MASTER, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?

Once a grandfather suffered a deep betrayal and was in turmoil. His grandson who noticed that asked, “Grandpa, what is wrong?”

The grandpa said to him, “there are two wolves fighting inside me. One is called anger and the other is called forgiveness. The grandson thought for a while and asked, “while one will win grandpa?”The grandfather looked at him for a while and said, “the one which I feed”.

In today’s gospel, the Pharisees and Scribes who were afraid to become selfless and generous, who were afraid to help the poor and the needy like Our Lord Jesus Christ, said to Him, “who will follow your teachings. They are very hard and challenging and thus they went away from Him”.They misinterpreted the bible and God’s way by feeding the wrong wolf.When Jesus broke their approaching by His miracles and teachings, they left Him. But Jesus never stopped loving them.

Once after ten years of being a disciple, a man became a teacher and then one day, he went to visit his master who taught him the power of prayer and the teachings of Christ our Lord.The master was so happy to welcome him and then he asked him, “son, when you came in…did you leave your shoes by the door?”

The man said, “yes…master. I did”“did you leave them on the right side or on left side?”He did not know the answer. He then realized that he had not yet attained full awareness and then he became his disciple for ten more years.

In today’s gospel, Jesus looked at His disciples and said, “Do you also wish to leave?”Simon Peter said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”Even our life time is not enough to learn the love and kindness of Jesus. His every word has power and healing.

What are those eternal words? Jesus himself is the living words and anyone listens to him, will have life everlasting.By eating his body and drinking his blood, we too become his words of eternal source for those who are away from God and are struggling to experience his love and kindness, so let us be his witnesses of everlasting love, Amen.

About a Boy-17th sunday-B

About a boy-17^th Sunday-B

Today I am going to talk about a boy who had five loaves and two fish. I am going to talk about the boy who became an instrument of Jesus’ miracle. Yes, an ordinary and every day boy became a huge inspiration for many. once a sunday school teacher was talking about last judgment and then she said to the children, "when Jesus comes, he will separate the sheep from the goats. He will send the sheep to heaven and do you know what he will do with the goats?" no one answered and then finally little Joseph raised his hand and said, " he will make goat cheese from them".

One day God looked at Abraham and said, “prove your fidelity to me. Take the boy Isaac and sacrifice him on the mountain” and Abraham obeyed what God commanded and on the way to the mountain the boy Isaac was keep on asking his dad, “dad, where is the sacrificial lamb… dad, where is the sacrificial lamb” Abraham said, ‘Son, God will provide” and at the end when Abraham said, “son, you are the sacrificial lamb… Isaac became a miracle boy. Then God blessed both Abraham and Isaac abundantly. The innocent boy Isaac became an instrument of God.

Once a Sunday school teacher asked the children why they should be quiet in Church and little Joseph raised his hand and said, “because people are sleeping” then when will they get up? children seem to know everythig and little Josehp answered her saying, during the consacration time when they ring the bell".

At the age of twelve, the boy Jesus found himself at the Jerusalem temple, He was surrounded by scholars, Pharisees and scribes. He inspired many by his wisdom and knowledge. God does great things with what we consider small and unimportant.Once little Joseph looked at his grandmother and said, "Grandma..do you know how you and god are alike?" how? little Joseph said, " you both are old". Grandma began to laugh. Little Joseph asked her why. She said, 'look at your Grandpa and he is older than God".

In today’s gospel, Jesus took compassion for the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd and asked his disciples to feed them. And one of the disciples, Andrew said to Jesus, “ there is a boy here who has five loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?

And Jesus multiplied the bread and fish and fed more than five thousand people.Big or small, rich or poor every one is important in the sight of God and that is why He chose ordinary people to be his disciples and that is why he chose you and me to be his children. Little drops of water can make a mighty ocean.Jesus may and can use us, as we give up or lose faith thinking that we are nobody and we have nothing to offer for the well-being of others, and does miracles and wonders in and through us. Like the boy who had five loaves and two fish, when we become instruments of God; like the boy who participated in the miracle of multiplication, when we actively participate in our daily life; we will come to know that the boy is none other than you and me. Amen.

Holy Trinity

HOLY TRINITY

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity. We celebrate the triune god. The Father is God. The Son is God. And the Holy Spirit is God. But they are not three gods but only one God.

Many religions talk about Trinitarian gods in their faith. For example, Hinduism. They have a creator god, a protector god and a destroyer god. They believe in three different gods but we- Christians believe in One God. The father god is the creator and the son God is the redeemer and the third person, the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier.

Once a group of people came to St. Patrick and asked him to explain the Holy Trinity. And St. Patrick who picked a three-leaved shamrock and showed to them and said, God is one but three different persons like the three-leaved shamrockIn today’s gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to go out everywhere and baptize them all in the name of Trinity. And Jesus says in the gospels that God sent him. And he often refers God as His father who is equal in power.

Jesus says that the father sent him and he will send the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him.We all know the famous story of St. Augustine who was so confused about the mystery of the Holy Trinity and one day while he was walking along the seashore saw a small boy using a sea shell to take the sea water to pour on the shore. St. Augustine was asking him what he was doing and the boy said, “I am going to take all water from the sea and pour it on the shore with this sea shell”. St. Augustine laughed at him and said, “it is impossible”. then the boy said, ‘if you think you can understand the secret of Holy trinity with your tiny mind then it is also possible and then he disappeared.

let us adore our truine god, amen

Jesus sends his disciples two by two

Jesus sent his disciples two by two to preach the good news

Jesus, after giving authority and power to his disciples, sends them out two by two to preach the good news. And the disciples went everywhere doing what the Lord commanded them to do.Once a man came to a spiritual master and said, “master, I want to become your disciple and learn everything by spending ten hours a day and how long will it take to become like you?”The master said, “it will take about ten years”The man said, “what if I spend twenty hours a day?”Then the master said, “it will take twenty years”Only by spending time , we learn about God and his love and kindness. The disciples spent time with Jesus and witnessed his miracles and wonders. And then once they were ready, Christ sent them out.

He sent them out two by two. The gospels talk about the resurrection stories and one of them is about the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. On the way to Emmaus, the two looked sad and down and then Jesus joined them and explained everything about his suffering, death and resurrection and then their eyes were opened and their hearts were burning within them. They had an ultra spiritual experience. Jesus says when two or more gather in his name, there he will be with them. As the disciples went two by two, Jesus joined them in their mission giving them courage and strength.As followers of Christ, we are called to pray together not only in the Church but also at home.Once after his sister’s baptism, the brother began to cry and his parents asked him, “why do you cry. Your sister was baptized and is fine”. He said, “did you notice that the priest was saying that children should be raised in Christian homes but I like to live with you guys”.Christian home is one where people pray together and experience the love of God by giving and forgiving one another.And Jesus also asked his disciples not to take anything except some necessary things for their journey. Yes, they took with them love, faith and hope. They were not afraid of journeying because Jesus was accompanying them.One a man asked a spiritual master, “master, why do you leave the house wide opened, every time you leave the house?”The master said, “there is nothing to be afraid of because I am the only precious thing or person in the house”Jesus by giving his blessing made his disciples precious and important.

And we are always precious to him. When we specially follow the lord and preach the good news to all, we are not alone the Lord who was, who is and who will be is always with us. Amen.

First Advent

KEEP AWAKE

Today we celebrate a new liturgical season called Advent. Advent means coming or arrival. During this season we wait for the coming of the Lord. Yes, the Lord is coming and let us keep awake. Once a man was sleeping and he had a terrible…terrible dream. A lion was chasing him and while he was running, there came a tiger, running towards him and he was surrounded by so many ferocious animals and what should he do to escape from those ferocious animals? All he has to do is just awake up.

Today’s gospel invites us to keep awake because the Lord is coming. The Lord is not away to come back but the day will come, everybody can see Him with his or her naked eye. Faithful or unfaithful; good or bad and everyone will see Him as He is.

And so many people today struggle to recognize the presence of god in their midst. And so many people today struggle to keep awake themselves for the coming of the Lord. Once a man went to a barber shop and while the barber was cutting his hair and was trimming his beard, began to talk to him many things and at one point, there came a talk about God, the man said, “I don’t believe that God exists”. The man asked why. Because there are so many people today suffering from disease. And people are unhappy. If god exists there will be no suffering or pain in the world. The man did not want to argue with the barber because he had a big razor and a knife. When the man came out of the barber shop saw a man with dirty close with untrimmed beard and long uncut hair. Then he went back to the barber shop and said to the barber, “I don’t think barbers exist” the barber said, “I just now worked on you and how can you say barbers do not exist” look at outside, there is a man with untrimmed beard and uncut hair and the barber said, because he is not coming to the barber. The man looked at him and said, “exactly… god exists and people do not go to him when people go to God, there will be no sickness or pain or struggle in the world. When we recognize the presence of the Lord, then there will be no unhappiness and all we have to do is keep awake.

Once there was a famous prince who never went out of his palace. He was well protected in his palace but he always wanted to know what was outside of his palace and one night without the king’s knowledge, he escaped the palace and went into the city. He first met with an old man, he was surprised to see an old man and asked people why he was looking like that and people said, “we are all going to be old one day. It is a natural process of life” and then he met with a sick person and he was told people would get sick and it was part of life. Then the prince saw four people carrying a dead person and he asked what was going on, people said that every one has to die one day and this was not our permanent home. And then he saw a spiritual guru meditating under a tree. He asked people what he was doing and they said, “he was a spiritual man who helped people to find god” and then the prince left his kingship permanently and became a monk doing good for people and helping people to be awake. And his followers called him, “Buddha” means one who was awakened or illuminated.

Keep awake means loving god and listening to his words. Keep awake means helping others. And once a man went to a rabbi and said, “Rabbi, I want to be happy but all I do is fighting with my wife. What should I do? The rabbi said, “go home and for a month listen to everything she says” and after a month he came back and said, “I listen to everything she says” The rabbi looked at him and said, “now go home and listen to everything that she is not saying”.

Let us keep awake and prepare ourselves to welcome the lord into our homes, our work places and our lives and thus let us celebrate a meaningful and family Christmas this year also. Amen.

Thirty-three sunday in year A

Story of our talents

In today’s gospel, Jesus invites us to thank god for the gifts and talents that we received from him and multiply them for the glory of God through Christ our Lord.

Once a protestant minister, an Anglican pastor and a catholic priest met each other and they were talking about bats problem in their churches. The protestant minister said, “I think I have only one talent because I have bats problem in my church and I tried my best to chase them away but I could not do anything”. Then the Anglican pastor said, “I think I have only two talents because I have bats problem in my church too and I take them out of city and throw them but they keep coming and I do not know what to do” then they looked at the catholic priest and said, “we know you have bats problem in your church too” then the catholic priest said, “because of my five talents, I chased all the bats away from my church and I do not have any problem at all and they asked, “what did you do and how did you do it?” he looked at them and said, “I baptized all and they never came back”.

Today let us look at the talents that we have and develop them for the glory of god. No body can say that he does not have any talents or gifts. We are all special and unique in the sight of God and we are called in a special way to live our life praising and thanking God for our very human life.
When God called Moses to save the chosen people, he looked at god and said, “god I am a sinner and I do not know how to talk or lead people”. God smiled at him and said, “you are not going to do anything but through you, I am going to act and just be my instrument”. we sometimes may feel small and meaningless and at the same time, God who created the world out of nothing will and can make us strong and meaningful. All we have to do is just know the love and kindness of God our father through our every day life.

And knowing our human nature itself is a gift and talent. When we love and forgive others from our heart, then we may say that we begin to know the gift of God in our lives; and when we accept others with their conditions, then we may say that we begin to know the god-given talents in us.

Once a rabbi was walking along a lakeshore and saw a small insect struggling to get out of the water, so he took the insect out of the water and put it on the shore but the insect bit him and again jumped in the water and it began to struggle to get out of the water, and the rabbi again did the same. It went on and on, then a man came to the rabbi and said, “why do you want to help the insect that keeps on biting you”, then the Rabbi looked at him and said, “the nature of the insect is biting but the nature of human is helping”. when we help others in their need, then we may hear from the Lord saying, “well done good and trustworthy slave and you have been trustworthy in few things and I will put you in charge of many things”.

We are today asked to develop our talents and gifts because the Lord is coming. Yes, he may come at an unexpected time. He may come like a thief. About three years ago, when I was in a country parish, one day the house was broken into, and then on, I was kind of afraid to be alone in the rectory and one day, I called one of my friends and said about my problem and he said, “as long as you do not smile, no body can find you”
But let us keep on smiling, the Lord is coming, yes; he is coming to bless us with everlasting life. Amen.

30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME-A

The golden commandments

In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us the golden commandments saying , ‘love god with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbour as yourself’.
What about the ten commandments? If we keep these two commandments, then it is easier to keep all other commandments.

Once a mother’s three sons decided to something big for their mother and let her know that they love her so much. So the first son bought a beautiful house and the second son bought a big expensive car and a third son presented her with a parrot that could recite the whole bible.
Some days later, they all got a letter from their mom. For the first son, she said, “son , thank you for your love and since I am living alone, I can’t live in the big house . Please keep the house”. And for the second son, she said, “Son, I am getting old and I am not driving anymore and you may keep the expensive car“. Then she wrote the third son who gave her a parrot that can recite the whole bible, “son, thank you for your love and I love your present and you are the only son who know what the mother wants and by the way… the bird was delicious”.

Why should we love God? Because we belong to Him and He is our Father. We may go away from him like the prodigal son but when we come back, he is not going to say “no” to us but instead he will shower us with love and kindness. That is our God.

The Muslims pray to God five times a day and the Hindus p ray to God three times a day and Buddhists pray to God morning and evening and what about we who follow Jesus, we should make our whole life a prayer, and come to know that we belong to Him.

Once a mother said to her son who did not want to go to church. “son, I have three reasons to ask you to go to church. The first one is that all our ancestors practiced their faith and went to church so you should go to church and the second reason is your dad and I go to church, your siblings are going to church and you should too. The son who was annoyed at that asked what was the third reason, the mother looked at him and said, “you should go to church because you are the pastor of the church”

Dear friends, every time we come to church, we get closer to god and begin to know the love and kindness of god and we will become the god we believe, yes, we will love him totally.
Jesus asks us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Once Genie appeared to a man and said, “ask me anything you want and I will give you but with one condition, your neighbour will get twice as much, yes it will be doubled and what you want?” the man thought for a second and said, “Just beat me to half dead”.

It is very hard to love others. Once a man said, “I love humanity but hate individuals”. But Christianity is about prodigal sons and good Samaritans. We are social beings and we are called to realize Jesus’ love and forgiveness through others. Only by loving others, we can complete our Christian call.

Once a rabbi visited a Catholic monastery and while he was staying there, the head monk said to him, “ every body keeps leaving the monastery and people who used to come here for Mass are not coming anymore and we do not know what to do. We have only five monks are left here”. The rabbi listened to him and before he was leaving, he called the five monks together and said, “ by the way, I had a vision yesterday and there is a Messiah living among you and one of you is that Messiah”. when they heard that one of them was the Messiah, their approach towards each other changed. they began to respect others thinking he would be the Messiah and as well they treated themselves well thinking they would be the Messiah and thus things changed so fast. Many men joined the monastery wanting to become monks and people who stopped coming to the monastery began to come there. Yes, where there is love, there is God.

When we begin to respect and love others as though they were the Messiah, then the world will become a beautiful place to live. Let us keep the golden commandments of Christ by loving God and neighbour. Amen.