Maong Jamir
Prodigals’ Home
More than two thousand years ago God sent His Son Jesus Christ to this world to preach the good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn… (Isiah61:1, 2)
Jesus had a special mission to the marginalized; the disabled, the sick, the poor, the sinners as seen in His first public appearance (Lk. 4:16-30). He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service, He Forgave the Woman who was caught in the act of adultery. (Jn.8:1-12), He did not condemn the Samaritan Women (Jn 4:16-18); Jesus had no objection on unclean women touching his cloak, He rather accepted her as His ‘daughter’ (Mk 5: 25-34). He was a friend to Children (Mt. 19:13-15), Jesus was a friend to the Poor (Mt. 11:5) and advocated for the needs of the poor (Lk. 12:33, Mt. 5:42.), He was a friend of Sick (Mt: 14:14) He was a friend to All Races (John 4:4-42), And in a very special way Jesus is a friend to Sinners; He laid down his life for them.
Jesus can boast Himself of what He is. But He was the meekest person on earth. Christians today boast themselves of being the follower of Jesus. But the question is, are the Christians really following His steps. Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi said “Christ? I like your Christ. Christians? I do not like your Christians, for they are so unlike your Christ.”
To manifest the power of the gospel, Jesus appointed the marginalized in the society to be His disciples; the fisherman, the tax collector and so called the sinners. Jesus sensibly taught His disciples on discipleship by being spending most of His time with the most discriminated, isolated, rejected, condemned, and marginalized and so called the sinners. He finally commanded His Disciples to go and make disciples of all nations…and to observe the entire thing He had commanded them (Mt.28:19-20). It was radical and inclusive. Its not only reaching the un-reach with the good news and baptizing the converted, but much more than that, He demanded to follow His steps by reaching out the neglected, condemned, rejected, isolated and discriminated, to heal the broken hearted, release the captives, defend the poor, heal the sick, etc. even in our local area.
The Church and the Christians brag as followers of Jesus. But where are our Christian missions heading to today? No doubt, Individuals, Churches and Associations are working tirelessly outside the State to bring lost souls, establishing Mission Centers, which is valued and very much mandate of the Christians. But does it alone justify what Jesus mean to seek one Lost Sheep? (Luke 15:4-7) What about mission in your own locality? I am reminded of a popular hymn by Albert B. Simpson, and Margaret M. Simpson “To the Regions beyond”. The hymn goes “To the regions beyond I must go, I must go where the story has never been told; to the millions that never have heard of His love, I must tell the sweet story of old. To the hardest of places He calls me to go, never thinking of comfort or ease; the world may pronounce me a dreamer, a fool, enough if the Master I please. There are other “lost sheep” that the Master must bring, and to them must the message be told; He sends me to gather them out of all lands, and welcome them back to His fold”. The ‘regions beyond’ is not to be understood in terms of geographical regions alone, but should interpret holistically. There are many regions/ problems in our society that is not reached with the message of God holistically.
Jesus appropriately responded to the problems of His time and he has given the mandate to His disciples and then the church to continue what He had done in his life time. But I can see the chain completely broken. Churches are the Image of Jesus. But do our churches today reveal the clear Image of Jesus in our ministry today? Do we have the mission that can retain those who are ardent member of the Church? Do we have a Mission for the people who are Christians by name or once were an active Member? Do we diligently seek the needs of our future leaders, children and Youth and spend our time, energy and money to mould them up? Do we have a mission to care and support for the marginalized? Do we create an environment where the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the disabled and the non disabled, the sinners and the holy come together and quench their spiritual thirst equally? How long will it take for us to realize what Jesus had said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick? I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:16, 17). And to the complainers who said, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner,” Jesus explained, “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:7,10).
Sometimes we are like the would-be fisherman. Called to be “fishers of men,” we spend most of our time huddling with the righteous, learning their righteous lingo and singing righteous songs, while spending very little time with the sinners whom Jesus came to seek and save, very little time for the marginalized. Too many of us don’t have the concept of a fishing spot, and end up fishing nowhere.
In a State where 98% of the population professes to be Christians and in a town or a village where every tribe has its own lavish Church Buildings, It is wonder to see so many Children on the Street feel neglected and isolated. The women in difficult situation feel condemned and alienated, inaccessible environment for the disabled, insecurity of destitute women and aged people, orphans without care, poor people without a handful of rice to cook when rich spend money lavishly for unending wants, drug addicts and alcoholics whom the communities don’t dare to care. Etc. If Jesus Christ is with us in person today, what would He do for these people? Ignore and turn His back?
Jesus was successful in His ministry not because He was called but because He responded to the called. The mission of Jesus was not only meeting the spiritual needs of a person, but he looked at a person as a whole- Physical, spiritual, mental-Psycho, and socio-economic. Jesus appropriately responded to the needs of the people; feeding the hungry, Healing, defending the poor, defending the outcast and making friendship with the sinners. Etc
Miracle happens everyday and in different ways. We may not do mighty miracles like Jesus, but we can experience miracles in and through us when we instill the love and compassion in us. Jesus wants to use the Church as His Mighty instrument of change in this fast changing and confused world, but cycle of our traditional understanding of Mission and its approach becomes a big obstacle. What is our response to the problems we see around us today? It is matter of just ignore and do something. The strength of the church today is seen not in big buildings and material possessions, but in what our Children become tomorrow, and in what our Christian state become in the future. Can we let the beauty of Jesus seen in the hearts of every believer? Can we reflect the beauty of Jesus and power of the Gospel in our Church Mission today?
