Jesus’ inclusive fellowship

Divya and Jolly dialogue was intense and interesting; they were trying to understand a long tradition of tracing all sins to one basic form of sin. Some famous contestants emerged in the course of  conversation, such as “sensuality”, “pride”, “violence”. Divya criticised these front runners for their failure to capture the experience of most women. Although pride was in the lead, it did not capture the experience of women marginalised because of their race, low caste status, powerlessness. Finally, both concluded that tracing all sins to their common root was too abstract an endeavour. Divya pointed out that “exclusion” permeates a good many sins committed against our neighbours, but not what lies at the bottom of all sins. Jolly readily agreed. It made him introspect about his own relationships. Considering sin as the practice of exclusion, has the advantage of naming sin which often passes as a virtue. Often gender and social inequalities, as well as hierarchical relationships are conceived by many as necessary for a stable world order. Jesus the sinless God incarnate, crossed social boundaries that excluded outcasts. He was clear in articulating that these boundaries themselves are evil, sinful, and outside God’s will. By embracing the “outcast”, Jesus underscored the “sinfulness” of the persons and systems that cast them out. Jesus, the bringer of “grace”, not only scandalously included “anyone” in the fellowship of “open eating with others”, but also called for repentance and offered forgiveness. It is of significance to note that Jesus reached out to the victims, whom the world called impure, by calling them pure. He also offered an opportunity for repentance to the perpetrators, highlighting the sin of exclusion. Jesus’ inclusive fellowship brings humanity back to God to live in sacrificial love, service and fellowship. In a world that builds barriers of purity and pollution, domination and subjugation, let us build bridges of love and service.