CELEBRATE LIFE

Isaiah 25:6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14

A convert in a Kentucky prison sent a touching prayer that he wrote to a Jesuit newsletter. A part of it reads: “Dear heavenly Father, I come to you a bent and broken man . . . . I come to you from prison, from a place that’s called death row and ask that you take pity, Lord, on a convict’s wretched soul. . . . Dry these tear stained eyes; have mercy on this awful man, please hear his mournful cries.”

This prayer of the man in the prison echoes the prayers of millions of people who face tragic and sad experiences in life. It mirrors the agonizing pain that we carry in our hearts for reasons known and unknown. It reflects the lives of those who have no one except God as their only hope.

The first reading taken from the prophet Isaiah is an answer to our tear-filled prayers. The prophet was writing to a people who were threatened by the Assyrians eight hundred years before the birth of Jesus. There was the fear of forceful occupation, abuse of women and children, destruction of homes and cities, murder of men and women, violence, bloodshed, death and destruction. The prophet calmed their fears with the promise of the abiding presence of the Lord and the loving hands of God that will reach out to his people with compassion.

Let us replay the words of the prophet and listen attentively to the feelings that fill these words:

• The Lord will provide a feast of rich food and choice wines for all peoples

• He will destroy the veils that veils all peoples

• He will destroy death forever

• The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face

• The reproach of his people he will remove

If we place Jesus alongside these hope-filled words of the prophet, it is easy to understand that Jesus, who embodies the vision of the prophet, is a promise fulfilled. His life is a distant dream ⎼ fulfilled.

• Do we not hear Jesus instructing his disciples that he is the bridegroom and that life is a celebration?

• Is it not true that Jesus broke all the walls of discrimination and division and taught his listeners to address God as “Abba” which means daddy?

• How often do we hear in the gospel narratives that Jesus had table fellowship with the tax collectors, sinners and the outcastes of the society?

• How many times did the hands of Jesus go out to wipe the tears of those who were suffering?

• Did not Jesus remove our guilt and sin with his arms outstretched on the cross?

• Did not Jesus destroy death in his resurrection?

However, not everyone accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah. Not everyone accepted God’s offer of salvation. Not everyone celebrated life along with Jesus. The gospel passage that we heard today was addressed by Jesus to those who rejected him, to those who refused to accept God’s offer of salvation and to those who viewed life as a heavy load of burden.

Jesus communicated his powerful message to his listeners by way of two parables. The first parable was about the king who offered a banquet to his friends and special guests. It was very natural during the time of Jesus to invite the guests earlier and inform them later of the time of the banquet when it was actually ready to be celebrated. Unfortunately, the invitees refused the offer. The king sent his servants to the street corners and the bye-lanes to invite guests for the banquet and they readily accepted the offer. The second parable is about the king who is angry and upset about a guest who is present without the wedding garment.

What is the core issue that underlies the first parable? Like the parables of the two sons and the landowner and the tenets, this parable is also addressed to the chief priests, the elders and all those who rejected Jesus’ offer of new life. It is direct and simple. It is about those who have missed the wonderful opportunity of celebrating life. It is about those who feel more self-sufficient than                              God-sufficient.

Celebrating and participating in a banquet would mean sharing common values and social status. Even today not all of us can ever imagine participating in high profile presidential dinners. It was the same with the Jewish tradition. The elites were the possible invitees. They had palatial homes and secure buildings. They were the people who defined and control the political, economic and religious systems. They always had the arrogance of being self-sufficient. Yet, in the parable that Jesus narrated they did not find a place in the banquet. Instead, Jesus broke the walls of discrimination. He presented his listeners with new and subversive values. His thoughts and actions were diametrically opposite to the elites of his time. The invitees were the poor, the crippled, the lame, the exploited, the marginalized, the tax collectors, the sinners, the prostitutes, the tanners, the farmers and the vulnerable. All those who were in the periphery have now come to be the epicentre. All those who were in darkness have come to the limelight. All those who were regarded as social outcastes have become friends in the new scheme of salvation offered in Jesus.

There is a stunning message in this parable. Sharing the life of God, participating in the salvation offered by God and celebrating the banquet of life is not a                        taken-for- granted reality. It demands a radical openness of heart to listen to God. It requires an attitude to move beyond our self-sufficiency to trust in the providential presence of God. It needs humility to go on our knees to count on the mercies of God. It needs the wisdom to make the right choices and it expects courage to love, breaking all barriers of discrimination. However, really speaking, it is not hard for a disciple to do this.

A missionary in Africa was translating John’s gospel into the local dialect. He encountered many problems finding a suitable word in the dialect to fit the word used in the English translation. One such word was “to believe”. There was no exact word in the dialect, so he approached one of the natives for help. When he explained his problem, the native replied that his understanding, as he listened, was that “to believe” should be translated as “to listen with the heart”.

Jesus was able to fulfil the vision of Isaiah in his life and ministry because he listened with his heart. The outcastes and the marginalized celebrated life with Jesus because they listened with their hearts. If we need to offer the dream of Jesus to our world as believers and disciples we need to listen with our hearts. Listen to . . . .

• The bombs being blasted all over the world

• The cries of children who go hungry without food

• The agonizing pains of those who have lost their loved ones in violence

• The anger of those who are being discriminated and exploited

• The suffering of the elderly and the terminally ill

• The loneliness of those who long for love

• The tear filled stories of those who are abused day in and day out

In all these and many more trying circumstances of life, if we as believers and disciples are able to listen, to reach out in love, to make a difference through small acts of kindness and compassion, believe me life will always be a celebration.

Let us listen to God’s love letter to us. It will certainly reassure our faith conviction that life must be celebrated.

My child you may not know me, but I know everything about you. I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all your ways. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered, for you were made in my image. In me, you live and move and have your being, for you are my child.

You are fearfully, wonderfully made. I knit you together in your mother’s womb and brought you forth on the day you were born.

I am the complete expression of love; and it is my desire to lavish my love on you simply because you are my child and I am your Father and Mother. Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand for I am your provider and I meet all your needs. My plan for your future has always been filled with hope because I love you with an everlasting love. My thoughts toward you are as countless as the sand on the seashore.

I will never stop doing good, for you are my treasured possession. I am able to do more for you than you can possibly imagine; for I am your greatest encouragement. I am also the Father and Mother who comforts you in all your troubles. When you are broken hearted, I am close to you. As a shepherd carries a lamb, I will carry you close to my heart.

As we celebrate the Eucharist as a family, let us bring our hopes and dreams to this altar. Let us ask the grace to accept God’s offer of love to us and to listen with our hearts to the needs of our brothers and sisters. Let us pray that we may learn to celebrate the precious gift of life.

Prayer

Abba Father, we thank you for empowering us with your abiding presence. May we seek you with our whole heart and celebrate life with joy.

In Jesus’ Name we pray!

Amen!

RESERVED FOR GOD

Ezek 37:21-28; Psalm Jer 31:10, 11-12 abcd, 13; Jn 11:45-56

Ezekiel is a temple priest and an inspired prophet, who was deported to Babylon in 597 BC along with others after the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. He was a fellow exile among his own people. His prophesies pointed to the sins and transgressions of the people. He insisted that the exilic situation was their own making and not a punishment inflicted by Yahweh. The situation gave Ezekiel an opportunity to proclaim his prophetic word as well as to perform symbolic actions that enabled the people to reflect on their sinful condition. His messages offered them a sense of hope. It is in this context, the vision of the valley of dry bones takes on a spiritual meaning. It is within the power of the Spirit of God to restore the dry bones back to life. In continuation with the vision of the dry bones, Yahweh instructs Ezekiel to perform a symbolic act of two sticks. The two sticks represents the two kingdoms – the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. Ezekiel joined the two sticks as instructed by Yahweh.

Ezekiel’s symbolic act signified that Yahweh himself would take the initiative to merge the two kingdoms by his own hand (Ezek 37:19). Yahweh would uproot the people from the foreign nations and establish them again in the Promised Land. Consequently, there would be one king and one united kingdom. The people would also be cleansed of their idolatry, apostasy, sins and transgressions. Finally, God would renew the covenantal relationship with his people: “Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezek 37:23). Further, Yahweh assured the people of four promises: first, the promise of a secure and everlasting homeland; second, the promise of an everlasting king from the lineage of David to shepherd his people; third, the promise of an everlasting covenant of peace and blessing; and fourth, the promise of an everlasting presence of Yahweh in his sanctuary. The intention behind these four promises is to demonstrate to the nations that Yahweh sanctifies the people of Israel, that is, the people of Israel are reserved for Yahweh alone.

In God’s design, Jesus is God’s chosen servant, who would initiate the process of gathering of all peoples. Jesus and his cross would bring about the communion desired by God as effectively prophesied by Caiaphas, who was the high priest during the time of Jesus. The context of his prophesy was the plot of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus. The miracle of Lazarus coming back to life drew a few Jews to Jesus, who had witnessed the miracle along with Mary. A few of the Jews reported the miracle to the Jewish leaders, who were disturbed at the impact of Jesus on the common people. They were not able to tolerate any person who would claim to be a Messiah and possessed the power to work miracles. Messianic claims would evoke the sense of patriotism and nationalism among the Jews, causing a riot that would disturb the delicate balance between Rome and the local political and religious authorities. Therefore, Caiaphas suggested that Jesus should be put to death, because it was better for one man to die than the whole nation to perish. The prophetic pronouncement of Caiaphas had a double effect. It evoked memories of the courageous Maccabean martyrs who died for the nation as well as predicted the universal salvific effect of Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus, for the time being, moved away from Jerusalem into the wilderness with his disciples. However, he will return back to Jerusalem and embrace a violent death at the appointed ‘hour’. This hour would bring about the glorification of God and Jesus, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gathering of those who believe that he is the ‘sent one’ of God.  

Prayer

Abba Father, may we have faith to believe in your presence despite the violence that surrounds us and move forward with courage to create a harmonious world.          

In Jesus’ Name we pray!

GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

2 Sam 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29;

Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

The Feast of St. Joseph offers us sufficient encouragement to live out our Christian faith in the face of conflicts, political oppressions and baffling confusions. It assures each of us that our faith lived out in obedience to God’s will would be fruitful and life-giving. It inspires us to live out our calling, which is unique to each one of us, with the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

The themes of Liberation, Promise and Covenant are reflected in all the stories, narratives, and experiences recorded, both, in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The first reading taken from the Second Book of Samuel presents the Promise of God to David through Nathan that the royal throne of David would be established forever through an heir. In the Gospel narrative, Joseph is addressed as the “Son of David” by the angel in his dream. In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ, it is chronicled that it was through Joseph, the husband of Mary, that Jesus was born, who is called Christ” (Matt 1:2-16). St. Joseph, therefore, is a medium through whom God’s promise to David was fulfilled.

In the Gospel, Matthew records that Joseph was a righteous man. In the context of the Bible, calling a person righteous is the best and highest honour a person can receive. Righteousness signifies being faithful to the demands of covenant relationship to the core. In a way, it is imaging God in the concrete situations of life, for God is always righteous and faithful. In the second reading, St. Paul declares that righteousness is born of faith (Rom 4:13). Therefore, Joseph stands out as an excellent model of faith. In fact, both, Joseph and Mary made an identical act of faith. Mary accepted to be the virgin mother of the Messiah and believed that the Son to be born is conceived of the Holy Spirit. Joseph accepted Mary as his wife because he believed that the child conceived in the womb of his wife was through the power of the Holy Spirit. In their act of faith, Joseph and Mary lived out their own specific calling to share in the mystery of salvation, which was accomplished by Jesus, the Messiah, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The righteousness of Joseph was born of faith, and his obedience was a spontaneous expression of his faith and total confidence in God. The Gospel narrative points out that Joseph did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do: he took Mary as his wife and named his son Jesus. This was just a beginning of a journey of faith, marked with the need for constant and prayerful discernment. We shall reflect on three outstanding characteristics of Joseph to discern how he was obedient in faith. First, he was a dreamer, second, he was a migrant, and third, he was a lover, the beloved of Mary and Jesus.

Joseph the Dreamer

Marcus J Borg and John Dominic Crossan in their book, The First Christmas, point out that the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew revolves around five dreams through which divine interventions and instructions are communicated. Four out of the five dreams are for Joseph. All the four dreams are life-impacting. The first dream was to accept Mary as his wife, the second dream was to flee to Egypt, the third dream was to come back to the land of Israel and the fourth dream was to change his domestic location to the district  of Galilee. In a world that is suffering from ‘trust deficit’ it is very difficult to imagine and accept how one could make responsible and life-changing decisions based on dreams. This points to a deeper and intuitive level of consciousness, which is being totally immersed in the presence of God. It was his total confidence in the presence of God that gave Joseph the inner certainty to follow his dreams.

Joseph the Migrant

Herod was the Pharaoh of Jesus’ time. His love for power and the fear of threat to his throne, which is engrained in every ruler, was beyond proportions. This, together with the political oppression of the Romans, the complacent attitude of the religious authorities and the plight of the peoples at the margins, created a very depressing environment for the common people to which Joseph, Mary and Jesus belonged to. In such an oppressive situation, the flight to Egypt would have been a very instinctive and intuitive response of Joseph to protect Mary and Jesus. The misery and suffering of the migrants was no better then, than what it is today. Yet, it was only through faith that Joseph survived the ordeal in a strange land among strange people, which would have evoked memories of being slaves in Egypt as well as God’s mighty liberating power.

Joseph the Lover

It is love that flows from an expansive and generous heart, which will take extra efforts to understand the purpose, the vocation, and the mission of a life partner. This magnanimous love, focused on the other, will provide sufficient space for the partner to follow her or his own dream. Therefore, Joseph as a lover strikes a delicate balance between being a guardian and a guide. It is love embedded in the heart of Joseph that allowed Mary and Jesus to follow the path designed by God for them.

In being a dreamer, a migrant and a lover, St. Joseph stands as a model of obedient faith. The learning experiences we can gather from St. Joseph is first, to listen to the voice of God even when we are surrounded by deafening sounds and compulsive distractions. Second, to come out of our complacency in the face of oppressive forces and to be in solidarity with those who resist oppression. Third, to learn to create an ambience and to provide space for others to carry out their mission. In this way, all of us could collaborate with the mysterious plan of God in establishing the Reign of God here on earth.

Prayer

Abba Father, we thank you for the gift of St. Joseph to the Church. May we like St. Joseph allow your customized plan to unfold in the different contours of our life.

In Jesus Name we pray!