When Jesus was born, shepherds came to see him with their sheep and goats. There are mentions of three wise men visiting him. Legend says visitors mistakenly landed at the palaces of kings and the Jewish priests in their search of the newborn. Human tendency is to look for the  extraordinary among wealth and magnificence. The palaces and villas of kings and synagogue priests of Judea were obviously prosperous, and one could find people with expensive clothes and extraordinary power there.

Joseph could not find any maternity home or even any other convenient space with special support to take care of the mother and the newborn child’s needs, they ended up at the cowshed. 

How would it have been if Christ was born in a palace and as the son of the King Heroda or a Jewish  priest? It may be possible that Christ being the son of God, the events of the crucifixion and resurrection still happened, because that was the purpose of God sending his son to earth.  But being born to Mother Mary, as the Bible story states, helped Jesus grow and build up as the special person with all the courage to take up the role of challenging the Jewish religion of those days, reforming it, building a new faction out of it with a human face, and eventually that new faction, the Christian Church, emerging as the official religion of the Roman State in just four centuries.

A closer look at the current status of the Churches of today, especially formal Churches, which are founded upon strong institutional bases, convinces us that the Church has no Christ nor spirituality any more.

There are yet certain similarities with the Jewish establishments of first century, as more often Churches of today too seem to be at loggerheads with the States, regulatory agencies and have a typical ego to reconcile with the State’s attempts to bring them under a uniform code of conduct for all civil society agencies, religious charities and societies, and trusts. They want the special queen era privileges to be continued. How churches contributed to the deepening of communalism in India is indeed a serious topic that social and political analysts ignored, and that needs a fresh look, which will only help us with our political and social formation. (Please see Deepening Communal Divide in Kerala and the role of Churches in it)

Making Christmas relevant 

But there are Christian missionaries, like Anson Thomas, today, not part of any formal Churches, trying to make Christmas relevant. He celebrates Christams in slums, in red light areas and along with rescued women and children from red light areas. He began his work in Bombay’s infamous Kamathipura, a redlight zone. He has rescued thousands of trafficked young girls. He is fighting against human trafficking and all kinds of exploitation and sexual harassment at all levels. He works to convert all red zones into green zones.

My interactions with Anson

I met Anson Thomas for the first time in 1992 in Baroda, at a youth Conference organized by Marthoma Church Western Zone, which covers mainly Mumbai, Pune city Marthoma parishes. Dr. M. M Thomas, former General Secretary, World Council of Churches and Nagaland Governor was the main speaker on that occasion, which was a three day event. 

In those days Anson Thomas was famous through news papers  for his goal keeping skills for his Customs Hockey Team, Mumbai. Image of him saving the goals  were a common sight . Leading news papers of Bombay city  used to give him good coverage. I was expecting him playing for India’s national team. 

When I met him in Baroda, I was very happy and spent time with him. During the conference after each sessions of main talk by Dr. M. M Thomas,  there used to be breakout sessions, where  delegates were divided into small groups, and Anson and I were in the same group throughout the conference.

 Later on in 1995 I could accompany him for teaching slum children near Santacruz and Khar Road railway stations as well as visiting rescued women from Kamathipura,  in locations where they were housed safely. Some of them were admitted in  TB Wards as they were infected with HIV, TB,  infectious and critical illnesses.  I could also accompany him to the red light area to understand the work. And it was only through his passion, initiative and leadership that a Project known as the Navajeevan Centre Project could take off in 1995 in Mumbai. 

Interestingly Anson left his job as an Indian Customs Official for focussing full time on rescuing women and children from red light areas  and their rehabilitation. 

 Anson’s Christmas

Today he is still actively rescuing women and creating awareness about human trafficking, and extending his work beyond India. A detailed interview with him by TDW Conversations in the YouTube, where he talks about mission, goals and initiatives: please take time to watch that interesting interview……

 Christmas celebrations that he initiates are really interesting. This year IRSLA- Indian Revenue Service Ladies Association- at St. Anthony’s school Nagpada, Mumbai, distributed Christmas gifts and snacks to the children living in Kamatipura and interacted with the children and  motivated them for schooling and education. Hopefully, they will continue supporting these children and work for their rehabilitation. 

Before the Pandemic, he has visited Calcutatta redlight areas and conducted sports activities there. His movie Pledge to Protect throws light on  to those who would like to know more about the issue of trafficking of young women and children.

Anson’s wife and children were expelled from the Marthoma Church

Anson Thomas’s family members, his wife and children, were expelled from the Marthoma Church.  Before that he resigned protesting against constitutional impropriety in matters of sexual orientation of bishops. The matter is concerned with the appointment of bishops in record three days without consultations and following right procedures.

So when he challenged the improprieties and other contentious issues, the Chief Priest of Marthoma Church was so furious, obviously he feared getting exposed. But Anson resigned in protest without wasting much time. But the Chief Priest or the Metropolitan took the opportunity in his favour and expelled his wife and children as well from the primary membership of the Church, against the Church’s constitution and commonsense.

This action was a shocker for many including me as it was against principles of law, equity and justice. Our church membership is a membership for the individual and not for the family.

If it was a matter of State or a secular institute, there were courts, judiciary, parliament, media and indeed the Constitution. When Amarinder Singhbw, former Punjab Chief Minister quit the Congress party, his wife is not expelled from the party and she still continues as an MP from the Congress party and still continues tobe a parliamentarian. I don’t know what  principles governed the decision of this bishop of the Marthoma Church. What he did is not a legal and has no validity indeed. It won’t stand. But in the pandemic and post pandemic days people were busy with countering viral attacks and boosting their immunity and thus got ignored. 

The Church vs Secular constitution 

The Church inherited several organizational maladies from the Jewish traditions and early century institutional system. While Christian minority community members in India are much integrated to secular life, the Church and its interests, prohibits it from reconciling  with the secular state and  its constitution. This is indeed a challenge for the State to further work on uniform codes that are applicable to all. 

Regulatory compliance week in the Church: 

 While this is a separate issue altogether, it calls attention to the need for an agency to regulate religious affairs more strictly in the Indian secular context. For instance, the organized religious constituency ensured that churches and religious charities are kept out of Right To Information Act(RTI Act).

So if we ask for an information, we won’t get any information, though they get exemptions, grants, and a whole lot of other benefits, including privileges as a minority entity. 

Thus,  these medieval organizations exist as little kingdoms with their primitive and un-democratic structures and systems. Their systems, practices are most often  not in conformity with the general constitutional framework as well as principles of law, equity and justice. For some laws from the Bible and for others what is being directed from their global church headquarter matter.

This calls for  serious reforms in all the organized formal churches. Global bodies like World Council of Churches (WCC) and National Council of Churches (NCC) must ensure that their members adhere to local laws and constitution. It is  all the more critical for peace and coexistence in a pluralistic global community. Its also significant for ensuring a role for WCC at the global level as an international Church association: Can it provide membership to Churches that violate local laws?

Formal Churches whithering away

The formal Churches as a whole are whithering away.. Today a vast majority of the younger population of Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z do not prefer marriages. Their companions are cats, dogs and other pets. Where is the next generation coming up? Together with this, as a result of irresponsible administrators like the bishop I mentioned above, many find independent Churches better place for building a community of like minded people.

Church going Christians are exclusive groups. It’s often the way they travel, the brand of the cars, clothes and perfumes and bags that they carry to the Church and the houses that they live in are the matters that are judged by the community. And to match their expectations, they have bishops too who constantly change their clothes, cars and robes. 

 Whereas in these interdependent Churches and in virtual or digital Churches, people continue to remain in their respective cultural contexts and try to gain from the spiritual experience from a Church worship, if that makes them a better human being or help them sustain in this competitive world.

Formal Church  will soon get weaker and wither away, while a community of people from across all cultures, regions who think for the global good, sustainable future and who do not discriminate people on the basis of race,  caste or class and those who respect universal values will emerge.

Concept of rapture and social behavior

Christian communities often think that they are exclusive. Whatever happens outside the world is not a matter of concern for them. Protecting their self-interest is paramount to them. A probable  Nuclear holocaust or Covid will not touch them as before that there will be a rapture or they believe Christ will take them away. So question of them attempting to work for common goals of the society, for instance, limiting their needs for a sustainable future is out of question.

To conclude, Anson Thomas will celebrate the real Christmas in slums of Mumbai or at red-light areas or may with the rescued children. Or maybe he might rescue few women or children from trafficking and that will be his Christmas. 

(P. Koshy)