Facing CRISES WITH CHRIST on our side
What then
would be right? Can it be then, that life is to be suffered through?
Sounds so inhuman, doesn’t it? Is the author of life, God, so heartless a Being
to create and programme life as a course of bitter suffering and endless pain -
and just these and nothing else? Again, a perspective that is holistically
Christian cannot subscribe to such a negative vision of human life, which could
lead to aberrations ranging from a naïve sadism to an ultra-rigorous
asceticism.
The truth
stands, not merely in the midway but, in an altogether higher plane: life is
to be lived to the full. That is what the Saviour declared as the very
purpose of his human advent: I have come that they may have life, life in all
its fullness (cf. Jn 10:10). Life in its fullness would mean, life considered
in all its dimensions and facets: sufferings and joys, victories and trials,
happiness and doubts, celebrations and crises! It is the adroitness with which
a person is able to face both the extremes of life’s sway, that the fullness of
his or her living can be judged. Not losing one’s perspective amidst felicitous
moments and not fumbling for meaning at life’s staggering instances are equally
signs of living one’s life to the full.
The
sanitary crisis that the world has plunged into in the past half of the year
and the lockdown experience that has augmented the concomitants of the pandemic
and made itself a multi-dimensional crisis of humanity, revealing its ugly tentacles
clutching the economic, social, international wellbeing of humanity. It is here
that a Christian reflection on such an experience becomes an important Gospel
that needs to be announced these days. In simple terms, how could we live this
lockdown with the Lord, is a pertinent question today. In a wider vision, it
has to be a reflection on how to face crises in life with Christ on our side.
This
reflection cannot but begin with the Cross – the centre and the summit of all
Christian experience. Is Cross a sadistic or rigouristic symbol, that the world
could dub as a block to human happiness and joyful existence? Is it all about
pain and death, giving up and enduring injustice? Certainly, these would invariably
be an outsider’s uninformed and unschooled views on the Cross, which is veritably
not merely a symbol, but an event, a watershed, a succinct summary of the
relationship between God and human persons, from Christ’s point of view. But
for a Christian?
The Cross
stands for faith in love. For God so loved the world, that God sent God’s only
Son to die on the Cross, that everyone who believed in him could be saved (cf
Jn 3:16). The Cross or the sufferings of Christ were born out of love that God
the Father and Mother had for humanity, that is, for God’s children. Secondly,
the Cross stands for love that is manifested in self-giving. The life,
suffering and death of Christ were his manifestation of his love for his
brothers and sisters, those whom he wanted to reconcile to the One who sent
him. After all, did he not declare, ‘there can be no greater love than one
laying down one’s life for one’s friends’ (cf Jn 15:13)? Thirdly, therefore for
Christ-ians, the Cross stands out as a reminder of the call to a life that is
lived in the Lord. St. Paul summarised that in his testimony: for me to live is
Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21). These perspectives on the Cross throw an
enormous light on the way we live our life these days with the crisis at our
doorsteps, for some unfortunately right within the household!
Pope
Francis’ words, recorded into a compilation recently published titled, Life
after the Pandemic, recalls to us: “if we act as one people even in the
face of the other pandemics that threaten us, we can make a real impact […].
May we find within us the necessary antibodies of justice, charity and
solidarity. We must not be afraid to live the alternative civilisation of love
[…]. In this time of tribulation and mourning, I hope that, where you are, you
will be able to experience Jesus, who comes to meet you, greets you and says, “Rejoice”
(Mt. 28:2). And may this greeting mobilise us to invoke and amplify the Good
news of the Kingdom of God.” Truly hope giving words from the Pontiff who made
the whole world turn its eyes to the empty Square which was filled that rainy
evening with the joys and hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the entire
humanity! The world has tried to move on from there, but has not succeeded to a
great extent in it. The crisis seems to persist and its aftereffects seem more
threatening than ever. The Pandemic still hanging around, how do we handle it,
in a Christ-like mode?
The term pandemic
seems to contain within it a related reaction: panic! It seems a natural
and immediate reaction, but to say the least: the most un-Christ-ian at it!
Where does panic come from? From fear; fear which is absence of security,
absence of knowledge, absence of light, absence of clarity – in short, fear which
is absence of love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,
for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection
in love, says John in his epistle (1 Jn 4:18). Let us not give into the
temptation of judging the so-called preachers and evangelists, who dare so
doltishly to interpret this pandemic as a punishment on humanity and its wiles.
Steering clear of those credulous claims, we need to remain calm, but vigilant,
during these moments of disease and danger, because we have the Lord with us,
come what may! The storms may blow, the arrows may fly and thousands may fall
all around us, and some even on us, but the presence of the Lord is always with
us and if we truly love the Lord, we have the assurance: ‘all things work
together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s
purpose’ (Rom 8:28). To panic is to doubt, to abandon the ever-present love of
God.
Another
related outcome, again alliterative with pandemic, is pandemonium! This is by
far what is created by some, who unfortunately find themselves in the driving
seat of the societies today! Pandemonium is simply a lack of order, a confusion,
a chaos, an anarchy that arises out of a lack of logic! Stigmatising socially
those who are infected with COVID-19, refusing burial grounds, overreacting to
news and numbers regarding the disease, believing in myths and illogical
rationale, promoting false propaganda with no proper grounds, blame game of the
governments and officials, callous oversimplification of serious issues
involved – have we not seen all of these in the past months? Apart from
demeaning the rational capabilities of the homo sapiens and questioning the
very existence of common sense, these have been from a Christian point of view,
lack of compassion and horrendous acts of denial of human dignity! While we are
reminded to never tire ourselves of doing what is right (2 Thes 1:13), these
are diametrically opposed to what is good, what is true and what is acceptable
in the eyes of the Lord (Eph 5:9-10). Creating or giving into a pandemonium,
can never be a Christian response to a crisis in life. Where Christ is, there
is light! Where can one find a possibility for pandemonium here?
Link:
https://indiancatholicmatters.org/icm-anniversary-special-facing-crises-with-christ-on-our-side/
Link:
https://indiancatholicmatters.org/icm-anniversary-special-facing-crises-with-christ-on-our-side/
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