When Roman Census Enumerator Arrives at the Manger…

Mary & Joseph are Questioned Tough at the Census Registration

As the Magi returned to their place after worshipping baby Jesus,

Mary & Joseph heard a knock on the door of their manger,

“Oh, dear yet another visitor tonight, another stranger?”

This time it was expectedly an unexpected visitor, ‘Census Enumerator’,

Commissioned by the office of Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus,

Census Enumerator(CE) enquires Mary & Joseph of their details to fill in the Census forms,

CE: Your name

Joseph: Joseph

CE: Where are you from?

Joseph: Nazareth of Galilee

CE: Then why did you come to be enumerated at Bethlehem?

Joseph: Because I am descended from the house and family of David, and had to come to this city of David Bethlehem to register

CE: ok fine, what is your profession?

Joseph: Carpenter

CE: Who is she in the manger with you?

Joseph: my wife Mary

CE: Are you married?

Joseph: well, we are Engaged

CE: Who is this child?

Joseph: Our Child

CE: What is his name?

Joseph: We are told by the angel to name him Jesus

CE: Oh Jesus, is he going to be a saviour?

Mary: Yes, for sure, he is born to deliver people from the bondage of oppression

CE: (laughs out loudly) are you gone crazy? There is no opposition to the Roman empire, hail Caesar!

CE to Mary: By the way what is your name?

Mary: Mary

CE: what is your native place?

Mary: Nazareth of Galilee

CE: Marital status?

Mary: Well, you wouldn’t understand whatever I say?

CE: What is that I don’t understand? Tell me the truth? Have you eloped from your town and have conceived a child illegitimately?

Mary: Please stop speaking as you wish, I am a virgin and am conceived by Holy Spirit and bore Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

CE: Ha ha ha ha, this is the joke of the year and the years to come. I don’t care whether you bore a child illegitimately or by any spirits, all I need to emphasize is that there is no other emperor than Caesar, and there is no other kingdom then the Kingdom of Rome. All you say is cock and bull stories and will not appeal to anyone in this context.

Mary: My son Jesus is going to bring down the powerful to become lowly, will establish Kingdom of God very different from the ethos of your kingdom and is bound on love, peace, justice and equality and his kingdom has no end.

CE: I have come here not to listen to your spineless sermons, let me do my job and register you as virgin/unmarried/engaged/homeless/ and profile you and your family as insurgents, and mind you with this red tag on your family, you cannot cross borders or escape from the wrath of Roman empire. I am going to alert all the check-posts in our empire and no one can save you and your family.

Mary & Joseph depended on God and said, “For nothing is impossible to God”

Christmas challenges us to

remember people who are struggling to fill in their documents,

remember people who are struggling with ambiguous identities,

remember people who are crossing the borders and oceans,

remember people who are profiled unjustly as insurgents for contesting empire,

remember people who are branded unpatriotic for expressing dissent,

remember people who are vulnerable and pushed into margins…

Christmas inspires us to participate along with God who in Jesus pitched his tent among such people in their quest for life, peace, justice and liberation and in striving to bring them to realization.

For with God everything is Possible

Wishing you A Very Meaningful Christmas & A Challenging New year

Jai Ho, Jubi, Shiny, Raj Bharat,

Indira & Deva Raju Patta,

Gnana Kumari & Rajaratnam Budithi

Christmas 2016,

Manchester

Recovering “S/O Mary” as the Relevant Christological Title Today

If my name was Mary, just sixteen with a Child…

In our liturgical Christian tradition, the fourth Sunday in Advent is a time to reflect on Mary, the mother of Jesus, particularly contemplating on how she waited and paved way for the arrival of Jesus Christ into this world. Most times Mary is projected as ‘mother of Christ’ and over the years in some popular Church traditions she is celebrated as ‘Theotokos’ (mother of God), in a way discounting her identity, self-worth and agency as a women and mother. In the reading for this Sunday from Mathew 1: 18-25, we see the explanation of birth of Messiah presented by Mathew all from the perspective of Joseph with hardly anything to say from Mary’s perspective or position. This passage has at least three Christological titles, Messiah, Son of David and Emmanuel, for Mathew want to quickly introduce Jesus to his audience about his Jewish roots and his fulfilments of the Old testament prophecies in Jesus right at the start of his gospel in his birth narratives.

The prominent Christological titles in the Scriptures have been Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, Messiah, Lord, King, Prophet, Priest, Lamb, Shepherd, Emmanuel etc. have all evolved out a contextual demand in the early Christian Church, for they only reflect the kind of patriarchal world during which the gospels have been written and circulated. “Son of Mary” is one the most under-recognised or even unrecognised and even less-explored Christological titles. It is time now for us to recover this title, which is of immense relevance for our times today in 21^st century. Exploring the title ‘Son of Mary’ is a Biblical, contextual and theological necessity, for it conveys profound theological insights into our Christian faith journeys, which is to identify Jesus through a woman, in this case his mother Mary.

1.      Problematizing the title Son of Mary:

Only in two instances is ‘Son of Mary’ mentioned, in Mark 6: 3 and in Mathew 13: 55, and is one of the least mentioned Christological titles in the gospels. Is this title a problematic one, or is there a problem in this title? In Mark 6:3, it is written “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.” Several scholars have argued that this title ‘Son of Mary’ in this Markan context is used to pick on the ‘illegitimate birth’ of Jesus, which is only used to mock at Jesus and his birth outside of a marriage. This reveals the kind of patriarchal dominance that was thriving those days, where Mary as a woman, her image and identity was used & misused and even abused for the gains of male arrogance.

The other problem with this title is demonstrated in Paul, the major and early contributor of New Testament who conspicuously did not refer to neither the name of Mary nor to her virgin birth in any of his epistles. In Galatians 4: 4, he only says that “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” Such a conscious non-referral of Mary raises a brow, for it only diminishes the worth and agency of a mother called Mary, who bore and delivered a saviour baby Jesus. This also reveals the kind of privilege male-centeredness was enjoying in the mission and ministries of the early Church, for they did not think important to affirm in the agency of a young woman Mary.

These incidents therefore call us to read this title subversively, contesting and unwrapping all the patriarchal perspectives in the title Son of Mary, for in such a title there is a deep encounter of divine with human, in which we celebrate and affirm.

2.      Programming the title Son of Mary:

Mary as a young woman is a significant site where the divine and the mundane encounter, delivering a saviour to be born in Jesus Christ. Bearing a son Jesus in her womb signifies that in Mary’s vulnerability and fragility as a human, the divine finds a favour and indwells with her and comes out as a fully divine and fully human Jesus Christ. The Christological title S/O Mary for Jesus aptly speaks of his calling, nature and purpose of his coming into this world. The title S/O Mary happens to be nurturing space for both S/O God and S/O of Man to shoot up and bloom in Jesus Christ. It here that the transcendent and the immanent meet up to reveal to the world that out of the womb of Mothers like Mary, divinity can be en-fleshed, be born and take on the flesh of humankind.

This title in its literal sense conveys that Jesus is the son of Mary, and tell me which child does not want to be called after their moms, particularly when she is a woman of courage, singing songs of revolution, teaching her child to ‘overthrow the powers.’ Mary’s song, the Magnificat, (Luke 1: 46-55) reveals her role as a mother. When most mothers sing lullaby to their children, Mary has a very revolutionary song that she had to sing when she was pregnant with Jesus. There were several available songs for Mary in Nazareth those days, for she could have chosen a hymn from Psalmody or from their hymnal, but she chose to compose a contemporary song of justice, her own yearning for her society, and sang it for her son Jesus. Her situation and context of oppression and discrimination, demanded mother Mary to sing this radical song of justice. This song reveals her mothering quality, her dream for her son, and raised Jesus with those values and ethos and he eventually lived up for all those that her mother aspired and raised him with. This song could have been the song that Jesus heard her sing daily, and learnt it as an anthem of justice for his mission in his life. Eventually, with that kind of radical nurture from her mother Mary, there is no surprise that Jesus became a revolutionary of his times critiquing and contesting all forms of injustice of temple and empire. Jesus lived up to all the dreams of her mother Mary, and became a proud son of Mary.

S/O Mary is the most fitting title for Jesus, for out of Mother came an Emmanuel, came a Saviour, came a Messiah, came a king, came a prophet etc. To put it other way, S/O Mary is the mother of all Christological titles of Jesus, and by understanding this title, we get to grips with the rest of the titles of Jesus.

3.       Pragmatizing the title Son of Mary:

This title is important to Jesus because, S/O Mary is a critique against all dominant forces of patriarchy which has not allowed to celebrate womanity as an agency of delivering divine in human form.  This title is important for the Church today because, S/O Mary challenges the Church to affirm woman as agents of divine grace and calls on the Church to confront all forms of violence meted against women and all genders of vulnerability. This is a confessing title of the Church for our times, where the divine is willingly partaking to co-in habitat in the human.  S/O Mary is a liberating affirmation for all those parents and children who are struggling in life with broken parental relationships. This title is the most public theologically relevant title of Jesus, for Jesus is situated in the context of human motherhood, who is relatable to all human beings without any dogmatic assertions.

The title S/O Mary has been used more prominently as Isa ibn Mariyam  (Jesus, Son of Mary) in Arabic of the Muslim faith tradition, for they believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and as a prophet.

Let me also remind you that today the 18^th December is observed as International Migrant Day, where we as churches are called to participate in addressing the concerns of the people who are crossing the borders and seas as migrants. As I think of mother Mary today, as a young woman of Nazareth in Galilee, she was forced to take on the hazardous journey to Bethlehem with Joseph, just because she was betrothed to him, and for he is of the lineage of David to be registered in his home town and so had to go with him as a pregnant. And after the delivery of Jesus, she again with the baby in her arms nursing him, had to flee with Joseph to Egypt as a migrant to save their lives from the wrath of Herod. Mother Mary along with baby Jesus took on a risky travel as a refugee family with some insufficient documents or no documents which reveal some grey areas on the forms like the status of their marital relationship, their permanent address etc. Yet she faced all those hardships with courage and faith in God, and did all she could in raising a child for God to be the child of God and to be child God.

Till today they say about 7000 people died in 2016 alone in crossing the borders as migrants, and there would have been many more whose lives are lost as they are undocumented and unrecorded. They say one in every seven people in the world is a migrant, which is one-seventh of the globe today form the migrant community, and the call of the Church is to join along this community for there are several Mary, Jesus and Joseph among them, and for the Church happens among them only.  

It is high time that we are called to recover this very significant and relevant Christological title Son of Mary, for it provides an important gender, political, spiritual & public twist in the kaleidoscope of Christology.

(A picture of Mother Mary and Jesus from African tradition as found in the Church of Annunciation at Nazareth)

Allow me to conclude with the lyric that was penned by John Bell in 2015 in response to the growing migrant crisis, as an commitment to the call of gospel.

If my name was Mary 
(Just sixteen with a child) 
Forced to flee my country 
(failing state turning wild) 
Would you find a place for me?

If the town I came from 
once had been occupied 
By your nations soldiers 
At whose hands my dad died
Would you find a place for me?

If your nations air force 
Dropped their bombs on my street 
On the wrong presumption
That was where rebels meet 
Would you find a place for me?

If I'd learned that your country 
Saw and heard our plight
But remained persuaded
We were wrong, you were right 
Would you find a place for me?

If the boat I paid for 
Was unfit to set sail 
And that seeking refuge 
was now certain to fail
would you find a place for me 
Would you find a place for me?

If my name was Mary 
(Just sixteen with a child) 
If his name was Jesus...

Rajbharat Patta,

18^th December 2016

(Sermon Preached at St. Peter’s Church and Chaplaincy, Manchester)

Advent Raises an Alarm: Wake Up, Lay Aside & Put on

Listening to Romans 13:11-14

On this first Sunday of the new liturgical calendar, allow me to share with you that Paul when writing to Roman church in Romans 13:11-15 appeals in urgency to the early Christians to wake up and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, which comes to us with even more urgency with a challenge for our times. We have heard of advent calendars, advent candles, advent wreaths, advent decorations etc., allow me to introduce you to an Advent Alarm, which has begun its ringing, for Advent raises an alarm for us to wake up from sleep, lay aside the works of the empire and to put on Lord Jesus Christ. During this season of advent, a time of waiting, we are called to listen to the alarm of justice and act on it. Let people that have ears will listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency.

1.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Recognise the Momentous Time:

Paul in verse 11, calls on the Church ‘to know what time it is’, for the time is ripe and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Advent raises an alarm to recognise this moment in time, as the time appointed by God to act and work. It is interesting to note that the word for ‘time’ used in Greek is ‘kairos’ rather than ‘chronos’. It is not the ‘chronological time,’ that Paul is talking about here, rather it is the ‘appointed time’, a time where God intervenes into our times at our end, a time for action, a time for introspection, and a time for an audit of truth. Advent therefore raises an alarm to recognise that God’s intervening time, the times at our end where the signs of our times calls us to wake up from our sleep and act for justice and liberation. Its time for us to install ‘Advent Alarm’ than feeling cool with our ‘Advent Calendar.’ Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

2.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Reaffirm in the Nearness of Salvation:

In verse 11b, we see Paul further exhorts that “for the salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers.” The distance and affinity to salvation becomes closer to people of God in their journey of faith, in relation to their initiation into the faith. Salvation is a journeying gift that comes closer and nearer to those that wake up to stand firm in their faith. Salvation oscillates between believing and discipling, and the call today is that salvation gets closer in our true discipleship to Christ. Is salvation nearer to us than before? Most times we are comfortable in singing ‘nearer my God to thee…’ but the advent alarm is to reaffirm to pronounce that ‘nearer am I to your salvation of God.’ If salvation is nearer to us, then we are invited to act along with God at this appointed time in transforming our lives and our world. Advent raises an alarm to reaffirm in the nearness of salvation. Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

3.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Reject the Works of Empire:

In verse 12, Paul further appeals ‘the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.’ In the context of the Roman empire, Paul explains in 13 verse the works of darkness as revelling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarrelling and jealousy, which have been the order of the day, for those in power indulged in such acts and exploited the vulnerable colonized communities. In contrast to these acts of the empire, Paul urges the Christians to lay aside the ‘pyjamas’ of darkness and put on the ‘armour of light’, a vestment for the day, a vestment of the Kingdom of God, which primarily exposes those ungodly deeds, dispels darkness, and liberate people and communities with and towards light. Advent therefore raises an alarm to reject the works of our neo-empire of our times, which include exploitation, oppression, discrimination and exclusion and calls us to put on the ‘armour of light.’ Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

4.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Re-Cover ourselves with Lord Jesus Christ:  

In verse 14, Paul finally appeals in all urgency to put on Lord Jesus Christ, making no provisions to gratify the desires of flesh. In contrast to the Roman dress which is muddled with power, authority and exploitation, Paul urges the early Church to put on Lord Jesus Christ, who is stained in all dust and dirt to identify with those on the margins. ‘Putting on Lord Jesus Christ’ is an act of defiance to the colonial rules of ‘putting on Cesar’, the Lord of the colonial powers. Advent primarily raises an alarm to affirm in the Lordship of Jesus Christ in opposition to the Lordship of the empire. Putting on Lord Jesus Christ calls us towards defiance to the powers, and to identifying with the people on the margins. Those in power are called to pitch their tents among the vulnerable communities, for it among them God works and Kingdom of God happens. Advent raises an alarm to de-cover ourselves from the stinking chores of power and re-cover ourselves by putting on Lord Jesus Christ. Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

St. Augustine in the 4th century found this passage from Romans, and heard to the alarm from the text and responded to put on Jesus Christ in his life, and eventually turned to become great time theologians of all times. 

The relevance of Advent therefore is to swiftly act to the alarm that is ringing. The context of our times are so grim, for there has been a growing intolerance towards the other, increasing hatred against the stranger, increasing rise of consumerism where days like ‘black Friday’ are gaining their popularity forcing many people to invest on spending, increasing unaccountability of leadership in Church & society, an increasing refugee crisis, an increasing changes on our climate and planet, increasing poverty, increasing homelessness etc. and there is a sense of more urgency than ever to wake up to face and address the realities of our times. Paul’s words “The night is far gone and the day is near,” therefore conveys to us that this season of Advent raises an alarm to the church and to each of us as disciples of Christ to wake us up from deep slumber, to know the God’s momentous time, lay aside the works of empire and to put on Lord Jesus Christ onto our lives. Let us stop pretending to sleep and wake up with our eyes and hearts wide open to the ongoing acts of injustice and evil around us to raise an alarm for change, so that we can collectively partake and actively participate in transforming our world. Advent raises a justice alarm, hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing to go and act swiftly!!!

Wishing you all a very meaningful season of Advent. 

Rajbharat Patta,

27^th November 2016

(Sermon preached at St. Peter’s Church and Chaplaincy, Manchester on the first Sunday of Advent.) 

‘For Your Tomorrow We Gave Our Today’: Remembrance Day

Last year when I was invited to preach on Remembrance Day at our University Quadrant addressing the young cadets of our University, it wasn’t a comfortable experience to prepare a sermon for such an occasion like this. My colleagues mentioned to me that this is a Christian tradition in Britain, and it does have a pastoral practice of preaching on such occasions remembering those died in the war. In my cross-cultural ministerial engagements, here in UK this was one of the difficult tasks for me to reflect on Remembrance Day. As a pastoral calling in this context, pinning a poppy on to my stole, I (ad)ventured in making this reflection, from an Indian subaltern perspective.

 In my own personal reflection, I could only think and remember those Dalit brothers and sisters who are killed brutally in the name of caste by the dominant groups, for whom we never have any Remembrance days. Therefore, Remembrance Day for me cannot go without remembering several Dalits who sacrificed their lives at the altar of the inhuman system of caste. On this day, I remember those innocent people in Kashmir & North East India who are killed by the forces of State using AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Protection Act), I remember several Palestinians who are killed by the occupying forces, and I bring to my memory all those innocent people who are killed across the globe in the name of religion, gender, region, class etc.

Personally, I must but remember two people in my family on this Remembrance Day. One is my paternal great grandfather Mr. Patta Jogiah, of whom our family tradition say that he died in a war in Rangoon. The other was my maternal grandfather Mr. Palaparthi Devaraju, who served the Royal Indian Navy during the early years of his life.  

As we gather here on this Remembrance Day, we are called to revisit our memory, to re-member several people who lost their lives at a war, to resist the logic of war, to remember the families, widows & children left behind and to renew our commitment for global peace.

Coming from India and reflecting on war memorials, I recollect my visit to the War Memorial cemetery in Kohima, in the north-eastern State of Nagaland. It was a commemorative memorial in the memory of soldiers died in Second World War. One epitaph and the words inscribed on it caught my attention, and it was written, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.” This inscription made me to think, that several Indian soldiers who died along with many others gave their “todays” for someone else’s “yesterdays.” They left behind widows and orphans, but history too has orphaned them, with very little evidence & record of their lives.

On this Remembrance Day, we are called to remember several unsung heroes and sheroes of wars, whose lives were lost, whose histories were lost and whose memories are also lost. It was said that approximately 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I, not representing their country or their geography, but risking their lives and ultimately paying their lives. Over 74,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives, fighting on a distant foreign land for a foreign cause & countries. Those Indian soldiers included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, people of faith and no faith and had to sacrifice their lives.

On this day, may we re-member those & several other people, whose names, lives & histories have been erased & forgotten and whose lives & their deaths were unrecognized, unnoticed and undocumented. It is time to dis-member their lives, histories & local narratives of resilience as war soldiers, sepoys, jawans & several others.

The gospel of Jesus Christ and the values of Kingdom of God is built on small mustard seeds; whose germination was unwarranted for, yet when bloomed could nest several birds. Small narratives and little stories, do have such scope to inspire many people. Jesus’ earthly life had to end with an unjust trial, political crucifix and a premature death at the age of thirty-three, at the hands of cruel Roman Empire. This reminds us to re-member several young people who at the age of 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 etc. lost their lives prematurely at a war for the sake of their people and nations. The memory of Jesus death was de-membered with his new life experience in resurrection, which instills a new hope to remembrance. The memory of Jesus’ premature death and his resurrection that followed it, has sustained the Christian communities of all generations that kept to live lives in a hope. It is a memory of grief, a memory of empathy, a memory of consolation, a memory of hope, so it is with the memory of all those died at war.

On this day, we are called to join in the vision and prophecy of Micah as he says,

“God shall judge between many peoples,

    and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;they shall beat their swords into plowshares,    and their spears into pruning hooks;nation shall not lift up sword against nation,    neither shall they learn war any more” Micah 4:3 

When the great British poet Wilfred Owen was to return to the front to give his life in the futile first World War, he recited Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s parting words to his mother as his last good bye. When he was so tragically & pointlessly killed, Owen’s mother found Tagore’s poem copied out in her son’s hand in his diary:

When I go from hence

let this be my parting word,

that what I have seen is unsurpassable.

I have tasted of the hidden honey of this

lotus, that expands on the ocean of light,

and thus am I blessed

-let this be my parting word.

In this play house of infinite forms

I have had my play

and here have I caught sight of him that is formless.

My whole body and my limbs

have thrilled with his touch who is beyond touch;

And if the end comes here, let it come

-let this be my parting word.

Let our memories not fail us and let us re-invoke that “for your tomorrow we gave our today.”

Rajbharat Patta,

11^th November 2016 

When Luther, Annamma & Pope Meet: A Conversational Homily for Reformation Day

Narrator:  Read Acts 5:29 & Isaiah 7: 9b

The global church celebrated 500 years of Reformation in 2017, which gave an opportunity to rededicate and recommit our faith journey towards transforming church and society. Here are three important people who never met on earth, but in God’s presence, where time & eternity meet there is every possibility that these three people from three different historical and geographical backgrounds meet for a conversation. The three are Martin Luther, the 16^th century reformer from Germany, Annamma, my grandmother and first generation Dalit Telugu Lutheran Christian from India, who lived in 20^th century, Pope Francis the current Head of Roman Catholic Church from Vatican who is living in 21^st century.

Martin Luther (ML): Hi guys, grace and peace to you all, good to see you all here and wish I could have met you earlier in my days. I understand both of you are very special each in your own way, and it is the love of Christ that binds us together in unity affirming our diversities. Praise be to God and God alone.

Pope Francis (PF): In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is such a pleasure meeting you all here in the presence of God, where God is all in all and is present everywhere. Peace be with you Martin, and Peace be with you Annamma.

Annamma: Namaskaram (greetings) Luther garu, Namaskaram (greetings)Pope Francis garu, I am thrilled to see you all here and it is such a joy for me to see you both here in this place of God. I heard of you Luther all my life from our missionaries and my dad as a catechist spoke about you so prominently. I heard about you Pope Francis from my grandchildren, and gathered that you have pioneered liberation theology during your papacy. I am excited to meet you both in this God's space and time.

PF: Father Martin, I still see you as our priest, however I regret the decision to excommunicate you from our Church then, but let me brief you that these 506 years of reformation and 56 years of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue has led us to move from conflict to communion, allowing God’s Spirit to lead us thus far as co-members in the body of Christ.

When you nailed those 95 theses on the doors of Wittenberg on 31^st October 1517, I understood that my predecessors were terribly unhappy and mercuries soared very high on their sphygmomanometer. Let me appreciate you for that courageous act you did then, and as you know that eventually turned out to be the Reformation day. What was it like?

ML: Should I call you His grace or Fr. Francis, but I feel at home calling you Brother Francis (Pope nods his head with a smile) thank you for your appreciation, and wish you were the Pope during my days, and am glad that good days of liberation have come for the church now. Allow me to reaffirm that Reformation was an act of God, and I was only an instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit. It was a sad state in the context of the Church where gospel values have been compromised and contaminated by power and authority. Reformation of the Church was a Biblical necessity, a Theological necessity and a Contextual necessity of our times.

PF: I can understand what you are saying Martin and glory be to God for your bravery and passion for the gospel. Now let us invite our sister Annamma, whose name resounds the name of St. Ann, mother of our Holy Mother Mary to share what does Reformation day meant to her?

Annamma:  Thank you Pope Francis garu. Martin Luther, though was miles away from our place in India, and was distanced by about four centuries of time, his act of Reformation is of high relevance to us. When the Lutheran missionaries brought us the gospel of Jesus Christ, they had instilled in us a sense of self-dignity for we were considered ‘untouchables’ in our community for being born outside the caste system. For us as Dalits, Luther and his story was so dear and close. Since Luther spoke ‘truth to the powers’, he was identified as one among us, for he stood as an inspiration in overthrowing the corrupted powers of caste. We have owned Luther as our own. After becoming Christians, for us there were three important festivals. The first one was Christmas, the second was Easter and the third was Reformation Day. Telugu translation of the word Reformation was ‘Mathodarana’ which means ‘restoration or up-liftment of religion or religious system’ or ‘re-establishment of religion’. Therefore, Reformation was ‘restoration’ and ‘up-liftment’ which was our yearning for liberation from all oppressive religious practices both within and outside of the church. We have grown enacting Luther’s play from our childhood, and aspired to make Reformation a reality for our times in our contexts. Faith alone, Grace alone, Scripture alone are the foundations of our Christian living, and we believe that we are justified by faith in the love of Christ, and not by any religious rituals or works. We are liberated and saved by grace and not by any karma or acts.

ML: Very interesting to know about this sister Annamma, I am glad that you have taken the meaning of Reformation to greater heights, broadening its scope, widening its horizons and deepening its meaning. As I said earlier, Reformation is God’s act, and God in God’s grace activates and actualizes Reformation for God’s people in varied and diverse contexts and stages of his history. Praise be to God.

PF: Brilliant sister Annamma, indeed praise be to God, for you have owned, reclaimed and re-enacted the story of Luther more profoundly than any others in the global North. I now reckon to the fact that Luther and his Reformation has now become your story, your aspiration and your longing. Thank you Annamma for sharing this, and thank you Martin for initiating this. I now understand what it means to have 74 million Lutherans globally today and why it is concentrated densely in the global South. At this point, I should also say that Lutherans and Catholics have come closer on the ‘doctrine of justification by faith’, for we acknowledge that this was part of the Biblical theology of St. Paul, which precedes the early church father St. Augustine’s teaching. I should also agree to the truth that ‘salvation is not for sale’. We all collectively rejoice in God, for God has been gracious to us, for God’s faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Martin, let me now ask you, on 8^th April 1521 when you were summoned at Diet of Worms to reply on all the charges leveled against you, you were firm and stuck to what you had done and believed. What was that moment for you?

ML: Brother Francis, of all the thing I did, and of the things I wrote how on earth you single out that only moment at the Diet of Worms? I knew you were trying to seek justification of my statement ‘Here I Stand.’ I was summoned to explain why I should not be excommunicated? I had back and forth conversations asking not to rend the church, and retrieve my words and seek an apology. But my conviction in my Bible, the Word and the Spirit helped me to stand on what I had believed, said and done. Therefore, let me echo you the same words I said then. “Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and teeth. Unless I am convicted by the Scripture and plain reason--I do not accept the authority of the Popes and the Councils for they had contradicted each other--my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me. Amen."

Brother Francis, there I stand, and till eternity there only I will stand.

PF: Thank you Martin, we all knew that you were hard gutted guy and will not give up easily. Brilliant, you are inspiring man, Martin. I knew your stand, but now let me ask Sister Annamma, what is their Dalit Christian perspective from Luther’s ‘Here I stand’ affirmation.

Annamma: For Martin Luther, Sola Fide (faith alone) is a hermeneutic in unlocking ‘justification,’ for his context then was dominated by the rule of Sola Roma (Rome alone). Luther recited this verse “If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.” from Isaiah 7: 9b, for he was always Scripture centred and Word focused. From this verse, there are three important facets of faith, firstly the grounding of faith, which is in its ‘standing,’ secondly the binding of faith, which is in its ‘firmness’ and thirdly the longing of faith, which is ‘fullness of life.’ For it is our faith in a revolutionary Jesus Christ that inspires us to partake in the transformation of our society, for such a faith compels us to translate faith into praxis and roots us firmly in life and life giving mission. In the context of caste oppression (Sola Caste = caste alone), we Dalit Lutheran Christians firmly believe that we do not accept the authority of caste, authority of powers, authority of oppressive texts etc. for we are liberated by the Word of God as revealed and personified in Jesus Christ. Here we as Dalit Christians stand along with Luther, sand beside Luther and all people of God on the faith of Jesus Christ, on the grace of God, on the Word of God, for nothing can separate and deter us from the love of God that brings peace, justice and equality.

ML: Fantastic Sister Annamma, thank you for making me stand on my convictions in the Word, for making me stand along with you, for now I say with people like you and your communities I can stand and I will stand. Praise be to God.

PF: Thank you Sister Annamma for bringing in your powerful insights. I did hear about the plights of Dalit Christians and other such communities, for that was the reason time and again I stressed on ‘Church of the poor’ for I believed unless we re-incarnated as ‘Church of the poor’ we cannot witness to the values of the gospel. Moving ‘From Conflict to Communion’ for me is to ensure that liberation and justice becomes a reality to several people dying under the rubric of oppression. If as Churches we can raise up to that occasion, we can joyfully celebrate Reformation day. We are called to Re-form our churches as ‘Church of the poor’ and I am sure Martin and all his people, be it Protestants or Evangelicals or Charismatics will join me in making this a reality, which is the need of the hour. Luther, you have said your message 500 + years ago, I have said my own aspirations of the church, let us therefore ask Sister Annamma to give us her reflection for this 31^st October, on the Reformation Day.

Annamma:  Thank you Pope Francis garu and Luther garu for being gracious in allowing me speak for Reformation Day. Reformation for me as I have said earlier, is ‘hearing to speech’ the often neglected, distorted, overlooked and even forgotten voices of the subalterns, the voices from the margins. Reformation for me is ‘Speaking truth to the powers,’ for the cause of justice and peace. Reformation for me is a time of repentance for the callous attitudes of our churches and its leadership towards the needs of our people in the community, a time of repentance for those in powers for we enjoy pomp and positions at the expense of our vulnerable believers, a time of repentance for being silent to the unjust practices in our churches and for being insensitive to the exploitation done to innocent people around us. Reformation for me is a time to give up my positions & privileges of any authorities that I enjoy in the Church which is against the convictions of the gospel and allowing to lead a life submitting ourselves at the feet of the Cross in coherence with the Crucified Christ. Reformation day particularly in 2023 in the context of war and conflict in the land of the Holy One, is a call to stand with the weak and oppressed, is a call to strive for peace and justice and is a call to stop the war and save life. 

The call of Reformation today is to reject and defeat the authoritarian, ugly practice of caste and several such forms and allege total obedience to our liberating God, so that our public spaces of church, academy and society become zero-tolerant zones against discrimination. For Jesus, it was ‘Roman Empire or Kingdom of God’ and he chose the latter over against the former, for Luther, it was ‘Rome or Christ’ and he chose Christ over against any other ecclesial authority and today it is ‘Caste or Christ’, and our ultimate choice is Christ over against caste, for such a thing is now required in re-formation of our churches. ‘Injustice done anywhere affects justice everywhere.’

PF & ML: Thank you Sister Annamma for your prophetic word. We submit to God and look to Him for His help so that our communities are transfigured, reformed and transformed.

Annamma: Should we not then close with one of Martin Luther’s hymns that he had penned based on Psalm 46, for this song is our act of commitment and pledge.

Let us all sing, “A Mighty Fortress is our God…”

Raj Bharat Patta, 

Reformation Day, 

31st October 2023

In the Speech of the Subalterns, Echoes the Voice of the Divine

Listening to Luke 16: 19 -31
Lazarus Speaks

This parable consists of three characters, rich man, Lazarus and Abraham and not to deny a narrator of this story. Most of the talking in this parable is done by the rich man and Abraham, with some interventions of the narrator. It is interesting and surprising to note that in the whole of the parable not a single word of Lazarus is recorded, for Lazarus’ voice has been conspicuously silenced. It was the rich man who silenced Lazarus’ voice before death, and later it was Abraham who shadowed Lazarus and silenced his voice. Lazarus has been forced into speechlessness by the conditions around him in this entire narration. His poverty, his hunger, his homelessness, his powerlessness, his not being ‘famous’ in the society, his wounded self and psyche all paved to his (non)being as non-person, non-identity and non-public pushing him into the mode of speechlessness.

In such a context, the text challenges to employ a ‘decolonized hermeneutics’ to recover the voice and speech of Lazarus, thereby uphold the worth and value of his life, both before and after death. Can the subaltern speak? Yes, the subaltern can speak, for those that have ears will listen to their narratives.

“When we were dying out of hunger and poverty, here is a rich man who was insensitive to the needs of the people around him and lived a complacent selfish life in pomp and pleasure” remembered Lazarus who was at his deathbed due to a terminal ailment, for he lived as a homeless person at the gates of this rich man’s villa fed on the crumbs of this man along with dogs, for the dogs even licked his wounds.

Few days later Lazarus died, and since he was an outcast, no one came forward to bury his polluted corpse, leaving it to decompose without a burial. But fortunately, the angels carried Lazarus to be with God, where Abraham also found a refuge. Afterwards the rich man also died, for tens and thousands of rich people came to his ceremonial funeral service paying tributes to him, praising him for what he was not.

Eventually rich man was taken to Hades, where he was tormented, a price for his being rich and for creating poor around him. He looked up, saw Abraham at God’s place and was startled to see Lazarus by his side. “Can a dog licking wounded, homeless, poor ‘slum dog’ be at the side of Abraham, the father of the faithful?” exclaimed the once upon a time rich man. (For in the kingdom of God, rich man’s position is reversed.)

If Lazarus spoke in this text, all the evil things the rich man did towards the poor and homeless people would have been revealed, all the evil things that the rich man did to become even more richer by making the poor poorer would have been exposed. If Lazarus spoke, he would have narrated how he was pushed by the rich empire into poverty, homelessness and hunger. If Lazarus spoke, he would have testified what an impossibility it would have been for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. If Lazarus spoke, he would have disclosed that the real meaning of life is in sharing and caring for one another, for life cannot be quantified into monetary terms and conditions.

If Lazarus spoke, he would have said emphasized on the spirituality of dispossession, where each individual is called to give up greed and bridge the gap between rich and poor by identifying with the poor. If Lazarus spoke, he would have said, look for the divine among the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God. If Lazarus spoke, he would have called to practice what has been preached by Moses and the prophets. If Lazarus spoke, he would have emphasized that being grounded in one’s faith traditions like Moses or Prophet(s) makes the them to be inclusive, faithful and tolerant in looking for truths in other faith traditions. If Lazarus spoke, he would have called for repentance of the rich from poor, seeking reparations from rich to poor. so that the world would become a better place to live.  If Lazarus spoke, he would have affirmed in the continuation of God’s revelation in the activity of the life and death of Jesus Christ, who was sent back to life by God in resurrection. If Lazarus spoke, he would have said that he died while he was still living, and is still living while he was dead.  When Lazarus speaks, the divine is located in his voice, for in the speech of the subalterns, echoes the voice of the divine. Those that have ears, let them listen.

Rajbharat Patta,

24^th September 2016

(Sermon to be preached at St. Ninians URC Church, Manchester) 

If the Occupied Speak? Devotion to God is Dismantling Mammon

Postcolonial Reading of Luke 16:1-13

                               Reflection for World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel 2016 

September 18 to 24, annually is observed as World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel (WWPPPI) inviting churches and civil society to join together for a week of advocacy and action in support of an end to illegal occupation of Palestine and for a just peace in Palestine Israel. The theme for this year 2016 is ‘Dismantling the Barriers’, which is an echo to the previous year’s theme ‘wall will fall.’ On the other hand, our immediate context here at our Chaplaincy is a setting of welcome week for the freshers who will join Universities, coming to learn in newer settings. Dismantling the barriers and welcoming the others are part and parcel of Christian witness and commitment.

There are several barriers that hinder the welcome, and there are many forms of mammon that have become barriers and obstruct welcome. Idolatry of power, prejudice, positions, wealth, walls, occupation etc. are the manifestations of mammon and it is high time that we stand to break down, dismantle and despise mammon, which in itself is an expression of ones’ devotion to God. 

The gospel lesson chosen for this Sunday from Luke 16: 1-13 has been one of the problematic texts in the Scriptures for there have been varied interpretations, and sometimes not knowing how to interpret the rich man commending the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. It was interesting to see how the two ‘debtors’ in this text would have reacted and reflected the whole story. In that line, here is an attempt of reading that story from the perspective of the two colonized ‘debtors’ who have been either neglected or overlooked in this colonial paradigm. This is my own re-imagination of the parable, reading it from the standpoints of subalternity and postcoloniality.   A postcolonial subaltern hermeneutics of this text gives us a fresh understanding that ‘loving God means hating mammon.’

Then the disciples of Jesus heard this, “There were two families named Ashraf and Maria (in the literary texts of the scripture their names are both forgotten and never mentioned), who have been forced to become poor because of Roman colonization. Their struggles knew no bounds for they toiled day in and day out to feed their family and have been unable to find a square meal a day. The oppression of the colonizers grew intense as they levied heavy taxes on the poor by looting their money, resources and energy unjustly, cutting down their rations, implementing austerity measures and by stealing their own food and importing it to the centres of the empire, leaving this land with hunger and famine. Ashraf and Maria left no stone unturned in finding some food for their families but returned unsuccessful with empty stomachs and empty pockets.

There was a cruel manager in their quarter working for the empire, exploiting the people by extorting huge amounts. Ashraf and Maria went to this cruel manager to get some food on a debt to feed their family. Ashraf took on a debt 50 jugs of olive oil from this cruel manager. When signing the receipts of debt, the cruel manager got him signed that he had taken 100 jugs of olive oil, and stole the rest of the 50 jugs of oil to be sold elsewhere. Maria took 80 containers of wheat on a debt from him, and he like before got her signed for 100 containers of wheat, and pocketed the rest to make extra money. Both Ashraf and Mari in their vulnerability of being colonized and powerless and out of their need to feed the family had to sign on these wrong receipts. When they started repaying their debts by returning one container of wheat and one jug of oil per month, the cruel manager took them for himself as compounded interest and never updated the books. Ashraf and Maria remained helpless and returned grumbling against the unjust activities of the cruel manager.

When the books weren’t updated for a long time, and when the empire got to hear about the dishonesty and disloyalty of this manager, the empire called on for an emergency audit and summoned this cruel manager to bring the books for audit. This cruel manager was in a fix and knew that he will lose his job very soon.

On hearing this news all the people in the colonized quarter where Ashraf and Maria lived gathered together, for they all shared their experiences of how this cruel manager exploited each of them. They all agreed to the fact that ‘you reap what you sow’, that happens here on this world and this cruel manager is reaping to lose his job for the way he tortured and victimized several poor people. The people in the quarter knew that a change of a manager may not bring in any change, unless the empire which is the greater evil in oppressing people has to be defeated and crushed down.

The cruel manager then said to himself, “the corporate empire has now come to know of me squandering their moneys, so what will I do? I can’t change my trade for I am not competitive to work in other sectors nor can claim benefits as homeless for everyone know that I have extorted money from the poor and homeless.” On realizing that he will not only be fired by the empire, he will also be hated even more by the colonizers for his unjust acts, and in order to mend the situation and to be welcomed by the people in this quarter, he thought he will further summon the debtors and write off some of their bills so that he can at least be accepted by the community there.

The cruel manager then summons Ashraf and enquires how much does he owe the empire? Ashraf replied, “Actually I borrowed 50 jugs of olive oil, but it was you who asked me to sign on a bill of 100 jugs.” Manager immediately replied, “Take your bill, and write it off to 50 jugs of oil.” Manager thought this writing off the bill will win Judah to be his friend.

He then summoned Maria and enquires how much does she owe the empire? Maria replied, “If you remember, I actually borrowed 80 containers of wheat, but it was you who asked us to sign on a bill for 100 containers.” Manager immediately replied, “Take your bill, and write it off to 80 containers of wheat.” Manager was self-appreciating himself that he is winning the favour of these people, so that when he is fired from the empire, he can still be accepted by this community.

But Ashraf & Maria revolted back by saying unanimously,

“You son of a viper, you have exploited us all along, extorting our money, our energy, our land and our resources and have made our lives deplorable. When your true colour is exposed you want to do us favours by granting concessions on our bills. We are not going to keep quite at a moment like this. We want to raise our voice, we want you to repay us back four times for all the extortions you have done, we want you to be prosecuted criminally for all your cruel and unjust things you have done to us. We want justice and liberation. We want the cancellation of all our debts. We want the empire to leave our land and want this occupation to end. We want reparation for your acts towards us. Our devotion in God challenges us to despise the mammon of idolatry and injustice.”

The cruel manager was surprised to see the courage in these people and for the way they are standing for their rights. His plot of doing favours to these people boomeranged and he was further hated by all the members of this colony. The whole community saw to it that he was prosecuted and repented of his unjust activities.

When the empire came to know about this ‘doing favours’ to the debtors, they sarcastically commended this cruel manager’s shrewdness, for these acts expose the heights of his dishonesty and injustice. The children of the light wouldn’t do such shrewd activities like the children of this world.

Jesus in a similar vein, sarcastically and mocking at the unjust manager and the rich empire says, “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” One might think that one is making friends by means of dishonest wealth, by unjust ways, by extorting money from the vulnerable, thinking that they might be received into their homes and places, but at the end they will be rejected, hated and will be brought to justice by the vulnerable victims.

Taking cognizance of Ashraf and Maria’s resilience and longing for justice, Jesus therefore says, “whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’

Ashraf and Maria, therefore exposes the rich Pharisees and Sadducees who have been working as managers squandering and extorting money from the poor and vulnerable. It is an important learning that no one can serve God and Empire. For one has to love one and hate the other and there is no middle ground. Being faithful to what belongs to our neighbours is a key in being faithful to oneself. Loving God calls us to dismantle mammon.

If we have to serve God, let us not use God as a means of acquiring wealth for ourselves, or make God an agent of empire building. Love God and dismantle mammon

If you have to serve God, let us give up our dishonesty and unjust activities, especially with wealth, resources and money. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, let us be faithful in little things, in simple things, in jobs entrusted to us, for God appreciates honesty and justice in little acts. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, the Pharisees and Sadducees of our times, who extort money from the vulnerable, are to be exposed and brought to justice. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, look for the divine among communities where Ashraf and Maria lives, for Jesus speaks on their behalf and brings good news to the poor by proclaiming bad news to the rich. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, the call to cancel debts by capitalists on the poorer, liberating the neo-colonial captives becomes a gospel imperative. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, allow the subalterns, the occupied, the vulnerable, the colonized speak, for the church is called to listen to the overlooked and forgotten voices of the subalterns. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If we have to serve God, we are invited to join in the advocacy for the liberation of people in Palestine from occupations, and see to it that all the barriers will be dismantled and justice is ensured. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, we are called to dismantle the barriers of power, prejudice, positions and liberate the occupied by welcoming them. Love God and dismantle mammon.

To that end may the Holy Spirit grant us strength to be devoted to God by despising, dismantling the mammon of our times, and strive to look for God among those victims of debts. Love God, hate & despise mammon. Together we will dismantle the barriers and welcome the other to form a just, inclusive and liberated community. Amen.

Rajbharat Patta,

18^th September 2016

(Sermon preached at St. Peters Church & Chaplaincy, Manchester)