Between Easter and Pentecost

The period between Easter and Pentecost, in its maiden chronological occurrence would have been an interesting time to view at, from a historical distance.  Imagine, an event taking place (the resurrection) which has been totally not unheard in reality for ages happening in our midst.  Not even the apostles were sure or clear about what actually was happening, leave alone the others. 

Strange reports and narration of experiences.  Weird social context.  All things put together, it would have been a totally new experience for the Jews, especially those who were close to Jesus.  Never were they really prepared for it. 

For us Catholics we believe in the Holy Spirit and hence the Pentecost marks a significant turn in the history of salvation and the Church.  But sociologically speaking it would really have been a point where the uncertainty, confusion, doubt and anxiety about Jesus' death and the subsequent resurrection paved the way for a communal conviction and belief in the actuality of both.  Even without the spiritual dimension, the very sociological mood and mode itself would have been a great ferment.   

Nonetheless, it is significant to note that what marked this sociological shift in mood, was actually built on individual testimonies and witnesses.  That there were times when Jesus appeared a group or crowd of people is true, but it was his personal encounter with individuals that really made the impact.  But more than that singular encounter, I believer it was the shift in their personalities, after the encounter with Jesus, that truly made the difference.  That post-resurrection encounter was something remarkable in the lives of those whom Jesus met; if not, Pentecost would have been another Passover! 

Speak softly

After the resurrection of Jesus and the pentecost, it is in a way surprising to notice the apostles go on doing their bit, without really creating a huge uproar or fanfare.  No attempt to go viral!  No shouting from rooftops, to all and sundry.  Just plain, simple steady effort at announcing their personal journey with Jesus... with great passion and conviction. 

Not every discovery needs to be broadcasted to the whole world in the loudest of voice or the most glamourous of means. They only need to be spelt out with great conviction!

Reminds me of the dynamic role played by Marlon Brando in 'The Godfather'.  Or some roles of Robert de Niro.  Just that presence.  Without yelling or shouting, and most often by a mere look, powerfully communicating something profound or serious. 

The haunting music of The Godfather... (The song 'Speak softly...' in that sense is a real paradox!)

Resurrection: The bizarre but illuminating experience

The gospel of the day stands out for me for one particular line which sums up for me, the whole state of mind of the apostles.

They (the apostles) did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. 

Witnessing the resurrection, or rather the empty tomb, the apostles are now at a very complex mode of understanding.  Amidst all the excitement and tension of the past three days, when things just seem to hit them like an avalanche, the latest awareness of the resurrection of Jesus makes everything so weird. All along they heard Jesus speak and preach, they journeyed along with him, saw all that he did, and now suddenly all of that takes on a totally different meaning and shape.  Every word, deed and interaction is viewed as if totally new - but not for the first time!

The Resurrection of Christ
by Nicolas Bertin

The only immediate analogy that comes to my mind of this state of 're-running the past' in a totally different light and thereby gaining a very different meaning, is the conclusion of the movie 'The sixth sense'.  The bizarre twist at the end of the movie reveals a fact that forces one to review all that one has watched for the past hour.  The strange feeling is 'how come I missed it'!  It was there all along, but I never really saw it. I did not even imagine it as per this new fact that is revealed.  The earlier viewing is not nonsensical or illogical.  It looks good in itself.  But with the fresh insight, the whole of it gains a totally different meaning.  Now that's a feeling after watching something just for 90 minutes.  Imagine what it would be re-running 3 full years of one's past life! Then there is also all that one has learnt about one's religion since birth!

This experience is like how one single thought can put a whole complex theory into a neat clear picture.  Once you see the whole picture, you wonder how come you did not see it, until you have the latest insight.  The Gospels do not explain the resurrection; it is resurrection that explains the Gospels! 

Life, death AND resurrection

The most evident facts are the ones most often overlooked!  Yesterday while speaking about the death of Jesus, I stated that Jesus' death alone does not signify anything unique in human history.  Suffering and death has been part of human history long before Jesus and still continues to be so.  There are several human beings who have endured great amount of suffering and even death, for far too long and intense periods than Jesus did.

However, what I totally missed and what's unique in Jesus' case is the resurrection.  So it is not just his death that signifies something unique or great. It is his whole life (beginning with his incarnation, something that happens for the first time) and his resurrection, that makes Jesus extra-special.

More than ever before, I recall today, this Good Friday, all those people who suffer for no crime or fault of theirs.  Yet endure the suffering with a courageous heart, for a purpose far greater than ordinary logical human comprehension.  

Resurrection and relationship

The question we hear in the Gospel of the day, "After resurrection, whose wife will she be?" is quite a human question.  We can judge it to be a very rude or arrogant question or one intended to put the listener into a catch-22 situation.  But if reviewed from a simple and ordinary perspective, it can be said to be a very common question. 

We human being are relational beings.  We tend to work our way through life, by the relations we make or break.  So for one to ask what would be her relation to the 7 husbands whom she married here on earth, is a very concrete and living question.  It makes the situation all more volatile when I hear this passage being used to describe God as the God of the living and not of the dead.  That interpretation of God actually puts God in contrast to the human life!!  The very fact that she had 7 husbands it because the previous one died!  So she did not have 7 husbands all at once.  She only had one husband all along!!  And now if we bring in the 'God of living' interpretation, all 7 are alive.  And then to ask is she married to all 7 is a bit ridiculous! 

The most sensible way I see this Gospel unfold for us the mystery of the resurrection is to challenge our understanding of relationship.  I believe relationship is a commitment.  Granted that every commitment includes boundaries and limitations; but if those boundaries and limitations over-ride commitment and the well being of those involved in the relationship, the connection is actually a strangulation, and all that exists is bondage!  In resurrection, we live our commitment to one another to its fullest - even to God.  Not as bonded labourers, who have no other go than to, but as free individuals who choose to.  

Soul becomes spirit?

Even after years of listening to extracts from the Bible, everyday during Mass and prayers, some passages still catch my attention.  Perhaps the version I hear has something to do with it. Or maybe it is the reading I'm engaged in/with currently as part of my research.  Or maybe just that I'm hearing that section of the Bible for the first time (possible!!).  Anyway, was surprised to read the following this morning.

Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come... It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable.... when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit. If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment. 

Now those two lines are new to me.  The Bible making the distinction between soul and spirit?  And after death the soul is transformed into the spirit?  I remember I've thought about the embodiment after resurrection part before, but not this soul-spirit distinction and transformation.

Words do have the strange ability to confuse and confound!  God is no better! 

Beginning from Jerusalem

Jesus appears to his apostles and assures them that He is not a ghost.  He shares a meal with them and then explains the Scriptures and its fulfillment in him (may not have been the best time to do so, especially after a meal, but given the circumstance, I'm sure they were all awake and perfectly attentive!).  The gospel of the day concludes with these words of Jesus

Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Three weeks ago was Easter.  In these three weeks much water has passed under the bridge, especially in world politics.  Syria has just been bombed.  What course of action - or reaction - would follow is awaited.  And that is not the only tension and confusion in the globe.  Practically every part of the world is plagued with unrest and war-like situation.  Even the very place mentioned in the gospel is at the heart of some unrest.  In such a situation, it is ironic to hear that 'repentance, forgiveness of sins' would be preached to all nations, that too beginning from Jerusalem!  Really?

However, hope is always there to assure us of things different.  But hope is not the only thing.  There is the ground-reality of goodness too.  While media, national and international, trains its lenses on the war-games, deaths, scandals, and every sort of evil one knows and at times even of those unheard, there are the untold stories of good deeds being carried out by ordinary folks all over the world.  Perhaps there are too many to be spoken of or broadcasted and that's why the media chooses to ignore them or offer some only by way of closing notes.

And so we live, by hope and trusting in the goodness of humanity...

From unbelief to belief

It is Mary Magdalene who is the first witness to Jesus' resurrection.  Of all the people, she first reports the incident to the apostles - evidently.  Then He appears to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. They too run back to Jerusalem to tell this to the apostles.  Yet the apostles are skeptical.  It is only when Jesus appears to them that they believe in his being risen.  Thomas is the only one among the apostles who misses seeing Him when He appears first.  He too does not believe - not Mary Magdalene, not the two disciples, not even his fellow apostles!  It is only when he sees Jesus for himself that he begins to believe. 

There may be many a thing we may spread and bear witness to.  Most people do believe when they hear or see someone testify about something they themselves have not seen or experienced.  However, personal experience, in most cases endorses that belief and leads to deepening of the conviction.  For some that personal experience may be the trigger. 

It all hinges on trust.  We basically trust people.  We believe that they will tell us the truth.  We trust that they will not mislead us.  However, in today's world, in spite of and perhaps because of the growth of communication channels there is a growing amount of suspicion about things.  Fake news. Alternative facts.  Post-truth.  Very many think it is due to growth of technology.  Not necessarily. It still boils down to human nature. The real antidote to suspicion and fear is trust; not regulation.  

Too good to be true

The readings of the Easter week are an amazing mix of surprise and wonder.  One only needs to get into the shoes of the apostles to truly feel the 'crazy' things happening around the resurrection event. They find themselves living a phenomenon which defies all explanation.  They have never ever heard of this sort of situation, leave alone be the centre of it.  However, it is not totally new as they slowly begin to remember what the Lord himself had been saying during the time they spent wandering about with him.  The subtle and the not-so-subtle hints that he kept dropping during his teaching and preaching.  However, the event was too good to be true, leave alone believe and proclaim.  The reality of it only hits them slow, but when it does hit them, and when they see the connection between all that he said, and did and what has now transpired, they are convinced and fired up!  Nothing can stop them from sharing this with everyone. 

The emotional and rational dimensions of faith

The gospel reading of Easter Tuesday is one of the most emotional and powerful instance in the Gospel where Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Lord at the tomb.  Her response and perception of the whole incident is highly emotional.  She sees the angels but is not in any sense surprised or amazed - as if they were creatures one encounters day in and day out in the market place!  Her whole concern and worry at that point is the missing body!  Nothing matters more to her than the one whose body she came to anoint. 

Contrast that highly emotional perspective with that of the rational dimension of Peter's ministry with the Jews in the same post-resurrection scenario.  The Jews listen to the 'arguments' of Peter, and are 'convinced' of what he says and get baptised. 

Perhaps the only difference one sees and is in a way important is that the 'rational' means adds numbers, is meant for the crowd; while the emotional is highly personal and intimate.  One needs both along ones' journey of faith and growth.   

Happy Easter!

Most preachers during the Holy Week and Easter try to remind the listeners of the story of long long ago and we all attempt to visualize the chain of events surrounding Jesus in 'those' times.  Then, and only then, do we try to apply it to ourselves.  However it is always two different time zones. Different ages.  Different lifestyles.  Different people.  Yet not much is different.  Human nature remains the same.  Societal structures and functions remain the same.  Divinity remains the same! 

Even today we fight, squabble, gossip, slander and bring down the just and innocent - just as all those characters involved in the Passion narratives.  Even today there are people who do good and help others, in spite of all that they have to face - just like the women who assisted Jesus all his public life, even in death.  Kings and rulers still call the shots on behalf of politicians and businessmen - just as Pilate and Caiphas did.  Religion still continues to sway mobs.  And God, well He still loves us - just as He loved Jesus and all in His times! 

Of course, if the cell phones were present then, there would certainly have been photographic evidence of Jesus' resurrection too!  

Go fishing

Reflection for April 21

After all that happened, the crucifixion, death and even the resurrection, the apostles go fishing! It really seems odd. But that is exactly how each of us live. We prefer to get back to what we are accustomed to, to that what we are comfortable with. However great an event or tragic a loss, the regularity we are used to offers a soothing balm. But imagine a scenario where the apostles had resumed their professional works, what they were used to three years prior, and never took up another mode of functioning…!

Yet the Lord once again challenges them. Calls them forth to carry on, without His physical presence, what they together did for three years. To be His witnesses. This is something the apostles are yet to fully learn. There is uncertainty and anxiety as to how it would unfold. Fishing is safer. Predictable. 

However, the apostles make that shift. They opt to move out of their comfort zones and preach the risen Christ. The first reading where Peter boldly asserts the source of healing the cripple goes on to show their full fledged immersion in the task of being witnesses. They are still fishing… but it is not fish they are after.

Even today, the Lord constantly challenges us to move out of our comfort zones. To explore more ways of being His witnesses than what we are routinely used to; feel contented with.

A personal call

Reflections for April 18

“Rabboni...”

Mary Magdalene recognizes Jesus when He calls her by her name. It is in that face-to-face encounter with Jesus that Mary realises Jesus. And when she relays this incident and Jesus' message to the others they hardly believe her. Besides the fact that all of this was totally new and too much for their grief-stricken moment, it is also indicative of what a 'call' is: a personal invitation, not a common information.

Most often we mortals are so lost in our day-to-day lives that we barely hear His voice or call. Even at times when we are frantically searching for His will, just like Mary desperately pleads with the 'gardener' for Jesus' body, we do not recognize Him. That's because we have an image of Jesus that we are fixated with. Anything different from that would not be considered. Only those who have the patience to sift through human appearances, fixated ideas and pre-meditated results, will be able to hear His call – a call that is personal.

Moreover, Jesus did not entrust some monumental task Mary... just a simple message to be conveyed! That done well, is mission accomplished. To look for a great role, a grand activity is to miss the point of a call.

Do not be afraid

Reflection for April 17

“Do not be afraid...”

Jesus after His resurrection appears to several people, either individuals or in small groups. In each of these instances, He reassures them and strengthens their faith. For each of those members He entrusts a mission. It is not a hurried command, rather a gentle reminder of what was already said during his ministry.

For those who had the fortune to see Jesus after His resurrection, it was a life-changing experience. Most of these people already had been with Jesus during his lifetime, but to see Him again after resurrection was a great boost to their spirit. Every word of His is now treated with great care and respect. Everyone is in awe and great thrill.

Post-resurrection, the faith of the apostles and the disciples takes a new turn. It is filled with great enthusiasm and a certain thrill. We Christians when referred to as an 'Alleluia people' means exactly that have and radiate a charm, a divine flame of enthusiasm and thrill. All of this is not because we have seen a dead man come to life, but because we are enveloped by Jesus and His spirit is our strength.

Easter hope

Easter Sunday (April 16, 2017)

Easter is a celebration of hope. Breaking open from His tomb Jesus shows us that no difficulties or challenges can overcome us completely. Hope is always a good thing. And no good thing ever dies. It is lack of hope that actually imprisons us and saps all enthusiasm and energy.

The resurrection reminds us of the hope that is never to be lost. It opens our hearts to the reality of this world, a reality that can always be made better than what it is today. Easter offers us hope to embark on this journey. Most importantly Easter challenges us to open our hearts to Jesus. To let Him burst forth through us. That so touched by the Lord and filled with Him, our hearts, like the tomb, cannot but open up and spill Jesus into the lives of all those around us.

Holy Saturday: Silence

Holy Saturday marks the death of God. The day is akin to an eerie silence that pervades all around us and everything is still. Bereft of all plans, all hopes, of everything we had, we stand still. Not sure what next. It is like Saul after he was blinded after his encounter with the Lord near Damascus. Utterly helpless. Not sure what the future holds. Not convinced of the past one has lived. Yet it is these days that mark the conversion of Saul to Paul. His introspection where he has nothing to claim his own or anything for sure is what paves the way for his transformation. Holy Saturday offers us the same tomb-experience. Of being silent. Of being still.

As Christians, we often kill this experience or brush past this opportunity for the silence is haunting. We prefer the sentimentality of Good Friday or the thrill of Easter Sunday. The stillness of Holy Saturday is too demanding. Yet one is challenged to live it. Imagine the state of the apostles, of Jesus' disciples, of Mother Mary. They did not have the assured guarantee of the Sunday resurrection. They lived through the Holy Saturday and therefore Easter meant more than Jesus' resurrection to them. It paved the way for their own transformation too.

Relationship

Reflection for April 10, 2017

Mary anoints the feet of Jesus. It is quite a transformation from the one who stayed back at home when her brother Lazarus died and did not go out to meet Jesus when she heard that He was coming. Only when Martha tells her that the Lord is asking for her does she go out to meet Jesus.

Most people think that to serve God is to forget about the world altogether. That primacy of God demands denial of everything else. It does not. Mary loved Jesus and she was preferred to be with Him. The earlier instance of Martha complaining that Mary wasn't helping her in serving and this particular one of her anointing his feet and then wiping them with her hair, are acts of pure concern and adoration. But her love for Jesus never stood in the way of her love and concern for her own brother Lazarus. Her mourning at his loss was so deep that she did not really take notice of Jesus' arrival, until Jesus himself calls her.

Our relationship with God never diminishes or distracts us from the need of our neighbours. If at all, it only makes us more sensitive and involved in the lives of those around us.

More than watching

Reflection for April 8, 2017

“Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.”

Apparently the episode of raising Lazarus from the dead was quite an event. As is always the case, some of those who witness miracles draw up lessons for themselves and try to live accordingly. Some view it and then the effect of its grandeur weakens over time. There are always some who are not satisfied to keep it to themselves; they have to tell all and sundry about it. Most often such people do not really let the message sink in themselves. However, there will always be some who will 'report' it to those who they know will not approve of it. Their basic interest is only to watch interesting events from a safe distance. Their only joy and job is to ensure that such 'thrilling events' are witnessed so that they can be gossiped about later.

Everytime we celebrate the Holy Mass is nothing short of a miracle: the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. What is our response to being part of such a memorial event? Do we draw personal lessons for life and attempt to live better? Or are we only satisfied to grumble about the length of the sermon, or the out of tune choir?

Person vs Event

While reflecting on the episode of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and the conversation preceding the same, a certain analogy kept coming back to my mind.

A man in a rural area wanted to purchase a fine cow. So he went to the weekly local animal fair, where they sell and buy cattle.  While walking around to see if he could find a fine animal, his eyes finally saw one.  However just then he noticed the rope that was used to tie the cow.  It was made of a different material, something he had not really seen before.  It certainly looked strong and colourful.  His whole attention was now fixated on the rope.  He started bargaining for the rope and eventually wanted to purchase the rope alone.  What he did not realize was, if only he had stuck to his initial reason for being in the fair, and purchased the cow which he actually saw, he would have also got the rope along with it.

The notion of resurrection was something unseen before Jesus.  Those who believed in it thought of it as an event of the future.  Mary, Martha and all those around them, mourning the loss of Lazarus, acknowledged Jesus' presence but never thought of Him as life-giver.  Jesus' delay in arriving and his statements are a reminder to focus one's attention on Him, rather than an event.  Reading the passage from this perspective is quite interesting (or is it the version that I am reading?).

Moral of the story: Focus on the person of Jesus, rather than the event of resurrection.  He will take care of the event.

Resurrection and Jesus

Raising of Lazarus (April 2, 2017)

Resurrection defies all logic and human reasoning. Even after two thousand years of history and tradition we Christians still find it hard to explain in rational terms. Imagine the state of mind of those who had not yet witnessed anything close to it.

We often think of resurrection in terms of our body, that too after death. Perhaps, Jesus' delay in coming to Lazarus' tomb has something to say about a fact greater than resurrection: Jesus Himself. In this sense, His words, “I am the resurrection and the life...” would mean that it is the presence of Jesus that matters most. Where He is, life abounds.

When Jesus asks Martha if she believed in the resurrection, she replies that she believes that her brother will rise. However, she is only thinking of it as an event in the future. The resurrection is an event. Jesus is the person. Embrace the person and He will take care of the event.