Month: November 2018

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Beauty and the Gospel

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8

Sometimes all it takes is one simple question to make us realize what we have been doing wrong. Perhaps wrong is not the right word, maybe I should say an area in which we are lacking in our ministry. The question is simple; “What is lyrical singing?”

Bruna asked this question. She overheard a conversation I was having with another woman who was training to be an opera singer. I drew a blank. I did not know how to explain to her what lyrical singing was because everything associated with this is foreign to her life experience. Then I realized that Bruna was standing next to us and we were talking about music and beautiful operas and she had no reference to any of these things. We wanted her to be part of our conversation but she needed some references. Her question was an attempt to construct a metaphorical bridge. Unfortunately I could not give the necessary materials. She sensed my awkwardness and then pretended to know what I was talking about. This wasn’t enough. Then I remembered that a few months ago, a street performer stood in front of where we do activities with the children and started singing with this incredibly powerful voice famous songs from various Italian operas. The teens were astonished by her vocals and they just stood and watched her in absolute wonderment. Wanderson was so impressed that he gave her some of his money. He said that he preferred to spend it on her than to use it on drugs. He was exposed to something better and different and he wanted to be part of it. I reminded Bruna of this woman and I told her that lyrical singing is this special kind of singing. She understood immediately. She smiled. She was part of our conversation now. She asked if we could take her to watch a presentation with lyrical singing one day. This was the first time any of the teens requested such a thing.

I am grateful for this strange but gifted woman who chose to sing to the homeless on that day. Now, Bruna and the other teens have a reference of a beautiful artistic expression. I remember Wanderson kept saying that her voice penetrated his entire being. This is a good way of describing it. It permeated our whole being. It brought out certain sentiments in Wanderson and the teens that made them realize at least for a moment, that there are better and more beautiful things than their ‘drugs’.

We talked about abundant life because it is the essence of the gospel. However, how can our children and teens imagine abundant life when all they see around them is hatred, destruction, and death? The streets are filled with preachers who yell about eternal punishment and death. The gospel that these people preach is an escape from destruction, but they don’t promote abundant life. Churches are fixated with the ugly and unpleasant things of life which they call the “signs” of the end without any indication that the end is the beginning of beauty and peace. In the past, churches used to be magnificent buildings full of color and beauty, representing in a concrete manner the majesty and infiniteness of God. Today, most churches are pragmatic in their appearance and beauty has taken the back seat. However, abundant life is not a pragmatic life. It is life full of beauty, peace, virtue and goodness. It is the stuff of life that makes life wonderful and great. It is something even the poorest of the poor can experience and appreciate. Unfortunately, today we focus more on what the poor lack and not on what they possess.

The New Testament exhorts a different path. It challenges us to meditate on the beauty and the good. Our children and teens know death and devastation. They need to see things that are beautiful, things that are pure, virtuous and good. If not, they won’t have any reference. If they don’t any reference, then they cannot imagine themselves living a life that pursues these things.

Recently, Bruna received a letter from her friend in Florida. In the letter, there was a postcard from a place called Bamberg in Germany. I had the privilege of a spending a week there many years ago. Whenever I think about a beautiful city, I think about Bamberg. The postcard gave Bruna a glimpse of the beauty of the place. She started asking and talking about beautiful places nearby the city of São Paulo. She said that she wanted to see beautiful historic buildings like the ones in the postcard. We talked about a possible excursion to a nearby historic town. She was delighted when she heard this. The idea of experiencing beauty excited her. It took a simple postcard to ignite this desire.

Well, it is not the postcard really, it was the love that came with it. Bruna did not feel jealous when she saw the beautiful places her friend from Florida visited. She wanted to experience what this person experienced. She was interested in lyrical singing because I was excited when I talked about it. She wanted to be part of this excitement. Love opens the door for others to experience the beauty that is in the world. Bruna would have never heard of Bamberg if it wasn’t for the love that inspired the other person to share the pictures with her.

Our simple conversation with Bruna has inspired us to think about bringing more beauty to the lives of our children. They desire to know more beautiful things and places but they need to go these places and experience these things holding the hands of someone they love. They have been so accustomed to a life void of color and joy that they are not sure if they can participate in the beauty that is in the world. The fact that Bruna asked to go to a concert with us or visit a historic city is a major step. For the first time in her life, she feels confident that she too can enjoy these beautiful things of life. It is a just a few steps from here where she will realize that the promise of abundant life is a possibility for her too.

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Birth Pangs and Waiting

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. Mark 13:8

As an Anglican clergy, I know that I should wait…until Advent is over to celebrate the Christmas season. However, I am not going to do it. I am going to shake the dust off my Christmas Carols cds and listen to them next week onwards. This is my favorite time of the year and I am going to take every opportunity to enjoy it. However, the general environment here in Brazil is not festive this year. There is a sense of hopelessness and hateful discourses are heard everywhere. There are rumors of dark times ahead. There are hopeful sentiments but they are not based on anything that deserves our confidence. No one really knows for sure what will unfold. The Christmas decorations are up but there is still an uneasy feeling in the air. Nevertheless, it is the perfect environment for us to celebrate the season.

The conversation from the gospel text above was about the temple. The apostles were impressed by its beauty and magnificence. It was the symbol of the identity and spiritual vocation of the Jewish people. The disciples highlighted its splendor to Jesus hoping that He would say something of its future glory. Instead Jesus spoke of its destruction. It was the last thing anyone wanted to hear. It seemed so contrary to Jesus’ central message. He proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was here. It was obvious in everyone’s mind that the temple would be in the center of this Kingdom. Now, Jesus spoke of its inevitable end. They were not ready for this. Jesus spoke about war and natural disasters and desperate times. It sounds like the local news of any given country. While listening to all these devastating events, I wonder if the apostles ever questioned what happened to the Kingdom of God Jesus promised.

War and rumors of war, famine, desolations, earthquakes..all these are just the beginning. They are not the end. It seems like we have been stagnant in this phase for almost two thousand years. Only someone ignorant of the past would dare to say that this present time is the worst time in the history of humanity. My parents suffered through the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. My father’s older brother was crushed to death by debris from a bombing while mu father was sleeping next to him. Both my parents witnessed people being tortured and killed during the war for stealing a piece of bread. They shared these stories with us daily before we ruined these valuable moments by buying a TV. If they were alive today, they would say that things have gotten better. However, it seems like things get worse and then a little better and then worse again, just like birth pangs. We shouldn’t think that these are the signs of the end. It is just the beginning of the end. We still have a long time to wait.

I am beginning to learn that the essential part of our spirituality is learning to wait. We can wait by bemoaning the bad things happening all around us or we can hopefully wait with joyful expectation. The former creates an attitude of judgment in us. It makes us blame the “others”. Then we begin this downward spiral of finding the scapegoat for all the problems. In the end, our souls get contaminated with hatred and we forget that we are actually waiting for Someone who has no room for hatred in His heart. I have to admit that this is the easy way of waiting because it gives us something to talk about among people who share our convictions. We can be united in our pontificating about the causes of the grave situation in which we find ourselves. Fortunately, the Christmas season can rescue us, at least it is true in my case. It gives me a break from the news of dismay and stirs in our hearts the remembrance for whom we are waiting. The Christmas Carols remind me that it is the Prince of Peace that we await. Therefore, I cannot condone anything that provokes dissension and anger in my heart. Christmas helps me even for a short time to focus not on the rumors of war and famine but in the hope that all these things cannot hinder the Good Shepherd from establishing His reign in the hearts of all people.

The real question is how do we wait for the Kingdom. Maybe a better way to phrase it would be how to wait in hope when everything is falling apart. I ask myself this question all the time, sometimes in prayer and sometimes while I am reading the Bible. I only get a somewhat clear answer when we go to the streets. Everything is clearer when we are in the streets. There is no magic involved here or some deep meaningful insights from an unlikely source. There are just the children and teens. They are there whether there is a war or famine. Their situation doesn’t change. They are always there waiting and most of them don’t realize that they are waiting for something.

Kelly came up to us and asked our help to go to a place to resolve an issue. She was afraid and intimidated to go alone. Suddenly everything seemed clear and simple to me. Wars, famine, earthquake and genocide…all these things will happen despite our ardent protests, however, we have the power to be with Kelly and help her do the thing that intimidates her.

We walked with her to the place and waited an hour in a large empty room that was quite menacing. While we waited, we talked with Kelly and slowly she become a more genuine person to us. She was abandoned in an orphanage because her mother was incapable of taking care of her. She spent her whole life in an insecure environment. She ran away from the orphanage before yurning 18 because she knew that they would have to send her away by then. She has a fear of being rejected. She ran away and they reported her as a missing person. Now she is an adult and we were sitting in a Police station trying to prove that she is not a missing person. Her identity card would not be issued until she resolved this particular problem. She has a fear of being buried in an unknown grave. She doesn’t fear death but she fears being forgotten and abandoned in an unmarked grave. The problem was resolved and she hugged and kissed us before we said goodbye. We went home richer than before because now we have someone new and special in our hearts. Somehow feeling assured that the Kingdom of God does not cease to establish itself despite rumors of…

Jesus foretold all the dire things that will occur not to frighten us333. Jesus never used fear as a didactic tool unlike the rest of the world. He wanted to ensure us that none of these things will change the role of those who await for the Kingdom. We are not to be impressed by the wicked things that unfold around us. Instead, we need to keep our focus on the One who will bring people to help us understand the true nature of the Kingdom of God.

I never grew up in a tradition where presents were exchanged. I never believed that a jolly fat man in red suit came around giving presents to children. As a child, I loved Christmas because it was a time where our homes would be filled with people. It was a time where our Muslim and Hindu and Buddhist friends would come to our house because they wanted to celebrate Jesus with us. Their religions did not make room for this celebration. They came to our household to commemorate the day with us. Our home became the place for people to celebrate Christ even if they did not know Him exactly. Now, I realize that our lives and homes are an opportunity for people to celebrate Christ. It is easy to forget this. I was blinded by the news of wars and famine but thankfully the season of Christmas is here and I reminded once again that the baby Jesus is the reason why I am here. He remains the same despite all the devastating changes that occur around us. Our task is quite simple really. We need to wait for Him while celebrating His life by ensuring that people can see Him in our own lives. Wars, famine, earthquakes and even imprisonment cannot stop us from doing this because this is the Kingdom of God. God comes into this world to live in Us.

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Love in the Time of Disputes

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Mark 12:28

We recently had an election here. The country is divided. Everyone considers themselves to be on the side of the Truth even though we are constantly contradicting each other and ourselves. Both sides consider themselves to be intelligent and wise and, by default, those who disagree with them are the less unfortunate ones. No one believes that anything good can come from those who do not believe like them. I live in this environment too. I have my favorite side in this dispute despite my better judgment. Even the children and teens are talking about it. It seems like no one is going to win and everyone is going to end up losing in this battle unless we change the way we approach each other.

The gospel story quoted above is taken from a dispute. In every debate, the objective is to win. The Pharisees and the scribes wanted to win and make Jesus look irrelevant. They believed that they were on the side of the Truth. The issue was about the greatest commandment. For Jesus and the religious leaders, the Truth is manifested in the Law. However, they greatly differed in its interpretation and of course, each of was convinced that their version was the absolute Truth. Jesus’ enemies were looking for a loophole in His understanding of the Law. The scribe asked Jesus what he thought was the foundation of the Law.

Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. ” Mark 12:29-31

We have heard this verse countless of times. It doesn’t mean we understand it. Unfortunately, it is easy to overlook its profundity. It requires us to love a God whom we cannot see or imagine. We are incapable of understanding the magnitude of who God is. Therefore, how can we possibly love the God whom we cannot see or imagine? Perhaps the first step is acknowledging that we are not God. We have to admit to ourselves that we are not the center of the universe. All knowledge and wisdom doesn’t begin and end with us. Life does not exist for our benefit. We don’t have complete control over anything or anybody. We are nothing really but an insignificant collection of atoms in this universe of infinite number of atoms. The most amazing thing is that we exist and we are aware of our own existence. There is no reason why we should exist and yet we do. We could say that it is by chance. We could also consider the possibility that we exist because God loves us. We love God because God first loved us by bringing us into existence and the only way we can discover our significance in this world is through discovering this Love. God is beyond our comprehension but His Love is manifested in us. Our existence depends on His love. We can know God’s love by walking in Love. This is the only thing about God that is accessible to us. We can learn about God’s nature when we learn to exercise His love. Jesus tells us that it is through loving our neighbor as ourselves.

I love myself and therefore, I think the best of myself. I believe that all my opinions and reasoning are based on wisdom because I love myself. If I have to love my neighbor as myself, then I have to think the best of my neighbor even though I dislike the way he or she thinks. This is quite tough. I can understand why the Pharisees and the Scribes had a tough time with Jesus. They disagreed with everything He said. They could not find anything positive in Him. They could not imagine that Jesus was wise like them. If the Pharisees and the scribes loved Jesus, they could have learned something from Him. Unfortunately they didn’t, well, except this one. This is the twist in the above narrative. This scribe was different.

The scribe was surprised by Jesus’ answer. He heard what Jesus said and acknowledge its wisdom. He was not merely attacking but he was listening to his enemy. This is Love. It is recognizing that the people we dislike or disagree with also have the capability to speak the Truth to us. We can miss the most important lessons about the Truth if we think that our enemies have absolutely nothing to say to us. However, all my natural instincts work against me. Our natural tendency is to disregard our enemies completely. However, the gospel goes against our natural human instincts.

Listening to people we dislike or even despise goes against our nature. However, being able to receive from them the Truth like the scribe did in this narrative is even harder. I am only able to receive words and wisdom from those whom I love and cherish. Jesus is setting the bar very high. However, an enemy of Jesus was able to attain it. Therefore, I don’t have much of an excuse if I claim to be a follower of Jesus.

I don’t have to give up my version of the Truth. I need something to guide me in this world. However, my truth has to be based on Love if not, it is just worthless noise. Love means I have to listen even those whom I don’t like. I am not sure how I am going to do it. However, there is always grace. It gives us the strength to admit that we are just a tiny atom in this wonderful existence founded on the Love of God. Therefore, we don’t know everything that there is to know. However, we can listen and learn something from people when we least expect. For this, we need to understand what it means to love. I believe that now I am ready to go back to the streets and be with the children and teens even though I am convinced that we have some difficult times before us. Nevertheless, there is nothing that is going to hinder me from loving my neighbor.

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