Injustice at one place Affects Justice at every place

“I have been a victim of racism in India” was quoted recently as said by the Mizoram Chief Minister Mr. Lalthanhawla in a seminar in Singapore, which has caught the attention of media all across the nation, describing such a statement as an embarrassment to the Indian pride. This statement also comes at a time when Indian students in Australia are being beaten up on the count of racism, creating a situation of fear and threatening. Today, I have seen a cartoon, where an Australian student studying India is manhandling an Indian on the same pretext of racism. Certainly such forms of violence and racist activities needs to be condemned and the law needs to be enforced in such cases, across the globe. Several protest rallies by the students have been organized by Indian students in Australia and in India to condemn such activities and have been demanding to provide safety and security to all Indians there. The politicians have been raising their voices in and out of Parliament to address this issue of attacks on Indian students abroad. Discussions with Australian political leaders are on, articles requesting Indian students to assimilate with Australian culture and people have been voluminous, the ministry of External Affairs has been on the job, the ministry of Oversees Indian Affairs has been working hard and counselling to the victims is also on the move. As I pen down my thoughts, there is news that two Indians are assaulted in Sydney. Discrimination and hate campaigns against colour and race needs to be condemned and should be on the top priority of the international community in addressing it. I was pleased to see the FIFA football match between the USA and the Spain, where before the match began, when both the teams stand for the guard of honour, the captains of both the teams said at last, “ Let us say NO to RACISM”. Such gestures can serve as a token to make understand people in overcoming racism. I wish when India and Australia plays next a cricket match, if both the captains on behalf of their countries announce “no to racism and no to discrimination, for all of us as human beings are one and equal”, for such gestures also will send in the message of equality.

But what comes to me, as surprise is that all of a sudden racism comes to the forefront, and there have been discussions on this topic on all most every television channels and news columns. Is racism a new phenomenon that we have been caught by its sensation today? Is discrimination by colour something new to our Indian society? Or is it because such attacks are done to Indians on a foreign land that there is a lot of hue and cry? Does our Indian society and Indian political leadership have forgotten that in our own land from several ages, there have been a community of people called Dalits, who have been discriminated, ostracized and are being beaten up every day just on the similar grounds of race, or even a worse form called caste? Do caste discriminations and attacks on people in the name of caste not attract the Indian media and public? Does our Indian government give heed to the plights of these our Dalit brothers & sisters? I am not sure how to go about in answering these realistic questions of our times.

Discrimination on Dalits, violence on Dalits, and violation of human rights to Dalits have been an ongoing saga from ages in India. Caste has been one of the cruel forms that have divided our society and unfortunately it has crept deep into our societies and families that we are least bothered to address such inhuman system, which divides and discriminates people. Discrimination and exclusion have been dominating not only the rural contexts of India, but also the higher places of learning centers are not free from such evil forces. Dalit students are beaten up, Dalit students have been looked down and humiliated on the basis of caste, at some places the government schemes allotted for Dalit students have not been implemented and some even staged protests over the reservations and preferential options given to Dalits in India. When Dalit students were brutally attacked in Ambedkar Law University in Chennai, how many responsible citizens of India raised their voice? There are several incidents to be quoted, and the question still remains, are Dalits safe in India?

I am reminded of the saying, “injustice done at one place affects justice at every place”. Therefore, when there has been a great pressure on the government on India from all section of people to act on the attacks on Indian students in Australia, and provide them safety and security, I am of the opinion that the same pressure needs to be kept on the government to address the attacks on Dalits and the discriminations done to them. Let’s not forget, that since it is mostly upper middle class and upper class and caste, who can afford to study abroad when attacked, the government makes sure that no stone is left unturned in bringing the situation to normalcy. But when the poor Dalits are marginalized, discriminated, excluded and beaten up, on a daily basis, hardly there is any one to be in solidarity with them and to present their case with the government in ensuring justice to them. I think it is high time, that we as civil society needs to take up this cause of Dalits on prime importance with the attacks on Indian students in Australia and strive to be the harbingers of peace and justice. Justice, liberation, safety, freedom, equality and peace need to be ensured to Dalits in India on every front of life. India needs to be free from all sorts of discriminations, India’s unity in diversity can be witnessed when the last of the Dalits is free from the clutches of caste, India as a cradle of all major religions will be vibrant, when every faith opposes and destroys caste from its labyrinth, India as a pride for software technologies will be creative, when every industry upholds the values of equality and fraternity, with a preferential option for Dalits, and India as a developing nation will sustain, when stratification of society on the basis of caste discrimination is buried and when all its citizens live in total freedom and peace. To that vision of India, may my India remain truthful and committed for a just and inclusive community.

29.06.2009

Father’s Day Special Lyric in Telugu

Dedicated to my Dad

Thandri neeve na Jeevanamoorthi
Thandri neeve na Jeevitha spoorthi
Panchavu naaku needhu prema keerthi
Penchavu nannu nilapalani needhu kyathi // Thandri//

1.Thappatadugulu ne vesi padinappudu
Thappidhamulu ne chesi thiriginappudu
Thappaka thotrilaka nadipinchina thandri
Thappulanni sariddhidi brathuku nichina thandri // Thandri//

2.Kramashikshana naaku nerpithivi
Kramamu thappaka deevunipai adhara pada nerpithivi
Akramamulu cheyakunda bhodhinchenu thandri
Sakramaina margamulo nadipinchenu thandri // Thandri//

3.Biddala santhoshame thanadhani bhavinchina thyagamurthy
Cheddapanulu cheyakunda kapadina rakshanamurthy
Addamulannitini yedurkonutaku thandri
Padda sramalannitini veevarimpajalenivi // Thandri//

4.Thandri ki thagina thanayulai jeevinchuma
Thandri kanina kalalanni neejamu gavinchuma
Thandri kunna kashtamulanni theerchuma
Thandri jeevanamunu anandamu cheyuma // Thandri//

17.06.09

O Deep, Dark Tunnels of Life

On a fine day, when travelling on a train,
Through plains and mountains showering with rain,
Exclaimed my heart, how creative was God’s brain,
For the picturesque so serene with out a stain.

The blue sky above the huge rocks covered as roof,
The streams watering the green in all freedom as a proof,
The colourful birds singing their rhymes, ‘that we’rnt aloof,’
The rusty lonely track in curves & straight passing like a spoof.

Stopped the train in that deep at certain halts,
Sometimes to drop, to pick and even to carry some spices & salts,
When it’s stopped for long, the child to the old, every one assaults,
Cribbing aloud its getting late, though its ’cause of them, to hide their faults.

As the journey proceeds and moves forward,
From a far, there appeared several mighty hills standing upward,
How’ll the track win over those rigid huge rocks with out a heart inward?
Will those heavy rocks allow this long little train to carry its journey onward?

Thank God, the huge heartless hills are beaten and are made as tunnels,
For the passage of the train, mediating to be life-saving channels,
Carrying safe the dreams & aspirations of people in their annals,
As safe as they were brought in their lives treasures & manuals.

In a broad day light, journeying thro’ a tunnel is like experiencing a solar eclipse,
The valorous rocks of the hill coming between sun & track, making it dark,
For minutes the darkness continues, fear surrounds and doubt clips,
After which, every one’s relieved for they are back into God’s green park.

Even in the journey of life, every one passes through the rocky-hurdled hills,
Panicking how to get pass through this unachievable barrier,
Some lose hope and some ruin their life in savouring these bitter pills,
Unable to get pass through it by the tunnel, the breath within, our lives carrier.

A tunnel appears long, deep and fearful,
For it’s temporal and makes reach a land wishful,
For it’s momentary and makes search a life fruitful,
For it’s a safe passage and makes fetch happiness grateful.

Let’s be bold to face everything that’s an obstacle,
For confidence accompanies all those awaiting to pass thro’ towards a pinnacle,
It’s not just a miracle, but listen to your inner voice of oracle,
For life can be victorious at the end of tunnels in that spectacle.

(scribbled during a train journey from Mumbai to Goa 13.06.09)

An Open Letter to Mr. Martin Luther King III on his Visit to India

Mr. Martin Luther King III and Mrs. King a very warm welcome to India. Indeed it is a great honour for us as Indians to have you visit our motherland, the land that affirms unity in diversities. I appreciate your pilgrimage to India in commemoration of the golden jubilee anniversary of your parents’ historic visit to India. Your dad Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Jr. continues to be an influencing personality to the whole world, and especially to us Indians for his bold and courageous fight over the cruel forces of racism, making him a towering and inspiring personality. Fifty years ago, your dad was highly influenced by the values of non-violence, for he believed that through such means and methods one can win over any power of darkness, particularly the deep rooted racism in your country. As an Indian it is pleasant to learn that our father of nation Mr. Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence happens to be his inspiration.

Dear Sir, it was your dad’s dream that you should not be judged by the colour of your skin, but by the content of your character, and I am glad to know that you have been living up to his dream and making his dream into a realisation. It was your dad who dreamt, who envisioned for a land free of discrimination on the basis of colour, fought for it tirelessly and made this generation reap the fruits of his efforts, even to the extent of becoming the President of the United States. It if for sure, that the bold soul of your dad would have delighted to see the sea change in your country, so also the whole world is waiting to realise the “change” that has been promised. We thank God for the life and witness of your dad Rev. King, for his courageous efforts in bringing in equality among people of your country and take this opportunity to salute him. “Kudos Rev. King! For you have run the race of life in courage, fought a good fight against the principalities and powers of your day and emerged victorious reverberating that truth is always triumphant.”

Mr. King, by now you would have had the taste of India, its varieties, its pluralities, its diversities and its various colours. Your pilgrimage of searching and researching the tenets of non-violence in various cities of India is highly commendable. Your visitations to different places of national heritage reveal your interest for learning. Especially your visit to the terror struck city of Mumbai to express your solidarity is appreciable. Your call to the different religious leaders in India and at large to fight against violence and killings has caught the attention of several people in the world, for which you deserve all our best wishes in your fight against terrorism and violence.

Mr. King, as you continue to journey as a pilgrim in India, may I call your attention to one of the dire realities of Indian society, where from ages even till today most of us are judged and discriminated in the name of descent, the inhuman caste. Not that you are unaware of this reality in India, but am just brining to your kind notice that you as a proud heir of Rev. King, who fought against discrimination should address the ongoing discriminations and oppressions done to Dalits, who have been not judged by the content of our character but are judged by the caste factor. Dalits, continue to be under the rubric of caste and are treated polluted not just by those in the rural localities, but even the so-called meritorious institutions are not free from caste discrimination. Violence on Dalits and Dalit women have been a rampant phenomena done by the caste people, which goes mostly unnoticed by the government, the media, the police and the judiciary. There goes not a single day where violence on Dalits has not been done. Discrimination on Dalits has become more subtle and aggressive these days, for caste and its allegiances rule the order of the day.

Mr. King, as you spend time in India to know more on the virtues of non-violence, my humble plea to you is to bring into the global attention the cruelty of caste on Dalits, the violence done on Dalits and for a call to end such practices and discriminations. In this pilgrimage of yours to India, besides knowing more of Mr. Gandhi, I also request you to spend time in reading other social activists like Bharat Ratna Dr. BR. Ambedkar, who challenged the forces of caste and strived hard in annihilating it. Dr. Ambedkar in many ways resemble your dad, for he too was a visionary and a tireless activist confronting and challenging all powers of caste till his death. His writings were prolific and express the poignancy of hope and aspirations of all Dalit people. All his speeches, writings and actions were Liberative and provided meaning and direction to the struggles of Dalits then and even now.

Sir, I believe it will be a fitting commemoration to the golden jubilee anniversary of your parents visit to India, by expressing your deep solidarity with the Dalit struggles for liberation. As a proud son of a proud father, and as a son who is in the mission of realizing your dad’s dream I think this your visit to India is the right opportunity for you to speak up on the discrimination and violence done to Dalits. Your expression of co-operation and solidarity to our journey of Dalit liberation, I am sure will make an impact in the society and on the government to end the discrimination and oppression done on Dalits. “We Dalits too have a dream, where our children will not be judged by the caste they are born into, but where they will be judged by the content of their character.” Sir, support us in realising this dream of ours come true. Have a good pilgrimage in India, and a safe trip back home. Our prayers go with you as endeavour in realizing the dreams for a new world.

Thanking you Sir,

For the liberation of our Dalits,

Sincerely Yours,
Rev. Raj Bharath Patta,
Executive Secretary,
Commission on Dalits,
National Council of Churches in India,
Civil Lines, Nagpur. 440 001. India
rajpatta@gmail.com

TURNING ASIDE: AVENUES FOR NEW PERCEPTIONS

“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire but of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I.” Exodus 3: 2-4

A certain young man went to a bookshop and was browsing through the shelves of the shop to purchase a book of his interest. To his surprise and added to his interest he found a book titled “How to Hug”. The young man was enthralled by the title of the book and with no second thoughts went straight to the shopkeeper and asked him to bill the book and wrapped it and took it to him home. He could not withstand his curiosity to read the book he bought and in the evening creating a romantic mood for himself he started to open the cover to flip through the pages of that book he purchased. As he was flipping through the pages of the book and tried to read through the content of it, his face turned out red and his enthusiasm was taken over by utter disappointment. To his surprise the book that he thought was a romantic one did not have anything of such character and the young man started cursing himself for being cheated by the title of the book. The book was an encyclopaedia containing the meanings of the words between “HOW to HUG”. How often we are dominated in our life by our only perception we have in looking at things. There is no space for other perceptions and other side of it to look into the matters of life. Most of us have become adamant, by not letting any space to newer, creative and other perspectives in our outlook on life and life related issues. Like the young man in this story we are conditioned by our limited perceptions and all we think is only ‘how to hug’ with out any second thoughts to it. Life has to be looked and operated in varied and pluri-perceptions and only then, one can see the spectrum or rainbows in ones life.

The text that has been chosen from Exodus 3:1-6 happens to be the call of Moses by God, after he fled away from the land of pharaoh by killing a man. When Moses as a shepherds man went up to the Mount Horeb, had this calling of God through the burning bush incident, where he had the theophanic experience. Paulo Coelho in his famous “Alchemist” described that being a shepherd, the young boy could explore the riches of the land as he takes the sheep to different places and landscapes and at the end reaches his destiny in life. Similarly the hero of the Exodus episode in the Bible, Moses began his life as a Shepherd and tried to explore the riches of God’s creation and as he started exploring, on his way found the calling of God to lead God’s people out of the bondage.

The burning bush incident would not have made any impact on the life of Moses but for his listening to his own conscience of turning aside to view the great sight of burning bush. Moses recognised the language of the world, the inner burning of his heart and therefore turned aside in looking at the bush that was not burning for the second time.

1.Moses recognises only the flame of fire: When the angle of the Lord appeared in the flame of fire amidst the bush, Moses could only see the bush being burnt and saw that it was not consumed of fire. Moses could only see the flame of fire and not the presence of the Lord in it, on his first glance. For Moses as a shepherd, the flame of fire incident in the bush would have been yet another sight of new explorations in his onward journeys along with his sheep. Like his sheep on that Mount Horeb, Moses also could see the physical sight of the burning bush, where it was not consumed. For the sheep, as Paulo Coelho writes, it is only food and water that matters and therefore this incident of burning bush, whether it was burnt or not burnt would not have had any impact on it. But for Moses, he could only recognise that there was a flame of fire in the bush and the bush was not burnt, and did not get any clue of the presence of God in that flame of fire, for he was not able to discern either the language of the world nor the language of God which ultimately resonated the same substance and essence. Therefore on a first go, Moses failed to read the presence of God in that burning bush incident, and could merely see that the bush was not consumed even though there was a fire in it, and exactly saw what his flock of sheep saw on that day, at that first instance.

2.Moses discerns the flame of his heart: As Moses has seen the flame of fire; he immediately felt the flame in his heart, where his conscience spoke to him to discern the language of the world in that incident of burning bush. Therefore he said unto himself in verse three that he will turn aside to look into that burning bush, and tried to enquire why it was not being burnt. The flame of his heart or the inner voice of his conscience would have spoken to him clearly to discern the deeper meaning in that incident which he came across on that mountaintop along with his flock of sheep. In no time, Moses took a second chance, gave space to a second thought, a second perception, a second way of looking at things, and heard the second and deeper voice that is within him and immediately said that he will turn aside to see the same incident again. The burning of his heart, the flames in his heart, his deep conscience has led him to turn aside in looking at the burning bush and that led to question why the bush has not been burnt, despite the flame into it. As the Shepherds normally do, probably Moses as he listened to his heart to turn aside and see, immediately he would have spoken to his sheep and would have explained how deeply he was moved in discerning the language of the world and how he could enquire and how he could read and feel the presence of God. Like always, the sheep only wanted food and water, and therefore would have pretended to listen to what Moses was telling them and when no sheep gave heed to his feeling of inner voice, he had to speak to himself that he need to turn aside to see the same incident with new heart, new mind, new eyes and new ears. Therefore Moses ultimately could find out the presence of God in that same incident, which he has seen a minute ago.

3.God was impressed with the flaming of his heart: As Moses’ heart was flamed and as he turned another side to view the burning bush incident, his enquiring spirit earned him to feel the presence of God in it. Probably, Moses once again would have narrated his experience of feeling the presence of God to his flock of sheep, and therefore the narrator of Exodus story like Moses’s sheep also did not give importance to such explanation of Moses to his sheep, and therefore could not record it. However, when God saw that Moses was feeling the presence of God in that burning bush, God immediately was impressed by Moses’ listening to his heart of turning aside to look at the bush that was not being burnt. In fourth verse we read that when the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see, God called Moses by name. I think among all the characters Moses had in his CV, God was impressed by Moses’ turning aside quality. Moses’ turning aside quality has so impressed God that eventually when Moses raises several complaints of his inability to lead the people of Israel, God did not give heed to all his short comings and pressed hard that Moses should lead the people of Israel out of the bondage. The quality and character of turning to another side, taking a second chance, giving a deeper thought, being open to other perceptions, listening to the inner voice and giving space to new outlooks of Moses that day has won the heart of God. God also by any chance did not want to lose such a man who had a willing heart to discern the inner voice in recognising the presence of God, and therefore did not give it up in persuading Moses to lead the people living in bondage to liberation.

The contexts today have been dominated by the exclusivistic ideologies and fundamentalistic attitudes. Frictions among people and religions are counted high because of not being open to learn in their journeys. Therefore, dear friends the calling to all of us is to listen to the voice of our conscience like the Alchemist to discern the language of the world and thereby act to feel the presence of God. Moses depicted such qualities of an Alchemist and could lead the people out of bondage in all courage and boldness. Let us also try to turn aside to other perceptions in looking at and perceiving life in a better and healthy manner. May we turn aside from our own exclusivistic perceptions, from our own rigid perceptions and from our narrow domestic walls. Let us be open to turn aside from our own standings and stand points and let us try to decipher the presence of God, which appears in ordinary things like that of the common bush for a shepherd. Turning aside to other stand points and perceptions has won the heart of God, and I feel such a quality is so divinely blended into every human being equally with the rider that we need to listen to the language of the world and try to be open to new learning and new opportunities. May God grant us all that courage to be open to new perceptions and new imaginations so that all of us can lead journey in the pilgrimage of faith in partnership and friendship.

The Faction Factors and the Friendship Matters

A Call on NCCI Sunday towards Unity amidst Diversity

Grace, peace and unity to you all in the name of our God who is one in unity and diverse in manifestations. Let me bring to you all greetings from the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) on this NCCI Sunday,25th January 2009 which is observed as Unity Sunday in some churches, Ecumenism Sunday in some Churches, a day of fasting for Zimbabwe and as a concluding day in observing the Global Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The NCCI has been a nonageniric in its life and witness and is marching towards a centenary in 2014. With 30 member churches, 17 Regional Councils, 17 All India Christian Organisations, 7 Related Agencies and 3 Autonomous bodies, the NCCI has been moving from strength to strength in discerning the signs of our times, in interpreting the gospel of Jesus Christ contextually and transforming the communities in coherence with the values of the reign of God. We at the NCCI have 7 Commissions to carry on as vehicles the mandate of NCCI. Today is a day to thank God for God’s faithfulness to the ecumenical movement in India lead by the NCCI, today also is a day to thank God for all those ecumenical stalwarts who have worked hard for the sustenance of the ecumenism and is a day to get challenged to become active companions with God in carrying forward the rich legacy of ecumenism.

The Sitz im Leben

Factions – Denominations, different sects, different confessions, different faiths, different affirmations etc.

Frictions – Conflicts in the name of caste, in the name of region, in the name of class, in the name of gender, in the name of religions, in the name of property, in the name of politics & elections etc.

Fractions – Doctrinal divisions, ritualistic divisions, Eucharistic divisions, ecumenical vs evangelical divisions, gospel vs culture, faith vs science, etc.

Fictions – Hermeneutics of convenience, arm-chaired Christianity, exclusivism (no salvation in other places, no truth in other faiths)

The Message
(John 10:16) – Jesus said, “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.”

1. The Frontiers of the Mission - “I have other sheep that are not of this fold”. The boundaries of the church are beyond our own four walls of denomination, confession and faith. ‘Enlarging of the tents’. This reveals the Good Shepherd’s reach, for he reaches the unreachable, he reaches the ones with no reach. He has similar sheep who are in other folds. It is not similarity that binds them, but the diversity among sheep, which still he says he has other sheep in other folds.

2. The Friends in Mission – “Other sheep in other folds”. In colour the sheep would differ, in size they would differ, in their nurture they would differ, in their diet they would differ, yet the Good Shepherd says that they are all his own. Thereby creates that unity among its entire sheep affirming their pluralities. For after all the sheep are either friends or would have been kith and kin but are divided due to circumstances. They are all equal partners and enjoy the fellowship of this shepherd who has different folds.

3. The Fetching in Mission – ‘ I must bring them also’. The Good Shepherd, not only affirms his own sheep in other folds, he also tries to bring them together. He creates a space for mutual respect for each other, mutual learning, mutual caring and sharing. He provides and facilitates a space for network among his own sheep in different folds. Bringing them together would give them a chance of enhancing their friendship, strengthening their fellowship and creating unity affirming plurality and not trying for uniformity by attempting to clone similar species.

4. The Faith in Mission – ‘the different sheep from different folds will heed his voice’. Faith comes from hearing, and when they are brought together their common pilgrimage of faith is drawn with much clarity. By listening to his voice their spiritualities are deepened. Probably the other sheep in other folds did not resist to his voice telling that it was foreign, it was not indigenous, it was not spiritual or it was not lively, but rather all these different sheep from different folds listened to the voice in search of truth.

5. The Finale in Mission – ‘so there shall be one flock and one shepherd’ the goal of mission of God is to bring all the different sheep from different folds to make to one flock, where diversity is affirmed and plurality is respected. There will be one chief shepherd, for God is always one, though we have different shepherds in our nurture and trainings. That is the finale in mission and that’s where we are all as faiths, churches, religions, ideologies, regions are journeying towards. One flock and One Shepherd, is the great finale to where all of us are marching.

In the recent campaign for Presidency in the US, I have seen a poster, which has Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s photograph on one box, under which it was written the “Dreamer” for his dream was to see when his children would be judged not by the colour of their skin but by their content of character. There was a second box, which had President Barack Obama’s photograph under which it was written “Dream”. Both the photographs were adjacent to each other calling on the attention of the people to see the reality of the dream, dreamt by Rev. King made true in the life of President Obama. As I saw this poster, and particularly on this Unity Sunday, if at all we have a poster where on one box is Jesus Christ, who prophesied that there would be one flock and one shepherd, and under his name it is written “Dreamer”. The box adjacent is an empty one, for under this box it is written, “Dream”. Therefore the calling to all of us, to our churches and to different faiths is to fill that box with our photograph if we are trying to make that dream of Christ a real one by becoming united as one flock under the shepherd-ship of one Shepherd.

Healing is a Process

Text : Mark 8:22-27

Key verse: Then again Jesus put his hands on his eyes; and looking hard, he was able to see, and saw all things clearly. (25 verse)

The healing narrative in our reading today is an interesting healing of the man with blindness by Jesus at Beth-saida, the house of fish. This healing incident was one of the challenging ones to Jesus, as he has to press hard again for the second time for recovery of the sight to this man with blindness. The healing had a process and progression, a chain of reactions and happenings took place to the man with the blindness.
1.Jesus friendships with the blind man, so he took him privately out of the town, 2. Jesus first aids him, when he washed his eyes with the water in his mouth, there was a partial sight, and then 3. Jesus follows up the healing, by putting his hands and looking hard and there was clarity of sight to the man with blindness. Even in the case of the man with the blindness, there was progression, 1. He was with no sight, 2. There was partial or even a blurred sight for he saw men walking like trees, and 3. Then there was a sight with out any defect so that he could see clearly. This healing, Jesus would have done it at one sitting, but he took much care and concern to the man with out sight, and gave it a second sitting, followed it up and provided him the clarity of sight. Imagine if Jesus would have left him after the first sitting, when the man with blindness was able to see men, like trees walking, that would have been much worse and disastrous for that man. But Jesus made it a point to have a thorough checkup and gave him healing holistically, was with him until he received healing completely.
The church, as the body of Jesus Christ, how much more attention it should give to the ones coming for healing. To the sick both physically and mentally, the church should be in solidarity with them, and needs to attend to them till the healing is completely achieved to them. Healing is a process, it needs care and concern all along. We as Church have been giving a one-time prayer or grant and think that’s the greatest mission we are involved in. And this is like leaving the sick to see men like trees walking. Healing is continuous, and it requires Churches sustained and life long commitment.

Prayer: God, who is in process, make our churches’ mission of healing progressive and inspire our churches to be with needy and sick till they receive a complete healing.

Reflection:
Sickness recedes ultimately as Healing processes completely