25 – 30 APRIL 2022: HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS
25 APRIL 2022: 1 PETER 5-14; MARK 16. 15-20, FEAST, ST MARK
Indicative: Those who are touched by the power of the risen Lord will be led by the light of his Spirit and spread the same light and power to others in word and in deed
1. Today on 25 April we celebrate the feast of St Mark. He is one of the four evangelists. He was a close associate of Peter. He acted as Peter’s scribe and recorded his teaching and preaching in his gospel. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey. Though not a direct disciple of Jesus, surely he knew Jesus and all the more confirmed from Peter.
2. He worked for the spread of the faith. He is known to have founded the church at Alexandria. He was martyred by pagans who tied a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he died.
3. Mark’s gospel forms the basis for both Matthew and Luke. He is not concerned about the details but centers on one’s personal choice to act. “Immediately” is a frequent characteristic expression in Mark. This is not a mere technical expression. Rather it shows the sense of urgency of the mission. In the mission of the Lord, there is no time to waste. There must be “haste and promptness”.
4. Mark presents Jesus as the “Lion of Judah”. This is in contrast to the devil, the “roaring lion” in the first reading from 1 Peter. The first lion rescues and saves from harm and death. The second lion devours and destroys. The purpose of Mark’s gospel is exactly the purpose of God’s call, stated in the first reading. It is to “restore, confirm, strengthen in faith and establish us in eternal glory”.
Imperative: We are commissioned with the Lord’s own mission. We are empowered by his own mission to accomplish this mission
26 APRIL 2022: ACTS 4. 32 – 5. 1; JOHN 3. 7-15
Indicative: True faith must be seen in a life of communion and witness. Faith that is limited only to some religious activities but lacks fraternity and edification is a shallow faith
1. The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives a vivid description of the early Christian community. How exemplary and edifying it was! One mind, one heart, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one mission, one witness, and one spiritual treasure. There was no room for the egoism of ‘I’. The sense of oneness as ‘We’ and ‘Our’ was the real testing criterion of their faith.
2. Their life testifies that spiritual riches are far more important than material riches. That is why there was no lacking or scarcity at all. Be it materially or spiritually, it was all abundance. Such a life was possible only because of the Spirit. This is the “rebirth” that Jesus speaks of to Nicodemus when he says, “you must be reborn anew”.
3. The Spirit must reside in us and constantly guide us. We must allow ourselves to be guided by the “free wind” of the Spirit (The wind blows where it wills). Those who experience the freedom of the Spirit will not be conditioned by greed or attachment to worldly things or values.
4. The early Christian community experienced this freedom and rebirth of the Spirit. That is why they were detached from their earthly possessions. They freely sold away their goods and generously shared them with others.
Imperative: How edifying and worth imitating is the early Christian community! What a spirit of unity, equity, and sharing! How far from this ideal are many Christian communities of today!
(REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 13 APRIL)
Focus: When the interior freedom is not there, the exterior freedom can easily become deviant and even pernicious
Freedom is one of the greatest assets of a human being. But today more than ever, this freedom is misunderstood. It is wrongly equated with indulgence and pleasurability. Thus very often freedom becomes destructive. This is truly false freedom because it is not positive or productive. Further, instead of freeing the person, it only enslaves the person, with subtle and unconscious bondages. It is this false freedom that enslaves many to greed and accumulation and leads many to gratify themselves in compromises and false values. In other words, the lack of inner freedom leads one to undue craving and attachment to money and material possessions. Detachment and true freedom go together.
The apostles obtained, nurtured, and manifested this true freedom, the freedom of the Spirit. This is the productive freedom that makes the early Christian community to be deeply detached from worldly possessions. This is the altruistic freedom that shares generously with the needy. This is the constructive freedom that builds a community with one heart and mission. This is the transcending freedom that makes each of them a living testimony to the risen Lord. Selling off the properties in the spirit of detachment, and distributing them in generosity are the hallmarks of true disciples of Christ and a true Christian community.
This model of the early Christians and their community is really edifying, inspiring, and worth imitating. This is also a great challenge to many of the modern followers of Christ and the Christian communities, which are far from these ideals. A good number are deeply engrossed in a suffocating spirit of greed and accumulation, deceit and manipulation.
Direction: Let us raise our level and perspective of thinking and living from the merely earthly and below to what is heavenly and above. Otherwise, we cannot enjoy the freedom of the joy and power of the Spirit and the life of God
27 APRIL 2022: ACTS 5. 17-26; JOHN 3. 16-21
Indicative: God always offers us His grace. He shows us His love in manifold ways. It is left to us to make a free choice between grace or sin, salvation or damnation
1. The apostles were on fire for the Lord. Their preaching was like a storm that shook all. This was all because they truly understood and experienced God’s love. It is a love that gives totally and selflessly. God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son for its salvation. He wants to save but sadly many prefer destruction. He wants to give light and enlighten our lives. But many still prefer darkness.
2. The Jewish authorities were under the power of darkness. They refused the light of the Lord. They jealously reject the faith preached by the apostles. They arrest and imprison the apostles. But how foolish they were to think that they could stop the power of the Lord! How blinded they were that they did not realise that no prison wall, no authorities can block the power of God.
3. Today there is so much hatred and selfishness. God’s sacrificing love must be a lesson and challenge for us. We must confide in such love of God and imbibe the same spirit. We must heal the world with the cool streams of love and altruism. In a world that continues to stumble in the ways of darkness, we must be the bearers of the light of Christ.
4. Further, against a prevalent storm of judging and condemning, we must spread the gentle breezes of empathy and forgiveness. Our purpose shall not be to show and prove how bad a fellow is. Rather it is to recognise and reinstate the confidence in how good a person can be, for Jesus came not to condemn but to save.
5. Still further, we must inherit the same spirit of courage and commitment of the apostles. Nothing could intimidate them or stop them. They were focused and determined. They were convinced and committed.
Imperative: In a world that is fragmented and tormented by a culture of hate, darkness, and destruction, we need to revitalise the power of love, light, and new life of the Lord
(REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 14 APRIL)
Focus: Man of today reels under the weight of defeat and loss, only because he deliberately fights against good and thus against God Himself
The Jewish authorities were not fools or ignorant. They knew very well that the apostles were authentic witnesses to Jesus Christ. If only a little open and humble, they would also know that Jesus Christ is the Life, the Truth, and the Light. They would know that it is the very power of God that was acting in and through the apostles. But the human jealousy and the evil incline pose them as opposed to that very power of God. Consequently, they would not realize that they were opposing not mere individuals, but God Himself. God brings them to their senses again and again that no stone walls of a prison, no chains of threat and persecution could restrain the apostles from preaching Christ openly and publicly.
Thus there is a clear contrast between the apostles and the unbelieving Jews: the apostles believe and experience the saving love of God through Jesus, who offers to the sin-laden humanity life, truth, and light leading to salvation. They receive the life and live the life of God, they adhere to the truth and live truthfully and they open themselves to the light and become enlightened and radiant. On the contrary, the obstinate Jews refuse God’s life and become lifeless spiritually, they content themselves with falsity and they prefer to walk in the dark. They hate the light, love darkness, and do the works of evil. Thus, they deliberately forfeit the grace of God. They throw away the love and forgiveness of God that offer a renewed life. Thus, while the believers merit salvation, the opponents deserve judgment and condemnation. In fact, it is auto-judgment and not a judgment imposed by God.
Direction: One need not lament and blame God sternly judging and condemning humanity. It is, in fact, an auto-judgment and condemnation, in all freedom and choice. God does not force anyone to sin and be liable for the judgment
28 APRIL 2022: ACTS 5. 27-33; JOHN 3. 31-36
Indicative: There are certainly differences in the quality of life. But these differences are not because of the differences in the degrees of intelligence or competence or affluence or influence. It is more a matter of difference in perspectives
1. Often we find a lot of differences in how people live their lives. Some live qualitatively while others live worthlessly. Some live with a higher purpose while others live with low ambitions. It is not because of different capacities or standards of living. It is all a difference in the height of perspectives.
2. In the words of Jesus in the gospel, it is all a difference between “the above” and “the below”, between the “heavenly” and the “earthly”. Those who look up to heaven, and raise themselves to the above realm, will assess things and persons from a higher perspective. They are not earth-bound but heaven-directed.
3. It is this higher motive and perspective that transforms the apostles into witnesses of the Lord. They are emboldened and empowered. They are not bothered about the punishment by the authorities for the sake of their faith. That is why they boldly defy and disobey the explicit order not to preach about Jesus Christ.
4. They had the guts to challenge the authorities. They stood firm and continued their mission in spite of opposition and persecution. It is because they were filled by the Spirit of the risen Lord. They affirm with conviction that they will never stop their witness because it is the Lord’s own mission mandate. They make it very clear, declaring, “We must obey God rather than men”.
Imperative: Obedience to God was the apostles’ higher priority and not pleasing the world. In our times, where is that obedience, courage, and commitment?
(REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 15 APRIL 2021)
Focus: Those who are guided by human fragilities like jealousy, pride, stubbornness, and false prestige operate on the human level and become resistant to every good
The Jewish authorities are entangled in the earthly realm. They are not able to rise above. They are totally overpowered and guided by human jealousy, self-interests, and cheap motives. They vehemently resent and reject the apostles’ preaching. They resist the power of their witness to the risen Lord. They desperately try to suppress their irresistible ministry and the increasing numbers of believers. They even forget that they may be placing themselves against God Himself. They suffer from a guilty conscience. Instead of repenting and changing their lives, the authorities all the more want to terminate the truth that goes on pricking and disturbing them. Thus, they decide to kill the apostles. Simultaneously, they also throw away the eternal life, offered by the Son. It is not merely the rejection of an individual called Jesus, or the rejection of a new religion called Christianity. It is in fact the rejection of the grace of God itself, and the rejection of a new way of life.
It is in this context, that the bold assertion and conviction of the apostles is an eye-opener, challenge, and guiding norm for all of us: “We must obey God rather than the humans”. This obedience ennobles and enables them to be witnesses to the Lord, risking their own lives. The apostles believed in the Son, as sent by the Father. They bear testimony to the Son just as the Son bears testimony to the Father. In consequence, they may face death at human hands but they will obtain eternal life at the hands of God.
Ultimately, only obedience and witness are the greatest directives for a true follower of Christ!
It is good to check and see on whose side we are: the unbelieving Jews or the faithful apostles?
Direction: Unfortunately, often the norm for the decisions and actions of many is obeying and pleasing the world and not God and good. Accordingly, they have to render a strict account to God
29 APRIL 2022: ACTS 5. 34-42: JOHN 6. 1-15
Indicative: God is always sensitive to our needs and problems. He never abandons us to our fate, to struggle by ourselves. He intervenes at the right time and changes the situation
1. The gospel narrates the miracle of multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand. It is not a mere miracle that displays the power of Jesus. It is a testimony of the care and concern of God for the suffering humanity. There is so much hunger and sickness. The world is hungry for healing and health, for feeding and nourishment.
2. It is notable that it is Jesus who senses the need of the hungry people and asks, “How are we to provide bread for them to eat?” God always takes the initiative to enter into our difficult situations and alleviate our pain.
3. However, God wants our contribution to join with His action. What we contribute may be very little. Five loaves and two fish will be nowhere to feed five thousand. But there is nothing to worry about. All that is needed is to pool together all our available resources and place them at the Lord’s disposal. We need to submit to him what we have. Once touched and blessed by him, even our very little becomes big and more.
4. When we cooperate with God’s grace, our little will become abundant. It will not only give what is sufficient to remove the need but will also lead to ‘reserve’. Not only the five thousand are well-fed but also twelve baskets still remain with the leftovers.
5. This is the spirit of cooperation that drove the apostles in their mission. They trusted not in their human capacities or resources but in God’s mighty power. They knew that they were doing God’s work and so nothing would stop them.
6. The wise Pharisee, Gamaliel too realises this. That is why he wisely counsels the other authorities not to put deliberate obstacles in the way of the apostles. For, if is really God’s work, they would be opposing God Himself. If it is not God’s work, they need not stop it. Their mission will die by itself in course of time.
Imperative: Even amidst trials and afflictions, the apostles would rejoice. The more they were persecuted, the more they were happy and strong. For they considered it a great honour to suffer something for their Lord
(REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 16 APRIL)
Focus: We must always remember the simple principle in life: If something is God’s will, nobody can resist it; if it is not God’s will, nobody can assist it
How wise is Gamaliel! He appeals to be judicious and discerning concerning religious issues and matters of faith! He provides a simple criterion to test whether something is of God or not. And that is perseverance and durability: if something comes from God, it will last in spite of all the obstacles and struggles; if it is merely a human enterprise, it will vanish sooner or later. What a difference in quality and beneficiality can there be if only God’s holy will becomes the deciding criterion for every process of discernment and implementation!
Alas, very often human calculations and pretentious intelligence become normative for most of the decisions and actions. That is why great human enterprises easily fail and collapse because they are not of God. A disciple of Christ must have the spirit of trust and surrender. They should always believe that God never abandons them. God comes to their rescue, in every sort of difficulty. It can be the suffering because of their faith or can be a need like hunger as in the gospel. Whatever be the kind of problem, unfailing faith is most important. It is this faith that makes the apostles stand bold and firm, and rejoice even amidst affliction. What a faith it is: they are not upset or ashamed. But they feel great and honoured to suffer something for God!
The gospel episode of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand also presents another faith situation. True faith cooperates with God’s grace. In the Acts of the Apostles, this cooperation is seen in their perseverance. In the gospel, it is seen in a happy offering to God at His disposal. It indicates a willingness to place at the Lord’s disposal our very little - five loaves and two fish. It is to surrender the whole “needy and desperate situation” to the Lord’s concern, trusting in his benevolence and power as well.
Direction: Miracles still happen not because our faith is great or our contribution is mighty, but only because God’s love and power are abundant to meet and satisfy our needs
30 APRIL 2022: ACTS 6. 1-7; JOHN 6. 16-21
Indicative: Even the best of the people, good and holy will face the same human problems. Faith makes no exemption from afflictions. It is how we face and respond that is important
1. The sail of the lifeboat will not be always smooth and safe. The waters become rough at times and strong winds will hit the boat. The movement looks weary and burdensome. In such moments of fear and anxiety, we may not even recognise the presence of the Lord. It is in such moments, that Jesus comes to us and assures us, “It is I; do not be afraid”.
2. The apostles in the first reading experience one kind of this rough weather. It was in the form of misunderstanding and dissension in the believing community. The Hellenists felt discriminated against and neglected by the Hebrews in their daily distribution.
3. It is here they experience the wisdom of the Spirit. They make the right discernment concerning their priorities. They realise clearly that ministry of prayer and preaching the Word is more important than serving at the tables. They realise that their primary duty is to bear witness to the Lord while serving can be done by others as well.
4. Subsequently, seven deacons are chosen and appointed for the ministry of serving. This too is not an arbitrary choice. They were men of repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom. This also shows that every ministry in the church is important and needs some spiritual gifts.
5. The whole episode also shows the spirit of collegiality of the apostles. They do not want to have total control. They do not want to dominate the whole show. They are ready to share and distribute their power to others. They are ready to detach themselves from their power and authority.
Imperative: Problems are bound to come on our mission. They can be of different kinds. But what will be our response and approach? Do we get frightened or discouraged or agitated? Do we get into arguments and overassertive?
(REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 17 APRIL)
Focus: At times, in life, strong wind will be blowing and hitting the lifeboat. We may be frightened. It is in such times, we must attentively listen to the Lord’s assurance, “It is I; do not be afraid”
Surely, in life difficulties and challenges will come upon us. They can be of different kinds, sometimes, human, sometimes, natural. In the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles faced the problem of misunderstanding, displeasure, and division – a human situation of injustice and unfairness. It is a matter of conflict between the Hellenistic believers and the Hebrews. In the gospel, it is a natural difficulty due to heavy wind in the sea against the boat – a situation of fear and tension. But, they did not get lost or frustrated at the problematic situation. They confronted and addressed it. The apostles prayed. They turned to God. They sought the light of the Spirit. They obtained wisdom. They discerned the clarity of priorities. Accordingly, they devote themselves to prayer and ministry of the word, while they choose 7 deacons to do the serving at the tables. They know that both the ministries, of the word and of the service, are important. But they also realize that their priority as apostles is the spiritual ministry. This cannot suffer at the hands of the other ministry. However, they do not undervalue its importance. Therefore, they pray to the Holy Spirit and choose men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
Similarly, in the gospel, the apostles get frightened by the strong wind. But, they listen to Jesus’ directive not to be afraid but to confide in him. They gladly take him into the boat, and the boat has a smooth sail to the shore.
It is not wise to expect a no-problem situation in our life. Our faith is not foolproof or shield or guarantee against all problems and adversities. When faced with problems, the first recourse should be to God. Wisdom and Discernment should be our properties with which we clarify our priorities. Trust and surrender to him even amidst fear and anxiety should be our assurance and solace.
Direction: The joy of life is not in evading problems, especially in our journey of discipleship. Rather, it is in encountering them and resolving them with the light of the Spirit and the power of the risen Lord
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