S1-Day 1: God in Dirty Places: Now, So What?

The word Urban usually brings to our mind all the luxurious facilities with big bright lights. But under each of those fancy imageries lies a hidden fact that every urban place has a dark space where the least or so called “the urban poor”: the migrants, the homeless, platform dwellers, slum dwellers, beggars live. The title ‘urban poor’ is not an identity but a phenomenon embossed on people, though it is not their choice. Every human being wishes to live a luxurious life and not a poor life. We feel okay to look down at people and we never shy away from boasting over charity or claiming pride over a ‘generous-person’ identity. But have we ever thought that we the “educated, elite, “cultured”, “kind-hearted” people have fixed them in our minds as ugly, rebellious, uncultured, rowdies, criminals and low-level laborers who should work with mere wages? We remain ignorant about the fact that most of them cannot even afford a decent home, proof or identity for themselves not because they cannot, but because they are busy toiling with duties of the “urban rich”. 

The recent Tamil movies like “kaala” and “Velaikaran” portray the plight of the Urban poor. Even the Oscar Winning Korean movie “Parasite” shows how the urban poor are exploited and left un-cared with worst living conditions. Through their rebelling and struggling to speak out, they are silenced and exploited by the rich-weapon, ‘the oppressive attitude of the owners’, ‘faithfulness to bosses’ which affects their job and their source of income. Jesus questioned such practices even in his time. 

2000 years back: Luke 19: 12-27 

In verse one Jesus with his disciples enters the urban city of Jericho, and later he starts with a parable (v.12), where he speaks about ten urban slaves of those days, who worked for a harsh noble. This parable has a greater significance with history and similarities with events of Judean history. This noble man is said to be either King Archelaus or Tetrarch Antipas or Agrippa or Herod the Great because every time repeatedly in history when the small kings went to acquire power from Rome, the same event happened. 

We traditionally understand parables as a call for preparation for the second coming of Jesus or soul-winning activity. But how many of us read the deep economic violence, where a rebellious slave with just one talent (urban poor) stands alone in sarcasm against the ruthless noble man who ‘reaps what he doesn’t sow’. Here the word ‘talent’ mentioned is the currency of Judea and not to literally meant as human talent or gift. The climax is sad and raw. The slave is punished for his rebellious sarcasm. This is exactly what happens even now. In order to silence the voices of the poor, the ruthless bosses portray themselves to be generous by giving Rs. 1000 as wages from their Rs. 10 Billion profit. Isn’t this an irrational justice-denial?? 

Place for the “True believers” 

Often, the church boasts of charity and soul saving acts done among these urban poor. But most of the time, space for the poor is either at the gate as beggars or as silent worshipers who sit at the back and leave before the worship ends. During our lavish festivals like Christmas, Easter or Harvest we hardly see them because they can hardly afford to participate rather, they please the God with their humble whole-hearted offertory. Mostly in the Urban churches it is the rich who decide and take responsibility and stand proudly in front-line for any church activities. The only place we can see the poor is during the Spiritual Meetings where they are displayed as disabled or weak and poor to be touched by the Preacher or Miracle worker for prosperity and healing because we the elite are slow to accept our weakness and loss. But it is easy to pinpoint another poor with difficulties. This is the finest business today as depicted in the Malayalam movie “Trance”. Aren’t we ashamed of it? We knowingly or unknowingly exploit the urban poor since they are easily available to be used as objects of sympathy and repent because we call them weak, ugly, Rowdy, Rebellious and criminals of the society hiding all the evils inside us with proud white collars. 

What would happen if one fine Sunday morning you enter your church to find the altar and the cross missing? Then you find that it has vanished into the slum nearby and is kept on the dirty platform on the other side of the slum. A beggar sitting next to the cross is using the chalice to drink his unclean water and is eating from the wafer bowl. When questioned he points to a man sleeping next who gave the cross and the altar items in exchange for a worn-out bed sheet and a plastic cover. 

Now what would you do if the person sleeping is Christ himself?

Do we have the courage to accept that God dwells only among the least?

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Author: Rev. P. Eunice Rajamathi

About the Author: Eunice hails from Chennai, a member of the CSI Diocese of Madras. She has completed her Bachelor of Divinity from the United Theological College, Bangalore in 2015. She a talented singer and a social thinker. She is presently preparing herself for higher theological studies.