Lent Day 38: The immorality in seeking whatever we want

Prayers these days are becoming a want based asking to God. There are many who claim that they can bring God down, can get whatever someone wants and God is at their beck and call. The decency of prayer has been lost and aggressive prayers are being marketed as normal. Anything goes for prayer and right from childhood, children are taught to ask whatever they want. God has been reduced to a provider who provides whatever.

During lent, as we think about morals and values and what can be seen as morality, it would be good to audit and review our prayers and ways of praying. Have we crossed all limits and have we used our freedom with Jesus to ask whatever we want? Do we instead have the understanding to spend time in silence, conversing with God and letting God know of our pains and problems instead of asking for unrealistic and immoral things? Is it possible to go back to community-based prayers whereby a negotiation and dialogue happens, in which, the community uses its maturity to put forth prayers of needs instead of wants.  

In St. Mark10, verse 35, the brothers James and John put forward an unrealistic prayer to Jesus. They say, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” In a group of twelve, which again extended to a very big group of disciples from all walks of life, these two come up with a strange request. When thought about, it is an immoral request which reeks of individualism in the midst of the community of disciples. Upon further probing by Jesus, they make clear what they really want.

In the midst of poverty, hunger, sickness and injustice, the two disciples are thinking of power and glory. They ask for a strange request in verse 37, when they say, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” This is what is happening in today’s world too. In the midst of suffering, we are interested in power and positions. In no way are our requests going to help those who are suffering but we are obsessed with such immoral thoughts.

This lent, we should identify such immoral thoughts and prayer requests. Our quest for wealth, buildings, fame, money and success are a slap on the face of the poor and the hungry. It is so very important that we relook what immorality is. Are they individual bad habits or are they prayers which negate the health of the community and seek individual growth and wealth? As we close in on passion week, may this make us think, repent and change. Amen.

Fishing out the best in people

St. Matthew 4:12-22
12 Now when Jesus[a] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[b]
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus calls his first disciples with the very famous one liner “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Jesus here dwells on a very important aspect of discipleship using the profession of four of his principal followers. They were casting their nets and he sees the potential in them and calls them to join him. Interestingly they do so.

What does it mean to say that “I will make you fish for people”? There is an emphasis on the people and the fact that the disciples have to concentrate on them. Here is a call to change the philosophy of using people for business to catching or identifying people to save them. The disciples who were fisher folk went about their business so that they could sell their catch to people. Jesus on the other hand calls them to give up their business of fishing and move on to a spiritual catching of people so that the people will eventually benefit. What before was a benefit for the disciples changes into the benefit of the people.

Who thinks about our good? Society need not think about our benefit and good. Friends, colleagues, and acquaintances may not think well about us and wish a better future. On a lighter note the below forward I got shows how people belonging to other professions may not think well and wish well about us.

“The Irony of Life”
The lawyer hopes you get into trouble
The doctor hopes you get sick
The police hopes you become a criminal
The teacher hopes you are born stupid
The landlord hopes you don’t buy a house
The dentist hopes your tooth decays
The mechanic hopes your car breaks down
The coffin maker wants you dead
…Only a thief wishes you “Prosperity in life” and also wishes you have a sound sleep.

The thief obviously has his own reasons for hoping like this. The essence of the forward is that not many people wish us well because they are in the process of wishing themselves well. On the other hand the church tries to wish us well. Whenever the church doesn't, it moves away from the original message of Christianity. This message is the message that Jesus gives Peter, Andrew, James and John. “I will make you fish for people.” This can be translated as “I will make you (teach you) fish for the good in people” and make you identify and hope for the good in them instead of hoping their downfall and in the process making your life out of it.

Jesus is calling each one of us in our own capacities to fish for the good in people and multiply that as a business instead of wishing for bad about people. One cannot completely be businesslike and instead should be Jesus like. May God help us to be fishers of people and be part of God’s valuing of people instead of living out of the downfall of others. Amen.


(Excerpts from a sermon preached in St. Ignatius Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore on January 11, 2014.The forward used in the sermon was sent to me by Mr. Joe Jacob.)

The games we play: The musical chair rhapsody

James and John to the amazement of the other disciples go for the permission to sit at the right hand and left hand of Jesus (Mark 10:35-45). What was till then a silent competition for the ‘seat’ becomes an open secret. Before the scene gets messy, Jesus intervenes and says that these things are not his to decide and he does not even know whether such a chair exists. The absence of a chair makes the others chide the brother duo for their eye on power. Jesus explains further and says that the one who wants to be master must serve and that the son of man has come to serve and not to be served.

The society we live in is full of open and veiled attempts made at getting the chair. Once the chair is occupied the occupant never lets go. Children at a young age are taught the intricacies of power (chair) grabbing. As the music is played they are supposed to be interested in only one thing…the chair. In the quest for the chair, those on the right and the left are pushed away, to land spot on into the chair that matters. The symbolism looks like Jesus pushing away James and John to land in the chair. But this is far from what actually happened.

Everyone is after the chair. It could be the Prime Minister’s chair, the Chief Minister’s chair and even the bishop’s chair. The fight for the chair dominated all others even during the assembly elections in Kerala. Achuthanandan on the one hand refusing to give up his chair and Oommen Chandy on the other hand trying everything to gain the chair. It is interesting that Achuthanandan found opposition from within and Oommen Chandy found that he cannot leave his chair unattended even for a few minutes.

Sitting on the chair will make one very comfortable with the chair and it is interesting that Jesus never sat in a chair in that sense. His death is also in a standing position and serving others is a clear message that comes out of it. It is difficult to serve others while we are seated in the comfort of our powerful chairs. Maybe it is time to re-invent the musical chair game and draw new lessons from it.