOURTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – C (Is 66:10-14c; Gal 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20) Theme: We are the Spokesman of Jesus in the World Reflection: We Have Our Consolation In Jerusalem - We are entering into the fourteenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Year. In this year C, we are reflecting on the Gospel of Luke, which can be also named as the Gospel of the Mission. Luke, being the disciple of St. Paul the missionary, underlines the life of Jesus as a Journey towards the accomplishment of the mission for which he has come into the world. He dedicates almost eleven chapters (9:51-19:29) to affirm the nature and effect of the mission Jesus is about to complete in Jerusalem. In fact, we have already reflected in the last Sunday that Jesus has taken a firm decision to move towards Jerusalem. He heads towards the Holy City because it is the place where he has his destiny. Meditating this aspect we have also spoken that his journey towards Jerusalem is a journey towards the cross – therefore, to the passion and death – and towards the resurrection, therefore, to the fullness of life. - Today’s gospel falls into this context of Jesus’ missionary journey. His journey towards the completion of the mission is the second phase of Luke’s gospel. The first phase takes place in Galilee and it begins with the presentation of the program by Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk 4:14-21). From there he moves on to predicate the Good News of God’s Kingdom through the words and deeds, that is , through the parables and miracles. The second phase begins with the entry of Jesus into Samaria and his sending of messengers before him (9:52). It continues with the calling to himself few more disciples (9:57-62). It has its actual effect, with today’s gospel reading, with the designation of seventy two disciple into the missionary journey with the program of proclamation and of action (10:1-16). The missionary element is obvious here: the seventy two disciples are not anymore from the Galilee but from Samaria, the territory of cursed and excommunicated. The community of disciples that Jesus sends out for mission is no more like the community of who live as individuals but a community which lives amidst the people. For him the mission has to be for the people and from the people and that is why the missionaries he sends have to stay among the people. Indeed, Jesus’ presence and ministry itself is the finest example of this mission for the people. He is called “Immanuel” – God with us. - Jesus carries his mission first putting himself in the first place. He is not the one who says and does not do. He says and does and only after leaving personal example, he calls his disciples to follow his life and his way. It is for this he places himself in the way towards the renunciation, cross, suffering, death and resurrection. In the context of today’s gospel it is evident: he is moving towards his mission and the he sends also his disciples to continue and fulfill the mission he has initiated. As the consequence, Jesus sends the seventy two disciples, two by two, to the places where he himself desired to go. The mission of Jesus is entrusted to and placed in the hands of the disciples. They are to head towards the completion of the mission. But what is the mission that he is sending them out? Apart from the exegetical explanation of the gospel passage, we can find here four types of mission that the disciples are called for: mission of prayer, mission of dependence, mission of peace and mission of the proclamation. Readings: Mission Means To Be in the Foot Steps of Jesus, the Master - Let us take the example of Jesus himself. He has assumed into himself all these four elements. He never ceased to pray. Before beginning any work of his Father he dialogues with his Father. He realizes fully his mission in his relationship with his Father as the one who sent him and as the one in whose name he is in this world. The relationship of Jesus with his Father is ultimately evident in his prayer. He himself carries on the mission of prayer. He always witnessed by his words and deeds that it is the Father who does everything in the Spirit. He never worked for his glory but for the glory of his Father. He demonstrates his utter dependence on his Father’s will in every instance of his life. He never claims anything for himself. In this it is obvious that Jesus carries within himself the mission of dependence on his Father. Mission of peace. Jesus not only proclaimed the word of peace saying “I leave peace, my peace I give you”, but manifested an attitude of peace in his life. Thus he becomes “our peace” as Paul exclaims. Finally, the mission of the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom is seen in every word of his and in every deed of his. He is the inauguration of the Gospel of salvation. Thus he is the “Word” of God made Flesh and carries in his very nature and existence the mission of the proclamation. He is the master of the Mission and the disciples are called to choose the same way in order to continue the good work that God has designed for the redemption of humanity. - Mission of Prayer: Jesus invites and sends his disciples for the mission of prayer. Prayer is the first element that the disciple has to fulfill. He needs to pray for the growth of the kingdom of God. Jesus says: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to sent out laborers into his harvest” (v.2). The entire world, the field of God’s love, is to be re-filled with the redemptive grace of the Lord. But the Christians, and still those practice the faith, are very few. In this context of the scarcity of testimonies, the first thing that one has to do to continue with the mission is the prayer. The High Priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 is the boost for this. Jesus prays for all his disciples so that they become strong in reaping the harvest. With the prayer the world can be empowered with the grace of the Lord. - Mission of Dependence: The second missionary task is to be always dependent on only the providence from above. It is Jesus who chooses and sends his disciples and he will provide what is essential and necessary for life. The disciple has to concentrate all his life only on the mission that is entrusted without any preoccupation and worry for the earthly securities. Indeed, Jesus admonishes his disciples not to carry any purse, any bag or any sandals (v.4). The mission is to be carried with the fullness of the mind and heart. As Jesus, disciples too do not belong to this world but destined to the other life, and therefore, they have to come out of the earthly worries and fleshy passions and have to throw themselves utterly on the providence of God. For this, they are called and invited with the mission of dependence. - Mission of Peace: Already in the beginning, in his first discourse on the mountain, found in Mathew 5:8 Jesus addresses: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”. Peace is the salutary gift that the disciple has to extend to those whom he meets. The disciple indeed is sent out with the mission of peace. The first words of the missionary are to be these as Jesus says: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘peace to this house!’ (v.5). - Mission of Proclamation: Finally, the disciples are sent out with the mission of proclaiming the good news that “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (v.9). All the above elements – mission of prayer, dependence and the peace – are in view of its realization in the proclaiming the values of the kingdom of God. It is not just with the words. The proclamation has to be testified with the life itself as Jesus himself. He speaks about the kingdom and offers his entire life for this kingdom. So also the disciple has to follow the same way of renunciation, commitment to take up the cross and finally accomplishing the mission with his testimony of life. Conclusion: We are the Carriers of Jesus Mission - With the Baptism every one of us is given the mission of standing for Jesus and of proclaiming the life of the kingdom of God. It is not the task of just Pope, bishops, priests and deacons but of every baptized Christian. We need to carry within us therefore these elements of the mission: constant prayer, utter dependence on the Lord, the interior peaceful attitude and the dedication to proclaim. We cannot give what we have. We need to fill ourselves first with these. As Jesus has assumed all these aspects into himself and thus has given testimony for these, so also the disciple. We have to allow ourselves to be penetrated deeply into the Lord’s mission with the unceasing prayer, our deeper union with him in the worship of praise and thanksgiving. We are often immersed in the false passions of the world and we lose our peace and serenity with this. We are invited to analyze well our life and come out of these clutches that block us from the Christian vocation. In order to dedicate our entire life without any personal reservations and preoccupations we need to comprehend well the way of the mission that Jesus himself shows by moving towards Jerusalem, towards the cross. Let us realize and acknowledge our mission and be the authentic carriers of it. Amen.

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OFTHE YEAR – C (1Kings 19:16b, 19-21; Gal 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62) Theme: Firm and Radical Decision is Demanded for the Discipleship of Jesus Reflection: Journey Towards Jerusalem - We enter into the thirteenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. Today’s readings present to us the conditions for the discipleship of Jesus. Before entering into the Gospel passage, it is needed to note the overall context of Jesus’ words. The chapters from 9-19 make the central part of Luke’s gospel. These pages can be put together under one title: the journey of Jesus towards Jerusalem. In fact, the first verses of today’s gospel passage point to it: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51). John puts the same with the different words: “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father” (Jn 13:1). Jesus has come into the world, not to live and stay longer. But only to accomplish the will of his Father. Each and every moment of his earthly life, he is conscious of this mission. His only aim is to fulfill the action that is asked of him and for which he is sent by his Father. The verses above make the intention of Jesus evident: he has to leave the world; he has to be taken up; he has to re-enter into his Father’s bosom; all this will take place with his death and resurrection. For this he moves towards Jerusalem. For this he takes firm decision to make his journey towards the place of his self-sacrifice and departure to his Father’s house. - For Luke, the holy city of Jerusalem represents the culmination and the point of arrival of entire mission of Christ. He insists with the precision for six times that Jesus is in journey towards Jerusalem. For him, Jerusalem is the point of accomplishment and the point of re-initiation. It is in Jerusalem that the whole mystery of God’s salvation takes its final realization, with the Paschal Event. The episode of Jesus ends there and the episode of his disciples start from it. The story of salvation concludes in Jerusalem and restarts from it. departing from there that the Apostles have to make their mission journey in order to announce good news of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8 – the Gospel will start from Jerusalem and reaches to the ends of the earth). - Jerusalem, thus, is the centre of all the decisive events of salvation. The other two synoptic writers – Mathew and Mark – have different prospective. For them there is a clear opposition between Galilee and Judea. Galilee is the cradle of the Gospel because it embraces Jesus. Whereas Judea is the land of refusal. Jesus goes to Jerusalem only to die. Whereas the first meeting of the disciples with the Risen Jesus will take place in Galilee. It is from here, that everything has the beginning. It is from here that the movement of evangelization re-starts towards the entire world. For Luke, the prospective more theological than chronological. His narration of the events – the teachings, miracles and parables etc. – has theological significance and explanation. For this the mission of Jesus – particularly his journey towards Jerusalem – has the vital and dynamic role to play. He dedicates almost half of his gospel for this. His intention is to present Jesus as “moving above”, “rising upwards”, “going towards his Father” and finally “walking towards the heaven”. For him, Jesus is the one who is firm in fulfilling the divine plan. He heads towards this accomplishment keeping his face straight towards Jerusalem. His face is turned towards the city of ultimate realization of God’s will. He turns his thought and action towards the destiny because he is aware of his mission both in his mind and in his heart. In fact, for this he has come and for this he has to go forward towards Jerusalem. Readings: The Conditions the Authentic Discipleship - In the gospel Jesus presents three conditions which can be applied for the discipleship. Among the three people who receive the call of Jesus, there is only some sort of curiosity and fascination to be with Jesus who is working great deeds and gaining the population. Jesus observes this and puts forward the life-style of the one who desires to be his disciple. Already in the last Sunday we have meditated the invitation to all: who wants to follow him has to deny himself, take up his daily cross and follow him and in a word, he has to lose his life in order to gain life in him (Luke 9:23-24). Jesus continues the discourse taking the occasion of his journey towards completion of his mission. He himself is set to give his life in order to accomplish the will of his Father. In the way of the mission, anyone who really wants to be his disciple has to assume the same attitude as his: moving towards mission with firm commitment and to pour out one’s life for the cause. This is the attitude that the one has to learn and Jesus points it with the radical teaching in today’s gospel passage. - The first one desired to follow Jesus and says: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v.57), and Jesus’ reply is very hard: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (v.58). Jesus demands the unconditional answer with the full knowledge of the situation. The disciple should know that in the world he has to place to live. He should never claim for the security of life in this world. He has to be like a pilgrim who makes his journey. The teaching is affirmed by his own life: Jesus is born in the world with nothing and he dies on the cross with nothing. He has never treated himself as belonging to this world, but only as passenger. This is the attitude that Jesus expresses both by his words and his actions. The disciple should be aware of this. The Christians have to be aware of the truth: Jesus never promises a life of roses and a life of full security in this world. If the disciple fails to comprehend this, his following will become soon superficial as the seed thrown on the rock (Math 13:5) and as the one who built his house on the sand (Math 7:26). There is long standing in the confrontation with the demand of Jesus. - The second one, indeed, receives a call from Jesus: follow me! (v.59). He might be happy and content when Jesus called him. But he was not ready to accept it. He thought he needs some time to take decision. He thought he has the responsibility of the parents to take care. He requests Jesus to permit him to go home and fulfill his duties in time and return: “Lord, first let me go and bury my father” (v.59). Jesus’ invitation seems to be very demanding and very much challenging. He does not want any hasty and slow response. The answer to his call is to be very quick and immediate. He tells it in the radical way: “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (60). Jesus uses the proverb of his time and announces the quickness of the response. For him, those who are attached to the passions of the world are already dead. Only those who are immersed in the things of the world will take care of those who are in the world. Let the dead bury the dead means this. In other words, the call of Jesus demands the total and ultimate detachment from every worldly bond. Those who want to follow him has only one thing to worry about and only one thing to carry forward: announcing the kingdom of God. These words remind the main task that the true disciple should have: seek first the kingdom of God and the rest will be added to you (Math 6:33). The disciple of Jesus does not belong anymore to the world. With the acceptance of the call he has been raised up from the desires of the earth and of the flesh. He is empowered with the Spirit and thus he belongs to the kingdom of God. Attachment to the world and to its attractive and fascinating passions is to be given up for the sake of Jesus. - The third one is happy to follow Jesus but he also expresses his desire to go home first and come back as the second one: “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (v.61). Jesus response to him is as hard as the second: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v.62). There is no turning back once the call is offered. The call is either wholeheartedly and immediately accepted or it has to be rejected. No second thought. The second post is not permitted for Jesus. With regard to Jesus there is only one decision and that is immediate. He is to be put in the first place. The disciple is given the plow to work in the vineyard of the Lord. Once he accepts to labor in it, he has to continue until the end. Be in the field or out of the field. Be in the kingdom or away from it. No third way. No half-hearted response. Once the disciple turns back, he loses the his credibility and he plumbers in his stand. Like Lot in the Old Testament he loses his originality and his natural figure (Gen 19:26 – Lot, turning behind, becomes a pillar of salt) and becomes a foreigner and stranger for the kingdom of God. Conclusion Let us understand the urgency of the Christian vocation - We are called to the discipleship with Christ Jesus. We are indeed his follower and it is for this we are named Christians. We are given a mission. We are entrusted with a vocation to be his witnesses. We need to keep this in mind: we have the urgency to live our vocation. We need to carry always in our hearts the demands that Jesus puts forward. We can put the three demands in our language of today. - First one is the life of comfort. Not that Jesus is envious of our comfortable life and calls us to the hard life. His demand is this: in the comfort we should never forget the vocation we have received from the Lord. We may have security of life, we may have luxurious life and we may strive for the well-built life. There is nothing wrong in it. If only the seeking for the comfort, or the comfortable life becomes a hindrance for the profession of faith and charity, only then the actual error arises. We have the urgency of understanding this truth. - Second one is the life of attachment. Jesus might have said that anyone who wants to follow him has to leave his father, mother, kith and kin and his properties and follow him (Lk 14:26). Yet it is not in the literal sense but in the spiritual sense. One has to give the priority to the spiritual bond that we have with Jesus than to the relations. Relations are important and the keeping the bond is always spiritual, yet when it comes to the matter of Jesus, he is to be given the first place. No one has to fall deeply into the worldly attachments and take pride in the belongingness to the earth. The intention of Jesus is clear: we need to give up all the possible bonds that drive us away from his relationship. - Third one is the life of passing glory and false prestige. We have already received the Christian vocation with the baptism. We have decided to be the disciples of Jesus with the profession of faith. It is good. Yet, often we have the tendency to look back: to move to our past life. It is because of the false illusions we have about the future and because of the false glory we had been enjoying in the past. We do not want to take risk anymore. If the way is not clear and is full of thorns and stones we need to leave it immediately and take another safer way. By doing this, we forget that we are completely neglecting the way of the cross that Jesus himself has destined for us. With all the comforts and family bonds we have, we, as long as call ourselves Christians, cannot forget that our way is of the Cross, our truth is of the Death and our life is of the Resurrection. It is with the Cross, by the Death and through the Resurrection that Jesus Christ becomes for us the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). - The cross is placed on our shoulders. The first reading of today shows that there is sign or symbol is placed on the disciple by the master. Elijah throws his mantle over Elisha and with this the latter becomes the disciple of the former. The mission of the master is passed to the disciple with this gesture of placing the mantle on the shoulders. In the similar, yet profound manner, Jesus the Master places the sign of his cross on the shoulders of his disciples. As the consequence we have all received the cross from Jesus. As long as we truly bear this cross and offer ourselves on it, we are his disciples. if we neglect or reject to hold on to the cross – as the symbol of our Christian vocation – then, we lose our identity as the Children of God and as the authentic followers of Christ. Therefore, today let us renew our decision: let us make it Firm and Radical in order to be the Disciples of Jesus

TWELFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C

TWELFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C (Zach 12:10-11, 13:1; Gal 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24) Theme: The True Faith Has its Beginning in the Cross of Christ Reflection: Cross is the Foundation of Christian Faith - We are entering into the twelfth Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. Today the Church presents before us the reading which reveal the substance of our Christian life. The substance of Christian life is the FAITH. Although we are often ignorant of the essence of faith, we still call ourselves Christians because of various elements of Christian living. The prayer, the reading and reflection of the Scriptures, the participation in the Mass, the celebration of the sacraments, the obedience to the commandments of God and of the Church. All these elements demand for the attitude of faith. All these aspects manifest the presence of faith. It is true. Yet, for all these the starting point would be always the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ. The authentic faith has its beginning in the death and the glorious life of Jesus Christ. In other words, it is the Paschal Mystery which is the Foundation of Faith. - In fact, Jesus has come into the world not to live and live alone. He has come to die. He has entered into the world with the destiny of suffering and death. The Cross and the Calvary are the means to realize this destiny. Indeed, the mission of Christ has this destiny as the central point. Every single aspect of his life and action is viewed from the death on the Cross and the consequent Return to New Life. If considered from the human logic it surpasses the philosophical reason. It is to be considered from the divine love. God and his plan of salvation to the humanity is the starting point. It means that the entire episode of Jesus Christ and his mission is to be contemplated with the eyes of God. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to comprehend the Christ’s way of the Cross and to walk with him towards Jerusalem. The Cross, thus, is the central part of Christ’s existence and mission. Even the true Discipleship follows the same pattern. Every follower of Christ has to express his willingness to make the Cross the centre of his life. Here the truth is exposed: there is no Christ in the world without the Cross and there will not be any true Christian without the Cross. If we remove the Cross from our life, the foundation is removed. No house remains firm without the foundation. No Christian life can be sustained fully without the condition of the Cross. It is for this purpose, as Jesus we are all called to embrace the cross, not with the fear and obligation, but with the love for God and for others. - The Gospel passage of today highlights the centrality of Christ’s mission and the call to the Discipleship. Already, the contest of the text explains the importance of the Cross. Jesus is making his missionary journey. He is walking towards Jerusalem. All the novelty of God’s love he proclaimed with his words and manifested with his miraculous actions until now has to be finally testified with his personal life and witness. He walks ahead, without fear of course, to the final testimony of it: by embracing the world’s incomprehension and rejection of his message. In this context fall our gospel text. It has three principle divisions: Jesus poses a question to his disciples, he unveils the significance of the Christ and finally the condition of Christian following. Readings: Question of Faith from Jesus – The Response from the Disciples - The passage begins with the question of Jesus to the disciples. It is not any ordinary question but a question that explores the faith of the disciples. The question is double edged and double directed. It is double directed because it is posed to them but first about the understanding of the common people and then about their own understanding. “Who do people say that I am?” (v. 18). He wants to find out the general opinion of the people about his person and work. Disciples do not find any difficulty in responding to this question. They immediately bring to the attention of Jesus the idea of the people: that few think of him as John the Baptist, few others as the prophet Elijah and others as one of the antic prophets come back to life (v. 19). When a person begins working differently, in the innovative and new manner, it is quite common that people try to compare him with the great people of the previous times. Even in Jesus people start to see one of the personalities of the Old Testament. John the Baptist is just beheaded. People believed that he is a great man sent by God. The memories of him have not yet passed from their minds. It is easy for them to see him coming back to life. Elijah is one of the great prophets of the Old Testament who is thought to return to the world. Indeed, people are waiting for it; and when Jesus appeared with the promising presence, they see in him the return of the prophet they are waiting for. Finally, anyone who comes in the name of God and speaks with the divine authority is considered to be the prophet of God. When the people listen to the words of Jesus, they immediately see him as another prophet sent by God. This is the general opinion of the people. Jesus does not bother more about the common opinion. - He wants to know more. He wants to touch in profundity the very life of the disciples. His question of faith is directed towards the disciples now, very straight and very pointing: “But, what do YOU say that I am?” (v. 21). He is not interested in the general opinion of the common folk. He desires the personal conviction on the part of his followers. When he says “but”, he views his disciples far superior than the common people. They are fortunate and blessed to stay with him and listen to him personally and to be related to him intimately. The answer now he expects from them is to be quite different than theirs. Their answer needs to be the fruit of their intimacy with him. Now, Peter comes up with an answer: “You are the Christ of God” (v.20). Jesus must have been content with an answer. He said it well. His answer is exact. But Jesus’ immediate reaction is quite unnatural: he orders them not to refer this truth to anyone (v. 21). He forbids them to talk about this outside. But why? Because the meaning of Christ is not yet revealed. No one knows well the nature of Christ. Few are waiting for the Messiah who would come as a king and win the entire world and establish his kingdom. Others expect the Messiah to be the Priest who can offer to God a perfect sacrifice in the name of all the men. Few others consider the coming of Messiah as the prophet who can bring the justice and judgment of God to the world. All the considerations are true. yet, they are incomplete because of one missing element: Christ as the Suffering Servant. This meaning is not yet realized and it would take place only after a while with the his death and resurrection. Until then no one can fully understand who is Christ. Even Peter does not know this aspect when he utters the answer. It is here Jesus takes the occasion to reveal the meaning of Christ and calls the disciples to enter into the comprehensive understanding of his mission. Conclusion: Christ and the Cross are inseparable – Central Part of Christian Life - Jesus reveals the meaning of being “a Christ”. Christ is the one who undergoes suffering, death and enters into the resurrected life (v.22). His very life is not for living for himself but for dying for others: self-donation for the salvation of the humanity. Keeping aside all the classical meanings of the Messiah as the King, Priest and Prophet, Jesus unveils the actual and real nature of Christ as indicated by Isaiah: the Suffering Servant. By this he reveals that the true Christian mission consists in the unconditional obedience and the utter abandonment of the self to the will of God. He confronts the suffering out of his personal will. He sets out to meet (or to embrace) the passion of the Cross. Thus he completes the definition of the Christ: the one whose mission is to sacrifice himself for others. - It is the same mission that Jesus offers to those who wish to follow him. The words that follow the revelation of the significance of Christ make the call to discipleship evident. Jesus indeed says: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (v. 23). The conditions for the discipleship of Christ: denying the selves and taking up the cross. Denying the self and taking the cross are complimentary to each other and one completes the other. The first calls for the total abandonment of the self. No personal wishes. No private business. No hiding properties. The life becomes utterly open before Jesus. The disciples has to stand poor and needy before Jesus. He has to throw himself utterly onto the shoulders of Jesus. He is totally dependent on him. This is called the radical renouncement of personal life. The first is not full without the second. One has to enter into facing the suffering, the difficulty and the passions. There is no other way for the disciples except the way of the cross. Denying the self is not enough. It is only the first step. The second has to follow: he has to take up his daily cross. Jesus never promises a life of roses to his disciples. He pre-announces a life of thorns and a road of stones which leads up to the Calvary. As the Master, he himself does it first and concretely testifies it with his passion, death and resurrection. There is a demand for the radical challenge to live the daily life – with the cross of physical pains, psychological depressions, social evils and the spiritual struggles. Nothing to complaint. Nothing to murmur. Nothing to grumble. Everything is already announced. Christian life does not exist without the Cross. - Our faith consists in recognizing and accepting the Christ – Crucified and Risen. Today, Jesus invites us to respond to his question: who am I for you? Each one of us has to give an answer. Our answer is not to be just any of the public opinion of him. It should be A Personal Conviction of the Personality of Christ. It emerges not from the idea given by others but with the profound living of the mission of Christ. If we do not embrace willingly the cross, our Christian life becomes only superficial. If there is no cross on our shoulders and in our hearts, then we are not authentic Christians. We are only Christians by name, not by living. Then we become only actors, not the testimonies. We are called not to act but to witness the Christ through our words and deeds. In fact, Paul reminds us that we become children of God only through faith. Let us answer the question of Christ today: his question is direct and personal. It is for me first, for you then, and for all of us in general. All our life is only a research to answer this question of Christian faith. Let us search and research for an answer placing the cross before us because if cross is missing from our life than faith itself is missing. We are of Christ and Christ is within us and therefore, we are the people of the cross. The Cross becomes our Sign and Sacrifice becomes our Essence. Let us ask Jesus for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that we grow in faith of Jesus who suffered and died, and risen for us. Finally, we profess the mystery of faith in the Holy Eucharist: let us announce your death O Lord, let us proclaim your resurrection until you come. Mystery of faith, the Church reveals, is in the living and proclaiming of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through our lives. Let us Live for Christ. Let us Dye with Christ. Let us Rise in Him.

ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C

ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – C (2Sam 12:7-10, 13; Gal 2:16, 19-21; Luke 7:36-50) Theme: God’s Immense Love Forgives The Repentant Sinner Reflection: God’s Grace Always Passes Through the Mediation - Today we are entering into the eleventh Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical year. We may also call it as the Sunday of God’s mercy and forgiveness. The readings of the day are particular in revealing God’s immense love towards the fallen humanity and places himself as the source of pardon and grace. In fact, God acts often and always through the mediation. God’s grace and pardon, as the consequence, come down not directly but through the persons and means that he himself prepares. The entire Old Testament is the testimony of it. God speaks through the various human resources – his spokesmen and his prophets. God intervenes in the life of his people in different modes and forms: he is present with them, not directly, but in the form of pillar of cloud and the pillar of the fire. It is not that God cannot and did not wish to speak and act directly. He only chooses the means that is very close to the human comprehension so that the man understands his presence and his action. In the New Testament we are empowered with the mediation of Jesus between God and man. He is the One through whom and in whom God manifests his perfect and overwhelming love for the humanity. As such Jesus’ word becomes God’s word and Jesus’ deed become God’s deed. It is because of this, as Paul exhorts, that Jesus Christ becomes the Image of Invisible God. After that Jesus himself now speaks and acts in the world through the mediation of the Holy Spirit and the Church. - The first reading of today emphasizes the fact that God manifests his love and pardon through the mediation. King David commits a grave sin. It is a grave sin because of its two sided effect. He wants to take the wife of Uriah as his because of his lust for her. The sin of lust is accompanied by the sin of killing. He understands that as long as Uriah is alive his desire will not be fulfilled. Though does not take his life directly, he makes sure that he is killed in the war and for this he purposely places him in front of the battle. Lust and killing are the sins that David commits before the Almighty God. They are contrary to the mission he is entrusted with, that is, to rule the people with goodness and love. The aspect that has to be noted well in this episode is this: David does not know and does not acknowledge his sin. As king, he thought that he could do anything and everything. He acted in his power and even forgetting that it is God who made him the king. He is not in the condition of realizing his sin. At this juncture, God himself takes the initiative to show David what he has done. He sends the prophet Nathan to make him know what he has committed. It is only through the mediation of the prophet, God’s messenger, that David realizes his sin and starts feeling guilty for the grave sin. He finally acknowledges and admits his sin and weeps for his wrongdoing saying, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2Sam 12:13). Immediately the prophet pronounces the pardon of God: “The Lord has forgiven your sin and you do not die” (2Sam 12:13). God’s grace and his intervention comes through the mediation. - The sacrament of Penitence and Reconciliation is the means of God’s mercy and forgiveness. For those who express their doubt of confessing the proper sins to the representative of God, the episode of David and Nathan is the example. God speaks and discloses his grace through the people he has chosen for himself. The first element, it is God’s own initiative to remind us of our sin. The second element, it is in the presence of God’s messenger that one can realize and accept his proper sin. Without the presence of this mediation, often the sinner does not know what is actual sin and how he has affected the others with his action. The actual sin and its consequences in the life of the one who has committed it and in those against whom he has committed can be explained in the presence of the other. The third element, it is an action that demands the personal humility and contrition by expressing it in sorrow as David did: I have sinned against the Lord. the fourth element, it is the mediation that God himself offers us through His Eternal Begotten Son Jesus Christ. Any sacrament for that matter is a means of God’s grace to us. When we approach them with sincere heart we begin to see their effects in our life. The truth is revealed in the gospel that we have today: a sinner woman approaches Jesus, weeps for her sinful life and receives the pardon from God. Readings: Love does not count the errors - The gospel reading of today presents to us the attitude of the sinful woman. Her desire to be with Jesus and her gestures of love for Jesus draw her closer to the grace of God. She is forgiven in love because the true love does not count the errors. Jesus does not count her as sinner but only sees her acts of humility and sorrow and sends her purified and renewed with forgiveness. In this context, it is apt to meditate upon the attitude that the woman manifests in front of the one whom she loves more, Jesus. Along with her we can observe the attitude of two other personalities in the reading: the tax-collector and Jesus. - The attitude of the sinful woman: the first attitude of her is the courage. It is not easy and acceptable for the woman, that too considered sinful, to enter into the house of the Pharisee. Yet she enters with the courage. Her courage has come from her deep desire to meet and to be with Jesus. The desire to interact with the Lord makes the one to take any further step without any fear. The second attitude is her humility and self-renouncement before Jesus. She enters into the house. The first gesture is an act of humility. She kneels down in front of her beloved Jesus and weeps for her sinfulness. The next gesture is an act of self-renouncement. She unties her hair and wipes the feet of Jesus. A woman cannot unloose her hair in the presence of another man and in the house of the other. Yet, she did it for the Lord. Her gesture manifests her readiness to place her life totally in the hands of the Lord without hiding anything for herself. It is the sign of her total self-abandonment in the presence of Jesus. It is the gesture of realizing and acknowledging her lowliness and sinfulness in front of the One who is Holy and Merciful. The fruit of her attitude is the forgiveness and being sanctified. - The attitude of the Pharisee: the one who has invited Jesus for the dinner is very hasty to judge the situation. While looking at the woman who entered and touched Jesus and looking at Jesus who allowed all this, he is embarrassed. He accused Jesus and condemned the sinful woman. His accusation against Jesus is this: if he is a prophet, he might know what kind of woman she is (v.39). His judgment against the woman is this: she is a sinner (v.39). His is an attitude of self-justification and judging the other by appearances. The scene reminds us of the prayer of the Pharisee and the tax-collector in the temple narrated by the same author Luke (18:9-14). Pharisee considers himself as just man, observer of the law and thus very closer to the kingdom of God and he treats all others as sinful and cursed. Jesus replies to his attitude with the parable and makes him realize that God’s love embraces all. - The attitude of Jesus towards the sinner: Jesus enters into the situation altogether in the different manner. He does not see the superficial practices and outward appearances. He penetrates deeply into the condition of the sinner. He does not count the quantity of the mistakes one commits. He counts only the quality of the heart. The Pharisee and others treat the woman who has entered into the house as sinner of the city and try to blame her. Jesus, on the other hand, sees in her a woman who is ready for the conversion and new life. In the gestures she has expressed Jesus reads her heart. Jesus finds in her humility and in giving up of herself a true and sincere love. For Jesus this attitude of love is very important. It is love which generates the forgiveness and it is forgiveness which makes the love grow. Out of love for Jesus and his message, she places her life wide-open before the Lord. It is out of love for the sinner that Jesus forgives her. He sees both her faith and love: all your sins are forgiven (v. 48), your faith has saved you, go in peace (v.50). The forgiveness is the fruit of Jesus’ love for her. He accepts the sinner to come to him. He permits the sinner to manifest the proper faith and love. He never wills to condemn but to correct and to pardon. The divine love of Jesus surpass the fragility and frailty of human condition. Humility can win the heart of God. Conclusion: Courage to acknowledge the mistake and ask pardon - The question that we can asks ourselves while reflecting on the gospel passage of today is this: what is my attitude in the presence of the Lord. How am I manifesting my desire and my love for him? Whom do we reflect through our life: the Pharisee or the sinful woman? Pretence and self-justification or humility and self-acceptance? We need to learn to have desire for the Lord. It is the desire that leads us to do anything for meeting the Lord. Let us learn from the sinful, yet repentant woman to grow in the desire for Jesus. - In the presence of Jesus we can realize the fullness of human nature. He is the mirror of holiness and divinity. Standing before him we can see ourselves and our life. With the power of his loving presence we can accept ourselves with humility. He is the mediator of God’s love and forgiveness to the humanity. The grace of God passes through his words and actions, particularly through the merits of his paschal mystery. In our lives, it comes through the listening to the scriptures and through the participation in the sacraments of the Church. For it is the Holy Spirit who represents the presence of Jesus in and for the world. - Let us manifest an attitude of humility and self-emptying before Jesus. It is for this the Church places the rite of penitence in the beginning of the mass. We need to enter into the banquet of the Lord and share his presence with the repentance and with the reception of God’s forgiveness. We need to learn to improve also our behavior and our gestures in the Church, the presence of the Lord. Let us prepare ourselves well with the attitude of love in order to meet the Lord and to receive his grace. Finally and ultimately it is the love that generates the forgiveness and mercy, because God’s immense love forgives the sinner.