Benefits of being Jesus

Listening to Paul's letters these days in the readings, to the various early Christian communities I wonder it must have been a very exciting adventure for Paul to write all this stuff.  He certainly was writing those things for a people who were new to the teachings of Christ and most of whom did not know or even hear of Jesus.  Most of his text was for all people, the common folk; certainly not the theologians and highly learned. 

All of this makes me wonder, if the task of Jesus was easier or that of Paul, just the teaching bit?  Jesus taught off hand, used parables, spoke of things which everyone understood - of course, he also dropped in a few lines once in a way which none understood, then and even now!  Comparatively Paul's text is so heavy!  In one sense it appears Jesus was more direct and simple in his teaching.  The rest who followed Jesus and wrote extensively about him, made matters so complex and dense!   

Moving a step further, I envy Jesus - he did not have to break his head with mere thoughts! He had matters of daily living to grapple with.  He was more about living than thinking!  

Witness

The ongoing meeting of the formators (postnovitiate stage) of East and South Asia in Thailand, seems an interesting one.  Am reminded of the formation meetings I attended years ago.  Some of them were very challenging.  Not just the content but it was more about looking into ourselves.  The shift from focusing on what we should be telling and doing with our students to who we ourselves should be, made a big impact on me.

For quite sometime it was all about information: what we should do, how we should form the students, rules, policies, documents... and all that.  But at some point it struck me that if I am not that ideal person or atleast not making the effort to become the ideal one I'm trying to form, then how can I expect my student to be so?  Then on the meetings were more of forming myself rather than 'becoming a formator'.   Be and thereby form.  Or better, 'witnessing as formation'.  Was reminded of the same this morning when I read a statement made on behalf of a formee, from the ongoing meeting in Thailand.

Today we will say, what you are telling us. But tomorrow we will do, what you are doing now!

Needs and wants

Knowing the need and thereby shaping our wants is the ideal way forward.  Our liturgies and devotional practices are basically meant to help us come close to God.  But at times they become so repetitive that they lose their meaning.  On the other hand, they become repetitive because people find them meaningful.  However if our focus is on the need, then the want to have something 'usual' is fine.  However if our focus is merely on maintaining the 'usual' rather than the need, then we tend to miss the point. 

When we eat food, we consume it to sustain our physical well being and carry out our daily tasks.  Energy is our need.  Steak is our want.  Indeed steak gives energy, but if we are so stuck on steak we tend to forget that there are other foods too which give us energy.  And from common experience we know even if one desires steak much, one does not have it for meal everyday!  Knowing our real deep inner needs and fulfilling them is more important than merely going by our wants. 

Creativity in liturgy and what some call 'healthy distraction' during Mass does not make us less Catholic, as long as it helps all of us grow deeper in our love and communion with God.

Prejudice

An interesting forward I received today.  Certainly an exaggeration but does contain more than a bit of truth.  

A world survey was conducted. The only question asked was: "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"
The survey was a huge failure.  In Africa, they didn't know what 'food' meant.  In India they didn't know what 'honest' meant.  In Europe they didn't know what 'shortage' meant.  In China, they didn't know what 'opinion' meant.  In the Middle East they didn't know what 'solution' meant.  In South America they didn't know what 'please' meant.  And in the USA they didn't know what 'rest of the world' meant.  

Self talk

When I heard the gospel this morning, it sounded as if it was meant for me - a bit scary!  The gospel about the talents, the servants and the king.  The one who received five made five more; the one with two made two more.  The one with only one hid it and faced the wrath of the master. 

When I had a hundred and one things to do, I did them all well - at least, I think so.  Even when I had less of pressure, I still found things to do - and did them all pretty well.  Now that I have only one thing to do, I'm wondering what I'm doing.

Is it the fear of what the outcome is going to be?  Is it that I may not reach up to the expectations of others?  But who 'others'?  All those who know me, love and care about me, anyhow.  They are not looking for results to love me better.  And there is no competition as such either, that I need to strive for!  Lethargy, may be.  But why? 

God loves everyone

The writing of Paul to the Corinthians about God choosing the weak, instead of the strong, the foolish instead of the wise can be interpreted as a 'privilege' by the clergy, the religious.  Unfortunately!

Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.

I've heard many a priests and religious use this quote to praise God for having gifted them with a religious or priestly vocation, in spite of not being the most brightest or best in his or her age group or village or class.  However, the passage can be used for better purposes.  The one that I like is where it can be used to prove that God stands by the weak, the marginalised, those ostracised and abandoned.  He is there with them.  However I would prefer the other version that occurred to me this morning.  That God in choosing the weak and the foolish, is expressing his love for all!  In choosing those less humanly gifted he is balancing the equation among the human beings so that we may complement one another for the good of all.  Rather than see God as loving some more (either the chosen or the 'abandoned') than the others, God when seen from this perspective loves all - equally!  Those not chosen are not bad people! Neither are those chosen good people!  It is just that God wishes the best for each one and therefore offers a level platform where each one can contribute his or her might and thereby complement one another for the good of all. 

In word and deed

Another news article that certainly needs attention and wider circulation: New Zealand politician cycles to hospital to give birth

Basically for several reasons:

• To show that motherhood does not mean the end of every other aspect of life for a woman.  That women have the right and the ability to carry on working even after giving birth, while taking care of the children.  Reiterating the fact that women are far more capable of multitasking than men.  
• The Prime Minister of the country and another politician of the same country, both women, go to a public hospital for giving birth to their respective children - not some posh, private hospital, just because one is in power. 
• The associate transport minister of the country riding to the hospital for delivering her child - deeds backing up words and promises! 
• Last but perhaps a very strange reason: these politicians are defying the universal characteristics of politicians! They are showing that politicians are not corrupt, selfish, power-hungry, lazy... (add every other vice under the sun!).  

Too much!

Three of the news items hitting the BBC top news list of today and what a contrast! 

There is the severe floods in Kerala and the destruction it has brought about.  Then there is the devastating drought in Australia.  Two places suffering from two extremes of weather and climate.  If only the rains were to fall in Australia and the sun shine down bright and hard on Kerala...!!  

The third news item is in stark contrast to the other two nonetheless shows what happens when we have plenty!  The news is about how one third of the vegetable and fruit produce never make it to the supermarkets in Europe, all because they are not the perfect shape and size or not good looking.  Consumers won't pick up those and supermarkets don't want to take in these fruits and vegetables from the farmers.  So what is the fate of these 'misshapen' produce? Thrown away as waste!

The most disgraceful aspect of the news itself was the use of words such as "ugly", "misshapen", "wonky", "blemished", "wrong size" to describe how the fruits and vegetables look!  Really?  I wonder if the floods of Kerala and the drought of Australia were to happen here, would people still go by the looks of the produce? 

It's not easy

A brief chat with one of my school mates stuck in the floods of Kerala revealed to me how difficult life can be for people with families and responsibilities to suddenly think of alternative ways of living.  The usual hour or so journey from his office to his home took him two days!  With some suggesting that he move out of Kerala for a couple of weeks, his only reply was, "It's not easy to leave!"

What he meant was not the actual situation of flood or lack of transportation.  He actually meant leaving behind every material possession and even the thought of whom to take along when leaving, made leaving all the more impossible.  He not only needs to see to his own wife and two kids, there is also his parents, his in-laws and others around.  Decisions about whom to send off first, where to and how to are not easy. 

For a religious like me, I'd be ready with my whole life possessions within half an hour.  But I tried to recreate the same scenario if I'm with a hundred children and a huge house.  There is no question of leaving!  The children are the first priority, but where do I send them to and even if I do manage to send them somewhere I also need to keep track of them!  Add to these children those in the neighbourhood who come to your place because their situation is far worse than ours!  Loss of property can be dealt with but how does one cope with loss of life, that too of a dear one.  What to do with the corpse?  How does the family cope with that loss? 

It's not easy!

Holy wells and rags

Chatting with Fr Sean after Mass this morning, I heard for the first time the tradition of tying pieces of cloth or thread around trees and bushes in the Catholic tradition.  I've heard and seen it being practiced very much among the Hindus in India. However, never knew that even among Catholics there is a similar tradition - and perhaps for the same purpose.  People tie pieces of thread or colourful cloth pieces around tree branches or bushes as a sort of intention, either for oneself or for someone else.  Fr Sean said that this was a popular practice of piety when he was a boy in Ireland, especially on a feast day like today, the Assumption.  People would go in procession or just visit the holy wells, recite the rosary have a sort of prayer service and carry out this ritual before returning home.  It is said that the wells reminded the Christians of the pool of Siloam and the rags tied to the trees as prayers for some healing.  However, this tradition could be dating back to the Romans, before Christianity.

Well, that's new information! Lovely to hear of this affinity between worship and nature in the Christian tradition.   Did some search on the net and read something more about this great connection here!  Most surprised to hear for the first time of this tradition of tying rags to trees in the Catholic tradition.