Four boys were on an expedition – through the rivers and valleys and the mountain ranges.

At the end of the day, they camped – with supper by a campfire – in a lonely ravine.

However, at midnight a terrific thunderstorm encountered them.

The boys were forced to take refuge from the storm in the barn of a farmer.

They felt safe from the stormy rain and lay on the hay…
… when suddenly they heard loud noises…

This time not that of nature.. but of a human voice – loud and wild.
All through the night they heard that terrible shouting.

Somehow, in fear and trembling, they managed to through the night.

When dawn appeared, they come down from the barn, and realised the reason for the noise…
The farmer’s father was insane, a maniac…locked up in one of the rooms of the house!

The expedition of the boys ended up with a dual-storm-experience!
… the storm of nature’s fury – in the thunderstorm and heavy rainfall
… the storm of human anger – unleashed by that poor man who was insane

The Gospel of the Day along with yesterday’s Gospel passage, present two storms that are encountered by Jesus and His Disciples…
… the storm of nature’s fury – as They got caught in the heavy tempest while in the boat (Mt 8: 23-27)
… the storm of human anger – as They met the two demoniacs coming out of the tombs (Mt 8: 28-34)

In both the “stormy” and “turbulent” encounters, Jesus calms the “violence” and displays His supremacy as the Lord of all storms and turbulence.

The Gospel of the Day is the incident of the healing of the two demoniacs.

The word “demons” might immediately put off many a people…including perhaps some of us…

“Modern and learned” sceptics of the  Bible dismiss demon-possession as rubbish!
• Some might say that it was just a primitive manner that people had, to describe psychic or social disorders.
• Some might say that it was just a superstitious belief and practice.

But when we consider the Bible in its totality and especially the ministry of Jesus, it is very evidently seen that there is not much accommodation to superstitious beliefs or practices.

Any false or fanciful superstitious stuff was in fact, corrected or rectified!

The Church teaches that the Devil is real, and not just a mythical personification of evil.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Satan “acts in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and … his action causes grave injuries” (CCC #395).

Pope Francis, in his first homily quoted: ‘He who does not pray to the Lord, prays to the Devil.’

This then is an important aspect that we see in today’s Gospel… Jesus performing this miracle of exorcism, showing His supreme power and authority over the satanic forces.

What is my understanding of Satan and the evil forces?

I need to realise that this real force opposes anything that is spiritual and holy.
This also means that wherever there is a spiritual action taking place, there is an opposition by the Devil and his evil power.

• Do I arm myself with deeper faith, courage and conviction in God’s power?
• Do I equip myself with greater holiness and sanctity to withstand evil influences?

The “Our Father” is a powerful prayer which invokes the power of God against the evil: “… and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil”

Another important and interesting dimension that we see in today’s Gospel passage is the repulsion and disgust for Jesus…

This repulsion is displayed by two groups:
1. The two demoniacs
2. The people of the town

And this repulsion is characterised by a singular word – “begging”
 The demoniacs BEGGED Him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine” (Mt 8: 31)
 Thereupon the whole town came to meet Jesus, and when they say Him, they BEGGED Him to leave their district” (Mt 8: 34)

• The demoniacs couldn’t stand the Holiness and Power of the Lord and so they “begged” Him to cast them into the swine
• The people of the town – we are not very sure, what exactly were their reasons – too had a repulsion to the Lord and “begged” Him to leave their district.

In both the cases, one thing is clear:
Holiness was opposed and was found repulsive by evil forces!

 Where there is Holiness, evil cannot stand!
 Where there is Sanctity, satan finds it unbearable!

This then, makes it imperative on our parts, as Christians, to embrace ourselves closer into holiness and immerse ourselves deeper into the power of God!

Evil is a reality…
But the power of God, is a much stronger force!
Jesus says, “Fear not, I have conquered the world”

May we grow deeper in our relation with the Lord, and with Him, be strong and bold against the “storms” of the evil one!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

We live in a world of wonders…

For example…

Salt is a wonder.
• It is composed of two dangerous substances – Sodium which is explosive when exposed to moisture and Chlorine which is poisonous.
But salt is so very stable!

Alnico magnets are a wonder.
• It is composed of three nonmagnetic substances—aluminium, nickel and cobalt.
But it is the strongest magnet in the world!

Water is a wonder.
• Its chemical formula is H2O – Oxygen is flammable and hydrogen readily burns.
But unite them into water and we put out fires with it!

But above all these things of nature and the natural phenomena, we have the greatest wonder in the Lord and Creator of every “object and situation” of wonder – God!

 How often do we realise the wonder of His Being?
 How often do we be thankful for the wonders He does in our lives?

The Gospel of the Day is a reminder and an eye-opener for us to realise the “wonderful” Person that we have in the “boat” of our lives – Jesus – and to be grateful for Him for His “wondrous” presence!

We are with the familiar passage of the calming of the storms.

The Gospel of Matthew reports the fact that when Jesus and His disciples got into the boat, there was sudden violent “storm”…

The Greek word that is used for “storm” is “seismos”…
Seismos means a “shaking” or a “commotion” or a “tempest” or an “earthquake”

(It is from this word “seismos” that we get the word “seismic” which refers to earthquakes)

The disciples were right in the midst of something like a “sea-earthquake”
And it came on “suddenly”!

How often is our life too so similar…

We sail across calmly, enjoying the peace and serenity of life…
… when suddenly…… we are hit by a deadly storm…in the form of….
• a major crisis in the family or the community
• an unexpected sickness to us or to our loved one
• some unimaginable disaster arising in our work-place
• an inexpressible pain or an absolutely unforeseen problem

We find ourselves totally despairing in the thick of that “seismos”, that “storm”.
The waves hit the boat of our lives so badly and violently…
… that for a moment, our heart skips a beat and we think, “is it all going to be over?”
… that for a split-second, we let go of every hope and we feel, “is it really the end?”

But the Lord who was always with us, in our boat, relaxed and calm, “gets up, rebukes the winds and the sea, and there is great calm” (Mt 8: 26)

 It is as if the whole world is His classroom, and the Master Teacher gets up and demonstrates His power to His students!
 It is as if the waves and the winds are getting “too naughty” and Jesus, the Lord, gets up and “rebukes and chides” them!

And suddenly the disciples realised something spectacular…
All this while, in the midst of the storm, they were shocked and appalled at the “wonder” of the mighty wind and the raging tempest.

But now… right before them and with them… was a person who was the source, creator and the perfection of all wonders – “Jesus”!

• The “wonder” of the Lord’s presence far outmatched those of the deadly side of nature!
• The “wonder” of the Mighty Creator greatly surpassed that of the crisis they faced!

The Gospel says that the disciples were “‘amazed’ and said “What sort of a man is this, whom even the winds and the seas obey?” (Mt 8:27)

 How often do we realise the wonder of His Being?
 How often do we be thankful for the wonders He does in our lives?

Today we celebrate the Feast of the “First Martyrs of Rome”
They were the Christians martyred in the city of Rome during Nero’s persecution in 64.

Historian Tacitus records this gruesome incident in the following words:
“Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.
Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car.
Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed!”

These Martyrs could boldly give up their lives in faith and love, because they had mightily experienced the “wonder” of the Lord in their lives…
No storm could stall them!
No wind could blow them away!

May we also learn to experience deeper and mingle with the “wonder” of the Lord – especially in the Most Holy Eucharist, where He is truly and really present – so that we can sail through the storms of our life, in faith and hope!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

The Roman military was one of the most successful and powerful in world history.
It dominated the  Western world for over a thousand years.

• The Romans believed themselves to be descendents of Mars, literally the sons of the war god.
• They were a proud and uncompromising people who, above all else, excelled at the art of warfare.

The core of Rome’s military strength lay in the professionalism of their heavy infantry.

The Gospel of the Day begins with a beautiful narrative of a healing encounter that an officer of this mighty Roman Empire had with Jesus, the greatest Emperor of the Everlasting Empire of God!

The Gospel begins with the verse, “As Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him, beseeching Him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress” (Mt 8: 5-6)

A centurion was a professional officer of the might army of the Roman Empire.

Even though, theoretically, this word traces its roots to the Latin word ‘centum’ which means one hundred, a Centurion in the Roman Army was one who commanded 80 men.

When the Centurion made his request to Jesus, our Blessed answered him, “I will come and cure him” (Mt 8: 7)

It is very remarkable to note what the Centurion answered in reply.

He says, “… For I too am a person UNDER authority” (Mt 8: 9)

Some other translations would read,  “… For I too am a person SUBJECT TO authority”

Though he was a ‘Centurion’ – a person with 80 people under his ‘beck and call’, it is fascinating to see that he doesn’t say, “I am a person WITH authority” or “I am a person FULL OF authority”

Instead he says, ” I too am UNDER authority”.

What was the authority that he was UNDER?

To know this, it would be good to see what was the position of the Centurion in the Roman Army.

 Above the centurion was a senior centurion… (a total of 80 men for a Centurion)
 Above this senior centurion were sixty centurions… ( a total of 4800 men)
 Above the sixty centurions were six tribunes… (each tribune had 3000 men.. so total 18, 000)
 Above the six tribunes were the two consuls.
 Above the consuls was the Emperor!

It was in this very long line of delegated authority that the Centurion of our Gospel passage stands.

The Centurions were also chosen from the best of the best.

A Roman soldier did not become a centurion overnight.
It took years!

The special ‘cohorts’ within each legion made up of veterans of sixteen years or more were the normal source for men to be promoted as centurions.

The historian Polybius wrote: “In choosing their centurions, the Romans look not so much for the daring or fire-eating type, but rather for men who are natural leaders and possess a stable and imperturbable temperament; not men who will open the battle and launch attacks, but those who will stand their ground even when worsted or hard-pressed, and will die in defence of their posts.”

It was such kind of a man who stood before Jesus, requesting for a healing for his servant.

We usually look at Jesus as a soft, gentle and affectionate person.
But this Centurion saw Jesus as the Commanding Emperor of a mighty army!

In Jesus, he saw a man of strength… a man of power.. a man of immense authority!

And so He tells Jesus, “… only say a word, and my servant will be healed” (Mt 8: 8b)

The Centurion looked at Jesus as the head and person-in-charge of the mighty army of God.
 He believed that the Lord had immense power and strength
 He trusted that the Lord vested tremendous authority and influence

It was not necessary for Jesus to come to his house.
Instead, all it needed was a “Word” from Him….
… a command as in a military set-up
… an order as in  the armed forces

Jesus is amazed and marvelled at this tremendous faith of the centurion and lavishes His praise on him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Mt 8: 10b)

Is my faith comparable to the faith of this Centurion and can I be inspired by his marvellous belief?

 Do I look on the Lord and have confidence in Him, as the One infested with all power and glory – able to overcome every crippling force of the world?
 Do I consider and trust in the Lord as the Mighty Emperor with all supremacy and dominance  – able to conquer every problem that I face and triumph over any sinful situation?

The Lord is the great healer.
He is the One who takes away our every infirmity and disease.

May we be inspired deeper by the people of faith, and grow in our trust and belief in the Lord, knowing that…
 We need to be bold soldiers, because we have a Powerful and Authoritative Commander!
 We need to be courageous citizens, because we have a Mighty and Awesome Emperor!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

An integral system of education consists of proper blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application.

Theory refers to learning ideas and concepts, principles and philosophies regarding a particular subject through books, media, encyclopaedias, academic institutions, classes, lectures and other sources.

Practicals refers to the ability of using that information and applying it in a real-life context.

• Theoretical knowledge shows the whole forest –  builds the context and helps to set strategy.
• Practical knowledge shows a single tree – puts forth the situation and challenges to act.

In recent times, many of the subjects and the curriculum in institutions, insist and demand on both the theoretical knowledge and the practical dimension of knowledge.

The Gospel of the Day is the narrative of the ‘first in the series’ of practical applications of the theoretical knowledge that Jesus has expounded through the Sermon on the Mount.

The incident of the cleansing of the Leper in Mt 8: 1-4 is placed immediately after the Great Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1- 7:29)
• The Sermon on the Mount was the theoretical knowledge that Jesus expounded
• The cleansing of the leper was the theoretical application of some of those principles

At the start of the Sermon on the Mount, we read “When Jesus saw the CROWDS, He went up to the mountain…..” (Mt 5:1)
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, we read, “When Jesus came down from the mountain, great CROWDS followed Him” (Mt 8:1)

• Many people in the crowd have listened and marvelled at the teachings of Jesus.

• Many of them now follow Him…
o Perhaps to see how He would apply those lofty teachings in real life
o Perhaps to see whether all those high ideas were really liveable in actual life

And what is the scene that they encounter?

A leper who approaches Jesus!

“A leper!!”… Yucks!!
“Stay away, all” would have been the united chorus of that multitude of crowd!

Leprosy was one of the most feared and dreaded disease of the ancient world.

The Hebrew word for leprosy (Tsara’ath) comes from a root word which means “to scourge or to strike.”

Leprosy was very often, considered a curse.
It was incurable and highly deadly – blatantly evident on the body and an ugly sight!

Leprosy was almost a ‘living death’, with many sweeping implications.

A person would be declared a leper after tests were performed (Lev. 13).
Once declared a leper by the priest, the leper had to be cut-off from contact with society.

• He had to display marks of mourning, as if for the dead (thus, to touch him would defile oneself)
• When someone drew near, he had to call out, “Unclean! Unclean!”
• He had to remain outside the camp with no access to the temple or perform any worship.

Leprosy was, indeed, a living death!

The crowd who saw this leper approach and worship Jesus would have had mixed feelings – shock… anger.. unpleasantness…

They would have been also very curious what would Jesus do…
“He preached so much… let’s see what He does now”
“Is He really going to touch and get defiled by that dirty leper?”

But the Lord was not just well-versed in theoretical knowledge; He was also the perfect executioner of applied knowledge!

 Theoretically He had said…
“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the Scribes, you shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven” ( Mt 5:20)

• Practically…
He now goes beyond the ceremonial stipulations of the Law and ‘touches’ and heals the leper (Mt 8:3)

 Theoretically He had said…
“.. take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them” (Mt 6:1)

• Practically…
He tells the leper not to make a publicised show of his cure; instead to ‘show himself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded’ (Mt 8:4)

 Theoretically He had said…
“Judge that, you may not be judged” (Mt 7:1)

• Practically…
He doesn’t condemn or despise or mock the leper who comes close to him and instead expresses his whole-hearted willingness to shower mercy on him by saying, “I am willing; be clean” (Mt 8:3)

 Theoretically He had said…
“Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the Will of the Father in heaven” (7:21)

• Practically…
He puts into effect His teachings, ‘walking the talk’ and fulfilling the Will of the Father to be a Healer and Saviour to people.

The Lord was not just an eloquent and effective preacher but also a committed and convinced practiser of what He spoke.
• His deeds matched His wonderful words!
• His words produced dazzling deeds!

This then is the invitation to us too:
To have an integral Christian Life by being a Preacher of the Word (in whichever little or insignificant way possible) and a Practiser of the Word (through a witnessing and charitable life)

May the touch of the Lord take away any ‘leprous’ tendencies in our mind and life and free us from any bondage in order to live a firm and committed Christian Life!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

A chameleon is a tree-dwelling lizard with long thin legs, a strong curled tail and a long sticky tongue.

One of the special characteristic of the chameleon is the ability to change its colour.

The chameleon takes the colour of its background and environment – tree, bush, or  grass etc.

Generally it was considered that this change of colour happens by dispersion of pigment-containing organelles within their skin.

However, recent researches (2014) show a different picture…

Chameleons have two superimposed layers within their skin that control their colour and thermoregulation.
• The top layer contains a lattice of guanine nano-crystals.
• By exciting this lattice, the spacing between the nano-crystals can be manipulated, which in turn affects which wavelengths of light are reflected and which are absorbed.
• Exciting the lattice increases the distance between the nano-crystals, and the skin reflects longer wavelengths of light.

Thus, in a relaxed state the crystals reflect blue and green, but in an excited state the longer wavelengths such as yellow, orange, and red are reflected.

Is this not a similar case with many Christian lives as well?

Many Christians are like the chameleon – they can take on the colour of the world about them.

Just as it is difficult to distinguish the chameleon from the background, so it is very difficult to distinguish many Christians from the background of the world in which they live!

And the reason for this seems to be similar as well, just as the chameleons.

Perhaps such Christians have two superimposed-layers…
• The top layer with the tag of “Christian” – but containing a lattice of “personal agenda” and “sinful inclinations”
• When the external surroundings get conducive and favourable, this “lattice” of sin and duplicity expands – the colour changes – from “holiness” to “worldliness”!

The Gospel of the Day is a bold reminder and warning to us Christians from possessing such kind of a “colour-changing attitude” – professing one thing and living something else to suit the surroundings!

Jesus declares, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the Will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7: 21)

This Gospel passage is the conclusion of the spectacular Sermon on the Mount which began from Chapter 5 of the Gospel of St Matthew.

This great discourse and the brilliant exposition of the Christian teaching is concluded with two fundamental exhortations by Christ:
1. Be a doer of the Word, not just a listener
2. Have a strong foundation built on Him, rather than on the world!

Christianity, for some, becomes a soothing philosophy and a relaxing religion.
• The mercy of the Lord… the love of the Father… the providence of God – they become easy escape routes to avoid duties and responsibilities
• The pious practices…the devout rituals… the spiritual exercises – they sometimes get reduced to mere ‘relaxing’ techniques or ‘lifeless’ customs

 It gets easy to merely say ‘Lord, Lord’ – but to live a life in witness to the Lord becomes a pain in the neck
 It feels good to say, “Jesus, Jesus” – but to orient our actions and deeds, worthy of our vocation becomes a hard reality.

But this is the challenge that the Lord invites us to rise up to…
• Being a person who seriously lives ones profession of faith and makes life a truly witnessing one!
• Being a person who consciously makes efforts to be holy and saintly in order to give glory to the salvific act of the Lord, who shed His blood for us!

Towards this end, Jesus says that we need to have our faith and life built on the strong foundation of the Lord Himself!
 To all who place their entire hope on worldly treasures or self capabilities – like the house build on sand – are sure to collapse!
 To all who build their entire trust on Jesus and His grace and goodness – like the house built on rock – are sure to remain firm!

Being a Christian is an exciting adventure.
There is lot of contentment… loads of peace… bundles of  joy!

But there is also the danger of being snared by the pleasures or riches or temptations in the world, which is constantly enticing us to move away from the Lord and identify ourselves with the world.

 St Peter says, “Your enemy, the Devil, is prowling round, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith…” (1 Pt 5: 8-9)
 Jesus says, “They do not belong to the world anymore… ” (Jn 17: 16)

Let us examine our Christian lives and check…
Am I a “committed and convinced” Christian?
Or am I a “chameleon” Christian?

God Bless! Live Jesus!