Trinity and Community

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, help us to foster the interpersonal relationships in our community contemplating the mystery of the Trinity.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, Trinity Sunday, we pause to consider mystery in our lives. The difference between mystery and problem is vast. A problem is something we can solve.

Managing to pay all our bills each month is a problem. Mystery, though, is not something that can be solved or managed. We all live with mystery, although we may not be aware of it. One of the most fundamental mysteries of all is life itself. We recognize it, we cherish it, we fear losing it, but we do not understand it anymore than we grasp its end – death. Do we understand love? Try to explain why you love someone, you will always fall far short of the truth.

Nicodemus was faced with mystery, and he resorted to problem solving, He was a leader in the community, a Pharisee of high repute. But he was also drawn irresistibly to the person of Jesus. Prudently, he went to Jesus under cover of darkness, seeking to resolve his dilemma. But Jesus spoke of belief, not solutions. Belief has to do with entering into mystery. Jesus startled Nicodemus by telling him he must be born again, of water and the spirit. Reduced to a problem, this makes no sense. As mystery, we believe.

It was faith that prompted Paul to conclude his second letter to the Corinthians with this blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you”. Reason did not bring Paul to this declaration of Trinity, only faith, the acceptance of mystery.

The Trinity is not unreasonable, it is beyond reason. Augustine admitted, “I can experience far more than I can understand about the Trinity”. Theologians such as Leonardo Boff and Elizabeth John describe the interrelatedness of the Three Persons as community. God is not a dominant ONE, cut off from any relationship with others. Nor is God just two figures, Father, Son, absorbed in each other. But, as Boff suggests, God is the eternal spilling over into a third person, the Spirit, who “forces the other two to turn their gaze from themselves in another direction.”

Theologian Belden Lane continues, “God then, is a community of differentness bound together in unity. The Trinity continually seeks new webs of interconnectedness, while at the same time remaining separate and wholly itself”.

God's Kiss

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, give me the “kiss” of the Spirit and liberate me from my bondages.

 

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we have gathered together to celebrate the liberation that is Pentecost. Luke, in today’s first reading (Acts 2:1-11) speaks of the Spirit in terms of “tongues, as of fire”, and of “a noise, like a strong driving wind”. He describes a boldness in the disciples, where once there had been only fear; he speaks in terms of understanding among people of different cultures and backgrounds where once there had been a divisive confusion. He tells of an openness and a universal outreach where once there had been a parochial exclusivity.

In today’s 2nd reading (1 Cor. 12:3-7,12-13) Paul describes the Spirit as one who enables and expresses our prayer, as one who equips us and encourages us with charisms and as the one in whom all of our diversities find their unity and complementarity. John, in today’s gospel, reminds us that the Spirit is indeed breathed upon and into each of us with the ability to share these gifts of peace and forgiveness with one another and the world.

David Watson has suggested that we think of the Holy Spirit as the early Christian mystics did – as God’s kiss – and that we understand that, in coming together for worship today, we have, in effect, come to kiss and be kissed by God. Remarkably, the word most commonly translated as “worship” in Christian Scriptures means to bow or to prostrate oneself and it is derived from a root meaning “to kiss”. As John R. McRay has explained, this special word references the practice of bowing to kiss the hand or foot of the one to whom homage is paid. The idea of emotional and spiritual emptiness in the presence of the Holy, lies at the heart of the experience of worship. Keeping in mind this special derivation of the scriptural term for worship, we might say that we have come together on this feast of Pentecost emotionally and spiritually empty and eager to be filled with the presence and power of the Spirit. We have come to bow down in homage, i.e., to kiss the hand of the One who guides us, protects us, feeds us and fuels us for service.

The Gift Of An Agenda

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, strengthen us to come down from the mountaintop to be your witnesses throughout the world.

 

Do you remember Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech delivered at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968, the day before he was assassinated? King’s speech resonated with a hope and conviction that a new day was about to dawn, and with it new assurances of civil rights for African Americans. Five years earlier in another of his memorable and moving speeches, King had described what he had envisioned on the mountain top. “I have a dream”, shared King, “that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…” (August 28, 1963).

King’s dream and his mountaintop vision would have remained just that except for the fact that he came down from the mountain and marched the streets of Selma, Atlanta, Washington, etc. in order that his visions and dreams be realized. Today’s feast of Jesus’ ascension challenges believers to do likewise. Although the disciples of Jesus may have been tempted to remain in the relative safety of the mountain in order to preserve the experience of the nearness of Jesus, that was not to be. As Jesus instructed, they were to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:1-11, 1st reading). With Jesus’ own authority, they were to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing and teaching them, all the while assured of the presence of Jesus (Mt 28:16-20, Gospel)… all the while compelled by the hope and inspired by God’s wisdom and insight (Ephesians, 1:17-23, 2nd reading).

Nowhere did Jesus say that his disciples should stand off at a safe distance and critique the world. On the contrary, following his lead, Jesus’ followers were directed to immerse themselves in the world, making its burdens their own, its suffering theirs to alleviate. Today, Jesus’ disciples are to do likewise.

Mountaintop experiences are necessary, of course. Mountaintops are places where visions are born and fed. Mountaintops, both real and virtual, are places where discussions take place, where committees are formed, where agendas are made. But the best-laid plans are of no avail unless believers are willing to go down from the mountain and realize their visions and dreams by translating words into works, decisions into deeds, and proposed goals into achievements.

The Gift Of Promise

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, help us experience the promised Paraclete as a person, a presence and a power in our life situations.

 

One of Jesus’ promises is featured in this Sunday’s Gospel (Jn 14:15-21): the promise of his own continued support and presence in the person of the Paraclete or Spirit of truth.

When considering all the things that Jesus could have promised his own, the promise of the Spirit becomes all the more significant. Certainly, it was in Jesus’ power and it may even have been the unspoken wish of his disciples that he would promise them an easy mission, spent among people who shared their traditions a mission that they could exercise in relative comfort of their own homes and hometowns. Jesus could have promised his disciples fame, popularity and a warm welcome from those to whom they reached out with good news. Jesus could have promised his followers power to dominate. Jesus could have assured his that they would be immunized against hostility and prejudice. He could have promised peace without a price and justice without hard work and sacrifice. Jesus could have promised those who gave themselves over to his ministry a life without suffering and pain. But all of these promises, however appealing, pale into insignificance when compared to the promise Jesus did make and keep: the promise of the Paraclete or Holy Spirit. A person, a presence and a power like none other, the promised Paraclete would remain with the disciples and continues to remain with and within those who love and believe in Jesus.

In today’s 1st reading (Acts 8:14-17), Luke recounts some of the first inroads made among Samaritans. The goal of the first disciples challenges us to a similarly zealous concern for those in faraway places who suffer from natural catastrophes such as earthquake, tsunami and mudslides as well as catastrophes devised by human hatred and injustice, e.g. ethnic cleansing, war, tribal conflict, trade embargos that starve the poor, etc.

In today’s 2nd reading (1Pet 3:15-18), the ancient writer reminds us that the Spirit also enables believers to endure the suffering that comes from doing good.

As is reflected in today’s Gospel, the Paraclete enables those who follow Jesus to retain their union with him and with the Father. So also will the Spirit of truth prompt Jesus’ disciples to keep and obey his commandments.

A Church of Living Stones

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, help us become a church who fully and truly reflects your loving concerns for humankind

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

From last Sunday’s celebration of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we turn our attention this week to who we are and how we are to live as Jesus’ sheep, or, to put it another way, as church. To aid our prayer and reflection in this regard, each of the scripture selections for today offer images and analogies that emphasize some aspect of what it means to be church. Luke, in the first reading from Acts (6:1-7), will remind us that service is an essential constituent of church, service to God, service to the word, service to one another and, in particular, service to the poor and disadvantaged.

In the 2nd reading (1Pet 2:4-9) we get several images of the church. The first one says that we, as church, are living stones built into an edifice of Spirit upon the corner-stone of Jesus Christ. Reflecting upon the implications we have to ask ourselves these questions: 1) Are we, as the living stones of the church, true and authentic memorials of God’s encounter with humankind in Christ? 2) Do people look at us and recognize in us an “awesome shrine”, an “abode of God”, a “gateway to heaven”? 3) When they are in our presence, do others have the sense that God is with us, within us and therefore with and within them? 4) Does our lack of unity, our indifference to the poor, our refusal to take the challenges of the Gospel seriously render us an obstacle and a stumbling block, a counter-witness to what we are to be as a church of living stones?

The other images are an affirmation of church as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people claimed by God to proclaim glorious works”.

In today’s Gospel (Jn 14:1-12), the evangelist alludes to these works as the proper responsibility of the church. Promising that they (we) would do the works he did and works far greater than his, the risen Jesus left his own an agenda to be accomplished in the interim between his advents. Part of that agenda is to continue being a church who fully and truly reflects the loving concerns of Christ for humankind. Unfortunately, this agenda has not always been met. Let us not forget that we are daily and continually blessed with every gift and grace necessary for fully realizing our potential and God’s intentions for the world.

The Gift of Patience

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, give me the gift of patience to welcome sincere criticism.  Amen.

 

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The fourth Sunday of Easter is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday”, and it is also customarily designated as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. On this day I feel inclined to speak on the gift of patience.

In the 2nd reading (1 Pet 2:20-25) Peter encourages us to be patient. The author of the New Testament as well as Jesus have much to say about patience. The fact that this word is translated in different places by different English words such as endurance, perseverance and fortitude suggests that we are dealing with a very rich concept.

Patience is the discipline of compassion. This becomes obvious when we reflect that the word “com-passion” could be read as “com-patience”. The words both have their root in the Latin word “Pati”, which means “to suffer”. The compassionate life is a life lived patiently with others. Patience is extremely difficult because it runs counter to our unreflective impulse to flee or fight. When we see an accident on the road, something in us prompts the accelerator. When someone approaches a sensitive issue, something in us tries to change the subject. When a shameful memory comes to mind, something in us wants to forget. And if we cannot flee, then we fight. We fight the one who challenges our opinion, we fight the ones who question our authority, we fight the circumstances that force us to change.

Patience enables us to get beyond the choice between fleeing and fighting. Patience is the third way of staying with it, living it through, listening carefully to what presents itself to us. Patience means stopping on the road to help, overcoming fear of sensitive subjects, paying attention to shameful memories. It means welcoming sincere criticism and evaluating changing circumstances. In short, patience is a willingness to be moulded by outside influences even if we have to give up control and enter unknown territory. May I wind this up with a quote from St. Augustine: “Patience is love at rest”.

Presence and Reverence

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Help me, O Risen Lord!, grant me the grace to recognize You and respond to your presence in the breaking of the bread.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today’s second reading (1 Peter 1.17-21) St. Peter urges his readers to “conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning”. Reverence is an essential aspect of good worship, though it is not always as evident as you might wish when we gather for liturgy.

Often reverence is compromised by our penchant for haste. Fostering an atmosphere of reverence requires enough time to enter into the mystery present in our midst. As the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal notes about the liturgy of the word, it “must be celebrated in such a way as to promote meditation. For this reason, any sort of haste that hinders recollection must be clearly avoided” (#56).

Beyond haste, our problems with reverence often flow from a lack of appreciation for the ways that Christ is present in the liturgy. Reverence means recognizing and responding to the presence of the divine. If we do not recognize Christ’s presence, we are not likely to respond with reverence.

Today’s gospel (Luke 24.13-35) account of the journey to Emmaus gives us a good example of this problem. Only after the two disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread did they respond with awe and reverence. Through most of the account they simply do not recognize that Jesus is with them.

When we take part in the Eucharistic celebration, are we aware of the various ways that Christ is present amidst us: in the assembly, in the presider, in the word proclaimed, and in the sharing of Christ’s body and blood in communion? If liturgical ministers are intensely aware of Christ’s presence and manifest that in the way they carry out their ministries, this will be conveyed subtly but effectively to the assembly. Let us ask ourselves the following questions. Do the lectors wait until all are really ready before they begin proclaiming the word? Do musicians allow significant time for silence before starting the responsorial psalm and gospel acclamation? Do eucharistic ministers handle the body of Christ with care and grace? Is it not advisable to spend 5 to 10 minutes in silent reflection just before the mass?