By His Grace Prakash Mallavarapu, Archbishop of Visakhapatnam
Like Andrew who was one of the first disciples who went after Jesus we are proclaiming saying, we have found the Messiah.” We are thus already believers in Christ and we are given this time of Advent to renew our joy of encountering with this “Lamb of God who takes away our sins.” We believe and seek Him in our sinfulness, with our needs, our failures in being His disciples, our lukewarm dispositions in our relationship with Him, with our half-hearted commitment to His radical teachings etc. These should also come for a review and to the extent necessary, change of heart and change in our way of life should come about.
Like the Jews in the days of John the Baptist, we can be so used to being Catholic Christians with all our good practices and traditions that we can feel as if everything is fine and orderly about our way of life. But, it is the revelation from God which should lead us to seeing the truth about our life and feel the need for this Saviour here and now. “Revelation” from God through His Word will help us to do the needful preparation. That Word came through John the Baptist. He said, “Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father..’” (Mt 3:8-9). Here, the important point is that on our own we might not see the truth about our life in all its different aspects. For we can be a people who are not fully with Him and His Way!! The call of the Advent season is a call from God addressed to us the People of God.
“Behold, (or See), there is the Lamb of God” within your sight and within your reach. Do you feel His intervention is needed to set things right in you and for you, and for the rest of humanity? We should know and confront the truth; there are things to be set right, both in one’s personal life as well as the world at large. And, our human resources or capacities are not adequate enough to set things in order. This was the feeling and thinking of the Jews at the time of John the Baptist: Messiah will have to come to set things in proper order; and He will certainly come! Therefore, wait in hope and wait in expectation for God’s intervention.
Life in the Church as a Community of believers is like a journey that needs to be reviewed (Synodal Process 2021-2023): This journey also needs a periodical review, of course, it has to be done in good faith, guided by the Word of God, and the mission at hand. As we highlighted above, we are the people who claim to have found the Messiah, the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.
As a Church we have to journey with this Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What does this mean or what should this mean in our day to day life of a Christian and of the Church. There is supposed to be an ongoing interaction between us, an interpersonal relationship between us and Jesus Christ. It is not appropriate, perhaps, to say, “supposed to!” Obviously, in every believer there has to be this interaction and personal relationship, though certainly, in varying degrees or levels in different individual believers. It is in this and due to this relationship and connection with Jesus Christ, there is a relationship between the members of the Church. There is no vertical relationship without the horizontal relationship in and through Jesus Christ. Very often, this mutual relationship between us who are believers in Jesus Christ goes into the remote background. That is why, there is that tendency, that is, we can come to church as individuals or individual families and return to our homes, as if we have nothing to do with the fellow believers and members of the Church. But, this should not be that way! Synod 2021-2023, is a timely reminder that we are a Community before our Triune God. We have to journey together in communion with one another. We cannot think of ourselves apart from others in the Church. But, what is the truth of the matter?
The situation in the Church seems just the opposite of journeying together in communion: Governed and guided by laws, rules and regulations, life in the Church keeps going. But, this important dimension of journeying together in communion with God and with fellow believers is not always tangibly visible. Due to the organizational strength of the Catholic Church with all the good traditions and practices, governed and guided by rules and regulations, and laws, life in the Church goes on. Apparent visible communion at the liturgical and other spiritual gatherings of the Community indicates there is communion in faith and in the celebration of the Sacraments. In our region, as in many places elsewhere, our large gatherings are already expressing that fellowship and communion but it has to be taken beyond the Liturgical and spiritual gatherings.
This is where lies the significance of the challenging invitation of the Synod 2021 -2023 to all the sections of the Church with the theme of “Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission. We are not there as yet. But, can we not attempt and strive towards achieving the goal of being a Church whose members are journeying together in communion with one another and positively committed to promote communion at different levels and among different sections of the Church? It is a difficult task and a challenging task but a possible task in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus Christ! The Synodal Process that is already in place should lead all the sections of the Church think and act with an eye on the goal, “Journeying together in communion with the Lord and with one another! Advent season as a season of Hope and expectation should enthuse the Church in this direction!
Conclusion: The words of scripture should help us to see how we are, both individually and as a community. “For when one says “I belong to Apollos,’’ are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave them growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose. and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (I Cor 3:4-11,16-17)