Random Thoughts of a Clergy on a Faith Journey

2012-12-29T05:18:00.001-08:00

The Journey 363

Saturday, December 29

Read; John 4. Luke 13: 10-20

It is a sad day today for all of us, to all those who claim that they are Indians. A day when we hang our head in shame. A day when I feel angry, hurt and anguished. The reason for this anger and pain, the death of a 23 year old girl, at the hands of some of the most sadistic elements living today in the society. A nation that prayed so fervently for a girl who was fighting a losing battle not only with respect to her health but also the laws of the land and a corrupt system. A girl who at her death bed tells her parents that she wanted to live, but it was fight against hope. I believe we all are in one way responsible for her death. Thus as she lay battling for her life, first in a hospital in Delhi and later in the multispecialty hospital in Singapore, it was millions of Indians also battling not only with the law enforcement agencies, politicians and male chauvinist and misogynist, but also fighting within themselves thinking and wrestling to as to how one could live in this country upholding the dignity of woman, the girl child, thus making every space in the nation a safe place. She leaves with us her pain, her cry for help and her determination to live and fight against unjust systems, the fight against insensitive people. Though dead, her voice cries out "let this not happen to anyone anymore". As the girl was battling for her life, it was baffling and strange that people from all corner were trying to hog the limelight, some by either consciously or unconsciously making derogatory statement, while some in the media acting as if they are the watch dogs of justice and gender equality, abusing power at all levels. There are times in life when some experiences convict you, even when you are far away from those experiences in person. I think the death of this young girl is a tragic experience that we Indians will have to live the rest of our life with the feeling that we all were part of the system that perpetrated this crime. But then rather than being cynical it is imperative that each one us take certain radical decision in our life which will help all of us in the creation of domain both public and personal, where every "space" both public and personal is a space where woman is respected and she is always affirmed for her individuality and identity, and an affirmation not based on gender and her right to live with dignity, where dignity and right to live is not defined by the by the so called male chauvinist or the misogynist that is there in the society and within each one of us.

One of the hallmarks of the ministry of Jesus Christ was that he consciously affirmed the rights of the less privileged at that specific time of history. As we meditate on the theme "Transformed Living" let us meditate as to how Jesus becomes a model to all of us in the creating of new order, a silent revolution so that we all engage in building of family, church and a society, where the dignity and the rights of woman and the girl child is affirmed and respected at all cost. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from John 4 and Luke 13: 10-20. When we observe the public ministry of Jesus Christ we find that even as he was engaging in a dialogue with the Samaritan woman [John 4] or engaging in a confronting dialogue with the male teachers of the law as they came to condemn and punish a woman who was caught in adultery, he deliberately took the side of the oppressed woman to teach other and also to convict them that he stands for a new order, he stand for a kingdom where gender, race is affirmed and that no one because of his/her gender or race will be discriminated or abused. One of the ways that Jesus affirmed the rights of woman was that he would always do certain things symbolically while encountering woman. Symbols that were powerful, symbols that showed to the world, what he stood for and what his values and focus of ministry was. In Luke 13: 11, we find Jesus touching the woman who was completely bent over, and on another occasion [ Mark 5: 25-33] forcing a woman who was healed because she touched his the cloak, to come in the presence of everyone and declare that she was the one who was healed. In another instance he touches the dead body of the son of widow at Nain [ Luke 7:13] and comforting her and then raising the dead boy to life. On all these occasion Jesus used action like placing hand on the bent woman, giving a woman a place in the centre, touching the dead body, action that were detested, actions that were not socially and culturally and religiously un acceptable. It is in these form of counter actions and symbols that Jesus brought a change in the existing discriminatory laws in the religious and the social life of the Jews. Our Lord teaches us this day that we also can do certain symbolic actions in our own life, in our personal and public space where we consentize others that we stand for the dignity and affirmation of woman, and that we will oppose anything that are discriminatory. With the death of the 23 year old woman, every Indian would be thinking what can I do as an individual to bring about change and transformation in the society and I think Jesus Christ teaches us that let us as individuals in our own free will and in our space and time, do thing symbolically that affirms the right and dignity of women, symbolic actions though small and silent which could be a catalyst for a systemic change and transformation.

2012-12-28T05:39:00.001-08:00

The Journey 362

Friday, December 28

Read: Luke 2: 41-52

One of the hallmarks today in the life of many individuals is the journey to religious places. Christians all over the world plan the holy land tours and there are people including clergy and pastors who has taken upon themselves of arranging holy land tour as a part of their vocation. People of every religion wants to undertake a pilgrimage journey where they visit sites that has significance to their religious beliefs. The news agency Huffington Post has released a list of places that people love to visit as a part of their spiritual pilgrimage throughout the world. The places are the following. The visit to the Ganges in India is the first on the list. It is believed that about 20 million people vast the Ganges river, as they consider that this river represents life, purity and goodness. The second pilgrimage site is Mecca, where approximately about 13 million Muslims visit as a part of the spiritual pilgrimage. The third pilgrimage site is the Golden Temple in India, where on an average about fifty thousand people visit every day, and this temple is the holy place of the people of Sikh faith. Next on the list is Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico city, which is considered as the most popular Marian shrine in the world and where about 10 million people visit every year. The Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir in India is next on the list where over 8 million people visit this religious site every year. The Lourdes in France is next on the list and this is the place where Catholics celebrate the Virgin Mary's ascent to heaven. Next on the pilgrimage list is the Bahai Gardens in Northern Israel where about half a million people visit. The next on the list is the Vatican, the holy place for the Catholics, with its various monuments to various saints and place of the Pope, all circled around and a place where about 4.2 million people visit every year. Jerusalem is next on the list, as this is an important place for the Jews, Christians and the Muslims. The birth place of Jesus Christ, the city of Bethlehem is next popular pilgrimage place on the list where about 1.4 million people visit this city and its surrounding historical sites. Machu Picchu a mountain top in Italy is the next site that people visit more frequently. Machu Piccchu is an Incan pilgrimage site and a large number of people come to spend time in this picturesque mountain top. Next on the pilgrimage site is Rumi's tomb in Konya, Turkey. About 2 million people visit this site which is the place of the tomb of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. The Bodi tree is the another famous pilgrimage site where about 1 million people visit this site, the place where Buddha meditated for 49 days before he attained enlightenment. The next and the last important site is Stonehenge in southern England, a site that consists of mysterious circle of upright stones. Thus people of all religion or of no religious belief undertake a journey of pilgrimage, but the question that one needs to ask is how does this visit whether a pilgrimage which could be just casual or holiday have an impact on our Christian life. Does these visit bring about change and transformation or is these visit more of a holiday or is it just blind following of certain religious traditions of faith.

Any journey that an individual undertakes in relations to getting to know the roots of one's faith should help us to have new perspective about our faith living and only then can we consider these types of journey faith-fully significant. Even Jesus undertook a journey of pilgrimage. This journey is found in Luke 2: 41-52 and this is the portion that we shall meditate today in our devotional journey "Transformed Living". One of the hallmarks of this passage is that Jesus is going to temple along with his parents in his young age to celebrate the festival of Passover. There are lots of requirements that each Jewish family has to do when they undertake this annual pilgrimage to the temple of Jerusalem and I believe both Joseph and Mary might have communicated to Jesus the various requirement of the Mosaic laws. One of the most unique aspect of the journey of Jesus to the temple was that He uses this journey of pilgrimage to engage in dialogue with teachers of the law and we find in Lk 2: 46, that he was sitting among the teachers of the law, listening to them and asking them questions. Here is Jesus Christ unmindful of things happening around and discussing seriously his faith issues with teachers of the law. We need to remember that at this time, his parents had already left the temple and had started their return journey. Jesus it seems was so engrossed in his discussion with the teachers of the law that he seems to have forgotten that he was supposed to be in the close company of his parents. That is why when Mary returns in search of the missing Jesus, and finds him discussing with the teachers of the law, she is upset and she ask Jesus as to why He did this to them, as to why He treated them like this, because they were so worried about him. That is when Jesus gives the most astounding reply "Don't you know that I should be in my Father's house"?. Jesus with this reply tells his mother that his pilgrimage is all about helping him with his vision and ministry that He has to do in his Father's vineyard. The annual journey to Jerusalem bring in the life of Jesus, a vision for his future ministry and thus He is able to prepare himself to work in the ministry that God the Father had prepared for Him. Until and unless we are renewed in life and has a new vision for our ministry, all journey whether to the church or to the religious places has no significance. Let us pray that God will always equip us with his vision whenever we undertake a faith journey.

2012-12-28T05:38:00.003-08:00

2012-12-26T05:10:00.001-08:00

The Journey 360
Wednesday, December 26
Read: Luke 15: 11-32
I am sure you all had a wonderful celebrations of Christmas yesterday, with gathering of family and friends, along with traditional Indian cuisines. One of the hallmarks of celebration of Christmas is the exchange of gifts. Gifts that symbolizes our love and our care to the giver. That is why children love Santa one of the symbols of Christmas celebrations, because in a mythical way Santa gives them the gift that they want most desperately. It is in this context that one of the news item written by Hannah Furness in news agency The Telegraph caught my attention. A survey was done recently as to know what will be the present or gift that children would want the Santa to give them this Christmas and the answers surprised the people who undertook the survey. The gifts that the children wanted varied. The gifts that were most sought after were live reindeer, pet horse, car, dog and other animals, while some children went a little far fetched imaginative by asking for moon, a time machine, while some even wanted Eva Longoria, snow and so on. I pad and I phones also was on the list. But what was the most strangest and cute need that the children expressed and one which topped the list was not these material things. The need or the gift that topped the list of the most wanted gifts for Christmas from children of British parents was that they wanted a “Dad”. Along with “dad” they also wanted a new baby brother or sister. Children in Christmas asking Santa that what they need most in life is their dad or they wanted an addition in their family in the form of a sibling. Does this survey highlight anything about the needs of our children or is it just a need to the children of the British parents?. I think it does. Behind the joy of every celebration lies the fact that there are individuals or children who would want to cry out and shout to the world that these celebrations sometimes are meaningless until my life is truly blessed with a gift that is truly a blessing and what can be a bigger gift to our children than giving them the love, care and support from parents especially dad. The exchanging of material gifts during Christmas may be important but more important is in strengthening of our bonds of our family that makes any celebration especially Christmas more significant and more meaningful. Hence this season can we do some introspection in our life so as to check whether we truly strengthen our family relationship so that we don't reach a state in our family life where our children are forced to ask imaginary individuals like Santa that they need a “Dad”.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 15 . Many authors have referred this passage not only as the story of the prodigal son but this is also referred as the story of a loving father. What make the character of the father in this parable so powerful and a paradigm for many of the parents especially father’s of today. In an Indian context where rule and authority of father is sometimes seen as unquestionable, the father in this parable is very different. When his youngest son ask for his share, there is no arguments between the father and son that usually occurs in an Indian home. “ Don't you know, I struggled hard to earn this kind of money and how dare you ask your share, don't you have any shame”…..dialogues like these or various other kinds can occur in any family when a son who is hardly in in his teens gathers courage or become so audacious to ask for the share of his property. But the father in this parable does just the opposite. He grants the wish of his youngest son. What does that reflect of the father. Was he not concerned of his son’s future and was he not worried and angry that his money or his financial empire that he built so painstakingly being wasted by a son who has no concern for the feelings of the father nor the hard work that he had put all these years to raise his son and also make the family financially sound?. But here is a father who allows his son to take a risk, a father who allows his son to explore the wide world and personally evaluate as what is greatest treasure in this earth. The son feels that the greatest joy and treasure in life is to enjoy life with all the money in hand, life to spent in the company of friends and tasting the good things of life. A life where there is no boundaries, a life where you don't have someone to dictate over you just like your dad and mom. But in the end of the son’s adventure with life, he realizes that the greatest treasure was not in a life lived without any boundaries nor a life where you don't have any one to correct you, on the contrary a life is wonderful when there are boundaries, when you have a dad who is there to correct, but more lucky if you have a dad who gives you the freedom to explore the world, find out the truths of life by yourself, risk your life so that hard truths of life are learnt daily. I think the father in this parable was ready to help his child to understand that the true value or gift that you have in this world is your family. Your parents, your children or ones family as a whole. But somehow today we as parents or dad do not allow our kids to live independent lives, lives where we help them to sometimes risk their life so that they learn valuable lesson in life. For many of us parents we tend to be very over protective and even after our kids have got married and settled down we still have no qualms in meddling in their life. This Christmas season let us give our children not only gifts but also give them the true value of what it means to be in family, where they have the freedom to explore, the freedom to be oneself, the freedom to risk so that through all these exercise the true and greatest gift that God gave to us “The family” is truly understood by the next generation.

2012-12-25T03:27:00.001-08:00

The Journey 359
Tuesday, December 25
Read: Mathew 2: 1-12
Carols are an integral part of our Christmas celebrations. Most of the carol songs have certain significance behind the writing of these songs and when we understand the context behind the writing of these songs, and the faith perspective in which these carols were written, our singing of those carols and celebrations of Christ event becomes more special. One of the famous carols that many choirs love to sing during Christmas is the carol “Twelve days of Christmas”. It was only recently I came across a wonderful compilation about the history of this wonderful song by Austin Miles in his blog. Austin Miles states that the carol, Twelve days of Christmas which has baffling lyrics like the true love giving a pear tree, swimming swans, leaping lords, French hens has an interesting story and a deep meaning behind the lines. According to Mills, when one studies the events in history when the song was written, the period between 1558 to 1829, that was a time when Christians were not permitted to practice their faith openly. As a result of this persecution, an anonymous Christian wrote this song of twelve days of Christmas as a catechism for the young Christians who wanted to know more about Christian faith. The carol has two levels of meaning. The plain meaning that one can get from the song and secondly the hidden meaning which was known only to the members of the church, which they used to communicate by singing this carol. Each element in the carol has a code word for the religious truth that the children needed to remember as they began studying the elements of Christian faith. According to Austin Mills, the hidden meaning of each of the symbol in the song is the following. One partridge in a pear tree refers to Jesus Christ. Two turtle doves refers to the Old and New Testament, while three French hens refers to Faith, Hope and Love. Four calling birds in the carol referred to gospel of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Five golden rings recalled the Torah or the first five books of the Old Testament. Six geese are laying stood for the six days of creation while the seven swans a swimming stood or represented the seven fold gifts of the Holy Spirit, viz; prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership and acts of service or mercy. Eight maids a milking referred to the eight beatitudes while nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Sprit which were Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control. Ten Lords a leaping refers to the ten commandments while eleven pipers stood for eleven disciples. Finally the twelve drummers referred to twelve point of beliefs in the Apostles creed. These interpretations may sound strange to us and we may not know the actual truth behind these lines. But yet this interpretation bring to the fore the passion the early believers had to communicate the good news of our Lord and his ministry to others. In today’s times where we do not have any hindrances nor restrictions on the way we practice our faith, Christmas for many of us degenerates to the blind following of certain celebrations or symbols without truly understanding or comprehending the richness of its meaning nor faith behind the advent story. It is only when truly understand the significance of the symbols or the message behind the carols, only then can our celebration that we do this Christmas day become truly richer and meaningful.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 2: 1-12. This is the portion where we find the journey of the wise men. The symbol that they use in their search to find Jesus Christ is a star. It is the star that lead them on the sojourn, in their journey to behold the new born child who is prophesied as the king and the messiah. The journey with the star takes them on different routs, meeting people especially the encounter with King Herod. But finally the star takes them to the spot or the place where Jesus was laid; in a manger. The star as a symbol fulfills its purpose of guiding the wise men in their journey to encounter Christ. Here are wise men who are basically seekers, trying to know and gauge as to who this child is who is being prophesied as the King of the Jews. The journey begins with an intellectual exploration with the help of celestial objects. When the exploration begins there is no relationship as such between the explorer and the person being explored. But once the star takes them to Baby Jesus, the wise men submit their gifts as an act of reverence, bow down, worship him and then they depart on an entirely new route. Three people who are guided by the star, three people who are on a journey to encounter a new born baby. But the moment they encounter the baby, the response of these wise men is to bow down and worship, because the intellectual search has ended now with the experience of seeing the presence of God in their midst. I think this is what every celebration of Christmas should finally lead to. All the symbols and celebrations that we have for Christmas need to point to our Lord and the celebrations should help us to encounter our Lord in our life. When we are able to do that then the response from us should be to bow down and worship because we have experienced His presence in our life and in history. If this Christmas we have not been able to experience the presence of Christ in our lives and if the celebrations does not lead us to an encounter of his presence then all our celebrations are only a dead celebrations, celebrating certain dead and blind traditions that has neither meaning nor faith element in it. I hope and pray that all our celebrations lead us to experience the presence of God in our life, which make us to fall down, offer ourselves and worship him.

2012-12-24T06:36:00.001-08:00

The Journey 358
Monday, December 24
Read: Mathew 2: 13-23
The women in India are rallying together these days not only to champion the cause of sexually assaulted girl who is lying in a very critical condition in Delhi, but also for tougher punishment for convicted sex offenders. As these woman in India are fighting for a common cause another woman in this part of the world is also fighting for a cause and a recovery that the world is watching. She appeared first on the cover of August 2010 Time Magazine and her story was highlighted by CNN last week. Her name– Aesha Mohmmadzai, and what was shown on the Times magazine cover was the picture of her disfigured face. Today the face of the Aesha is the representation of Afghan woman. One who through her face showed the world what it means to suffer not only for being a woman but also the oppression when a woman does not toe the line of powerful male hierarchy and the religious fanatics in Afghanistan. The life experiences of this girl is tragic. When she was 12 years old, Aesha’s father promised her to a Taliban fighter as a compensation for killing a member of that family. Aesha was married at the age of 14 to this Taliban fighter and she was constantly subjected to different kinds of abuse. She bore all these abuse and one day when she was at the age 18 she ran away from her in laws, but she was caught by the police, jailed and returned to her family. Her father returned her to her in laws. To take revenge on her escape, her father in law, her husband and three other family members took Aesha to a mountain, cut of her nose and her ears and left her to die. But somehow the aid workers found her and her story first appeared on Daily Beast in 2009, while Time carried an article on her with a corresponding article “Afghan women and return of Taliban”. When the world knew her story the Grossman foundation in California pledged to perform the reconstructive surgery on her and began filing the visa process. She finally came to US two years back where an Afghan family Mati Arsala, his wife Jamila adopted her to their family. Aesha had never been to school and since she had gone through trauma for the last 10 years it was important that she had to be prepared both physically and emotionally for the reconstructive surgeries. Thus last two years under the constant care and support of the Afghan family, Aesha is going through the reconstructive surgeries this week. Hopefully she will have a reconstructed nose and ears as he enters the new year. As the world watches in bated breath, the progress of this young woman, this Christmas she represents those people especially the women folks who have always been subjected to undergo various abuse and horrors in life, where even the basic human right and dignity have been denied to them. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I believe the Lord comes to us in the form of Aesha and host of battered woman seeking help and a place in our life, woman who are battered and are running daily in their life experiences from their abusers. This Christmas let us ask ourselves how can we make our Christmas celebrations more meaningful in the light of all these atrocities that happen daily in front of our eyes.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 2: 13-23. When we read the whole story of God becoming man, the birth narrative is full of human rights issues, problems, predicament and suffering. Both Joseph and Mary go through different upheaval in life even before they get married and they have to resolve issues about ones fidelity, honesty and integrity. But God speaks to them and leads them in their times of uncertainty and at time when they were confused as to why all these things were happening. When angel tells Mary that “With God all things are possible” [ Lk 1: 37], I feel she began trusting God in all things and may have felt that with that assurance given by the angel, everything in life would be now in order. But her ordeal had only begun. They are suddenly displaced as they have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem since Ceaser Augustus had issued a decree about the census. This made them a wandering traveler and that too at a time when she was supposed to take rest and prepare for the safe delivery of the child. After going through different form of suffering, the baby is born and that is when the family is displaced again, now it is not only Joseph and Mary but baby Jesus too. A family with a young child is asked again to move to another country Egypt because of a sinister plan of King Herod to kill baby Jesus. Thus again the family go through the routine of suffering, predicaments, having to live on the mercy of others. But then in the midst of all these suffering, there is the hand of God in every experiences of their life. You can find how God protects the Nazareth family though they go through such traumatic experiences in life. The Nazareth family represents all those families and women who are subjected to trauma and displacement, families and other individual and women who have to fight so as to at least have some element of human dignity and right to live. As we celebrate Christmas let us spare a thought for women like Aesha, the woman who lies in a critical condition in Delhi, families who are displaced and who are running pillar to post so that they can live with dignity and peace. It is when we accept these people, we are actually also opening our inn to a family who is seeking a place so that can they can give birth to our Lord.

2012-12-22T06:04:00.002-08:00

The Journey 356
Saturday, December 22
Read: Mathew 1: 18-25, Ephesians 5: 22-28
Two countries are united together in totally different diverse yet a common issue affecting humanity. The shooting at Newtown brought together in harmony everyone in United States, about sharing the grief of families in Newtown. As this nation stands united, my motherland India, is also united together, in a unity of protest. People all across the nation are coming together in one accord to protest against the recent sexual assault against a 23 year old para medical staff, who was sexually assaulted in a travelling bus. What really brought shock and anger in the common man is the brutality that was associated in this particular sexual assault. The girl and her friend boards a wrong bus and the moment they are in the bus, the male friend is assaulted in a brutal way and then thrown onto the road, while the girl is assaulted sexually in a moving bus. Her ordeal does not end there, once the perpetrators finish sexually assaulting her, they also physically inflict severe injuries on her whole body and finally throwing off the bus so casually just as some of us in India throw trash on to the roads. She lies bleeding, without any protective cover neither on her body nor from anyone and finally just as in the climax of Hindi movies, the cops come when everything is over. They take her to the hospital. When the nation hears about this sordid crime, the conscience of the ordinary citizen is aroused. The country is still seeing huge protest all over the different states from Kerala to Delhi and some even going to the extent of asking everyone to sign a petition for bringing a new law which requires death by hanging for a person who is convicted of sexual assault. I think what everyone wants to see is that the place that they live, the family environment, the society and the nation is free from violence against woman. Can we stop the violence against woman by just bringing a law that grants capital punishment to the perpetrators of sexual assault?. I think we need to move in a very comprehensive way. It is not only the laws that will help, but we need to understand that we live in a society where there are certain cultural norms and certain mind sets that still is the basis of human behavior, the kind of nurturing in our families and human relationship. Until we address these issues and the values that are prevalent in our family, the mindset that is prevalent in both male and female, we may not be able to move forward not only to end violence against woman but also in the process of creating a society where every individual irrespective of his/her sex is respected and affirmed. How can we as Christians play this empowering role in our society especially in these times of advent so that we become channels of change in the cultural mindset, the religious belief system so as to promote and bring about respect and affirmation of both sexes?.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Ephesians 5: 22-28 and Mathew 1: 18-25. Both these portions underlines certain principles that should be the foundation of any human relationship. The basis of any human relationship should be based on love [ 1 Cor 13]. But today the basis of human relationship is more on power and control. How can I have power over others so that I can control the other person in every way. When a male tries to sexually assault a female it is not just a vent to his frustrated sexual desire and urge, but also a to have a sadistic feeling of a victor and the vanquished. The cries and the tears of the victims bringing in the mind of perpetrators of crime that they have greater control and power over the woman. When there is domestic violence and abuse in the family this could be one of the mindset that could be prevalent in the male. The feeling of having power and control over the woman. It is this understanding of power and control that Jesus Christ reinterprets. In Luke 22: 25-27., Jesus states like this “ The kings of the gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead greatest among you should be like the youngest and one who rules like the one who serves”. Here Jesus Christ brings in a new understanding of power and control. Power is not about abusing and ruling and controlling others, on the contrary power is all about service and serving others in the most humble way. In Ephesians 5: 22-28, Paul also bring a new understanding about what binds the relationship between a husband and wife. Here also the concept of power and authority is dealt by Paul. Power and authority according to Paul in this portion is all about mutual submission, respect and sacrifice. Many believers including woman always tend to see only the submission part of the woman towards her husband forgetting that there is also the concept of love, respect and service on the part of male which God commands and that submission is not a yes or Christian prerogative for a husband to dominate, control and abuse his wife or another woman. Thus power, control and authority has to be on the basis of love and service and until we redefine these concepts of power, control and authority in our minds, in our family and in our society and nation, we have a long way to go in our fight to end violence against woman. How do you define power, authority and control in the context of your web of relationships?

2012-12-21T06:12:00.001-08:00

The Journey 355
Friday, December 21
Read: Mathew 2: 1-12
Silence at 9.30 am today. On Friday morning, December 21st, at 9.30 this nation is observing a moment of silence to remember all those who were killed in sandy hook shooting. The church bells will toll, flags will fly half mast. It is presumed that many websites will go offline for a minute and everyone both in the offices, home, hospitals in about 29 states will observe a moment of silence. According to White House, the President will also be observing a moment of silence even as he debates on how to bring tougher gun laws to tackle the rising crime. As the people are slowly recovering from the shock, the National Rifle Association [ NRA] has kept a deathly silence all these days. They finally issued a statement through their Facebook account that they are also extremely anguished at the shooting in Newtown. The NRA has scheduled a news conference today to offer meaningful contributions with regards to curtailing gun crime. As the nation seeks answers and schools and families trying to think what are the way to curb violence in the society and in the mind of kids, a Catholic Church in New York has embarked on a very novel project as their part to curb violence in society. All Saints Church in Syracuse has decided to play its part to make meaningful contribution so as to make the community a more safe place. The church has decided to raise funds for the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting but the way they are going to raise funds is the most unique part of this project. Their modus operandi of raising funds is by asking parents and children to return the violent video games and toys that they have at home. According the parish priest Father Fred Daley, this nation lives with a sense of glorified violence with programmes and films all showing violence and parents buying toys where the nature of gaming is of violent nature. Hence Father Daley states that the objective of this project is that if parents are able to return violent toys and ultimately stopped buying these type of toys, the toy companies would ultimately stop selling them. This is one small way that each of us can do something to move in a positive direction not only to curb violence but also to end the factors that promote violence. What the parish is going to do is a two way work. First they are going to collect the recently purchased toys and then with the receipts return to the stores and the money collected will be given to the victims of Newtown. Secondly there will be a general donation of old toys with the idea of getting rid of them. I believe this move by the All Saints Church is a small move to make certain corrections so as to bring peace and hope in our community. Unfortunately the majority of us are not concerned nor would want to do something so that we could play our part to make our world a safe place, where there is peace and harmony. We just casually talk, without taking any creative efforts to bring about drastic changes neither in our life nor the way we function collectively. I think this advent season, the birth of Jesus Christ should force people to consciously reorient lives and take decision that will bring about peace and harmony in this nation. How can we go about doing this?
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 2: 1-12. This portion shows a conflict of two elements or forces. One the forces of evil and the other the forces that is trying their best to conquer evil. When angels announce to the shepherds “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people”[ Luke 2: 10], what the angels announce to the shepherds is that with the birth of Jesus Christ is a message of joy and good news to all the people because He is going to save his people from sins [ Mathew 1: 21]. But then this message is not good news to the power centre of those day– King Herod. For him good news is all about dominating others, ruling over others and if they don't submit to his power, exterminate him. The game and rule of violence. The wise men comes to behold the good news but once they behold the good news, God reveals to them that they are not supposed to be channels of hatred, power mongering but on the contrary travel on a new path, individually and in community. The wise men individually and collectively deviates from the path that they had previously travelled to a new path that God wanted them to travel. I think it is this conscious deviation and creating new travelling paths that is needed for all of us today. Observing a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of Sandy Hook is a big effort not only to unite people and making them aware of how to make our nation, a nation of peace and harmony. But this effort should not end with this noble gesture. After a few weeks things are going to be back to normal and our lives will be back to the usual frame, as if nothing happened. It is this status quo that needs to be changed. Just as the parishioners of All Saints Church are taking steps to bring peace and harmony, creating alternative steps of travelling in life for its people, we also both individually and collectively need for formulate steps and paths that will help all of us to live in peace and harmony. Let us pray that God will grant us also the wisdom and the vision that He gave to the wise men to create new paths for us to walk in the journey of life, paths of peace and hope.

2012-12-20T05:01:00.003-08:00

The Journey 354
Thursday, December 20
Read: Luke 2: 1-20
We come across lot of people in our life. At times you leave impression on their life and at other times it is they who make lasting impression on you. Today I would like the world to know about a wonderful person who has made a lasting impression on my life and ministry. Her name is Lata and she is the daughter of Cherian Philip and Geetha Cherian, members of the New Jersey Marthoma Church, USA. She has two other sisters Melissa and Loraine. Today is her 20th birthday and please read the blog that Lata wrote on her birthday today.
“My name is LATA. I am down syndrome. That is what everyone says. According to people, I am not intelligent. Yes, I can't do so many things that most of them do. But I do a lot of things for others. My main job is worshiping my Creator. I love to sing and praise HIM. I like to intercede for others, especially for those who suffer. Everyday I pray for my family, relatives, friends, neighbors, for evangelist, pastors, priests, Bishops and for all those who serve the LORD. I pray for the peace of the world. I pray for all the people in all the countries. I just want this world to know that JESUS is the only way to heaven. I want to be a blessing not a burden for others. I know JESUS will use me for HIS GLORY. Amen. December 20th is my birthday. I am grateful to the LORD for giving me a chance to live in this world. Thank you LORD for creating me so special. Thank you for everyone who prayed for me and supported me. I thank my Dad and Mom for all their hard work and sacrifices. I have a request for everyone. Please take care of everyone who are special like me. God will reward you greatly in heaven”.
Lata has always been special from the day we met three years ago. She was very regular in attending and partaking in the Holy Communion. I would always say a special prayer as I offered the holy elements to Lata. When she leaves the church, she would leave with a smile and a greeting for all of us. One of her painting adorn our front room of my parsonage. She has a special way of praying and that is what you find in her blog. What makes her special is that she consciously tried to enter into my world and hence today as she celebrates her birthday, I felt I need to enter into her world. One of the tragedies in life is that we always want others to know us, to relate to us, and enter our world to make us special, but we never attempt to enter into a world of another person, especially an individual who is diversely and uniquely different from us. As we celebrate advent, I think one of the truths that we need to learn and incorporate in our life, is to consciously enter into the world of others, to make them special and make a difference in their life. Lata all these years entered into life of others and made them special and hence on her birthday I feel we need to enter not only to the world of Lata but host of other people who are different from us, so that our lives are made special. How can we do that in this advent season.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 2: 1-20. Who are the main characters in the Christmas story. The main characters are two unknown characters; Joseph and Mary. We just don't know much about them as they were relatively unknown and they came from a relatively unknown background. When Jesus was born, the good news of the saviour birth is announced by the angel to a group of people who is always on the move, their shelter is often the open sky– the shepherds. These are the people who were the first witnesses to the birth of our Lord. Is there any thing special in the way God uses these ordinary individuals in His incarnation ministry. I believe yes. In choosing Joseph and Mary and depicting shepherds as the first receiver of the good news, God is communicating to the world through incarnation that it is these ordinary people who are special to him and it is these ordinary people whom he values. The common people who has nothing to boast, except their poverty, suffering, the financial issues, lack of proper housing, and last but not the least lot of handicaps in life which make them outcast in the society. In any society, people who are poor, suffering or one who is different are often relegated to the background. Their place is in the periphery of the society, family and church. It is in such a context that through incarnation, God tells his people the message that He values and has a preferential option for all these people and they are the ones whom He values and loves the most. This is what makes Lata special and God “loves” Lata more than all of us and His love for her is very “special”. It is this understanding that God gives to us that we need to incorporate in our life of loving others who go through crisis, people who are special and who are often relegated to the periphery of human life. Another aspect in the Christmas story is the conscious attempt of God to enter into human life and history and make us his children. In all other faith, you find people trying to reach God and please him through various means. But through Jesus Christ we have Lord who come into our life and to our world and shares our humanity with him. It is this wonderful aspect that make advent so special. I have a God who entered into my world and made all of us special. Hence this Christmas let us also try to enter into the world of another person, especially those people who need our love, respect and not sympathy, thus making our world more beautiful through the diverse differentness in each one of us. There are lot of people like Lata who have entered into our world, so can we this day enter into the world of people like Lata, so that we could truly appreciate her and praise God for His wonderful ways and unique ways [ Psalms 139] because just as she prayed God is using mightily for His glory

2012-12-19T06:44:00.001-08:00

The Journey 353
Wednesday, December 19
Read: Luke 2: 41-52, John 10
You are mad...These are the word that we sometimes use, and use it so randomly without understanding the deep and lasting consequences on others. Everyone goes through bouts of anger, depression and other emotional and mental upheaval that impact very negatively in the life of others. As this nation is discussion on gun control, a good number of people are also discussing a subject that we take it for granted and are sometime least bothered. The mental health of individuals. Just as we spend millions to revitalize our physical health, the issue of mental health is also of utmost importance. The issue of mental health came to the fore, when questions were addressed as to what made a 20 year old, to go to a school and then cold bloodedly kill innocent young kids. Was he and his family suffering from some form of mental health issues? What was the issues at home and what was the problem that his mother was facing while racing these kids? We do not know. But people started taking more a serious note when another mother wrote a blog about the erratic and suicidal behavior of her school going son and asked the world to help her. A mother who did not know how to go about with a son who was always getting angry, throwing tantrums and threatening to kill himself and the mother. These behavior made the mother to write a blog that has now gone viral and several news agencies have reported about her blog. Liza Long is a writer based in Boise and it was she who through her blog describes the agony and fear that she goes through daily as she deals with her son, and the need to discuss and take seriously mental illness. Liza Long describes some of the behavioral disorder that her son is expressing and her inability to cope up. She write that one day when he was asked to wear the school dress code, he began abusing her with vulgar words and told her that in America he also has rights. On another occasion she had to call the cops when he suddenly pulled out a knife and threatened to kill her, just because she asked her to return the library books that was overdue in school. Much worse was on another occasion when he threatened to jump out of a moving car, and she had to literally hold on to her son tightly, with the fear that he will jump any moment. Liza Long cries and appeals for help, not knowing whether her son has ADHD, or autisms spectrum or any other behavioral disorder. She is scared as to what is going to happen tomorrow, especially in the light of Sandy Hook shooting. Her blog went viral and now the son is being treated for mental illness. I think the story of Long is not isolated one. I understand that this sort of behavior occurs in most of our homes and parents are scared to talk about mental health issues leave alone address it. Even when we go through depression or other emotional outburst we fail to see that we need help and we tend to hide our emotional and mental issues. There also people who subtly hide their mental and emotional issues sometimes even in the garb of spirituality by showing extreme sense of commitment through involving in spiritual activities or by expressing some high emotional spiritual fervor. This make us to ask the question as to what is the relationship between mental health and fullness of life or eternal life that our Lord gives to us.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 2: 41-52 and John 10. In John 10, Jesus describes his focus in ministry where by he underline the basis of his ministry– which is his relationship as a shepherd and the sheep. The shepherd who helps the sheep to find green pastures, having an intimate relationship with them and protecting them from the forces that destroy them. It is through this relationship that Jesus communicates that He has come so that we can all have fullness of life [ John10:10]. It is to this goal that Jesus want to lead all of us in life—to truly experience life in its fullness. How do we experience that fullness of life when a person come in relationship with Jesus Christ. In the old testament-it is the word “shalom” that is equivalent to the term fullness of life. In the old testament perspective shalom or fullness of life means living ones life fruitfully in four dimension of living. The first dimension is related to ones relationship with creator God, secondly one relationship with his/her fellow human beings, thirdly ones relationship with this wonderful world and finally one relationship with oneself. Thus according to the Old testament concept, an individual can experience shalom or fullness of life only if he/she has a qualitative relationship in all these four areas of ones life. It is in this perspective that we find in Luke 2: 52, when Jesus goes back to Nazareth and submits himself to his parents, Jesus experiences growth in relation to wisdom, stature and also in his relationship with his Father and his fellow human being. This is what the model Jesus gives us. If we need to experience fullness of life, we need to develop all these shalom areas of life or the areas of growth that Jesus wants us to grow. But unknowingly as we live today, we have not at all taken seriously these wide facets of living fully. Though some of us have taken our relationship with our creator God seriously, the rest of the areas like our relationship with our fellow human being, the world are all not even thought of. The nourishing of our intellectual areas of our life, the emotional need of our life nor our social needs are not taken seriously and as a result you have a number of individuals who are reflecting the sickness that is present in their mind. Let us therefore take seriously our life in a comprehensive manner so that every aspect of our life are taken seriously and thus we move forward to experience life in all its fullness. It is only then can many of the social deviant behaviors can at least be controlled or channelized.

2012-12-18T05:22:00.001-08:00

The Journey 352
Tuesday, December 18
Read: Mathew 15: 21-28
These days people across different states in this country have been united by one factor-Pain. Pain of the families in Newton brought about a sense of mystical union between a

number of families not only in this nation but people across the globe. But it is not only pain that has the mystical power to unite individuals and families. Even experiences of joy and happiness, victory and loss can also be avenue of uniting people. In this season of advent and other celebrations many individuals and families have brought a new meaning not only to the concept of unity but also to the concept of celebrations and religious observances. It is about all about blending of celebrations. The story of individuals and families who are blending celebrations have been reported by the news agency CNN. December is the time when two major religious observance takes place in this country. Those two religious observances are Christmas and the Jewish festival Hanukkah. The news agency reports about a family in Ohio, Rebecca and Roni Kopelman who celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, as Rebecca has Christian roots while Roni is Jewish. For them this time of Christmas and Hanukkah is celebrated as “Chrismukkah”. What Rebecca does during Christmas is the routine decorations of Christmas tree and the lighting of the house, while during Hanukkah, Roni prepares the latke feast, light the menorah each night and also exchange small gifts. For Rebecca and Roni, their family history and background are very important for them and they feel it as an honour in holding on to those history and background which has actually united them. They believe human life should have a shared part in every avenue, including religion. It is not only families like Rebecca and Rony who are celebrating the blending of celebrations in the month of December, but there are lot of other families too who celebrate “Chrismukkah”. Another couple in California that is worth mentioning is the family of Cassie Pham who celebrates “Chrismukkah”. According to Cassie, Chrismukkah represents her relationship at its best where in the celebration there is blend of two cultures and also joining of lives through the different events that take place in the family. In a world where people are getting more and more isolated and also more individualistic, it is important that we need to find some elements of commonality, unity and blending so as to make not only our life but the life of the community a blessed experience. Somehow we all live in closed quarters not bothered about how others live, what is their faith traditions, what are the issues that they go through in their day to day life…...all these questions don't matter to us. And then suddenly a young boy aged 20 goes on a rampage killing small kids and then we ask question….Whey did this happen and what can be done to stop crimes like these…? There may not be any immediate answers, but I think in a long term we need to consciously build our life whereby we learn to blend and be united with other in our community so that there is mutual sharing and learning about each others faith, culture, tradition which help all of us to be more mindful of others, being more empathetic and making our world more wider. What does the Word of God teaches us in the blending of our life with others in such a way that we work for the establishment of kingdom of God on this earth.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 15: 21-28. This is one of the portions in the Bible where you find a strange reaction from Jesus Christ and that too to a woman who was in desperate need. The woman in need is a Canaanite woman who wanted Jesus to heal her daughter. But the way Jesus addresses her, questions in the initial part of their encounter forces us to raise many questions. In all other portions of the gospel, and in the ministry of Jesus Christ we always find that Jesus was very empathetic to the people who were suffering, the ones who were in need, especially the womenfolk. If that is so why this strange reaction to a woman who was so desperate?. One of the aspects of this incident is the nationality of the woman. The woman was a Canaanite and Canaanites were considered as enemies of the Jews. It was in Tyre that Jesus encounters this woman after he departed from the Jewish territory into the Phoenician territory where Sidonian and Tyrians lived. Thus both the Canaanites and Jews avoided each other and this was the social and the religious custom and observance of the day. Thus we find the woman breaking the customs of the day by approaching a Jew for help. Jesus knew that she was in need and he also wanted to teach his disciples a lesson in the varied and diverse expressions of faith living. He condemns the attitude of Pharisees who only claims to follow the precepts of the Word of God, but their actions are contrary to the teaching of the Word of God [ Mathew 15: 6-9]. On the contrary though the Canaanite woman has no relationship with the Jewish laws she expresses her faith through her action and that is what Jesus commends her for. Here is Jesus also consciously breaking the so called cultural and religious norms of the day to be united with the woman who was suffering and helping her to overcome her pain. Though this was not a case of the blending of religious celebration, it was surely a unity and union of two individuals, Our Lord who understood the pain of others and the woman who was united to the Lord in her search for resolving her pain. What is needed in our life is the attitude of our Lord whereby we are able to build bridges with others so that our life is more and more intrinsically linked to others so that we share and live in union and unity, finding common grounds to work and thus making a difference not only in our life but in the life of the community as a whole.

2012-12-15T04:55:00.001-08:00

The Journey 349
Saturday, December 15
Read; John 14
There are certain times in life when we get angry, extremely upset, when our emotions seems take over logic and reasoning. Angry at certain turn of events that defies logic and human reasoning. Yesterday was one such days in the life of this nation, when people cutting across age, sex, and religion spoke in angry and anguish tones at the senseless killing of elementary school children at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, Newton, Connecticut. The horrific shooting where a young boy who is only 20 years of age shoots his mother at their home and then drives to the elementary school where his mother taught, and shoots randomly killing 28 people of which 20 are children between age 5– 10. How do we respond and react to such horrific events that has aroused the conscience of a whole nation. President Barack Obama in one of his most emotional address to the nation stated that “our hearts are broken and that this nation has endured too many of these tragedies in the past”. I have never seen the President so emotional. I think he represents all the parents who are grieving at the loss of their child and also those parents who are in a state of shock thinking as to what is becoming of this great nation. The mass shooting that occurred in the elementary school has also claimed the lives of the school principal who only recently brought in a new security policy in the school. Every one who has heard the news from yesterday are trying to cope up with the ghastly murder of innocent children. Why should someone who is in his early youth stage become so sadist so as to kill innocent children? There are so many questions that are being raised. Even as I write these devotions, anger and anguish wells within me, in realizing that I live in a world where every day the forces of evil is besieging this world that I live and trying to exterminate life and goodness in this world. Forces of evil that is waging a war against God as He works with us to bring peace and good will to human life and to the whole earth. The same forces of evil that was prevalent and which raised its deadly pangs when Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem, the forces of evil that came in the form of Herod, who had no remorse nor guilt in killing infants at that time. Tears, agony and anger well up in the life of mothers, both at Ramah in history and today at Connecticut. I live far away from Connecticut and my only connection with Connecticut is my friends, a young couple Shawn and Sneha and their family, but yet I feel pain and anguish and I feel connected to those grieving families . Yesterday as I went for caroling, I strangely felt that I could not wholeheartedly involve myself in the carol singing, as I felt a whole lot of emotions and feeling welling up inside me. The feeling of remorse, the feeling of helplessness and more than that the question that I seem to be asking my Lord “Why O God, Why are these things happening”. What is more tragic about this whole incident of shooting is that we are in the advent season, and there is cheer, fellowship, socializing and singing all around and suddenly the sound of carols is broken down by the sound of gun. How do we move forward and how do we make sense of our life and living in midst of those parents who have lost their young ones. What is our role in this world to see that such incidents do not occur again and how can we all contribute to well being of others and making this world a safe place for every one to live harmoniously?.
As we meditate on the theme “Transformed Living” and in the context of pain and anguish all around, I am trying to find meaning to my life and living through my faith in the Lord. One of the truths that we find in the Word of God, which expresses the truth of the advent season is the message that the angel told Joseph. In Mathew 1: 23, the angel says that the virgin shall give birth to a son and he shall be called “Immanuel "which means God with us. It is this message that gives us hope in the midst of pain. Hope that comes with the affirmation and thought that in Jesus Christ, I find and experience a Lord who is there with me in my pain, in my suffering. A Lord who is there to walk with me in all my experiences of life. A God who is there to give me a patient hearing as I counter Him with questions for which I need answer, a God who will not let me go. [Psalms 139]. Hence at this time let us tightly hold on to God and look up to the Lord [ Psalms 121] to receiver comfort and strength through the grace and peace that He can only give. It is this presence and peace of our Lord that should strengthen all of us. [John 14:27]. Once we are strengthened by the peace and grace of our Lord, I think we have a mission in this world. A collective mission not only to be a channels of hope to the grieving parents in Connecticut and others who are grieving losses but also working together with our Lord so that a culture of peace and harmony is established in our world. The shock of Connecticut will be remembered only till the next disaster strikes. We never learn any lessons from the tragedies that has struck us. Whether it was shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, or the shooting at the theater in Aurora or the recent shooing at the shopping mall. For majority of us, just as we say in Mumbai, life has to go on….who cares..This is not the first time that a shooting has occurred. It is this apathy that we need to conquer. We also need to examine, as to what made a 20 year old boy to kill his mother and then go on a killing spree?. Though people are clamoring for tighter laws in gun control, we need to go beyond these laws to examine what are the factors in the family environment, the social environment that causes an individual to behave in such a sadistic manner. Haven't we taken our family relationship and our relationship with our with our Lord for granted. In this season of advent as we are busy with shopping and filling our homes and closets with lot of material things, let us also fill our home and our family with love and respect for each other and the fear of the Lord. It is only then we can say that we are taking lasting steps to conquer gun violence, and incidents associated with the culture of violence and make our family, our home, our city and our country a better place to live.

2012-12-14T05:53:00.001-08:00

The Journey 348
Friday, December 14
Read: Luke 2: 8-20
The advent season and its celebrations are made alive by different form of symbols that we use. Though some symbols are only pieces of decorations, images like the manger or the crib throws in light and perspective of the times of Jesus birth. Thus certain symbols or objects help to give meaning or expression to our life and faith. It is through symbols that we put action and emotions to our words. In the aftermath of 9/11, when the World Trade Centre was attacked, a cross shaped steel was discovered from the rubble and this became a famous Ground Zero symbol. But then the public erection of this cross shaped steel was challenged by groups who did not subscribe to any religion. But the mangled steel in the form of a cross became a symbol of people’s resilience and tenacity at a time of grave crisis. In the same way another symbol in the New Jersey is becoming a ray of hope for people around. Wayne Parry reports in Associated Press about a Christmas Tree that is uniting people in their fight to overcome crisis and challenges in life in the aftermath of super storm Sandy. The storm created lot of rubble all around the Union beach along the New Jersey Shore. With lot of household article like carpets, furniture and other rubbles thrown around nobody took any notice about the rubble around. Along with this rubble there was also a artificial Christmas tree that was very inconspicuous by it presence as it was lying with tons of other rubble and nobody gave much attention to it. A local soccer coach saw this Christmas tree lying in the rubble and he decided to take it out from the rubble and set it up on a vacant field. Soon the people in the town started slowly flocking to the place that the tree was put up and they also started decorating the tree with hand made ornaments and lights. Soon the people of Union beach started rallying round the tree, to be a part of a community to give hope amidst ruins and destruction. Union beach is just across Raritan Bay from New York’s Staten Island and this town of about 6000 people suffered serious damage due to sandy storm. The major difference between the people living in the Union shore and other Jersey shore was that the homes of the people who lived in Union shore were their only homes while for people in other New Jersey shores, the homes that were washed away were mostly getaway’s homes. Thus for the people in Union shore when they lost their home in the storm, they were literally homeless. It is in this desperate situation that they were in, that this tree suddenly inspired hope for all of them. People who lost everything in the storm now has found a fresh spark in their hopeless life. What really inspired hope to the people around was not only in the public ownership of the Christmas tree and decorations from every home, but those tiny notes that people started hanging on the tree. One family wrote a note “We believe, we have hope, we will recover” and it these notes that has brought a new lease of life and enthusiasms to people of this town who were going through untold suffering. With the news of this unique Christmas tree becoming viral relative of people living Union beach staying in other states have started sending decorations to light up the tree. I believe for every human being one needs to always associate with someone or something that will instill a fresh perspective and hope in life. That is why I believe the advent story has so many people and symbols that are so rich in communicating the wonderful story of God’s love.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 2: 8-20. In this portion we find the angels appearing before shepherds and telling them about the wonderful birth about a Saviour who is born in the town of David. And then the angels give a sign to the shepherds with regards to the birth of saviour. Looking at another perspective the angel tells that you can find the saviour through these signs. What are the signs that angels gives them. The angel tell them that you will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. There are three signs that angels give them; 1. A baby, 2. Swaddling Clothes and 3. Manger. I believe the essence of Christmas could be found in these three signs that the angel gave the shepherds. Jesus as a babe represents God becoming a human, ready to experience life in the form and emotions that we all go through and live. Every babe at those times would be wrapped in such a way that they would be protected from harsh conditions. But it is these swaddling clothes that could also be seen as our Lord consciously becoming an individual who though omniscient restricts himself to time and space and finally the manger become the powerful symbol of humility of God. God who takes the form of not only a human being but consciously taking upon himself the symbols that have no value in they eyes of the society like that of a manger. This rich theological understanding is expressed by Paul in Philippians 2, where he describes God taking the nature of a servant [ Phil 2: 6-10]. Thus in this advent season, the signs of a baby, clothes and manger which has not much value in our materialistic world, become the most powerful signs of hope, of redemption and signs and model of the way to live in God’s family as God’s children. In our time of despair and hopelessness let these signs that the angel give to shepherds bring to us also sign of renewed hope and living that we can find through Jesus Christ.

2012-12-13T05:31:00.001-08:00

The Journey 347
Thursday, December 13
Read: Luke 2: 1-17
Christmas lights and decorations are a treat to watch in this country during Christmas. In fact every house is competing with each other in making their Christmas decoration not only outside the house but also inside the house a grand spectacle. People from all corners are travelling from different part of the cities to watch the wonderful and colorful decoration of lights, Christmas artifacts and other eye beholding spectacle. As each house competes with each other to make their decorations memorable, a woman in Maricopa, Arizona named Kristina Green has made a creative display of Christmas decorations which is now getting national attention. The reason as to why she is getting this attention is because of her neighbour Eric Cyr. Eric Cyr would always make his decorations and lighting of his house during Christmas a grandeur spectacle. He would always outshine his neighbours in terms of the lights displayed. But this year instead of becoming more grandeur and trying to outshine his neighbours in terms of decorations, Eric decided to help out his neighbour Kristina Green also with a creative display of her own. After decorating his house with magnificent light that consisted of about 16,000 lights, Eric then helped his neighbour Kristina Green by putting a giant “DITTO” sign in the lights outside her home with an arrow pointing right at Eric’s house. Eric used about 400 lights to decorate Kristina’s house and ever since the sign was put the day after thanksgiving, Kristina Green’s home has become a centre of attraction in this town of about 30,000 people. And when this whole story was published by the news papers, people are flocking at night to take pictures. Both the houses are enjoying the show and national attention. In a society where Christmas time is consciously commercialized as holiday season and also being attacked by various quarters stating that “let us keep the merry in this holidays and leave out the myth”, I think both Kristina and Eric is showing at least the spirit behind Christmas, even though it is being expressed in the so called paraphernalia’s of Christmas decorations. Unknowingly this season is a time when homes and individuals are competing sometimes to brazenly display their wealth or trying to catch attention of the neighborhood with fancy lights and decorations. What was heartwarming in the above incident concerning Eric and Kristina was that at least Eric had a concern for his neighbour, a remorse that while he spent lavishly on Christmas decorations, his neighbour could only look at his decorations, leave along to compete with him. What is happening today is that we miss the message, the spirit the values that the Son of God wanted to teach us through His birth while we celebrate His birth. Hence this advent season what is needed is that values like being sensitive to the need of the neighbour, the concern and the remorse in life when we try to live extravagant life is what is needed to be reclaimed this Christmas and it only when we do that the true meaning of Christ birth could be understood.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall meditate from Luke 2: 1-7. In this portion we find many people who could not comprehend the true meaning of the incarnation, and in another sense missed being part of redemptive history, of being a part and a channel of God redemptive plan for human kind. One of the character who is always relegated to the background is the inn keeper. There is no mention as such about the inn keeper in the Bible. Hence it is on presumptions that we understand that here is a man who did not recognize Joseph and Mary, nor could he be sensitive to the need of pregnant Mary. I am sure if he knew that Mary was the bearing the Son of God, he would have made elaborate arrangements for her. But he never was sensitive nor empathetic to anyone and may be that is why he did not feel the agony, nor did he feel remorse when he told Joseph and Mary that there was no place in the inn. Here is a man who is extremely busy at that period of time in Bethlehem. The city was bustling with people, people from all corners coming to pay taxes, to get themselves registered and this meant that they needed accommodation and Bethlehem did not have facilities to accommodate every one. The Inn is actually a public shelter just like the shelter home for the homeless that we have in this part of the country and even there you did not have place. The inn keeper may have been running here and there trying to keep everyone happy and may be also trying to get a fast buck, because once the census is over, he may have to wait till another opportune time like festival to get this sort of crowd, to have some financial gains. We don't know if that was what he thought. Yet whatever be his thinking he missed the opportunity to be a gracious host to a lady who was in need, he missed an opportunity to be the host of the king of kings, basically because he was more involved in activities which he felt was more beneficial to him and that made him deaf, dumb and blind to the needs of the Nazareth family. I think this Christmas we may be also like the inn keeper, very busy with lot of activities and preparation. Preparing the best dishes for our guest who may come visiting our homes, decorating our houses in the best possible ways, but then in the midst of all these activities, do we miss or are we blind to the needs of our neighbour, our parish member or being a source of some help and blessing to others?. Let us not miss the message and values that our Lord taught us as we celebrate His birth and if we miss then we are relegating our Christmas celebration to mere show of extravagant lights and decorations.

2012-12-12T06:52:00.001-08:00

The Journey 346
Wednesday, December 12
Read: Mathew 1: 18-25
Becoming a fool or being called a fool. For some people both statements are derogatory and humiliating. Recently two Indian students Tanya Thakur and Aditya Thakur sent legal notice to Indian Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju, asking him to apologize for his comments that he made in a seminar that 90% of Indians were idiots. But Justice Katju immediately replied to the students clearly stating that his point of arguments. According to justice Katju when he said 90% what he meant was not a mathematical figure but an opinion that a large proportion of Indians were fools and he reiterated that he did not mention any community, caste or sect and hence there was no need for the two students to feel defamed. He went further to quote that when you look at India’s history some of the famous discoveries that human kind had ever made were made by Indians. He recalled that the decimal system in mathematics was an invention of Indians. To understand the significance of the decimal system one needs to understand context of that time. The Romans who had great civilization were not comfortable with numbers above 1000 since they expressed their number in alphabets [ V for 5 or X for 10]. There was no single alphabet expressing number above 1000 and hence to write 2000 the ancient Romans had to write the alphabets MM and if it is 5000 they would write MMMMM. Thus if they had to write 1 million they would have to write the alphabet M a million times. How ridiculous. But see what Indian ancestors did. They discovered the number 0 and hence to write 1 million they only had to put 6 zeroes after number 1. Remarkable. Another major contribution of the historic past was the plastic surgery that was invented by Sushrut about 2000 years ago and also about the town planning that could be found in the Indus Valley Civilization where you had streets, covered drains and also sewage system. He also said that before British came to India, the country was prosperous and that that India’s share in world trade in 1700 was about 30% while at the end of British rule it fell to 2%. Hence in the light of all these looking at the present scenario and history of the country he feel that there is widespread castiesm, communalism and superstitions in the mind set of people that is actually driving the progress of the country backwards. He brought to the notice the rampant evils that is prevalent in the present Indian society like honour killing, dowry deaths, female foeticide and the vote banks politics that is all making our country backwards and also in the process making us all look like fools. What Justice Katju wanted to see in Indians was the development of a rational, scientific and questioning mind. But what Justice Katju said was right that there are times not only Indians, but even other behave like fools, because emotions precedes logical thinking. But there are many people in the society who make themselves “fools”. It is these fools who have actually contributed to the welfare and the progress of the society. Albert Einstein was considered absent minded and stupid when he was young, while Edison was considered to be abnormal because of his so called learning disability. The list goes on...One of the truths that the Word of God expresses is that God always uses the foolishness of the world to shame the wise. Thus you find a number of people who consciously become fools not only to become the instrument of God’s purpose but also to teach the world that when we are ready to become fools for God that is when God truly uses us for His glory. In the advent story also you will find some people who were ready to become fools for the Lord.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 1: 18-25. This portion describes the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord. Whenever we describe the birth of our Lord, unknowingly it is the role of Mary or the sacrifice that Mary did is what is highlighted in the birth narrative. The commitment of Mary, the sacrifice that she underwent, the song of praise that she renders even when she is going through the most severe predicament in life is what is talked and meditated on. But we often forget that behind the sacrifice of Mary, stood a silent but a strong man– Joseph. Since the Word of God is silent about the personality of Joseph other than this portion and the portion in Luke 2, we often tend to take the role played by Joseph as a take it for granted attitude. But if we understand the social, cultural and religious context of those times, we will be able to see how Joseph consciously made himself a fool for God so that he becomes an instrument in God’s hand. When Joseph knows that the woman with whom he is betrothed is pregnant, he plans to divorce her quietly without bringing any disgrace to her. But then the angel of the Lord convicts him about Mary being chosen as God’s handmaiden and that is when he decides to accept Mary as his wife. But then he had to answer a lot of questions from his family, his society, his religious community and so on. Joseph does not think about these questions and then boldly goes ahead with what God had communicated to him. Here is Joseph who is also ready to put in the back burner his dreams about his marital life, ready to be a channel in God’s hand and thus ready to be a fool. It is because there were people like Joseph who was ready to be a fool that we find, the birth of our Lord becomes a reality. There are times in our Christian life when we may have to become a fool for the cause of the gospel and for our Lord. If that is what is our calling and God’s plan for our life, let us boldly proclaim that we are ready to be fools for Christ , and for his Kingdom, but then not plain fools!

2012-12-11T05:31:00.001-08:00

The Journey 345
Tuesday, December 11
Read: Luke 1: 46-56
Travelling in an aircraft is always and experience. The road to the airport, the scare that each one of us have when we go through the security check...thinking whether we have kept any objects or liquids in the bag that is banned and finally waiting at the waiting hall of the gate from where we are to board. Then comes the announcement that flight is about to depart and the mad rush of many passengers to go in front…...don't know for what?. But then as you come to the entrance of the aircraft, that is when you get the first taste of the service that is offered. The flight hostess or stewards announces in a broad smile “Welcome aboard” while those flying in India would be familiar with the greeting “Namaste”. Though nowadays you may not receive those greetings and smiles regularly, especially sometimes in the gulf sector, as some passengers seems to consider the crew members as the maid of their house, asking them to do all sorts of errands. This has caused some of the crew members also to sometimes behave in a rude manner or dealing issues in a very insensitive way [ remember the so called hijacking alarm raise by crew in Trivandrum] and also sometimes considering as a punishment to fly in Gulf-Kerala sector. But even with such isolated incidents the crew members most of the airlines and its crew members are normally gracious in welcoming passengers to the aircraft and thus the crew members of every airline is often evaluated in the way they smile and serve the people on board. That is why a particular news caught my attention. The news is about an impending strike called by the crew members of the Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific. The crew members are threatening that if their salary demands which they feel are just are not met, then they would be forced to take industrial action. This form of strike is a form of slowing down of the services offered like reduced onboard services, delaying flights and also not providing non essential items like nuts and alcohol, though they will be offering essential items like water. But the service that they will not offer that caught my attention is that the crew members said that they will not “serving with a smile”. According to a spokesperson of the crew members the basic role of a flight attendant is to take care of the safety measures on the flight and to take passengers from one point to another point safely and that the serving food and beverages were extra services that was required by the airline. As a lay person with respects to the knowledge about the salary and other benefits, I cannot evaluate whether demands of the crew members of Cathay Pacific is just or unjust, but then refrain that “ we will not serve with a smile” is something hard to digest. I think it is not only the crew members, but nowadays personnel from every field is guilty of doing ones work or service just for the sake of doing it. This is also a major allegation even against the clergy, a refrain from the common man and the laity that we have become very professional in our ministry and that we do everything in our ministry more as an act that we are forced to do and not doing it with passion and a sense of enthusiasm. The smile seems to be missing. What cause the smile to be missing?. I believe I loose my smile when I consider my job more as something that I am forced to do. When there are challenges and struggles in my job, I am forced to be bitter and do the job or my ministry more as a job that I have to do, thus forgetting and relegating the element of calling to the back bench. In this advent season let us reclaim the joy and smile element in our work, in our vocation and in every aspect of our life and this is what Mary the mother of our Lord teaches us.
Yesterday as we meditated on the theme “Transformed Living” we learnt from the life of Mary that only when we are ready to bear the cost that follows our commitment does our life become more blessed and meaningful rather than living on mediocre lines. Today we are going to meditate on another aspect of the life of Mary that is found in Luke 1: 46-56. This is one of the most beautiful portions that is found in the Bible. A song that is considered as a Magnificant not only because this young virgin girl praise God but her song of praise is a praise song in a time when she is forced to take upon herself the suffering and the agony for being chosen as the Mother of our Lord. You find in this song, rich theological treatise that may not be found in a Ph.D thesis in the field of theology and ethic. Here is a young girl who affirms her faith in that song of praise. There are few notable aspects about this song. One is the joy that she shares through her song of praise. When Mary sings that “ My soul is glad because of God my saviour, for he has remembered me his lowly servant, from now on all people will call me blessed”. These are the words that come out of the joy that she find in being called to serve the Lord and be a channel of his redemption is something that prompted her to sing this song of praise. The second aspect that you find in the song of praise of Mary is the joy not only in being chosen for serving God but the joy of serving God. There is joy in serving and there is also a greater joy in knowing that I serve the Lord in His ministry. I think that is the greatest message that Mary give to all of us who take our profession, our career or our ministry as another mundane task. Mary teaches us to be joyful, whatever be the demands and stress of the service that we render and also to be joyful of the fact that we serve the Lord God almighty and that is the greatest privilege that God has given to us in this earth.

2012-12-08T07:49:00.001-08:00

The Journey 342
Saturday, December 8
Read: Mathew 2: 16-18
For many of us the motto in life is “ I need to be always in the centre of the universe”. To be in the centre of the universe, I always need to be in the limelight or to be in the centre of attraction. This is becoming very rampant in the life style of many individuals. These are the kind people who want to be “the baby during the baptism, the bride during the wedding, and the dead body during the funeral service”- wanting everybody’s attention on themselves. This is true not only about many of us but also those who work especially in the media, trying by hook or crook to get popular rating for their programmes. So you have number of reality shows on Indian TV that has a famous personality from the film fraternity or cultural icons gracing certain shows so as to boost ratings of the show. Some even go to very absurd extent to boost not only their ratings but also to communicate the so called variety that is present in their programmes. One of the channel station in Australia, 2Day FM is now on the news world wide, not for any positive reason but for going to the most nasty way of playing a prank in the name of fun and popularity but which now has cost the life of an nurse who is of an Indian origin in England. It is not the first time that the Sydney radio station 2Day FM is in in the news for all the wrong reasons. They have been reprimanded a few times earlier for breaking certain code of conduct that should be exercised by the media personnel. The latest prank that went horribly wrong was when the DJ of this radio station Mel Grieg and Michael Christian phoned the King Edward VII Hospital in London posing themselves as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, and wanting to talk to Duchess of Cambridge, who was admitted in the hospital. The Duchess was pregnant and the DJ’s posing as the members of the royal family, wanted to know her welfare. Jacintha Saldhana the duty nurse answered the call and she put the pair on to duchess’s nurse who unknowingly revealed the medical details of the pregnant duchess. With their prank call being successful both the DJ’s promoted the stunt and also described their stunt “as the prank call the world is talking about”. Not only that both the DJ’s bragged about their prank call on Twitter. When the hospital authorities realized that the DJ’s and the radio station has played a hoax on them they condemned this whole episode as a foolish prank. But that is when disaster struck. The concerned nurse in this prank incident, Jacintha Saldhana was found dead last Friday, having apparently committing suicide. Though the hospital authorities were very supportive of the nurse at this critical times, people are all shocked at how a prank and hoax played by two DJ’s just to shoot the rating of their programmes, cost the life of an innocent nurse. The death of this nurse points certain to certain hard and painful truth about how people today are concerned only about their image, their work, popularity and their prospects. People who are willing to go to any extent, willing to do the most heinous acts or stoop down to any derogatory level as long as they are able to achieve fame, money and popularity that will boost their ego, even if it means trampling on the feelings and privacy of others. This advent season, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord, one of the important changes that we all could is to consciously crucify our self, crucify the sadistic desire for fame and popularity and consciously create a life style that is centered on others than us.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 2: 16– 18. This is an advent reading where we find the character of Herod who display similar qualities that of the prankster in the radio station. A person who was an egomaniac, who was only concerned about his fame and popularity and moreover someone who wanted to hang on to power either through hook or crook. Though there are several Herod’s mentioned in the bible, the Herod in this portion is one who is sadistic of all. When he is promoted to be the king, his craving for absolute power made him a murderer. He kills most of his relatives without any feeling of guilt as his only one motto is to be the King of the Jews. When he hears the news about the birth of a baby boy who would be the future king, he is very cool and calculative and schemes the devilish plan to hold on to power and kingdom– the devilish act of exterminating infants. A king who is worried about infants, a king who feels threatened by birth of infants, goes to the cruel extent of murdering hundreds of infants, with the evil intention that he needs to be King for the rest of his life and have absolute power through out his life. As somebody said “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Looking into our world I think we have lots of modern day Herod. The mad craze for power, fame and popularity transcends language, culture and religious barriers. I think we are sometime are more horrifying and hypocrites than Herod. Herod publically acknowledged that he will not submit to the authority of the king that was born-Jesus Christ, but we Christians who claim loyalty and commitment to our Lord have the most subtle way to keep the Lord away from our life and focus all our attention, authority and power on ourselves. Though we claim verbally that Jesus is the Lord of our life, our actions show that it is only “I ” who is the lord of my life and I will not allow any one to control me neither will I submit or humble myself to another. There are lots of individuals who find it very difficult to submit to authority figures, even if it is their parents, their boss, their parish priest or a clergy to his bishop….the list goes on. This Christmas let us remove from our life the attitude of Herod, where life is not all about fame and popularity, life is not about trying all the means to keep ourselves on the center of the universe and attraction. It is when we learn to crucify our self, learn to humble ourselves, that our Lord is truly born in us and He becomes the Lord of our lives.

2012-12-07T06:11:00.001-08:00

The Journey 341
Friday, December 7
Read: Mathew 1: 18-25
The news of a divorce is not a big news nowadays. Just like a child being born every minute in this world, I presume that divorce may also be taking place, but may be not on that same time duration. But in Indonesia, according to CNN news agency, a divorce is causing a huge national uproar and a fierce judicial battle is going on between two embittered couples and their families. The most funniest and strange part of this divorce incident is that the husband divorced his wife through texting. The couple concerned in this dramatic story is Aceng Fikri who is a district head in the Garut, West Java, and his 17 year old bride Fani Oktara. The marriage of Aceng and Fani lasted only four days and according to the lawyer of Aceng, when he found on the second day of his marriage that his wife was not a virgin, he decided to separate from Fani. The notice of divorce was given through a text message and Aceng say under the Islamic Shariah law, a husband can divorce his wife through text messaging. But Fani has denied the allegation of Aceng and she has also not taken this whole episode of divorce passively. She has also filed a police complaint against Aceng stating that it was not she who has cheated in this marriage, on the contrary it was Aceng who is a cheat. According to her, Aceng was already married and has also children from previous marriage, which he hid from her while getting married. Though polygamy is not against the Indonesian law, the Indonesian civil servant are prohibited from taking on second spouse, because of the strict regulations that government follows with regards to government servant and their private lives. With this marriage and divorce causing a stir and outcry among the Indonesians, the girls family has become public with their grievances and asked Aceng to tender a public apology. With this case getting national attention, the Indonesian President Susilo has ordered the an investigation into the whole issue through the ministry of Home Affairs. Meanwhile even the local legislative council in Garut has also set up a special committee to look into Aceng case. With the heat being raised up on Aceng, he has tendered a public apology, but he still stood by his version of the story stating that when he confronted her about her virginity, she did not deny his charges and hence he decided to end the union. There are many serious and frivolous charges that may affect marital ties resulting into divorce. But the case of divorcing through texting was one of its kind. When people like Aceng has gone miles and miles in term of using high tech gadgets and become tech savy, but mentally and emotionally they are still living in the 15th or the 16th century. I think this is one the of most contradicting phenomena of this century,. People have access to the latest technology and are very progressive in terms of the gadgets they use, but come to their private life or with relation to family and marriage, the thinking could be very primitive. It is in this context I believe the advent story teaches us about faithfulness and about the commitment that we need to put into a relationship both on our family level but also on our social level.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mathew 1: 18-25. This is the portion that not only describes the birth of our Lord but also the circumstances that surround the birth of our Lord. The emotional and mental upheaval that both Joseph and Mary went through as they prepared to begin together their dream journey. Bible does not have much references nor passages that describe and show what type of an individual was Joseph and this portion from Mathew is the only portion that highlights the unique character and personality of Joseph. In v: 19, it is described that Joseph was a man who did what was right. “Right” may be in terms of the law of Moses and being very forthright in the observance of laws. The world of Joseph comes crashing down when he knows that his wife Mary is fathering a child that was not his own. This may have caused him anguish but the angel communicates to Joseph about God’s divine plan and providence with regards to the life of Joseph and Mary. It is here that you find Joseph true character coming out. Though he had the choice of publically disgracing her and even condemning Mary to be stoned to death, he chooses to take upon himself the burden of Mary and be a part of God’s divine plan even if it involves suffering for the sake of another person and putting on hold ones dream about ones life. What Joseph does is he moves up the wedding date and also with the announcement of Roman census, Joseph takes his wife Mary away from the prying eyes of his town and the probable gossip of the people. I think Joseph did not go through any pre martial counseling sessions nor did he have marriage preparation books and manual, nor even a support from his local parish priest. But Joseph becomes a paradigm of what it means to uphold the marriage vows. Joseph lives in the 1st century but his emotional and mental intellect was much more progressive than people living today in the 21st century. When people like Aceng can ask his wife about proof about her virginity, I think the time also has come when woman may also need to have proof from men that they are going to marry, that he is also someone who has maintained purity in life before marriage. More than all these questions, Joseph teaches us that in a marital relationship, it is not trying to maintain or justify who is right and who is wrong, who is just and who showed injustice but marital relationship is all about taking upon oneself the pain and the suffering of ones spouse, that may suddenly arise in a marital relationship, thus reflecting Godly love and commitment in our relationship and also becoming a model for other families who are going through crisis. This is what Joseph teaches us this advent and it is to such marital life style that God is calling all of us to.

2012-12-06T06:41:00.001-08:00

The Journey 340
Thursday, December 6
Read: Luke 3:1-14
With the onset of advent season, every house is gearing up to decorate their homes with lights and Christmas artifacts. It is wonderful to behold every house in this part o

f the country being decorated with lights, Christmas tree and different material objects that reflect the spirit and story of Christ event. Many houses also has sported this time the scenes of Nativity in their front porch or in the lawn of their house. Yes Christmas celebrations are made colorful with all these decorations especially the nativity scenes that are displayed in different houses. Nativity scene has always been an integral part of Christmas celebration whether in home or in church when Sunday school children enact Sunday school plays. But in Santa Monica, California the Nativity scene has become a huge point of dispute between the community of faith and an atheist group. The atheist group argued that display of nativity scenes hurt sentiments of people who do not subscribe to any faith and hence they requested that the display of nativity scene be banned. The city council after looking into different aspect of the case and arguments from both the sides decided to ban Nativity scene display this year, a display that was going on for the last 59 years this year at the Palisades Park in California. This was very frustrating news for the church’s and the groups that were involved in this venture. So will the Palisade Park not have a display of Nativity scene this year?. This was a question that was raised by number of people. It is this question that made church’s and other groups that were involved in the nativity scene display, to think a bit differently. Instead of getting angry and upset at being denied the permission to display the nativity scene in the park, they decided to do things differently this year without breaking the law of the land. They have decided this year that every day in the evening they will present live scenes of nativity in the park, with people all dressed up as historical figures, like Joseph, Mary, Shepherds, Wise Men and so on. Along with the nativity scenes they have also decided to sing carol songs. They have decided to continue this unique kind of celebration every night till December 23. Some of the people are happy at the turn of events and they feel that when a live display of nativity scene is displayed, there is participation of people and they will also have a chance to talk and interact with the people who are visiting the park. The leaders of different church’s who are associated with this event feels that the Christians should always display their traditions of faith in the most loving way and in a non confrontational manner , taking into consideration the feeling of people around. Moreover the church leaders also felt that in a land where everybody celebrated the Christmas by merely decorating their house and house yards, it is important that the real meaning of Christmas needs to be emphasized rather than celebrations seen purely on decorations and display of Christmas artifacts. One of the strange aspect that I see in my neighborhood is that when there is Halloween day, some of them decorate their homes with the Halloween symbols like skull, cemetery slab and memorial stones, ghost images and so on. Come Christmas these very home are decorated with lights of different colour and the whole house is well lit up with fancy lights and Christmas trees. It is this context that we need to understand in a society where emphasis is only on external decorations and celebration, the community of believers need to truly affirm this advent season that Christmas is not outward celebration of lights, decorations and other artifacts on the contrary the celebration should be a result of an inward joy and inward transformation that has happened because of Jesus Christ, God’s gift to us.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 3: 1-14. This portion from Luke describes the preaching of John the Baptist. John who was the forerunner of Jesus Christ is preparing the way for the Lord. As he prepares the way for the coming of the messiah, he convicts through his message. His thrust is that people need to be transform their life and their life style and only then can they truly receive messiah and be his followers. His point of argument was very simple. The community needs to distinctly see the see the change and the unique lifestyle the Lord brings about when an individual is in relationship with him. When the people boasted about their spiritual heritage claiming to be descendents of Abraham, John the Baptist rebuked them sternly and asked them whether the spiritual heritage they claim, had helped them to live a live without sin and a life that is pleasing to God, thus not inviting the wrath of God?. It is then he exhorts people that if they claim to have a spiritual lineage and heritage their life should be an example and an expression of the rich faith that they not only believe but also practice. Hence the exhortation to the people to share clothing and food with those who are denied these basic necessities, the exhortation to the soldiers that they should not take money by force nor accuse any one falsely. John also exhorts the tax collector not to collect more than what is legal. Here is John helping people to understand the true meaning of preparing the way of the Lord. What the Lord expects from his people is not tall claims about ones spiritual lineage or history, nor certain rituals and symbols that express the joy of the coming of the Lord but on the contrary show outwardly through ones life, the inward change that the Lord has brought about. I think as we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas, the birth of God’s Son in our world, let us deliberately cleanse our life so that our lives are a reflection of the transformation that the Lord has brought about in our life because of his birth in our life and in this world. It is only when this happens can we communicate to the world and to the community, that Christmas is not decorations, lights and nativity scenes but transformed lives because of the birth of God’s Son in our life and in our world.

2012-12-05T07:49:00.001-08:00

The Journey 339
Wednesday, December 5
Read: John 11: 1-27
Martial Arts. This is highly popular form of combat technique that is undertaken by people of all ages and also for variety of reason. Some engage or study martial arts for self defense, while some use it for competitive purpose, while for some martial arts is more of a medium to maintain physical health and fitness and also as tool for spiritual development. Some of the popular form of martial arts are Tae Kwan Do, Judo, Kung Fu, and Karate. But these days martial arts are becoming popular for another group of people– The Military and the War Veterans. The news agency CNN has brought out a news this week about how martial arts is helping war veterans and soldiers in the military to combat stress disorders arising out of their professional duty. An issues that military in this nation is facing and is deeply worried is the increasing number of solders who are committing suicide. The Army reports that in the month of July this year itself more than 30 soldiers killed themselves, which means that one solider died every day. Alarm bells began to ring at Pentagon and a research team was deployed to study the cause of the increasing number of suicidal tendency among the soldiers. One of the findings that the research team found out with regards to the cause of increasing number of suicides by the soldiers was the intense emotional distress faced by the soldiers. This emotional distress is not only faced by soldiers but also by war veterans. War veteran who were on duty in Afghanistan and in Iraq This emotional distress has brought about an increasing cases of a mental health issue known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorders [PTSD]. PTSD is a mental health condition that is triggered by terrifying event that an individual might have faced or witnessed. These terrifying events may literally shake a person life whereby he/she may show symptoms like flashback, nightmares and showing severe anxiety, emotional numbness, memory issue and difficulty in maintaining intimate or close relationships and so on. With the increasing number of PTSD among war veterans and soldiers, many have turned to Martial Arts to conquer their emotional distress and symptoms arising out of PTSD. News agencies like NBC and CNN have reported about different trainers who are now helping soldiers and war veterans in coping with PTSD using the system of martial arts. It is now an alternative therapy for people to overcome a sense of helplessness and depression that may arise due to an aftermath of a trauma. What these trainers of martial arts are doing to the people suffering from post traumatic stress disorders is that thorough physical training and mental discipline acquired through martial arts, help them to channel their energy to more productive avenues, reprogram responses and also discover new ways and skills to regulate emotional responses. I think though the number of people suffering from PSTD is on the rise, the number of people suffering from intense depression is also on the rise and hence the search to find alternatives to view stress and crisis in life in a more empowering way. When people turn to martial arts and other alternative forms of treatment for managing stress and traumatic disorders, it is also important that we consciously empower ourselves with the rich spiritual resources that our Lord has given to us through His Word, church and also through our faith and relationship with Him. Let us ask ourselves whether we are able to richly uses our spiritual heritage, and resources to cope up with crisis events in life that may lead stress, depression and other mental health issues?
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from John 11: 1-27. This is a portion where Jesus helps two sisters in looking at life on a different perspective, helping them to express emotions of grief in a meaningful way and also to view deep experiences of sorrow and pain in times of bereavement through the lens of eternity. Martha and Mary are thrown into depths of despair when their brother Lazarus dies after a brief illness. They become more desperate when they realize that though the news about the illness of their brother is communicated to Jesus Christ, instead of rushing to their side in the time of crisis, Jesus stays back in the village for two more days. But Jesus communicates to the people who brought him the news about the sickness of Lazarus that the illness that he is afflicted will not lead to his death but for the glory of God. Soon Jesus comes to Bethany but he realizes that Lazarus is dead and he faces a very distraught Martha, who communicates her grief and her agony that if he was there, their brother would not have died. Jesus empathizes with Martha and tells her that her brother will rise to life as He is the resurrection and the life and whoever believes in Him will live. Mary understands the truth that Jesus communicated but in a temporal perspective, affirming the fact that Lazarus will rise up on the last day. What Jesus was communicating to Martha was not only about the raising up of Lazarus but also a divine and spiritual truth about what it means to be truly alive and living. There are different experiences in life which cause human being to go pain, death, and suffering. All these experiences cripples us and cause us to live life that could be considered living below dignity. It is in such context Jesus offers us a new perspective to view life. Life to viewed in the context of eternity, where life and all its experiences if viewed in terms of ones relationship with Jesus Christ could lead to the total transformation that Jesus Christ brings to our life even when we go through experience of deep emotional distress and pain. When life and crisis experiences are viewed just on a temporal perspective we could be bogged down but when life is reframed on an eternal perspective every experiences of life are experiences of giving glory to God and also find meaning even if there is pain and suffering. This could happened only when we are ready to face those experiences with perspective faith, expressing emotions and also reaction that are more prudent and mature and thus moving forward victoriously in living meaningful Christian life even in the midst of crisis. It is to such high calling and quality of life is what Jesus is calling all of us to.

2012-12-04T05:46:00.001-08:00

The Journey 338
Tuesday, December 4
Read: Mark 1: 40-45
A news that not only captured the attention and also hearts of the people last week was the news item about a New York cop offering boots to a homeless man on a bitterly cold night last month. I believe most of us would have read the news item and also seen the snap about this act of random kindness. The concerned officer was 25 year old Lawrence DePrimo, who was on counter terrorism duty in Times Square, New York. What forced the officer to do the random act of kindness was when he saw a homeless man sitting on the 42nd Street on a cold night without a shoes. After realizing his plight, the officer went to a nearby store and bought for him a new pair of shoes that cost $100, knelt down and gave the shoes to the homeless man. The homeless man has been identified as 54 year old, Jeffery Hillman, who is an army veteran and an estranged father of two. He has been spending the last 10 years living homeless on the street of New York. This random act of kindness of the police officer was captured by a Arizona tourist, who later mailed it to the New York Police Department. This photo was later posted on NYPD Facebook page and soon the photos went viral with almost 600,000 likes and 47,000 comments. But then the story does not end there. The above mentioned incident or the act of kindness does not go along the lines of “All is Well” story nor on the well known ending in movies and novels “They lived happily ever after”. New York times reported yesterday that this homeless man was again spotted on the street of New York, but the irony is that he still does not have a shoes. Where is the shoes given by Officer DePrimo?. When asked about the shoes given the police officer, Hillman replied that the shoes that was given to him is worth lot of money and therefore he has hidden his shoes because he fears for his life if he puts on the shoes. Hillman has also realized that both he and the Police Officer has received lot of pubic attention these day. He appreciates the officer for his act of kindness and wants to thank him and he wishes that more people like officer DePrimo is there in the world. But then there is one fact that Hillman is upset also. Though homeless he feels that his permission should have been taken before his photo and news item was published and that he now needs a share of the pie too. This forces me to raise a few question. They are the following. 1. A kind hearted police officer gives a shoes to a homeless man because he feels sorry at his plight on a cold night. 2. The man instead of wearing the shoes, hides it, fearing for his life if he wears it, and then continues to walk barefoot in cold weather. 3. What would happen if another person gave another pair of shoes to Hillman again? Will he wear it to protect himself from cold or will he still hide it?. 4. Is hiding the shoes more beneficial for the homeless man than bearing the cold?. 5. The homeless man now wants share of the money that may have been generated through You Tube or other news agencies that published his story, which may have helped them financially and in terms of publicity or whoever is connected with this news story. 6. After reading the reaction of the homeless man, how will another common man or someone think and act when he sees a person in need from now on?. All these questions are inter connected. I think this is where we need to look at the whole incident in a systemic way. Systemic because I feel the way the homeless man has acted in this manner may be because of the system and the structure that is prevalent in our society which often sees welfare of the underprivileged only in terms of charity rather than going beyond the acts of charity to acts of empowerment. How can we empower people like Hillman and consentize the rest so that the society that we live in has a system and structure where every person’s life is valued and made worth more than the material goods that he/ she possess.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mark 1” 40-45. This portion describes Jesus Christ not only healing a person from a dreaded disease but also empowering the person to lead a life of fullness. The person concerned in this portion is a nameless person. A person who suffers not only physically because of the dreaded disease that he carried in his body, but along with this physical disability, he is also socially, culturally and spiritually ostracized. He cannot come to the main stream of the society, neither participate in any religious or spiritual activities. He had to totally depend on the goodness and acts of kindness that people may show to him randomly. It is in this context of complete ostracization that the man beseeches Jesus to help him clean. Cleanliness to seen not only physically but also socially and spiritually. Jesus is compassionate towards him and heals him of his dreaded disease. What is important is the action that Jesus does after healing him of his physical disease. He tells the man to go to the priest so that they could examine him and give him the permission to offer the sacrifices that he can offer, the privilege that was denied to him till this day. What Jesus does through this action is helping the man to come to the main frame of the society, the temple and all other activities so that he regains his lost identity, his sense of individuality and reconnecting back to all avenues of life and society that was denied to him till that day. This action of Jesus Christ can be called as the act of empowering a person whereby he does not have always bend down and lower himself in the eyes of the society so as to live at least partially as human beings. What is needed for all of us to emulate the action of Jesus Christ whereby we help others not only in terms of charity and welfare action but also in terms of certain systemic changes where every person will feel that he is valued irrespective of his infirmities, disabilities, colour of the skin or his/ her social conditions and in terms of material riches. It is then that the deeds of both Officer DePrimo and lifestyle of Hillman teaches us about how we can becomes instrument and channels of empowerment.

2012-12-03T06:35:00.001-08:00

The Journey 337
Monday, December 3
Read: Isaiah 11: 1-6
The end of the world. The season of hope has just begun, but news that is hopeless is what is being spread and talked about. Many people have started asking whether the e

nd of the world is near and how should they deal with a certain catastrophic events that is supposed to occur on December 21st, 2012. It is with regards to a phenomena called Mayan Apocalypse. Posters have sprung in different corners of this country about an impending catastrophe and that the world is going to end and hence all people have been asked to “gather supplies now”[ Which itself is contradictory! If the world is going to end, why should I gather or store all the supplies?]. According to this so called Mayan Apocalypse phenomena, certain transformative events are going to take place, and the date for this catastrophic events is scheduled on December 21st, 2012. According to Meso American Long count calendar, this date is regarded as the end date of 5125 long year cycle. According to people who believe in this new age interpretation, they believe that this date marks the start of the time in which the Earth and its inhabitants may undergo positive physical or spiritual transformation while others have suggested that this date marks the end of the world or certain catastrophic events like the arrival of next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the centre of galaxy or Earth’s collision with planet called Nibiru. Scholars from different disciplines, scientist from NASA and even the professional Mayanist scholars have all dismissed the concept and notion about this impending catastrophe. Last Wednesday, NASA released a news item and clarification to lay at rest the rumor that world and life is going to end on December 21st. According to the scientist at NASA, this is just “manufactured fantasy”. They state that December 21st is the day when the sun will appear at its lowest altitude above the horizon, a day known as the Winter Solstice day. It is believed that according to the ancient civilization based on Mayan calendar, a calendar cycle consisted of different cycles, with each cycle consisting of a period of hundred years. Thus according to this calculation and calendar, we are now living in the last cycle and this last cycle is going to end on December 21st, 2012. Thus taking into consideration about the phenomena of Winter Solstice and the calculation about end of the calendar cycle on December 21st, 2012, people have started predicting and creating rumors that this will be day when the world is going to end. NASA sources are asking people not to go by rumors and not to let the spirit of fear and evil take hold of their thinking and have assured the people that if such catastrophic event is going to take place, the people would be consentized, since they employ the latest technology to find about an impending natural disaster or if a cosmic catastrophe is going to happen. In fact the scientist at NASA states that more than the dangers from these so called rumored apocalypse events, the greatest threat to earth and the world is from human kind itself. This is because of the way human being are treating the mother earth and are neglecting long term issues like climate change and so on. I think NASA is communicating to all of us a truth, that today we all are concerned only about our needs and welfare without even thinking about the world or the next generation that is going to inhabit this earth. In this advent season when we communicate that God loved the world and that is why He sent His Son, I think we need to live our life so that the world that we live is a place where God reign is established and the kingdom of God become a reality. It is to this mission that God calls us in this advent season rather than living like rats who are concerned about their own safety, and when danger or when disaster strikes they run to place of safety. How can we involve in this mission in the season of advent?
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Isaiah 11: 1-6. The book of Isaiah consists of different prophecies, prophecies of judgment and also prophesies of hope and a new transformed order in God’s world or in His Kingdom. Isaiah is prophesying at a time when life style of the people was at the lowest ebb in terms of moral and spiritual values. There was widespread practices like child sacrifice, cultic prostitution, and along with this detestable practices, the day to day life was mired in corruption, bribery and deep social inequality, a time when the apostasy of King Ahaz had a very devastating effect on the whole moral and social life of the people. It is these aspects that made Isaiah to prophesize God’s judgment on people. But along with these prophecies of judgment, he also prophecies hope and dreams about a kingdom, a kingdom where the royal line of David is like a tree that is cut, but from this tree that has been cut down, a new branch is going to sprout and there will be a new king from the lineage of David who is going to usher in an era and a kingdom that will be totally different from what people saw during the reign of King Ahaz. Moreover the Spirit of the Lord will be on the King as he establishes a kingdom where wolves and sheep will live together in peace, the leopard will lie down with young goats, calves and lion cubs will feed together along with a child who is going to take care of them…..[Iss 11: 6 ]. It is in this context we find Jesus stating in Luke 4: 18, that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him to bring the good news to the poor. Here we find the vision of God through His Son Jesus Christ. A vision of a new created order. An order where there is harmony not only in human life but in the whole word order both in the human kingdom and also animal kingdom. It is this gospel of peace and harmony that needs to preached this advent season, rather than message of apocalypse catastrophe. Let us therefore be channels of hope and harmony than fear, disorder and disaster.

2012-11-29T06:14:00.001-08:00

The Journey 333
Thursday, November 29
Read: Acts 9: 1-19
Certain landmarks of the world are always etched in the minds of people. Landmarks like Eifel tower in Paris, The Statue of Liberty in New York, Taj Mahal in India are so brilliantly etched in the minds of people all over the world in such a way that moment one sees the pictures of these landmarks, one can recognize it. There is another unique landmark in the world which was celebrated in a very historic manner because of its historic relevance and its unique place in world history. One of most iconic pieces of art is the painting done by Michelangelo’s fresco on the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Yesterday the Vatican celebrated its 500th anniversary with Pope Benedict XVI, gracing the occasion with the celebration of vespers. People all over the world come to Sistine chapel to view this iconic painting and it is said that everyone who views this painting is struck not only by its beauty but also by the magnitude of the fresco. There are nine centered panels in the ceiling fresco. It shows different images like the creation of Adam and also vaulted ceiling that has images of prophets and ancestors of Jesus. It was in 1508, that Pope Julius II della Rovera commissioned Michelangelo to do the work of painting the ceiling. In the beginning Michelangelo was skeptical about the whole work since he believed that he was a sculptor and not a painter. He also felt that his enemies were using this job of painting as a ruse to get him fall from the grand stage, since the job involves the challenge of painting at a height of 65 feet, which requires not only endurance but also ingenuity. Thus he kept turning down the commission of painting the ceiling of Sistine chapel, because he felt that he had come to Rome to sculpt the tomb of Julius II, which he thought would be his masterpiece not knowing that 500 years later it was not the sculpture of Julius II for which he is remembered but the painting on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, that catapulted Michelangelo into a hall of fame. It took four years to complete painting and finally the painting was unveiled in 1512, with Pope Julius dedicating the newly decorated space with the celebration of Holy Communion on November 1st, which was the All Saints Day. According to late Pope John Paul II, the painting is considered as a priceless and a universal heritage, and this is confirmed by the millions of pilgrims who come from every country of the world to Sistine Chapel to admire the work of this wonderful sculptor turned painter. The chapel is still used for worship and also as the place for the secret conclave to elect the new pope. Thus through this wonderful work of art, Michelangelo, gave to the world, a vision about his work and an influence that was so tremendous in the world of art, culture and iconography. Here is a man who felt that he was called to be sculptor, one who felt that the world need to remember his contribution in the field of sculpture but God had much more greater plans for him. Thus for me, Michelangelo represents all those people whose vision and calling are in contradiction to the calling and grand purpose of God. It is this truth that we all need to comprehend as we think of our life, our plans for our life and our future. When we look at the Word of God we also find a life journey of a man who had a particular vision but God confronted him and transformed him to an entirely new individual with new vision and calling in life.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Acts 9: 1-19. This is the portion that we find three aspects of his life before he God confronted him. His vision of life was that he wanted Christian faith and religion to be destroyed and therefore made deliberate effort to travel far and wide to make it happen with the approval for killing the Christians in the most brutal way. In Acts 8: 1-3, we find the diabolic mind of Saul. He is a witness to the stoning of Stephen and even gave approval not only in the death of Stephen but also in the kind of death that Stephen had to undergo. Death through stoning which is very gory and painful. Later in v: 3, we find Saul going from house to house dragging both men and woman and putting them in jail. All these accounts seems to suggest that Saul was bent on destroying Christianity and it also seemed that he took a sort of personal vendetta and killing Christians as a means to pacify his anger and troubled soul. Here is a man who feels and vindicated by his vision and mission to kill Christians in the most brutal way and destroy the church. But God had other plans for the violent soldier of the Law, one who staunchly upheld the tenets of Jewish faith. Saul seeks letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus where he plans to go, so that he could go there arrest the so called believers and bring them to Jerusalem. He once again begin his journey of passion and commitment to exterminate Christians, but it is this journey that brings total transformation in the life, vision and mission of Saul. God encounters him and he is transformed into a new creation. Saul becomes Paul. A man who staunchly defended the law become the bold preacher of the gospel and the power of grace. What Saul envisioned in his life and what God envisioned through Saul was contradictory, but praise God for His plan because through that plan the Christian Church got the leadership of Paul. I wonder what would be the case of the church and Christians if we did not have the epistles written by Paul. If God could bring about the change from Saul to Paul, let us also this day trust in the Lord, in his plans for our life and affirm that God has greater and a comprehensive view and perspective of our life. A plan and mission which we may not be able to comprehend today, but history tomorrow will be witness to what God could do in our life, if we submit to him and His plan for our life.

2012-11-28T05:45:00.001-08:00

The Journey 332
Wednesday, November 28
Read: Luke 19:1-10
The digital TV runs on popular shows. In India it is the serials that is a popular features in Indian Television. Here in US you have number of popular shows like Big Bang Theory, Dancing with the Stars, Person of Interest and so on. But there is one show “Two and a Half Men” that has come into the news and has erupted into a controversy yesterday. Two and Half Men is a CBS show running since 2003 and is a Sitcom, a shortened word for situation comedy where characters in the show, share a common environment. One of the lead actors in the show, Angus T John, who has been in the show for the last 10 years has decried the show and termed the show as total filth. Angus is a teenage actor who was only 9 when he was inducted into the world of showbiz through Two and Half Men, and by the time he was in high school though his earning was in millions, his life was in total mess, having dabbled with drugs. An actor who is featured in a show for the last 10 years, criticizing the same show?. I think this is rare. It is reported that Angus earn about $350,000 per episode. This is huge money, and if that is the case why is Angus T Jones critical of a show of which he is an integral part? The views of Angus about the show and about his life has been released recently through a video brought out by Forerunner Christian Church. It is in this video he bares about how a transformation has taken place in his life after he encountered Lord in his life and also being critical of the show and its content. He says that in December 2011, a particular incident changed his perspective about life and God was the reason for the change. He says that “ People consider these shows like Two and Half Men as entertainment. But do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you, you will have a decision to make when it comes to television especially with what you watch”. Jones also feels guilty that his profession may be causing serious damage to the people who watch the show. But what is more revealing, daring and startling is the statement that Angus makes “You cannot be a true God fearing person and be on Television show like that. I know I cant. I am not ok with what I am learning, what my bible say and also being an actor in that show”. While decrying the show, Angus is in a very precarious position. He is under contract for another year, which means he has to be part of the show that he considers filth. But Angus say that God knows the reason as to why he is there. Many people have reacted to the remarks of Angus T Jones as publicity stunt, but organization like Parents Television Council has welcome the star criticism of the show, a show that many others have also been very vociferously critical because of its language and content. Here is an actor who does not want to compromise his faith even for the sake of money, popularity or fame. We don't know what is in store for Angus for his public outrage of the show. But the world has seen that there are still stars like Angus who wants to take their faith and values seriously and that they would want their professional life also an extension of their spiritual life. I think the remarks and stand of Angus teaches lot of spiritual truth and values about life and Christian living. One of the truths that we learn from this episode is whether we consciously demarcate our professional life from our spiritual life or does our faith and value influence the profession that we are in?. When we look into the Word of God we find a man who was also in a particular profession but felt guilty that he was misusing the profession for his own selfish gains.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall meditate is from Luke 19: 1-10. The portion talks about Zacheus a tax collector. Here is a man who is detested by people not only because he was a tax collector but because he used his position as tax collector to exploit people and fill his coffers. Here is a man who uses his position and profession purely for financial gains. His exploits goes unchecked and he has the best of life and that is when his encounter with Jesus Christ changes his whole outlook about his life and also about his profession. Zacheus could also be termed as someone who may have deliberately kept his professional life separate an from his spiritual beliefs and values, if he had one. Broadly speaking Zacheus represents all those people who uses their profession more as calling to cheat the system, exploit people and turn ones profession into an avenue to further ones selfish interest like financial gains rather than the cause and ministry that they were called. I think we may find Zacheus in Christian ministry too, whose focus is only to make a fast buck, or make hay while the sun shines, totally forgetting the calling and the vocation that one has been called to. We live in a world where we find constantly bombarded by the latest gadgets and influenced by the high and luxurious living that others live and this becomes a temptation also to think that life without these luxuries and fat bank balance is useless. Thus we find ourselves being sucked into a system to make fast buck and then in a deceptive and sly way, proclaim that all our material blessing are a blessing from God, and conveniently delink our faith and our calling from our professional life. People lie Angus T Jones and Zacheus teaches us that if we need to be faithful in our calling and our witness, we may have to sacrifice some of the privileges and luxuries that the world offers and through that make a deliberate effort to show to the world that both professional and spiritual life are not separate but an extension of each other.

2012-11-27T04:52:00.001-08:00

The Journey 331
Tuesday, November 27
Read: Daniel 9: 1-19
People always expect their leaders to be models, models of exemplary behavior, leading a lifestyle that is cognizant to the position that one holds. A few weeks back the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni showed a rare and exemplary courage and did something that is very rare in this world today. Uganda celebrated its 50th anniversary of Independence in October. At the celebration of its golden jubilee of independence a national jubilee prayers event was held and it is in this event that the President made a mark for himself and a model for others. What he did that was exemplary was that, he publicly acknowledged his sins and the sins committed by the nation and sought forgiveness from God. This is what he said “I stand here today to close the evil past, and especially in the last 50 years of our national leadership history and at the threshold of a new dispensation in the life of this nation. I stand here on my own behalf and on behalf of my predecessors to repent. We ask for forgiveness. We confess these sins, which have greatly hampered our national cohesion and delayed our political, social and economic transformation. We confess sins of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood, sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal,” The President prayed “Forgive us of sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of un-forgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression and exploitation; sins of rebellion, in-subordination, strife and conflict,” After his prayer of repentance, the President dedicated the country to the power of the Triune God. He said “We want to dedicate this nation to you, so that you will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. A people you have chosen as your own,”. Blessedness in a nation when God is acknowledged in every area of ones life, in a nation where a leader submits himself to the power of God and humbly confesses ones sins and shortcomings. Here is a leader who is humbling himself, one who acknowledges that he is fallible, and also acknowledging that a nation needs to be governed in Godly values and principles. We live in a time when everyone is hungry for power and authority and the moment some position of authority is entrusted to someone, it is often seen as a plank to rule and be autocratic rather than serve. Hence I think leaders who rule different countries and clergy like us who who are given position of authority, could take a leaf out of President Museveni’s book. To humble oneself in the sight of God, acknowledging ones sins and the sins of the nation and people, so as to be a corrective force in the life of the nation and the church. We have a leader in the Bible who also publicly acknowledged the sins of a nation so that God would be merciful to them. The leader in the Bible that we are going to meditate is on Daniel.
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Daniel 9: 1-19. This portion depicts the prayer of Daniel in the light of the sins committed by the people of Israel, the chosen one. Jerusalem is in a desolate state, the people were captive and Daniel wanted Lord to restore the city that was so desolate. A desolate state because of the unfaithfulness of the chosen people. It is this sin that Daniel acknowledges. Daniel refers to the covenant relationship that God instituted with his people in Sinai and how he had sent prophets to warn people of their sins and also as to how God would punish the people severely if they did not obey him. He confesses that they all have collectively disobeyed God and brought about death and destruction on themselves. In v: 9-12, Daniel prayed “ We have rebelled against you, we have not obeyed the voice of God, nor walked in his teaching, we have transgressed the law of ….” Here is Daniel using events from history to proclaim the backsliding and unfaithfulness of the people. Moreover when Daniel prays he does not stand in the judgment seat and proclaim himself righteous while others are sinners, on the contrary he identified himself with the people. Though he was not guilty of being unfaithful to God, nevertheless he associated himself as corporate sinner, acknowledging that as a member of God’s chosen nation, he has also sinned. Finally he beseeches God to be listen to his prayer and his supplication [ Daniel 9: 17-19] and forgive his people and help Jerusalem to regain its glory. Here is Daniel whose power as a leader is seen through the prayer that he does for his people. Power that is exhibited by a leader through a deliberate humbling of oneself. In a world where leaders tend to behave in the most autocratic manner and flout all rules and ethics to remain in power, it is people like President Museveni and prophet Daniel who teaches us that true power and authority comes when we are ready to humble ourselves, acknowledge our sins and is willing to identify with our community in their fallenness and help them to move forward with repentance and renewed commitment to the Lord.