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It was the time Walt Disney's Lion King was released in India. BPL had sponsored the film and all the shops selling BPL appliances were festooned with colourful posters of Lion King. Everywhere you walked, you could be sure of running into one of these posters. That was the time I happened to listen to a song with a similar title, a song so beautiful that I was thrilled the very first time I heard it. It remains one of my favourite songs. The song is Graham Kendrick's Servant King.
Jesus is the Servant King. A King who knelt down and washed the feet of His sinful subjects. A King who spread His arms and died for His wretched subjects. A King who was the servant of His people, and who exhorts us to be the same. The essence of Christian witnessing is service to others. This service reflects the saving grace of Jesus in us and makes us effective ambassadors of Christ. The Servant King taught us not to be served, but to serve. The point is, what exactly does it mean "to serve"?. Christian service, in today's context, may cover the material, emotional and even spiritual needs of our fellow-men. However, there is a far greater need that has to be catered to.
Mankind, by its very nature craves for acceptance. Any person, no matter what his or her temperament feels the need to belong. To be part of a larger group. From the time Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden, there is a lingering fear of rejection in every human being. To counter that, he or she will do almost anything to be accepted. Youngsters, too, face a form of this malaise in peer pressure. Man's hunger for fame and fortune is a dimension of this very real compulsion. This is a legitimate need. We cannot deny it. Therefore we should make every effort to meet this terrible longing for acceptance.
It would indeed be unfortunate if, in the midst of our ministry, we were to forget the very basic fact that we are serving very human individuals, with all their insecurities, who need to be lifted up and made secure. We can do that by seeing that they are allowed to use their potential to the fullest wherever they are. In short, we should not get caught in the trap of trying do everything ourselves, and deprive others of the chance to serve the Lord, and there upon get a feeling of being an integral part of the family of God. Far too many people are languishing in the absence of proper encouragement and support.
Spare a thought for the fellows on the sidelines. Give them a hand! This would be the highest service we would be doing to our fellow Christians.
The Winning Combination: Part 2
The power of Christ is shown through the gifts of the Holy Spirit whereas the character of Christ is displayed through the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Refer Galatians 5:13-26).
The fruit of Holy Spirit always comes from, by and because of the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Christian believer. The fruit is not something we can produce by our own effort.
Isaiah 58:11 and Jeremiah 31:12 speak of God's people as a watered garden. For fruit to grow, the good soil must be continually watered.
Jesus provided for the watering when He said, "Out of your innermost being, shall flow life giving water. [Jn 7:38,39]
By praying with the Holy Spirit, our personal garden will receive all the water it needs, with much overflow for others.
There's even more we can do. Paul tells us we can put on the fruit of the Spirit. This implies that we can also take it off. Once the fruit is put on, let us be careful not to take it off, ever!
Growing fruit is up to the Lord; putting it on is up to us. Our willingness to stay clothed in all the nine fruit of the Spirit ensures the character of Jesus Christ dwells in us.
After making the sign of the Cross, we go on to the Penitential Rite, wherein we are reminded of our obligation as God's people and we seek pardon for the sins we have committed. There are really 3 sections to the penitential rite; the accusation, the confession and the pardon.
Accusation
The offended party, (In the Eucharist, the priest on God's behalf), summons the wrong doer, reminds the offender of his obligations and reproves him for his shortcomings. This is the part where the priest invites the people to examine their consciences.
Confession
During this time a space for silence is provided, so that those present may specifically call to mind their more important or recent faults. The sinner recognizes his faults and asks the pardon of God.
Pardon
Pardon is offered to the sinner, but the pardon is announced in the form of a petition. God does not sit as a judge to condemn the sinner, he comes as the offended God to reconcile humanity to Himself.
Even as we study the penitential rite we remember, that the rite is not the act of isolated individuals. It is not something that takes place between individuals and God. It is not that we meet in some place, by chance and say the same words to save time. Characteristic of the penitential rite in the Eucharist is the communitarian dimension. The responsibility of sin lies on the entire community, including our ancestors. Each person considers himself to be one with the others in bearing the weight of the people's sin. It is wonderful that united in confession of common sin, the scattered people feel themselves as one.
See His Face, Hear His Voice ...
A renowned theologian, once posed a question, "What is your call?" to a very knowledgeable and enlightened Christian audience. He got direct, one word answers like priest, evangelist, pastor, lawyer, engineer, social worker, housewife, etc., from the audience. They were all partially correct, yet he mentioned that none of them had given the right answer. He then pointed to them Acts 22:14 where Ananias tells St. Paul, "The God of our fathers appointed you to know His will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from His mouth".
This, the theologian said, is our basic call (like that of St. Paul): to see His face, hear His voice and to know His will. Ananias later on went on to spell out St. Paul's mission (or ministry), "to be a witness for Him to all men" [Acts 22:15]. Hence, it is quite clear that one's ministry (even if it is a special one where God uses an individual mightily), is not the basic call. But, "to see His face, to hear His voice and to know His will". To abide in Jesus, to have fellowship with God is man's primary call. This profound Christian truth should not only be understood by the mind, but also be grasped by the heart, for the Word has to become flesh.
In present times, a great Renewal of the Church is taking place. As a result, people who were hitherto spiritually lukewarm , have suddenly become active in different ministries for furthering the Kingdom of God. There is much talk and action concerning Ministry.
In the midst of all this activity we should not forget the our basic call. This sometimes can happen, very subtly, if one fails to realise that one's ministry is only secondary to his or her basic call as a disciple to "see His face, hear His voice and to know His will".
Question From You
If God is so good, why is there so much suffering in the world?
How do we reconcile the existence of a just loving and merciful God with the evil, injustice and suffering which are so common in the world today?
Most of the evil in the world are caused by people. Most human tragedies are the result of the absence or misuse of the freedom of will which is one of God's greatest gifts to us.
Since the beginning of the human race, people have abused the gifts of intelligence and freedom. Often people have caused the horrors of war, conflicts, automobile accidents, terrorism and in many cases have been the cause of landslips and famine too. We have to realize that this is a fallen world and we are responsible for the state of this world. The Garden of Eden that God created was a perfect place. Death and suffering came to this world through the sin of Adam and Eve. Mankind continues in the way of Adam and Eve and suffering is an integral part of our life.
We may say that the misery caused by purely natural disasters cannot be attributed to human folly - nor can the deaths of the young from disease. We have no answer to these tragedies - they are mysteries due to our ignorance of God's plan. However we can be sure of one thing - they are a result of man's fall from grace due to the sin of Adam, (or, to put it in other words, the collective sin of mankind.)
But human suffering is not always the evil we think it is. In Jesus' case, his suffering was life giving and produced great good for humanity. Our suffering, too, can be a time of growth and redemption. Christians should be in a much better position than others to reflect on suffering, as we have learned to reflect on Jesus' death on the cross.
I was raised a Protestant, but I did not think about religion much, as I was growing up. Then, in college, turning to Buddhism and Hinduism , I abandoned Christianity altogether.
Later, during my first year of teaching, I concluded that there was no God. In my second year of teaching, I drove to visit a friend, who also was a teacher. While there, I attended a fundamentalist Bible Study and had a religious experience.
I came home, joined a fundamentalist church, and church-hopped for 12 years. Disillusioned with the last church I attended, I took a bike ride that changed my life.I rode my bicycle past a convent where two nuns were picking fruit. I stopped to help and was invited back.
I did return, attended religious classes and fell in love with the Catholic Church!
I couldn't commit myself, though, because I had believed each church was the right one for me. Was this latest attraction to faith just another phase?
One spring Saturday morning, not long after meeting those sisters, I awoke and had a talk with God. I decided not get out of bed until I decided whether to join the Catholic Church, or church-hop forever. After much deliberation, I decided to join the Church. I walked as if on air, when I went to my phone to call the Sisters and tell them.
I have been Catholic for ten years now. My life, as a result is full and rich.
NIRMAL RAJ
"India is a top country in communications" says Terry, an American poetess who has come to India to study and help blind orphans. Bill Gates knows this too. Telephone, Cellular Phone, Pager, Fax, E-Mail, Internet, World Wide Web, Satellite Television, Video Conferencing etc. have made our planet A GLOBAL VILLAGE. Just by picking up the receiver you can contact any one from anywhere. Communication has become instant. The question here is, have all these advanced modes of telecommunication helped us to share the good news of Jesus to our neighbours? Has the good news reached everyone? Have we taken advantage of the technology for the purpose of Evangelisation, for which the Church (you and me) exists?
A Missionary once went to a remote village in the African Jungles and started preaching the Gospels. At the end of the day he distributed some Bibles. The village chief came forward and asked him "Tell me something, where and when did this Jesus live?".
"2000 years ago" said the priest. "2000 years ago!" exclaimed the village chief "Some days ago we celebrated my son's wedding. And just by beating the drums we sent the message to the furthest village in this vast jungle. All the village heads came for the feast and we had a great celebration. But the good news that God came down on this earth to save us from our sins took 2000 years to reach our village? It cannot be good news. Please take your Bible and leave us... "
RELIGION IS CAUGHT, NOT TAUGHT
We can only love Jesus through other people. There is no other way. We get opportunities all the time to be able to show Jesus to people by our demonstration of concrete love in action. If we are sincere in our efforts to do this for the Lord and if we are prepared to open our doors and to practise the poverty of oneness, He will put those people on our paths from all parts of the world because He knows we are His genuine workers. After all, didn't a holy saint called Madeleine Sophie Barat remind us that "One soul saved is worth more than our lives".
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