TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAYOF ORDINARY TIME B!

(Is 50:5-9a; Jas 2:14-18; Mk 8: 27-35)         

A British essayist, Charles Lamb of 17th century once got involved in a discussion on the question of who the greatest literary genius of all time had been. Two names finally emerged: William Shakespeare and Jesus of Nazareth. Lamb put an end to the debate when he said: “I wil tell you the difference between these two men. If Shakespeare walked into this room right now, we would all rise to greet him, but if Christ came in, we would all fall down and worship.” There is the essential difference between the Man from Nazareth and all the other great people you can think of. Jesus Christ is God, and all others, no matter what their deeds, are but fools strutting on the stage for a brief time and then exiting. Today’s Gospel describes who Jesus really is and gives us the unique conditions for Christian discipleship and that condition is deny ourselves and take up His cross and follow Him in good times as well as in bad times.

Jesus had been doing miracles, curing people and driving out demons.  He had also been preaching.  Certainly, the miracles attracted crowds but what do the people think of Jesus beyond looking for miracles? With this in mind, Jesus asked His disciples a simple question, “Who do people say that I am?”  The words of the question are simple but its meaning goes much deeper.  “They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.”

While we know none of these answers are right, what is important is that the people were indeed talking about who Jesus is.  Everything Jesus has done is meant to point people to know who He truly is. If Jesus would have asked us today “who do you say that I am?,” how would we answer?  Is Jesus just a wise man or a prophet?  Do we seek Jesus as a miracle worker who can get rid of all our problems?  Is He a teacher?  Is He a moral authority?

Jesus went on to ask His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Of course, Peter is the one to respond and he gives the right answer, “You are the Christ.”  Today we say “Jesus Christ” as if “Christ” was Jesus’ last name.  It is not.  It is a title.  It means “messiah.”  Peter realizes that Jesus is the one that the Jews have been waiting 1,000 years for.

Of course, we know that Jesus is indeed the messiah, the Christ they had been waiting for.  What does it mean to call Jesus “the Christ”? Peter held to the common Jewish expectation of the time that the messiah would become a great political king, get rid of the Romans, and restore the political kingdom of Israel.  Jesus is the messiah but He did none of these things.

Yet this is what Peter expects.  So, when Jesus begins to teach them about his coming Passion, that He “must suffer greatly…be rejected…and be killed,” it made no sense to Peter.  In fact, it sounds impossible.  Peter would not let this happen.  He rebuked Jesus.  How can he go from calling Jesus “the Christ” to rebuking Him so quickly?

It’s because of Peter’s expectations.  We have our own expectations.  Do our expectations of God keep us from really knowing God or are we open to allowing God to change what we think and what we expect?

A key component for many people today regarding whether they believe in God at all or what they expect centers on the question of suffering.  Some people will do anything possible to escape suffering.  I think some people might actually put more effort into getting rid of their suffering than it would take to accept the suffering and live through it.

It isn’t hard to imagine why Peter and the others can’t understand how or why the messiah would suffer.  We might imagine that God would make it easy for the messiah. They did not understand how the prophecies foretelling of a “suffering servant” applied to Jesus.  Perhaps we could even say they didn’t want the suffering servant oracles to apply to a messiah.  They based their hope on the relief of suffering.

Jesus does something different.  He shows us a value in suffering.  Why did Jesus come?  It was not to set the Jews free from the Romans but rather to set us all free from our sins.  Jesus came to bring us a new perspective. Instead of seeking greatness and release from suffering, Jesus tells us, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

To deny ourselves is to let go of our desire for selfish desire for wealth and power.  It is to put others before ourselves.  Jesus is the perfect example of this.  He had nothing to gain for himself by becoming human.  He became human to “take up his cross” so that our sins might be forgiven. In doing so, Jesus showed us the way to the Father and calls us to take up our own crosses as witnesses to our faith in God.  To trust in God requires us to let Him shape us and be our motivation.

James speaks of faith and works.  Many people have a misunderstanding that Catholics think our works alone can save us.  That is not Catholic teaching.  What our Catholic faith does teach us is that if we have true faith in Jesus, then in practicing that faith we will do works because of our faith.

How do we  think our life is different because of our faith in Jesus?  Does it change our view of suffering?  Sometimes at the end of a day, we lie in our bed with the light on staring at the crucifix that hangs on the wall.  We start “complaining” to God about the bad parts of our day.  In doing so, we are complaining about our “sufferings.”  As we stare at the crucifix complaining, we look at Jesus’ suffering on the cross and realize we have nothing (well maybe a little) to complain about.

Recognizing this leads us to begin to accept the suffering we face as part of the works we are  to do to serve God.  What works do our faith call us to do?

 मेरे मुक्तिदाता

कैसे मान लू की तू पल पल में शामिल नहीं।

कैसे मान लू की तू हर चीज़ में हाज़िर नहीं ।

कैसे मान लू की तुझे मेरी परवाह नहीं।

कैसे मान लू की तू दूर है मेरे पास नहीं।

देर मैने ही लगाईं तुझे पहचानने में हे जगदीश्वर।

वरना जो तुने मुझे दिया उसका तो कोई हिसाब ही नहीं।

जैसे जैसे मैं सर को झुकाता चला गया।

वैसे वैसे तू मुझे और उपर उठाता चला गया।

धन्यवाद देता हूं, मेरे ईश्वर तुझे, तेरे सारे वरदानों के लिये।

इस अकिॅचन की औकात ही क्या हे विधाता तेरे सामने ।

फा. विन्सेंट सालबातोरी

TWENTY THIRD ORDINARYSUNDAY OF THE YEAR B!

There is a poem that was written by Myra Brooks Welch in 1921 titled “The Touch of the Master’s Hand" which tells the story of the auctioning of an old, dusty violin that is about to be sold as the last item at an auction for a pittance. The auctioneer thought it scarcely worth to waste much time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile; “What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried, who’ll start the bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar; then two! Only two? Two dollars, and who’ll make it three? Three dollars, once; three dollars twice; going for three…”

The violin was about to be sold for just a mere $3 when from the room, far back, a gray-bearded man came forward and picked up the bow; then wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody, pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.The music ceased, and the auctioneer with a voice that was quiet and low, said; “What am I bid for this old violin?” And he held it up with the bow,  “A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two? Two thousand! And who’ll make it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and gone,” said he. The audience cheered, but some of them cried, “We just don’t understand. What changed its worth?” Swift came the reply: “The touch of the masters hand, " transformed the dusty old violin into a precious instrument?  The same “touch of the Master’s hand” continues to transform our lives today. By God’s touch, we become His instruments to accomplish the marvelous works by bringing healing described in today’s Gospel. 

All readings of today give us two challenges: 1) Ask God to extend His miraculous touch to help open our spiritually blind eyes, deaf ears, and free our mute tongue. 2)  And share in Jesus’ healing ministry by lending to Him our eyes, ears, tongues, and hearts.

In the Gospel passage we are told that the people brought a deaf and dumb man to Jesus to be cured . It seemed that the people already believed in what Jesus could do; they expressed their faith by coming to Jesus not to see if he could cure the man but for him to lay his hand on him.

There are two things worth noting in the drama of Jesus healing that man. The man was healed because the people brought him to Jesus. We have to go to Jesus with our problems. We cannot stay where we are. We have to go to Jesus for our problems to be resolved and healed. Jesus is always there for us. When we are alone, Jesus is our friend waiting for us to approach him. When we are in darkness, Jesus is our light waiting to enlighten us. When we are in despair Jesus is the truth waiting to give us hope. When we are suffering, Jesus is our divine physician waiting to heal us and raise us up.

The second thing we notice is that Jesus took the man away from the crowd. Why? In all the gospel accounts there are instances everywhere of the crowd. The crowd is often unpredictable; they could shout “Hosanna” now and “Crucify him” later. The crowd can be arrogant to someone who has a purpose like Bartimaeus; they can be an obstacle to healing and salvation like in the cases of the woman with the issue of blood and Zacchaeus. The crowd can make or mar, the crowd can build and destroy.

The crowd here stands as a platform of distraction and that was why it was necessary for our Lord to take the man away from the crowd. Of course in the crowd, it would be difficult to hear very well. The crowd effect could block the ear and make speech ineffective. If we read that passage very well, it say that Jesus: 1) took him aside, 2) away from the multitude 3) privately; hence a threefold seclusion. In life, it is difficult to be effective within the crowd. The crowd could cause various degrees of harm. Often Jesus withdrew from the crowd to pray, the transfiguration is a typical instance of withdrawal from the crowd.

 Likewise, we too need to be with Jesus alone sometimes away from the crowd every day and this is what happens when we spend time with Jesus alone away from the crowd; we are transformed. He “touches our ears to receive his word, and our mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God.” He enlightens our darkness, changes our despair to hope. Jesus changes sunset into sunrise. 

Jesus is waiting for us to go away from the crowd to spend time with him. When Jesus said on the cross, “I thirst,” he was not just dehydrated, but also telling us of His longing for us to go away every day to spend time with him. How often do we recourse to prayer at home, in office, at work?

In our relationship with God, we often pay deaf ears to God’s commandments. We often fail to proclaim our faith at needful times. The question before each and everyone one of us this Sunday as we hold our ears and touch our mouth is: “Am I deaf and dumb to God and His words?” Most of us hear only the things that takes us miles away from God and would remain deaf to the message of Christ; in few words we select what we want to hear. The same thing is applicable to what we say. Often we consciously avoid proclaiming God; not saying the truth and giving good counsel to others. We really need to allow our ears and mouths to be evangelized as our Lord ritually did to the man who was dumb and deaf. The decision to hear and speak in God’s way is for us to make. May the word of God touch and transform our ears and mouth.

 माला विनती

मुख से माता-माता बोल, माता नाम बड़ा अनमोल,

माता नाम की माला रोल, मुख से माता-माता बोल।

माया भी एक पहेली, काया भी एक पहेली,

मोती सी माला के दानों में, जनंत की सभी पहेली है।

माला के चार रहस्यो में, मां-बेटे का जीवन वणर्न है,

खुशी, प्रकाश, दुःखभोग, बड़ाई का, इसमें सारे विवरण है।

गाब्रिएल दूत के सदेंश से, मरियम धन्य हो जाती है,

र्गभ में लेकर प्रभु येसु को, एलिजाबेथ से मिल आती है।

प्रभु को जन्म देकर, इतिहास नया बनाती है,

पभु को अर्पण कर मन्दिर में, मरियम रशम निभाती है।

बेटें के खो जाने पर, व्याकुल बहुत हो जाती है,

मन्दिर में उनको पाकर वह, फूली नहीं समाती है।

यर्दन में बपतिस्मा लेकर, मानव स्वभाव दिखलाते है,

काना विवाह में शमिल होकर, दिव्य स्वभाव चमकाते है।

र्स्वगराज्य का प्रचार कर, रूपान्तर का दृष्य दिखाकर,

युखरिस्त की स्थापना कर, जीवन यादगार बनाते है।

बारी में प्राणपीड़ा सहकर, जल्लादो के हाथ लगे वो,

कोड़ों से छलनी होकर, थप्पड, जूते, लात सहे वो।

काँटों का मुकुट पहनकर, क्रूस ढ़ोकर कलवारी चढ़े वो,

उसी क्रूस पर ठोककर उनको, रोमन जल्लादों ने प्राण लिये।

मृत्यु रोक सकी न उनको, विजयी बन वो जी उठे,

स्वर्ग चढ़े वो देखते- देखते, आनन्दित हम सभी हुये।

पवित्र आत्मा को भेजकर, हमें अनाथ होने न दिया,

उठा लिया अपनी माता को, स्वर्ग में ऊत्तम स्थान दिया।

मरियम स्वर्ग की महरानी हैं, हम सभों की है प्यारी मां ,

माला भेद अब समाप्त हुआ,आशिष दे हमें सदा-सदा मां।

फादर विन्सेंट सालबातोरी

TWENTY SECOND ORDINAYSUNDAY OF THE YEAR B!

It is said, "Actions speak louder than the words." Let us move Christ from our lips to our hearts. Today’s readings explain that true religion is not simply a scrupulous, external observance of rules, laws, traditions and rituals. It is, instead, a loving, obedient relationship with God expressed in obeying His Commandments, worshipping Him, recognizing His presence in other human beings and rendering them loving and humble service. Prayers, rituals, Sacraments, and religious practices are our God-given helps to practice this true religion in our daily lives.

Living a Christian life is what is expected of us because we have been saved through Christ Jesus. It is our response to His love for us. As we daily make choices and decisions, we need to be thinking, “I am a Christian. It is what I do”. It’s who I am in Christ Jesus. It’s how I live my life.

So, how do we unravel all of Jesus’ teaching this morning? I would like to start today’s reflection by sharing a poem written by Edgar A. Guest, an American poet and I invite you to keep these words in mind during the rest of the reflection for the better understanding of today's Gospel message.

Poem Title: “I would rather see a sermon than to hear one any day”

I would rather see a sermon

than to hear one any day.

I’d rather one should walk with me

than merely tell the way.

The best of all the preachers

are the ones who live their creed.

For to see good put to action,

is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it,

if you’ll let me see it done.

I can watch your hands in action,

but your tongue, too fast, may run.

And the lecture you deliver

may be very wise and true.

But I’d rather get my lessons

by observing what you do.

For I might misunderstand you,

and the high advice you give.

But there’s no misunderstanding

how you act, and how you live.

When I see a deed of kindness,

I am eager to be kind.

When a weaker brother stumbles

and a strong man stays behind.

And all travelers can witness,

that the best of guides today.

Is not the one who tells them,

but the one who shows the way.

Who stands with men of honor,

learns to hold his honor, dear.

For right living speaks a language,

which to everyone is clear.

Though an able speaker charm

with his eloquence.

I say I would rather see a sermon

than to hear one, any day.

I took the time to share this poem with you today because it spoke to me, and I believe it will speak clearly to you as well about today’s gospel . The followers of Christ must not only talk the talk, but they must walk the walk. That is what Jesus is saying when he speaks about following the genuine laws and duties. The true law is the law of love, which requires no law at all for a pure heart. It is said; "When a man is pure law is useless, when a man is corrupt, law is broken."

We have a duty to be faithful to Jesus in our daily life, not just speak about Christ, but actually live in Christ. Are you living in Christ today? Are you producing the fruit of the Spirit? Are you overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

Remember, religion is a matter of the heart, and heart is the seat of love, and it is love that unites human hearts. Without love, rules and regulations, rituals and customs, traditions, and practices become meaningless. Moreover, they can also become deadly weapons in the hands of unloving people, to exploit, to kill, and to destroy.

My dear People, Jesus condemns a religion of outward appearances. He rejects pious display. The word hypocrites Jesus uses to describe those who lack resemblance in what they say and do. A hypocrite is a fraud, an impostor, a pretender. He says one thing and does another. He wears two faces. A hypocrite is a liar. Jesus had no kind words for hypocrites. Certainly, Jesus does not want us to be counted among them. Rather, He wants us to act from a heart animated with faith and love and to serve Him and His people in all sincerity and truth. He wants us to be a sample and not a sermon. He wants us to follow the commandment of God and not the human tradition.

A mother brought his son to Mahatma Gandhi to advise him not to eat too much sweet as he was addicted to eating too much sweet . Gandhi told them to come back a few months later. He was trying to overcome an unhealthy desire for sweets. He could only correct the child after correcting his own weakness. This is called practice what you advise or preach. This called a real sample of real action.

All three readings of today show the need for unity between our knowledge of God’s laws and our observance of them. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his hearers about the meaning of true observance of the law. It is observing not just the letter but the true intent of God’s law. And He quotes from the prophet Isaiah, “This people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”

Our traditions can show our love of God and our service to God, but God does not love us because of our traditions. Who we are is what is inside of us, and God hopes that what is inside of us is love. Love for ourselves, love for God, love for one another, without condition. Let us live as God’s precious children, a life of love within and without. Amen