‘Born is the Living Waters’: Re-telling Christmas story in the Context of Deluge

The Context of Deluge in Chennai:

The torrential rains, followed by deluge in one of the oldest metropolitan cities in India, Chennai in the season of Advent in 2015, came with a cost of 270 people dead, several thousand injured, and several hundred thousand becoming homeless soaking under the grips of water. The city which has seen these unprecedented rains and floods is slowly coming back to its terms, though life is still in its uneasy calmness. There have been several stories of victims of survivors of these deluge being shared, stories of people helping in the floods, stories of resilience, pouring of philanthropy from across the globe, actions and reactions on social media, some being able to mark safe on facebook, scientists attempting to trace the reasons and analyzing the context, politicians trying their best in scoring a point through their relief activities (some photoshopping the pathos, while some imprinting their photos on relief materials), journalists busy capturing the moments and penning down editorials, some religious institutions opening their doors for temporary hospitality for the flood affected people, NGO’s and churches getting busy with their relief activities, some Churches cancelling their Christmas celebrations in solidarity with the survivors of the deluge, etc. all happening around the context #chennaifloods.

There are several questions that go unanswered, like who is accountable for the deluge that happened? Why is the State not prepared in its disaster preparedness? Are there any lessons that we learn from this situation? How to rebuild the lives of the people in the context of crazy development? How can life be restored to normalcy? The list of these questions goes on and on, with very few answers or no answers left for us. The irony of the situation is that when people were dying in the floods with life coming to a standstill, the global leaders were meeting in Paris to settle climate change talks and negotiations. At the end, the State neither addressed the local Chennai deluge nor solved the global puzzle of climate change, and got back to business as usual.

Christmas as the Birth of Living Waters: Living Water-Mas

When the whole world is busy during this season of Christmas with their celebrations, carols, decorations, shopping, parties etc. does a situation like this have any relevance to us as faith communities? How should we understand the birth of God becoming a creature in Jesus? I heard some preachers say that such natural disasters are the signs of end times, and this is a sign for ‘rapture’ to happen and therefore let us get prepared to meet the Lord. I only thought how eccentric and selfish we Christians have been, thinking all about our own being ‘taken up’ when the rest the world is fighting against death, still struggling under pains of homelessness and deluge. It also irritated me to hear some Christians invoking the story of Noah, and how they and their Churches have been kept protected like in an ark, out of deluge.  I was further infuriated to read one of the forwarded prayer requests for Chennai mentioning ‘to pray for all gospel activities and revival meeting go uninterrupted during this time.’ Such requests only reveal our insensitivity towards our neighbours, cities and creation and expose our fundamentalism nakedly. I leave this discussion for another occasion as there are several themes that emerge out of these perspectives, however for want of time, allow me to engage in a much serious issue of this season, what it means for Jesus to be born in a context of deluge? I would like to read the birth of Jesus, as the birth of living water in the context of a deluge, for as living water, Jesus was born to give life, life in all its fullness.

People may ask, how this ‘birth of living waters’ is relevant for a context of deluge? This context challenges us to change our discourse of Christmas story from more triumphalist and paternalistic understandings of the birth of a baby Jesus. The context of deluge demands and creates a situation to interpret Christmas as the birth of living waters that saves and quenches the thirst of people dying in floods and in homelessness. On one hand the birth of living waters is a hope to all those who have been washed away by the floods, and on the other hand it is comes as a critique to all those who have been insensitive to the creation, for here comes saving waters, addressing the greed of human beings over creation and paving way for liberation. All those who adhere to the reality of the birth of living waters, are called to become tributaries of such a spring of living waters and address the dry, wet, soaked and washed away lives by providing life to all. ‘Born is a little living water called Jesus to save our creation from all human greed and pride.’ As Churches we are called to observe ‘Living Waters-mas’ in the season of Christmas.

The other way of re-telling the Christmas story is that, Jesus is born as homeless, just like those who have been forced to be homeless because of floods and therefore, in that homelessness, Jesus as living waters identifies with all those who have been made homeless, and brings hope by promoting life in the context of contaminated waters made by the (post) natural flood situation.

The birth of Jesus, the Messiah took place in a context of Roman Empire, where exploitation and greed were at its pinnacle. The reason for the floods in Chennai have been zeroed on ‘unregulated urbanization’ which has been a result of exploitation of natural resources in Chennai, with several water bodies have been destroyed to make them into concrete jungles. Therefore, it is into such a context that Jesus, the living water is born. The message of hope to Chennai is “it is living waters” that is born during this Christmas. The context demands us to re-tell the Christmas narrative in a ‘living waters’ discourse, and here is an attempt to show a tributary of it flowing.  This attempt of the presentation of ‘born is the Living Waters’ is very tentative, introductory and needs more application and analysis in utilizing this metaphor of ‘living waters’ in the context of floods as a Christmas theme. The metaphor of ‘light’ born in darkness is more evocative, where as ‘the birth of living waters’ in the context of floods need more attention and application. However, the birth of living waters is to save the creation from all forces of death and inspire people for life.

1.      Re-Telling ‘The Living Waters’ Incarnation Narrative:

Jesus Christ as the living waters, who held the Sprit of God upon himself, came down to the earth incarnating into human form, as a living spring flown into the nations. When the divine logos became flesh and dwelled among the nations, the streams of the living word flown from the divinity into human form and has flown as living waters. To understand the incarnation of the living waters from heavens into the nations, St. Augustine’s understanding of incarnation comes handy. According to St. Augustine, “the meaning of Word being made flesh is not that the divine nature was changed into flesh, but that the divine nature assumed our flesh.”[1] Therefore when the living waters which was the spring of all creation when was being made in to human form, the living waters of creation did not change into the human form, but the spring of creation assumed and continued to flow as living spring according to the currents of the nations. How do we understand ‘flesh’ (sarx) in the context of living waters? When the spring of creation, Jesus Christ became living waters, moreover being made as flesh, the living spring assumed our waters, for flesh is to express life in this world. Flesh takes life only in combination of blood and water, for flesh cannot exist on its own. Therefore John records, "This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (I John 5: 6) The living waters came into the world by water and by blood that is to be in flesh. This is further warranted and testified by the Spirit, which is truth. “The Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." ( I John 5:8)

The incarnation of the living spring into the living waters can be further understood by re-narrating Pauline Christology as explained in his letter to the Church at Philippians. Jesus Christ as the living waters were the very nature of God and that nature is life giving. But as living waters, Jesus Christ did not ever consider equality with God, for always upheld God for God’s creative spirit, and continued as the waters that carried upon himself the liberative Spirit of God upon him. As living waters, Jesus Christ always preferred to be the carrier of God and God’s spirit, and always waited upon God for the streams of life in him. The living waters not only did consider him as equal with God, but also made him nothing. The living waters, which were full of streams and life self-emptied and became a dry spring, even unto the point of crying that he was in thirst from the Cross. The living waters took the very nature of a servant, for he served every community and creature with waters. When the living waters served the humanity by quenching their thirsts and watered every generation and history with his streams, the humanity made a dominion over the streams of living waters. The living waters as serving streams bore that dominion, for the humanity have been polluting his streams, misusing and abusing waters and were responsible in drying those streams out. The living waters though was made in human likeness, once again life as the common likeness, the men in particular oppressed and marginalized the living waters. The living waters being found in the appearance as a human being in life generating nature, the living waters humbled him and became obedient to death, even unto a murder on a Cross, where the streams are nailed to become dry. The living waters thus incarnated into the nations and have flown into every generation and history giving life to all. The living spring incarnating as living waters is all inclusive paradigm, for they give life to anyone irrespective of their identities of religions and affirmations. Such an understanding of incarnation also goes against all the exclusive claims of and in Christology.

2.      Re-telling ‘The Living Waters’ Birth Narrative:

There have been a lot of controversies around the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. However, mother Mary carried Jesus in her womb for about ten months, and had to deliver him in Bethlehem, similar to other childbirths. Jesus Christ as living waters, like any other foetus grew in the womb of his mother in a sack of amniotic fluid, which is the water that surrounds the embryo of the mother.  From the gush of that fluid, Jesus Christ, the living waters came into the light of the world. Jesus is Christ the anointed because, he held the Spirit of God upon his face at the time of creation.

At Bethlehem, the house of Bread, when Jesus Christ the living waters were born there was no room for him in the inn, and had to be placed in a manger. The origins of most rivers take place at high altitudes in all liberty and freedom, and from the origins their course of flow is determined. For this Jesus Christ the living waters, his origin was from a manger, probably a low lying area and had to take his course of flow from very humble beginnings. (There has been a finding that the Greek word kataluma which is usually translated as ‘Inn’ is the same word used for ‘Upper Room.’)[2] The angelic pronouncement to the shepherds as Jesus Christ the living waters were born is, ‘do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born; he is Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2: 10-11) Jesus Christ, the living waters birth is certainly good news of great joy for all people, for as living waters his birth shall make all people irrespective of their identity and region merry and joyful. To hear a birth of living streams in the context of deserts was indeed a matter of great joy, for everyone from the child to the old shall enjoy the taste of the sweet streams. The living water is anointed one and is the Lord for no one can contain the force and ferociousness of the waters. The birth of Jesus Christ the living waters is peace on earth and goodwill to all humanity, for water builds peace and will benefit all humanity.

At the birth of Jesus Christ, the living waters, certain people like Herod were disturbed, for they could not think of any other king beside him. Many other streams till the birth of living waters enjoyed the sacredness and power by their depth and length, and the birth of living waters was an eyesore in their lives. The magi were led by a star, who had to travel crossing several rivers and seas to see the living waters. On seeing, they offered gifts to the living waters, for they were filled with awe and wonder to see the streams so pure and life giving. Baby living waters had to undergo the purification rituals according to the law of Moses, and people like Simeon have seen salvation in that pure and transparent stream. The tiny living waters grew in wisdom and stature, as it continued its course of flow and also grew in favor with God and in favor with humanity, for those waters were thoroughly refreshing.

Drops of Relevance:

·         When Jesus Christ is understood as living waters, for he identifies with the waters and rivers today, it is the duty of the Church to take on the saving nature of the waters and to save waters, for the Church is one of the tributary of the living waters here on earth. In the situations of climate change, particularly in the context of deluge in Chennai, where several water bodies have been destroyed for greedy development, let us make a pledge to save our rivers, water bodies, lakes, ponds etc. If we are not conscious of this fact of taking care of these water bodies around us, we may again crucify the living waters to the Cross. As a tributary of the living waters, we are called to rebuild the lives of people who have been washed away by the waters of greed and domination. May we as Churches launch a campaign ‘water saves, and save waters’ and create awareness on saving water and water bodies.

·         This Water Christology is an all-inclusive model. For irrespective of any creed, identity, religion and gender can feel at home with the understanding that Jesus Christ is the living stream. Such a model can build a community, where everyone can be at peace by protecting our rivers, waters and our nature.

·         This Christology calls on the disciples of Jesus Christ to become like that living waters in our contexts in providing safe and drinking water to all that has been denied. Each of us should become a living stream in our context.

·         This Christology encourages liquidity in the adherents of faith, for such a nature can beat out the exclusive, stubborn and absolute claims of our faith. Such liquidity will give a chance to seek and explore newer Christologies for particular times.

·         This liquid Christology defeats the ‘imperialist’ creedal formulations of Christ, for ‘living waters’ is authentically contextual and ecumenical, inspiring people to work towards a water theology.

·         In such a context, the role of our communities is to resist every move to commercialise water, first by bringing awareness about the sensitivity of water, then by applying that in our lifestyles by saving water and desist to wasting waters at homes and colleges. We also need to discourage buying bottled waters and encourage drinking water by purifying our waters through our indigenous methods. We also need to fight against denial of access to water to Dalits and Tribals, for water is life and she is for all.

·         Our call for way forward is to make our commitment for water justice, when justice is being watered away in many contexts, like that of in Chennai.  Let us organize public awareness on the plights of the urban poor, who are denied water, and who have been washed away by the waters of greed and pride. Let us raise our voice against all moves of the government on privatization of water, for water is our right and our life and against the filling of water bodies by greedy developers. Let us imbibe a water discipline, where we do not waste the precious water we have, and conserve the water resources in our localities. Let us collect the water testimonies from our contexts, stories of struggle, stories of victories and how the communities organize the water audits. Let us be water sensitive, and try to reflect the outlook of life from the perspectives of water. Let us join hands in solidarity with other civil society movements striving for water justice, for Jesus the living water inspires us to do so.

Who knows the pains of deep blue waters,

For her tears wept and kept within

What’s for a man but domination that matters

For his power swept and crept herein

When she tries to quench the thirst of the poor,

He grabs it from their mouths for sure

For he dictates that water is for money and not for any

And pours her in the rich houses for waste

Arise O waters, Arise O people,

Water for life and water for all

Injustice to water and injustice to people

Speak out and speak aloud

For man’s injustice to be watered away

And justice to be for waters again

Let Waters roll down in justice and

And let the streams be ever flowing to all in righteousness.

May God bless our initiatives for water justice and let justice roll down like waters, let righteousness flow like a never ending stream!

Raj Bharat Patta

17^th December 2015

---

[1] As quoted by Donald G. Bloesch, “ Jesus Christ Saviour & Lord” (Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, 1997) Pg. 53

[2] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/jesus-christ-not-born-in-stable-theologian-new-testament

HOPE AMIDST HOPELESSNESS: AN ADVENT CHALLENGE

“Lent” as we all know means “to spring forth”, which implies that in our liturgical calendar of the Church, if Lent is the time to spring forth and bloom in our faith, then one can derive that Advent is the time “to sow the seeds of faith”, and therefore this Advent challenges us to sow the seeds of ‘hope’, so that we can look forward for flowers of new hope and the harvest of new hope in the days to come.

Today we live in situations of hopelessness, where people and creation are yearning for hope to be breathed into them. “What is oxygen to human life, hope is for Christian faith”, has been a very well known truth in the lives of Christians’ faith journey. As we observe Advent this year, we have been challenged to reflect on the ‘advent of new hope’. The text from Matthew 11: 2-6, brings into light four levels of hope expressed in knowing Christ.

1. Hope Proceeds from Hearing Christ (2 V)

John the Baptizer, who baptized Jesus Christ, on hearing about his works when he was in the prison, expressed his hope, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The whole world under the Roman Empire in his time was awaiting a Messiah as the only hope to liberate the people from all bondages and clutches. The hope in John was proceeded only by hearing Christ. As Paul writes, “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17). Therefore the hope in John has led him to enquire Christ.

2. Hope Progresses from Hearing to Enquiring Christ (2-3V)

John on hearing about the works of Christ the Messiah couldn’t stop but sent forth his disciples to enquire whether Christ was the one to come or whether they have to wait for another. There is a progression in hope, because hearing leads to clarification or questioning to know the right. Though bodily John was imprisoned, his spirit was at liberty, therefore has the spirit to enquire and to know the truth and sent forth his disciples to find out the Messiah. On hearing he exercises the hermeneutics of enquiry in the Messianic identity of Jesus Christ.

3. Hope Strengthens from Enquiring to Knowing Christ (4v)

The enquiring spirit is led to knowing Christ. As they enquired about the identity of Jesus Christ’s Messianic role, they were led by Jesus Christ to hear and see with their own senses the Messianic works of Jesus Christ. The knowledge of the disciples of John has increased by leaps and bounds on knowing Christ very closely. Knowing Christ is to visualize Christ’s works, to feel Christ’s power and to experience Christ’s strength. The hope of Christ as the Messiah deepened as they saw the liberation of people from several bondages. Bondages in every sphere of life was the order of the day, and hope of liberation was a distant dream to those people then, but the advent of Christ revealed that hope was no longer a mirage, but a true reality which is at hand. Christ as the messiah was the hope, and Christ as the liberator was the fulfillment.

4. Hope Sustains from Knowing to Witnessing Christ (4-6 v)

John’s disciples knew Christ as the hope who liberates people from their chains of oppression, heard from Christ to ‘Go and tell to John what they heard and saw’. Hope does not end in just knowing or hearing or seeing Christ, but rather hope is hopeful only when witnessed, so that hope is alive and only on witnessing, hope is experienced.  Hope is a continuous reality, every stage of history people have been waiting to see the fulfillment of hope. And therefore, the role of every Christian believer is to carry forward such a hope that Christ is the liberator and sustainer of life. If we as Christians are not carrying such a legacy, then we end up in hopeless situations. Therefore the task of every reader today is to be heirs of hope, which is in knowing and witnessing Christ.

As we meditate on this text in this season of Advent, we are challenged to be the channels of new hope, who is none other but Jesus Christ and to his work of setting at liberty all that are oppressed. In today’s situations of hopelessness, the world is in need of a new hope. When there is a huge exile of people fleeing away from wars, poverty and violence, as refugees, what is hope for them? When nearly 180 million and more Dalits are oppressed in the name of caste for several ages, what is hope? When several people in Chennai have lost lives due to the deluge and torrential floods, cause by poor urban planning coupled with human greed, what is hope? When there is growing intolerance on minorities by majoritarian fundamentalism, where is hope? When our earth is groaning with several imbalances in the creation, what is hope? When violence is growing deep into the nook and corner of the society, what is new hope? When exclusion, discrimination, exploitation, marginalization etc. are on the rise, from where does our hope come from? When counties are voting for a decision to bomb other countries, where is hope?   … Knowing Christ, perhaps is the hope, and knowing Christ is to witness Christ, and knowing Christ is speaking truth and knowing Christ is to live as Christ and knowing Christ is to strive for liberation and justice, no matter to the extent of giving up our lives. There is hope in knowing Christ.  

As Jurgen Moltmann says, “The motive that impels modern reason to know must be described as the desire to conquer and dominate. For the Greek philosophers and the Fathers of the church, knowing meant something different: it meant knowing in wonder. By knowing or perceiving one participates in the life of the other. Here knowing does not transform the counterpart into the property of the knower; the knower does not appropriate what he knows. On the contrary, he is transformed through sympathy, becoming a participant in what he perceives.” By knowing Christ, we are called to be transformed and join with Christ as a co-participant in the sufferings of the people and creation for their liberation and transformation.

Hope is to be shown in action, by opening our doors and hospitality to the strangers, by addressing system changes for climate change, by being and becoming peace-makers, and by living out justice, driving away injustices from our contexts. You are the hope the world is looking for, and become that hope.

Raj Bharath Patta

Second Sunday in Advent 2015

Advent is Adventurous: Rediscovering, Redeeming and Recovering

For God is Near, Here and Now

In a context of a fragile world, if gospel writer Luke is in residence of our world today, he would call and discern the signs of our times such as conflict of Palestine Israel (today 29^th November being the UN declared International day in Solidarity with Palestinian People) and other such conflicts among nations as “distress among nations” as recorded in Luke 21:25. Luke would also call the forthcoming discussions on climate change by the global leaders starting from tomorrow, 30^th November 2015 at Paris, where the ‘future of the planet’ will be on the table for discussion, as “confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves”. He would further call the long unsafe, undocumented travels of refugees across lands and oceans as “people will faint from fear” for they are fleeing due to war and situations of violence from their home countries. Such a fear is also due to the rising intolerance of the governments on minorities and other indigenous communities.

In such and similar other contexts, Luke proposes that “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.” (21:27) Such a sign of Son of Man coming, is a sign of hope for the communities who are in deep distress and suffering. Advent, therefore as a ‘time of waiting’ is an affirmation in the ‘nearness of God’ for our time. The existing signs of our times in the world are not just ‘end of our times’, rather are ‘times at our end’, and ‘times on our end,’ which needs a recognition of the coming of Son of Man into our times. Advent is an adventure, rediscover it, recapture it and reaffirm it.

1.      Rediscovering the Nearness of God’s Presence:

“Son of Man coming in the cloud” is a landing note for faith communities today, for the recognition of this Christological title, which was picked from the apocryphal literature of Daniel, is situating God in Christ amidst the dirt, dust and dawn of our contexts. There is a nearness of God’s presence among us and amidst us when God in Christ pitched his tent among the materiality of our contexts. Advent unsettles the God of transcendence, who was above the clouds and resettles it with a God of immanence, who as ‘Son of Man coming in a cloud’, coming near to the creation and the creatures. The distance between God and creation is reduced in this process of ‘nearness,’ where God’s velocity of coming down to earth is accelerated, with the brewing of signs of our times today. This serves as a sign of hope for communities longing and waiting for transformation.

2.      Redeeming Redemption for Reparation:

With the coming of Son of Man, Luke proposes that ‘redemption is near,’ for God in Christ has redeemed the creation from its traps and chains. However, one has to recognise that ‘redemption’ is a market term, which means a ‘repurchase.’ Our context today demands us to untangle this soteriological metaphor, which has been subsumed by the language of market and globalisation, for a costumer is encouraged to redeem their reward points of buying. A subversive reading of ‘redemption’ would be to redeem our rhetoric of faith and turn them into praxis. For the Son of Man’s presence among our contexts is to redeem his transcendence and turn it into immanence. Redeeming justice from the bonds of injustice is the sign of hope for our times. Redemption for our times may have to be interpreted as reconciliation and even more towards reparation. If redemption is ‘pay with’, reconciliation is ‘pay together,’ and reparation is ‘pay back.’ Advent therefore affirms in the nearness of God’s redemption, which calls us for reparation as a way forward.

3.      Recovering the Demos-cracy of God’s Reign:

Jesus in Luke’s gospel explains his coming with a fig tree, for when the leaves sprout it is a sign of a coming of summer, like wise with these signs of our times and the signs of hope sprouting; the kingdom of God is at hand and is nearing. God’s reign is a non-monarchical and non-hierarchal space, where there is no distinction between king and their subjects. God’s reign is a ‘democratic vision’ and a ‘democratic space,’ which is defined as by the people, for the people and of the people. It is here in this space, the Son of Man becomes a co-subject along with the creation in that democracy of God’s reign, where he partakes and participates in that space. Some may argue, having seen so many democratic countries, is democracy a successful form of governance that can be construed as a form of God’s reign. I would argue, democracy has not been fully realized in those countries, people’s collective participation has not yet realized. But in the reign of God, with Son of Man as a subject, God’s reign will be fully realized one, where creatures in the creation will define, describe and decide the reign. God’s reign is a space that would emerge from below among our contexts and communities. It is a reign that contests all forms of autocracy, authoritarianism, colonialism, dictatorships and other such forms. Advent therefore is an affirmation in the nearness of God’s reign, where Son of man along with his creation decides in that reign.

 The relevance of Advent today is to invoke the nearness of God’s presence, redemption and reign into our contexts, for the Son of Man has already come and pitched his tent. Reconciliation and reparation becomes the key in striving for justice to situations of Palestine and also on the climate justice talks, for human greed has taken over the earth for all these years. The nearness of God inspires communities to work for justice, for Son of Man as a co-pilgrim participates in the struggles of the creation, striving for its liberation. Advent is adventurous, get into it, work for justice and become channels of hope, for you are the hope that world is in need of.  

Raj Bharat Patta,

29^th November 2015,

(From the notes of the Sermon Preached at St. Peter’s Church and Chaplaincy, Manchester on the First Sunday in Advent from the text of Luke 21:26-36)  

#WallWillFall

#WallWillFall

Reflection on World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel 2015

The theme for this year’s World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel (WWPPPI) 2015 has been “God has broken down the dividing walls.” When religious tourists travel in the so called ‘holy land’, the wall between Israel and West Bank cannot go unnoticed. But the Zionist tour guides inform the tourists, that the walls are built for security reasons, for those living on the other side of the wall are all terrorists and therefore to protect the land and people of Israel these walls are built. The wall runs around for about 400 miles long and about 25 feet height, and has concrete walls, fences, barbed wires, barriers etc. It is a separation wall; it is a wall of apartheid; separating people and communities, for the walls are built right in to the communities, only to divide and distance the communities. Walls are the ‘unholy sights’ in the so called land of the ‘holy sites’. #WallWillFall is a prayer of hope and a cry of justice that soon the dividing wall will be broken down.

Walls between Land without People and People without Land:

Journeying into the streets of Palestine would lead any one to anger, distress, disappointment and frustration, for visualising the segregations and separations made by the state of Israel by their cruel occupations, confiscating the Palestine lands, by building walls, fences and gates and thereby dividing and dispersing towns and villages of Palestinians, which is beyond one’s imagination in this so called ‘holy land.’ It is a paradox to see one hand the foreign ‘settlers’ on mountain tops guarded by the security forces living in comfortable zones with all amenities and on the other hand the native inhabitants of the land of Palestine living in the most deprived conditions. “The land without people and people without a land” is the greatest paradox that one encounters here. There are lots of ‘check-posts’ to cross across for the people of the land, the Palestinians, for these walls is a huge wall of separation and division.  The humiliations, discriminations and the human right violations done against Palestinians knew no bounds.

Come, let us not build the walls: A Hermeneutical Recovery of Biblical Texts

In such a context, what do these walls mean to us as Christian faith communities? How many times have we triumphantly quoted, used, misused and abused texts from the book of Nehemiah, ‘come let us build the walls’, not realising what that would mean to our Palestinian friends living in the context of Israeli occupation? The occupiers have appropriated such Biblical texts to their advantage in building the walls, and have taken them as divine sanctions in raising the walls. They have also taken for granted that the biblical Israel is today’s political Israel and therefore there is a divine sanction for them in occupying land in Palestine. However, WWPPPI provides us an opportunity to recover such Biblical texts from the occupiers’ territory and to redeem it from the occupiers perspective by re-appropriating it to the given context of the occupied Palestinians, who are today’s biblical Israel, forced into slavery and occupation by the state of Israel. This also gives us an opportunity to confess for being Christian Zionists in many ways confusing today’s political Israel as equivalent with Biblical Israel. Time is ripe now to rediscover the narrative God’s revelation amidst the growing signs of our times today.

#WallWillFall with Christ and in Christ:

In light of this, the text of Paul written to the Church in Ephesus as recorded in Ephesians 2: 11-22, finds great relevance, for in verse 14, it is written, “For Christ is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is the hostility between us.” The context at the Church at Ephesus was the division between circumcised Christians and the uncircumcised Christians, and therefore Paul exhorts the Church that Christ Jesus is our peace who has broken down all the dividing walls of hostility, ethnicity, and ritual, for he has brought reconciliation and love among all people in the Church. This statement of faith made by Paul is a statement of hope & trust, for God who in Christ Jesus has broken those dividing walls will also bring down these walls of separation and division in today’s Palestine Israel. Allow me to reflect on this verse in three sub-sections for more clarity and commitment.

1.      Breaking down the Dividing Walls is a Christological Necessity:

Christ Jesus is the reconciling point, where peace is made between the two dividing groups, where all of them gather in the name of God. It was mentioned that it is in his flesh that the two groups are made as one common humanity.  Where flesh here refers to the ground realities, in its brokenness, and in its weakness, peace is made between the rival groups. Peace is made in Christ’s fragility of flesh. Being in Christ does not allow us to affirm in raising dividing walls, and therefore breaking down the wall of apartheid is a Christological necessity for us today. Out of our fragile contexts, we called in Christ and by Christ to praying for the breaking down the wall of separation.

2.      Breaking down the Dividing Walls is a Missiological Necessity:

Breaking down the dividing walls today is a missiological necessity, for those of us engaged in mission cannot but partake in continuing Christ’s activity in our contexts today. If we believe in Christ, there is unity of all humanity, and in Christ all divisions and hostilities are broken down, then following such a Christ Jesus compels us to advocate in breaking down all dividing walls of hostility, particularly in the context of Palestine Israel. Breaking down the walls would yield liberation and freedom to Palestinians, for their self and their lands would be free from confiscation and occupation. Breaking down the dividing walls should be on the mission agenda of all Churches, for such a mission is part and parcel of God’s mission.

3.      Breaking down the Dividing Walls is a Contextual Necessity:

The dividing walls in Palestine and Israel are against the UN International Border agreements, and therefore advocating for the breaking down of the walls is a cry of all responsible citizens from across the world. Garth Hewitt observes the Eucharist celebrated at Cremisan Monastery, at Beit- Jala near Bethlehem, where a huge separation wall is being built to cut across the community as an act of protest. ‘Eucharist as an act of Protest’ is a challenge to the Christians globally to strive for the breaking down of the dividing walls of hostility and separation in Palestine Israel. If this dividing wall is broken down, communities will be united, liberation will be realised and unity among people will be established. Breaking down the dividing walls in Palestine Israel is a 21^st Century’s contextual necessity.

Let us as communities of faith, pledge that we shall strive and advocate for the breaking down of these dividing walls in Palestine Israel, and to ensure that justice and peace will be restored in this land. Let us be prophetic in our faith, address the human rights violations done to the people in occupations, speak to the principalities and powers of occupation by joining in movements like Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) etc. to express our dissent with occupation. Those going on pilgrimages to this land, want to spend their time at Wailing Wall piercing their prayer requests to be answered. May pilgrims recognise the walls of separation and understand the political moorings of such walls, and pray for the breaking down of these dividing walls, for only in those breaking of those walls can one find the living God in Christ. Today we don’t need walls, but we need bridges, for Christ has come to become bridge of reconciliation, and so does God call us to become bridges of reconciliations.

With God, the walls at Biblical Jericho fell down; in Christ the dividing walls of hostility broke down, and Inshallah in God, by God and with God the walls of separation in Palestine Israel will fall down. #WallWillFall. Amen

I thought young Joseph would be there welcoming

but it was young men with guns at checkpoints incoming

I thought young Mary would be there welcoming

But it was young women with guns at checkpoints incoming

I thought then it would be the manger that’s welcoming

but shockingly, it was the huge concrete wall of separation.

a wall of division

a wall of segregation

a wall of occupation

a wall of humiliation

a wall of discrimination

Making the birth of Jesus’ place invisible.

O Jesus, come now to be born again here

to break these walls of domination

to tear down these walls of demonization

to break open the cruel hearts of oppressions

to restore liberation and peace on this earth

and to bring glad tiding of joy to all these people

Come Jesus, and come now!

In hope I leave, only to return to see Joseph, Mary and

baby Jesus - in all freedom - in this land.

02.09.2015

Vajpayee-mas or Christmas: A Public Interrogation

Vajpayee-mas[1] or Christmas

A Public Interrogation

1.      The Brewing of the Public Controversy

As the Christians globally geared up to celebrate the season of Advent preparing in hope for the birth of Jesus Christ, and as they have begun singing carols for the season, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi announced that 25^th December 2014 needs to be observed as “National Good Governance Day” (NGGD) celebrating the birthday of Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former BJP Prime Minister of India and also the birthday of the veteran Hindu Maha Sabha Leader Mr. Madan Mohan Malavyia. He further calls on the BJP leaders to pay rich tribute to these leaders and propagate the schemes and good governance modes of the BJP. It has been further reported that “The PM said all lawmakers must, on December 25, lead efforts to remove litter in their constituencies as part of the Clean India mission that he launched on Independence Day. The PM said he will be in his constituency, Varanasi, to lead by example.”[2]

This news of the celebration became a matter of public controversy because this has been announced when there have been an annual vacation for students and all public enterprise workers during these days on the occasion of Christmas. I don’t bring this issue in to the public space just because, Christmas has been a Christian festival. It is a fact to say that to observe NGGD on a Christmas day and to work on that day hurts the deep sentiments of several Indian Christians across the length and breadth of India. Taking into cognizance all those deep hurts of Christians, affirming on the deep theological and spiritual implications this festival have, celebrating Christmas in India is an expression of the well-knit secular fabric of India, and it is a celebration of right to religion as ensured in the Constitution of India, and therefore eclipsing & evading such a celebratory Constitutional spirit by celebrating the birth anniversaries of one particular ruling party leaders, becomes and evolves to be a public issue of public interest for the public space in India.

To capture the intention of the right-wing ideologues in bringing this issue, Sitaram Yechury from the Leftist party while speaking the Parliament on the issue was quoted telling, "On Gandhi Jayanti, you have a programme of Swacch Bharat (Clean India); on Christmas, you want a programme for good governance; then, there is an entire campaign on religious conversions that's going on. All this is a whole package that we think is very dangerous to the very constitutional guarantees that have been given."[3] On the other hand, the political context of the country has been filled with the air on re-conversion and conversion of religious minorities into Hindu-fold, with methods of allurement and force, which again is very much against the very ethos of secularism in India.  

The joy of the BJP was further invigorated when they announced that the Central Board Schools (CBSE) run by Union government of India would remain open to observe the NGGD, by partaking in a nationwide essay competition. However with the pressure coming from the four corners of the nation, the Union Education Minister today declared that schools would remain closed on Christmas day, and the essay completion would be conducted online and will be voluntary. But the law makers need to work on NGGD to ensure propagating good governance, which had fallen from heaven with the present rule for the last six months by this present government!!!

2.      The Implications of Observing NGGD on Christmas Day:

On the Christmas Day, now it has almost became a law that most government officials, and all public workers will have be on duty to promote efficient governance among the citizens of the country. The colleges in Delhi have been sent a circular from Union Human Resources Development Ministry that they wanted colleges to hold two events on Christmas - a seminar on the topic 'Use of Technology and Innovations in promoting Good Governance' and an oratory competition[4].Therefore there are several sociological, political and religious implications in making Christmas day a working day, an in observing the NGGD. Allow me to share in brief those implications to set our discussion in perspective.

i.                    Violence & Violation: From the recent history, we have observed, how intentionally the fundamentalist groups target the religious minority groups on their festivals, and Odisha’s Kandhamal is one such good example to convey the attacks on Dalit & Tribal Christians in Kandhamal by the fundamental groups in 2007. Eventually there have always been attacks on Christians during the season of Christmas at places like Mangalore, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh etc. Now this observance of NGGD can be used by the fundamentalist groups to attack Christians on their festival day for no government machinery, the police or any other public worker would come in rescue of those attacked as they would be busy attending in propagating efficient governance. There are all chances for the fundamentalist groups to take advantage of this NGGD on a Christmas working day and lest the stains don’t remain on the central government for their observance.

ii.                  Nationalism (Patriotism) & Churches: The fundamentalist groups can also barge into the Dalit & Tribal churches who form the majority of the Indian Church and force them to cancel the Christmas payers and can even force them to partake in the NGGD, for this has been a call given the Prime Minister himself and so they can always take law and order into their hands, as has been done in the past.

iii.                Spirituality & Forcibility: The Christian law makers and public workers who are forced to work on NGGD would lose a time of prayer & fellowship on an important occasion like Christmas, which experience they can never replace with. It distorts and curtails the right to religion in this secular India, for no one can force someone not to participate or practice one’s own faith. NGGD’s intention is to rub on the wrong shoulders of the Christian brothers and sisters  

iv.                 Politics & Religion: Today it is on a Christmas day they have announced to celebrate a birthday of their leader, it can tomorrow be the celebration of another leader of their party on Ramdan, or on any other religious festivals. There can be no ending to it. This is only mere imposing of political & communal ideology on the religious identities and to keep up their communal majoritarian domination.

3.      A Subaltern Counter Public Interrogation:

On reading the implications, though in brief, there are several adverse effects on the lives of the subaltern Christians especially and on Christians in general. In such a context, the calling of the civil society is to voice out against such un-public announcements made by the government.  “Eclipsing Christmas by Vajpayee-mas” is a public issue to be addressed collectively and creatively by the members of our public sphere, and by all responsible people of faith. Leaving this issue to the Church alone to fight it over doesn’t come in good taste, as the creative public space in India is gearing up to voice and counter the powers of hegemony and empire to its best.

I do understand the limitation of the Indian Public sphere, as it is mostly dominated by the dominant caste, dominant classes, elitist groups and those exposed to the global realities have taken the front rows and high chairs in leading the Indian civil society. In such a time like this, the subaltern counter public spaces will evolve from among the Dalit & Tribal communities for whom their local congregations are their counter-public spaces, for these counter-spaces are bold in speaking back to the empire, and will advocate for the justice to Christians in affirming their faith. Counter- spaces of the subalterns don’t get into the centres in expressing their protest, but will ground their resilience in the local groundings and congregations. Two subversive practical ways of action these counter spaces can engage in expressing their dissent to the “Eclipsing Christmas by Vajpayee-mas” with are as follows:

a.      Ringing uninterruptedly the Church bells for one hour or more on Christmas day – as a sign of protest against the eclipse: Ringing of the bell for Subaltern communities is very significant especially in rural areas, for they are rung three times in three equal intervals before the Church service, be it on Sunday or on any other day, to gather people for worship on time. The other four occasions the bells are rung in our local community are, when someone in the community dies, they ring the bells in equilibrium to the age of the person dead. This ring gathers the community to the bereaved family’s house. The other occasion the bell is rung is on the wedding day, when the groom ties knot of the thread in coherence with the wedding vows, these are called auspicious rings of the bell. The other occasion I know is thirty three bells are rung on the Good Friday day at 3pm, during the worship service to commemorate the death of a 33 year old young Jesus on the Cross. The last occasion is on the mid-night of the 31^st December, when the old year is crossed when the congregation which is at worship during that time, welcomes the new-year with the ringing of Church bells.

Therefore to counter the fundamentalist forces and to express the dissent of the subaltern communities, the call is to ring the Church bells uninterruptedly on Christmas day, so that it would gather the communities to express their protest. The ringing the church bells in the local community for quite a long period of time will catch the attention of the public around us, and the resilience is communicated.

b.      Christmas Worship Services to be conducted on the Public streets:  Since the NGGD will be observed at the public schools and public areas, those areas must be already used by the congregations to conduct the services on the streets. Take the congregational worship onto streets. The local congregation is in the public and is the public. Thus a subservient subaltern counter public space evolves with ’occupying the centres’ of public space. The law makers and politicians need to find it difficult in cleaning India and in propagating efficient governance. Theologically speaking, after all Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, who inaugurated the alternative good governance (Isaiah 9:6, 11:1-9) unlike these fundamental politicians, who do it for selfish motives.

When Christmas worships are conducted on the public streets in the villages and towns, the message of protest, the message of ‘just angst’ is given back to those in the power. They would see the subaltern counter-public space rising like a wave.

Closing:

“Eclipsing Christmas by Vajpayee-mas” has been of concern of the public today, and there are many other traditional ways of making delegations to the Prime Minister and the Ministers in exempting the Christians to work on the NGGD which is the Christmas day, submitting memorandums to local government officers etc. to express our protest. However occasions such as this, should bring together the creative and responsible public sphere in India to voice out and advocate for justice to those on the margins. Public issues of controversy in a way impact those on the margins adversely than on any others, and therefore being bold in expressing our dissent and being collective in mobilising dissent is the need of the hour in responding to the sings of our times. These are the times for the margins to create and contribute for transformation of the entire society, and allow that process to progress.

This has been a small public outcry made out of concern for one’s home land and therefore this is not an end in itself. This is making a public interrogation on a public issue that affects those on the margins. I only pray that peace & justice would prevail in India, those in the margins can affirm and live life with dignity, lest the religious fundamentalists dare not to get into the cribs at the Churches destroying baby Jesus and placing the pictures of Vajpayee in the hands of mother Mary!!!! I am sure public just-sense would prevail, and the eclipse of Vajpayee-mas would soon get over to see the bright new dawn of hope, peace, equality and justice.

Rajbharat Patta,

17^th December 2014

---

[1] A satirical usage to express about the celebration of Mr. Vajpayee’s birthday on December 25^th.

[2] http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/no-school-on-christmas-clarifies-smriti-irani-amid-anger-over-government-circular-634786

[3] Ibid…

[4] http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/pm-modi-please-intervene-says-st-stephen-s-principal-635421

FIGHTING IMPUNITY: THE SAGA OF A VICTIM OF TORTURE

Reflection on the UN International Day In Support Of Victims Of Torture on 26th June

Ground Zero
“Fighting Impunity” has been the theme for the 2014 campaign in support of victims of torture, and this aptly suits our contexts as most heinous crimes committed in our land, be it in the name of caste, name of religion, name of gender, name of class, name of region etc. they are all committed with utmost impunity. The oppressive forces, the perpetrators of violence take for granted the fragile situations of our times and continue to violate the rights of the people and are at the end left scot free, for they have the shield of impunity around them. Impunity is the affirmation of the status quo, the principalities and powers of the unjust systems, the failure of the state to investigate the violations and to bring to justice those perpetrators of crimes. The infamous Tsundur case in Andhra, where some 20 Dalits are brutally massacred, after about two decades of investigation, the accused are left scot free on the pretext of insufficient evidence. The violence against Dalit Christians in Kandhamal, Odisha in 2008, justice has been far from being exercised and the perpetrators are left scot free. There are scores of such stories, where the victims of violence continue to be the victims of torture and on the other hand the perpetrators enjoy impunity and continue their oppression. Recent Badaun case of raping & killings of Dalit girls in Uttar Pradesh to the global context of oppression in the name of occupation to the Palestinians, the saga of the victims of torture resonates the same cry for justice. The saga of the victims of torture knew no bounds, and their plights are not being heard and justice is a far reached dream to such people.

The Saga
The first Chapter in the book of Esther in the Bible has a record of an interesting story of a woman who became a victim of torture at the hands of her husband who was sufficiently guarded by his royal impunity, and ultimately faded away from the records of the Scripture, risking gospel for the sake of gospel. Her saga is a testimony and a challenge for all of us to commit ourselves to be in solidarity with the victims and in pooling support for all the victims of torture today. She is none other but the bold & the beautiful royal queen Vashti.

Her Excellency Queen Vashti, was the royal queen to King Ahasuerus who ruled from India to Ethiopia with over one hundred and twenty seven provinces in his kingdom. The King threw a party to his leaders from all his provinces in order to show his riches of his royal glory and splendour & pomp of his majesty. Subsequently the Queen also has given a banquet to the women in the palace. When the party was at its peak and when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he ordered to bring Queen Vashti before the King dressed in her royal crown in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty. Queen Vashti, refused to come at the King’s command and consequently became a victim of King’s anger that even lead to her being dethroned as the Queen.

Queen Vashti, the Victim of Indignity
When the King ordered her to do a catwalk on his royal ramp, Queen Vashti denied the King’s order for she strongly believed in her self-respect and self-dignity. For the Queen her values were more prominent in life and no force or person can neither influence her values nor compel her to compromise her values. The Queen knew that refusal and disobedience to King’s order would cost her a lot, however being conscious of the consequences she was bold enough to stand for her dignity. By refusing to display her beauty, Queen Vashti displayed her inner beauty of self-dignity. Her self-dignity priced her to be dethroned, for she became a victim to the forces of indignity and indecency.

Queen Vashti, the Victim of Patriarchy
For the King Ahasuerus, her queen the woman was yet another material thing like that of his riches and wealth. As he showed off his riches of his kingdom to his guests, he thought he could have easily show off the external and physical beauty of his wife Queen Vashti and make his guests happy and joyful. The King did not also realise that beauty and human sexuality are the gifts of God that needs to be respected in all solemnity and sacredness. The forces of patriarchy governed him and therefore he could not have respected his wife as his equal partner in life. On listening to the other men folk, he was forced to pass a decree that any woman who does not obey the commands of their husbands will have to face similar consequences like the Queen. Queen Vashti, became of victim of patriarchy.

Queen Vashti, the Victim of Torture
Imagine the plight of Queen Vashti, who had to be thrown away from her palace to the streets of her kingdom, just for the sake of sticking to her values of self-dignity and self-esteem. She was sent away from her husband’s house on to the streets and men of her country would have laughed at her and would have mocked at her insulted her and even teased her like, “Vashti, who wanted to be the Mother of Self-Dignity, who wanted to be the forerunner for women’s rights is now on the streets without any shelter”. She became a divorcee, a single woman and her pains knew no bounds. Patriarchical forces try to take advantage of single woman that too of the one who was a queen, and Queen Vashti would have underwent a trauma and torture, which was unbearable and unexplainable. Added to her pain, when the King called for fresh applications to the post of his wife and the news whoever pleases the King would be made the Queen instead of Queen Vashti, would have added fuel to the fire to the torture she was undergoing then. There would have been a great mental agony and emotional torture for Queen Vashti. In all silence and in all loneliness she bore the torture in her life, just for the sake of values and principles in life. There would not been any space for her to share or ventilate her feelings, all her feelings could have been blocked up and piled up within her. If I may be allowed to stretch my imagination, I would probably think Queen Vashti would have died a death out of torture from all quarters of her life and therefore that would have been one for the reasons for not finding her name or a mention of her again in the Scriptures. From royality to indignity, the saga of torture of Queen Vashti goes on and even continues in many lives of the women today.

Challenge
When today, June 26th when we remember this day as the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Queen Vashti’s saga of torture comes afresh to all of us. Even today many Dalits are beaten up, ostracised, humiliated and even killed. Dalit women’s plights are way above words, every day several Dalit women are raped, abused and are murdered. Dalit Children have been one of the worst victims of Child Labour, most of them are undernourished and have been used and abused in life. Dalits continue to be the victims of torture today. Violence on Dalits has been a common phenomenon and the discrimination on Dalits over the years has become so subtle and aggressive. Dalit Christians are in the arena of torture for neither the legislature nor the judiciary have been listening to their pains and doing justice to them. Sixty plus years of waiting for justice, imagine their trauma of victim-hood. Torture has become the common denominator with which all Dalits in India are living today. Palestinian friends continue to face torture and illegal detention by the occupiers and face hardships in their life for over the several years, with justice & liberation to them a distant reality.

When today is the day called to be in support to the victims of torture, and in the light of the Queen Vashti’s saga of torture, who really did come in support of Queen Vashti, the victim of torture? The Scripture is absolutely silent on it, and no wonder to say none would have dared to come in support of the dethroned Queen. As a victim of torture, Queen Vashti had to stand all alone and in all loneliness. Who dared to come in support of her? …None of her relatives would have come in support of her fearing the King’s decree, none of her friends came in support of her, none of her prayer partners came in support of her, none of her community members came in support her, none of her temple partners came in support of her, none of the royal wives of the princes in their provinces came in support of her, none of the kingdom authorities like the women welfare ministries came in support of her, none of her co-women in her provinces came in support of her (how sad the kingdom spread from India to Euthopia, and there was none to be with her and stand for her), no one came in support of her, for every one feared the wrath of the king. Queen Vashti had to live support-less and had to live in all torture all through her life, what a torture it would have been. Unbearable and unthinkable! On the other hand, the king enjoyed impunity, for no one dared to speak against the king. Queen Vashti fought impunity in her silence and risked to be forgotten from the scriptural tradition, for she was a fighter standing for her own convictions of self dignity.

There are many Vashti’s today in our societies who are living in a torturous life. Queen Vashti eventually vanished from the story of the Scriptures, but I think her life, her witness and her spirit continues to call on all of us today to be in support of all those victims of torture, like those people who are kept in illegal detention, people who are tortured in the name of caste, abused physically and verbally, beaten, intimidated, threatened, false cases imposed, money extorted, etc. Let us express our solidarity with these victims and resolve today to address these strategies of victim-hood with a commitment to justice. Queen Vashti calls for a response of prevention, reduction and elimination of all forms of torture today, fight impunity at all costs for no one is above justice and strive for a just and transformed society. Come, let us stand in solidarity and support the victims of torture from this day on, let us enlarge our tents in bringing in support to these our fellow brothers and sisters who are living in abject torture and trauma.

Towards a Ministry of Advocacy: A Pentecost Call

Pentecost is a very significant period of time in the liturgical calendar of the Church, a time to renew our faith in Holy Spirit, a time to be refreshed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a time to rejuvenate our dedication in making the relevance of Church felt by communicating in the tongues of the localities of our times. The first Pentecost as recorded in New Testament happened at a time, when there was fear, peace-less-ness, timidity, and perplexity among the disciples of Jesus Christ. At that very stroke of the Pentecost, as the resurrected Christ ascended into heavens, the Holy Spirit poured down on the creation, the disciples of Jesus Christ came open and the Church went out. Some have noted the day of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church, for the genesis of Church as a communion of people in God, Church as a movement of people in God began from that very day of the Pentecost.

In the gospel of John, in 14^th Chapter from 15^th verse, we see Jesus promising to send Holy Spirit as an advocate to this world, which again Jesus communicates the arrival of comforter Holy Spirit in the context when the disciples were troubled in their hearts after the last supper episode in the previous chapter. Jesus in 16-17 verse says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” According to the Johannine Jesus, Holy Spirit is the successor of his ministry of advocacy, for that is the reason it is recorded as ‘another’ Advocate.

Holy Spirit for Succession of Advocacy: According to Jesus, the characteristic of Holy Spirit is to be a successor of the ministry of advocacy. It was only in the early Church the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit came into emphasis, otherwise for Jesus, Holy Spirit is the successor of advocacy. Jesus is him life and ministry has always been on the mission of advocacy, advocating for the rights of the outcastes, the rights of the children, the rights of women and the rights of those that have been on the margins of the society. Therefore, Holy Spirit succeeds Jesus Christ in carrying forward the mission engagements of advocacy, defending the rights of the vulnerable and those that been pushed to the margins. Therefore the promise of Holy Spirit is to see that mission is in progress, the reign of God is in progress, and that we as celebrants of Pentecost, are called to be part of joint heirs with Jesus Christ in the mission of advocacy, whom Jesus gave us to lead with.

Holy Spirit for Accession of Intimacy: According to Jesus, the advocate Holy Spirit, the comforter Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, whom the world unrecognized due to the filling of powers and principalities. The arrival and outpouring of Holy Spirit is to lead creation into an accession of intimacy with the Triune God, building intimacy among one another and also building intimacy among the Creator and the Creatures. Pentecost is a celebration of the intimacy that one enjoys with one another and with the Triune God. Therefore the down pouring of Holy Spirit needs to establish healing and intimacy among broken relationships between human beings and God, between human beings and creation and between human beings and human beings. Pentecost is a restoration of relationships, intimate relationships, which furthers the reign of God here on earth.

Pentecost is a time to implore on to the mission engagements of advocacy as part of our Christian calling, striving for justice and peace in our own localities and contexts.

It is noted that “we argue that involvement in advocacy is vital, both practically and theologically, to the Church’s calling to bring about justice, speak out truth, defend the poor and oppressed, and to work to redeem the whole of creation. Advocacy involved both tackling individual cases of injustice or poverty and tackling systems and structures that allow this injustice to happen. Advocacy is firmly rooted in the hope and promise we have for a better future and we do it in the confidence that God is working his purposes out. We look forward to justice, not backwards to revenge, and are involved as part of our calling to be salt and light of the world.” [1]

Why Advocacy? :Advocacy is a Biblical calling – God of the Bible is an advocating God, for he raises prophets on God’s behalf to advocate for the cause of justice and peace, for God the Holy Spirit continues to be the advocate and comforter in journeys of faith and struggles. For it is the advocate God Holy Spirit, who grants her humanity the gifts and fruits of Spirit (I Cor 12 & Gal 5 :22), for they are to be exercised for the good of creation and the sake of the rein of God principles. Holy Spirit as an advocate installs the interceding spirit among her people, for she teaches them how to pray and what to pray. Holy Spirit God challenges all her people to become advocates like her, for she advocates, therefore her people also should advocate for the cause of justice and peace. God the Holy Spirit, created human beings to be the responsible stewards of the creation. God, the Holy Spirit raised Abraham to advocate on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, raised advocate Moses to advocate on behalf of the Israelites, raised Esther to advocate on behalf of her people to the King. Jesus advocated for the rights of the people and even sent an Advocate Holy Spirit to be with the creation. New earth and new heavens is required – so lets advocate for the cause of creation by addressing climate change, addressing oppression & discrimination, violence against women, rights of Dalit & Tribal communities etc. which are the signs of our times and in our localities.

Pentecost is a time to respond to the call for advocacy, and make Holy Spirit more relevant to our situations.  Wishing you all a very meaningful season of Pentecost.

“Speak open for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction, speak open, judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

  

---

[1] Graham Gordans & Bryan Adams, “The mission of the Church and the role of advocacy” discussion paper, July 2002, Pg. 9. also on www. tilz. info