BUILD BRIDGES NOT BARRIERSEzekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20 In “The Great Divorce”, C. S. Lewis writes that hell is like a vast city inhabited only at the periphery; it has rows and rows of empty houses in the middle – empty because the residents quarrelled with their neighbours and moved. Then, they quarrelled with their new neighbours and moved again. This process of quarrel-move-quarrel slowly left the old neighbourhoods empty. Hell has gotten so large because everyone chose distance instead of honest confrontation. Lewis’ picture is as true as it’s stark! When someone hurts us, it’s either fight or
THE ‘BRAND HEART’ OF CHRISTIANITYJeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27 Marketing experts point out that it is important for companies and organizations to develop a brand identity or the “face” that interacts with the world. But they are quick to caution: whatever you create should communicate who you are: the brand heart (purpose, vision-mission, values). One may see this Sunday’s gospel as a landmark in Jesus spelling out his “brand heart”!Jesus has been schooling his disciples about who he is and through Peter’s confession of faith (which we heard last Sunday), they have recognized Jesus as the Christ.But Jesus does
PERFECTED IN WEAKNESSIsaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20 Duke Ellington – composer, pianist, and conductor – composed with each musician in mind. He said: “You keep their weaknesses in your head as you write, and that way you astonish them with their strengths.” That’s the way God works with the leaders he chooses and with us: he keeps our weaknesses in mind and astonishes us with our strengths; he perfects us in weakness. But why does God choose people with faults and foibles as leaders?We have a response in this Sunday’s gospel! In response to Jesus’ question about his identity,
MOVE THE FENCEIsaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28 During the WWII, a small group of soldiers lost a buddy and wanted to bury him in a proper grave. They searched the area till they found a church with a cemetery (which had a picket fence). They found the parish priest and asked to bury their friend in the cemetery. The deceased was not a Catholic. The priest expressed his sympathy but said the cemetery was reserved for Catholics. He asked the soldiers to bury their friend just outside the fence and assured them that he would care for
AMID THE STORM1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33 We are amid one of the greatest storms of our lives – the coronavirus is still around with new variants; inflation and unemployment; natural disasters and violent conflict in several parts of the world; growing hatred and intolerance. Many of us are overwhelmed. The readings of today feature people who are overwhelmed by events in their lives. Amid chaos, they experience God’s abiding presence. The first reading features Elijah who had to flee into the desert to escape the wrath of Jezebel. There he encounters an angel who comforted him
A MOMENT OF GRACEDaniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Matthew 17:1-9 Eric Carle, the author and illustrator of children’s books, recalls that he was a shy six-year-old when the storytelling world opened for him:“The world seemed a cold and confusing place, except for one thing—a picture of a cityscape that faced my bed: red brick buildings with darkened windows, except for one exploding with the joyful colours of a Christmas tree. The picture was the work of an art director at my father’s job.Once, my father took me to work. I was so shy I could barely speak. The art
STAKE EVERYTHING ON ONE THING1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52 (13:44-46) A member of a youth-group, an Infosys employee, was leaving for the US and wanted to sell his Infosys shares. The others in the group were willing to do anything to buy those shares. One guy was willing to sell his bike; now this guy wouldn’t allow anyone to touch his bike! Anything for Infosys shares.Many youngsters in our shelter homes have run away from home chasing a dream. Their dreams are different but they have one thing in common: they have left everything – home and
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43 (13:24-30) A bishop, sailing on an ocean liner, found that he was sharing a cabin. After he unpacked his bags, he went to the purser to leave his valuables in the ship’s safe. He remarked that he was afraid that his co-passenger might not be trustworthy. The purser smiled, accepted the valuables, and said: “Bishop, I’ll be glad to keep your valuables. Your cabin-mate has just been here and left his valuables for the same reason!” Jumping to conclusions is an exercise most of us get! We are quick to judge and want
Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071623.cfm “I’m leaving!” said a priest companion as he and I were vesting for the Eucharist. Before a stunned me could respond, he explained that his province was quitting a missionary area because even after thirty years of ministry, they were not seeing the fruit of their labour. They planned to relocate to places where the people were receptive. It is frustrating to work and not see the results of our labour. Parents, educators, mentors… we’ve been there and felt it. We want to throw our hands up and say: “That’s it! I’ve had enough.”Today’s
COUNTER THE CULTUREZechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9, 11-13; Matthew 11:25-30 Extracts from Ellen Goodman’s editorial, “Battling our Culture is Parents’ Task” in the Chicago Tribune:One of your main jobs as a parent is to counter the culture. What the media delivers to children by the masses, you are expected to rebut one at a time. We need parents who know how to say “no”. But it occurs to me now the call for “parental responsibility” is increasing in direct proportion to marketplace irresponsibility.Are the kids being sold junk food? Just say no. Is TV bad? Turn it off. Counter the culture.
