Sermon Thoughts – The Most Holy Trinity

Sermon Thoughts – The Most Holy Trinity
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Trinity. Trinity is a very complex theological concept. Many great theologians and saints tried to describe it; but to understand their teachings, one may need many years.
For Thomas Aquinas, the Trinity is at the heart of Christian teaching, and our understanding of it comes solely from Scripture. He thinks we can reason to the existence of God, but not to the Trinity; if we know about the Trinity, it’s only because of what Christ has said, not because of our intelligence. However, Aquinas thinks we can explore the patterns of this great mystery.
St Augustine has written pages on it. Still couldn’t precisely define it.
In a case where these saints were “children”, I am not trying to be better theologian.
But Trinity Sunday gives us some messages, which are very important for any life situation today. It has some practical sides, for my appreciation.
Trinity is “the communion”. The speciality of this communion is that it is selfless. God is present in father; God is present in Son; God is present in the Spirit.
Father works for the Son, proves his Son’s works with signs and symbols.
Son gives glory to his Father in heaven. His glory is in the glorification of his heavenly father.
Son invites the Holy Spirit and says he is the one who is to finish and seal his work on earth. He is the one who is to guide his disciples and his Church on earth. A great mission and position for the Divine Spirit!
All these point that, God the Father is not the last word in the God; the words and works of Jesus Christ- the Son – is not the last word; God’s invisible power, the Holy Spirit is not the final Word. It is their communion, their unity; that is the Final Word; The Divine Power.
God is creator, father, saviour, Power and more. All these associations originated from man’s life-experience through centuries.
The beauty of all these is that God is a person. He is like me and you. He has life, he can think, he can love, he has body. All these are clearly seen in the trinity.
This Trinitarian God says, I am with you; “I am who am”. I am “Emmanuel”. I am with you as a caring father; I am with you as the way and life, I am with you till the end of the World. I am with you to console you, to empower you! Yes, we can hear him chanting, one by one, without interruption.
Who ever understands this dynamism, can enter in to the faith in trinity.
Our world may struggle in understanding God, especially this Trinitarian concept, because it is self oriented. It is just like a mirror. One sees only his own figure in it. Everyone looks for his place, if possible a secured place.
Feast of trinity is very important in this context.
It asks us to remain in the communion:
in the communion of God at first,
then in the communion and harmony among the humanity in this world.
Love limitless, avoid Ego, accept the goodness…
Trinity teaches all these lessons;
They have to be practiced in our families, in our missions, in our liturgical meetings.
Then we will be the living sacraments of God. The living Stones!
Through that Trinity will be visible in our lives.
May the Trinitarian God Bless us all. Amen!
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Fr Thomas Kalathil

Pentecost – 2010 – Sermon Thoughts

Pentecost – 2010 – Sermon Thoughts
Pentecost: it is the feast of blessing and Expectation. It is the celebration on the promise of Jesus. 50 days after Passover Feast, we are in the last day of Easter season. From tomorrow onwards we are liturgically on “ordinary weeks”.
This feast has its roots in Jewish tradition. There it is named after “Shavuot” which commemorates the anniversary of the day Yahweh gave the Torah to the entire Israel, assembled at Mount Sinai. The date of Shavuot is directly linked to that of Passover. The Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer (a verbal Counting and blessing including “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments…“), beginning on the second day of Passover and immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the Giving of the Torah. On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.
In the Bible, Shavuot is called the Festival of Weeks and Day of the First Fruits. In this way it is also connected to the season of the grain harvest in Israel. In ancient times, the grain harvest lasted seven weeks and was a season of gladness. It began with the harvesting of the barley during Passover and ended with the harvesting of the wheat at Shavuot.
Also ‘7’ symbolizes fullness, in the scriptures. Now 7 times 7 means fullness of fullness.
Some theologians point out that, the institution of Eucharist and the reception of the Holy Spirit occurred in the same ‘upper room’. In that way it has another meaning. The gift, that Jesus handover to us, the Eucharist was blessed by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Eucharist without the presence of the Holy Spirit is meaningless. Because the consecration of bread and vine happens by the power of the Spirit of God.
Once the proclamation of the Apostles was fruitful, as Jesus sent them in order to test them (Mk 6, 13). Now in the absence of Jesus, they were unable to do that. They were not strong enough to proclaim Jesus even though they shared from the Table of Jesus. And now, just like to the bread and vine, there happens another consecration: As they were blessed by the Holy Spirit, they could speak in the Name of God. Moreover they became a divine blessing too.
Pentecost: it is a feast of blessing: It is a feast on renewal. It asks me and you, how fruitful I am? How fruitful you are?
Turn our Words in to blessings? Is it healing someone? Or offending and hurting some one?

The feast hat got a special narration in the book of Acts. As the Apostles spoke, everyone understood them. Each one in his own mother tongue!
It asks me on this day, what kind of language do I speak?
How my word is communicating?
Whether I understand and realize the background of the receivers of my words and comments?
It also asks me, how I understand the language of the Church? How do I understand my Parish priest? How do I understand my brothers and sisters in faith in Jesus?

I, my words, my Church; how much understanding is there?
Are they places of healing? Place of salvation? Place of unity?

The Holy Spirit is in us. Among us! Through Baptism, confirmation & other sacraments we live with him.
As on Pentecost the church was begun, now and every day Church is called to begin anew. She has to bring divine unity, healing and understanding through her proclamation.
Let us pray for the fruits of the Spirit! Let us pray for his help in our faith.
May he lead us all to unity and healing!
May God bless this Pentecost Celebration turn to the celebration of fullness of all the blessings. Amen!
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Fr Thomas Kalathil

Sermon Thoughts – The Ascension of Our Lord – ( Year C)

Sermon Thoughts – The Ascension of Our Lord – ( Year C)
——————- Christ is ascended in to Heaven. Whenever we pray our Creed, we recite and repeat this essential faith-factor. In the early times we thought that this earth was something plain and the Heaven was a sphere above to it. But according to the changes happened in the world, man started to think different on Heaven…
Heaven in icons got no blue color. It is “written” in Golden color. Heaven got another spiritual and theological rethinking. It is not a physical world, as the earth. It is something Spiritual…
For me the ascension of Jesus Christ is the return to His Origin. And through him we too participate in this returning process. The great retuning to God.
Jesus was in “heaven” even before his incarnation. Heaven, where he enjoyed God, his Father’s presence in the full divinity, together with the Holy Spirit. Now through his incarnation he could extend his relation to the humans too.
His life here on earth was not an obstacle in communicating with his divine partners in heaven. He remained in it ever new, through silence, through prayers, through his proclamation, through wonders…
Now he has won his mission on earth. He won the human minds too. In that way his ascension in to heaven is not a “lonely – return-trip”. Together with his ascension, he lifts up the hearts of many here on earth. Jesus’ mission was for that. To “reset” the broken chains of God-Men relationship, that once existed in the Eden garden. To invite us humanity to the divine freedom of his heaven. To a special world of relations…
It was Sin that separated men from God.
Sin, something that is relevant today too.
It can be our ambitions…
it can be our over projected selfishness…
it can be our blind trust on our own abilities…
it can be our intellectual and technical capacities…
Sin comes under many equations in our present world.
If something comes between our smooth relationship with God, it can be easily called as Sin.
I have heard in my childhood, Muslims keep away from swines, because they don’t lift their heads to heaven. This information can be right or wrong. But there is a great message in it.
“Lifting once head” signifies and symbolizes one’s relationship with God.
Accepting the higher assistance in our life.
But that has another side too. The question of angels is meaningful in this case. “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? “
That means we have to realize the divine assistance above us, but also have to go forward, concentrating on our earthly ways.
Jesus’ ascension is an invitation of all these aspects. It reminds me to think on my God relation. It reminds my present status. It reminds me to go forward. Some times look for higher goals.
More over, to keep an uninterrupted contact with God.
Jesus ascension is a guide for us… It is accomplished only when we too are able to follow Jesus.
Let us work for it…let us pray for it…Let us help each other…May God bless us all. Amen!
–
Fr Thomas Kalathil

Sermon Thoughts – 6th Sunday in Eastertime

Sermon Thoughts – 6^th Sunday in Eastertime

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Peace : so many discussions and disputes are there on this phenomena. All of us are in a way seeking for this.

Some try to get this peace through mediation, some through arguments and there are some who fight for it, leads wars and seeking fanatic methods. In our History only less are there, like Gandhi or Mother Teresa, who lived for this.

We know politicians speaking hours on it. Some make “united platforms” for this.

But we know that they don’t really willing for it. All are some political gimmicks, to get more votes, to get power and appreciation.

Jesus is speaking on this very special subject in today’s gospel passage!
First of all we see that he puts a clear distinction on this peace factor.
He asserts there are two kinds of peace. Earthly and heavenly.
These words require no special interpretations too, as it is already clear.

Earthly peace is and from human being. It has got its specifications as our human nature.

It varies according to the “needs” and “concepts” of the leaders!

Whereas the heavenly peace originates from God. It is divine and has got an ultimate goal.

The unity of God and Men. A co- existence of human and divine nature.

Jesus’ words are very clear.
There are no ego clashes between God the Father and Son.
Both are united again in the divine and holy Spirit.

There is a will that unites them. It is strong and unbreakable.

Moreover it grows stronger in admitting the greatness of other persons.

Jesus says, his Words are not his own. He gives the credits fully to God the father.

He gives a worthy place to the Holy Spirit too.

He promises the assistance of the Spirit in teaching and guiding the apostles.

This is the main aspect of the trinity.

The love and acceptance between the persons is the unity-factor.

And it will remain unexplainable for us humans, as we are not used to it…

We know many of us are in need of peace…several families need peace… many countries need peace…

Jesus teaches… it is acquired only by giving up…only by accepting others qualifications and qualities.

Only by respecting others’ merits. Only by genuine understanding….

This can be easily called compromise. Yes, it is a kind of compromise.

But it means not simply being passive. No. It needs much power…

The “compromise” Jesus did was very “dynamic”.

His teachings got new face in this dynamism.

And this dynamism changed the world a lot.

Peace, yes, it is a silent war… fight for better world…

It needs a genuine will…

It asks from us respecting and understanding nature.

Is is very accidental that, this theme falls on mothers’ day.

We can learn a lot from our mother… They are in most cases the best examples of peace and compromise. They are in most families the uniting-factor. The peace factor.

Let us pray for all the motherly figures…Let us thank God for their special interventions for peace.

May God bless them all… May God bless us all with his Divine Peace. Amen!

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Fr Thomas Kalathil