CHANGE IN ATTITUDE

India is facing another general election starting next week. The question in everyone's mind is 'who is going to be the next Prime Minister?'.

From my office room, I can see streams of vehicles with banners and loud speakers proclaiming the virtues of their candidates and the supremacy of their parties over the others. One party candidate reiterates in particular the he is the epitome of 'holiness and purity'!!

That is a new claim in political levels. I have never heard that one before in my life during any election. The candidate in particular represents a party known for its trail of violence, political murders and assassinations!

India will elect 542 Members of the Parliament out of whom one will be the Prime Minister. The next 5 years, 541 will be drooling at the chair of the PM and waiting for the day when he or she will be the one chosen to sit on it. The circle goes on forever with the battle cry ......." I am the greatest"!!

THIS PHENOMENON STARTS FROM THE TIME A CHILD IS BORN.

The mothers always want their children to stand first in class, so that she can boast about that in her club or snob circles. When the child grows up, again there is pressure upon it to do well in sports, in games, in literary and fine arts competitions... most of which may be meaningless exercises for the young minds....

At work, the young man or woman is challenged to do the best and overtake their compeers. The way up, the promotions, the increments, the corner room all belong to the most aggressive, the most productive personality, who can excel only by putting down someone else. We climb up the ladder only by proving that we are better than our companions.

In the military, there is a stiff competition to be the best...the best cadet, the best officer, the best shot, the best all rounder.

Take any profession - be it sports, or medicine, or engineering, or architecture, or law .... we want to be the best, the one above the rest, in short, as the famed US boxer Cassius Clay alias Muhammed Ali said " I am the GREATEST".

This represents mans inborn or instilled desire to SHINE above the others.

Even in spiritual life, we see this competition to prove that we are the best in the business. There is a desire to put down one brother, to mock at the weak sister, to criticize the elder just to be able to say, if it were me, things would have been so different, so much better.

This is Passion Week; the world is remembering the sufferings of Jesus Christ at the hand of the unbelieving Jews and the occupying forces under Rome 2009 years back in Jerusalem.

Jesus faced one of the most agonizing moments in His worldly ministry which lasted three and a half years when on the approach road to Jerusalem on His way to the cross, He heard a heated discussion going on behind Him amongst His disciples.

Jesus stopped and asked them, "what was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" [ Mark 9:33] It is written 'but they held their peace: for by the way, they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.'

The same incidence is repeated in Luke 9 : 46, where it is written, 'Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. Jesus, perceiving their thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him and said unto them, "whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me: and whosoever receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great." [Luke 9: 47 & 48]

Yet, the disciples were not convinced ! On the eve of Jesus' arrest and trail, it is seen written in Luke 22: 24, ' And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest'.

Jesus said unto them " The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve." [ Luke 22: 25 & 26]

This message is reiterated in the Gospel of John [ John 13: 1 - 17 ] when after the Last Supper, it is written: ' Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God; He rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded....'

At the end of that passage, Jesus said to His disciples, "You call Me Master and Lord: and you say well, for so am I. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, Verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than His Lord; neither is he that is sent greater than He that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them."

The next day Jesus was crucified by the Roman soldiers and buried. He rose again on the third day and appeared to His disciples for the next 40 days.

The same disciples, who till the death of Jesus, were striving and disputing amongst themselves who was the greatest among them, were transformed after the Holy Spirit came upon them on the day of the Pentecost ( 50 days after Passover when Jesus was crucified, 40 days after the resurrection, 10 days after the ascension of Jesus)

Allow me to tell you the changes that the vision of a Resurrected Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Spirit brought about in His disciples .....

Mathew, who wrote the Gospel in his name, mentions only the acts and words of Peter, John, Philip and Nathaniel. He had nothing to write about himself. He mentions not the feast that was held at his house, the great wealth that he had as a tax collector, his influence and how rich he was....

Mathew fails to mention that it was in his house that Mary anointed Jesus with the flask of precious oil. All he says about himself are the three simple words in the list of the disciples " Mathew, the publican"; in other words, Mathew, the sinner, the corrupt, the dishonest...

Mark's Gospel is the gospel as recounted to him by Peter, the acknowledged chief among the Apostles. Mark was a Roman believer, who heard the story from Peter and wrote everything down for the believers in his hometown.

Peter's gospel does not start with the words, " dear friends, in the history of mankind, only two people have ever walked on water. The first was Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah; the second is me, Peter, the Big Fisherman.... "

Peter never mentioned this event to Mark; it is told only in the accounts of the other gospels !!! Mark's Gospel only shows the failings and falls of Peter, the disciple.

Mathew describes in chapter 16, verses 17 to 19, where Jesus said to Peter upon his confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, " Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed unto you by man, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock, will I build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I shall give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever thou shalt bind on earth shalt be bound in heaven; whatsoever thou shalt loosen on earth shalt be loosened in heaven."

What a powerful authority that was given to one among the disciples! YET, Peter is strangely quiet about this great power that was given to him....he omits this in his account to Mark!

Luke, the physician, wrote the gospel in his name and the Acts of the Apostles. A fully qualified physician was a rare commodity in those days, respected and honored by the community. He never mentions that these two books are written by "Luke the Physician". We would have made sure of the identity of the author and pasted a full blown photograph also on the back cover!

The only words that John says about himself in the Gospel of John are ' the disciple whom Jesus loved '....

The same group who were arguing who is the greatest among them, were changed by the vision of the Resurrected Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Their priorities were changed, their identities were lost, their proclamations were only about their Lord and Master, Jesus.

John the Baptist said, " He should increase, I must decrease". This is the real attitude of a believer.

It is written [Acts 11:26] "The disciples were called CHRISTIANS first in Antioch." This term was applied to only those who had become disciples of Jesus. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and fired with the mission to reach the unreached in every corner of the globe.

Why then is the Church that bears His Name, meddling in politics and canvassing votes and acting as kingmakers and throwing their weight behind political leaders and political parties?

Here in 2009, now we are hearing bishops and pastors proclaim, " I am the greatest, I am the best". The Christian leaders are loud in the proclamation of their political loyalties and the strength of their 'vote banks'.

WHAT A CONTRADICTION!!

Let them return to the Scriptures and find out WHOM THEY SERVE...

God bless you

Motty