SUNDAY OF LAZAR

5th Sunday of Lent – A: (Ezek 37:12-14; Rom 8:8-11; John 11:1-45)
Theme: We will also go and die with Him.

Reflection:
- We will remember that we are still in the journey towards Him, who is the source of life and grace.
- We will go back little to realize clearly where we stand and what is the point of our departure in our pilgrimage towards the Calvary.
- Last Sunday we mediated that we have to walk towards the ‘lake of Siloam’ to wash ourselves to be healed and to be purified.
- Every day and every week of the lent teach us to intensify our journey towards the Paschal Glory of the Resurrection with the imitation of the Christian virtues like that of renunciation (first Sunday), of transformation (second Sunday), of immersion in the Living Water (third Sunday), and of the washing in the One who is ‘sent’ (fourth Sunday).
- In the same manner, this week, the fifth Sunday of Lent, the Sunday of Lazar, we are to move towards the suffering and death (Christ moves towards the Jerusalem) and in this way we have the consequence/the fruit that follows: the glory of resurrection and life.

First reading

- The prophecy of Ezekiel: If the prophecy of Isaiah rotates itself around the Hope of Israel in the promise of God, the prophecy of Ezekiel is around the Spirit which will be poured out.
- The promise of God to the people of Israel who are in the tombs of suffering, of slavery and of perdition of proper life: “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil” (Ezek 37:13-14). Thus, the promise of God after calling into life the dry bones (37th Chapter) is comprised of his four actions in which He would:
o Open the tombs : opening the life that is like a grave closed with all the disbelief, with all the malice, with all the pride and with all the disobedience but seem to be ‘the whitewashed tombs’ which appear to be beautiful outside because of its colors but inside is full of rotten and useless material.
o Bring up from the grave: grave is the not the permanent house/residence of the people of God. Grave is only the place to keep the dead. Who believes in God is no more dead but already alive in Christ through the Spirit (Jesus’ words in the Gospel of today can be recalled). Grave is the requirement to bury the dead in the thinking of the world. But, God does not will that his faithful is in the grave. And so He breaks open the tomb (destroys the sting of death in the thought of St. Paul) and brings UP (and thus, we can rise in faith, hope and love also from the daily falling and failings in life) those who sleep in grave (the continual pain of death in the thought of St. Paul).
o Put His Spirit within: Once one is raised up from the death, there is no loss but only gain (I lose everything in order to gain my life in Christ: the words of St. Paul). Once the grave is open the dead is brought back from it, there is no more the perdition but re-breathing of the life. Thus the passage from the grave to grace, from the loss to gain, from the death to life and finally from the powers of evil to the powers of the Spirit. God’s promise of pouring out the Spirit in his people is always present in the full manner in the prophecy of Ezekiel. The fruit of the Spirit is life: “I will put my spirit within you and you shall live” (37:14).
o Place you on your own soil: Opening the tomb, bringing up from the grave and finally pouring the spirit within are not the end in themselves. It is a process. Process from one condition to the other; from one state of life to the other; from one situation to another. And this process has a purpose. The purpose is TO BE IN THE OWN SOIL. To be in one’s own place is an unending joy that one can have. For the people of God the true soil is not this world and they are absolutely aware of this. God at the end of the process of redeeming plan, places everyone who has heard Him and lived for Him in the place/in the soil of His bosom (I am going to prepare a place for you so that you would be where I am: the word of Jesus). This is the final end of the journey the people of God has to reach: being in the bosom/house of God.

Second reading

- While the first reading talks about the promise of the Spirit, Paul carefully observes and admonishes the presence of the Spirit. Between the pouring out of the Spirit (the promise of the first reading) and the presence of the Spirit (the actual action of the Spirit of the second reading) there is the total commitment and perfect obedience of Jesus Christ who is the cause of this realization of the Spirit in the believer.
- Paul’s preaching of the Spirit is always in reference and in contrast to the flesh. The best example of this statement is same as in the reading of today. He says that for the one who believes Christ is in him (v.10), when Christ is there, there is also His Spirit (v.11). Being in the desires of the flesh (and being dominated by them: v.8) is not the will of God (cannot please God: v.8). On the contrary, the one who allows himself to be dominated and dwelt by the Spirit is always with the life and though dead because of sin, he will be brought back to the life in the Spirit (v.11).
- God, whose spirit was staying on the waters in the beginning, wills that this dwelling of the His Spirit always happens in the life of the believer. For this reason when the presence of the spirit was rejected by man and thus he lost his life of grace, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, the giver of the Spirit, into the world so that this presence of the Spirit will be effected once again.

Gospel

The love of Jesus for the family of Martha, Mary and Lazar
- First of all, the love of Jesus is for all without any conditions:
o This is the main theme that flows in each and every word of the Gospel of John.
o God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to save the world (Jn 3:16): the salvation of Jesus, according to John, is ‘to bring back man fallen in sin (therefore into the grave: the first reading) to the bond of love of God’.
o The Son, who has come into the world to seek and save man, in reality, has called all those around him ‘friends’. We shall remember the bond of friendship that Jesus establishes between Him and his disciples: “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15).
o The Spirit, the fruit of the love between the Father and the Son, is also given as the Helper to search into the truth of love.
o This love of the Trinity always abides in those who listen and keep his commandments because love leads to the knowledge and the embracing of the Word of God, that is, Jesus Christ: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home (and thus here we can remember the promise of the first reading: keeping on OWN SOIL) with them” (John 14:23).

- Love of Jesus for the family of love
o Exactly this is fulfilled in the situation of Bethany and in the family of Martha, Mary and Lazar.
 They have listened to the word of God (Luke 10)
 They have learnt from Jesus the one and same experience and thus both of them are able to express their hope in the words more similar: “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (frist Martha in v.21 and then Mary in v.32). They could bear the same experience because they have so intimately followed Jesus.
o And finally they have received the fruit of love: the life and the resurrection (I will open the grave and bring you up from the grave: the first reading).
o The visible testimony is: the return of Lazar to life; his journey from the grave to the glory.

The attitude of Jesus towards the sickness is not that of negative but of positive
- Illness non for the death but for the revelation of the glory of God:
o This is also underlining theme of John’s Jesus. Jesus is not just the fulfillment of the Old Testament but He is the Final Revelation of God to man.
o We have another occasion that of last week’s, in which, Jesus views differently at the born blind man. He is not here to judge who is at sin and who is in judgment. He is here on earth to manifest God’s unconditional love and His eternal glory to the humanity.
o Therefore, in every condition of man, whether physical sickness or spiritual astray, Jesus likes to see only how the love and glory of God can be recognized in those various situations.
o As humans and as the ones who choose their life in freedom they have these unavoidable conditions and these become part of their daily life; so also as the believers and as those who hope in the will of God in faith they have also the unavoidable grace and these moments of grace (prayer and liturgy) have to become part of their daily life.
o In this way, the believer can change his mode of viewing the daily happenings in a normal way and can learn to view them differently as the occasions for the manifestation of God’s glory.
o If this happens, there will be less murmur, less blame, less curse, less grudge. Instead there will be more reflection, more introspection, more examination of conscience and more praise. In every situation God can be glorified. After all it is the play of God’s love as Padre Pio says: “when God listens to your prayer give him glory, even if he doesn’t, give him glory all the same; because it’s only the play of his love.”
- Jesus makes use of this occasion as time for the revelation of truth
o Last week, in the miracle of born blind man, Jesus turns the occasion into the time of teaching and thus from the story he reveals himself as the Light of the world (John 9:5) and that the darkness/night (the time of devil and his operations) is over and the light/day (the time of Jesus and his message) has come.
o Even today, in the miracle of calling Lazar to life, Jesus makes it a time of teaching and thus from the story he reveals himself once again as Light and says ‘as long as one is in the light he will not stumble’ (John 11:9-10).
o Thus for John, Jesus is not just a miracle worker or just a preacher of the kingdom of God but more over and above all, He is the revelation of God in the midst of humanity (John 1:14).

The manifestation of Jesus’ fullness of humanity and divinity is very clear in this context
- We shall remember that this is not the only occasion for this manifestation because we see this throughout the gospel of John
- But in this particular context:
o The humanity of Jesus is manifested in its fullness: in the cry for his friend Lazar and for his family. Jesus is truly human. He has experienced and lived all the moments of humanity (as St. Paul reminds us that He is like us in all things except sin).
o The divinity of Jesus is manifested in its fullness: in the rapport and in the communion that he has with His Father and which is seen in his prayer at the grave of Lazar.
o Even our divinity can be manifested in our personal communion with God in prayer and our humanity can be manifested in our personal communication with the others in charity. This is the love of God and love of neighbor that we need to cherish.

Let us also go, that we may die with him:
- The strange words of Thomas is our central part of our reflection today
o Jesus and his disciples know well that the Jews are planning to kill Jesus because of various confrontations that he has with them and we see them very obviously in the preceding chapters.
o Jesus who remained silent for two days after hearing that Lazar was sick, finally, decides to go to Judea. We can positively see the silence of Jesus towards the bad news the illness of his friend, Lazar.
 His delay is not because he doesn’t want to go and heal him immediately; His delay is not also for the reasons of fear of Jews who plot to gnash him; His silence is not a pleasing act for himself also.
 He always waits for his hour of manifestation of the glory of God (the time and moment of his Father’s will and action). This hour is more important for all his events because it is the will of God which for him is the food and water. We can have reference to this hour in the wedding of Cana.
 All other things fall in the sphere this hour for their final glorification: in the case of man born blind, in offering the sight; in the case of Lazar, more than just illness, in offering the life from the death.
o His hour has come to Judea and He tells them that it’s a time to go to glorify the Lord in raising the Lazar from the death in front of all the people. The revelation of God’s glory in Christ takes its high point once again as it was preceded by the miracle of sight to the born blind man. This is the will of God and Jesus does this with full knowledge and obedience.
o But on the part of the disciple they still have in mind the fearfulness of their travel towards Judea and yet, John inserts the words of Thomas in the meaningful manner which signifies that:
 Even if they do not understand fully the ways and words of Jesus they want to follow him because for them at that moment he is the messiah.
 They know that they have to make difficult confrontations with the Jews but they are confident because Jesus can make them very easily and they had past experience of this.
 Particularly Thomas who will one day deny, to believe him unless he sees the living proofs of his death, the wounds, now, shows the radical acceptance Jesus’ ways. Though he is not clear of what he says he certainly makes the decisive movement of his obedience and love for him.

Conclusion

- We also travel towards the partaking of Jesus’ suffering and death so that we will be again raised with him.
o Our Lenten journey should always towards the acceptance of this suffering with the love for God and neighbor and thus glorifying Him alone.
o It also tests our attitude in enduring the daily hurdles in life and how we treat them and how we live them.
o It also teaches us how to meditate on the silence of God or delay of God in the needful situations of our life.
o It also exalts us to be in the family of Jesus and to be intimately related to him so that his love is manifested to us in the ways pleasing to God alone.
- We journey towards the hope that God will
o Break open our daily burdens
o Bring us up from our daily cries
o Put in us his spirit of love and obedience and finally
o Lead us to our real soil, the bosom of the Father.
- There we will see him face to face and partake perfectly in his love and share the glory of sons of God where we always sing his glory, his power and his praises, Amen.

SUNDAY OF BLIND MAN FROM THE BIRTH

4th Sunday of Lent – A : (1Sam 16:1b.4,6-7,10-13; Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41)
Theme
Today we make our Lenten journey from ‘our being’ to the pool of ‘Siloam’, that is Sent and wash ourselves.

Reflection
Just we go back to remember where we are in our journey and how we are making our Lenten walk towards the joy of Resurrection.
- In the first week we made our journey to the ‘Desert of fasting and prayer’ and thus we leant to renounce everything to make ourselves united to Christ.
- In the second week we made our journey to the ‘Mount Tabor of the vision of Transfiguration’ and thus we leant to imprint this vision of future glory in the hearts and strive to fulfill the mission entrusted to us and thus building the bridge between Vision of Transfiguration and Mission of Disfiguration for the sake of salvation.
- In the third week, the Samaritan week, we made the journey to the ‘Fountain of Living Water’ and thus leant to break the hardness of heart (pride and disobedience) like the people of Israel in the desert and accept the Fountain of Life, that is, the Spirit who makes us be humble and obey his commands and thus be nourished by the fruit of his word and thus making the ladder grounded in the Rock of Hope (the first reading: water from the Rock in the desert) and moving higher with the steps to the Spring of Life (the Gospel: Living Fountain as Jesus Himself).
- In this week, we make our journey from the ‘outward appearance’ to the ‘inward being’ (first reading); from the ‘time of darkness’ to the ‘hour of the day’ (second reading); and from the ‘what we are’ to ‘what we are sent’ (gospel).

First reading
- God prefers and chooses what is small and unnoticed by the people:
o Even the prophets, the spokesmen of God, can behave in this way: looking the external appearance and judge accordingly. Here we can notice how the prophet Samuel has mistaken the elder and the first seven sons of Jesse to be the one that God elects. He thinks this way by looking at the form and structure of the person, his height and his beauty and so on.
o Even the parents and elders do not expect and accept, even worse, do not invite this way of neglecting the ‘big ones’ and preferring the ‘small/little ones’: we can notice how Jesse responds to the prophet telling that ‘there remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep’. He never thought that he would ever be noticed by anybody because he is very small and least of all. And the small one, David, is called in, the totally reversed moment takes place: God tells the prophet to hurry up and anoint him.
- God wills to be glorified in the small and in the little ones:
o Being little/being small is not a humiliation (may be in the sight of human mind) but a glorification (in the sight and will of God who made himself little by being born among men).
o We do not hesitate to be the least ones/ last ones/ small ones in the community or in the society, because, after all, it is the ‘means’/the only means to be the greater ones/counted ones/written ones in the kingdom of God.
o We can, by this example of scriptural passage, accept and invite happily (in the Christian charity) the misunderstandings, the murmurings, the misbehaviors and even the stones of humiliation into our life. We need not be preoccupied with them or upset our life because of them, because, we have an answer that God’s ways are beyond the apprehension of mere man.
- We shall be ‘these little one’ in this lent:
o In that way, we open the door of being chosen
o In that way, we broaden the possibility of being saved
o In that way, we have the opportunity to be anointed by God.

Gospel reading
- Initiative of salvation is God’s:
o We see in many other miracles worked by Jesus that either, others bring the sick to Jesus for the healing (like the paralyzed man dropped down from the house top by the four people); or, the sick himself cries out to Jesus for the healing (like that of blind man who shouts ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me); but here in this particular passage (as that of last week’s, the Samaritan women) Jesus himself goes in search of the sick (either, physically blind from the birth as in today’s Gospel, or, spiritually/morally sick as in the account of Samaritan woman).
o Jesus who “walked along” saw a man blind from birth: this ‘walking along’ can be also interpreted as ‘being with/among/for the people’, as God who ‘has visited his people and redeemed them’ (Lk 1:68, Zacchariah’s prophecy). He came on to the earth to visit (son of man came to search and save the lost) and offer healing (salvation).
o He himself has taken the first step to contact him and to offer him the grace of sight. He cures him and sends him to be ‘as the one who is sent’ (Siloam). The one who is sent is always ‘full of light’ and ‘full of knowledge of God’ and that is ‘Jesus’ himself.
- The curing of the born blind man takes us back to the origin of man’s creation:
o Jesus gives him completely another life. The blind man who is unable to see from his birth, who is in the ‘absence of light’ from the beginning, is now able to see. This is the new sight (new life), not the sight lost (not the repaired life).
o This carries us back to the creation of man in the beginning. There was no human being. God has created man (new being).
o Even the gestures of healing of Jesus such as, taking the mud, spreading on the eyes, command of washing in the water, reminds us the gestures of first creation. Even God takes the mud, forming from it a being, filling it with the spirit (water and life).
o Jesus who came to make everything new (new heavens and new earth as says St. Paul) has to re-start/ re-initiate everything from the beginning; and this aspect of re-forming of man is seen in this account of man born blind.
o We see always this main stream of theology in the writing of John (Gospel, letters and Apocalypse). He show Jesus Christ as the Word in the beginning, in whom all have the new beginning (like the blind man who has the new beginning of light/sight).
- Being blind (born blind) is not a deed of God but God can make it as an instrument for his glory:
o Jesus gives new dimension of viewing the events: “not his sin or his parents’ sin that made him born blind” (this was the view of Jews that the sickness is the consequence of sin / consequence of God’s wrathfulness);
o Jesus makes every event (good or bad in the sight of men) as an occasion to glorify God (this is the view of Jesus that more than counting the sins/sinfulness of man, we do give glory to God in and through the condition in which man is).
o We can develop this positive attitude of viewing the daily incidents of our life: we can consider them the occasions to sing the mystery of God’s doing, (which is not so easy to understand as in the first reading).
o Taken in this way, the difficulties/the problems can appear to us not as the blocks of disappointment but as the bricks of anointing of God (as in the summery of the first reading).
- The scene of the gospel account – and – the context of today
o Jesus, the donor of the light of seeing : the giver of salvation (God)
o Blind man, the recipient of the sight : the receiver of the grace (Man)
o The way (the medium) is ‘washing in the Siloam’: the sacraments (Church)
o Disciples, the seekers of the truth : the community (Followers of Christ)
o People around: who knows the man well: who needs the proof (testimony)
o Pharisees: who refuse to accept the truth and suppress it (disbelief and pride)
o Parents: who know the truth but do not take risk (fear and preoccupation)
o Sin: around which whole miracle runs (absence of faith of the believer)
- Now we can ask ourselves few questions:
o To which group I belong to?
o What blocks us to be the authentic recipient of the grace of God?
o How far do we go to the Church “Siloam” to wash ourselves?
o How do we consider our failures and our problems and even our joys and our faith?
o Do we fear to bear the testimony of God’s goodness in our life like the parents of today’s gospel?
o Like this we can have numerous questions: it is difficult to pose them all here. But we can make use of this time of lent to take pains of reflecting and deep meditation of our life. This could be our task of this Lenten week.

Conclusion
- It’s not so easy to summarize and make the reflection of this gospel miracle
- It’s very hard to put it in simple words and leave it because it is very rich in its theological significance
- Simple facts are very clear:
o Entering into the interior being of the person to understand him better (first reading)
o To be able to accept and life the ‘littleness’ and ‘smallness’ in the society and in the church because we have the promise of Jesus “let the small ones come to me for theirs is the kingdom of God”.
o We are the ‘people of the light and people of the day’ (second reading) and so we have the mission to see clearly and walk properly (in word and deed).
o Jesus and his mercy always passes us by and we have to recognize and make ourselves near to him so that we receive his grace and light (gospel).
o Testimony, even in the situations of fear and occupation, has to be given by the word of faith and deed of love.
- Therefore: in this week we shall walk (make our journey) towards the Siloam ‘who is sent’ and so towards the Christ ‘who is sent’ by God and towards the Church ‘who is sent’ by Jesus Christ.
- To him be the glory forever and ever.

SUNDAY OF SAMARITAN WOMAN

3rd Sunday of Lent A : (Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42)
Theme: Journey from the Rock of hardness of heart to the Fountain of life (water), the Holy Spirit.
Reflection:
First Reading:
- The episode of the water from the rock in the desert teach us at least two things:
o To have perfect faith, from the part of the people, in the one who calls and guides
 It demands the adherence of the people to the word of God which calls them for complete trust and obedience till the end of their journey towards the Promised Land. Putting the Lord to the test with the grumbling and blaming is only ‘the loosing of asked faith in the moment of difficulties. Keeping oneself away from these external challenges and sustain the proper trust in the providence of God is the primary test of faith.
 It demands the adherence of the people to the presence of the chosen leader because God speaks always through the mediation (mediation may be of many modes). To murmur against the leader is to be against the will and purpose of the Lord. Keeping oneself away from these external forces and sustaining the proper mind and tongue in tune with the pleasure of the God is the second test of faith.
o God’s Doing is always marvelous and above the human understanding
 It is manifested in the rock which produces water by the command of the Lord, its creator.
 It is shown in the desert that has become the fountain, that is, the desert of life has become the fountain of life; the murmur of thirst of the people is turned into the joy of quenching.
 It is revealed from the fear and the worry of the people ‘from anywhere can we get something to drink?’ to the joy and tranquility of the people ‘from everywhere we can get water to drink only if we have faith in their God’.
- The episode of water from the rock reveals the principle truth that God himself is the ROCK on which people have to hold on, have to found their life, have to turn to for their energy and power.
o God himself is sitting on the rock: If we read carefully the test we will find the same words of God telling to Moses “I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike on the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.”
o Few observations will help us to know the truth well:
 God himself is standing (so, not just the promise of presence but the real action of being present: standing)
 In front of you (so, not just the word/voice of God from somewhere unseen reality but the a reality being a real Guide. Here we can still develop the idea of ‘in front’ from various dimension of the Scriptures)
 On the Rock (so, not just presence on the rock but becoming the Rock itself/himself)
 At Horeb (so, not just the word/promise in the air or in the myth but in history: history of Israel).
 Strike on the rock (so, striking actually God himself who has become the Rock of Water, which means, seek on the Lord; lean on to the Lord for the help; touch the real, not the illusionary, rock or fountain. Rock becomes the fountain.
 People may drink – may not drink also - (so, water coming from the rock is sure, that is, grace gushing from the Lord is sure; it is up to the people to drink it or take from it; it depends on the personal choice of the one who is thirsty whether to accept the water or to reject it.
God is present in all the situation of the human life. He is present in various forms. He is the Rock of life for man. Only man has to accept him with total confidence and trust with careful observance of the mediation He provides with. That is the task of lent we need to take up for this week.

Gospel:
- Discourse of Jesus with the Samaritan woman:
o Manifests Jesus as the Fountain of Living Water
o Thirst of Jesus, not just for the water, but for the people who are in the desert of ignorance and non-acceptance of God and especially for the people who are away from God’s ways: in this context, the Samaritans (who are considered as the strangers and cursed by God). For, He says towards the end of the discourse, that his food (drink also) is doing the will of his Father (calling people into the fountain of truth).
o Jesus stands ‘in front’ (as God stands in front of Moses in the first reading) of the Samaritan woman as ‘the mirror’ in whose Image (of the Invisible God) she has seen her own life and its fall and hope to rise up.
o Jesus sits on the well (in the original terminology it shows Jesus sits on the fountain) which means He become the Fountain Himself; that’s the reason why, he then says following “the water He gives would become the fountain of living water”.
o From the ordinary needs of the food and water (the disciples went to buy the food; the Samaritan woman came to fetch the water) Jesus leads the woman (who stands for the man lost by sin and ignorance) to the Only Need of Living Water (only one thing is needed, that, Martha has chosen).
o It was in the afternoon:
 the time in which Jesus will one day pour out living water from the his side on the cross.
 Fullness of the day is the afternoon where the sun shines to the full and now the Sun of Justice shines fully in front of the Samaritan woman so that she could see her life in that powerful reflection (like the sun that rises).
o The passage from “Not-Knowing” to the “Full Acknowledgment and Acceptance” on the part of the people of Samaria.

Conclusion: we need to have the “stick of faith” (as in the hands of Moses to touch the Rock of Life) and the “bucket of hope” (as in the hands of Samaritan woman to fetch the Living water of life). In this lent we make the journey from the Hardness of our Hearts (testing God) to the Fountain of Life (Acceptance of the Truth and adoring God in Truth and in love).

SUNDAY OF TRANSFIGURATION

2nd Sunday of the Lent – A: (Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Matt 17:1-9)

Theme: We will embrace the word of Transformation and we will be transfigured.

Reflection:
1st Reading:
- God calls Abram to leave everything of what he owns (all his people and belongings and even his own country).
- Abram responds to the call with faith and trust in the providence of God.
- The result is in the benediction/blessing: God makes him great among all the nations.
- Leaving aside what we are and what we have and embracing the word of God (His Will) is the Lenten practice we are called to do today.

Gospel:
- Last week we have seen that the Christina journey should be from Garden (of Eden) to the Desert (place of temptation of Jesus). And thus we make our journey from the material abundance of life to its renunciation (of avarice of goods –hunger- through the practice of fasting; of the craving for the name and fame – prestige – through the practice of prayer; of the desire for the leadership and prominence – power – through the practice of charity.
- Today we make journey from the Mount Tabor (the place of transfiguration) to the Mount Calvary (the place of dis-figuration). And thus we make journey from the glorious moments of our life to the acceptance of unwanted difficulties and unexpected sufferings.
- Going to the lonely place/ leaving the present place and going to another/ keeping oneself aside/ taking the self aside is a blessing and is a time/opportunity for the transformation and transfiguration.
o Abram has kept himself away from his own in accordance with the God’s call and he received a blessing and he is transformed from Abram to Abraham and he is transfigured from the single person to the generations together.
o Jesus also keeps himself away from the usual and ordinary daily living and preoccupations and he has taken also his disciples aside to the lonely place of Mount Tabor and he is transfigured and even his disciples have receive the glimpse of the eternal glory.
- This transfiguration of Jesus ends with the predication of Jesus about his resurrection which will come after his suffering and death on the cross. Therefore the vision of transfiguration is ultimately revealed and the glory will be shown out only after the endurance of the present life with all its daily pains.
- Exactly in the middle of the vision of transfiguration stands the experience and duty of the one who desires for the life of transformation.
o On the one hand, the experience of the heavenly glory with which we will be crowned as the followers of Christ and in which we would happy to say repeating the words of Peter: “Lord, it is nice be hear. Command us that we will build three tents, one for Moses, one for Elia and one for you.
o On the other hand, the responsibility/ mission of the one who receives this glory: not to be staying there but to get down of the mountain of glory and living the daily life and bearing the sufferings with the joy of hope.
o For both of these there is the assurance of God’s voice/God’s presence (in the OT God’s presence is often revealed in the voice from the clouds or voice from the prophets).
o God’s voice/word is Jesus Christ, with which all the creation is made to be in the perfect beauty and which is disfigured because of creature’s sin, now, who, with whom all things will be transfigured again to the perfect original glory.
o LISTENING to Him is the ONLY MISSION we have as his disciples in between the vision of glory for which we are aspiring and the reality of life with which we are to lead our life.
- We will try to transform this into the reality of the Church, the local community and every single person:
o The presence of the Church: The church has kept itself aside to receive the vision of glory and is transformed with the eternal splendor, Jesus and the Spirit are always in the conversation with her. We, as the members, say that it is nice to be here. The voice of God come out telling: “This is my beloved church and in her I have kept my pleasure. Listen to her.” Getting up from the vision we have to come down/come out from the Church to lead our daily life with much courage and endurance.
o The presence of the local Community: Same as above. Priest and council of elders always in conversation with her. God tells to listen to the community.
o The presence of every individual: everyone is a voice of God we have to listen to him because each one can bring us the transformation of life.

Conclusion: In our journey towards the paschal mystery in which we will experience the fullness of transfiguration we have to fulfill faithfully the mission of our daily life amidst all the dark clouds of unexpected happenings. This is the journey from the Lent to the Easter.

DYING WITH CHRIST TO RISE WITH HIM (Lent and Easter 2011 - A)

1st Sunday of Lent A: (Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11)
Theme: we welcome the Tree of Life in our life and, be nourished by Its Fruits.
Reflection:
- Lent : time of grace and time of salvation
- Lent : time of preparation and purification
- Lent : time of prayer and penitence
- Lent : time of stepping ahead with lot of hope amidst the world full of temptations

1st Reading:
- Garden signifies not the place of temptation as we see in the reading.
- Garden was created by God to be the ‘meeting point’ or ‘place of unity’ between God and first parents; Garden therefore, is the place of ‘coming’ and ‘listening’ to God; Garden thus, is the post where God and man meet.
- Such a beautiful significance is lost today by the fall of man.
- The Garden is to meet God and listen to him, means, the word of God is to be accepted and welcomed.
- In this regard, two sins can be pointed out as we meditate on this reading:
o Sin of disobedience and going astray from God: because the Word of God is not listened, not accepted and not welcomed, and thus emerges the sin of NOT DOING WHICH IS TO BE DONE
o Sin of obedience and coming closer to the devil: because the word of the devil is listened, accepted and welcomed, and thus emerges here, the sin of DOING WHICH IS NOT TO BE DONE.
- One, sin against God by rejecting his word and command; the other, sin for the sake of devil by accepting his word.

Gospel:
- Three conditions which are very dear to the devil:
o The three situations/human conditions in which the devil takes chance of tempting: hunger, prestige and power. Man is also very tentative to fall in these situations very easily and so the devil knows well where, how and when to hit the man and make him fall.
- “Possibility of falling” and “Possibility of firm resistance”
o Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry/his actual mission reveals the truth of the ‘possibility of falling’ into the hands/mindset of devil and he also assures us that there is also the truth of ‘the possibility of standing firm’ against the undesired/unwanted consequences.
- The three practices of lent are the answers for three temptations
o The three practices of lent are: the fasting, the prayer and the charity.
o The three most possible temptations in one’s life are: the hunger, the fame/prestige and the power.
o Fasting has to win over the temptation of the ‘hunger’, which also spiritually signifies, forgoing or keeping asides the “desires of the body and mind” (physical contempt, accumulation of goods, greediness of many wants) and striving for the “desires of the spirit” ( the sharing, feeding the others, seeking the good of the other).
o Prayer has to win over the temptation of the ‘prestige’ or ‘false fame’, which also spiritually signifies, giving up of/renunciation of “one’s self” (personal importance, selfishness, egoism and the attitude of bossing over) and taking up of/giving into the “other” or “otherness” (sacrifice, living for the other, going out of one’s own being and giving room for the Spirit’s action).
o Charity has to win over the temptation of the ‘power’, which also spiritually signifies, refusal of the “putting on the crown of glory” (seeking for the self-glory, want of being authoritative, attitude of commanding) and accepting “the thorns of servant” (positive attitude towards humiliation, insults, and throwing oneself at the service of others).

Finally we have the hope of the ‘tree of life’ planted by God amidst us: Jesus Christ.
- In the beginning of creation God has planted the tree of life in the middle of the garden and said to the man not to eat it.
- In the beginning of new creation in time and space, God has planted the ‘tree of life’ in the person of Jesus Christ, His Eternal Son, in the middle of the garden of the world and invited man to eat the fruit.
- The tree of life is always in the midst of us:
o John, in his Gospel, reminds us that ‘The Word Made Flesh’ has pitched his tent ‘amidst us’.
o Jesus himself, in his discourse about the kingdom of God, tells that it is already ‘amidst us’.
o When he is going back to his Father he has assured us that his presence would be always ‘amidst us’.
- The most visible and admirable ‘tree of life’ amidst us is the ‘cross of Christ’.
- The tangible and perceptible and administering ‘tree of life’ amidst us is ‘the Catholic Church’ which leads us to the true tree of life with her preaching and sacraments.
Therefore, we will move on in our walk of life towards the joy of resurrection by ‘welcoming the tree of life (Jesus) and be nourished by his fruits of the Spirit’.

THE DEATH OF THE JUST

THE DEATH OF THE JUST
(Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 26 and 27: collected points)

IS JESUS MISSION UNSUCCESSFUL?
- All the words his spoken and the miraculous deeds he has done seem to be in vain: it is because the Preacher (Prophet and Prophecy), and the Miracle worker (Sanctifier and the Healer) of God’s Kingdom is now forgotten.
- His death on the Cross just like any other criminal of the time has raised the question of whether is he really a Messiah.
- Even the people who were waiting for the Savior and in fact seen him in the person of Jesus themselves are thinking that God has abandoned him to die alone on the cross.
- Now He has become victim of insults and blasphemies and not any more the bringer of good news and thus his fame has vanished.
- All these incidents show that the mission of Jesus has become meaningless and successful.
THE FATE/DESTINY OF THE PERSECUTED JUST:
- Keep away your sword and in this way the scriptures should be fulfilled (26:52-56).
- Therefore Jesus fulfills not only the glorious things told about him but also other prophecies.
What are they?
A. The suffering just of the Old Testament in the figure of Joseph sold (Gen 37-50)
B. The prayers of the suffering just prefigured in the Psalms: “Lord how many are my oppressors” (3); “Lord, save me and liberate me from the one who persecutes me” (7) and various others.
C. The suffering just in the figure of prophet Jeremiah: “like a lamb to the slaughtering house” (Jer 11:18-23; 17:14-18); “they fight against me but do not prevail” (Jer 15: 15-21)
D. The suffering just who appears also in the books of Daniel and the Wisdom.
E. Finally New Testament predicts that of the suffering servant of Isaiah (52:13-53:12).
JESUS DELIVERS HIMSELF INTO THE HANDS OF DEATH
- Many have betrayed him: not only Judah (26:14-16), but also all his disciples (26:56); the Pharisees and Sadducees for their jealousy (27:18); knowing this Pilot delivers him into the hands of the soldiers just for the political reasons (27:26) and finally he is also delivered into the hands of his friends to be buried (27:58).
- This is all possible only when he wills it and when he allows it to happen. Therefore, he has delivered himself to the death (Jn 10:17-18).
THE INNOCENT BLOOD:
- The innocent blood is sold for thirty dinars just like that of Joseph ( Gen 37:28) and that of Zachariah (11:11-13).
- The penitence of Judah Iscariot (27:4: I have sinned and I have sold innocent blood) and it is called justly: the price of blood and the place of blood.
THE SILENCE OF JESUS:
- He has not responded not even a single word (27:12-13), as prophesized by Isaiah (53:7).

THE JUST REJECTED BY THE JEWISH AUTHORITY AND RECOGNIZED THE STRANGERS:
- Jews have refused and rejected him (Mt 26:67)
- But the ordinary people and people outside religious system recognized him as the just man and the Messiah (Mt 27:54).

At the end of the drama of this Just Man persecuted and put to death there is the Hope of Redemption and the Reality of Resurrection. God, who seems to have abandoned him till the death on the cross, now begins to redeem his people with the same suffering, blood and innocent death of His Son. Jesus is born, died and has risen! Alleluia!

In the Walk towards the knowledge and acceptance of Christ: Year A

9th SUNDAY – A: (Deut 11:18, 26-28,32; Rom 3:21-25a,28; Math 27:21-27)
Theme: Let us build the mobile and living house in our walk of faith
Reflection:
- We are still in the discourse on the mountain but at the ending part.
- The discourse which begins with the beatitudes to be new way of the Christian and continues with the perfection of the old law and commission of the new law and finally ends with the assurance of God’s presence and his power for those who seek him and his kingdom.
- As the part of this context we have today the true and authentic follower who builds his house on the rock of the Lord, that is, Jesus Himself.
First Reading:
- Context of the reading is people are in walk towards the promised land
- God gives them his words as their nutrition his words on their journey
- It is Moses, the law giver of the Old Testament, who admonishes the people of Israel to take into heart the words of God and not to ignore them.
- The only way to be chosen and the only road to follow in the journey is observance the commandments of God.
- Proper blessing or proper curse depends on the proper living of the words of God.
- Opening the hearts to listen to the word and opening the hands to put it in practice.
Psalm: we have the fortified rock of refuge in which we can have our permanent and un-faltering tent.
Second Reading:
- Man is justified faith independently of the law: though this Pauline thinking led astray the fellow brethren who reject everything else except God’s justification by the faith alone, never is his intention to keep faith away from the actions. The one who separated themselves from the Church do say that our actions or our good deeds do not merit any benefit of salvation and it’s only the gift of pure grace of God. This keeps the faith and good works separated which is, in return, is not a and not to be the way of a real disciple of Christ who has earned the salvation of man by his Paschal event, not just Paschal word.
- Paul’s theology is not to create any of such confusions. He himself is very much aware that Christ has perfected and fulfilled the old law and through his deeds and good works has manifested the love of God for the man. One has to imitate him not only in faith but in life which is the testimony of the practice of God’s words.
- But this faith has to be lived by the good action. Faith is principle element in deed, and the deeds of goodness are all the more important and they are to be added to the faith, as the heart is covered by the body.
Gospel:
- Jesus distinguishes the real prayer from that of just calling the name of God: “not who call me Lord, Lord who enter the kingdom of God but the one who listens and does the will of my Father in heaven”.
- Calling name of God or just making some prayers are the useless practices of faith and by this one uses His name in vain and God’s command is: “Do not use my name in vain”.
- All the words we use or just using the lips keeping the mind and hearts away will always create our own judgment for God will one day say: “these people praise me with their lips but their hearts are far away.”
- Not that we have to keep the prayer away to do all the good works but there should be the connection between the heart and the hands, between the words and the deeds. We cannot stop with the first ones and say that we have lived our faith because the faith in God is not just a word but an action.
- The one who listens and practices the will of God is like a wise man who builds his house: here three important elements are dealt with:
o Wise man: the wisdom is not human; it is always divine and spiritual; Intelligence is human on the other hand; Therefore, the one who listens and practices the Word of God, that is Christ, is in the condition of participating in the very life of God because wisdom belongs to God alone.
o Has the house but built on a rock: Just having the house is not enough; anyone can build house; where it is built and how it is built is that matters; We are the houses in which God dwells (your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit: thus says St. Paul). We are built on a Rock of God that is Jesus Christ, who is the corner stone of the foundation.
o On the Church: Jesus tells to Peter: “you are the rock on which I build my house”. The Church is built on the rock (the faith) of Peter. This means that the wise man builds his house on the rock of St. Peter, that is, the Church.
- Finally this house of faith which is built on the rock of Christ will not flatter though the rain of problems and difficulties fall, though the storms of doubts and human weakness flow and though the winds of temptations and the attractions of the world blow, the house (or the Church) does not fall because it is build on the firm rock of Christ.

We are the house which is living and moving. We are fixed people at one place but we are on the move towards the communion in Christ. Therefore, each one of has to be the moving house into which all can enter and take the place of fraternal love.