|
|
||
|
|
GOD’S DESIGN TRIUMPHS OVER WORLD DISORDERS
The Theme, God’s Design Triumphs over World Disorders, will draw the attention of all the children of God to reflect biblically and theologically upon God’s design for the world and for human life. Analyzing the present day world, all would agree that disorders exist in our world that endanger life on the planet Earth and makes the future bleak. This makes it necessary for the child of God to go back to the design set by God for the world and to mend ways that distort God’s order.
While the Book of Genesis in the Holy Bible tells us about God’s act of creation, the Book of Revelation instills hope about the New Heaven and New Earth. Between these two, lie the facts of human sin and God’s design of redemption. The Church as the sanctified community has the mission and ministry of carrying out the will and purpose of God and she carries it out in her pilgrimage in the Kingdom of God..
I. The persons who wrote about the Creation were not standing by when the Creation happened. God created the world. God is not an object to be perceived like other objects in the world. God is not exhausted by our understanding. To a believer, this is a conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1). The faith that is expressed in the Creation narrative in the book of Genesis is not different from the faith that can come to any and every honest and humble soul even today.
The opening words of the Bible, “In the beginning …” reveal the Hebrew faith as the foundation of all faith. The entire created order is described as created by God from chaos (it was formless, empty and dark) according to a divine plan. Therefore, it has a purpose and meaning. The Bible says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Light, sky, water, land, vegetation, stars, bird, livestock etc. were then created. That brooding spirit has not vanished from our universe even now. The act of Creation is also not ended. “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” (Psalm 24:1.) In faith, we can say “This is my Father’s world” (Maltbie D. Babcock). Humans and all that are created can rejoice in the Lord and trust that creation is framed so that all can love and grow. ‘God made me, and God made the world I live in’. The question with which we should approach the Creation narrative is ‘Who created the universe?’ and not ‘How was the Universe created?’ Similarly, ‘What was the purpose of Creation?’ And not ‘What was the process?’ The beauty of God’s design is that God reveals Himself through the Creation (Psalm 19: 1, 8:1)
God found that everything He created is good (Gen 1:31). All are wanted. Nothing is unnecessary. Even the Jatropha seed can provide clean, burning diesel. Each aspect from the Creation story carries with it a special insight. For example, God created the Light. Light is life. Light brings life, guidance, awareness and beauty (Psalms104:2, Psalms 97:11). One can make a difference with the whole outlook when one’s attitude changes. The universe is a purposeful creation of God and not a result of chance. Life is created by God and life belongs to Him. In God, all things belong to some consistent pattern. Likewise, everything in the universe also fits together to have a purpose and meaning.
Humans are created as the crown of Creation. God is involved in creating humans from the dust of the ground forming in the likeness and image of God and breathing the breath of life. God created humans with mind and conscience, with longings and hopes and aspirations. This is freedom. This is responsibility. This is also a privilege, as the Psalmist describes in Psalm 8:3-5. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” God has given the responsibility for humans to fill the earth, have dominion and take care of the rest of Creation. Though humans are set in an environment that physically is far bigger than they are, there is coherence in the whole fabric of existence and an unfolding purpose in history and in life. God has a supreme intention and the whole Creation is moving in that direction. Sabbath is a celebration of the Creator with the Creation. God refrained from the work that He was doing, thereby finding time to review, refresh and to rejuvenate. This indicates why even the Creation needs rest and leisure (there needs to be a rhythm of work and rest). Sabbath also celebrates diversity while maintaining the spirit of unity, but not uniformity. The Creator God holds together the organic and the inorganic things of this world and of the other. It also gives a spirit of relationship and dependability with God and with the rest of Creation. No one is an island. God is understood as person in community (Trinity).
Creation is not a finished story. There can be new beginnings. Also, humans can create out of what God has created. There can be discoveries and inventions. Faith and science go together. Nevertheless, faith can take you to a level that reason fails to reach. This is the beauty of God’s design. It is in the light of this, that we must view the major developments of our times, such as modern genetic engineering, theory of Human Stem Cell Research, cloning, human genome theory, Big Bang theory and the like. Scientists like Douglas Melton and David Scadden of Harvard Stem Cell Institute are making discoveries that bring life-saving breakthroughs. They are conducting innovative experiments for presently incurable diseases.
Douglas Melton came to stem cell research 17 years ago from a very personal experience. When his son Sam was 6 months old, he became ill with what his parents thought was a cold. He woke up with projectile vomiting and before long began taking short, shallow breaths. Then he turned grey. When Melton and his wife, Gail brought the baby to the Emergency Room of the hospital, doctors performed test after test trying to figure out what was wrong, but all in vain. A nurse thought to dip a testing strip into Sam’s urine, which diagnosed that the boy’s body was flooded with sugar: he had type 1 diabetes. The disease had no cure and patients like Sam needed to perform for themselves the duties their pancreas cannot. The diagnosis changed not only Sam’s life, but the lives of his parents and older sister Emma as well. Melton said “This is no way to live … I was not going to sit around. I decided I was going to do something”. Melton began trying to find out a way to make insulin-producing cells by using stem cells. Today, the field encompasses far more than just embryonic and adult stem cells; it has expanded into a broader field of regenerative medicine. Melton’s lab at Harvard is bringing the newest type of stem cells which do not rely on embryos at all. Last summer, Melton stunned the scientific community by finding a way to generate new populations of cells by reprogramming one type of fully matured cell, so it simply became another, bypassing stem cells altogether.
In 2004, South Korean researcher, Hwang Woo Suk announced that he had generated the first human embryonic stem cells using an abbreviated cloning method. If this is possible, it would mean that cardiac patients could essentially donate themselves a healthy new heart without the fear of rejection. Since 2006, scientists have come up developing a cocktail of genes known as ‘induced pluri-potent stem cells’ where no eggs, no embryos are needed. It is now possible for researchers to churn out unlimited quantities of a patient’s stem cells which can then be turned into any other cells that the body might need to repair or replace. David Scadden says,” The idea now is that you can view all cells, not just stem cells, as a potential therapeutic opportunity. Every cell can be your source… it may not be continuous”.
“It’s a wonderful time”, says Scadden, “keep your seat belt on because this ride is going to be wild”.
II. Noah’s Ark, as presented in the book of Genesis, is a symbol of God’s design of His redemptive activity. As we read Genesis 3 to 8, we find that the Bible is speaking about human sin. It speaks about the great wickedness that filled the earth.’ The earth was corrupt; full of violence. Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil at that time (6: 5). The evil in this world is not due to some relentless fate; it is a contradiction of the Creator’s purpose as we see in the Garden of Eden. The disorder of the world is due to human sin.
God in His wrath says “I will wipe away” (6:7), everything will perish (6: 17). God’s desire is not to destroy or annihilate. Therefore, he designs the Flood and the Ark and brings in Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man (v. 9), blameless among the people. He walked with God (v. 10); he did everything just as God commanded him. Here Noah portrays the model for a human being to be in this world according to the design of God, whereas Adam and Eve by their disobedience distorted the image. The intensity of the wrath of God when humans sinned is revealed in the narration of the Flood that came up with the rains for 40 days and nights and the water remaining for 150 days. But, then God Himself decided to redeem His Creation by saving a remnant from all the species.
God sending Adam and Eve out of the Garden is to be seen not simply as a punishment but also as an act of redemption. Noah’s Ark is a symbol of God protecting all the species He created. God’s ultimate plan is not destruction but redemption. The rainbow in the narration of Noah’s ark is a sign of God’s covenant (Gen 8:20, 21). God says “Never again will I curse the ground because of man even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. Never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.”
We are bewildered whenever there is a Tsunami, hurricane, forest fire, flood, earthquake, and volcanic eruption, or calamities brought about by humans, such as nuclear war, genocide, or holocaust. In human history there are natural calamities and moral calamities. Humans are responsible for moral calamities. Some of the so called natural calamities are also understood these days as caused by the sin and irresponsibility of human beings. There is greed in place of attending to the basic human needs. There is waste in place of good stewardship. There is lack of accountability and transparency surrounding human actions. Today, we need to become watchful about private interests that try to possess the resources which ought to belong to the whole people. To sin against the land is to sin against the good life which God has put within the reach of humanity. God’s people ought to have a concern for the forces that destroy the land. The church is to be socially responsible and religiously sensitive for the preservation of Earth’s fertility and its beauty.
CGod’s design in a world of disorder is visible in the divine plan of election- the calling out of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. It then moves on to the level of building up a community and redeeming them through Moses and thus the history of Exodus. The pilgrim people moved to the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The settled people of Israel had Kings and prophets as we find recorded in the books of the Old Testament. A prophet is one who accepts the call of God unconditionally, and without looking for the fruits of his labor. If priests represented the people before God, prophets represented God before the people as mouth pieces of God. Prophets interpreted history to the people in relation to God. Prophesying does not necessarily mean predicting the future; it can also be interpreting the message of God in the specific contexts of the present. To take an example, the prophet Micah lived as a contemporary of Isaiah (BC 742 – 687) at the darkest time in the history of Israel when it was divided into two kingdoms; and the Assyrians smashed the Northern Kingdom. Micah interpreted this as a punishment from God for the sins of the people such as Baal worship, child sacrifice and sorcery. There were also dishonesty, bribery, injustice and distrust among the people. Here Micah understood God who was purifying and restoring the people in the world of disorder through punishments. He also saw beyond the difficult times and predicted the rule of a messiah who would appear in order to save the people of Israel. He stated to the people, the expectations of God: ‘He has showed you, O man, what is good! And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:8.) Justice, mercy and humility are virtues that also reveal the nature of God. Spirituality is not simply to be found in religious rituals but essentially in a deep and personal relationship with God who is our Ultimate Being.
The Messianic concept of the Old Testament imparted faith and hope to the people of Israel who felt helplessness because of their sin and its consequences; it also reveals the intervention of God in history in order to impart courage and strength to the people by His promises and blessings.
Though the much talked about movie, Slum Dog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle presents Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) growing up with his tougher brother Salim (Mathur Mittal) in obscene and criminal poverty, the film celebrates the triumph of a kid from a slum background who was able to rise to the rank of a millionaire. When we consider that Simon Beaufoy made 4 trips to India within 18 months to get a glimpse of India, and more specifically the Juhu slum in Mumbai, to write the script, and the Director spent 13 million dollars to produce the film which led to the Oscar awards of Feb 2009, the whole phenomenon has a message of hope.
Today, wherever hope is found in the midst of an otherwise hopeless context we will be able to find the presence of God who acts in history and leads his creation to a brighter future. God’s design triumphs over world disorders.
III GOD’S DESIGN ON THE CROSS OF CHRIST The greatest design of God, theologically and biblically speaking, is the Cross of Christ revealed in history. There was a cross in heaven before one was raised on Calvary. The apostle Paul writing to Timothy says “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel” Therefore the cross includes the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his public ministry, death on the cross, resurrection, ascension and second coming.
Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He is fully God and fully human. The Church Father Anselm raised the question ‘why is Jesus Christ both God and human?’ God incarnated Himself because of the disorders of the world caused by human sin. In such a situation humans are helpless; only God can help. At the same time, humans are the ones who need help. Therefore the person and work of Jesus is God’s design for the world’s disorder. He incarnated Himself into a world of poverty, famine, ill health, illiteracy, and tyranny. He continues his incarnation into a world of poor economic opportunities, malnutrition, insufficient nutrition, inadequate clothing and shelter, absence of clean water and so on.
God’s ministry of incarnation cannot simply be confined to the human birth of Jesus but is to be seen as God stooping down from his higher position to the fallen nature of creation in order to redeem it. Therefore we see in Jesus Christ, God incarnated in places where humans are tempted, fall sick, feel hungry and thirsty, marginalized, rejected, and cast away. Jesus is generally called a man for others or “the periphery man.” He was a friend of sinners and identified with the least of the humans in society. He showed a distinct preference for the poor and the deprived. He was the expression of God’s love. He came to give abundant life.
Jesus walked through the streets of Galilee and was popularly called a Galilean. He was the living design of God in human form. Though he was brought up in Nazareth, he walked several times to Jerusalem and entered Samaria, a place Jews refused to visit. He walked into the hearts of people by the ministry of healing, preaching and teaching. This was an expression of his love. He loved nature and spoke about it as he walked along the earth. There was no place that he would not walk into: homes, synagogues, the sea, boats, cemeteries, palaces and courts. He loved children, listened to women, called disciples, welcomed the crowds, and befriended the lonely. Among the disciples that followed him, there were the 12 men and several women, some Pharisees and scribes, and lots of those who received his blessings. He walked with a heavy cross to Mount Calvary where he was crucified. This was God’s answer to the disorders of the world. It is interesting that the resurrected Lord not only appeared to the disciples at several places but walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The disciples were called to discipline their lives according to Jesus’ teachings. The Gospels are full of his exhortations. “If anyone wants to follow me,” said Jesus, “let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” He called the disciples to abide in him: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” ( John 15) . Jesus taught the disciples the greater lessons of love by saying, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Discipleship is God’s design for the world’s disorders.
The Apostle Paul experiencing his life in Christ speaks about a new humanity. He says “I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me.” Writing to the Christians in Rome, he says that the life in Christ is taking away the old man and putting on the new man. This brings forth the transformation of the life of the person and also of all that is related to the person. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This is marked by the Sacrament of Baptism.
The Christian life in the post-modern world is to be examined in the light of the process of globalization that presents a style of life of its own, imbued as it is with the spirit of consumerism, competition, and market culture. When we speak about an economic recession in a globalized world, we admit that we now owe more than we are worth. This calls forth our attention to become more productive through our lives, not only in support of ourselves, but also in support of the less privileged. If we live and work only for ourselves, we become individualistic, selfish and consumerist. It is only fair that the elderly who have worked hard to obtain the money that makes up their substantial savings, use it as they see fit. If they as parents pass on a large sum to the next generation through their wills, nobody will blame them. However, we still need to ask the question, “is it Christian?” Never forget that the Christian is called to care and share!
Medicare and Social Security are supposed to be insurance against the perils of illness, old age and poverty. These funds come from the hard labor of so many people. If an elderly woman dies with $700,000 in the bank, it is evident that she did not need the government money to pay for her health care. (Michael Kingsley, Time Magazine, Feb 2009). Nobody would say that she was cheating, but the fact is that she was not in need when she already has the money. So if she receives money from the government funds, she is taking it with a spirit of consumerism. It is worth remembering that we live in a new age of difficult choices.
The cross of Christ depicts the broken body of Jesus and his shed-blood. It is the sinless one who died for the sinful. The passion of Jesus exhibits not only his perseverance but also his spirit of renunciation.
Jesus Christ, during his public ministry, said: The Son of man has no place to lay his head (Luke 9:58). This is indicative of Jesus’ life-style of renunciation. Thyaga is the Sanskrit word for this. It not only means ‘to give up’ but also ‘to transcend.’ Jesus was not tied down to a particular place or bound by his close relatives. This has more meaning in the global world of today where not too many have permanent interest in any particular geographical space. This does not mean to become uprooted and left without any space in the world. Every living being needs a space in the inhabited world. But that need not make one worldly. Every living being, including the earth, belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). So the purpose of the pilgrimage of life is to be always with God. Living a life that is full of a sense of communion with God is the way of the Kingdom of God. This is the design of God. Most people today are more concerned with making life safe and secure rather than with making life meaningful. There are also many who want to make life pleasurable rather than purposeful. People mattered to Jesus. This is the nature of God. So Jesus renounced his home and relatives of Nazareth, and at times even went hungry in order to redeem the Samaritan woman and the like. He had to renounce his association with the disciples from the garden of Gethsemane to the top of mount Calvary. This was the result of the disorders of the world. The cross of Jesus is the key to the Kingdom of God, it is God’s design for the redemption of all mankind. The cross remains as a symbol of crucifying oneself. It denotes sacrifice, suffering and the lesson of giving. What do you see in the world? There is a very strong tendency in the contemporary world to consider the individual person apart from the community. No doubt we keep hearing expressions like “May I help you?” “What can I do for you?” and the like. But these are popular clichés often uttered mechanically. Personal freedom is glorified and radical individualism encouraged, without any consideration for the well-being of the community and this ultimately deprives people of a shared experience. Community living is vital for human survival; deprivation of it has been shown to increase the rate of suicide. Such deterioration of community creates people uprooted from society and devoid of support. The cross is a symbol of life. Death is not the end of human life. God has created life to be eternal. The resurrected Lord made it possible. St. Paul writing to the church in Corinth says: “..In Him, there is only Yes.” The band of Christians down through the centuries who committed their lives for the cause of Christ is the living truth that the cross is a symbol of life. The liberating power of the risen Lord is for all and it has to be shared and experienced by all. The Church is called to give to the world an Alternate Way, the Way of the Cross based on Love, Justice, selflessness, sacrifice and servanthood. IV. The Ministry of the Church I read recently that in Iran, a hundred thousand women group together regularly to help the government with health and hygiene in urban areas like Tehran. They attend to vaccinations, clean water and care for pregnant women. As a result, Tehran offers exemplary, primary health care and sanitation. It all started women from the neighborhood were taken, trained once a week in health centers and sent out to educate around 50 families in their neighborhood. Dr. Mohammed of Tehran says that “…more than 70% of the factors that affect health are essentially social”. These problems like drug addiction, depression, road accidents, smoking etc can be remedied by the conduct of persons or habits of persons in the community. The church is a community in mission. It is termed sanctified because its purpose is to carry forward the design of God. And this is performed, by the Church, as a community with a team spirit. The church cannot remain introverted, isolated or insulated from the rest of the world. The Church is to be a church without walls; a place that welcomes people, a place where sinners are healed and restored. The Church can be the light of the world and the salt of the earth only by responding to the needs, concerns and interests of those in the world, freeing them from the powers of darkness and redeeming them from the possible process of disintegration. This is the servant ministry of the Church. Who then are the ones who will be at the right hand of the King in the Kingdom of God? Mt 25.34 says: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the World. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in; I needed clothes and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me… Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25.34-40) God’s design triumphs over world disorders.
God’s design is not to consume the world or to annihilate it but to redeem and consummate it. It triumphs over the disorders of the world. We have a role to play in God’s design. Let us translate this more vividly through our lives. Mar Theodosius
|
|
