22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - A 

Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, today’s Gospel clearly out lines the important qualities that is demanded of Jesus’ disciples: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Last Sunday we meditated, how Jesus appreciated Peter for recognizing him as the Messiah and thus placed Peter as the head of the Church; calling him as rock and on this rock I will build my church. But today we see entirely a different picture of Jesus’ attitude towards Peter, calling him as Satan. Why did Jesus strongly admonish Peter? Though Peter had grasped the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, but had not grasped it fully as to what it really meant.

When Jesus foretold his disciples about his suffering, death and resurrection, Peter started to remonstrate with Jesus and said, ‘this must not happen to you.” It is to say that Peter was telling Jesus what direction he should take in his life. It all happened because Peter did not understand the divine plan for His Son Jesus. 

The disciples were still thinking of Jesus in terms of a conquering Messiah, a warrior king, who would sweep the Romans from Palestine and lead Israel to power.  In other words the disciples were seeking the path of glory but to Jesus it was the path of cross.

The attitude of Peter towards Jesus raises  this fundamental question in me: what do I mean when I say that I am the disciple of Jesus? The very purpose of God sending his only Son into the world was to love us and redeem us by sacrificing his only begotten son on the cross. In other words God sacrificed his Son, so that we may have life, life in abundance.

If I see Jesus, just as a miracle worker, then I have missed the whole point of being the disciple of Jesus. This is what happened to the disciples, when Jesus foretold his disciples the kind of death he was to undergo. Prior to today’s passage, when we go through the previous chapters in Matthew’s gospel, we will see how the disciples witnessed to the miralces of Jesus: feeding  five thousand people, waliking on the water and so forth. As a result of these Peter could not accept Jesus, the Son of the living God would expercise his royal messiahship from the throne of a Cross. He thus attempts to stop Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem.[1]  “But Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

Yes, dear brothers and sisters, if I truly want to be the follower of Jesus then crosses are inevitable. Bonhoeffer, a German Theologian, in his book “The Cost of Discipleship” clearly defines who is a disciple?  He says, “Just as Christ is Christ only in virtue of his suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord’s suffering and rejection and crucifixion. Discipleship means adherence to the person of Jesus, and therefore submission to the law of Christ which is the law of the cross.”[2] It is evident from his understanding of discipleship that suffering is included in one’s effort to follow Jesus.

In this context it is good to meditate on the approach of Mother Teresa to those who wanted to join her order.  This is how she used to address the candidates, when they expressed their desire to follow her spirituality, she said, “Our work is hard. We are serving the poor and the homeless 24 hours a day.” In other words, she was clearly indicating the words of Jesus to them: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Dear friends it is a human tendency to avoid suffering and to embrace happiness. But in reality it is not possible, because to achieve something we all need to undergo some nature of suffering. So let us not worry about the temporary thing rather worry about what is to come. Fulton J Sheen says, “Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.”

So, let us follow Jesus courageously, by embracing the daily crosses that come on our ways. The crosses are not permanent but a reality to be endured before we see our Saviour face to face.

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[1] Francis J. Moloney,  This is The Gospel of the Lord, (St. Paul’s Publication, 1992). 172.

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship,  (London: SCM Press, 1971). p. 77.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Readings: Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20

Dear brothers and sisters, the liturgy of the word for today invites us all to answer this question: Who is Jesus to me? As the members of the mystical body of Christ, we try our best to listen to Jesus and thus try to model our lives after Him. In doing this, do we really understand and profess about the person whom we follow?

In today’s gospel Jesus is posing to his disciples two questions with different emphasis: Who do people say the Son of Man is? And who do you say I am? When you go further into these two questions, the first question is more about what do people (public opinion) think about Him and the latter is more personal.

Jesus asked these two questions in the region of Caesarea Philippi. It is not a Jewish territory rather Caesarea was a Hellenistic city, populated mainly by gentiles and was a home to a cultic shrine dedicated to the deity Pan. This is to say that Jesus is now away from the surveillance of his opponents and thus poses these two important questions to his disciples. Jesus asked these two questions having spent sometime with them, because he wanted to make sure that they are on the right path.

When Jesus asked the first question, who do people say the Son of Man is, the disciples started to answer him immediately, because it did not demand any personal reflection rather it was just telling Jesus what people thought that Jesus was. They said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. In all these responses the common thread that unites these opinions is the perception that Jesus stands in the line of the prophets.

Now Jesus likes to know what his disciples thought about Him, so Jesus asked them, “who do you say the Son of Man is? Peter said, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God”. Peter was able to say this because of his previous encounter with Jesus one such was walking on water towards Jesus (Mt 14: 28). When Peter expressed his understanding of Jesus, then Jesus immediately told him that ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.

For today, let me just reflect with you on this statement of Jesus about Simon Peter: ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! How did Simon Peter receive this appreciation from Jesus? This is merely through his finding of God in his life. Similarly when we find and profess that Jesus is our Lord and master then we all become a happy person. So, let us try to find God in everything we do and thus profess his name at every moment in our lives and thus live a life of happiness joy and love.

So, let us continue to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus to me?

God bless

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Readings:   Isaiah 6:1. 6-7; Romans 11: 13-15.29-32; Matthew 15:21-28

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, before I dive into the reflection on today’s Gospel, I like to draw your attention to the background to today’s Gospel passage, because it will help us to understand the mission of Jesus in the gentile land and the persistent faith of the Canaanite woman, who came to Jesus with the request to cure her daughter from the torment of the evil spirit.

Last Sunday we meditated, how Jesus saved Peter from drowning into the water, and thus encouraged his disciples to have a strong faith in him. There after the following chapter (Mt 15), tells us that Jesus faces the criticism from the Pharisees for not observing the customs prior to eating (Mt 15:1-20). Their interpretation of law leads Jesus into anger, as a result Jesus calls them ‘hypocrites’ (Mt 15:7), because they had wrong notions of holiness and also rejected the teachings of Jesus and refused to place their trust in Jesus. The religious leaders of that time thought that holiness consisted in just following the laws and they could not see anything beyond that either.

Today’s Gospel is the continuation from the conflicting situation that Jesus had to face with the Pharisees. As a result, Jesus deliberately chose to leave Gennesaret in Israel, to travel into the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  When Jesus was in the gentile land, a woman approached Jesus with unwavering faith, to cure her daughter who was tormented by evil spirit. When she requested for help, Jesus did not take notice of her. I am sure when people do not pay attention to what we speak, in those circumstances we would either be angry with them or quit the place altogether. But, it was not so with this Canaanite woman, she continues her pleas because her need drive her on.

Having seen the persistence of this Canaanite woman, now this time, the disciples went to Jesus and said, “Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted.’ (Mt 15: 23-27).

Now for an example, When you go on your knees to Jesus with a special request and If Jesus happens to utter you these words:  ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs’, how would you feel about it? I am sure you would immediately tend to doubt about all his teachings especially Jesus’ unconditional love for all of us. Even though the Canaanite woman was treated badly, but she never gave up.

These utterance of Jesus: “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ (Mt 15:23), could not break the persistence of the Canaanite woman. The more she was tested and humiliated the stronger she became in her request, because her need drive her on.

This persistent nature of the Canaanite woman reflects the Norwegian proverb that reads: Heroism consists of hanging on one minute longer. "There is a story told of an young boy who had fallen through the ice while skating and was left clinging, cold and alone, to the edge of the ice with no help in sight. As he hung on in this seemingly hopeless situation he was tempted many times to simply let go since no one was going to come along to rescue him. But he held on, despite all odds. Finally, when everything seemed beyond hope, he clung on one minute longer and after that extra minute help arrived.^[1]

Yes, dear brothers and sisters let us hang on one minute longer like this young boy and the Canaanite woman. The faith journey of the Canaanite woman and the story of the young boy who longed for help tell us that perseverance (hanging on one minute longer) is the key to success in our life and faith. As a result of Canaanite woman’s persistence Jesus tells her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.

Let us always remember the courage, and the persistence of the Canaanite woman and the young boy and thus put our foot strong in our journey of faith by carrying out our daily tasks well. Let us not be wavering in our faith, rather let us always remember: Heroism consists of hanging on one minute longer and the Canaanite woman and the young boy proved it to be right.

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[1] http://ronrolheiser.com/never-grow-weary/#.U-7VdLySxBM