THOMAS JACOB
We are in the threshold of another LENT season, commemorating the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ. This year, Kuwait Marthoma Parish members, due to prevailing situation, are deprived of the institutionalized rituals of lent. This can cause a sort of psychological vacuum in us. If we evaluate the true meaning of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and its impact on humanity,we can come to the conclusion that, it is not the practice which makes us to align with Jesus Christ, but our response and acceptance of his teachings and life.
Jesus Christ was, perfect man while being perfect GOD. But in the salvation task, his humanity is more important. He lived like us and among us. Jesus Christ, revolutionized the world in the path of justice of God. The love of God for humanity is manifested in him. Organized Church and its systems are not the one which unite humanity with Jesus Christ.
CHRISTIANITY AND SALVATION
God is conceived as the source and goal of everything; from him everything comes, to him all things return; he is the alpha and omega, the beginning, middle and end. Communion with God or absorption
in God, therefore, is the real purpose of all our strivings. It is the Nirvana of Buddhism, Moksha of Hinduism, Salvation or Paradise of Abrahamic Religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam in a broader sense.
Each human soul is a miniature of the Devine Soul, the creator, which is caged in an earthly body. The body, always tend to be in line with the rules of this world, which is sin. This was the reason for the fall of Adam. The worldly impurity prevents the human soul from its union with the divine soul which is pure. Jesus Christ, the Logos of God, incarnated as perfect man, shown the right path for salvation through his earthly sinless and perfect life, which none before and after could claim. He identified himself with the poor and marginalized. He was with the lepers, tax collectors and prostitutes, who were excommunicated from the society. He pleaded and worked for their rights. He fought against the religious rules and system, which exploited the society. He tried to reason with the sinners to lead them to right path. He showed the unconditional divine love to humanity.
The Cross and Sathyagraha
Mahatma Gandhi developed his idea about satyagraha, in the Indian freedom struggle from the example of Jesus Christ. It is a psychological mechanism by which one’s suffering may change the opinion of others. Oppressors may be moved by compassion to change oppressive
policies and practices. Christ’s sacrifice in the Cross of Calvary was to help alleviate the suffering of the oppressed, and to promote the moral advancement of others, including ones enemies and persecutors
To apply satyagraha (Cross of Calvary) one must align oneself with the truth. This means one must first seek out the truth — which is God — and then overcome the personal obstacles that cause one to prefer self-will, egoism, hatred, injustice, and so on. Jesus Christ demonstrated this principle to the world through his death in the Cross, which is the concept of Sathyagraha.
Christian communism
Christian communism can be seen as a radical form of Christian socialism based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom we can call as the FIRST COMMUNIST.
During the mid-to-late 1840s, the largest organization espousing communist ideas in Europe was the League of the Just, whose motto was "All Men are Brothers" and whose aim was to establish a new society "based on the ideals of love of one's neighbor, equality and justice". Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels joined the League of the Just in 1847. Under their influence, the organization became secular and atheistic and changed its name to the Communist League
Christian Mysticism
To know the meaning of God is to develop the conscious awareness of His omnipresence. This is Christian Mysticism. God is within each one of us. Christian Mysticism reveals God in the condition of love. It is a kind of spiritual and physical unity of man and God. This unity shows
us that God's pure consciousness is within, not far removed from us, but with us. Jesus also said this when he gave us the saying; “The Kingdom of God is within”
The highest state of intellectual development and emotional maturity can be termed the “CHRISTED” state because of the sacredness and purity of the individual who has achieved it. Jesus achieved this in his human life. This path is open to anyone regardless of their religious tradition, if they can become a living vessel of LOVE and TRUTH .
This is not a term used exclusively for the Christian religion, nor does it mean that you must adhere to the Christian belief system to attain this state. All of the world’s religious traditions offer a path to achieving this “CHRISTED” status, and people are free to find their way in the
context of their religious choice. In the process they will experience Christ, in his humanity, who is the only one and unique path for salvation.
Jesus: The Inspiration for Human Life
It is the goal of human life to evolve toward Spirit. One way Spirit does this is to incarnate as a human to reveal Spirit’s personality to humanity to serve as encouragement to discover and walk the path of Spirit. God actually steps down into the body of human to show us the way back home. The person who fulfilled this role for the humanity is Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ teachings and life centered around helping people to find their own internal source of Spirit. He lived what he taught. He was the embodiment of love and goodness, peace and understanding.
Let us work together, in achieving the task of our Lord Jesus Christ, by practicing his teachings in the true sense. Let us show to the world what is Jesus Christ by projecting his humanity rather than divinity. Let us proclaim this good news to the humanity. This is moksha and Nirvana. God is not discriminating anyone in the name of religion or status. Salvation is universal. It is not the privilege of anybody. It is free. All are equal in the sight of God.