A Jesuit Adventure

  My dear brothers and sisters on this 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, in the first reading we come across the prophet Jeremiah who expresses his anguish as he is caught in between God who has insisted that he preach the difficult word of warning to the people and the people who refuse to believe him. The Hebrew word ‘pathah’- פָתָה which Jeremiah uses generally gets translated as enticed, but can also be translated as deceived or even seduced.   Jeremiah complains to God that he did not choose to be a prophet but he was in a way compelled by God. Jeremiah seems to be saying that he had understood his relationship to Yahweh to be something like a marriage bond but now he feels that he has been deceived and cheated by Yahweh. In a way, Jeremiah is justified in complaining as he was imprisoned and tortured by the priest Pashhur who was the chief officer in the temple for preaching God’s word. As a faithful messenger of the Lord, certainly, this was not easy to reconcile with an...

  My dear brothers and sisters today we celebrate the 21st Sunday in Ordinary time, Year A. The first reading is an extract from Chapter 22 of Isaiah which speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem which takes place during the Babylonian exile.  When Jerusalem was facing attack, they prepared the city for battle and siege, strengthening the wall of the city and making sure there was adequate water for a siege. However, all their care in defending the city would not matter because God had removed the protection of Judah. They focused their energies on their building projects instead of turning their hearts toward Yahweh. It is in this context that we have the 1st reading which speaks of Shebna who was one of King Hezekiah’s chief assistants. He was a steward and also a scribe, both being positions of honour and responsibility. Though King Hezekiah is widely regarded as a good king, the next in line i.e. Shebna and the population in general did not share the godly principles...

  My dear brothers and sisters this Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time we celebrate Justice Sunday in India. In the first reading, we come across the prophet Isaiah emphasizing the requirements for justice and righteousness even though the period of exile for the Israelites was about to come to an end. While Israel was always tempted to define its service to Yahweh by the performance of cultic duties like ritual sacrifice, Sabbath observance, etc. the prophets kept reminding them that justice is a basic duty of the faith community. The fundamental requirements of Yahweh remain unchanged. Israel needs to practice justice and righteousness so that it will be ready to receive salvation when it comes. The reading promises happiness to the person who maintains justice and does what is right. And this promise is not limited to only the Israelites but also to Gentiles. Yahweh’s kingdom is open to the whole world. The faithfulness of the Gentiles demonstrates their desire to be included amo...

  My dear brothers and sisters today we celebrate the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the first reading taken from the first book of the Kings we have the famous narrative of Elijah meeting God at the Mount of Horeb. A bible passage is understood fully only when we consider the context, and therefore, along with what happens on the mountain, we also need to see what made Elijah go to the mountain in the first place. During the time of the prophet Elijah, King Ahab ruled over Israel. He had married Jezebel who was a foreigner and also began worshipping Baal, the god of the foreigners. Elijah then spoke to King Ahab the words of Yahweh and he tells him to assemble the whole of Israel along with the 450 prophets of Baal who were loyal to Queen Jezebel at Mount Carmel. Goes without saying, Elijah’s prayers are answered by Yahweh and he triumphs over all the prophets of Baal who are then put to death. Certainly, a time for celebration for Elijah!! However, things change when Qu...

  In the year 2002, the Rosary which is one of the most important forms of prayer for Catholics underwent a change – or shall we say an update. Pope John Paul II instituted the Luminous Mysteries. Highlighting the Christocentric nature of the Rosary, the Pope considered it appropriate that there be “a meditation on certain particularly significant moments in Jesus’ public ministry. And one of these important moments is the Transfiguration of the Lord- the feast that we celebrate this Sunday. To grasp the significance of the Transfiguration we need to pay close attention to the first reading. The selection of the reading from Daniel reflects the interpretation that identifies Jesus as the “one like a human being” or the Son of Man. The significance of this title lies in the history of the people of Israel. After Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Judah in 587 BC, Judah no longer had its own earthly king. They were ruled instead by the Babylonian Empire who oppressed the population....

  Imagine you are going through a jungle and you chance upon a magic lamp. You rub the lamp and lo and behold there is a genie standing before you and he says, “You have one wish.. ask whatever you want!”  What would you ask for?   In today’s first reading taken from the first book of Kings we witness the coming of age of the young King Solomon. Having just taken over the reigns of the kingdom Solomon like any other ruler begins to take measures to protect his kingdom. He marries the daughter of Pharaoh despite a law forbidding such marriages (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). Royal alliances were a way of consolidating power and ensuring peace. The enemy Pharaoh would surely not attack the kingdom where his daughter is queen! However, Yahweh expects Solomon to trust Him rather than royal alliances. It is Yahweh, not Pharaoh, who has the power to guarantee the future of Solomon’s kingdom. And it is in this context that Solomon, the son of King David is faced with an important choice....

  “He’s come a long way”, haven’t you heard this idiom often being used by teachers when their students come back to meet them many years after they pass out from school? There is a sense of pride for the teachers to see their students grown and matured into good and successful adults from the timid and even naughty children that they used to be all those years ago. The readings today in a way point out to us that good things take time. On this 16th Sunday in ordinary time, the first reading is taken from the Wisdom of Solomon. Now this book was written sometime between 50 –30 BCE in Greek in Alexandria which was the then capital city of Egypt. The Jews at that time were treated as outcastes in the sophisticated Alexandrian society. The author of the Wisdom of Solomon wanted to reclaim Judaism from wavering and the book is therefore addressed to the Jews to tell them of their rich heritage and to encourage them to take pride in their traditional faith. The reading shows us a mercif...