Advent Raises an Alarm: Wake Up, Lay Aside & Put on

Listening to Romans 13:11-14

On this first Sunday of the new liturgical calendar, allow me to share with you that Paul when writing to Roman church in Romans 13:11-15 appeals in urgency to the early Christians to wake up and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, which comes to us with even more urgency with a challenge for our times. We have heard of advent calendars, advent candles, advent wreaths, advent decorations etc., allow me to introduce you to an Advent Alarm, which has begun its ringing, for Advent raises an alarm for us to wake up from sleep, lay aside the works of the empire and to put on Lord Jesus Christ. During this season of advent, a time of waiting, we are called to listen to the alarm of justice and act on it. Let people that have ears will listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency.

1.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Recognise the Momentous Time:

Paul in verse 11, calls on the Church ‘to know what time it is’, for the time is ripe and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Advent raises an alarm to recognise this moment in time, as the time appointed by God to act and work. It is interesting to note that the word for ‘time’ used in Greek is ‘kairos’ rather than ‘chronos’. It is not the ‘chronological time,’ that Paul is talking about here, rather it is the ‘appointed time’, a time where God intervenes into our times at our end, a time for action, a time for introspection, and a time for an audit of truth. Advent therefore raises an alarm to recognise that God’s intervening time, the times at our end where the signs of our times calls us to wake up from our sleep and act for justice and liberation. Its time for us to install ‘Advent Alarm’ than feeling cool with our ‘Advent Calendar.’ Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

2.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Reaffirm in the Nearness of Salvation:

In verse 11b, we see Paul further exhorts that “for the salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers.” The distance and affinity to salvation becomes closer to people of God in their journey of faith, in relation to their initiation into the faith. Salvation is a journeying gift that comes closer and nearer to those that wake up to stand firm in their faith. Salvation oscillates between believing and discipling, and the call today is that salvation gets closer in our true discipleship to Christ. Is salvation nearer to us than before? Most times we are comfortable in singing ‘nearer my God to thee…’ but the advent alarm is to reaffirm to pronounce that ‘nearer am I to your salvation of God.’ If salvation is nearer to us, then we are invited to act along with God at this appointed time in transforming our lives and our world. Advent raises an alarm to reaffirm in the nearness of salvation. Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

3.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Reject the Works of Empire:

In verse 12, Paul further appeals ‘the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.’ In the context of the Roman empire, Paul explains in 13 verse the works of darkness as revelling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarrelling and jealousy, which have been the order of the day, for those in power indulged in such acts and exploited the vulnerable colonized communities. In contrast to these acts of the empire, Paul urges the Christians to lay aside the ‘pyjamas’ of darkness and put on the ‘armour of light’, a vestment for the day, a vestment of the Kingdom of God, which primarily exposes those ungodly deeds, dispels darkness, and liberate people and communities with and towards light. Advent therefore raises an alarm to reject the works of our neo-empire of our times, which include exploitation, oppression, discrimination and exclusion and calls us to put on the ‘armour of light.’ Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

4.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Re-Cover ourselves with Lord Jesus Christ:  

In verse 14, Paul finally appeals in all urgency to put on Lord Jesus Christ, making no provisions to gratify the desires of flesh. In contrast to the Roman dress which is muddled with power, authority and exploitation, Paul urges the early Church to put on Lord Jesus Christ, who is stained in all dust and dirt to identify with those on the margins. ‘Putting on Lord Jesus Christ’ is an act of defiance to the colonial rules of ‘putting on Cesar’, the Lord of the colonial powers. Advent primarily raises an alarm to affirm in the Lordship of Jesus Christ in opposition to the Lordship of the empire. Putting on Lord Jesus Christ calls us towards defiance to the powers, and to identifying with the people on the margins. Those in power are called to pitch their tents among the vulnerable communities, for it among them God works and Kingdom of God happens. Advent raises an alarm to de-cover ourselves from the stinking chores of power and re-cover ourselves by putting on Lord Jesus Christ. Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

St. Augustine in the 4th century found this passage from Romans, and heard to the alarm from the text and responded to put on Jesus Christ in his life, and eventually turned to become great time theologians of all times. 

The relevance of Advent therefore is to swiftly act to the alarm that is ringing. The context of our times are so grim, for there has been a growing intolerance towards the other, increasing hatred against the stranger, increasing rise of consumerism where days like ‘black Friday’ are gaining their popularity forcing many people to invest on spending, increasing unaccountability of leadership in Church & society, an increasing refugee crisis, an increasing changes on our climate and planet, increasing poverty, increasing homelessness etc. and there is a sense of more urgency than ever to wake up to face and address the realities of our times. Paul’s words “The night is far gone and the day is near,” therefore conveys to us that this season of Advent raises an alarm to the church and to each of us as disciples of Christ to wake us up from deep slumber, to know the God’s momentous time, lay aside the works of empire and to put on Lord Jesus Christ onto our lives. Let us stop pretending to sleep and wake up with our eyes and hearts wide open to the ongoing acts of injustice and evil around us to raise an alarm for change, so that we can collectively partake and actively participate in transforming our world. Advent raises a justice alarm, hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing to go and act swiftly!!!

Wishing you all a very meaningful season of Advent. 

Rajbharat Patta,

27^th November 2016

(Sermon preached at St. Peter’s Church and Chaplaincy, Manchester on the first Sunday of Advent.) 

‘For Your Tomorrow We Gave Our Today’: Remembrance Day

Last year when I was invited to preach on Remembrance Day at our University Quadrant addressing the young cadets of our University, it wasn’t a comfortable experience to prepare a sermon for such an occasion like this. My colleagues mentioned to me that this is a Christian tradition in Britain, and it does have a pastoral practice of preaching on such occasions remembering those died in the war. In my cross-cultural ministerial engagements, here in UK this was one of the difficult tasks for me to reflect on Remembrance Day. As a pastoral calling in this context, pinning a poppy on to my stole, I (ad)ventured in making this reflection, from an Indian subaltern perspective.

 In my own personal reflection, I could only think and remember those Dalit brothers and sisters who are killed brutally in the name of caste by the dominant groups, for whom we never have any Remembrance days. Therefore, Remembrance Day for me cannot go without remembering several Dalits who sacrificed their lives at the altar of the inhuman system of caste. On this day, I remember those innocent people in Kashmir & North East India who are killed by the forces of State using AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Protection Act), I remember several Palestinians who are killed by the occupying forces, and I bring to my memory all those innocent people who are killed across the globe in the name of religion, gender, region, class etc.

Personally, I must but remember two people in my family on this Remembrance Day. One is my paternal great grandfather Mr. Patta Jogiah, of whom our family tradition say that he died in a war in Rangoon. The other was my maternal grandfather Mr. Palaparthi Devaraju, who served the Royal Indian Navy during the early years of his life.  

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.

Coming from India and reflecting on war memorials, I recollect my visit to the War Memorial cemetery in Kohima, in the north-eastern State of Nagaland. It was a commemorative memorial in the memory of soldiers died in Second World War. One epitaph and the words inscribed on it caught my attention, and it was written, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.” This inscription made me to think, that several Indian soldiers who died along with many others gave their “todays” for someone else’s “yesterdays.” They left behind widows and orphans, but history too has orphaned them, with very little evidence & record of their lives.

On this Remembrance Day, we are called to remember several unsung heroes and sheroes of wars, whose lives were lost, whose histories were lost and whose memories are also lost. It was said that approximately 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I, not representing their country or their geography, but risking their lives and ultimately paying their lives. Over 74,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives, fighting on a distant foreign land for a foreign cause & countries. Those Indian soldiers included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, people of faith and no faith and had to sacrifice their lives.

On this day, may we re-member those & several other people, whose names, lives & histories have been erased & forgotten and whose lives & their deaths were unrecognized, unnoticed and undocumented. It is time to dis-member their lives, histories & local narratives of resilience as war soldiers, sepoys, jawans & several others.

The gospel of Jesus Christ and the values of Kingdom of God is built on small mustard seeds; whose germination was unwarranted for, yet when bloomed could nest several birds. Small narratives and little stories, do have such scope to inspire many people. Jesus’ earthly life had to end with an unjust trial, political crucifix and a premature death at the age of thirty-three, at the hands of cruel Roman Empire. This reminds us to re-member several young people who at the age of 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 etc. lost their lives prematurely at a war for the sake of their people and nations. The memory of Jesus death was de-membered with his new life experience in resurrection, which instills a new hope to remembrance. The memory of Jesus’ premature death and his resurrection that followed it, has sustained the Christian communities of all generations that kept to live lives in a hope. It is a memory of grief, a memory of empathy, a memory of consolation, a memory of hope, so it is with the memory of all those died at war.

On this day, we are called to join in the vision and prophecy of Micah as he says,

“God shall judge between many peoples,

    and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;they shall beat their swords into plowshares,    and their spears into pruning hooks;nation shall not lift up sword against nation,    neither shall they learn war any more” Micah 4:3 

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.

Let our memories not fail us and let us re-invoke that “for your tomorrow we gave our today.”

Rajbharat Patta,

11^th November 2016 

When Luther, Annamma & Pope Meet: A Conversational Homily for Reformation Day

Narrator:  Read Acts 5:29 & Isaiah 7: 9b

The global church celebrated 500 years of Reformation in 2017, which gave an opportunity to rededicate and recommit our faith journey towards transforming church and society. Here are three important people who never met on earth, but in God’s presence, where time & eternity meet there is every possibility that these three people from three different historical and geographical backgrounds meet for a conversation. The three are Martin Luther, the 16^th century reformer from Germany, Annamma, my grandmother and first generation Dalit Telugu Lutheran Christian from India, who lived in 20^th century, Pope Francis the current Head of Roman Catholic Church from Vatican who is living in 21^st century.

Martin Luther (ML): Hi guys, grace and peace to you all, good to see you all here and wish I could have met you earlier in my days. I understand both of you are very special each in your own way, and it is the love of Christ that binds us together in unity affirming our diversities. Praise be to God and God alone.

Pope Francis (PF): In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is such a pleasure meeting you all here in the presence of God, where God is all in all and is present everywhere. Peace be with you Martin, and Peace be with you Annamma.

Annamma: Namaskaram (greetings) Luther garu, Namaskaram (greetings)Pope Francis garu, I am thrilled to see you all here and it is such a joy for me to see you both here in this place of God. I heard of you Luther all my life from our missionaries and my dad as a catechist spoke about you so prominently. I heard about you Pope Francis from my grandchildren, and gathered that you have pioneered liberation theology during your papacy. I am excited to meet you both in this God's space and time.

PF: Father Martin, I still see you as our priest, however I regret the decision to excommunicate you from our Church then, but let me brief you that these 506 years of reformation and 56 years of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue has led us to move from conflict to communion, allowing God’s Spirit to lead us thus far as co-members in the body of Christ.

When you nailed those 95 theses on the doors of Wittenberg on 31^st October 1517, I understood that my predecessors were terribly unhappy and mercuries soared very high on their sphygmomanometer. Let me appreciate you for that courageous act you did then, and as you know that eventually turned out to be the Reformation day. What was it like?

ML: Should I call you His grace or Fr. Francis, but I feel at home calling you Brother Francis (Pope nods his head with a smile) thank you for your appreciation, and wish you were the Pope during my days, and am glad that good days of liberation have come for the church now. Allow me to reaffirm that Reformation was an act of God, and I was only an instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit. It was a sad state in the context of the Church where gospel values have been compromised and contaminated by power and authority. Reformation of the Church was a Biblical necessity, a Theological necessity and a Contextual necessity of our times.

PF: I can understand what you are saying Martin and glory be to God for your bravery and passion for the gospel. Now let us invite our sister Annamma, whose name resounds the name of St. Ann, mother of our Holy Mother Mary to share what does Reformation day meant to her?

Annamma:  Thank you Pope Francis garu. Martin Luther, though was miles away from our place in India, and was distanced by about four centuries of time, his act of Reformation is of high relevance to us. When the Lutheran missionaries brought us the gospel of Jesus Christ, they had instilled in us a sense of self-dignity for we were considered ‘untouchables’ in our community for being born outside the caste system. For us as Dalits, Luther and his story was so dear and close. Since Luther spoke ‘truth to the powers’, he was identified as one among us, for he stood as an inspiration in overthrowing the corrupted powers of caste. We have owned Luther as our own. After becoming Christians, for us there were three important festivals. The first one was Christmas, the second was Easter and the third was Reformation Day. Telugu translation of the word Reformation was ‘Mathodarana’ which means ‘restoration or up-liftment of religion or religious system’ or ‘re-establishment of religion’. Therefore, Reformation was ‘restoration’ and ‘up-liftment’ which was our yearning for liberation from all oppressive religious practices both within and outside of the church. We have grown enacting Luther’s play from our childhood, and aspired to make Reformation a reality for our times in our contexts. Faith alone, Grace alone, Scripture alone are the foundations of our Christian living, and we believe that we are justified by faith in the love of Christ, and not by any religious rituals or works. We are liberated and saved by grace and not by any karma or acts.

ML: Very interesting to know about this sister Annamma, I am glad that you have taken the meaning of Reformation to greater heights, broadening its scope, widening its horizons and deepening its meaning. As I said earlier, Reformation is God’s act, and God in God’s grace activates and actualizes Reformation for God’s people in varied and diverse contexts and stages of his history. Praise be to God.

PF: Brilliant sister Annamma, indeed praise be to God, for you have owned, reclaimed and re-enacted the story of Luther more profoundly than any others in the global North. I now reckon to the fact that Luther and his Reformation has now become your story, your aspiration and your longing. Thank you Annamma for sharing this, and thank you Martin for initiating this. I now understand what it means to have 74 million Lutherans globally today and why it is concentrated densely in the global South. At this point, I should also say that Lutherans and Catholics have come closer on the ‘doctrine of justification by faith’, for we acknowledge that this was part of the Biblical theology of St. Paul, which precedes the early church father St. Augustine’s teaching. I should also agree to the truth that ‘salvation is not for sale’. We all collectively rejoice in God, for God has been gracious to us, for God’s faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Martin, let me now ask you, on 8^th April 1521 when you were summoned at Diet of Worms to reply on all the charges leveled against you, you were firm and stuck to what you had done and believed. What was that moment for you?

ML: Brother Francis, of all the thing I did, and of the things I wrote how on earth you single out that only moment at the Diet of Worms? I knew you were trying to seek justification of my statement ‘Here I Stand.’ I was summoned to explain why I should not be excommunicated? I had back and forth conversations asking not to rend the church, and retrieve my words and seek an apology. But my conviction in my Bible, the Word and the Spirit helped me to stand on what I had believed, said and done. Therefore, let me echo you the same words I said then. “Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and teeth. Unless I am convicted by the Scripture and plain reason--I do not accept the authority of the Popes and the Councils for they had contradicted each other--my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me. Amen."

Brother Francis, there I stand, and till eternity there only I will stand.

PF: Thank you Martin, we all knew that you were hard gutted guy and will not give up easily. Brilliant, you are inspiring man, Martin. I knew your stand, but now let me ask Sister Annamma, what is their Dalit Christian perspective from Luther’s ‘Here I stand’ affirmation.

Annamma: For Martin Luther, Sola Fide (faith alone) is a hermeneutic in unlocking ‘justification,’ for his context then was dominated by the rule of Sola Roma (Rome alone). Luther recited this verse “If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.” from Isaiah 7: 9b, for he was always Scripture centred and Word focused. From this verse, there are three important facets of faith, firstly the grounding of faith, which is in its ‘standing,’ secondly the binding of faith, which is in its ‘firmness’ and thirdly the longing of faith, which is ‘fullness of life.’ For it is our faith in a revolutionary Jesus Christ that inspires us to partake in the transformation of our society, for such a faith compels us to translate faith into praxis and roots us firmly in life and life giving mission. In the context of caste oppression (Sola Caste = caste alone), we Dalit Lutheran Christians firmly believe that we do not accept the authority of caste, authority of powers, authority of oppressive texts etc. for we are liberated by the Word of God as revealed and personified in Jesus Christ. Here we as Dalit Christians stand along with Luther, sand beside Luther and all people of God on the faith of Jesus Christ, on the grace of God, on the Word of God, for nothing can separate and deter us from the love of God that brings peace, justice and equality.

ML: Fantastic Sister Annamma, thank you for making me stand on my convictions in the Word, for making me stand along with you, for now I say with people like you and your communities I can stand and I will stand. Praise be to God.

PF: Thank you Sister Annamma for bringing in your powerful insights. I did hear about the plights of Dalit Christians and other such communities, for that was the reason time and again I stressed on ‘Church of the poor’ for I believed unless we re-incarnated as ‘Church of the poor’ we cannot witness to the values of the gospel. Moving ‘From Conflict to Communion’ for me is to ensure that liberation and justice becomes a reality to several people dying under the rubric of oppression. If as Churches we can raise up to that occasion, we can joyfully celebrate Reformation day. We are called to Re-form our churches as ‘Church of the poor’ and I am sure Martin and all his people, be it Protestants or Evangelicals or Charismatics will join me in making this a reality, which is the need of the hour. Luther, you have said your message 500 + years ago, I have said my own aspirations of the church, let us therefore ask Sister Annamma to give us her reflection for this 31^st October, on the Reformation Day.

Annamma:  Thank you Pope Francis garu and Luther garu for being gracious in allowing me speak for Reformation Day. Reformation for me as I have said earlier, is ‘hearing to speech’ the often neglected, distorted, overlooked and even forgotten voices of the subalterns, the voices from the margins. Reformation for me is ‘Speaking truth to the powers,’ for the cause of justice and peace. Reformation for me is a time of repentance for the callous attitudes of our churches and its leadership towards the needs of our people in the community, a time of repentance for those in powers for we enjoy pomp and positions at the expense of our vulnerable believers, a time of repentance for being silent to the unjust practices in our churches and for being insensitive to the exploitation done to innocent people around us. Reformation for me is a time to give up my positions & privileges of any authorities that I enjoy in the Church which is against the convictions of the gospel and allowing to lead a life submitting ourselves at the feet of the Cross in coherence with the Crucified Christ. Reformation day particularly in 2023 in the context of war and conflict in the land of the Holy One, is a call to stand with the weak and oppressed, is a call to strive for peace and justice and is a call to stop the war and save life. 

The call of Reformation today is to reject and defeat the authoritarian, ugly practice of caste and several such forms and allege total obedience to our liberating God, so that our public spaces of church, academy and society become zero-tolerant zones against discrimination. For Jesus, it was ‘Roman Empire or Kingdom of God’ and he chose the latter over against the former, for Luther, it was ‘Rome or Christ’ and he chose Christ over against any other ecclesial authority and today it is ‘Caste or Christ’, and our ultimate choice is Christ over against caste, for such a thing is now required in re-formation of our churches. ‘Injustice done anywhere affects justice everywhere.’

PF & ML: Thank you Sister Annamma for your prophetic word. We submit to God and look to Him for His help so that our communities are transfigured, reformed and transformed.

Annamma: Should we not then close with one of Martin Luther’s hymns that he had penned based on Psalm 46, for this song is our act of commitment and pledge.

Let us all sing, “A Mighty Fortress is our God…”

Raj Bharat Patta, 

Reformation Day, 

31st October 2023

In the Speech of the Subalterns, Echoes the Voice of the Divine

Listening to Luke 16: 19 -31
Lazarus Speaks

This parable consists of three characters, rich man, Lazarus and Abraham and not to deny a narrator of this story. Most of the talking in this parable is done by the rich man and Abraham, with some interventions of the narrator. It is interesting and surprising to note that in the whole of the parable not a single word of Lazarus is recorded, for Lazarus’ voice has been conspicuously silenced. It was the rich man who silenced Lazarus’ voice before death, and later it was Abraham who shadowed Lazarus and silenced his voice. Lazarus has been forced into speechlessness by the conditions around him in this entire narration. His poverty, his hunger, his homelessness, his powerlessness, his not being ‘famous’ in the society, his wounded self and psyche all paved to his (non)being as non-person, non-identity and non-public pushing him into the mode of speechlessness.

In such a context, the text challenges to employ a ‘decolonized hermeneutics’ to recover the voice and speech of Lazarus, thereby uphold the worth and value of his life, both before and after death. Can the subaltern speak? Yes, the subaltern can speak, for those that have ears will listen to their narratives.

“When we were dying out of hunger and poverty, here is a rich man who was insensitive to the needs of the people around him and lived a complacent selfish life in pomp and pleasure” remembered Lazarus who was at his deathbed due to a terminal ailment, for he lived as a homeless person at the gates of this rich man’s villa fed on the crumbs of this man along with dogs, for the dogs even licked his wounds.

Few days later Lazarus died, and since he was an outcast, no one came forward to bury his polluted corpse, leaving it to decompose without a burial. But fortunately, the angels carried Lazarus to be with God, where Abraham also found a refuge. Afterwards the rich man also died, for tens and thousands of rich people came to his ceremonial funeral service paying tributes to him, praising him for what he was not.

Eventually rich man was taken to Hades, where he was tormented, a price for his being rich and for creating poor around him. He looked up, saw Abraham at God’s place and was startled to see Lazarus by his side. “Can a dog licking wounded, homeless, poor ‘slum dog’ be at the side of Abraham, the father of the faithful?” exclaimed the once upon a time rich man. (For in the kingdom of God, rich man’s position is reversed.)

If Lazarus spoke in this text, all the evil things the rich man did towards the poor and homeless people would have been revealed, all the evil things that the rich man did to become even more richer by making the poor poorer would have been exposed. If Lazarus spoke, he would have narrated how he was pushed by the rich empire into poverty, homelessness and hunger. If Lazarus spoke, he would have testified what an impossibility it would have been for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. If Lazarus spoke, he would have disclosed that the real meaning of life is in sharing and caring for one another, for life cannot be quantified into monetary terms and conditions.

If Lazarus spoke, he would have said emphasized on the spirituality of dispossession, where each individual is called to give up greed and bridge the gap between rich and poor by identifying with the poor. If Lazarus spoke, he would have said, look for the divine among the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God. If Lazarus spoke, he would have called to practice what has been preached by Moses and the prophets. If Lazarus spoke, he would have emphasized that being grounded in one’s faith traditions like Moses or Prophet(s) makes the them to be inclusive, faithful and tolerant in looking for truths in other faith traditions. If Lazarus spoke, he would have called for repentance of the rich from poor, seeking reparations from rich to poor. so that the world would become a better place to live.  If Lazarus spoke, he would have affirmed in the continuation of God’s revelation in the activity of the life and death of Jesus Christ, who was sent back to life by God in resurrection. If Lazarus spoke, he would have said that he died while he was still living, and is still living while he was dead.  When Lazarus speaks, the divine is located in his voice, for in the speech of the subalterns, echoes the voice of the divine. Those that have ears, let them listen.

Rajbharat Patta,

24^th September 2016

(Sermon to be preached at St. Ninians URC Church, Manchester) 

If the Occupied Speak? Devotion to God is Dismantling Mammon

Postcolonial Reading of Luke 16:1-13

                               Reflection for World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel 2016 

September 18 to 24, annually is observed as World Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine Israel (WWPPPI) inviting churches and civil society to join together for a week of advocacy and action in support of an end to illegal occupation of Palestine and for a just peace in Palestine Israel. The theme for this year 2016 is ‘Dismantling the Barriers’, which is an echo to the previous year’s theme ‘wall will fall.’ On the other hand, our immediate context here at our Chaplaincy is a setting of welcome week for the freshers who will join Universities, coming to learn in newer settings. Dismantling the barriers and welcoming the others are part and parcel of Christian witness and commitment.

There are several barriers that hinder the welcome, and there are many forms of mammon that have become barriers and obstruct welcome. Idolatry of power, prejudice, positions, wealth, walls, occupation etc. are the manifestations of mammon and it is high time that we stand to break down, dismantle and despise mammon, which in itself is an expression of ones’ devotion to God. 

The gospel lesson chosen for this Sunday from Luke 16: 1-13 has been one of the problematic texts in the Scriptures for there have been varied interpretations, and sometimes not knowing how to interpret the rich man commending the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. It was interesting to see how the two ‘debtors’ in this text would have reacted and reflected the whole story. In that line, here is an attempt of reading that story from the perspective of the two colonized ‘debtors’ who have been either neglected or overlooked in this colonial paradigm. This is my own re-imagination of the parable, reading it from the standpoints of subalternity and postcoloniality.   A postcolonial subaltern hermeneutics of this text gives us a fresh understanding that ‘loving God means hating mammon.’

Then the disciples of Jesus heard this, “There were two families named Ashraf and Maria (in the literary texts of the scripture their names are both forgotten and never mentioned), who have been forced to become poor because of Roman colonization. Their struggles knew no bounds for they toiled day in and day out to feed their family and have been unable to find a square meal a day. The oppression of the colonizers grew intense as they levied heavy taxes on the poor by looting their money, resources and energy unjustly, cutting down their rations, implementing austerity measures and by stealing their own food and importing it to the centres of the empire, leaving this land with hunger and famine. Ashraf and Maria left no stone unturned in finding some food for their families but returned unsuccessful with empty stomachs and empty pockets.

There was a cruel manager in their quarter working for the empire, exploiting the people by extorting huge amounts. Ashraf and Maria went to this cruel manager to get some food on a debt to feed their family. Ashraf took on a debt 50 jugs of olive oil from this cruel manager. When signing the receipts of debt, the cruel manager got him signed that he had taken 100 jugs of olive oil, and stole the rest of the 50 jugs of oil to be sold elsewhere. Maria took 80 containers of wheat on a debt from him, and he like before got her signed for 100 containers of wheat, and pocketed the rest to make extra money. Both Ashraf and Mari in their vulnerability of being colonized and powerless and out of their need to feed the family had to sign on these wrong receipts. When they started repaying their debts by returning one container of wheat and one jug of oil per month, the cruel manager took them for himself as compounded interest and never updated the books. Ashraf and Maria remained helpless and returned grumbling against the unjust activities of the cruel manager.

When the books weren’t updated for a long time, and when the empire got to hear about the dishonesty and disloyalty of this manager, the empire called on for an emergency audit and summoned this cruel manager to bring the books for audit. This cruel manager was in a fix and knew that he will lose his job very soon.

On hearing this news all the people in the colonized quarter where Ashraf and Maria lived gathered together, for they all shared their experiences of how this cruel manager exploited each of them. They all agreed to the fact that ‘you reap what you sow’, that happens here on this world and this cruel manager is reaping to lose his job for the way he tortured and victimized several poor people. The people in the quarter knew that a change of a manager may not bring in any change, unless the empire which is the greater evil in oppressing people has to be defeated and crushed down.

The cruel manager then said to himself, “the corporate empire has now come to know of me squandering their moneys, so what will I do? I can’t change my trade for I am not competitive to work in other sectors nor can claim benefits as homeless for everyone know that I have extorted money from the poor and homeless.” On realizing that he will not only be fired by the empire, he will also be hated even more by the colonizers for his unjust acts, and in order to mend the situation and to be welcomed by the people in this quarter, he thought he will further summon the debtors and write off some of their bills so that he can at least be accepted by the community there.

The cruel manager then summons Ashraf and enquires how much does he owe the empire? Ashraf replied, “Actually I borrowed 50 jugs of olive oil, but it was you who asked me to sign on a bill of 100 jugs.” Manager immediately replied, “Take your bill, and write it off to 50 jugs of oil.” Manager thought this writing off the bill will win Judah to be his friend.

He then summoned Maria and enquires how much does she owe the empire? Maria replied, “If you remember, I actually borrowed 80 containers of wheat, but it was you who asked us to sign on a bill for 100 containers.” Manager immediately replied, “Take your bill, and write it off to 80 containers of wheat.” Manager was self-appreciating himself that he is winning the favour of these people, so that when he is fired from the empire, he can still be accepted by this community.

But Ashraf & Maria revolted back by saying unanimously,

“You son of a viper, you have exploited us all along, extorting our money, our energy, our land and our resources and have made our lives deplorable. When your true colour is exposed you want to do us favours by granting concessions on our bills. We are not going to keep quite at a moment like this. We want to raise our voice, we want you to repay us back four times for all the extortions you have done, we want you to be prosecuted criminally for all your cruel and unjust things you have done to us. We want justice and liberation. We want the cancellation of all our debts. We want the empire to leave our land and want this occupation to end. We want reparation for your acts towards us. Our devotion in God challenges us to despise the mammon of idolatry and injustice.”

The cruel manager was surprised to see the courage in these people and for the way they are standing for their rights. His plot of doing favours to these people boomeranged and he was further hated by all the members of this colony. The whole community saw to it that he was prosecuted and repented of his unjust activities.

When the empire came to know about this ‘doing favours’ to the debtors, they sarcastically commended this cruel manager’s shrewdness, for these acts expose the heights of his dishonesty and injustice. The children of the light wouldn’t do such shrewd activities like the children of this world.

Jesus in a similar vein, sarcastically and mocking at the unjust manager and the rich empire says, “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” One might think that one is making friends by means of dishonest wealth, by unjust ways, by extorting money from the vulnerable, thinking that they might be received into their homes and places, but at the end they will be rejected, hated and will be brought to justice by the vulnerable victims.

Taking cognizance of Ashraf and Maria’s resilience and longing for justice, Jesus therefore says, “whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’

Ashraf and Maria, therefore exposes the rich Pharisees and Sadducees who have been working as managers squandering and extorting money from the poor and vulnerable. It is an important learning that no one can serve God and Empire. For one has to love one and hate the other and there is no middle ground. Being faithful to what belongs to our neighbours is a key in being faithful to oneself. Loving God calls us to dismantle mammon.

If we have to serve God, let us not use God as a means of acquiring wealth for ourselves, or make God an agent of empire building. Love God and dismantle mammon

If you have to serve God, let us give up our dishonesty and unjust activities, especially with wealth, resources and money. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, let us be faithful in little things, in simple things, in jobs entrusted to us, for God appreciates honesty and justice in little acts. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, the Pharisees and Sadducees of our times, who extort money from the vulnerable, are to be exposed and brought to justice. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, look for the divine among communities where Ashraf and Maria lives, for Jesus speaks on their behalf and brings good news to the poor by proclaiming bad news to the rich. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, the call to cancel debts by capitalists on the poorer, liberating the neo-colonial captives becomes a gospel imperative. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, allow the subalterns, the occupied, the vulnerable, the colonized speak, for the church is called to listen to the overlooked and forgotten voices of the subalterns. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If we have to serve God, we are invited to join in the advocacy for the liberation of people in Palestine from occupations, and see to it that all the barriers will be dismantled and justice is ensured. Love God and dismantle mammon.

If you have to serve God, we are called to dismantle the barriers of power, prejudice, positions and liberate the occupied by welcoming them. Love God and dismantle mammon.

To that end may the Holy Spirit grant us strength to be devoted to God by despising, dismantling the mammon of our times, and strive to look for God among those victims of debts. Love God, hate & despise mammon. Together we will dismantle the barriers and welcome the other to form a just, inclusive and liberated community. Amen.

Rajbharat Patta,

18^th September 2016

(Sermon preached at St. Peters Church & Chaplaincy, Manchester)

A Call Towards A Theology of Littleness: Hearing Luke 12:32

“To be faithful in little things is a big thing”

Big-ness & Big-Talks :

Have you ever heard of a Church named as 'little flock'? On googling I did find some churches named after 'little flock' but their mission statements forces us to probe whether they have ever lived as 'little flock?' Have you seen Christians of 21^st century calling themselves 'little flock?' The demography of global Christianity today is unevenly characterised on the one hand by the expansive nature of Christianity with numbers rapidly growing in some parts of the world, and on the other hand witnessing the shrinking numbers of Christians in other parts of the world. One of the visible markers of the expansive character of global Christianity is the growing culture of 'mega churches' where the founders and the followers of such churches take pride in the capacity capability of their Churches and boast of tens and thousands of people attending their worship services. Such mega culture of the churches speaks the language of capitalism, where the mega rich leaders of such churches proclaim that he or she is in the business of Jesus Christ, whose corporation is an 'Unlimited' enterprise. These churches encourage people attending their churches on becoming rich as being 'blessed' and preach on 'prosperity' as a blessing that follows those who believe in their teachings. The language and practices of these growing dominant mega churches are part of a colonial project where they colonize simple Christians by exploiting their vulnerability of faith all in the name of riches, wealth, blessing and treasures. This has a huge influence on the kind of God-talk and theology that these mega churches project and articulate. Out of this grand mega culture emerged the ideas of God as all powerful, God as almighty, God as King of Kings, Lord of Lords etc. for it is the rich who associate God conveniently to be rich, powerful and strong like them, and therefore talked of God in those expansive and expensive terms.

In the background of this context, we now read Luke 12:32 -40, where the gospel comes afresh 'Do not be afraid little flock for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.' (v32) , which comes as a call towards a theology of littleness, for church exists as 'little flocks' and God is located in 'littleness,' in contrast to the churches as 'mega churches' and God and God-talk in the vocabulary of 'bigness.' From the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21, we acknowledged that Jesus' teaching as 'life is not in the abundance of riches or possessions' and 'life is not me, my and mine alone.' Luke presents in this chapter about Jesus' exhortations on wealth and earthly treasures, and intersperses it in the context of fear, anxiety and worry. In this particular text, we see Jesus calling the listeners as 'little flock,' and then explains about what it means to be little by way of selling the possessions and then linking it to slaves, who are the little ones of his times for they have been waiting for the Son of Man's coming. This text therefore helps us to unravel a theology of littleness, for it is a gospel imperative for our times.

Little Flock and Theology of Littleness:

Who according to Jesus are the 'Little flock?' For that would define the character of littleness. We need to see this question in three different perspectives. Firstly in the historical perspective, it were the disciples who were listening to Jesus as he was preaching to them. Therefore in the context of the multitudes following Jesus, this little flock of twelve disciples could have been the 'little flock' to whom Jesus mentions not to be afraid. In the context where Roman armies were counted in tens and thousands, Jesus' dozen disciples represents the 'little flock.'

Secondly, in the theological perspective, Jesus introduced himself as 'good shepherd' and mind you not as 'big shepherd,' by which he was always trying to locate himself in the 'little flocks' and affirm in their identity as being little. If he believed in mega flocks, he should have identified as mega shepherd, but he was a good shepherd, who had come to give life in all its fullness. 'Little flocks' represented the minority people in contrast to majority, for Jesus said elsewhere that, 'wherever two or three are gathered there he is present' for God in Christ locates among the littleness. Littleness theologically is further understood that Jesus became a human and took on the form of a slave, the powerless, for the sake of slaves to pitch his tent among them so that he is willing to struggle along with such communities ensuring liberation and freedom. Littleness of little flocks is further understood by his engagements with the outcastes, women and poor of his times. God in Jesus is born as a little baby in the little town of Bethlehem, God in Jesus has became a child refugee as he fled into Egypt and God in Jesus resided, identified and was crucified in all his vulnerability. Jesus therefore had to categorically say that unless a person becomes a little child, he or she is not eligible to enter the Kingdom of God. When his disciples were arguing among themselves who is the greatest, Jesus picked up a little child as a greatest, for he acknowledged that in the littleness exits God and god like-ness. 

 Pope Benedict therefore affirmed in the theology of littleness as he said, “The theology of littleness is a basic category of Christianity. After all, the tenor of our faith is that God's distinctive greatness is revealed precisely in powerlessness. That in the long run, the strength of history is precisely in those who love, which is to say, in a strength that, properly speaking, cannot be measured according to categories of power. So in order to show who he is, God consciously revealed himself in the powerlessness of Nazareth and Golgotha. Thus, it is not the one who can destroy the most who is the most powerful...but, on the contrary, the least power of love is already greater than the greatest power of destruction.”¹

Thirdly, in the eschatological perspective, no doubt all those who follow the values of the gospel that Jesus taught which include hard facts like selling of possessions, sharing of resources etc. will certainly be a small group, for in Jesus movement many left grieving on hearing such altar calls to go sell their possessions, to give up their riches etc. and therefore they will be little flock and little group any way, and as such Jesus was calling them 'little flock.' Probably that was the reason in Luke's second volume, which is Acts of Apostles, he mentions that the early Church gathered in houses and had everything in common, where they shared their resources among them. They were 'little flocks.' Jesus says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”32 verse says, not to be afraid of Rome, of any circumstance for Father out of his good pleasure gives you Kingdom. In other words, Kingdom belongs to the little flocks and little ones. Jesus else where picks a little child and says that kingdom of God is like them. Kingdom of God is of the little ones, for little ones by the God of little ones, for God in God's pleasure grants this Kingdom to the little ones.

Little Flock and Spirituality of Littleness

The calling to these little flocks is to sell their possessions and give alms, which is the first characteristic of littleness. God in Jesus is a God of littleness who calls not to build barns to store the possessions, but to sell their possessions and give them as alms. By selling the possessions one joins Jesus movement, who along with Jesus identifies with the homeless poor communities, who do not have a place to lay down their heads. By accumulating the possessions one distances from Jesus movement, for one cannot serve Christ and Mammon. Giving alms is not to a mere act of charity, but is a responsibility which is linked with selling of possessions. With possessions, one is big, strong and powerful, but by selling of possessions and giving alms one becomes little, weak, and powerless.

It was said of St. Theresa of Alva that she always displayed the spirituality of littleness. “When we think of Thérèse we think of a specific kind of spirituality - her Little Way. It is a way of trust and absolute surrender to God's intimate presence. Scripture is her source and inspiration. Three texts in particular bring into focus the heart of Thérèse's doctrine: "Whoever is a little one, let them come to me." Proverbs, 9:4 "For to the one that is little, mercy will be shown." Wisdom 6:7 "As one whom a mother caresses, so will I comfort you; you shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall fondle you." Isaiah 66:12-13

In a prayer to Christ, Thérèse sums up her spirituality for us:

"O Jesus! Why can't I tell all little souls how unspeakable is Your condescension? I feel that if You found a soul weaker and littler than mine, You would be pleased to grant it still greater favors, provided it abandoned itself with total confidence to Your infinite Mercy. I beg You to cast Your Divine Glance upon a great number of little souls. I beg You to choose a legion of little Victims worthy of Your LOVE!" ²

Little Relevance:

• It is only the vulnerable, the powerless and the little who can speak of a God who exits among littleness, and therefore such an exposition has emerged out of that subaltern voices and communities who speak of a God like them. For it is the good pleasure of Father to give them the Kingdom of God. Mind you, Kingdom of God comes in such littleness, like in a mustard seed and not in the colonial expansive terms.
• Unless our churches become Sunday schools, kingdom of God may be a distant reality. By which, I mean unless we become like little children congregating and exploring God in our vulnerability, and in our marginality, our ecclesiology has less relevance.
• Let us stop building huge Church structures, towers and buildings with lavish comforts, for the church is called to identify with the homeless, poor, refugee and crucified communities, for only among them, among the little flocks and amidst littleness church happens.
• Are our churches willing to become like little flocks? Living out the characters of littleness, inculcating the spirituality of littleness.
• Theology of littleness – challenges us to sing not 'let the poor say I am rich', but other way 'let the rich say I am poor and let the strong say I am weak.'

Rajbharat Patta

1http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/30344-the-theology-of-littleness-is-a-basic-category-of-christianity

2http://showcase.netins.net/web/solitude/vilma5.html

Pics Courtesy: 

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