There are two trees of Rambutan in our garden. One has fruits and the other has none this year. They are adjacent to each other with similar soil conditions and exposure to sun.There are seven Mango trees, none has blossomed this year. One Mangoestene tree of the two has few fruits less than what we had last year. These dissimilarities are striking and puzzling. It might be difficult to explain the differences.
The parable of Jesus of Nazareth about a tree not bearing fruits, concluded with the comments from the gardener, 'give it more attention for one more year instead of felling it'!
We live with many questions in our mind about our own situations.
On this Palm Sunday, all those who look forward to going to church to participate in the Palm Sunday service are home bound. I do not remember this happening at any time since I can remember! Even when unusual events happen, we might not have an answer to the puzzle. For the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, this is a time of reflecting on the role and call of the Church in society. I have wondered in the recent years, whether church follows traditions, rituals, and liturgy that the contemporary opportunity of being salt and light got only a peripheral attention.
A Church which allows the Alcoholics Anonymous to meet in its premise every week has been a beacon of hope to some who genuinely wanted to be free from alcohol dependence. The minister of the church in his sermon on one Sunday mentioned that as a church, we 'feel with people who get stranded in the journey of life'! It is a church which has had a focus on the elderly, disadvantaged children, self help group for women, developmentally challenged adults, working women, human trafficking, etc.
When new challenges such as substance abuse among adolescents, work style stresses, marital stress and abuse, and internet addiction were brought to the attention of the minister, he took initiatives to study this and at the end of three months, action groups were formed in the congregation to respond to these. That is how Anna and I got associated with the group focussing on disadvantaged children, which led to starting of a play group for them. This subsequently developed into a day care for such children located in a custom made building, which is currently catering to the needs of about 100 children providing education and transition support for them.
We seem to debate on issues and explore them to such an extent that it remains at the academic level. An action response in a tangible way, to me, is a starting point. It is a Church which can do this as its members are from different professional backgrounds. Church is a community that is used to using voluntary efforts of its members creatively! The resources of a congregation in terms of skills and enthusiasm are enormous.
During this time of all public worship suspended due to the pandemic of COVED 19, have the Churches organised video meetings with the members to feel connected! The Lower Circular Baptist church, Kolkota has an on line public worship on Sunday mornings.
It is when normal events cannot take place due to external compulsions, the Church as a community can redefine the mission of the church. If any church is only offering its service to its members, it is an inward looking community. Only when a Church can look round and feel the need of others, it is incarnational in its mission!
We are trapped in a major catastrophic event since the world war two. It too has its purpose and message for the global community. It is this prophetic mission the Church is called to explore, beginning with alleviating the suffering of people and helping people to rebuild their lives. It took at least seven years after the world war two for nations to find a stabilising direction. This COVED 19 event has affected over 180 countries, stressing their population adversely, more than what the world war two did. So the restoration and rehabilitation process would have to be more intense and well-planned!
There is no end in sight! Is the acute phase over! Or are we in India at the threshold of its full impact!
It is a time to be in the forefront rather than feel fearful and stay protected. While we follow every safety measure strictly and follow the protocols, we can be active at a time such s this, when more helping hands are needed!
I feel good that we can return to work in the hospital on Monday and be available to families on pone and welcome those who have special needs.
There is something each of us can do for strangers, neighbours or friends and families!
On this Palm Sunday, we focus on Jesus of Nazareth reaching the temple to cleanse it of its traditions and rituals. He confronted the 'businessmen' who turned the holy place to merchandise. The hierarchy of the temple consented for merchandise, which is similar to what is happening today. Have we not come across a form of merchandise between two Church factions recently, leading to unholy practices to take possession of the Church property from the other group!
This Palm Sunday is a call to us as individuals and Churches to wean ourselves away from all 'gainful' activities for ourselves, and be engaged in 'giving' activities because 'the Son of Man came to minster and not be miniterd unto'!
W hat we have is already more than we need; it is 'in giving we receive'! Jesus of Nazareth said, 'he who lays down his life shall find it'! Jesus of Nazareth 'went about doing good'! Even when there was an unmerited suffering on the cross, He prayed, 'Father forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing'!
COVED 19 is truly a devastating experience. It is an opportunity to find a new way of living purposefully, vicariously and righteously! We live among people who are hurting and are not being able to be fruitful enough. The gardener's response to a tree which did not produce fruit was: ' give it more attention..'! Let use give more attention to each other so that we have a redemptive experience from what afflicts us as a humanity!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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