Where is GOD?

Today human being in the world is preoccupied with the rat race of power, prestige and possession. As a result the societies and the states are loosing the sense of values, morality and God. In fact, God has become a rare phenomenon in life, reduced to a concept in the modern and technological world. God is a concept, thought of only at times of need, danger, ill health, favors, jobs and ceremonies. Otherwise God is kept in the back seat as if he is a stranger to life. 

And to add fuel to the fire and to make things worse, the technology, scientism, new age thinkers, materialism, consumerism, individualism have crept into the societies crumpling down the edifices of human values, social relations and the dignity of the families. This is seen very much when the youth and the students isolate themselves while indulging in latest technologies and social networks. No wonder why the relationships have become very suspicious and inauthentic even to the extent of one’s identity is being masked with the fake identities and some are threatened to reveal their real identity presuming the danger. (Of course I don’t deny the positive side of the technology like dissemination of information and imparting education, I only say; the values are at stake.)We can see this drastic change in the societies as people are going away from Mandirs to Malls, Families to Restaurants, Class Rooms to Cafes, Priest to Celebrities, Masjid to Markets and Temples to trade centers, etc. Therefore, the words of Kant are very true “the shallowness of the present age and of the decay of profound science; the doubt, security, indifference and criticism are the thoughts of this age. To this age of criticism everything is subjected, the sacredness of religion, authority of legislation become the subjects of suspicion.”

Today the elite in the societies are plundering the poor and becoming stinking rich and while the poor people are left as if flushing away the excreta. I personally witnessed this most detestable, indecent situation in Mumbai, the financial center of India, in the month of October, 2012 when we, as a group visited the city as part of our Mumbai Darsan. To my surprise, the sky scrapers, posh hotels like Taj, esteemed restaurants, Glittering theaters, spacious Malls and luxurious mansions etc. are the common residence of the rich. The poor people are compartmentalized to the railway tracks, railway stations, under the fly-overs, road dividers, temples, slums and to the streets. This is how the humanity and it’s dignity in the city are artificialized as life in its spectacular manner seems very easy and cozy for the rich.For the poor each moment is a threat, danger, insecure and in a way like the survival of the fittest where they are just surviving and not living the life. At this juncture morality, justice, uprightness, values and human dignity are nothing but a big question mark. Thus we see how God (Religion and values) is eclipsed from the Google world as if they have become irrelevant, insipid and dull to the modern people.

Here I would like to bring to attention that, we only believe that God is powerful, majestic, mighty and splendid. Unfortunately we don’t think that God is also poor like the people in the slums, He is helpless like the people who lost their dear ones, He is oppressed like the people who are oppressed. Likewise God is most humble, vulnerable, and fragile like the help less baby wrapped in papers and thrown in the bins, like the babies who are aborted before they come into the world, God is cheated by the powerful, the rich and mighty. God is like the helpless farmer whose lands are taken away by the landlords. Thus there is a deep meaning to say that God is the poorest of the poor and most humble and sublime like the poor widows and innocent who people lost lives in the religious clashes like in Godra, Khandamal and Mumabi (Taj Hotel) tragedies. God is like a servant waiting for the master and so He is looking at us for our return.

Therefore, God is not like Plato telling eternal ideas exist and he made the innate ideas as the center. The Medieval Philosophy stressed that the adequation of the intellect to the things as truth while, giving excess priority to the reason.The Cartesian/Modern philosophy thought, what I think is the world by making I as the center to the world. Kant tried to tell us the ground of reason as the foundation of all. For Heidegger, the unveiling of Being and listening to being is important. So his approach is a very pagan understanding of person like the pre-Socratic.

All these philosophical quarries tried their best to explain what exactly the truth is. The western philosophy was more of egological, where ‘I think: I am and I think it is.’ The world is what I make of it. Hence, it is very centric (centripetal and centrifugal).

We know that Jesus telling us in the Gospel I am the way, the truth and the life. For, he is God, and God is an ever receding existent in the world.

The life in the cities is lived enclosing from the other and indulging in comfort zones and cocoons of individualism and consumerism. Thus the life in this new age is changed as if we are indifferent and abnormal to God. To put it simply we have reached even to the extent of living as if there is no God or as if God doesn’t exist. But if we turn the pages of history we see Victor Frankel who suffered pain and endured patience says that every one in the world is blessed with an element of divinity and spiritual element. It is only because of the ignorance of our minds that we some how loose the sight of this spiritual element hidden deep within our hearts like the carnal of the fruit. At this critical situation, where we have lost the sense of God in the world and even unable to recognize the fellow human person, here we have Abraham J. Heschelwho says in his work, God in search of man, that there are three starting points to think about God. First, the way of sensing the presence of God in the World and in the things, the second, sensing the presence of God in the Bible and the third, sensing the presence of God in sacred deeds. These three ways in fact are intimated in three Biblical passages:

Lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these. Isaiah 40: 26

I am the Lord thy God. Exodus 20: 2

We shall do and we shall hear. Exodus 24: 7

These are nothing but religious worship, learning and action. These three are one that we all must go three ways to reach one dimension and destination. So, in this line we can say that God of nature is God of History and the way to know him is to do His Will.

In today’s context I think God can be seen in the words of Jeremiah 22: Love of neighbor, stranger, foreigner, widower, and the poor. So, in line with Jeremiah, Levinas calls us forth saying that Ethics/Justice is the spiritual optic in which there is no glance of subject object relation. Instead, in righteousness, in uprightness where there is face-to-face encounter/relationship. Thus God’s presence is felt in the social relations.

To understand God and to prove the existence of God seems stupid. Stupid because what are we? Who are we to prove His existence? This is like fish in the sea trying to find where the water is. We know that theodicy is nothing but defending God’s existence against the problem of evil. It is to justify God’s ways to man. Leibniz coined the term Theodicia from Greek word theos, God dike/dixaia, Justice. He was interested in defending God against the problems of evil, religious indifference, cynicism, agnosticism, atheism, skepticism, human suffering and doubt. Therefore, it is only an attempt to make God’s omnipotence and benevolence compatible with the existence of evil.

There is also Natural Theology which is the way to know God through reason and not from scriptures. So this is only a human effort, through reason striving for the knowledge of God, while denying revelation and dogmas. It is only human speaking about God, theolegein. 

There have been many dangers, threats to our belief in God and God in the world. Some of the threats/critics are ….Suspicion, Atheism, Agnosticism, Indifference, Scientism, Evolution, Secularization, Theory of Projection and Sublimation, Marxism and etc. Some of them can be….

Ludwig Feuerbach: God as a Projection of Human Nature.

Emile Durkheim: Religion is a social construction.

Sigmund Freud: God is only Sublimation.

Marxism: Religion is opium of the people.

Friedrich Nietzsche: God, the Calumny of Life, the Death of God.

Max Weber: The priority is given to Rationalization and Secularization. Money rules the world.

And Today the Technology and Science have been deducing the nature of things with experiments. We are becoming more technical and less dependent on God and Providence.

The questions that we can ask are, Is God really absent from a technological and modern civilization because human no more seems to heed to God’s help?Is man trying to objectify the technology/media or Man is being objectified by media? Despite of all these negative forces we have many religions which intend to lead people to God. Religions are very sacred in their nature and purpose with specific creed, cult and custom. The etymology of the term Religion is very interesting. For, it has five senses with different meanings in Latin. The meanings of religion are—to rebind, to re-tie, to re-link, to re-join, to gather together etc. Religion is like the ligament in our knee which is an essential part to unite, to keep fit, to keep flexible the knee bones, so that we can walk, work and jump. In the similar sense it is the religion that unites us to God and keeps us more and more close to God provided we are attached to Him alone. Therefore, Religion is not we seeking for God,but the greater seeking the lower.So,it is His initiative that He is in search of human and not human is in search of God. We can see how Jesus took the initiative to wash the feet of his apostles and taught them to love each other. God telling in the Old Testament (It is I who chose you. I knew you before you were born.)

So, religion is not our choice as we think, not we electing and affirming God; this is true in Judaism and Christianity where God is seen as He is in search of man, (Parable of the Prodigal son and father, Good Shepherd) and then man’s response to God in return.

Levinas puts this point very nicely saying that Religion is the sense of God’s search for little man and the human response to this divine search of him. Thus, for Levinas Religion begins with Revelation. Christian Trinitarian God is a Life in the society between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This divine society of which Father is the sun, Jesus is the light and the spirit is sun rays which proceeds to the man and the world, revelation to man through world and history. The son redeems the world and the spirit sanctifies the world.

So it is God who takes the initiative in creation, sustaining and in salvation. With this the initiative is not stopped. He continues to seek the human kind in all our life asking us to turn to Him. He is after us although we are busy like Eve and Adam satisfying ourselves and indulging with the apple of egoism, power, prestige, possession. Yet God takes initiative to ask,Where are you? Gen 3: 9. He asks us, as he asked Cain Where is your brother? Gen 4:9. As he told Moses, He is telling us all, I’ve seen the miseries of my people Exodus 3:7.You will hunt me like a lion Job: 10:16.

For the Christians Father and spirit are who take initiative, (Gen 1& 2, Math 1: 18-20) and Son Jesus is incarnated in Human history. He suffered, died and was buried; But Father rose him up from the dead. Therefore, Religion for the Jews and for the Christians is not a Human “Projection,” not “Sublimation,” not “Social Construction” either. Here we see the element of the “OTHER” taking initiative than, the human self. The element of projection, sublimation and social construction and etc., are in no way valid with their arguments.

Here Christian God is the Covenantal God. Because it is initiated by God himself while giving faith to his fellowship as His gratuitous gift. His initiative is greater than the human response. He is ever faithful to human in spite of the human unfaithfulness. It is His salvific plan that human shall be saved from the bondage of sin and death. Therefore his salvific plan is covenant that differs from the Contract. The contract is more of symmetrical where both the parties are equal and agree upon reciprocity, legality and mutuality. Here the agreement is made only between equals like in psychology saying ‘you scratch my back and I scratch your back.’ Contrastingly the Covenant is characterized by non-reciprocity, asymmetry, and initiative from the greater, an imperative and no-allergy. In this covenantal project we see 1 John 4: 10,In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he has first loved us. Jesus in obedience to the Father tells us that Jn 6: 65 No one can come to me unless the Father draw him.

In this relentless search God is more interested in finding us that we are in finding Him. He is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 upon the mountains and goes in search of the one that is lost. He is like the woman who rejoices when she finds the coin. He is the Father who is waiting to welcome us and to celebrate our homecoming.

Conclusion: This asymmetrical, covenantal and non-reciprocity notion of God’s salvific plan entails a new horizon of the truth and reality. Jesus showed a new horizon by offering another cheek. This is non-reaction notion of responding to open the new horizons of which the other is ignorant of. This way of opening a new horizon is not so easy to live and practice because it is not normal but it is very noble. It is noble because it is not a slave response but an extraordinary way of seeing the truth from the other dimension. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and John Paul II have lived such life and showed the light in their life to the millions.

This is Covenental Love where the Desire is highlighted in fullness and contentment. This is the Ec-centric and redemptive plan of God. In this the wealth yearns for fullness. Unlike the covenantal love, the Greek Erotic Love is where, only Need/want are highlighted, basing on Ego-centric marked out by centripetal and centrifugal. All the critics are wrong and invalid because our God is not a human revelation nor human projection but our God is, His revelation to us in the covenantal plan, it is His initiative (Ec-centric) which is very much stressed by Levinas unlike Buber who only stressed the mutual and intimacy. But the covenantal relationship is more than the intimacy. Intimacy can be only between two equals that leads only to the tomb. But the ec-centric/covenantal, asymmetrical relationship is between more than two, God, you/I and the other/world. This leads to womb, a symbolic expression of new life over death.

The egological/western philosophy would say, the world is what I make of it. This thought is centered by ‘I.’ The characteristic factors of this thought can be competition. Such people are only of 2.50%. Of course this is necessary.

The Covenantal Philosophy would say, you speak to me, therefore, I am. Such people are only of 0.50%. The characteristics are of co-travellers and noble. It is of ec-centric and asymmetrical relation. The anonymous type is of 97% people follow this. However in conclusion what we can draw home is where we can be placed. We must give importance to the self as well, if not who will think about us. Today our task is not to see whether god is with us or not but whether we are with GOD or not.May the prayer St Francis of Assisi be our prayer “I cry for the love that loved us and is not loved.”

Thank you.

CONSCIENCE IN COMMUNION

 “Conscience is human’s s most secret core and the sanctuary” (GS16). In other words conscience is the inner voice coming from God. Therefore we are to listen and walk according to our inner voice in order that one day we may become like “Shining and guiding stars in the firmament of human history”. Therefore, the formation of conscience is extremely important in order to have a clear conscience that chooses what is good and avoids what is evil. Such a formation of conscience takes place always in the culture of a community which is fundamentally Trinitarian and Communitarian (Communion).   

However, often confusion arises in our minds regarding the moral conscience and superego. According to psychologists these are conflicts that occur within a person’s mind. Hence, we should be aware that they are not identical and can be distinguished in many ways: for an instance we know that the super ego commands us to act whereas conscience is a response to this invitation; superego is selfish while, conscience is an openness to others; superego is static and respects blindly to authority whereas conscience is dynamic and respects the values meaningfully; when superego focuses on the past, conscience capitalizes on the future.

Let us now look at the scriptural perspective about Jesus. Well, in the scriptures especially in the New Testament we know how in his pure human conscience lived among us. Well, likewise we know that Jesus’ words and works reveal that He lived as a man of communion and became a model for all generation and to all generations par excellence. There are many occasions in the Gospels where Jesus deals with moral issues of his times. For example “let anyone among you who is without sin, be the first to throw a stone at her.” Everybody went away and Jesus looked at the woman with mercy and forgave her sin but at the same time He warned her go in peace and sin no more. Through this account we can understand that it is a challenge for all of us, Christians, to imitate this perfect model of Jesus in our dealings with others. Jesus’ communion with the Father and with the human beings can be illustrated in the following manner:   

Abba Conscience – ‘children of your Father’ (V.45) - Faithfulness and Fidelity.

Messiah Conscience – ‘but I say to you’ (V.44) - Truthfulness and Identity.  

Pneuma Conscience – ‘love your enemies’ (V.44) – Fruitfulness and Liberty.

In order to adopt this conscience in communion, we have to focus in a special way, on three spheres of Christian existence: namely Person, Reason and Revelation.

Person: “A person means ‘facing towards’. Because, when a person faces others truthfully, freely and joyfully, s/he has the moral integrity and human dignity. Three fundamental areas of human relation are: God, Human Beings and Creation”. In communion with God one forms his/her conscience and deepens in union with God. Thus we come to know the truth, goodness and beauty of God in our communion with the other person. And this relationship will flow towards the neighbour and creation. These are interconnected. 

Reason:  All of us are endowed with the faculty of reason to know, love and live in truth, goodness and bliss. All of us are called into existence for this purpose for which everyone is designed and destined by God, the creator. A person is in virtue of human reason to have communion with community and communicate the truth, goodness and bliss to the members of the community. In communion with the end of the intention, there can be mortification on the morality of human action. Good intention alone is not enough, but action should be good as well. Therefore, there is no place for any means of good end. It simply means the means does not justify the end to act in proper conscience towards the neighbor.     

Revelation: Conscience formation is indeed revelation. Along with person and reason, revelation gives the specificity and identity of good a (Christian) conscience.  This revelation helps us to address the unique yet universal issues directly. Therefore for us Christians Revelation in Christ reveals the dignity and destiny of the person. In this revelation process faith has a pivotal role. For, faith fills the members with vivid imagination, solid motivation and candid orientation in life. Thus, the forming of one’s conscience has to be at home with all the tribes of one’s faith in the community proper. And so, this content of the revelation is at the very center of one’s culture, since faith is at the heart of the person. 

Conclusion: Communion with God is important because from this relationship one’s conscience is formed to enable one to recognize and to know the truth. Thus it helps a person to identify truth and goodness of others which facilitates us to have a healthier relationship with others and to live in union with nature. For this end, Jesus is the perfect model of this communion with God and human being. Thus, Jesus Christ himself extends and opens this towards his neighbor and the nature, resulting in a healthier relationship and a happy and holy life.    

Work is done by Sr. Deena John (BTh)  

Kochappilly, Paulachan, “Conscience in Communion”, Jeevadhara XXXIV, 204, 493-504.    

Love begets Love...

For the one who wishes to love, always finds someone to love...

For the one who loves, always finds a tune to sing...

For the one who sings, always finds a work to do...

For the one who works, always makes his/her life, a life of prayer.  

Worry for What...?

Worry not; I am only a trail...

Fear not; I am the beginning...

Courage, I am a door of HOPE...

Happy, I am the way to the Destiny...

Time and tide waits none, so do I...

It’s not an end that matters rather the journey...

Sooner or later I visit you all...

As you came naked; I will take you naked...

No one knows what awaits the other side of the shore...

give the best over this side; hope the best the other side...

a time comes when there won’t be any side to give or to take...

That is what really matter; a time of no time...  

hurry, worry take you nowhere... 

live calm and composed...

celebrate life and celebrate differences... (oneness) 

for, life is to celebrate and not tolerate...

To DIE is to LIVE...!

No one wants me, yet I visit all;

an unwanted friend of all, yet no one likes me;

when I come to you, you won’t be there;

For when I come I devour your shade..  

I invade all; the rich and poor, strong and weak;

young & old, wise & wicked; I take all; 

where I take no one could ever guess;

for, I am a bottomless sea...

Deep calls to deep; no one wants to hear;

world keeps you busy, alert, for my arrival is at hand;

you try to avoid me by acting in pretense; 

truth is, no one ever escaped from my sting...

Awake, alert life is short

Invest life for something divine

Reach the un-reached, love the unloved

For that is what matter at the end of all times...

I am an ambassador of God...to drive you HOME...         

May life envelope you ...in abundance of God’s LOVE...

Reconnecting Theology and Spirituality...

Karl Rahner: Aware of the great danger, a gap between lived piety and abstract theology. Hence, his concern was to bridge this gap with the help of scripture and the church doctrines. With the help these two tools scripture and church doctrines we can illumine our experience and thus be guided in our spiritual journey. He aimed to show, how the scripture can illumine our living and the teaching of the church to guide our daily life. Thus theology as a whole can help people to build a relationship with Christ. Therefore, he even emphasized that theology should be scientific so that it could be relevant to the changing times and thus be a source of spiritual inspiration. Such a theology will answer the questions and the doubts of the changing times. Likewise it will be a rich heritage of the Christian tradition that avails the spiritual needs of the faithful.   

Rahner emphasizes how theology has a correlation task: First of all theology should show the specific Christian doctrines in a simple and lucid manner how it can illumine and guide the human living. This correlation is about how it sets up a conversation between the Christian tradition which both reveals and conceals the mystery and the particular culture. This correlation concerns the people of the times how they engage in a dialogue and search to understand the dimensions of truth. In this quest for truth the Christian tradition encounters the culture to ask important questions that rally matter to them. In this encounter the Christian tradition meets a point to understand and analyse both healthy and destructive cultural trends. After this encounter the theology ought to refocus on the tradition in order to respond accurately to the relevant questions and challenges and to interpret doctrines as a way of making them intelligible and credible to the science of the times.

Rahner as a theologian focused on how to preserve the organic unity of theology: according to him the theological task is to present the Christian faith as a comprehensive and integrated way of life. In this task we must be clear that Christianity is not a collection of abstract doctrines, strange rituals and practices; rather it is a way that responds to the deepest longings of the heart. It is not an intellectual philosophical trend but a commitment to a living person. Because Rahner says that all the mysteries of Christian faith, doctrines, creeds and ritual practices point to the gracious mystery revealed in Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is a noble task of the theology to show that all the expressions of Christian faith are organically connected in a unified symbol (Jesus Christ) that provides meaning and purpose of human adventure/living. 

Rahner’s goal was to present the core of the faith in a way that makes divine revelation credible and enables believers to make it their own. He really wanted to provide an intellectually honest vindication of Christian faith as a whole and to make it accessible to people. Therefore, his summary work, Foundations of Christian Faith, is a perfect response that serves the purpose of the above mentioned task. Besides this he gives a new concept “Transcendental reflection” by which we are invited to ponder the experiences that reveal our limitations and orientations to transcendence. This transcendental thrust is natural to everyone. That challenge according to him is not to seek the answers for the questions rather to live our life humbly accepting both joys and sufferings of daily life including the monster called death. Thus the Christians are invited to live a life of faith having Jesus at the centre of our life; that is the source of all the mysteries, doctrines and creeds emerge.

Rahner says that all theology and Christian living is nourished by prayer and worship. Therefore, the words of Hans Urs von Balthasar, “theology done ‘on one’s knees’ rather than sitting at one’s desk” are indeed true. For this way of doing theology according to Balthasar the prerequisites are an act of adoration of God, a prayerful dialogue with Christ and a receptive listening to the Holy Spirit. By the praxis of these spiritual elements, an individual is opened to the true nature and the power of the person of Jesus Christ. This way of doing is in no different from those Christian saints who were devoted to Christ listening to him on their knees. Thus we can develop a spirituality that Rahner desired for; that is to guide and criticize all Christian living so that all Christians tomorrow may become the mystics of the spirit rather than practising Christianity on annual occasions. Thus Rahner was convinced that by this he could bridge the gap between theology and spirituality.

Spirituality as an Academic Discipline

Spirituality as an academic discipline simply means to have a spiritual dialogue with theology rather than an intellectual and argumentative dialogue that would never come to any conclusion. Hence, the Biblical Scholar Sandra Schneiders tells that the academic discipline of Christian spirituality should investigate the spiritual experiences of self-transcendence in an interdisciplinary way having biblical insights as a motivating force and with the help of history, psychology and other human sciences. By this way we can gain the knowledge and the wisdom of other religions, sciences and life experiences for our holistic and integrated Christian living. Thus we are drawn to find meaning, fulfilment and happiness in the ordinary activities of daily life. Thus Schneiders draws wisely the difference between theology and spirituality. Thus she makes us clear how theology has an obligation to help spirituality to develop criteria for judging the authenticity of religious experiences and thus to strive for a balanced approach to the mysteries of Christian faith.

Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984) another Jesuit Theologian of the 20^th Century provides the basis for another approach to bridge the gap between theology and spirituality. Two books to his credit Insight and Method in Theology explain elaborately of the methodology, the patterns and the systems involved in human growth. He says that we are self-transcendent creatures with a drive for more knowledge, better values and deeper love having composed of emotional, intellectual and religious dimensions and finding meaning in our own particular context, situation and the culture heritage.

However, Lonergan gives five general principles or “transcendental precepts” to guide the process of our spiritual growth; namely; to be attentive to the human experiences, to be intelligent by cultivating an inquiring mind and thus probing experience in depth; to be reasonable by marshalling evidence and judging the validity of insights; to be responsible by acting on valid insights; and to be loving by following the example of Christ. Thus Lonergan gives a way of deeper spiritual life by following these five principles. This theological analysis of Lonergan sets up a dynamic interplay between theology and spirituality. This Lonergan analysis of spirituality stands as a perfect parallel to the Theological Reflection proposed by Robert Kinast; that is to have a conversation between experience and the Christian tradition with a view to personal conversion. Thus by this mutual critical discussion and dialogue Christian wisdom may confirm, challenge, clarify or expand our understanding of both our experience and our faith tradition. What is needed for this dialogue is a prayerful heart, an open mind and a commitment to become authentic Disciples of Christ. 

To Conclude: The Lonergan’s five principles draw us a lot of insights; Attentive, Intelligent, Reason, Responsible and Love by these five principles we can approach religion (theology) and life (experience) for better understanding of our life of faith. Thus we are not blinded by our culture and history rather upheld by them and the other disciples so that we gain new insights into our experience. Thus theology and spirituality blend together for a holistic living of the individuals into freedom and wisdom. In this mutual dialogue human experience receives guidance from the Christian tradition and influences for better understating.

It is a summary of a point on Reconnecting theology and Spirituality...Part One: Spirituality and Theology...by James J. BACIK 

God bless you and draw yourself closer to God....in your daily activities....

MERCY; A Compassionate Cry...

The solemn proclamation of the Jubillee Year of Mercy by Pope Francis is a blessing for all the Christians across the world. It is an opportunity for us to be compassionate towards our neighbours. For, it is the hallmark of Christianity to love all despite of the differences of creed, community and complexion. From here emerges Mercy as the concept of Christian Identity. For, God himself was merciful towards His chosen race Israel. Right from the beginning of the Bible; from the book of Genesis to Revelation we see God’s mercy flowing at every moment in the life of Israel; from the fall of our first parents up to now...

            On the contrary humanity has been projecting itself odd and indifferent to God’s unconditional Mercy; be it Crusades, Jihads, Holy Wars, Inquisitions, World Wars, Fundamentalism, Racism, Immorality and Inequality. Unfortunately these negative elements are also the effects of our civilization. This unveils how humanity has been progressing but in a wrong way. As a result we have developed a conscience that backs us to live anyhow and somehow provided we thrive in life. How sinful it is to live with this attitude?  

Thus our inclination to sin made us forget that in the name of Jesus we have redemption and forgiveness. Despite of our sin and frailties, God is loving and forgiving. Scriptures tell us “God loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” Jesus in his short span of life showed us the forgiving face of the Father. The nature of the father is to give and forgive. To which our response shall be Submission and Surrender no matter how wretched is our soul and how wicked is our mind. Because, Jesus tells us that he “came not for the righteous but for the sinners.” This is how God wished to reach the unreached. How fortunate we are to have such a loving God?  

To Be Merciful Like the Father...

Jesus’ life mirrors the compassionate heart of the father who never abandons us. He longs for us to come home, no matter in what situation we are in. St James 4:8 challenges us to “draw close to God and He will draw near to you.”  Jesus in his blood, passion and death has won life and forgiveness for us. He showed us on the cross God’s love and mercy. No doubt, every cross speaks to us of the love of Jesus for us. Unfortunately we fail to listen to the Cry of Jesus, for Mercy, for forgiveness and for Compassion. Scriptures tell us that “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Isaiah 60: 1. Therefore, his cry on the cross is truly a cry of Compassion and Mercy. How blessed are we to be loved unconditionally?

Once in Heaven, as God the Father was going for his walk, St Peter came running and asked God, the scriptures say that “your love is unconditional,” If so why there is no place for devil in heaven? God smiled at Peter and said, “My love is Unconditional and my Mercy is in abundance, but then the devil never asked me for pardon.” Yes friends, God is full of love and compassion. It is our duty to approach him and receive love and forgiveness. Because God’s nature is to give, give and forgive. We need to be humble and sincere to ourselves. For, when we are sincere, God will bless us abundantly. The fact is that without the love and mercy of God nothing is possible. It is God’s mercy and kindness that keeps the human world afloat; because His mercy is an assurance of Grace and love. (Ephe 1: 7, in him we have redemption and through his blood the forgiveness of sins.   

  

Very often young people ask questions like, why does God love human beings? And why does he command us to love? I believe the answer is simple; the fruit of love is to love back. Hence, God loves us and forgives us that we may love and forgive our fellow brothers and sisters. God is merciful to us that we may be merciful to others. This is exactly the purpose of God’s goodness and kindness. If we are keen about the Ten Commandments, of which first three are related to God and the seven are related to our neighbour; because it is not enough to love God but that love of God should be shared and experienced with our brothers and sisters in everyday life. This is why our Rector’s Major invites us through the Strenna of the Year “With Jesus, let us adventure in the Spirit together,” (with our brothers and sisters).

I wish that this Jubilee Year of Mercy be a Grace at our disposal to GIVE ourselves to the other and thus may we become the agents of MERCY and LOVE like Jesus who cried compassionately for Mercy.