Fourth Sunday of the Ordinary Time

When I read the Gospel, I asked myself this question: “What made the people so angry at Jesus that they wanted to throw Him down the cliff?” As I continue to reflect, I began to realize that it could be the two examples that he narrated which set them off. The two incidents which Jesus quoted were: the widow at Zarephath and the leper, Naaman, the Syrian – whereby both of them have benefited something from the prophets Elijah and Elisha respectively. In fact, the widow at Zarephath and the leper Naaman, the Syrian were notIsraelites, they were pagans. As Jesus began to speak, the audience could have expected some form of consolation and reward. And also that the enemies of Israel would be destroyed and get nothing as God of Israel is always on the side of the chosen people and will vindicate whoever threatens them. This was the belief of the people of Israel, even at the time of Jesus.

 

As Jesus speaks of the above two examples, his preaching did not match with the thoughts and aspiration of the people of his time. Why was He speaking of the pagans receiving help from prophets of Israel? How could Jesus bring out such an example at this time when our nation was under the rule of the pagans, the Romans and God should vindicate all enemies of Israel? This was totally unacceptable and an insult to our faith! However, they failed to realize the magnanimity of God's planwhich includes everyone.What they didn't realize was that thesetwo examples which Jesus narrated is a typical invitation for the people to realize and come to their senses of the magnanimity of the plan of God. God includes all and excludes none!

Third Sunday of the Ordinary Time

We either live our life thinking of the past or thinking of the future and seldom do we live our lives in the present moment. For some people, the events which took place in the past are so vivid in their memory that everything they do is determined by these past experiences. Thus, there is no newness of experience and there is no opportunity to learn new things. Living while thinking of the future sometimes makes us too preoccupied as to what to do that we get into manipulation, planning and plotting, hence often embarking into a sort of day dream or mere wishful thinking. In short, living in the present is what we must do. Though things of the past keep emerging in our lives, and thoughts of the future preoccupy our mind, the present moment should harness both of the past and present, and effectively display them at this very moment of our lives. So, how do we do that?

According to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 4, Jesus opened the scripture and read a text taken from Isaiah. After having read it, he rolled up the scroll and gave it to the assistant and sat down. He began to speak: “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.” What a powerful expression of the past being effectively fulfilled in the very present moment. Today, as you listen, the text is being fulfilled. Words of Isaiah are not of the past but now effectively happening in the present. Jesus has assumed and absorbed that which everything Isaiah spoke as something happening in the very present.

Therefore, by assuming into our very self what that had happened and everything that will happen, we harness the power within to live in the present. The present moment is always the converging point of the past and future. As the memories of the past come into our minds, look at the wisdom of the experiences and let it influence our present state. When the things of the future emerge, look and feel the enthusiasm, hope and faith and let these feelings and emotions influence our present moment. When we do this exercise regularly, we make the present moment expanded, and the future and the past embraced into the here and now experience. Jesus brings the Kingdom of God and the experience of the presence of God real and present in this very moment (“today”). For him, it was not the things of the past, neither was it the thing of the distant future. It is alive here, now and in front of you as you listen and see. Thus, you are challenged live concretely and evidently.

Fr Robert Daniel Francis.

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

We are always challenged to explore our human potentialities. For those who thirst to fully grasp life itself, it is not only about living fully or living every inch and moment and savouring the benefits of life. Instead, it is about what I could have done for my community, society and global humanity. Life for those who wish to explore its fullness, it is not an internal movement about savouring it to the core of it but expanding it to others. It is about passing on the spark! The ministry of Jesus in Cana is the first moment where Jesus begins to set the spark of the glory of God. With this spark that began to radiate from Galilee, it would later move to Jerusalem, and thereafter would radiate the whole of nation. Mary was indeed instrumental in beginning this spark. In our lives too, there will be someone, they may or may not be special but instrumental in initiating the work of God within us.

Fr Robert Daniel Francis

Baptism of Jesus

According to many leading psychologists, positive self esteem is vital in the development of a healthy personality. Nathaniel Branden calls self esteem: The immune system of consciousness. Self esteem is about how we feel about ourselves. It is our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, for example: I am good looking. I feel good about myself. I am kind. I am competent and so on. The level of our self esteem determines how we operate our life, the way we view our life, the manner we interact with others, with our spouses, children, friends, and strangers. It also determines our goals and what we strive for. It is proven that people with high self esteem tend to be more ambitious in what they want to experience in life. They have a drive to express themselves and to communicate openly and honestly about their needs and desires. On the other hand, people with low-self esteem tend to withdraw from people, less motivated, less focused and confident about themselves. Some of us have grown up with high self-esteem and others with low self-esteem. We get them from our parents and sometimes, they fail to give it us not because they are deliberately withdrawing it from us, but more so because they themselves are suffering from low self-esteem and do not know how to impart it. Instead of looking everywhere for a boost of self-esteem and ending in frustration for not having found it, we should always turn to God who can restore and gives the true expression to our identity. I believe He is the one who can give it us.

The baptism of Jesus is the most expressive moment in the life of Jesus of who he is in the sight of God. There are no other moments in the time of Jesus, where Jesus has received this explicit confirmation from his Father, of who he is, namely “the son of God.” Another moment of this voice of confirmation would only appear at the moment of transfiguration of Jesus. This moment of anointing Jesus with his identity as the Son of God has opened up a whole new world to Jesus, a whole new ministry. His ministry was in fact restoring that very identity of the people and giving them a true sense of belonging to God, namely being children of God. Never once did Jesus falter in not believing in His sonship even in the midst of temptation, persecution or even crucifixion. In fact, the last words of the centurion seeing Jesus dead on the cross were: “Truly, this was the son of God” (Mark 15:9). I believe it is in this utter conviction and belief in the identity of being the Son of God,that Jesus, having a proper and high self-esteem about him (and other as well) was able to proclaim God to people effectively and unwaveringly.

Fr Robert Daniel Francis

Feast of Epiphany

The word Epiphany (Greek) means “shinning forth”. This word is attached to the visit of the three kings from the East (The Magi) who arrived at Bethlehem to look for the new born King, Jesus. Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the feast of Epiphany includes the baptism of the Lord, the revelation of the son of God, Jesus Christ as the Messiah. However, within our context of the visit of the Magi, the word “Epiphany” is significantly used to depict or to express the manifestation or the revelation of Jesus for the first time to those who are outside of Israel.

During the Christmas celebration, we heard the message of the birth of Christ announced to the shepherds, the ordinary people. They came and saw exactly what the angel told them. And then, they went back praising and glorifying the Lord. In addition, we have another extraordinary story of the announcement of the birth of Christ. We have the wise men came from the East led by the star to pay Jesus homage. In their midst, one group was led by the angel and the other was led by the star. And both came to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born. Regardless of who we are, if we carefully see the signs of the times, read them carefully, decipher them correctly, if not, follow them; we will arrive at our destination. We will arrive at the place where we should be or are destined to be.

In the above scenarios, the birth of Christ opens the door to all people regardless of who they are. God chooses to reach out to embrace all, from West to East, and North to South. Everyone is included in the Epiphany of the Lord. This open ended radical grace of embracing all is something that can be seen as threatening those who are living in the stereotype world, and who prefer rather an exclusive God. People living in the stereotype world, reading the signs of times and expressing themselves within the limited context of life and grasping the meaning of God within the given situation without exploring further can feel threatened in the manner in which God is reaching out to people like the Magi, who of the presumably other origins or even religions. Such story can make us realize that God’s ways are always bigger than our understanding, and that God can reach out to anyone in the ways He wishes. Who are we to stop Him or to stop those people chosen by Him to come to Him?

 

Fr Robert Daniel Francis