An Advent of Renewed Hope at St Mary’s Basilica

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.-Luke 1:32

 The season of Advent has dawned with new expectations in the hearts of the Syro-Malabar community in Kerala,  especially within the Ernakulam-Angamaly diocese. After a seemingly unending wait of three long years, the Holy Mass was celebrated for the first time within the premises of St Mary’s Basilica on the first Monday of Advent  with reverence and solemnity, free from brickbats, violence, mudslinging and police protection. The conflicts remain unresolved, the legal restraints that prevent a Eucharistic celebration in the prevailing liturgical mode are still in place— and yet the impossible happened. With joy and hope the  Church prepares to celebrate Christmas to welcome Immanuel , our God  who is with us always, inspite of the prolonged and ugly conflict that tore the community apart and left the people “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”- Matthew 9:36

To give you a quick recap, the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala has been divided over the issue of the liturgical mode to be adopted for Eucharistic celebrations. The conflict  escalated to high drama on the first Sunday of Advent in 2022, when Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath was physically prevented from celebrating the Holy Mass at the Basilica, in the liturgical mode approved by the Synod. The revolt spewed violence and hatred right within the church premises. The season of Advent that year culminated on December 24^th when violent mobs vandalised the altar and desecrated the Blessed Chalice of the Holy Eucharist . With that, the State Police took over and curtains came down indefinitely on the celebration of Holy Mass in church.

Three  years have passed by uninterrupted by Eucharistic celebrations at the Basilica. The Advent of 2022 has extended to 2025.  Perhaps, the circumstances warrant a greater period of preparation and the Lord has allowed us that space for prayer and repentance.

The four weeks before Christmas is only a symbolic period of time leading upto the Christmas celebrations. In fact , the Bible describes the wait for the Son of God right from the beginning of Creation. Genesis 3 records God the Father cursing the evil serpent , and  promising to send His Son to crush its  head. From then on, the Holy Birth is proclaimed through the great prophets of the Old Testament – Isaiah. Jeremiah, Micah— followed by  John the Baptist and Angel Gabriel in the New Testament. The wait for the Redeemer is a spiritual experience, a time of retrospection and penitence, and, in the present circumstances of the Syro-Malabar community, this three-year  period has been an opportunity for deep reflection on our mission and purpose in this world.

The Christmas crib of Jesus Christ throws open so many questions and exposes us to an equal number of answers. The first visitors of the Child Jesus were the shepherds and the kings. In His public life Jesus would represent both these offices. He was the Good Shepherd and He was crowned as the King of the Jews. The Good Shepherd  is the role model for all who have pledged their service to the Lord. Peter was Christ’s chosen leader to grow His Church in the world. The divine responsibility was given with one qualifying condition and one prime duty.

“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”- John 21:15

Earlier, in John’s Gospel, Jesus spells out the fundamental character and mission of the Good Shepherd. There is no room for any ambiguity here. Uniting God’s people under the banner of His love  is the hallmark of Christian leadership, and its goal is to be God’s witnesses “to the ends of the earth”

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me^__just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.-John 10:14-16

The royal  kings convey a similar message of Christian leadership. They had travelled from far off lands to pay obeisance to a different kind of kingship defined by humility and selfless service. The King of the Jews was born in a stable, taught His followers the language of forgiving love, and finally gave up His life as the ransom for the redemption of mankind.  For the church leadership, who have traversed rough and unfamiliar spiritual upheavals over these past years, there is much to learn, reflect upon, and inculcate.

Our introspection would be incomplete if we do not include the Syro-Malabar laity, who have suffered three years of spiritual deprivation  and conflict. The community has been torn into factions that support or oppose one of the two liturgical modes in question. The Bible clearly underlines the fate of kingdoms, cities and households that are divided against itself.  They simply fall apart and are reduced to ruins. But as followers of Christ, we will never need to face a situation where all is lost. There is always hope for a renewal as we offer up our scattered community to Immanuel-God with us. Jesus was born with the promise to be with us and His last words before His Ascension reiterate the same promise- “And behold, I am with you always , to the end of the age-” Mat 28:20. Our prayers can work miracles. If we let go of the dissensions and prejudices that have formed jagged dividing lines within the  community, the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

The Eucharistic celebrations at St Mary’s Basilica, which have proceeded uninterrupted through the past week assure us that there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. When a liturgical mode becomes important enough to set aside the Eucharistic celebration, then we must be on red alert. We are facing a formidable enemy,- “one who can destroy both soul and body in hell”-Mat 10:28. This season of Advent has brought us all into a new space. The preceding three years of barrenness are over. Like the fig tree in the parable, Jesus gives us some more time to plough the ground, remove the weeds and enrich the soil of our faith. When the Master comes back , may we be filled with His grace and bear much fruit.