Articles

Let us be the Change that we want to see

Opinion | Articles | Benjamin Chang | 26-Mar-2024

Christian Churches have played an important role in bringing people together from different walks of life as one people, as one Christian family. It is in the name of Jesus that we are able to acknowledge one another as our own brothers and sisters. It is only in the joyful and simplicity of a Christian life, inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, that sharing of fraternal fellowship is possible to overcome various ills of our society – needless criticism, corruptions, failure to serve humanity, and so on, which hampers our physical and spiritual advancements. We are fortunate (or should we say unfortunate) to have belong to a Christian state of Nagaland.  But to our painful experiences, we are in a Christian State that has failed to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, a Christian State that is divided by tribalism, hatred and lack of development, a Christian State known for the highest number of AIDS, Drug Abusers, factional and tribal conflicts, corrupt system and failures on many counts.

We are aware that as members of the Catholic Church, we imbibed a legacy which is grounded on a solid rock, with rituals and traditions firmly based on the Scripture, refined and handed down since the beginning of the Biblical Early Christians. We may remind ourselves that till 1515, there was only One Catholic Church. But Martin Luther, the Lutheran Church and Anglican Church gave birth to 21,000 odd Protestant Churches. The number of Protestant Churches will keep on fluctuating. The increase within the Protestant Churches has led to some Theological differences between the Catholic Church and other denominations. But whatever it may be, during our Theological studies, we were not taught how to criticize, attack, or counter attack other denominations. Catholics do not spend much time discussing other religions or denominations. We have so many other things to do. We were taught so much about other religions or denominations during our Philosophical studies, so that we may understand them and have enough time to reflect on ourselves, not only to be better Christians, but to be able to rise above these petty differences.

Factually speaking, Christians, Mahatma Gandhi encountered in his life were the Anglicans and Protestants of East India Company, of the Eastern Empire of the British Raj in India. With all the weaknesses and limitations, the Orthodox Christians and the Latin Rites Catholics were confined to South India during the British Raj. Unfortunately, Mahatma Gandhi didn't have much interaction with the Orthodox Christians and the Latin Rites Catholics during his lifetime. Though Gandhi was a practicing Hindu, Christianity intrigued him. In his reading of the Gospels, Gandhi was impressed by Jesus whom the Christians worshiped and followed. He wanted to know more about this Jesus that Christians referred to as “the Christ, the Messiah.” It was due to the bad experiences that Gandhi had with most of the Christians, the so called followers of Jesus' teachings that he later declared, “I’d be a Christian if it were not for the Christians. I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike' your Christ. No, I don't reject Christ. I love Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ."

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the great spiritual and political leaders, who made an enormous contribution to the Moral Resources of Humankind. That is exactly what Gandhi did. He made the Bhagavad Gita his Spiritual Guide and implemented its teachings, emphasizing the passionate search for Truth (Satyagraha), a profound reverence for all life (Non-Violence), and the ideal of non-attachment (His material possessions were minimal). Gandhi also studied Bible and the Qur’an. He was moved by Jesus Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount.” During Gandhi’s prayer meetings he read from scripture of different faiths as he had reverence for all religions. The Christian Hymn ‘Abide with me’ was his favourite.

Thus, Gandhi exemplified his own words, “Be the Change you want to see in the world.” So, the answer lies in our asking a sincere question: Are we really living the Spiritual Truths in our Daily Lives to bring about Positive Changes in the World rife with Violence, Economic Disparity, Animosity, and Hatred towards the Fellow Christians of other Denominations, Tribalism, Nepotism and Corruption? Are we a shining example for others or have we become a laughing stock for the non-Christians? When we look at our State, we see that our good God has gifted us with so many inherent gifts and qualities. We have such a great culture and tradition of spiritual generosity, simplicity, hard work and sacrifice. There are so many good qualities in each one of us which is further enhanced by our Christian Faith. We find that there are so many young people today who are in sincere search for God, for justice and for truth. There is also a growing consciousness among the youth to strive for unity, solidarity, responsibility and peace.

Nagaland is a proud State to have so many Baptist Theological Colleges. Dimapur alone has got so many. The Catholic Church has none in our State. It may seem unfortunate that some Hindu teachers and students of ANPSA didn't get holiday during this Holi festival, when the nation celebrates the festival of colours. We too had our Annual Games and Sports day today, as there are no Hindu Students in our village.

The Core teaching of Jesus Christ is about Love.

 Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind”. This is the first and greatest commandment. ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:36-40). Christ also said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”(John 13:34-35)

Let us spread love and make our State Nagaland a better place for all of us to live happily as Christians. Let us make our State Nagaland, a model Christian State for other States to see and learn from us. And in order that we live Christ-like, Jesus has to be present in us, so that we may be able to give Christ to others. In Him and with Him, we will be able to able to share vocation with others for a better world. Like Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Let us be the Change that we all want to see”.

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(The Author is a Priest in the Diocese of Kohima, and can be reached on Benjamin.chang24@gmail.com. The content is personal)

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