A social media fast could be detrimental to lent

Many people and sometimes even church traditions encourage other forms of lent and fasting. They include carbon fasting, alcohol fasting, sweets fasting, carbonated drinks fasting, movie fasting, T.V. fasting and social media fasting which includes popular platforms like facebook and whats app, to name a few. I have seen many social media status messages that someone won’t be on facebook for the next 50 or 40 days. Is this a good way of fasting?

There is nothing wrong when people select their modes of fasting. One should not judge anyone as everyone has a right to feel the essence of lent in their own way. But what is problematic about a social media fast? It largely depends on how one uses social media. If social media is used for spying on the lives of others, reading forwards and jokes which are hurtful and racist and forwarding messages without checking the authenticity and veracity of such messages, then taking a break from them is definitely something we should do. That is because our usage of social media is hurting us and others.

On the other hand if we use social media to communicate with people, then going on a social media fast denies humanity and communication to others in this fast paced world. This will make us construct separate huts of fasting which don’t communicate with each other and which are not there for one another. Matthew 25:34-40 says “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;  for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” Now it is definitely good to go in person and feed someone, to give something to drink, to welcome a stranger, to clothe someone, to take care of someone and visit someone in prison. There is no doubt about that.

But in today’s world everyone is caught up with work which lasts long and is unending. The time to physically be present for someone is becoming lesser and lesser in today’s context. So we must make do with other forms of communication and reaching out to people. These are mainly to reach out to people and the actual act may be done physically and in person. For instance, after lent started, I reached out to a destitute home and asked them what was their weekly and monthly need for food was and then informed my church women’s fellowship who had enquired with me about the need, I got in touch with another organization and asked them to furnish details of their organization so that a company could help them as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), another church group was informed about a need for blankets and clothes for an orphanage, a follow up was done for an old lady who was visited in the hospital by asking her daughter how she was and when a visit could be done next, spoke with elderly people who were far off and who could not be visited in person, and wrote and shared Lenten thoughts to people who could not attend church or read a bible study where they were working. Most of these things were initiated by others in the form of requests through social media.

The point is that social media has become an extended arm of communication. If it is used for the purpose of reaching out to people, connecting people, informing people and inspiring people, then having a social media fast will not serve the purpose of a meaningful lent. Instead what we should try for is a lent when we make more effort to reach out to others. Colossians 3:8 says “But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.” If social media makes us do this by the means of reading and forwarding irresponsible and hurtful messages, then we should indeed be off it. But it would be preferable to learn how to use social media during lent. Psalm 37:30 offers more wisdom in saying “The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice.” We can responsibly use social media to reach out and help many.

To conclude, it is not technology and social media which is the culprit leading everyone into sin. Rather, it is the use of technology and especially social media by humans which is the problem. Lent is a good time to learn how to use social media for the benefit of the poor and needy. Abstinence will only lead to non-usage followed by a rush in inappropriate usage. Instead of that, lent should reform our way of using social media. 

We can take a social media lenten pledge that we won't laugh at others, won't make racial slurs, won't send insulting messages to others, won't be rude online, won't watch inappropriate content, won't forward anything that we receive without checking the authenticity of it and won't use the social media to troll, insult and hurt others.  Amen.  

Revisiting reformation: Explorations on Religion-State relations Then and Now: Sermon

1 Peter 2:1-5
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I thank the organizers of the International Conference on “Revisiting reformation: Explorations on Religion-State relations Then and Now” for this opportunity to preach in chapel. I would like to title this sermon as “Revisiting the Reformation: A chance to reform our spirituality.”

The reformation was born out of good intentions and a desire to express dissent against some practices of the church in the 16th century. The decision by Luther to disagree and protest was to bring about a new form of spirituality where the priesthood of all would be brought to the forefront and more importance would be given to the scripture. The reformation also made use of political fiefdoms to garner support for the new theological articulations which were being proposed. So indeed Luther and others made use of prevailing situations to make the move of starting the Protestant movement and church.
The 500th year of celebrating the Reformation is coming up in 2017 with the countdown having started in 2008. Each year has had a theme and this year has “Reformation: Art and the bible” as the theme. This is to identify the role that communication and technology played in the reformation. The reformation of the 16th century was helped by the invention of the movable type printing press in the 15th century. This was the new media and the facebook of the 16th century used by Luther and others to kick start and push the reformation. The reformation was also helped by art and paintings which engaged the common human with the idea of the reformation. My first point is
1. Reformation: The formation of social networks and the power of the finger-The idea was loosely the same as today. A post was put up and this was seen by some who then posted it on their own wall and shared it with their own friends who in turn liked it and shared it with others. What Luther wrote in one part of the country reached another part of the country and then was further transported to other places through translations. Luther was a modern day blogger and facebook user who wrote his ideas and used social networking to disseminate those ideas. His idea of priesthood of all also makes use of this power to share and disseminate. What the reformation did was to give the power to read and share to the common person. This was hitherto in the hands of an exclusive club. With the power to read, like and share the people got power in their hands and this power they further distributed. The concept is very close to facebooking today where traditionalists see it as a waste of time and against established norms whereas users see it as a spiritual work of spreading the gospel to hundreds and even thousands of friends. Luther managed to use a technological innovation to elaborate the scope of spirituality to common people and make them feel important and part of evangelization and gospel spreading. The reformation was in this sense made possible by the formation of social networks and the power of using the finger. Then the finger and the hand was used to write, read, turn the page if interested and distribute what was read and written.

The read passage in 1 Peter 2:1-5 calls us to identify ourselves as living stones and built ourselves as spiritual houses to be a holy priesthood. This is indeed a call to understand the liberating aspect of communication and technology instead of being held up in the debate of who can do what and how. God’s communication does not have hierarchy but gives the poorest of the poor the right to communicate. This can be through sign language, exchange of traditional knowledge, reading and exchanging books and using new media. A computer won’t literally give you food three times a day but technology can give you an advantage of writing your own future and changing your destiny of imposed poverty. Literacy in all forms is essential to be part of the social network and use the finger. This is not to impose language supremacy but to come to common languages which can be used and to include everyone in the network.

We conducted a computer literacy programme for elders in the church. Most of them who turned up were above 65 years of age. In two sessions they started using smart phones and started facebook accounts. A 45 year old son of a 72 year old mother came and asked “Pastor, why did you do this to me?” The pastor enquired what happened and the son said that his mother who used to watched TV serials at home sent him a friend request on facebook and is now liking his photos and putting her own photos. The son said “It’s not that she has an opinion about everything. She is now putting that opinion in public and embarrassing me.” The pastor asked him “Why should sons have all the fun?” What the church unknowingly gave the woman was the power of the finger and the power to lead a spiritual house on her own. This is the power of the reformation brought about by innovation. The priesthood of all believers as suggested by Luther should not be seen as only limited to the church but should be seen in the natural realm of people, which is their household. Being part of networks can initiate and strengthen reformation in churches. My second point is
2. Reformation as mission at the doors- The 95 theses of Luther were his explanations against what he thought were corrupt and unacceptable practices in the church. His explanations which were also sent in letter form to church leaders were then printed and distributed among many. The legend of having his 95 theses nailed to a door of a church also brings into discussion the value of the door and the essence of various doors in the form of churches and houses. In the Syrian Orthodox church there are seven ordinations for priesthood. Interestingly the first two, which mean Ulmoyo (the Faithful) and Mawdyono (the Confessor of Faith) are for all the faithful. Mission at the doors would then mean that the official sacraments in church should be substantiated by sacraments at home and the public sphere. So everyone is in that sense ordained to take forward the mission of the church in their own spheres. Symbolic and real acts in church can and should be sustained by real acts outside the church. Mission at the doors invites us to live the gospel when we visit a house or place and are on the outside of the door and to live the gospel when people come to our doors and we happen to be on the inside.

Mission at the doors also seeks an outside involvement in association with others where we reform the areas we live in. Whitefield Rising in the Whitefield area of Bangalore is one such group. Their motto is “Mooh bandh, kaam chalu” meaning “Mouth shut, start the work” or close your mouth and work. They have managed to make clinical and effective interventions with regard to cleaning lakes, solving traffic problems, fixing road potholes, cleaning open drainages and educating people on local body elections and the right to vote. As woman and man, daughter and son, sister and brother, wife and husband and members of various churches we are called to live the gospel in its fullness. By being living stones we should convert and reform ourselves into spiritual houses and a priesthood which offers spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. This definitely cannot be limited to churches. It has to extend outside the church and its vicinity and for this, all who belong to the church and would want to associate with the church have to minister in their own places of work and stay. Amen.

(Preached in UTC chapel on August 4, 2015.)

The youth space and the church

Politics in India has come to the era of being youth-i-fied. Different parties are claiming that the youth are not only their future but present as well. With the youth being lured to join various political dispensations, youth lobbyists are asking for more seats and representation in the political decision making and the running of the country. But the seniors are not willing to let go. Understandably so, because they have themselves burnt out their youthful fire before being handed the reins of power! In the midst of this deadlock and power mongering, the debate should perhaps be about power sharing.

The church in India reflects the same predicament. The youth are demanding their share and the older generation refuses to let go of what they have themselves just received. One way of ending this impasse is to locate spaces within the political and spiritual landscape of India. Spaces where all can be included and all can participate in a worth while manner!

The youth in India are taking to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in a big way. The internet in its various forms is helping bring about a revolution which is creating a space for youngsters in this country. The church also through interactive web sites, chat rooms, online forums and blogs is being challenged to hear what the youth have to say. A clamp down on such forums and online activity would not fare well for the traditionalists as that would bring the battle on to the streets.

The time has come for the church to claim its youth and its online community. There will be cross overs from the older generation who are still young at heart and that should be welcomed as no one can lay claim to the term youth in an exclusive manner. It would bid well for the church to allow such alternative spaces which are in a way outside the physical church but in all aspects part and parcel of the church.

The concerns about social networking sites like facebook and orkut obviously remain, with prime concerns on whether the youth are being misled into a pseudo-spiritual life rather than one based on reality and real experiences. But one cannot write away such sites without discussing the pros and cons of it. The popularity of these sites seeks a discussion on them. The discussion could also go in the direction of how the church can be a part of these spaces which the youth have made their own and how the church can take them seriously and not just write them off as technological gizmos fit only for gamers and the laptop generation.

Churches in India need to go a step further. They have to discuss the possibility of having a spirituality which fits the demands of the online generation. Is online counselling possible, can video conferencing be held between the leadership and the youth to avoid red tapism and hierarchical high handedness, can the youth meet online and discuss everyday concerns, and can the priest be available online to the youth? The non-involvement of the church will make the youth space a churchless space!

New year and the power of no

We are still very much in the fervour and flavour of the new year 2010 and it makes pure sense to gung-ho with the things which need to be discussed however weird they may seem to the naked eye. In 2010 technology in all its variants will be blamed again for causing disruption in the lives of people and ruining families. Lives will be lived online and though it wont lead to empty streets, people will complain about the lack of time and the feeble existence of life. We wont have time to meet each other and even keep in touch with our inner selves.

We love a punching bag, don’t we? And in this case it is new media technology. We will know what our friends and family on facebook, orkut and twitter are doing but we wont know what people in our house are doing! True to an extent but who is to blame? I wonder whether in 2010 we will be punching into thin air because the punching bag wont be there to take our punches?

As a priest, it is important to come to terms with life in all its fullness, technology included. Can I preach from the pulpit that my congregation is aloof from me because of something I cant control? Or should I look to myself to see what is happening today? A priest/bishop in Kerala (and I have come to understand that this happens in all denominations) is under severe time pressure. We have to perform according to the needs and expectations of people. We have to attend umpteen programs in a single day and it doesn’t matter whether we actually even know what we are doing by the time we are half through. The physical and mental exhaustion is put aside and we perform the great Indian rope trick, of course in the absence of a rope. After the offline world we have to enter the online world and perform again.

Several priests and bishops I have talked to agree to a common thing. There is nothing they can do about it. Its out of our hands! But maybe that is again only one part of the problem. The other is the fear and inability to say no. Even if we end up being late for programs and hold up weddings, we wont just say no. The only time a no would surface is when I am saying this. No, many would protest. We cant say no!

Ian Fleming came out with his novel Dr. No in 1958 and later it was made into the first James Bond movie in 1962, starring Sean Connery. The villain Dr. No could have got his name because he rejects something and he is to be rejected by the audience as well. No is more of a rejection of yes and therefore something negative and not positive.

This routine continues even now. Obviously priests/bishops and anyone for that matter would not like to be associated with a character like Dr. No and with the no negativism. The problem then lies not in inventions and new forms of communication but in the inherent human behaviour to appear nice and good. But appearing nice/good need not lead to doing something nice/good eventually. 2010 will also bear the weight of the expectations of people mutually on saying yes, with those who will be bold enough to say no being ostracized and decorated with the not too well meaning 'Dr. No'. Poor Dr. No!

I’m lovin’ it!!!

Mcdonalds has already managed to swamp India with the I’m lovin’ it slogan. Good one to place the emphasis on what they claim to be finger licking, smacking good treats of fast food. Depending on which side of the fence one is, one will end up (loving) liking it or not loving (not liking) it. But our positive perceptions about ourselves obviously only offer the option to like and not dislike. Life on the fast lane is indeed finger fast, be it licking one’s finger or banging the laptop with one’s fingers. We seem to have the time only for finger specific decisions.

India is always in the limelight of controversy. The scope and characters are decided by the mainline media and we follow it with baited breath, only to forget it when the media drops the story for lack of interest and TRP (Television rating point). Protest and comments have to fulfil the time deadlines as otherwise they lack the punch they have to deliver.

On the other hand civil society in the form of non-governmental organizations and special interests groups fighting injustice and mismanagement encourage us to raise our voices against the wrong that we see and experience. But in a society which is being converted into a finger society (be it forefinger or middle finger), do we actually have the space to bring out our true views and feelings?

Take the case of a social networking site like facebook. For every note that someone posts we are given the option to comment or ‘like.’ The finger somehow goes for the like option than for the comment option. There could be aspects of the note that we differ on or would like to provide additional information, but we rather choose to do the easy thing. The mcdonalds I’m lovin’ it gets converted into the I’m likin’ it.

The bone of contention would be that we have time for two options only. To love and not love, to like and not like. Anything in between, anything which could mean a bit more time and effort is put on hold and left there. This is the noose of democracy which hangs menacingly over us. We feel we have the freedom to do everything, but do we really? We think it is ‘time’ that makes us finger specific individuals, but is it? We imagine that we can turn around anything and make it conducive to our needs, but can we?

Who is my friend?

Friends are a realistic constant that not only come next to family but in today’s world have replaced family, in some cases, as the number one shoulder one would select to cry on. The transformation has been swift and ruthless and we are reminded of the importance by the soap opera “Friends” telecasted and re-telecasted for years now in India. It is noteworthy to mention how friends become family and stand up for one another which is somewhat new in the Indian context.

But are we ready for this friend concept that is invading our lives and do we need to be more specific when we use the word friend? Our real lives have more or less been replaced by our surreal lives which are not projected to an audience but have taken over the life we are used to. Now even though many would question who or what is real, the fact remains that we have been shifted to a virtual world. This world is very much like the world we live in save for a few problems of identity and privacy.

So the friends culture which is burning it’s sole with protracted re-runs can make a virtual entry and skate board into the visions of online netizens. But what is it that we come across today? Orkut and facebook along with other social networking sites are facilitating the sending of hundreds of thousands of friend’s requests to each other. I get a minimum of three almost everyday. People I don’t know, people I can’t even see a picture of, people who don’t write a message as to who they are (suggesting I might know them), but still asking me to accept them as their friend. What do I do? Do I go on an accepting spree?, do I say no?, do I make sure I know the person?

In my case I am almost forced into accepting requests because of the nature of the job I am into. But I can’t help but think of others who have to accept requests and then realise that it could be their teacher, or parent, or a stalker wishing to intrude into their lives. It’s good to make friends and have a lot of friends as long as one knows who the friend is!