Jesus Preached for the Creation of New Humanity (Contd):
Wrong Notions: As we have seen in the previous Post, inactivity is not to be encouraged not only in our interactions with others, but also in the needs and requirements of our day-to-day living. People tend to misunderstand the following words of Jesus: "Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well" (Matthew, 6: 33). Some people retort by saying that if you don't work for your food, who will give you to eat? That this is a complete misunderstanding of the words of Jesus is evident from what Paul says: "For even during our stay with you we laid down the rule: the man who will not work shall not eat" ( 2 Thessalonians, 3: 10). A greater misunderstanding may be caused from these words of Jesus: "You must work, not for this perishable food, but for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life" (John, 6: 27). The greatest work a man can do is to have and keep the true faith in the living God and in the one whom he has sent (See John, 6: 29; Matthew, 6: 25-34).
Reasons for Negativity: The staunchest enemies of true faith are fear and anxiety we may experience from our surroundings that are not favorable. It means that we trust and depend on the powers of this world more than in God who is always with us. It is no wonder that Jesus was dismayed at the fear of the disciples when their boat was about to sink although Jesus was with them. They were overtaken by the forces of nature so much so that they forgot all about Jesus who was sleeping in their boat. The same was true about Peter who, though started to walk on water at the command of Jesus, was distracted by the surroundings that he began to sink. In both of those instances Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. He told Jairus to have faith although news reached him that his daughter was already dead. Though Lazar was dead and buried four days before, Jesus asked his sister Martha to have faith to see the glory of God In both of those instances, the dead were raised to life and the only demand of Jesus was to have faith from the dear and near ones.
The Solution: In chapter 6 of Matthew's Gospel, we see that Jesus stressed the futility of being anxious for our daily needs instead of putting our trust in God. We must work in a very balanced way without getting stressed out for which full faith in God is absolutely necessary. In order to drive home the point, Jesus introduced the examples of lilies in the field and the birds of the air taken care of by the Father in heaven. The cynic who does not understand the passage would say that birds don't have to go to hospitals in their old age meaning that they do not need such provisions! The conclusion of all these is summed up: "So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own" (Matthew, 6: 34)..
The New Creature: The new human is a new creature. That is why Paul said: "Circumcision is nothing; uncircumcision is nothing; the only thing that counts is new creation!" (Galatians, 6: 15). The new human should be joyous and have no anxiety at all, but make known to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving all one's requests.(See Philippians, 4: 4-6). The adverse circumstances of our life are capable of crushing us only if we give into them without having faith in God. According to worldly standards we may be numbered among the fools of this world if we cling to God in faith, but the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the humans and the weakness of God is stronger than the humans' strength (See 1 Corinthians, 1: 25).
Faith and the New Human: The new human is a product of faith in the living God. Paul is very emphatic on the self-sufficiency of faith in the humans' justification before God. "I ask then: When God gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, why is this? Is it because you keep the law, or is it because you have faith in the Gospel message? Look at Abraham: he put his faith in God, and that faith was counted to him as righteousness" (Galatians, 3: 5-6). What Paul teaches is the preaching of Jesus Christ as is clear from the following words of Paul: "I must make it clear to you, my friends, that the Gospel you heard me preach is no human invention. For I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians, 1: 11-12).
Like the love of God, faith is a pure gift of God that is offered to every individual. It becomes our greatest work when we strive to maintain and develop it to produce fruits. It is not tied down to any particular religion, culture, caste, race, etc., but is the deepest response to the presence of God in the depths of the heart of every human being. Wherever there is an act of humanity we can see the externalization of faith deposited in our hearts by God Himself. Since Jesus Christ identified himself with our human nature in all its dimensions except sin, faith in him is the supreme example of externalization of faith. When it is sealed in baptism, faith is taken to the higher dimension of life in the Holy Spirit whereby the Christian is expected to live in Christ even while living in this world.
Faith and life: How shall we go about meeting the daily exigencies of our life in this world, if we are to live by faith alone? It is important here to understand clearly the nuances implicit in each situation of life and strike the right balance in combining the fulfillment of the needs of our body and those of our soul. Living by faith alone does not mean the license to be lazy without doing our daily duties. It does not mean that we should not take normal care , for example, of our health by approaching a doctor when we are sick. It would be wrong to go to a doctor as if that is the only means at our disposal to get well since even strong autosuggestion can cure us of many ills. Faith comes in when we cling to God as the ultimate source of our well-being due to which we shall use only whatever is legitimate and feasible means for getting well once we have fallen sick. Prayer is always necessary and should be continuous whereas bodily needs are to be taken care of periodically and in conformity with God's Will.
The Failure of Humanity: The creation of a new humanity preached by Jesus was something unintelligible to people whose hearts were hardened and who always wanted to maintain the status of their position and authority in society. Their main concern as in the case of Herod, chief priests, scribes and pharisees of the Jews, Pontius Pilate who condemned Jesus to death and High Priests Annas and Caiaphas, was to protect their own self-interest. They did not worry about keeping honesty, justice, fairness, compassion, etc., as the solid background of their actions and attitudes. Whatever suited best to attain their selfish interest was their guiding principle of life. The disciple who betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was overwhelmed by his love for money that he readily agreed to sell his own Master for thirty pieces of silver. (To be Contd).
Wrong Notions: As we have seen in the previous Post, inactivity is not to be encouraged not only in our interactions with others, but also in the needs and requirements of our day-to-day living. People tend to misunderstand the following words of Jesus: "Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well" (Matthew, 6: 33). Some people retort by saying that if you don't work for your food, who will give you to eat? That this is a complete misunderstanding of the words of Jesus is evident from what Paul says: "For even during our stay with you we laid down the rule: the man who will not work shall not eat" ( 2 Thessalonians, 3: 10). A greater misunderstanding may be caused from these words of Jesus: "You must work, not for this perishable food, but for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life" (John, 6: 27). The greatest work a man can do is to have and keep the true faith in the living God and in the one whom he has sent (See John, 6: 29; Matthew, 6: 25-34).
Reasons for Negativity: The staunchest enemies of true faith are fear and anxiety we may experience from our surroundings that are not favorable. It means that we trust and depend on the powers of this world more than in God who is always with us. It is no wonder that Jesus was dismayed at the fear of the disciples when their boat was about to sink although Jesus was with them. They were overtaken by the forces of nature so much so that they forgot all about Jesus who was sleeping in their boat. The same was true about Peter who, though started to walk on water at the command of Jesus, was distracted by the surroundings that he began to sink. In both of those instances Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. He told Jairus to have faith although news reached him that his daughter was already dead. Though Lazar was dead and buried four days before, Jesus asked his sister Martha to have faith to see the glory of God In both of those instances, the dead were raised to life and the only demand of Jesus was to have faith from the dear and near ones.
The Solution: In chapter 6 of Matthew's Gospel, we see that Jesus stressed the futility of being anxious for our daily needs instead of putting our trust in God. We must work in a very balanced way without getting stressed out for which full faith in God is absolutely necessary. In order to drive home the point, Jesus introduced the examples of lilies in the field and the birds of the air taken care of by the Father in heaven. The cynic who does not understand the passage would say that birds don't have to go to hospitals in their old age meaning that they do not need such provisions! The conclusion of all these is summed up: "So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own" (Matthew, 6: 34)..
The New Creature: The new human is a new creature. That is why Paul said: "Circumcision is nothing; uncircumcision is nothing; the only thing that counts is new creation!" (Galatians, 6: 15). The new human should be joyous and have no anxiety at all, but make known to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving all one's requests.(See Philippians, 4: 4-6). The adverse circumstances of our life are capable of crushing us only if we give into them without having faith in God. According to worldly standards we may be numbered among the fools of this world if we cling to God in faith, but the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the humans and the weakness of God is stronger than the humans' strength (See 1 Corinthians, 1: 25).
Faith and the New Human: The new human is a product of faith in the living God. Paul is very emphatic on the self-sufficiency of faith in the humans' justification before God. "I ask then: When God gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, why is this? Is it because you keep the law, or is it because you have faith in the Gospel message? Look at Abraham: he put his faith in God, and that faith was counted to him as righteousness" (Galatians, 3: 5-6). What Paul teaches is the preaching of Jesus Christ as is clear from the following words of Paul: "I must make it clear to you, my friends, that the Gospel you heard me preach is no human invention. For I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians, 1: 11-12).
Like the love of God, faith is a pure gift of God that is offered to every individual. It becomes our greatest work when we strive to maintain and develop it to produce fruits. It is not tied down to any particular religion, culture, caste, race, etc., but is the deepest response to the presence of God in the depths of the heart of every human being. Wherever there is an act of humanity we can see the externalization of faith deposited in our hearts by God Himself. Since Jesus Christ identified himself with our human nature in all its dimensions except sin, faith in him is the supreme example of externalization of faith. When it is sealed in baptism, faith is taken to the higher dimension of life in the Holy Spirit whereby the Christian is expected to live in Christ even while living in this world.
Faith and life: How shall we go about meeting the daily exigencies of our life in this world, if we are to live by faith alone? It is important here to understand clearly the nuances implicit in each situation of life and strike the right balance in combining the fulfillment of the needs of our body and those of our soul. Living by faith alone does not mean the license to be lazy without doing our daily duties. It does not mean that we should not take normal care , for example, of our health by approaching a doctor when we are sick. It would be wrong to go to a doctor as if that is the only means at our disposal to get well since even strong autosuggestion can cure us of many ills. Faith comes in when we cling to God as the ultimate source of our well-being due to which we shall use only whatever is legitimate and feasible means for getting well once we have fallen sick. Prayer is always necessary and should be continuous whereas bodily needs are to be taken care of periodically and in conformity with God's Will.
The Failure of Humanity: The creation of a new humanity preached by Jesus was something unintelligible to people whose hearts were hardened and who always wanted to maintain the status of their position and authority in society. Their main concern as in the case of Herod, chief priests, scribes and pharisees of the Jews, Pontius Pilate who condemned Jesus to death and High Priests Annas and Caiaphas, was to protect their own self-interest. They did not worry about keeping honesty, justice, fairness, compassion, etc., as the solid background of their actions and attitudes. Whatever suited best to attain their selfish interest was their guiding principle of life. The disciple who betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was overwhelmed by his love for money that he readily agreed to sell his own Master for thirty pieces of silver. (To be Contd).
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