Lent Day 35: The worship of goodness and life

Why do we go to church? Why do we get together as a community? Why do we partake of communion and why do we listen to the word of God? Is it to adhere to certain time frames and rules? Is it to meet people and talk and share news? Or is it to pray for the well being of one another? If we do not get together for life and life in abundance, woe to us who get together at all!

It would do well for us if we tried to ask why certain people don’t come to church. It would benefit the church greatly, if we asked the youth why they are not so interested to come to the church. The answer to this would be that the church and the communities which constitute the church are not reflecting the community of Jesus. This means that we are not doing anything which has life in it, which supports life and which supports each other. Churches are turning out to be places of individual praise and groupism.

Jesus’ ministry was not like this. He would stretch his arms to the margins and touch the last and the least. He would reach out to the outcasts and those labelled as sinners. He would cast out demons, heal the sick and bring back the dead to life. That he sometimes did this on the Sabbath was natural, because crowds followed him wherever he went. He would go to the synagogue to teach and to discuss the scripture and many people said that they had never heard anyone speak like him.

Jesus stood for life and life in abundance. That was also why he healed and brought back people to life. Life, and not destruction was his agenda and calling. On the other hand, the others were there only to adhere to certain rules, only for the self and only for furthering their own groups and interests. Every healing that Jesus did on the Sabbath was a challenge to the people who were self-centered and group minded.

In St. Luke 6, verse 9, Jesus says, “I ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” He asked this question to all the scribes and Pharisees assembled there. They could not bear it that he was healing on the Sabbath and was bringing back people to life and to sanity. The conclusion of this is Jesus’ command to the man with the withered right hand. He tells him, “Stretch out your hand.” He does likewise and his hand was restored. This lent, we need to scrutinize our lives, communities, churches and worships. Are our get togethers life threatening or life giving? Can we become places which offer positive energy and positive thinking? Amen.  

Lent Day 26: Welcome back dear prodigals

We love to talk in terms of binaries and like the ‘us’ and ‘them’ usage in society, community and church. That is how we also come to usages like prodigal, the one who has gone astray and the like. Even though one of the meanings is reckless, I think it also means the one who has thought differently and done things which have ruffled quite a few feathers in the family and community. Another usage could also be the odd one out. Prodigals need not always be the one who has committed a mistake, but the one who has chosen to take a risk and stand against the usual doings of society. 

Latest interpretations do choose to use different usages than prodigal son. A younger son, the returning son, the different son. Repentance is a key element in the story in St. Luke 15. But this can also be seen differently. Even though the son appears to have repented the response of the Father is not suspicious and judgmental but welcoming. In verse 20 we read, “But while he was still at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” 

Every house and community has a so called prodigal son or daughter. Someone who has decided to chase their dream, do things differently and show courage in treading into unknown territories. They have perhaps upset others, made people talk about them and even create stories about them and chosen to go against the established values of the family and community. We should be careful when we say that the younger son repented and came back. It does not mean that he feels that everything he did was wrong, his family was always right and so he is now at the mercy of his father and family. 

It can mean that everyone appreciates support for chasing their dream. Some things can go wrong in between as they can for anyone and anything. But then trying again is no harm and accomplishing dreams also means failing many times before being successful. The younger son had failed but that does not mean that he was completely wrong and had given up. He comes back to be in the comfort of and to get the support of his father and family. 

We need to do the same with our children. They should be given the freedom to dream, to differ and to go their way. Differing is not a crime and not the end of the road. Rather, it is a right that everyone has. It does not suggest a cutting of ties and a negation of family. The Supreme Court in India today, in one of its judgments said that everyone has a right to dissent and every criticism is not an offence. 

Many have left the church citing differences, disagreements and conflicts. But they would also like to come back to their church from where they would like care, compassion and love. We must run to welcome them like the Father welcomes the returning son. The same should be at home too. Many children have left their homes due to many reasons. Their return should be a celebration and they should be welcomed back with warmth and love. 

It is obvious that those who are here will argue that they have to be given precedence for having stayed back and showed loyalty. But that does not mean anything. If anyone stayed back, it was perhaps their inability to leave, to voice their dissent and to follow their dream. Faithfulness to a family, community or church is not through presence and obedience but through dissent and disobedience. It does not suggest mutiny but difference of opinion while maintaining the love and care for one another. This lent, let us try to welcome back those who left. Welcome them back to our heart, home, community and church. Amen.

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 16: A shameless lent

Shame is something that Christians have to deal with and overcome to grow spiritually. It is something which prevents us from being good human beings and from exploring our abilities. Shame can be felt by ourselves and we can be ashamed of someone else. Children are taught about shame from a young age when they are asked to cover up by telling them, “Shame, shame, puppy shame”, and “Shame, shame, puppy shame, all the monkeys know your name.” Children are asked to dress properly by indirectly shaming them.

From the perspective of those who are shamed, coming back to the view of the public becomes extremely difficult, because they think of what others will say. This leads to the creation of  panic, creation of introverts and even people with psychological issues which become difficult to resolve. From the perspective of those who gain happiness from shaming others, shaming is used as a weapon against those they don’t like or want sidelined. Shame is also what some people feel when we do something they don’t like. For them we have humiliated the family, spoiled the name of the community and things like that. St. Mark 2: 16, talks of one such feeling of shame. Verse 16 has the scribes of the Pharisees saying, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

The Pharisees among others tried for a while to appropriate Jesus or have Jesus as someone who said what they wanted to hear and say. Perhaps they would have also accepted him as their Messiah if that was the case. But to their shock, he kept surprising them and doing things they did not like. They are upset that Jesus is eating with the tax collectors and sinners. John the Baptist in their observation did not do anything like this but Jesus crossed all limits.

The church and Christian community finds it difficult to question the stand of the Pharisees. So much that the youngsters are even advised by not just the family but also the priest that they should not bring shame to the family and community. I wonder why priests don’t read this passage of the gospel and why even now youngsters are looked upon with suspicion in the community and church. What is wrong if someone follows their heart, decides to go for a work they like or loves someone from a different community or caste? What shame will that bring to the community and what shame do we have which even our Lord Jesus did not have.

Those who bring shame to the community and family are also not welcomed back home and are seen as the prodigal son and daughter. Even though the bible story has the father welcoming back the son, despite the reservations of the elder son, this does not happen often in Christian families. Many people who make a decision at some point of time in their life, may want to reconsider later. But their family refuses to accept them and this leads to them remaining outside the fold.

Even the Indian parliament has this habit of saying “Shame, shame”, when one political party or the other does something which is not acceptable to the other. Such immature reactions are unfortunately still followed. When the entire society does such things, the Christian community should differ during lent and question the entire concept of shame. As Jesus dined with the tax collectors and sinners, our youngsters and others have the freedom to do what they want. They should witness to Christ and not to our family, community and tradition. Amen.

Lent Day 15: Making room for compassion and love

Crowds are so difficult to handle. There are crowds because of lack of space and crowds which are created because of lack of patience. The crowds which were near Jesus were not impatient crowds or created crowds but huge realistic crowds. It is surprising that Jesus and his disciples were not crushed by these crowds.

Jesus saw people at grounds, at the shore and sometimes he was on a boat and the crowd was on land. The few times he was in a house, the people thronged to see him. So much that there came a point when one could declare that there was no space anymore. St. Mark 2: 1-12 talks of such a scenario. Verse 2 says, “And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door…”

In South Asian countries and among the poor, lower middle class and even middle class in India, houses are filled with people. The family members and then other family, cousins and even friends who come to cities and towns for education and jobs. Even when the house is already full, the family opens its door and makes space for the person who seeks refuge. There is nothing practical about this and no clear space which is available and thought about. Space is created out of thin air.

Many Indians and Keralites who work abroad in the Middle East, also stay in bachelor rooms, where there are bunker beds and no privacy. The camps are even worse. Lots of hardships are undergone to make money for the family back home. In Kerala, migrant workers stay in small rooms, with little facilities and adjust so that they can save money to send to their homes in several parts of North India. Small rooms, spaces and facilities are created to accommodate people.

More people are cramped into a room which is already full. The sad reality of misuse of space is seen during illegal migration, when children and whole families are smuggled in trucks, boats and ships to Europe and America with promises of a bright future. Spaces, mostly illegal, are created and people are accommodated. Many don’t make it, while others squeeze through.

This is a sweaty, full and packed space into which the paralytic is brought by four men. The lack of space means that he is brought in through the roof. Creating space is a skill that the poor have. They have the gift of adapting to the situation and to the needs. This is seen in the case of the paralytic. There is always space for compassion, love and healing. The people there accept that and Jesus puts his seal on this with the healing.

Coming to think of it, the poor never say no, never say close and never say enough. The church should also follow this mentality and should embrace people instead of limiting crowds and making spaces exclusive. The high-rise buildings are possible because of workers living in cramped spaces, branded clothes and even toys are available at competitive prices because of sweatshops or spaces with poor working conditions. Jesus accepts the paralytic instead of asking his friends to take him out. He himself ministers to people in difficult scenarios and conditions. Amen.

Lent Day 12: Making money spiritual

One of the most difficult things in Christian faith is with regard to money, making of money and spending money. Jesus didn’t show any inclination towards money and towards making of money. His teachings were more in the direction of equality and justice and business was not a concern for him at all. Perhaps we can interpret some of his teachings to bring out some management principles, but not with regard to income generation. The early church was also least concerned with money and instead preached and practiced community living and sharing of resources. But things have changed now. We are all in need of money for practical reasons. So, it is imperative for us to understand what the bible says about money and the creation of wealth.

St. Luke 16:13 says, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The teaching is quite clear and yet needs some exploration. Mammon can be seen in different ways. Some church fathers saw it as evil and therefore something to keep a distance from. Others interpreted it as money or wealth and therefore said that we cannot serve God and money at the same time.

So, is it bad to do business and to work? We can’t say that at this point because it will lead to the collapse of the markets and economy. It will also lead to the compromising of jobs which in turn will put a burden on several families. So, working and doing business is fine as people will have the satisfaction for working for their bread/food. But it becomes problematic when people use their money to sway the decision making or the policies of the church, when money is used for purchasing seats, power and authority.

Everyone is equal in the church. Whether one is a business person, working professional, executive, doctor, lawyer, medical worker, small scale trader or daily wage worker, everyone is the same. Everyone is the same before the Lord’s table because the Holy body and Holy blood of our Lord cannot be purchased and bought. Repentance and humility are the only ways of approaching the table and approaching our Lord. But unfortunately, this is not the case in several churches and Christian communities. Money speaks, money matters and money sways.

Lent should be a time to correct this. Money should become spiritual, prayerful and helpful. Money gets value only when used to help the poor and needy and feed the hungry. Till then it is only paper. Many people ask for prayers before starting a shop, starting a business or project and starting a job. But that should also extend to the money and income already at hand. We should pray for the thinking, responsibility and social concern to make best use of the money we have.

I am not just talking about tithes and help for the church but how we can be of help to each other. It can also go on to having a fund for medical emergencies to which everyone contributes according to their ability and from which those having medical emergencies can take from. It is not to say that those who are rich should not have luxuries and buy what they want. But to say that money can only be related to God if it helps God’s people. Without this it is only mammon. And mammon could mean money or even evil.

Money can lead us in two directions. It can make us evil by making us think that money is the ultimate and only thing in life. Or, it can make us good by thinking that money is only a piece of paper which we need but which does not control our life. This lent, shall we pray over our businesses, jobs, shops, work and savings, income, investments, profits and salaries so that we put it to good use and make it spiritual, instead of evil and individualistic. Amen.

 

Lent Day 11: There is a child in all of us

We are in a hurry to grow up and our family, community, society and even church would like it if we grew up faster. Lot of encouragement is given to those who according to society, mature earlier or grow up fast or faster. Those who remain like a child are scolded and compared to those who have seemingly grown up. The pressure this puts on a child is unfair. There are also houses where one parent is missing or has some addiction and so a child or children are forced to take up the responsibility of the household at a young age. We also see around us children from deprived backgrounds who don’t have a proper childhood and don’t even get the opportunity for a decent education. 

Safe spaces for children are also limited and society is not too concerned about that. It is not only that children can’t just be children but there are so called adults who are looking for chances to misuse and abuse children, again leading to children being restricted and limited in their everyday life. On the other hand, children are also treated in a way that they know nothing and so always need the help, support and guidance of adults. Churches do not take children into consideration while devising their programmes and services. The language and style of a service usually does not suit children and yet no one is bothered about it and wants to do anything about it.

This is where we have to read St. Matthew 18: 3, which says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” It appears that Jesus is inviting our attention to the importance of children, who a child is and why we should be like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are asked to have a child like innocence, a child like attitude, a child like framework and a child like view to life. This is directly opposite to what happens in church now. We are guilty of trying to manner and force our children into our framework and our needs.

There are two things to look at and understand here. One, children in the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church are baptised while they are a baby. It is not just that they are given child baptism, but unlike other churches, they receive the Holy body and Holy blood of Jesus Christ right after baptism. There is no confirmation at a later stage and children can receive Holy Communion right from the beginning. Two, children in the church stand right at the front of the church for service. After the priest and altar assistants who are in the altar, the children occupy the premium position in the church. Both of these things suggest the importance of children in the church. They are perceived to know the nuances of Christian faith and the importance of Holy Communion right from childhood. They also stand in the front, suggesting that they are prime witnesses to our Lord Jesus. Knowingly or unknowingly the church already gives importance to children. The problem is that it is ignored at the time of implementation of the policies of the church.

I am also guilty as a priest of sometimes feeling irritated when children make noise and speak to each other during the Sunday service. But I realise during this time of lent that I need to change my attitude towards children during the service. We also need to spend more time with children to learn about the child like qualities that impressed Jesus. Along with this, churches and homes have to be child friendly, child oriented and child centred, which will make children more comfortable and happier. Let us become a child like church this lent. Amen.

 

 

Lent Day 10: Remembering the sacrifices of our forefathers and foremothers and the working class of the church

The Christian community should be seen as a giving community. It is not just the money or donation one gives but the effort one puts in to make the community one which forgives, understands, helps and loves. If it is true to say that time is money, someone who gives their time for the church is of immense value to the church. When we love and give, there will be a limit up to which others can take it. After that it will have to come back. It is not just to say that we have to do good if good has to come back to us but to say, if we water our plants they will grow and bloom but we don’t have to water them too much.

The church and Christian community is now plagued with the problem of having people who will always make others think that they will give. The rich are cleverer in this than others. The leadership will be behind the rich with great expectations but the middle class and ordinary people will be the ones who actually help the community. While one group does things or promises to do things with the expectation of gaining positions, power and authority, the other group does things and helps out because it is the right thing to do. They are usually not found hobnobbing with the leadership and do not have dreams of being in power.

There are other ordinary people who help with their time and labour. People who help in cooking food, doing arrangements in church, helping to serve food, cleaning up after everything and not minding to get their clothes dirty in church. They try to work hard and give their time for the benefit and welfare of the community. There are also people who help with paper work, accounts, coordination and meetings. Others who pick and drop children to Sunday school and youth programmes and offer their vehicles, services and time for the church. They may not always be visible inside the church but will make sure that church programmes are successful.

St. Luke 6: 38 says, “give, and it will be given to you; in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Jesus here is very clear about the reward that is awaiting people who give their best for the benefit of the community. And yet good is not just done expecting good in return, but that is a natural consequence of good actions.

The problem today in all churches is that the ordinary people are ignored and posts and chairs are given to the rich and powerful. The poor man’s (sic) church has now become the rich man’s church. It is natural that the younger generations of several families have undergone an upward social mobility by way of better education and business acumen. But that does not mean that the nature of the church has to change to an exclusive club of people who want the ordinary people only to fill the church but not for decision making and any kind of recognition.

The churches have to take care of the proletariat, the working class, the one’s who work very hard to help their church and community. Without them the numbers of the church will come down drastically and will affect the very nature and survival of the church. In Kerala there is the interpretation of two political dispensations. One is a cadre party where workers do the work and the other is the party where everyone is a leader and there is no one to do the work finally. This lent, may we recognise the hard work of our forefathers and foremothers, who kept away rice, vegetables and fruits for the church and brought it so that it would be auctioned or exchanged to take care of the needs of the church. Shall we also remember the people who walked to church, built the church by offering their labour because they did not have the money to give. May we also remember the women and men who set aside coins like the poor widow and gave it to the church so that the church as we see it today would go on uninterrupted. Amen.

Lent Day 9: Our churches should not be profitable institutions

Many churches these days are trying to be professional in their approach and running. Some even appoint professionals to run churches. Many are even asked to advise priests on what to say and do. It is like the professional election strategists who advise political parties on how to run their campaign, how to select candidates for the elections and what manifestos to concentrate upon. Even though knowing the pulse of people and realising their needs is important, running a church like a business is fraught with danger.

Many churches do not like giving refreshments to their own people, don’t help the poor and don’t believe in giving but only in receiving. They would also like to have a profit at the end of the year. But are churches supposed to be like this or do they exist solely for the purpose of helping the poor and needy and taking care of the spiritual needs of their community? The business model is then also extended to church institutions like schools and hospitals. I will concentrate on churches for now.

St. Luke 6: 33-34 says, “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.” The essence of these verses is a reminder from Jesus that we have to be good and do good to others, irrespective of the response and without expecting anything in return. How many churches are following this advice and model?

Churches these days are looking into the feasibility of prayers, worships and perhaps even miracles. What will we get seems to be the query before we offer a service. What will we get if we give food, what will we get if the church is open for service, what will we get if the church offers spiritual services? So much that the offertory has become a part of every service. Whether we offer anything or not, we would like to get money from people.

This lent, we should rethink what we are doing. Can we offer something without expecting anything in return? Can we stop discussing profits and huge bank balances? Can we end questions of feasibility before giving food to the poor? There are many orphanages and old age homes which do not know where the money will come from for the next meal! And yet, it comes, because of God’s grace and because God makes people act. Christian faith has always run with hope and not with financial planning, feasibility studies and reports.

If we continue with this trend, we will not be far from the day when we will be advised to close our churches and institutions because they are not economically viable. We cannot do sensible charity and community formation. Because there is nothing sensible about our faith. We have a Lord who told us to show our other cheek when someone slaps us on one, to forgive when someone has to pay us and to not ask someone who has taken money from us. There is nothing sensible about this. A negation of this will lead to a negation of the very words of Jesus. May our lent offer us insights to fight the greed of churches, priests and lay leaders to make the church a profitable enterprise rather than a compassionate space which reflects God’s love. Amen.

Lent Day 8: Clean and pure as the antithesis of Lent

St. Luke 5: 12-13 showcases a man full of leprosy who asks Jesus to make him clean. Jesus responds positively and touches him and says “be clean.” I wonder how a man full of leprosy manages to get near to Jesus and the crowd he is addressing. It either happened by mistake, or the person managed to sneak in, or Jesus went to the place he stayed. Because people with leprosy were asked to stay away from others and were also asked not to touch anyone. There is a stigma of presence, touch and disease. However, the person gets close to Jesus.

Jesus’ miracle is special because he doesn’t just say “be clean” but he stretches out his hand, touches him and says, be clean. The element of acceptance, overcoming of the stigma of disease and the diseased and the move to break the rule of not touching by doing that itself comes out clearly in this passage. While we concentrate on the miracle and the curing of the person, there is much more in this passage than meets the eye.

Today, leprosy is curable and leper colonies and absolute stigma is not there anymore. But disease itself still has a stigma. People are reluctant to discuss their sickness and disease and reluctant to ask for prayers because they are judged. Others weave theories of why someone fell sick and the theories themselves are judgmental. Instead of holding people close and telling them that God loves them, we push them away and hope we never get the sickness. Skin diseases and diseases whereby the face is affected, hair loss happens, people lose weight and look different are still handled with discomfort.

Jesus only repeats what the person asks for. The person affected by leprosy asks to be made clean and Jesus answers in the affirmative. But the person does not ask Jesus to touch him. He is repeating what society would have told him. “You are not clean. So, stay away.” He then requests Jesus to make him clean. Jesus does not disappoint him but then adds the main thing, which is touch. The people did not want to touch the person and Jesus touches him. This is the essence of the miracle. It is not that Jesus made him clean but that Jesus touched him.

During lent, we are asked to purify ourselves and to make ourselves clean. These usages are dangerous and an antithesis to lent and the kingdom of God. Even today, people belonging to lower castes and women as a whole are kept away from churches and the altar. The idea behind it is purity and cleanness or shall we say, the notion of lack of purity and cleanness. Many women do not come to church or even if they come, do not come forward for communion or blessing, if they have their menstruation (menstrual cycle or period). Women are also kept away from the holy of holies due to this concept of impurity.

It is sad that the very own sons of such women argue for exclusion of their own mother because of this notion of impurity. Lent should be a time when we shed the impure and unjust thoughts in our mind and not in our body. It is a time when the church and the church community should be open and accepting to everyone. No one should be kept out on the basis of such wrong thoughts of impurity, disease and stigmas. Amen.    

(Photo credit: artofendingstigma.com)

 

The Valentine challenge: Will churches support inter caste marriages?

As we come across Valentine’s Day messages, loved up snaps of couples in courtship and already married, it will bid well to go back to the story of St. Valentine. Whether mythical or not, we are reminded of the story of the young priest who gives support to young couples who wanted to get married. The decree of Emperor Claudius that young men should not get married as he wanted a strong army is then challenged and opposed. Valentine is thrown into jail and later tortured and killed for this.

Churches and other religious institutions oppose Valentine’s Day because of the way it has been commercialized and has become a means of selling merchandise including red flowers, cards and other gifts. Special candle light dinners, vacations and offers are also added to the list of temptations. Young couples feel forced to spend money on each other to prove their love. The commercialization of this day can indeed be opposed even though I reject arguments that Valentine’s Day itself is against Indian culture.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’ observation that inter caste weddings are the real remedy for breaking caste can be read and interpreted for Valentine’s Day. But what is really happening in India? Marriage murders and honor killings are the rule of the day even in 2024. Either men from a Dalit background are killed for marrying a girl from an upper caste or a girl who belongs to an upper caste is killed for marrying someone from a lower caste or another community. These killings are not limited to certain parts of India only as was seen in 2018 in the case of the torture and murder of Kevin Joseph in Kerala or as late as 2023 when a 14 year old girl in Kerala was tortured by her own father and given pesticide due to which she later died. All because she was in a relationship with a boy from another community. In all cases, the justification of the parents is that they killed because they loved their child!

1 Corinthians 13:6 says that love does not rejoice in wrong doing but rejoices in the truth. Since when has the church started being against love? Or is the church and are other religions thinking of caste over and ahead of God and love? Valentine’s Day is a time to go beyond celebrations and to light a candle for all the couples who deeply loved each other and yet could not live together because of the narrow mindedness of their family, religion and even church. The passion shown by churches to talk about and preach about their community and not about our Lord Jesus means that caste and community matter more to us and this should be called out and rejected at any cost.  

Today is a day of taking a stand, of supporting, of being strong so that those in love can be together. A priest should be a custodian of love, a custodian of couples who are in love and a custodian of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need more Valentine priests in our midst. Priests who can reflect the zeal of St. Valentine, who gave his life for the happiness of young couples. The church has to also come clear on this and stop preaching importance of community and caste and give protection, legal help and spiritual guidance to young couples from different castes and communities who want to get married. The church has to become a safe space for love, the preaching of love, the enacting of love and for people in love.

Observations on the JSOC and OSC tensions prevailing in Kerala

Some observations on the escalation of tensions between the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Syrian Church. (I will be biased in my opinion but would prefer to position my bias/preferential option to those who are oppressed and afflicted at the moment. Whenever there is a change and if the oppressed becomes the oppressor, this opinion will also change accordingly.)  

 

1. The court has not ruled out reconciliatory talks and confidence building measures between the churches. The door to talks and settlements is not closed.

2. This is a jolt to the ecumenical relationships between churches. The OSC has bishops and priests in high ranking positions of ecumenical bodies. How then can the church not compromise for the larger good, as ecumenical acceptance is itself also a compromise?

3. A forced unity can never be Christian. It is a very imperialistic move from the OSC which does not bode well for churches in India.

4. The court has not suggested alienation of people/church members from their beliefs or spirituality. Such forced alienation, eviction and use of force is anti-democratic and un-Christian.

5. Jesus’ teaching that the first will be last and the last will be first should never be laughed off as an unrealistic and utopian dream (which is what an unbridled expansion will mean). If we do so we risk preaching a defeated Christ and a defeated cross, which goes against the theology and belief of all churches.

6. By being generous and compassionate the OSC will only gain a larger acceptance in society, among other churches and among their own church members.

7. The thought of the annihilation of a church, a people or a particular tradition is very dangerous and can lead to irreparable damage among all Christians.

8. The court cases also came about because of a deep-seated enmity among two churches. The aim was not just winning but showing the opposition to one another.

9. Tomorrow whoever else does something like this will also have to face the criticism of other churches and civil society. The opposition is not to the OSC as a church but to the thought of acquiring and amassing wealth and property which does not completely belong to someone.

10. Evil has to be opposed but it need not come at the expense of not having a relationship with one another. The wide ranging criticism of a church should change to the criticism of wrong policies.

11. People from both churches can join to oppose injustice in society and even in churches. There is already a natural association which is in relationship with common concerns and issues. This will be a healthy development.

12. How long can we accuse one another and try to do away with each other? Even as we worship the same God, it is necessary that we allow the continuing of several denominations as it helps us to witness to Christ Jesus in a better way.

13. Clergy and laity of both churches who should be contributing effectively to the Christian world are blinded by the faith to the denomination than true faith in God. This leads to the stunting of growth of very promising minds.

14. It is still not too late. We can stop throwing stones at one another and sit at a table and start talking. By hurling accusations at one another, we are rubbing salt on the wounds instead of working on the healing process.

15. Forceful occupation done by countries and powerful institutions has never worked anywhere. The enmity lasts for generations, leading to greater mistrust, hatred and unending conflict.

May God show a way for peace to prevail and for people to be given the churches that their ancestors or they themselves have built. Hope all of us can come together in prayer and wait for a great healing from God.

(Picture credit www.newsreaderboard.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

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)

Go Corona go

Perhaps it is a denominational problem that to remain relevant and the leader of the pack, one always must be right. Even when we know it, we won’t admit that we are wrong. We are always right and correct!

The covid-19 (Corona) virus is turning our world upside down because we are being made to swallow our words. Sample a few things below.

a. Being an introvert was always seen as abnormal. So much that society tried to fix such people. They were forced into becoming outgoing, smart, mingling and possessors of a great personality. What is happening now is a reversal of this. We are forcing one another to stay home, become socially inactive and introverts!

b. Men had to be outside and women inside. The after-dusk curfew for women has been practiced religiously in many households in India. Women simply had to get in before it is dark. But now a virus has managed to push both men and women inside the house. Curfew is now gender neutral, or at least trying to be that, so that it is an effective exercise.

c. People who washed their hands several times were seen as special and as having an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Others tried to counsel and get help for them. Today, everyone is told to wash their hands several times. Are yesterday’s people with disorders today’s trend setters and law abiders?

d. Our personalities were figured out by experts by the way we shook hands. Those with weaker handshakes were marked as unsure, laid back and soft and those with stronger handshakes were looked at as driven, aggressive and ambitious. Now we are asked not to shake hands at all. So, where has ambition, drive and success gone?

e. Priests and pastors kept telling their congregations that they had to come to church or the worship center. Fidelity, faithfulness, and sincerity to the church was measured with the strength of attendance. The priest/pastor would ask, “Haven’t seen you in church lately?!” That has now changed to “pray in your home, your body is God’s temple, save another by saving yourself and not more than ten should attend church”. A lifetime’s tutoring and attracting to church is now seriously being challenged.

f. One had to go behind an elected representative to fix the waste problem, the drainage issue and to talk about community health and well being. We usually got back a promise list of what would be done in the coming years. Now there is an emphasis and concentration from their part on cleanliness, healthy living, clean surroundings and proper lifestyle.

g. Anyone and everyone would call for a meeting, even if it was against all human norms, against safeguarding of the rights of people and a call for communal disharmony. All that is now solved with a stern warning that no meetings or get together's are allowed.

Jesus’ advice that the Sabbath is for humans and humans are not for the Sabbath is being acted out right in front of our eyes. All norms, especially the anyway shaky ones, are being put in the deep freezer. Bureaucrats are showing great courage and strength to take a decision and implement it to the fullest.

A virus has changed our lives. But when one starts thinking about it, and with full respect to those who have lost their lives, the virus has shown us “why not?” We need to listen to the directives and advice of all government agencies at this moment. But it is also time to realize that a great levelling is in the process. The have nots are coming into the picture and re-entering their lost spaces. There is no clear right and wrong, victor and loser, strong and weak. There are only humans, you and me. Praying that we can all stand together and overcome our caste, gender and class biases and do whatever it takes to break the chain of the virus. Anything, for the good and survival of humankind.  

This lent assure others that their faith is great

Matthew 15:21-31

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

If we are to put ourselves in the place of Jesus and his disciples, St. Matthew 15:21-31 places a woman from another community/caste/religion in front of us this lent. It is not a familiar and a comfortable scene and neither was it for Jesus’ disciples and even for him. The disciples are almost irritated with the presence of the Canaanite woman and that is why they ask Jesus to send her away. They are disturbed by her shouting. Jesus makes a matter of fact statement when he says that “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” But the woman comes closer and kneels and seeks help. Jesus explains the situation to her and says that he cannot help her because it will not be fair to take the food of the children and throw to the dogs. This is when there is an unexpected twist to the proceedings. The woman says that even the dogs eat the crumbs that have fallen from the table. Jesus stops what he is doing and says “Great is your faith. Let it be done to you as you wish.”

This encounter of Jesus and the Canaanite woman speaks volumes to us during lent. We must also appreciate the wisdom of the church leaders to place this reading in churches during lent. The woman’s daughter is tormented by a demon and that is why she has come to Jesus. The problem though here is that the Jews and the Canaanites do not have that good a relationship. One could definitely classify them as enemies with a history of enmity. This is why the disciples become uncomfortable. They want the woman to go away but they cannot beat her or push her away because they cannot behave like others. They are part of the Jesus movement. So they put the burden on to Jesus. Jesus takes it up.

One must realize that our surroundings always affect us to a certain extent. We speak based on our surroundings. Jesus therefore is quite cold when he mentions to the woman and anyone else who would have been there that he has come for certain people only. We should introspect during lent and realize that we too prefer to put our burdens on to Jesus and withdraw from any worthwhile thing that we are supposed to do during lent and even otherwise. In this sense we as the church sometimes withdraw from our responsibilities and leave Jesus to fend for himself forgetting that both the bride and the bride groom form the family/church. It is not that he can’t. But who and what are we then? Jesus though stays just there and has a dialogue with the woman. He says that it is not fair for him to look at the sufferings of others as then his own community would suffer. How could he do this? But this is when the woman shows a way forward. We do not come together as communities or do not help those outside our community because we reach a road block and feel we cannot help even though some part of us wants to! The Canaanite woman offers a solution. She does not want Jesus to stop helping his community but asks for the crumbs, the fringe and blessings on the side path which his community will anyway not use. The woman opens up a vista of ministry for Jesus where his ministry gets expanded to the least and the last of communities other than his.

We as the church should open our eyes to see the Canaanite woman in our midst so that our ministry will have a scope to widen inside and outside the walls of our church. During lent it will help to look around in our church and see who is standing next to us. Are we only seeing familiar and comfortable faces? Then we are reflecting the disciples. But can we see other faces in our midst? Then we will be able to reflect Jesus in our lives. All of us represent the church. We are the church. The keys to the doors of the church are with us. During lent, can we open the doors so that others can also come in. If Jesus told the woman that her faith was great, he is also telling the same thing today. Who are we to keep others away from the grace and mercy of God? Lent should be a time when we stop saying “Sending her away” like the disciples. Instead we must be able to look at others and say “Great is your faith. Let it be done to you as you wish.” Amen.