Setting our minds on divine things: Reflecting on Mark 8:31-38

 On encountering the voice of God through the word of God and having experienced the call of God to go into ministry, when my dad suggested that I go for ministerial training and engage in theological education for four years, I resisted that advice, arguing that time is short and the Lord is to return soon. Then I proposed to my dad that I will go as a missionary immediately, for I thought the harvest is plenty and the labourers are few. I was 20 years old then and was waiting for my final year University results. During that period my dad was counselling me about my call and vocation. When my dad was encouraging me to go into theological education so that it will help me in understanding the relevance of the word in our world, I was resisting my dad’s advice by quoting several scriptural statements like, ‘Go into the world and make disciples for me.’ My dad, who was well versed with the scriptural texts, held his peace and kept his cool, listening patiently to all my reasons for resisting to go for four-year ministerial training. After a long conversation, my dad advised me to wait in prayer, set my mind on God and listen to God’s guidance for my future. He came to me the next day and said why don’t I give it a try to write the entrance exam at Gurukul Lutheran theological college at Chennai and if I succeed in that test then take it as a sign that God is wanting me to pursue ministerial training, and if I fail in that entrance test, then let’s take it otherwise. It sounded like a plan and agreed to follow all the procedures in writing that entrance exam. As the entrance test results were announced, I passed out in flying colours and eventually joined the ministerial training and pursued theology, initially for four years and then for seven years. Ever since then my love for theology has never stopped. In all of this all I can testify is that I have sensed and experienced the hand of God with me. When I look back and reflect on my faith journey, those words of my dad, “to wait on God and to set my mind on God” at that moment in time stands out prominently as it helped me to see through the signs of God’s hand in my life. Waiting on God and setting our minds on God is always rewarding and refreshing.

 

The text for this second Sunday in Lent from Mark 8:31-38, is a passage where Jesus publicly shares about his suffering, death and resurrection. Peter was the first to react to such a sharing and rebuke Jesus. In return Jesus rebukes Peter to set his mind on divine things and not on human things, and further explains to the crowds what it costs and takes in following him. Why did Peter rebuke Jesus on hearing that the Son of Man is going to suffer, rejected by the chief priests, elders and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again (31v)?

 

Peter joined the Jesus movement and declared that Jesus is the Christ (29v), the messiah, who has come into this world to drive away the Roman empire and bring freedom and liberation to all people. Peter was a witness to many miracles, healings and radical teachings of Jesus Christ, the messiah, but suddenly on hearing that the Son of Man is going to suffer and die, Peter couldn’t take it, for he could not imagine Jesus to be a sufferer, a victim, dying at the hands of the Roman empire. Though Jesus did say that after three days of his death he will rise again, he couldn’t believe it to himself, and did not appreciate Jesus’ sharing it openly. Perhaps, if it were at their team meeting, where Jesus said about the things to come, including his death and resurrection, Peter could have understood, but now that Jesus shares this news about his future in the open, in the public, Peter couldn’t resist but took Jesus aside and rebuked him. The next reaction Mark records is of Jesus’, where he turns and looks at his disciples rebuking Peter saying, “Get behind me Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (33v). Mark did not record the reactions of Peter to such a rebuke, but I certainly think Peter would have had a long face and he would have remained silent. Jesus has always been a cool guy, and hardly he loses his cool, and this is one of those occasions where he loses his cool and rebukes Peter and calls him to set his mind on divine things and not on human things. How is it that Peter has set his mind on human things and not on divine things?

 

The term Son of Man is used by Jesus 80 times in the Gospels, with 14 times mentioned in the Gospel of Mark. 8 of Mark’s 14 Son of Man sayings contain references to Jesus’ death, suffering and resurrection, and that explains the reason for Jesus to refer to himself as Son of Man. The audience of Mark knew the title Son of Man from the apocalyptic literature, particularly from Ezekiel and Daniel. Peter most likely would have known this usage of Son of Man from Daniel, where he mentions Son of God as the one coming to rule and have authority over the entire world. It is important for us to read what is mentioned by Daniel as he records about the Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14,

 

“As I watched in the night visions,

I saw one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.

And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.

To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,

that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,

and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.”

 

So, for Peter and the rest of the first century Palestinian community, the image of the Son of Man is that he comes with majesty, magnanimity, and magnificence, where he will hold dominion over the earth and heavens. When Peter knew the textual understanding of the Son of Man that he is going to come with power above all powers, and was certain about his understanding of the Son of Man, suddenly on hearing Jesus saying that the Son of Man is going to be rejected, suffered, died and risen, Peter couldn’t tolerate and therefore rebuked Jesus. To put it simply, when Peter’s literal reading of Daniel’s Son of Man passage did not match with Jesus’ sharing of the Son of Man, Peter rebuked Jesus. Perhaps Jesus on recognising that Peter was turning out to be a literalist exhibiting his reluctance to see word becoming flesh in Jesus Christ, he rebuked Peter. Jesus as the Son of Man was translating and offering a new meaning to his being the Son of Man as the one who is to be rejected, suffered, died and risen. Such a literalist way of looking at the Son of Man, a reluctance to recognise the word becoming flesh in Jesus Christ and a lack of public theological sensitivity to see Jesus’ relevance in his context, is what I think Jesus notices and called Peter to set his mind on divine things and not on human things.

 

To put it in a nutshell, being confined only to literalist ways of reading and understanding Scripture is like setting our minds on human things and not on divine things. Being closed and reluctant to recognise the word of Jesus Christ becoming flesh in our world, word translating into action, word indwelling/pitching the tent among communities today is also like setting our minds on human things and not on divine things. Being publicly insensitive in seeking and finding a relevance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is also like setting our minds on human things and not on divine things.

 

Jesus then called the crowd and unfolded what it means to set our minds on divine things, and explained it in four different ways. Firstly, setting the mind on divine things is to be a follower of Jesus Christ, which is by denying oneself, taking up each one’s cross or struggle of life or cross experience and follow him (34v). Jesus denied himself as the literal textual Son of Man and was rejected, suffered, carried his own cross, likewise he invites all people to follow. Secondly, setting the mind on divine things is to lose one’s life for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of the Gospel, so that they can be saved in Christ (35v). Thirdly, setting the mind on divine things is not about gaining the whole world for profit, rather it is to save life, for there is nothing that can be exchanged for life, except life alone (36-37v). Fourthly, setting the mind on divine things is not to be ashamed of Jesus, the Son of Man who chose powerlessness as his tool and of his words, the words of life and life-giving, for in such people Jesus takes pride on his return (38v).

 

This given text invites and calls us to set our minds on divine things today. The text calls for a deeper spirituality, inviting us to offer ourselves to identify with the powerless and the suffering communities. This text also invites us not to be literalists with our texts, but are called to translate the word into action relevant for our public sphere. A literal way of reading our texts is like setting our minds on human things. The landscape of our church and society has changed and is changing, very much due to Covid and lockdown, and in such a scenario, we as followers of Christ can only be relevant by being with people who are struggling in life, and with communities who are poor and marginalised. It was reported this week that Covid is at a risk of becoming a disease of the poor, where it mentions that people living in the deprived locality with ethnically diverse communities, the rates of infections are high and the intake of the vaccines are low. Do we not have a conscience as a church to ask why is Covid becoming the disease of the poor? Should we not be in the forefront speaking truth to the powers and seeking solutions in addressing poverty and Covid? Unless we as a church can set our minds on divine things by addressing these concerns around us, we may lose our relevance. Secondly, with the arrival of approximately 100,000 plus migrants from Hong Kong into the UK this year, due to the geo-political problems in their country, we can set our minds on divine things by being a welcoming church today. Some might ask are these concerns of poverty, welcome etc. divine things? Well, at the heart of the divine in Jesus is the poor and the marginalised, and our commitment to following Jesus Christ is only demonstrated in our being with the marginalised communities, for Jesus has come to preach good news to the poor, give sight to the blind and release the captives from the bondages.

 

Those words of my dad, “to wait on God and to set my mind on God” have always been journeying with me, reverberating in me, allowing me to depend on God, despite all my vulnerabilities in life. This season of Lent is an invitation for us to set our minds on divine things, to translate the word into action, to activate our faith into praxis and to carry our crosses and follow Jesus Christ. It is said that, ‘for it is easy to wear a cross, but it is a challenge and risk to bear a cross.’ May God in Jesus grant us the needed strength in bearing the cross and follow Jesus faithfully by setting our minds on divine things. Amen.

 

Raj Bharat Patta,

26th February 2021

Towards a Spirituality of Wilderness: Reflecting on Mark 1:9-15

Imagine you have had a Christening service of your child at your local church, and right after the service at the church, you were immediately taken by an unknown person to a forest to spend the next forty days there, without celebrating the party of your child’s christening with your family and friends. What would be your immediate response? Angry, upset, annoyed, disturbed, and shattered. There can be many more negative reactions to such an incident.

The text for this first Sunday in Lent is from Mark 1:9-15, which is a recording of Mark where Jesus right after of his baptism at river Jordan and having heard the heavenly voice affirming that he was the beloved Son of God, was taken immediately by the Spirit into the wilderness, without allowing any time for Jesus to celebrate his baptism and his confirmation of the Son of God. Mark did not record the reactions of Jesus to such a swift movement from that site of Jordan to the sites of wilderness. Mark explains in these 6 verses about Jesus’ baptism, the heavens opening up to affirm in Jesus as the Son of God, his forty-day temptations in the wilderness where he waited on the wild animals with angels serving him, and also on his return proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God. There is a sense of urgency for Mark that is visible throughout his gospel, and particularly his usage of the word ‘immediately’ speaks about it. Forty-two times Mark uses the word ‘immediately’ in his gospel and at least twice it is mentioned here in these verses, in verse 10 and 12. Why did the Spirit immediately drove him into wilderness?

 

The Spirit should have given sufficient time at the site of Jordan for Jesus after his baptism, so that he could have engaged in conversations with people that came to John the Baptist on that day. The Spirit should have given some quality time for people to discuss and clarify with Jesus about his being affirmed as the beloved Son of God from the heavenly voice that day. Rather, the Spirit with a sense of urgency drove Jesus into the site of wilderness, forgoing all those conversations and engagements at the river Jordan. When we think of wilderness, what comes to our mind is a place with no habitation, or a desert place. In my Telugu language Bible, the word for ‘wilderness’ is ‘aranyapradesam,’ which is translate as a jungle or a forest place. Why was wilderness the first stop for Jesus, right after his public appearance at river Jordan? Allow me to share the significance of wilderness, and to recognise a spirituality of wilderness, from this given text. Here is an interesting drawing of Stanley Spencer, the British artist who has done this painting in 1930's on the wilderness experience of Jesus Christ. Let me share four dimensions about the spirituality of wilderness.

1. Wilderness as a site of subversion:

In the context of the Roman empire, wilderness was seen as a place where savage people, the barbarians and the wild animals live. Emperor Augustus who claimed to be the Son of God, who also preached that he was ‘the beginning of the gospel’ was to bring peace by conquest and subduing them. Therefore, wilderness was perceived in the first century Palestine as a place of subversion and as a site of counter-empire. Mark begins the gospel of Jesus Christ with the scenes of the anti-empire led by John the Baptist in the wilderness, with Jesus taking his first public appearance and his forty-day stop at wilderness explaining that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about anti-empire, contesting the colonial powers. That is the reason I think that the Spirit was rushing Jesus Christ to move into wilderness right after of his baptism to convey the message that Jesus, the beloved Son of God has come into this world the kingdom of God over against the kingdom of Rome, where peace, justice, love and life will flourish and sustain. The Spirit’s sense of urgency in driving Jesus to the wilderness is to communicate that Jesus has come to establish an alternative kingdom, the kingdom of God, immediately, without any delay. Jesus movement gained momentum from those sites of wilderness.

 

2. Wilderness as a site of Testing:

When the Spirit drove Jesus immediately into wilderness, she did not drive him into some jubilation or fanfare, rather was driving him into temptations. Mark does not record the kinds of temptations that Jesus faced unlike other gospel writers. For him all that mattered was to inform his readers that Jesus stayed for forty days in the wilderness and was tempted by Satan or evil (12-13v). From the other gospel writers, we gather that Jesus did not give-in to the temptations, but boldly faced them with courage and strength. Wilderness served for Jesus as a site of testing for a period of forty-days. Right after his baptism and affirmation as Son of God, Jesus deserves a better place to retreat, but was taken into wilderness to be tested. Such a testing served as a kind of preparation for Jesus to face any test and trial in his public ministry.

 

3. Wilderness as a site of Friendship:

Who were the companions to Jesus in the wilderness when he was tempted for forty days? In verse 13b, Mark records that “he was with the wild beasts.” Many have associated Satan and the wild beasts together as they read this temptation narratives. However, as I read this text, I find that in all those tests and temptations that Jesus was enduring, it was the wild beasts/animals that served as his friends. May be the audience of Mark, would have thought of Jesus as a person like Daniel, who in the Old Testament was in the lion’s den, fearless and courageous. I am reminded of the film “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle,” where Mowgli lives and befriends all the wild animals, and they all live in harmony. Jesus being with the wild beasts explains that Jesus came to make friendships with anyone and everyone, including wild beasts, for his coming into this world is to restore and renew the entire creation, which includes the flora, the fauna, the animals, all the creatures and the humans. To the early Christians who were living under Roman empire, one of the ways they were persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ was to be torn and eaten by wild animals, and when they heard from Mark’s gospel that Jesus was with the wild beasts, it was a message to say that Jesus befriends these wild beasts and with Jesus peaceful kingdom was a possibility. Wilderness served as a site of friendship, when there is none in the world to be with, God brings wild animals to befriend.

 

4. Wilderness as a site of Diaconate:

Mark also mentions in verse 13c, that “the angels waited on him.” The word “waited” in Greek happens to be “Deikonoun” from where we have the word ‘Deacon’ coming into existence. In other words, wilderness served for Jesus as a site where the angels served as his ‘deacons.’ When there is none to serve him, the angels, the unknown angels served on him and offered some support and strength. As I read this verse again and again, I find that all those who are in the mission of ‘diaconate’ are angels, for they serve people known and unknown, for all it matters is love in action through service. Wilderness served as a site of service, offering support, care and strength to Jesus in his lonely stay in the wilderness. Mark was in a way communicating the gospel to his audience that, even in sites of wilderness, God doesn’t leave people, for God comes through angels, offering hope and support. No matter whatever the site is, ‘God is always with us’ is the message that Mark was explaining to his readers, and in this case, it was the angels who were waiting, serving on him.

 

What is the relevance of this text today in 2021? In the context of the current lockdown due to the pandemic, many people have explained lockdown as ‘exile,’ as ‘isolation,’ as ‘home alone,’ and some have called it ‘wilderness.’ When they have called this lockdown as ‘wilderness’ they have been anticipating a sense of ‘promised land’ after the ‘wilderness.’ But today’s text where Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness reminds us that even the site of wilderness is in God’s geography and in God’s location, for God’s presence is present everywhere and in every site. Lockdown creates opportunities to recognise God’s presence in our midst, and it is God who will strengthen us to bounce back from this lockdown to go and live out the kingdom of God that we have in Jesus today. There is a sense of urgency when the Spirit is driving us towards the unknown and the uncertain. The urgency is to recognise that our contexts and locations as sites where ‘God is with us,’ and look out for creative opportunities in turning our contexts as sites and signs offering hope to all of the creation.

 

The call from this text is to make our neighbourhoods, out churches, our localities, our contexts, our families, our fellowships as sites of subversion, as sites of offering strength, as sites of building friendships and as sites of service for all. As a community we are called to subvert the logic of the empire by being with the struggling communities. Today, the 21st February 2021, is Church Action and Poverty Sunday, and it is an opportunity for us to express our solidarity with their efforts in tackling poverty in the UK. We are also called to nurture and celebrate the friendships that exist out of our boxes, beyond the walls, for after all friendships don’t look to tick all the boxes and then form, rather they are formed naturally. We are also called to serve people in need, people who are under tremendous pressure of temptations in life, offering care, support and love. Each of us are called into this ministry of diaconate in our localities, where we are there to nurse and care for the vulnerable people. May we inculcate the spirituality of wilderness in our lives and recognise that God is walking with us both in the sites of wilderness, in our lockdown, in our communities and in our post-lockdown sites and situations.

 

In the context of the vaccines now being rolled out, we are developing this idea of ‘Twinning your Vaccine,’ where those of us who have received the vaccine can twin our vaccine with people who cannot afford a vaccine in the poorer countries by paying for the two jabs, we receive through the Covax programme of the Unicef. By joining in this ‘Twinning your vaccine’ programme, we can show our care, our service, our friendship and our support to people living in the Global south, and we can strive in ensuring towards making the vaccine available and accessible to all people in all countries.

 

May God grant God’s strength so that we can be led by the Spirit in making our localities places for care, friendship, love and service to all and make our world a better place to live with. Amen.

 

 

Raj Bharat Patta,

19th February 2021

Pic credit: Stanley Spencer, http://www.patrickcomerford.com/2014/03/art-for-lent-5-driven-by-spirit-into.html

Capture the wonder of the Gospel in love, graciousness and humility: Reflecting on the Transfiguration of Jesus from Mark 9:2-9

It was in 2008, I received an invitation to make a presentation at a World Council of Churches conference at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Those were the days I was reading Paulo Coelho’s novels, where he explains the beauty of Rio and specially its laid-back beach culture, of course the Copacabana beach, the carnivals, samba, and not to forget the favelas, which were the slums in the outskirts of the city. As I received that conference invitation, I was excited to travel to that part of the world to experience all that I have been reading about. One other exciting thing I really looked forward to was to see the famous Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue. After landing at Rio, I was taken to the conference centre, a Catholic guest house, which was on the top of a mountain, from where we had a beautiful view of Christo Redentor statue, with his hands wide open facing us. It was a great sight to view that statue from our conference centre. Every day, I was hoping to get closer to the statue to see its magnificence. On the last day of my conference, with the sun shining brightly, I made arrangements to go and view this Christ the Redeemer statue. The statue was located at the peak of the 2,300 feet Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city if Rio. I was all excited to see this magnificent statue of 98 feet high placed on a pedestal of 26 feet. To reach the mountain top, I took a cog train and it was a splendid 20 minutes ride through the forest. My excitement grew stronger and stronger as I got on the train to see this world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue. In that 20 minutes the weather suddenly changed, it got cold, with clouds gathering thick and dark. As I reached the mountain top to see Christ the Redeemer statue, these thick and dark clouds covered the entire mountain, and it was a total disappointment for all the visitors that day that none of us could see the statue clearly, for the visibility was very poor. I stayed till the evening near that statue on that mountain top, hoping against hope that the clouds would disappear and I could have a glance of the statue. It was one of those disappointing moments for me, for I had to return from that mountain top of Corcovado mountain without viewing the statue clearly due to the thick clouds. I travelled back home from Rio, only with the memories of viewing Christ the Redeemer from a distance, from the mountain top of my conference centre and with a disappointment of not being able to view it clearly from its footstep.

 

The text for this Sunday from Mark 9:2-9, is a passage where Jesus takes Peter, John and James to a mountain top and transfigured before them. Jesus meets Elijah with Moses and speaks to them there. On seeing these things happening Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Peter did not know what to say, for they were terrified (5-6v). Later a voice came out from the heavens saying about Jesus “this is my son, the beloved; listen to him” (7v). The three disciples saw only Jesus at the end, and they had to come down the mountain to get back to their ministry and mission engagements. All that what has happened with Jesus’ transfiguration and the voice appearing from heaven, I would want to call it an experience of wonder, to which the three disciples had to opportunity to capture it. Having had the opportunity to see for himself that wonder of transfiguration, Peter was disappointed that on the one hand he could not build the dwellings for the Moses, Elijah and Jesus on that mountain top, and on the other hand the cloud had overshadowed them, and at the end had to return without memorialising that rare encounter of Jesus with the two significant faith pioneers from three historical time periods meeting at that transfiguration mountain. Peter, James and John were the only witnesses to this Jesus’ transfiguration on that mountain, and I want to reflect on their reactions, in particularly Peter’s reactions to this experience, which led to his disappointments. What they see is not what they get. In those moments of wonder, Peter responds and blurts.

 

1. Peter wanted to capture the wonder of transfiguration religiously:

Mark records that, six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John to this mountain top experience (2v). In a way this is to say that it was on the seventh day that this transfiguration experience happened, perhaps it could be the day of Sabbath. On that day of Sabbath, it was their tradition to spend that day with several rituals and religious observances. Imagining it was a day of Sabbath, and the transfiguration of Jesus happened on that mountain, he saw Elijah coming with Moses speaking to Jesus, and Peter wanted to capture that experience religiously by building three tabernacles/tents/ booths/dwellings for them to make it a truly Sabbath experience. Peter tried to memorialise the wonder of transfiguration religiously, thinking that would impress Jesus, Moses and Elijah and the rest of his companions.

 

2. Peter wanted to capture the wonder of transfiguration rigorously:

Mark records in verse 7, that, “Peter did not know what to say, for they were terrified.” As he was caught in that wonder of transfiguration and the aftermaths of it, Peter and his companions were terrified not knowing what to say. In not knowing what to say, Peter said he wanted to build three dwellings for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He wanted to capture those moments scrupulously with constructions, with buildings, with structures, with memorials, with something that will have a permanent memory of that event. Peter wanted to put in hard work in setting up those three dwellings, in a way repeating what their ancestors did in erecting memorials whenever they have encountered such wonder experiences. Peter tried to memorialise the wonder of transfiguration rigorously, thinking that would impress Jesus, Elijah, Moses and the rest of his companions.

 

3. Peter wanted to capture the wonder of transfiguration rigidly:

On experiencing that wonder of transfiguration, Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here…” (5v). Peter wanted to remain there, in that mountain top experience rigidly, for he knew it was a rare experience, it was once in a life-time experience, and it was an experience beyond any human comprehension. He did not want to give away that experience to pass by without any mark of it, rather wanted to build dwellings there and make it a religious site, a pilgrim site, and a site to inform the world that Peter and his two companions were the witnesses to that event. That mountain top experience was far from all the struggles of life, from all the evils of the empire and was far from all the problems and conflicts, so Peter wanted firmly and rigidly to stay on that mountain top experience, enjoying the encounters of Jesus, Elijah and Moses.

 

At the end, the proposal of Peter in setting up three dwellings for Jesus, Elijah and Moses did not come true, and he was left disappointed. Jesus did not approve of such constructions of structures and memorials, for if that was the case, Jesus should have encouraged Peter and his companions in doing it before that wonder passed away. I think Jesus did not want the wonder of his life to be captured and built as memorial sites or as pilgrim sites or as tents or as temples on his name, rather wanted his life and his experiences to be lived out by his disciples and followers, by being with people in their struggles offering hope and healing. I also see the disapproval of Peter's proposal of building three dwellings from the voice that came out from the heavens to them. The cloud overshadowed them and the voice said, “This is my son, the beloved; listen to him” (7v). The voice from heavens was reminding Peter and his companions to recognise that Jesus is the beloved Son of God, and the voice came with a call to asking the disciples to listen to him. The message of transfiguration is to celebrate the wonder of Jesus by recognising that Jesus is the Son of God, to listen to Jesus throughout, and reflect Jesus in all walks of life. For Peter, he has to get down that transfiguration mountain top experience in disappointment as his proposal was disapproved.

 

In drawing a relevance of this text for our context today, where on the one hand we observe this Second Sunday in February as Racial Justice Sunday in the UK and on the other hand people celebrating love on this 14th of February, I want to infer three signposts for our discipleship today.

 

Firstly, we are called to listen to the wonder of the gospel in love. Most often in our Christian life and in the life of our church, we apply rules and rituals based on religiosity and give love a backbench. There are many who want to be literalists, trying to stick to the book, repeat the same things to do again and again, with little respect to the changing contexts. The learning from this text is to capture and share the wonder of the good news of Christ in love, for love is at the heart of Christ’s voice, and also in reimagining to share that love relevant to our times and situations. Even though we do not know what to speak and how to speak, all it takes in Christian discipleship is love alone, love without any boundaries. To recognise Jesus as the Son of God, and to listen to Christ’s voice today is all about love for the other, particularly to people who do not look like us. When love thrives, equality is shared and supremacy of colour, race, ethnicity, power will be driven away and racial justice is ensured.

 

Secondly, we are called to listen to the wonder of the gospel in graciousness. It is not in building memorials, pilgrim sites, buildings, temples and shrines for Jesus, but in being gracious to one another, in receiving and accepting one another and in being with one another. By creating a sense of belongingness to people who are different to us and by being open in listening to each other’s perspectives we celebrate the love of Christ today. There are varied expressions of God’s wonder today, let us be gracious to one another in listening and accepting one another. Lack of graciousness for the other is one of the reasons for racial injustices today, and practicing justice and equality in graciousness is the need of the day towards racial justice. From this transfiguration mountain, Jesus now sets off his face towards Jerusalem and moves on in his life healing and transforming people and communities in grace and with grace.

 

Thirdly, we are called to listen to the wonder of the gospel in humility. It is easy to stay on the mountain top experiences, but Jesus wants us to get down the mountain to be with people in their needs. This calls for gracious humility today. People take pride in their ethnicity, race colour, religiosity, history, tradition and in that pride, they develop arrogance and try to humiliate the others who come from different backgrounds and ethnicities. Jesus did not deem it a privilege speaking to Elijah and Moses and kept on staying with them, rather came down to journey towards the other mountain of Calvary, and also brought the disciples down from the mountain to preach and practice God’s love and justice to all people.

If we don’t listen to the wonder of the gospel in love, in graciousness and in humility, we might be disappointed, for Christian life is all about these values. We as followers of Jesus Christ are called to champion racial justice in our localities by creating preferential options of affirmative actions for people of different ethnicities and colour, and we as churches should be in the forefront towards such a racial justice mission engagement.

 

May God grant God’s strength so that we are not disappointed because of our religiosity, rigour and rigidity, rather listen to the voice of Christ in the gospel and demonstrate love in action to all people and to all of the creation. After I returned from Rio from that conference, I realised that Christian discipleship is in translating the vision of Christ the Redeemer in the contexts where I serve and keep demonstrating the love of Christ and not worry about missing to view the world’s greatest statue in clear visibility.

 

Raj Bharat Patta,

12th February 2021

Pic credit: https://freewalkertours.com/what-to-do-in-rio-de-janeiro-on-a-cloudy-day/

 

Prayer, People, Proclamation, Practice: Principles in mission - Reflecting on Mark 1: 29-39

A long time ago, in Bangalore, India, there lived two brothers. The elder one was seven years old, and the younger was four years old. Every day, James dropped both the brothers at school and picked them up again from school, bringing them home in his car. But one day, James got struck in a traffic jam, and couldn’t reach school on time to pick up both the brothers. Having waited for 15 minutes, when James did not turn up, the elder brother went to his younger brother’s class, picked him up and they both started to walk home on their own. By the time James reached the school, he did not find both the brothers in their classrooms. He panicked and raised the alarm by calling on his parents and telling the teachers at the school that the boys were missing. Everyone began to search for both the brothers. The teachers started to search on the school premises, while James, and the parents started searching for the boys on the streets and the roads. The mother of these children was weeping and asking everyone she met on the surrounding roads if they had seen two boys walking in their school uniforms. The roads were busy clogged with traffic jams. After searching for an hour, both the brothers were found. Their dad, searching for them on his scooter, spotted them on the street near to their home. Immediately on finding them safe, dad called his wife, then called James and the rest of the team who were searching, informing them that the boys were found. On hearing that news everyone sighed with relief, and returned back home. As soon as the dad found his two sons on the busy road, he got off his scooter, hugged the boys and thanked God for seeing his sons safe and sound. Dad asked his children, “Are both ok my dear sons? Where have you been? Everyone was searching for you.” The eldest son replied back, “Dad, I was bringing thammudu (little brother) home safely.” The dad had no more words, and with tears rolled down his face, took both his sons into his arms. This is the story that happened in our family, and whenever I remember this incident, I think of those moments of panic, helplessness at one end, and on the other the utmost happiness in finding them back, and helps me to recognise the delight in finding back that which seemed to be lost.

 

In the gospel reading for this week from Mark 1:29-39, after Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Peter who was down with fever, and many other people who were sick, the next day early in the morning Jesus went on his own to a deserted place to pray. Peter’s mother-in-law on finding Jesus at his home visit to Peter, received healing from her fever. Then that evening all those people living with vulnerabilities, on finding Jesus received healing in their lives. Later when Jesus went on to a lonely place for prayer early in the morning, Simon and his companions hunted for Jesus when he was not found (37v). Finally, when they found Jesus, they said to him, “Everyone was searching for you.” The reply that Jesus gives back to Simon and his companions is the key verse for our reflection for this week. Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do” (38v).

 

When Simon and his companions on finding Jesus said that everyone was searching for you, Jesus should have immediately responded saying, here I am and I am coming back to you. Instead, Jesus responds to them by demonstrating the motivation of his mission, and then by explaining the movement of his mission, and the method of his mission. Allow me to share these three pointers that the disciples found, in finding Jesus after their hunt from Jesus’ response.

 

1. Finding Jesus’ motivation to mission:

After his home visits and healing people, Jesus, while it was still dark went to a deserted place and was spending time in prayer (35v). It was here that Simon and his companions thought they have lost Jesus, not knowing that Jesus was spending time listening to God in prayer. After a long hunt, when they have found Jesus, they have found him in prayer. In finding Jesus, they found a praying Jesus. The gospel writer Mark did not record what was the kind of prayer that Jesus was doing at that time, nor recorded any words that he expressed in his prayers. Part of me thinks, in prayer he was listening to the voice of God, seeking direction, message and meaning for his mission. And I think, prayer was the motivation that drives Jesus to mission and heal the communities. Prayer for Jesus was not a privatised activity, rather it was a personal activity, which allows him to listen to the voice of God, to wait on God and to be led by God in his mission endeavours. So, in finding Jesus, the disciples found prayer, which served as a motivation for Jesus in his mission.

2. Finding Jesus’ movement of mission:

When the disciples found Jesus in prayer, they said to him that everyone was searching for him, for which Jesus responded about his mission, explaining the reason for his coming into this world. It is here that Jesus invites his disciples to go with him to the neighbouring towns for mission. Jesus movement for mission is not a static one, but is a dynamic one, for at the heart of mission is movement, moving to neighbouring towns and spreading the love of God. In this expression of ‘let us go to the neighbouring towns’ (38v), Jesus was allowing his disciples to find that the mission he is on, is about moving outwards, moving towards others. This ‘other-centredness’ is the core in the movement of Jesus’ mission, which the disciples found on finding him. The movement of mission is about reaching out, going out, is about moving from our own cosy settled positions to unsettled towns and villages, and into situations of uncertainty. Jesus could have very well wanted to be lost in that prayer time, but he explains that mission is about movement, about moving into uncertainty knowing that it is God who leads and guides.

 

3. Finding Jesus’ methods of doing mission:

After explaining about the movement of mission, on finding Jesus the disciples now found the methods of the mission that Jesus was engaging with. They were a twofold method: in verse 39, we read that “And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.” Proclamation and practice were the two methods of Jesus’ mission, that the disciples found on finding Jesus. Proclamation and practice went hand in hand for Jesus in his mission engagements. In as much as he proclaimed the love of God for people, he saw to it that he healed people and casted the demons. Jesus’ proclamation involved critical reading of his texts and relating them to his context, and practice included healing not just the diseases but also the dis-eases, crossing boundaries, breaking down the walls of exclusion and building bridges. Jesus’ proclamation always followed a healing or casting off the demon or a miracle and that method of doing mission was found by the disciples throughout their ministry with Jesus.

 

To summarise the above three points, on finding Jesus, Simon and his companions found that it is from prayer that Jesus finds his motivation for mission, it is in going to the neighbouring towns and villages offering healing is the kind of movement that Jesus was mentioning and it is in proclamation and in practice of the good news, are his methods of doing mission. In a nutshell what we gather from this text is that, in finding Jesus, the disciples found that for Jesus, prayer, people, proclamation and practice are the core principles of being involved in the mission of God.

 

Having attended at least three mission meetings in the last few days, I have been thinking of the relevance of mission of God in our context today. From this text we have found that for Jesus, it is prayer, people, proclamation and practice that forms the core principles of being involved in the mission of God. Now we are called to reimagine these principles for our times and context today.

 

Firstly, the call is to find the meaning of prayer today. Prayer for me is more about listening to God than giving a shopping list of things that God has to attend. On another count, prayer is about God finding us, finding you and me to be an answer to someone’s prayer in need and despair. For example is it easy to say a prayer before we eat our meal, saying we think of those who are hungry and God please feed them. Maybe we should change such prayers, and ask God to make us as people willing to share our food with the hungry, and asking God to help us be channels in overcoming hunger in our contexts. All I am trying to say is prayer is about practice, and so is mission and therefore we are called to join with Jesus in turning our prayers into actions.

 

Secondly, mission is about going to the neighbouring towns, meeting people and helping them in their longing to belong. Mission is about creating that sense of belonging, inclusion with equality and by celebrating diversity. Mission is about celebrating God’s presence in and with people of all faiths and none, for the location of mission is God’s creation. We remember people who are crossing oceans and seas as refugees, some seeking asylum, some coming as migrants who do not look like us or believe like us, and the calling for mission is to create a sense of belonging by integrating them into our context. So, mission is about people and presence.

 

Thirdly, mission is about proclamation, sharing God’s love, in ways and means appropriate to our time and context. Proclamation today is not just standing at the pulpit or at the corner of the street and shout that Jesus is the Lord. Proclamation is about sharing God’s love in action, through our life-styles, through conversations, through mutual respect, through healthy dialogues, through care, by sharing and through critical reflections. Proclamation is about addressing the needs of our society that keeps disturbing the fabric and harmony of our society and sharing the love of God as relevant in such situations. Proclamation today requires preparation, experience of God’s love in our lives and requires humility in accepting the other as equal partners in the economy of God’s love. Proclamation today is not shouting God is love, rather demonstrating how God is love for us today. Mission is about such a kind of proclamation.

 

Fourthly, mission is about practice, practically exhibiting the love of Christ in action, in practice and in practical terms. Mission today is about bringing in a change in the life situations of people and creation. Mission is about transformation, is about being a change and channel towards making the kingdom of God a reality. Mission is about working with Jesus, with God’s grace towards justice, peace, inclusion, integration, belonging and equality.

 

In conclusion, when my two sons were lost and found, I found the love of the elder brother to his younger one, I found care and courage of the elder brother in bringing home safely his younger brother. Perhaps from this text, the disciples on finding Jesus, found the core principles of his mission, which are prayer, people, proclamation and practice, and they are of huge significance for us today. Let us continue to join with Jesus in transforming our world into a better place to live and let others live. Amen.

 

Raj Bharat Patta,

5th February 2021