Youthful Lent

Imagine…Would a ninety years old Jesus the Christ given us the same zeal and enthusiasm as the thirty three years old wayward youngster? Well I do not think so…That’s the beauty of youthhood.

Youthhood is an exuberant epoch; a ripe period when our attitudes, inclinations, passions, ideologies, perceptions, world-views and the like are formed.  A time when we are full of energy which if channelized properly could create wonders. Kahlil Gibran, in his book, “Nymphs of the Valley” has remarked,

“Youth is a beautiful dream, but its sweetness is enslaved by the dullness of books and its awakening is a harsh one. Shall there come a day when wise men are able to unite the dreams of youth and the delights of learning as reproach brings together hearts in conflict? Shall there come a day when a man’s teacher is nature and humanity is his book and life his school? Will that day be?”  

Youthhood is a period when our inclinations and interests are shaped. As the adage goes, “The tree falls where it is inclined to.” Some demean the youth by calling them a ‘frozen generation’. Even great philosophers like Socrates and his contemporaries attuned to it.  But this is not true. This is a time when we wrestle with questions pertaining to our destiny, dreams, ambitions,  faith, identity and so on and so forth.

This Lent may our youngsters meditate upon the theme - Christ was a youth. The beauty of Christ is that he lived, died and resurrected as a youth. At the age of 33, on the cross he had the audacity to say that everything is fulfilled. Could we do that? 

There are 4 aspects in which we need to grow. “Jesus grew up in stature, wisdom, human and divine favour.”

Stature

One should take ones’ ‘body’ seriously (St. Matt 6: 25). When Satan tested Job, body of Job was Satan’s last resort as there is nothing more vulnerable for humans than body. After Patristic period and spirit-oriented theologies emerged liberation theology which took the human body and the pathos associated with the body seriously. Body is the medium through which the Divine manifests. Our body is the temple of God. So activities which pollutes and nullifies human body are sacrilegious acts. We need to take care of our bodies to work unceasingly for the realization of the reign of God on earth.    

Wisdom

If knowledge is the grape then wisdom is the wine and youths are both grape and wine at the same time. Wine symbolizes extraordinariness. We do not need to wait for the grapes to go stale to make wine but there is a ripe time for it. We just need to know when to pluck the grapes. That may be the reason why Solomon grieves in Ecc 12:1, “Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.” The world has always admired people who seek wisdom. Be like Queen Sheba (I Kings 10) who wanders in search of wisdom. 

Human Favour

Christ was a man for others so should we be. Expand the boundaries of our so called family. Love all. Paulo Coelho writes,

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

Indeed there is no reason to love somebody. You love somebody only because you love him/her. Do not try to find out the reason why you love someone because if the reason dies then the love too will die along with it.

Divine Favour

This eventually happens if we abide by the preceding parameters.

Are our youngsters safe today? Indian soil in the recent past has been drenched and swollen by the blood of youngsters who were lynched. This is an era where murders, slaughters, killing etc are sanitized by euphemisms like sacrifice and martyrs. The demography of India has changed drastically and irrevocably over the years. Gauri Lankesh, Anita and many more protested with their blood against the rampant oligarchy of this nation.

Have a look at this piece of writing by Prof Shah Alam Khan (AIIMS New Delhi)

Lynchdia: The New India

“Pete and Laura, old friends from Derby were visiting. They were here for a month and wanted to go around and discover the land of Buddha. “We want to go to Agra and see the Taj Mahal”, she said with a mouthful of English accent. “Hmm…Taj Mahal? That’s in Uttar Pradesh, nearer to Dadri where Akhlaq was lynched.” “And then we want to go to Jaipur”, she announced. “Well that’s near Alwar, where Pehlu was lynched” “And what about Nalanda?” He asked “Nalanda University you mean? That’s a few hundred kilometers from Sobhapur where Mohammed Naeem was lynched. And yeah, he wasn’t alone. There were Vikas and Gautum, the Verma brothers who accompanied Naeem that night into eternity” “We also want to go to East India. To see the Tea gardens of Assam. My great grandfather was a manager there” Laura looked excited at the idea. “Oh, why not? Go to Dimapur. They had lynched Syed Farid Khan there” “And how about Bombay?” She finally enquired “Shh… it’s not Bombay anymore. We call it Mumbai. That’s the state where in the village of Kherlanji, Priyanka, Surekha, Sudhir and Roshan were lynched” So, we are told that India is changing. It sure is. It has a new tourist map for the likes of Pete and Laura. A map where lines are drawn with sledge hammers and daggers. A topography described with stones and boulders, solid boulders which not only kill but also crush a face beyond recognition. A map with red water bodies and grey skies. A bloody map of Lynchdia with a bloodless heart and a soulless body.”

Let this lent be a time to embrace our youths with great affection. May our youngsters learn the sanctity and possibilities of youthhood. Youthhood demands ethical and critical thinking so as to bring substantial changes to the society and the world at large. India awaits a great revolution and its youth are the beacons of hope. Remember friends:

It is good to have a past that you do not have to regret later

Let us pray

Inspiring God, your Son Jesus the Christ has enthused us with the energy, sanctity and immense possibilities of youthhood. May we be granted the grace to explore them each day so as to live a life that we do not have to regret later. For Christ’s sake we pray. Amen

Prayers

Dn. Basil Paul