Sunday evening service: Let my people go so that they may worship me; Give me back my religion

Worship order
Opening prayer
Let us worship God by feeling the ever abiding presence of God amongst us. Shall we at this time pray with unceasing fervor that God may accept our ministrations and our prayers. Lord God, full of grace and mercy, we come into your presence for steadying our nerves, guiding our minds and strengthening our hearts. You God have wished our safety, hoped for our success and initiated our recovery. We come Lord Jesus because we have heard and we believe that you will accept us as we are and as we look, with several faults and shortcomings to others but blessed and beautiful in your sight. Help us Holy Spirit to overcome fears and climb the hills before us as if it were small walls. Amen.

Hymn: Standing on the promises of Christ my king (UMH no. 374.)

Thanks giving prayer (Together)
Our God who wants only good for us and out of us, we pray that you sustain the spirit of wellness and goodness inside us. We thank you for the numerous gifts that you have showered upon us and pray that we get the opportunity to use what we possess. Thank you Lord for the knowledge that we have gained and for the friendships we have forged. Our life in its form is your mercy and kindness. Help us to wield our information and knowledge with humbleness and for the use of others and the glory of God. Amen.

Bible reading: St. Luke 15: 11-32
Sermon

Confession (Together)
Lord God, you know our deepest thoughts, perversions, short falls, fears, anxieties, trouble and cover ups. We pray that you allow us the profound privilege to be in your presence with a mind to confess all our sins and humble ourselves before your assuring presence. We are sorry that we haven’t been able to do to the best of our ability and see the cries of help of others living among us. We have judged quickly while forgetting your deep mercies in our own life. We confess that we have a long way to go and that a beginning is essential to turn the tide. Lord God, we come therefore confessing in full and bowing before your pasture of grace. Amen.

Assurance of pardon
The shepherd rejoiced on finding one lost sheep, the woman rejoiced on finding one lost coin and the father rejoiced on seeing the lost son. What a sight it is and what joy God has in seeing us assemble before God. We have all been on our own journeys, trying to find answers to questions and seeking truth in unfamiliar territories. Help us Lord God to find pardon and forgiveness in your merciful presence. God always rejoices in us coming back to God’s presence. In God’s rejoicing we are accepted and forgiven. Amen.

Affirmation of faith (Together)
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

Intercession
We pray God for the UTC and its numerous needs. Give strength dear Lord to the principal, faculty, staff and students to carry forward the mission of theological education, pastoral care and human interaction. We ask for your guidance God during the exam week for the smooth conduct of the exams, an atmosphere to write well, perform to one’s optimum and for sustained hope in your grace God. We also ask dear God for travel mercies for those who will travel for their field work at the end of the week and protection and guidance for those who will stay in different parts of India with people to learn from them and bring home the learning. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord, thank you that you are with us right now. Your love surpasses all fear. We give you the anxiety we feel and surrender all our worries to you. Clear our mind, calm our hearts, still our Spirit and relax our being that we may always glorify you in everything we write, speak and do. Dear Lord, as we take our exams we thank you that our value is not based on our performance, but on your great love for us. Come into our heart so that we can walk through this time together. Help us not only with this test, but the many tests of life that are sure to come our way. As we take our exams this week, bring back to our mind everything we studied and be gracious with what we have overlooked. Help us to remain focused and calm, confident in the facts and in our ability, and firm in the knowledge that no matter what happens you are there with us. Your peace Lord God surpasses all understanding. We ask for this gift and choose to lean upon you at this time. Lord, come and remind us of your unfailing love. Remind us that you hold us safe, you understand us, and you cherish us. We lay down our fears before you. We leave them at the foot of the cross, for you have overcome the world. We choose to give you all our concerns, worries and fears of failure. We trust that your loving hand will hold us through these exams and lead into a bright future. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
(http://www.lords-prayer-words.com, http://www.salesiansireland.ie, http://www.living-prayers.com)

We pray gracious and merciful God for those who are kept away because of their beliefs and differences. We envisage a church where people can come and be accepted like the lost son. Lord God, let there not be any divisions based on caste, race, colour, class and gender and let everyone be part of the body of Christ, unified for the glory of God. We pray for those who continue to strive hard for India and for the world at large. So many sacrifices are being committed for people to live and enjoy the benefits of technology and innovation. May we come together God to understand one another and undertake our journeys so that we may lose ourselves only to find ourselves. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are sick and are in need of prayer. We pray for Ivan’s father who had a surgery yesterday and is recovering. We pray for those suffering and recovering from cancer, heart ailments, kidney malfunction, eye problems, dengue, viral fever, back pain, sports injuries, knee pain, mental tensions and family issues. Place your hand on them and heal them O God and allow them a quality of life which is good and satisfying. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord’s prayer

Closing hymn: Have thine own way, Lord. UMH 382

Closing prayer and benediction
We thank you Lord God for small mercies and grace that you have always gifted us. We are comforted that you accept us as we are and as you find us. Be with us as we venture out into the world and help us to face various challenges in life. Journey with us Lord in spirit and deed and help us to be your witnesses in what we say and do. May we be able to write exams properly and without fear. May our readiness be complete with your presence and guidance. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us and with our families now and forever more. Amen.

Marriage as a sacrament of love, care and consensus instead of a religious seal for rape

A statement has come from a section of the legislature in India explaining that rape within marriage cannot come under the preview of rape because marriage in India is different from other parts of the world. Due to this any United Nations observation and recommendation in this regard cannot be implemented in India it is being argued. The second argument being put out is that marriage is a holy sacrament and therefore what happens in such a relationship cannot be rape.

One needs to think whether marriage in India is indeed different from other countries? To consider one’s tradition higher than others is very parochial and high ended. Which culture can we refer to in India? Is it a male dominated culture and tradition or is it a marriage of equals which also exists within the Indian tradition? Indians across the board migrate to different parts of the world. When they live in other parts of the world they have to adhere to rules which give importance to equal partnership in a marriage. Will their marriage become less sacred by being in a different culture and adhering to rules which are now being labeled as anti-Indian? Will their economic clout and foreign exchange be less acceptable to the government which thrives on such NRI support?

In many churches the understanding and basis of marriage is played out as the relationship between Christ and the church. Husbands are therefore supposed to sacrifice their lives for their wives just as Christ did for his church. This understanding in some form or the other is prevalent in all religions. What is being proposed by the U.N. is not anything new but what all religions are supposed to do anyway. This is not a foreign imposition of any new law or understanding but what hasn’t been done because of continued male leadership and females adhering to patriarchal leadership norms.

Marriage is an important step in the life of a couple. The religious rite or sacrament is an institutional step which welcomes the couple into a community and makes them take a public decision and commitment in front of elders, women, men, youngsters and children. The main step of the couple is not just a sacrament but the commitment they make to one another.

This mutual commitment goes beyond everything else and despite or in the absence of any other thing, the couple will try and be committed to each other and stay with each other. Such human to human contact and commitment is not forced but is voluntary, mutual and even equal to an extent. Our relationship with God should also be natural and not forced. By saying that what happens in a marriage cannot be brought under the purview of rape, people are questioning the sacredness of mutual love of a couple, their commitment to one another and the love in their marriage. Marriage is not a slave of the state. The state ensures that those who enter a marriage have their rights safeguarded. Religion makes sure that this coming together is blessed with the presence of God in the witness of the particular community of family, friends and well wishers.

Fr. George Morelli puts it such “St. Paul explains this beautifully (the essence of marriage) when he compares the love a man should have towards his wife in terms of the love that Christ has for the Church. "Husbands, love you wife," St. Paul writes, "as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her ... " (Ephesians 5:25). Therefore any type of sexuality, which is self-centered, manipulative and degrading, is impure because it is not based on self-emptying, self-giving, committed, and creating love. Love always has as its center the good and welfare of the individual. It is for our good and welfare that we were created by God, our Father, redeemed by Christ in His act of "Extreme Humility" of embracing the cross, and sanctified by the Spirit whom He sent. As Christ took on our flesh, a man and woman in marriage " ... shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh" (Matthew 19:5-6). Thus the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians have so much meaning: "The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." As God's love is not casual, crude, rude and self-centered, so too, sexual love should not be this way. As God's love is giving, emptying and creative, so too sexual love should be this way.” This does suggest clearly to us that love and sexual relations cannot be seen from the perspective of how it has been explained recently in India.
Both religion and the state ensure that the people are given their rights and grow up in an environment of trust, love and equality by using religious texts, tradition, theology and the constitution as guiding principles. Religious texts, traditions and the constitution give enough and more pointers on how a marriage should be and how the relationship between a wife and husband should be. Despite this there are attempts within the legislature and the church to oppress certain groups for some benefits.

In the paper “Marital rape: A Legalized Sin”, Anjali Shrivastava, Devanshu Jain and Ayan Hazra identify the short comings of an archaic law which has limited scope for women who are married. The law says that punishment for the spouse can only come about if the wife is under 15 years of age or if the couple are separated at the time of the non consensual sex. The Justice Verma committee constituted after the gruesome rape in Delhi in 2012 proposed that this should be changed and domestic rape has to be brought under the purview of rape. Recommendations made by the Verma Committee include
“i.The exception for marital rape be removed.
ii. The law ought to specify that:
a. A marital or other relationship between the perpetrator or victim is not a valid defence against the crimes of rape or sexual violation;
b. The relationship between the accused and the complainant is not relevant to the inquiry into whether the complainant consented to the sexual activity;
c. The fact that the accused and victim are married or in another intimate relationship may not be regarded as a mitigating factor justifying lower sentences for rape.”
‘Though the committee had recommended the removal of the exception for marital rape, no steps have been taken by the legislation regarding it.’

The query whether India is not on par with other countries brought up the reply on the specific culture and sacredness of marriage in India. Sana Shakil writes that “Marital rape is illegal in countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Israel, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Russia and Poland. It is also an offense in 18 states in the US and three in Australia. A survivor of marital rape in the country (India) can get some relief by filing a case against her husband under 498A IPC (husband subjecting his wife to cruelty). However, the section doesn't clearly define the term cruelty and carries a maximum punishment of three years and fine.” India in this sense does need a clear definition of law and amendment of the law.

The statement on rape within marriage should be seen as a statement against married women and a lack of interest in bringing out real development in the country. Marriage is not a license to rape. Marriage is a commitment to live together in love, mutual respect, sharing and harmony. The only option for a woman who is raped within the perceived sacredness of marriage should not be limited to separation and divorce but also to file a case against the injustice meted out to her. This is what religion and the state should stand for. Anything else will be a blot on our fragile religious harmony and democracy.




Picture courtesy http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/Heroic_Rape.html
Poussin's Rape of the Sabines, painted in the 1630s and today in the New York Metropolitan Museum, may well be the rape image most familiar to American art historians. It illustrates an episode from the early history of ancient Rome. The Romans, unable to obtain wives peacefully, staged a festival, invited the neighboring Sabines, and, at a signal from Romulus, each violently seized a Sabine woman.