Lent Day 19: Lent as a time of multiplying

What would we like to be in life? Would we want to be a source of healing through our prayers and compassion? Or would we want to be a poison, which spoils everything? Everything is looked upon negatively and those who think in terms of poison would want to poison even the minds of people by sowing seeds of doubt and anger in young and old minds. Poison has its effectiveness. The only problem is that it negates and devalues human life.

Leaven is not like that. It transforms the rest of the flour, almost miraculously. Being leaven in society means that we would sacrifice for the good of society. We would want to provide, add, multiply and value human life. The leavened bread used for communion is a sign of the positive element of community and human life. Communion should lead to life and life in abundance. The very reason for Holy Communion in society should be to be a source of life, miracles, healing, love and compassion.

In St. Luke 13: 21, Jesus speaks of comparing the kingdom of God to something. He says, “It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Communion is an act of healing and blessing. Lent is also an act of healing and blessing. Our fasting and lent should be a blessing to our family, community and more so to our society. There should be a multiplication of everything. A multiplication of love, a multiplication of food, a multiplication of compassion, a multiplication of giving and a multiplication of goodness.

The concept of communion and sharing is to break. During lent, we should first of all be the leaven which transforms. We should then break the bread that we are and share. Once in a house, the mother cooked two rotis each for her three children. But that day the middle child was still hungry. He could have grabbed the roti of the third child but he did not. The elder son then divides his remaining roti into two pieces and gives to his younger brother. In the house, the mother is the leaven and the son is the breaker of bread. Till the bread is broken and the food is shared, we will think of the division of the rotis as a just process. So, no one need give to the other because everyone has got two rotis. But hunger creates a problem which is then solved by the division of roti or bread by the elder child.

This lent, let us be the leaven and the breaker of bread. Everyone can take up one role and be a blessing in society. Lent is indeed a time to be broken and to break. May the breaking of bread in our houses and families provide for those who are hungry. Amen.

Thanksgiving prayer on Sunday

Thank you God for creating me as I am with small faults but having many skills and blessings. Thank you for the land that I live in, the family and friends that I have, the people I have met, the things I have accomplished and the life that I have received thus far. Give me the mind and the time today Lord to think of all who have contributed to my success and happy life and to be thankful to each one. As I remember their role in my life, accept my prayers for them God and bless them with everything that they need and keep angels to guard over them and give them what they yearn for. May I take time out today Jesus and look back at my life the past week and recreate the blessings I have received. Each blessing has come through someone and as I thank you for giving me what I needed, I wish well and pray for the channels of my blessings. Accept my prayers God and bless everyone I have seen, talked to, interacted with and thought about. May my overflowing cup of blessings be of comfort and hope for all I have and all I know Holy Spirit. Bless us Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer for a good day

My God and my Lord, help me this morning to open my eyes and see the goodness of your creation. Help me God to open my ears and hear the intricate and yet beautiful creatures you have so wonderfully created. Gracious God, as I travel, may I smile at the person next to me, as I drive, may I give way instead of taking space and creating a jam, when I walk, may I relax and not take aggressive strides, when I shop, may I help an elderly person or a child, when I work, may I be a blessing to someone and when I pray may my prayer be in one accord with your wish and reason.

This day Lord,  may I be happy with all that is happening and not think about what all is going wrong. Help me Father to understand why and what my near and dear ones and people I see for the first time are doing. Jesus, initiate me into the joy of suffering for people I don't know and yet people I am supposed to love. Holy Spirit, fill me with the spirit of understanding and love. Guide me good God. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.

Joseph: A shadow of blessing

The birth narrative involves the angel visiting and talking to Mary and Joseph among others. Even though Joseph is let in on the secret of how Mary has conceived, he does two things in secret. Our culture and many other cultures see black, dark and even shadows as something bad and despicable. Joseph who in most part is a silent partner in the narrative has something to offer us in the form of secrets and shadows.

It is interesting to note that we do or we are forced to do bad things in the dark or in secret. Perhaps the usage “his/her/my darkest hour” places “dark” in bad light. Joseph wanted to secretly send away Mary when he learned that she was carrying a baby. He was going to do something bad and yet he was trying to be a nice person by doing that. This is when an intervention by the angel sets things right. But Joseph again secretly supports Mary without others knowing how she has conceived. It is challenging to see that we do bad and worse things in secret and once it is dark the real us comes out. Joseph does something different in being more considerate towards Mary both in secret and in the dark. He must have swallowed a large male ego to do so and in doing that he challenges the very notion of darkness and sin. He shows us that we can after all do good things in the dark and in secret. This is a good lesson when we think of and meditate upon the birth narrative.

Even though Joseph plays second fiddle to Mary he does not wait in secret to seek his revenge but rather does so to behave well with her. The birth narrative this way definitely has Mary in the forefront as a young girl who bears Jesus but it also shows through Joseph the supporting role which should be played by men in a society which is clearly anti-women. This supporting role may not always be played out in the public but in more private spaces. Families have problems which are seen in private and may never come to light. The man in the family who is good outside in the light will be someone else in secret.

The birth narrative offers men especially an opportunity to travel to our deepest darkness inside and choose to do good instead of surrendering to the notion that men can and should only do evil things in private. Joseph is silent but is trying to do something in his silence as well. He is present when the shepherds and elders come to meet baby Jesus but it is not a pronounced presence like Mary. It is almost like a shadow. The shadow is also seen as something which can be done away with because it also has darkness as a part of it. But Joseph invites us to witness a shadow of blessing which he turns out to be. He does not limit himself to the darkest and most evil of thoughts but rather becomes a shadow of blessing to the child and Mary.

The birth narrative should make us think different about how darkness and shadows have been seen as something bad and avoidable just like the birth of a child out of wed lock. Mary is inspired by the Holy Spirit but she could have been dragged into the darkness of male egoism and a patriarchal society and yet Joseph decides to do otherwise. Can we also during the birth of Christ become a shadow of blessing to someone? There are many in society who are outcasts because of their choice or the community they belong to. Wouldn’t it be nice to use the shadow and secret initiatives to offer justice to people who have suffered under shadows and secret decisions?

Joseph defies the thought process of his time and he denies tradition. He feels that Mary needs his presence and he should offer whatever he can even though he may not be able to comprehend what he is doing. Our shadow is something we do not control largely. It is also something we do not notice always. And yet imagine it becoming a blessing to others? Our shadow can be our inner most thoughts and desires. It is there and yet we forget it is there. Joseph realizes his shadow and the strength of his shadow without actually planning his response to the predicament he found himself under. 

We must realize that we are not in the manger or the rock opening where the baby is wrapped in bands of cloth. Yet our shadow could be there either when we face it or when we have our backs to it. This shadow of blessing is a realization that the birth of Christ is indeed not just an event but also a controversy. It is a controversy of a woman who has conceived of the Holy Spirit. We can deny it and secretly dismiss Mary or we can go into the most innermost darkness of our thoughts and become a shadow of blessing.