DATE: 1ST JULY 2017 SATURDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 18:1-15 PSALM: Luke 1:46-50, 53-55 GOSPEL: Matthew 8:5-17 THEME: IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD?

For many of us, the unfolding events of our earthly lives are akin to complex quadratic equations. Some of us feel dizzy when we see a combination of numbers and alphabets and we easily get depressed when we are asked to find the x factor in an equation. Similarly, the challenges of life may weigh our spirits down. However, the fact that I am unable to solve a particular equation does not mean that the equation is not solvable. Every problem in life has a solution. If you cannot handle a problem of life all by yourself, get help from the Lord.

In our First Reading, Abraham and Sarah got help during a divine visitation to solve an ancient problem that had plagued their marriage -- an issue of the fruit of the womb. In that encounter, the Lord said to Abraham, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son" (Gen 18:10). Sarah upon hearing this news laughed. The laughter of Sarah has an important function in the narrative. It helps the reader to see the apparent hopelessness of the case. Humanly speaking, there was no way Sarah could give birth. She had long passed the age of menopause (Gen 18:11). However, the laughter of Sarah evoked a response from the ‘divine visitors’:  "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Gen 18:13-14).

Life is full of challenges and often we find ourselves powerless and vulnerable in the face of some difficult situations. God, however, is faithful. There is no problem too hard for God to solve. Not even the barrenness of an old woman was a problem for God to handle. Indeed, “God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Nb 23:19).

What we need in the face of any challenge is the kind of faith that the centurion in our Gospel text had. In seeking healing for his servant who was not well, he said to Jesus: "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Mt. 8:8). He had complete trust in the power of the Word of God to bring wholeness into what, humanly speaking, appeared to be hopeless.

Are you faced with a very difficult situation?  Is there something that is bothering you? Be reminded that “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it”  (1Co 10:13).

PRAYER OF BLESSING: Like Abraham and Sarah, may you too receive a divine visitation very soon – a visitation that will put laughter on your face. When that happens, may you join the psalmist to sing: “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations: ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced” (Psalm 126:1-3

DATE: 30TH JUNE 2017 FRIDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22 PSALM: Psalm 128:1-5 GOSPEL: Matthew 8:1-4 THEME: THE LORD BLESSES THOSE WHO FEAR HIM

As kids in what was then referred to as “Sunday School", many of us were required to memorise a number of texts in the Bible. We had to learn Scripture texts by rote without paying much heed to the implications of what we were saying. The teacher would mention a text in the Bible and then like parrots, we would spew out the sacred words. It was a way of introducing us to the Book of life. One of such texts which easily ingrained itself in my memory is Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…”

The responsorial psalm for today corroborates the above assertion: “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD” (Ps. 128:1-4).

The First Reading gives an example of a man who feared the Lord and an insight into what the fear of the Lord really entails. We are told that the Lord appeared to Abram, who was then ninety-nine years old, and said to him: "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly..." (Gen. 17:1ff).

The preamble – 'walk before me and be blameless'– captures the spirit of what the fear of the Lord is. It is not a cringing and paralysing fear of the divine but rather a filial reverence that expresses itself in total submission to the Lord. Abram had this attitude in relation to God. Consequently, he was blessed beyond measure. His name and that of his wife were changed – from Abram to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah – to signify the brand new thing the Lord was doing in their lives. At age ninety, Sarah received the promise of the Lord to conceive and give birth, and it came to pass.

The Lord still looks out for people who fear him to bless them. In a world where pursing righteous living is regarded as archaic, the readings for today invites us to 'seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is still near'. When all is said and done, the whisper of a person who fears the Lord is more powerful than the shouts of one who has no reverence for God in his heart. In effect, it is not shouting in prayer that brings about divine intervention; it is the fear of the Lord.

PRAYER: Eternal Father, give me a true sense of awe in your presence and a heart willing to do whatever you tell me. In you I put my trust and I shall never be disappointed. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen  

DATE: 29TH JUNE 2017 SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES FIRST READING: Acts 12:1-11 PSALM: Psalm 34:2-9 SECOND READING: 2Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 GOSPEL: Matthew 16:13-19 THEME: MODEL OF LEADERSHIP

It said that “he who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk” (Anonymous). There is always an element of ‘following’ in leadership. The followers may follow the ideas or ideals of the leader. Consequently, a leader is a person who wields massive impact. A selfless leader, with the passage of time, will gather around him/herself selfless followers and a self-seeking leader will consciously or unconsciously raise up self-seeking followers.

One thing that strongly characterised the early Christian community was the understanding of leadership as service. The leaders suffered for the good of the flock. They were the first to lay down their lives in the face of any trial. They had less privileges and yet worked tirelessly. They had the “smell of the sheep”. Saints Peter and Paul, whose feast we celebrate today offer us a model of leadership in the Body of Christ.

Paul uses the imagery of libation to describe his service to the Christian community: “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2Tim 4:6-8).  For him, leadership was a call to sacrifice – an act of laying down one’s life. He gave his all for the cause of the Gospel and died as a martyr.

Peter also offered his life as sacrifice. The First Reading gives us an account of his imprisonment and his subsequent deliverance. Church history and tradition hold that he too sealed his sacrifice with the heroic act of martyrdom.

In some Christian communities today, the power dimension of leadership has become so strong that it has almost supplanted the suffering-servant dimension of it. The pomp and pride that characterise political leadership have eaten deep into the fibre of some of our Christian communities to the extent that in some places church leaders have become “small gods” needing libation instead of pouring themselves out as libation.

Peter, the rock on which the Church was built, and Paul, the indefatigable tireless missionary, both offered their lives in sacrifice. As we celebrate their solemnity, may we emulate their good examples and offer our lives selflessly as a sweet smelling sacrifice to God.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you gave your all without counting the cost. May I also give my all without counting the cost. Amen

DATE: 27TH JUNE 2017 TUESDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 13:2, 5-18 PSALM: Psalm 15:2-5 GOSPEL: Matthew 7:6, 12-14 THEME: THE FAVOUR OF GOD

As the saying goes, “favour makes a person to receive without asking.” In the life of Abram, we see how the favour of God directs the life of a person who is obedient to the Word of God.

In our First Reading for today, the time had come for Abram and Lot to go their separate ways. Abram appears not to be interested in grabbing the best land for himself. He gives Lot the opportunity to make a choice. “And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere…” (Gen 13:10). Consequently, Lot chooses the whole of the Jordan plain. Abram, by default, would have to settle with what was left.

However, as destiny would have it, the choice of Lot turned out to be the outskirts of Sodom (the very place that would be destroyed, together with Gomorrah, as the story unfolds). Abram, on the other hand, without asking, had received the Promised Land as his portion. The Lord tells him, “Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you'' (Gen 13:17).

When the favour of God is upon your life, it does not matter who chooses first; favour will lead you to make the right choice. It does not matter where you are assigned to; favour will lead you to the right place and at the right time. It does not matter what people think about you; God will surprise them. “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me” (Ps 16:6).

Taking a cue from Abram’s journey of faith, we can conclude that what matters in life is an attitude of obedience to the voice of God. A person of favour is a person of obedience; and it is the favour of God that brings blessings.

PRAYER: Eternal Father, as I kneel before you, I ask not for wealth, power or fame but your favour. Favour me for the sake of Christ your Son. Amen

DATE: 26TH JUNE 2017 MONDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 12:1-9 PSALM: Psalm 33:12-13, 18-20, 22 GOSPEL: Matthew 7:1-5 THEME: STEP OUT IN FAITH

Helen Keller is quoted as saying, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Over the years, I have taken delight in listening to the stories of people who have excelled in different spheres of our human existence and I am gradually coming to the conclusion that anyone who aspires to make it to great heights must at a certain point in time take a risk. If you want to be extraordinary, you would have to go the extraordinary way.

Our First Reading confirms the above point. The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your country, your kindred and your father's house for a country which I shall show you; and I shall make you a great nation, I shall bless you and make your name famous; you are to be a blessing!” (Gen 12:1-2). In response to the Word of God, Abram stepped out in faith. He responded to the call of the Lord at age 75 (It is never too late to obey the Lord). He did not know where God was leading him to; he simply relied on the Word of God and took a risk. The consequence of his decision was the birth of a whole nation.

T.S. Eliot once said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” There is a moment in life when one has to step out in faith. To take a step of faith is to take a risk, inspired by the word of God.

Are you having a strong sensation that your life is meant for something bigger than what it is now? Do you feel as if destiny is beckoning you to greater heights? Perhaps the time has come for you to consider stepping out in faith. Four steps to follow:

Step 1. Pray to God to give you a vision (plan)

Step 2. Clarify the vision with your priest or trusted spiritual guide.

Step 3: Go back to God in prayer.

Step 4: Step out in faith.

Eagles were made to fly and cheetahs were made to run. God has a plan for each one of us. As we step out in obedience to the Word of God, the divine plan would unfold.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, show me the road I should take and I would step out in faith for you will never disappoint me. Amen