Rigidity separates... Love unites...

Click here to read the reflection, "Rigidity Separates... Love Unites...." - St. John's Parish, Omha Newsletter

 

Dear Mr. President...

Click on th link to read the article, "Dear Mr. President" - The Morning Newspaper

අපි කොයි පාරද තෝරාගන්නේ? හැමදාම ගිය, හැමෝම ගිය පාරාද? නැත්නම්, වෙනසක් වෙන්න ඕන මගද??

හිතාදරයෙනි,

අපි මෙච්චර කාලයක් තිස්සේ චන්දෙ දුන්නේ දන්න අයට. ඒ හැමෝම අපිව අපි හිතනවටත් වඩා රැවටටුවයි කියන එක, අපි ඉන්න තත්වේදිහා අපිම මොහොතක් හැරිලා බැලුවොත්, අපේ මේ මාතෘ භුමිය වැටිලා තියෙන තැන දිහා ඇස් ඇරලා බැලුවොත්, අපොට හොදටමතේරෙන දෙයක්...

අපිට මීට වඩා ජීවිතේ වටිනාකමක් තිබිය යුතු, ලැබි යුතු නැද්ද? ඒ වෙනුවෙන් අලුත් දෙයක් තෝරාගන්න අපි කැමතිද? අලුත් කෙනෙකුටඅපේ චන්දෙ දීල බලන්න අපිට කාලේ ඇවිල්ල නේද? එහෙම කරලා ඒ අයටත් අපි වෙනුවෙන්, අපේ රට වෙනුවෙන්, අපේ මතු පරම්පරාවවෙනුවෙන් මොනාද කරන්න පුළුවන් කියල, අපි අවස්ථාවක් දීල බැලිය යුතු නැද්ද? එහෙම කරලා, ඒ අයත් අපිව රැවට්ටුවොත්, අපිටදැනෙන්න තියෙන කනස්සල්ල, කේන්තිය අඩුයි නේද, මොකද අපිත් අලුත් දෙයක් ට්‍රයි කරලා තියෙන නිසා සහ හොද දෙයක් පතාගෙන අපේතියෙන එකම උත්තරීතර අයිතිය වගකීමකින් යුතුව ප්‍රකාශ කරපු නිසා?

අපිව හැමදාමත් රවට්ටපු, ඉස්සරහටත් ඒ දේම කරනව කියල හිතේ දෙගිඩියාවක් තියාගෙන, තාත්තා අම්මා නිසා හෝ, පරම්පරා පාටනිසා හෝ, වෙන මොන හේතුවක් නිසා හෝ, හැමදාම දාපු දේකට කතිර ගැහුවොත්, අපි කරන්නේ පුරුදු පරිදි චන්දෙ දෙමිමක් විතරක්නෙමෙයිද? ඒකේ වගකිඉමක් අපිට තියෙනවද? එතකොට අපි අයෙමත් තෝරගන්න යන්නේ රජයට බැන බැන ඉන්න එක නෙමේද?

අනිත් පැත්තෙන්, අපි චන්දෙ නොදී හිටියොත් හෝ, අවලංගු වෙන විදිහට ඒක ප්‍රකාශ කරොත්, එතකොටත් අපි කරන්නේ, දේශපාලුවෝඅපේ අයිතීන් නැතිකරනව වගේම, අපි විසින්ම අපේ අයිතීන් නැතිකරගන්න එක නෙමේද?

එසේ වූ තැන, ඔය පත්වෙන කවුරු හෝ කවදාහරි දවසක අපිට සහ රටට හොදක් කලත් නරකක් කලත් අපිට ඒ දේ අගයකරන්න හෝවිවේචනය කරන්න හෝ අයිතියක්‌ තියෙනවද? එහෙම කරන එක සාදාරන හෝ සදාචාර නොවෙන්නේ අපි අපේ පලවෙනි පරම පුරවැසිඅයිතියවත් හරිහැටි වගකීමෙන් යුතුව ඉෂ්ට කරලා නැති නිසා නේද? වෙනසක් ඕනනම් එය පටන් ගන්න ඕනේ අපි තුලින්ම නොවේද?

ඒ නිසා, හැම චන්දයක්ම, ඔයාගේ චන්දෙත් ඇතුළුව, වටිනවා සහ උතුම්. ඒක වගකීමෙන් ඉෂ්ට කරන්න ඕනැ අයිතියක්. අතීතේ අපේමමිනිස්සු අරගල මැද, විප්ලව මැද, ලේ වැගිරීම් මැද්දේ දිනාගත්තු අයිතියක්. කාන්තාවන් වෙනුවෙන් ජගත් ඉතිහාසයේ විවිද රටවලබොහොම මෑත කාලයක් වෙනතෙක්ම සටන්කර දිනාගත් අයිතියක්. 

එපමණක් නොව, අපි අපේ චන්දය වගකීමකින් ප්‍රකාශ කරන සෑම මොහොතකම අපි ඉෂ්ට සිද්ද කරන්නේ අපි වෙනුවෙන් මේ අයිතිය දිනාගන්න සටන් කරපු, ලේ වගුරපු, අපේම උදාර මුතුන් මිත්තන්ට උපහාරයක්, එයාලගේ ලෙයින් කල කැපකිරීමට අනුස්මරණය... ඒ නිසා, අපේචන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම තුල අපි කරන්නේ අපේ නය යුක්තියක් ඉෂ්ට කෙරීම සහ වදකීමෙන් යුතුව මතු පරපුරට එය රැක දීමක්... මදක් නැවතීකල්පනා කෙරුවොත්, එය අපි සැහැල්ලුවෙන් බලනවට වඩා ගැබුරින් සිතිය යුතු මහා බැරෑරුම් දෙයක්...

අපි හැමෝම හැම දේටම දක්ෂ නැහැ. අපි හමොටම හැම දේම කරන්නත් බැහැ. දේශපලනෙත් අන්න ඒ වගෙ. ඒක රටකට අවශ්‍යයි. මොකද, දේශපාලනේ නැතුව අපිට රටක් ගෙනියන්න බැහැ. හැබැයි ඒක නිතර ඒ ගැන කතා කරන, විවේචනය කරන අපි හැමෝටමකරන්න පුළුවන් දෙයකුත් නෙමෙයි. එක කරන්න පුළුවන් ඒ ගැන දන්නා, ඒ ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ කාලයක් තිස්සේ තෙම්පරාදු වුන කෙනෙකුට විතරයි. ඒ නිසා, අපි අපේ චන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කල යුතු වෙන්නෙත් ඒ ය අතරින් කෙනෙකුට පමණි... 

ඒත්, ඒ ගොඩේ, අපිව ආයේ ආයේ අන්දපු, අපිත් හොදට ඇඳපු, පුවුල් පිටින් හවුලේ කාපු, තාත්තාගෙන් පුතාට කියන වැඩවසම්මානසිකත්වය පමනක් සුදුසුකම කරගත්තු, අහිංසක මිනිස්සු මෝඩයන් කියල හිතාගෙන මවාගත් මාන්නෙකින්, නමුත් ඇතුලේ කැකෑරෙනමහා දැවැන්ත ආත්ම අවමානෙකින් වජබුනු, 76 වසරක් තිස්සේ කොල්ලකාපු පොදු වත්කමින්, සූරා කාපු අපේ දහඩියෙන්, මහන්සියෙන්, රටේ සම්පතින් තමන්ගේ ජීවිතේ සැදෑ සමය බොහොම සුඛ විහරණයෙන් යුතුව ගෙවන්නැ ඕන මහා ගොඩක් ඉන්නවා...

අනිත් පැත්තෙන්, අධ්‍යාපන සුදුසුකම් තියෙන, රටට, දරුවන්ට, අනාගතයට යමක් කරන්න දැක්මක්, සැලැස්මක් තියෙන, කැපවීමක් තියෙන, පවුල් දේශපාලනය නැති, එත් අපි කවදාවත් අවස්ථාවක් නොදුන්න සෙට් එකකුත ඉන්නවා...

ඉතින් අපි කොයි පාරද තෝරාගන්නේ? හැමදාම ගිය, හැමෝම ගිය පාරාද? නැත්නම්, වෙනසක් වෙන්න ඕන මගද?? 

අපිට හොදහැටි තෝරාගන්න පුළුවන් වෙන්න ඕනෑ.. ඔයාගේ තේරීම වටිනවා... ඒක වගකීමෙන් කරන එක ඊට වැඩිය වටිනවා... ඔබවෙනුවෙන් තෝරාගන්න... ඔබේ දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් තෝරාගන්න... රට වෙනුවෙන් තෝරාගන්න... අපිට මීට වඩා ජීවිතේ වටිනාකමක් තිබියයුතු බව සිතන්න... ඔබේ චන්දය වගකීමෙන් ප්‍රකාශ කරන්න... ඒ ඔබේ අයිතියි... ඔබට හෝ වෙන කිසිම කෙනෙකුට එය උදුරා ගන්නට ඉඩනොදෙන්න... ඔබෙන් පටන් ගන්න.. එය වෙනසේ ආරම්භයයි. 

To Know Christ Intimately to Love Him Ardently and to Follow Him Closely

Fernando, R. (2024, September 15). Online Ministries: Creighton University. https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/091524.html  

Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-9

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Gospel, Mark 8:27-35

Reading 2, James 2:14-18

In today's readings, Isaiah praises Yahweh for granting him the tongue of a disciple, while Peter uses this same gift to declare Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ. Contemplating Peter’s profound proclamation, we are called to reflect on our own knowledge, relationship, and discipleship with Christ. Such understanding is vital because, by knowing Christ more deeply—“You are the Christ”—we come to know ourselves more fully—“You are Cephas, and upon this rock, I will build my church.” As Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches, it is our knowledge of Christ that propels us to love Him, which in turn inspires us to follow Him. Following Peter’s example and St. Ignatius's inspiration, therefore, the grace we seek today is, “To know Christ intimately so that I may love Him ardently and follow Him closely.”

As scripture attests, Peter's understanding of Jesus evolves into a profound relationship marked by both divine grace and human frailty. Despite having perfectly answered Jesus’ question, "Who do you say I am?", we see Peter rebuked by Jesus for protesting His impending suffering and death: “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God thinks, but as human beings do.” We see Peter promising Jesus that he would not abandon Him in His suffering, yet he later denies Him three times after His arrest. Peter runs fearlessly to see the empty tomb but then waits in fear in the Upper Room until the Risen Christ appears. Upon seeing the risen Lord walking on water, Peter jumps out of the boat (forgetting his lack of proper clothing), but soon begins to sink due to self-doubt. He is frustrated when repeatedly asked by the Risen Christ, "Do you love me?" but ultimately receives the responsibility to shepherd the Church: “Take care of my sheep…."

Despite these moments of divine grace and human weakness, Peter's deepening relationship with Christ empowers him to follow closely and be faithful to His call: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Peter remains true to this call even after Christ’s ascension, boldly proclaiming Him to the Jews and ultimately following Him to the point of his own unorthodox death on a cross.

Peter, with both divine guidance and human vulnerability at work within him, stands as a model for our own relationship with Christ. In light of this, we must ask ourselves today:

1. What is my personal relationship with the person of Christ today?
2. What have I learned about myself through my relationship with Christ?
3. How do I answer Jesus’s question to me today, “Who do you say I am?”
4. What steps can I take today to deepen my knowledge of Christ, so that I may love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely in the days to come?

Human Life and Vocations… God’s Design and Love…

Fernando, R. (2024, August 16). Daily Reflection of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Online Ministries: Creighton University. https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/081624.html

Reading 1, Ezekiel 16:59-63

Responsorial Psalm, Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

Gospel, Matthew 19:3-12

Human Life and Vocations… God’s Design and Love…

The Gospel text of today evokes deep themes concerning the sacredness of human life and vocation, especially within the context of marriage, against the backdrop of contemporary challenges faced by the Church and Christian life and decisions. In this passage, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees who question Him about the lawfulness of divorce. Their query is not just a legal question but a test, aimed at challenging Jesus’ interpretation of Mosaic Law. As interesting as their question was Jesus’ answer that redirects the conversation to the fundamental purpose of marriage, referencing the creation narrative: "From the beginning, the Creator made them male and female" and "the two shall become one flesh." Here, Jesus’ teaching on marriage as a divine institution underscores that marriage is not merely a human contract but a divine covenant, a sacred vocation that reflects the unity and fidelity of God Himself. It is a fundamental relationship rooted in the Creator’s original intent, transcending not only cultural and historical allowances but also human weaknesses and rigidity. 

Jesus’ assertion holds significant relevance in contemporary discussions, particularly in the context of the Synodal journey of the Church amidst the broader debates on gender and sexuality. For example, the Church teaches that gender is not merely a social construct but is deeply rooted in the Creator’s design, as expressed in Jesus’ reference to "male and female." Accordingly, gender is seen as a gift, integral to the human person, and essential to the sacrament of marriage. However, today’s society often challenges it, advocating for a more fluid conception of gender and sexuality. This has enabled a creative tension within the Church as it seeks to remain faithful to its teachings while recognizing not only the lived human reality of the day but also the need for a pastoral response to it. This involves recognizing the "hardness of hearts" that Jesus refers to, acknowledging that the human condition is often marked by brokenness and the need for mercy and understanding. Thus, the pastoral sensitivity and accompaniment emphasized by the Synod calls for the transformative love and compassion of Christ upon those who experience gender dysphoria or identity outside the binary conventions.

Moreover, Jesus’ continued remarks in the Gospel text extend to the sacredness of human vocation beyond marriage to include all aspects of life where individuals are called to embody God’s love and truth. This includes the vocation to celibate and religious lives for the sake of the Kingdom. Jesus acknowledges that not everyone is called to marriage, and some are called to a different kind of vocational commitment, one that renounces earthly marriage to dedicate oneself wholly to God’s service. This teaching highlights the diversity of vocations within the Church, all of which are sacred and worthy of respect.

In engaging with the complexities and challenges of modern life, therefore, the Church is called to uphold the sacredness of human life and vocation, offering guidance and support to all who seek to live them in the fullness of God’s truth. Accordingly, the ongoing Synod calls us, the Christians, to live within us the creative tension (in and around us) of upholding the truth of the Gospel and engaging in meaningful dialogue with those who struggle with or question its teachings. Recognizing that we are called to navigate these challenges in a world where the sacredness of human life and vocation is often obscured by secular ideologies, let us ask: how do I value my own life and vocation at this very moment, particularly within the context of my marriage? Do I treat it as a sacred calling that reflects God’s design and love? What are my responses to those falling outside the conventional frameworks, loving and compassionate or hard-hearted and insensitive?