Bp Sebastian Adayanthrath

For Vision and Meaning
Father Richard Rohr, an American Franciscan priest once said “Our people are dying for lack of vision, for lack of transcendent meaning to their soul and their struggles”. When I am faced with the question whether India needs Christ; I would strongly say that India needs Christ for he talked about a vision and life as a celebration of cosmic proportions and a dance of joy. Jesus brings to us a different kind of life paradigm. He talks to every one as his own brother and sister. Even to his disciples who come to betray him, he addresses him as his brother. India badly needs Christ in a multifaceted society where strong divisions in the name of religion, caste, creed, colour and language exist.
Even with the best of intentions in our world, given our different temperaments, our cultural backgrounds, the way we process our data information and prejudices, when we propose our regional differences it is inevitable that we are going to step on one another’s toes. A great community with absolutely good will and intentions can hurt one another. Good people hurt one another because we all come to reality in different ways. That is why Jesus always talked about forgiveness, asking pardon, and being available to one another to experience the beautiful gift of being human and alive. Jesus, often during his discourses, said that to achieve union is through failure, vulnerability and repair, because people are going to hurt one another in the name of caste, religion, creed or colour. Jesus frees us from all that chains us and we need him very much in India today.

Commercialization of every institution
Recently we witnessed the commercialization of every institution including the fields of education and medical care. For many centuries much of our Catholic energy was spent on education and medical care with the simple aim of serving the people and those most in need. We too are forced to follow this “corporate” route for the reason we will be wiped out if we do not follow the same procedures followed by the big multinational companies. There is a lot of control that each institution is exerting on the society. Smaller and meaningful endeavours are asked to change or to diminish.
Jesus shared with us that what most people call power is another word of control. When I need to see that actions are done in my way, I might have control over passing events, but that is not power in any full sense. Real persons of power can act, succeed or thrive even when they do not have control. Power is the ability to act from the fullness of who I am, the capacity to establish and maintain a relationship with people and things and the freedom to give myself away. Jesus taught this principle in a beautiful way through his teachings, actions, life, death and resurrection. Our institutions should make this reality of Jesus the core of their objectives and the situations will begin to change. We can continue to exist, influence and assist even without commercialising our institutions without following models which are highly profit driven, power oriented and above all lacking in humanity and celebration of human life.

India is very unequal, top 10% holds 57% of the national income
The latest economic survey on India is very alarming. The top 10% of the people hold 57% of the national income. It continues to be a country of the poor where people are daily seeking out for the very basic necessities of life: a safe habitat for staying, clean drinking water for thirst, at least two meals a day for their hunger, basic medicines for their wellbeing. The poor are not asking for much but their situation continues to worsen as the world is hit by the ongoing COVID viruses, economic slowdowns, diminishing share markets, and the extraordinary ambition shown by the wealthy to acquire even more.
The life and teachings of Christ are a real necessity for India since this country gave birth to people who believed in simplicity and lived out their simplicity. We are reminded of a man like Gandhi who wore very little, ate so simple and travelled in an ordinary way. The life and teachings of Jesus, if they are lived out by the Christian community, can become a beautiful example to India and the world.
The fact that Christ was born in a manger, lived a simple life as a worker in Nazareth, wandered among the poorest people in his country and ate with them is the most prominent teachings and message of the gospel. The challenge is whether his disciples like me can replicate those gospel values in our lives so that we become good news for people. I live in a village setting in Karnataka and I firmly believe that many people who live around me live a New Testament life even though they are not part of the Christian faith. They work hard but live a simple life. Their food habits are very elegant, their fasting are exemplary and they follow their conscience in dealing with others. They do not want to amass at all. We live in a culture which is ready for Christ but can they see Christ through me?

Jesus is the most liberating force in the human society
Jesus movement came to human history as the most liberating force with a call to break away from everything that is inhuman for the reason that we are created in the image and likeness of God who is most free. Jesus brings liberation to everyone from economic, social, religious and cultural strife. India and its people badly need such power to be seen in their rulers, their officials and in their religious leaders. In other words the religious movement is meant to be a liberative movement. Human persons join with God to create that heavenly experience here on earth. Jesus inaugurated this mission for the whole of humanity.
Many in our society are trying their best to gain power to keep people in their control. We see this at the electoral ballots, we see this in the appointment of officers to the higher offices, we see this even in our church structures. Power without love is highly unbalanced and it hurts human beings. We are not letting it go. The purpose of letting go is to freely lay hold of something.

Jesus is the builder of communal harmony
What we have witnessed in the last two decades is the erosion of communal harmony in the Indian subcontinent. Communities are seen as a vote bank for various political parties and they are being used to clash with each other. On a cultural level, there is a tremendous amount of marginalisation among various communities. On the economic level the gap is widening which is exasperating the very core of communal harmony. Even the various religious groups are failing to promote communal harmony. There is an increasing fear of feeling intimidated and misunderstood.
Jesus stands out in the history of humanity as an elegant leader of community building. Jesus loved telling stories about the realities of life and some of the best characters in his story are men and women from other faiths. Whenever he saw a temptation of destructive behaviours, he reprimanded his disciples and talked about a kingdom of love. He openly criticised people especially religious leaders who used their position to marginalize other communities. He consistently crossed the barriers without any fear when he spoke to a Samaritan woman asking her for a cup of water and held a beautiful religious conversation with her for a long time.
Indian culture can learn a lot from Jesus Christ who taught his disciples about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity. For him the human person came first rather than any religious practises or burnt offering. He shared with us that God will be present among us when we are of one heart and one mind. He was willing to pay a huge price for what he stood for. For him God’s love had no boundaries. He consistently talked about the unconditional love of the father. He taught us to believe in a God who loves us long before any sin we commit and long after every sin we ever commit. He openly shared with the people of his time that the embrace of God is very wide. Back in the 13th century, Julian of Norwich put that fact so beautifully when she said “God sits in the centre of heaven, smiling, his face completely relaxed, looking like a marvellous symphony”.

Jesus the teacher of the path
For many people, including me, Jesus is often seen as a problem solver. I come across various problems and challenges in my daily life and I instantly run up to him saying, Jesus kindly resolve this problem for me. It took me a long time to realise that Jesus is my saviour and he is a teacher of the path. I need to walk in the path shown by him and then I will begin to see life as he saw it, enjoy the company of the “little people” as he did and work for those who have “practically nothing in life” as he stood for those who were hungry. In other words Jesus teaches me that my life is usable for God. I need not be effective, but I should try to be more transparent, vulnerable and fully human. God has a capacity to take it from there, and I slowly begin to learn there is not much point in comparing who is better, who is right, who is higher or who is lower. I slowly become his follower and bring salvation to others because there is a transformation at every level. India can use this image very strongly since the very core of India is seeking for God in everything in the stones, in the flowers, in the rivers and in the sages.

What has Christianity received from India: Living in the present moment
Christianity can learn from India how to live in the present moment which is real. The freedom to live in the present requires that you be free from the present. Indian sages always talked about this freedom. In their language to truly give yourself to right now, today, you have to embrace the vision of your whole lifetime-time and eternity. Indian culture talks about letting it go. Your identity is from God and you enjoy the divine perspective. One person’s lack of recognition of me or criticism of me is not going to destroy me. Indian Christianity can learn from this teaching that it can become a religious reference point that simultaneously grounds you and frees you. Indian sages always talked about the inner freedom that we are called to achieve. Indian sages always believed that you find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realising who you are.

Absolute trust in God
India teaches us to have absolute trust in God. Much of India is still poor and ekes out a daily living through hard work. Many of the human dreams are not fulfilled. We go through life often depending on the mercy of God and in His divine providence. This kind of trust often builds human relationships. I depend on others for my life and for the use of my talents. There is an interdependency between me and my brothers and sisters. They teach me and I learn from them. As someone rightly put it, you should live like you cannot afford a piece of bread until you realise that you own the bakery. It is humility that Christianity can learn from India. I am alive because of the very mercy of God.
Due to India’s multifaceted culture, language and people it teaches us that our only way to know God is through our humanity. That should be our road to enlightenment. The hope people carry in the midst of heartaches and troubles, the love they give out in the midst of absolute poverty, the kindness they show even when their situation is so pathetic, the forgiveness they show while we are enjoying a better standard of living, tells me that the only way to know God is through our humanity. This enlightenment should lead one to work for justice; to become a voice for the voiceless, a harbinger of hope even where the situation does not show much possibility.

Hospitality versus hostility
Human nature continues to be hostile unless we mould our ego and learn that we live in a friendly world. Having travelled throughout different regions in India and in turn coming to know various people who speak different languages, one main facet of Indian soil is its hospitality. Christianity can learn a lot from this primary value which was the crucial Christian trait in the first century of Christianity. Hospitality is not only being hospitable to someone who has no home or who does not have a meal etc., it also means the path of reconciliation. We humans often prefer to live in a world of black and white where we create enemies because that keeps our own group together. The hospitality of India breaks the patterns of hate. This is seen through the various movements in India which are promoting hospitality; sharing the land and asking forgiveness for the crimes committed against a group of people, etc. Christianity can join these kinds of movements and be a transforming force in any society and most especially in today’s Indian context.