A Chance to Dance

“This son of mine was dead and has come back to life,

He was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate”   Lk 15 : 24

‘They’ began to celebrate - the father and the son. The house is once again filled with light. The sound of music fills the air. Everyone is busy preparing, arranging, and decorating. The kitchen staff is overworked. The fattened calf is killed. There is new energy and unbounded joy. The father becomes young once again. He runs, he embraces, he kisses, he dances. He calls for the best robe, ring and shoes. The younger son stands in amazement at the lavishness of the father and his ability to dance. He comes to know his father for the first time.

The shepherd searches for the lost sheep, he finds it and comes home with the lost sheep around his shoulder and tells everyone, “Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep.” The woman searches for the lost coin until she finds it and calls her neighbours and  friends and says, “Celebrate with me for I have found the coin I lost.”  The father runs until his hands are on the shoulders of the prodigal son and he comes home with him and orders the servants to bring  the ‘finest robe’ and “to put a ring on his fingers  and sandals on his feet”  and “ to kill the fattened calf”  The father orders, “ we shall celebrate and have a feast for this son of mine was dead and has come back to life, He was lost and is found.” “And they began to celebrate”  – ‘they’, the younger son, the Father and the whole household except one who is in the servant’s quarters.   

The celebrating shepherd, the happy woman, the dancing father is the answer to the Pharisees’ complaint, ‘Why does your master eat with sinners?’  God runs when he has an opportunity to forgive. He celebrates when his lost son returns.  God becomes young when he gets an opportunity to embrace.  God  dances when his children return home.  

Today, on this day of Resurrection, the Son returns home from the ‘far away country’ and the words of the father of the Prodigal son are the words of God the Father. “this son of mine was dead and is alive, he was lost and is found.”

Let these words be reechoed for each of us during this Easter. Give God a chance to celebrate. Give God a chance to become young once again. Give God a chance to run, to embrace and kiss. Allow him to be God by allowing him to forgive. May you be the reason for the celebration.  Though you lived with him all your life, recognize the Father, may be, for the first time. May there be a new energy, the sound of music, the best of robes, rings and sandals? Kill the fattened calf. Celebrate. Give God a chance to dance. 

                                                            -Fr T.V. George sdb

 

 

 

                                 

            

Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given

When we go to a mall, we go from one floor to the other taking whatever we want depending on our likes and our budget. What we leave behind is far more than what we take. What we choose is what we like and needed for us.

By our Christian call and more specifically by our call to be Priests and Religious we are chosen and called by God. He has seen you and picked you because he wants you. There is something special about you that not even you are aware of. God has reasons you know not.  What you may think is your strength may very well be your weakness leading you often to your downfall. What you think is your weakness may well be God’s strength.

Before the call came to the twelve apostles they had no plans to follow Jesus. The call came to them suddenly. Some of them did not even know about Jesus. As Mark tells us, Jesus spent a whole night in prayer, and “He called those whom he wanted”(Mk 3.13). The Twelve were chosen and wanted by Jesus. God chooses, we respond. We are chosen and called because he wants us. 

He blessed….

We are chosen and called for a blessing. From this blessing comes power, strength, and energy. We are made energetic, new, and alive with his blessing.  We are empowered and made different because he has blessed us.

Five loaves of bread was enough for five thousand people since it had a blessing on it. One seed is enough for a hundredfold if it is blessed and broken. A touch on the hem of his garment is enough for a cure. The paralyzed get up and walk with his blessing. One throw of the net into the sea at his word is enough to have a boat full of fish. With a blessing from Jesus Peter becomes a Rock against which nothing can prevail, and Saul the persecutor, will turn into Paul, the evangeliser. Water becomes wine with a blessing. Bread becomes his Body and wine becomes his Blood with a blessing. 

A marriage becomes a Sacrament with a blessing. Forgiveness is granted through a blessing. One is admitted to be part of his close Community through a Blessing. Blessing is power. It transforms. It changes. Blessing makes a person new.

“He called those whom he wanted… to be with him”( Mk 3.13). The greatest blessing one can have is to be with him. Our vocation is to be with him. Holiness is being with him. We are called for a blessing.

He broke …

We are taken and blessed so that we can be broken. Bread cannot nourish and bring life until it is crushed and eaten. A seed remains a single seed until it dies. Salt is useless until it goes into boiling water and loses its color and form. A candle is useless until it is lit and gradually dies. The vine has to be pruned so that it can yield more fruit.

Suffering, pain, and  death are not a misfortune for those who have been blessed. They are the pathway to greater life, to the fullness of life. There are no saints in heaven who were not Cross-bearers on earth. “ Whoever loses his life will find it.”

It is the power of his blessing that makes us endure the pain and death. The knife that prunes is held by the hands of a loving Father. The bread is broken by none other than the one  who has blessed it.

He gave …

We are chosen, blessed and broken to be given. Bread is broken to be shared. Vine is pruned so that it can produce more. Salt loses itself so that it can bring taste. A light is lit and dies so that many can find their way. Death on the Cross is for a Resurrection, New Life , and a Pentecost.

“ He called those whom he wanted to be with him and to be sent out” (Mk.3.13). We are blessed so that we are enabled to give. We are consecrated so that we can be sent out.  We are broken so that we can be shared. We die so that we can bring new life.

Jesus was chosen and blessed by the Father, sent into the world, and broken on the Cross for the life of the world. What Jesus did with the five loaves and two fish, and later at the Last Supper and again at Emmaus with the two disciples was the summary of his life. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, every time we take the bread, bless it, break it and give it, we proclaim that our life is taken, blessed, broken, and given.

-        Fr T.V. George sdb

 

 

 

                                                             Betraying with a smile

“ Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish  with me will betray me” Mt.26:19

 I have been a Priest for over forty years. Today for the first time I found myself pausing, hesitating before I dipped the sacred host into the chalice before communion. It was something that I did casually and routinely all these years. But today I was disturbed by the words of Jesus in the Gospel, “Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me”

In the forty years I have been a priest. I believe, I have mostly been homebound, presbytery bound, obeyed orders, worked hard, not wandered too far, and stayed mostly close to the house, close to the altar. I have not been a rebel, or squandered the property of my institute. Jesus’ words disturb me because he says someone close to him, who eats bread with him, and dips hands into the dish with him, will betray him.

‘Am I the one?’

 During our long journey of life, we come across so many people. The great majority we don’t bother, like those we meet in the market. There are others who come across our path for a while like those of our village or parish. But there are few who are close to us, with whom we spend time, we party with, with whom we share our joys and sorrows. They know us well. We know them too. We share with them our aspirations and problems and even secrets. If one of these dear to us betrays us we feel it terribly. The closer we are to a person the more the hurt.

I remember some time back a friend of mine was so angry and upset with me because I had not contacted him for some time. He had a rough time the last few years.  I did not bother to find out how he was or where he was. He was angry because he thought I left him alone during his painful moments. The closer we are the greater the expectation, the more the pain of betrayal.

Christ must have been very close to Judas. Judas was the guardian of the finances of the group. Such a job needs a lot of trust and confidence. Perhaps Mathew was better qualified for the job, yet Judas got the job. He had a privileged place at the Last Supper. Jesus and Judas were close to each other, sharing bread and the dish together. Jesus felt so pained that Judas could share a meal  with such a straight face and a cynical smile. Judas was a good actor.  When he went out of the room, others thought he had gone out to do some urgent task. Since Christ and Judas shared a special friendship no one bothered even to find out why he had gone out.  

In the house of Lazarus at Bethany Judas would ask, “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii” He was a good businessman, good at buying, counting, calculating. He knew the price of things, not its value. Soon he would sell Jesus just for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus tried to invite Judas to be like Mary of Bethany who gave lavishly, totally, without counting the cost.  Jesus felt so hurt that he could not bring Judas around.

   It is not that those far from us don’t betray or speak against us. They do. But we are not much bothered. But those close to us, when they do, we feel it. It is those close to the altar, close to the master, professed to imitate and love him,  who hurt him most.

The friends of the king, hurt him much when they did not come for the marriage of his son. The words of the elder son hurt the father more because he was with him and should have known him better. Where there is love only, there can be hurts. Christ loved Judas. So he felt hurt. A friend who shared the same meal, and celebrated the same party, could in the same night, turn to be a betrayer! Peter too, turned out to be a betrayer. While Peter denied on the spur of the moment to save his skin, Judas’ action was premeditated and schemed.  He even looked to gain something out of it.

‘What will you give me?’ How we continue to look for some gain from the position, the trust, and the job we are entrusted with? For a few coins, for more power, we continue to betray. Money corrupts, betrays, and kills. And finally, it will turn on us and claim us too.

-        Fr T.V. George sdb

 

 

Media Trial

When we want to accuse someone, we are sure to find one. The helpless victims are often the poor, the weak, and the marginalized. Those who wield power and the media houses, make the victims often stand in front of the cameras and a media trial in front of the whole nation  seems to be the style of the day.

Nothing has changed in the last two thousand years. The Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery and make her stand “in front of everyone”. They address Jesus as ‘ Master’. Only the day before they called him an ‘imposter’. Jesus cannot so easily be bluffed by their pretense and exterior wry smile. He knows their intentions and motives.

The crime is serious. The woman is guilty.  No room to plead not guilty. Accusers are many.  The victim is helpless. No one to argue her case. More than her death, they want Jesus to be caught. They bring an indefensible case in front of him.

 Jesus does not argue for her innocence. He wants the right person to execute the sentence.  He asks for the one not guilty of the same crime to come forward to carry out the execution. “Let him who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her”. Then he keeps silence and bends down and scribbles in the sand a few names and  dates,  in case the Pharisees  have any doubt about his knowledge of them. Jesus unlike the leaders does not expose their case in front of all.  He does not confront them. By bending down he gives them an escape route.

They came to condemn. They stood condemned. They came to expose the sin of the woman. Their sins were exposed. The Pharisees caught the woman.  Jesus caught the Pharisees. They expected the eldest to come forward.  They quit first.   Once seniors quit, juniors follow.

 So often, as in this case, it is the one guilty of the same sin who is most zealous in condemning and accusing.  It is those who indulge in sin who are most severe in condemnation. One condemns to  cover up the insecurity, the sin that one has committed. If we only knew every time we condemn we are proclaiming loud what is hidden deep down in ourselves.    

Let us be wise like the leaders of the Pharisees. Quietly drop the stone and quit. Don’t condemn, you will not be condemned.

Only one is left with the woman all the others quit. Only one is qualified to throw the stone. He does not condemn. He helps her onto her feet and tells her to go home and sin no more. No penance. No how many times.  A few drops of contrite tears washed away all her sins.

-        Fr T.V. George sdb  

 

The Pharisians

(A meditation on the parable of  The  Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Lk.18: 9-14)

Pharisian Institute  is the name of a large international Society. Its members are called Pharisians. It is one of the largest Congregations. Its members are scattered throughout the world.  Their special charism is legal matters. They are specially trained to speak logically and to argue cases. Its members need to have a thorough knowledge of the law.

 I do not know whether you had the privilege of meeting some of its members. I had a friend who was a member of this society. We lived together in the same community for some years. He was orderly and disciplined. He dressed neatly and walked straight. He would rise on time, and come to pray ahead of others. He meditated on the Gospel of the day and read an article of the Constitution each day. He would sit on one of the front  benches. He wanted others not only to notice him but also to imitate him. He would skip food twice a week and he would make sure others knew about it.  When praying his head would be bent anywhere between fifteen to twenty degrees. He wore a long white robe on most of the days, especially on days of fast. He was exteriorly stiff and legally almost ’blameless’.

But he had a serious problem. He could not get along with other people. He demanded his austere style of life from others. He was a workaholic and he demanded hard work from others. He unequivocally condemned laziness and laxity in others. He could not understand why others could not be like him. When he saw others not living according to the rules, he would accuse them of infidelity even in public. All those who were not like him he considered them to be either thieves or rogues. Of course, no condemnation was complete without accusing them of adultery. He often thanked God with uplifted hands  that he was ‘not like the rest of mankind’.

He wanted his superiors to take strict action against the unfaithful and disobedient members of his congregation. He would also accuse the superiors if they happened to be friendly with these lax members. He would boycott celebrations if these lax members also joined. He would be very upset and angry if his superiors ever joined in their partying. As he was influential and had financial clout superiors at times had to side with him even if it meant injustice to the others. It is not that they disliked celebrations and light moments but they did not want others to know about it. One day my Parisian friend was having a cigarette. As I approached him he tried to hide the cigarette behind him. He could not see the smoke that was rising behind him as he pretended and wryly smiled. In order not to embarrass him I quit the place at once. 

To defend some of the articles of the law he would argue, accuse, condemn and at times did not hesitate to use even violence. The rule and the law were sacred, and in its defence, he often violated the most important law – that of Charity. On one occasion my friend was in such a hurry to defend a legal case that he left alone on the road a man who had met with an accident.  Punctuality and legality were more important to him than Charity.

My friend was an enthusiastic missionary too. He would travel to distant villages to make new converts. Often the simple village people had very little knowledge of the rules and regulations of the Church. They could not memorise the Prayers, nor keep all the rubrics of the liturgy faithfully. The high expectations from my friend soon alienated him from the people. People wanted him to be more charitable than liturgical. Unable to cope with his demands, the people gradually skipped prayer meetings and also failed to make their contributions on time. Soon these good-willed simple people who left their traditional ways and joined the new way of life became ‘rootless’  belonging neither ‘here nor there.’ The plight of these people did not affect my friend much, he continued to travel  to other places in search of new members while the old ones dropped out!

There are large number of members in the Pharisian Congregation. Since they are educated, polished in their behaviour, and well-dressed, they are often invited to gatherings. They take it as their right to occupy the front chair. When they are introduced, their titles and qualifications are to be announced properly. Their names are often sand-witched between long decrees. They are happy to display their titles and decrees in brochures and display boards. Owe to you if you leave out their titles and decrees and call them only just by name!

Financially, Parisians are a well-to-do Society. They are held in high esteem by the people as teachers of the law. People generously give donations and request their blessing in return. They  eat and dress  well. They are quite generous also. Any parish priest would be happy to have them in their parish for they give part of their earnings to the church. The more they are praised and acknowledged, the more they are willing to give. On feast days, they are given special crowns and seats of honour as an acknowledgement of their contribution.

They don’t speak much except when arguing and defending. They are best to themselves when they are practising their charism – the legal profession.

I should have told you perhaps at the beginning itself, that this congregation has its roots in the B.C. times. It is more than two thousand years since the Pharisians were founded.  Many Religious Congregations die out after a few centuries of their foundation, but Pharisians have a strong following even today. A special privilege is granted to members of any Religious Congregation or Institute to join  the Pharisians. There are staunch followers of Pharisians within religious  Congregations and Institutes. They are free to have dual membership.

At the time of Jesus, the Pharisians were very active. There are pieces of evidence to show that even Jesus  had interaction with few of its members. But it was clear from the beginning that their narrow interpretation of the law, fundamentally differed from the broad interpretation of Jesus. Jesus was a people-oriented person. He did not hesitate to go among those who transgressed the law and even forgive them.  He was friendly with sinners and even ate with them while the Pharisians kept aloof from such people. Jesus had a rough time with this group of ‘religious’ people. While they accused Jesus of being a ‘friend of sinners and publicans’ Jesus’ assessment of them was that they were like  ‘white-washed sepulchres’. It was a strong indictment of a group who were thought to be ‘blameless’ and ‘holy’.  Now that Jesus has given such a verdict about them, the Church as well as Congregations that have Pharisians among their members should seriously think of suppressing such a group.

-        T.V. Georgesdb

                                                     “All I have is yours”. Lk. 15.31

“My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. ” Lk 15.31. These words addressed by the father to the elder son are relevant, especially for Priests and Religious. The Father has entrusted to their care all he has – his own Son, his Word, his Sacraments, his own Body and Blood. Their mission is faithfully to guard and administer these to God’s people.  In these words addressed to the elder son, we can  see our vocation to be with him as well as our mission to guard and administer all he has given to us.

As priests and religious, we have more affinity to the elder son than the younger. We have not wandered far. We have not been too rash or irresponsible. We have not wasted the father’s property in loose living. We have not disobeyed the father like the younger son. Instead, we have been homebound, obedient, poor, chaste, dutiful, responsible, and working hard. We have been staying close to the altar, administering the sacraments, preparing people for baptism, visiting the sick, preaching the word, and helping the poor.

The father calls the elder son, “My son”. The father owns him.  The son has the features of the father. The father’s blood runs through his veins. The son has inherited the father’s temperament and attitude. He is the father’s son. He is his image. Despite the harsh and hurting words of the elder son, the father owns the son and calls him, “My son”. The father does not accuse nor condemn.  He looks at the intimate relationship that he has with his son, than find reasons for division and quarrel.

“You are always with me.” says the father.  Our vocation as priests and religious is to be with him. Christ called the twelve, “to be with him”(Mk.3.14).  Our first and primary vocation is to be with him.  Another word for ‘being with him’ is holiness. Sanctification of our life by listening to his Word, celebrating the Sacraments, and experiencing his forgiveness, is our first vocation. The father invites us to be ‘with’ him always. He is with us and not against us. He invites us to be with him ‘always’ – in the church, the presbytery, the workplace, the market, on Sundays and weekdays. His last words to us are “I am with you always”.

“All I have is yours.”. The father is an old man. His days on earth are numbered. He gives away everything property, his house, his wealth, his servants, his bank balance, and everything that belongs to the son. All that the Father has, he has given to us – his Son, his Church, his people, his Sacraments, his Word. Our vocation is to pass on what we have received. Vatican II documents tell us that the role of  priest is to be a teacher of the word and to be a sanctifier through the celebration of his Sacraments. The celebration of the sacraments finds its culmination in the celebration of the Eucharist. The best service a priest can render to the church is to make the Eucharist the center of one’s own life and the lives of the people whom they serve. 

The elder son complains because he did not get the fattened calf but the father is offering him his entire flock, his farm, his house, his property. Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a few drops of water and in return, he promised her a perennial spring.  In return for the generosity  of the boy who gave five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds five thousand with it and returns twelve baskets full. Jesus asks Peter for his boat to use as a pulpit and he returns the boat full of fish. At Cana in return for the faith of Mary,  he gives six jars full of fresh new wine, “filled to the brim”. For every step the prodigal son takes towards the father, the father takes a hundred steps towards the son. The son comes limping, and the father is running. We offer a drop and in return, he offers us an ocean. “How much more your father in heaven gives” ( Mt.7.10), Jesus tells his disciples. “Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” ( Lk.6.39). “ If you only knew.” ( Jn 4.10), Jesus tells the Samaritan women. If only we knew who the father of the prodigal son is, who our Heavenly Father is!

-        Fr TVGeorge sdb

 

LOST AT HOME

(The Elder  son )

 It is easy to identify oneself with the younger son.  His ‘lostness’ is obvious.  He misused his money, his time, his friends, and his own body. He was swept away by lust and greed. He rebelled against morality. There is something clear-cut about his misbehavior. Not only his family and friends, but he himself knew what he did was wrong.  It leads him to misery. He comes to his senses and returns back and asks for forgiveness.

What is harder to understand and identify with, is the ’lostness’ of the elder son. He did all things right. He is obedient, chaste, dutiful, law-abiding, and hardworking. People respect him, praise him, and consider him as a model son. Exteriorly he is faultless.

We may have much more in common with the elder son than the younger. We have lived a dutiful and obedient life.  From a young age perhaps we wanted to be a priest and a religious. We were born in a Catholic family. We were baptized, confirmed, and ordained perhaps in the same Church. We have been obedient to parents, teachers, superiors, bishops, and to God. We have not run away from home. We have not spent money on sensual pleasures nor lost in drunkenness. We have been responsible, traditional, and presbytery-bound, saying daily our prayers and helping the poor and the sick.

But we can be as much lost as the younger son. Lost at home. The younger son returned to the house and celebrated with the father instead the elder son got close to the house but did not enter. He can hear the music and the dance but he refuses to enter! He goes in the direction of the servants’ quarters to find out what is happening in his house! The servants exaggerate perhaps to win him over to their side. In one sentence they give five pieces of information; ‘his brother is back’, ‘he is well’, ‘father is very happy’, ‘the fattened calf is killed’, and ‘the celebration has started’. With each piece of information, he becomes more and more ‘angry’. He would have tolerated it perhaps if his brother had come back sick and famished or perhaps if father had closed the door on him. At any rate, he did not see any reason for killing the fattened calf and calling for a party!

The father comes out not only in search of the younger son but also in search of the elder son. In contrast to the father’s pleading the elder son answers him back with bitter and hurtful words. All the poison, bitterness, and anger he has been storing in his heart all these years comes out.  He accuses the father that he has not given him anything.  Despite perfect obedience and years of slavery, the father has never given him ‘even a young goat’! He could tolerate that, but how could the father be so happy with one who wasted his property and had a good time in loose living! How could he kill for him the ‘fattened calf’? He could at least waited for him, consult him, before starting the party!

Like the elder son, we have been working in the field for the master,  twelve hours a day, for forty, fifty, sixty years! But instead of joyfully working and enjoying being at home, our work perhaps has become a ‘slavery’. Like the labourers who worked twelve hours in the field, we turn out to be grumblers at the generosity of the master. Instead of gratitude for the privilege we have received we become resentful, jealous, bitter of our brothers and sisters who have taken so much liberty and are so warmly welcomed back. We are ‘angry’ more at our father than with our brother.

We boycott. We refuse to enter the house. We find out what is going on in our house from our servants and shopkeepers. We no longer hide our dissatisfaction and feel sorry for being  good all these years. We have never been given our due. We secretly wish we should have been in our brother’s place. Why work hard, why be good, why obey if it is not noticed, if one is not rewarded? Others had a good time and their father is happy with them. They are treated even better.  Why did we not come at the 12th hour? Why all this struggle? Where is justice? “These worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us”! “All these years I have slaved for you and never disobeyed you and you have never given me even a young goat”!

The obedient, dutiful, chaste, hardworking life of the elder son has become a burden that oppresses him. He accuses, and condemns the wayward immoral life of others, and yet he now feels sorry he did not do as they did. When confronted with the master's generosity to the lastcomers, those who worked twelve hours in the sun become bitter. Seeing the joy of the father at the return of the younger son, a volcano erupts in the elder son.  And the angry resentful, bitter, selfish, proud person that has been hiding in him comes to the surface.

There is much resentment among the ‘just’. There is judgment, condemnation, and prejudice among the ‘saints’. There is much ‘frozen anger’ among those most concerned with ’avoiding sin’. Which does more harm, the lust of the younger son or the resentment of the elder son?

The words with which the elder son attacks the father come from a heart that feels it never received what was due. It is a subtle complaint that says, ‘I tried so hard, worked so long, did so much,  still I have not received what others get so easily. Why don’t people thank me, reward me, invite me, consult me, wait for me? Do I belong here?’

This unspoken complaint, murmur, and lament of the elder brother is in me. I cannot be happy with the good fortune of my brother. I am more angry with my father than with my brother. I no longer have a brother. I squarely put the blame on my father for what my brother has done and where he has been to. 

There are as many elder brothers and sisters who are lost while still at home.  There are many elder sons living at home but never know what a home is, or who a father is. Did the father manage to persuade the elder son? Did the elder brother go into his house and meet his brother? Did he join in the celebration? Why did Jesus not give a happy conclusion to this parable? Is it out of charity to the elder son?

It should be a serious and disturbing thought for all the elder sons that Jesus has not given a happy conclusion to the parable! After all the ‘good life’ and ‘good works’ it would be unfortunate if we were still in the servant’s quarters and not celebrating with the father!

It is better to wander far from home and return to discover what a home is and who a father is than to stay at home and never know your home or your father.

-        Fr TVGeorge sdb