Interesting
points presented:
Breaking
"We" and Entering the "Other"
Joshva Raja
A community of frogs lived in a Samaritans' well for more than
fifteen years. In this well they called each other "Rock
Rock"
and so
the local people knew them as "Rocks". Unfortunately the
well did
not
have enough water for them to live and so they decided to move out.
They went to another well which belonged to a Jewish community with
whom these frogs are not supposed to have a relationship. But the
reality forced them to go to that well where the frogs called each
other "Talk, Talk", maybe because they were part of a
theological
community where you survive by talking. Both lived together sharing
the resources but neither the `Rocking' community nor the `Talking'
community thought about breaking each other's closed thinking and
narratives. Thus they lived for many years and in time had children
and grandchildren. As the grandchildren grew up they found it very
difficult to understand the differences between the `Rocking'
community and `Talking' community beyond the names and a few
practices. They found it fun and confusing to call one person `Rock'
and another `Talk'. They discussed the problem with their so-called
elders. But the elders were not convinced and explained how in
the `good old days' they had respected each other as
separate
groups. At last the young frogs decided to call each other "Frog
Frog", and that is how they got their name, `Frogs'. This
story
was
told to me by one of the co-passengers on a flight to Zurich.
Today I am going to speak on the topic: "Breaking We, Entering
other". I am referring to religious communities, leaving aside
ideological differences, although it is often difficult to do so. We
have different identities such as Christians, Indians, Asians and so
on. Wherever we go we try to relate to those who hold similar
identities and belong to one particular community. We are also
proud
of what we are at times. I do not think there is any problem with
this attitude. The danger comes when we break the relationship with
the other or when the other does not belong to our community or does
not share any commonality with us. I often look at those small
children who play with each other regardless of their caste, class
and tribal identities. When they grow young they are told that they
are different from others. Religious communities play a role in
differentiating people and creating a perception of `the other' when
they impart their religious narratives to their own children. Many
times the imagery of the `other' within the religious narratives
leads to confrontation and so to conflict. This is where I wanted to
point out that we need to cross the narrative of `We', in order to
enter into a good relationship and understanding with the other. At
times we do not have any space for the other in our narrative so that
the other has to move out of our community or simply remain a passive
spectator of our community's life. I am asking the question how is it
possible to break the concept of "We" (We-Christians,
We-Indians,
We's) and to enter the `other'. I would like to suggest three
steps
that are taken from the experiences of Biblical
Communities.
The first step is `Crossing the Boundaries'. Many boundaries are
raised by our communities and the cultural groups to which we are
affiliated. There are many stories in the Bible that could help us to
see how people could cross their boundaries. Particularly the
narrative of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus – one of
whom
was an alien. Though aliens were allowed to live in the midst of
Jews, there are only a few examples where this actually happened. It
was the reality of sickness and of survival which forced the Jewish
lepers to live alongside a non-Jewish leper. When Jesus sat with
tax
collectors and sinners, he was identified as one who breaks the norms
of the society. Yet many who have crossed their boundaries changed
the world. Today we are all Christians because Peter and Paul could
take the early Christian community beyond what existed as Judaic
Christianity in Acts 15:6-7. These people are guided by God and
see
the activities of the Holy Spirit as evidence in their breaking of
boundaries. In Acts 15, Peter recalls his own experience of Cornelius
and makes no distinction between Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Though some may say that Galatians 2 and Acts 15 are the same event,
we are not clear about the internal politics among the disciples and
other followers at that time beyond what is mentioned. While
challenging the concept of `We' Peter and Paul were successful not in
throwing out the old tradition and community narrative but rather in
enabling it to exist side by side. This was possible for them because
they crossed the boundaries of "We".
As a small boy I cannot forget a young
mentally retarded
person. This young man was not supposed to go to the next street
where backward caste people lived because he belonged to an upper
caste community. But as soon as he was released from his chains he
went straight to this street and asked for food from those houses.
The only wrong thing he did in the eyes of his relatives was that he
ate the food offered by other caste people. It is interesting to see
this person who cannot differentiate between people and who cannot
understand the community narratives but knew that there is something
more than food in these houses. This is the way the aesthete behaves
as well. An aesthete is one who desires to enjoy his life to the full
and not be bound by the rules and regulations of the community. He
surpasses the narrative not by breaking it but by providing a wider
interpretation to it or even widening the narrative itself. He is
often blamed for breaking the narratives and so is called
an `abnormal' person. Those who are guided by God also behave like an
aesthete who often crosses boundaries because God calls them. They
are called to see God's activities through the Holy Spirit among
those who do not belong to their own community. In this sense the
Holy Spirit can be active in other communities, but because many of
us are not ready to recognize this, or accept this, we often become
like Pharisees who do not cross - nor allow anyone else to cross -
the boundaries. God is one who crosses the boundaries and enables
people to recognize the other-ness of God within God-self.
The second step is "Engaging with the other"
The Exodus story in (Exodus 1:15-21)
tells
how the nurses
serve the community. I hope you all know the story where the nurses
not only refused to obey the Pharoah's command, but also worked
against it. Here I wish to highlight two points in this narrative. It
is often translated as Hebrew midwives. Josephus mentioned that the
writer of Exodus assumed these midwives were Egyptian midwives. One
of the interpreters even argues that if the initial vowel point is
changed of the Hebrew phrase to `hireq', then we can translate it as
midwives of the Hebrew women. In this sense it includes midwives who
could be Hebrew as well as Egyptian women. I would also assume that
these midwives could be from both communities. The second point is
that in Exodus this is the first time the word `God' is mentioned as
the object of faith of the midwives. If that is the case I could even
say that out of their fear for God both Egyptian and Hebrew midwives
did not obey Pharoah's commands. But two of the midwives have Hebrew
names – Shiphrah and Puah. My emphasis is on God whichever God,
the
midwives feared. When these nurses are engaging with the other, they
feared their own God – Hebrews their God and Egyptians their God
and
thus did not allow the genocide to happen in Egypt. The story says
God blessed them. While engaging with their own people and with other
communities the nurses risked their lives and crossed their
boundaries. When they crossed the boundaries of being "We",
they
could not only recognize the other-ness of God but also engage with
the other-ness of God as well.
Engaging with the other is not forced
by the
reality but out
of the fear of God and with faith in God they risked their lives and
crossed the boundaries. When they crossed the boundaries they became
part of the other's history. The best example in history might be St
Francis of Assisi. When he crossed the boundaries of "We" he
could
stand before the Muslim Emperors and negotiate peace. There is a need
to engage with the other at the risk of being excommunicated from the
community of "We". Churches in India think that they have
rights
as
minorities. This is well reflected in many of our institutions where
appointments for `others' are impossible and admission for `others'
is very difficult. These are our institutions, serving our people, so
why should we give admissions and appointments to others. Even
according to a Supreme Court Ruling fifty percent of school admission
should be given to the religious minorities. This is where I find a
problem with the exclusive claims of "We" as community. Of
course
our
schools should serve the Christian community - but not at the cost of
others. This is very true of other social organizations as well. In
India many Christians are struggling to come out of the boundary
of
the "We-Christians" need to all the preferences from our
institutions
and from our community.
Today we do not have many Christians
who wish
to engage with
others; rather disengagement is seen as returning to the fundamentals
of Christianity. Dr William Carey was asked to preach one Sunday. The
same weekend the British Raj government asked him to translate the
order prohibiting the practice of Sati. He cancelled his preaching
task and translated the order within a few days so that lives of
the `others' could be saved. Even though they were not
Christians
and hated him for using the word `Heathen' he cared for the other.
They were related to him only in that he came to serve them as a
missionary. It is God who wants us to engage with the others in
their search for meanings of life and of God.
The third step is – "Growing together"
What we often do not realize is that we
are
part of the wider
community. When the other majority or minority community is affected
we are also affected because the whole community and nation are
affected. In this sense Crossing the boundaries of
"We" and
engaging
with the other are not merely for the sake of others but for the sake
of our own lives and our growth. The little Israelite girl might have
been aware of the fact that she is brought as a slave in Naaman's
house. Her parents were killed or separated from her. But now she is
part of this new family and so shares the concern of her master and
tells him a way to get healed. Joseph's contribution to the wider
Egyptian community can be seen as growing together during the time of
famine. His help to the Egyptians enabled him to serve his own family
and find a way to grow together with the Egyptian people. Engaging
with others is often identified with a fear of syncreticism or loss
of identity.
Our God is one who not only crosses the boundaries but is also a
dynamic learning and growing God along with human beings. The
encounter of Jesus with Syro-Phoenician woman clearly shows the
learning process of Jesus himself. Jesus' vision is widened by her
challenge to him. He also understands that his own disciples had not
learnt the proper meanings of the Kingdom of God when two of them
came with their mother and asked for a seat at his left and right
side. When Jesus engaged with others in their search for meanings he
not only learns about but also nourishes the other's faith. Growing
together means that we, as communities, not only open our doors and
windows to welcome others, but also prepare to cross boundaries and
engage with others in their search for meanings; because God has
asked us to do this and Jesus has shown us the way.
Many have provided models for us. They remain in our mind through
history inviting us to follow them in the same way. During my MTh
studies a few highly qualified and educated theologians from Europe
came to see Mother Theresa in Calcutta. A few students were asked to
go with them to the convent. When we met her we were given a
brief
introduction to the convent and its services by a few of the sisters.
When Mother Teresa came these theologians requested her to show her
work. She replied saying you try to do what I am doing then you will
be able to enjoy what I am doing. We went to one of the childcare
centres. She asked the theologians to do as she did. On that day a
small child was playing on the ground covered in mud. Mother went and
took the child and kissed the child as it was. She expected the
theologians to do it. None of them could do what she did to the
child. For some it took time to come to terms with such an act but at
least some tried on that day. I find crossing the boundaries becomes
very important through symbolic acts like this. As a church leader
today you and I are called to cross our boundaries because religions
have created a fear of others. Minorities are seen as enemies of
majorities. The Christian community is not able to cross its
boundaries in order to interact with the other in order to help
others to live together. We as pastors could think of visiting the
houses of Hindus and Muslims to bring greetings. Our church magazines
could mention something about their festivals or give some
information that would be helpful to all the communities. When we
cross our own boundaries we will be able to engage with others not
through our loud speakers and evangelical radios; but through our
love and care others might also be able to break down their barriers
and see God in our activities. When we engage with others we grow in
faith, love and hope along with others. This is what I would call the
ministry of Breaking "We" Entering the "Other".
May God
bless these
words.
Amen.
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