And He Ascended Into Heaven......So Shall We, One Day

                                                               

Today, The Church celebrates the great feast of Ascension. It marks the end of Lord Jesus' earthly stay in the world after His resurrection on Easter Sunday. The Paschal candle which was lit on Easter night vigil and continued to be lit during all Mass celebrations will not be lit after today's celebrations and in a week's time we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost (the day when The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the upper room). So why did the Lord stay back for 40 days after his resurrection? He could have said, 'Hi-hello' to His disciples and probably spent some 'quality time' with His beloved Mother and rushed back to heaven or may be he could have just appeared to them in dreams & visions only and thus passed on His message indirectly. But as per the Gospel narratives, He spent time with them physically. When He met them, walked with them, spoke to them, ate with them, He was truly present to them & with them, as in flesh & blood. Just like regular people like you and me are to each other. St Leo, The Great (Doctor of the Church & Pope, 5th Century) gave a sermon 1500 years ago on the importance of Ascension.The following is my understanding along with quotes by the Great Leo himself.

1. To Convince Us of IT's Truth : We all know that the apostles were all completely dejected by the death of their Master on Good Friday. The manner in which He was taken out by Jews and Romans could put the fear of death in the soul of many a brave heart (and these were ordinary people of Israel). So the Lord had to spend time with them, convince them that He was for real, that all that happened to Him was not something which was enforced on Him by anyone but He took it upon Himself. That it was all a part of the great plan of salvation which God, in His love, had manifested through life & death of Christ. Their 'grief laden' minds had to be loved out of mistrust and fear and into a greater & stronger faith. Most of all, it was not just for the sake of the apostles that He remained with but for all those who, in the centuries to come, would start believing in Jesus as the true Saviour but because of human weakness, wisdom of the world and even persecution, would lose hope and way. In effect, the apostles represented the whole of Church which would go through it's lows of sin, heresy & unbelief. Thus solace given to apostles meant consolation also for Church of later years ie, us.


2. To Give Critical Instructions/Ratify His Teachings : Now that He had risen, Jesus had to unravel the deep mysteries of our faith to the disciples, which hitherto, they had no inkling of. The mysteries were ratified and the divine truths were planted in their hearts. Disciples were illumined (as on the road to Emmaus) about how all the Scriptures pointed to Jesus Christ as the Saviour, how breaking of the Bread, the Eucharist ie, must play a role most crucial in their community worship. They had to be taught about the founding of the Church, the primacy of Peter over all disciples (Peter was made the caretaker of earthly flock & was earlier assigned the keys to the gates of heaven).

3. Resurrection of The Flesh Had To Proved : Of all the miracles that Jesus had done during His lifetime, both before and after Resurrection, the most important one was the Resurrection itself. The raising of Lazarus was also nothing but a prelude to The Resurrection. To the unbelieving Thomas, He showed the marks of nail on His palms. ".....He invites them to handle Him with careful scrutiny, because the traces of the nails and spear had been retained to heal the wounds of unbelieving hearts, so that not with wavering faith, but with most steadfast knowledge they might comprehend that the Nature which had been lain in the Sepulchre was to sit on God the Father's throne." All of these miracles point to the fact that not just the soul but even the body will be resurrected on the final day. Because He rose, we will also rise one day and ascend to the glorious highs which He rose to and calls us to be in.


4.The Privileges of Ascension Could Be Appropriated To Mankind : Such was the cathartic power of Ascension that disciples were no longer despondent that The Lord had once again left them. This time, unlike Good Friday, they went back praising & worshiping the Lord. They now knew that they had received much more from Ascension than whatever was taken away by Devil. By the end of the 40th day they were filled with an assurance that they will never be abandoned again. That the Lord will be with them till the end of time.

".....Since then Christ's Ascension is our uplifting, and the hope of the Body is raised, whither the glory of the Head has gone before, let us exult, dearly-beloved, with worthy joy and delight in the loyal paying of thanks. For today not only are we confirmed as possessors of paradise, but have also in Christ penetrated the heights of heaven, and have gained still greater things through Christ's unspeakable grace than we had lost through the devil's malice..."  (St.Leo, The Great)

"This I command you, to love one another"

First Reading:Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
Gospel : John 15:9-17

We have entered the final week before the feast of Ascension of our Lord, which will be celebrated coming Sunday.

I do not know the reason, but the Gospel reading for today was same as yesterday (Sunday Mass). If anyone can enlighten me with the reason, I would be very grateful. The title of the post is the last verse of today's passage "This I command you, to love one another". It pretty much sums up 2nd of the two commandments which the Lord gave for us, the first being 'Love God with all your heart, mind and strength.'

Let’s start with the first reading from The Acts, though. The disciples are now 11 in number because Judas had committed suicide in self condemnation after betraying Jesus at the Garden of Gethsamane. They decide to take in one more member to bring the no. of disciples back to 12. And the criteria they set for themselves is very interesting and note worthy. The criterion for selection was that he must be a man who had been with Jesus right from the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan to the time He ascended from earth into heaven. In other words, the new 12th disciple should be someone,

-         Who knew Jesus in and out.

-         Knew and (beleived) the reason why Jesus came into this world.

-       Knew what the master went through (Baptism,Passion,Crucifixion,Death & Ressurrection) and experienced what the master went through, at least in some measure.

-         Who partook in the divine master’s very life. 

And I wondered If I were to apply these requirements to my life, ie, if I were to apply for the post of the 12^th disciple, how much of a chance do I have in getting the job. I think it will be what a corporate HR guy will call “a Fitment issue”. The 11 chose Mathias as the 12th disciple and today we also celebrate the feast of St.Mathias.

Coming to the Gospel, I found this faint, yet beautiful link to the 1^st reading. Verse # 15 (No longer do I call you servants………but friends for I have made known to you all that I have known from my father.) The Lord is forging a new kind of relationship with His disciples. No longer is it a slave-master relationship. Infact, it’s not even a God-believer relationship but God Himself now intends to take this relationship to a new level of intimacy. He boldly claims that His love for them (us) cannot be matched as he says in verse 13 “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” And He urges us to love one another as He has loved us. Now that's a pretty challenging ask. A point worth deeply meditating upon.

E+23 : Life In Abundance

We have moved 23 days away from Easter. The season of Easter is in it's full swing. Personally for me, it has been season of spiritual growth. There is something about this season, which really makes me feel elated most of the times. 

Moving on to the liturgy of the day. The readings of the day are as follows.

First Reading: Acts 11:1-18
Gospel: John 10:1-10

  

Strangely the passage our Church has selected today is a prelude to yesterday's Gospel passage which was from John 10:11 to 18 and today we have the passage from verse 1 to 10. In a sense, today is the  prelude to what has already been read yesterday on Good Shepherd Sunday. I am not quite sure what is the reason for the choice of reason in such a way. The passage of Gospel has one of the first gospel verse that I ever memorised "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jesus in Jn 10:10). It's simple to memorise and the verse 10:10 is also hard to forget. (Unfortunately, on the whole, I have struggled with my ability to memorise scripture verses).

But the passage is very beautiful. St.John puts down the characteristics of a sheep (disciple) as laid down by the Lord. My Sheep hear my voice, they enter through Me and not through any other gate. If they enter through Me, they will be saved. For me the most challenging thing for any disciple (sheep) is to listen to the voice of the Master (Shepherd). Once we are able to discern His voice, the battle is almost won. Anyone who wishes to enter this gate is free to do so...anyone is operative word. Salvation is a free gift for the whole mankind and not just for one community. This was clearly brought out in yesterday's Gospel narrative. In the first reading, St.Peter also brings out the same message when he notices that the Holy Spirit has revealed the same truth about eating meat which were considered unclean hitherto to him as well as pagans and how when he spoke to them, the spirit fell upon them as well.

Salvation is for ALL...All one needs to be is be open.

Good Shepherd Sunday

The 4th Sunday of Easter season is celebrated as the Good Shepherd Sunday.

First Reading : Acts 4:8-12
Second Reading : 1 John 3:1-2
Gospel : John 10:11-18
 

All the readings point towards the love of God in Jesus Christ. The imagery which the Gospel especially tries to create is that of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It is one of my favorite imagery and helps me to look at Lord as the one who protects, provides and guides me through my journey. It's so difficult for us to look at God as Father. A father who takes care of His children, a Shepherd who is ever ready to lay down His life for me. As St.John writes in this Gospel narrative in verse 12, He is not a hireling (a man who has been hired to take care of the the sheep) but instead takes his sheep as His own. A hired worker will not take the risk of being around when the wolf comes to hunt, but the good shepherd stays and fights for his sheep. That's our Lord for us. He does not abandon us , never thinks of forsaking us no matter how unfaithful a sheep, we end up being. To call Him my Shepherd, I also need to make myself His Sheep. This has to a conscious decision on my part knowing well that following Him means I will have to curb my dependence on self and grow in dependence on Him.....to lead me to greener pastures, to safer havens. The confidence that He will guide me to places which hitherto I did not fathom I could reach. It calls for unflinching, yet simple faith. Not easy when all our lives we have 'managed it on our own'. Not easy even when He is the one who is calling us personally to be His own. Something inside of us is always there to pull us back as it leads to that dreaded place called....'Complete Surrender'. 


To be a disciple is to follow the master completely, without reservations. In fact , St.John takes it to a new level...it is to be a child of God. It may also mean leaving the world ie, the things of the world and also some of the relationships of the world behind. This can be painful. But the Lord gives us hope of a gift which can only bestowed upon a disciple , more importantly , a son/daughter of God. The gift of being able to see Him face to and to know Him as He is. Oh what a gloriously beautiful prize to aspire for. (Ref 2nd reading).

E+11: For God So Loved The World...

We have moved out of the Easter octave and are now in the second week of the season , 11 days after Easter. The  readings for daily mass continue to be from The Acts. Today the verses being  Acts 5:17-26 . The Gospel is from John 3:16-21 .  

Lets start with the Gospel passage. It starts with John 3:16 is one of the central messages of Christianity. It goes like this... "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".... Everything else in our faith goes around this central theme which this verse attempts to bring to believers as well as non believers. As the passage goes, the apostle John, who was one of the original twelve apostles of Christ formed persoanlly by Christ Himself, describes Christ as the Light of the world and the goes on to exhort people to be in Light. It brings out the mercy of God in Christ. Verse 17 says Christ came not to condemn the world but that it might be saved. It must understood that  it is the love and mercy for God which comes out in the Christ. No where does he mention a list of do's or dont's. Just one (mandatory) requirement 'Believe and be saved'. Believe in Christ and start your jouney towards your salvation. Many Christians to this day believe that it is their efforts which will earn their salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God to the whole world. If he were to start finding faults, who could escape His judgment? None. So John's verse brings a lot of hope and encouragement for all those who, weighed down by their sins, consider themselves not worthy of God's love or atonement. Their is no sin under the sin which the Cross of Christ has not had victory over and no sinner for whom the Lord has not loved or did not shed His precious blood  for. The fact is He came only for the sinners like me & you and not for the self righteous. For the self righteous continue to believe that they are 'ok'  and directly or indirectly reject the need for a Saviour , reject Christ and thus automatically put themselves out of God's umbrella of divine mercy. And so John ends this passage stating that those who do not want to be in Light, prefer to stay in darkness and thus lose out on the  joy and the freedom of being in Light. Conversely, those who chose (it's a choice one has to make) to walk in light, the Lord ensures that their deeds are well 'wrought' (made or done in a careful or decorative way). That's His love for His people.

In first reading from The Acts (Acts 5:17-26), the apostles are arrested for proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. However, true to what today's Gospel passage above teaches, they are saved miraculously from the prison and come out of the prison. Once the guards realise that they are preaching at the temple (Jewish Synagogue), they go and bring them back again but this time, for the fear of the crowd, they ensure that they are not hurt in anyway. Thus we also find there is a link between the Gospel  & the other reading (those who believe shall be saved and their deeds shall be wrought by the Lord)..... There is undoubtedly a higher form of wisdom in the way readings and Gospel passages have been picked for daily liturgy by Church.

E+3: Road To Emmaus

Wednesday After Easter: Gospel Luke 24:13-35 & Reading from Acts 3:1-10 .

One of my favourite passage of Gospel. After the crucifiction of Jesus, two of His disciples dejected and depressed and are going out of Jerusalem to Emmaus. On their way two of them are met by a 'stranger whom they do not recognise'. Upon knowing that the reason for their dejection was the death of their master, a man called Jesus of Nazreth, He goes on to expound scripture and reveals the plan of God which meant that the messiah had to suffer and die on the Cross and only then be raised. He opens their minds to understand the deeper revelation of all that was their in the Scriptures. Their spirits were lifted and upon reaching their place of dwelling, they constrained this stranger to stay and the stranger obliged and entered their place. As they sat down to eat , they blessed God and broke bread and gave it to them. At this breaking of the bread, the two disciples recognised Him......... The stranger was indeed the  risen Lord and as they recognised Him, He vanished from their presence. When did He disappear?....At the breaking of the bread . Another confirmation that the Lord can manifest Himself  in His own way / is present himself in a form during the Holy Mass. Where did He go ? .....As they took the blessed & broken bread, the Lord became present in them.   I have always felt such an exhilarating experience reading this passage. Once I receive the Eucharist, the Lord becomes present in me. WoW !! . I also realised how important it is to allow the Lord to open our minds to the Scriptures, so that we understand and interpret it the right way in order to grow more in Him.

 The two of them were so filed with joy and  excitement that they immediately rose and went back to Jerusalem and told the other disciples about their encounter with the Lord. As the scripture says "....They told them (other disciples) what happened on the road to Emmaus and  that He was known to them in breaking of the bread". Again a sign of true encounter with the Lord, that once we meet Him, we can't control ourselves but just go and share this new found Love with everyone near us. Such was their excitement and yearning to tell others that these two disciples walked back to Jerusalem, which is about 7-8 Kms, the very same night. They had just walked the same distance to Emmaus but did not rest or think that they could go back the next morning. They just started immediately.

In the reading from Acts , Paul continues to walk in his new found boldness and the Spirit's anointing. He is no longer the guy who would shoot of his mouth and then run for cover. The difference this time  s the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In this passage, he and John encounter a beggar who is lame by birth and has been sitting at the temple gate for many years. They are able to heal him of his life long disability with one command in the name of Jesus. Everyone who saw it was amazed and praised the Lord....It is here Paul says those famous verses "Silver and gold I have none but I give you what I have. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth,walk ".And Paul took him by the hand and he stood up and immediately felt strength in his legs and started walking and entered into the temple leaping and praising God. All the people who knew him were amazed and filled with wonder.

E+2: Repent And Be Baptised

Tuesday after Easter Sunday:

Today's reading is a continuation of Peter's address to the Jews from Acts 2:36-41 and the Gospel is taken from Jn 20:11-18 .

The effect of Peter's address is that 3000 people are "cut to heart"  and they immediately ask Peter "what shall we do". This is so reminiscent of Peter's own words in John 6:68, when the Lord upon seeing many of his followers walking away after His teaching on Eucharist/Mass, the Lord asked Peter if he also wanted to leave Him and Peter replied "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life". Peter's immediate response to the people was "repent and be baptised".

In the John's Gospel narrative, The Lord appears to Mary and she is unable to recognise Him untill the Lord calls her by name and then Mary is able to recognise Him. This brings out the power of the resurrected Lord, that He can hide Himself in such a manner that even though He is there, one cannot recognise him until He reveals Himself to them. Another point one needs to understand is that just because I am not able to recognise or understand Him does not mean He is not present in that form. Eucharist is a classic case in point, where no one sees Jesus in flesh & blood but He is truly present there in flesh & blood and not receiving Him is grave loss to me spiritually.The more I go In faith and receive Him in the Holy Mass , the more He reveals Himself according to His time

Easter + 1 (E+1) The New Peter

The risen Lord stayed with His apostles for 40 days after Easter before ascending into heaven and as per Church traditions 10 days later the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles gathered around in the upper room. During these  40 days, He taught & shared more of the eternal mysteries about Himself and the salvation through Him. I think those 40 days with the risen Lord must have given them a lot of hope, conviction about following him and must have done wonders to their faith. The season, which is also known as the Paschal season, ends on the 50th day with the feast of the Pentecost. It is in the season (as also some other special occasions as baptisms etc.) the big candle which was newly (freshly) lit on Easter night vigil mass is lit during all masses till the feast of Ascension. The candle known as Paschal candle symbolises the presence of Christ as the Light of the world post His resurrection. Of all the seasons in the Church calender this is my favourite season as the thought of the risen Lord creates a lot of excitement and hope in my heart and also because of the deep meaning in the beautiful readings selected for this season by the Church.

Today's first reading is taken from Acts 2: 14,22-32 .It's taken from the part just immediately after the Pentecost and once again it's our old friend Peter. But no longer is he the impetuous and scared Peter who denied the Lord 3 times. This is the new Peter. He has witnessed the  greatest miracle of seeing the Lord, His master come back from the dead. he had seen His master being crucified and buried and then the risen Lord encountered Him and revealed Himself to him. Nothing can  make Him deny Jesus anymore. Once you taste the Lord, and know that he is the pearl of great price, nothing else in this world looks lucrative, attractive enough. It was as if he himself has been resurrected from the dead. Though he is surrounded by the same people who put the Lord to death, the fear of death no longer has any power of him. Our Peter has gone through his conversion. It's so beautifully in line with the Gospel passage of the day viz, Matt 28:8-15 , where Jesus tells them not to be afraid and to go to Galilee, where they will see Him.

In this passage from Acts Peter explains to the Jews gathered around, in no mean terms, about the revelation of God in Christ. That the man whom they crucified and buried was the same man who raised up again by the power of God and this very man was God incarnate, the messiah whom they had been waiting since the time of David and even before. How the Jews , Romans and everyone else had missed the plot completely. That Jesus is the real deals. This passage showing Peter in his post resurrection 'version' is a great place to start the Easter season leading upto Pentecost, when we will return to the same place again after 50 days.