Its wonderful to connect with you all once again. I
hope you had a rejuvenating time meditating on the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I am sure that the revelations and promises this Easter season
would bring you joy and hope. I want to highlight two passages from the book of
Mathew in the Bible that poignantly reiterates Holism. Seldom this is spoken
about or the importance of the matter is emphasized. However, Jesus does the
same during his three-and-a-half-year ministry on the earth. I
am referring to the parables of “The Sheep and the Goats” in Mathew 25:35-46.
A word of caution, this is not meant for any one particular category of groups
or people. This is imperative for every so-called follower of Christ and
for the Church.
Allow me to highlight few verses from this
passage and classify them under major need groups (25:42-43) :
“I was hungry (physical need), and you gave me nothing to
eat;
I was thirsty (Physical need), and you gave me
nothing to drink,
I was a stranger (need of security) and you did not invite
me in;
naked (need of restoring dignity), you did not clothe
me;
sick, (Physiological need) and in prison (various
bonded condition), and you did not visit
me.”.
And then His pronouncement of judgment we find in
verse 46;
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life.”
We notice we cannot escape or evade from this crucial
responsibility. We are to definitely make all efforts as individuals to reach
out in all possible way to the needy and more so the Church to cater to
the needs of the people in the church and in our community, in a structural
way. Jesus in the same passage (25:40) quotes “…whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.”. Most
of the time it is seen, we choose to do activities that are convenient for us
and not those that tests our limits. Our freedom to choose whom and when we can
help, can sometimes distort our priority towards the poor. Reading Matthew 25
gives us a whole different perspective on the holistic mandate. Therefore let
us make all effort to extend our holy service to the least who live among us.
They make up a significant majority. Let us be aware that there is so much in
the Bible about issues of poverty and justice. In fact words ‘poverty and
justice’ are highlighted in the Bible in over two thousand verses. This
is a wake up call to all of us to address these issues.
Ravi Jayakaran, an Indian expert in the use of the
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) describes poverty as a lack of the
freedom to grow. Echoing Luke 2:52, the
poor are wrapped in a series of restrictions and limitations in four areas of
life: physical, mental, social, and spiritual.
Can we take some time to retrospect on all our current
interventions as individuals and Church? It is so important that we definitely
quantify and revamp all our social programs, if needed. If our activities are
sporadic it is necessary to make our intervention consistent. What is important
is to have a strong desire, the will and the work will definitely follow
(Philippians 2:13).
The second passage that catches my attention is from
same book of Mathew is the time when we all have to stand before His judgement
seat. The scene here is a group of prime people and high spiritual elite,
who argue their case with God, eventually God fails to recognize them. They
ask; (Mathew 7:22-23 ) “…Didn’t we prophesy
in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your
name?’ and the shocking response from Him is, “I never knew you; depart from
me, you who practice lawlessness.” NASB. It is possible in focusing on
high level spiritual maturity and can still miss to obey the greatest second
commandment “Love
your neighbor as yourself”. We definitely wouldn’t want this
embarrassment, do we?. I recommend that you hear to the
famous song by Keith Green “The sheep and the Goats”(YouTube). it is inspiring.
Both the passages are a mandate of Holism (Fellowship
of believers, Biblical mandate & ministering to the needy). The Church, the
organizations and every individual have to make a conscious effort to reach out
to the under-privileged and towards the marginal section of our society. Jesus
story about Good Samaritan is unfortunately confined to children in Sunday
school most of the time. The purpose of the parable is far beyond a Sunday
school story. Jesus concludes by asking who proved to be a neighbor to the
wounded man and the response in verse (Luke 10:37) referred
to the man who showed mercy. Jesus responds as conclusion by saying “Go and do the same”.
It’s not a mere strong recommendation but a strong mandate towards Holism.
Kindly understand that its not a marketing strategy at its best but my prayer
is that its importance is not muddled up with less priorities or chosen
priorities that devalues the word of God. I want to leave you
with the Benediction of St. Francis:
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at Injustice,
oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice,
freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears to shed for those who
suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that we may reach out our
hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with enough foolishness to
believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what
others claim cannot be done.
Blessings,
David Raj
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