REJOICE

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

REJOICE

December 14, 2003 Third Sunday of Advent Volume V, Issue No. 3

Step by step we are processing to the nearness of God. The step to be taken this week is symbolized in the pink candle we light on the Advent wreath. The mission we receive through the readings of this Sunday is to rejoice. And that is a special type of rejoicing. The special nature of this rejoicing unravels itself in today’s 2nd reading from Philippians (4:4-7).

Paul’s enthusiastic exhortation, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” and his repeated affirmation of the same, “Rejoice!” become pregnant with unusual meaning if we are aware of the circumstances he and his beloved Philippian converts happened to be in. Paul was writing from jail and Paul’s readers in Philippi were about to experience the pain of persecution.

The circumstances of both the author and his audience force us to attend to his advice with the utmost seriousness. They emerge from – and are directed to – what some would call the dark and seamy side of the human experience. As Paul’s words to the Philippians are read in our hearing this Advent, 2003, they call for authentic joy amid the pain of war; true joy despite the car-bombings, terrorist threats and attacks, deep joy despite the disappointment of poor leadership, bad example, moral scandal etc. Paul knew that joy was possible because, as he assured his readers then, and assures his readers now – “The Lord is near” (v.15)

The same trend we find in the first reading (Zeph. 3:14-18) also. Two times the prophet exults in the fact that the Lord is in our midst. This realization should strike a joyful chord in the hearts of all who believe. “Shout for joy!” commands the prophet. “Sing! Be glad! Fear not!”. When we come to the gospel (Lk. 3:10-18), we find John the Baptist encouraging joy in us… joy over what God has done and will do. It is a joy that is anchored to an assurance of God’s love and presence in human life. It is a joy that is wonderful because it is kindled amid circumstances in which joy is least expected.

Characteristics of Waiting

Message from Fr. Jose

Characteristics of Waiting

December 07, 2003 Second Sunday of Advent Volume V, Issue No. 2


The weeks of preparation for Christmas is an opportune time for cultivating a spirituality of waiting. The characteristics of the one we await affect the character of our waiting. Jesus is the loved one whose coming we await. And so joy and hope-filled anticipation are to characterize all our Advent days and nights.

Today’s scripture selections make it clear that the coming of Jesus should prompt even more than joy and hope in us. Because he who comes is justice and mercy personified (Baruch 5:1-9, 1st reading), our waiting for him must be marked by similar justice and mercy. Because he who comes is the very salvation of God (Lk 3:1-6 gospel), we who await him must give ourselves over to the work of salvation. Paul clearly understood this, as is reflected in his prayer for Philippian converts (Phil. 1:3-6,8-11, 2nd reading); therein, he expresses the wish that his readers be found rich in the harvest of justice. He also prays that they might learn to value the things that really matter while awaiting the coming of Christ. Today’s Paul’s prayer and the coming Christ challenge our values and priorities, and they challenge us to be renewed in our efforts in the cause of justice, mercy and salvation.

How can we, who await a just and merciful and saving Lord, live in constant preparedness for his coming? Author Walter Burghardt, offers five suggestions:
Allow the words of scripture to take hold of us. The word we read and study must be the word we pray, and the word we pray must be the word we live. We should consent to be transformed, consumed and directed by it.
Be converted by the heart, mind, will and spirit of Christ, who is justice, mercy and salvation. This means loving as he loved, serving as he served, living as he lived and, when necessary, suffering and dying as he suffered and died.
Help and serve others in their need, without any consideration of deservedness. Jesus wanted his followers to understand that justice is not simply about giving others what they can prove they deserve.
Recognize poor regardless of their monetary status and attend to their needs. The term “poor” should include not only the economically disadvantaged but also lepers, widows, orphans and sinners.
Let justice be a lens through which we see all of reality; for justice means fidelity to all our relationships – with God, with one another, with the world.

May infant Jesus help us live justly, mercifully and peacefully with all others through him, with him and in him.

Message From Fr. Jose

A Spirituality of Waiting

November 30, 2003 First Sunday of Advent

A reflection on the book “A Spirituality of Waiting” authored by Henri Nouwen (1993) seems worth considering for this advent.  As Nouwen has affirmed, waiting is not a very popular posture. Many consider waiting a waste of time. For many waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go. Think of the “first strike” approach of some nations towards others. The more afraid we are, the more difficult it becomes to wait. But advent is a season that is marked by a spirituality of waiting.

In the pages of Jewish and Christian scriptures, we will find a different attitude toward waiting. Recall psalmists’ prayers. They enunciated the hopes and longings of their people, who awaited God’s messianic intervention on their behalf: “Our soul waits for the Lord who is our help and our shield.” (Ps. 30:22) “My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn.” (Ps. 130:6-7)

In the gospel we find the waiting of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon and John the Baptist setting the scene for the welcome of Jesus.
The quality of waiting in these scriptural heroes and heroines can be characterized in several ways. Nouwen describes them thus: First, theirs is a waiting with a sense of promise. Like a seed growing within, the promise promotes endurance. We can only wait well if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. In today’s first reading, Jeremiah (33:14-16) reminds us that all God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus, the shoot of David, who comes among those who wait in order to do what is just and right.

Second, the waiting that we see epitomized in the scriptures is active. Our ancestors in the faith did not remain in a passive or idle state. They were actively and fully present to each moment. Paul, in today’s second reading (1Thes. 3:12-4:2) reminds us that our active waiting for the Lord’s second advent must be exercised in love for one another and for all. In the gospel (Lk. 21:25-28, 34-36), the evangelist exhorts us to fill our active waiting with constant prayer and careful watchfulness for signs of the Lord’s nearness.
Our waiting for God and for Jesus is also to be patient and open-ended. Mary exhibited this manner of spirituality in her waiting when she said, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk. 1:38)

Growing Deaf?

September 7, 2003 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

The theme set forth in today’s scriptural reading is the danger of deafness as regards to hearing and heeding the Word of God. Those who allow themselves to become deaf to the whisperings of God are inviting tragedy by placing their relationship with God in danger.

Our Israelite forebears in the faith believed that those who suffered from deafness were lacking in wholeness. Indeed, such a person was regarded as somehow unclean and therefore incapable of full participation in the life of the community. Moreover, the restoration of hearing and wholeness to the deaf came to be associated with the coming of the messiah, the era of salvation (1st reading, Isaiah 35:4-7a). That Jesus had the power and the willingness to cure the deaf (gospel, Mk. 7:31-37) was a sure signal to his contemporaries that the messianic era was being realized in him and through him. Jesus’ cure of the deaf man was God’s way of making crooked ways straight at the dawn of a new era. The deafness Jesus cured was more than physical; Jesus also reached out to restore spiritual hearing and healing to all those who, for whatever reason, had grown deaf, insensitive to the word of God in whatever venue that word may have been spoken.

As we come together for weekly worship, our venue is a liturgical one. The word that is proclaimed challenges us to recognize that it is meant to be portable and translatable. To put it another way, the scriptures that we hear with our ears are to be carried away with us in our hearts and minds and memories. This being so, we will be able to revisit the word that is proclaimed on Sunday so as to be renewed in it and challenged and directed by that same word on every other day of the week.

Besides its most obvious liturgical venue, the word of God is proclaimed and challenges us to hear and heed it in other venues as well. The voice of God is ever present in word, in sacrament, in church teaching and in Christian insight. At times, however, the venues through which God speaks are unpleasant and we are tempted to turn a deaf ear to the cries of the poor, to their need for food, shelter, clothing and care. Those who profess to belong to the Lord must rouse themselves from deafness and be attentive to the Lord’s many and varied voices.

Authentic Holiness

August 31, 2003 Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is our holiness skin deep or heart deep? This is the question that the readings of the day place before us.

The first reading from Deuteronomy (4:1-2,6-8) reminds readers that the rules by which they are to live are God-given. Careful observance of these laws leads to life and the joy of knowing the nearness of God. To bring the Deuteronomist’s exhortation to fulfilment, Jesus insists that mere external observance of the law or lip-service is insufficient. Authentic commitment and moral code will then be translated into positive practical action.

In today’s second reading James (1:17-18,21-22,27) describes good Christian moral living as an outgrowth of the word of God rooted within the believer. Act on this word, urges the ancient writer; don’t just listen to it, live it. Had the Pharisees and others of Jesus’ contemporaries been of similar mind (Gospel: Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23), they would have understood that the moral demands of the law and the authentic purity the law was intended to bring about could not be achieved by mere external actions. Washing one’s hands as the Pharisees did, is a sanitary act, at best. However, the cleansing of the heart by faith, prayer and interior conversion of mind and will can effect a spiritual purification.

To achieve this purification and to maintain it is a lifelong process. To aid our understanding of this process, social psychologist Kohlberg has identified 6 stages that lead to moral maturity. Good is done or evil is avoided: (i) in order to seek reward or avoid punishment, (ii) as a result of self centred use or abuse of other people, (iii) as a result of peer pressure, (iv) as a result of adhering to law, (v) due to a humane sense of equity, (vi) as a result of personal convictions. The process of moving from step one, where behaviours are dictated by reward mentality, to stage six where a healthy conviction and a holy conscience guide one’s words and works, is not always a smooth one. Along the way many can be deterred by peer pressure or by settling for mere external conformity. Therefore it is providential that our path toward authentic holiness and moral maturity is repeatedly illumined by God’s word.

To Whom Shall We Go?

August 24, 2003 Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is the final Sunday of our five week reflection on the Gospel of John and his Eucharistic teaching. The gospel today (Jn 6:53,60-69) brings us to Jesus’ challenge to the disciples: "Do you also want to leave?" This is of course a challenge of faith, a challenge that comes to every generation, including our own.

The challenge of faith today, when it comes to the Eucharist, is whether Catholics are willing to accept the fullness of the church's traditional faith. Some people seem almost in panic mode because they think that many Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine are truly transformed and that we really receive Christ’s body and blood in communion.

In reaffirming this belief, however, it is also important to realize that some people reject it because they have been given an excessively literal interpretation of this doctrine. It is truly Christ’s body, for example, but it is not a dripping hunk of flesh (despite some medieval reports of Eucharistic miracles that might suggest such an image). It is Christ’s body because it is his way of being present to us bodily, but it is a different kind of body than the ones we currently inhabit. This is a mystery we cannot fully explain or describe.

Moreover, the challenge to faith today also includes the deeper meaning of the Eucharist. The mystery encompasses Christ's presence in the assembled body of believers as well as his presence in the bread and wine. Those who affirm that the bread and wine are transformed but refuse to recognize their communion with all those who share in this meal are just as deficient in their faith as those who doubt the true nature of the body and blood. In some parishes, the whole assembly stands throughout the reception of communion, expressing their unity by common posture. Does our communion celebration reflect both dimensions of Christ's presence – in the species and in the assembly? How we celebrate shapes what we believe.

Sharing In The Divine Life

August 17, 2003 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Invitations are delightful little bits of correspondence for they offer a warm welcome and a promise of food and fellowship. Today’s liturgy is structured upon two such welcoming invitations, that of Wisdom personified in the first reading from Proverbs (9:1-6) ("come and eat of my food and drink of my wine…") and that of Wisdom incarnate in the gospel (Jn 6:51-58) ("feed on my flesh and drink of my blood"). Both invitations appeal to the simple, i.e., to those who are humble enough to accept the food offered by God.

Early Christian readers of this text from Proverbs understood Wisdom’s feast to be a type or prefigurement of the great wedding feast that was symbolic of the kingdom of God (Mt 22:1-14; Lk 14:15-24). All are invited to this feast, but faith is a necessary prerequisite for enjoying the bounty of God’s table. Wisdom’s banquet also provides an anticipatory background for understanding the eucharistic feast hosted by Jesus; therein the wine and the bread he offers are the wisdom of his teaching as well as the gift of his very self as real food and real drink. This image of the banquet in both the first reading and the gospel best expresses the communion between host and banqueters. The riches and abundance of the God who invites stands out in a distinct contrast to the spiritual poverty of those who hunger for a share in the divine life. Therefore it is quite appropriate that it was in the context of a banquet that Jesus revealed the mercy and forgiveness of God to sinners (Lk 5:29-32) offered the bread of life to the hungry (gospel for today); and gave his own life of the world (Lk 22:14-20).

Is Jesus’ gift of bread to be appreciated sapientially (as the gift of his wisdom) or sacramentally (as the gift of himself in the Eucharist)? John 6 is interwoven with both sapiential and sacramental motifs. Sometimes, the Bread of Life refers to Jesus’ teaching; other times, the Bread of Life refers to the gift of Jesus’ eucharistic presence, today’s gospel being a pre-eminent example of the latter.

Sharing In Christ’s Sacrifice

August 10, 2003 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s second reading, (Eph. 4:30-5:2) St. Paul speaks of Christ handing himself over for us “as a sacrificial offering to God”. In the gospel (Jn. 6:41-51), Jesus himself says that the bread that he will give is his flesh for the life of the world. Both passages give a solid basis for catechesis today on the Mass as a sharing in the sacrifice of Christ.

This is a difficult topic to explain adequately. Many people tend to think of Christ’s sacrifice primarily in terms of his death on the cross. Thus they think of the Mass as somehow a repetition of Calvary, often falling into the heresy of seeing the Mass as another sacrifice beyond that of Jesus.

We’ve probably all heard sermons or read pious articles in years past urging us to grieve for Christ as he dies on the cross and to offer our sufferings in union with his.

The truth hidden in such an approach is that we are called to share in Christ’s sacrifice. Somehow his sacrifice is an eternal reality in which we can participate. Yet scripture is clear that Christ dies no more, that death has no more power over him.

It seems to me that the core of Christ’s sacrifice was expressed in the garden when he prayed that the Father’s will, not his own, be done.

This is the fundamental decision that unites him to the Father, and this is the dimension of his sacrifice that is eternal. He is is forever in union with the Father’s will, so we say he is “forever victim, forever priest”. It is not that Calvary is repeated, but that his sacrificial act will endure forever.

It is this sacrificial will that we are invited to share in the Eucharist. If we are to mean what we say, then we must align our will with the Father’s, just as Jesus did. We must be willing to accept whatever that commitment brings, just as Jesus was. It may or may not lead to physical death as it did for him, but it will surely require us to love in ways we cannot foresee.

Give Thanks To The Lord
August 3, 2003 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

As we continue to read from the 6th chapter of John’s gospel (Jn 6:24-35), we focus today on the bread from heaven. The first reading (Ex.16:2-4,12-15) recounts the gifts of quail and manna that God sent to the Israelites in the desert. Jesus insists that God’s gift in his time is greater, for he himself is the bread from heaven.

This might be a good Sunday to focus catechesis on the eucharistic prayer. This central prayer of the Mass is fundamentally a prayer of thanksgiving for all the gifts that God has given us, both throughout history and in our own time. The readings provide a solid context of salvation history on which to base catechesis about this prayer.

Pastorally, it is important for members of the assembly to realize that entering into the eucharistic prayer fruitfully requires them to come to Mass with an awareness of the reasons they have to give thanks. Certain items in our parish bulletin might remind you periodically of the value of taking a few minutes during the week to reflect on God’s blessings so that you arrive at church with grateful hearts.

In some parishes, liturgical planners even invite people to recall such reasons for gratitude before the celebration begins. In some parishes, presiders periodically invite such awareness just before beginning the proclamation of the eucharistic prayer.

It is a good habit to make use of the texts of the eucharistic prayer as a basis of our own prayer. It is with that in mind some parishes provide the text of one of the eucharistic prayers as a bulletin insert as an aid to personal prayer at home. This might lead us into deeper prayer when the eucharistic prayer is proclaimed during the Mass.

“Father, you so loved the world that in the fullness of time you sent your only Son to be our Saviour… To the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation, to prisoners, freedom, and to those in sorrow, joy. Lord, gather all who share this bread and wine into the one body of Christ, a living sacrifice of praise” (Eucharistic Prayer IV).

Message From Father Jose for July 20, 2003 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Shepherd’s Mission

After having reflected on Prophetic Mission and Lay Mission, for the last two Sundays, we are invited to focus our attention on Shepherd’s Mission this Sunday. The readings place before us a comparison between good leaders and those in whom the character and qualities of leadership are sorely lacking. In the 1st reading (Jer. 23:1-6), the prophet Jeremiah bemoans the consequences of poor leadership, viz., the people who look to them for leadership, example and direction find quite the opposite and as a result, they suffer; they are scattered, driven away and lost. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, Jeremiah promises a divine intervention as the only antidote. Someone shall be born of David’s lineage to do what is just and right.
 
The second reading (Eph. 2:13-18) assures that peace, security and salvation will be established through the promised One and the good news will be announced to all, far and near. Through him believers will come to know God as loving Parent and ever-present Spirit.
 
That promised someone, of course, was Jesus who is featured in today’s gospel (Mk 6:30-34) as continuing the formation of his followers. The disciples who were sent forth on mission are returning to render an account of themselves and their efforts. As part of their leadership training, Jesus invites them to come away with him to an out-of-the way place and find their rest in Him. This away-time, this time of peace and prayer, quiet and rest in Jesus is as necessary to the disciple as breathing. Without it, the demands and challenges of Christian service and commitment can choke and stifle even the best of intentions.
 
Concerning the need for finding and maintaining one’s centre in God, Jesus reissues his standing invitation in today’s gospel: Come away with me to rest, to listen, to be renewed. Therefore let us return repeatedly to the one who leads and guides us, feeds and teaches us, heals and forgives us and remains ever present to empower us in all our efforts in the cause of salvation.

Message From Father Jose July 06, 2003 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prophetic Mission

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday's readings place before us the nature of prophetic mission and the need of discerning messengers of God amidst us.

In the first reading, Ezekiel (2:2-5) recounts some of the circumstances of his call to prophetic service; his was to be a particularly difficult mission since the very people he was sent to serve were characterized as rebels.

As is reflected in today's second reading (2Cor 12:7-10) Paul, the great apostle to the gentiles knew similar challenges. In addition to his own admitted weaknesses and the distress he experienced for the sake of the gospel, Paul was also subjected to rejection and persecution. As if these burdens were not sufficient to test his mettle, Paul also suffered from what he referred to as a "thorn in the flesh". Amidst these struggles Paul was able to continue speaking and acting as God’s prophet, for he was fully reliant on the power of Christ to sustain him.

Jesus, for his part, also experienced opposition to his prophetic efforts (Mk 6:1-6), not only because people were rebellious, but also because their familiarity with him caused them to think he was of no account and made them disinterested in what he might have to say. Their preconceived notions prevented their openness to the thought that God could be telling them something in Jesus.

While it may be tempting to turn a critical eye and pass judgment on the contemporaries of Ezekiel, Paul and Jesus, this word addresses each of us directly and invites us to consider how we respond to the prophets whom God continues to send among us. Do we value and welcome their message, or do we write them off as annoying, uninteresting, or worse yet, irrelevant?

Prophets are, after all, people who are sent to help others to be good and to do good, not necessarily to feel good. Prophets have been variously described in scriptures as watchmen (Hosea 9:8), as servants (Amos 3:7) as messengers of God (Haggai 1:13). They must burn and etch the message of God’s justice, truth and goodness in the human heart. In other words, the prophets’ mandate is to be the thorn in the flesh of a sinful humanity.

Message From Father Jose for July 13, 2003 the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lay Mission

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Since its inception, the Judeo-Christian faith community has been largely lay in character and decidedly missionary in its motives and efforts. Our Jewish ancestors were, for the most part, lay men and women through whom the plan and purposes of God were accomplished. Of the prophets, all were lay people except for Isaiah and Ezekiel. Amos who is featured in today's first reading, (Amos 7:12-15) was proud of being a shepherd and migrant worker when he was called to service by God.

Today's second reading (Eph 1:3-14) constitutes one of Ephesians' many beautiful prayers and may be part of an earlier liturgical hymn that was composed for the celebration of Christian baptism. Echoed more than 30 times in the Ephesians letter, the term "in Christ" reminds us of the baptismal incorporation of all peoples into the mystery of Christ's dying, rising and glorification.

In today's gospel (Mk 6:7-13), we see Jesus emphasizing the communal aspect of the mission of the disciples; they were to go two by two. On the one hand, working in pairs would assure the truth and validity of their witness; on the other, travelling in twos would signify that they were not free agents but members and representatives of a faith community. Besides instructing his own about their travel plans, life-style and mission, Jesus also prepared them for the rejection that they would surely encounter. He told them to "shake the dust" from their feet and move on.

When faith becomes a passion, things change. Amos was so passionate that even when he was rebuffed, he would not be silenced. The Twelve were fired by the passion of Jesus and were so driven by that passion that human comforts and other considerations were unimportant. Today, Amos, Jesus, the Twelve, and the Ephesians author remind us that all of us who have been chosen by Jesus are challenged to renew ourselves, our passions and our purpose. May their example aid us in retrieving something of the fire that drove them.