“Bringing the Powerful Presence of God in every situation of our society!”
(Based on Isa 35:4-7, Jas 2:1-5 and Mk 7:31-37 – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
There is a beautiful little anecdote in the life of St Mother Teresa of Kolkatta – whose Feast we celebrate today – probably, known to many of us.
As Mother was cleaning the wounds of a leper, a man observed her.
The sight of the leprous wounds and the horrible stench caused that man to exclaim with disgust, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars!”
In reply, the saintly mother replied:
“Neither would I!
But I would gladly do it for Jesus!”
The love for the Lord and imitation of His descending love, prompted Mother Teresa to reach out her hands…
… even to the worst sores and the filthiest wounds!
Divine Love manifests its great power and reveals its glorious splendour, when it descends to even touch the lowliest, the least and the lost!
The Gospel of the Day is a wonderful presentation of Jesus, who was willing to lower to an extent, even to “dirty Himself” in order to touch human lives!
The Book of Genesis (Chapter 1) testifies to the fact that God created the entire world with His Word!
God doesn’t need a particular or a fixed procedure to work a miracle or a wonder
God doesn’t comply to human understandings of causing a divine phenomenon.
Perhaps, here is a reminder for us, in our prayer patterns…
In my prayers, do I also make my requests in such a way that I end up even commanding how and when God should answer the prayer?
In my intercessions to the Lord, do I act as “god” and even order God, the style and manner in which He has to answer our prayers?
Keeping in tune with this principle of “God as His own unique styles and patterns,” Jesus, the Word performs a strange pattern in bringing about the healing.
This incident of healing the ‘man who was deaf and had a speech impediment’ is indeed very unique…
… in the fact of the manner in which the miracle was performed.
The Gospel says, “taking him (the man who was deaf and with impediment in speech) aside, from the multitude privately…
… Jesus put His fingers into His ears, and He spat and touched His tongue, and looking up to heaven, He sighed…” (Mk 7: 33)
Here is a highly “unclean and unhygienic” style of healing…
Putting fingers into the ears…
Spitting onto the hands or the finger…
Touching the tongue…
Well sounds a little disgusting, right?
But let’s be prepared to face this grand reality….
This is our God!
This is our Saviour Lord!
In Jesus, we celebrate a God who is willing to heal even our most painful wounds and cleanse our most sinful sores!
In Jesus, we cherish a God who lowers Himself even to the extent of dirtying His hands to purify and refine us!
Am I willing and ready to allow this Daring God, who would go to any extent…
… to win us back to Him
… to bring a wholesome healing in us
To touch our hidden wounds, our shameful sores and our filthy sinful lives?
This is also a challenge and a call, to us Christians, to imitate our Blessed Lord in lowering ourselves…
… to reach out to the needy and the wanting
… to touch the hearts of the unclean and the corrupt.
The Lord reminds and assures us through Prophet Isaiah, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert…
… the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water” (Isa 35:5-7)
Humanly speaking, it might be too unreasonable to enter into the portals of dirt and slimes in the lives of people and to remain faithful to the Ways of God.
As St James tells us, sometimes, our human weaknesses even causes us to create division, distinction and discrimination among people – “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?
Have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” (Jas 2:1, 4)
But our Blessed Lord challenges us to imitate Him and offers His Heart of Love to be the “thumb rule” and the basic reason to reach out to all!
Are we prepared to “dirty” our lives in order to extend the charity and mercy of God to all…
…and thus, as in the title of the book on Blessed Mother Teresa, make our lives, “Something beautiful for God”!
September 5th is Teacher’s Day in India.
Teachers mould and shape a child to make him/her a beautiful person with a noble character!
Teachers inspire change!
Teachers stir up conversion!
Teachers motivate transformation!
Today the Greatest of all Teachers – Jesus – challenges and exhorts each one of us to adopt and adapt…
… a transformed way of Living
… a changed Lifestyle
… a converted Life!
And allow Him to reign over every situation of our life and embrace us!
On this Feast Day of Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata, let us seek her intercession…
… and be inspired by her love and life, that we may truly see – and like her – bring the Powerful Presence of God in every situation of our society.
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
“Now God’s Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, His Word, His Living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of Himself.
The Spirit who “has spoken through the prophets” makes us hear the Father’s Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself.
We know Him only in the movement by which He reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome Him in faith.
The Spirit of truth who “unveils” Christ to us “will not speak on His own.”
Such properly Divine self-effacement explains why “the world cannot receive (Him), because it neither sees Him nor knows Him,” while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because He dwells with them! (Cf. CCC # 687)
Reflection Capsules 