Senior Sermon - Jebastin T., BD IV

The Stories of the Three Wells from the Perspective of the Chennai Flood Victims: A Paradigm for Liberation

Let us Pray: God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference. In Christ name we pray… Amen.

Introduction

The whole Chennai city was flooded in the months of November and December 2015. These days are unforgettable nightmare for the Chennai inhabitants even now. Many may think that it was a natural disaster, but in reality, it was a human-made disaster.  The Tamilnadu government has failed to develop an effective storm water drainage system in spite of several small scale level flooding almost every year. In addition to this chembarambakkam lake water was released into the Cooum River during heavy rainfall. This resulted in the flooding of several slums and housing areas in Adyar, Saidapet, Kotturpuram etc. Just like in Bangalore and other major cities in India, the lakes, marshlands and the natural passages for rainwater (which help the flood and the overflowing lake to recede into the sea) are sold out for housing and development. Therefore Chennai flooding is not seen as a natural disaster anymore. It is a human-made disaster.

When Tsunami came in the year 2004 the Tamilnadu government moved the costal slum dwellers to a different place. Everyone thought that the government was doing a wonderful job, but in reality that was not the case. The costal land of the slum dwellers were sold out to Multi National Companies and to rich landlords. In the same way the government is using flood as the reason to move away all the slum dwellers in Chennai to a different place so that it can feed the greed of the market economy. Such government made displacement has severe repercussions in the lives of the slum dwellers for which the government is not willing to pay any attention.

There is nothing new under the sun says the preacher in Ecclesiastes and therefore the plight of the Chennai slum dwellers can be experienced in the light of the Christian Scriptures. The read phericope, explains such a conflict in which Isaac, the sojourner or the slum dweller in the land of Canaan was displaced several times by the Philistine leaders. The name ‘Philistines’ in Genesis may reflect an earlier group that settled in Canaan prior to 1200 B.C.E., or it may be an anachronism based on their presence in the Gerar region in the later periods (that is to say that the) earlier people of the vicinity being referred to by the name known to later readers. For our exegetical reasons, it is left the way it is. The episode is about the dominant displacing the weak and the marginalized. The uncertainties of rainfall in season and in proper amount made drought and famine fairly a common phenomenon in ancient Palestinian context. Therefore dispute over land, water and well (in the region of Gerar) was expected because these were the most coveted commodities of that time. Thus there is a possibility to convert the natural uncertainties into human-made disasters and to link the periscope to address both Chennai and our present day issues.

(1) The Story of Esek: The Failed Government & the Succeeded People’s Movement

The Government or the people in power have the responsibility to take care of the afflicted, but that is not the case here. The Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Selvi. J. Jayalalitha was severely criticized for her delayed response and immature interference in Chennai flood relief events for political gains. The Tamil Cine Actor Padma Shri Kamal Haasan made a public statement about his fraternity and government by saying, “We are sitting in our houses safely while others are going down to the toughest parts of the afflicted lives,” But such feelings of Mr. Haasan were not shared by the Tamilnadu government.

People in power turned out to be a big disappointment according to public voices as well. Mr. D. Angappan says, “In this situation I have seen only volunteers and the youngsters, but the government is nowhere to be found.” Mr. C.V. Sarathi says, “People don’t have food and safe drinking water, but the only government institution which functioned in full throttle during and after the severe flood in Chennai was the Liquor shops.” The Government focused on increasing its wealth by selling alcohol, while the people were dying on the streets.

The failed government in Chennai was replaced by people’s effort to take care of themselves. It was the successful people’s movement as in the case narrated by the read text. Famine is an extreme shortage of food, and drought is an excessive dryness of land or the devastation of basic livelihood. In such a situation Isaac and his men and women who sojourned with him, took action to protect their livelihood because the tribal chieftain or the King Abimelech and his administration was busy in taking away the land from the marginalized sections of their region. Since the powerful people of Gerar dealt unjustly with Isaac, the first well was named as (esek) ‘Injustice.’

In similar manner, at the time of flood in Chennai, the people took care of themselves by undertaking relief works, mobilizing volunteers from the colleges and private companies, distributing provisions from within and outside the state. The flood victims were sheltered in the nearby schools, churches, and community halls. Thus the people helped themselves when the central and state governments failed from fulfilling their duties.

The politicians of the nation not just failed, but also used the misery of the people for publicity. The Tamilnadu government engaged in pasting stickers of Amma (the image of Jayalalitha) on the food pockets which means that these relief packages were sent by the government, but in reality those pockets were gathered by volunteers from almost all the Indian states. Even in our present day context if the people in power fail to address the needs of those who are in the margins, a people’s movement will emerge to challenge those who behave like an apathetic tyrant.

(2) The Story of Sitnah: The Unquenchable Greed of the Government & the Rich People

Gustavo Gutierrez, A liberation theologian says, “But the poor people do not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity.” In addition to this and to make things worse, it is a common phenomenon across history that the powerful not only discard the afflicted, but also engage actively in destroying their livelihood. Isaac withdrew from their malice and dug the second well, but the text says, they quarreled again and Isaac called its name (sitnah) ‘Enmity.’ Thus Isaac was forced to move from place to place to keep his kith and kin alive at the face of a stark famine because of the enmity between the powerful and the powerless.

The Biblical history repeats again in the life of the Chennai slum dwellers. According to Tamilnadu orders, the Slum dwellers are forced to resettle at Kannagi Nagar, 20 km away from the city. The daily-wage workers & their children had to spend Rs.30 to Rs.40 a day on transportation to come back to their workplaces & schools. K. Renuka, a teenager, lost her job that fetched a monthly pay of Rs.1,500/- in a cardboard-box manufacturing unit in Pudupet, in the centre of Chennai. Saraswathi, another resident, said that she had been uprooted from her place of employment and social interaction. There are thousands of similar stories from the Chennai slum dwellers.

Well is the livelihood for Isaac but that is not the case with the powerful few – for them it is a wealth to accumulate. It is read that Isaac was chased away out of envy, but if we go behind the text to reread the same we can understand that the real issue was greed which is a strong desire for more wealth and power. There must have been other wells in the Gerar region but Abimelech & his shepherds are not satisfied with what they already have. They also wanted to take away the wells belonging to the oppressed sections of their community.

The Government led by the powerful few stands with the rich. It wants to make the rich richer by destroying the livelihood of the poor. The real question is, “The government and the multination companies have a lot of money, but why do they want to steal more from the poor?” Almost in every context one can see administrators (with few exceptions of course) taking care of the privileged by stealing the little that the poor has. Why most of the administrators engage in oppressing the weak for the sake of the rich?

(3) The Story of Rehoboth: Yahweh is the Champion of the People in the Margins

Abimelech and his powerful friends expelled Isaac out of their country. The main reason for that can be seen as their greed to accumulate more. Isaac withdrew from there and dug the third well in the outskirts, and they did not quarrel about it; and he called its name (rehoboth) ‘Breadth’, saying now God has given us room and has increased us on the earth. Over a period of time the Government of Abimelech wanted to have a peace agreement with Isaac because they had realized the fact that God was multiplying and standing with the one who was marginalized by them. But if we see in Chennai flood issue the Tamilnadu government is not willing to come for a compromise with the slum dwellers. The Government has to realize the fact that God’s priority is for the people in the margins. God always takes the side of the oppressed so that they may prosper wherever they go. Similar realization has to come into our theological community, because we have the tendency to stand with the powerful for our personal gains.

Conclusion

I want to conclude my sermon by highlighting the social reality that the power relations do not remain the same forever. Today we are in power, but tomorrow we may come to the streets.  God is like the Robin Hood who steals from the powerful wicked and gives it to the powerless. No matter how much ever wealth we got, we may end up in the streets in just no time. King Abimelech came for compromise precisely for this reason. During and after the flood the service rendered by the Chennai Christian churches is commendable at this juncture. They came forward to help the flood affected victims by giving food and shelter in their premises. We are called to imitate these examples by standing for the causes of the people in the margins so that God may bless us all. May the Triune God help us to realize these eternal truths and put them into practice! Amen.