The Journey 95: Transformation In My Personal Life

Read: Mathew 22



Yesterday, was the day when people in this country remembered Martin Luther King. It was on April 4th, 1968 that he was assassinated in Memphis. There was lot of programmes in Philadelphia, commemorating the life and the role that Martin Luther King played in this  country,  to  bring an end to “Racism”. But as the events were being unfolded, there was a lot of simmering and anger going on in another part of the country, in Sanford, Florida, over a killing of a teenage named Travyon Martin,  which is now taking racist undertones.  It was on February 26 that Travyon Martin, aged 17, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman,  a neighborhood watch captain. The cops did not arrest Zimmerman because they accepted his version that he shot in self defense. This is being vehemently opposed by the family members of the slain teenager claiming racist undertones since Travyon was black while Zimmerman was a white and Hispanic. This has led to  lot of demonstration and also putting the case into two dominant groups of people, one supporting and the other opposing the pleas of the mother of Travyon Martin. The news channel CNN carried a special news item on this killing a few days back. Whatever be it the nation is once again in the grip of this news of the so called “ racist” killing. History is repeating itself. Whenever there are people or leaders who oppose the existing system that are unjust to common people or to a majority of people, or if there is leader who opposes the powerful minority, the modus operandi of these powerful leaders was the same ruthless agenda– Kill. I think this is also what happened at the time of Jesus Christ.

                     This week we are meditating on the passion of Jesus Christ,  to help us to understand how we could also follow the way of the cross to bring transformation in our life. In the passage that we use for our  meditation, we find the religious leaders questioning Jesus on three issues. The first issue was on paying taxes, the second was on the question about resurrection and the third was on the question of the greatest commandment. Jesus answers all these question in a very shrewd and wise manner, putting these religious leaders to shame. Finally Jesus also asks a question in return to the Pharisees [ Mathew 22: 41-45], for which they are unable to answer and the word of God says that from that day onwards they dared not ask any more questions to Jesus Christ. But it is this that slowly led the religious leaders to plan and plot the killing of Jesus Christ. Here is messiah who want the rule of God, mercy and grace of God be shown to the common people, here is a leader who teaches and does his ministry in contradiction to the prevalent norms and values of the world. It is then  that the world decided, the silent powerful majority decides that it is time to kill him, to wipe him out so that their unjust laws of the world could still prevail.

We live in world where we claim that we are followers of Jesus Christ. But deep inside we also carry racist undertones in our life. If someone opposes us, or if someone has a different ideology than us, then we try to stay away from them, deliberately  not having relationship with them. We also sometimes live our life on the lines of the values and patterns of the world, so that we are not ostracized or targeted for our faith. In this week of observing the passion of our Lord, let us make an honest search in our life whether we also carry racist and judgmental attitudes in our life, because if that is present, then transformation is absent in our life.

Does colour still blind you?.....In your perceptions?....In your attitudes and in your relationships?.......