Lent Day 25: Mid Lent- The cross of dignity, love and hope

Everyone goes to church to feel at peace and to set down the burdens one feels. The church community can become a great place if people greet, meet and speak with care and compassion. But that is easier said than done. Which could be the reason why people feel more comfortable to go to church when there is no service and crowd. It may be to escape the intrusive gaze of someone standing near. I have seen so many people sitting in church, at peace and looking happy. Some also stare at a picture, an icon and have a silent conversation with God. It also challenges priests to work on their ministry and dealings with those who come to church. 

A church always needs to provide hope to the priest and the people. Anyone who walks in with drooped shoulders should go out head up and confident. St. John 3: 14-15 says, “ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Today is mid lent, the 25th day of lent, in some of the traditions. The challenge of lent is that there are some who faithfully observe lent but then fall into the trap of pride and the feeling that the observers of lent are better than the others. We also have those who haven’t observed lent and feel that it means they won’t be accepted by God. When for one group mid lent means that they have accomplished something, for the other group it means that they are out of the picture and are sinners who won’t qualify for the grace and mercy of God. 

Today in some traditions, a cross is mounted on a stand which signifies the bronze snake mounted on a pole by Moses and the mounting of Jesus Christ our Lord as hope and liberation for all of us. We can either look at the cross with guilt and pain that we have let down Jesus or we can look at the cross with hope, with courage and a mind which says that we won’t give up no matter what. People are encouraged to kiss the cross as soon as they enter the church. As we pay homage and bow with humility it is also a strengthening of our mind and body. There needs to be a communication with the cross and a belief that the cross will not let us down, because it stands for our Lord Jesus. Even on the cross, Jesus will not let us down, because he is the resurrected Lord, the chief priest and prince of peace. 

Churches have symbols and icons which take us closer to God. At no point should we worship the particular picture or icon but worship the God that it points to. The cross in church points to our Lord who gave up his life on the cross for us. It is at the same time heart breaking and heartening that someone gave up his life for us. Would anyone give up their life and dreams for us? Even our parents, siblings, partner, children, friends, family? Perhaps they will do it but there will be a limit to it. But Christ’s love is limitless. 

Who would accept us as we are? Without our money, family name, fame? Who would love us to the point of bringing us to tears and a complete turn around? We should rely on the cross and also lead our family, friends and children to the cross. We won’t be able to love others unconditionally because we are always weighed down by culture, expectations and fear. The cross mounted in church today is beyond all this, because it showcases our Lord Jesus, who treats us with dignity, showers us with unconditional love and offers us limitless hope. Amen.

Lent Day 5: Finding a lent partner this lent

Repenting and changing is easier said than done. Many a time we are brought up in a way whereby we don’t know how to identify our shortcomings and problems. We also don’t have positive relationships and friends which and who can tell us how to change without hurting us. Even our partner may have limitations in this regard as lack of time and increasing work leads to very less time left for interaction, let alone to help each other out in this regard. We also need someone whom we respect, can listen to and whose judgment we will accept. This lent partner can be anyone and yet has to be someone who knows us well and is able to invest time to show us who we really are. It can be one’s husband, wife, brother, sister, friend or acquaintance.

St. Matthew 7: 4 says “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye?” What this suggests is that we need help to identify our faults. But we also can’t rush to help someone identify their shortcomings unless we are given permission for that.

Having a lent partner is to get into a positive relationship of friendship whereby both people agree to help each other. One is not above the other and one is not more a sinner than the other. The relationship reflects love and compassion and is to help in every possible way. We need a mirror, a person who can see us and understand us. There are things we don’t know about us and not identifying them and working on them this lent would be a shame because our Lenten experience will be left incomplete.

A lent partner also just does not tell us about things we can change but also tells us things that are good about us. Things which we have never thought about. Small but important things of consequence and value. Something appreciative. A daily conversation in this regard prevents us from searching for the speck in someone’s eye and will help us find the log in our own eye. Such self-appraisal and understanding through someone’s eyes are what we miss during lent and what makes lent the opposite of what we intend it to be.

Having a lent partner is mutual and starts with the interest and permission of someone asking us to be their lent partner. It is not something where we ask someone or force someone to make us their lent partner. It is not one sided whereby we offer our help and do not want to be helped by the other person. The mutual trust, respect and honour are critical to such a partnership.

A lent partner is not just someone who loves us and is concerned about our welfare. Primarily both should be in love with Christ Jesus and follow the teachings of Christ. That should be the first thing in common and the first concern. St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8: 23 “As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker in your service.” It is of concern that people belonging to the same church and even priests who are colleagues find it difficult to share things with each other, because it can be used against them at a later point in their ministry. This is immensely sad and also prevents priests from getting good lent partners.

This can also be a realisation for priests to have their own partner as their lent partner or to have a lay person as their lent partner. The open mindedness to have an un ordained person as a lent partner will in itself be an acceptance of the willingness to be open for repentance and change. May God show us someone who can positively show us our shortcomings and start a conversation which will lead to repentance and change. Amen.

(Picture credit: featureshoot.com)

 

The difference between faith and superstition in a time like this

It is important to sift through and differentiate between the grain and the husk at this critical time. More than ever we are faced with false prophets and prophecies which seek to benefit a particular speaker and is not the word of God. It is easy to get confused and misled and life can become very gloomy in the process. Without realising it, we tend to misunderstand many superstitions as faith. One has to talk of one's faith and there is no need to be ashamed by it. But there is no need to defend superstition, because it is not about faith but a corruption that has come in at some point of time. Below is a list of differences between faith and superstition.

1. Faith tells us that God’s mysterious intervention makes the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. This body and blood will offer eternal life. It cannot be totally understood. Yet it should not blind us but should show us light. Superstition makes us think that when we can’t offer or be part of Holy Communion on a particular day, it is inauspicious, unlucky and will be a curse for us. Services have been cancelled in several parts of the world. There are many who believe that this is not good and one should worship in the church at any cost, because otherwise it would not bode well for the community. 

2. Faith makes us visit the sick, pray for them and give them strength and hope. We see doctors as instruments of God. What is around us and for us is seen as good and not as a challenge to God. God is above everything and everyone is placed by God. We do not see a doctor as God but as a person used by God to reveal God's mercy. Superstition forces us to stay away from the doctor’s advice or even from the doctor himself/herself saying that God will heal us and there is no need for doctors or their prescriptions. Here doctors are placed on the same measuring balance with God and this is not fair to the doctors. We must respect them but do not need to worship them and whenever we do that, it becomes a superstition. But ignoring them and not going to them does not make us more religious. 

3. Faith makes us kneel and pray wherever we are. We are the same everywhere and don’t have different characters in different places. We all see the church building as a place which is special, holy and filled with memories. But we don't have two characters or behaviour, one inside the church and another outside it.  

Superstition gives us a special character when we are in a church and a totally different and negative character when we are outside it. This makes us different people at church and at home. The unavailability of a church is an unavailability of a chance to be good. But associating goodness with a place is a superstition. 

4. Faith does not make us test God and we will be like Christ who tells the devil that we should never test/ tempt the Lord our God. God is always there for us. God's love for us is unconditional. Faith makes us believe this one hundred percent. So there is no question of wanting God to do something to prove God's love for us. Superstition makes us test God to see if God truly cares about us. We want to be convinced time and again that God is with us. So much, that we don’t mind ‘forcing’ God to perform miracles. 

5. Faith is not trying to prove God’s prominence over anything but rather saying that God is everything for us. It does not mean that we refuse or disobey worldly authorities. Jesus’ advise is to give to God what is God’s and to Caesar what is Caesar’s. When a government says something for our good, people of faith don't feel challenged, because their faith is not wavering. Superstition questions worldly authority to the extend that it is made fun of, openly challenged, sneered at and disobeyed. Disobeying rules which are supposed to be good for people, is seen as a prerogative and something done to show off our pride of being religious.

 

6. Faith encourages hope and a better future no matter what the present condition. Even in the worst of times, those with faith will never give up and will continue turning every obstacle into an opportunity. People of faith are a blessing to society, because we see a glow on their faces, which radiates onto us as well. Superstition concentrates on “I told you so” prophesies which tries to tell people that we saw it coming and foresaw this much earlier. Instead of hope, fear is spread and is used as a way to get followers and supporters. These followers then spread the messages of hate and fear which will further divide communities instead of uniting them.

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7. Faith walks on water without talking about it. We meet people but don’t necessarily mention what struggles we went through to reach there. Every action and word is faith for such people but faith is never marketed. Faith is a matter of fact thing. Superstition creates miracles because it thrives on them. Miracles have to be talked about, blown out of proportion and packaged well when one is superstitious. So it is not whether one can walk on water but to make others believe that we can walk on water.

 

8. Faith is not overly ritualistic. It does not matter how many times you have knelt, prostrated and prayed but with what sincerity and truthfulness one has prayed. Fasting then should be a joyful exercise where no one gets to know that we are fasting. We are all ritualistic, but rituals cannot replace faith and belief. Superstition is overly ritualistic. Number of times and when and where matters rather than sincerity and truthfulness. Prayers can be rushed and mumbled as long as it is ‘completed’. The ritual then gets more importance than the act of faith.

 

9. Faith does not crumble when a church place or land is lost or becomes unavailable. It is in the heart and soul of a person. It cannot be taken away. Jesus said that one cannot destroy another's soul. Only the body can be destroyed. Faith is inside a person and cannot be snatched away no matter what. Superstition melts easily. When a physical space which is seen as important or a person who is seen as a powerful leader is lost, the superstitious crumble to pieces. It is like they have lost their way.

10. Faith does not automatically get handed over. Not everyone can get it because it is also an individual commitment to God. Just because a parent has faith, a child cannot automatically get it. One has to work hard for one's faith and it cannot be handed on a platter. Superstition passes on to the next generation very easily. It does not matter whether it is understood or not or whether it serves a good purpose. Continuity is wrongly associated with superstition and the acceptance and embracing of superstitions.

In a time like this, we need faith and have to sift through properly to find the grains we seek. Our faith is like the grain while superstition is the husk which has to be blown away and thrown in the fire.

Picture from www.mainthingradio.com

Some thoughts and questions on online churches

The discussion on online churches never gets anywhere because the physical existence of churches have always been taken for granted. But now we are faced with a situation where we are not sure how services can be conducted. Many restrictions are being brought in all around the world and this could continue for several weeks and even months. The thoughts and questions below can be used as a starting point for discussion and for the serious consideration of online churches.

1. Preachers/priests in church can preach from a church, room or studio and put it online or live stream it but they can’t offer (give) communion online? So the word of God can be given online but the body of God can’t?
2. People go near the T.V. and raise their hands praising God, touch the screen for healing and repeat prayers which have actually been recorded several days ago but online confession is not possible?
3. The congregation can sit and watch Holy Communion service via television or laptop, they can do other things during the recorded or live streamed service but nothing can be offered to them at home because it would be a disrespect to the church and the elements?
4. The internet and social media are used a lot for the benefit of the clergy but are they used for the benefit of the laity?
5. Modernity and technology has entered the altar in the form of electricity, machines, technology and gadgets. A dilution of the original has already taken place and homes have moved closer to the altar. But is that very technology used to take the altar to homes?

During a lockdown and during social distancing it will be beneficial for us to think in depth about this. How can the transforming body and blood of Christ be offered without physical contact? (During an emergency/emergencies) Or is physical contact needed for being the one body of Christ? (When touch and contact is not possible due to certain circumstances?)

We need an ecumenical response to Covid-19

If anything, the Covid-19 crisis has pointed to us a change in the usual patterns that we are used to. Restricted and cancelled religious services, lock downs, social distancing, empty streets, isolation and quarantines have brought us to a strange feeling. There is a heightened anxiety among people and rightly so. We find a breakdown of the usual, of traditions as old as we can remember and beyond, and of not being able to go to church as usual. Everyone has taken the work from home option seriously and churches aren’t far away.

Political parties are trying their best to stand together but can’t help criticizing each other as well. Perhaps this is to maintain a political relevance. One has to say something different whether there is a need or whether it is right or wrong. Otherwise there is a fear that one political dispensation may run off with the laurels. It is another thing that we are no where close to even saying whether we can successfully deal with the crisis. Even if one political party is ideologically opposed to another, they still believe that the crisis will be averted by the other. So even though their arguments challenge the various governments, they also show an underlying trust in them. The point is that a virus and a crisis cannot be averted by a few people but only by many coming together. It would be nice to see the political parties in India coming together and standing closely for the period of this crisis.

The same applies to Christian denominations. The example of politicians is important because there seems to be a high level of politicisation of churches and denominations. There is a politics in everything. Unfortunately, one wonders whether that is being expressed in the spiritual response to Covid-19! Live streaming of services, letters from bishops, priests leading prayers, are all from within denominations to their ‘own’ people. Even as a pandemic, challenges the entire world population, services and ministry are being offered based on caste, race, region and denomination. Repentance and the kingdom of God are still not being talked of with force and rather church buildings, clergy attire, liturgical uniqueness, language and denominational faith, and not faith in Christ Jesus is taking prominence.

Priests can’t hold a service properly because people can’t congregate. They have no control of anything and yet they try to live stream denominational worships and nothing beyond that. Covid-19 has hit at the root of worship and yet denominations can’t come together to chart out an ecumenical expression and response. We would instead like to leave that to ecumenical bodies and continue our spirited denominational services!

 A pandemic cannot be handled alone. A single country cannot control it because we are connected to other countries in several ways. It is not about us and them but about all of us. A country cannot depend on a single political party and government to fight this virus. The limitations are visible for everyone to see. Similarly, one denomination cannot pray and hope for the wiping out of the virus. We must pray together, and our worship places, crosses, priests, pastors, lay leaders and people must be available to one another. It is a time to work ecumenically and preach the Christ that we all know and have experienced, in various ways, to all who want peace and strength. The virus is leading us through unknown routes. Our spiritual response should also chart different routes, and yet have an affirmation as one people of God.

The concept of a physical church building has already been challenged by the Covid-19 virus. So much that many church leaders are openly telling people to congregate at home and even pray individually. But somehow the attachment to the physical church and denomination continues just like political parties who want every bit of work that they do to translate as votes later. Similarly, the live streaming of denominational services also looks like calling for a certain denominational faithfulness and not a Christ centered approach.

This certainly has to change to the point that the churches everywhere must have a more universal approach to what they are doing. This must make them available to people beyond their geographical area and denomination. We can have our arguments and assertions later, to well beyond the wiping out of the virus completely. For now, we don’t even know how soon we can afford to have a normal and peaceful church service, like we used to. I hope priests and pastors from all churches and denominations will accept this call to minister to a wider public and people, beyond denomination and even religion. Perhaps we can also come together as priests and pastors of various denominations and pray to God, for a blessed intervention. Such unity from below may indeed bring about a great and worthy response from God. Ordinary people are looking for hope and peace and not just at the colour of our cassock and the style of our prayer.

(Picture from www.pcecumenism.ca)

Easter blessings

We looked for him on the cross, we searched for him in the tomb, we talked about his goodness to others, we told ourselves he would be raised on the third day. We walked with a man and he appeared as if he didn't know anything that happened. We asked him to have food with us and he ended up serving food for us. Then we realised, he is here, right in our midst. Right here with us. Our hearts are burning with each and every word of his. Christ is risen. Jesus Christ is risen. He is the guest with us on our table today. Easter and Christ greetings to you and your family.

Lent is a great time to resolve the pressure of exams

It is exam time and starting from small classes to bigger classes with board exams to exams for professional courses and even assessments in the office, it is an exam season. You are either writing, or teaching to write or praying that the teacher and the student are on the same page while writing.  The most important prayer for any Christian in the form of the Lord’s prayer which mentions “Lead us not into temptation” can also be seen as lead us not into examinations! All said and done many families can’t handle the pressure of a lent and an exam together.

The Lenten season is a great time to write exams, finish a paper and be assessed by someone. It is because one should seize the opportunity of making it a time when one is relaxed, focused and praying more that God takes control of our lives. But unfortunately that is not the case in many homes. Some diet control apart, parents and children are tensed about writing exams and about doing better than the boy or girl next door. This should never be the case during lent as lent is a time to relax and just be what God wants us to be, and that is, very relaxed people.

Suicide rates in the age group of 15-29 are one of the highest in India. Each year, between 30 and 40 people per 100,000 Indians aged between 15 and 29 kill themselves. This accounts for about a third of all suicides in the country. “A common cause for concern is the pressure from parents to do well in the national board examinations, especially for Class XII, before finishing school. As scores in these exams often determine college admissions and subsequent employment opportunities, students aged 16-18 are often subjected to undue pressure at home to succeed. When they don't, suicide becomes a way out. In 2013 alone, 2,471 suicides were attributed to "failure in examination".”

One understands the pressure parents go through. The pressure to copulate and create off springs, the pressure to give them everything under the sun to make up for the lost time at home, the pressure to not just make them like us but to make them do everything we could not do which includes scoring more marks than us, the pressure to use them as one more trophy for social status, the pressure to say that they have a particular degree and that they studied in a particular school or college. The pressure is endless. Lent is a time to rethink about all these pressures. Don’t have children for someone else but if that is what you want. Don’t give children everything under the sun, rather give them all the love you have. Don’t make them do everything you could not do rather let them do what they want to do. You can always have a say in this process by asking the right questions and giving a fair chance for your child/children to make the correct decision. Your child is not a trophy to show off but your flesh and blood which God has given you. Don’ show them off rather keep them close to your heart till they are ready to fly off. Don’t look for the best schools and colleges, rather look for the best education of which you are an integral part. Your child cannot be someone you do not know or can no more relate with. The best education is received at home. Don’t give up the teacher in you and trade that for the teacher in school or college. They are there to bring out the best in your child, not to replace you.

As a parent, whatever happens in school, you (we) should be there for your child and help them to do their best and not to perform or show someone else. Our children are our reflection. They need not out perform us every time. They need not be as smart as us. They will flourish in their own time. For every suicide that has happened in another house, we are responsible as well, because we have contributed to the pressure felt by children. Lent should be a time we use to understand and encourage our children and sacrifice our time and resources for them just like Christ Jesus did for us. James 1:3-8 says “because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance;  and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.  If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.  But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind;  for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” Don’t doubt in the grace of God which is available to all of us. Teach this to our children and they will be on their way to becoming good human beings never wanting in and for anything.

An examination should be seen as an experience and not a rat race. The life of our child/children is not worth any exam. Their life and living should be more valuable to us instead of exam results. During lent let us take time to be with them and give them all that they need to prepare for and write their exams. At no point of time should there be a talk of marks and comparisons with others because God has given you more things sometimes than others. If you or I accepted that without seeing or questioning why our neighbor did not get it, why are we now looking at comparisons? James 1:12-13 says that we are beyond trials and temptations. “Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.” Let this lent be a time to let our children flourish and become who God wants them to be and not who we want them to be. Let us love them this lent and love them so much that we allow them to relax and do as well as they can. Let the comparison be with themselves and no one else. Amen.

A prayer for Christmas

A baby is born, he is crying in the manger. It is not a cry of fear, but one of life and life in abundance. Christ is born so that the poor may be exalted and the proud may be humbled, he is born for you and me, outside an inn he is born. We may not hear the cry because it is not harmonized to our liking. We may not see the baby because we are used to looking inside swanky buildings and not stench filled streets. Christmas is here and Christ is born.

Loving God, allow us to close our eyes and listen to the cry of the baby and be inspired to be what Jesus stands for on earth and in heaven. Jesus, hold our hand and walk us through places we avoid and allow us to feel your birth in every step we take and in everything we see. Holy Spirit, help us overcome the fear of the unknown and as we be a part of the service of nativity may our sins be absolved as we try to reach out, smile, help and be with those around us. Amen.

Wishing you a blessed Christmas.

The birth of Jesus: How Fr. Shibu and Kairunnissa are outing the inn (in)

St. Luke 2:6-7

The birth of Jesus is important not for cakes, decorations and celebrations but to be assured that humans are created in the image of God and will therefore live life loving and helping all that God has created. This is God saying that God has created human beings to reflect God’s self on earth. The birth of Jesus is indeed a happy event because it reminds and inspires us to do good even when everyone and everything around us does not. It is not to follow the world but to follow the voice and will of God.

The birth in unusual circumstances shows that the people of God cannot be limited to buildings and walls but should extend everywhere and anywhere because that is the real birth of Christ. The interpretation of no place being there in the inn is a reflection that God lives with the most ordinary of ordinary. Most of the things we have built on earth are an aberration of God's creation. It takes us away from the real birth of Christ. The church by moving into comfortable environs to celebrate the birth of Christ suggests our moving in to comfortable inns while the baby is denied a place inside the inn! The image of God is absent in such acts of celebration of the birth of Jesus. We do not have an affluent baby Jesus because a baby cannot be affluent by herself/himself.

The church has become too affluent for Jesus but all is not lost for the church and the people of the church. One can get rid of the affluence and try and make the birth of Jesus meaningful for everyone. Fr. Shibu K.Y., a Jacobite Christian priest donated one kidney to a Muslim woman Kairunnissa yesterday. By doing that he has challenged the affluent church to shed its affluence. Many were disturbed and uncomfortable with his decision and even suggested it was wrong to give away what God has given us to live a comfortable life. The argument that we need two kidneys because that is what God has given does not go along though with the fact that God was meant to be in heaven but chooses earth, was meant to be in the inn but ended up outside it and did not have to be crucified but was anyway. God gave up so that humans and the world would have and that is the birth of Jesus.

Fr. Shibu K.Y.

Fr. Shibu and Kairunnissa are offering us the opportunity to understand the birth narrative. We have gone far away from the born Jesus. This is an opportunity to come back to the narrative of what the birth of Jesus means. It is God loving and giving us. God need not but God does because that is what God is. The love of God encompasses everything we know. Fr. Shibu by giving and Kairunnissa by suffering and now receiving show us that Christ is born in them. We are getting an invitation to pray with them during Christmas. Of course we are not used to what they have done and so their spiritual invitation will also be difficult to accept and do. Never the less they have woken us up from institutional and individual slumber and we must thank them for that. From my facebook contacts I have also learned that Prof. Sakhi John is doing the same for Shaju Paul and they are following several others who have preceded them. Such individuals are challenging the church and the people in church to live Christmas or the birth of Jesus. The liturgy of their merciful church is not known to us and we haven’t heard the songs they are using. But there is a language of love that they are using and this is something all of us can follow if we take the effort to do so.

Prof. Sakhi John

St. Luke 2: 6-7 tells us that Mary and baby Jesus do not get space in the inn (‘in’). It is also that space in the inn is mostly not available to everyone as the inn has become institutional. It represents all churches which are not welcoming and loving. But Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus do not give up. They make the ‘out’ their home and that then becomes the place which the shepherds and the elders come to and see Jesus. Fr. Shibu and Kairunnissa and Prof. Sakhi and Shaju Paul among many others have not got a place in the inn (‘in’). But they did not give up and made the ‘out’ their inn. We can now join like the shepherds and see the birth that has happened. May the star lead us and the angels rejoice.