“The kingdom of God will be taken from you”:
Protecting against Spiritual Redundancy
In the corporate world, often people are laid off from jobs in the name of ‘redundancy’ when the company wants to downsize its operations. Hence redundancy cannot be taken to be a statement on the ability of individuals. However, one needs to be smart enough to fight redundancy in the competitive world, for instance, by updating oneself. And what about the spiritual world? Are you protected against spiritual redundancy?
Three parables of the Vineyard. In chapters 20 and 21 of the Gospel of Mathew we come across three parables; and all the three use the image of the vineyard. These parables, which we have heard read in these three Sundays (25th to 27th Sunday), have a sequence of teachings of […]
Year A
Year A Sunday Sermons
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Cross of Love, Healing and Challenge
Often the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross would fall on weekdays. This year it happensto fall on a Sunday, and because it is a Feast of the Lord it takes precedence over the Ordinary Sunday of the Year. It is a feast that is celebrated across the mainline churches, including the Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican traditions. It commemorates the legend of the finding of the ‘true cross’ by St Helena in 326 AD, and the subsequent dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. In any case, the feast offers us an opportunity once again to contemplate the mystery of the cross. The cross – “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1Cor 1:23) – is the central symbol of our Christian faith. Let us focus on three […]
Sermon for 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Homily
But you, who do you say I am? (Mt 16:13-20)
In my mother tongue – Tamil, while speaking about great people, speakers and writers often refer to: “the Buddha, Jesus and Gandhi”. These three persons are mentioned as a matter of fact in the same breath. We Christians may feel proud that even non-Christians refer to Jesus as a great man. Looking at it at a deeper level, we may realise that this expression does not reflect our own experience of Jesus. Who is Jesus for you? Is he merely a great man? The gospel text of today once again invites us to reflect on this question. Let us explore three possible implications of this event described in the gospel narration of today, and in […]
Sermon for the Ascension of the Lord
“I am with you always” (Mt 28:20)
Seeking redress for injustice is a human need: when we perceive that we are unjustly treated we want justice to be restored. There are mainly two ways in which we desire justice. One, by wanting revenge on the unjust aggressor; that is, by harming or wanting to harm the unjust aggressor we feel consoled, and our status restored. Though the Hebrew Scriptures see this means of seeking justice to be right, the teachings of Jesus totally rule this out. The second way in which we seek justice is by appealing to a higher authority – even God – to defend us and prove us righteous. This is often referred to as the vindication of the just; that is, without necessarily causing harm to the unjust aggressor, the integrity of the victim is restored.
Seated at […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 3rd Sunday Homily
They left everything
The Bible in the Catholic Tradition
With this Sunday we officially begin to listen to the Gospel according to Matthew during Sunday liturgy of the ordinary time. During moments of common worship in the Catholic Church we listen to the Bible in a systematic manner. We avoid picking and choosing passages according to the preacher’s whims and fancies, though the church does allow choosing readings on some occasions. The Sunday readings are arranged in a three year cycle: Year A uses the gospel of Matthew (as is the case this year); In Year B we listen to Mark; and Year C uses the gospel of Luke. The gospel of John is read during Lent, Eastertide and some feasts. Similarly, the weekday readings are arranged in a two-year cycle. This systematic listening applies not only to the gospel readings but also the first readings during weekdays, and the second readings […]