S1-Day 19: “God in Dirty Places: The Realities of a Female Child Sexual Abuse”

Sexual abuse is a criminal activity which, until recent times, has been covered by a society which did not have the courage to face it. The implications of widespread abuse are too unpleasant for most people to contemplate. Consequently, the whole area of child sexual abuse has been surrounded by a culture of silence and denial in the community, including the church. However, the society is hearing about child sexual abuse since from the past few years because many women are beginning to break the silence and tell about their experiences.

Girls and Sexual Abuse

Baker and Duncan suggest child sexual abuse as, “A child (anyone under sixteen years) is sexually abused when another person, who is sexually mature, involves the child in any activity which the other person expects to lead to their sexual arousal.”[i] It is a deliberate and planned misuse of power over children. It commonly involves or coexists with emotional abuse, because it violates the child’s deepest feelings and emotional development.[ii] Women are vulnerable to sexual abuse because of the power of men. Girls are even vulnerable to adult sexual abuse of power because they lack understanding and resources for self-protection.[iii] Even more disturbing is that, according to some study and even from the testimony I have come across so far, most sexual abuse perpetrated within families and by persons who are trusted by the child. So, in this time of pandemic when there is a nationwide lockdown, when help could not reach easily, I am terrified that many girls are in a vulnerable and desperate situation.

The Reality

I have encountered with some women who are sexually abuse as a child. Most of them told that it had been happened over many years and they did not have the courage to tell anyone fearing that they would be looked down. “I am dirty, I am different, I am damaged- and no one will believe me,” was how they usually felt at that time.  They lived with pain and humiliation, fear and distrust. They usually wonder whether there is a loving God out there for them.

God in Dirty Place: Theology and Abuse

The central image of Christ on the cross as the saviour of the world communicates the message of God who puts Godself in a dirty place and eventually becomes dirty. However, the point of the cross was not the suffering but the resurrection. The point was to transform suffering, not remain in it. We are to transform the suffering around us. We are supposed to turn a theology of suffering into a theology of empowerment and life.[iv] It is important to remind ourselves that God’s loving power is vulnerable to evil but not defeated by it. The God in dirty place is also the God in victory.

It is, therefore, our duty to reject the dehumanizing effects of sexual abuse and to project life with courage, hope, and love for God, self, and others. Most importantly, we should not only be familiar with the abuse of girls as a grave issue, but also acknowledge our role in addressing this problem that threatens the lives of many women and families in our society. We need to open our eyes and be sensitive toward the reality of child sexual abuse.

Prayer

Compassionate God, who loves and cares for all of your children, especially the smallest and most vulnerable, we entrust to you the lives of the many children who have been sexually abused, and whose trust and innocence have been destroyed. Help us to hear their pain and even the silent cry of victims and survivors and to take responsibility for so many broken lives. Amen

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Author: Dikteii Chawngthu

About the Author: Dikteii hails from Mizoram, India. She earned her Bachelor of Divinity from the Academy of Integrated Christian Studies (AICS, Aizawl) in 2014 and Master of Theology in the department of Christian Ministry from the United Theological College, Bangalore in 2017. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral Research in Pastoral Care and Counselling under SATHRI, Serampore.

References:

[i] Baker, A. and S. Duncan. “Child Sexual Abuse: A Study of Prevalence in Great Britain.” In Child Abuse and Neglect: The Family and the Community. Edited by R. Heller and Kempe. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1976. 

[ii] Cashman, Hilary. Christianity and Child Sexual Abuse. Great Britain: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1993.

[iii] Poling, James Newton. The Abuse of Power: A Theological Problem. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991.

[iv] Nienhuis, Nancy Eileen. “Theological Reflection on Violence and Abuse.” The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 59/1-2 (Spring-Summer, 2005): 120-134.

Day 18: God in Dirty Places: Dirt, Spit and Restoration

Reflecting Verse: “When he said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes.” John 9:6

I grew up in a small town named Tamenglong in the state of Manipur, a close-knit tribal community, where everybody knows who is there and what everybody does. Almost all social engagements revolved around the land and its produce. Particularly, young people find leisure hours for swimming in a pond alongside buffaloes and ducks or picking snails and fishes in the river. However, young people today find it filthy and grimy. In the process of growing up with bliss and bruises, I found humility and restoration that evolve around dirt and creation.

When we look into the Genesis creation narrative, we see humankind (Adam, meaning “Earth”) is the only creation that was created by dirt and thus remain in toil with dirt until return into dirt. This circle at the same time shows the humility of God’s creation and the very breath within it.

It was at the reeking dirty fishing dock where young Jesus found his first disciples – a low class stinky foul-smell fishermen and the man involved in a corrupted tax collecting profession. It was in these “dirty” places where God found the saints. The sanctified Godself Jesus, walked among these dirty places engaging with the dirty-outcast people throughout his ministry.

The physical embodiment of God walked in the country among the people with sickness and outcast suffering with leprosy, blindness, disability, woman menstruating constantly for twelve years (which means twelve years of being considered impure, filthy and outcast by the society!). These are the least opted choices by the people to be with where there are no public dressed-ups, no OOTD (outfit of the day) hashtags, and no #Trashtag challenges. It is the place where hygiene and sanitization were unheard of. It is a place where people are socially distanced and untouched. It is the place where young people saw no future, saw no encouragement, no passion and no life. Yet, it is in this place, upon this people the Church was born and built (Matthew 16:18). In the passage, Jesus could have just healed the man by just telling him to open his eyes or by just touching the man’s eyes with his hand. Rather than a quick fix, Jesus took time to make a mud out of dirt and saliva, apply it in the man’s eyes and sent him to wash his face in the pool of Shiloam, literally meaning “sent”, which is on the other side of the city.

The dirt that Jesus, the “Son of Man” (here ‘Adam’- earth/dirt), used to heal the man reminds us the humility nature of God’s manifestation in that dirt and rejected dwelling. It further reminds us to bring ourselves in humility and restoration of life and fullness.

This lockdown and physical distancing (“social distancing” has a negative connotation and I would encourage others as well to not use the term “social distancing”) has let down many people. The young people are suffering from depression, loss of jobs, anxiety, fear of missing out (FOMO) and losing out their youthful lives and physical social engagements. In this time of physical distancing and shabbiness, bedraggled hair and unbrushed teeth, may we find God with humility and healing, restoring our lives as we seek in our bathroom and dirt-filled rooms.

Prayer:

O God, open our eyes and hearts as we toil amidst the dirt and filth searching for restoration of our lives. Help us, particularly the young people who are undergoing depression, loss of jobs, fear and anxiety that we all may find solace in you. Amen.

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Author: Jianthaolung Gonmei

About the Author: Jianthaolung comes from a small town Tamenglong in Manipur. He completed Bachelor of Divinity at The United Theological College, Bangalore and is currently working as Executive Secretary – Youth Concerns in National Council of Churches in India, Nagpur

 

S1-Day 17: God in Dirty Places: Drought

For a long time, I was waiting to write something on a topic which will connect me with my life experiences. I think now is the perfect time, to write on “Drought”. The present climate has laid a perfect setting for my reflection. Why did I chose drought? How is that a dirty place? Does God exist here too? Well, my own experience helps me reflect deeper.

Once upon a time, when I was a kid, there was plenty of rainfall. Water was flowing. Ponds, lakes, rivers were filled till the brim. My friends and I used to play in ponds, wells and rivers. We even learnt our first swimming lessons there. On the other side, the forest, plants, and farming land, were so good. On the whole, it felt like creation was ‘pure and strong’.

After a decade now, the climate and seasonal rainfall have changed drastically. These changes along with a few other factors led to drought in our region, from Niva river (Ponnai river) in Chittoor to Palar river in Vellore. The ground-water level reduced. No water in hand pumps, wells or bore-wells too. Due to less rainfall, water scarcity rapidly increased. Villages and farm lands were most affected. I, my parents and neighbors, we walked two kilometres to fetch two pots of water. It was the first drought I ever experienced in my life. This was the time when, yield from crops reduced, price of vegetables and food items increased. There were very less efforts taken by the government to empower us and the villages/ towns around. The lives of many people were at stake. Can you imagine, how worse it would have gotten during this pandemic, while the middle class and the poor suffer? How would one pour out to God when they do not have anything to eat or drink? 

This is the time, many turned towards God, including me, because we had nowhere else to go. Once upon a time, we were all praying for rainfall, to god in churches, in temples, in mosques etc. But now we are searching for God in our own dirty places. The water is gone. The land is dry. The earth tearlessly cries in its brokenness. The pain the earth is going through at this time is shared with us, we too are a part of this cry. Will anyone hear us? Is there anyone to fill us with water so our eyes can cry? 

While comparing my childhood days with the present situation, my heart and mind groans ‘Enough is Enough’. I felt that Pure has changed to dirt and strong has changed to pollution everywhere. It is time people realized and corrected their faulty ways. The dirty place (dried and torn apart) was apt for Corona to affect. I say this because the earth has its own ways to restore order. But the harsh reality was, it comes at the cost of the many vulnerable communities in struggle. Today's economic fall is for the rich to know, this cry, 'Enough is Enough'. The drought is due to disobedience to God and the greed of humankind. It is time to move from such a dirty greed for accumulating and share  everything with creation.This drought has led to a lesser spiritual connection with creation. To be in relationship with God is to also be in relationship with creation. Are we ready to right our wrongs? Are we ready to give-up our comfort zones and become a Just human community? Are we ready to give-up, "the crown of creation" title and be a part of creation? If yes, God be with you. Amen.

Prayer: Our creator God, we thank you for being with us through all kinds of situations, hardship or happiness, you were with us, when we searched for you and you revealed yourself to us. Thank you, God. Help us to stay beside you and obey you to have your continuous blessing in and through creation. Amen.

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Author: D. Colindass

About the Author: Colindass belongs to the CSI Vellore Diocese. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity in UTC Bangalore, in 2018. 

S1-Day 16: God in Dirty Places: You/Me/She/Her “Being a Woman!”

To recognize who one is and what one can do, I believe, it's genesis is in one’s ‘mindset’! From time immemorial the plight of women on human moral life has been of constant concern. In other words, the ‘old normal’ where women are being objectified within toxic masculinity is being challenged with the ‘new normal’ at this juncture. In the midst of this old normal factor, how do we respond, when people say we are to live with the novel COVID-19, the new normal? Since a paradigm shift is taking place, is it the mindset that matters the most, in both, for every human?

Well, in the midst of global pandemic (COVID-19), the plight of women in many places get worse from domestic violence to abuses at different levels and categories within and beyond their four walls. Almost every column of the newspaper, in India reports rape, sexual abuse, body shaming, harassment, and so on related to women. These are the by-products of dirty mindset leading to disgraceful actions against women’s existence.

It is true that, despite any given situation the patriarchal society continues to be comfortable with the old normal life, in many ways, where women are submerged in the culture of silence. There are common phrases like, You/Me/She/Her being a woman has to cook, wash, clean, serve, be humble, be silent, need not argue, must adjust, should understand, and so on, which in many situations is not expected of men. Patriarchy has penetrated so deep in the minds of people that even women have internalized it as a norm and live up to that set standards, because of which, I would agree that it is not only men who oppress, but at times it is even women folks who see other women with a patriarchal mindset; the normal way! Now, how then do we look at the concept of “being a woman”  moving from a destructive way to a constructive one in the light of God in dirty places?

It has to be understood that women’s issues are not women’s issues alone but human issues, which needs to be addressed by both female and male who work towards gender transformation from a state of subjugation and oppression to just humanity. The mindset of the oppressor becomes a challenging task when we talk about God in dirty places. The mindset itself is a dirty place to be addressed. Whilst, for as long as the mindset is dirty, there cannot be a place for the love of God to activate in human beings! Therefore, it is pertinent to locate some space for God in the dirty places (mindset) so as to transform into a new normal for a just existence. Just as COVID-19 does not discriminate persons based on gender, it is time now to act afresh, collectively from every aspect. Instead to trying to get back to the old normal life, it is the need of the hour to have an inception of a new normal where every human being can exist with their own human rights. Otherwise as Arundati Roy rightly said “There could be nothing worse than a return to (old) normal.”

Prayer:

God of all places, infuse the mindset with your love and begin with me that can embrace a new normal of peace, equality, and wholeness where all genders can experience your divine freedom with responsibility. Amen.

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Author: Ms. Imnabenla Jamir

About the Author Imnabenla Jamir is a native of Ao Naga community of Nagaland. She has submitted her doctoral dissertation to the Senate of Serampore College (University) through the United Theological College, Bangalore in the department of Christian Ethics. She is a former faculty of the Masters College of Theology, Vishakhapatnam.

S1-Day 15: God in Dirty Places: Ignoring Thorns-Stem of Roses

India was awakened to the news of the sixteen souls that were ran over by a goods train at Aurangabad in Maharashtra on the 8^th May 2020. The exhausted migrant workers returning home by foot fell asleep on the railway tracks not knowing that fate and tragedy will be very cruel on them. No words nor compensation or voices of sorrow would re-compensate the precious life that is lost for ever. Words will be less to describe the agony of the families back home who for life depend their livelihood.

It has always been said that India is a composition of villages. One cannot imagine the growth of urban cities and municipalities and a thriving economy without the work of the migrants, who survive as daily wage earners. The mega cities, buildings, rail and airport projects, multiplexes, wonder parks, hospitals, universities, and schools are all but built by the migrant or daily wage earners. Yet when pandemic and calamity strike the nation, they are left to fend the adversary themselves. In a time, such as this how do we comprehend those migrants who have been left jobless since the lockdown? When we that are fortunate to have a shelter and food talked about social distancing the migrants were more concerned about the lack of food, shelter, accommodation, essential food supplies rather the bleak of starvation.

There is hope that the pandemic will pass and the Nation as a whole will come together stronger, yet for those migrant workers it is a wonder when their economic security and salvation will come. To admire the cities with its wonders of buildings yet ignore the work of the sewer cleaners, the sweepers, the construction builders, and the manual scavengers is like admiring the rose flower yet hating the thorny stems. In reality there can be no roses without thorny stems. In this context, it is time to search for a visioning where we get to acknowledge the thorny-stem so that the roses are not romanticized at the expense of the others, the "less fortunate" and "powerless". 

At times, we question why do these migrant workers come to our towns and cities and pollute the scenery of the surrounding. Ye,t today the question needs to be reversed and we ought to ask ourselves, "if all these migrant workers decide to stop working tomorrow, what will be the condition of towns and cities?" It is just that we need more of them rather than them needing more of us in the actual situation. In the event of the declaration of the lockdown all of us were lost in the quest for ourselves on the maxim, all for ourselves. Yet none of us, thought about the millions of the migrant workers and their families and the conditions they were left to wither. A Saint was right to say that Service to humanity is service to God. Yet the million-dollar questions today are whether we have let down our fellow migrant workers? Have we done enough service to humanity and to the divine?  The very fact that our fellow citizens lost their lives sleeping and mowed down by a train shows how far we have gone from the maxim of service to humanity and to the divine.

Prayer

All embracing God, open our eyes to see life-struggles of your people. Lead us not into the temptations of our comfort zones, but deliver us from the evils we are forced to be a part of; for yours are we, the people, and everything you created, forever and ever. Amen.

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Author: Chenijan Patton

About the Author: Chenijan completed his Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theology from the United Theological College, Bangalore. He is presently pursuing doctoral studies.

S1-Day: 14: God in Dirty Places with Those Behind Bars: What about them?

Reflecting Verse: “The spirit of my Lord Yahweh is on me because Yahweh has anointed me….to proclaim liberty to captives and an opening to those imprisoned.” 

Isaiah 61: 1

Lockdown is making us to experience how it is to be isolated, captive behind one’s own door with activities limited, future unsure, and our hope and anxiety on a seesaw. And yet, these for us, we are experiencing it for over two months, under the security of our homes, most of us with our loved ones. What about them? Those in “dirty places”- Those behind bars- the prisons, caged within walls of one’s own and others, shunned, the "most wanted" now "unwanted", stigmatized beyond the bars and walls.

The Supreme Court termed some  prisoners in India as “unfortunate forgotten specimens of humanity.” This has proven true, yet again, in the crisis of the pandemic. BBC News report dated 11^th May 2020, the prisons around the world have emerged as the hot spots of COVID-19 infection. Indian prisons appear to be of no exception as, overcrowding and lack of proper hygiene are the norms of Indian prison. Besides, most sub-jails lack properly trained doctors, let alone doctors who would treat COVID-19 patients. Inside the prison, anxiety and isolation are affecting the prisoners as one of the reasons is that relatives no longer are able to visit them. These visits are important as they looked forward to it and it brought them hope.  In order to reduce overcrowding and prevent the spread of COVID-19, in the crowded Indian Prisons, the Supreme Court had asked states to free inmates on “interim bail” and “emergency parole”.  However, most of the prisoners who are freed, due to the lockdown, are stranded, unable to return home. 77 of 2,600 prisoners and 26 prison officials at Mumbai’s Arthur road, as per the news at the time of writing this article, were tested positive for COVID-19 putting in risk the other inmates in close quarters. Meanwhile, those who are and would be released as per the criteria of the Supreme Court are still at risk, now the task lies on the society.

In the verse above, we see the liberating work of God in action, demonstrating deep concern for people from all walks of life, even for those in “dirty places” like the prisons. Jesus himself at the beginning of his ministry quotes from this passage, as according to Gospel according to Luke 4:18 emphasizing the importance of the task. The anointed by God’s spirit is figuratively for a commission for a specific task, for the freedom which God is providing through God’s chosen instrument. It requires commitment to do God’s will, a commitment to be present as an agent of God’s mercy to the broken and imprisoned. This message, of comfort, freedom and support, is to be clearly proclaimed and carried out for those imprisoned. As Jerusalem’s restoration required more than mortar and sand, or the efforts of only the rulers, the power to restore is not limited only to the rulers of our times nor just infrastructural developments, but it is passed on to the community as a whole, enabling all members to join in this task of restoration, comfort and hope of everyone even those in “dirty places” like prisons.

The lockdown’s discomfort and inconvenience incite us to empathize with those behind bars and to question ourselves, what about them? As God’s people, chosen instruments and anointed by God’s spirit, is the message in the book of Isaiah telling us loud and clear of our mandate? Then, for those in the “dirty places” “forgotten”, what are the messages we have spoken and enacted to/for them especially during this pandemic? Batches of those behind bars are/will be released; the buck is passed on to the society, to us, to the church.  “What about them?”

Prayer:

Spirit of God, move in us and stir us up, so that we may overflow with your love, hope and comfort for those who are imprisoned and are/will be released. Harness those who are stirred that in what we can and in our unity your power for restoration would be manifested. Amen.

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Author: S. Esther Ao

About the Author: Esther hails from Dimapur belonging to the Dimapur Ao Baptist Church (DABA), Dimapur, Nagaland. She earned her Bachelor of Divinity from Bishop’s College, Kolkata, affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College and her Master of Theology in Biblical Studies (Old Testament) from the United Theological College, Bangalore. She was the member of Faculty of Calcutta Bible College, Kolkata. She is currently preparing for her Doctoral research Programme. Her interests are reading, music, creative writings and so on.

S1-Day 13: God in Dirty Places: “Are you one of us?”

Reflecting Verse: Deuteronomy 10:12-19 (Passage only for reading. Reflection may (not) allude directly to it.)

To give context right away, Badagas are one of the few tribes who have inhabited the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu for many centuries now. Badagas are also the largest tribe here. Although they are primarily an agricultural tribe, they are at par with any other society in terms of technological advancement. Most of the present 20- and 30-year olds move freely across the world and are involved in various professions. Like any other society, there exists stratification in the Badaga community. However, the commonality of being a tribal community surpasses them all as they mostly have each other’s backs, at least within their own likable circles.

A few years ago, my brother and I went house-hunting for him and his newly married wife to live in. This one place we found was quite nice. It had a good view; the locality was good and it had its perks. We decided to give it a shot and had a meeting with the owner. The owner lived adjacent to the vacant house only divided by a thin brick wall. You could even hear a pin drop from both sides. The owner was pretty pleased with my brother and almost sealed the deal before she suddenly had an epiphany and asked, “Nee nangavakkava?” Now, my brother and I CANNOT speak our language fluently, but we can thankfully understand it. The owner’s question was, “Are you one of us?” technically meaning “Are you a Badaga?” At that moment, we were so overjoyed that we were certain that this would work out in our favour! We exclaimed, “Yes!” But lo and behold, the owner immediately responded, “Sorry, we cannot give you the house. We prefer not having someone who understands our language as they would have easy access to our private lives.” Oh! You thin brick wall!

In my story, what I thought connected me with my neighbour ended up making me a stranger to my neighbour. Irrespective of which society we come from, we set up walls between ourselves in a way to safeguard our private identities. We do not want to expose our real lives to others, let alone share our experiences with them. This incident got etched in my head for a reason. Little did I know that I would get interested in my own tribal-ness with such a bizarre incident. In many ways, God has forced me into my own dirty place, my tribal identity which I ignored all my life. Now, do I regret not growing up knowing my culture and language and people so well? I sometimes do. On the other hand, do I regret breaking some of its traditions and stepping out of its boundaries? I do not! I absolutely love doing that. Embracing one’s identity and deconstructing that very same identity are two sides of the same coin. This can be a very dirty coin to flip. But, in the midst of this process is exactly where God is present. Remember, how the God of the Bible was always interested in the “stranger”? The “stranger” in the Bible is often the one who was considered the “other”, the one who did that inter-tribal marriage, the one who ran away from the family, the one who broke the system’s code, the one who took that risk for the sake of the tribe itself. We see God making special provisions for this kind of person.

It is overwhelming to see how our societies are divided based on Caste, Gender, Class, Language, Religion, Denomination and so on and so forth. Maybe it is time to do something about it in novel ways. Maybe it is time to get into our own realities, into our own messy corners and try to embrace them and at the same time deconstruct them for the greater good of us all.

Prayer:

Dear God, you know my dirty corner. You see every messy yet colourful aspect of my life. Bring me to grips with them. Help me realise that you are right there in the centre of it all. Amen.

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Author: Ben Jonathan Immanuel

About the Author: Ben is an inter-denominational Badaga Christian originally from Coonoor, currently living in Bengaluru. He holds a Bachelor of Divinity from the United Theological College, Bengaluru and is presently working with Student Christian Movement of India (SCMI). Although both his parents are Badagas, a tribal group inhabiting the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, Ben grew up not learning his own language and culture. Even in seminary, he did not play his Tribal card. He also married outside his tribe, his childhood sweetheart, shaking his tribal system a bit. This reflection is one of his many attempts at delving into his own tribal identity.