THE GOSPEL’S REPUBLIC
John 8, 31 - 36.
“So if the Son sets you free, you
will indeed be free.”
Devotion
to our country is deeply rooted in our nature. It is a source of power and
strength, inspiring noble ideals and heroic sacrifices. Loyalty to country
enhances a person’s character. This comes by the proper use of freedom. The
word “freedom” is not to be taken lightly; and Jesus certainly did not, since
he knew how easily it could turn to licence and bind a man to falsehood and lead
to self-destruction. So he would work to liberate man and put him on the way to
that wholesomeness that is at ease with God and fellowmen. No one can claim
this freedom by a natural privilege, either by being a descendant of Abraham or
being born after 1947. To belong to an elect nation needs more than the
negative claim of not having been born of prostitution into an idolatrous
people. No one becomes free by the accident of birth into a particular caste or
nation or community. A slave owner is as much or even more a slave than his
subjects. Just as Christ invited the
Jews to imitate the faith of Abraham rather than make a nominal appeal to
descent from him, so also he invites us Indians to confront our freedom and
respond courageously to the call of God in this particular moment of our
history, which is a far cry from ethnic pretentious and caste peculiarities. One
who refuses Jesus Christ makes a pact with the forces of falsehood and hands
himself over to the culture of death.
So
what do we see in Jesus? Here is one who
scouted the claims of the Pharisees, denounced the false certainties of a
frozen religion and invited the people’s faith in him as the ground of their
freedom. What scandalous provocation! Such a person, they thought, ought to be
ostracised, left among the enemies of the people, the schismatic Samaritans and
despised classes, or to the power of evil. And that is precisely where we find
Christ, among the sinners and outcasts and those who have not broken through to
freedom.
Just
when the opposition touched a very high point of tension, Jesus affirmed that
HE IS greater that Abraham himself. In fact, he attributes to himself the
supreme title of the divine liberator of all peoples: “I AM”. “I Am” will lead us into freedom and the
future of unlimited possibilities, even if it means going by way of the cross
and hardship. When as a nation we have put aside our hubris and false sense of
independence and allowed the one who is greater than Abraham to take over our
lives, we shall realise what the true freedom of God’s republic is.
Our
patriotism does not stand under the claim of an exclusive nationalism, any more
than loving one’s mother implies despising other mothers. Our country plays a
rôle in the ensemble of nations, which is greater than itself. Different
countries exist that they might enrich one another. Today especially we need to
ensure that the call up of patriotic feeling is not based on selfish retreat.
It is within our country and through it that we must work for the world’s renewal.
Such action presupposes that our country exists and is in robust health, which
in turn supposes moral discipline. Corrupt individuals do not make for a strong
nation. Even this is not enough, for a country that wants to be strong must
also be loved. And our love for India is not real unless it bears fruit in love
and fair treatment for all its citizens, whoever they may be. This is consonant
with God’s desire for nothing less than complete human authenticity, which
offers a wide palette of enriching attitudes. Freedom is a necessary risk. God
took a “risk” with his creation, and since he has conquered the human heart
through the pierced and risen heart of Jesus Christ, we can confidently hope
that the nation, self-assured in its material and human resources, will undergo
a change of heart, and that all will yet be well.
While
to the present leaders we pledge our co-operation, we recall with affection the
leaders who have died, so also our brave soldiers who shed their blood on the
field of battle. A nation that forgets its past has no future and deserves
none. The future, as far as we can see, is shadowed in trials, and calls on our
courage. But the best stories of heroes are about those striding bravely into
an unknown tomorrow, full of risks. So, trusting in one another’s loyalty and,
above all, in the God of exodus, who will lead us, we march with strong hearts
and firm steps, for we “have many miles to walk and many promises to keep.”
No comments:
Post a Comment