Gratefulness

Feeling grateful for being able to survive when the industry and the work we were associated with has been completely wiped out. 

Only when we do not have something that is when we truly realise the real value of it. Let us be grateful and appreciate all our blessings.

Bread on the table

Thank you dear Lord for the food on our table in these difficult times. We belong to those class of people who do not have much reserves to fall back on. Our daily earnings are all we have. And it's been a while since we went to work. 

Show mercy on us our Lord...

Church during the Pandemics

Obscure and Marginal, the Jesus movement, during the time of the First Century Romans,  was not expected to grow or influence them, who then were the epitome of civilization the world had seen till then. Yet the message of love for one another that Peter, Paul, John and the rest preached and their disciples practiced, grew, not exponentially but remarkably. 

If we look at  how the Church grew over the centuries, we can see it was not a strategy or a master plan that worked, but the simple reality that the first community practiced the love that was preached to them and believed it was the way to live while Rome and its rich lived as masters in all opulence and luxurious glory of the time. 

With the arrival of  "The Plague of Cyprian (249-269 AD)" in the empire,  the world saw the Romans running for their lives, abandoning their sick in their beautiful homes, selfishly thinking of saving themselves alone. The health facilitators and the care providers the Romans had tried their best but could not contain the disease as they themselves were getting afflicted. 

While every one was leaving the city the very small community of the first century Christians entered the city and took care of the dying in a very selfless way practicing the love and sacrifice that was preached to them, often giving up their lives, getting affected by the plague and dying while the sick recovered. This selfless act of love and brotherhood during the plague and in the subsequent pandemics won many hearts and by the third century the number of Christians in Rome had grown to 3 millions in the empire. 

Ofcourse in those days, the medical knowledge was not that developed and nobody knew how the disease spread. They did not know carers could be the carriers no matter how asymptomatic they could be. During the modern times, the development of technology and medical knowledge has taught the world many things about the pandemic and the world know how to deal with such a situation with well developed medical systems and personnel. In these days, we can, still,  express our Christian love by maintaining the self isolation and preventing the spread of the virus through us, while the well established government machinery take care of the medical and other aspects of pandemic control.

Meanwhile, its still possible for the Church to advocate the long term goals of  social justice, equal income, the well being of the prison workers and others in isolation, universal health system etc. We know, in some countries, the government employees and some others are paid full salaries for the month they did not work during lock down while many others did not have the opportunity to work and was not paid for the days they did not work as their employers confirmed they did not have any money to pay.

The way the Church (all denominations) deal with  the pandemic and the situation will explain what they are and be the answer to the questions their detractors were raising in these very modern times. 

The Personal Union with God

The lock down is, rightly, extended for some more time to make sure the Pandemic Covid-19 is completely ostracized from our midst. Though the decision is absolutely necessary for our survival, for us the ordinary whose sustenance are dependent on our daily earnings, it has given some reason for anxiety and worry . Our resources are running dry, what will we do, will we have work when everything re-opens etc.

It is also noted that the churches and other places of worship will remain closed for prayers and worship. Alternative technology enhanced measures are on to live stream the prayer leaders and the worship they conduct giving us the chance to be part of it, the fact that these hardships have taught us is that our spirituality basically depends on our personal connect with our, God, the Creator.

Those who have that personal connection, those who can pray when they are alone and with themselves will continue to have that richness of union with our Lord and survive the crisis of our times.

Connect with God in your own way, in the fullness of your heart no matter where you are and who you are with. It doesn't matter whether we are by ourselves or with others or at a particular place. 

Happy Easter!

Wish you all the unbridled joy of Easter. Recalling to mind the happiness of Magdalene when she saw the risen Christ who was taken away from them on the Night of Thursday and killed on Friday. The last time she saw Him was on the cross and in Mother Mary's arms as they prepared Him to be buried. Lost and lonely, they spent the entire Sabbath thinking about every moment He had spent with them, sobbing with every breath in grief, disappointed at the lost. Perhaps, they might have remembered what He told them about the resurrection after three days, but to believe it or to even expect it under the political and spiritual set up they were in might have been stretching it too far.

Hence, her Joy on seeing Jesus. To think about her Unbridled Joy of seeing Jesus again, that He has Risen from the dead, that Father, the Creator, has glorified Him just as he glorified the Father,  is a blessing. From her, the apostles heard the news and was overjoyed, though some doubted, still it was a source of big comfort for them since Thursday night.

We stand in this generation as part of that long spiritual Chain, who has felt that same unbridled joy in the rising of the Christ, which Magdalene has felt, the apostles have felt,  the disciples who accepted Jesus's way through them have felt and all those over the generation who have walk in Jesus's Way have felt.

As mere humans and simple lifers of our present time, the everlasting and ever constant Easter is our only true joy which we hold in our heart as our treasure.

May what is written for us, fall on us in these times of Corona,  let us be joyful in our Lord, as long as we are here.

Thank You Magdalene, we share your joy and hold you in our hearts as our own. 

Easter in the times of Corona Virus

Completely locked Down during this historic Lent. Cannot recall an instance when the whole world went through a Lent as lonely as this. Thanks to the technology, people had a better access to church activities around the world, not just their Parish Churches.

The free time and the lone time encouraged taking an inward Journey, which turned out to be a blessing. Watching the movie on Jesus during the lock down was a big spiritual boost. Robert Powell's brilliant characterization of the 1976 movie Jesus of Nazreth stood out among the other movie alternatives.

Here is a you tube link to the movie which is 6 hours long.

Jesus of Nazreth