13-Mar-2012 Dear Friend,
Though believers say that God created us in his own image and likeness, often in reality it appears that we create God in our own image and believe that he is and acts like we do. We believe that God likes us only when we are good and punishes us when we do evil. But our God is different, he never punishes and is always merciful and kind even to sinners. Let's become like our God. Have an insightful weekend! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Fourth Sunday of Lent 'Sent not to condemn but save!' 18-Mar-2012 Readings: 2 Chro. 36: 14-16, 19-23; Eph. 2: 4-10; John 3: 14-21 The first reading of today is taken from the Second Book of Chronicles. In today's passage we are told of the many misfortunes that befell Israel, that God allowed because of their sins, the greatest being the destruction of the temple and their banishment into exile. However the author of Chronicles points out that this was not because God wanted to take revenge on his people. Rather he allowed these misfortunes to come so that these tragedies would cure Israel of the disease of their sins. People may give up on us but God never abandons his people Coming Home John Voigt and Jane Fonda play the lead roles in the movie Coming Home, which is about an American soldier crippled for life because of the Vietnam War. The film focuses on the psychological as well as the physical ordeals of this paraplegic - how he struggles with the help of a woman to accept his handicap, reconstruct his dreams, and create a future for himself. This Vietnam War vet's situation is very similar to that of the Jews in the first reading. God often sends people to help us through a crisis: parents and children often intervene to assist each other; a true friend come through when no one else will; sometimes it is a pastor, a teacher or a parishioner who bails us out. Like the Jews in exile or like that Vietnam vet in Coming Home we endure small deaths in many ways. Nonetheless, we can find new life because of our faith in the Lord Jesus. Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds' In the gospel we have Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, who appears three times in the Gospel of John, each time at night. His caution in coming at night implies heavy opposition to Jesus in Jerusalem. In today's reading, we read of God ordering Moses to make a bronze serpent, mount it on a pole, enabling all who looked at it to be cured of the bites of poisonous snakes as they trekked through the desert. Jesus used this story as a parable of himself. He told Nicodemus that for the salvation of the world, he himself would be lifted up. He meant it in a twofold sense: lifted up on the cross and lifted up into the glory of the resurrection and ascension. Jesus told Nicodemus and us through him, that if we look at Jesus and believe, we will be healed of the effects of our sins and we will experience healing pardon and new life. Jesus summed it all up by saying, "Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, so that every one who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life. God sent his son into the world not to condemn the world but so that through him the world might be saved." Salvation is ours in and through Jesus Christ. If we believe then God's power comes alive in us, if we do not believe then we condemn ourselves and God's spirit lies impotent in us. Some people condemn themselves by turning away from the light. A life that makes a difference Several years ago a bomb was detonated outside the huge oak doors of a Greek Catholic church in Jerusalem. The heavy doors were blown inward so that they careened up to the front of the sanctuary and destroyed the chancel area. Windows were blown out, pews were destroyed, and the balcony collapsed. Dr. Ken Bailey, a Presbyterian missionary scholar and friend of the priest of the Greek Church, stopped by to assess the damage. It took little time to determine that the priest was in shock and unable to make necessary decisions. So Dr. Bailey took it upon himself to ask seminary administrators at the school where he taught to close classes, and he invited students to join him in helping the priest. They cleaned the church and boarded the windows to prevent looting. The next day, Bailey again called on his friend. The maid confided in him that the priest did not cry at the bomb's destruction. However, she added, "He did cry when you and your friends helped clean up the mess it made." Dr. Bailey has since remarked, "I did not teach any theology that afternoon -- or did I?" If theology is about love in action, he held one of his best classes that day. The truth is...faith is never so beautiful as when it has its working clothes on. Steve Goodier Attitude towards the Jesus the Light The coming of light ought to be good news for those living in darkness. However, this is not always the case. The Simon Community run night-shelters for down-and-outs. Each night volunteers bring soup and sandwiches to those who for one reason or another do not want to come to the shelters. They go looking for them in derelict buildings and such places. The most important aid they take with them is a torch, because often there is no light where the down-and-outs live. Most of the down-and-outs receive the volunteers as friends. But some refuse to have anything to do with them. The volunteers can tell at once which group they are dealing with by their reaction to the light. Some welcome the light. Others fear it. You could say that the light judges them, in the sense that it shows up the darkness in their lives - the darkness of alcoholism, misery, hopelessness. But it doesn't come to judge them. It comes as a friend, to brighten up their lives, to comfort them. Its advent means the arrival of friends. That's how it was with the coming of Christ's light. Christ did not come to judge people but to save them. He came bearing a light - the light of truth, goodness, and salvation from sin. Some welcomed his light. But others rejected it because it showed up the evil in their lives. Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies' Snakes and Ladders Aboriginals in India have an indigenous and ingenious way of curing snakebite. On my visit to Magathara village, South Gujarat, Nimmi (8) was bitten by a cobra. The girl wept bitterly. Makhabhai, Nimmi's dad, the village leader, made an incision near the snakebite. He then caught a hen and pressed its rectum on the spot where blood was oozing out. The hen's rectum worked like a suction-pump, and it began to struggle. I saw the hen slowly turning blue. Nimmi was saved. The hen died. In childhood, I enjoyed playing 'snakes and ladders'. The dice is cast and one hopes to reach 'Home' before the others by avoiding snakes, ascending ladders. Some of those snakes were big; some, small. Even close to 'Home', one could suddenly be bitten by a snake and tumbled down. Life's like that! As the bronze - serpent signified salvation for the Israelites, the cross, like a ladder, leads us Godwards. Francis Gonsalves in 'Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds' Tragedy Turns into Triumph Some philosophers view life as essentially tragic. They come to this pessimistic conclusion because they observe that all life inevitably ends in death. The rose which blooms early this spring will have died long before summer arrives. New-born infants who brighten the life of loving parents will themselves follow their father and mother one day into the darkness of the grave. In the fat distant future the sun, which is our furnace, will exhaust its energy and the earth will endure a frozen death. Actually the entire universe is finite, limited in the resources which are needed for continued existence. Even at this moment the universe is slowing passing away. If like some philosophers we relied only on our human intellects, we too would be pessimistic. But we have been given the gift of faith which is like a bright light shining on an awesome truth within God's plan. We call this truth the Paschal Mystery. Charles Miller in 'Sunday Preaching' God gave His only Son to be our Saviour Srinivasa Bhattacharya, a Brahmin, was a student who was doing his doctorate in Sanskrit at the Benaras University. He hailed from an illustrated family of Hindu priests. One day, when he was in the library of Benaras University, researching on the topic of his thesis: How does a man reach heaven after death', a sanyasi (ascetic) dressed in saffron clothes, called him out of the library and handed him a piece of paper and disappeared. After getting inside the library, when he opened the paper, it was written: John 3: 16: "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Bhattacharya wondered about the verse and the stranger who gave him that quotation. Who is this only begotten son? He began to wonder. That verse haunted him. After completing his doctorate, one day he was travelling from Varanasi in the North of India to Madras in the South. He was still haunted by John: 3: 16. At 2:00 A.M. as the train was closing on towards Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, he felt a strange compulsive urge to get off the train. When he fought back the urge, it became all the more strong. It was strange! This place was not his destiny, and moreover, he did not know anyone here. But the urge was irresistible. He got off the train. He aimlessly began to walk towards the deserted market place. After walking about three kilometres, at the intersection of the road, he saw the sanyasi, whom he had met at the library of Benaras University, standing on the other side of the road. He said to him, "You are searching for the 'Only Begotten Son; He is Jesus Christ. Come! I will show Him to you." The Sanyasi explained him the Scriptures from the creation of the world to the death of Jesus on the cross for the sinners. Bhattacharya spent about three months with the sanyasi; he accepted Christ as his personal Saviour. After his baptism, he was sent by the sanyasi to preach the Gospel of Christ to the whole world. Today Srinivas Bhattacharya is a staunch Christian. John Rose in 'John's Sunday Homilies' May we acknowledge Jesus as our personal saviour now and always! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site www.netforlife.net Thank you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
