FR JOBY KACHAPPILLY

FR JOBY KACHAPPILLY

READING THE MIND OF OTHERS

FR JOBY KACHAPPILLY 
http://www.frjobypreachings.com/


The journey to Golgotha… The eyes of Jesus are moist and glistening with tears….Blood reeking of pain….Many did see the Nazarene’s bruises and lacerations. But hardly any read his heart; not many extended their helping hands towards him. As we contemplate the way of the cross, the fourth station, the fifth station and indeed some other stations are felt to be the pilgrimage spots of a different kind of spirituality. As he was inching forward from life to death, his mind was a cauldron of conflicting emotions. Veronica and Simeon, having understood the turbulence in his mind, endeavored to soothe his excruciating pain and agony. They open before us a new vista of spirituality in a world of insensitivity and callousness, devoid of sympathy and fellow-feeling.
Read the thoughts in others’ hearts and act accordingly.

When we turn our gaze to the Scriptures, we find a Jesus who reads the minds of men and acts accordingly. There is a scene in 14th chapter in the Gospel of Luke. We see here Jesus going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath. There everybody is enjoying, sharing love and friendship. But sitting a little away was a man suffering from dropsy, with all the pain of neglect reflected on his face. Nobody is bothered about him. There is nobody to see the thoughts and feelings that surge in his heart. But Jesus reads his heart. Jesus realizes that he is not looking for just physical healing but something far more than that. A loving caress, a little warmth, a solacing presence—he was eager to have all that. Jesus saw that and what did he do? The Bible says, “Jesus took him and healed him and sent him away” (Lu 14:4).Through this incident Jesus is reassuring us: I am here, as your helper, as your friend.

This is precisely what is meant by reading the minds of others. This is the reading of the tales of woes and tearful experiences in a person’s life. It is delving deep into the depths of the minds of others. It is the reading of the delineating visages contorted with agonies and pains of a hundred sorts. If we can do likewise, our life, and the life of others too, will be greatly blessed.

Throughout the Bible, aren’t we constantly seeing incidents where God reads the mind of man and helps him to rise from his prostrate, helpless state? Once when Jesus met a blind man he reads his mind and asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk 10:51). At another time Jesus sees his Apostles sitting on the shores of Tiberius regretting their wasted efforts at catching fish (Jn. 21:1-10). When Jesus read their hearts, he is moved to pity and he helps them in hauling up a good catch. Today we often fail to read the waves of thoughts in the hearts of others. It is when we become insensitive to the feelings of the hearts of others that relations become sour. When a wife can read the mind of her husband and husband can read the mind of his wife and children, the home will be brimming with joy and peace.


Many people that we meet everyday might be desirous of receiving some love, recognition or encouragement. We have been called upon to read their minds, hold them close to us, and give them the warmth of love and solace. It is not the mere telepathic rigmarole or extra sensory perception that psychology speaks about, but is the attitudinal transformations that happen in one’s heart, soul and mind when he is cozy in the warmth of the love of the Lord, enjoying his loving embrace. St. Paul says: “We know the heart of Jesus” (1 Cor 2:15). When we are able to see and read the minds of people that we come across in our lives, our life and theirs will be brighter and more meaningful. Looking at the mirror of self-criticism, let us ask sincerely to ourselves, “Are we able to read the minds of our brethren in the community?”

http://www.frjobypreachings.com/

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