NEW YEAR-2012.
Numbers 6: 22-27,Galatians 4:4-7;Gospel:Luke 2: 16-21
It is fortunate that New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. This brings us all together into the house of God. This, of course, is where we ought to begin a New Year. On a new year’s day a young man started out with a prayer: Dear Lord! So far this year I've done well. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on I'm probably going to need a lot more help. Amen. Though we feel to laugh on this, it tells us that we really need God’s help to keep us going in good track.
New year comes around with a lot of expectations, but behind them there may be some remorse too. The name "January" comes from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This is indeed a time to look back at the year that has just ended and to look forward to the new year ahead of us. How did I spend this one year of my life that has just passed? Did I use it to advance my goals and objectives in life? Did I use it to enhance the purpose of my existence? Could I have done better last year in the way I invested my time between the demands of work, family, friends and society, and the demands of my spiritual life? What things did I achieve last year and what did I fail to achieve? How can I consolidate the achievements of last year while reversing the failures and losses in this new year? Through soul searching questions like these we find that a review of the past year naturally leads to setting goals and resolutions for the new year. We do need to review our lives from year to year because, as Socrates says, the unexamined life is not worth living.
Today's newspapers are full of individual and collective new year resolutions. Most of those, however, are not resolutions at all but only wishes. What is the difference between a resolution and a wish? A wish identifies a goal one wants to reach, a resolution specifies the steps one will take to reach it.
A boy asked his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hangs over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?" The dad replied, "Two."
"No," the son replied. “Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decided to jump, how many are left?"
The dad said, "Oh, I get the point! If one decided to jump, the others would too. So there are none left."
The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump."
Does that sound like our last year’s resolutions? Great inspiration and great resolutions, but oftentimes we only decide, and months later we are still on the same limb of do-nothing. Because, mostly they were wishes, not resolutions, involving the steps to achieve them.
Our lives are shaped much more by our attitude than by our circumstances. Everybody has struggles. My struggles are just more apparent than yours. That’s why I think my troubles are greater than yours.
The good news is what lies ahead is no surprise to God. In fact, He has already been where we are going. That reason alone empowers us to face every tomorrow with hope, knowing whatever touches us passes through His hands, with His permission.
Whatever the situation in which we find ourselves - a hardship, a disappointment, a decision to make - God has a solution, an answer that is right for us. We tell God about it in prayer but we also listen to what God has to tell us about it. Prayer is a conversation with God but sometimes all we do is pick up the phone, read out the list of our problems to God and drop the phone without listening to hear what God has to say to us. Let us today resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure God's word and ponder it in our hearts. Then shall we be able to realize our new year resolution of a new life in union with God. Let us see this year as another chance given to us to get it right, to grow in familiarity with God our loving Father, and to grow in our awareness of ourselves as God’s beloved children.
Today’s Feast of "Mary, the Mother of God" is a very appropriate way to begin a new year. What better way to ring in the New Year than to celebrate the woman whose complete devotion to God played such a central role in our salvation? A Human woman is the mother of God, and God is the son of a human mother.
The gospel today presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the new year. There we see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). Mary was a woman who valued the word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. It is true that the holiness of Mary is attributed to the grace of God, but this should not make us forget that she needed to make an effort in order to cooperate with the grace of God. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God.
St Luke tells us that "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." God did not tell Mary his entire plan. We know much more than she did about how everything was going to work out. She had to walk in the dim light of faith, one step at a time, trusting in God, witnessing his action, and seconding it whenever she could. But she paid attention. She pondered in her heart all of God's gifts to her, all of his words and deeds. Today in Holy Communion we will receive the Body of Christ, which was formed in the womb of Mary. When we do, let's ask our spiritual Mother, the Mother of God and of all Christians, to teach us how to take care of the precious faith we have received and renewed during these days, just as she took care of the baby Jesus.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
CHRISTMAS-2011
CHRISTMAS.
After explaining childbirth the biology teacher asked her 4thgraders to write an essay on "childbirth" in their families. Susan went home and asked her mother how she was born. Her mother, who was busy at the time, said, “A big white swan brought you darling, and left you on our doorstep.” Continuing her research she asked grandma how her parents got her. Being in the middle of something, her grandma similarly deflected the question by saying, “A fairy brought me and my mother found me in our garden in an open box”. Then the girl went and asked her great-grandmother how her parents got her as a baby. “My mother picked me from a box found in the gooseberry bush”, said the surprised great-grandma. With this information the girl wrote her essay. When the teacher asked her later to read it in front of the class, she stood up and began, "I really wonder why there was not even a single natural birth in our family for four generations... Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s a non-normal birth never before seen or experienced because it is the birth of God as man – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, as our Savior.
Larry King on CNN was once asked by some one on Christmas Day and told if Jesus were to come now and you are given a chance to ask him one question, just one question, what would that question be ? He said: He would ask: Are you born of a Virgin?. That is the proof that he was God. Is there any thing that God could not perform by human beings? God could give power to human beings and make them do things, even great things. Samson in the O.T. was a great man, man of power. He could kill several lions in just one stroke.
When we make things for our use, we make them useful for our particular purpose, special use. If we make a spade that is meant to make holes in the ground. If we make a ship that is meant to travel in water and so it would be fitted to be able to travel in water. So is with anything we make for our need. If God created every human being in this world through the union of a man and a woman, and make just one man exempt from that order of creation, it is for a purpose. Otherwise he would be irrational God, creating things with no purpose. Why do you think Jesus was to be born of a virgin and not from the cooperation of a man in this process?
If God wanted to come to the earth and save man, he could have come down on Good Friday and do the work of salvation in three days and get back to heaven on the third day. Why did he come down to the earth as a weak human being ? First of all to save human beings from our sins. Sin became part of human nature. It is not something outside of us that we can get rid of it of ourselves. Man could not forgive his sins himself, because it is in himself. He had to be forgiven by God, because it is primarily a sin against God, a separation from God. So someone who is in human nature and at the same time is above human nature and is able to free the sins from the human nature has to be involved in this process. That is why God became man and at the same time he remained God too. Perfectly man and perfectly God. That is why he was born of a virgin. If he was born of a virgin he is surely God. Because no one ever was born that way.
No incarnations in other religions ever claimed that right. The Quran clearly mentions, and even more vehemently defends than the Bible does, that Jesus was born of a virgin. It also admits that no one was ever born that way. If the Quran admits so, that is the clear proof that Quran admits Jesus’ divinity, even though, it tells that Jesus is not God in other places. Why would God let someone be born in a unique way, without a human father and he is just a prophet like any body else ? Are you saying God does things without meaning and purpose ? If you have a Muslim friend and ask him this question and see what he answers.
It is popular nowadays to say that all religions are basically the same. You may have heard the example of people who say that God is like a mountain, and the different religions are the different paths up the mountain. But to say that all religions are the same is neither respectful nor tolerant - it is either arrogant or ignorant. Religions do have some things in common, but they also have substantial differences.
Theologian Karl Barth stood before students and faculty at Princeton in 1963 during his Princeton Lectures. A student asked: "Sir, don't you think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not only Christianity?" Barth stunned many who were present when he thundered, "No, God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed himself in his Son." Christianity is not a religion like all other religions of the world. The Church reveals the truth the Holy Spirit reveals to her. It is a complete manifestation of God for the humanity for the sake of building a living relationship with him.
No other religion can beat Christianity on two grounds both of which tell of Jesus’ divinity. First, is his Virgin birth. Even in the Hindu scriptures mentions are made about a man being born of a virgin bringing salvation for the humanity that prophesy has not been fulfilled in Hinduism yet, but only in Christianity. Secondly his resurrection of which the disciples were witnesses and for which they all died martyrs death. If it were a lie, none of the Apostles would not have given up their lives to defend that lie. You never hear people laying down life to defend lies, but only truth. No other religion can stand against this solid truths of Christianity.
Only we Christians have the privilege of saying, "The Word became flesh, and lived among us." God-with-us is a divine promise first to Israel, and through them to all of us, of God's unilateral faithfulness to humanity and God's eternal initiative toward all that is created. To put it even more plainly, Yahweh says I am going to be with you whether you know it or not, ask for it or not, or enjoy it or not. God is GIVEN once, and for all, and forever, to the human species and to the whole created world! That is the meaning of Incarnation, the meaning of Emmanuel, and the first and final meaning of Christmas. The other day I heard some one preaching on the word Emmanuel. Em-man-u-el- Man who knows you well. Though it is far fetched explanation, it sounds good to me.
The message of Christmas is that we are just travelers through this earthly life, and that God has come to travel with us, and that if we stay by his side, we are guaranteed to arrive safely at our final destination: the everlasting life of heaven, in the Father's house. That's why we can be joyful even in the midst of our tears and difficulties; because we know that our Redeemer lives and weeps at our side, and will never abandon us.
Our preparing for Christ’s rebirth in our daily lives is to cultivate the spirit of sacrifice and humility. It was by sacrifice that the shepherds of Bethlehem and the Magi were able to find the Savior. They were humble enough to see God in the Child in the manger. We too can experience Jesus by sharing Him with others, just as God shared His Son with us. Let us remember that the angels wished peace on earth only to those able to receive that peace, those who possessed the good will and largeness of heart to receive and then to share Jesus our Savior with others in love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and humble service.
Let’s all the blessings of the Manger Born Baby be yours at this Christmas and through out the New year.
After explaining childbirth the biology teacher asked her 4thgraders to write an essay on "childbirth" in their families. Susan went home and asked her mother how she was born. Her mother, who was busy at the time, said, “A big white swan brought you darling, and left you on our doorstep.” Continuing her research she asked grandma how her parents got her. Being in the middle of something, her grandma similarly deflected the question by saying, “A fairy brought me and my mother found me in our garden in an open box”. Then the girl went and asked her great-grandmother how her parents got her as a baby. “My mother picked me from a box found in the gooseberry bush”, said the surprised great-grandma. With this information the girl wrote her essay. When the teacher asked her later to read it in front of the class, she stood up and began, "I really wonder why there was not even a single natural birth in our family for four generations... Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s a non-normal birth never before seen or experienced because it is the birth of God as man – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, as our Savior.
Larry King on CNN was once asked by some one on Christmas Day and told if Jesus were to come now and you are given a chance to ask him one question, just one question, what would that question be ? He said: He would ask: Are you born of a Virgin?. That is the proof that he was God. Is there any thing that God could not perform by human beings? God could give power to human beings and make them do things, even great things. Samson in the O.T. was a great man, man of power. He could kill several lions in just one stroke.
When we make things for our use, we make them useful for our particular purpose, special use. If we make a spade that is meant to make holes in the ground. If we make a ship that is meant to travel in water and so it would be fitted to be able to travel in water. So is with anything we make for our need. If God created every human being in this world through the union of a man and a woman, and make just one man exempt from that order of creation, it is for a purpose. Otherwise he would be irrational God, creating things with no purpose. Why do you think Jesus was to be born of a virgin and not from the cooperation of a man in this process?
If God wanted to come to the earth and save man, he could have come down on Good Friday and do the work of salvation in three days and get back to heaven on the third day. Why did he come down to the earth as a weak human being ? First of all to save human beings from our sins. Sin became part of human nature. It is not something outside of us that we can get rid of it of ourselves. Man could not forgive his sins himself, because it is in himself. He had to be forgiven by God, because it is primarily a sin against God, a separation from God. So someone who is in human nature and at the same time is above human nature and is able to free the sins from the human nature has to be involved in this process. That is why God became man and at the same time he remained God too. Perfectly man and perfectly God. That is why he was born of a virgin. If he was born of a virgin he is surely God. Because no one ever was born that way.
No incarnations in other religions ever claimed that right. The Quran clearly mentions, and even more vehemently defends than the Bible does, that Jesus was born of a virgin. It also admits that no one was ever born that way. If the Quran admits so, that is the clear proof that Quran admits Jesus’ divinity, even though, it tells that Jesus is not God in other places. Why would God let someone be born in a unique way, without a human father and he is just a prophet like any body else ? Are you saying God does things without meaning and purpose ? If you have a Muslim friend and ask him this question and see what he answers.
It is popular nowadays to say that all religions are basically the same. You may have heard the example of people who say that God is like a mountain, and the different religions are the different paths up the mountain. But to say that all religions are the same is neither respectful nor tolerant - it is either arrogant or ignorant. Religions do have some things in common, but they also have substantial differences.
Theologian Karl Barth stood before students and faculty at Princeton in 1963 during his Princeton Lectures. A student asked: "Sir, don't you think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not only Christianity?" Barth stunned many who were present when he thundered, "No, God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed himself in his Son." Christianity is not a religion like all other religions of the world. The Church reveals the truth the Holy Spirit reveals to her. It is a complete manifestation of God for the humanity for the sake of building a living relationship with him.
No other religion can beat Christianity on two grounds both of which tell of Jesus’ divinity. First, is his Virgin birth. Even in the Hindu scriptures mentions are made about a man being born of a virgin bringing salvation for the humanity that prophesy has not been fulfilled in Hinduism yet, but only in Christianity. Secondly his resurrection of which the disciples were witnesses and for which they all died martyrs death. If it were a lie, none of the Apostles would not have given up their lives to defend that lie. You never hear people laying down life to defend lies, but only truth. No other religion can stand against this solid truths of Christianity.
Only we Christians have the privilege of saying, "The Word became flesh, and lived among us." God-with-us is a divine promise first to Israel, and through them to all of us, of God's unilateral faithfulness to humanity and God's eternal initiative toward all that is created. To put it even more plainly, Yahweh says I am going to be with you whether you know it or not, ask for it or not, or enjoy it or not. God is GIVEN once, and for all, and forever, to the human species and to the whole created world! That is the meaning of Incarnation, the meaning of Emmanuel, and the first and final meaning of Christmas. The other day I heard some one preaching on the word Emmanuel. Em-man-u-el- Man who knows you well. Though it is far fetched explanation, it sounds good to me.
The message of Christmas is that we are just travelers through this earthly life, and that God has come to travel with us, and that if we stay by his side, we are guaranteed to arrive safely at our final destination: the everlasting life of heaven, in the Father's house. That's why we can be joyful even in the midst of our tears and difficulties; because we know that our Redeemer lives and weeps at our side, and will never abandon us.
Our preparing for Christ’s rebirth in our daily lives is to cultivate the spirit of sacrifice and humility. It was by sacrifice that the shepherds of Bethlehem and the Magi were able to find the Savior. They were humble enough to see God in the Child in the manger. We too can experience Jesus by sharing Him with others, just as God shared His Son with us. Let us remember that the angels wished peace on earth only to those able to receive that peace, those who possessed the good will and largeness of heart to receive and then to share Jesus our Savior with others in love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and humble service.
Let’s all the blessings of the Manger Born Baby be yours at this Christmas and through out the New year.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)