Refuge of Refugees _ Francis Gonsalves

Francis Gonsalves is a professor of theology.

He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com

Refuge of Refugees:____

A recent event has struck me deeply: the abduction of Catholic priest - my former student Alexis Premkumar - by unknown millitants.  Alexis is one among thousands of religionists who work for refugees eking out landless, homeless existence on the margins of society.  Alexis and others make me reflect on the situation of refugees worldwide as we celebrate World Refugee Week and UN International Refugee Day on June 20.

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The question of refugees has political, economic and social dimensions.  However, ther's also a religious dimension; it inspires committed citizens like Alexis Prem Kumar to make risky choices in life and gives refugees horizons of hope amidst their homelessness, helplessness.

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The Bible often images God as Refuge.  "Refuge" is a safe place into which to run and rest.  Haven't we all played childhood games where certain zones are demarcated as "safe" wherein one cannot be touched by a pursuer or called "Out?"  This zone - even if it's a small circle - signifies safety and security.  The Hebrew Mahseh referring to a "place of refuge" is often used to refer to God.

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For Biblical writers, God is the Ultimate Refuge.  God is also Maanos, meaning "place of ligtht"; or Misgaab, meaning "highplace" or "tower"; or Meona referring to "protective arms of God".  With evocative images like light, tower, embracing arms and so on, God is pictured as someone who cares for those who require refuge.  Psalm 144:2 is a good composite image:  "God, who loves me, is my rock and my fortrees, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge."

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The Biblical God also opts for the "less" and "least" of society: landless, homeless, jobless, friendless, spouseless, fatherless, motherless and so on.  Three groups that appear repeatedly as the ones who God loves are orphans (parentless), widows (spouseless) and aliens in other lands (homeless, friendless, resourceless).

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Referring to himself Jesus said, "Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests, but I have nowhere to lay down my head and rest".  Indeed, he was born in a stable and buried in a tomb prepared for someone else.  People like alexis Prem Kumar have tried, in some measure, to live like Jesus.  They have paid, and continue to pay, a heave price.

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Besides our conceptions of God a somnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and so on, let's recall that God preferentially opts for the last and the least.  In India, we invoke God as "Sharnam".  Today, remembering homeless refugees, worldwide, let's recollect withat Tagore Wrote:  "Here is Thy footstool and there rest They feet where live the poorest, and lowliest, and lost."  And let's all work more for the "less".

Rock-Solid Faith

Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"  Jesus' female disciples ask themselves as they approach his tomb to embalm his hastily interred body.  Their query hangs mid-air - unanswered and answered - as the gospels say: "The stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back."  These women become the first messangers of Christ's resurrection.

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Stones are not just minerals but Biblical symbols too.  The Biblical "God is our Rock" imagery reveals that one who roots one's hope in God will never be disappointed.  Thus, Jesus teaches: "S/he who hears my words and acts upon them is lika a wise wo/man who builds her/his house upon rock" (Matthew 7:24).

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Central in Jesus' post-resurrection narratives is Simon Peter: Poor fisherman, impulsive, desirous of doing good, but often failing to do so.  Simon is among Jesus' first followers but never fully comprehends him.  Sensing the potential within Simon, Jesus renames him Peter - from the Greek petros and Aramaic kephas meaning "rock" or "stone" - and declares:  "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church."

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Soon after Jesus renames Simon "rock" and predicts that he must proceed to Jerusalem to be crucified, Peter says, "This (suffering-death) must never happen to you!"  Hearing this, Jesus harshly rebukes Peter:  "Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; for you are focussing not on divine things but on human things."  Here Peter the "rock" - supposed to be firm in faith - becomes a stumbling block: chicken-hearted and fearful of pain and death.

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In Jerusalem, Peter denies friendship with Jesus and flees the scenes of his trial, torture and death.  But later he repents and tells the Risen Christ:  "Lord, I love You!"  This repentant Peter later writes:  "Come to Jesus, a living stone, through rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living-stones, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living-stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house."

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Life's piligrim path is strewn with stones, rocks, stumbling blocks.  So, first, let's root out routine upon God, the Rock, with faith-hope-trust.  Second, in our quest for happiness, we'll inevitably encounter stumbling blocks: failure, sickness, pain, addiction, rejection, death and so on.  We needn't shun suffering, negativities and death, for these could be stepping stones to success and a new life.  Third, we're "living stones" with enormous capacity to construct community.  Are we ready to be cemented together with love and peace - ever seeking the common good?

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Peter's transformation was total.  Fearless, faithful and free, he was later crucified upside down, signifying the U-turn his life took.  Why ask:  "Who will roll away these stones?"  With God's grace and human collaboration, we could build houses upon rock and roll back all stones, no matter how daunting.

Francis Gonsalves is a 

professor of theology.  He

can be contracted at

fragons@gmail.com 

Where to Begin - And How..

You can really learn what you really want to.  Learning is certainly of great importance to us as individuals or as members of society.  Unfortunately, many of us reach a certain stage of learning, and go through the remainder of lives coasting on the knowledge acquired till then.  But to learn more what you need is right attitude.  Above this, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest, concentration, problem-solving, memory and imagination, are all necessary ingredients for learning.  Curiosity is the started; interest and enthusiasm are low gears; concentration and memory high gears; and accomplishment is the smooth level ride.

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We are all capable of learning, for the simple reason that none of us know it all - or ever will.  I think that when we stop learning we begin to stagnate - to die.  Everybody knows the cliche, 'we learn something new everyday.'  But do we?  Can you honestly say that you learn something new every day?  There are probably many things you'd like to learn, but haven't yet.

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This brings us to the crux of the matter.  That is the difference between the wish to learn and the will to learn.  How many times you have said to yourself, "I wish I could do that", or "I wish i had the ability for this?"  Well, you can wish and wish but never really learn anything.  It is the will to learn that creates wonders.  Suppose you have gone through an art museum, or seen some good paintings anywhere, you may have said in an offhand manner, "I wish I understood, or knew, a little bit about art", and that was the end of it.

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But if the will to learn is present, you can learn to understand art.  I'm sure, if you look around, you'll find many places that teach art appreciation.  If there is no such place near you, you can take a correspondence course.  As a matter of fact, if you look hard enough, you'll find that you can even take some of them free of charge.

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The important thing here is to begin.  Start learning a subject because you are interested in it, because you want to, and you'll continue to learn.  Do you want to learn how to play golf, or tennis; how to make a speech; write a story; be a better salesman; speak a foreign language or drive a car?  When it comes to acquiring knowledge, you have to be aware that knowledge never goes in vain, nevertheless the acquisition of knowledge with a particular aim is always of a great use.  So if you want to learn anything, Start by looking over the entire field of thing you want to learn and proceed till you master it....  Shri K.V.S. Vijay Kumar, Editor WISDOM

   

Be Careful What You Wish For.. Sri Rameshji

We often think that our wishes and aspirations are the main cause of pain and sorrow in life and thus all spiritual gurus advocate people to be free from them.  For peace, one needs to be free from all kinds of desires and remain content with whatever one has.

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While it is true that desire can cause pain and sorrow in life, we must also realise that there are certain wishes that bring happiness and joy in life.  We must be able to clearly distinguish between wishes that bring pain and the ones that lead to joy.  It is important that we know as to what kind of desire can cause pain and what kind of desires can give happiness.

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DESIRES WHICH GIVE PAIN AND SORROW ARE :

•  The desire to acquire more and more materialistic things - wealth, name fame, position, status, reputation, riches, self-respect, etc.  When it is fulfilled, it leads to new desires; when it remains unfulfilled, it leads to disappointment.  One is never satisfied with what one has and never reaches a level of contentment.
• The desire to be free from pain, sorrows, adverse situations, bad luck, troubles and the desire to be away from people who give pain and sorrow.
•  The desire to always get favourable result for all efforts, actions, reactions, activities.

In this creation, there is no rule that every desire will be fulfilled and that too within a given time frame.  That's why there is always a component of disapointment and sorrow in the desire to acquire something or the other in the world.

 

DESIRES WHICH GIVE JOY, PEACE, HAPPINESS AND SALVATION ARE:

• The desire to be "desire-less":  One is content with what one has and does not want to acquire anything more.  In fact, one is greateful to the God for whatever He has given and uses the available resources in helping others, uplifting the downtrodden, serving poor and aged, promoting and protecting nature, religious sentiments etc.
• The desire for everybody's happiness, success, health, wealth, growth, prosperity, harmony.  One does not like even one's enemies to suffer in any way and one is always in a mode of forgiving and seeking forgiveness.  Prayers for everybody's well being is the most important aspect of life.  "Loka Samasta, sukhino bhavantu" means, may all beings in this world live happily.
• The desire for salvation, liberation and enlightenment - to be free from the vicious cycle of karma and from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

 These three desires are godly desires and divine in nature, hence are the givers of peace, happiness and eventually liberation.  Even God helps fulfil these three desires....

 

....."Shri Rameshji is a modern age spiritual guru and founder of Poorna Ananda, a centre for spiritual evolution and joyfil living."