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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wedding sermon c(b)lues

A wedding sermon has changed over the years in church. Earlier it would be a very small exhortation in church and the couple would not be directly spoken to at the time. This changed to a small sermon about how we can examine marriage as a Holy sacrament of the church. Today we have a different model being practiced in the church, depending upon the bishops and priests conducting the wedding and the importance given to the sermon as a guideline for marriage not only for the couple getting married but to others who have assembled in church, many already married.

This particular wedding sermon https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=tgRQmgbWLUA was preached at the St. Mark's Cathedral in Bangalore. In many weddings bishops and priests don't necessarily personally know the couple getting married and so it is difficult to preach to them on a personal level. This can be fixed if the preacher meets the couple and spends some time with them, getting to know them and making them comfortable. This brings about a relationship and a breaking of ice which will reflect in the marriage service and sermon in church.

The wedding sermon should be simple for the couple and people present to understand and at the same time should reflect the theology of the church. It is a difficult task of balancing faith and actual communication of the sermon. A sermon many a time is not about big words but about simple and digestible words and known concepts put in the correct place at the correct time. For this the preacher can make use of known examples from family life, church life, humor, stories and talk directly to the couple.

Weddings in India usually are conducted in a way that very less importance is given to the couple and instead everyone else gets a chance to wear a beautiful dress, eat good food and take pictures. In the case of a wedding sermon, it is the only time that a bishop or priest can talk face to face with the couple and remind them of what a marriage is all about. Direct eye contact with the couple is desirable, looking in between at the family and others present so that they also feel part of the sermon.

The sermon can't be too long and neither can it be too short. A fifteen to a maximum twenty minute sermon is the most one should try. In the process one should watch the face of the couple and the audience to make sure that they are completely listening to the sermon and understand what is being said.

Finally, give two or three points for the wedding couple and the congregation to take away. The points should be short, easy to remember and identifiable. The points for the wedding in this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=tgRQmgbWLUA were marriage is a Eucharist, marriage is priceless and marriage is high definition. Even if the couple remember one instead of three it is enough. The objective for weddings in the church now is that the sermon should try and set the tone of the wedding. It should speak to, for and about the couple. The prayers are usually not remembered by those present unless it is said slowly and meaningfully. This is where the wedding sermon becomes a take away for the couple, their family and the participants.



Picture courtesy www.vectorstock.com

Blood is thicker than water

John 6:35-46
Jesus declares “I am the bread of life. Those who come to me will never hunger and those who believe in me will never thirst.” The intrinsic nature of Holy Communion should lead us to figure out that communion will not and cannot stop after the church service but is followed by creative action and engagement outside the church, in our own respective spheres of work and involvement. Poverty is a big problem in India and despite the effort to showcase India as a super power not much is being done to alleviate poverty in the Indian context. What can Christians offer in such a scenario?

Firstly, consider others as your own family. We do not help others because we simply do not feel anything for others. We do not feel anything for others because we are not in relationship with them. In a retreat two weeks ago a Catholic priest recollected his journey with Mother Teresa in Bangalore. She asked him to stop the car they were travelling in and gives her sandwich which she got from the plane, to the person asking for food and money on the street. Perhaps Mother Teresa saw what any of us usually do not see and that is to consider the other as family. This is easier said than done. But how do we consider others as family?

Last week the owner of a major South Indian conglomerate called for a press conference and declared that he had severed all ties with his adopted son. He was no more his son declared the father. The reason was that his son had fallen out of favour with him because he had taken over the empire built by his father and starting relieving his father’s helpers. His father then felt that his bond with his staff was more than the bond developed with his adopted son. He also went on to say that blood is thicker than anything else.

This then brings us to the next point of exploration. How can we help others when we simply can’t see them as family? Jesus’ declaration that he is the bread of life and that if we partake of him we will never hunger and thirst brings us close to the truth that if we can come into communion with each other, the blood will bind us together. Family is not just natural family but family built by this communion of trust and respect. When Jesus asks us to be in communion with him it is also to be in communion with each other. Holy Communion should lead to the alleviation of poverty because we should be encouraged to take steps to help our own extended family members, our own flesh and blood.

The beginning of this should be in one’s own church. Showing love and caring for others can take place only if we can trust one another. It can take place only if we bring the trust to the level of participating in each other’s lives. Many people come to church to experience the love of God and the strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit through the life and acts of Jesus. Showing love and caring for all people who come to church from whichever background is a way of being in communion with them through the strengthening and life giving communion we have received in church.

How far can we take this and how thick is the blood of our relationship? There was a street dog which used to live in our part of the city two years ago. The dog was familiar to me because I used to feed him bones every once in a while. He disappeared all of a sudden and I didn’t see him anymore. Last week I was in another part of the city buying some food. While I was waiting and talking to a friend, I realized that a dog was coming close to me. He started wagging his tail and then let out a howl in greeting. I realized that this was the dog who I thought I would never see again. One has to realize that relationships are forged in different ways and with different species of God’s creation. Feed each other, be in communion and bring about a bond which is thicker than blood and this will never go away.

This then becomes the deeper meaning of the Eucharist. It is a sharing that teaches us to share whatever we have with whoever we come across. It simply does not end and this becomes a part of our lives. It is indeed right when Jesus says, whoever will come to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst. Amen.

(Excerpts of two sermons preached in the St. Ignatius JSO Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore and the St. John's English Chapel, Lingarajapuram, Bangalore.)

Picture courtesy www.lynn-a.blogspot.com

Christianity- The panacea to the ills of the modern world.

Respected fathers, judges, elders, parents and dear friends,
The topic Christianity- The Panacea to the ills of the modern world is apt for our lives. Every government in the world today is on the lookout for vaccines and medicines against various kinds of viruses and diseases. Things are getting out of control. This is when we need to go back to our scripture and traditions which offer the remedy for all the ills that plague the world today.

There are three things which human beings are afraid about. They are the death of God’s creation, the death of the human body and the death of the human character. Natural calamities have destroyed the world as we know it and have wiped out entire places from the face of the earth. People are dying of diseases which were unheard of and human beings are becoming morally weak. In the book of Genesis 9:11 God promises Noah and his sons “I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.” God demands faithfulness from Noah and his sons and in return promises God’s faithfulness to all of God’s creation. St. Augustine calls this God’s way of telling God’s people that God will take care of them if they listen to God’s commandments.

Humans all over the world are afraid of death and of the separation that it brings. We are trying our best to overcome death by making better vaccines and medicines. But viruses like the Ebola virus has shown us that one virus can wipe out an entire population. But Christianity does not stop with the body of a person but reminds every one of the soul and the importance of the soul. Jesus tells Martha in St.John 11:25 "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” The beauty of Jesus’ promise goes beyond the limitation of death and offers an everlasting solution to all who believe in him. Jesus assures us in St. Matthew 6:25-27 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Jesus further says in St. Matthew 6:33-34 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” St. Ephraim says “Blessed is he who has in the Lord become completely free of all earthly things in this troublesome life, and who has loved the good and merciful God.”

Christianity believes strongly in the morality and strong character of a person. The world that we live in has seen an increase in crimes against women and children. One reason for this is the lack of a moral code of ethic which teaches people that taking life and practicing violence is against our religion and conscience. Jesus Christ reminds us in St. Matthew 5:27-28 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery” but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” This strong moral ethic that Jesus preaches prevents a Christian from doing wrong against another human being. If one is a strong Christian, one will be a good human being. Jesus’ code of ethics is a model for us to follow to become good people.

To conclude let me say that Christianity is a strong belief in God and a strong code of ethic which when followed to the letter and spirit of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will offer us the ultimate panacea to the ills of the modern world. May we as youngsters and elders with the strong intercession of St. Mary and all the blessed saints apply prayer as medicine to our souls and offer ourselves as servants of God to dispel darkness and do away with the ills of the modern world. Amen.

(Can be used for speech/elocution competition in church.)

English service for a more inclusive church

Church has to be inclusive in every respect. Theological differences with regard to communion and beliefs always were a part of the church. But bringing people to church and making them feel the fellowship of acceptance, love and caring is what the church stood for and has to stand for. It is not in judging and keeping away but in accepting and including that the church stands apart from an organization or group. In Acts 8:26-38 Philip talks to the Ethiopian eunuch and they get into the water as a sign of their acceptance of Jesus.

The Jacobite church like many other churches has been stuck in the non-availability of a neutral space where any Jacobite Christian can come and pray. The net neutrality debate which was going on a month ago was about how the internet cannot be controlled and made into a place for a few but must be left free for people to come to and get what they want. Making churches language specific limit the coming in of our very own community members as they don’t understand what is going on but have no choice on offer before them. The liturgy as such used is very meaningful but unfortunately no one can understand very liturgical Malayalam. This questions whether the church can offer a platform of neutrality which the church should stand for and which will offer meaning to the church members. We are after all called to take care of everyone. Acts 20:28 says “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

It is an uncontested yet usually undisclosed secret that many members, young and old are keeping away from church because they do not understand the prayers. It should also be noted that there are people who flock to church to keep in touch with a culture that is highly being diluted both inside and outside Kerala. In this context it should be noted that making the liturgy used understandable and comprehensible is of utmost importance as otherwise the prayers will not make any effect on the congregation in a particular place. 1 Corinthians 12:14 speaks “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” Thus languages that are used and understood by people should replace one language whenever the need is felt. This is not to undermine a language but to say that the belief, faith and theology of the church are beyond any one language.

English could be one such language which can be used. At the same time other South Indian and North Indian languages should also be tried whenever it is needed and meaningful for the congregation. This will in essence be location specific and cannot be dictated by anyone. In South India, English becomes one language which can be used for a congregation which is multi lingual. English by default is a unifying language in India because as of yet we do not have a language accepted by people as national. Hence English services should be encouraged and started in cities and towns and this should be made a space where people can come to be part of a Syrian Orthodox service. Such spaces are simply not available at the moment. It is very interesting to note what Dalit ideologue Kancha Ilaiah says while discussing Dalit empowerment in India “My way of equality is English education. Even if 10% of our children got English education, the intellectual field would have changed. This country would have changed.” Upward mobility of people coming to church should be taken into consideration while doing worship services.

In those lines the Bangalore diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church under the leadership of its bishop H.G. Osthatheos Mor Pathros is starting an English congregation named the St. John’s English Chapel. Unlike how it was seen many decades ago, this is not anymore an experiment but a need of the hour. It is to bring people who are not going to church due to various reasons, back to church. It is also to offer other people who are already going to a church, the option of going to a church where they can understand completely what is going on. The Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church definitely affirms mystery as an integral part of its worship. But that does not mean that the worship in its entirety should not be understood by those attending it! It means that there are parts of the communion which go beyond human understanding.

The call for all to assemble and come to church is beautifully put in the song after the Nicene creed in the worship service.
Mercy here is full and free,
Come, beloved, come and see,
Give the kiss of peace divine,
Hearts sincere in love combine.
The success of such a worship service depends on several factors; the actual interest of the people being the last of the lot. It depends rather on how the service is done. Knowing every language is a skill and it should be studied to an extend where it can be used so that people who listen to it understand what it is. “It sounds like Greek to me” is a usage that one has not understood a word which was used because it was either not communicated properly or it did not make any meaning to the person who heard it. Similarly using a language is a skill which has to be developed in all seriousness and with great effort. Secondly, the success of such a service also depends on whether people know about it and whether those conducting it have made an honest effort to inform people of its existence. Clubbed along with this are the timings of such a service, continuity, team work and location.

Considering all such things one also faces the question “Are we ready?” When will we be ready? Another decade or two, five years? Maybe then it will be of no consequence anymore. A 40 odd year old man I talked to told me that he goes to one of the new churches offering a host of services. I asked him whether he was happy? He said that he actually was not. He did not agree with what was being preached but the only reason he continued to go there was that he understood to a great extend what the preacher was saying even though he did not agree with it. Will such people flock back to a congregation like this? Only time will tell. The only thing we can gauge now is the feelings of children, teenagers, youth and even those hovering around their half century of life. This then is not an effort to count numbers and then say this is a success but an effort in the right direction understanding the needs of people.

The church has always stood for the outcasts and the discriminated. The church is by itself struggling still with the issue of casteism but one should also realize that there has been a more internal problem of seeing as outcasts people from within as well. There are several inter caste marriages happening in the church. The couple starts living as one but then realize that there is nothing on offer for them from the church because one of them and sometimes both of them cannot understand the language used for service. A service such as this is meant also for such couples who have found themselves at the cross roads, having to figure out for themselves how they have to continue as Christians and as a Christian family.

Only time will tell whether a decision is right or wrong. But some decisions can never go wrong. They will only be perceived as wrong. I have a strong feeling that this decision by the Bangalore diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox church, which has received consent from the Holy Episcopal Synod in India, will fall in the latter category.




Poster design courtesy: Dn. Vineeth John Abraham

The service of Pentecost as renewal and hope for a spirited tomorrow

Come Holy Spirit, dwell inside us
Come Holy Spirit, renew us
Come Holy Spirit, make us a channel for your grace
Come Holy Spirit, may we accomplish the unthinkable

The service of Pentecost gives us the opportunity to renew the power of the Holy Spirit inside us. We have gained the Holy Spirit through the commitment of baptism. The bending of our knees is an acknowledge of our short comings and sinful nature and an invitation to God through the Holy Spirit to work inside us. Such opportunities are less in life.

The sprinkling of water is a cool breeze and energy of faith that splashes onto us the commitment to work hard for God and be blessed by God in return. The fact is that God never forsakes us. Jesus tells his disciples that when he leaves them, the Holy Spirit will come to guide and lead them. As the father God inspired him, he will inspire the Holy Spirit to guide us. He informs the disciples in St. John 14:1-3 that he will ensure a space for them in his father’s house. The one who works for God will never be let alone to wither away but will be send springs of grace to grow and become whole. No matter what, I am there for you, says the Lord God!

Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit also reminds us from St. John 15:15 that Jesus comes to the point of accepting his disciples and followers as his friends and as his equals in ministry. It is a call to them of their responsibility rather than a feeling of accomplishment of their elevation. He tells them that him calling them his friends also means that from now on they share the responsibility of working for the kingdom of God. Jesus says that this kingdom cares for the poor, nourishes the sick, looks after the elderly, accepts the outcasts, stands with the wrongly accused, and offers good governance for all which leads to just and equal prosperity for all. Jesus just does not elevate them but puts the glorious burden of ministerial responsibility on them. In St. John 15:13 Jesus says that no one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend. Ministry is a calling to see others as our friends and to go the extra mile for them, unto the point of even laying down our life for them.

Pentecost reminds us of team work and unity. There obviously cannot be various Holy Spirits and various views of the one Holy Spirit. What that means is that any difference of opinion of or about the Holy Spirit means a difference of opinion of people on how they see and experience the Holy Spirit and one another. So the service of Pentecost reminds us that we have to work together overcoming our differences. This cannot happen overnight but this is also not impossible. Responsibilities should be equally divided and given in a way that no one feels left out and the gifts of all are used. A call for unity is not to crush the spirit of diversity but to say that God in the form of the trinity is united and it is humans who bring about division. God cannot be divided from God’s own front but is divided by the narrow understanding of human beings.

The bending of knees and prostration during the service is an act of humility and repentance. It is to say that we are willing to unite under the wings of God. It is painful and difficult but it leads eventually to a wonderful unity which will do away with the pain and difficulties involved in kneeling. Accepting our differences and the fact that our difference of opinion is also a difference in understanding of one true reality is indeed painful but not wrong. The kneeling process makes us accept the pain and the knowledge that the pain will become happiness soon. It is indeed happiness that makes us arise in one accord and receive the droplets of water symbolizing the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is a great happiness of having being accepted into a single fold of children, women and men. In St. Mark 1:40 a leper comes, kneels before Jesus and says that “if you choose, you can make me clean.” Kneeling is a very inherent act of accepting from our very high positions that we are after all children of God and not beyond God.

The incident at the tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9 were confusion springs upon an over confident people, and the occasion of the Pentecost in Acts 2 when each understood in their own language what the disciples spoke, are contrasting in their approach. In the first case the people have figured out everything and they forget that an ambition of a few does not stand for the many. In the second instance the people do not know each other but are brought together by the Holy Spirit. One does not know where the spirit goes and how it leads. We bow before the Holy Spirit to be blessed with showers of blessing which become legible and understood by multiple sections of people.

The Pentecost is thus a time of renewal of our commitment to be filled by the Holy Spirit, to stir us to action always making us bow before God. Being accountable to no one and living a life beyond and above everything cannot make us members of a community who cares for one another. The Holy Spirit gives peace, assurance, guidance and happiness. The Holy Spirit also gives the strength to bow down and rise in expectation and hope that God is present inside us and whenever we bow before God, we will be raised from the ashes.

The service of Pentecost thus becomes a cool wind in the midst of testing times, problems, expectations, doubts and half truths. It is a washing of the body and soul. A sign that whatever has happened in our lives, we have God in the presence of the Holy Spirit to carry on with strength and hope. When the representative of God announces “Stand up by the power of God”, it is a nudge and a help to now get up and be assured that God is with us.

As is said in one of the prayers during the service of Pentecost “We pray You, 0 God, the comforter Spirit, by this sweet incense, beseeching the abundance of Your incomprehensible richness, that even now You be pleased to renew unto us Your divine gifts, and to rest upon us as You did upon the holy disciples in the Upper Room, divide among us Your heavenly presents, fill us with Your divine wisdom and with the doctrines of Your divine mysteries, make us temples for the dwelling of Your glory, grant us to drink to the full of the abundance of Your grace, satisfy us with the sublime richness of Your bright light, grant to us that we live to You and yield ourselves to You that we may, in purity and holiness, worship You, 0 God, the Comforter Spirit. Through You and by You we worship the hidden God, from whom You proceed, and the Son of Whom You take, now and forever. Amen”

Short speech for Sunday school competition

2 Peter 1:4: We are the partakers of divine nature. (Theme)
Nelson Mandela said that “Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.” Even when we see and experience things different we must be reminded of Genesis 1:27 which confirms that we have been created in the image of God. Human beings were created to share and work in the goodness of God. Yet whenever we move away from God, we start sinning and performing acts which are indifferent towards God.

Today societies all over the world are being corrupted through ungodly and unethical acts which are inhuman and terrorizing. 2 Peter 1:4 talks rightly of this corruption which has become a part of our existence in this world. It is a time to remind ourselves of our responsibilities and duties towards God and our fellow human beings and all of God’s creation. Our lust for various things has distanced ourselves from God and made us fall into a deep pit.

Holy Communion in church reminds us that the Holy Elements in the form of the body and blood of Christ are instilled in our forefathers and foremothers and by this they have been saved. Holy Communion is an act where we participate in God’s call for being like him through the institution of the Holy Communion by Christ Jesus. We are partaking of the divine and human nature of Christ Jesus by accepting the elements from the celebrant of the Holy Communion. In St. John 6:53-56 it says “So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” This truly means that Christ abides in us and just as he has saved our ancestors through this, he will also save us.

But we need to do further to be participants of the divine nature of God. Verses 5-7 of 2 Peter 1 explain how we need to go on by reminding us “ For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.” Chanakya said that “The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.” Human beings are not meant to corrupt and spread corruption, they are meant to spread the fragrance of God’s love.

Our society is being challenged by acts of terror, racism, hatred towards one another and narrow mindedness. Being God’s children should inspire us to do different. 1 John 3:17 points out that “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?” In such a time as this it is our responsibility to reach out and help all those who need our presence and help. It is not possible as ordinary human beings. But it is definitely possible because we can do the extra ordinary with God inside us. Bishop Desmond Tutu says “God's dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.” May God the only begotten son strengthen us by his presence inside us, may God the creator embolden us by the good measure of our ancestors and may God the Holy Spirit inspire us to look ahead towards the goodness that we are going to do. May we as partakers and participants of the divine nature reflect God’s goodness inside us. Amen.

(An example of a short speech for Sunday school competitions.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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

Maundy Thursday: Our small steps of commitment and faith

Maundy Thursday is celebrated the world over as a time for Christians to come together and partake in the communion of the body and blood of Christ. People who have confessed their short comings and have taken the decision of being at peace with one another flock to church to receive the communion set in motion by our Lord Jesus Christ. But what is indeed the significance of this communion or the Holy Qurbana (o) in church?

Jesus commits to his disciples and says that he wanted to have this meal with them before he suffers and that he won’t do this again till the fulfillment of the Kingdom. He then says the formulaic sentence followed by many churches up till today and announces that he is giving them his body and blood as a sign of the new covenant between God and human beings. We are all under this new covenant of commitment that Jesus makes to us. It is a commitment to suffer for the cause of many and to fight for all. As we partake of the body and blood of Christ we are also coming under this covenant and commitment to do good. For that we have pursued a tough time of cleansing ourselves of all things which are anti Christ. Today we then come forward in that commitment that as God has made a covenant with us we also make a covenant with God that we will do what God seeks of us, which is to be Christ like.

What could be the good expected of us? Isaiah 58:6-9 offers us a splendid idea. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.” We are bound to a commitment of doing specific things which are expected as part of our fast and commitment to God. It is a clear call to do good like Jesus chose to do. Fight injustice, let the oppressed go free, cover the naked, share our bread with the hungry and the Lord will hear our cry and say “Here I am.” Allowing the body and blood of Christ to work inside us is necessary as otherwise we only partake and nothing seemingly happens out of that. The wonderful opportunity to partake and to effect change brings about a true commitment from God to hear our cry and reply Here I am.

The partaking of the body and blood of Christ makes us enter into covenant with God and gives us the unique opportunity to be co-workers in God’s kingdom. The partaking is not a simple act of dealing with our short comings and coming forward to accept communion but steps of commitment and faith saying that I will heed to the wish of God to correct injustices in society and open my life to the poor and let the oppressed go free. Those small steps towards communion that we take are big steps of a commitment that I will contribute my bit to change the world that I live in. What a beautiful thought it is and what a wonderful commitment we share. Amen.

Praise to Thee, O Lord, To Thy Father Praise,
Worship, glory be To the Holy Ghost.
Grace and mercy be on us sinners all,
Opened be to us Zion’s gates above
May our pleas be heard at the throne of Christ.
Praise to Thee, O Lord, Praise to Thee, O Lord,
Ever praise to Thee, Our hope. God bless.


(Excerpts from a sermon preached in St. Ignatius JSO Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore during Pesaha service yesterday night.)
Picture courtesy www.lds.org

May peace burn our insecurities away.

Peace is difficult to comprehend especially when one comes across Jesus’ exhortation that “I have not come to make peace in this world.” What is peace and should we undertake an effort to understand and establish peace during lent?

Peace can be seen from the context of being peace that is available from God in times which are confusing and lost. “May the peace of God that exceeds all understanding be with you.” Peace need not make sense but peace also gives sense and direction during very confusing and difficult times. The loss of a dear one and the confusion and blankness it brings about cannot be settled with anything else but the soothing peace from God. This is a peace which is offered as a prayer to us in times of need.

Peace can also be seen from the context of what we offer to others as a negotiated and thought out offer and even a less thought out but never the less sincere offer. This is peace that seeks to do away with conflict and bring about an honoured, respectful and mutually enriching atmosphere of trying to live with each other. In the first case we receive unceasingly and in the second case we ask for continuously. Peace is an uninterrupted time of calm. But many a time it is a calm before a storm. It can also be that peace is what we see on the outside while the inside is brimming with unrest. What then can lent be in terms of peace? Is it a time where we try to be at peace with ourselves and others? Is it also a time where we are holding our emotions through lent or stoking our inner hurts so that we burn them out forever?

A woman or man of God can and should be peaceful. Proverbs 16:7 says “When a man’s (sic) ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Peace and trust in God go along side each other. One cannot do away with peace and maintain one is close to God because we are missing an integral part of God in our lives. It is not to remain quiet and bring about peace but to exorcise our inner demons and disturbing thoughts and bring about peace in the process. Peace is not at hand without suffering and Jesus reminds us of that. In St. John 16:33 he says ““These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Peace then becomes more than what we experience in this world. Maybe we won’t experience complete peace in this world. But the peace of God allows us to see a pattern to the suffering we face and to come out of it and have an inner peace initiated by God.

Peace then becomes not what is imposed on us. Lent should rather be a time to trust in the immense power of God to bring peace in us. It is an extended invitation to be at peace with ourselves and our contexts by being at peace with God. Philippians 4: 6-7 says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This is not what we can make sense of but what may pass all our understanding and yet bring understanding in our lives.

This lent we can try for such peace where we are brought into understanding our lives in terms of what God is doing for us. Peace is out of this world because it is difficult to accomplish but in our effort to do that peace becomes this worldly rather than other worldly. We can’t work on the short comings of others but we can burn our own insecurities and negative feelings and bring about a peaceful stillness after that. Lent offers us an opportunity to try for a peaceful existence by being at peace with ourselves primarily and calling upon God so that others be at peace with us. Amen.


Picture courtesy www.delta.edu

The bent woman as a lenten pointer to liberation

In the gospel according to St. Luke 13:10-17 the woman with an infirmity for 18 years catches Jesus’ attention in the synagogue while he is teaching there. Jesus tells her that she is set free of her ailment. She stands straight and praises God. Jesus sets right what is perceived as a promise which has been bent to the extent of breaking but still hasn’t been fulfilled. But despite Jesus doing what should have been done ages ago, the leader of the synagogue is bitter with Jesus for having cured on the Sabbath.

Did the leader want the woman to stand straight or did he not? Was his problem the Sabbath or the woman standing straight? Jesus calls this thinking hypocrisy. You got to do what you got to do! There is no special time for that. The liberation of people belonging to the lower strata of society and the problem of women being pushed away from the main stream is always set aside for an opportune moment.

This moment becomes promised liberation. Perhaps the woman was coming regularly to experience liberation. But she was denied it citing laws and regulations. It is in essence a feeling of having the cake (apple or bread) and not being able to eat it. Jesus changes this promise of liberation to actual liberation. Liberation cannot be words and promises blocked by culture, traditions and auspicious occasions. It has to be offered when someone seeks it through words, actions or even silence.

Jesus is angry at the lack of interest in the well being of the woman who has aspired to see and experience life like everyone else. When this takes place the community leader expresses his clear displeasure. Jesus exposes the leader’s actual problem though. Is it the Sabbath or is it what is done on the Sabbath that is problematic to the leader?

The ban on cow slaughter in a particular state in the country has brought in a lot of criticism. One strong criticism is that a cow has more protection in India than a woman. To make a more appropriate statement, a cow has more value than a woman! Jesus asks the community leader “Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?” 'And should not this woman be liberated?' Jesus points out a very similar point that we are facing in our age. Don’t women have the value of an animal?

Jesus’ reaction to the woman offers us a wonderful model to follow this lent. Liberation of the oppressed should be now and not later. Lent is an opportunity to say that our dietary restrictions are going to make us spiritually strong to raise our voice against the oppressions we observe in and around us. Lent is not a time to bow down but a time to allow Jesus to straighten us and liberate us. Amen.



Picture courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_healing_an_infirm_woman

Be human and forgive for a true Lenten experience

Forgiveness is a critical part of our spirituality which we are not able to control and use properly. The reason for this is that we are filled with expectations of what we want from various people around us. The closer people are, the more are our expectations. We also give to others expecting something in return. Lent cannot be a time when we lent ourselves to get something in return. It is a process of self-examination and self-cleansing whereby we let go of our expectations and are willing to forgive seventy-seven times or seventy times seven, meaning as many times as needed, almost till our expectations are extinguished.

In St. Matthew 18:21-22 Peter wants to know the rule to be followed. Jesus gives him the sense to be undertaken. Lent for us becomes a 50 day routine where we would like to fulfill certain prayer timings, diet restrictions and feel we have fulfilled something by doing this. Seldom do we realize and are willing to accept that lent is a big teacher of how we should conduct ourselves not just for 50 days but the rest of our lives. Peter wanted to be absolved and wanted to know that he was doing the right thing. Jesus puts up a new challenge in front of him and reminds him of the journey he has to undertake in all probability till death.

Forgiveness has to come from top to bottom and cannot be expected bottom to top. The one who wants authority, position and a place of honour has to go through the process of forgiving wholeheartedly and continually. So much that forgiveness will become part of one’s life and a natural reaction to what someone does to us. We are always trying to teach a lesson to someone and forget that lent is a time to teach ourselves first. We are not teachers who are supposed to punish and change someone but learners who are supposed to forgive and change ourselves. Perhaps what Jesus said to Peter is very important considering Peter was going to take up leadership in the church. This leadership according to Jesus could not be taken forward with rules but had to break the rules!

In today’s life forgiveness is one of the most difficult things for the clergy and laity alike. We simple refuse to forgive, and behave with others keeping something in mind well into the lent and well after it. Confessions are often filled with the disability to forgive and the final acceptance that “after all I am a human being!” Jesus becoming human for the sake of humanity shows us what a human being is capable of doing. Even as Jesus was human and divine at the same time, he suffered on the cross and felt the pain. He did not use his divinity to escape from or move beyond the pain. The “after all I am a human being” comment does not give us an excuse but rather puts a responsibility on us. Jesus reminding Peter is Jesus reminding us today that if we would like to develop, move forward and take over leadership roles, we have to claim the fact that we are humans and we are capable of forgiving instead of saying after all I (we) am a human being!

This lent it would be meaningful to try and write to people, talk to them over the phone, meet them, or even do something symbolic to suggest to them that we are indeed sorry for anything that we have knowingly or unknowingly done to them and reach out to those who are trying to say sorry to us and tell them that we forgive them for whatever misunderstanding has happened. This is not an act of meekness but an act of courage where we are willing to accept the power of humanity reignited in us by Christ Jesus. Jesus answers Peter and Jesus answers our lent today by telling us to forget and forgive. We are human and we are capable of forgiving. Amen.




Picture 1 courtesy www.rejuvenatingwomen.com
Picture 2 courtesy www.psychologytoday.com

The persevering woman who offers us crumbs of faith for Lenten sustenance

The Canaanite woman in St. Matthew 15:21-28 approached Jesus and asks him to heal her daughter. His disciples who resemble us tell him to send her away as she is an irritant and keeps shouting. Jesus in an effort to converse says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the story starts here. The woman expresses her faith which is unrelenting perseverance. She finds the solution to Jesus’ problem of not being able to look beyond where he has been sent. The woman in her desperation but with unrelenting perseverance points out that in breaking comes out the solution for the problem. There is enough for everyone and everyone has a right to sustenance. This she courageously points out to the amusement of Jesus. Perhaps it is her eye for detail based on her experience on running the household which makes her point out this wonderful solution.

It is interesting that Jesus’ disciples want to ease out the woman and Jesus states a fact. But the woman is not willing to give up. She identifies crumbs as the way out of the situation. Her daughter needs help and the very basic help of sustenance. But none are willing to offer her that. Is there a way out? No one else thinks so. But Jesus offers a rope to hold on to when he says that no one gives dogs what is meant for the children. This is a clear indication of reality. But the woman is not willing to give up. She goes on and expresses her resilient faith making Jesus remark “Great is your faith.”

There was a way out of the deadlock. Jesus offers a possibility and the woman changes it into her opportunity. The dogs live out of the crumbs from the master’s table. What faith indeed! As we celebrate International Women’s Day we should realize that men haven’t given women their due! Men continue to argue that it is not their work. Women have now come into the position of asking for their rights and what is justly theirs. We should understand that men have treated women as second class citizens. But can we continue like this? It is one thing to say that we should follow the cultural changes that are taking place in society. But we should also look at the message in the bible and how we have not been able to get the real message out.

Women have not even been offered the crumbs when in fact the table is equally theirs. We have been like the disciples showing eagerness to sideline the woman and branding her as an irritant. But in reality women deserve much more. Can’t we at least follow Jesus’ model of offering life to the woman by healing her daughter and offering much more than the crumbs? Isn’t lent a time of unrelenting perseverance and resilient faith? Shouldn’t God accept us and tell us “Great is your faith”? Or are we going to be stuck in the temporal limitations of what gender is perceived as?

Jesus could come out of it despite it being part of his culture, traditions and belief. His blessing is an acceptance of the woman and her faith. It is saying yes to the smartness, faith, perseverance and resilience of the woman. Can we on International Women’s Day do this and continue to do this on other days as well? Amen.


(Preached on March 8, 2015 in St. Ignatius JSO Church, K. R. Puram, Bangalore.)

First picture courtesy www.healingmoments.com
Second picture courtesy www.lucascleophas.nl

Value education for a value enhancing lent

Values are a part of human life. We learn values from parents, peers, friends, teachers and the church and other religious places. Values are important for every generation to be in touch with each other and to show interest in all aspects of their life. Media education is done in some schools to make children media literate. Similarly value education can be done to make children well versed in values and how we should live life. Values are regard of what is important in life. When the things that you do and the way you behave match your values, things are good.

Values help us decide what job to choose, what compromises we should make and whether we should be traditional or have a modern outlook to life. Value education is the process by which people give value to others by way of education at home, in schools, colleges and religious places. Value education helps people determine how to treat others, what is respect, who are the old and new and what attitude to follow in life. Value education sometimes becomes a part of Sunday school education in churches but can also be a part of special education done in churches and schools.

Lent becomes a good time to help everyone to focus on what their values are and whether they are following it in their lives. It is also a time to introspect as to what our values really are and whether we have been misled into wrong values. It is a time when we can check all that we have been doing and would like to do in the future.

March 8 is International Women’s Day. How do we teach about women as part of value education in schools and religious places? Are women supposed to be looked down upon, weak and befitting protection from men or are women equal to men and befitting respect from men for who they are? Value education helps us to identify what we have been doing and how women have been portrayed in our text books. The furore over the documentary “India’s daughter” mentions such things as our culture, our women, our dignity. But what are women and how should be they treated in this country? Is there a value education for all children where boys especially are taught that girls are equal to them and the same creation of God? Or are religious places and education institutions getting it wrong somewhere?

How could an incident like December 2012 happen where a young girl and promising doctor Jyoti Singh was brutally killed and the perpetrators feel that she was being taught a lesson in values? What values do Indian culture and religious culture portray if this is the case? Can we escape by saying that we are not part of this or should we wake up this lent to say that we will teach good values to our children so that such incidents don’t repeat themselves in modern day India? 1 Timothy 4:7-8 says “Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

How can such brutal acts happen in India you ask yourself and then you ask “How can such inhuman acts happen daily in a place which calls itself very religious”? This lent we have to as men, women, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters introspect what our values are. Are we a brutality waiting to happen? Can we train ourselves in Godliness and factor in the value of human life and all its complexities? May lent help us to instill values in us and regain the lost values inside us. Jyoti do, jyoti do, jyoti do Prabhu. Jeevan do, jeevan do, jeevan do Prabhu. (O Lord, give light. O Lord, give life.)

Lent to love: Valentine to Va(Wow)-lent-time!

We have already entered into another blessed lent looking at ourselves and trying to figure out where we stand. This initiative of the UTC worship committee is indeed a good one as it gives a time for a theological community like ours to pray for each other and pray for ourselves. There is sometimes a mis-notion that theologians and pastors need no prayers. We all need prayers and we all need to know that we are not perfect and that lent is a time to work on our faults and accept others with their faults because in accepting others we are accepting ourselves!

As an introduction we are looking at traditions which continue to live in our midst but will also look at how traditions have evolved and why this is an important aspect of tradition itself. Valentine’s day came with no preplanned bang before the start of lent in some of the Christian denominations. So much that it was an emotional drain on youngsters to start off lent because they were wasted even before the start of lent.

But the Valentine’s day tradition offers us a link to lent and a reason to lent as well. This we understand from the story behind Valentine’s day. The Emperor issues an edict that soliders should preferably not marry as this would make them weak soldiers and if at all they could have several women so that they would love none. Valentine took the risk of marrying couples in love and thereby also gave them the opportunity to be committed to one another. The Emperor jails Valentine and he heals Julia, the daughter of the jailor Asterius. Before his execution he writes a letter to her and signs off as Your Valentine. Interestingly the heart, and the love have been taken over by a commercial frenzy on February 14 and the sacrifice and real purpose of Valentine have been left behind. Perhaps it will serve us well to pick up the crumbs and understand lent through that.

Va-lent-time is an exclamation that this is something we do by our own will and that this is something we do diversely. Every Christian tradition has some form of lent and that cannot be discounted in any way. Every Christian tradition also understands that lent has several things to offer them and through diet, manner, character and life restrictions each one tries by himself or herself to lent and live. The Orthodox (Syrian, Oriental and other) churches fast, lent and give alms and pray that lent without practice of alms giving and helping the poor is no lent at all. The idea is not to be self righteous though it is misconstrued that lent makes one self righteous. On the other hand lent makes one humble, self critical and analytical. Food restrictions are to tone down desire on several levels as prayer for the soul over food for the body takes center stage.

This lent in UTC we are trying to figure out sins which we are committing and which we have to stop doing by fasting and praying. They are sins against humanity and community. This is a perfect time to tell ourselves that we are sinning and we need help to stop. It is not a lent to rectify and renew others but a lent to change and offer a leash of life to oneself. St. John Chrysostom says that “It is folly to abstain all day long from food, but fail to abstain from sin and selfishness.” Lent to love is to love ourselves to the point of saving ourselves to offer food and nourishment to others.

Churches should become the best place one wants to go to. Pastors should be the first person someone wants to meet at a difficult time. Lent can help for attaining this goal. But the biggest corruption of lent has been to think that lent makes us better than someone else and our lent is the best and most perfect lent. If we start thinking like that our lent has been wasted. Stop abusing lent and start loving it.

Get dirty this lent
Undergoing lent and the thoughts that we have while doing it are the reverse of what we have on mind. St. Luke 5:12-16 talks of the person with leprosy who asks Jesus to make him clean. We usually try to make ourselves clean during lent. Our practice of lent is to have diet restrictions, prayers and a life style to suggest that we are clean by ourselves and cleaner than others. There is an addiction towards being clean and more so to be cleaner than others. But what does Jesus do? What was he supposed to do? He was in all probability expected to ignore the person with leprosy because Jesus was clean while the leper was perceived as un clean.

But the clean Jesus does an interesting thing by stretching out his hand and touching the unclean person. This is a true model for Lenten practice. If we cannot offer cleanness to others our cleanness becomes suspect. The entire essence of purity, cleanness and holiness somehow prevents us from reaching out to those who are branded as impure and un clean. This important observation of reality has to be part of our Lenten experience. Jesus gets dirty and also reflects a certain ughhh from people to suggest that he did something which was not acceptable. We have it as part of our sermons but such dirty acts of faith which are actually good acts of faith are left in the script and don’t go to the field.

The eeeggh and uuuggghhh have to be part of our process of getting mud on our hands during lent so that we are prepared for real ministry. Identifying inward beauty is something we haven’t been able to grasp despite knowing fully well that our spiritual guidance suggests us that. Love cannot be limited to what we are taught is beautiful. Love has to be acts of love like Jesus showed. It did not matter to Jesus how the person looked anymore. Can lent bring about such love? Can we lent ourselves so that love indeed becomes blind as they say it?

Fasting against corrupt practices
Lent is a protest. When everything is accepted and goes a certain way it is to say that I don’t want to be part of a uniform way of thinking as I feel this could be disruptive of the gospel. Protest is not a bad word. Perhaps the images in our mind of protests which have become violent make us identify the word protest with something bad. Protest is to say that there is another way of doing things and we would like you to try it out. St. Mark 2:1-12 contains the story of a unique protest. Four people bringing a paralyzed man discover that they cannot bring the man to Jesus because of the crowd and so they find a unique way of letting him to Jesus. Jesus is impressed and helps the man. There has to be a discernment to do good whenever possible. Lent is a time when we enable ourselves to able others.

We usually talk a lot about lent and sometimes it even sounds like we are doing it because someone is forcing us to. But there are others who are not forced by anyone and yet commit to lenting their own lives. Irom Sharmila is one such courageous woman who has fasted for 15 years of her life starting from November 4, 2000. When many of us complain and undergo the lent experience because it is a part of our traditions, Sharmila has made a tradition out of her fast against unjust structures. Her fast is not for her self glory and purification. It is for the repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur. Her usual practice of fasting once a week in her usual life turned into a lifetime fast because she protested against the killing of innocent people from her state. What do we call her fast? Is our fasting and are our lents close to the deep spirituality of Irom Sharmila’s fast where she has made herself into a vegetable for the sake of others?

The people carrying the paralytic get a deep sense of spirituality to break the line and do something so that justice may be gained. This then becomes a traditional endeavor for us to follow. Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed for the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern, what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect. Irom Sharmila has proved that love goes beyond love of the self into uncertain and unknown territory. The people carrying the paralytic where going through unknown territory and yet love makes them do something so crazy that even they had no logical explanation for it. Can we lent that we become crazy enough to follow Christ through unknown ways?

Depriving ourselves of unjustifiable cravings
St. Luke 6:31 says “Do to others as you would have others to do to you.” Deprivation is a part and parcel of traditional lent. But deprivation is not an act of weakness but an act of strength where we give up something so that those who are deprived may have it. We crave for a lot of things but many a time these cravings are not justified. They are what we take from others and have. Can we take from others and justify that? We obviously can’t and lent becomes a time when we can say that I would like to deprive myself of these unjustifiable cravings which deprive someone else of what is their share.

Lent becomes something to undertake, the stronger you are. This could be a reason why children, elderly folk and even nursing mothers are allowed to skip lent in some traditions. Lent is something you do in your strength and not in your weakness. It is what we give away and not what we take away. If we have received out of lent it is not completely justified. If on the other hand we have given away out of lent, it is justified. It goes along with the song “The weak say I am strong and the strong say I am weak.”

Lent in this sense is not a sadistic effort at saying we have done something great but a spiritual effort in saying that we have tried to become what God wants us to be and this is not sacrifice but the way God wants it to be. 1 John 4:8 says “Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.” How clear a verse this is, how truthful an advise this is?

Lent becomes our natural action towards loving others, caring for others and ensuring God’s justice to be done. It is our deep spiritual engagement with God by loving others and letting them know that we are depriving ourselves of unjustifiable cravings so that they may have and have abundantly. We are invited to love and love beyond anything we know. Amen.


(Preached yesterday in the UTC Ziegenbalg chapel, Bangalore for the first Lenten Lantern service.)