As we gather together, once again, to celebrate the feast of Sacred Heart - the second Friday after the feast of the Holy Trinity (which is the next Sunday after the Pentecost) - we are presented with two texts Jn 6:1-15 and I Cor 10:1-11.
It's about food - bread; drink - wine. Pleasant topic - great meditation.
I searched and assessed that against a social situation of apparent affluence (people, in general, can afford??? many things, which they couldn't imagine even to use once in a life time!), there are about 1000 people in Kochi, being fed daily - about 300 lunch packs by Love & Care; about 200 lunch at General Hospital, About a 100 odd by Vincent de Paul (Society), perhaps, another 500 with all the care homes for the destitute put together. They are being fed. This is the miracle of multiplication of bread - it's actually not the multiplication of bread, rather, multiplication of 'plates', multiplication of sharers! Miracle is that of shattering of mind (heart walls) and extending of hearts - making the hearts sacred!
It is glad news that our state earlier led by UPA and now by NDA, and in Keralam, now with LDF which promises to 'set everything right' (എല്ലാം ശരിയാക്കിത്തരാം), has taken on itself the 'divine' task of feeding the citizens through 'right to food'! We have an act, a right, and can force the state to grant its citizens food! That is politics of rights, a right politics; also a polity getting divinized - without, perhaps, intending to do so!
Having been a rather busy person for the past 19 years of my professional life, I had 'work' for my lunch, and found lunch time a waste. However, when my colleagues travel with me, and I press on getting work done, and not attending to their basic need for food, they feel, I am 'heartless'! the point is, even those who are affluent, and have enough to eat, feel cared for and good, when they are offered food in time, are shown a concern that they should have their food in time. Giving food is a divine act, a sacred act, and a sacred duty humans share with the humanity, as they go about seeking their own food.
Food is fundamental in sustaining life; for maintaining health - it is even stated, that right food itself is the medicine; it is also something which provides pleasure - but we are cautioned to 'eat for a fuller life' not to be the slaves of food. Finally, it for fellow ship - those dine together are more likely to stay together. Eating together builds up fellowship. .
The miracle no. 1 lies in the fact that 'earth produces enough for everyone's need; and not enough for anyone's greed' (Mahatma Gandhi). However, the miracle is not effective as human mind gets covetous and greedy and accumulates for oneself much more than what one requires, and names that 'enterprise' and in the process deprives many.
The miracle no. 2 is the more vital one - touching the human mind and transforms it into 'sacred heart' which is willing to share, leading to enough for everyone, and even more!
The third aspect of the miracle is a dimension of sacred heart - it does not waste resources. It is responsible, and not wasteful. The miracle of transforming hearts leads to 'abundance', but that does not make one casual towards earth's resources. What was left over - again, it was abundant - was gathered and stored.
And it reveals a vital dimension of the Sacred Heart - while it establishes fellowship with humans in sharing ideas, experience and resources; it finds time for fellowship with the Transcendent by being away from the crowd, in the company of the Mother Earth, in communion with the Father in heaven. That is what Jesus did after the very impressive intervention - being away and alone with the Alone!
Jesus, as the Sacred Heart of the 'heartless, formless, transcendent God' realised the 'god-particle' in food from the very beginning. In India, we used to call 'annam' as 'daivam'. As Gandhiji pointed out, to the poor man, God appears in the form of bread. Hence anna danam is 'God giving', it is god begetting process!
The fundamental nature of food was recognized very well by Jesus, when he taught the disciples the prayer 'Our Father'. Evidently, there is a prayer for the 'daily bread'. Starting with physical needs? Yes and no! While Jesus is realistic about the bodily needs of survival for performing dharma, His priorities are set clearly in the prayer. It is God's glory, God's rule and above all, God's will that have to be achieved. The second part of bread, forgiveness etc. is a natural fall out of the first set of prayers. That is why he said about himself, 'My food is to do the will of my father' (Jn. 4:34). If God's will is sought, the other needs are taken care of, sooner or later. That was St. Chavara's experience as well. Hence he could proclaim: എന്നുടെ ഭോജനം നീയെ പാനിയം എനിക്ക് നീ.
In today's world, the Christian challenge is not merely of gathering and sharing; rather of producing - safe and enough food. Today, producing food has to become a spiritual exercise for all, especially for Christian.
Finally, a call to extend our habits of sharing food - it has to go beyond the realm of humans - it has to reach out to those other beings - not necessarily by directly feeding them; rather, at least by not exhausting their food resources by greedy and limitless exploitation. This thought was so well expressed about 50 years ago, by Basheer in his thought provoking work: The Inheritors of Earth (ഭൂമിയുടെ അവകാശികൾ)
Greetings of the feast of Sacred Heart - June 3, 2016
It's about food - bread; drink - wine. Pleasant topic - great meditation.
I searched and assessed that against a social situation of apparent affluence (people, in general, can afford??? many things, which they couldn't imagine even to use once in a life time!), there are about 1000 people in Kochi, being fed daily - about 300 lunch packs by Love & Care; about 200 lunch at General Hospital, About a 100 odd by Vincent de Paul (Society), perhaps, another 500 with all the care homes for the destitute put together. They are being fed. This is the miracle of multiplication of bread - it's actually not the multiplication of bread, rather, multiplication of 'plates', multiplication of sharers! Miracle is that of shattering of mind (heart walls) and extending of hearts - making the hearts sacred!
It is glad news that our state earlier led by UPA and now by NDA, and in Keralam, now with LDF which promises to 'set everything right' (എല്ലാം ശരിയാക്കിത്തരാം), has taken on itself the 'divine' task of feeding the citizens through 'right to food'! We have an act, a right, and can force the state to grant its citizens food! That is politics of rights, a right politics; also a polity getting divinized - without, perhaps, intending to do so!
Having been a rather busy person for the past 19 years of my professional life, I had 'work' for my lunch, and found lunch time a waste. However, when my colleagues travel with me, and I press on getting work done, and not attending to their basic need for food, they feel, I am 'heartless'! the point is, even those who are affluent, and have enough to eat, feel cared for and good, when they are offered food in time, are shown a concern that they should have their food in time. Giving food is a divine act, a sacred act, and a sacred duty humans share with the humanity, as they go about seeking their own food.
Food is fundamental in sustaining life; for maintaining health - it is even stated, that right food itself is the medicine; it is also something which provides pleasure - but we are cautioned to 'eat for a fuller life' not to be the slaves of food. Finally, it for fellow ship - those dine together are more likely to stay together. Eating together builds up fellowship. .
The miracle no. 1 lies in the fact that 'earth produces enough for everyone's need; and not enough for anyone's greed' (Mahatma Gandhi). However, the miracle is not effective as human mind gets covetous and greedy and accumulates for oneself much more than what one requires, and names that 'enterprise' and in the process deprives many.
The miracle no. 2 is the more vital one - touching the human mind and transforms it into 'sacred heart' which is willing to share, leading to enough for everyone, and even more!
The third aspect of the miracle is a dimension of sacred heart - it does not waste resources. It is responsible, and not wasteful. The miracle of transforming hearts leads to 'abundance', but that does not make one casual towards earth's resources. What was left over - again, it was abundant - was gathered and stored.
And it reveals a vital dimension of the Sacred Heart - while it establishes fellowship with humans in sharing ideas, experience and resources; it finds time for fellowship with the Transcendent by being away from the crowd, in the company of the Mother Earth, in communion with the Father in heaven. That is what Jesus did after the very impressive intervention - being away and alone with the Alone!
Jesus, as the Sacred Heart of the 'heartless, formless, transcendent God' realised the 'god-particle' in food from the very beginning. In India, we used to call 'annam' as 'daivam'. As Gandhiji pointed out, to the poor man, God appears in the form of bread. Hence anna danam is 'God giving', it is god begetting process!
The fundamental nature of food was recognized very well by Jesus, when he taught the disciples the prayer 'Our Father'. Evidently, there is a prayer for the 'daily bread'. Starting with physical needs? Yes and no! While Jesus is realistic about the bodily needs of survival for performing dharma, His priorities are set clearly in the prayer. It is God's glory, God's rule and above all, God's will that have to be achieved. The second part of bread, forgiveness etc. is a natural fall out of the first set of prayers. That is why he said about himself, 'My food is to do the will of my father' (Jn. 4:34). If God's will is sought, the other needs are taken care of, sooner or later. That was St. Chavara's experience as well. Hence he could proclaim: എന്നുടെ ഭോജനം നീയെ പാനിയം എനിക്ക് നീ.
In today's world, the Christian challenge is not merely of gathering and sharing; rather of producing - safe and enough food. Today, producing food has to become a spiritual exercise for all, especially for Christian.
Finally, a call to extend our habits of sharing food - it has to go beyond the realm of humans - it has to reach out to those other beings - not necessarily by directly feeding them; rather, at least by not exhausting their food resources by greedy and limitless exploitation. This thought was so well expressed about 50 years ago, by Basheer in his thought provoking work: The Inheritors of Earth (ഭൂമിയുടെ അവകാശികൾ)
Greetings of the feast of Sacred Heart - June 3, 2016
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