How should we address the priests who make use of sacraments to meet their narrow political interests? It is important for the believers to recognize the theological, spiritual and moral bankruptcy and foolishness of the Bishop, and his supporters, who used the last sacrament to disgrace and discredit the life of a man who had made a commitment in life to stand with the poor, for social justice and against an exploitative religious framework. Jesus addressed such religious leadership of his time “brood of vipers.”
What has been enacted in Kerala, over the last few days, is a vivid exposition of how, through the institution of administering sacrament, those who have become mediators of God’s grace, establish their authority over the masses and exploit them.
While anybody may come and offer solace to the existential grief of a man and his family; it is despicable to use such an act to further their narrow political agenda. If one is to go by what these Bishops loudly proclaim; religion becomes relevant only in the weakness of human beings and not in their strength. It is this understanding of religion that was the subject of Karl Marx’s critique, and it is this sort of a religion that was condemned by Marx as the opium of the masses.
Even without the final sacrament, Mathai Chacko will resurrect into the “new heavens and the new earth, where righteousness is at home” (2 Peter 3: 13). It is not whether he knew Christ, but it is on what he has done for “one of the least of these who are members of my family” (Mathew 25: 40) that he is going to be judged on the final Judgment day. Christ has made it very clear that “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
The biggest challenge that religion faces today is the practical/functional atheism of those who claim to be theists. It is to these representatives of religion, the high priests, the Pharisees and the elders of the people that Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” (Mathew 21: 31)
The meaning of the Greek word ‘Sacrament’ is to make holy. Mathai Chacko is a man who transformed his whole life into a sacrament by taking to selfless and sacrificial life service to the least of this world. Sacrament is not meant for managing others. It is something to be lived. It is to transform this material world into a heavenly one. It is this quest and struggle for a “new heaven and a new earth” that brings a Christian and a Marxist together.
Helder Camara, who was an Archbishop in Brazil once said, “When I give food to the poor they call me a saint; when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist.” A theology of social justice that goes beyond a theology of distributing rice porridge to the poor is alien to the Church leadership in Kerala. Christ is also alien to them. They are the collaborators of those who crucified Jesus. Those within the faith community need to recognize this.
It is not possible for anyone with a sense of history to argue today that a believer cannot be a Marxist and a Marxist cannot be a believer. Only thing is that theism must be defined. Theists are not a monolith. The problem raised by the Bible is not that of atheism but of false Gods. It is false Gods that make human beings vulnerable and then exploit them. The atheism and materialism of Marxism were essentially meant to affirm human dignity and responsibility and their role in the inevitable transformation of history.
Marx’s understanding of religion took shape within a historical context where religion turned human beings into vulnerable agents of an all ‘powerful’ God, and whose vulnerability was then exploited by a priest–capitalist nexus to preserve and protect the existing capitalist system and the ruling class interests. This was a very true to life analysis of an existing socio-political reality.
The Gospels make it very clear that there is a similar critique in the Bible also. It was the collaborators of this religious consciousness and god consciousness that ultimately crucified Jesus. It was Christ’s affirmation of humanity and his commitment towards human history and creation that ultimately made the Cross an inevitability. Who can reject the critique of religion that is evident in the Cross? It is this strand of thought that later influenced theologians like Dietrich Bonhoeffer to write about a “religion-less Christianity.”
It is with this critique of religion that the Church leadership which takes interest in fattening its own self by making the masses vulnerable and then exploiting that vulnerability, and reducing Christ into an idol, need to be confronted. In this instance, the final sacrament has become an instrument of the Church to exploit rather than offer solace.
The responsibility to confront this Church leadership is not just that of Pinarayi Vijayan alone. It is also the responsibility of all those believers who follow Christ, who envisioned new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns and ultimately gave his life for it.
What has been enacted in Kerala, over the last few days, is a vivid exposition of how, through the institution of administering sacrament, those who have become mediators of God’s grace, establish their authority over the masses and exploit them.
While anybody may come and offer solace to the existential grief of a man and his family; it is despicable to use such an act to further their narrow political agenda. If one is to go by what these Bishops loudly proclaim; religion becomes relevant only in the weakness of human beings and not in their strength. It is this understanding of religion that was the subject of Karl Marx’s critique, and it is this sort of a religion that was condemned by Marx as the opium of the masses.
Even without the final sacrament, Mathai Chacko will resurrect into the “new heavens and the new earth, where righteousness is at home” (2 Peter 3: 13). It is not whether he knew Christ, but it is on what he has done for “one of the least of these who are members of my family” (Mathew 25: 40) that he is going to be judged on the final Judgment day. Christ has made it very clear that “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
The biggest challenge that religion faces today is the practical/functional atheism of those who claim to be theists. It is to these representatives of religion, the high priests, the Pharisees and the elders of the people that Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” (Mathew 21: 31)
The meaning of the Greek word ‘Sacrament’ is to make holy. Mathai Chacko is a man who transformed his whole life into a sacrament by taking to selfless and sacrificial life service to the least of this world. Sacrament is not meant for managing others. It is something to be lived. It is to transform this material world into a heavenly one. It is this quest and struggle for a “new heaven and a new earth” that brings a Christian and a Marxist together.
Helder Camara, who was an Archbishop in Brazil once said, “When I give food to the poor they call me a saint; when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist.” A theology of social justice that goes beyond a theology of distributing rice porridge to the poor is alien to the Church leadership in Kerala. Christ is also alien to them. They are the collaborators of those who crucified Jesus. Those within the faith community need to recognize this.
It is not possible for anyone with a sense of history to argue today that a believer cannot be a Marxist and a Marxist cannot be a believer. Only thing is that theism must be defined. Theists are not a monolith. The problem raised by the Bible is not that of atheism but of false Gods. It is false Gods that make human beings vulnerable and then exploit them. The atheism and materialism of Marxism were essentially meant to affirm human dignity and responsibility and their role in the inevitable transformation of history.
Marx’s understanding of religion took shape within a historical context where religion turned human beings into vulnerable agents of an all ‘powerful’ God, and whose vulnerability was then exploited by a priest–capitalist nexus to preserve and protect the existing capitalist system and the ruling class interests. This was a very true to life analysis of an existing socio-political reality.
The Gospels make it very clear that there is a similar critique in the Bible also. It was the collaborators of this religious consciousness and god consciousness that ultimately crucified Jesus. It was Christ’s affirmation of humanity and his commitment towards human history and creation that ultimately made the Cross an inevitability. Who can reject the critique of religion that is evident in the Cross? It is this strand of thought that later influenced theologians like Dietrich Bonhoeffer to write about a “religion-less Christianity.”
It is with this critique of religion that the Church leadership which takes interest in fattening its own self by making the masses vulnerable and then exploiting that vulnerability, and reducing Christ into an idol, need to be confronted. In this instance, the final sacrament has become an instrument of the Church to exploit rather than offer solace.
The responsibility to confront this Church leadership is not just that of Pinarayi Vijayan alone. It is also the responsibility of all those believers who follow Christ, who envisioned new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns and ultimately gave his life for it.