UNBELIEF OF THE DISCIPLES

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UNBELIEF OF THE DISCIPLES

MARK 16:14 … AND HE UPBRAIDED THEM FOR THEIR LACK OF BELIEF AND STUBBORNNESS

The battered and bruised body of Jesus hanging helplessly on the cross together with his agonising cries of anguish before his shameful death was a traumatic experience for the disciples. This was a far cry from their fond dreams of a conquering Messiah who will share his spoils with them. They were shattered and shocked into disbelief.They totally lost all confidence and hope in Jesus even though they witnessed him raising to life the child of Jairus, the widow’s young son and his friend Lazarus.. When they could never believe that Jesus would suffer and die on the cross the thought that Jesus will rise from the dead never occurred in their minds though Jesus spoke about it several times. Therefore their unbelief persisted even when it was reported to them that Jesus was alive and appeared to some other disciples. They thought it must have been only an appearance of the ghost of Jesus. Moreover Jesus’ appearance was different each time and the disciples who saw him could not recognise him immediately. This only confirmed their suspicions and unbelief. It is only after the infilling of the Holy Spirit that their doubts and stubbornness vanished.
Same could be the case with us also. If suppose we happen to see someone known to us who has died and has come back to life with a different appearance we may doubt whether it is the same person or at best think that we are seeing a ghost.It is also a very frightful experience for us.
Hence Jesus comforts his disciples and reassures them patiently by his eleven appearances at different times with a physical but glorified body showing them the scars of the crucifixion and even eating and drinking with them that he has truly risen from the dead physically. He expects his disciples and later on us to believe the scriptures and the various eye-witnesses about his resurrection. It is only a complete faith and trust in the scriptures and the grace of the Holy Spirit that makes us believe that Jesus is physically alive today among us though unseen and will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.

God Bless.

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UNBELIEF OF THE DISCIPLES

MARK 16:14 … AND HE UPBRAIDED THEM FOR THEIR LACK OF BELIEF AND STUBBORNNESS

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God Bless

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EASTER SATURDAY ……. 30.04.11

MARK 16:9-15 …….. GO OUT TO THE WHOLE WORLD; PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS

EASTER FRIDAY …… 29.04.11

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EASTER FRIDAY ……. 28.04.11

JOHN 21:1-14 ….. JESUS STEPPED FORWARD, TOOK THE BREAD AND GAVE IT TO THEM, AND THE SAME WITH THE FISH.

This is the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after his resurrection. This time the disciples knew quite well that it was Jesus. Obviously it was their love for Jesus as a person that was drawing them to him. Perhaps the truth that Christ had suffered and died for their sins in his great love for them was yet to sink in their minds. This enlightenment will come only after the day of Pentecost. Jesus was already cooking some fish and he asks the disciples for some of their catch to be placed on the cooking fire. Jesus can supply all our needs but he wants to bless and sanctify our efforts also.Jesus has made the sacrifice on the cross and now he wants us to partake and share in the blessings of his redemptive sacrifice.That is why he says " take up your cross and follow me if you want to be my disciples". He will provide the necessary strength and sustain us in the journey. Jesus was preparing the disciples for their future ministry before equipping them with the Holy Spirit. After forty days of lent let us now prepare ourselves in the next fifty days after resurrection for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

God Bless.

EASTER THURSDAY 28.04.11

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EASTER THURSDAY ……28.04.11

LUKE 24:35-48…… IT IS WRITTEN THAT CHRIST WOULD SUFFER AND ON THE THIRD DAY RISE FROM THE DEAD

It is relatively easier for us to believe that Christ rose from the dead but it was not so for the first disciples. They were nurtured in the belief based on a long standing tradition that the Messiah would be a conquering king, a descendant of the great king David and would establish an earthly kingdom. They were not inclined to believe the reports of the women-disciples and the two other disciples that they saw Jesus alive. They dismissed it as a figment of their imagination or some kind of a vision or apparition or the mere appearance of the ghost of the dead Jesus.Moreover they were in mortal fear of the Jews and locked themselves up in a room not even venturing to go out. It was in this background that Jesus appears to them and explains the scriptures regarding the necessity of his passion, death and resurrection and to prove that he is not a ghost shows them the wounds on his body and eats with them as a normal human would.
Whenever we are in confusion, grief,fear or difficulties the Word of God gives us the necessary consolation and courage to face any problems in life.Jesus will show us the way out and will appear in the guise of some good samaritan to prove that he is alive in our midst to help us in our troubles. We only have to trust Jesus.

God Bless.

EASTER WEDNESDAY … 27.04.11

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EASTER WEDNESDAY ….27.04.11

LUKE 24:13-35 …….. THEY RECOGNISED JESUS AT THE BREAKING OF BREAD

The two disciples looked downcast and defeated and they needed encouragement.Jesus knew this even before he met them on the road.He gradually opens their hearts to the meaning of his passion, death and resurrection from the old testament and at the moment of grace Jesus suddenly opens their eyes to his real presence at the breaking of the bread and instantly vanishes.The disciples are filled with joy and new energy and immediately return to the fold. On the road of life many a time we feel defeated and disappointed and nothing seems to work out for us. It is precisely in these moments the Risen Christ steps into our life uninvited and not only renews our minds but transforms the difficult and sometimes unbearable situations in our life. We need only to diligently read the scriptures with faith and experience the presence of Christ in our lives.Jesus loves us and he will never abandon us.Trust Jesus.

God Bless.

EASTER MONDAY AND EASTER TUESDAY

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EASTER MONDAY : 25.04.11 MATHEW 28:8-15 " ….they must leave for Galilee, they will see me there."

EASTER TUESDAY: 26.04.11 JOHN 20:11-18 " ….I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and to your
God."

In both the readings Jesus tells the women not to fear that he will leave them again. Of course he will stay with his disciples physically for sometime till his ascension and thereafter he promises them and us that he will remain with us forever in our very souls in a more intimate way, when the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in us. We see Christ with our spiritual eyes in the Eucharist and commune with him in his Word and through prayer. We will see him as he is in his glorious state when we go to meet him and then we also will be transformed into his likeness. Till such time we will be satisfied in receiving him in faith in the Holy Eucharist and through the Word of God.

God Bless.

HAPPY EASTER

FROM BAKIANATHAN, DORATHY, ANAND, PRABHA, PATRICK, ASHA,
REBECCA, HAGEOS, AND JOSHUA

EASTER SUNDAY ………. 23.04.11

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EASTER SUNDAY ……. 23.04.11.

ACTS 10:34.37-43….." WE HAVE EATEN AND DRUNK WITH HIM AFTER HIS RESURRECTION."
1COR.5:6-8…………." GET RID OF THE OLD YEAST, AND MAKE YOURSELVES INTO A COMPLETELY NEW BATCH OF BREAD."
JOHN 20:1-9 ……….." HE MUST RISE FROM THE DEAD."

Easter inaugurates the eagerly waiting period for the Second Coming of Christ. The Old Testament finds its fulfillment in the birth, life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in his First Advent on the earth. Now the New Testament reveals the ways and means to live a life faithful to the message and mission of Christ. Our life now will determine our final destination when Christ comes again as the supreme judge and king. The Holy Spirit has been poured upon all flesh and the period of grace and mercy, which is the gift of Easter will draw to a close as the years keep rolling on. Our response to God’s grace will decide whether we will participate or not in the eternal banquet with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The message of Easter is both joyful and sombre. It is full of hope and it is also full of foreboding. Romans 6:8 says " If we have died with Christ, we will also live with him." Dying with Christ is dying to the world. This is not possible by human efforts alone." God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God." Eph. 2:8. It is only possible through faith in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ and leading a good life again by his grace. "A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need." John 10:10. So while celebrating Easter with the joy of the Risen Lord let us be spirit-filled and gladly await his final return as the majestic judge of all mankind.

God Bless and wish you a happy Easter !

THE STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB

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HOLY SATURDAY ……… 22.04.11

JOHN 20:1-18 ….. " I HAVE SEEN THE LORD."

Jesus rose from the dead but not as Lazarus did. Jesus rose from the dead with a transformed spiritual body never to die again. He battled against Sin and Death and was found victorious. He did not appear to the disciples as a spirit. He appeared to them physically and ate and dined with them on several occasions during forty days and the proof that Jesus rose bodily was the absence of his body in the Tomb . The proof that his body was not stolen lies in the fact that his burial cloths was found lying in the tomb and his face towel was found neatly rolled up separately. This further proves that he rose from the dead on his own. The holy shroud is preserved in Turin in Italy and the face cloth kept in a church in Oviedo in Spain. The fact that Jesus really died and did not faint or swoon on the cross is attested by an eye witness who saw the last drop of blood and water come out of his wound when the soldier thrust his spear in the chest of Jesus. Moreover his bitter enemies the pharisees and scribes never disputed about his death. After forty days he ascended into heaven in the midst of witnesses and never traveled either to Kashmir or France.
The greatest proof that Jesus rose from the dead is the remarkable transformation of the lives of millions of believers beginning with his first disciples.
And the best proof is when we receive Jesus in our hearts in faith and experience his forgiving love and the assurance of eternal life with him. Before the resurrection the disciples never believed that Jesus would rise again. But we are blessed with the gift of faith that Jesus rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. This is the work of the Holy Spirit sent upon us by the Risen Christ. This is the Greatest Gift God has given us.

Happy Easter !
God Bless.