I am writing this on Earth Day 2010. Few years ago, I would not have noticed this day, or paid any attention to it, let alone write about it. So much has changed in my spiritual life that I consider earth day as important as Easter Sunday, Christmas day and many other religious holy days.
It is not because I am a new age guru, or a tree hugger or ardent environmentalist, which are usually used as pejorative terms. But, it is because, I have reflected deeply about the unfathomable beauty, mystery and magnificence of this moving, yes, moving blue dot in space which holds me up as God holds me tenderly in the palm of Her hands.
I have lived on earth 21,170 days and it has never failed to provide for me: air, water and food, the three most basic ingredients needed for my very existence. Thank you holy mother earth. As I walk gently on this holy ground, I join with prophet Isaiah this morning to say: “The whole earth proclaims the glory of God.”
Let us take a closer look at our home planet. We usually experience it as stationary, because that is what our five senses tell us. But if we could stop for a moment and reflect, we will realize that we are moving, rather spinning, and yet staying put...that is a huge mystery worthy of adoration itself.
The earth spins around her axis at the speed of 1,000 miles an hour at the equator. To spin around once takes 24 hours. The spinning makes our days and nights. But as we spin, we are also on another circle journey as we orbit round the sun. Traveling at the speed of 66,600 miles an hour, this second journey takes 365 days to complete. In the annual pilgrimage around the sun, we travel 595 million miles. Such an awareness of distance, speed and order creates a sense of awe and wonder.
Consider what it must have been like for astronaut Edgar Mitchell as he gazed down on the home planet and allowed his feelings to find words: On the return trip home, gazing 240,000 miles of space towards the stars and the planet from which I had come, I suddenly experienced the universe as intelligent, loving and harmonious. My view of the planet was a glimpse of divinity.
Perhaps what most of us need is a pilgrimage to outer space, to have our eyes and hearts opened afresh to see the sacredness behind and above the appearances and to reawaken that inner light buried beneath our limited ways of thinking.
It is worthy of note that Mitchell uses the word 'divinity' but not 'God'. God is a divisive term for many. Religions people fight over their own definitions of God and make declarations like, “My God is bigger than your God.” But, if we can speak of divinity it has an an all embracing quality to it. When we use 'divinity' instead of “God' what is at work here is 'spirituality' not 'religion.' And our goal is to evolve more each day as spiritual beings not merely as religious people.
When we see the earth as a whole, from outer space, we can clearly see the connectedness and interdependence of all of us who live upon this planet. We have created imaginary boundaries, dividing ourselves into countries and states, forgetting that in reality we are all living together, breathing the same air, drinking from the same water, eating food grown from the same earth. We share everything on this planet, whether we are conscious of it or not, with other people, and those people are our brothers and sisters. Seeing earth as a whole brings new meaning into Christian concepts like “Communion of Saints” and “Body of Christ.”
When we realize that any sense of separation we have from one another is truly an illusion, we will naturally begin to make more conscious choices in our daily lives. The simple act of preparing food, or deciding how to dispose of our refuse, can be done with the consciousness that whatever we do will affect all our brothers and sisters, no matter how far away they live, as well as the planet herself.
When we contemplate the earth in her wholeness, we see the bigger picture, which is, every one of us, living on her body. We are connected to one another in the most intimate way, because we literally share our living space. As we become aware of the reality of our interdependency, sins of racism, sexism, and homophobia will disappear and much of the discord that we see now will dissipate and we will live in a more harmonious world.
Let earth day inspire us to become holy and wholesome.
Rev. Dr. Paul Veliyathil
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Holy Week Vs Disney World!
Tomorrow,I am going to Orlando. The primary purpose is to meet up with my wife's sister and her family from New York, who are visiting the theme parks and have family time. But we will also visit Universal Studios which is going to be a 'lot of fun.'
But as a Catholic and especially as a former priest, having fun at the beginning of the Holy Week, is unthinkable, almost sinful! I grew up in a traditional Catholic family in India. We observed the season of Lent with great austerity and penance. We attended church three days a week. We fasted twice during Lent. No meat was eaten the enitre period of six weeks. Fish was not eaten on Saturdays. But Saturday was market day and fish was purchased and my mom would cook it, but won't serve it. It was a great penance to see fish curry in the kithen, but forbidden to eat. Lent was harsh and no fun was allowed.
As a priest, Holy Week was the busiest time of the year. I heard confessions for endless hours, did adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday, fasted the entire day on Good Friday and spent most of the time in church.
But at the beginning of this Holy Week, I am going to Disney World for fun! How do I deal with the cognitive dissonance of Holy Week and Fun? First of all, I don't belive that the God I experience has anything against clean fun. But more importantly, contrary to popular belief, going to Disney World is NOT fun for me. I hate the long lines, I hate the over prized hot dogs in the theme parks, and I hate the rides. In fact, going to Disney World is 'penance' for me and therefore, this is the best thing I could do to observe Holy Week. And I am not kidding!
But the other side is that I want to be with my family during these days. I think it is holy to be with your spouse and children who really enjoy the theme parks and watch them being happy. I have come to realize that my life is not all about ME. In that sense, what better way to start Holy Week when Jesus gave himself up for others by giving a little of myself?
But as a Catholic and especially as a former priest, having fun at the beginning of the Holy Week, is unthinkable, almost sinful! I grew up in a traditional Catholic family in India. We observed the season of Lent with great austerity and penance. We attended church three days a week. We fasted twice during Lent. No meat was eaten the enitre period of six weeks. Fish was not eaten on Saturdays. But Saturday was market day and fish was purchased and my mom would cook it, but won't serve it. It was a great penance to see fish curry in the kithen, but forbidden to eat. Lent was harsh and no fun was allowed.
As a priest, Holy Week was the busiest time of the year. I heard confessions for endless hours, did adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday, fasted the entire day on Good Friday and spent most of the time in church.
But at the beginning of this Holy Week, I am going to Disney World for fun! How do I deal with the cognitive dissonance of Holy Week and Fun? First of all, I don't belive that the God I experience has anything against clean fun. But more importantly, contrary to popular belief, going to Disney World is NOT fun for me. I hate the long lines, I hate the over prized hot dogs in the theme parks, and I hate the rides. In fact, going to Disney World is 'penance' for me and therefore, this is the best thing I could do to observe Holy Week. And I am not kidding!
But the other side is that I want to be with my family during these days. I think it is holy to be with your spouse and children who really enjoy the theme parks and watch them being happy. I have come to realize that my life is not all about ME. In that sense, what better way to start Holy Week when Jesus gave himself up for others by giving a little of myself?
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Historic Day
I am so happy today, the day, the historic health care reform bill was signed into law. About half of the population of this country is very happy about it and the other half is very upset about it. Two opposite reactions to the same reality. The Democratic party leader calls the bill the "best thing to happen to the country in a century" while the Republican leader calls it "armaggedon." Why?
One of the main argument against the bill was that it is too expensive? The same people who call the health care bill "too expensive" did not say a word against it when we spent a trillion dollars on a war of choice! No one complains when we spent 685 billion dollars a year for the military budget alone. So, it is not about the money. It is about priorities.
It is embarrasing for a nation that prides itself to be the most civilized, not to provide affordable health insurance to nearly fifty million of its citizens. For a nation that some describes itself as a "Christian nation", it is blatantly unchristian to stand in the way of providing health care for the least among us. Every legislator who voted against this bill has excellent health insurance. None of them go to bed at nightg worrired about losing their house if they get seriously ill. The corporations and intrest groups that tried so hard to defeat this bill are the wealthiest in the nation. Those who are worried about an increase in their taxes are also among the richest.
What happened to our compassion for others? Why wouldn't we want to share at least one hundredth of the comfort and security that we already enjoy with those who have nothing. The irony is that the people who listen to the propaganda against the bill are cutting the branch they are sitting on. They are listening to talk show hosts who are millionaires. They have great health insurance plans.
People need to wake up and stop listening to propaganda and think for themselves. Please stop voting against your own interests.
One of the main argument against the bill was that it is too expensive? The same people who call the health care bill "too expensive" did not say a word against it when we spent a trillion dollars on a war of choice! No one complains when we spent 685 billion dollars a year for the military budget alone. So, it is not about the money. It is about priorities.
It is embarrasing for a nation that prides itself to be the most civilized, not to provide affordable health insurance to nearly fifty million of its citizens. For a nation that some describes itself as a "Christian nation", it is blatantly unchristian to stand in the way of providing health care for the least among us. Every legislator who voted against this bill has excellent health insurance. None of them go to bed at nightg worrired about losing their house if they get seriously ill. The corporations and intrest groups that tried so hard to defeat this bill are the wealthiest in the nation. Those who are worried about an increase in their taxes are also among the richest.
What happened to our compassion for others? Why wouldn't we want to share at least one hundredth of the comfort and security that we already enjoy with those who have nothing. The irony is that the people who listen to the propaganda against the bill are cutting the branch they are sitting on. They are listening to talk show hosts who are millionaires. They have great health insurance plans.
People need to wake up and stop listening to propaganda and think for themselves. Please stop voting against your own interests.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Orignial Sin or Original Blessing
I am so excited these days as my book "God is Plural: Sermons for an Emerging Church" arrived in my hands two days ago. The experience of holding my book in my hands for the first time, was as thrilling as holding my first child in my hands seventeen years ago. I had promised to myself that I will not write a book, until I had something unique to say, because I refused to add to the destruction of trees. Those who listened to my sermons urged me to put them in writing and after having have done that,I feel really good.
Today was my first outing with the book in hand to attend a palliative care seminar at Broward General Medical Center. I sat next to a registered nurse by the name of "Donna". I had a book in my folder which was transparent. She saw the cover - God is Plural - and was curious."I have never heard that expression before," she said. I urged her to peruse the book and in minutes, she wanted to buy a copy. I was thrilled.
Donna told me that she was especially touched by one line inside the book that said: "No child is born a sinner." She thought that was a "liberating message." All through her life, she had heard from preachers and teachers that we are born in sin.
How could any one look at an innocent baby and call him or her sinner? Original sin is a Christian dogma concocted by St.Augustine based on the fact that children are the products of sexual acts which he considered 'dirty and sinful.' Augustine who led a life of sexual promiscuity and fathered an illegitimate child prior to his conversion,must have been expressing his guilt in formulating the theory of original sin. I don't think that we have to be bound by Augustine's thought as a paradigm to determine our lives today. I belive that, we come into this world, with an original blessing. The fact that he enters a sinful world, does not make the child a sinner.
Attaching the sinner label to an innocent child on the day of her entrance into the world is an insult and injustice to that child. Let us say that we come into this world as a blessing and the purpose and goal of our life is to be a blessing for others.
Today was my first outing with the book in hand to attend a palliative care seminar at Broward General Medical Center. I sat next to a registered nurse by the name of "Donna". I had a book in my folder which was transparent. She saw the cover - God is Plural - and was curious."I have never heard that expression before," she said. I urged her to peruse the book and in minutes, she wanted to buy a copy. I was thrilled.
Donna told me that she was especially touched by one line inside the book that said: "No child is born a sinner." She thought that was a "liberating message." All through her life, she had heard from preachers and teachers that we are born in sin.
How could any one look at an innocent baby and call him or her sinner? Original sin is a Christian dogma concocted by St.Augustine based on the fact that children are the products of sexual acts which he considered 'dirty and sinful.' Augustine who led a life of sexual promiscuity and fathered an illegitimate child prior to his conversion,must have been expressing his guilt in formulating the theory of original sin. I don't think that we have to be bound by Augustine's thought as a paradigm to determine our lives today. I belive that, we come into this world, with an original blessing. The fact that he enters a sinful world, does not make the child a sinner.
Attaching the sinner label to an innocent child on the day of her entrance into the world is an insult and injustice to that child. Let us say that we come into this world as a blessing and the purpose and goal of our life is to be a blessing for others.
Friday, February 5, 2010
What Happened to Character?
Last week 20/20 aired a one hour program interviewing Andrew Young, a trusted Aide to former North Carolina Senator and presidential candidate, John Edwards.It was a sad example of betrayal of trust I have seen on TV recently. The fact that it was not fantasy but reality TV, frightens me.
John Edwards is a flawed man, no question about it. He had an affair with a woman on his staff, Rielle Hunter and fathered her child. He was hormone driven and stupid when he did that, but he was a coward when he tried to hide it from his ailing wife, Elizabeth and the public. He went out of his way to orchestrate an elaborate hoax to hide the affair and the pregnancy from the public.
Enter Andrew Young and his wife. Andrew Young was star-struck by the young Senator that he went to work for him and became his most trusted aide. He was Edwards' alter ego for many years. He knew everything about John Edwards. That information was gathered in the context of a trusted relationship. To turn around and share that information with the public, both in print and on TV is just disgusting. If Andrew Young had any sliver of character left in him, he would not have dished dirty secrets about his boss to the public.
Andrew Young and his wife co-operated with John Edwards and his minions to perpetuate a lie on the public. He took money from them for that favor. Mr. Young and his wife lived in style in exotic locations carrying the 'baggage' of Edwards' sin for nine months. And when things did not work out for him the way he expected, he turned on his boss.
I am not excusing John Edwards for his lying and his cowardice, but I am chastising Andrew Young for his betrayal and hypocrisy.
Character is defined as "behaving in accordance with one's values, regardless of the circumstances." Andrew Young showed no character when he wrote the book about John Edwards and dished the dirt in public.
I don't see any redeeming value in sharing this information with the public at this time, except financial gain for Andrew Young. There is a Zen principle that before we speak, we should ask three questions: Is it true, is it necessary and is it kind?
What Andrew Young is saying may be true, but it is neither necessary nor kind.
John Edwards is a flawed man, no question about it. He had an affair with a woman on his staff, Rielle Hunter and fathered her child. He was hormone driven and stupid when he did that, but he was a coward when he tried to hide it from his ailing wife, Elizabeth and the public. He went out of his way to orchestrate an elaborate hoax to hide the affair and the pregnancy from the public.
Enter Andrew Young and his wife. Andrew Young was star-struck by the young Senator that he went to work for him and became his most trusted aide. He was Edwards' alter ego for many years. He knew everything about John Edwards. That information was gathered in the context of a trusted relationship. To turn around and share that information with the public, both in print and on TV is just disgusting. If Andrew Young had any sliver of character left in him, he would not have dished dirty secrets about his boss to the public.
Andrew Young and his wife co-operated with John Edwards and his minions to perpetuate a lie on the public. He took money from them for that favor. Mr. Young and his wife lived in style in exotic locations carrying the 'baggage' of Edwards' sin for nine months. And when things did not work out for him the way he expected, he turned on his boss.
I am not excusing John Edwards for his lying and his cowardice, but I am chastising Andrew Young for his betrayal and hypocrisy.
Character is defined as "behaving in accordance with one's values, regardless of the circumstances." Andrew Young showed no character when he wrote the book about John Edwards and dished the dirt in public.
I don't see any redeeming value in sharing this information with the public at this time, except financial gain for Andrew Young. There is a Zen principle that before we speak, we should ask three questions: Is it true, is it necessary and is it kind?
What Andrew Young is saying may be true, but it is neither necessary nor kind.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Bible Verses on Guns: Perversion of Christianity
Few nights ago, ABC news reported that a weapons manufacturer in Michigan, Trijicon was encoding references to Bible verses in high profile rifles. Some of the verses are, 2Cor: 4:6 where Jesus is described as light in darkness and John 8: 12 where Jesus is called the Light of the World. The founder of Trijicon,Glyn Bindon, was reportedly a Christian. The pentagon has a multi-year contract with Trijicon for years. Apparently the Pentagon was unaware of this practice of inscribing rifles with Bible verses.
This is wrong on many levels. First of all, it is a breach of the separation of church and state. These rifles used in Iraq and Afghanistan can only help inflame anti-Christian and anti-American feelings. But more importantly, it is a perversion of Christianity. This is done in the name of the Prince of Peace!It is totally contradictory to the message of Jesus who died on the cross.
In an opinion column in the Miami Herald on 1/24/10, Leonard Pitts expressed this perversion so powerfully: "We specialize in cheesy expressions of faith here in God's favorite country. Indeed, you could build a tower unto heaven itself out of all the roadside Jesuses, prayer cloths, Ten Commandments rocks, and other trinkets of a cheap,disposable faith that says nothing, costs nothing, does nothing, risks nothing, that speaks not of God, external and eternal but only of the grubby, temporal perspectives and fears of ground bound women and men.
"Mother Theresa's faith drove her to foreswear material riches and spend half a century working to uplift the wretched poor of Calcutta. Martin Luthter King's faith drove him to gamble his very life in a dangerous campaign to win human and civil rights for African American people. And then there is Glyn Bindon, whose faith led him to inscribe coded Bible verses on his gun sights.
And how sad that is!
This is wrong on many levels. First of all, it is a breach of the separation of church and state. These rifles used in Iraq and Afghanistan can only help inflame anti-Christian and anti-American feelings. But more importantly, it is a perversion of Christianity. This is done in the name of the Prince of Peace!It is totally contradictory to the message of Jesus who died on the cross.
In an opinion column in the Miami Herald on 1/24/10, Leonard Pitts expressed this perversion so powerfully: "We specialize in cheesy expressions of faith here in God's favorite country. Indeed, you could build a tower unto heaven itself out of all the roadside Jesuses, prayer cloths, Ten Commandments rocks, and other trinkets of a cheap,disposable faith that says nothing, costs nothing, does nothing, risks nothing, that speaks not of God, external and eternal but only of the grubby, temporal perspectives and fears of ground bound women and men.
"Mother Theresa's faith drove her to foreswear material riches and spend half a century working to uplift the wretched poor of Calcutta. Martin Luthter King's faith drove him to gamble his very life in a dangerous campaign to win human and civil rights for African American people. And then there is Glyn Bindon, whose faith led him to inscribe coded Bible verses on his gun sights.
And how sad that is!
Friday, January 15, 2010
GOD AND HAITI
The earthquake in Haiti has once again brought God-talk into the fray. During my hospice round, on the day after the quak, I met with several natives of Haiti who are health care workers. My heart broke for them and most of the time words were so inadequate to express my feelings of empathy and compassion for them. But surprisingly, I found them to be calm and collected, with no sense of anger or anxiety. All of them had family members in Haiti and none of them had heard from them. But I detected no anxiety in them. Their trust in God was palpable. They believed that the earthquake was the will of God. They believed that these are signs of the end of times predicted in the Bible. They believed that they would meet their loved ones who may have perished in the quake in heaven.
Even though I did not agree with their interpretation of the Bible or their concept of God, I could not disagree with their faith. I don't believe that this earthquake or any natural disaster for that matter, is a punishment from God. I don't believe in a punishing God. If it is a punishment, there are several other areas of the planet that really deserves it more than poor Haiti.
Why such a disaster happened in Haiti. I don't know. And if anyone gives an answer to that question, I will run so far and fast away from that person. The fact of the matter is, no one knows. Every person who comes up with an answer is just speculating or trying to make sense of the mysterious and the riddle.
The answer is I don't know. What I know for sure is that the God I experience will help the people of Haiti and me to get through this terribly sad time.That God will mobilize the hearts of God's people to bring comfort, and solace to God's people.
In the meantime,I stand in awe before the mystery and unpredictability of life itself.
Even though I did not agree with their interpretation of the Bible or their concept of God, I could not disagree with their faith. I don't believe that this earthquake or any natural disaster for that matter, is a punishment from God. I don't believe in a punishing God. If it is a punishment, there are several other areas of the planet that really deserves it more than poor Haiti.
Why such a disaster happened in Haiti. I don't know. And if anyone gives an answer to that question, I will run so far and fast away from that person. The fact of the matter is, no one knows. Every person who comes up with an answer is just speculating or trying to make sense of the mysterious and the riddle.
The answer is I don't know. What I know for sure is that the God I experience will help the people of Haiti and me to get through this terribly sad time.That God will mobilize the hearts of God's people to bring comfort, and solace to God's people.
In the meantime,I stand in awe before the mystery and unpredictability of life itself.
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