REFLECTION CAPSULE FOR THE DAY – Jan 27, 2019: Sunday

(Based on Lk 1:1-4, 4: 14-21)

Tear down this wall!

 - These  were the words of Ronald Reagan, President of the USA at a challenging speech, for the reunification of East and West Germany.

November 1989. A historic period in the Life of Germany.

For twenty-eight years, a wall had separated East and West Germany...

But finally on November 1989, the wall came down...THE BERLIN WALL!

It was a new beginning... a fresh start...a bright onset!

"Tear down the Walls"...

… is the cry that emerges from today's Gospel as well!

 A new beginning is sought... a fresh start is expected...a bright onset is welcomed!

The Gospel of the day is the inaugural Public Act of Jesus, in the Gospel of St Luke.

The Gospel of the Day from Luke 4:14-21 is a dramatic one…with different actions and expressions of Jesus.

These different actions also have its personal implications for us…

1. The Entry of Jesus into the Synagogue.

 Do I allow the Lord into my life and do I welcome Him?

2. The Rising of Jesus to read

 Do I enthrone the Lord in my activities and allow Him to be in charge of my works and deeds?

3. The Unscrolling of the book

 Do I open my heart to the Lord and be totally open to His Word in my life?

4. The Reading of the Passage

 Do I listen to God's words and be attentive to the various inspirations and insights He renders me?

5. The Rolling up of the Scroll

 Do I preserve the Word of God deep in my heart and ponder over it, in the light of my life experiences?

6. The Announcement of Jesus

 Do I let the Lord to govern in my life by the power of His revelation and give heed to His exhortations?

These dramatic and significant actions of the Lord left the people in the synagogue with a Great Challenge: "To tear down the walls"!

 Tear down the walls... 

… which failed to bring good news to the Poor and liberty to the captives!

Tear down the walls... 

… which were preventing to give freedom to the oppressed and sight to the blind!

Tear down the walls... 

… which blocked the passage to access to God's Mercy and Redemption!

Tear down the walls...

… which kept away the Gentiles from receiving the rights and privileges of the saved people!

The dramatic and significant actions of the Lord present before each one of us also with this Great Challenge: "To tear down the walls"!

 Tear down the walls... of Sin...                               

… that divide the relationship between God and me!

Tear down the walls...of Hatred... 

… that divide the members of the society and of a community!

 Tear down the walls...of Unforgiveness...

… that divide the relationship between my fellow beings and me!

 Tear down the walls...of Discrimination...

… that divides human beings on the basis of colour, caste and race!

 Tear down the walls... of Immorality...

… that divides the interior being of a person and leaves one discontented!

 Tear down the walls...of Indifference...

… that divides the world with a sense of hopelessness and lack of empathy!

Building of walls and division is sometimes a natural offshoot of our egoistic minds and sinful pride …

 Building of walls and partitions is sometimes a likely possibility of our individualistic tendencies...

But with the Grace of God combined with our efforts, we can pursue every attempt to Tear down these Walls!

We need a new beginning... 

… a fresh start

... a bright onset

Let us not Reject the Lord..

> Rather let us permit Him to Enter… to Rise… to Unscroll… to Read… to Roll…  and to Announce His Gospel in our Lives!

May we allow the Lord to take possession of our lives...

… and in the process, "Tear Down many Walls"!

God Bless! _Live Jesus!

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFS

Bengaluru, India