(A sequel to “BOTTOMS UP – NOW BUTTONED DOWN”)
The assistant placed the symbol of authority around the neck of the leader. A bell rang. The assembly began. An exhortation was given. A collection box was passed around. They shared something to eat. Announcements were made. The assembly ended. They came out of the hall in all their finery. Chatted, gossiped and dispersed, to congregate again the next week. Same time, same place. In between, they would do some “charitable works”.
Ashirvad Vachan of KVC–2 fame sits before his computerji. John Masih is in the hot seat before him. Vachan has just described something. The four options now appear on Masih’s screen. They are: A. Mass in a Catholic Church B. Marriage Encounter Meeting C. Rotary Club Meeting D. Masonic Lodge Meeting. Masih is confused. He asks for the Nifty-Fifty helpline. Options B and D disappear from the computer screen. Masih is in a sweat. He stands to win or lose a million. He makes a hurried sign of the cross and with a clammy forefinger presses option A. Vachan looks at him with a spaniel’s doting eyes, and in his rich baritone, that betrays no emotion, says, “Masih Sahab that was the wrong answer. The correct answer was option C – A Rotary Club meeting.”
If you or me were on the KVC-2 show, would we have guessed right? Are we to blame if a Rotary Club meeting is not very different from a Sunday Mass in a Catholic Church? If the lines have blurred, who is responsible? More importantly, how has this come about, and what are we to do about it?
Last time I had written “Bottoms Up – Now Buttoned Down”, in response to Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai’s Dress Code (DC). This is the promised sequel. As I said earlier, it is not a question of dress; it is a matter of perception. How do we perceive the Church? Rev E Daly SJ, who has spent years in adult catechesis, has compared Sunday church-going to a visit to a petrol station – to fill up fuel for the week. Others may call it a refuge for the weak! Earlier people came to Sunday Mass out of fear of committing a mortal sin and going to hell if they didn’t. Now several mass-goers are afraid that their children will be thrown out of Catholic schools if they don’t. For migrants living in urban anonymity, it is a whiff of fresh air, freedom from ennui, to meet one’s country cousins. For some it is a “happening place” to flaunt one’s assets – both physical and financial. For others it is a conscience placator – do what you want all week, and assuage your soul (or bribe God in the form of the parish priest) by dipping into your wallet on Sunday. Our motivation for coming to church will, to a large extent, determine our DC.
There could also be historical, social and cultural reasons influencing our DC. I see 4 distinct waves of Christianity in India: (1) The Thomas Christians in Kerala (2) The Portuguese converts on the Konkan coast (3) The Anglicised urban Christians and (4) the Dalit and Tribal Christians. In almost all village churches along the Kerala – Konkan coast people sat on the floor. They wore their simple native dress. Some Goans aped the Portuguese in western dress. There was a joke about Goan fisherman wearing a shirt, tie and a coat, even in the blistering heat. But because they were fishermen, always rushing into the sea, they wore only a kashti (loincloth) beneath their shirt! Cultural mismatch? There is also a standing joke in Kerala about the men folk lifting their lungis so high that the women folk felt it safer to sit separately.
Rural churches all over India, that have a largely tribal or dalit population, have remained rooted in their culture, be it language or dress. For them coming to church is also a celebration of their human dignity. It is an experience of liberation from social bondage. They are happy and free. The DC problem is acutest in the anglicised (now westernised) urban congregations. Here again we Christians, like Masih Sahab, aped the British. The Sahibs wore ties, shoes and hats, so we imitated them. The mem-sahibs wore dainty dresses, milliner’s hats, grotesque handbags and stiletto heels. The well-heeled Indian ladies followed suit (quite literally)!
Why blame urban Christians for aping the British form of dress? The last vestige of British dress in India is the Indian Army. They have a strict and typically British DC. You have to have a lounge suit, tie and polished shoes. You can’t enter an officer’s mess wearing Indian dress like kurta, pyjama and sandals. The IAS are the new Brown Sahibs. Their orderlies still wear colonial uniforms. Our lawyers and judges wear silly black gowns and white-collar bands, more suitable for clowns or crows. But they haven’t changed.
Nevertheless, when it comes to religion, I find that barring urban, westernised Christians, all devotees (note my choice of word) come to pray and worship in clothing that reflects simplicity and reverence. Be they Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs – their clothing reflects their mentality – of reverence and respect. You cannot enter a mosque or gurudwara without covering your head. Mandir, Masjid or Gurudwara – you have to take off your shoes before entering. The Jews also cover their heads in prayer, as did Jesus himself. It is important to here note that both men and women covered their heads. These religious customs were not targeted at women.
How did this DC evolve in the Judea–Christian heritage? The Jews believed that one could not hear or see God and live to tell the tale. ”But my face you cannot see, for no human being can see me and survive” (Ex 33:20). Also, “What creature of flesh could live after hearing, as we have heard, the voice of the living God?” (Deut 5:26). God was considered a “Hidden God” (cf Is 45:15). When Moses first encountered God in the burning bush he was instructed to keep his distance and remove his footwear in the presence of the sacred and divine (cf Ex 3:5). Moses’ reflex action was to “cover his face, for he was afraid to look at God” (Ex 3:6). The Jewish experience of an Awesome God inspired fear, reverence and distancing. Cover your head, uncover your feet! Shock ‘n’ Awe was in the Burning Bush, long before the Bushfire came along!
Jesus changed this image of a God to be feared, to one to be loved. Not a ruler and judge, but a benign, loving, providing and forgiving father. We were children of God. We needed childlike innocence and simplicity to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus bridges the gap. He keeps saying, “Come”. Children, sinners, the poor and diseased, do come. This bridging the gap and piercing the veil is poignantly symbolised when the veil in the Temple sanctuary is torn, when Jesus dies on the cross (cf Mt 29:51). Humans were liberated and free to enter into the loving presence of God.
This is what we need to understand. Our encounter with God should not be based on fear – religious, social, moral or even educational. Neither should it be based on the fear of rejection by God or man. Nobody is an outcaste in a church. Coming to church should be an act of responsible freedom, a liberating and loving experience. It should be an act of simplicity and innocence, as behoves a child. A child is trusting of its parents, and not afraid of rejection. It has the freedom to be itself. If we have this understanding and experience of God, coming to Church will be an act of simplicity, innocence and loving reverence. We will be inspired to dress accordingly. If not, we will still require a DC, to be issued by cardinals. Unfortunately this will be a resentful imposition, not a liberating experience. It will be a cosmetic change, addressing the symptom rather than the disease. Like our police force, weak leaders would prefer to obliterate the evidence, rather than catch the murderer. I also very strongly believe that there cannot be a dichotomy between church life and normal life; one set of rules/ dress for church, and another for the rest of the week.
Coming back to Paul and the Corinthians, when Judaic Christianity is exposed to Greek hedonism/ eroticism, there is a cultural conflict. Eros and the Cross are not exactly compatible. The Greek/ Hellenistic culture then moves west to Rome, and the Anglo-Saxon lands. Anglo Saxon culture comes to India courtesy the East India Company. The rest is history. “Johnny Tony Topi Tie, Main Hoon Isai Bhai”. Jaikishan becomes Jackson, Deshpande becomes D’souza.
It is time now to jettison our colonial hangover. Let us discover ourselves as Indian Christians in a free world, and democratic society. I really wish that our religious preachers, who claim hegemony of the pulpit, would address issues of faith formation and experience; instead of catching the bull by the tail, with a DC. The church is a spiritual heritage, not just a social club. Hopefully Ashirvad Vachan will not have to ask such a silly question again on KVC-2.
Psst! Do you know what KVC-2 stands for? Before you press the wrong button again, let me tell you that it is not “Kaun Vanega Crorepati?” It stands for “Koi Vatican Council II”. Something vague, about which most Catholics in India are blissfully unaware. Our cardinals, bishops and priests seem quite happy to leave it that way. This writer is not.
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