May the Lord bless you with grace and peace in the Holy Spirit.
It is 11th April 2022. We reflect on Isaiah 42:1-7 and John 12:1-11.
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Is.42:1)
We have come to the peak days of the Holy Week. The reading exposes Judas and his evil intentions. People who love the poor show it in actions not through mesmerizingly caring words.
Love pivots in resilient connectedness, not in selfish usage.
Passion, death, and the resurrection are kerygma or the proclamation of the church from the beginning.
Anointing love, and anointed love: love never calculates when it gives. Love has no measure in giving and it gives to the end.
Love alone enriches relationships. But what we experience today is just different.
Love is now given a new meaning and perception. Lust, money, and pleasure are compromised for genuine and lasting relationships. People who have loved genuinely for decades have now got new friends and acquaintances, not because of a shortage of love from others but solely the unmet material and emotional expectations from others. When money, pleasure and lust become the streams of satisfaction, we do not see any goodness in others.
In every one of us, there are characteristics of Judas. A kind of pretentious love towards those who suffer especially the poor. Complaining, calculating, and condemning others for our selfish pleasures and reasons. Let us be careful not to commercialize our spiritual efforts or spiritualize human suffering. May God continue to give us the courage to love people as they are.