I Didn’t Know You Spoke Arabic...

A Sketch on Pentecost from Acts 2

Narrator: A warm night in Alexandria. A man is sitting on the roof of his villa gazing out to sea beyond the giant pharos, lost in thought. An orange glow is reflected in the water, silhouetting the rows of ships at anchor in the harbour below. A woman’s voice calls him from his reverie.

Phoebe: Jason! Jason! Where are you? (She comes in and sits beside him). I might’ve known I’d find you up here.

Jason: (He takes a cup from her) Thank you my dear.

Phoebe: So, how was your trip?

Jason: I....I, well it...er....

Phoebe: Did you see Clement as planned?

Jason: Not exactly. You see there was a....

Phoebe: But I thought this business meeting you’d arranged was most important. “Sorry, but I’ll have to miss your birthday party”, you said. “He’ll be in Jerusalem for Pentecost so we can finalise the deal there and then”. What happened?

Jason: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you

Phoebe: Let me be the judge of that

Jason: (Pauses) Well, that morning I was making my way up to the Temple. You know, to see the priests offer the wheaten loaves to God as the first fruits of the completed harvest, when I found myself in the middle of a great commotion. A group of people were milling around, crying out in praise of God’s wonderful works. One man near me joked they must be drunk, but I could tell they weren’t. Their voices were so clear and steady.

Phoebe: What’s so remarkable about that? The crowds can sometimes get a bit lively at Pentecost.

Jason: But here’s the thing. These people were speaking in tongues from all over the world, but they were just simple country folk from up North in Galilee. How could they possibly have known all those strange languages from faraway places such as Parthia, Libya, Arabia....?

Phoebe: Are you sure you weren’t drunk? And how do you know Arabic!

Jason: There’s a lot about me you don’t know. My father had some slaves from Arabia when I was a boy. I picked it up from them.  

Then this big chap appeared on the veranda and started to address the crowd, his huge workman’s hands waving around. Firstly he talked about the prophet Joel and how God would pour out his spirit on everyone in the last days. Then he explained how David had prophesied that one of his descendants would be raised up by God to be Lord and Christ.

Phoebe: Not another “messiah” to save us from the Romans!

Jason: A messiah unlike any other though. This descendant was Jesus, a prophet and miracle worker from Nazareth who was crucified by the authorities, yet God brought him back to life again and he appeared to his disciples. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit and this was what we were witnessing at that very moment!

Phoebe: But why would God choose a ragbag of uneducated Galileans to reveal all this, people of little importance? Surely the priests and elders should be the ones to do it?

Jason: Perhaps there’s a lot about God we don’t understand. Knowing many languages helps me to oil the wheels of business of course, but just imagine if there were no languages, no barriers between peoples.

Phoebe: Then this new spirit must be meant for everyone. I can’t wait to tell the women in the synagogue. Prepare to be the centre of attention! They’ll want to know all about this Jesus.

Jason: Anyway by now I’d lost all track of time. A lot of people in the crowd wanted to be baptised with this spirit there and then and by the time I made it to the Temple Clement had left. His secretary told me he’d had to return to Caesarea on some important family matter.

Phoebe: Next time you go to Jerusalem on business you can take me with you. I’ll make sure you’re on time for your meetings, no excuses.

Jason: Dearest, the crossing can be quite rough. You wouldn’t want to be laid low with a serious bout of sea-sickness now would you?

Phoebe: My grandfather was a ship owner. I went on trips to Crete and Macedonia with him when I was a girl. I love travelling by sea.

Jason: I didn’t know you were an experienced sailor!

Phoebe: There’s a lot about me you don’t know. Come on, tell me what you think these Galileans are going to do next .....

(They leave arm in arm, smiling and chatting)

Questions for reflection:

1. But why would God choose a ragbag of uneducated Galileans to reveal all this, people of little importance? Surely the priests and elders should be the ones to do it? What do you understand about the God of Pentecost from this question and what is its relevance for us following such a God?

2. Why do you think the God of Pentecost did not speak the languages of Hebrew (Scriptural language), Latin (empire language) and Aramaic (native language) and chose to speak the language of the then foreigners? What do we gather about Pentecost? How do we celebrate multiculturalism in our context today by speaking and understanding the vernacular of the margins today?

Concept by Raj Patta and Written by Trevor Williams

image courtesy: http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48388

A Perilous Parade

A Sketch for Palm Sunday

Jerusalem. The city is overflowing with thousands of pilgrims who are there to celebrate Passover. A crackling tension fills the air as if a storm is about to break and the authorities are fearful that some hotheads could spark a riot or even some kind of revolt. A young woman is standing near the Golden Gate seeking a familiar face amongst the surging mass of strangers. When she finally spots her brother her voice betrays a mixture of relief and reproach.

Ruth: Joshua, where have you been? I’ve been waiting here for ages!

Joshua: Rogues! Swindlers! Robbers!

Ruth: You’re not in one of your moods again?!

Joshua: Those money changers up in the Temple are on the take as usual. They’ve got us all over a barrel. The priests make sure they get their share too. And you know how much I hate crowds.

Ruth: (Sighing) Have you bought the lamb for the Passover meal?

Joshua: Those animal sellers drive a hard bargain, raising their prices every year. But I’ve managed to choose a good one for us.

His face clouded slightly. He recalled that as head of the family he had so much responsibility, so much to do.

Joshua: Well, come on Ruthie. We can’t stand around here all day!

She starts to move, then hesitates.

Ruth: What’s that noise?

Joshua: What noise?

Ruth: Listen. It sounds like people shouting. Or are they singing a psalm? It’s coming from down there in the valley, getting closer by the minute!

They look at each other quizzically. Moments later a large group of people bursts through the gate waving palm branches and crying out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Save us!” Ruth strains to see and catches a glimpse of a man riding on a donkey in the middle of the throng, apparently the centre of all the attention. She turns to a bystander. Like everyone else around her he’s cheering wildly.

Ruth: What’s going on? Who’s that man on the donkey? He looks as though he’s been weeping.

Woman: It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. You know, the famous miracle worker. Only the other day he healed a blind man in Jericho. They say he’s our Messiah, going to kick out those Romans.

Joshua: Unlikely. I saw Pilate arrive here, fanfares, horses, elite bodyguard, the lot. Now that’s what I call an army, a show of force alright and a warning to anyone thinking of stirring up any trouble. I bet he hates coming to Jerusalem this time each year. Much rather be relaxing in his nice residence by the sea at Caesarea.

Ruth: I’ve heard that Jesus speaks wisely. Look, some Pharisees are talking to him. They seem worried. I wonder what they’re saying.

She tries to hear, but their words are drowned out by the noise of the crowd. The procession moves on, louder than ever. Jesus looks calmly ahead, unflustered by the increasing turmoil going on all around him.

Ruth: He must be heading for the Temple.

Joshua: Those northerners are real hotheads, always fancying themselves as revolutionaries. But I’d be careful if I were him. I’ve heard that Pilate’s planning to crucify some terrorists he’s caught this week.

Ruth: No, this man is different. There’s something special about him that I can’t explain. I think I’ll go up to the Temple and hear what he’s got to say, see what he does next. Perhaps he will save us.

Joshua: Well, you won’t catch me going up there again. I’ve been pushed and jostled quite enough for one day. I’ll go back when I have to collect the lamb for Passover and that’s it. Anyway, there’s still lots to sort out and they’ll be wondering where we’ve got to. Come on Ruthie.

He grabs her arm, but she pulls away, smiling.

Ruth: Don’t worry about me, Josh. You go. I’ll join you all later.

And with that she picked up one of the palm branches and melted into the crowd as it edged through the streets towards Herod’s great Temple.

Questions to Reflect:

1.   Who you would be in this story? And what would you do?

2.   Would you take this perilous parade with Jesus today? If so, how would you do it?
As you read Matthew 21:1-11, how do you understand being in a procession with Jesus in the context of self-isolation due to Coronavirus today?

Credits: Concept: Raj Patta & Written by Trevor Williams

#follow the star – A GPS to Bethlehem

Reading Matthew 2:1-12

As many of you know I recently had my graduation from the University of Manchester and received a degree PhD, and my supervisor started to call me Dr. Raj. I have received many congratulatory mails and texts from far and wide. Among those heaps of mails, I received one mail, which read, “Many congratulations Raj, we are very happy for you and the family. You can now move more easily wherever you wish to. Life becomes easy. Once again many congratulations on passing your driving test.” Only then I realised that Dr. before my name is not always doctor Raj, but ‘driver’ Raj.

Well, while I am on driving, as a new driver, still fresh with driving lessons, one of the lessons was going to a destination by reading the sign boards. Another lesson and part of the test is independent driving following the navigation to a set destination on the sat nav. It is taking time to follow the navigation, with many confusions, sometimes taking a wrong exit, sometimes the GPS device taking you to different locations. It is all a learning experience. I know there are many who still use the A to Z maps, with notes on the directions to follow to reach their destinations.

With a 'P' sign on the back of my car, as a new probation driver, I now started to read Matthew 2:1-12, realising how the Magi followed a GPS to reach Bethlehem. The star served as a GPS for these kings, astrologers, wise people to find the ‘King of Jews’ in Jesus at Bethlehem. Mind you as you will know, it was never mentioned that they were ‘three wise men’, all we know is that there were three gifts and so we assume that they were ‘three wise people.’ They were a company of people who saw the star, followed it to find the ‘King of Jews.’ How did all this company of people follow the single GPS available in a Star. Because it was a star, all of them sighted it and followed it collectively, or one taking the lead the others following the star and the lead. The Star served as a collective GPS – taking all of them to Bethlehem. Perhaps because they were able to travel together in a company, following a single star made them ‘Wise’ people.

(Painting credits: Laura Dukes – Laura primarily paints small abstract pieces; you can see more of her work on her Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/laura.dukes/?hl=en. She is also available for commissions of her illustration pieces.)

All this company of wise people followed their GPS the ‘rising Star’ carefully through out their journey, till they were 9 miles away from Bethlehem. On approaching Jerusalem they took a wrong exit and went to the palace of Herod assuming that either he or his son would have been the ‘King of Jews.’ They lost track of their Star, and it took a long time for them to be rerouted before they got back to their GPS directions towards Bethlehem. How frustrating it would have been to be lost just before 9 miles from Bethlehem, for there was delay, they had to encounter King Herod to inform him about the birth of Jesus, and that entry into a wrong exit even costed the lives of several two year old babies to be slaughtered by Herod for not being able to track and find Jesus.

By the help of Holy Spirit, they were rerouted back to their destiny from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and found the star. Verse 10: “when they say the star, they were overjoyed.” What a relief it would have been to find back their GPS directions. I can imagine what a joy it would have been to back to the right directions after being lost in a wrong exit. They were “over joyed.” The star brought them to the right place, a house in Bethlehem where Mary and Joseph stayed with their baby Jesus, and they worshipped Jesus by offering their gifts.

Augustine wrote, “Christ was not born because the star shone forth, but it shone forth because Christ was born; we should say not that the star was fate for Christ, but that Christ was fate for the star.” (Benson Bobrick, The Fated Sky: Astrology in History (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 79).

I want to share with you five things from this following the star.

1.      Hearing/Reading about the Star

2.      Seeing the Star rising

3.      Knowing the Star

4.      Following the Star

5.      Being a Star

1.      Hearing/ Reading about the Star:

Matthew tells us that the Magi have seen “his star at its rising” (Matthew 2:2). His readers would have made a connection to the promise made to Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars of heaven (Genesis 15:5; 22:17); Jesus is one of these descendants who surely stands out. Imagining that the magi were from non-Jewish background, they read the star at its rising, and followed it.

2.      Seeing the Star:

The fact that the Magi, astrologers from the East, seeing the star, come looking for the new-born king shows that the Gospel message is not just for those of Jesus’ race but for all people. The star, therefore, helps to communicate the universal significance to Jesus’ birth. 

They found the star at their work – If u r writer does ur pen lead to Jesus, if u r a doctor does ur stethoscope helps u to lead to Jesus, if u r a mechanic does ur spanner helps u to lead to Jesus.

3.      Knowing the Star:

Putting feet to faith – conviction to belief-They knew the importance of the star and have put into practice their theoretical knowledge.

4.      Followed the Star:

They travelled both day and night following the star – persistence and perseverance. Without giving up, they followed the passion of their life- followed the star and followed their dream.

5.      Being a Star:

Following collectively – made them star

Humility in worshipping a baby – made them star

Offering gifts to a baby – made them a star

Returning in another way – made them a star

Daniel 12:3 - Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

May we this season follow the Star called Jesus the brightest star the world has ever seen and become a star for Jesus showing to many the path to righteousness in Jesus Christ. Wishing you all a star-filled, Word-filled and Word-fulfilled New Year.

Rajbharat Patta

Epiphany 2019

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This Christmas is no Longer Silent Night...

Christmas 2018

https://soundcloud.com/user-155107840/christmas-2018-song

1. This Christmas is no longer a silent night 
For there are many violent sights 
This Christmas we are called to be peacemakers 
For born is a Prince of Peace 

Chorus: 
For unto us a child is born 
Unto us a son is given 
Unto is a saviour comes
To bring peace to all

2. This Christmas receive the other as they are 
Pulling down the barriers we have made 
This Christmas we are called to love beyond boundaries 
For born is Christ, the love 

Chorus:
For unto us a child is born 
Unto us a son is given 
Unto us a saviour is comes 
To love every one 
@rajpattas

Guitar: Raj Indeevar Patta

Drums: Raj Sangheebhav Patta

Lyrics & Tune: Raj Bharat Patta

Can' Thank God Enough - Receiving my PhD from the University of Manchester 11.12.18

The Coming Near of God - Luke 21:25-36

Reflection for First Sunday of Advent 2018 

https://politicaltheology.com/the-coming-near-of-god-luke-2125-36/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicaltheologytoday+%28Political+Theology+Today%29

This link is my reflection for the First Sunday of Advent published in the Political Theology Network.

Wishing you a blessed and a meaningful season of Advent. 

regards,

raj 

When the Poor Widow in Mark 12 Speaks…

Towards A Decolonial Reading

Life wasn’t all too good with the Roman oppression all around. Soldiers on their horses march every day on our streets to display their military power. Empire has taken over every institution in our country including our temple, for now our religious leaders speak the language of the temple and exploit the poor and vulnerable. My devout loving husband raised an alarm against the empire and exposed the exploitation in the temple, for which act he was falsely framed with charges of treason, incarcerated for years and eventually killed by the military powers of the empire. I have now become a young widow, left alone to take care of my children with the meagre means of living. As a single woman I go from pillar to post in meeting the ends of our lives. With the growing injustice in the temple I have stopped going to the temple now, with hope in God just dwindling about. My name is forgotten, my voice is unheard and am pushed into ‘unspeakability’ by the society around.

Over the past few days I have heard of the Jesus’ movement going on, for I heard of a man called Jesus who was speaking like my husband in all courage and boldness against the exploitation done by the religious leaders and the empire. I knew that this man called Jesus will not live long, for he will face the fate of death unjustly like my husband. I rejoiced for the fact the he exposed the evils of those in the powers, which gave me a hope that God is not dead, for God is alive. In that sense of hope, I thought let me go to the temple to offer and pray for justice and peace in our land.

As I went near the temple, I saw a great crowd moving in and out busy with buying and selling of goods. How sad the temple once built for worship has now become a place of unjust commercial activities. As was the tradition, women are not allowed any further into the temple except into the outer court. Then I saw those men, the religious leaders with long robes in the temple who mocked at me, calling me names and laughed over the death of my husband. Reminding that anyone speaking against empire will have to die.

In all that buzz of business going around, I went into a corner to find some peace and pray to God for peace and justice. I wept and prayed to God for liberation of our land from oppression of the empire. I wept and prayed for my kids and for the difficulties we have been facing. In that time of prayer, God listened to my prayer and gave me a spirit of peace, which the world did not give. God strengthened me by calling me to make myself present at the temple to keep reminding the religious leaders of their exploitation. Yes, I thought I should visit temple everyday to keep reminding these men on long robes of their fake spirituality for they do things in the temple only for the ‘sake of appearance’ without any fear in God or the Scripture.

Then towards the end went to the treasury box to make an offering to God and dropped the remaining two coins that I have all, saying a prayer ‘God bring us peace and justice.’ Just before me, I saw this man on long robe offering a huge sum of amount in the offertory box, again showing off his pride exposing his false spirituality. I went in all sincerity and faithfulness and not only dropped the two coins but also offered myself in the presence of God to fight injustice by my presence in the temple. After all, our Scripture says to care for the widows and orphans, and here are men in their long robes exploiting us.

I made my offering and was on my way home. Suddenly I saw this man from that just movement, Jesus standing at the offering box and saying to his disciples that I have put in more than those who are contributing for the treasury. I smiled at his observation, thinking I don’t care what I have given, for I have given my offering heartfully to God and not for the sake of the people. For Jesus recognised that I have give it in my poverty, because I came into the temple to offer myself for peace and justice in the land. Then those dozen men with this man Jesus were surprised with their mouths wide open, not understanding all Jesus said. However, I went home that day with a sense of hope, with a sense of commitment to make my presence in the temple a symbol of resilience and to contest injustice in all forms. Later as I thought this man Jesus was killed and was crucified, buried and then in a miraculous way God on the third day rose him, and from then on I began to follow Jesus, and hosted a church at our house. God was faithful to me, I brought up my children and they journeyed far and wide to share the testimony of Jesus in all the Asia minor. God of grace did not leave me nor forsake me. Jesus Remembered me in the temple, Jesus Recognised my offering, Jesus Revealed the hypocrisy of the men on long robes.

Rajbharat Patta,

Remembrance Day,

11^th November 2018

Pic courtesy: https://junkyardwisdom.com/2016/10/17/what-jesus-saw-in-the-widows-offering/