Crucifixion for the resurrection of the good

Written by Fr.Dr. Bijesh Philip Thursday, 15 April 2010 08:06

Once upon a time in a certain place, pedestrians began to fall down. They were taken in taxis to emergency care. As more and more pedestrians began to fall down, more and more taxis and emergency care facilities were required. This helped expand the economical expansion of that place. Later, it was discovered that the root cause of the fall of the pedestrians was nothing but people carelessly throwing away banana peels onto the streets. Some youngsters took initiative to make people aware of this situation and encouraged them to use trash cans. When they stopped throwing banana peels into the streets, pedestrians stopped falling. When pedestrians stopped falling down, taxis and emergency care clinics were not in much of a demand, which adversely affected the economy of that place.   The story goes the people who lost their means of income made a demonstration against the use of trash cans.

A proper understanding of good itself is essential to answer the question whether we stand for the crucifixion of the good or for the good.  The falling of the pedestrians was certainly not good for those who fell down and broke their bones, but it was good for those who made a living out of it. So when we try to define good, we need to ask the simple question of, for whom? For example, a good person, a hero, for Pakistan may be a terrorist for India. Abraham Lincoln’s initiative to end slavery was beneficial to the blacks whereas many rich citizens of the U.S. then considered it as bane.  The definition of good may vary based on who defines it and in what context. This calls us to  transcend our narrow and divisive perspectives and develop a wider, global vision that involves all of humanity and nature.  We need to learn to develop allegiance to the whole rather than to a part of it.  So, universally applicable values such as justice and love to all are essential to define the goodness of human actions. Anything that contributes to the fulfillment of all, especially the marginalized and the exploited can be counted as good.  ‘Do to others as you want others do to you’. This golden rule is a valuable teaching in all major religions and ancient philosophies.  This foundational principle of global ethic is helpful to distinguish the right and wrong of human actions. For the followers of Christ, the major criteria for such evaluation is  Christ’s teachings and specifically the sermon on the mount.

Sufferings can be categorized into two topics: 1. Accidental sufferings; Sufferings occur unexpectedly without the victim’s involvement, 2. Consequential  sufferings; sufferings  consequent to human choices. Both categories can be used with trust in God for the growth of us and our community.

Accidental sufferings are of two categories:  a) sufferings occur due to natural calamities, illness etc b) sufferings imposed on innocent people by the evil plans of others. For example,  the people killed in the flights used by the terrorists to destroy the twin towers. Many people who have experienced the accidental sufferings have come forward as champions to alleviate the sufferings of others who go through the same experience. Suffering often gives birth to creativity. As Shelley says, “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts”. We know the story of how Ramayana evolved from a painful experience. It is from the suffering that Dalai Lama and his people experienced from China that he has evolved into a symbol of global peace

Consequential sufferings or the sufferings consequent to human choices are of four types: a) Painful consequences of one’s own direct or indirect  evil choices, b) sufferings taken up for own advantages or achievements, c) sufferings or losses due to our sanctification,  d) sufferings come as a result of our commitment to common good.    Being crucified for the glory of the kingdom of God means the last two types (2.c, d.).  Without the pain of self discipline and sacrifice for the well being of others, no one can be a true follower of Christ. According to Christ “blessed are those  who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(Mathew 5:10)  Almost all of Christ’s teachings focus on the need of self denial and self sacrifice for the kingdom of God and thus the welfare of the world. But this becomes a matter of joy for the believers; the sacrifice emerges from the love of God.  If anybody wants to have a heavenly experience without paying the cost of discipleship, he/she is in a fool’s paradise.

When people take initiative to stand for good, the forces of evil organize themselves against them and crucify them. Jesus took a stand against the evils in his community, and he was crucified. Examples of Gandhiji, MartinLuther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, etc. substantiate this age-old truth. Imbibing their spirit of fearlessness and deep commitment to the common welfare, it is essential to identify a few powers of evil today like religious fanaticism, environmental degradation, poverty,  family disintegration etc., and  adopt a united and consistent effort to overcome them.  As the famous psychiatrist Viktor Frankl rightly says in his Man’s Search for Meaning,  ‘what man actually needs is not a tensionless state but the striving and struggle for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen goal’.

Often crucifixion is done in the disguise of good. Judas handed over Jesus for crucifixion with a kiss, which is a symbol of love and close attachment. In Mahabharata we read of Dhritarashtra trying to kill Bheema with an embrace. Use of airplanes to demolish the world trade center  is a modern example of this. Likewise, very beneficial things like, both electronic and print media, money,  religion,  science and technology are misused to spread evil and havoc to the whole world.  So it is a challenge to liberate these mediums from the crucifiers of the good and use them for the real benefit of the world. Christ’s exhortation to be the light of the world means to shed the light of love and freedom in the midst of dehumanizing forces of darkness.  Thus, we are called to move from the crucifixion of the good to the crucifixion for the good. Thus we are becoming true humans created in Christ’s image.

Resurrection of Christ vindicates the ultimate victory of the way of the cross. In spite of the temporary setbacks and defeats, the Crucified One resurrects and celebrates the ultimate victory of good over evil. Sometimes crucifixion succeeds in eliminating good, but often good resurrects with even more power.  This can also be seen in the story of Onam. Mahabali comes back every year, but Vaamanan doesn’t. Our celebration of Onam represents our sincere wish for the goodness and peace as represented by Mahabali.

Crucifixion of the good  is often done by a minority out of misunderstanding and prejudices or  as a response to injustices .  The solution is an active attempt to clear misunderstandings and bring about right understanding. Restorative justice is also integral part of peace.  Educators,  writers,  priests, journalists and politicians  can play a significant role to achieve this. When swami Lakshmananda was murdered in Orissa, some religious fundamentalists took advantage of it by putting the blame on the entire Christian community, which resulted in widespread violence against Christians. When I was in Orissa after this incident, I witnessed there something very beautiful. A large number of educators and other cultural leaders belonging to the Hindu religion  were organizing rallies to keep people from communal violence. They were trying to make people realize that an entire community cannot be blamed for the activities of a handful of extremists.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the good that is not crucified. Often the good that gets crucified gets so much media attention, but we need to be aware of so much good that gets unnoticed.

There is a  thought provoking story of a very selfish child in Antony de Mello’s Prayer of a Frog. The  child used to rejoice in a tortoise which was his pet. Once the child  was upset to see the  tortoise  appeared to be dead at the  pond. The child ran home crying. To console the child the family decided to give a funeral to the dead tortoise. When they all came to get the dead tortoise, they found it swimming again in the pond. This sight made the child very upset, because he was now excited about giving it a funeral. Seeing the child upset, his family decided to kill the tortoise and give a funeral as planned. The child became happy again.

We often have this kind of childish desires within us. If the selfish desires are not crucified , the good may be crucified. Readiness to be crucified for our purification and the welfare of the world around us is the secret to receive heavenly joy,  because God  abides with such people. Love and hatred will never go together. Jesus went through severe persecution with out being touched by hate. Inspired by Christ, leaders like Gandhiji developed non-violent resistance to evil practices in society. They struggled for the restoration of justice and peace in the community through sacrificial acts.  Love without sacrifice concerning the beloved  is just an emotion only. Love is a beautiful blending of a unique feeling and corresponding actions. In this light of the gospel,  the challenging question is whether  we love our family, our parish, Church, society especially the poor, the world as a whole.