Theme: Preparing the disciples for a future mission in a multicultural context. Theme: Preparing the disciples for a future mission in a multicultural context. Theme: Preparing the disciples for a future mission in a multicultural context.

Theme: Preparing the disciples for a future mission in a multicultural context. Theme: Preparing the disciples for a future mission in a multicultural context. 1st Reading Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Moses encourages Israelites to be faithful to the Law 2nd Reading James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 the Word of God has to encourage us to act. Gospel Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Jesus warns against putting aside the commandments of God to cling to the traditions. Today’s all the three readings are very much meaningful and applicable to us in today’s circumstances of our lives. When we look around lives are regulated by religious rules, customs, traditions social thinking etc some times these don’t permit them to be themselves. These rules guide and help them to live their lives either openly or stealthily like one for the society they live with and other for their family and relatives. Often here human respect plays lot of influence on human behavior and religious actions. We know Christian religion is a revealed religion. God spoke to a special people called Israelites. Here Jesus our redeemer, who revealed to us the idea of love in the proper sense, was born. The first reading is an indication how the Decalogue ruled the Israelites in everything they did. The Pharisees who were supposed protect the law added many more rubrics and rituals to make it more sublime. This made them more bound than free. In the second reading we hear how the lives of people have to be ruled by the word of God. Here we see the reflection of God’s love and this helps us to live our lives meaningfully. The present situation the lives of people are bound by many rules. Sometimes these rules might help them to live the life properly, sometimes it may not. We have the law of Sunday obligation, saying that keep the day holy because there is where one who believes may find the Lord for whom he/she has opted to be bound. But often this becomes very superstitious and ritualistic burdensome, rather than helping us to find the Lord, there fore even church has substituted this to another day so that the people can relax on Sunday. This makes the people to search for God and his meaning where he is not. He is in the activities of people we meet. That is why Jesus so powerfully tells the Pharisees who questioned the disciples for not following the tradition of the forefathers. Jesus tells them a practical example of food which though goes from outside inside when digested gives many useless things which are released as dirt. Therefore he compares it to the evil coming out of our heart, where the sins are narrated. Twelve sins which are narrated are sins against the system. Are we willing to rid them from our minds and heart so that our actions become more meaningful and applicable to the life we lead? We have been following till last Sunday the reading from the Gospel of St. John where he has been telling us the meaning of Eucharist in our life. When people began to reject Jesus but Peter openly proclaims his faith in Jesus. Now from this Sunday onwards another area of our life is being examined how to live our faith? The values we have learned from our forefathers how are they influencing our behavior? These questions are being answered systematically in the three readings. Last Sunday when Joshua questioned his audience about the fellowship, they had boldly said they would follow Yahweh. Now we see how these instructions had been inscribed in the psyche of the Israelites. We know the people had been given the law by Yahweh on Mount Sinai. Once again when we enter into the life and teachings of Jesus through this Eucharist let us become once again related to him. He has spent his whole life for us in revealing the values of the kingdom. We have to be conscious when we discern this in the events of our life when we live our religion meaningfully we might become testimonials of God’s love. We will have to answer a few questions very honestly. Why do we pray? Why do we go to various spiritual activities? How deep is our spiritual excellence? Who is our model in our spiritual journey? These questions can be answered as yes I pray because my relationship with God is the one as if I speak to the most loved in my life. It is not only asking God grant this and that but also thanking and praising him for the life he has given me. We do our spiritual activities not out of habit or human respect but because it is the natural extension of our deeper longing to be united with the beloved. Our spiritual excellence can be measured by our facility to be at ease within any situation with any one at any time. We can very loudly say our spiritual model is Jesus who came to show us the way to the father. I remember my father, he was a boatman, who used to ferry passengers from one shore to the other. Some times when the last bus came late, there used to be no connecting bus to go further, he brought such passengers home. I was small I didn’t understand then why he did this but I do now. They used to be made at home given hot water to bathe and fed. We were not rich but we never lacked food my mother used to say one person’s food can be shared by ten people son. not vice-versa. When I see how much food is wasted in parties where it could be given to the poor people but no we become wasteful. Now I know he was a person showing his love for the neighbor so spontaneously. That is why I too have experienced the love of many people in my life often. Can we call this as an over pouring of the grace of God into our lives? I wish all a very nice Sunday to all my readers, In union with the divine word, Yours ever Fr. Juze Vaz svd