Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

 Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) [Lk 5:1-11]

06.02.2022

The Call and Mission of the First Disciples of Christ

Readings: (1) Is 6:1-8 (2) 1 Cor 15:1-11

1.  Theme in brief

God’s call and our unworthiness

2.  Focus Statement

When things go against our calculations, Jesus invites us to obedience of faith in the power of his Word and entrusts us the mission of bringing people into the ‘net’ of God’s loving rule (Kingdom) in spite of our unworthiness.

3.  Explanation of the text

In Luke’s gospel we observe Jesus beginning his public ministry, not with the call of the disciples, but with the announcement of his manifesto at the synagogue of Nazareth (4:18-19). Immediately after that, he began his teaching, preaching and healing ministry. This ministry resulted in crowds of people "pressing in on him to hear the word of God,” as Luke writes in the given text (5:1). For the first time Luke calls Jesus’ message “the word of God” and shows its power experienced by those who receive it in faith (also cf. Lk 8:21).

Luke places the call of his first disciples in the context of miraculous catch of fish in the lake of Gennesaret (5:1). Jesus must have purposely visited the shore of that lake to draw the fishermen there into another ‘net’.  We can comfortably guess that it was not the first meeting of Simon and his companions with Jesus. They had already witnessed his miracle of healing Simon’s mother-in-law from a fever (cf. Lk 4:38-39). But the final decision to follow him for a life-long commitment must have taken a longer time. Today’s encounter with him must have been a ‘game-changer’ for them – a turning point leading to a life-changing decision after witnessing his power in the miraculous catch of fish.

According to the text, while standing beside the lake, Jesus saw fishermen washing their nets after the catch. At that time he got into Simon’s boat and began to preach, using it as a sort of makeshift ’pulpit’ (5:2-3). When he had finished his preaching, he commanded Simon to cast his net into the deep water for a catch (5:4). Simon had all the reasons to object. Their whole night’s labour to catch fish had ended in utter failure (5:5). Hence, he thought it was futile and a waste of time to try again. After all, he was an expert fisherman and Jesus was only a carpenter by trade. He might have thought: What do carpenters know about fishing? Secondly, it was a well-known fact that in that particular lake fish was caught at night in the shallow water, not during the day in the deep water. Thirdly, he and his companions must have been terribly tired after the toil of whole night and were already washing their nets to dry them up and go home (5:2). Logically speaking, it was useless to try because another failure was certain. Yet he obeyed the instruction of a carpenter, not because of any logic or reason but purely because of his faith or trust in the word of Jesus. If anybody else would have commanded, he would not have obeyed (5:5). It was this obedience that resulted in such a miraculous catch of fish. When he witnessed this net-breaking and boat-sinking miracle, as Luke puts it,  (5:6-7) his eyes of faith were opened and made him fall down at Jesus’ knees and address him as “the Lord” for the first time (5:8).

As a seasoned fisherman, until now, Simon had trusted and relied on his abilities and talents. When he came face to face with the divinity of Christ, he realized his own sinfulness, nothingness or insignificance. His natural reaction was one of unworthiness – a common feature in biblical ‘call-narratives’ when they were confronted with the divine majesty. Until now his name was Simon and Jesus was only a “Master” (5:5) for him.  Now he became “Peter” (i.e. rock) and saw Jesus as “the Lord”, and himself as a sinful man standing before a holy man (5:8). Instead of departing from sinners as Peter wished (5:8), Jesus included sinners also like him to be partners in his mission. He told him not to be afraid of his sinfulness or inadequacy and entrusted him with a mission: to “catch people” into the ‘net’ of God’s Kingdom (5:10).

This is what Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel: “The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind” (Mt 13:47). Therefore, their mission was to be “fishers of people.“ Peter and his companions were now given the task of gathering not fish but people into God’s ‘net’ – a net that gathers sinners into a community or society of love called the Kingdom of God. Since their task was changed from catching fish in their nets to catching people in a new ‘net,’ they had to renounce their material nets and occupation in order to free themselves for this mission. So they left everything – work, family and their whole past life as fishermen and followed Jesus in his footsteps (5:11). This implies that Christian discipleship involves a willingness to sacrifice everything or to be detached from all other ties in order to be personally attached to the Lord. Finally,

 Jesus himself became the fisherman who succeeded in bringing his first catch (Simon Peter and his companions) into his ‘net.’s

4.  Application to life

Today’s gospel leads us to reflect on the five aspects of our baptismal call and mission:

1) Disappointments and frustrations in our mission: Many of us find situations in life that are parallel to those of the first disciples of Jesus found in today’s gospel text, when we do not get the desired result of our earnest efforts and endeavours.  We are toiling all night and are trying so hard to achieve good results by our hard work, but are catching nothing. We try so hard to come out of an addiction, resentment, unforgiving attitude, negative mind-set, bad habits or habitual sins but do not succeed. We have tried so many times to bring changes in our family relationships, in our children, in our communities, and solve our problems but without any visible result. We pray to God to change our situation of illness, calamities and suffering, but when it does not happen we give up trying and praying due to frustration. It is during these moments of painful and humiliating failures, Jesus asks us to take the risk of faith by trusting in the power of his word, just as he asked Simon Peter. One of the characteristics of a disciple is obedience to Jesus’ word. Just as Simon Peter moved from trust in his own capabilities and strength to trust in the Lord’s word, we too are called to do the same in our ministry even when initially our efforts seem to be a waste of time or foolish. When things go against our calculations, Jesus invites us to obedience of faith and trust in the power of his word.

Like Simon Peter we have to overcome two obstacles to obedient faith: (1) Self-trust and (2) rationalism. Today, this miracle has to take place in our hearts and in our decisions as we take risks to leave the security of our selfish lives and venture into the service of the needy. The question is whether we are willing to sacrifice our comforts and take risks; and whether we trust in the power of God’s word even when there is no immediate success of our efforts and nothing seems to change. Secondly, Simon’s obedience was based not on reason but purely on faith. Though as a seasoned fisherman Peter knew night time was the most favourable time for fishing, he was willing to cast his net at daytime against all reasoning because of his trust. As disciples of Christ, we are invited to try again and again when we face failures, because what seems to be impossible to achieve as per human calculations becomes possible by trusting in God’s word.

Today’s gospel tells us that in spite of failures we should never stop trying and never give up. When we are tempted to give up prayer or to fall back into the same old habits again and again we should listen to Jesus’ word: I say to you, now once again cast your net. Success in the midst of a long night’s failures comes only when we rely on Jesus’ power and obey his command. Those who feel self-sufficient are bound to fail. Though Peter was tired after the whole night’s hard work and getting ready to return home, if Jesus asked to try again he was prepared to do so. There is a tendency in many of us to give up any new initiative too soon if there are no immediate results. Today Jesus calls us to a higher level of commitment, perseverance and endurance in our initiatives and new ventures as well as in our efforts to bring about personal or social transformation.

2) Invitation to go deeper:  Our mission is to leave the safety of the shore and take the risk of putting out our nets into the deep water. The deep water may symbolize: (1) the abyss from which people must be saved; and (2) the risks involved in doing so. Often our commitments are superficial. We do not want to take risks and leave the security of the shore. It is easy to fish in shallow water close to the shore because there is hardly any danger there – neither of facing strong currents nor of getting drowned. The Lord invites us to go deeper into human relationships, service of the downtrodden, care of the sick and the suffering, reconciliation with someone we refuse to speak for years, etc., by trusting in his word. He sends us to draw people out of the abyss of sin, evil, ignorance, sickness and bondage and gather them into a community of love, fellowship, peace and harmony. He also asks us to venture into those areas of our mission where we meet opposition and criticism for uplifting and educating the poor and the downtrodden. Even in those situations where we meet failure, rejection and lack of response, he asks us to try again and go a little deeper.

3) Our vocation to be fishers of people: Today Jesus once again calls and sends us with the ‘net’ of God’s Kingdom. We need to respond to his call as his first disciples did and commit ourselves to the task of becoming “fishers of people” – the task of saving them from sin and evil. Through our ‘fishing’ activity (that is, our mission work), he wants to gather all the scattered children of God; unite people so deeply divided on account of sin into a community of love; invite people to be free from all sorts of bondages so that they might be saved; to care for people; and to bring them closer to God. This is what is meant by becoming “fishers of people.” Today the Lord continues to call us to do mission work not in a distant land or country, but in a far smaller way in our own situation – baby-sitting for a busy mother, arranging a meeting place, joining the choir party, visiting a sick person, sharing one’s personal thing with the needy, calling someone who we know is lonely, doing something kind and helpful for someone with whom we don’t get along or who has wronged us, offering our help in the kitchen or garden, visiting the local prison with some gifts for the prisoners, etc. Those who are not called for a full-time mission work like priests and Religious can do it with so many deeds of mercy.

4) A sense of unworthiness to do our mission: Peter begged Jesus to depart from him when he realized his own unworthiness to receive such abundance of blessings (symbolized by a huge haul of fish) because of his sinfulness. Those of us who think we are not worthy to do God’s work because of personal weaknesses, guilt feelings or bad record of the past should know that he chooses even weak and unfit persons to be his instruments of justice, mercy, love and peace. His purpose for us is not dependent on our worthiness. It is said: “God does not call the qualified but he qualifies those whom he calls.” As he told Peter, he tells us again and again not to be afraid. What could have been the fear of his first disciples? The fear of (1) leaving their boats and jobs because they had responsibilities towards their families; (2) starting an entirely new career; (3) venturing into an unknown future; (4) their own inadequacy and unworthiness because of their sinfulness. Jesus must have told them: Don’t you know that I came to call not the righteous but sinners like you (Lk 5:32)? Like the first disciples, in spite of our unworthiness, Jesus continues to commission us, and expects an immediate response. Instead of falling on our knees as Peter did at the tremendous mystery of God’s presence in humility and wonder, we prefer to worship at the altar of business and work, science and industry, machines and technology, power and success, name and fame. When these things become our gods we will be left with no anchor to hold on when all our dreams are shattered!

5) Sacrifice and renunciation as requirements to fulfill our mission: In order to fulfil this mission or to be faithful to it we are called to leave the very things in which we put our full trust, our safety and security. The story of today’s gospel begins with the crowd pressing in on Jesus to listen to his word, but the would-be disciples keeping themselves busy in their daily occupation like catching fish and doing business. But it ends with a reversal of roles: these busy men leaving everything to follow Jesus. What about us? Can we try for a game-changer that leads to a turning-point in our life?

5.  Response to God's Word

During our moments of painful and humiliating failures, do we take the risk of faith by trusting in the power of his word? Do self-trust and rationalism become obstacles for our obedient faith? Do we give up our efforts for personal and social transformation when we do not get immediate result? Do we trust in the power of God’s word even when nothing seems to change? Are our commitments superficial or deep? How can we respond to Christ’s call to become fishers of people in our situation, especially through works of mercy? Are we willing to sacrifice a little bit of our comforts, safety and security to fulfil Christ’s mission?

6.  A prayer

Thank you, Lord, for calling me to participate in your mission of gathering people into a community of love and fellowship in spite of my unworthiness. Here am I, Lord. Make me a worthy instrument of your mercy. Increase my trust in the power of your holy word so that I may hold on to you firmly when everything else fails. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

 Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) [Lk 4:21-30]

30.01.2022

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

Readings: (1) Jer 1:4-5.17-19 (2) 1 Cor 12:31-13:13

1.  Theme in brief

Rejection of a prophet

2.  Focus Statement

Just as the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus in his own native place, we too quite often reject him by throwing his values out of our minds and designs; or when we exercise our baptismal call to be prophets like Jesus, our own people may reject us as they did to him.

3.  Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel text tells us about the twofold reaction to the mission-statement of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth (which we heard on last Sunday): one of admiration and another of wonder, sarcasm, rejection, hostility and even of an attempt on his life. In the beginning, those who heard his inaugural address in the synagogue of his hometown, “spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came out of his mouth” (4:22). But very soon they would be filled with rage against him and make an attempt to kill him by pushing him down the cliff of the hill (4:28-29), because he told them a truth they did not want to hear. 

The text begins with the concluding part of Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth with the words: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). In Luke’s Gospel the word “today” does not refer to a point in history but to the time of “fulfilment” of God’s promise. All the promises made by God from the time of Abraham including all the prophetic expectations reach their fulfillment in Jesus. With him, a new era of universal salvation had begun. After a brief positive admiration for him, the text mentions about the negative reaction of his own people towards him as they begin to judge him from his human origins. They wondered how such “gracious words” or words of salvation could come from the mouth of “Joseph’s son” (4:22). They might have thought, “Who does he think he is? He thinks too high of himself. After all, he is a carpenter’s son.” His own people doubted about his divine origin and refused to accept him as the fulfillment of God’s promises. They wondered whether anything great or worthy could come from the son of a carpenter. They were challenging him to match his gracious words with works of wonder for his or their own benefits. 

Jesus was aware of what was going on in the minds of many of his hearers. He imagined their objections and tackled them with two proverbs. The first one was: “Doctor, cure yourself” (4:23). In this, he alluded to the challenge thrown at him by his townspeople to better his or his own people’s condition first; then help other people. They might have thought, after all, “Charity begins at home.” They were challenging him to prove his divine powers by doing mighty works in his own hometown as he did other places; for instance in Capernaum (4:23). The second proverb was: “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (4:24). This was meant to explain why as a doctor, he could not cure himself and work miracles in his own place because his own people would not accept one of their own men doing the role of a prophet. Since his own people (who were the chosen ones) were rejecting him, his mission would go to the gentiles.

Jesus emphasized that God’s mercy was universal, and was equally available to Jews and non-Jews, to men and women. He illustrated this truth by referring to a miracle performed by Prophet Elijah for a gentile woman (a non-Israelite and a widow, 1 Kings 17:8-16), and another one performed by Prophet Elisha to a gentile leprosy patient from Syria named Namaan (2 Kings 5:8-14). Thus, Jesus compared himself to two prophets of Israel who ministered to non-Israelites because the chosen people were not open to their service. The people of Nazareth did not want to listen to this truth because they thought only they had the monopoly of salvation. Since it was too hard to accept his message they thought the best option for them was to get rid of the messenger. Though they attempted to kill him by hurling him down the cliff, they did not succeed, since he passed through the crowd without their notice (4:29-30). His ultimate rejection would take place not so soon, but on the cross, after which he would emerge victorious at the resurrection.

4.  Application to life

By our baptism, we too we are called and sent by God on a prophetic mission just as Jesus himself was. As prophets, we are called to stand up or speak for God and uphold his values even if people refuse to listen. Prophets in the OT were spokespersons of God who spoke on his behalf. Broadly speaking, they had two contrasting roles: (1) announcing God’s word, interpreting his will, predicting the future in terms of the present situation and instilling hope and consolation in people; and (2) denouncing or warning people of personal and social evil, social injustice and ungodly ways of the world. Though OT prophets proclaimed God’s promises for the future, Jesus spoke about God’s promises for “today.” As Jesus said, TODAY we are called to fulfil his action plan (mission) announced in his synagogue sermon to proclaim the good news to the poor, the captives and the oppressed only if we are faithful to our call to be prophets today. Therefore, we need to always ask: Today what good news can I give to this sort of people?

We exercise our prophetic call and mission at the personal level when we guide, correct and admonish people; at the level of the Church when we encourage other members, instil hope in them, purify the Church and warn her erring members; at the level of society when we stand for God’s values, oppose social evil, encourage, comfort, warn and admonish its rulers and leaders. Prophets among us are: parents to their children, teachers to their students, married persons to their spouses, leaders to those who are under their care, priests and religious to God’s people, etc. God continues to call his people (us) back to his path through these prophet-like persons. They often remind us to walk on God’s ways, correct us and even warn us. We do not want to listen to them and reject them along with their message. By rejecting them we have rejected Jesus himself and his gospel-values.

Just as the OT prophets and Jesus were rejected by their own people, so also today’s prophets are rejected because their message often disturbs people. They call people to do unpopular things, make changes in their life that they do not like to make. When we carry out our prophetic mission seriously, we are bound to meet with resistance, opposition, criticism and rejection, especially by those who refuse to change their ways. If Jesus’ teaching met with contempt from his own people, why should we expect something different? In spite of these hurdles, today’s gospel-message encourages us to be faithful to our prophetic mission, and learn to live with or deal with rejection, criticism, opposition and frustration.

Luke in this passage hints at three reasons why prophets are often rejected and hardly listened to:

(1)  Over-familiarity, envy and prejudices, which block our minds from accepting the truth from ordinary people who do not have an outstanding family background or spotless personal record: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” When we do God’s work, speak for him and act on his behalf, we are often rejected by our own family members, friends and relatives, and in our own native place. Those who know us and our background too well often fail to believe, respect and accept us. When people become fixated to this over-familiarity, they refuse to accept and believe in anything good coming from the best prophets, leaders and teachers among them. Sometimes we too do the same to our own parents, teachers and spiritual leaders. The question is whether we are willing to transcend these boundaries and accept the truth from whomever it comes, especially when they work for our own good.

(2) Demands for unrealistic expectations and too high moral standards from prophets: When the messengers of God (leaders, superiors, preachers, teachers and parents) speak on behalf of God and want to correct us or warn us about the dangers of following ungodly and immoral ways, instead of accepting the truth of their message, we reject it by highlighting (sometimes even exaggerating) their personal weakness or bad record of their past. Like the people of Nazareth, we refuse to believe in their message unless we see miraculous intervention of God through their prayer or services to solve all our problems. Just as Satan did it to Jesus at the time of temptation, people of our times will not cease to challenge the prophet to jump down from the pinnacle of the temple (Lk 4:9) and prove their powers by miraculously bettering their own condition. Just as Jesus’ human origin was a great obstacle for people to accept his divine message, when we see the scandals in the Church or among her leaders, and when her mighty institutions resemble any other institutions in the world today, we wonder whether she has anything of  the divine in her. By rejecting her message we reject Jesus himself.

(3) Pride and stubbornness of heart: This could become another cause for our refusal to change our ways, or our refusal to heed to the prophet’s call to accept the truth, even though it may sometimes hurt. Heart of hearts we do not want to change, and want to maintain the status quo. We find it difficult to sacrifice those self-interests, evil practices and worldly pleasures which are condemned by prophets. If anybody among us upholds the values taught by Christ and sticks to strict moral principles, or opposes worldly standards, we try to suppress his/her voice by all kinds of means. By doing so, we push Jesus out of our mind and out of our sight, or out of our homes and profession, just like the people of Nazareth who tried to push Jesus down the cliff of a hill.

It is not uncommon to notice some good and committed leaders, preachers and social reformers becoming unacceptable to their own people and unsuccessful among them; but getting acceptance from outsiders or strangers. It is not totally unusual to find our worst critics or opponents among our own family members, relatives and neighbours. In family, workplace, office, committees, staff, neighbourhood, and even in religious congregations and among the clergy of the same diocese, over-familiarity and better performance often generates jealousies towards those who perform better, or are better committed and talented. By putting down better performers their opponents think they can continue their non-performance or wrongdoing without any prophet to challenge, admonish and correct them. Once the prophet’s voice is suppressed, or he/she is silenced, they think they will have a free hand to do what they want. It is like God, out of his boundless compassion, sending prophets to a rebellious people, and their outright rejection of them in the OT.

There is a tendency in us to give up our prophetic mission of counselling, guiding and giving fraternal correction altogether due to discouragement caused by the rejection of our message by those to whom it is addressed. Whether people listen or not, we have to proclaim God’s truth. Sometimes when we consider our own weakness or frailty, we think we are unworthy to correct others.  Some parents think: Who am I to tell children not to do a thing when I myself am doing it. Thus they fail in their God-given mission to proclaim his values to them. In that case, children get license to do the wrong things that parents do not have the guts to forbid. Should not this sort of dilemma become a strong motivating factor for parents to change themselves first and give better example for their children?

The people of Nazareth did not want to hear that God was as favourable to the gentiles as them and wanted to save them also. They thought only they had the monopoly of God’s favour and salvation. They thought, “Charity begins at home.” The people of Nazareth expected Jesus to restrict his charity to his own place or his own people. But according to Jesus, charity begins whenever and wherever we meet anybody who is in need or suffering.

5.  Response to God's Word

Do we remain faithful to our prophetic call and mission against all odds such as opposition, criticism, discouragement? Due to frustration and rejection do we give up this mission? Do we listen to prophets among us? Are there symptoms of narrow-mindedness, prejudice and jealousy in us that lead us to reject the good in our own leaders? Are we too often critical towards those who are close to us and reject the truth that comes from them? Do we realize, by doing so, we reject Jesus himself and throw him out of our minds and designs, as people of Nazareth tried to do?

6.  A prayer

Jesus, you are the most amazing Prophet for all times. Continue to guide, encourage, comfort, warn and instil hope in us. Grant that we may be faithful to our baptismal call to be prophets who announce your word of comfort and denounce evil. Give us the strength to face criticism and rejection of a prophet. Amen.

 

 

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

 Third Sunday of Year C [Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21]

23.01.2022

Jesus Proclaims His Mission at Nazareth

Readings: (1) Neh 8:2-6.8-10 (2) 1 Cor 12:12-30

1.  Theme in brief

Jesus’ mission of liberation is our mission

2.  Focus Statement

By baptism, we are anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit and sent into the world with a mission to proclaim liberation to the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed.

3.  Explanation of the text

While Jesus’ public ministry began with a miracle of changing water into wine at Cana according to John’s gospel proclaimed on last Sunday, according to today’s gospel of Luke, it began with a sermon in the synagogue of Nazareth on a Sabbath day (4:15-16). Luke placed this passage immediately after the temptations of Jesus, to tell his readers that after winning a victory over Satan, Jesus was further empowered with the Holy Spirit (4:14) to deliver his inaugural address in his own home town. By stating that Jesus began his ministry after he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and in Galilee (4:14), Luke wanted to emphasize two things: (1) that Jesus’ public ministry was Spirit-powered; and (2) he had come for a universal mission towards the gentiles and the marginalized. Galilee was a region with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles and was despised by the respectable Jews in Judea as dull and backward.

As a practising Jew, when Jesus went to worship in the synagogue on a Sabbath day, he got a chance to read the Scripture. When the scroll of prophet Isaiah was given to him, he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written concerning the mission of God’s Anointed One (that is, Messiah). He modified the text from Isaiah 61:1-2 a bit to announce his mission statement or his manifesto. He applied it to himself and made it clear who he was, what he would do, and for whom or for what purpose he had come. By doing so he implied: He was God’s anointed prophet and Messiah in a very special sense, because he was anointed at his baptism, not by oil, as the kings of Israel were, but by the Spirit of the Lord (4:18); he was sent on a mission by the Father for the purpose of bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, restoring sight to the blind, freeing the oppressed (4:18), and proclaiming the year of God’s special favour to this sort of people (4:19). In fact, he used this text to summarize his whole ministry of preaching, teaching and healing that ultimately led to his passion and crucifixion by declaring: “Today the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21). Strikingly, he omitted the words proclaiming "the day of vengeance of our God," (mentioned in Isaiah 61:2), because he had come to proclaim not judgement but God’s boundless mercy and special favour to the poor and the oppressed. 

Who are the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed? The "poor" are not merely those who are economically poor or penniless (though they too are included) but also those who are spiritually poor – all the vulnerable, powerless, underprivileged, afflicted and oppressed people in general.  Jesus’ compassionate concern for such people is indeed good news for them (4:18). Proclaiming release to the captives naturally points to his ministry of releasing people from the bondage of demons and death. Recovery of sight to the blind refers to his saving deeds of restoring physical sight to the blind which are signs of restoring spiritual vision as well. The year of the Lord’s favour is an obvious reference to the Jubilee Year – also called the Sabbatical Year – the Jews were required to observe every fiftieth year in the Scripture (Lev 25:8-17).  In the Jubilee Year, the Law required that they let their land lie fallow, forgive or cancel debts and free slaves. Jesus implied that his ministry would give the experience of a Jubilee, a divine favour to those who respond to his message.

4.  Application to life

As per today’s gospel, Jesus announced his mission statement or manifesto in the synagogue of Nazareth. Like Jesus, we too are anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit at the time of our baptism and sent into the world to carry forward the mission outlined in his manifesto: (1) to bring good news to the poor; (2) to proclaim liberty to captives; (3) to restore sight to the blind; (4) to free the oppressed and (5) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour or a Jubilee Year. This was Jesus’ vision and mission. He was a man of a burning wish or desire (which we call a vision or a ‘dream’) to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. The desire to save humankind from all sorts of bondages was burning within him like a fire. He said: “I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already enkindled” (Lk 12:49). This desire or enthusiasm was like a fire burning inside him that he longed to go through another baptism – the baptism (= plunge or immersion) of blood (Lk 12:50) to achieve this goal. He wished that the same fire would catch in the hearts of his disciples.

In modern democracies many political parties publish their manifestos before election. They contain a lot of promises and hopes that are mostly forgotten after the election. Many secular organizations/ companies as well as religious institutes formulate and display their vision-mission statements in their brochures, notice-boards, handbooks, constitutions or bye-laws, etc. Quite often they are written/ displayed for the sake of institutional requirement and are hardly followed up by individual members. Based on this and besides this common vision-mission statement, if each one of us could formulate and  develop a personal vision-mission for ourselves for our particular state of life and work in the line of Jesus’ vision, it could motive r influence us better. Every action/ innovation/ invention is first born in the mind before it becomes a reality; hence, the more we fantasize our vision of life in our minds the more it influences our actions.

A vision – also called a dream by some experts – is a mental image or picture of the ideal to be realized in future. It is a conception of the future based on a wish or an aspiration. Whereas a vision is a mental framework, a mission is the way or manner in which we would like to translate our vision into concrete action. Each one of us should imagine: What are the guiding principles I would like to follow in my personal life, in my personal conduct, in my family life/ religious life/ priestly ministry, in my work and in my social life? As Christians, each one of us should ask: What is the vision of my life? Are we highly motivated by Jesus’ vision or his programme of action? When I ask students (all of them Christians), “Why do you study,” they say that they study in order to gain knowledge, to pass in examinations, to get a degree, to please their parents, to get a job, to earn money and to gain higher position in society. Yes, all these things are very important for life. But, if education is meant for only these things, what about those who fail or do not get a job even if they have passed an examination? Education is for life and not merely for these things. We should tell them, as Christian disciples, for what else they should study. If we (as parents and teachers) are influenced by the vision of Christ, we should teach our children to create a dream for themselves, for their family, society and country beyond this “purely” selfish and narrow boundary.

Similarly, when I ask the youth, “What is the purpose of your life,” most of them write: To study well, to pass in examinations, to get a job, to marry a good boy/girl and to get settled in life. When I ask those who attend Marriage Preparation Courses, “Why do you want to get married,” many of them say: To continue the family line through procreation, to get a helper for work, to get social/economic security, to get honour and respect in society, to work hard and take care of their partners and children, etc. When I say, though these things are essential for life, their marriage need not be a “Christian” marriage at all to achieve these things, they begin to wonder! From their answers I learn that Christian principles have not penetrated deep into us in spite of regular church attendance and prayers. From the studies conducted by social analysts on religious life and priesthood in developing countries, we come to know that the motivation for priesthood or religious life in the Catholic Church among a number of candidates is not based much on their attraction to the vision of Christ and their willingness to dedicate their life for his cause, but is influenced by their desire to gain social security, upgrade their standard of living, get a higher social status in society, to make a career, etc.

If so, today’s text is a reminder for us to ask ourselves whether the same fire or zeal with which Jesus' heart was burning to accomplish his Father’s liberating mission has caught us. If yes, we need to ask: Is the vision of my life, of my marriage and family, of my religious life/ priesthood, of my leadership, of my job or any other work that I do influenced and motivated by the vision of Christ? If yes, for us marriage is not meant only for sex and procreation; job is not only for earning money; family is not only for working hard to feed children or for financial/ social security; studies are not only for doing a job and get settled in comfortable life; religious life/ priesthood is not only for getting honour, status, position, economic/ social security; leadership is not only for exercising power and for personal gain. As Christians we are here not merely to make a living. As Christians we impoverish ourselves if we forget that we are personally chosen, called and sent with a mission to make a specific contribution to the cause of God and humanity. We need to ask today: “What is the quality of my contribution to the cause of humanity which is also the cause or mission of Christ? How can I make Christ’s vision come true?” Only by the way we translate Christ’s vision into action for those who are materially and spiritually poor, those in various bondages, are blind and oppressed, we can fulfil the Scripture TODAY, as Jesus declared.

The first mission mentioned by Christ is to proclaim good news to the poor. Today we are so much used to hear bad news or cruel news of so many horrible atrocities committed in various parts of the world by terrorist/ extremist/ fanatic/ religious fundamentalist outfits even, sometimes, in the name of God.  In the midst of this bad news, people long for good news. God anointed Jesus with his Spirit to bring us his salvation or liberation, mercy, pardon, peace and reconciliation. That is good news. Like Jesus, we too should say today the Spirit of the Lord is upon me; today he calls and sends me to bring good news to the poor, to liberate people from all types of bondage and slavery.

The issues mentioned by Jesus in his manifesto, namely, poverty, captivity, blindness and oppression have both physical and spiritual dimensions. Proclaiming good news to the poor could mean not only sharing our resources with the economically deprived people but also loving the unloved, caring for the uncared and serving the unwanted or the undeserving. Deliverance to the captives could mean liberating people from the bonds of sin, addiction, guilt, corruption and exploitation. We too sometimes live in slavery or captivity when we become prisoners of sin, hatred, pride, prejudice, wealth, power, luxury, addictions to bad habits, etc. Liberating ourselves before liberating others from this prison is also an important mission. Recovering of sight to the blind could also mean enlightening the minds of those who sit in darkness of ignorance. Whenever and wherever we do this mission of liberation we proclaim the jubilee year of God’s favour to the poor and the oppressed, and thus fulfil the Scripture.

As Jesus outlined in the synagogue of Nazareth, we can consciously undertake a mission to proclaim God's special favour to the needy by doing the following deeds of mercy in small ways: (1) Resisting sarcasm because it is the antithesis of mercy; (2) sharing our things with the needy; (3) calling by phone now and then someone who we know is lonely; (4) writing a letter of forgiveness to someone whom we have hurt; (5) repeating this prayer often: “Dear Lord, bless [annoying person’s name] and have mercy on me!” May God’s Kingdom proclaimed by Christ come through our faithfulness to the works of mercy towards those who are in poverty, captivity, blindness and oppression.

5.  Response to God's Word

Who are the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed in my situation today? What good news can I bring to them? What is my vision of life in my state of life and work? In the recent past, have I gone out of myself to help any one of the poor/ afflicted/ underprivileged people in any way that was possible for me? Have I taken their side when they were oppressed or their rights were trampled upon at least by words? Have I tried to free any of those who were in captivity of bad habits or evil, give sight to those who were in ignorance and spiritual blindness and liberate those who were oppressed by physical and psychological burdens at least by a few words of comfort? In the midst of so much bad news such as poverty, hunger, violence, terrorism, injustice, etc., what good news can we proclaim to those affected by these issues? How can we become sharers rather than hoarders, liberators rather than perpetrators of socio-economic slavery? 

6.  A prayer

Send forth your Spirit on us O Lord that we may bring good news to the poor and the vulnerable, proclaim liberty to the captives, work for recovery of sight to the blind, bring freedom to the oppressed and proclaim the Sabbatical Year of your divine mercy to all so that the Scripture may be fulfilled today. Amen.