Followers of  Jesus or the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were complaining…and Jesus said, “ I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”(Lk 5.32)

 Jesus went to the house of Mathew to seek and to save. He is the Shepherd who goes in search. The Pharisee too went to the house of Mathew but  to grumble and to complain.

Jesus' mission is to seek, save, forgive and to cure . The Pharisees mission is to complain, grumble, catch  accuse  and condemn

Jesus' mission is to solve problems of people, curing the sick, feeding the hungry and giving sight to the blind. The Pharisees' mission is to ask questions. Why do you eat with sinners? Why do you not fast? Why do you forgive sins? Why do you cure on a Sabbath? They ask questions not to get an honest answer but to catch Jesus, to test him.

Jesus found people like Mathew, Zachheus, and the Samaritan woman and gave them a new life. Pharisees found the disciples picking corn, disciples not fasting; the woman committing adultery, they find people to condemn and accuse.

We find these two types of people everywhere in every generation in politics, in the church, in religious life.  Some bring relief, joy, and happiness. Others' job is to be in the opposition always, to find fault, to ask questions.  We see it so clearly in Indian politics.

It is not only in politics but also in the Church and but also in religious life we find these two groups.  Where do we belong? Lent is inviting us to look at ourselves honestly to see if we are like Jesus, bringing joy and happiness to people or are we permanent opposition members. Some people pray with St. Francis Assisi  let me bring light where there is darkness, let me bring unity where there is division, let me bring peace where there is strife. Others pray with Pharisees. Let me bring strife where there is peace,  let me bring discord where there is unity,  let me bring darkness where there is light.

To which group do we belong? At the beginning of Lenten season God places before us a choice :  Life and death , blessing and curse. Let us choose Life and Blessing. Let us follow Jesus and not the Pharisees. “ Follow me“ is the invitation of Jesus that comes to us again and again.                               - Fr T.V.George sdb

 

 

 

                                                The sheep and the goats

“He will separate…as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”. ( Mt 25.32)

Today’s Gospel is about the separation of the sheep from the goats. The Son of Man is accompanied by hosts of angels. As all the nations will be gathered in front of him, he will be needing a lot of help in the task of separation. A huge number of all nations and races, of all types and social status, will be gathered together. Of course, some of us may be eager and  volunteer to help him  in the task of separation. But he will not be asking for our help especially from some of the experts. We can easily get it wrong, especially the experts in the task some of them may be placed among the goats!  Don’t be surprised!

 Jesus said another parable concerning the separation of sheep from the goats. This parable can give us some idea as to why he does not take our help.  In the Parable of the Weeds ( Mt. 13. 24-30),  the servants are eager to gather the weeds and burn them, “ Do you want us to go and gather them?”And the reply of the master is a firm “No”. The master is afraid that in the process some of the seeds may also be uprooted. He does not want even one good seed to be plucked out and burnt. “Let them grow together” he says, “At the harvest I will tell the reapers”. The reapers  are the angels of God.  He has a lot of them. He has trained them in the task of separation of seeds from the weeds, sheep from the goats.

 There are many whose hands are itching to help in the separation of sheep and the goats.  There are some who have done their PhD on this topic of right and left, separation and  judgment.   From morning to evening, from Monday to Sunday, without even taking a holiday some of them have been practicing their trade. They like Pilate sit on their judgment thrones  and dining tables, and pass judgment on politicians, religious leaders, their staff, workers, helpers, family members. Some of them practice the trade without even taking a break. After all the years of training, study and practice , little  do they know what the Lord has said, “Do not judge and you will not be judged”. “You will be measured in the same measure you use for others” . In spite of  their intelligence and expertise they have not realized, that each judgment they pass is revealing more about them than those whom they judge.

 No wonder why the Son of Man when seated on his  glorious throne will not  need any help from the experts! By the way the ‘glorious throne’ is reserved for him and he will not like others sitting on it! The less eagerness we  show to be part of the separation team, the better the chance for us to be on the right side, among the sheep.      –Fr T.V, George sdb 

             

‘Reward for a Cup of Water’

“I tell you whoever gives you a cup of water to drink …will by no means  lose his reward.” Mk.9.41

 It is a solemn promise by Jesus, “I tell you whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”

Jesus is generous, very generous in rewarding even those who give a cup of water. Soon after the young man who came to Jesus,  refused his invitation to follow him, Peter asked an important question to Jesus, “We have left everything and followed you, what will we have?” In reply, Jesus promised him a “hundredfold now in this age…and in the age to come everlasting life”’ (Mk 10.30). What more can we ask for?  It is a good bargain. We give one and he gives a hundred. He has promised the hundredfold not in some future age but now ‘in this age’. But some may say that they have not received the hundredfold.   Maybe you have received but you have not recognized it, or perhaps you have not truly given your part of the share. 

Jesus is true, and he keeps his promises.   

When Peter gave his boat for a pulpit to preach from, in return, Jesus gave him a boat full of fish. A fisherman could not have asked for more.( Jn 21.11)

When the Samaritan woman gave Christ a drink of water,  in return, Jesus promised her a perennial spring.  What more could she be provided in a parched, waterless place? Jn. 4.14    

At the Wedding at Cana, when the family was in an embarrassing situation, Jesus gave them not just one but six jars filled ‘up to the brim’ with new fresh wine. What more could he have given at a marriage party? Jn. 2.7

When the boy gave generously his  two fish and five barley loaves, in return Jesus gave  ‘twelve baskets’ full after five thousand had eaten. Jn.6.13

Jesus in his sermons, assures us that we have a Father who gives far more than we can ask for. “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not MUCH MORE   cloth you – you of little faith” Mt 6.30.

If you know how to give good things to your children, “How much MORE will the Father give… !” Lk.11.13

When the prodigal son returned, he was hoping to be received back as a hired worker and given accommodation in the servants’ quarters and be allowed to eat their food.  But instead, he gets a warm embrace and a kiss from his father, and the best robe, ring and sandals. The Father orders ‘the fattened calf’ to be killed and calls for a celebration. All these, not in the servant’s quarters but inside the decorated, lit up, dining hall of his house. He is restored as a son, not a slave. (Luke 15)“How much MORE the Father gives…!”

 The last-comers in the parable of the vineyard hoped to get perhaps one-fourth of a day’s wage, but they were pleasantly surprised when they got a full day’s wage  and went home rejoicing and singing. (Mt 20)     “ How much MORE the father gives…!”

In the parable of the banquet, those who were invited at the last moment from the lanes and the by lanes hoped for the left-overs of the wedding banquet and a place outside the wedding hall but they were surprised to be given wedding garments and seated in the ‘wedding hall’  and served the choicest of foods, as much as they wanted ( Mt.22)  “How much MORE the  Father gives…! “

‘A hundredfold’ and ‘much MORE’ is assured to all who give even a ‘cup of water’.   

 – Fr T.V. George sdb

 

         

                                                            The Third Temptation

The tactics that the devil uses to tempt Jesus are  very subtle and looks very innocent. The first temptation is not so much to provide oneself with bread but placing a kind of doubt in the mind of Jesus. “If you are the Son God, command these stones to become bread.” Devil knows that Jesus is strong and will not jump in to satisfy his carnal desires by providing himself with bread. Even before he attempted, the devil knew that he would fail. So he had a second strategy ready.

This time, it is an invitation not to satisfy his carnal desires but to satisfy what every human being aspires for; the desire for recognition, status, glory, power, and money. “To you I will give glory... authority… power and splendour .... if you worship me.” The devil was sure he would succeed with one of these two temptations, as he often does with the majority of people. But not with Jesus; he has not come to seek glory and power and money. 

The devil has a third strategy ready up his sleeve. This time, he knows well, there is no use baiting Christ with physical or mental satisfactions. In the third temptation, there is no personal gain involved, there is no question of bread or glory or power. There is nothing gained by jumping down from the temple. In the process, he may lose his life, but then, if he has a Father, as he claims, he will not allow that to happen. The third temptation is a pure test of his sonship, whether he is the Son of a caring Father. If he has one, he will protect him and will not allow any harm to him. Death, destruction, pain and sorrow are incompatible with a loving father. So the devil suggests to test out whether he is truly the son of a Father.

The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign. Jesus, too is tempted to ask for a sign. His third temptation is not to take things for granted but to test out the care and concern of his Father. Satan would come again with a similar proposal when Jesus would be on the Cross.  “Let the Messiah come down from the Cross” (Mk 15.32. )  Jesus did not jump down from the temple nor did he come down from the Cross. His love for his father was not on test.  He needed no sign, no guarantee for the love of this father. The devil tried his best to argue that pain and suffering, death and hunger, poverty and humility are contrary to his father’s love for him.  Jesus did not need a certificate from the devil about his Father’s love for him. He was not going to put his father to the test, and he told the devil in no uncertain terms to get of his way.

What are our temptations today? The devil in all probability, will not come to us proposing to us to eat more bread and drink more wine. He knows we avoid the ways of gluttony. If he fails, he will try and propose to us with many ways of making money, finding recognition,  glory, and power. This is one of the most successful strategies of the devil. Many fall victim to this temptation, including some of those who were successful in the first. In all probability, the devil will come to us the way he came to Jesus in the third temptation. He will very subtly tell us that perhaps we are in the wrong place, doing the wrong job; it is not the father’s will that we should be where we are, it is politics, manipulations that have brought us to where we are. With this background prepared he will tell us just to test and see if we have a caring father. He will invite us to ask for a sign. 

Don’t be too sure that we are not falling into the third temptation. This temptation comes at times neatly packed as even service to God, something that we must do, not just for ourselves but for the success of our God given mission. We can fall prey to this temptation as individuals and as groups. Options for the well to do, our fear that government may be hard on us, our argument that we make money to help the poor, our movement towards self-sufficiency, may well be camouflaged temptations from the devil. He will tell us that these measures are needed to be at the service of God’s people; it is a necessity and a prudent measure for the success of our mission. The tempter may quote even the Bible and give high moral arguments like ‘God helps those who help themselves.’

The third temptation is basically a temptation about our identity. Who are we?   Who has sent us? What is our mission? What are our priorities? Our pride, our show of strength, our overconfidence, our overconcern for providing for the future, our guarantee projects are all signs of our identity crisis. It is a lack of faith in the one who sent us. We will be saved by God, Faith, and Providence and not by our Babel towers, our guarantee projects, our godowns, and our showrooms. Let us pray to the Lord that we may not fall victim to this Third Temptation.                                                             - Fr T.V.George sdb