He’s Not Here, But Where Is He?

A Sketch on Easter

Narrator/Elder: A bright morning in Jerusalem. The early Church is in hiding, gathered in an upper room reflecting on recent events.

(A man enters, pushing his way to the front shouting)

Lucius: Is he here?

Elder: Who are you looking for?

Lucius: Jesus. Is he here?

Elder: Why do you want to know?

Lucius: (insistent) I need to find out where his body is. Do any of you know? I’ve heard strange stories about him appearing to his disciples. Have any of you seen him? If so where, when? I have to know the truth!

Elder: You are a Roman, one of our oppressors. How do we know you don’t intend betraying us to the authorities?

(Pause. Murmurs of concern from the group)

Mary: (Gets up slowly from her seat and raises her hand for quiet) Please allow me to speak (she turns to Lucius). I was the first one to see him.

Lucius: Where did you expect to meet him? Are you sure you weren’t dreaming?

Mary: No. I hadn’t slept that night even though I was exhausted with weeping. So many things spinning around in my head, the places we’d been to, the people we’d met, the amazing things he’d done. How could it have all come to this?

Elder: Mary and some of the other women had busied themselves preparing the spices to anoint Jesus’ body. It was one last thing they could do for him.

Mary: When we set off for the tomb it was still dark. Nobody said a word as we made our way through the deserted streets.

Lucius: Were there no men with you? How did you think you were going to move the stone?

Mary: We hadn’t planned that far ahead, by then we were worn out, too tired and confused to think straight. But as we got closer to the tomb we could see that the stone had already been rolled away. Some trick of the light perhaps? Day was just breaking by then but the entrance to his tomb was clearly open. I looked in. There was no sign of a body.

Lucius: Did you see anyone else? A man dressed in white perhaps?

Mary: Yes. Well, not in white exactly. His robe had a strange glow in the morning sunlight. I can’t describe it really, but he said Jesus wasn’t there anymore, he had risen from the dead and we were to tell his disciples what had happened.

Lucius: So you didn’t see him straight away.

Mary: No. The others left immediately but I lingered by the tomb. I still felt close to him there somehow. That’s when I saw him. At first I thought he was the gardener. He wanted to know why I was crying and if I was trying to find someone, so I asked him if he knew where Jesus’ body had been taken.

Lucius: Why did you think he was the gardener?

Mary: I was distraught. I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew standing there. Then he said “Mary” and I recognised his voice. That same dear voice I thought I’d never hear again. Everything the angel had said was true. My Lord was alive! My heart was bursting with joy so I ran back to tell everyone what had happened.

Lucius: What did the disciples say when you told them?

Mary: They didn’t believe me, said they couldn’t trust the word of a “hysterical” woman.

Elder: It’s to our shame that we didn’t believe you.

Thomas: (coming forward) No, Mary, we didn’t believe you. I for one was in no mood for fanciful tales about someone rising from the dead. It was all over, the great dream about bringing in the Kingdom of God. Good while it lasted, I suppose, but what fools we’d been to think he could really change anything. Jesus was dead and buried. We were all terrified we could be next.

Lucius: Why are you still here then if you were so disillusioned?

Thomas: We split up, arranging to meet again a few days later. That’s when I got really angry. As soon as I arrived I could tell something had changed. “We have seen the Lord!” they said. I thought they’d all gone mad. So I told them unless I could see the nail wounds in his hands and put my fingers into them I wouldn’t believe any of it.

Lucius: A man after my own heart. “Seeing is believing”, that’s my motto too.

Thomas:  I admit I was hurt, blurting out my words. How could he have come back when I wasn’t there? Had I meant nothing to him?

Lucius: So what happened to make you change your mind?

Thomas: About a week later we were all gathered together once more. The door was locked. Then suddenly Jesus appeared amongst us saying “peace be with you”! He turned to me, offering me the chance to examine his hands and side if I needed further proof it was really him.

Lucius: What did you do?

Thomas: I needed no proof. It was him alright, the Jesus I’d known and followed for the last three years. My Lord and my God (he sits, overcome with emotion).

Elder: (Pause) You saw him too that first evening didn’t you Cleopas? Tell us again what happened.

Cleopas: It was on our way back to Emmaus. We had left it quite late to set off home but after talking it through I thought we’d both be safer there. In any case I needed to get outside. I couldn’t bear the idea of spending another day stuck in that room. So we left. There’s nothing like a good long walk to clear your mind.

Lucius: I agree. I hate sitting around, waiting. A soldier’s life can be quite boring sometimes.

Cleopas: Well, we were talking so intently about what had happened during the Festival we didn’t notice that a stranger had joined us as we walked along. He asked what we were discussing and why we looked so sad, so we stopped and told him everything that had occurred in Jerusalem over the last few days. Surely he must have heard about how Jesus had been arrested by the religious authorities and handed over to the Romans to be crucified?

Elder: Yes, everyone in the city was so shocked when they found out he had been executed

Cleopas: We told him how his body had gone missing that morning, but some women in our group had seen an angel who said he was alive!

Lucius: Did this man know what had happened to Jesus then?

Cleopas: Let me finish my story. The stranger began explaining the Scriptures, telling us how the prophets had clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things to achieve his mission to save us. How our hearts burned inside us as he spoke!

Elder: Yes, he taught with an authority we’d never heard before. But in the past whenever he explained how he would have to die to save us, well, we just didn’t want to know.

Cleopas: The time had gone by so quickly we hadn’t noticed we were nearly home. The stranger intended to continue his journey but as it was getting dark by then we persuaded him to accept our hospitality for the night. After we’d sat down to eat our guest took the bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to us and that’s when it happened. We suddenly recognised him, it was Jesus! And at that very moment he disappeared!

Lucius: What did you do?

Cleopas: What else could we do? In spite of our weariness sleep was out of the question. We retraced our steps to Jerusalem straight away, praising God. It felt like we had wings on our feet. We just had to tell the others that Jesus was alive and we had spoken with him.

Lucius: Why then hasn’t he shown himself to the authorities. He could silence those who had him put to death, the chief priests, the Sanhedrin, Herod or Pilate even.

Elder: Jesus has risen but his resurrection can only be experienced personally. It’s a celebration of his continuing presence amongst the weak and fearful and can appeal to anyone who is feeling powerless and vulnerable.

Lucius: (Pause) My name is Lucius. My life is in danger as I was one of the soldiers responsible for guarding his body. That’s why I’m desperate to find him. If I do they might be prepared to reduce my punishment.

Elder: So you failed in your duty. Are you in hiding too?

Lucius: Yes. When the officer told us to guard a dead man for three days we thought at first he was joking. I’ve had to carry out some strange orders in my time but nothing like that. But we soon settled to our task, things were quiet, so we talked as usual about our next leave home, seeing our families, going to the games. It was freezing cold that last night. We huddled together around the fire wrapped in our cloaks, none of us getting much sleep. Dawn was just about to break and we were looking forward to going back to the barracks to warm ourselves up when there was this terrific rumbling noise. The earth shook. Anyone standing was thrown to the ground. It took a few moments for us to gather our senses, then Gaius turned to me pale as a shroud and said “look, the stone’s been moved! “ When we entered the tomb we could clearly see it was empty. Then we noticed some women nearby speaking with a tall man in dazzling white clothes, but they soon left.

Elder: Was it you who started the rumour that the disciples had taken the body?

Lucius: I admit we took a bribe from the chief priests to say this was so. More than a month’s wages as it turned out. We lied about his body being stolen, but I knew any explanation we gave to our superiors wouldn’t stop us from being arrested. Sleeping on duty, that’s punishable by death. I just panicked and went on the run. Can you forgive me for what I’ve done?

Elder: Yes, if you are truly sorry. Open your heart to him and Jesus will come to you and ease your restless spirit. It could happen anywhere, in a garden, a room, on the road, it doesn’t matter. He told us where two or three people are gathered in his name he will be there with them.

Lucius: But I am an outsider here. Why would Jesus concern himself with me?

Elder: He is with all those on the margins of society, they are family to him. He promises the hungry, the naked, the sick and those in prison a comfort and a freedom from fear unlike anything we’ve ever known. You see it’s up to you, Lucius. There’s nothing to prevent you from asking God today for his gift of faith in our risen Jesus.

(Lucius embraces the elder)

Questions to Reflect:

1.   Who do you identify yourself in this story with? If you were an additional character in this story how would you react to the mystery of the Resurrection of Jesus?

2.   If the ‘risen Jesus is not here’ at the empty tomb where is he today? Can you identify the locations for risen Jesus today in your context?

3.   If you have located the presence of risen Jesus today, how would you respond to such a locality and what does discipleship mean in such a context?

Credits: Concept: Raj Patta & Written by Trevor Williams

March 2020

Resurrection: Liberating the bride and prejudice - Remembrance Day Reflection on Luke 20: 27-38

Last week when the world celebrated Halloween, it was all about “Trick or Treat.” In the gospel texts, there were several instances where people tried to trick Jesus; and he in reply treats them with love and justice. This text is yet another instance of trying to trick Jesus, and for the first time it was by a religious sect called Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, and so they were “Sad-you-sees.” They tried tricking Jesus by asking about Levirate Marriage and resurrection. Jesus treated them by explaining the liberative power of resurrection, where all are treated equally.  

In this given text, Sadducees bring to Jesus a riddle which I title it as “One bride and seven brothers” to be solved by Jesus. This riddle explains the world view of the first century community, where women are treated as property, and marriage is built on values of inequality, where men are dominant, and women are powerless. In this riddle, they share about a woman whom I call as the bride and she had to marry seven times to seven brothers. All the 8 of them die at various periods of time. Now in resurrection whose wife will she be is the riddle. In the entire riddle, women or this bride had no power to express her views and none cared for her, for she was treated as a property. What an ordeal it would have been for this bride to marry seven times, cutting the wedding cake seven times with the same family members. There is no space for this bride to express herself and her views on marriage. She was enforced to marry seven times just for the sake of keeping the sanctity of the husband’s family, which was called a Levirate Marriage. And such a practice received Scriptural sanction from the Deuteronomic law. 

The whole riddle was built on several misconceptions. We identify at least three misconceptions and for that matter three wrong conceptions and prejudices in this text.  

1.      Prejudice against women - women is treated as property - no power to make a choice

2.      Prejudice against marriage- it is a mechanical process trying to uphold honour and tradition of the family with no place for love and mutual consent between the partners.

3.      Prejudice against resurrection - resurrection doesn’t exist and how are relationships identified and are they similar to the practices of the world. 

In further exploring this riddle, applying decolonial hermeneutics to the text, I (ad)venture to read this text from the point of view of this one bride on whom marriage was enforced based on scripture and tradition. Here (it) goes: 

“At the age of 18, when I wanted to follow my dreams and adventures in life and pursue a career in community development, a rich man with lots of wealth and a big family met my father and betrothed me to be his wife. Neither my consent nor my choice mattered at this marriage. Against my wishes and my dreams, I went with this stranger as his wife, just to please my father and to keep the honour of the family. Little did I know that he had serious health issues and soon he died when I was 20 years old, leaving me as a young widow. I was looked down on by the society as barren with no children. When I began to look for new life avenues, the family brought forth this concept of Levirate Marriage and I was once again forced to marry the brother of my dead husband. In a span of two years he too died leaving me as a widow for a second time. Never did I think that I had to go through this ordeal of marrying all the rest of five brothers just to uphold the religious, scriptural and traditional values. No one ever asked what did I like, how did I feel and was I prepared for seven marriages. This bride died while she was still living and she also died at the end.”

The riddle as presented by the Sadducees had no voice for the bride and all they had to ask was to whom will she be a wife in resurrection? They were intrigued to know will she be recognised as a wife to the first husband or second husband or the seventh husband in resurrection. Jesus carefully listened to the riddle of Sadducees and spoke about the liberative power of resurrection, liberating the bride from prejudice. Jesus gives a fitting reply to the Sadducees and solves the mystery of this riddle. 

1. Resurrection a liberative space for women: Jesus replies that those who are considered worthy of taking part in the resurrection of the dead will neither marry nor be given to marriage. Jesus thereby affirms that women, like this one bride who was marginalised, will be the ones considered worthy of taking part in the resurrection of the dead. This one bride would have been considered a bad omen for being childless and for being a widow in this world and would have suffered the pain and exploitation of marrying seven brothers, yet she was found to be considered worthy of being part of the resurrection from the dead. So, the message for all those who are suffering and are being exploited - be prepared to receive the hope of resurrection for you will be considered worthy in resurrection. 

2. Resurrection is a liberative space where people are not bound by any relationships for all enjoy freedom and celebrate equality with no power structures. This call is a call to strengthen marriages, for they are liberative spaces to celebrate love and equality, dismantling all power relations between partners in a marriage. Jesus does not limit himself to the sanctions of a literal scriptural text. If he really did, he should have upheld Deuteronomy 25, the Levirate Marriage and should have chosen of the seven brothers for this single bride. Jesus was not limited by a written text, and all the more he transcended it, for he was the living Word himself. 

3. Resurrection is a liberative space where people who have suffered like the one bride are like angels, children of resurrection and children of God, for death can lo longer conquer them.

4. Resurrection a liberative understanding of God, for God is a living God in whose sight both the living and the dead are the same. The theology of this text is that it is the living God who builds living relationships among living people calling them to live out a life following the living God. 

5. Resurrection a liberative perspective for life, for the calling is to celebrate the gift of life, to live a life worthy of our calling from God, bring beauty out of each life and add meaning to the life of the people around. 

Jesus liberates the bride and prejudice by offering resurrection as a space for life of equality and inclusion of all. 

I again imagine, perhaps on listening to this solving of the riddle by Jesus, the bride who suffered to be a victim of patriarchy returns to speak to all people of God to dismantle patriarchy in all forms, and celebrate the mutuality of genders in any relationship. 

On this Remembrance Sunday, it is important to remember several young widows whose husbands died in the war, and whose memory has been forgotten and erased. For God in Jesus remembers all people in his resurrection, especially those who have been suffering in life, for they are considered worthy to be resurrected from the dead. There is a hope in resurrection to become a beloved community of God, where the living God calls people to strive for peace and love in this world. As we gather here on this Remembrance Day, we are called to revisit our memory, to re-member several people who lost their lives at a war, to resist the logic of war, to remember the families, widows & children left behind and to renew our commitment for global peace.

Because Jesus spoke about Resurrection as the liberative space for bride and prejudice in this text, that served as a very good reason for women to be the first witnesses of Jesus resurrection, and the first evangelists of resurrection. Never underestimate the power of common people, in this case the lonely bride for the seven brothers, for she came out liberated by the power of resurrection. 

On a more personal note, today happens to be the day I was ordained 16 years ago into the ministry of God, and I can’t bring to memory of those great moments in my life, where I had submit to the call of God in my life.

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

When I go from hence

let this be my parting word,

that what I have seen is unsurpassable.

I have tasted of the hidden honey of this

lotus, that expands on the ocean of light,

and thus am I blessed

-let this be my parting word.

In this play house of infinite forms

I have had my play

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

My whole body and my limbs

have thrilled with his touch who is beyond touch;

And if the end comes here, let it come

-let this be my parting word.

Raj Bharat Patta,

10^th November 2019

The Priority of Prayer: Prayer in Action - Reflection from I Timothy 2:1-7

This week I had four different occasions to sense the priority of prayer and to reflect on prayer.

I was at an interfaith meeting this week and the theme was ‘the power of prayer’ – where each faith representative explained the understanding of prayer from their own religious faith experience. I gathered at that meeting that God doesn’t need our prayers, but we humans need prayers to encounter God. There I also recognised, the kind of God we believe determines the kind of prayer we say, and the kind of prayer we say defines the kind of God we believe.  An interesting experience.

On Friday, I was at the climate strike at St. Peter’s square in Manchester joining the global wave of strikes demanding justice for climate emergencies organised by the Youth strike 4 climate, where tens and thousands of people gathered in solidarity for climate justice. We as faith communities, as Methodists were part of this strike. I have heard the speeches of anger by young people. At the stroke of 1pm – all alarms went off – to symbolise that time’s up – act now for climate – a wake up call for climate emergency. As I reflect on it, I realised that protest as a prayer, which stemmed out of anger against the system and policies – to save the planet. I also realised that prayer is a wake-up call to attend the climate emergency. And prayer is action – for the youth demand “action now.” Yet another interesting experience.

On Saturday in the morning, I attended the Heatons Prayer breakfast – a time of prayer early in the morning at 8am. The leader, who led it divided the time into four slots – asking people to pray in praise of God for the good things, - pray for other churches and the community in Heatons – pray for the government, council and for those in power and authority – and pray for the Christian initiatives in and around Stockport. It was a corporate prayer – a time joining with other Christian believers in prayer – praying for common concerns – praying as a time of fellowship – prayer expressing our Christian commitment. A good experience to join in prayer early in the morning with tea and breakfast.

On Saturday in the evening, I heard a friend of mine Ebi preach at our Indian Christian fellowship – his testimonial – his story – his faith in God – how God listens to his prayers and answered him at every step of his life. For him, if prayer is speaking to God, reading the Word is God speaking to him – and he emphasised that both those are very key for our discipleship. For him in any situation and in every situation – prayer is the priority – and his faith is God answers. Ebi said, if you pray you need to act – demonstrate love in action. It allowed me to reflect on the strength of prayer.

All of these incidents – in line with the lectionary for this week from 1 Timothy 2: 1-7, which again was a passage read at the Prayer breakfast yesterday– is a call for us reminding the priority of prayer for us as a church at a time like this.

1 Timothy 2 is a very contentious chapter in the Bible, which was received by people across the theological spectrum – specially with the leadership of women – but the Church moved on believing in the Spirit of God for God created and called both men and women equally, for which we rejoice and celebrate about.

Paul was writing to young Timothy a pastoral letter with certain guidelines for the life of the church and for his personal spiritual growth. He mentions the priority of prayer : for he begins this second chapter – “first of all” – it is not committee meetings, it is not community work, it is not even preparing a sermon – but urging about the priority of prayer. Many a times we are too busy with the work of church and work at church or busy with our own life issues – work – family – holiday etc. I think this morning it is important to set right the priority which is prayer.

But what is prayer? – According to Rowan Williams – Prayer is connecting to God, a time of pause like in holiday, and body responds differently

From 1 Timothy 2: 1-7

1.      The methods of prayer : there are a varieties of prayer – Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions and thanksgiving (SPIT) – there is no one size fit for all kinds of prayer – These are the terms which were part of the local community who were living under an empire. – a blend of legal and temple terms.

2.      The members of prayer – for everyone – for all – no distinction in prayer – but a special mention of kings and those in power – for in that context they were ungodly and oppressive – whose oppression was unbearable – no peace in that context – persecutions – so by calling on their memory – Paul was trying to express his Christian love by praying for them. He explains the purpose of praying where people can live in peace and harmony.

3.      The mediator in prayer – Jesus Christ – who died as a ransom for all – so that the knowledge and truth may we learn – As an intercessor – Jesus again demonstrates love in action – prayer demands an action –  Jesus was an answer to the groans and cries of all those who were in oppression and in chains as a messiah – who gave himself as a ransom for all. Prayer demands sacrifice – Prayer demands action.

4.      The ministry of prayer – Paul calls himself who is a testimony to the truth of Christ – as a herald, as an apostle and as a truth bearer – those who are in the ministry of prayer – Prayer is a herald – a public proclamation – Prayer as apostolic – as one who was sent – including our story – Prayer as truth bearing – speaking truth to powers

Relevance:

1.      Prayer is a call to action – Put that priority on – demonstrating love – for our prayers have become too wordy with quite a rhetoric

2.      Seek the spark of divine in you for you may be an answer to someone’s prayer

3.      As church we are called to be a herald of prayer, an apostle of prayer and a truth bearer of prayer – Time to act now.

I want to conclude with a prayer written by Paul Coelho – the author of the book “The Alchemist”

Lord, protect our doubts, because Doubt is a way of praying. It is Doubt that makes us grow because it forces us to look fearlessly at the many answers that exist to one question. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our decisions, because making Decisions is a way of praying. Give us the courage, after our doubts, to be able to choose between one road and another. May our YES always be a YES and our NO always be a NO. Once we have chosen our road, may we never look back nor allow our soul to be eaten away by remorse. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our actions, because Action is a way of praying. May our daily bread be the result of the very best that we carry within us. May we, through work and Action, share a little of the love we receive. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our dreams, because to Dream is a way of praying. Make sure that, regardless of our age or our circumstances, we are capable of keeping alight in our heart the sacred flame of hope and perseverance. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, give us enthusiasm, because Enthusiasm is a way of praying. It is what binds us to the Heavens and to Earth, to grown-ups and to children, it is what tells us that our desires are important and deserve our best efforts. It is Enthusiasm that reaffirms to us that everything is possible, as long as we are totally committed to what we are doing. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect us, because Life is the only way we have of making manifest Your miracle. May the earth continue to transform seeds into wheat, may we continue to transmute wheat into bread. And this is only possible if we have Love; therefore, do not leave us in solitude. Always give us Your company, and the company of men and women who have doubts, who act and dream and feel enthusiasm, and who live each day as if it were totally dedicated to Your glory.

Amen (https://paulocoelhoblog.com/2015/01/01/the-prayer-that-i-forgot-2/)

@rajpatta

22^nd September 2019

To Paul: A Letter from Onesimus - Postcolonial Response to Philemon 1

Dear father Paul,

Onesimus, a liberated person in Christ Jesus, a freed slave from Philemon.

To Paul, my dear father who showed God’s grace to me as a fellow prisoner at Rome – also to Timothy, Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, to Junia, Lydia, Priscilla, Phoebe, Tabitha, Chloe, and several other women whose names have been forgotten and erased,  who supports Paul and his fellow workers in Christ – and to the house churches that you keep travelling and writing to:

Grace and peace to you from God our liberator and the Lord Jesus Christ, who has freed us from all bondages.

I always thank our God for your passion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Specially I thank you for your letter to Philemon appealing him in love to seek reconciliation with me. I know your love for Christ, love for church and your love for people. I thank you for building partnerships among people transcending the barriers of class and ethnicity, thereby giving a true meaning to koinonia. Your love and discipleship for Christ has given me great joy and encouragement in strengthening our church for love, because you my father and brother have refreshed and inspired the hearts of God’s people.

Therefore, I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love as you have appealed to Philemon in my case. It is none other than Onesimus – a man to be judged by the content of the Christian character and not to be judged by the colour of my skin or by the status I previously held as a slave for I am freed from slavery and bondage by Christ Jesus and I remain to enjoy that liberation Christ has granted to me.  I appeal to you my as a son who shared prison and prison experiences with you for we both experienced suffering under the empire and knew what it was to be in chains, although my chains were different than yours. Formerly when I was a slave, I was considered useless, was treated as a property, looked down as a sub-human and was subjected to all kinds of humiliation for I was perceived as a non-person.

As I explained to you the kinds of torture and suffering me and my household had to endure because of slavery. Those sufferings made me strong as a person to resist them and stand for a just system where all human beings are treated equally. For the cause of promoting life, for the cause of envisioning a just society and for the cause of giving a liberative legacy for my children, I had to ran away from Philemon. I was imprisoned for such a cause, and that’s where the love of Christ encountered me through your fellowship.

I specially want to thank you for taking my debt on you and proved how important a Christian value it is to cancel debts on poor people as an important Christian discipleship marker. By taking my debt on you, you have shown me in practice the love of Christ who took my debts on him on the Cross, for I could experience it in my life. Thank you also for writing to Philemon to receive me as he would receive you, once again emphasising the importance of welcome and reception to anyone and everyone by the love of Christ. In that reception as exhorted by you my brother Philemon has received me as a brother, as a member of his family. I knew what it was to be a slave in his household once, and I also have experienced his love as a family member, which was because of the love of Christ. Ever since then Philemon has treated me as a partner in the mission of God for we continued to work together for the realisation of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Many wondered what a beautiful sight it was to see the master and his previous slave work together as brothers and partners, which was just because of the love of and for Christ.

On a final note, dear father Paul allow me to appeal to you to call any practice of any form of slavery as sinful and unchristian, for in Christ we are all one. Any form of racism, casteism, gender discrimination, patriarchy, trafficking, child labour and such other practices, which are modern forms of slavery does not fit into the gospel of Jesus Christ, and therefore we as a Church should resist such forms and stand in solidarity for justice in every given context. Christ has come to set people like me free and I believe and will work to liberate all people who are chained in any form of bondage as a gospel imperative for me.

You are always welcome to come and stay with us and enjoy our African hospitality. My wife and children and all our Churches join me in sending their greetings to you.

The grace of our Lord and Liberator Jesus Christ, the love of God, who calls us to freedom and dignity of all people, and the communion of Holy Spirit who partakes in all our struggles for peace be with us all now and forever.

Your fellow worker in Christ,

Onesimus 

@rajpatta

September 2019

UPROOTED YET SPROUTED: Reflecting on II Kings 5:1-14

Recently, there was a news in the newspaper that two young ones, a brother and a sister of age 13 and 14 went to attend visa interview at the US Consulate. Both of them were uneducated. When asked what’s the reason for their visit to the US, they said that they are going to serve as domestic helpers in their master’s home. Both of them were denied visas. Forced child labour has been increasing in our country. In a recently held survey it says Mumbai is one of the leading cities, where children are taken as forced labour.

In an ILO’s report, India and China suffered from the highest incidence of child labour. Out of  240 million children caught up in child labour, 180 million children are caught in the worst forms of child labour that include child prostitution and trafficking.

Experiences across the world reveal that children and young ones are among the most vulnerable ones. Andhra Pradesh in India, is the state with highest number of child labour. Most of them are school drop-outs and are taken captive into the bonded labour, and their humiliations knew no bounds. These children work for meager wages with poor hygiene facilities. Unfortunately working as labourers has become hereditary. Who will take care of these child labourers? When rest of their friends of their age are going to school and are enjoying their childhood, these child labourers carry huge rocks, and are exploited of their childhood. Who will listen to their cries? Who are responsible for their tears?

The passage read to us from II Kings 5:1-14, is a story which is a well known story right from our childhood. NRSV titles it as “the healing of Naaman”. The other epithets to this passage are “power demonstration narrative” according to Devries, “historical narrative” according to Eissefeldt. For most of us it is Elisha, who is the hero of this passage, or the mighty Naaman the centre of attraction in this passage.  But there is another powerful character in this story, the nameless, the unknown captive, child labourer young girl who introduces Elisha to Naaman and paves the way for liberation. But this little young girl, though brought as captive by the mighty captain Naaman, but still becomes the channel of liberation. This young girl was “UPROOTED YET SPROUTED”.

I would like to divide this passage into three sub-sections :

1.      Deeply rooted in faith

2.      Uprooted from culture

3.      Sprouted in liberation.

1.      Deeply rooted in faith :

Until the young maid was brought captive from her own land,  nation Israel, this young girl had  her grooming and nurture in her home and land. She should have had a strong Faith nurture at her home or she should have been a good Sunday school student. Her deep rooted faith was reflected in a foreign land. In verses 2 and 3, her deep faith is manifested.

a.       Her confidence in the prophet Elisha, the man of God to heal depicts the deep faith she had in the God she trusted and in the prophet she has known. Her deep faith is revealed by her belief that, “God is the healer of any disease, and heals anyone, irrespective of any region and any status, “even the oppressor”. The faith of this little one is worth commending.

b.      Her deep faith is also seen in her love for her oppressor, Naaman, who brought her as a captive. Naaman, with all his power and pride, would have dragged all her people during the war, yet this young girl’s deep faith taught her to love her enemy as herself. She did not want to take revenge on her oppressor, but was kind enough and made herself as the channel of liberation. This shows her deep commitment and faith in her God.

c.       Her deep faith in her God is seen in her service to her mistress. Since she was brought forcefully, she can be arrogant and can be adamant to her mistress. But knowing the dis-easiness her mistress was undergoing because of her husband Naaman’s disease, and the distress her mistress would have been suffering for being barren and childless due to Naaman’s disease. In such a situation, the young girl’s deep faith made her to serve and be comforter to her oppressor mistress.

Thus, this young girl had deep roots in her faith, and such a faith made her to participate in her oppressor’s liberation.

2.      Uprooted from her culture :

Imagine this young girl with her strong faith, I bet would have become a magnanimous prophetess, if she would not have been brought away as a captive to the kingdom of Aram.

This young girl of faith was uprooted from her family, her school, her friends, her relatives, her land and from her culture. In verse 2, it says, in one of their raids, the Armaneans had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel. This young girl would have been smart, good looking and so the conquerors uprooted her. When she was uprooted forcefully, imagine this little girl, she was totally cut off from her sentiments, her emotions and that would have affected the wholistic growth of this child. The young girl was made a stranger in that foreign land.

When all the friend of this young girl were going to school, she was forced to work as a labourer. When all her friends at home were playing, she has to sweep and serve. Having been uprooted from her land, this young girl was oppressed in every sphere of life. She would have lost her name, which  their parents have given, and I think that’s the reason, there is no mention of a name to her. Her identity is shattered She would have been a poor girl, and her life as a slave would have been made much more poorer. This little girl has to forego her childhood, and was exploited.

But for the invaders, the life of this little girl did not matter. All that mattered was their strength and power and to make slaves and oppress them. For her being uprooted, this little girl was denied life and life in all its fullness. She was made a slave, a bonded labourer and a ‘no people’ in this stranger’s land. She was just made a toy and could not see the person in her.

The Hebrew root for the word ‘raids’ means “to cut” or “penetrate”; and these Armanian troops’ raiding was to cut and separate the people from their families and their land. This young girl’s family was raided and she was uprooted from her culture. She is oppressed and all her visions for a bright future were shattered. The young girl was uprooted from her culture.

3.      Sprouted in liberation

This young girl though uprooted, but because of her deep rooted faith in God, sprouted in and  for liberation. The young girl though was oppressed by her captain master, never thought of taking revenge on him. With her little faith, yet strong faith, the young girl became a channel for liberation to her master, thus a participant in the mission of God.

When Naaman, with all his power and strength would have visited all the hospitals in the country.  All the well-known physicians would have attended to him. But still there was no cure. Added to his disease, his dis-easiness made him much more depressed. The young girl noticed the hopeless condition of her captain and did not curse, “Better this cruel master suffer and die with this disease”. She did not think eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.  But empathized with her master, and showed the way towards healing. One should also commend her courage. A slave girl has no space to advice or suggest to her mistress and master. But her confidence in her God made her to be courageous. Imagine if Naaman rejected to dip in the river of Jordan, and would have returned unhealed, I am afraid, this young girl would have been hanged to death. Here one should also notice the role of the servants of Naaman in verse 13, who convinced him and became channels of healing.  Thus both the young girl and the servants who were oppressed championed liberation and healing to their master Naaman.

The young girl with her strong conviction in God, and by her strong belief that God can heal  anyone, made her the sprout and blossom liberation to her oppressor.

The passage is silent about what happened to this young girl after Naaman’s healing. If Naaman would have had received total liberation, I think he would have released the young girl and sent her to join her family and land.

Thus the young woman, though uprooted but yet sprouted and became a catalyst in liberating her master.

Application :

What is the relevance of this reflection for us as individuals and as a community? I believe, this reflection has a challenging relevance for us today. Primarily I want to draw out three main lessons for us from this passage :

1.      Let us work towards strengthening our Faith :

The young girl’s faith in God is a challenge to all of us. We should strengthen our faith. Most often our faith is conditioned and yet at times very narrow. We need to be committed to our calling, and it is our faith in God, which should make us to participate in the struggles of the people. We need to guard against  exclusivism, we tend to be with. As P.D. Devanandam says, “it is my faith, which makes me to participate in nation building”. So our faith should be strengthened so that we can be in solidarity with the oppressed. Therefore let us pledge to strengthen our faith and reflect our commitment in God, in all our endeavours.

2.      Let is work towards eradicating the child labour and liberate the bonded  labour.

While slavery persists in our age in various forms, the bonded labour system is considered to be one of the most virulent and the most prevalent contemporary forms of slavery. Besides grinding poverty, unemployment and such other factors, the socio-cultural factors like the abominable caste system etc. are responsible for the perpetuation of this scourge. It is high time for us today to abolish child labour and bonded labour, and make children to enjoy life. With Jesus Christ, as our strength and example let us take up this mission of liberation to children. Specially the empowerment of girl child is the need of the day, for there is a high rate of drop-outs from schools among girls. Swami Agnivesh, the Chairperson of Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) says, “If we do not eradicate child servitude today, we will be responsible for perpetuating poverty, abject misery and sickness of millions of adults in the world”. Therefore let us abolish child labour and say no to the bonded labour. The Church should take up this challenge seriously, and should join hands with other networking like-minded partners. If at all today’s children be tomorrow’s citizens, let us strive to abolish child labour in India.

3.      Let us work towards a theology of liberation to the oppressor :

The recently held international consultation on ‘Dalit theology and a theology of the oppressed’, came out with a statement, calling churches to develop a theology of liberation for the oppressor that would seek their repentance, reconciliation and removal of systemic and structural practices of caste.

The young girl’s theology can be a starting point in this endeavour. That God is God for the oppressed and the oppressor, and healing or liberation comes from God to all people without any reservations, even to the oppressors. If Jesus’ critique of the social structures of his day or even Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Educate, Agitate  and Organise  can be one  methodological dimension in this pursuit, on the other hand, the young girl’s love for the oppressor and even the servants of Naaman and this girl’s courage to tell about  liberation to the oppressor can also be the other methodological dimension in developing a theology of liberation to the oppressor.

As oppressed communities, I think it is not a virtue to take revenge on the oppressor, but rather love the oppressor and tell the oppressor the method of liberation, and be channels of liberation. Jesus’ love for all and the conscientisation to the oppressor like in Luke 19:1-10, can serve as the guidelines in constructing a liberation theology for all. I know this is not sufficient, but let us all work to develop a liberation theology for all both the oppressed and the oppressor. I think this is the greatest challenge for us all as a theological community.

Dear Friends,

-          Let us strengthen our faiths,

-          Let us strive towards abolishing child labour, and

-          Let us work towards developing a liberation theology to the oppressor.

Towards that end, may the good God help us to achieve and work towards the extension of God’s kingdom here on earth.  Amen.

-          Gurukul Chapel – II Kings 5:1-14 (21.11.2004)

Pic courtesy: http://ronkelleher.com/207-can-learn-courageous-slave-girl/