Conformity is the biggest global rule master in all forms of governance, be it national governments, organisations, religious groups and society. Thinking out of the basket is therefore seen as abnormal and absurd. When one does that, he/she is categorised as a difficult person and one who wants to rock the boat. Therefore education, training, advice is all given to make one conform to the constructed majority opinion and way of things. This being the case one cannot question, differ, and disagree. The church goes through the same framework of constructing those who conform.
One of the stand-out symbols of closeness and fellowship that a Christian priest performs is the drawing of the cross towards the congregation and praying for another, placing the hand on the forehead. This is invariably done with the right hand. But why the right hand one may ask? Why not the left? Some priests I know are left handed and yet they have to train themselves to be right handed. Children who are normally left handed are made to change themselves and use their right hand by their parents. The parents are worried about how their daughter/son would survive in a world of right handed people! This clear discrimination is conformed to by the church as well.
The recent assembly polls in Kerala leaves one asking whether it was a victory for the Congress led UDF (United Democratic Front) or the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI (M)) led LDF (Left Democratic Front). A wafer thin margin managed by the UDF is already giving the Congress a severe headache courtesy their strong allies. This time the various church leaders in Kerala except a few did not openly canvas for a particular front. But churches have largely been on the defensive over the open vibes put forth by influential members of the Left. Even recently a youth wing leader asked the church leaders to keep to the spiritual upkeep of their flock rather than interfering in things which should be left to the government of the state. Today the CPI (M) party secretary talked of the loss of votes due to the interference of religious and caste based groups in Kerala.
What should people look for when they vote? Should it be good governance, policies for the betterment of the poor and security for all or should it be based on the basis of left, right and centre? Can’t a religious person vote for the left because it is the left just like not drawing the cross with the left hand or can one take a decision based on one’s own right not to conform? This does not mean that the left is on the other hand devoid of all that is bad. If that was the case Bengal would not have voted against the left after 34 long years!
There are two things to remember. One, religious groups should refrain from pressuring its people to vote for one particular party and two, religious groups should not allow any political party to influence people based on lies and withholding of facts. This calls for the true freedom of the people to exercise their right to decide. Right or left, let it be left to the people to choose and live with.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
St. George the martyr in the aftermath of the Osama killing
All forms of media the world over have had it easy for the past week as they have managed to fill up valuable spaces of print offline and substantial volume of pages online in the days following the killing of Osama bin Laden. As scores of people have hailed the assassination as a closure for 9/11, voices spread over the world have asked for sanity to be followed, over and against celebration and victory parades. But one thing is for sure. Small and big media enterprises, blogs and social networking sites have given Osama the space otherwise reserved for other things, and that too free of cost! What does one have to be to get coverage in the media? Good, bad or ugly?
A small review of various forms of media these days suggest that one needs to be bad or ugly, in reality or in perception, to be given space. The good no longer matters. No one is interested in that. Churches the world over are going about celebrating the festival of St. George. The officer in full gear is seen slaying the dragon and hundreds of thousands of people sport St. George as their personal slayer in chief.
The account of St. George is that of a soldier who slays the dragon and saves the princess in distress and the people of the community from the deadly enemy. The dragon is seen as a symbol of all that is evil and bad. St. George comes across as a natural saver for people in distress, suffering from evil forces.
But what goes into the background usually is the martyrdom of St. George who chooses death over life, refusing to let go of his beliefs. His strength is not his spear but rather the lack of his spear. Coming after the passion week observation of the crucifixion of Christ, this is a similar account of the master disarming himself for the sake of others. But instead of grasping the sacrifice we are fixated on the destruction of the dragon, which anyway is much more than what we think of.
The media is also fixated on the bad and the ugly. It first goes on to make Osama the number one enemy of the world and then celebrates his death at the hands of Obama and his soldiers. But is Obama (the U.S.) willing to disarm itself like St. George did? Is he (it) willing to die for the sake of humanity? The answer is no. Of course, no offence to Obama I guess. He just happens to be at the head of the self ascertained supreme power, the U.S. at the moment.
One has to struggle to understand why the U.S. first supported someone like Osama, armed him and then hunted him down. It’s just like fattening the cow before killing it. Power and the capability to kill are being celebrated here. It is not the death of Osama. The media goes along. Construct and build someone, kill him/her and then report it. This formula is the single most important driving point of many media houses these days. I wonder whether Osama will be elevated to the position of a saint because of the way he died. One also has to see whether there were internal plots within the Al-Qaeda to do away with Osama because he is better dead than alive to them.
Churches these days go through the same struggle. How much it has to arm itself and who has to be shot down. The picture of a spear less St. George would be unthinkable I guess. The need to construct various Osamas will be pushed through and we will buy it. The spear of St. George rather than the cross he bore will be given more importance. We are as guilty of slaying Osama as the U.S.! Let the sinless one among us throw the first stone!
A small review of various forms of media these days suggest that one needs to be bad or ugly, in reality or in perception, to be given space. The good no longer matters. No one is interested in that. Churches the world over are going about celebrating the festival of St. George. The officer in full gear is seen slaying the dragon and hundreds of thousands of people sport St. George as their personal slayer in chief.
The account of St. George is that of a soldier who slays the dragon and saves the princess in distress and the people of the community from the deadly enemy. The dragon is seen as a symbol of all that is evil and bad. St. George comes across as a natural saver for people in distress, suffering from evil forces.
But what goes into the background usually is the martyrdom of St. George who chooses death over life, refusing to let go of his beliefs. His strength is not his spear but rather the lack of his spear. Coming after the passion week observation of the crucifixion of Christ, this is a similar account of the master disarming himself for the sake of others. But instead of grasping the sacrifice we are fixated on the destruction of the dragon, which anyway is much more than what we think of.
The media is also fixated on the bad and the ugly. It first goes on to make Osama the number one enemy of the world and then celebrates his death at the hands of Obama and his soldiers. But is Obama (the U.S.) willing to disarm itself like St. George did? Is he (it) willing to die for the sake of humanity? The answer is no. Of course, no offence to Obama I guess. He just happens to be at the head of the self ascertained supreme power, the U.S. at the moment.
One has to struggle to understand why the U.S. first supported someone like Osama, armed him and then hunted him down. It’s just like fattening the cow before killing it. Power and the capability to kill are being celebrated here. It is not the death of Osama. The media goes along. Construct and build someone, kill him/her and then report it. This formula is the single most important driving point of many media houses these days. I wonder whether Osama will be elevated to the position of a saint because of the way he died. One also has to see whether there were internal plots within the Al-Qaeda to do away with Osama because he is better dead than alive to them.
Churches these days go through the same struggle. How much it has to arm itself and who has to be shot down. The picture of a spear less St. George would be unthinkable I guess. The need to construct various Osamas will be pushed through and we will buy it. The spear of St. George rather than the cross he bore will be given more importance. We are as guilty of slaying Osama as the U.S.! Let the sinless one among us throw the first stone!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Let us fast and protest against corruption this lent
There is just above two weeks remaining for the great lent to end. We have fasted, prayed, helped and grown spiritually. But have we really grown spiritually? Or are we fooling ourselves that we have? What really should lent and fasting lead to? Should it only lead to personal benefit or should it lead to a much larger social justice and equality in society? Anna Hazare has been fasting now for four days in Jantar Mantar in Delhi for more active involvement of civil society in the Jan Lokpal bill against corruption. Other people are joining the fast in many other parts of the country and they include people from all religions and walks of life in India.
The people who are joining the fast and more importantly joining Anna Hazare are children, women, people from the oppressed communities, and the middle class. In effect they are all people in India affected most by corruption. The UPA government in essence is not against such a bill but may be going safe on how much it should give to the people especially after the experience of the RTI bill which has been a big success and a weapon in the hands of the otherwise powerless Indian to hold the government accountable.
Anna Hazare is not asking for too much. How can a very important group for the bill which has to tackle corruption be constituted without any active participation of civil society? When the politicians themselves are under the scanner for scams and bribes how can they make this bill meaningful and who knows whether they won’t stall this bill for ever?
Different churches are also behind and are offering support for this movement as well. The media have been largely covering the unrest in various Arab countries including Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. Huge protests by the people of these countries have led to great change. Egypt has been rid of its dictator Hosni Mubarak while Libya is fighting for change from Gadaffi. Little did we know that this unrest could reach India as well. Kashmir has always been a place where people protested against the government along with the North East but other states have been quiet. This fast by Anna Hazare has activated and brought alive the people of India in Jantar Mantar, different states in the North, South, East and West and even in the internet.
It would be appropriate at this point to take this fast very seriously. We are all thinking about the outcome of elections in different states and also preparing for passion week in various churches. This lent we could raise the bar a bit. We could make our fasting and make lent count for the millions in this country. As we congregate in different churches and places of worship we could bring about the feeling that we are fighting for something. This is not against one political party or a few individuals but against the very evil which resides in each and every one of us. This evil of corruption and nepotism should be rooted out of the country and also the church. But for that it should also be rooted out of each one of us.
This thus is a time when the whole country is observing lent. A great fast for a great thing. We are here going beyond religion, caste and social status. We are thus enacting the fast of Jesus to prepare him against the evil in society. If we have observed fasting and lent soberly till now, we have to observe fasting and lent with excitement and with the strength to protest. Thus it is indeed the time for being one with our brothers and sisters in India for the fight against corruption. If ever our lent needed to be counted, it is now.
The people who are joining the fast and more importantly joining Anna Hazare are children, women, people from the oppressed communities, and the middle class. In effect they are all people in India affected most by corruption. The UPA government in essence is not against such a bill but may be going safe on how much it should give to the people especially after the experience of the RTI bill which has been a big success and a weapon in the hands of the otherwise powerless Indian to hold the government accountable.
Anna Hazare is not asking for too much. How can a very important group for the bill which has to tackle corruption be constituted without any active participation of civil society? When the politicians themselves are under the scanner for scams and bribes how can they make this bill meaningful and who knows whether they won’t stall this bill for ever?
Different churches are also behind and are offering support for this movement as well. The media have been largely covering the unrest in various Arab countries including Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. Huge protests by the people of these countries have led to great change. Egypt has been rid of its dictator Hosni Mubarak while Libya is fighting for change from Gadaffi. Little did we know that this unrest could reach India as well. Kashmir has always been a place where people protested against the government along with the North East but other states have been quiet. This fast by Anna Hazare has activated and brought alive the people of India in Jantar Mantar, different states in the North, South, East and West and even in the internet.
It would be appropriate at this point to take this fast very seriously. We are all thinking about the outcome of elections in different states and also preparing for passion week in various churches. This lent we could raise the bar a bit. We could make our fasting and make lent count for the millions in this country. As we congregate in different churches and places of worship we could bring about the feeling that we are fighting for something. This is not against one political party or a few individuals but against the very evil which resides in each and every one of us. This evil of corruption and nepotism should be rooted out of the country and also the church. But for that it should also be rooted out of each one of us.
This thus is a time when the whole country is observing lent. A great fast for a great thing. We are here going beyond religion, caste and social status. We are thus enacting the fast of Jesus to prepare him against the evil in society. If we have observed fasting and lent soberly till now, we have to observe fasting and lent with excitement and with the strength to protest. Thus it is indeed the time for being one with our brothers and sisters in India for the fight against corruption. If ever our lent needed to be counted, it is now.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Why the church is far from winning a cricket world cup?!
India has won the cricket world cup 2011. The euphoria has not settled down and state governments are competing with one another in offering rewards to its cricketers. We are all now part of a great cycle of celebration which no one can really neglect. The Indian cricketers have out done themselves. They have tamed the ghosts who have prevented major tournament victories. The Indian media on its part is leaving no stone unturned to bring the lives of the cricketers to the living rooms of the Indian public.
The church in India has never been very sport friendly. Seminarians will be fortunate if they find a piece of land to play a sport that they are familiar with. Churches will have elaborate parking spaces but no open spaces for sports. What little land was available as part of schools and colleges under the management of the church is also coming down and being replaced with buildings. Sports will be the last thing on the minds of Christian managements which are overly money minded these days.
What the church is usually used to is to play games on a totally different level. These don’t involve physical exertion but rather have to do with the mind. What could come close to a cricket match is the sledging that happens between teams during matches. This intimidation between denominations is done regularly. But cricket matches are not about intimidation and sledging and hurting each other anymore.
A great highlight of this world cup was that India basically played matches that were in a cordial atmosphere. If one analyses the quarterfinal, semi final and final with Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively one will observe this atmosphere of deep respect and cordiality. Usually cricket matches don’t have this atmosphere. But the Indian team may have shown us a way of winning and making dreams come true without attacking and hurting anyone in the traditional sense. Even though the media loves to compare cricket matches with war, this cricket world cup did not necessarily bring out that adage.
Churches in India for some reason also imagine that they live in a war zone and are in constant tension with each other. This is given credence by the foot soldiers of denominations led by blood hungry generals. We are asked to give our best, to fight as if our lives depended on it and accept nothing short of victory. Sledging, cheating, and doing whatever it takes is the name of the game.
More interaction between cricketers these days mean that they know each other better and this has led to better respect. Even though a game is meant to be won it is not done at the expense of the friendship of one’s opponent. One would question this quoting the case of Sreesanth. But even Sreesanth in reality may only be using aggression as a way of marketing himself. It does not mean that he is not on good terms with other players.
One may challenge whether the church needs to compete in and win a world cup. Obviously there is no need for that. The analogy of a cricket world cup is rather one which gives insights to the church on how things have changed in this world. Aggression has given way to respect, non acceptance to understanding, and suspicion to trust. The world cup winning team should be seen in this perspective. The church need not accept cricket but the church can accept the new strategy of the Indian team. Till then a world cup win for the church will remain in all respects, a dream.
The church in India has never been very sport friendly. Seminarians will be fortunate if they find a piece of land to play a sport that they are familiar with. Churches will have elaborate parking spaces but no open spaces for sports. What little land was available as part of schools and colleges under the management of the church is also coming down and being replaced with buildings. Sports will be the last thing on the minds of Christian managements which are overly money minded these days.
What the church is usually used to is to play games on a totally different level. These don’t involve physical exertion but rather have to do with the mind. What could come close to a cricket match is the sledging that happens between teams during matches. This intimidation between denominations is done regularly. But cricket matches are not about intimidation and sledging and hurting each other anymore.
A great highlight of this world cup was that India basically played matches that were in a cordial atmosphere. If one analyses the quarterfinal, semi final and final with Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively one will observe this atmosphere of deep respect and cordiality. Usually cricket matches don’t have this atmosphere. But the Indian team may have shown us a way of winning and making dreams come true without attacking and hurting anyone in the traditional sense. Even though the media loves to compare cricket matches with war, this cricket world cup did not necessarily bring out that adage.
Churches in India for some reason also imagine that they live in a war zone and are in constant tension with each other. This is given credence by the foot soldiers of denominations led by blood hungry generals. We are asked to give our best, to fight as if our lives depended on it and accept nothing short of victory. Sledging, cheating, and doing whatever it takes is the name of the game.
More interaction between cricketers these days mean that they know each other better and this has led to better respect. Even though a game is meant to be won it is not done at the expense of the friendship of one’s opponent. One would question this quoting the case of Sreesanth. But even Sreesanth in reality may only be using aggression as a way of marketing himself. It does not mean that he is not on good terms with other players.
One may challenge whether the church needs to compete in and win a world cup. Obviously there is no need for that. The analogy of a cricket world cup is rather one which gives insights to the church on how things have changed in this world. Aggression has given way to respect, non acceptance to understanding, and suspicion to trust. The world cup winning team should be seen in this perspective. The church need not accept cricket but the church can accept the new strategy of the Indian team. Till then a world cup win for the church will remain in all respects, a dream.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Cricket is not about being perfect
A majority of people in India are counting minutes and seconds as they continue to hope that their cricket team will win the final of the cricket world cup between India and Sri Lanka. The media have whipped up a frenzy in India with all English news channels having full length pre and post analysis of the match that is yet to be played. Prayers are being said in different languages and in different ways, all seeking divine intervention for the team. Will India win another world cup after its maiden and only triumph 28 years ago? That is the question on everyone’s lips. The expectation is so big and one wonders what the fuss is all about.
In a cricket mad nation there are other voices too. Those who say that after all cricket is but a sport like any other, that spending a whole day in front of the television is a waste of time, what is special in cricket when the national game in India is hockey and other sports and games are neglected by the government?, what has the cash rich Indian cricket board done for other cash strapped associations and the poor in this country?, and aren’t cricketers pampered brats who by and large enjoy life and play with the emotions of a billion people?
On the other hand cricket has become close to what is a religion in India which brings people together, gives hope for a people who otherwise don’t have much to hope for, gives a sense of purpose and confidence seeing India beat top teams in at least one game, and is very lucrative and attractive as youngsters see it as a way to become successful even if you are from a small time town.
The very supporters who are completely behind their famous players are the same ones who have attacked the houses of cricketers when they made early exists from earlier world cups and lost to Pakistan. The over the top belief in the players brings about extreme reactions on winning and losing. From promising to go nude to not eating food during the entire match, people have different ways of parting with something to make their team win. More than the players, it is the supporters who are trying almost everything to ensure a win.
But cricket is not about perfection and neither are cricketers perfect. This obsession we have brings about impractical and unbelievable acts. But the cricket world cup final is after all just a match like any other. The thrill of having India play is of course there but it should not make one crazy. Some points we could consider while watching the game are
1. Cricket is part of an industry. This includes different brands, merchandising, advertisement, and lots of money at stake. An industry always has its own compulsions and wants. Cricket then becomes a part of these and the game goes into the back ground.
2. Cricketers are human beings. The usage cricket God is only a usage. Cricketers are as vulnerable and susceptible to failure as any other human being. Putting someone on a pedestal puts unwarranted pressure on him/her.
3. A sport or game should not have nationalist overtures. The greatness of sport is that it can bring people together and break boundaries. When it is used to further nationalist ambitions, it loses the very purpose for which it exists.
4. Cricket means money and betting. A sport like cricket means a lot of money in a place like the subcontinent. Money brings in the possibility of betting and betting brings in the pressure of fixing matches. There have been a lot of allegations and no team is free from such allegations.
5. Cricket is entertainment. When we are able to detach cricket from nationalism, patriotism, diplomacy and pride, we end up with cricket as entertainment. Cricketers are entertainers. And we see cricket to relax and entertain ourselves. The IPL itself is a concept which has caught on to entertainment as its unique selling proposition (USP). When we see it this way we will be entertained thoroughly.
6. Cricket should give back what it receives. The cricket governing body the BCCI (The Board of Control for cricket in India) is a cash rich body which spends under 10% of its revenues on development of cricket. Then what does it spend its money on? As spectators we should pressurise the BCCI to give back what it receives from the people of this country. The pay back could be in the way of scholarships for youngsters from poor backgrounds, building housing for the poor, adopting whole villages and offering its money for building facilities there, providing health care to poor cricketers and their family and so on.
So, let the match begin. No pressure, no dreams. Only entertainment!!!
In a cricket mad nation there are other voices too. Those who say that after all cricket is but a sport like any other, that spending a whole day in front of the television is a waste of time, what is special in cricket when the national game in India is hockey and other sports and games are neglected by the government?, what has the cash rich Indian cricket board done for other cash strapped associations and the poor in this country?, and aren’t cricketers pampered brats who by and large enjoy life and play with the emotions of a billion people?
On the other hand cricket has become close to what is a religion in India which brings people together, gives hope for a people who otherwise don’t have much to hope for, gives a sense of purpose and confidence seeing India beat top teams in at least one game, and is very lucrative and attractive as youngsters see it as a way to become successful even if you are from a small time town.
The very supporters who are completely behind their famous players are the same ones who have attacked the houses of cricketers when they made early exists from earlier world cups and lost to Pakistan. The over the top belief in the players brings about extreme reactions on winning and losing. From promising to go nude to not eating food during the entire match, people have different ways of parting with something to make their team win. More than the players, it is the supporters who are trying almost everything to ensure a win.
But cricket is not about perfection and neither are cricketers perfect. This obsession we have brings about impractical and unbelievable acts. But the cricket world cup final is after all just a match like any other. The thrill of having India play is of course there but it should not make one crazy. Some points we could consider while watching the game are
1. Cricket is part of an industry. This includes different brands, merchandising, advertisement, and lots of money at stake. An industry always has its own compulsions and wants. Cricket then becomes a part of these and the game goes into the back ground.
2. Cricketers are human beings. The usage cricket God is only a usage. Cricketers are as vulnerable and susceptible to failure as any other human being. Putting someone on a pedestal puts unwarranted pressure on him/her.
3. A sport or game should not have nationalist overtures. The greatness of sport is that it can bring people together and break boundaries. When it is used to further nationalist ambitions, it loses the very purpose for which it exists.
4. Cricket means money and betting. A sport like cricket means a lot of money in a place like the subcontinent. Money brings in the possibility of betting and betting brings in the pressure of fixing matches. There have been a lot of allegations and no team is free from such allegations.
5. Cricket is entertainment. When we are able to detach cricket from nationalism, patriotism, diplomacy and pride, we end up with cricket as entertainment. Cricketers are entertainers. And we see cricket to relax and entertain ourselves. The IPL itself is a concept which has caught on to entertainment as its unique selling proposition (USP). When we see it this way we will be entertained thoroughly.
6. Cricket should give back what it receives. The cricket governing body the BCCI (The Board of Control for cricket in India) is a cash rich body which spends under 10% of its revenues on development of cricket. Then what does it spend its money on? As spectators we should pressurise the BCCI to give back what it receives from the people of this country. The pay back could be in the way of scholarships for youngsters from poor backgrounds, building housing for the poor, adopting whole villages and offering its money for building facilities there, providing health care to poor cricketers and their family and so on.
So, let the match begin. No pressure, no dreams. Only entertainment!!!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
An India-Pakistan cricket match: A perfect detour for a corruption ridden country
India is under a mass hysteria. It is not only young teenagers, youngsters and the youthful work force but also the 40-ish and 50-ish voters as well as the above 60 crowd termed as senior citizens. If ever there was a common factor that brought all of the above together, it must be cricket. The match between India and Pakistan has started. The media has been salivating for days at the prospect and then outcome of such a match. Not to be left behind, the prime minister of India has entered the fray with his invitation to the Pakistan prime minister and the match is being termed as being a great chance for cricket diplomacy between the two countries.
Every now and then the people of a country need a detour, a distraction from all the problems they usually face. This could be in the form of many things but sport does play a good role. Cricket in India would win hands down against other sports and therefore would also provide the best detour for us to relax for a while and take our minds off the hundreds of things which otherwise are taking our time. The Congress led UPA government has been attacked from all directions because of one scam after the other. The 2 g Raja scam, the Adarsh building scam, the Lok Sabha cash for votes scam. Parliament has been held up again and again in the name of scam after scam. The main opposition party, the BJP, has attacked the government time after time only to find itself in other scandals and scams in Karnataka and at the centre as well. Using the wiki leaks against the UPA and then questioning it when its own members were found wanting have been the script of things here. In all ways, a detour, a distraction could be good for everyone, especially for the government and the main opposition party.
The India-Pakistan match is being seen as a great opportunity for the two countries to come together. The media doesn’t know what to concentrate on, the match, the two prime ministers or the traditional rivalry between the two teams. It is funny that both countries have many things in common and are culturally same than many other countries. If ever India could consider coming together with another country, Pakistan could be considered one of the front runners. But a horrendous partition encouraged by the British in all probability, divided the countries beyond repair. This also speaks as to why a cricket match between the two countries becomes so charged up.
Now cricket is being talked of as a wonderful way to bring these two countries together. How on earth can this happen when so much competition and build up goes into these matches? The British must be laughing. After doing nothing against the partition, they have managed to keep the two countries going at each others throats by teaching them a game they invented. It is another thing that the two countries have now made the game their own and even play it better than the British. Let us keep the British aside for now. We are by now aware of what they did and now need to concentrate on what we are doing. Or rather what certain sections of both countries are doing by giving too much importance to a cricket match! By doing so they are also putting too much pressure on the players of both countries.
If India and Pakistan are really serious about diplomacy they can give visas to the people of the other country to visit their relatives, give citizenship to those who have been living in one country or the other for several years, treat minorities in both countries better, release war and political prisoners, exchange information on terror suspects, and realise that people in both countries have a shared history. This could be the real match that both countries have to play. Leave the cricketers alone. They can’t carry such a heavy weight on their shoulders. Both countries have to work on their internal issues rather than hoping that a cricket match is going to change things. A cricket match is after all a cricket match. As spectators it just helps us to forget our problems and tensions for a little while. Any thing more is a political detour from the truth. I don’t think we need that and I hope the Indian and Pakistani spectators are smart enough to know that.
Every now and then the people of a country need a detour, a distraction from all the problems they usually face. This could be in the form of many things but sport does play a good role. Cricket in India would win hands down against other sports and therefore would also provide the best detour for us to relax for a while and take our minds off the hundreds of things which otherwise are taking our time. The Congress led UPA government has been attacked from all directions because of one scam after the other. The 2 g Raja scam, the Adarsh building scam, the Lok Sabha cash for votes scam. Parliament has been held up again and again in the name of scam after scam. The main opposition party, the BJP, has attacked the government time after time only to find itself in other scandals and scams in Karnataka and at the centre as well. Using the wiki leaks against the UPA and then questioning it when its own members were found wanting have been the script of things here. In all ways, a detour, a distraction could be good for everyone, especially for the government and the main opposition party.
The India-Pakistan match is being seen as a great opportunity for the two countries to come together. The media doesn’t know what to concentrate on, the match, the two prime ministers or the traditional rivalry between the two teams. It is funny that both countries have many things in common and are culturally same than many other countries. If ever India could consider coming together with another country, Pakistan could be considered one of the front runners. But a horrendous partition encouraged by the British in all probability, divided the countries beyond repair. This also speaks as to why a cricket match between the two countries becomes so charged up.
Now cricket is being talked of as a wonderful way to bring these two countries together. How on earth can this happen when so much competition and build up goes into these matches? The British must be laughing. After doing nothing against the partition, they have managed to keep the two countries going at each others throats by teaching them a game they invented. It is another thing that the two countries have now made the game their own and even play it better than the British. Let us keep the British aside for now. We are by now aware of what they did and now need to concentrate on what we are doing. Or rather what certain sections of both countries are doing by giving too much importance to a cricket match! By doing so they are also putting too much pressure on the players of both countries.
If India and Pakistan are really serious about diplomacy they can give visas to the people of the other country to visit their relatives, give citizenship to those who have been living in one country or the other for several years, treat minorities in both countries better, release war and political prisoners, exchange information on terror suspects, and realise that people in both countries have a shared history. This could be the real match that both countries have to play. Leave the cricketers alone. They can’t carry such a heavy weight on their shoulders. Both countries have to work on their internal issues rather than hoping that a cricket match is going to change things. A cricket match is after all a cricket match. As spectators it just helps us to forget our problems and tensions for a little while. Any thing more is a political detour from the truth. I don’t think we need that and I hope the Indian and Pakistani spectators are smart enough to know that.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I am thirsty
John 19:28-30
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Today is world water day. Water, the main constituent of the human body is in scarcity and not available to the poor and dispossessed in the world. What may seem as something which is free for all has become a commodity which is exchanged at a cost. Water sources are being filled up and destroyed in a mad rush for money. What can be seen is not good for drinking, with the common human being sighing “water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink."
World bodies like the United Nations have understood that the most common and life giving source called water could start wars and lead to the flowing of blood in the various lands of water. And while local and natural sources of water are being contaminated, bottled water is sold to the unsuspecting public much like every other bottled liquid. Multinational corporations which advertise big initiatives to save water sources are themselves the stealers and stain-ers of water. The United Nations therefore in 1992 decided to have the world water day on March 22 every year to remember and reiterate the importance of water and how it should be available for all. The Ecumenical Water Network has decided to have seven weeks of water in 2011. It is focussing on water, conflict and just peace, examining the links between access to water, water struggles, and building just peace.
Water has this healing property and many a time we are refurbished and replenished by the soothing effects of water. But water which is contaminated by so called human development acts is like the water given to Jesus at the cross. It stinks of intimidation, selfishness, humiliation and violence. An unholy mix will turn out to be a deadly combination which will sniff out the remnants of life in us. Jesus utters the fundamental words, “I am thirsty.” They are the same words uttered by the poor of the land, “we are thirsty.” On world water day it is not enough to give the poor our mixes and our manufactured water. We have to rather ensure water for all as it is the most essential of things.
It would also help if the church understood the need for water for all and water in abundance. This loud call of “I am thirsty” cannot be ignored. As the church is also part of the system which loots water and makes it expensive and off bounds for the poor, we have to accept our collective sin during this lent. Water, the most simple and taken for granted of things in life like the air we breathe. Let us make it available for all.
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Today is world water day. Water, the main constituent of the human body is in scarcity and not available to the poor and dispossessed in the world. What may seem as something which is free for all has become a commodity which is exchanged at a cost. Water sources are being filled up and destroyed in a mad rush for money. What can be seen is not good for drinking, with the common human being sighing “water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink."
World bodies like the United Nations have understood that the most common and life giving source called water could start wars and lead to the flowing of blood in the various lands of water. And while local and natural sources of water are being contaminated, bottled water is sold to the unsuspecting public much like every other bottled liquid. Multinational corporations which advertise big initiatives to save water sources are themselves the stealers and stain-ers of water. The United Nations therefore in 1992 decided to have the world water day on March 22 every year to remember and reiterate the importance of water and how it should be available for all. The Ecumenical Water Network has decided to have seven weeks of water in 2011. It is focussing on water, conflict and just peace, examining the links between access to water, water struggles, and building just peace.
Water has this healing property and many a time we are refurbished and replenished by the soothing effects of water. But water which is contaminated by so called human development acts is like the water given to Jesus at the cross. It stinks of intimidation, selfishness, humiliation and violence. An unholy mix will turn out to be a deadly combination which will sniff out the remnants of life in us. Jesus utters the fundamental words, “I am thirsty.” They are the same words uttered by the poor of the land, “we are thirsty.” On world water day it is not enough to give the poor our mixes and our manufactured water. We have to rather ensure water for all as it is the most essential of things.
It would also help if the church understood the need for water for all and water in abundance. This loud call of “I am thirsty” cannot be ignored. As the church is also part of the system which loots water and makes it expensive and off bounds for the poor, we have to accept our collective sin during this lent. Water, the most simple and taken for granted of things in life like the air we breathe. Let us make it available for all.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The church and elections in Kerala
There is less than a month to go for the assembly elections in Kerala. The results usually depend on the vote of an undecided 15-20% of the electorate. That is the swing which gives the winning coalition the final boost to tip the scales. The steady voters usually vote for their party which belongs to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) or the United Democratic Front (UDF). The undecided voters wait and then decide largely influenced by the anti-incumbency factor against the outgoing government. Even as the LDF has momentarily tided over the Achuthanandan factor, the UDF is still waiting to release its list of candidates because of the scuffle for seats both within and outside the Congress party.
The Christian church in Kerala comprising of many denominations has in the past kept out of politics by and large. The past decade has seen the church reverse this trend with keen interest being shown to ensure that the church gets a good deal from the government in power. This has now developed into a masked and open demand for candidates from respective churches to be selected from the two alliances. Christians in Kerala are divided into two groups. One group which says that the church should not involve in politics and the other group which says that the church should whole heartedly involve itself in politics and even determine the direction of politics in the state.
Bishop letters are being read in churches and church members are openly being asked to vote for a particular party/candidate. The Kerala populace is being divided further on the basis of religion and caste. Bishops are openly canvassing in front of television cameras and in church pulpits urging and even forcing the people to vote for a particular candidate. The ‘vote for our man’ usage betrays in a way what the church stands for.
Is the church political? It is in as much as its members belong to various political dispensations. Can a bishop or priest have political leanings? He can as long as he does not force a church member to follow those leanings. As an ordinary member of the church respects a church leader he/she will listen to the church leader in various ways. Some may blindly listen while others will follow their own discretion. A church leader thus may preach that people should vote against corruption, injustice and social evils. But he should also give a balanced view while going about this. What otherwise happens is that the entire church suffers the consequence of the decisions of one or two leaders, as bad political acumen may bring about irreparable differences with a particular political party.
The politics of the cross is that Jesus forfeits his power for the sake of humanity. How then can his followers urge capturing power and seeking seats saying that it reflects their strength in Kerala society? One can understand if churches in Kerala join others in rooting out corrupt politicians for the good of all in the state. But how can one come to terms with pressurising political parties to offer seats for the sake of seeking power? The power of the church lies in its powerlessness. So threatening and pressurising is far from what the church should be involved in. As good citizens all church members can use their vote for the good of the state/country and this good may be differently seen by people. Jesus would never stand for elections, never campaign and never pressurise anyone. If we start doing it, it is a time for a vote. A vote for change in the churches of Kerala!
The Christian church in Kerala comprising of many denominations has in the past kept out of politics by and large. The past decade has seen the church reverse this trend with keen interest being shown to ensure that the church gets a good deal from the government in power. This has now developed into a masked and open demand for candidates from respective churches to be selected from the two alliances. Christians in Kerala are divided into two groups. One group which says that the church should not involve in politics and the other group which says that the church should whole heartedly involve itself in politics and even determine the direction of politics in the state.
Bishop letters are being read in churches and church members are openly being asked to vote for a particular party/candidate. The Kerala populace is being divided further on the basis of religion and caste. Bishops are openly canvassing in front of television cameras and in church pulpits urging and even forcing the people to vote for a particular candidate. The ‘vote for our man’ usage betrays in a way what the church stands for.
Is the church political? It is in as much as its members belong to various political dispensations. Can a bishop or priest have political leanings? He can as long as he does not force a church member to follow those leanings. As an ordinary member of the church respects a church leader he/she will listen to the church leader in various ways. Some may blindly listen while others will follow their own discretion. A church leader thus may preach that people should vote against corruption, injustice and social evils. But he should also give a balanced view while going about this. What otherwise happens is that the entire church suffers the consequence of the decisions of one or two leaders, as bad political acumen may bring about irreparable differences with a particular political party.
The politics of the cross is that Jesus forfeits his power for the sake of humanity. How then can his followers urge capturing power and seeking seats saying that it reflects their strength in Kerala society? One can understand if churches in Kerala join others in rooting out corrupt politicians for the good of all in the state. But how can one come to terms with pressurising political parties to offer seats for the sake of seeking power? The power of the church lies in its powerlessness. So threatening and pressurising is far from what the church should be involved in. As good citizens all church members can use their vote for the good of the state/country and this good may be differently seen by people. Jesus would never stand for elections, never campaign and never pressurise anyone. If we start doing it, it is a time for a vote. A vote for change in the churches of Kerala!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The essence of Lent: Learning and struggling to bend our knees, mend our hearts, and lend our hands.
Lent is observed in almost all Christian traditions in various forms whereby some abstain from meat, dairy products and fish, some from meat and dairy products and some by not eating an entire meal or two the whole day. There are others who abstain from something they otherwise do the entire year round. This could include abstaining from drinking alcohol, not watching T.V., and not doing any leisurely activity. Abstinence from something or the other forms the back bone of lent this way. The aim of lent is to make the body starve from something which in some way or the other is perceived as a luxury to the self or which is unavailable to someone else.
Lent is also seen as a way to discipline the self and also as a way to gain something by denying oneself something or the other. Many Christian denominations also see lent as a time when we abstain to help others by providing food and other essentials through what is saved as a result of the abstinence. Lent also has not so visible, but never the less inherent meanings of slowing down the pace of life and using the time to meditate and take stock of one’s life and to define what it means to live.
Lent in the Orthodox Christian tradition
The Orthodox Christian tradition follows a strict regimen of following a fifty day lent which is a commemoration of the forty day fast of Jesus in the desert. The ten extra days are the days which include Sundays and other days when qurbana or worship is not followed up by fasting in the morning. In India many other Christian denominations along with the various Orthodox churches abstain from meat, fish and dairy products during this season of lent.
The Orthodox churches have prayers for at least three times a day and these include prostrating or kneeling and then getting up and continuing this pattern forty times for each prayer. The forty prostrations in the Syriac churches are divided into sets of ten with the worshipper saying ‘kurielaison’ (Lord have mercy) for the first ten, then ‘Moran Esrahemelain’ (Our Lord, show (do) mercy on us), followed by ‘Moran Husrahemelain’ (Our Lord, show compassion, and have mercy on us) and finally ‘Moran Aninurahemelain’ (Our Lord, answer (accept our prayers) and have mercy on us). The continuous kneeling and getting up patterns require mental as well as physical toughness which can be achieved only by a strict diet during lent. The constant repetition of exhortations to God require a proper breathing technique and are a strain to the knees, wind pipe, thigh muscles, arms and the knuckles of the hands. The strain on many parts of the body at the same time brings in the duality of pain along with abstinence while calling onto God to show mercy.
Bending our knees
But this is not the entire essence of lent. The theme of lent as bend, mend and lend rather suggests what lent should really be. The prayers during lent also suggest the same. Bending our knees in itself is not enough as they leave out the very essential mending of our hearts and the lending of our hands! Rather, bending of our knees should go along with the mending of our hearts and the lending of our hands. The reformed Christian tradition in India does ask us to not just express our spirituality through acts but live out this spirituality by reforming ourselves and being of help to others. On the other hand it could also be that in the haste to complete the act we forget the meaning of the act itself!
The act of bending is an outward expression of the inward piety and humility one should feel. Whenever we bend, we are going back to the roots of where we come from and where we belong, the ground or earth itself. Indian culture reflects this theme when the young bend to touch the feet of elders and teachers. The act of humility cannot be missed and brings us to the essence of lent. We are to humble ourselves just as Jesus humbled himself for us. The death on the cross is a reversal of power and its affiliations. Our life becomes meaningful when we humble ourselves before God and others. An Edessan woman tells St. Ephrem, the 4th century church father that he should look to the earth as it was from the earth that he was created. The wisdom of the woman opens Ephrem’s mind. Bending thus makes us see who we really are and keeps us in touch with reality. It initiates the process of thinking about and understanding ourselves.
Mending our hearts
The prayers during lent remind us that there is no use of observing lent if we do not change inside. No amount of abstinence from food and other things will help us in any way if we do not bring about a renewal inside us. Lent is thus a time to mend our hearts. We thus use this time of lent to mend our hearts and thereby our thoughts, our ways, our relationships and our actions. In this way lent performs the cleaning and changing of what is unjust to the ordinary people of God. Every individual thus comes under the responsibility of mending his/her heart so that God’s just plans are initiated in the world and continued for the benefit of all. ‘One for all and all for one’ sounds very much how lent should be. Each one strives for change just as all strive for the change of status of one. Christian denominations thus should experience the healing qualities of lent and how it works to bring people together instead of dividing people on the basis of different dispensations. The power of lent is beautifully reflected in this concept of one for all and all for one. Just as Jesus stayed hungry for the benefit of all of us, we continue that model and choose to remain hungry for the benefit of others. This single initiative turns into a collective movement whereby the needs of even a single person are collectively thought of, considered and managed by many.
Mending our hearts then calls for a change of what we usually call the fast life. Our lives are built around the irresponsible destruction of our resources, which indeed are a part of our existence. But due to various reasons we have lost the link with our roots literally and change the face of the earth for our profit and our wants. The prayers for lent clearly state that the body and the being or soul have to fast or observe lent equally. When the body abstains from food, the being or soul should abstain from wrongs and sins. A lent which only abstains from food is a waste and one should not just waste oneself like this. In these times many are looking towards Orthodox theology and the system of lent in the church to suggest that this is a way of life which can be followed to receive health benefits. But is lent just about health benefits and regulating our diet? If that was the case Jesus would just be our gym trainer! Whatever Christian denomination we belong to, we should remember that mending our minds means that we should change the way we look at and behave with others. We should change our total way of life. This involves questioning the very life that we are living. Lent becomes a time to slow down and take stock of our lives. Fasting does not mean power fasts and individual glory but fasting means slowing down during the great fast.
Lending our hands
Lending what we have acquired and saved and what we have set apart completes the great lent. Blessed are those who clothe the naked and blessed are those who satisfy the hungry from their own table says another prayer during the great lent. Those who give do not just give alms by opening their hands but lend their luxuries and their life. The sacrifice is finally made to count and this is not just giving a man/woman fish but also does not just involve in teaching them to fish. Rather what happens is that they are given rights to the same river or sea from which everyone else has been fishing for so long. The great lent lends much and much more. Churches try their best to educate people to set apart and share what they have saved with those who do not possess even the ordinary needs in life. This community commitment encourages community goodness apart from individual goodness. Churches even collect rice and other essentials and distribute it to those in need. Others lend their expertise, their learning and their positions to initiate larger projects which help the poor. Thus the lent becomes a time for people to do good and even becomes mandatory and more important than just abstinence from food.
Lent helps the church to remember that it has been fortunate in many ways and that there are others who are not so fortunate. The reasons for this are many and churches try to involve themselves in the various hunger pangs of the people who live in the surroundings of the church. Lent this way truly becomes a time when the church becomes a place where Jesus and his great fast is reflected. The fast that Jesus undergoes does not only help him to overcome the temptation of satan but goes on to help him to realise the actual infirmities that affected the society of his time. His life then helps us to realise that it is not enough to lend certain food items to the poor but to go on to fight the injustices that have led to the starvation and the deprivation that the poor in this country experience. It calls for fighting systemic evils that exist in our society and calls for the rooting out of these evils through our fast and lent.
Lent in this sense strengthens us to garner the energy to fight against corruption, caste disparity, gender disparity and other social evils. This is the temptation that we all have to fight against. By lending our hands we share our favourable destinies with those who have been experiencing skewed destinies because of the luxurious lives that we live. Our sacrifice thus is not a sacrifice but a just sharing of the resources we have all received freely and graciously from God.
Let this lent be a time when we bend, mend and lend for our brothers and sisters to live a life which goes along with the will of God. This is not a forced decision but a decision taken freely to ensure that we correct the wrongs we have done in our lives. May God be with us in this struggle to fulfil a meaningful lenten season. Let this be a lenten engagement which strives for the betterment of humanity, the world and its inhabitants. Let us accordingly bend, mend and lend. Amen.
Lent is also seen as a way to discipline the self and also as a way to gain something by denying oneself something or the other. Many Christian denominations also see lent as a time when we abstain to help others by providing food and other essentials through what is saved as a result of the abstinence. Lent also has not so visible, but never the less inherent meanings of slowing down the pace of life and using the time to meditate and take stock of one’s life and to define what it means to live.
Lent in the Orthodox Christian tradition
The Orthodox Christian tradition follows a strict regimen of following a fifty day lent which is a commemoration of the forty day fast of Jesus in the desert. The ten extra days are the days which include Sundays and other days when qurbana or worship is not followed up by fasting in the morning. In India many other Christian denominations along with the various Orthodox churches abstain from meat, fish and dairy products during this season of lent.
The Orthodox churches have prayers for at least three times a day and these include prostrating or kneeling and then getting up and continuing this pattern forty times for each prayer. The forty prostrations in the Syriac churches are divided into sets of ten with the worshipper saying ‘kurielaison’ (Lord have mercy) for the first ten, then ‘Moran Esrahemelain’ (Our Lord, show (do) mercy on us), followed by ‘Moran Husrahemelain’ (Our Lord, show compassion, and have mercy on us) and finally ‘Moran Aninurahemelain’ (Our Lord, answer (accept our prayers) and have mercy on us). The continuous kneeling and getting up patterns require mental as well as physical toughness which can be achieved only by a strict diet during lent. The constant repetition of exhortations to God require a proper breathing technique and are a strain to the knees, wind pipe, thigh muscles, arms and the knuckles of the hands. The strain on many parts of the body at the same time brings in the duality of pain along with abstinence while calling onto God to show mercy.
Bending our knees
But this is not the entire essence of lent. The theme of lent as bend, mend and lend rather suggests what lent should really be. The prayers during lent also suggest the same. Bending our knees in itself is not enough as they leave out the very essential mending of our hearts and the lending of our hands! Rather, bending of our knees should go along with the mending of our hearts and the lending of our hands. The reformed Christian tradition in India does ask us to not just express our spirituality through acts but live out this spirituality by reforming ourselves and being of help to others. On the other hand it could also be that in the haste to complete the act we forget the meaning of the act itself!
The act of bending is an outward expression of the inward piety and humility one should feel. Whenever we bend, we are going back to the roots of where we come from and where we belong, the ground or earth itself. Indian culture reflects this theme when the young bend to touch the feet of elders and teachers. The act of humility cannot be missed and brings us to the essence of lent. We are to humble ourselves just as Jesus humbled himself for us. The death on the cross is a reversal of power and its affiliations. Our life becomes meaningful when we humble ourselves before God and others. An Edessan woman tells St. Ephrem, the 4th century church father that he should look to the earth as it was from the earth that he was created. The wisdom of the woman opens Ephrem’s mind. Bending thus makes us see who we really are and keeps us in touch with reality. It initiates the process of thinking about and understanding ourselves.
Mending our hearts
The prayers during lent remind us that there is no use of observing lent if we do not change inside. No amount of abstinence from food and other things will help us in any way if we do not bring about a renewal inside us. Lent is thus a time to mend our hearts. We thus use this time of lent to mend our hearts and thereby our thoughts, our ways, our relationships and our actions. In this way lent performs the cleaning and changing of what is unjust to the ordinary people of God. Every individual thus comes under the responsibility of mending his/her heart so that God’s just plans are initiated in the world and continued for the benefit of all. ‘One for all and all for one’ sounds very much how lent should be. Each one strives for change just as all strive for the change of status of one. Christian denominations thus should experience the healing qualities of lent and how it works to bring people together instead of dividing people on the basis of different dispensations. The power of lent is beautifully reflected in this concept of one for all and all for one. Just as Jesus stayed hungry for the benefit of all of us, we continue that model and choose to remain hungry for the benefit of others. This single initiative turns into a collective movement whereby the needs of even a single person are collectively thought of, considered and managed by many.
Mending our hearts then calls for a change of what we usually call the fast life. Our lives are built around the irresponsible destruction of our resources, which indeed are a part of our existence. But due to various reasons we have lost the link with our roots literally and change the face of the earth for our profit and our wants. The prayers for lent clearly state that the body and the being or soul have to fast or observe lent equally. When the body abstains from food, the being or soul should abstain from wrongs and sins. A lent which only abstains from food is a waste and one should not just waste oneself like this. In these times many are looking towards Orthodox theology and the system of lent in the church to suggest that this is a way of life which can be followed to receive health benefits. But is lent just about health benefits and regulating our diet? If that was the case Jesus would just be our gym trainer! Whatever Christian denomination we belong to, we should remember that mending our minds means that we should change the way we look at and behave with others. We should change our total way of life. This involves questioning the very life that we are living. Lent becomes a time to slow down and take stock of our lives. Fasting does not mean power fasts and individual glory but fasting means slowing down during the great fast.
Lending our hands
Lending what we have acquired and saved and what we have set apart completes the great lent. Blessed are those who clothe the naked and blessed are those who satisfy the hungry from their own table says another prayer during the great lent. Those who give do not just give alms by opening their hands but lend their luxuries and their life. The sacrifice is finally made to count and this is not just giving a man/woman fish but also does not just involve in teaching them to fish. Rather what happens is that they are given rights to the same river or sea from which everyone else has been fishing for so long. The great lent lends much and much more. Churches try their best to educate people to set apart and share what they have saved with those who do not possess even the ordinary needs in life. This community commitment encourages community goodness apart from individual goodness. Churches even collect rice and other essentials and distribute it to those in need. Others lend their expertise, their learning and their positions to initiate larger projects which help the poor. Thus the lent becomes a time for people to do good and even becomes mandatory and more important than just abstinence from food.
Lent helps the church to remember that it has been fortunate in many ways and that there are others who are not so fortunate. The reasons for this are many and churches try to involve themselves in the various hunger pangs of the people who live in the surroundings of the church. Lent this way truly becomes a time when the church becomes a place where Jesus and his great fast is reflected. The fast that Jesus undergoes does not only help him to overcome the temptation of satan but goes on to help him to realise the actual infirmities that affected the society of his time. His life then helps us to realise that it is not enough to lend certain food items to the poor but to go on to fight the injustices that have led to the starvation and the deprivation that the poor in this country experience. It calls for fighting systemic evils that exist in our society and calls for the rooting out of these evils through our fast and lent.
Lent in this sense strengthens us to garner the energy to fight against corruption, caste disparity, gender disparity and other social evils. This is the temptation that we all have to fight against. By lending our hands we share our favourable destinies with those who have been experiencing skewed destinies because of the luxurious lives that we live. Our sacrifice thus is not a sacrifice but a just sharing of the resources we have all received freely and graciously from God.
Let this lent be a time when we bend, mend and lend for our brothers and sisters to live a life which goes along with the will of God. This is not a forced decision but a decision taken freely to ensure that we correct the wrongs we have done in our lives. May God be with us in this struggle to fulfil a meaningful lenten season. Let this be a lenten engagement which strives for the betterment of humanity, the world and its inhabitants. Let us accordingly bend, mend and lend. Amen.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The woman and Jesus on Valentine’s day
Another Valentine’s day is coming to an end with lots of flower sales and card exchanges. Lovers and couples are made to believe that they have to buy each other something to make the cut this Valentine’s. Love and sex will be most on the minds of the young and the old. But the modern day love and sex don’t need true arousal as they are ready made five minute mixes which are over even before they start. Relationships could also follow the same pattern. Luke 7: 36-50 could be interpreted as the valentine expression of a woman who is perceived as a sinner. She brings in a new notion to Valentine’s day as not just a ready mix day but one which explores the various senses of a human being.
Worship involves the activation and constant interpolation of the five senses of a human being. The senses include touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. We obviously do not give much thought to the activation and the coherent expression of these five senses and many a time maybe even forget about their existence. Nevertheless these senses when used in various combinations bring forth very effective interaction. Two of the important senses are touch and smell.
1. Touch is one of the most active steps of sense activation that we can undertake. In many of Jesus’ miracle acts what he does goes beyond the miracle because it involves touching those who were not touched. This is not just a spiritual and inward touch but a clear physical touch which involved challenging the prevalent system of untouchability which was practised in various forms. When Jesus arrives at the Pharisee’s house there seems to be no indication that anyone received him with an introductory touch. Rather what we see is a woman referred to as a sinner who comes with an alabaster jar of perfume. She wets Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them and pours perfume on them. As we usually concentrate on the woman who lived a sinful life in the town what we ignore is the woman who touched Jesus with her physical and sensual touch. Our feet are one of our most sensitive yet most ignored body parts. The sense we feel when we are touched by someone at the feet is indeed very arousing. Yet we usually refer to the touching of the feet as a mark of respect (as is done in Indian culture) and forget that it also has a very distinct and clear meaning which goes beyond just mere respect. In the church the main part of touching is the kiss of peace, which again should have been a kiss but is now a shake of both hands and even that is done half heartedly. At times members of the opposite sex try to avoid touching each other in this otherwise very meaningful ritual practised in church. The washing of the feet during passion week also becomes an act of service and is never seen as anything beyond that. The kissing of the feet by the woman adds to this sensual awakening. How can then a woman who had led a sinful life bring about a sensual awakening? Her love as mentioned by Jesus covers any sin that she may have been accused of. So what for many may seem as a passage of servitude, discipleship, and confession may very well also be seen as a passage of love, passion and sensuality. When everybody goes for Jesus’ upper body, the woman goes for his feet. The church is always seen as shying away from touch. We refuse to touch the untouchable, we refuse to acknowledge that touch is sensual and we in the mean time run the business of touching souls, while the bodies wither away. Maybe we need to look at scriptures more publicly and sensually for us to come to a different understanding of touch. Valentine’s day is a perfect punching bag for different religious groups and I wonder whether it is only because of the commercialisation of Valentine’s day or it is because of the refusal to acknowledge that expressing one’s sensuality is not religiously acceptable?
2. Smell is another of the senses which can arouse our feelings. Aromatherapy is now marketed in India as a spiritual and mental well being that we can feel when we use certain products which arouse and bring out our sense of smell. In India we live amidst the dichotomy of smell. We have what we can call the rich produced smell and what is the poor natural smell. The woman in the passage has a strange mix of both! She wets Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair and then pours perfume on them. Her tears are her own and they are as therapeutic for her as for Jesus. The drops which fall on Jesus’ feet may have caused a second arousal. She wipes off the tears with her own hair and then puts perfume. The base smell which she provides is her own. This is followed by the constructed smell of the perfume. The perfume adds to the olfactory delight that Jesus was being put through. Truly a great experience! The church more or less relies on incense to provide for the awakening of the sense of smell. This is complimented by the hundreds of smells emanating from the bodies of the congregation. If we care to take a dig into the variety of smells we will be aroused into action in church. What actually happens is that we turn off our smell sense and in our aim to attain holiness we keep away from everything which may awaken our minds. But think of using the smell as a welcome arousal of our senses to function better and to espouse this great feeling of love just like the woman who toyed with the feet of Jesus? In essence what happens in church is that we take away the senses of people or we try to numb them. This keeps our bodies in a state of non-orgasmic existence while our spirits are taken into ecstasy. The woman in the passage arouses us to our senses just like she may have aroused Jesus. Are we ashamed by our arousal or are we tickled to action? As others ignore Jesus, the woman welcomes him by arousing him and Jesus likes it! This Valentine’s the usual debate will continue. But Valentine’s or no Valentine’s are we willing to accept the closeness that people feel towards one another. Are we willing to allow others to be aroused? The flowers are only one particular way of doing this but there are other smells as well. This rounds up as the smell of love and warmth felt towards one another as well as the smell of passion which couples will sense and feel towards one another. Who are we to prevent this? The Pharisee tries to unlike the touch of the woman but Jesus reminds him of the woman’s love which refuses to subside. I am aroused, are you?
Worship involves the activation and constant interpolation of the five senses of a human being. The senses include touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. We obviously do not give much thought to the activation and the coherent expression of these five senses and many a time maybe even forget about their existence. Nevertheless these senses when used in various combinations bring forth very effective interaction. Two of the important senses are touch and smell.
1. Touch is one of the most active steps of sense activation that we can undertake. In many of Jesus’ miracle acts what he does goes beyond the miracle because it involves touching those who were not touched. This is not just a spiritual and inward touch but a clear physical touch which involved challenging the prevalent system of untouchability which was practised in various forms. When Jesus arrives at the Pharisee’s house there seems to be no indication that anyone received him with an introductory touch. Rather what we see is a woman referred to as a sinner who comes with an alabaster jar of perfume. She wets Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them and pours perfume on them. As we usually concentrate on the woman who lived a sinful life in the town what we ignore is the woman who touched Jesus with her physical and sensual touch. Our feet are one of our most sensitive yet most ignored body parts. The sense we feel when we are touched by someone at the feet is indeed very arousing. Yet we usually refer to the touching of the feet as a mark of respect (as is done in Indian culture) and forget that it also has a very distinct and clear meaning which goes beyond just mere respect. In the church the main part of touching is the kiss of peace, which again should have been a kiss but is now a shake of both hands and even that is done half heartedly. At times members of the opposite sex try to avoid touching each other in this otherwise very meaningful ritual practised in church. The washing of the feet during passion week also becomes an act of service and is never seen as anything beyond that. The kissing of the feet by the woman adds to this sensual awakening. How can then a woman who had led a sinful life bring about a sensual awakening? Her love as mentioned by Jesus covers any sin that she may have been accused of. So what for many may seem as a passage of servitude, discipleship, and confession may very well also be seen as a passage of love, passion and sensuality. When everybody goes for Jesus’ upper body, the woman goes for his feet. The church is always seen as shying away from touch. We refuse to touch the untouchable, we refuse to acknowledge that touch is sensual and we in the mean time run the business of touching souls, while the bodies wither away. Maybe we need to look at scriptures more publicly and sensually for us to come to a different understanding of touch. Valentine’s day is a perfect punching bag for different religious groups and I wonder whether it is only because of the commercialisation of Valentine’s day or it is because of the refusal to acknowledge that expressing one’s sensuality is not religiously acceptable?
2. Smell is another of the senses which can arouse our feelings. Aromatherapy is now marketed in India as a spiritual and mental well being that we can feel when we use certain products which arouse and bring out our sense of smell. In India we live amidst the dichotomy of smell. We have what we can call the rich produced smell and what is the poor natural smell. The woman in the passage has a strange mix of both! She wets Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair and then pours perfume on them. Her tears are her own and they are as therapeutic for her as for Jesus. The drops which fall on Jesus’ feet may have caused a second arousal. She wipes off the tears with her own hair and then puts perfume. The base smell which she provides is her own. This is followed by the constructed smell of the perfume. The perfume adds to the olfactory delight that Jesus was being put through. Truly a great experience! The church more or less relies on incense to provide for the awakening of the sense of smell. This is complimented by the hundreds of smells emanating from the bodies of the congregation. If we care to take a dig into the variety of smells we will be aroused into action in church. What actually happens is that we turn off our smell sense and in our aim to attain holiness we keep away from everything which may awaken our minds. But think of using the smell as a welcome arousal of our senses to function better and to espouse this great feeling of love just like the woman who toyed with the feet of Jesus? In essence what happens in church is that we take away the senses of people or we try to numb them. This keeps our bodies in a state of non-orgasmic existence while our spirits are taken into ecstasy. The woman in the passage arouses us to our senses just like she may have aroused Jesus. Are we ashamed by our arousal or are we tickled to action? As others ignore Jesus, the woman welcomes him by arousing him and Jesus likes it! This Valentine’s the usual debate will continue. But Valentine’s or no Valentine’s are we willing to accept the closeness that people feel towards one another. Are we willing to allow others to be aroused? The flowers are only one particular way of doing this but there are other smells as well. This rounds up as the smell of love and warmth felt towards one another as well as the smell of passion which couples will sense and feel towards one another. Who are we to prevent this? The Pharisee tries to unlike the touch of the woman but Jesus reminds him of the woman’s love which refuses to subside. I am aroused, are you?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sedition as the biggest addiction in a growing democracy
India and China are two countries which are growing the fastest in the world today. The two countries have several things which separate them but also have some similarities. All similarities surprisingly are anti-human and un-democratic. They include cheap labour, corrupt government agencies, anti-people policies and the latest to the list is sedition charges to silence their own people. The bible also has several instances of sedition being used as a weapon to silence those who basically talk for the justice and equality of people.
China did not cheer the Nobel prize for Liu Xiaobo and saw the prize as an infringement upon the internal policies of the country. Similarly India could not prevent a questionable court judgement jailing Dr. Binayak Sen for life on a case which is actually no case at all. Sedition is a big charge and is basically used to quell all discontent in a country. Or so it seems as in both cases there seems to be no better explanation.
Acts 6: 8-15 relives the arrest of St. Stephen on charges that he shook some of the traditional beliefs of the synagogue. Even though he tries to explain his stand he is then stoned to death without a proper trial. His last words “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” shows that his fight was against the wrongs that he saw and not against any individual.
What then does this mean for the church? Does it augur well for the church to remain quiet while those who work for the poor are put in jail? Does it mean that the church leaders also practise the same and removes its perceived enemies in the name of false sedition charges? Do we remember the lives of our saints and forget the inspiring leaders of present who remind us of our saints? Or are we waiting for them to die to then remember them as saints?
A government is of the people, by the people and for the people. How can a government then allege sedition on its own people? India has come to the point of practising a punishing democracy where everyone who is against the official line is punished and brought into line. Why doesn’t the government give medical help to the poor? Why doesn’t the government address the freedom issues of its citizens? Can fear keep people from raising their voices against injustice and wrong doing?
The government in India is trying its best to put a stop to all sorts of addictions but when will it review its own addiction to sedition? The all is well reply will not keep a true democracy in silence. If India is truly a democracy we will over throw this addiction. Till then, Lord, do not hold this sin against them!!!
China did not cheer the Nobel prize for Liu Xiaobo and saw the prize as an infringement upon the internal policies of the country. Similarly India could not prevent a questionable court judgement jailing Dr. Binayak Sen for life on a case which is actually no case at all. Sedition is a big charge and is basically used to quell all discontent in a country. Or so it seems as in both cases there seems to be no better explanation.
Acts 6: 8-15 relives the arrest of St. Stephen on charges that he shook some of the traditional beliefs of the synagogue. Even though he tries to explain his stand he is then stoned to death without a proper trial. His last words “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” shows that his fight was against the wrongs that he saw and not against any individual.
What then does this mean for the church? Does it augur well for the church to remain quiet while those who work for the poor are put in jail? Does it mean that the church leaders also practise the same and removes its perceived enemies in the name of false sedition charges? Do we remember the lives of our saints and forget the inspiring leaders of present who remind us of our saints? Or are we waiting for them to die to then remember them as saints?
A government is of the people, by the people and for the people. How can a government then allege sedition on its own people? India has come to the point of practising a punishing democracy where everyone who is against the official line is punished and brought into line. Why doesn’t the government give medical help to the poor? Why doesn’t the government address the freedom issues of its citizens? Can fear keep people from raising their voices against injustice and wrong doing?
The government in India is trying its best to put a stop to all sorts of addictions but when will it review its own addiction to sedition? The all is well reply will not keep a true democracy in silence. If India is truly a democracy we will over throw this addiction. Till then, Lord, do not hold this sin against them!!!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The truth of the manger during Christmas
Jesus born in a manger can be likened to Jesus born in front of a shop front (kada thinna in Malayalam) or Jesus born on the street. This season we reconstruct the manger in our homes and churches with baby Jesus surrounded by his mother, father, the shepherds and the wise men. Our construction betrays the very concept of the manger and the manner of the birth of Jesus. In a country where the aam aadmi (common (wo)man) is more an election slogan than a sincere move, it may help to go back to why the most powerful man in the world would be born in the most common (now despicable) of circumstances.
Was Jesus an aam aadmi? Was his power reflected in his commonness with the ordinary people around him and his identification with them? Why would God choose to be attached with the ordinary rather than have a royal and luxurious birth? Jesus’ birth and life can be said to be the rise of an ordinary man from the manger to the cross. In this way he chooses his entry and exit in the comfort of what we would call ordinary and powerless.
Our faith in these times is being symbolised with the huge churches and big homes that we build rather than the truth of the manger. Our march and expansive drives to our churches is crisscrossed by the images of the homeless sleeping on the streets, covering themselves with old rags and pieces of plastic stitched together. One can’t help thinking that we are maybe congregating to the wrong places. Our association to money and luxury simply goes against our Lord on the streets. In this sense does a king need a luxurious palace? A king is rather a king by what he does and how he lives. A true king in this sense will have people congregating to where he is. We obviously want that to be in the churches we build. But this season we should meditate on whether our churches should be more broad and expansive and not just limited to the boundaries of our church walls.
Jesus as an aam aadmi remains a slogan for us as well. We preach about the poor Jesus in our rich sermons in the confines of our rich churches. This is just as the politicians talk about the aam aadmi from within the confines of their political offices and election rallies. Rahul Gandhi tried to define the aam aadmi during the Congress Party plenary session on Sunday. He said “Aam aadmi in India is that person who does not have a connection to the system. Whether he is poor or rich, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian, educated or uneducated, if he is not connected to the system, he is an aam aadmi.” He further explained citing examples of a “tribal boy in Niyamgiri who is thrown out of his land without justice, the Dalit boy in Jhansi who is forced to sit at the back of the classroom; the young professional in Bangalore who cannot get her child into a good school; the university topper in Shillong who cannot get a job because he does not know the right people.” There are problems with his definition but what he tried to say I feel is the lack of opportunity that arises because of the lack of connect with a power system within India.
Jesus as an aam aadmi lacked this political ‘connect’ with people in power and yet he manages to inspire many and continues to do so. His lack of connect with the powerful becomes his connect with the poor. This is the truth which lies hidden in the manger. This is the truth of Christmas.
Was Jesus an aam aadmi? Was his power reflected in his commonness with the ordinary people around him and his identification with them? Why would God choose to be attached with the ordinary rather than have a royal and luxurious birth? Jesus’ birth and life can be said to be the rise of an ordinary man from the manger to the cross. In this way he chooses his entry and exit in the comfort of what we would call ordinary and powerless.
Our faith in these times is being symbolised with the huge churches and big homes that we build rather than the truth of the manger. Our march and expansive drives to our churches is crisscrossed by the images of the homeless sleeping on the streets, covering themselves with old rags and pieces of plastic stitched together. One can’t help thinking that we are maybe congregating to the wrong places. Our association to money and luxury simply goes against our Lord on the streets. In this sense does a king need a luxurious palace? A king is rather a king by what he does and how he lives. A true king in this sense will have people congregating to where he is. We obviously want that to be in the churches we build. But this season we should meditate on whether our churches should be more broad and expansive and not just limited to the boundaries of our church walls.
Jesus as an aam aadmi remains a slogan for us as well. We preach about the poor Jesus in our rich sermons in the confines of our rich churches. This is just as the politicians talk about the aam aadmi from within the confines of their political offices and election rallies. Rahul Gandhi tried to define the aam aadmi during the Congress Party plenary session on Sunday. He said “Aam aadmi in India is that person who does not have a connection to the system. Whether he is poor or rich, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian, educated or uneducated, if he is not connected to the system, he is an aam aadmi.” He further explained citing examples of a “tribal boy in Niyamgiri who is thrown out of his land without justice, the Dalit boy in Jhansi who is forced to sit at the back of the classroom; the young professional in Bangalore who cannot get her child into a good school; the university topper in Shillong who cannot get a job because he does not know the right people.” There are problems with his definition but what he tried to say I feel is the lack of opportunity that arises because of the lack of connect with a power system within India.
Jesus as an aam aadmi lacked this political ‘connect’ with people in power and yet he manages to inspire many and continues to do so. His lack of connect with the powerful becomes his connect with the poor. This is the truth which lies hidden in the manger. This is the truth of Christmas.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The challenges faced by the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church
Every church is defined by the time it manages to put behind it. The time adds to the seasoning and maturity of its tradition as they stand through the test of times. Every great church tradition is thus a test by time. The tests change with the time as well and become different for changing generations. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church is steeped in tradition and time tested beliefs and faith. But with the turn of the century clock come new challenges put forth by the experiences of the younger generations of the church. These experiences are not better than the experiences of the older generations but different. But these varying experiences bring us to the need of having to look at how we can live meaningfully in the church we belong to, even as we continue living our lives in the changing times with new innovations and new work and living conditions.
Some of us resist not just change but even discussing the change we have already undergone. The dichotomy which exists between our secular and religious lives is appalling and yet we choose to ignore it. But ignoring this aspect of our lives will not take away the reality of what is happening. We have members leaving the church for other spiritual expressions, short term gains, due to language incompatibility, cultural problems, misunderstanding of church doctrines and tradition, and isolation by a powerful minority in individual churches. Each reason is a problem in itself and one cannot tell others in one’s church to get out if they don’t like how things are inside. Every member of the church is in possession of the right to belong and be a part of the church and this right cannot be usurped by a certain few.
At times the change which many want to be discussed may not be a change from tradition to modernity but a change from the true faith of the church. Our refusal to discuss and deliberate goes against the very premise of tradition because tradition itself has come out of discussion and deliberation among other things. Some of the challenges faced by the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church are
1. Language related challenges- English though a colonial left over in India has managed to become a common language in a country like India which has several languages. The absence of a common language otherwise offers this importance to English. Hindi has not come to the level of English as being a common language in India. Also, English is a common business language and so many learn, use and converse in it. The ignoring of this by the church will lead to a vacuum which will be a gap between the liturgy language and the spoken language. Many concepts will go un-understood due to this and the younger generation especially will not understand truly what is going on in church. The same problem arises from Sunday school onwards and continues to the youth which then is brought up in a different spiritual tradition which is completely different from the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church. The use of language should also include the vernacular languages of every particular region which will give more acceptance to the church and its faith and traditions.
2. Country specific challenges- The faithful in Kerala may not be the same as the faithful in the U.S. or in the Middle East. Even though a good part of the crowd has migrated from Kerala they have changed their mannerisms and their children have completely been brought up in a different culture. One cannot engage this crowd in the same way as we do in Kerala. This seeks for a better understanding of the needs of such a group and what the church can do specifically for them. This includes having priests from the same region for the purpose of the congregation identifying with their priests. Country specific challenges also bring about a change in the perception and celebration of festivals and special anniversaries. These celebrations will be different from how it is celebrated in Kerala and therefore they have to be seen from this context. The church has to accommodate different kinds of people who live in different contexts. The church has to re-interpret the practices of the church with relation to the context in which the church exists.
3. Family challenges- The constitution of the family also undergoes significant changes in different church contexts. The number of children in a family, the concept of equality and acceptance in a family, the role of the woman in the family are all bound to be different from that of how it is in Kerala. Even Kerala will have its own differences. Sermons and discussions in church have to take into account these things. One cannot forget the equality which should exist within family and church contexts. For this more discussions on the church traditions and faith has to happen in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
4. Inter-religious and inter-caste marriages- More and more inter-religious and inter-caste marriages can be seen happening in church. Such couples have to be given help for church related integration and should not be isolated from the church fold. Isolated couples will not come to church and will prefer to stay away or go somewhere else. Sermons in church should also reflect a respect for other religions while we talk about our own. This will give a more accommodative picture about the church and will lead to having a diverse but strong membership within the church.
5. Using the youth and other groups in the church- As in India, the church has a predominant percentage of youth. The youthfulness of the church should be used so that the church reflects this youthfulness. In this sense all groups should be given representation in the church committees. Men, women, youth, and even teenagers should be included. This will bring first hand knowledge of the needs of each group within the church and the committee will be able to discuss these issues while formulating various policy decisions of the church. This representation will also give more transparency and participation.
6. Social issues and the church- The church has by and large been a group which comes together, prays and then disbands. All this while the country and world go through various challenges! This total dissociation with reality throws up several questions on the need for such churches. The continuous expression of the Holy Qurbana through the life of the members of the church calls for an involvement in issues which affect the society and the world we live in. Social issues have to be a part of not just the Sunday sermon but has to be weaved into the over all fabric of existence of the church.
7. Using technology to keep tradition alive- The internet has been a technological evolution which has helped people come together and create communities spanning countries and continents. The use of this technology by the church enhances the options of creating a much deeper bond between members of the church. It also allows an opportunity for the church to explore online counselling, knowledge sharing, information dissemination, and bringing people together.
8. Devising a special Sunday school curriculum- The concept of the Sunday school itself is a mounted concept on the church. The church has to decide on a framework which is children friendly and takes into account the feed back of the children as well. Other initiatives should involve learning different parts of the liturgy as this contains the theology of the church. The children should also feel close to the environment they live in and spiritual enrichment should involve this aspect. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church in this way should be child friendly and respect the initiatives by children rather than always dumping imported Sunday school concepts on them!
9. The church as a public platform- The church should not just be a place where we congregate in silence and go away to our homes. They should also be spaces where we are given an opportunity to speak our mind. People should be mindful that this does not mean hurting others and misusing personal feuds. But otherwise people who come to church should sit down and speak to one another and seek to help and guide one another. The priest will play a big role but he should also be helped by both men and women lay leaders in the church.
These points offer an important cross section of the challenges that face the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church. I do not claim that these are the only challenges though. The need to discuss them is important. But the platform to discuss should be explored. This could be in churches, prayer meetings, houses, online forums and the like. Whatever the route selected the end result would benefit all.
Some of us resist not just change but even discussing the change we have already undergone. The dichotomy which exists between our secular and religious lives is appalling and yet we choose to ignore it. But ignoring this aspect of our lives will not take away the reality of what is happening. We have members leaving the church for other spiritual expressions, short term gains, due to language incompatibility, cultural problems, misunderstanding of church doctrines and tradition, and isolation by a powerful minority in individual churches. Each reason is a problem in itself and one cannot tell others in one’s church to get out if they don’t like how things are inside. Every member of the church is in possession of the right to belong and be a part of the church and this right cannot be usurped by a certain few.
At times the change which many want to be discussed may not be a change from tradition to modernity but a change from the true faith of the church. Our refusal to discuss and deliberate goes against the very premise of tradition because tradition itself has come out of discussion and deliberation among other things. Some of the challenges faced by the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church are
1. Language related challenges- English though a colonial left over in India has managed to become a common language in a country like India which has several languages. The absence of a common language otherwise offers this importance to English. Hindi has not come to the level of English as being a common language in India. Also, English is a common business language and so many learn, use and converse in it. The ignoring of this by the church will lead to a vacuum which will be a gap between the liturgy language and the spoken language. Many concepts will go un-understood due to this and the younger generation especially will not understand truly what is going on in church. The same problem arises from Sunday school onwards and continues to the youth which then is brought up in a different spiritual tradition which is completely different from the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church. The use of language should also include the vernacular languages of every particular region which will give more acceptance to the church and its faith and traditions.
2. Country specific challenges- The faithful in Kerala may not be the same as the faithful in the U.S. or in the Middle East. Even though a good part of the crowd has migrated from Kerala they have changed their mannerisms and their children have completely been brought up in a different culture. One cannot engage this crowd in the same way as we do in Kerala. This seeks for a better understanding of the needs of such a group and what the church can do specifically for them. This includes having priests from the same region for the purpose of the congregation identifying with their priests. Country specific challenges also bring about a change in the perception and celebration of festivals and special anniversaries. These celebrations will be different from how it is celebrated in Kerala and therefore they have to be seen from this context. The church has to accommodate different kinds of people who live in different contexts. The church has to re-interpret the practices of the church with relation to the context in which the church exists.
3. Family challenges- The constitution of the family also undergoes significant changes in different church contexts. The number of children in a family, the concept of equality and acceptance in a family, the role of the woman in the family are all bound to be different from that of how it is in Kerala. Even Kerala will have its own differences. Sermons and discussions in church have to take into account these things. One cannot forget the equality which should exist within family and church contexts. For this more discussions on the church traditions and faith has to happen in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
4. Inter-religious and inter-caste marriages- More and more inter-religious and inter-caste marriages can be seen happening in church. Such couples have to be given help for church related integration and should not be isolated from the church fold. Isolated couples will not come to church and will prefer to stay away or go somewhere else. Sermons in church should also reflect a respect for other religions while we talk about our own. This will give a more accommodative picture about the church and will lead to having a diverse but strong membership within the church.
5. Using the youth and other groups in the church- As in India, the church has a predominant percentage of youth. The youthfulness of the church should be used so that the church reflects this youthfulness. In this sense all groups should be given representation in the church committees. Men, women, youth, and even teenagers should be included. This will bring first hand knowledge of the needs of each group within the church and the committee will be able to discuss these issues while formulating various policy decisions of the church. This representation will also give more transparency and participation.
6. Social issues and the church- The church has by and large been a group which comes together, prays and then disbands. All this while the country and world go through various challenges! This total dissociation with reality throws up several questions on the need for such churches. The continuous expression of the Holy Qurbana through the life of the members of the church calls for an involvement in issues which affect the society and the world we live in. Social issues have to be a part of not just the Sunday sermon but has to be weaved into the over all fabric of existence of the church.
7. Using technology to keep tradition alive- The internet has been a technological evolution which has helped people come together and create communities spanning countries and continents. The use of this technology by the church enhances the options of creating a much deeper bond between members of the church. It also allows an opportunity for the church to explore online counselling, knowledge sharing, information dissemination, and bringing people together.
8. Devising a special Sunday school curriculum- The concept of the Sunday school itself is a mounted concept on the church. The church has to decide on a framework which is children friendly and takes into account the feed back of the children as well. Other initiatives should involve learning different parts of the liturgy as this contains the theology of the church. The children should also feel close to the environment they live in and spiritual enrichment should involve this aspect. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church in this way should be child friendly and respect the initiatives by children rather than always dumping imported Sunday school concepts on them!
9. The church as a public platform- The church should not just be a place where we congregate in silence and go away to our homes. They should also be spaces where we are given an opportunity to speak our mind. People should be mindful that this does not mean hurting others and misusing personal feuds. But otherwise people who come to church should sit down and speak to one another and seek to help and guide one another. The priest will play a big role but he should also be helped by both men and women lay leaders in the church.
These points offer an important cross section of the challenges that face the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church. I do not claim that these are the only challenges though. The need to discuss them is important. But the platform to discuss should be explored. This could be in churches, prayer meetings, houses, online forums and the like. Whatever the route selected the end result would benefit all.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The WikiLeaks and the Jesus truth
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. Jesus attests to his own authenticity in the wake of him being questioned by those in authority. He blows his cover and comes into the lime light with these series of revelations which embarrass many and challenge the authority and power of some. The official version is challenged by an unofficial claim to truth. The unofficial man who makes this high claim comes from an ordinary family which has no claims to any immediate royal authenticity. Those in power are usually unsettled by claims of ordinary people, that they too have the power of the truth with them. This claim by Jesus was indeed unsettling. So unsettling that the leaders got together and plotted his death!
The WikiLeaks are being talked of as irresponsible, anti-national, misleading, and intended for character assassination of those in power. The embarrassment it has caused the U.S. is understandable. The freedom curtain has been exposed even as the U.S. has maintained all along that there is no curtain apart from the erstwhile iron curtain! The leaks also read like gossip stories on various countries. Truth is always bitter and even in this case this is what has come out. The bitter truth is too hot to handle. We are faced with the reality that the U.S. is everything opposite of what we have imagined and been tutored to accept.
Julian Assange is going to be hunted down. He is too hot to be walking free. Especially for those who are into the business of constructing truth and selling it! As usual he is being charged with crimes he hasn’t committed and faults which have nothing to do with the WikiLeaks. Whether he is a world hero in opposition to a national hero remains to be seen! What is fascinating is the role he is now living. The role of someone who has exposed the truth as it is. I don’t know whether the leaks are selective and only against a few, whereas others are taken out of the radar. And I don’t know whether he has an ulterior motive in all this.
What is rather interesting is that the WikiLeaks have destabilised the lies that we have considered the truth. We have got so used to the lies, that they were the truth for us. We have been woken from that slumber and are faced with the truth in all its broadness. The WikiLeaks have indeed brought out several issues. Does diplomacy mean that we lie to each other, will people of different countries come together in the culture of lies or the culture of truth, do we have to lie to be stable countries or will truth eventually stabilise any instability?
The church, like many governments would also not encourage any WikiLeaks like situation. Where does that leave Jesus in a Christmas season commemorating his birth? Should we side line him for the stability of our constructed lives or should we take him seriously and live in the beauty of instability, but peace of mind that we are offered? Can we be religious and sincere at the same time or is religion all about being politically correct and doctrinally sound? Should truth be guarded in a multi security prison or should it be free for us to see and decide?
The WikiLeaks are being talked of as irresponsible, anti-national, misleading, and intended for character assassination of those in power. The embarrassment it has caused the U.S. is understandable. The freedom curtain has been exposed even as the U.S. has maintained all along that there is no curtain apart from the erstwhile iron curtain! The leaks also read like gossip stories on various countries. Truth is always bitter and even in this case this is what has come out. The bitter truth is too hot to handle. We are faced with the reality that the U.S. is everything opposite of what we have imagined and been tutored to accept.
Julian Assange is going to be hunted down. He is too hot to be walking free. Especially for those who are into the business of constructing truth and selling it! As usual he is being charged with crimes he hasn’t committed and faults which have nothing to do with the WikiLeaks. Whether he is a world hero in opposition to a national hero remains to be seen! What is fascinating is the role he is now living. The role of someone who has exposed the truth as it is. I don’t know whether the leaks are selective and only against a few, whereas others are taken out of the radar. And I don’t know whether he has an ulterior motive in all this.
What is rather interesting is that the WikiLeaks have destabilised the lies that we have considered the truth. We have got so used to the lies, that they were the truth for us. We have been woken from that slumber and are faced with the truth in all its broadness. The WikiLeaks have indeed brought out several issues. Does diplomacy mean that we lie to each other, will people of different countries come together in the culture of lies or the culture of truth, do we have to lie to be stable countries or will truth eventually stabilise any instability?
The church, like many governments would also not encourage any WikiLeaks like situation. Where does that leave Jesus in a Christmas season commemorating his birth? Should we side line him for the stability of our constructed lives or should we take him seriously and live in the beauty of instability, but peace of mind that we are offered? Can we be religious and sincere at the same time or is religion all about being politically correct and doctrinally sound? Should truth be guarded in a multi security prison or should it be free for us to see and decide?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Where on earth is the truth?
As a young boy everything I saw and heard was the truth. My parents gave their part of the truth which later on was shattered by my peers and school teachers. As I grew closer to the church I was given a different shade of the truth which I considered rock solid. With my foray into the field of communications, the media toyed with my representation of truth and challenged my concepts and notions of truth. Somewhere along the way there were these single individuals who continued to inspire me while never trying to impose their version of the truth on me. Truth had to be found and there were several dimensions to it.
This reminder comes back to me as I read about the Radia tapes and how the industry, media, and civil society always get together to influence governments and ruling dispensations. The truth seems to be manufactured by a select few and then sold to the less suspecting majority of others. We are that way consumers of a product named truth and not free participants in the natural and causal way of truth. But should I buy what others want to tell (sell) me or should I go behind the truth which I consider important and sincere?
This revelation puts out a few questions which have to be discussed in public. Is truth always manufactured? Are we being sold lies in the guise of truth? Can the guardians of truth change truth for their own gains and selfish wants? Can truth be redeemed or will it become a myth which really never existed?
All religions claim to have truth in their possession and yet there seems to be a move towards making people see only a part of it! This makes truth into a claim and not truth itself. Shouldn’t truth rather be something that people should discover for themselves? It shouldn’t be stage managed but left alone to be discovered. The presence of truth also suggests the presence of lies. By making exclusive claims to truth, aren’t all religions trying to cover up the lies that exist in them? Truth is being used for the selfish aims of those in power. This even suggests that truth is being converted into non-truth. Should we then lap up non-truth which is packaged and advertised as truth? Will religions and the media eventually destroy truth itself and convert it into lies? In such a context, truth will become a myth, something which is talked about but which no one has personal experience about.
This is where we should look for truth in the least expected places. Our established religions and institutions have been corrupted beyond repair. Finding truth in them is like finding a needle in a hay stack. It is not impossible but it is not easy either. Religions and the media should start talking and reporting about life stories from the margins. These far off stories are not about leaked tapes, conspiracies, corruption, high handedness and misuse of power. They are instead stories of courage, sacrifice, love and poverty. These in fact are the unreported and unsold stories of India. These are the stories which contain truth for those who are willing to dig deep. With each passing day our faith in religion, the government, judiciary and the leadership is shattered. But truth never the less remains and is existent. But only for those who are willing to search for it. For the others it is as good as dead!
This reminder comes back to me as I read about the Radia tapes and how the industry, media, and civil society always get together to influence governments and ruling dispensations. The truth seems to be manufactured by a select few and then sold to the less suspecting majority of others. We are that way consumers of a product named truth and not free participants in the natural and causal way of truth. But should I buy what others want to tell (sell) me or should I go behind the truth which I consider important and sincere?
This revelation puts out a few questions which have to be discussed in public. Is truth always manufactured? Are we being sold lies in the guise of truth? Can the guardians of truth change truth for their own gains and selfish wants? Can truth be redeemed or will it become a myth which really never existed?
All religions claim to have truth in their possession and yet there seems to be a move towards making people see only a part of it! This makes truth into a claim and not truth itself. Shouldn’t truth rather be something that people should discover for themselves? It shouldn’t be stage managed but left alone to be discovered. The presence of truth also suggests the presence of lies. By making exclusive claims to truth, aren’t all religions trying to cover up the lies that exist in them? Truth is being used for the selfish aims of those in power. This even suggests that truth is being converted into non-truth. Should we then lap up non-truth which is packaged and advertised as truth? Will religions and the media eventually destroy truth itself and convert it into lies? In such a context, truth will become a myth, something which is talked about but which no one has personal experience about.
This is where we should look for truth in the least expected places. Our established religions and institutions have been corrupted beyond repair. Finding truth in them is like finding a needle in a hay stack. It is not impossible but it is not easy either. Religions and the media should start talking and reporting about life stories from the margins. These far off stories are not about leaked tapes, conspiracies, corruption, high handedness and misuse of power. They are instead stories of courage, sacrifice, love and poverty. These in fact are the unreported and unsold stories of India. These are the stories which contain truth for those who are willing to dig deep. With each passing day our faith in religion, the government, judiciary and the leadership is shattered. But truth never the less remains and is existent. But only for those who are willing to search for it. For the others it is as good as dead!
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