By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Panaji, April 20, 2020: The lockdown. It is getting longer. We have completed one-month lockdown period.
For a change I decided to try a hand on my father’s profession: gardening. He had excelled in whatever he tried out. I had watched him try new methods in his cultivation. In fact, he had no hesitation in taking risks.
With a little land behind our house, I used flowerpots for my experiments. I am impatient to wait to see the seedlings sprout. So, I made the sprouts inside the house and felt happy to watch it to grow. In fact, for some seeds, to make it to sprout quickly, I even scaled off the outer hard cover. It worked to my satisfaction.
I also realized that for the primary growth of the seedlings the nutrition was within, and it had to die to itself, to let the life within it to grow (Jn 12:24). The new shoot gradually takes its center stage with vigor.
I grasped, that’s what happened with the death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, what happened to the disciples after meeting the resurrected Christ is amazing. They were a transformed lot.
In these days as I read the Acts of the Apostles I marvel at the valor displayed by the disciples of Jesus. They were uneducated, simple folks, mostly.
Peter, the impulsive fisherman had suddenly emerged as the PRO among them. He became an inspiring speaker rich in heavenly wisdom (Acts 3:1-10); a motivational speaker so to say. The crowd absorbed his message instantly (Acts 2:36ff) and they were moved to the point of asking “What shall we do brothers?”
Jesus was alive in Peter. Jesus was his nourishment.
Truth has the power of stirring hearts. The disciples had Jesus with them, in them. One by one the disciples are affirmed and challenged through various instances (Lk 24:13-35). There were also moments when they were terrified seeing sudden appearance of Jesus (Lk 24:35-48). Jesus calmed their fears.
When we look at these occurrences the message we get is “Be prepared for surprises in life”. God’s blessings come to us as un-hoped for successes. It is faith that transforms our failures into occasions to learn something new.
The members of the Council (Acts 4:13-21) were amazed at the effective preaching of the illiterate disciples of Jesus. The only evidence the disciples could offer for their argument was their works: acts of healing, teaching, encouraging and helping people ( Acts 3:1-10).
It is the same works of mercy and charity which the followers of Christ are extending to those in need even today to the migrants, to the poor, the sick and homeless.
The disciples had surrendered themselves to their Master Jesus, and the spirit of the Master had taken over their lives.
Have I let myself be overpowered by the spirit of the risen Lord? I ask myself in wonder.
When I allow the Lord to work in me, my life will be different; it will have the focus on the Master. His powerful presence will take over my strengths. May be like the once impulsive Peter, who loved the Lord deeply, I may be empowered to share about the Lord fearlessly with determination, without looking for human respect. It has not happened so far in spite of the many ‘Resurrection’ feasts I celebrated. But I am still hopeful.
A few weeks ago, a gentleman invited me to go for a prayer meeting. When I asked for explanation, he just said, “You come, and see.” When I coaxed him, he said, “There is a Hindu man giving Bible Classes on every Sunday. And simple people are flocking to him to hear him and experience peace. Those who attend his program are faithful to the Daily Reading of Bible.” I recalled the words of Jesus, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Mt 12:30).
I traveled to the place among others with a Hindu couple with to two kids aged 3 and 8 months. It was an hour’s drive. This family was prepared with snacks and water to spend the day there.
The prayerful singing passed through the closed doors, as I waited hesitantly on the veranda. A few minutes later I too joined the crowd inside…all deeply engrossed in prayer: singing, clapping, praying aloud.
What was in this man to attract so many simple people—men, women, youth, children; non-Christians, mostly daily wage earners, I wondered. As I sat on the chair behind with closed eyes, I felt like sitting among crowd that listened to Jesus. They forgot their tiredness, enjoyed listening to him.
My thoughts also went to a gentleman who traveled with me sometime ago. At one moment he said, “I was a Catholic” which made me turn and look towards him expecting an explanation. How did he feel alienated from the Church as a regular church goer? “In our church we do not get participation. We listen to the priest and return home,” he said.
“Now, every week we have Bible study. Once a month we visit elderly people or children at the orphanages. We have an opportunity to reach out to people in need,” he explained enthusiastically.
The first community of Christians was concerned about the others in need. They shared their life and wealth; they shared the spirit of Jesus that they had imbibed. They were equals; no hierarchical structure separated them.
We are living in a moment the when walls of religion, caste and power are tumbling down. The tiny little virus is making everyone think of the impermanence of our existence.
Everyone is reaching out to the other in love and compassion. The doctors, nurses and health workers among others, are living what Jesus said, in the practice of their profession: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much.” They are giving themselves to the last drop in order to sustain the life under their care.
Will our life after the arrest of Covid -19 be different than our life before its appearance?
Will the lockdown teach us the value of human relationship?