Christened to be Light

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, Lamb of God, “Show me your holy secret of how to expose my light to the world in hidden acts of light and love” (from the prayer of Edward Hays)

Three voices speak this Sunday to remind us who we are, whose we are and who God intends that we become. These voices speak against the backdrop of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Like Jesus, we, who are baptized in his name, are chosen by God, named as God’s children and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul in his greeting to the believers at Corinth (Cor 1:1-3), will reference the gift of our consecration by God. Set apart at baptism and empowered by daily grace, each of us is intended for a holiness that will illumine the way of our contemporaries toward God. Isaiah, in today’s 1st reading (Is.49:3,5-6) will again invite us to identify with the servant of God commissioned to be a light of salvation to the nations.

At the time of our baptismal initiation into Christ and the church, light was an integral symbol of the ceremony. A smaller candle was lit from the Easter Candle that represents Christ, the Light of the World. This small candle was then offered to the newly initiated with a prayer that each receive the burning light and sustain the grace of baptism throughout a blameless life by keeping God’s commandments and remaining prepared to meet the Lord in his second coming among us.

But what does it mean to be light in our world? In brief, it means that we must allow ourselves to be consumed. Eberhard Arnold, co-founder of the first of the Bruderhof communities in 1920, has explained the challenge of being light in this way (Salt and Light, The Plough Publishing House, 1998). A light on a candlestick consumes itself to give light to all in the house. It serves the intimate unity of the household because its life consists in dying.

The light that Jesus kindles in a follower of his is not produced merely by intelligent recognition, systematic clarity of thought or sharp discernment. What matters, what produces light, is to live within God’s heart. The light of God’s heart creates community and draws people together. However, this light cannot radiate brightness and strength without being consumed. Holding out the example of Jesus, Lamb of God, Arnold insists that those who experience the world’s suffering and guilt with the crucified Christ, are able to serve the world, with the light and the strength of the risen Lord.

Christ himself is this light and he did not hide his light under a basket or bed. Those whom he has called, consecrated and christened to be light cannot hide, either. And so, let us press ourselves into the service of being consumed so as to illumine the way to Christ for our world.

Baptismal Commitment

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Infant Jesus, help us see that the needy are treated not merely with charity but with dignity that is justly theirs as God’s children.

In the movie “The Godfather”, one of the most memorable scenes is the scene of baptism. Connie wanted her brother Michael Corleone to be the godfather in the christening of her son. “Do you renounce Satan?” asked the priest. “I do”, responded Corleone, and in that same moment, the camera cut away from the sacramental scene to shock the viewer with a brutal murder. “And all his works?”, came the question. Again Corleone’s positive response was shown to be nothing more than a lie as another violent killing was perpetrated. So it went all through the baptismal ceremony. Corleone said one thing and did another. His profession of faith was empty, his integrity a sham.

Today’s feast of the baptism of Jesus offers the occasion for turning a reflective eye upon ourselves and our own baptismal commitment. Christ’s own commitment, as reflected in today’s scripture texts, was to assume the role of God’s Son (Mt. 3:13-17), empowered by the Holy Spirit so as to go about doing the good works of healing (Acts 10:34-38) and establishing justice on the earth (Is 42:1-4,6-7). True to his baptismal anointing, Jesus said what he meant and meant what he said. Nor was there any discrepancy between the faith that he professed with his lips and the faith that he lived in the presence of his contempories. For his integrity, he suffered the ultimate penalty - death at the hands of those who rejected him, his faith, his message, his relationship to God and the radical character of his baptismal commitment. We who call ourselves Jesus’ own are also called to live out the reality of baptism, as he did, even at the risk of dying, as he did.

Fortunately, many have taken this risk; one of the most notable of them was Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933. She worked with her mentor and partner in the Gospel, Peter Maurin, to open hospitality houses for the poor across the United States. Within 5 years they had established 33 places where the needy were not just treated with charity but with the dignity that was justly theirs as God’s children. Day and Maurin believed that baptized believers should work to change the very structures of society so as to make room for social justice, equality and peace.

At Jesus’ baptism, Jesus became a dominant social force for the world. At her baptism, Dorothy Day grasped Jesus’ hand and made his work and his mind her own. At each of our baptisms, we were consecrated for similar service. How do we live out our baptismal promises in word and deed in the context of the present crises in the world and thus become a church that Jesus would readily claim as his own.

Epiphany of the Lord

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Infant Jesus, may the joy I experience in your forgiving and merciful presence help me draw others to your healing presence.

The word ‘epiphany’ was originally used in Greek mythology in the sense of ‘theophany’, viz., the manifestation of a god in human form. The Christian feast of Epiphany originated in the Eastern Church, probably to substitute some of the pagan theophany celebrations. In the beginning, the feast included the birth of Christ, the manifestation of Christ to Magi, the baptising of Christ and His first miracle at Cana - all events where Christ is being manifested to the world. This feast was adopted by the Western Church in the 4th century, but with special emphasis laid on the adoration of the Magi, i.e., the manifestation of Jesus to the non–Jewish people. In some places, this feast is also called “Christmas of the gentiles”.

According to an ancient tradition preserved and passed on through the centuries by believers, the magi were of three different generations. Caspar was thought to be a very young man, Balthazar was middle-age and Melchior was a senior citizen. The message underlying this tradition is that Jesus, God’s Son and our Saviour, speaks to each of us at every stage and at every moment of our lives. The old hear the call to integrity and wisdom. The middle-age hear the call to service and responsibility. The young hear the call to identity and intimacy. What call do you hear today and how will you respond to it?

Today, as we come with the gift of ourselves to honour Jesus, he will meet us where we are, at whatever age we are, in whatever frame of mind and heart we are, with whatever joys and “baggage” we carry with us. He will meet us where we are and engage us in conversation. He will call us to accept this new year as God’s gift. He will invite us to see in it the promise of a new beginning, supported by grace and enabled by God’s own Spirit. He will encourage us to take full advantage of the gift of yet another chance to become a truer reflection of God in whose image we are beautifully and wonderfully made.

What will you carry away with you after your “visit” and conversation with God? In today’s 1st reading (Is 60:1-6) Isaiah suggests that the joy we experience in God’s forgiving and merciful presence should so shine forth within us that others might see and be similarly drawn to God. In today’s 2nd reading (Eph 3:2-3,5-6), Paul reminds us that our relationship with God in Christ also makes us related to one another and all others including enemies. While this may be challenging to achieve, the universal character of the Gospel demands that this universality be translated into our practical everyday lives.

Keeping “God-with-us”

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Infant Jesus, implant in us the seeds of justice, love and peace and make them grow in us so as to experience your presence always.

In his classic Christmas story The Story of the Other Wise Man (Harper, N.Y., 1899), Henry Van Dyke wrote of keeping Christmas not just one day but every day: “Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world – stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death – and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem… all those years ago is the image and brightness of Eternal Love? Then”, said Van Dyke, “you can keep Christmas, and if you can keep it for a day, why not always?” Why not, indeed?

In today’s liturgy, each of the three scripture texts offered by the prophet Isaiah, the apostle Paul and the evangelist Matthew reminds us that the reason we can keep Christmas today and every day is because Christmas celebrates the gift of God-with-us. Through the incarnation and birth of Jesus, an event that is prophesied in today’s first reading (Is 7:10-14) and celebrated as fulfilled in today’s Gospel (Mt 1:18-24), God has become forever involved and fully invested in humanity.

One connotation of “God-with-us” is worth noting, suggests Karl Rahner (The Great Church, N.Y.: 1994). “When we say that God is the Lord and goal of humankind, that without God there is no meaning to our lives, that God is our helper and saviour on whose providence we are dependent, that God in mercy, will forgive our guilt… that for those who believe in, hope in and love God, God prepares an eternal life of happiness, then we shall have interpreted “God-with-us” in the right way”.

Bearing witness to the gift of “God-with-us” in one of his Christmas homilies, Oscar Romero, martyred Archbishop of San Salvador, affirmed that “Jesus’ birth attests that God is now marching with us in history, that we do not go alone and that our aspiration for peace, for justice, for a reign of divine law, for something holy, is far from earth’s realities. We can hope for it, not because we humans are able to construct that realm of happiness which God’s holy words proclaim but because the Builder of a reign of justice, of love and of peace is already in the midst of us”.

God in our midst, God-with-us, Emmanuel, this is the ultimate gift of Christmas that gives all our other days and nights meaning, purpose and vision. This is the reason we may choose to skip all else in order to keep Christmas truly… to keep the gift of God-with-us.

Transformative Grace

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, free me from the despair that kills hope and lead me to a renewed reliance on God.

During this month, transformation seems to be the order of the day. In preparation for Christmas, most of us will transform our homes and businesses with decorations that celebrate this happy season.

While this transformation is only a cosmetic and a temporary one, the liturgy for today puts us in touch with a transformation of another sort, viz., the profoundly transformative power of the coming of our God. Isaiah (35:1-6,10) describes this transformation in terms of a desert blooming and of the fearful and feeble becoming brave and strong. His vision of the blind gaining their sight, the deaf beginning to hear, the mute being able to speak and the lame leaping bears eloquent witness to the conviction that nothing is impossible for God. As evidence of the power and possibilities of God at work in him, Jesus, in today’s Gospel (Mt 11:2-11), will allude to these very healings and add to them the even greater transformation of lepers being made whole, the dead being raised and the poor hearing the good news of salvation preached to them. Like Isaiah before him, Jesus understood that nothing is impossible for God.

The Bible is relentless in its conviction that nothing that is distorted or deathly need remain as it is. God’s power and God’s passion converge to make total newness possible. God’s promises of messianic possibility work against our exhaustion, our despair and our sense of hopelessness.

Newness is indeed possible, and this God has affirmed in Jesus. In embracing this hope, Christians distinguish themselves from those who despair, and from the self-sufficient who believe that they themselves can produce the newness. To avoid both the despair that kills hope and the pride that ignores grace, believers are called home each Advent to a renewed reliance on God.

For too long we stood on this earth in a false security. In our spiritual insanity we dared to think that we could, by our own power, avert the dangers and banish the night. We believed that we could harness everything and order the universe to our liking. But, over and against our daring and desires stands the message of Advent; it is the Lord, the Coming One who came and who will come again, who will bring about the transformation of our human hearts by Gospel grace. If we want to transform life again, if Advent is truly to come again, the Advent of home and of hearts, the Advent of the people and the nations – then we must allow ourselves to be shaken and sifted and if need be, to be shattered by grace.

An Agenda for Advent

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, may your peace dawn on me when I struggle for justice. Amen.

“Justice for Peace” may be the right caption for this agenda. There are literally millions who suffer from injustice from the point of view of earthly blessings. One answer to this inequity is offered to us today through the person and ministry of John the Baptist.

John is portrayed in today’s Gospel (Mt. 3:1-12) as turning away from the blessings and securities he could have enjoyed, e.g., sufficient food, decent living conditions, comfortable clothing and the companionship of family and friends, in order to embrace a life of penance and fasting and a ministry that would not gain him any measure of popularity. He was to be the voice that truthfully pointed out sins and persevered in calling the guilty to repentance. John’s was not a pleasant job or a pleasing message, because preparations for welcoming the One who would bring peace, justice, harmony and the gifts of the Spirit can only be described as drastic and radical. John is held out to us each Advent not simply as Jesus’ herald but also as the one after whom the church is to model itself. Just as John’s was the voice that prepared for the first appearance of Jesus, so the church must be the voice that readies first itself and then all of mankind for Jesus’ second and ultimate coming. To put it in another way, John’s agenda dictates and continues to drive the church’s agenda: to work for peace and to struggle for justice and for an enduring harmony among the desperate peoples of this world.

In today’s first reading (Is 11:1-10), the prophet Isaiah gives beautiful lofty and poetic expression to our most fervent hopes for justice and peace. He speaks of wolves being the guests of lambs and babies playing by the dens of cobras. But in order for lofty poetry to become living policy, the church must continue to struggle to make the message of John the Baptist its own agenda, this Advent and all through the year. For more than a century, the church has openly declared its social agenda as one that has necessarily evolved from offering charity to the promotion of justice. As Thomas Massaro (Living Justice, Sheed and Ward 2000), has pointed out, where charity tends to involve individuals or small group of people acting to meet the immediate needs of others, work for justice involves a more communal and even global awareness of problems and their potential long term solutions. Where the notion of charity calls to mind voluntary giving out of one’s surplus, the demands of justice point to an absolute obligation to share the benefits of God’s creation more generously.

Another Opportunity!

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, deliver us from greed and hatred that lead to war and bring us to your peace, justice, healing and blessing. Amen

God has gifted us with yet another new year and blessed us sinners with yet another opportunity for realizing God’s purposes in our lives, in our world. With Advent, everything begins again and the air is filled with eager anticipation of what may lie ahead. With Advent comes a wealth of new possibilities and new chances to make right what was wrong in the now passing year.

We live now in a culture so profoundly secular that Advent is fast becoming a vanishing season. Advent now often seems like a little more than a few-weeks-long shopping prelude to Christmas commercialism. To reinvent the weeks of grace, hope and eager anticipation for God, the church, through the liturgy, calls for a return to the true purpose of Advent: repentance - a repentance that is realized and expressed in transformation.

To guide us in repentance that is both a turning away from sin and a turning toward God, we look today to our mentors in the faith, the prophet Isaiah, the apostle Paul and the evangelist Matthew. Paul (Rom 13:11-14) will call Advent believers to repent of that “Sleepiness” that puts off readiness for Jesus’ coming, thinking that it surely cannot occur in my lifetime or yours. Repent, exhorts Paul, of anything you would not like to be found doing when Jesus finally appears. His words remind us that procrastination can never be an adequate preparation for welcoming the Lord. Similarly, Jesus in today’s Gospel (Mt 24:37-44) invites disciples to be prepared, warning that Jesus’ coming will be sudden, unexpected and decisive.

With words that have yet to be fully appreciated Isaiah (2:1-5) calls for believers to be prepared for the Lord by repenting of war. This repentance must be so deliberate and absolute that even the instruments of war are to be transformed into implements that can help to provide for the hungry poor of this world.

Some may find war a distant and impersonal reality, a mere matter for the evening news or the history books; however, Isaiah’s challenge begs to be applied totally of war’s heinous offspring that surface in our daily lives – violence, aggression, anger, greed, the lust for power and the desire for revenge. Only when we repent of these sins will we be able to follow the heart and mind of the God who has come among us in Jesus. To that end, let us truly repent and redirect ourselves toward the coming Christ.