Rereading life through grace

 As a day is spent, in the moments of evening, all that is left are smoke and ashes. We are afraid to dream because certain loss of precious things has shattered our light. Perhaps there has been betrayal, or deep rejection. There was no shining cloud to lead, and no fire appeared in the dark. All our securities, certainties, and comforts are challenged, because our sense of self, of belonging, was so deeply attached to what is now missing. This experience of loss truly compels us to reshape our personal world. We begin to regather our memories, retelling our story with grace.

 Jesus reinterpreted the pain of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. When we are alone with our thoughts in the quietness of the evening, we can tell him to stay with us. Experience the consolation of the Holy Spirit and cultivate self-compassion, moving beyond the self-blame that so often accompanies loss. Being in grace, trusting in God, we can confront our painful emotions. This prevents suppression and helps us integrate the loss into our life story. Our fears, brokenness, temptations, and even the matters of our sins can be transformed into the most sincere prayers of the heart. We develop a deeper capacity for empathy, self-awareness, and kindness. It is about more than just surviving loss; it is about emerging with a strengthened sense of purpose.

Picture of life

We all have a picture of our lives, an image that tells the story we have lived. Darkness is woven into this picture, and we see this images in different colours and depths. We might add deep colours and shades of black lines, picturing them in dark shades. I have become lonely, very rude, life is lost, unable to enter into society, I am not comfortable with others, … many are the lines we have drawn to the picture.

Even in this darkness, does God see this picture? Does he know the fabric of these colours? Evening came and then morning came, and God found it was good. That was God’s pattern of history. All our stories, our pictures are joined to God’s history. See the grace descending deep into the fabric of the painting, to the roots of our life. Feel the consoling and comforting grace touching our bitter pains and tears. There will be a mercy sprouting and flowing from our own hearts into our pains. Darkness offers an embracing mystery over our black shades, and grace dissolves them into peace, turning our life into an anointing grace.

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Powers of Service

The Church exists in communion and service, a living, breathing communion. We have the heavenly powers to help us to live this communion and service, in our growth and common journey.   They are not distant, unreachable figures, but rather part of this same communion, offering us heavenly help as we strive to live out the Gospel.

It is true that it is in our blood a craving for being a hero, a victorious fighter. We see it reflected in so many stories. Many of our recent stories show arrogant, angry, and vengeful heroes. Even angels are sometimes depicted, like superheroes ready for battle. If we are not careful, this imagery can shift our focus away from the true spirit of the Gospel. Perhaps we still want to keep the military conquest styles for divine actions and the mediation of saints.

The Gospel isn't a story of military conquest; it's a life of radical love, sacrificial service, and living communion. The archangels represent three essential services of the Gospel: preaching, healing, and resisting evil. Being the children of God, Freedom in the kingdom of God, and the time of God’s favour are very essential to all these three services. In fact, there is no place for

heroism or conquering figures in any of these. If presented with a heroic image, we risk missing their true, humble, and deeply spiritual nature. The angels, especially the archangels, are powerful.  Their power is exercised according to divine will, which is always about love and service, rather than domination or destruction.

True divine assistance is not a force that overtakes, but a grace that uplifts and sustains us. Instead of power-language about God’s protection and saints’ mediation, we need a language that touches life to live a life of grace. God's actions, mediated by His heavenly hosts, are always directed towards drawing us into deeper communion, fostering mutual service, and helping us to fully live out the grace of the Gospel. They are there to assist us on our common journey, to inspire us to be more like Christ – humble, loving, and ever-serving. It's a beautiful vision of a Church living in true communion, both earthly and heavenly, all walking together in peace and service.

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Comfort Lazarus

The abundance of the earth is a gift from God, born of divine benevolence for the good of all living beings. While society often values generosity and kindness, encouraging charity for the vulnerable, a profound tension arises when wealth accumulates excessively in the hands of a few.

The Gospels, in many ways, present a radical critique of unchecked wealth, illustrating how it can blind individuals and corrupt systems.

The Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-22), who “had many possessions,” was closed within his own wealth. He was not able to free himself to follow Jesus. The parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21) condemns greed and self-sufficiency. He could think of his abundant harvest, only to "eat, drink, and be merry" for many years. But the story tells us that security can be found only in the benevolence of God. The rich man in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31 is blind to Lazarus's hunger and wounds. His dress of purple and fine linen is also seen with the pious Pharisees who prayed in the marketplaces. Under this system of hypocrisy, the poor become negligible and invisible. It is a permitted ethical failure. 

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I am Lazarus, and I lie still,

Outside the gate, upon your hill.

You wear the purple, the finest thread,

While dogs come softly to lick my head.

You feast within your golden hall,

But my shadow casts no shade at all.

 

You pass me by, with hurried step,

My suffering is a secret kept.

Your holy robes, your pious plea,

Are sewn on a world that doesn't see.

The poor are now negligible, I'm told,

A permitted failure, growing cold.

 

I am Lazarus, and I lie still,

Outside the gate, upon your hill.

You pass me by, with hurried step,

My suffering is a secret kept.

 

When wealth is power, and coins decide,

You look away from the turning tide.

In lands of conflict, chaos, and dust,

Your favour leans where you can trust

To gain advantage, a quick return,

While homes and bodies crumble and burn.

 

Your short-term interest, a selfish game,

Writes impunity upon my name.

You justify the awful cost,

The human measure that is lost.

You see no hunger, no gaping wound,

Just silent dirt on hollow ground.

 

I am Lazarus, and I lie still,

Outside the gate, upon your hill.

You pass me by, with hurried step,

My suffering is a secret kept.

You see no hunger, no gaping wound,

Just silent dirt on hollow ground.

 

The child's burned face, the flowing tear,

The homeless fright, the constant fear—

These are the things you choose to hide,

As if the heavens have never cried.

But hear this truth, whispered and stark:

My wounds don't vanish in the dark.

 

You pass me by, with hurried step,

My suffering is a secret kept.

You see no hunger, no gaping wound,

Just silent dirt on hollow ground.

 

But hear this truth, whispered and stark:

My wounds don't vanish in the dark.

For two or three generations on,

The horror lives, from dusk to dawn.

The pain you permit, the grief you justify,

Will echo in every child's sad eye.

Will this cycle break? Will this suffering cease?

Will the world finally choose lasting peace?

 

The answer waits upon your choice,

Will you finally hear the Lazarus voice?

The poor are here. The wound is fresh.

Will you be responsible for the broken flesh?

Will you come near the burned faces of the innocent?

You pass me by, with hurried step,

My suffering is a secret kept.

I am Lazarus, and I lie still,

Outside the gate, upon your hill.

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Friends of God

Making home with God in our daily realities is the whole grace of the gospel. Jesus is on a journey proclaiming the Gospel, and ensuring life and forgiveness to all. Very often it came in his preaching that it is not merely hearing the Word, or calling Lord, Lord that makes the will of God being realised in our life, but it is in putting the Word into practice.

A virtuous person was to walk in the path of God in the guidance of wisdom. To act virtuously and with justice is more pleasing to the Lord than sacrifice. God is pleased to guide the hearts of the virtuous, because they are like flowing water that God can turn it where he pleases (Proverbs 21:1-6,10-13)

Walking with Jesus the master, the disciples learned not only to imitate, but to find the Way, Truth and the Life. Gradually they would find the Word as truth and life in themselves. Listening to the Father, the voice that Jesus constantly listened to was that he was the beloved Son. The meaning of this voice never remained as a status or honour, it placed him on the path of fulfilling the will of the Father. He saw that all who seek the will of God in a sincere heart are all related to him and completing his mission. They would be his mother, brothers and sisters.

What was the mission of Jesus, and how are we to identify our part by listening to the voice speaking in our hearts? First of all, we must commit our ways to the Lord and trust in him, and he will act (Psalm 37:4-5). Committing our ways to the Lord is not merely passivity, it is an active and compassionate response to the daily realities relying on God's grace. Leaving our ways, and placing our trust in God, seeing and listening to the wounded, the crushed, being with the abandoned the last and the labelled  is a costly affair, but then we are opening ways for God to act. God will open surprising ways of how we ourselves are engaged in fulfilling his will.

Jesus could see many great righteous people around him, but they did not have the heart of God. Those who really listened to him were given the power to become children of God. They become the mother, brother and sister to him. Anyone who receives the Word, conceives it and gives flesh, is born anew in Christ as his brothers and sisters."

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Let Justice Flow like a River

Seek good, not evil, that you may live!

During the 8^th century BC, the Northern kingdom of Israel enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity under King Jeroboam II. But, this wealth was concentrated in the hands of the powerful elite, leading to exploitation, corruption and injustice. Wealthy landowners used corrupt business practices to seize land from impoverished farmers, often through debt slavery. The courts, which were meant to be a source of justice, pronounced judgment in favour of the powerful and the rich. “We can buy up the poor for money, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and get a price even for the sweeping of the wheat” (Amos 8:6). Give attention to the words, ‘buy up the poor’ and ‘get a price.’ Even the ‘sweeping of the worthless chaff and dust’ was monetised.  The prophet Amos emerged as a powerful critic of injustice. Amos’ voice was not just against individual acts of greed, but it challenged a systemic failure – a system built on power, greed and exploitation, fundamentally opposed to God’s will. The judges and religious leaders turned a blind eye or actively participated in this exploitation.  Israel had great patterns of devotion through lavish festivals and rituals, yet they ignored the core covenantal demand for justice.

Almost in the same period, Judah, under the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah a prosperous urban elite thrived while an increasingly desperate rural populace suffered. Caught up between the rising Assyrian Empire and existing regional powers, military campaigns demanded immense resources, and the costs of warfare and tribute to foreign powers became an unbearable burden for the agrarian sector. Land acquisition for the sake of the returning military personnel was viewed as a means of reward or social advancement. Often these were, in fact, assimilated into the landowning elite, intensifying pressure on small farmers. The Mosaic Law clearly points to the sacredness of land as God’s gift and the protection of the vulnerable from perpetual indebtedness and landlessness. But the rich, according to Micah, were “eating the flesh of the poor” (Micah 3:3).

Both Micah and Amos reminded that true worship was inseparable from social and economic justice, and compassion for the oppressed. In this light, standing for justice and peace is not just a socio-political approach; it is a spiritual act.  

In the Roman-controlled Galilee of Jesus’ time, a tenant farmer’s debt was often paid in agricultural produce, like grain and oil. Large landowners would employ a steward to manage their estates and collect these debts. In the parable in the Gospel today, the steward was dishonest in his duty. When he knew that he was not going to be a steward anymore, he shrewdly manipulated his master’s accounts, he was doing great good for the debtors, but to ensure his future security. The steward understood that the oil’s commission was excessive, and its cancellation would generate immense gratitude from the debtor. The wheat’s commission, while smaller, was also significant. It seems that the steward’s actions were not simply a reduction of the core debt, but rather a total cancellation of an additional fee, the steward’s personal commission.

In the Gospel passage, we hear Jesus saying, “Use money to win you friends.” It is something strange. But, see, after the end of the parable, we see that the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, scoffed at him.  Jesus’ parable about the dishonest steward, in fact, makes a cynical observation about the world’s ways. Verse 15 says further that what is exalted by men is abominable to the Lord. In chapter 22:25-27, speaking on authority, Jesus would say, “The rulers of this world lord it over them, and those in authority call themselves benefactors,” as though doing great favour for those whom they rule, but Jesus says, “you should not be like that. Similarly, Jesus’ words, “make friends for yourselves by the means of unrighteous wealth” could be seen as a verbal irony, saying that you should not be like that. Even the ‘prudence of the serpent’ mentioned in Matthew 10:16 does not encourage wickedness and cunningness.

The Rich Fool, in Luke 12:13-21, was also planning for his pleasurable future. The steward, facing a great shame, uses his managerial power to secure his own future. Jesus was clear in his messages that one cannot serve two masters - God and money, “whoever is dishonest with a very little is also dishonest with much.” At the end of the parable, we have the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), telling us what happens to someone who turns heartless with wealth. His failure to be a good steward of his wealth leads to his eternal ruin. The end of the rich man acts as a clear and direct conclusion to the teaching begun with the dishonest manager, showing the tragic consequences of even those who secure their future.

The powerful often have a noble or even a divine face, because the system sanctifies them to maintain itself. There may be unfair labour conditions, lobbying for self-serving laws, and the evacuation of people in the name of development. See the global investments for war and ammunitions in the name of security. All these appear to be noble purposes and good for the public; a cry for justice may be termed a revolt. Their so-called ‘humanitarian service’ is often a strategic tool, a calculated investment that primarily benefits themselves. Like the dishonest servant in the parable, they use many resources to build a network of favours and goodwill that ultimately perpetuating an unfair and self-serving system. They become unquestionable and sanctified. The label of humanitarian goodwill permits compromises on more fundamental responsibilities, like paying fair wages, ensuring safe working conditions, or protecting the environment.

The systemic injustice condemned by the prophet Amos in ancient Israel has a parallel to the economic imbalance caused by the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, even in our time. Both situations are rooted in a concentration of power and resources that leads to the exploitation of the vulnerable and a breakdown of social justice. In Amos’s time, the wealthy elite were faithful religious, performing rituals and sacrifices, while simultaneously trampling on the poor and denying them justice. The grand façade of religiosity and piety itself stood as a powerful symbol of exploitation and injustice. The master who praised the steward for his shrewdness, himself must have been an unjust man, overcharging the debtors in the first place. Steward was participating in a system of exploitation within his given capacity. The steward’s actions make a calculated survival strategy, creating a network of people who will owe him favours. This system, of course, would never “let justice flow like a river.” 

When the poor and the vulnerable are trampled underfoot, and when the system permits it and sanctifies it within religion and political structures, corruption, injustice, and oppression are normal practices, and even the divine justice will be trampled underfoot. Justice is not an act of one moment, nor a revolution or an outcome of activism. It is a matter of how we choose to form a conscience for our person, institutions, organisations and the church at large. We can be easily insensitive to injustice when it is embedded in our systems and celebrated in their normalcy.  True worship of God is inseparable from a commitment to justice for the poor and vulnerable.

Thinking that we are glorifying or pleasing God, we have many verses of the Bible in our houses, on our cars and so on, should we not add this verse “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24). It is not a mantra, it is an active response to god’s will, and a sincere commitment in every walk of our lives.

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Justice Mode of Divine Friendship 🎵

“Let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-failing stream.”

 

I am not a prophet,

not a prophet’s son.

Yet I see the pain of God,

He is crushed

Trampled underfoot.

I am not a prophet,

But the fire burns me up.

 

How can you sell my people,

breaking their necks,

making a system

built on power, greed and exploitation.

but making merry,

celebrating

festivals and rituals.

Making mockery on God,

God on the wall,

but

eating the flesh of the poor.

Should I break my heart

should I shout aloud

I cannot be blind

I cannot be heartless.

I see the cry of God

the tears flow like a river

dark red, so deep, full of pain.

Do you worship God,

ensure justice, peace, and kindness,

have a sincere heart,

Do you seek mercy of God?

ensure justice, peace, and kindness.

you sell my people,

throw them away,

take their land,

you gather money,

accumulate power.

you show yourselves great men of goodness.

Justice is not a magic

it is forming a conscience,

a sincere response to god's will.

Hate evil and love good; 

maintain justice in the courts, at the altars

Seek good, not evil, 

that you may live.

Let justice flow like a river,

righteousness like ever-running stream.

Let justice flow like a river,

righteousness like ever-running stream.

I live Him

I stood far and watched him

So far, but my heart was drawn to his love.

He never knew me, but his love was calling me,

I thought I cannot go near him

I am ugly, bad, unworthy

I messed up my life, How can he receive me?

 

He did not see me, because I hid myself enough

But he embraced all, loved all,

They were worth something.

His love covers my falls, my guilt

Yes, I know that I am forgiven

I am given a new life, a new love.

 

I went near to him

Many looked at me,

with anger, with hatred, with scorn

they condemned me “I am a sinner.”

For him, I was someone precious.

I wept, the tears fell on his feet,

I wiped them, I kissed his feet.

I had the kiss of his love, though I stood far,

Let me walk in love to life,

Will I fall, does not matter,

That love raises me up.

 

He says, I loved him much,

O my love,

In my crave, in my helplessness

Was my heart beating for you?

All I had were pain and shame

In my pain, was I loving you?

I love him, he is around me,

I breath him, embrace him,

I live him.

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