Epistle to Laodicea: A Call for Repentance (Revelation 3:14-22)

Let us pray: Almighty God, we believe that you are the one who transforms our life through your powerful words. This morning, we seek your guidance as we meditate upon the read passage. Speak to us so that we can genuinely commit ourselves to your voice. In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.

Good morning everyone. We have been meditating upon the seven letters written to seven churches. As we know Laodicea is the seventh church and today we are going to reflect on the message given to this church. The church at Laodicea was probably founded during the time of Paul. There is no evidence that Paul visited this church, but there is a reference in Colossians that he wrote a letter to them that was subsequently lost. Laodicea was in Southern Phrygia, midway between Philadelphia and Colossae. Laodicea was known as an independent and wealthy city where wool was a main source of commerce. Agriculture and commercial prosperity brought banking industry to Laodicea. The most striking indication of the city’s wealth is that the city was rebuilt without financial aid from Rome, following the devastating earthquake of A.D 60. The major weakness of this city was its lack of an adequate and convenient source for water. The water had to be brought in from springs near Dazili through a system of stone pipes. The revelation that John receives identifies Jesus as Amen exclusively to this church. The Amen insists that the church pay careful attention to what he is saying. From this letter, I would like to briefly share three points. 

 

Luke warmness: to be avoided

When we refer to verses 15&16, they say “you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” The church of Laodicea is like the water of Laodicea which is lukewarm in nature. In fact, water from the hot springs in Hierapolis, six miles away was brought to the city by aqueducts. By the time it reached Laodicea, the water was no longer hot, it was lukewarm. Cold water from Colossae was also piped in, by the time it reached Laodicea, this water was lukewarm as well and not very palatable. The therapeutic properties of hot water and refreshing quality of cool waters are missing in this. In the same way, the church in Laodicea was providing neither refreshment for the spiritually weary, nor healing for the spiritually sick. It was totally ineffective and thus distasteful to the Lord. Jesus expects his church to be a place of healing and refreshing or else he would abandon them.

What I would like to convey from this is that we are expected to take a standpoint. Double position, half-knowledge, half-truths, middle paths are always dangerous. Especially in our theological articulations and spiritual journey we have to be firm in our conviction and should not to be carried away by false doctrines and teachings. Let us examine ourselves this morning whether we are like the Laodicean church which is lukewarm.

False Perception: Way to Blindness

Verse 17 says, “for you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

 

The church of Laodicea is economically rich like the city of Laodicea. When the people looked at themselves they considered themselves as a perfect church. They were very proud of their riches and probably felt that they were above other churches. Moreover, they were famous for three basic things- wealth, fashion and medicine. Laodicea is a centre for banking and finance but Jesus says they are “poor”. Secondly, they are known world-wide for soft, raven-black wool but Jesus says they are “naked”. Thirdly, Laodicea is famous for its healing eye creams but Jesus says they are “blind”. The city and the church are wretched and pitiful because they do not know their true condition. They are miserable but do not recognize it. They think they need nothing but, in fact they need everything.

It is always good to know our limitations, so that we can improve and correct ourselves. The danger is to have a perception that we are perfect and we have accomplished everything in life while we are lacking the basic stuff. There is always a danger in a theological community to consider lay people inferior to us. Though we might be academically excellent, if we do not have the Christian virtues like love then we are poor, naked and blind in the sight of God. 

 

Earnest Repentance: The Need of the Hour

Chapter 3:19 says, “Be earnest, therefore and repent.” Although Christ’s language was strong, the condition of the Laodiceans was not final. Christ issues them a call to repentance in verses 18-20. The strong language is a stern warning to them to repent and return to their first love. They must overcome complacency and turn with joy to God. Christ challenges the Laodiceans to buy from him gold refined by fire. The language is clearly metaphorical. This is the gold of faith. The church is challenged to cover her nakedness with garments of purity and sincerity; in addition they need eye salve to anoint their eyes. We are in Lenten season and it is a time of repentance. Let us examine ourselves and repent earnestly. Many times we are worried about structural sin and also claim sin is relative, but our conscience says how much we have gone astray from the love of God. It is the right time to come back to the love of God. St. Maximus, the confessor, once wrote: God’s will is to save us, nothing pleases him more than our coming back to him in true repentance.

As future pastors and leaders of the church, unless we give up the lukewarm nature and realize our limitations and correct ourselves our churches are going to remain as church in Laodicea. May the God who has called us for ministry renew us through this meditation. Amen



T. Jebin
BD II

Groaning of Creation: Celebrating Life in the Midst of Death (Romans 8:22-23, 26)

Whenever we think of ecological concerns this is one of the portions that often come to our mind. Through this passage, Apostle Paul invites us to broaden our understanding of God’s salvific mission in our midst which includes the entire community of creation. The passage that we just read serves as a summary statement and the important message we get from it is that the saving purpose of God is not only for human beings but also for the entire creation. Creation and salvation are not contradictory terms. Most of the sermons that I have heard on “Groaning of creation” gave me the message that “the earth is going to die and the creation is groaning”. But, the re-reading of today’s text will help us to understand this Groaning of Creation in a different way taking the positive side of the groaning or the cry of creation.

The 2004 Nobel Prize winner for peace Wangari Maathai, founder of the green belt movement in Kenya, took the initiative to respond to the groaning of earth and women. She said, “It is the little things citizens do. That’s what will make a difference. My little thing is planting trees.”

By re-reading today’s text under the theme “Groaning of Creation: Celebrating Life in the Midst of Death.” We are led to ponder on three points.

1) The Groaning God: The Immanuel in Solidarity with the Groaning Creation:

As we know, the root word for the Spirit is ‘pneuma’ in Greek and the Hebrew equivalent for this term is ‘Ruah’ which is feminine in gender. So, when the Holy Spirit groans it is the groaning of the Divine feminine. When we take it in this sense, we can see an embodied God, who on her body, experiences the pain of the creation. In the groaning of the Spirit, we meet God in the midst of the sufferings and struggles of the creation.  For Paul, the groaning of the whole creation is for the freedom from the bondage to decay. We can see the pain of God in the cry of the Spirit. Here, God’s pain is described as silent cries that words have limitation to express, and the ineffable cry of the Spirit reveals the depth of God’s pain. (V: 26) The Greek term used here is ‘Stenagmois’ which means sighing or lamenting. The cry of the creation reveals the crucified God in our times. God gets wounded by the human sinfulness which causes  death and destruction, and the Spirit groans because of the human sin towards the creation and the creator. This cry of the Spirit is not to judge or curse the creation but for the redemption and the promise of ‘new-life’ or the ‘new earth’.

The groaning of the Spirit indicates that the divine is ready to give the creation, both humans and non-human beings the vocation of co-creators. Therefore, the Spirit groans because there is the possibility of transformation. In spite of our sinfulness, God allows us to participate in the divine’s creative work. We can see many references from the Bible which tell that the groaning of the creation is seen as the groaning of God. In the exodus event, God sees and hears the cry of the enslaved people. God groans for them and God prepares Moses to liberate them. Here, God is a co-sufferer in the midst of their struggles. God becomes Immanuel. I understand this term as ‘In-Manual’ that is God is in human form and with humans, participating in the suffering and struggles of the creation.  Thus, Groaning of Creation enables us to have an alternative understanding of God as the ‘Groaning God’. The groaning of the Spirit empowers us with the alternative that is not of defeat and death but, of the resistance and the assurance of new life. So, this passage gives us an image of the groaning God who takes up the pain of the creation and is always in solidarity with the groaning of nature and women. In the present scenario, the image of God as divine feminine has a greater significance where the atrocities against nature and women are increasing day by day.

2) Groaning of Creation: A Testimony of Resistance and Resilience:

In Verse 22, it is clearly mentioned that the creation is groaning like a woman in labour pain. The Greek words used to denote the groaning of creation is ‘Sustanase’ which means groan and the pain or suffering as of a woman in child birth is ‘Sunodenei’. The Greek word for creation is ‘ketasis’ which encompasses the whole world, human and non-human beings. These two groanings are connected with ‘khai’ in Greek which means ‘and’; thus we can see that the pain of nature and women are seen equally, leading to the ecofeminist view in the Bible. When there is any change, there is the factor of pain but the groaning is a symbol of resistance. Resistance overthrows the prevailing dispensation and leads to transformation. The whole world is crying for the release from pain as a woman cries during child birth. The groaning of the nature is seen as the sorrow of the nature i.e. suffering of the animals, destruction of the plant life, natural catastrophes and also the crying of the wind and sea. But the nature stands striving against the atrocities that human beings do against her and I would like to see it as the protest against the injustice, using the tool of resistance.

She is referred to as the illiterate heroine, her bold actions and expressions inspired the community. She led the protest which was the conflict between ecology and development, a quarrel between the rich and the poor, a clash between rural and urban, a conflict between the state and its people. She cried for the people and listened to the cry of the earth; and thus she started the campaign against Coca-Cola, in Plachimada. She is none other than Mylamma, the founder of the Coca-Cola Virudha Samara Samiti (Anti Coca-Cola Struggle Committee) who spearheaded the campaign. Her efforts succeeded in shutting down the multinational giant Coca- Cola. The shutdown of the Coca Cola bottling plant at Plachimada has made international news and is often characterised as a David vs. Goliath Story. The Coca Cola plant remains shut down since March 9, 2004.

Mylamma’s agitation illustrates the fact that women have brought a different perspective to the environment debate. Mylamma groaned for the life of Adivasis and for the life of other creations. She stood as resistance against the multi-national giant in renewing the life of the people and the earth which was destroyed.  Thus, the cries of creation and of women are not in vain but in gain. Therefore, we can understand this cry as cry of resistance and not surrender.

3) Groaning of Creation: A Labour Pain Giving Birth to Alternatives:

In verse 23, we can see that the new world comes through the glorification of God’s children. The redemption of the children of God in Romans also signals the redemption of the entire creation. We can see this also in Isaiah chapters 24-27.  It clearly says that groaning is for the redemption. In line with v. 22 a woman in the process of labour, sheds tears which results in a redemption - a new life. Women themselves also undergo certain changes with the pain. The groaning of women during the process of child birth is between life and death. There are opposing forces which prevent the new life from coming out the womb but women labour by resisting those forces and bring out the new life. The fulfilment of hope of the new life is accomplished through resistance. According to Barrett, the present labour pain is giving promise of the cosmic birth of the new age. This groaning results in victory and joy. So also, the cry we hear from the earth is not a cry that heralds death but a cry which leads to new life for the community of creation. This gives us the courage of hope to believe that “a new earth is possible.”

The Nilppu Samaram (Standing Strike) by the Adivasis demanding their land rights started on July 9 under the leadership of Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS). The protesters stood for 162 days in front of the Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The success of this agitation marks the channelization of the society’s demand for rightful living conditions for the minorities through peaceful persuasion.  C. K. Janu, who led this standing strike, was born in a tribal village in Kerala. She took up the cry of her people for their rights. Her cry was the cry of hope that the government would do the needful for their rights.

This example shows that the cry is not of defeat and death, but of hope. C.K. Janu demonstrated to the world that women take pain not for death or defeat but as a mark of hope and redemption. The pain of the standing protesters was with hope of a new life which will come into realization, when the clauses in their petition are implemented. Creation is a continuing process and that is the greatest mark of hope. Even the new heaven and the new earth vision in the Bible in Revelation 21 assures us of the element of hope and not the death of earth.

Dear Friends, groaning is commonly seen as result of failure, defeat and often despair. But this text says that groaning signifies the power of resistance and deep hope. The text also shows us a God, who groans along with the creation. The cry of the creation is an insignia of resistance. It obliges us to perceive it as a life-affirming process, to sustain the cosmos. Our cry becomes the emblem of hope when we regain our courage and faith in considering it as the cry for hope.

This alternative thinking helps us to join the creation in the process of resistance by standing against the unjust structures, with the hope of the new life.

It is our encounter with the Spirit that helps and inspires us to respond to the groaning of creation. Bishop Paulos Mar Gregorios considers human beings as the “priests of creation” with the role of interceding, sacrificing and enabling the creation in the process of liberation from groaning and death. Jesus’ main concern was life; here the life providers (women and nature) are discriminated and oppressed by the patriarchal society. When the life givers are liberated from the clutches of patriarchy, the life in abundance which Jesus envisages comes true. Churches are also part of this social system. As future leaders and ministers of the church, Friends, it is our ‘response’ and our ‘ability’ to make the church aware of the present scenario, and to liberate the life givers, the victims of patriarchy from their bondage. It is also our responsibility to be interceders, listeners and voice givers so that we can empower the creation in the process of resistance and fulfil the hope for a new life.

We can participate in this process by taking the groaning of creation as our own cry. We are called to be an advent community. It is challenging to be part of resistance because our unhappiness results in happiness.

We can make this practical, when we are ready to listen to the voice or cry of the creation for resistance and hope. Are we ready to discern the cry of the Divine feminine? Are we ready to voice out the groaning of the creation, which is celebration of life in the midst of death?

May the triune God help us to open our ears and minds to be partakers in this challenge to create a new world. Amen.

Leaha Susan John

BD IV

Pergamum: An invitation to encounter with the ‘body of Christ’ in the Midst of the throne(s) of the times (Revelation: 2:12-17)

Let me start with an autobiographical note which is a meaningful prelude for meditating the book of Revelation. Once, when I reached home after a youth camp organized by the scripture union, my grandfather, who was my Sunday school head master, asked me about the camp, especially about the bible study. I replied that it was from the book of Revelation and he immediately said that he knew it was a group of people belonging to some revival group and he insisted that I should not believe all that they said. I was surprised that without knowing the preacher, the content, and the intention of the group, my grandfather made such a great statement? What I am trying to convey is the ambiguity we face in having to deal with the book of revelation. I would like to begin this sermon with this very issue of getting across the message of the book of revelation clearly. I think the passage which we read, clearly tells about the purpose and meaning of the book of Revelation.

Pergamum : An extended body of Christ

The Biblical geography is very important for us to interpret again and again. We cannot distance the biblical land narrations or geography away from our realities. Because without the land there is no Gospel, and many a time land acts as a womb of the Gospel. We have many examples from the Bible in order to justify these claims. Think about the story of the Samaritan, the parable of the sower, the parable of feeding of the 5000 etc... All contain the spirit of the land, and if we remove the description of the land from these narrations there is no Gospel. Therefore, land should be understood as an extended body of Christ, where the gospel takes place. In this sense Pergamum is also considered as an extended body of Christ. A space in which God wants to act and process his will. Christ’s body is a body of resistance and change. The narratives of land in the biblical world are also an embodiment of resistance and change.

Encounter the throne(s) of the times

Pergamum appears to have been the seat of the Roman administration in the province of Asia although the governor usually resides in Ephesus, a much larger and more comfortable city. That may be why here it is called “where Satan’s throne is.” So the question here leads to the throne of the times in Pergamum. It is an invitation to make a political intervention. EMS Namboothiripadthe, most significant figure in the communist movement in Kerala, once questioned the involvement of church in state and politics. He viewed church as an aspect of religion only and questioned its interference in the politics and state affairs. But the Book of Revelation inspires its readers to problematize the throne of our times. The provoking statement of the RSS leader on the life of Mother Theresa has become one of the biggest debates on social media now. Most of the comments criticize the role of the RSS and its leader, but in one statement I found a difference and that comment says that “Bhagwat is right. Mother Teresa had the intention of conversion. She touched people and embraced those who were believed to be rejected and cursed by God to be transformed into human beings "Beloved by God". That is quite a conversion where the nameless and faceless have a name and a face”. The need of the time invites us to identify and deliberate on the thrones of our times theologically. A theological system is expected to satisfy two basic needs, as Paul Tillich has meaningfully stated in his book Systematic Theology. Those are primarily, the statement of the truth of the Christian message and the interpretation of this truth for every new generation. This idea exposes the engagement of the theological system between the ‘text’ and ‘space’. Revelation with its text and space makes an invitation to de-throne the thrones of our times.

Encounter with the Sacred and Gospel of the times

Recently, I heard a story, probably made up or even actually true, about the decision of the Communist party from my own land.  It was about the case of one of the woman cadets who was tested and confirmed positive to be pregnant. She revealed that the party secretary was responsible for this. The party committee immediately formed an enquiry commission which took a “unanimous decision” that she was not pregnant, but the natural process would not hear the command of the party, so she delivered a baby after nine months. Of course the party committee again got together and discussed the matter, and they again took a unanimous decision  to excommunicate this lady member because she violated the decision of the party which found she was not pregnant. What can be done when the corrective systems themselves become unjust? Pergamum, also was the city in Asia to build a temple in honor of the emperor. The emperor's space is the sacred space and his words are the Gospel. Therefore, one can assume that Christians there had a difficult time. Antipas is the one who had to pay for his faith with his life. Revelation invites us to define the sacred and the Gospel to the land where the emperor itself is identified as sacred and his words are forced to be the Gospel. Joseph Campbell once said “sacred space is a space in which you identify yourself again and again”. The message to Pergamum is nothing but a corrective instructing them to identify the sacred and the Gospel. This is a process of identifying ourselves, and our role and responsibilities in God. The emperor failed in this and he created an illusory image of his own as sacred and his own words as Gospel. This is a dangerous shift which can happen in any one’s life. The ignorance of identifying the sacred and the Gospel will lead us to a dangerous point. The message of Pergamum is that it wants us to encounter with the sacred and the Gospel which leads us to the meaning of our life and existence. Many a times we question the masters outside our life, but we never turn back to identify the master within us. Pergamum is an invitation to make room for the sacred and the Gospel which leads us to a new life with wisdom. Identifying ourself in God is sacred and proclaiming that is the Gospel. This will only become a reality through our unvarying encounter with the thrones of our times.

Hidden Manna and white stones: a new model of discipleship

What is the reward for those who conquered the existing throne, sacred and gospel? This particular narration presents the hidden manna, and white stone engraved with the new name as rewards. Why is the manna hidden and why are the white stones engraved with unknown name? we can assume from this, there are other visible mannas and white stones available, but the true disciple will be honored with the hidden manna and the white stones with new name. This is a higher model of discipleship with new life and identity. This is a walk towards an uncertainty. There are visible mannas and known names engraved in the white stones, but the true disciple who encounters with the thrones, the sacred and the Gospel will identify their identity with the hidden and unrevealed. The true discipleship is a walk towards this unknown destination and this walk will end up with a new name and identity, the complete transformation of an individual. But it is interesting to note the presence of rewards. The hidden manna and white stones become rewards when we leave or put down the visible manna and white stones. They transform as rewards when we leave the illusionary greatness present before our sight by the thrones of the times. This point of choice is the task before disciples of God. Because that is the point and moment where the creation of God transformed as the disciple of God. Pergamum is an invitation to prepare ourselves for a new identity and name in Christ. This a walk of distress and agony on the light of uncertainty through encountering the thrones of the time, seeking for the Gospel and sacred. May the triune God help us all to be challenged with the revelations of our times. Amen.

Arun Thomas A.

BD II

"Lenten Lantern": 2nd Lenten Meditation in UTC on 10th March, 2015: 'EMIT FAITH, LIMIT CARBON'

Introduction: Welcome to the Lenten Lantern Session 2: Last week we have dealt with the theme “Lent to Love”. Today’s theme is “Emit Faith, Limit Carbon.” Since lent is associated with abstinence, self denial, we often ask: “What should I give up for lent? Chicken or Chocolate? I have asked a couple of my friends as to why they were fasting? The answer was the same: “to reduce my weight.” The focus is on self not on the Saviour’s Sacrifice. So for this week, I would like to change the question: “What should I take up this lent?” For some the answer might be the same, but for me, changing the question has shifted my perspective, as to how I observe lent. In this sermon, I would like to appeal to all of us to take up “Carbon fast” this week, so I shall be focusing my reflection on how to ‘emit faith, limit carbon.’

What is carbon fast for lent? Carbon fast is a challenge we need to take up to reduce the use of carbon based fuels, which contribute for climate change. Materials such as oil, gas and coal are considered to be fossil fuels, which are non-renewable. They not only pollute the air but also release/emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is called greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Most often when we talk about ‘climate change’, ‘global warming’, ‘carbon footprints’, we hardly do anything. But just by doing some simple things, we would be able to discover a renewed relationship with God, human beings and with the whole of Creation.

Light in the darkness of lent

Soon after my BD, I was posted in a village called Dudgaon, wherein there is no power supply for at least 8 hours during the day, throughout the year. In this particular village they had a very peculiar practice, which is called ‘Oru Chikati’ meaning ‘Village in darkness’. Every month, one night the village authorities used to observe ‘Oru Chikati’ wherein the whole village would be in darkness; I don’t know the reasons for this observance but certainly there is something we can learn from this practice.

There is a need to hear the voices of the indigenous people, dalits, tribals, adivasi and through them hear the voice of mother earth and all of God’s creation in our theology in order to go forward in a more Earth-centered way. Due to globalization and technological advancement, there has been an increasing alienation of human culture from the rest of Creation. We are becoming unmindful of the people living in darkness. But it is in darkness that we meet Jesus on the cross of Calvary. The last three hours of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, there was a preternatural darkness as documented by the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark and Luke and also confirmed by extra-biblical historians: Thallus, Phelgon, and Africanus. In the midst of such deep darkness, there was Jesus, the light of the world, suffering in solidarity with the marginalized and groaning creation. As we journey through this year’s lent, we need to realize that Jesus meets us in darkness and makes it possible to recognize him in each other and across space and time. In a season of the year, when the darkness of night falls early, often that recognition is a reminder that Jesus, the light of the world, illumines us in darkness. The hymn writer George Bernard in the hymn “On a Hill far away” puts it beautifully: “for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above, to bear it to dark Calvary.” We need to live in darkness if we want to live in solidarity with the people on the margins, the poor and the groaning creation.

On a lighter note, there is a romantic side to this slogan. (Sorry to talk about romance during lent). In fact, just like this ‘candle light service’, you can have ‘candle light dinner’ with your spouse/friend during this week/lent. You will not only save energy but also live more smartly. Practically, we need to switch off the lights when not required. The more we reduce our energy consumption, the more we can save and live more smartly.

Love your world for it is good.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu says, “Love the world just as much as God does...” As Christians the important aspect of our practical life is to love God and love our neighbours. Sallie Mc Fague, in her book “Super Natural Christians” states that we need to extend this love to the natural world. Because this idea of loving nature goes beyond stewardship of the natural world as a resource; we value something because of its usefulness but we need to value the earth not because of its usefulness but value as something that, in and of itself, is good. We need to echo the words of our Creator, “it is good”, not because of its usefulness but because ‘it is good.’ “God so loved the world” not because we are useful or significant. God loved us just as we are and gave Her only Son to die for us and for all the world. Let us therefore, love our world, the cosmos not because it is useful or resourceful but because it is good. During lent Jesus challenges us to love unconditionally and inspires us, as people of faith, to create a society where all can enjoy earth’s resources and also care for all creation.

Ignite your Creed, limit Carbon footprints

What does it mean to ignite our creed? “Creed’ from Latin ‘credo’ “I believe’, is a statement of beliefs which every Christian ought to be able to accept and be bound by, says Alister Mc Grath. Does our belief system accept earth spirituality as an important aspect of our creed? There is ecological bankruptcy in our spirituality. During this lent we need to enter into a spiritual discipline of fasting from carbon. We are invited to make ecological audit of our lives and see whether we are able to emit our faith and limit carbon footprints.

We need to begin to conserve fossil fuels by changing our lifestyle creed. For example, we can reduce our petrol consumption, avoid using plastic covers, because plastic does not break down easily and its use is also harmful because when it gets in contact with heat it produces chemicals which cause 52 types of cancer. All these are overtly spiritual in the more usual sense that people understand the word: meditation, prayer, self-reflection. The intention is to practically do certain simple things that make a difference in this world; and also empower to challenge ourselves to do more.

Most of the time, we are unmindful of what we are doing and the impact it has on the environment. Lent is the perfect time to think and take up a new practice and develop it into a new habit, which would benefit the earth. Therefore, this week let us take up Carbon fast as a spiritual discipline as it gives us the opportunity to live in closer harmony with God and with all of God’s creation. Jesus challenges us to live in the darkness of lent, to live in solidarity with the poor and groaning creation; love the earth for it is good; and ignite our creed and limit carbon footprints

Moses S. Bollam
MTh I

Truth and Space as Important Aspects of a Christian Leadership Model (3 John 11-12)

‘Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. everyone has testified favourably about Demetrius, and so has the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true’.

Imitation is one of the basic aspects of human life. In the early childhood we used to imitate the mannerisms of our parents and as we grew up we got influenced by the popular idols and peer groups. In the church also, we may follow some leaders or peer groups. The use of power and authority has always been a big issue from the early church onwards. Therefore, it is very important to ask ourselves whom we are imitating in executing the power and the authority of the church. And also how we can re – present the image of Jesus in response to challenges faced by the church in using its power and authority?

In this context, John gives a clear understanding of what is to be imitated by a Christian leader. He tells his co-worker Gaius to imitate good and not to imitate evil. When we look into this letter we can see that John is clearly distinguishing the good and evil through the tale of three men Gaius, Diotrephes and Demetrius. Demetrius is portrayed as a faithful servant whereas Diotrephes as an unlovely form of ecclesiastical ambition and domination who always desired to put himself first. Diotrephes made unjustified accusations against the elder John. He refused to accept any travelling missionaries who were associated with John and he did not allow other members to receive them. He even expelled those members of the church who received them. It is in this situation that John asks Gaius to imitate what is good and not the evil in using the power and authority of the church. So I will reflect upon two points based on the passage which has been read to us.

The Authority Rooted in Truth

John here presents two models of leadership in which one imitates good and the other evil. John is very particular about what is to be imitated. According to John as mentioned, Diotrephes was someone who was not to be imitated. John also says that who does evil has not seen God, this implies that Diotrephes' understanding of good is not according to God’s will. Rather he was blinded by his ego. John finds the true imitator of good in Demetrius. John speaks well of Demetrius as being testified for by the truth itself. And the truth according to John is Jesus himself. This we can see in the Gospel according to St. John Chapter 14:6, in which Jesus says, ‘ I am the way, truth and life’. Thus, by imitating good means we are called to follow the percepts and virtues shown by Jesus. Jesus has shown us the pastoral model in which authority or power should be used to serve others. He called himself a servant and taught his disciples that the greatest in God’s kingdom must be servant to all. Jesus used his power only for the good of the others and never for himself. In the same way we have to avail ourselves for the others. As Jesus showed us, the church leaders should become community builders and should not disrupt unity of the church. The attraction towards power can deviate most determined leaders from the true nature of Christian leadership. It is not controlling the people but it is serving the people. Today we can see that the hunger for power and prestige among the Christian leaders are creating divisions within the church. It is also very important to ask ourselves from where we should claim our source of authority? Is it determined by some peer groups or the elite class who always desire for their well-being? John, through his letter, found that it is necessary to base our understanding of authority on Jesus. In other words it is to say that we should acknowledge that the authority of church is given by truth i.e. Jesus. 

 

The Authority Rooted in Creating Space

Christian authority is a community and relational affair. In Christian ministry power and authority should not be confined to an individual. Jesus gave his disciples both power and authority. Jesus had given the authority to his followers to cast out demons, heal the sick and to spread the good news. The authority and power exercised by one should not hinder the development of the other. It is very important that we should create space for others. This space should not only be created among the leaders but also it should give a space for those who are in need. The interpersonal relations among the leaders and the people should not get disturbed while using the power and the authority. So it is very important to ask ourselves for whom we are creating space? Are we creating space for the development of a particular group in desire to inflate our egos? Jesus involved himself with people without any discriminations and he is calling us to continue the same process in which we should use our resources for the betterment of others. He had a compassionate heart where he was willing to be with the people in whatever conditions they were.

We will be able to imitate Jesus only when we get unified with struggles and needs of the community. The attitude of a servant is a way of life, where we start to confront the truth as it is. Through serving others we are called to find ourselves. Through responding to the needs of the society we are also fighting with our own false ambitions of exercising power. I would like to conclude my sermon by quoting the lines of Augustine of Hippo, ‘You have made us to be toward yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you’.

Koshy Vaidyan

BD I 

Reinstating First Love: U-turn from Ekklesia to Kyriakos

Let’s look to God in prayer: God, give us faith to receive your word, understanding to know what it means, and the will to put it into practice; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Church and its Mission is the center of Christian identity and it should reflect according to the context. But Church and its Mission has often failed to reflect in the emerging contexts. So, people started to feel that Christianity has became a confusing Churchianity. The first century Christians were radical in freedom, equality, sharing and service, but the Christians today are in the quest for a new way of spirituality. According to Pope Francis, Church is called to find, new roads to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend church, to those who have quit or are indifferent, instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open. It is time to redefine the church and re-discover its original meaning to make it more relevant, in this religiously plural and culturally globalized world.

             Church is always assumed as ekklesia, but it has to be kyriakos. Re-examining the concept of church as ekklesia, will provoke and stimulate for the actual concept of church called kyriakos. The concept of church as ekklesia has to undergo a paradigm shift to become true church called kyriakos. To define this, the definition of both ekklesia and kyriakos has to be explored. Ekklesia is defined as a called out community or gathering. The called-out (ones) means a civil body of believers called out of the Roman and Judean or any system to come together into a separate civil community. So, ekklesia is just a separated community. Kyriakos is defined as something that pertains to or belongs to God, with an identity of one in Christ, giving priority for Mission to God. While every mission in the world is considered as Mission of God, kyriakos urges for Mission to God, i.e. our response to Mission of God. Therefore, any organization in the society can be called as ekklesia, but the real church is and must be kyriakos. For this reason, our ekklesia-like churches have to become kyriakos to do Mission to God.

            The Ephesus church was also convicted for the same reason, i.e. for remaining as ekklesia rather than becoming kyriakos. The church in Ephesus is the most influential among the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation and was assumed to be founded by Apostle Paul. Ephesus had Jewish Christians as well as converted Gentiles, called God fearers. All Christians in Ephesus do not owe allegiance towards Paul because there were also pre-Pauline groups in the city. The Jewish community assumed themselves as indigenous citizens and had conflicts with the city of Ephesus and with the gentile Christians who claimed some form of authority. During the reign of Augustus, their prosperity made Ephesus the home of cults, including the Temple of Artemis. The cult of Artemis went beyond the religious sphere to the civic, economic and cultural life of the city. Also, Emperor Domition instituted the imperial cult to the city of Ephesus and built a temple cult called Sebastoi. Even though the situation for Christians was not favorable, churches in Ephesus grew rapidly. It was considered to be the headquarters of faith. In this scenario, Church in Ephesus concentrated fully on the ‘Mission of God’ to maintain their ecclesial identity, rather than on a Mission to God, which must be community focused. In this context, God accused them of losing their first love and urged them to take a U-turn from ‘ekklesia’ to ‘kyriakos’. So here I would like to convey the qualities, needed to reinstate first love, which is the prime factor to restore church as kyriakos in the society.

1.      First Love: A Leadership with Confronting Spirituality

            In the read passage, God addresses the angel, the leader of the church in Ephesus, and reminds the leaders about their responsibility. The leaders of the early church were companions, God-bearers, temple-bearers, Christ-bearers, and bearers of holy things. They constantly confronted wrong ideologies and various cults which had peeped into the Church. They had qualities like determination, patience with people, long suffering and intolerance towards evildoers and false apostles. All these unique qualities can be seen as the characteristics of leadership in Kyriakos, which is Mission to God. However, this was not the situation with the new generation of Ephesian leadership. They became ordinary leaders who just maintained the ekklesia, and were divided, regarding their beliefs and practices, including socio-economic level, leadership style, and attitudes towards outsiders. So God said, “I know your works...” The term used here to denote ‘know’ is oida and not ginosko. Oida means the complete or full knowledge of God, about the past and the present of the community. God’s vigilant and inevitable evaluation over the Church found that their leadership became less glowing and less passionate, in comparison to their fore-parents. Therefore, God asks the new generation Ephesian leaders to take an immediate U-turn from ekklesia, and turn back to become kyriakos.

                This reminder to the Angel of Ephesus is relevant to the present day churches too. Today, the Angels of the church are the Bishops, Presbyters, Ministers, or the one who has the spiritual charge of a congregation and responsibility for the community. We, as leaders of the present church, are called to confront the wrong ideologies and practices prevailing in our church and society. But we perpetuate and promote predatory preaching, predatory tithing, institutionalization and many other problems that are within the church. Although, churches always have persons holding specific authority and responsibility, church is called to exercise wise and loving leadership on the basis of the Word of God; faithful in inter-dependence and reciprocity.

            If we look back to our own previous generation leadership in the church, pastors were literally considered as God’s representatives. But today, there is a visible gap in the church between the leadership and the community. This is because of the inability of the church and her leaders to change their leadership pattern according to the context. The failure of the leadership in Ephesus was also their inability and the fear of losing purity and chastity by accepting the converted Christians into the community. Applying the same principle to our own context today, God calls us to reinstate the qualities of leadership according to our own socio-political context. It is a call to go back to kyriakos leadership called Mission to God, characterized by inclusiveness, fearlessness, risk taking, interrogating the evils in society and daring to attempt new things relevant to the context. It leads to a critical sifting, about our understanding of the Mission of God concept, according to the contemporary context. In kyriakos leadership, escapism and conformism are forbidden.

2. First Love: Being for One Another (Shattering the Hindrance).A Bridging Spirituality

             The church in Ephesus had forgotten the simplicity and freedom of being in love. So the penetrating, omniscient gaze of Christ has spotted a fatal flaw, that it has let down its first love. While love for one another is the distinctive badge of kyriakos; as ekklesia, they extensively involved in schisms, arguments with Nicolaitans, heretics and about faith doctrines. The Ephesians had deep suspicion and uneasiness among their gentile neighbors and they were regarded as a threat to the fabric of their society. The structuralisation of their churches promoted the maintenance of differences and brought diversity within the Christian community. Thus, they lacked the passion and enthusiasm which their fore-parents expressed as kyriakos and church became a place of lifeless orthodoxy. They became mere caretakers and custodians of faith and their love became mechanical. This opened the door to spiritual lethargy, mediocrity, indifference to others, love for the world, compromise with evil and ultimately the death of the church. The Ephesian church tried hard to remain ekklesia, but failed to become kyriakos, which is Mission to God. Mission to God is an attempt to do things which God would have done to others. As Desmond Tutu says, “Without us, God has no eyes; without us, God has no ears; without us, God has no arms or hands. God relies on us.”

            Church as kyriakos is to be the pillar and foundation of the truth. When the church loses its truth, all that left is a religious club, another kind of darkness, where people comfort themselves with false hope. The Church is called to struggle with the oppressed, towards their freedom and dignity. This mission needs to be carried out in changing political, social and cultural contexts, manifested in acts of service, within the community and to the world. We, too, have memories of our own churches where our fore-parents made sure that they do not miss even a single opportunity to come to church for worship, fellowship, service and for every other important event in their life. They looked forward to the church, as a place of comfort, a place of peace and a place of hope.

            Even today, divisions are happening through various means and a kyriakos community must go beyond the traditional interpretations and rethink their conclusions, accepting them as only temporary, and acknowledging their methods as tentative. A community without any difference but with mutuality can only become kyriakos. We must not hesitate to understand and interrogate the complexities of the ekklesia and should promote the realities of kyriakos, and this will lead us towards a reconciled blissful spirituality.

3. First Love: A Reconciled Blissful Spirituality  

            Reinstating the first love can happen only by recognizing the will of God, and reconciling with God, through empowering a new humanity in hope, with mutual forgiveness and love, despite the frailty of its members. God warned the Ephesian Church to remember the past and turn back to the love which their fore-parents had. If they fail to do so, the church without light would be removed from its place. Ephesus gives us a good example that, if our leadership and communitarian fellowship is not bringing light, the churches will experience a spiritual blackout. Sadly, we have to say that there are thousands of churches like this in our world today, where congregations are still meeting year after year, Sunday after Sunday, doing religious rituals without witnessing any change in their lives and society. They have remained as strong ekklesia rather than becoming kyriakos. So it is better for us, as backsliding churches, to recollect our ecclesial history and recall the days of pious fore-parents, to restore and fulfill the reconciling dream of God through the people. Therefore, God calls us to repent and turn back to kyriakos.

            Any church which succeeds in becoming kyriakos is offered with a reward to taste from the tree of life. Tree of life is a new humanity of the renewed community, without any alienation, transformed with gospel values, and witnessing Christ to others. The term used to denote the ‘succeeded one’ is ‘to nikonti which means “the overcoming one”. It is not a completed action but a current and continuous action. The struggles in the present life of ekklesia should be considered as part of a constant, dynamic process of the church to become kyriakos. Only a radically welcoming leadership and community can try to reconcile with the context, to embrace the margins, who are silenced and closeted. So, it is the time for us to retrospect and reconcile to experience the blissful spirituality.

Conclusion

            To conclude, dear friends, in this context, we should realize that, our world is full of promise and frustration. So our Mission to God should speak about responsibility and not just grace. The challenge today is that we as leaders should not be afraid to accept the realities and must move forward with new strategies. Our church leadership is trapped in the fear of failure, losing purity and afraid of trying new things. But we as leaders are ultimately expected to be responsible for the Mission to God, i.e. to teach through preaching and responding according to the context. A kyriakos community is also expected to be there for one another, before being preachers and church planters in front of the skeptical world. At this juncture, present churches must undergo self-evaluation in the light of God’s message to the Ephesians. In our gloriously frightening religious context of India today, it is the time for the church to reluctantly embrace and accept its continued failures to connect with younger generations, new issues and become a real church with First love called kyriakos………… Amen.

Stalin S.S.

BD IV

Ruah, the Wind of God: Reordering the Existing Order to Ensure Justice (I Cor 3:17)

I Corinthians 3:17- “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

20^th February is observed as the world day of Social Justice. Taking this scenario as the background of our meditation, we are pondering about the scripture, Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians chapter 3 verse 17. In verse 17 we read, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

In verse 6 Paul had introduced the spirit as life giving. Life means freedom and so, where the spirit is, there is freedom. Here, the word freedom refers to the freedom in speaking, the freedom from the bondage of ceremonialism, freedom from the limitations of legality, freedom from the dominion of sin and freedom from the fear of death. Therefore, under the influence of this Spirit, Paul says that, he was able to speak with openness and boldness. As we know, in Hebrew Ruah means spirit. It also means Breath of God or Wind. Wind stands for the existence of an uncontrollable energy. In the Gospel of John chapter 3 verse 8 we read “the wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit.” This indicates that Ruah -the wind- means freedom. So I would like to rephrase the wind of God as the freedom of God. It is the freedom of God, which swept over the surface of water, that reorders the order of chaos to the order of creation. It is the freedom of God, which breathes upon the slain, which reordered the order of dry bones to the order of life. It is the freedom of God dwelling upon Jesus, which reordered the order of captivity to the order of freedom. It is the freedom of God that encourages human beings to seek freedom and justice by reordering the existing order. That is why Paul says “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Ruah, the Wind of God: Reordering the Existing Order to Ensure Justice

How do freedom and justice relate together? Freedom and justice go hand in hand. According to Immanuel Kant, justice is the requirement of freedom. He says that justice is fully satisfied when the exercise of freedom of each is consistent with the equal freedom of all others. The general secretary of United Nations Ban Ki-Moon said that, I quote, “The gap between the poorest and the wealthiest around the world is wide and growing. This situation is not only between countries but within them, including many of the most prosperous.” He declared that the world day of social justice is observed to highlight the power of global solidarity to advance opportunity for all. We are called to serve the needs of all members of our global family, especially women, older persons and persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and the poor and marginalized among us. How can we ensure justice and freedom for all? It is possible only by reordering the order. Then the question arises: What kind of order? Paul, in his letter to the Romans Chapter 12 verse 1, asks the fellow believers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Because that is the spiritual worship acceptable to God. And he also adds “do not be conformed to this world”, which means do not be adjusted to the order of this present world. That is, the order of the worship of God is not the same as the order of the world with its prevailing structures. Because, the structures of the world bring injustice and oppression to the poor. Therefore, if human beings must have order, it is important to find out what sort of order it is and how it may be available.

Now the need arises to renew the social realities. And history has proven that this simply cannot be done without a certain amount of reorder. The wind of freedom -the holy spirit- disrupts the prevailing order. Indeed, such reordering causes uncertainty and distress. At this point, it is important to distinguish between the blind destructiveness and creative reorder. In Egypt, the people were slaves. The Israelites cried out and their appeal for rescue from their slavery rose up to God. Let me quote Bishop Paulose Mar Paulose, “A cry is a manifestation of a reordering energy, which gives rise to the organization of a new order.” And this cry causes to break the order of slavery. But the march towards the Promised Land was not a disordered movement. From the disorder produced by the desire for freedom and justice, a new order started to emerge. Even though that order became the Torah for Israelites, it was not static. The reordering of Torah results in the Code of Alliance, the Deuteronomic code and the Code of Sanctity. And Jesus reordered this code as Code of Love. The order has to be considered and reconsidered according to the circumstances and to be reordered in the light of new realities of life. Since the organization of the order is by human initiative, there is a chance for corruption. Yes, it is true that the alternatives can also be corrupted and they could also deny justice and freedom. That is why the liberation ethics proposes the reassessing of the existing order. This reassessing and reordering are the result of the Wind of God. Where the spiritual energies of the people are moved by the spirit of God, they will reintroduce freedom and justice into human social relationships. That is why Paul says in the read text “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

How does this reassessing and reordering wind of God act in our personal and ministerial life? As I mentioned in the beginning, we are called to ensure the freedom and justice to the deserving. For that we need to be shaken by the Wind of God. Our predetermined and prejudiced order of mind should be shaken and reordered. Then only we will be able to reorder the unjust patriarchal caste ridden traditions and rituals which deny justice to the margins. The church reformed is a church reforming. So that it is needed to keep alive the spirit of constant radical renewal and reformation in the life of our churches and communities. Let me conclude my reflection with the words of Archbishop Nathan Soderblom: “When the spirit of God visits humanity, it kindles a flame in our heart, a fire of love and justice with the ardent compassion of Christ.” May the reordering wind of the living God fall fresh on us. May the reassessing wind of the living God melt and mold us and may the liberating wind of the living God fill us and use us. Amen.

 

Gibin Thampy

BD  II