Jesus Christ the Liberator

                                                           We shall end our discussion on Christology with this last Post where the sense of 'Contextual Christology' should show forth itself. Contextual Christology proposes to accommodate and interpret the Christ-event in particular and specific contexts so that people of various cultures and backgrounds could meaningfully understand Jesus Christ. Contextual Christologies, in contrast to classical Christologies in the West , may be seen both as region-wise and as theme-based. Examples of the former are: European, American, Latin American, African, Asian Christologies and their sub-divisions. Feminist, Black, Process and Post modern Christologies are examples of theme-based Christologies. However, even the earliest Christologies could not be independent of contextual problems as well as needs of the time.  For example, the Nicean Creed of A. D. 325 had to address the specific question of clarifying the identity of Jesus Christ in opposition to the ideas of Arius. Moreover, even the four Gospels about the life and ministry of Jesus could not avoid completely the contextual needs of the times they were written. However, the essential message of the Good News from God (The Gospel) is the same in all 4 Gospels and other New Testament writings that portray the person of Jesus Christ who is ultimately the Gospel itself delivered to humanity by God. We believe that Jesus Christ as the Universal Liberator is relevant to every human being as well as to the entire creation whereby this theme cannot be ignored by any Christology worth its name. All contextual Christologies are attempts to respond to the legitimate aspirations of people in differing situations of life. We respect their sentiments and propose that the desire for liberation is present as undercurrents of all such aspirations. Therefore, a clear understanding of the role of Jesus Christ as the Liberator not only of the entire humankind, but also the surroundings of the humans like the environment, climate, culture, etc. consisting of the entire Universe is a must for a genuine Christology. Obviously , we cannot even touch upon all these issues except to recall their relevance before delving deep into the significance of Jesus Christ as the Liberator.
                                                        The notion of 'Liberation' immediately invites the question about what we are to be liberated from. This understanding implies and presupposes that we are already bound by forces beyond our capacity to resist and overcome such forces. However, the basic truth is that underlying the impact felt by us of all kinds of external forces is our own self that is amenable to the dictates of such forces. We have become willingly or otherwise objects of such external forces forgetting our internal strength just like an elephant that is made to obey a frail human being as it is not conscious of its superior strength. Similarly we have to become conscious of our dormant internal power whereby we are already liberated and powerful if we are ready to get rid of our false 'self' in favor of our true 'self'. This is the first step to all kinds of liberation we may aspire for. Jesus Christ announced his charter of liberation at the Synagogue of Nazareth at the beginning of his public ministry reading from Isaiah, 61: 1-2 thus: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke, 4: 18-19). Real liberation starts with our empowerment and that is what is promised by Jesus provided we are willing to accept it. God always respects our freedom and though we cannot accomplish anything without the free gift of grace coming from God, our willingness and readiness to accept the same are very crucial. The whole agenda of empowerment is offered as good news to those who are poor, i.e., those who acknowledge and accept the need of God in their life through humble and meek behavior eschewing all thoughts of haughtiness and arrogance in their dealings with everyone. It does not matter if they are at present captives, oppressed, blind or treated as slaves as deliverance is at hand by the power of God not only in the future in His Kingdom, but also now as a fore-taste of the coming Kingdom. To make this possible, God enlists people who are already empowered to distribute the benefits of the Kingdom to others in need of God with a humble and contrite heart. This is the foundation of all other kinds of liberation we may aspire for like political, economic, religious, cultural, racial and any other type of violation of human dignity.  
                                                     Jesus upheld human dignity as the core issue to be protected at all costs notwithstanding any rules and regulations that might impede and obstruct it, which may be overthrown without any hesitation. Our main problem here is how to define and recognize true human dignity as against false claims people are able to make. Jesus could easily recognize the genuine from the spurious as his heart and mind were one with that of God the Father. This is why we have to follow the way shown by Jesus Christ to be in union with God first and foremost before we are able to discern true human dignity from the false imitations of it. Therefore, we might say that Jesus Christ as the liberator is at the same time the unique defender of human dignity whereby we are empowered to liberate ourselves from forces bent upon enslaving us. There is no limit to possible liberation, provided we follow strictly the Gospel values. In interacting with the world where politics, economics etc. are concerned, we cannot neglect the internal laws governing them and yet have to be cautious about succumbing to purely worldly spirit governing such spheres. In the primitive Church at the time of the Apostles, the experiment of a common way of life turned out to be a failure so much so Paul had to take collections from the Churches he founded to help out the Church of Jerusalem. The economic model envisaged by the primitive Church was a failure. However, in politics, the weapon of non-violence used by Mahatma Gandhi and followed by Nelson Mandela in South Africa succeeded in their objectives. It shows that we have to be judicious in applying the principles taught by Jesus Christ as Liberator.     

Relevance of the Son of Man (Cont'd)

                                                           Ultimately, we are at a loss about the concepts both of the humans and of God without help from above that is available through revelation coming from God. This kind of revelation is about both God and the humans and their relationship communicated to us through the Word of God. In this context, the importance and relevance of the concept of Son of Man cannot be exaggerated. Here we have a bridge between God and the humans that should be a reflection of the reality of both God and the humans. The title ' Son of Man ' applied to Jesus Christ to himself aptly describes the interpenetrating nature of both God and the humans in his own person, being both the Son of God as His Word and being a full human being through incarnation.
                                                         Jesus referred to himself as Son of Man whenever he wanted to reveal this complex mystery of the relationship between the humans and God. The tendency of the humans is to be tied down by their worldly cares to an extent that an appeal to the higher things very often falls on deaf ears. In order to fundamentally cure this basic malady permeating the very existence of the humans like fault lines in the recesses of the earth inviting sudden earthquakes, Jesus presented himself as the guarantor of human dignity by taking over the role of the Son of Man. He achieved it by becoming the mediator between God and the humans as a bridge connecting the two shores, which are actually two sides of the same water body. This is possible for Jesus Christ in his very being, apart from what he said and did, because of his very nature as God and man. The identification of Jesus Christ with God came through very forcefully, apart from his death and resurrection, from the seemingly desperate cry of Jesus from the cross identifying himself with every human being ever born into this world. The cry itself " My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark, 15: 35) is an eloquent testimony to the representative character of all sorts of torture and suffering in this world.  
                                                         Let us now look at certain important moments in the earthly life of Jesus when he called himself the Son of Man intending to reveal truths ordinarily inaccessible to us. We may say that in all of those instances Jesus revealed directly or indirectly that he is in fact both God and man standing for all humanity, which was incapable of facing God out of its own inadequacy. It is very clear from the references in his public ministry to his second coming as judge of the world and as the mediator between God and even angels that he was one sent by God (Matthew, 24, 30; 25: 31; 26: 64; John, 1: 49). Here we see the meaning of the expression "God's angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John, 1: 49) in his role as the mediator between God and the entire creation. The constant reference of Jesus to the need of his suffering clearly indicated his human nature, whereas his rising from the dead after his death proclaimed his divinity (Mark, 10: 33-34). It might seem that the answer of Jesus to the one who wanted to follow him wherever he went clearly confirmed his humanity without any reference to his divinity. "Jesus answered, 'Foxes have their holes, the birds their roosts; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head' "  ( Luke, 9: 58). A closer reading, however, of this text reveals the implied meaning that the ultimate reason for the inability of Jesus to find a fitting abode for his person is his divinity. This world could not contain him as he was from above, whereas even foxes and birds were able to easily find their abodes here below. This means that those who want to follow Jesus should not be ruled by false hopes dictated by the rationality of this world, ignoring the demands and logic of the Kingdom of God. In the passage about the necessity of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man for eternal life, both the humanity and divinity of Jesus were expressed (John. 6: 53). Jesus himself corroborated the truth of his divinity by reference to the Son of Man ascending to the place where he was before, stressing the priority of the spirit over the flesh in giving life and saying that the words he spoke were both spirit and life (John, 6: 62-63).        

Relevance of the Son of Man

                                                           Looking at the present state of the human race riddled with violence, ignorance, superstitions, diseases, calamities like earthquakes and floods, terrorism, wars, poverty and all those circumstances forcing people to live under subhuman conditions, how can we meaningfully talk about the relevance of the Son of Man for today? We propose here that all the ills of the human race arise out of a defective self-understanding of the humans that is a result of their convoluted understanding of God. This situation may be corrected by means of a right understanding of the Son of Man, which should be able to empower humanity to transform itself and its surroundings solving all the ills of the human race. This is so because we believe that the harmony and balance intended by God at the beginning of the creation of the Universe were shattered by a false understanding of the relationship between the humans and God by the first parents of the human race. The Son of Man shows us the way to regain the lost relationship between the humans and God thereby re-introducing the harmony and balance between the humankind and nature as a whole. We shall discuss these items very briefly under the themes of the 'concept of the humans' and the 'concept of God' in the present Post followed by the one on the 'concept of the Son of Man'.
                                                          The concept of the humans is operative in creating our world in our own image and thus our self-understanding of ourselves plays the pivotal role in forming the shape of the world we live in. The world turns out to be a mirror image of the humans at different periods and ages from the beginning of the human race. Therefore, it is sufficient to look at the world in order to grasp the concept of humanity entertained by it at each stage of its existence. The manifold cultures, languages, customs, religions, arts and literature, philosophy and theology, poetry, building activities, social orders and practices, etc., reveal the concept of humanity developed and cherished by each generation and groups of people in their day to day life. Most of these efforts of the humans are based on the external  realities readily accessible to it, ignoring the wealth of the internal realities contained in the humans themselves. As a result, many of their self-expressions do not succeed in developing a comprehensive concept of the humans in spite of the fact that they are pleasing to them. They experience a kind of trauma in their own being although they try to remedy the feeling of inadequacy by resorting to various types of quick-fixes like acquiring wealth and power, indulging inordinately in the pleasures of the senses, etc. The most one can expect from these tricks is to numb one's conscience leading such people to a kind of hallucination of happiness resulting in bigger traumas in due course. Happiness is the goal of everyone for which desperate attempts are made by the humans centering all their efforts on themselves as self-sufficient that is self-defeating. The humans cannot be meaningfully defined without reference to the Divine Reality for which the concept of God, understood correctly, is absolutely necessary. The biblical understanding of the humans as created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis, 1: 26) is an apt frame of reference in understanding the concept of the humans in its total and genuine reality. In a true and wholesome view of the humans, there would emerge the concept of God and the two of them interpenetrate and interpret each other.    
                                                      Although we may form the concept of God from the realities of the external world and through philosophical investigations, it is through self-reflection and meditation that the humans are able to arrive at the concept of a living God. We may see here the role of genuine religious thought that is necessarily geared to an understanding and acceptance of a true concept of God. When the humans search reflectively into the inner recesses of their own being, they are bound to come up with the concept of God as the ground and foundation where their own being is anchored. The sense of finiteness and imperfections arising out of their own infirmities accelerates this process of reflection seeking liberation from this world. Death, by itself, is not a solution to the intimate cravings of the humans to be happy forever that is possible only in union with God, the source of all happiness and bliss. At the same time, no one is able to circumvent the necessity of death to overcome the tyranny of which we are invited to die daily to our selves so that a new person is born in each one of us. The new person, reborn in the spirit, is beyond the clutches of death and is thus already liberated even while living in this present world. The full measure of this liberation will be realized after our departure from this world. For this kind of a life, it is necessary to accept God not only as the source and creator of everything, but also as the goal and end of everything. God is Himself Spirit and whoever worships God should do so in spirit and in truth (John, 4:24). (To be Cont'd)           

The Use of the Title 'Son of Man' by Jesus (Cont'd)

                                                           From the last Post, we may note the roles of the Son of Man as the mediator between God and the Universe as well as the Judge of the whole world. God the Father does not judge anyone as He has given full authority to the Son who himself need not judge anyone as each one is already judged by his or her attitudes to life. This is because anyone who pays heed to what Jesus says and puts trust in Him Who sent him into the world has already passed from death to life. In other words, Jesus Christ is the criterion of judgement God has set up for judging the world whereby each one is automatically judged according to the level of conformity with this all-important criterion (John, 5: 22-26).
                                                          Jesus declared further his role as the Son of Man thus:"As Son of Man, he has also been given the right to pass judgement. Do not wonder at this, because the time is coming when all who are in the grave shall hear his voice and come out: those who have done right will rise to life; those who have done wrong will rise to hear their doom. I cannot act by myself; I judge as I am bidden, and my sentence is just , because my aim is not my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (John, 5: 27-30). Here again, just like in the cases of Nathaniel and the High Priest, Jesus invokes a future event to prove the validity of the present claim he makes about himself. This method is suitable in theology where faith is involved not only in present realities, but also in the future fulfillment of what we believe. Faith is of things both present and future on the basis of the past events standing as sources of confirmation of our belief, faith itself being a gift of God. It is of events both taken place already and not yet fully realized for which we wait with hope conducting ourselves in love during the intervening period that is our life in this world. The verification required by the empirical sciences for the validity of their hypotheses very often has to be satisfied with falsification as Albert Einstein said: "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right ; a single experiment can prove me wrong". Jesus was convinced that the future verification of an event is legitimate whereby our present claims may be validated as we have seen from the above instances. This is so because the reality here is composed of not only the past and present but also essentially of the future too. Complete trust and faith in the person of Jesus is a prerequisite for the believers to carry conviction in his teachings. The Son of Man, therefore, encompasses in himself not only the present reality of being a man, but also his past and the future  as a unique expression of the unity of God and humanity in his own person. Thus through the reality of the Son of Man we may see the face not only of man but also that of God as well. Our search for God as well as for genuine humanity ends with the presence of the Son of Man among us that should encourage us to represent true humanity in our own persons so that the genuine face of God will shine through us.
                                                     Another scene to be expected at the end of the world brings out the nature of the Son of Man, especially when we deal with the whole of humanity, i.e., the Last Judgement (Matthew, 25: 31-46). The Last Judgement will be based not on our allegiance to particular religions, races, cultures and ritual practices, but solely on our relationship with other human beings. This basis is laid by Jesus through his death on the cross for everyone born human irrespective of all other considerations because of his identification with humanity as Son of Man. Son of Man, therefore, cannot be monopolized by any group including the Church which is his Body both visible and invisible. A narrow portrayal of the Son of Man by even the Church because of its faulty self-understanding does a dis-service to the cause it would like to uphold. The cause for which the Church stands is to proclaim the good news of salvation wrought by God in and through Jesus Christ. The title 'Son of Man' rightly understood encompasses in itself the whole of humanity as well as divinity whereby men and women come to themselves protected from all threats constantly knocking at their doors. To be genuinely human we need the Son of Man as our anchor and guide without whom we shall be thoroughly ruined and remain helpless victims of forces beyond our control. As noted earlier, the Son of Man being the criterion of judgement set up by God Himself, all members of the human family would be able to pronounce judgement on themselves that would be corroborated and approved by the Son of Man.             

The Use of the Title 'Son of Man' by Jesus (Cont'd)

                                                           'Son of Man as Our Spiritual Food' is a dimension of the mystery of the Son of Man that is often inadequately understood if not totally misunderstood. Jesus has given us the Eucharist that is the bread come down from heaven giving eternal life to all those who eat it because it is his own flesh that we eat when we eat the heavenly bread. The Jews could not understand these words and there was a great dispute among them about how he could give his own flesh to eat. "Jesus replied, 'In truth, in very truth I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you can have no life in you' " (John, 6: 53). It is very clear from here that in order to understand the meaning of the Eucharist where we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ, we must first understand the implications of the title 'Son of Man'. The Son of Man is the spiritual food nourishing our spirit as against the material food nourishing our body. Moreover, the material food nourishes us by its absorption by the body, whereas the spiritual food nourishes us by our being absorbed into it. In this case, the Son of Man being our spiritual food we shall be nourished spiritually only when we are absorbed by him into his realms when we consume in faith the heavenly food and drink. Transformation of the believer into Jesus Christ is the ultimate objective of this spiritual food of his body and blood whereby the Body of Christ grows into the Temple of God  The Eucharist has reference both to the Last Supper and to the sacrifice on the cross that was accepted by the Father by raising Jesus from the dead. Since he cannot die again we receive Jesus in the Eucharist in his glorified state filled with the Holy Spirit sanctifying the believer.
                                                        Jesus was teaching in the Synagogue of Capernaum, when even his disciples murmured about his teaching saying that it was something more than they could stomach. "Jesus was aware that his disciples were murmuring about it and asked them, 'Does this shock you? What if you see the Son of Man ascending to the place where he was before? The spirit alone gives life; the flesh is of no avail ; the words which I have spoken to you are both spirit and life. And there are some of you who have no faith'. For Jesus knew all along who were without faith and who was to betray him" (John, 6: 61-64). Jesus himself referred to the over-arching reality of the Son of Man to solve the difficulties of his disciples concerning eating his flesh and drinking his blood as spiritual food and drink. Besides, he reminded them that he was not speaking of any crass material way of eating and drinking , although we do it by means of real physical eating and drinking. That is why he added a note of caution about the real implications of this food and drink, which are both spirit and life. Since the spirit alone gives life and flesh is absolutely useless to be a source of eternal life, the physical should be subsumed under the influence of the spirit. We have other instances in the Bible where Jesus resorts to the reality of the Son of Man to clarify the minds of his perplexed listeners that also enlighten us on the role of the Son of Man in the plan of God. Nathaniel was taken aback by the knowledge of Jesus about him even before they met, which prompted Jesus to reveal the role of the Son of Man as the sole mediator between God and all the creation by the imagery of the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John, 1: 48-51). To the High Priest who questioned Jesus whether he was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One, Jesus revealed his role as the Judge of the whole world. " Jesus said, 'I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God and coming with the clouds of heaven' " (Mark, 14: 62).    
                                                    It is clear from the above-mentioned references by Jesus about the Son of Man that without believing in what is going to happen in future, no one can really understand the Son of Man. If we are satisfied with merely material things and are anchored to our roots solely on this earth without reference to the coming world, the Son of Man can play no role in our lives. Our faith in the Son of Man is firmed up by our hope in his future role as the sole mediator before God and as Judge of the whole Universe. (To be Cont'd).     

The Use of the Title 'Son of Man' by Jesus (Cont'd)

                                                           The theme of 'The Son of Man as suffering servant' was used very often by Jesus about which he was very particular that his disciples grasp the real significance in order to be his true disciples. This concern of Jesus reveals a great deal about the nature of the Son of Man for whom it was necessary to undergo suffering as a servant of the Lord. After his resurrection on his way to the road to Emmaus he explained to the two dejected disciples how the Messiah was bound to suffer thus before entering into his glory explaining what the prophets had said starting with Moses (Like, 24: 25-27). Even during his public ministry, Jesus had prophesied what would happen to him at the hands of the Jewish authorities and how he would rise again from the dead (Mark, 8: 31; 9: 30-32; 10: 32-34). The question why he had to suffer as a necessity to enter into glory was answered by Jesus by citing the prophecies in the Old Testament. For a Jew there could be no better proof for the necessity of something than a reference to word of God especially as foretold by the prophets. But , the Son of Man being the representative of the whole human race, for people other than the Jews some other reason for suffering has to be given. This need not be a completely new one in the sense that it has nothing to do with the reason given by Jesus referring to the prophets of the Old Testament. There is an underlying reason for the necessity of suffering foretold by the prophets expressed in the word of God announced by them that cannot go unfulfilled. This reason is the inherent quality and power of purification automatically attached to suffering and ultimately to death provided they are undergone in the right spirit. For, there are different kinds of enduring of suffering in this world leading either to life or to death, the former being God's way and the latter the way of the world (2 Corinthians, 7: 10). Although Jesus was Son, he learned obedience in the school of suffering (Hebrews, 5: 8). Since Jesus was Son of God and sinless, there was no need for him to suffer or learn obedience means that he has done it as our representative before the Father entirely for the sake of the human race. No further reason is required to see our sufferings with a positive attitude to enable us to obey the Will of God.  
                                                     Various types of questions might prop up in our minds if suffering is understood as we have explained above. Purification of minds and hearts is all the more needed by the evil people among us and yet very often we see such people prospering in life as they thrive in their evil way of life.The just and the innocent suffer for no fault of theirs and yet they don't seem to prosper in life. In other words, the mystery of evil is something that baffles our minds and we do not seem to have a satisfactory answer to this problem, partially because our definition of a good life is very often determined by the material comforts of this world. The gift of peace of mind is usually unaccounted for. The more we evolve in the wider dimensions of our consciousness, the better should be our grasp of the purpose of evil in this world. Besides, Jesus himself had to undergo suffering and death although there was no sin in him that seems an unjust dispensation when we think of God as perfectly just. This only shows that God does not think the way we usually think and His ways are completely different from ours. God's way of making the Son of Man to stand for us all was to allow him to suffer the consequences of our sins and taste death making him perfect and our High Priest before God (Hebrews, 2: 9-18). Suffering evil because we ourselves have done evil is only just punishment, whereas suffering evil when we are innocent and trying to do good is meritorious before God. In our case, even when we are innocent in particular instances, we cannot claim to be completely without sin as all of us are sinners one way or the other. In the case of Jesus, suffering took an altogether different meaning as he was himself without any sin and therefore he could stand before God to plead for us sinners. Therefore, the Son of Man is portrayed as the Lamb of God by John both in his Gospel and the Book of Revelation as a perpetual memory to God of our condition as encapsulated in Jesus Christ.                           

The Use of the Title 'Son of Man' by Jesus (Cont'd)

                                                           Jesus was particular in training the disciples about the need of his suffering and death as we may see from various New Testament passages. As Jesus chose his apostles and disciples without imposing any conditions on them, he did not allow anyone who wanted to follow him to propose conditions as a price for their following him. We have two versions of severe strictures in Matthew and Luke for those who would have their own way of following Jesus (Matthew, 8: 19-22; Luke, 9: 57-62). It is very important to note the attitude of Jesus towards his earthly life that was filled with the genuine spirit of detachment essential for our spiritual life. The man who wanted to follow Jesus wherever he went was reminded of a harsh reality unpalatable to the natural proclivities of any human being. "Jesus answered: 'Foxes have their holes, the birds their roosts; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head'"(Luke, 9: 58). Jesus was completely detached from material necessities and conveniences even while using them to sustain his earthly life. The saying also hints at the very essence of the  fullness of the Son of Man who could not be contained by the provisions made by man in this world. Anyone who would like to follow Jesus should not place his or her trust in anything other than the master himself for which our minds and hearts should be focused. The next two cases are related to the urgency of proclaiming the Kingdom of God that does not wait for anybody to fulfill their perceived duties first and then come back to follow Jesus. From this requirement of urgency propounded by Jesus, we may gather the nature of discipleship of Jesus. When it is a matter of following Jesus that is the same as proclaiming the Kingdom of God, nothing else matters and complete detachment from everything is an absolute requirement. We are here talking about genuine discipleship and not about the pretensions of discipleship men and women are able to stage before the world. Since children are not able to pretend like the grown-ups, Jesus made children the true models of the Kingdom of God. Complete detachment required for the proclamation of the Kingdom of God was expressed by Jesus in answering the two would-be disciples with some of their conditions. The one who wanted first to go and bury his father, a very sacred duty. "Jesus said, 'Leave the dead to bury their dead; you must go and announce the Kingdom of God'" (Luke, 9: 60). The one who wanted to follow Jesus after going home to say good-bye to his own people, Jesus gave a stern warning: "To him Jesus said, 'No one who sets his hands to the plough and then keeps looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God'" (Luke, 9: 62).
                                                        It might seem from the above-mentioned instances that Jesus did not give any value to human relationships required for peaceful co-existence in this world. On the contrary, it is the resolution of conflicts that will invariably arise from the two world-views governed by this world and the Kingdom of God that is intended by Jesus. He speaks about the spiritual attitudes one should have when it is a question of the Kingdom of God and not about the physical presence or absence, at a particular time and place, of his disciples. In order to drive home the essential wedge between the earthly and heavenly values, Jesus had to use shocking language to convey the message that the Kingdom of God is not amenable to manipulations we are used to in our daily lives. The command to follow him without any thought of one's own family and to leave behind all activities one is normally associated with in this world should make us think about the spiritual world as against the material one. Whether one literally follows the command or not, unless the spiritual import of the command is enshrined in our lives it will not do any good in achieving its intended purpose. Leaving one's own dead father to be buried by others, who are attuned to the worldly spirit, and not looking back after putting one's hand to the plough are strong images demanding complete detachment and devotion from the part of the disciple. Just literally following the instructions without assimilating the spirit behind it would create unnecessary conflicts in human relationships not intended by Jesus. On the contrary, conflicts that arise in even the most intimate relationships because one wants to follow Jesus in letter and spirit are to be welcomed. What is important is to turn away from our habitual practice of living in this world governed by its rules and be assimilated to the ways of the Kingdom of God and its rules. This should be done by true detachment from worldly things even when we have to use them to survive in this world, the great secret of the same being to strive to be their masters instead of being mastered and enslaved by them! (To be Cont'd).