Lent Day 40: Negating the gossiping community

Humans are story tellers. It is but natural that people speak, share stories and update what is happening in their life and in their village, town or city. But there is a very thin line between story and gossip. Even though a story is also about what happened in someone’s life, it is more or less true. But a rumour and gossip are based on hearsay, imagination and even lies. A story can be positive whereas a rumour or gossip is negative.

During Jesus’ time, both these kinds of sharing information existed. There were stories which were intended to strengthen the community and give hope to them. There were also rumours and gossips which were shared among people who didn’t have much work or who concentrated on such things instead of their work. Rumours and gossips were also made on Jesus and even he did not escape this. Many people try to brush this away by saying that these things are harmless but the actual damage it could cause is very dangerous and painful for others.

Many stories have been written on village gossip. The plot is how some people spread rumours to unsettle someone or to cause a reaction. It may also be for making fun of someone and is sometimes construed as harmless humour. Some people have a way with sarcastic humour and they are weaved into the story. During Jesus’ time there are several instances when we see negative storytelling and rumour and gossip. People whispering behind his back that he was the son of a carpenter is one of those instances.

We see something unique in St. Mark 8:26. After healing the blind man, we read, “Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.” Jesus is reluctant to send the man to his village. There are instances when he sends a healed man to the priest or to the temple, but in this case that does not happen. When we look around, rumours and gossips rule in our churches and communities. Instead of stories of strength and hope we see rumours galore in communities. This demoralizes people and pushes them to the brink of death. We should realise that healing is not enough, acceptance after healing is the real challenge. Amen.

Humans are story tellers: The power of the narrative and the Mumbai attack.

Picture: www.storycenter.org
‘Tell me a story mummy’, she said as she was being tucked in to sleep. And then her mummy did just that. Every night it didn’t matter whether the story changed a lot. Mummy just had to be sure that there was a twist here and a turn there. As children we loved to hear stories from our parents. Mostly our sweet mom’s would take the burden upon themselves to entertain us. It is a fact that we like and love stories, that everything of essence which is of value to us, is in the form of a story. Our scriptures, our history, our talks are all story telling.

The November, 2008 Mumbai attack has brought everything into the open for a reluctant but precise post mortem. The media joined the elaborate exercise only to realise that it could not escape from being the object of scrutiny. The allegations against the media are that it made the attack into a soap opera, it sensationalised this particular event while ignoring others, the emotion of the people was commoditized and it put the army and commando’s at risk.

I won’t go into all this but would rather like to talk of what humans like to do and want to hear. My journalism teacher Fr. Michael Traber would keep reminding his class that ‘humans are story tellers.’ Keeping the initial objection to this aside, we realised that it was indeed true. As preachers and teachers it helps a lot to tell people stories as they want to hear them and relate with them.

The coverage of the Mumbai attack by the media was also a case of story telling to entertain and make us think as well. The story teller has mainly two things on mind. One to make sure we listen. Two to give a message. For this, tried and tested narrative formula’s are used. The Mumbai attack coverage followed a simple formula. One, the attack itself, the hostages and the pain, tension and sorrow related with it. Two, the wait for justice through a saviour/s. Three, the coming of the saviour/s (in the form of the black clothed NSG commando’s). Four, tilting the balance again in favour of good as over against evil. Five, debating the lessons uncovered from the narrative. (This could take any form).

It is then true that after we criticize the media we should also look at ourselves. There is a saying in Malayalam which is translated as ‘What the patient desired and what the doctor prescribed is milk.’ So, we have to debate the collective responsibility we share in the running of our country rather than blaming one group after the other and then forgetting all about it again. It is also a time for studying the stories and narratives we propagate and whether they serve the purposes that we need or whether it is time to think about counter narratives and stories.

The god of hope vs the god of the market

Come Onam and it’s not only the colour and the celebration one notices but the over flowing of television sets and fridges and every appliance you can think of, onto the market place. Shops start stocking stuff outside the parameters of the shop because they don’t want to miss out on the big sale bonanza benefits!

The same goes with all festivities. Festivals and celebrations are constructed anew by greeting card companies who will create a craving which then will have to be satiated by the people (us) when they buy the products of the concerned company. This leads us to the question, what are festivals like Onam supposed to be? Is it a time of hope or a time of celebrating our wealth (which in many cases is only perceived wealth because we buy using loans!)?

Therefore Onam which is supposed to be a time of rekindling the hope that society has in equality, justice and peace, is over shadowed by advertisement gimmicks and sops meant to take our minds away from the God of hope and make us allign with the god of the market. So stories of hope have not disappeared. It’s just that they are now given good competition by the stories of celebration and festivities.


I searched for a story for my children
Not archies, or cartoons nor pogo
I strained to tell them about Onam
And Mahabali and Keralam
Little did I know what I was up against
And open mouthed was I when they said
‘Isn’t that the guy who stands outside the shops
Begging us to shop till we drop?’