There are two phrases in today's Gospel Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 which sound like as if Jesus is addressing to each one of us. As we still grapple with the reality of uncertainty of tomorrow in the present context of Covid Pandemic, the words of Jesus must ripple in our ears again and again: Firstly, “do not be afraid; just have faith.” and secondly, “Get up!” – “Talitha kum!” The first one is addressed to the synagogue official and the second one to the little girl of twelve years old who had breathed her last. If the first one rekindles new hope in the life of a synagogue official then the second one breathes new life into what must have seemed like a hopeless situation - the death of a little child. Both the words and the action especially taking the hand of the child and infusing in her life in themselves are truly motivating factors in our today's context. In fact, the evangelist Mark is recounting an event that led the disciples to understand Jesus’ authority and power over even the final enemy, death.
“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mark 4: 40). These words of Jesus addressed to his disciples on the rocking boat in the Sea of Galilee must encourage us in this time of great turmoil. It is not always the statements or assertions that strengthen us but the right questions when we are afraid and frightful. The straightforward questions from authoritative figures reassure us to fall back on the right path.
In the liturgical calendar, the month of June is a significant one. In this month we celebrate a number of feasts either connected with the person of Jesus Christ - Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, or the saints of our Church, like Boniface, Anthony of Padua Aloysius Gonzaga, John Fisher, Thomas More, the birth of John the Baptist, Irenaeus, Peter, Paul, etc. These holy men who gave their lives totally to the service of faith and their fellow neighbour tell us a most essential thing, that they were in their earthly life were "at home with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8).
Along with a relentless news cycle and the various stresses and worries that find their way into each day, the Corona pandemic is ravaging our lives, families and communities. In the midst of this, we celebrate the solemnity of Corpus Christi, a feast which so tangible and dear to us because of its symbolic and personal meaning. Hence, the feast comes as a soothing balm to us. We can relate to this feast as closely as possible because of our utmost devotion and reverence to the body and blood of Christ which we venerate and receive at every Eucharist. The Feast of Corpus Christi – and every Mass – celebrates Christ’s gift of the Eucharist, which the Catechism calls “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). The pandemic has meant that some of us have been long separated from the sacrament, which may make the meaning of today’s feast feel somewhat distant.
1. Creation and Incarnation as God's loving acts
In our liturgies and other church practices, we often use a phrase referred to God’s unconditional love for humanity that is ‘He gave Himself to us’. God as our creator not only allowed us to be what we are but he gave himself freely to us. If creation marks the beginning of God’s first visible sign of his love, then God’s incarnation through the person of Jesus marks another witness of God’s presence amongst us. Today we celebrate in a specific manner both these two acts of God: creation and incarnation.
1. The powerful experience of the Holy Trinity in every day of our lives
We know things around us through our senses. The sense experience makes us understand the reality around us. In other words, we interpret things as we experience them through our senses. Each one might understand things differently based on one's earlier experiences. As we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we need to have clarity in place of confusion, faith in place of doubt to understand this complex reality of the Trinitarian God, which we hold so dear to us. The Holy Trinity Sunday is a reminder that God is but with Three. Our Christian faith says that God is a reality of our lives. Therefore the Church today celebrates this amazing feast which consists of a deep theological dimension to our faith and ecclesial life.
One of the post-resurrection promises of Jesus was to send the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and it is fulfilled today. The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives us a fascinating description of the coming down of the Holy Spirit on the fear-stricken disciples of Jesus. The Pentecost scene described here is a vivid and colourful one – tongues of fire, a powerful wind. When the disciples were together the Holy Spirit came upon them and fills them with a heart of Christ. In other words, Jesus appears to them again and the oneness is exemplified. The Father reunites Jesus with his followers in a new way through the Holy Spirit, so that they may continue to live the life of Jesus through their actions and words. The Holy Spirit appeared to them as tongues of fire. It made its way through a loud noise like a strong driving wind. Then they began to speak in tongues, which means they began to speak in different languages. This was a moment we generally call the establishment of the Church.
1. Holy Spirit is the foundational experience of the first Chruch
Pentecost was a foundational and defining moment in the life of the early Church. The Church would become an instrument of salvation, which will speak about the resurrection of the Lord. The Gospel reading tells us that Jesus breathed on the disciples the Holy Spirit. It has some similarities with the first book of the Bible, Genesis, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus.
The politics around the second wave of the Corona pandemic is intriguing. Along with the nasty news that we hear every day of the effects and destruction of Covid -19, in all of the print and digital media, personally, we are angry not only with the coronavirus itself but also with the government and those who exercise authority upon us. Yes, both the central and state governments have been stupid and imbecile and we are ruled by an emperor who walks in his own shadow! In the words of Mahua Moitra, he is an emperor who is wearing transparent clothing, while others see him naked and still he doesn’t notice it. We did study about such a personality in our primary school day textbooks. Strangely, now we have the reality of that emperor in the person of our country's PM.
Along with the blame game, however, we should not fall short of our own intelligence and precautions as the current variant coronavirus is deadlier. The mutant variant of this Indian virus seems to be so powerful that it influences our whole organism, and nothing seems to be stopping it including our robust immunity. Everything is put to test with this killer virus in addition to immunity. In this context, could we look deeper into the reality of this virus and save ourselves at least for this moment and allow our death to come at a later stage of our life when it is the right time to go?
1. Let's focus on ourselves and increase the sense of awareness.
Perhaps there is a sense of recklessness in the way we behave in our digital world. With the mobiles and constant messaging on apps of various social media, we have left for ourselves very little time to think about. With the constant hanging of news and views, there is a dramatic shift in our attention. In any spiritual practice, focusing our attention is very important to know what is happening to oneself. Either it is for prayer, or participating in sacraments, Holy Mass or puja, attention and focus are a must. This principle applies even to learning or study. Without concentrating on a particular thing we cannot grasp it fully, extensively and intimately. The parable of the weeds among the wheat in the Bible is apt here: "But while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat" (Matt13:25). The enemy attacks when you are vulnerable. Rule 14 of St. Ignatius’ Discernment of Spirits states that the enemy lays seize at the weakest side.
"Invisibility" and "departing" seem to be the two words, which we have been experiencing during this second wave of the Corona pandemic. Many of our dear and close relatives, friends, colleagues, collaborators, etc. are becoming so quickly invisible to our eyes as the savage illness mercilessly taking lives including the young ones. I believe that the mood of the disciples on that day of their master's ascension into heaven must be similar. Jesus who was physically present with them for many years is no more. Jesus returns to his Father in heaven, in other words, Jesus departs from the earth. The reading does not tell us the mood of the disciples when they saw Jesus disappearing from their midst. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that two angels appeared to the disciples and assured of his Second Coming as the way he was taken up. They carried a promise along with them with the mission that was given by Jesus “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
For the last two weeks, we have been reading 5 chapters (10-15) from the Gospel of St John. The Evangelist is focusing his attention on the person of Jesus Christ. For him, Jesus is the true light whom we must follow; he is the good shepherd who gives us his pastures; he is the vine and we are the branches; he is our friend and will give his life for us; he is the life and the resurrection and we have to remain with him to rise again. “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.” These and many more beautiful sayings St John elucidates in the discourse of Jesus.
