LOVE ONE ANOTHER

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Today we celebrate the new commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ who says, "As I have
loved you, you should love one another". Yes, Love fulfills all other commandments of our
Creator. We will be known as Christians by our love. Only out of love, God sent His Son to us
and only out of love, Jesus died on the Crosss for us. Where there is love, there is God. And we
are here to know the presence of God by loving one another.

1. In early days, while the Roman emperors enjoyed watching the circus events in which
Christians were tortured and killed by lions, gladiators, said to each other,"see how these
Christians love each other". Even in the face of great danger, Christians still had time to support
each other. The followers of Christ did everything with Christian love.When Mother Theresa went to India to begin her mission, she didn't take with her money or any
other material thing but Christ's love. The way she talked about divine love, people who were not Christians came to her to listen. She talked about self-sacrificing love and a giving and generous love, yes Christ's love. Because she rooted her faith in the new commandment of Christ.

2. Once Nepolean was told that a new preacher came to his city and wanted to preach to his
people. Then Nepolean said to his men, "I will let his preach, If he would preach about God's
love like Jesus, if he would suffer like Jesus and die like Him on the Cross and would come back
to life on the third day". For two thousand years, many tried their best to define love and its
meaning and every one of them failed because they all only taught about love but our Lord Jesus
Christ by dying on the Cross set an example for self-sacrificing love. If we love the the Lord, let
us love like him and if we follow the Lord, let us put the love into practice.

3. Once a tourist said to his guide, "you have a right to be proud of your town. I was especially
impressed with the number of Churches in it. The people here must love the Lord"The guide said, "Yes, of course, they may love the Lord but they sure as hell hate each other. When people fight with each other in the name of God, when they kill and destroy each other in
the name of religion, then they can't be followers of Christ.

Conclusion: Christians are those who follow Christ. They know that all the prophets and the teaching of the testaments complete in love. When we love one another, we complete the commandment of Christ our love. Amen.

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. This day, we celebrate our special call to follow Him and to be with Him. The Shepherd knows His sheep and leads them to everlasting life.
1.Once two people were asked to recite the Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want..." The first man who was a powerful orator got up and recited the whole psalm, and then everyone stood up and clapped their hands and cheered for him. Then the other man got up and repeated the same words and this time no one cheered and they were all sitting quietly in a devotional and prayerful mood.Then the orator got up and said, "I have a confession to make". You should know the difference between this old man and I, " I only know the psalm and this man knows the shepherd".Today we are called to know the Shepherd personally by means of our every day prayer and self-giving.

2.One day a sheep saw a hole in the fence and he escaped through the hole. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being chased by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf was kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he carried the sheep to the fold. After that so many people told the shepherd to nail up the fence but he never did.That is our Good Shepherd who gives us freedom and free will to choose between good and bad and between right and wrong. When we go away from him and fall into sin, He recognizes our failures and weaknesses saying, "I came for the one sheep that was lost". For the Good Shepherd, the lost sheep is also a good sheep. And thus He saves us from peril and danger. He gives us freedom not to go away from Him but to know our humanness fully and thus to love God with all our heart, mind and body and love others.

3. In today's gospel, Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. And no one can snatch them out of His hand. And people may go away from God and His Church but because of His love and forgiveness they will certainly come back to Him. Nothing can stop them from experiencing His love.There happened a dialogue between a recent convert and his friend."so you have been converted to Catholicism?""Yes""Then you should know about Jesus and His life. Tell me about His native country"The convert said, "to be honest with you, I don't no"."What was His age when He died?""I don't know""How many sermons did He preach?"His friend then looked at him and said, "you don't know much but you claimed to be converted to Christianity".Yes, I am ashamed at how little I know about Jesus but this much I do know.Three years ago, I was a drunkard, I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and my children hated me and they didn't even want to see me. But now I have given up drinking, we are out of debt; ours is a happy family. All this Christ has done for me. This much I know.

Conclusion:The love of the Good Shepherd transforms our very nature. The lost sheep is also a good sheep, so let us go to Him with who we are and transform ourselves. Amen.

Third sunday

Third Sunday of Easter
The resurrection stories tell us that Jesus might come in an unexpected time. yes, in the gospels, Jesus says that He would return to us; the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1.When Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb, she began to cry. while she was crying, Jesus himself appeared to her and said, "woman, why are you weeping?' and whom are you looking for?'. she, thinking he was the gardener, said to him, " sir, if you have carried Jesus away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away'.Then Jesus called her by name saying, "Mary". Then only she recognized the risen Christ.Jesus appeared to her while she was in pain and lonely, while she was grieving and was struggling to cope with loss.
When we grieve of losing someone in our family or in our community, we might think that we are alone. God abandoned us. But the risen Christ never leaves any of his children. He comes to us in an unexpected time to comfort us. As children of God, we will never be alone and he is always with us.
2. The another resurrection story is about the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. while they were travelling, they looked so sad and were suffering, because the Jesus in whom they put all their trust and hope was gone. But while they were travelling, Jesus himself joined them and explained everything about himself beginning from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Then they recognized him and saying to one another, "were not our hearts burning within us while he was with us, were not our faith increasing while he explained the scriptures.
when we are saddened and struggling with our faith, we will never be left unanswered, the risen Christ will join us and thus increase our faith in him. when we question our faith, when we doubt our faith, we are not going to be left alone but Christ will inspire us through his words and make us strong.
3. Last weed end, we heard the story of the apostles hiding behind locked doors. we heard about Thomas who said, "unless I put my finger into his wounds and my hand in his side, I will not believe". And The risen Christ appeared to them in an unexpected time and showed himself to them. And then he asked them to go everywhere to preach the good news.
Once we are given the faith, we are also asked to go and tell every one know that the Christ who was crucified and died on the Cross is indeed risen. Christ is now living among us. Christ will never die and we will live for ever in him.
4. And in today's gospel, risen Christ once again appears to his disciples and encouraging them to look after his people. He asks them to love his children and protect them from danger and peril.As disciples of the risen Christ, we are given the same responsibility today. yes we are asked to love and protect people especially your own family members, your friends and your children. Because of your love and compassion and because of your kindness and forgiveness, they would come to know the risen Christ. yes, the risen Christ will indeed raise us all to himself. Amen.

WHERE DID ST. THOMAS GO?

WHERE DID THOMAS GO?

When every one was hiding behind the locked door for the fear of authority, where did St. Thomas go? When the disciples rejoiced seeing upon the risen Lord, where did St. Thomas go?

1. Where did Thomas go while all the other disciples were hiding behind the closed door?
I think Thomas might have gone to be alone and pray.Thomas believed that his call from Jesus was special and unique. He met many rabbis in those days but no one taught the people with authority and power. When Jesus went to His own home town of Nazareth and opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, He then with authority read, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me and he sent me to preach the good news to all and liberation to the poor'. And Jesus before choosing his apostles, went to a deserted place for forty days and forty nights and was with His father, then he received baptism from John the baptist. On the day of baptism, the heavens opened and there came a voice saying this is my beloved son and with whom I am well pleased. After that Jesus began to choose his apostles and when he called them, they left everything behind and followed him immediately. And St. Thomas knew that Jesus was indeed the Messiah sent by God. St. Thomas joined other apostles and confessed saying, "Jesus, to whom shall we go. you have the words of eternal life and you are the only son of God".

2. Where did St. Thomas go while all the other disciples were at home for the fear of the authority?
I think he might have gone to visit the people whom Jesus healed. While he was with Jesus for three years, he witnessed Jesus healing the sick, giving sight to the blind. Jesus was different from other rabbis. While the pharisees, the scribes and the teachers of the synagogue were teaching the punishment and fear of God to people, on the contrary, Jesus was teaching about love, kindness and compassion of God and when people came to him for healing, he did not say that their sickness and disabilities were punishment from God and instead, he touched and healed them saying, "your faith has healed you. God in peace". When pharisees criticized and questioned about his preaching and healing on sabbath, Jesus said, Sabbath is for people, and thus he reshaped the religious understanding of the people. And I think when St. Thomas once again visited the people who were healed by the loving kindness of Jesus our Lord, his faith increased and he was sure that as the Jesus promised, he would rise again.

3. And why did St. Thomas believe when the other disciples said, "we have seen the Lord and he is indeed risen?"
I think St. Thomas wanted to test the others and said, 'unless I put my finger in his wounds and my hand in his side, I will not believe' and then When the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples again, there came the ultimate expression of faith from St. Thomas. Yes, St. Thomas looked at Jesus and said, "My Lord and My God". He confessed that Jesus is not only the Lord but He is God himself. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He was, he is and he will be. And Everything moves and has life through Him, with Him and in Him.

Today we are called to confess our faith saying, "My Lord and My God". If we profess our faith in Christ, then we are asked to go everywhere to preach the good news to all. And we are asked to tell the people that Christ is indeed risen and those who believe in Him will never die but have life-everlasting. Amen.