Thoughts on Mary at Christmas

This Christmas season it is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, much more than the Holy babe Himself who fills my imagination. Let me tell you why it is Mary, and not Jesus, who fills my mind at this time. Humankind, and not merely Christians, would have been poorer without the courage of Mary. It is very likely that some self-styled well-wishers would have advised her to terminate what was - from social and orthodox perspective even today - a very inconvenient and scandalous pregnancy. Mary must be hailed, respected and thanked for not conforming to the norms that the society was eager to impose on her. We get an inkling of these norms from the fact that Joseph, when he came to know she was pregnant before they were married, decided to put her away quietly, which was the maximum justice he could think of doing to her. Mary could as well have been stoned to death for conceiving outside wedlock, socially sanctioned and religiously sanctioned.

The tragedy is that many women conform to social norms and practices dictated by others. Nothing in the world will ever convince me that a woman would want to snuff out the life blossoming in her womb willingly. Every abortion is a war that the society wages in womb of a woman. The woman is only a battlefield. She is forced in ways subtle and broad- to consent, which is no consent at all.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is at the centre of my Christmas because she had the courage and true godliness to claim her right to be a free person. She obeyed God and her conscience first and only man-centered social norms thereafter. That, is the secret of human freedom. As long as we obey the authority of men unthinkingly and tamely, we remain unfree. It is only by exercising out right to obey God, rather than men, that we become free. If I remember right, that was the message that Apostle Peter gave almost at the beginning of his ministry as a wandering preacher. I will obey, he said, God rather than men.

Mary was, if you like, an outrageous rebel. She would not have mothered Jesus, if she were a nice and tame woman, enslaved by the norms and codes of the times. The all-important question is if the Christmas that we celebrate can really accommodate this liberting spiritual message. Is our Christmas, in other words, a religious affair or a spiritual celebration? What is the difference, you may well ask.

According to Jesus, the essence of spirituality is human liberation. "I have come", proclaimed Jesus, "to set the captives free." Jesus was not referring to political prisoners. Not many of us are. But all of us are prisoners of one religion or another. The mission of Jesus was to liberate people from unspiritual religiosity: religiosity degraded by men and the vested interest they hide under a mask of religiosity. Why do you think Jesus was born in cattle shed? God was making a new beginning outside the systems of authority and control maintained so rigidly by men.

Tom Mangattuthazhe

 

Christmas Message from UCF

Press Statement 

UCF extends to each one of you, the greeting of the Angels:  Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those He favours. (Luke 2:14)  
 
We might ask ourselves: Whom does God favor? The answer is simple. God favours those who are humble, simple and ready to accept Him. We know that: "The shepherds said to one another, `Let us go to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us' "(Lk 2:15). And They hurried away. What a huge difference between these poor shepherds and rich Herod, who, when he knew from the Magi that the "King of the Jews" (Mt 2:2) was born, "was perturbed" . The consequence is also extremely different: "The shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen" (Lk 2:20), meanwhile "Herod was furious … and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less." (Mt 2:16). Thus, we see that the one who accepts Jesus is happy, on the other hand, they who refuse Him are confused, unhappy and perhaps, angry. What path, then, shall we choose for ourselves?  
 
Jesus chose to accept the Will of God the Father. He was born poor, among the poor. At Christmas, He seems like any other child. Only by faith, do we believe that that new-born Child is the Son of God. Apparently, He shows no particular signs of His divinity. Just as in birth, Jesus' life has been always like that: to obey God, to offer Himself to all, to love all. Christmas is the feast, wherein, we best see the humility of Jesus, "Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are, and being in every way like a human being" (Eph 2:6-7). He did not keep any thing for Himself, he gave all what he had. From birth to death, Jesus lived giving His life for others. He came not to rule the nations but only to look for the lost sheep which is every one of us. Nobody has to fear the power of Jesus because He does not take anything away from the human authorities, so they should not fear Him. He continued by saying that the only things that Jesus takes away from men are divisions, hatred, enmity and all the negative aspects which make society inhuman. This is the reason for Christmas: Jesus takes the form of a slave because He wants to change us from being slaves of sin to being children of God.  
We must want to renounce ourselves and like Jesus, offer all we can, in service to others. There is also something else that we can imitate in the humility of Jesus at Christmas: reconciliation! When we reconcile with others, we become the true image of Jesus, Who came and gave His life in order to reconcile us with our heavenly Father. If we don't reconcile with our neighbors, our Christmas is empty, our crib is useless, we refuse Jesus as Herod did.  
 
Dear friends, UCF extend to each of you the peace proclaimed by the Angels, the joy of the shepherds, and above all, the great joy we experience after every reconciliation. This joy is Jesus. I appeal to you to be reconciled to God and to your brothers and sisters ( 2 Cor 5:20) so that you can be assured that you are among those whom God favours.  

Tom Mangattuthazhe

Secretary,UCF

 

UCF holds ecumenical Prayer service for Karbi Anglong

The month-long violence seems to have subsided in the hills of Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, but thousands of people displaced in its wake would have to devote lot of time to rebuild their lives. Even if the situation stabilizes it will take months to instill confidence among the thousands staying in relief camps to return to their homes. Thanks to confidence building and peace efforts the feud has remained strictly between the Dimasa and the Karbi communities.

The ecumenical prayer meeting organized by UCF today drew hundreds of people. Common pledge for peace, exhortations by eminent church leaders, powerpoint presentations, hymns on peace and harmony, candle service etc, were the highlights of the programme. The following action plans were drawn.

Our Christian community is called to reorganize our priorities and recommit our resources to confront the violence in our midst. This challenge will have many dimensions including:

• The call to pray for peace in our hearts and our region.
• The ability to listen - to hear the pain, anger and frustration that comes with and from violence.
• The duty to examine our own attitudes and actions for how they contribute to or diminish violence in our society.
• The call to help people confront the violence in our hearts and lives.
• The capacity to build on existing efforts and the strengths of our community: the work of UCF & UCYF, Schools and Campaign for peaceful coexistence and relief.
• Efforts to hold major institutions accountable, including government, the media and the criminal justice system.
• An advocacy strategy which moves beyond the often empty rhetoric of  debate and blame game, including:
• Supporting community approaches to crime prevention and law enforcement, including neighborhood partnerships and greater citizen involvement.
• Support for efforts to attack root causes of crime and violence - including poverty, lack of opportunity and family disintegration.
• Promoting more personal responsibility and broader social responsibility in our policies and programs.
• Building bridges and promoting solidarity across ethnic lines.
• Respond to victims of violence, hearing their anguish and defending their dignity.
• Strengthening families by putting the needs of children and families first in our priorities.

Tom Mangattuthazhe

 

United Christian Forum (UCF)

WHO - We are Church leaders, Evangelists, Pastors, Priests, Sisters, Journalists, Women leaders, Youth leaders, Youth activists and Peace workers of diverse backgrounds.

WHAT - UCF is the largest Christian organization based in Karbi Anglong. In moments of crisis, we try to provide information, relief and rehabilitation to all sections of people irrespective of cast, creed, and community affiliation.

WHY - To create an open space wherein representatives from a broad range of Christian churches and interchurch organizations, which confess the triune God and Jesus Christ as perfect in his divinity and humanity, can gather to foster mutual respect, to explore and address together common challenges.

MANDATE - In the spirit of John 17:21 “that all of them may be one... so that the world may believe that you have sent me” and because of our faith in a reconciling God (2 Cor. 5:18-21) UCF pursues the following:

• Deepen our commitment to God’s word and mission in the world.
• Enhance our understanding of contemporary expressions of Christian mission.
• Pursue principles and practices that enable us to deal freely, responsibly and peaceably with our Christian differences and distinctive qualities.
• Engage in theological and ecumenical reflection and practices in areas of mutual concern.
• Strengthen the wholeness of the Christian Churches by encouraging communication and cooperation.
• Foster relationships that may lead to common witness.

Other Organizations of UCF: 1. United Christian Youth Forum (UCYF)

UCF is convinced that progress can be made when people of good will organize themselves to make it happen.

Together, we can make a difference!

 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, contuer adiping elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amed sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate