Christ is Born for All!

For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!  Isaiah 30:18

What is Christmas?  Is it something that only Christians can celebrate?  It is better to ponder over this question as we celebrate Christmas this year since we live in a pluralistic society in India. Christmas invites us to enter a world larger and more complex than the intimate scene of a crib, a stable, an infant and a pair of adoring parents. If, as we believe, Christmas celebrates God’s irrevocable choice of our world as the place where salvation happens socially, then our concern must reach beyond our personal boundaries. According to Aloy Cartagenas, “the unredeemed economic and unrestricted consumerism have made Christmas a commercial success but a theological disaster.” Justice as a social concern at Christmas is not a negligible trifle; it is central to the meaning of the season. Christmas celebrates the ultimate liberation of human beings through the flesh in Jesus Christ and hence justice to and liberation of oppressed people has something vital to do with our Christmas celebration. 

By taking birth in a human form Jesus identifies himself humbly and fully with humanity’s sinful, guilt-ridden conditions. He stands with all human beings who look for a radical change of heart and life, who carve liberation from the power of sin and evil, who seek release from all forms oppression—religious, political, social and economic and who seek to establish justice.  Therefore, as a Christian congregation, we become our best selves when we accept the challenge of community infected with injustice and hatred. As the Christian community in India, having been subject to communal violence and religious persecution, we tend to limit our attention to the search for justice and intimacy among our own members.  But Christ, the Prince of Peace, reminds us that we must be prepared to take up the cross, standing against evil and injustice wherever they exist. This may seem like a harsh message for the Christmas season, but in fact it is the church’s message at all times, in all seasons.

Christmas calls us back to its origin by remembering Jesus’ as a human child, a prophet of God’s reign and judgment. What we celebrate during this season is the beginning of a decisive new phase in the tempestuous history of God’s hunger for human companions.  These companions may have been fragmented into different faith groups in a country like ours. Therefore, dialogue with people of other faiths is important as social concerns of the season are rooted in Jesus’ proclamation of God’s reign: justice to the poor.

Wish you all a meaningful Christmas and a challenging New Year!

Kasta Dip

Serving a Communitarian God

In the November 2011 issue of North India Church Review we are discussing what it means for the church to be a community, and how we can build and maintain a sense of community in the church. Why is this topic important? In our country, social bonds have been steadily eroding. People are less connected, less involved, less active in their communities. They participate less in organizations and groups of every kind than they did a generation ago. The “glue” that hold our society together, something academics call “social capital,” has been getting weaker and weaker. In short, every objective measure of participation in civic life is declining. 

We cannot deny the fact that there are forces in our society which are pulling people apart, isolating them, and making it more difficult for them to come together in community. And we as a church in this society, in India are subject to those same forces. We have to work intentionally at building and maintaining community within the church, or these same forces will separate us and isolate us from one another as well. We are rowing against the current of our culture; if we do nothing, we will get swept downstream.  On the other hand although the level of connectedness between people in our society has dropped, their need for connectedness has not. God made us social beings; people are still hungry for fellowship. And as they see our community, our love for one another, our care and concern and support for one another, they will want that for themselves. They will want to be a part of that.  It is through our connection with Jesus Christ that we are connected to one another and our common union with Him produces our union with each other.

In a context where Dalits are discriminated against because of their caste how do we, as Christians, present a God to be communitarian? Dalits represent a community of 250 million in India.  They are members of those menial castes which bear the stigma of “untouchability” because of the extreme impurity and pollution connected with their traditional occupations.  They are ‘outcastes’ falling outside the traditional four-fold caste system consisting of the hereditary Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra classes; they are considered impure and polluting and are therefore physically and socially excluded and isolated from the rest of society. One out of every six Indians is Dalit, yet due to their caste identity Dalits regularly face discrimination and violence which prevent them from enjoying the basic human rights and dignity.  Is it not a form of social injustice?

In this regard, then what should be the Christian view of social justice? The Bible puts forth time and time again the notion that God is a God of justice. In fact, “all his ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Furthermore, the Bible supports the notion of social justice in which concern and care are shown in regards to the plight of the poor and afflicted (Deuteronomy 10:18; 24:17; 27:19). The Bible often refers to justice being shown to the fatherless, the widow and the sojourner – i.e., people in Old Testament Jewish society who were not able to fend for themselves or had no support system like the Dalits in modern India. The nation of Israel was commanded by God to care for the less fortunate of society, and their eventual failure to do so was partly to blame for their judgment at God’s hands and their expulsion from the land.

The New Testament echoes the sentiment of the Old where we see in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse the mention of caring for the “least of these” (Matthew 25:40) and in James’ epistle where he expounds on the nature of “true religion” (James 1:27). So, if by “social justice” we mean that society has a moral obligation to care for those less fortunate, then that is correct. God knows that due to the fall, there will be widows, fatherless and sojourners in society, and He made provisions in the old and new covenants to care for these outcasts of society. The very model of such behavior is Jesus Himself, who being God incarnate, reflected God’s sense of justice by bringing the gospel message to the lower rungs of society. Not that the wealthy don’t need the gospel, too, or that the gospel isn’t for them; rather, well-to-do and upstanding citizens of society are less likely to see their utter spiritual bankruptcy before God and embrace the message of the gospel.

What it all boils down to is this: A God-centered approach to social justice which sees Christ as Savior, bringing heaven to earth when He returns. At His return, He will restore all things and execute perfect justice. Until then, we, as Christians express God's love and justice by showing kindness and mercy to those less fortunate.  This is how we become partners with God in building a community in India where justice is based on equality and mutual respect – casting out caste!

Kasta Dip

Arise and Build a Caste Free Society

Come October 2011 and we are ready for our 14^th Ordinary Synod gathering – a much awaited event in the life of a structured Church like ours.  The Synod gathering is a time when we look backward in assessment of our mission engagement in the past years and then look forward for better and more productive engagement in the years to come.  I hope that we take time during the Synod to reflect and understand that our call is to serve a nation which has nearly 200 million people considered as ‘Untouchable’ - people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure, less than human.  It is not only that they are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls, but also they are relegated to the lowest jobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste seeking to keep them in their place - merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.  Because they are considered impure from birth, Untouchables perform jobs that are traditionally considered "unclean" or exceedingly menial, and for very little pay. One million Dalits work as manual scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away dead animals. Millions more are agricultural workers trapped in an inescapable cycle of extreme poverty, illiteracy, and oppression.

Although illegal, 42 million people in India, most of them Dalits, are bonded workers, many working to pay off debts that were incurred generations ago. These people, nearly 16 million of whom are children, work under slave-like conditions hauling rocks, or working in fields or factories for less than U.S. $1 day.  Dalit women are particularly hard hit. They are frequently raped or beaten as a means of reprisal against male relatives who are thought to have committed some act worthy of upper-caste vengeance. They are also subject to arrest if they have male relatives hiding from the authorities.

Every hour two Dalits are assaulted; every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are murdered, and two Dalit homes are torched.  No one believes these numbers are anywhere close to the reality of crimes committed against Dalits. Because the police, village councils, and government officials often support the caste system, which is based on some religious teachings, many crimes go unreported due to fear of reprisal, intimidation by police, inability to pay bribes demanded by police, or simply the knowledge that the police will do nothing.

Despite the fact that untouchability was officially banned when India adopted its constitution in 1950, discrimination against Dalits remained so pervasive that the government has passed legislation known as The Prevention of Atrocities Act. The act specifically made it illegal to parade people naked through the streets, force them to eat feces, take away their land, foul their water, interfere with their right to vote, and burn down their homes. But the violence has not escalated as one would have expected rather the system persists today for economic as much as religious reasons.  Given this context and reason can we, as a church, who profess a God of Justice and Peace commit ourselves to weeding out discriminations based on castes and transform our society into a caste free society?  May this be in our thoughts and mind when we discuss our Synod theme ‘Arise and Build: Fear not for I am with you’.

Kasta Dip

The role of youth in transforming India

After being hit by many scams and corruptions at high places recently we are now being looked down as a reckless nation by the world community.  At this hopeless time I think we can be still hopeful of a better tomorrow because we have a youth force.  I can recall what Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam once said that “the great challenge of transforming India can be achieved through youth which has got the power of ideas, ambition and ability. This resource of the youth is an important building block for transforming India into a developed nation.”

Realizing the responsibilities by present youth force was seen during the Anti-Corruption movement all over the country recently.  Corruption and Black Money are the burning topics but the youth need to ask themselves whether the answer is getting the money back or is it important to eradicate the root cause from where this comes.  The vision of a corruption free India is definitely possible if we can build right character in our young people. 

In the church we have always emphasized on building character of our young people.  It is a process and it takes time to build character and the right direction is needed in order to build good characteristics. Through life experience, perseverance and commitment one is able to build good character to become a better person. This is application when we talk about building leaders for change as building good character is needed in order to become a great leader for only then can one lead effectively and change the world.

Through observation of role models and good teachers, one can learn their characteristics and apply it to oneself. Through books and Holy Scriptures, one can be inspired and build good characteristics from his/her favorite characters. If one understands the concept of “what you do to others, others will do to you“, s/her will be more cautious of his/her action. Gifts can be born with but good character is developed from.

How do we build good character?

It is very important and a great blessing to develop a good character. Now, how can a young person secure it? How can it be obtained?  This is a question, worthy of our serious consideration. We must build good character. This is certain; a good character cannot be inherited. It cannot be purchased with money. It cannot be obtained by merely wising for it.  The desire for a thing does not secure it. We can obtain only that which we labor for. It is what we seek through hard labor that we truly deserve.

The process of character formation starts and is rooted in our Thoughts. What we think about determines our kinds of Actions or deeds. When we repeat the same action it becomes a habit.  Scripture says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.

Our settled habits, good or bad, shape and solidify our character. To build good character we need to work on our thoughts, actions and habits because our Thought becomes Action, our repeated Action becomes our Habit and our Habit, when it is settled, becomes our Character.  We build the edifice of our character by working diligently every moment and everything.  It comes by laying one stone upon another, until it finally becomes something splendid piercing the heavens so that all could see our character.  Somebody has said that ‘a good name must be built up by good deeds, faithfully and habitually performed during the affairs of daily living.’  We need to fix our eyes upon the prize of a good reputation. This is the only end worth striving for in life. It requires us to turn away from all evil practices and to run away from corrupt associates and bad companions. We need to patiently and faithfully lay the foundations of our virtuous habits. When we do this our action gets the result.  By building our character we help building up our nation.  May we have the character of Christ as we strive to follow him and do His will!

Kasta Dip

Caste factor in the growth of the child labour in India

Once I received an SMS from a friend which read ‘Incredible India, where Pizza reaches home faster than ambulance and police; where car loan is cheaper than education loan; where rice is Rs. 40.00 per kilogram but SIM card is free; where you can find people standing at tea stall, reading article in newspaper on child labour and saying ‘bachchon se kaam karane walon ko faansi de di jani chahiye’ (people who employ children should be hanged) and shouting ‘oye chotu, do chai la, jaldi’ (get two cups of tea quickly little boy).

The constitution of India enumerates that ‘No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment’ (Article 14); ‘The state shall direct its policy towards securing that the health and strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of children are not abused and that they are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to there are and strength’ (Article 39-E); ‘Children shall be given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth shall be protected against moral and material abandonment’ (Article 39-f ); and ‘The state shall endeavor to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of the constitution for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years’ (Article 45).  Despite of this child labor is a striking problem in India. Its prevalence is evident in the child work participation rate, which is more than that of other developing countries. A common finding of every research on child labour states that poverty is the reason for child labor in India.  The unrelenting poverty forces the parents to push their young children in all forms of hazardous occupations. Child labor is a source of income for poor families. They provide help in household enterprises or of household chores in order to free adult household members for economic activity elsewhere.  

In India the awful growth of child labor is also because of unsustainable systems of landholding in agricultural areas and caste system in the rural areas.  Most child laborers in India belong to the poor Scheduled Castes and scheduled tribes.  It is because the oppressive and unjust hierarchies of the caste system continue to ‘lock’ Dalit children out of full participation in education within schools.  The educational institution seen as the critical platform for change becomes the medium and the very apparatus to insinuate humiliation and discrimination at the inception of caste identity. In other words, the discriminatory practices have been internalized by the higher caste groups towards the Dalit (teacher, colleague, student, peer groups) in education and social networking on every day basis. More strikingly, education has not been significant to perpetuate awareness against nor ensured a value system that can resist discrimination at grassroots level. So the mission of the church is to map the diverse spheres of school life where social relations and pedagogic processes fail to ensure full participation of Dalit children. Keeping abreast the socio-historical experience of disadvantage that these communities have experienced as a result of caste discrimination it is important to bear in mind the manner in which caste identity continues to impinge on their education and seeks for redressal of the same.

The caste system is determined by notions of purity and pollution, themes which are identified as central to the Hindu culture. The essence of caste hierarchy is social differentiation between the caste groups, historically based on occupational practice. Brahmans are considered to be the purest group as a result of their occupational involvement in ritual and religious activities, which are considered to be the most superior of all social activities. At the other end of the social continuum, the Sudras or Dalits are identified as defiled as a result of the activities to which they have been traditionally assigned, i.e. cremating the human dead, handling dead animals and human faces, cutting hair and nails, and manual scavenging of bodily excrements. These tasks are considered impure in Hindu culture. Like the tasks, Sudras or Dalits are considered to be eternally polluted and polluting.

At the time of independence in 1947, the architects of India’s constitution outlawed casted-based discrimination. Yet these strict delineations persist today.  In an effort to break the caste barriers, Mahatma Gandhi termed the scheduled castes as "Harijans", or, literally, the "people of God." This terminology is strongly discarded by the scheduled castes, who prefer to call themselves Dalits or the "oppressed".   The Government of India has passed counter-caste legislation. For instance, the 1954 Harijan Act makes vocal, physical and social abuse of the Dalits punishable by law. In order to counter social oppression, this legislation also ensures positive discrimination (reserved seats) for the Scheduled Castes in education, employment and political representation in local institutions, state legislatures and the central government.  Despite counter-caste law, poverty and social "backwardness" remain widespread among the socially disadvantaged, and many of these constitutional privileges remain acutely distant and unapproachable for persons unable to access and benefit from them. In practice, these tools have been politicized to benefit various other Caste groups for whom oppression has not been a social reality.

As a result of this Dalit children are discouraged to go to school.  In many parts of India sitting arrangement for Dalit children in schools can be easily distinguished.  So, very often it is observed that most of the Dalit children dropout of schools from primary classes and get into child labour.  Indian government has taken initiatives to alleviate the problem of child labor in recent years by invoking a law that makes the employment of children below 14 illegal, except in family owned enterprises. However this law is rarely adhered to due to caste identity and social discrimination.  It is now certainly the mission of the church to take up the issue of child labour from caste perspective and free the children from bondage – the salvific purpose of Jesus for which we are all called.

Kasta Dip

Being a Just Church Renewed by the Holy Spirit

As a community of people believing in the saving work of God we reckon it quite devotedly that walking in the Spirit is inevitable signifying the vitality of spirituality for renewal of the Church. Certainly it is not enough to believe in the whole counsel of God, if we do not experience the reality of the gospel ourselves. We need to think about the importance of ‘life in the Spirit’ not just to concentrate on ‘the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing people to Christ’. The main key for spiritual renewal is ‘walking in the Spirit’ and in order to experience that renewal in our church, each of the believers should have personal spiritual renewal. Without the presence of Christ, all that we do is just activity outside of Christ’s domain.  We need to connect the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Spirit in a way how they work together in the Church.  Jesus is the bearer of the Spirit as he is anointed by the Spirit. In other words, it is the Spirit who empowered, shaped and rested upon Jesus. Besides, ‘Jesus is the giver of the Holy Spirit’ indicating that when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit then the Church was born through the power and work of  the Holy Spirit. In declaring the vitality of Christ’s presence in the church, we can also learn that where there is no Christ, there cannot be a true Church. 

As the Holy Spirit works in Christ, Christ’s central mission was to make whole of bodies, persons and relationships. His unconditional grace seeks the holistic of a person-emotional, mental, physical and spiritual wholeness and his surroundings. In our context today we need to rethink the nature of the church and its mission in the way how Christ taught. And as Christ’s work is done in the power of the Spirit of grace, our mission should include all dimension of life not only limited to human relation with God but also restoration of the whole creation. For preparation of the coming reign of the Lord, the church should reflect Christ’s light, anointed by the Holy Spirit in every dimension of mission that we join the Lord. 

In doing so it is important to understand the work of the Holy Spirit in terms of evangelization to the poor and transformation of the marginalized communities such as Dalit and Adivasi because Holy Spirit is the main key not only for personal transformation and renewal of individual Christian, but also for transforming such marginalized communities so as to enable them to experience God’s shalom. The Holy Spirit does not work only to sustain and renew life but to build a community of Christ who would carry out the love of Christ in the power of the Hoy Spirit to the poor in a way the fullness of Christ would also be experienced by the marginalized.   The ‘Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ’ and the Holy Spirit should be identified as ‘Missional Spirit’ which would not only work as ‘the sanctifier and renewal of the community of faith, but also the transformation of community with regards to the work of Justice, social transformation and particularly to reach the poor, Dalit and Adivasi for they are also valued equally in the sight of the Lord.

Come Holy Spirit, renew us!

Kasta Dip

Healing the Nation from Corruption

The campaign against corruption in India led by the veteran social activist Anna Hazare recently has sent a strong signal to the beleaguered government of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) calling upon ‘aam-aadmi’ (common people) to join him in his mayhem so that Jan Lok Pal Bill is prepared and brought into force to check corruption in the country.  The resentment was simmering from the time scams involving massive sums of money like Telecom 2G Spectrums, Common Wealth Games hosting, Adarsh Housing Society and appointment of tainted people in the position of high profiled offices etc were unearthed in one single year.

Corruption is a global phenomenon and it is omnipresent. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our country.  I agree with all who debate saying that corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between Bureaucracy, politics and criminals. India is now no longer considered a soft state. It has now become a consideration state where everything can be had for a consideration. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. At one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time.

There may be many causes of corruption but some of the major causes of corruption can be linked with (i) Emergence of political elite who believe in interest-oriented rather than nation-oriented programmes and policies; (ii) Artificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy; (iii) Corruption is caused as well as increased because of the change in the value system and ethical qualities of people who administer. The old ideals of morality, service and honesty are regarded as an anachronistic; (iv) Tolerance of people towards corruption, complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption; (v) Vast size of population coupled with widespread illiteracy and the poor economic infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life; (vi) In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials compel them to resort to the road of corruption. Graduates from IIMs with no experience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw; (vii) Complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for any help from government; and (viii) Election time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialists fund politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times meal.  The total spending for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections was pegged at a whopping Rs. 10,000 crore.  The breakup of this spending throws up some interesting insights too.

·         Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion) by the Election Commission

·         Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) by the Centre and state governments

·         Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) were spent by political parties and individual candidates

Rs. 8000 crore spent by political parties and individual candidates? Where do they get hold of this kind of money to spend? Again, it comes as a no brainer that it is hugely attributed to the Private Funding that political parties attract from big pocket industrialists.  The reasons why private spending of this scale happens again is rather simple Favourtism.  It is a well known fact that government support is crucial for industries small and large.  One favourable swing in a huge tender or a favourable policy, and all the benefits can be reaped.

Corruption is an intractable problem. It is like diabetes, can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. It may not be possible to root out corruption completely at all levels but it is possible to contain it within tolerable limits. Honest and dedicated persons in public life, control over governmental expenses could be the most important prescriptions to combat corruption. Corruption has a corrosive impact on our economy. It worsens our image in international market and leads to loss of overseas opportunities. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world have to confront, solutions, however, can only be home grown. It is a no brainer that Corruption in India is at its rampant best.  There is not one section of the society that is spared from it.  Corruption in the form of bribery takes the cake and given that it begins at the grass root level makes it even more difficult to monitor and control.  We have tolerated corruption for so long. The time has now come to root it out from its roots.  This is not only our duty as citizens of this vast country but our responsibility as Christians to heal our nation.

Kasta Dip

Sharing in Christ’s Suffering

Throughout this month salvation will be a buzz word in our churches as in the Lent we meditate on the salvific plan of God through Christ.  However, in order to fully realize the value of salvation, it is necessary to understand what it cost. In consequence of limited ideas of the sufferings of Christ, many place a low estimate upon the great work of the atonement. The glorious plan of our salvation was brought about through the infinite love of God. In this divine plan is seen the most marvelous manifestation of the love of God to our fallen race. Such love as is manifested in the gift of God's beloved Son amazed the holy angels. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This Saviour was the brightness of His Father's glory and the express image of His person. He possessed divine majesty, perfection, and excellence. He was equal with God. "It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell." "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

In Christ were united the human and the divine. His mission was to reconcile God and human, to unite the finite with the infinite. This was the only way in which fallen human could be exalted through the merits of the blood of Christ to be partakers of the divine nature. Taking human nature fitted Christ to understand human's trials and sorrows. Angels who were unacquainted with sin could not sympathize with human beings in their peculiar trials. Christ condescended to take human's nature and was tempted in all points like as we, that He might know how to succor all who should be tempted.

Our Saviour identified Himself with our needs and weaknesses; He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  Who can comprehend the love displayed at Calvary! The angelic host beheld Him with wonder and grief who had been the Majesty of heaven, and who had worn the crown of glory, now wearing the crown of thorns, a bleeding victim to the rage of an infuriated mob, fired to insane madness by the wrath of Satan. Behold the patient Sufferer! Upon His head is the thorny crown. His lifeblood flows from every lacerated vein. All this in consequence of sin! Nothing could have induced Christ to leave His honor and majesty in heaven, and come to a sinful world, to be neglected, despised, and rejected by those He came to save, and finally to suffer upon the cross, but eternal, redeeming love, which will ever remain a mystery.

Jesus did not yield up His life till He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and exclaimed with His departing breath: "It is finished." Satan was then defeated. He knew that his kingdom was lost. Angels rejoiced as the words were uttered: "It is finished." The great plan of redemption, which was dependent on the death of Christ, had been thus far carried out. And there was joy in heaven that the sons of Adam could, through a life of obedience, be finally exalted to the throne of God. Oh, what love! What amazing love that brought the Son of God to earth to be made sin for us, that we might be reconciled to God, and elevated to a life with Him in His mansions in glory. Oh, what is man that such a price should be paid for his redemption!

Christ has shown that His love was stronger than death. He was accomplishing our salvation; and although He had the most fearful conflict with the powers of darkness, yet, amid it all, His love grew stronger and stronger. Let us remember that our hope as Christians is our future glory – Christ’s glory.  There is no sharing in Christ’s glory unless there is sharing in His suffering.

Kasta Dip

Serving the God of Justice

In all times, places and cultures, humans have universally recognized the virtue of justice and the treacherous nature of injustice. From a biblical standpoint, the character of God is the absolute standard for justice, and our awareness of this moral standard is part of our having been created in the image of God. According to the prophet Isaiah, when God shows compassion and justice, he is simply being himself: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” (Isaiah 30:18).

God’s fervor for justice is a component of his moral perfection, which longs for what is best for his creatures. Similarly, God’s loathing for injustice is a component of his opposition to the destructive effects of unrighteousness. Sin, which can be defined as anything contrary to the character of God, always leads to the pain and degradation of injustice toward others. This is why God hates sin so much. God is not a cosmic killjoy; he merely hates that which causes pain, ruin and discrimination among his children. Stott suggests that, at its core, “sin is a form of selfish revolt against God’s authority and our neighbour’s welfare.” God loathes sin because it estranges us from him and leads us to the abuse of power and desire to control others.

In contrast, righteousness, which may be identified as conformity to God’s character, is exhibited in attitudes and actions of fairness, integrity, truthfulness and honesty toward others. Scripture consistently associates sin with self-centeredness, while justice and righteousness are expressions of other-centeredness. People who are overly preoccupied with themselves are injurious to their world and infect the planet with damage and hurt. But those who choose to concern themselves with the needs of others bring the fragrant aroma of Christ to a smelly world in desperate need of some serious aromatherapy.

God’s passion for justice is evident from Genesis through Revelation. The poets and prophets in particular extolled this divine attribute: The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love (Psalm 33:5); Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you (Psalm 89:14); The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy (Psalm 111:7); Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that man gets justice (Proverbs 29:26); “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity” (Isaiah 61:8).

Justice was also a prominent concern of Jesus, conspicuous in the manner in which he transcended social, racial and economic barriers in his ministry.  This is evident in his parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-27). Jewish people in Jesus’ day hated Samaritans and justified their prejudice with religious arguments. Those who told ethnic jokes about their despised “neighbors” must have been horrified to hear Jesus making a Samaritan the hero of this story.  Blinded by our own agendas, we fail to see that God’s justice is not just for his chosen people; God wants justice and righteousness for all.

Kasta Dip

Walking humbly with God and Living in Peace

We serve the one who is called the Prince of Peace.  We are called to be peacemakers and hence those of us who would faithfully follow Christ should seek to know more about the peace if we are to be true to God in our Christian walk.  God’s peace is something that happens to individuals. It is a personal matter, a gift to us from God that we in turn can share with others.

Isaiah foretells in Isaiah 2:2-4 that there will, one day, be peace. This was an unreasonable hope for the people of Israel, located geographically on the highways between Africa and Asia and Europe, the pathway used by countless aggressor armies over the centuries. There was only one way that Israel could have peace, and that was that all the nations in the known world would come under the same ruler.  By the time of Jesus, the world had come under one ruler, but it wasn’t under the rule of the Gracious God, but under the ruthless Romans. This was peace only as the absence of open warfare, but peace was absent in the resentment against the Roman rule, seen in frequent rebellions in Israel and elsewhere from desperate zealots trying to throw off the oppression from the invaders.

There must be more to the peace ushered in by the Messiah than simply the end of conflict and the political unification of all peoples. Isaiah captures three fundamental requirements for peace in this passage.  The first is in the imagery of the highest mountain. This may be unfamiliar to us, but Isaiah’s listeners would have understood that mountains represented good, and the highest mountain was the closest to heaven that they could reach. Peace then comes from God, out of the abundance of God’s goodness.  The second requirement is learning from God. Peace is not a natural state for humanity; it must be learned, and it can only be learned from God. We have several ways to learn: reading the Bible, meditating on God’s Word, praying and conversing with God, and spending time with other people. We must let go of our nature and learn God’s nature to find peace.

The third requirement is obedience to God. We must choose to accept God’s dominion over our lives, and, as Isaiah writes, accept God’s judgment and arbitration to lead us. The contrast is evident in the text that follows. Our way is the sword, but God’s way is the plowshare. Our way strikes out at others, but God’s way meets our needs.

One day, we will see world-wide peace, but we don’t have to wait that long. The coming of the Messiah provides for us individually the promise of peace built on a restoration of our relationship with God. This year, then, let us devote ourselves to living in peace by dedicating ourselves to obedience to God, learning from God, and seeking after God’s goodness.

Kasta Dip

Blessed are the Peacemakers

We live in a world of violence, not peace. It’s all we’ve ever been familiar with. For almost as long as human beings have been around and have had to live together, our planet has been characterized by conflict, chaos, disharmony, and violence.  There may be pockets of peace, of course, but overall we recognize that human history is a history of trouble and violence.  This was as true in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. Jesus came announcing the kingdom of God. Well, Israel was very aware of how kingdoms come into being: by force. And Jesus’ listeners would have been well-acquainted with this phenomenon. Prior to Jesus’ arrival on the scene, the Jewish people had been conquered by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Romans. They had enjoyed a brief window of autonomy after a revolt led by the Maccabeus, but this was short-lived. In each case, it was violence that brought a new reality into being. Jesus’ people knew very well that kingdoms were founded and maintained by violence. And to these people, Jesus says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Peace is something that we desperately need and long for, but it seems to lie beyond our grasp.  Our experience as individuals with families and friends, as members of churches, as citizens of provinces and nations, global citizens seems to lead to the conclusion that peace is an impossible ideal. When has peace ever been anything more than a brief experience in our world, after all?  This frustration between the ideal of peace and its lack of realization is captured in a song by U2 called “Peace on Earth”.  The first and the last stanzas of the song go like below:

Heaven on earth, we need it now

I’m sick of all of this hanging around

Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain

I’m sick of hearing again and again

That there’s gonna be Peace on earth

Jesus sing a song you wrote

The words are sticking in my throat

Peace on earth

Hear it every Christmas time

But hope and history won’t rhyme

So what’s it worth

This peace on earth

There’s a real sense of frustration here and a deep longing for “heaven on earth,” an understanding that human beings were created for peace, not conflict. Yet there is an almost hopeless skepticism as well “hope and history won’t rhyme” and “peace on earth” seems like a hollow, meaningless phrase.  And what is true on a global level where there are always “wars and rumors of wars” is true in our own lives as well. The peace we want and need is elusive.

Our relationships with children, co-workers, parents, and friends are, at various points in our lives, characterized by mistrust, envy, defensiveness, antagonism, and selfishness. We have competing desires and expectations of each other, and these bump up against each other regularly.  We might not offer quite that bleak an assessment of human nature – many of us do enjoy seasons of relative peace and harmony in our relationships and many of us may have been blessed to have lived an entire lifetime in a country free from war but an inescapable element of the human condition on this side of eternity is conflict.

Peace on earth is something we long and hope for in the future, but we only get glimpses of it now. For some, those glimpses are few and far between, for others they are more frequent, but we all know that the peace that we were created for is something foreign to our experience and will only take place in another kind of reality.

Jesus calls us to be peacemakers and, fundamentally, choosing to be peacemakers is an act of trust.  As is the case in all the beatitudes, the announcement that Jesus is making about the kind of people who are blessed, the kind of people who signal the kingdom of God, asks for a radical trust in God to usher in his kingdom in what seems to be counterintuitive ways.  It forces us to declare, by our actions as well as our words, that we believe that God really does stand over our individual stories and the larger stories in which we find ourselves; that he really does promise to deal justly with us and those we find ourselves in conflict with, that peace and love really are stronger than violence and hatred, no matter how things may appear in the present; that the upside-down way God has of working in the world really is right-side up and really does point to a future of shalom.  If God isn’t who he says he is, it makes no sense to be peacemakers in the present or to take the beatitudes as a kingdom-way-of being-in-the-world. Only if a God of peace stands at the beginning and the end of history does it make sense to be peacemakers in the time between.

As with all of the Beatitudes, we must remember that this is not just good advice but Good news a new possibility for the world being inaugurated in and through Jesus.  And we must also remember that these are not just words; Jesus not only preached the Sermon on the Mount, he lived it. He was poor in spirit, he mourned, he was meek, he hungered and thirsted after righteousness, he was merciful and pure in heart; he made peace between God and human beings and between people; he was persecuted because of righteousness, he was insulted and had evil spoken of him falsely.  All of these things were part of Jesus’ announcement that a new covenant between God and human beings was beginning with him. A new possibility had been introduced, and it was up to his followers to embody and point to these new possibilities.  So how can we be peacemakers? How can we embody this new possibility for the world, this new way of being human that Jesus points to here in the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes?

For most of us, peacemaking will occur in the fairly “ordinary” contexts of everyday events and relationships. For most of us, peacemaking will involve doing what good we can in the contexts God has placed us, the doors he opens up for us, allowing the vision of Isaiah to inform our words and actions.

Being a peacemaker involves so much more than the absence of war, or being “against war.” It means working for God’s vision for his world.  It means having a clear, biblically-formed vision of the future God has promised and allowing that vision to permeate all of our actions, from the seemingly insignificant to those with global consequences; it means pursuing justice, wholeness, and harmony in our relationships, seeking reconciliation and restoration both when we wrong others and when they wrong us; it means turning the other cheek, choosing to be wronged rather than be a source of enmity; it means doing the hard work of reconciling with our enemies without resorting to violence; it means getting involved politically and socially, promoting whatever peace can be achieved and always working for human flourishing in whatever context we find ourselves; it means sacrificially pursuing the good of others, sometimes at personal expense. 

Wherever we find ourselves there will be conflict, disharmony, fear, and confusion. Our job, as kingdom people, is to bear witness through our lives to the Prince of Peace because we believe that it is in living as Christ did that the world begins to be transformed into something beautiful and good and hopeful.  We are not charged with the task of bringing the kind of peace that only God can bring; but we are called to embody, as in all the beatitudes, a kingdom-way-of-being-in-the-world.  We are called to be peacemakers because we are children of a God of peace. God’s children do what God does, and there is no more God-like work for us to do in the world than peacemaking. 

May God help us to be peacemakers!

Kasta Dip