First Sunday of Lent: A: February 26, 2023

 THE SEASON OF LENT: A TIME FOR DESERT EXPERIENCE

First Reading: Genesis 2: 7-9 and 3: 2-7

Second Reading: Romans 5: 12 and 17-19

Gospel Reading: Matthew 4: 1-11 

   * First reading is from the book of Genesis. The Lord God creates the humankind out of great love. The first parents Adam and Eve are given every facility for their well-being in the garden of Eden. However, they disobey the Lord God and succumb to the temptations of the devil. As a consequence, sin and death come into the world and a rift between the Lord God and humankind begins.

   * Second reading is from St. Paul's letter to the Romans. Paul explains to the Christian community at Rome and us how sin and death came into the world through the disobedience of one man. Jesus Christ through His obedience to God the Father frees humankind from sin and death. We receive the abundance of grace and free gift of righteousness through Jesus. 

The temptations of Jesus                                                                           Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. In the first part, Jesus' experience in the desert where He spends time in fasting and praying is narrated. In the second part, temptations faced by Jesus in the desert are described in detail. The devil tempts Jesus in three different ways. The first temptation is to turn stones into bread. It is the temptation to be a popular Messiah among the hungry masses and get instant name and fame. Jesus firmly says 'No' to the devil and tells the devil, "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." The second temptation is to perform a spectacular feat so that Jesus will be acclaimed by the people around Him. The devil tells Jesus to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the Jerusalem temple because God will send His angles to protect Him. Jesus firmly says 'No' and tells the devil , "Do not put the Lord your God to test." In the third and final temptation the devil takes a chance and asks Jesus to worship the devil. Jesus firmly rejects this temptation too and tells the devil, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." Jesus overcomes all these temptations of the devil by fasting and prayer. We too face many temptations in our day-to-day lives. Lent is a grace-filled time when all of us  are invited to renew our lives through fasting and prayer. We too need to go to the desert with Jesus to overcome the powers of evil and our inclinations to sin.

"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us to shake us from our lethargy." - Pope Francis

"Lent is a time to renew wherever we are, in that process that I call divine therapy." - Thomas Keating

Seventh Sunday of the Year: A: February 19, 2023

                  LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

First Reading: Leviticus 19: 1-2 and 17-18

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3: 16-23

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 38-48

   *First reading is from the book of Leviticus. The Lord God asks Moses to instruct the people of Israel regarding their way of life. They are to be holy like the Lord God Himself. To be holy means: They are not to hate their neighbour or to take vengeance on anyone. These instructions of the Lord God find echoes in the teaching of Jesus.

   *Second reading is from the first letter of St. Paul to Corinthians. Paul reminds the Christian community at Corinth that the Holy Spirit dwells among them. They are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are to be always holy. Paul elaborates this teaching by saying that the wisdom of the world is folly and worthless. He requests them to respect one another, forgetting their differences whatever that may be.

You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect                                                   Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. A very difficult and revolutionary teaching is given by Jesus. To love those who love us is easy and in no way challenging. But Jesus instructs His disciples and us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Such a teaching is never heard of by anyone in the past. Jesus gives us the example of the heavenly Father who is good to everyone - both to the good people and to the bad people. Jesus goes beyond the teachings of the book of Leviticus where love is restricted to the neighbour. He makes it abundantly clear that revenge and retaliation is not for His followers. The Old Testament teaching of 'an eye for an eye' and 'a tooth for a tooth' is not to be practised by His disciples. Because, revenge and retaliation eventually destroys the person and the society. Jesus asks His disciples to be better than the Gentiles/ordinary folk in their behaviour. Jesus' teaching sounds very sensible in the context of the world today. Hate never solves any problems. Rather, when we hate another person we give him/her tremendous power over us and he/she robs us of our peace of mind and capacity to love. Following the teachings of Jesus, let us turn our enemies into friends.

"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." - Abraham Lincon

"Love is the only force capable of transforming any enemy into a friend." - Martin Luther King Jr

"Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness." - Buddha

"To error is human but to forgive is divine." - Proverb

Sixth Sunday of the Year: A: February 12, 2023

 THE FULFILLMENT OF THE COMMANDMENTS

First Reading: Sirach 15: 15-20

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 17-37

   *First reading is from the book of Sirach. The Lord God is always good to us humans. He has given us the freedom to choose between good and evil. But the Lord God wants that we should always use our freedom with a sense of responsibility.

   *Second reading is from the first letter of St. Paul to Corinthians. Paul tells the Christian community at Corinth that salvation through the cross of Christ is God's marvelous plan for the world. He gives us a future vision too: What no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. 

The letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law                                                             Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. Jesus reinterprets the ten commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The new Moses - Jesus- reinterprets and gives us a new vision and a new understanding of those commandments. 1. Jesus confirms the law in its condemnation of killing. Jesus then goes deeper in condemning the motivation that leads to such a crime - that is anger. He instructs us that reconciliation is far more important than offering sacrifices. The duty of making peace with the offended person is more urgent than the duty of giving worship to God. 2. Jesus confirms the law that adultery is a sin. But He goes much deeper by teaching us that a person looking lustfully at another person has already sinned in his/her heart. A person's sinful intentions and dubious attitudes are equally sinful as the sin itself. 3. Jesus gives us a clear teaching on divorce too. The law of Moses permitted a husband to divorce his legally wedded wife.  But Jesus clearly states that divorce on any such grounds is unacceptable in the eyes of God, except on the ground of unchastity. Expectations of Jesus from His followers are certainly very demanding and challenging. On our own, we have to humbly accept that, we cannot measure up to His standards. But be sure, that with the grace of God, we can certainly measure up to the standards set by Jesus. 

Fifth Sunday of the Year: A: February 5, 2023

 BEING THE SALT OF THE EARTH AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

First Reading: Isaiah 58: 7-10

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 13-16

   * First reading is from the book of Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah tells the people of Israel who want to restore the glory of the Jerusalem temple that what God wants from them is not a great temple but doing justice to the poor and the needy. The Prophet instructs them to turn their prayers into action and share their riches with the poor. He assures them that when they show concern for others especially the poor, then their light will break forth like the sun.

   *Second reading is from the first letter of St. Paul to Corinthians. Paul instructs the Christian community at Corinth that when he brought them the message of the Gospel, he did not rely on human wisdom and his own cleverness but on the power of God. He reminds them that living the message of the Lord is more urgent and important than all his eloquence. 

Let your light shine                                                                               Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. Jesus instructs His disciples what they are expected to do in the world: To be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. After His discourse on who are the blessed ones in the Kingdom of God, Jesus explains to them how these blessed ones should live in the world. Jesus uses two familiar metaphors to explain it to the disciples. 1. 'Your are the salt of the earth'. Salt has to give saltiness to the earth and give taste to the food. So also, disciples should show that they are  truly His  disciples by their day today actions of love and compassion to the people around them. 2. Further, Jesus tells them, 'You are the light of the world'. Light is not a private energy. It is not for hiding or hoarding. Light should be placed where it shines for everyone. So also, to be  disciples of Jesus is something which is worth radiating  and sharing.  When we as disciples of Jesus act as the salt of earth giving the world taste of the teachings of Christ and preserving the world from decay and losses, then our discipleship becomes truly meaningful. So also, when we give hope and consolation to the world around us through our love and acts of charity, we truly become the light of the world no matter what the darkness around us. In this context of being a light to the world, Malcom Muggeridge a famous writer says the following about St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. " She showed me love in action. She showed me how the love of one person can start a tidal wave that can spread across the world." - Malcom Muggeridge