The Journey 345
Read: Luke 1: 46-56
Travelling in an aircraft is always and experience. The road to the airport, the scare that each one of us have when we go through the security check...thinking whether we have kept any objects or liquids in the bag that is banned and finally waiting at the waiting hall of the gate from where we are to board. Then comes the announcement that flight is about to depart and the mad rush of many passengers to go in front…...don't know for what?. But then as you come to the entrance of the aircraft, that is when you get the first taste of the service that is offered. The flight hostess or stewards announces in a broad smile “Welcome aboard” while those flying in India would be familiar with the greeting “Namaste”. Though nowadays you may not receive those greetings and smiles regularly, especially sometimes in the gulf sector, as some passengers seems to consider the crew members as the maid of their house, asking them to do all sorts of errands. This has caused some of the crew members also to sometimes behave in a rude manner or dealing issues in a very insensitive way [ remember the so called hijacking alarm raise by crew in Trivandrum] and also sometimes considering as a punishment to fly in Gulf-Kerala sector. But even with such isolated incidents the crew members most of the airlines and its crew members are normally gracious in welcoming passengers to the aircraft and thus the crew members of every airline is often evaluated in the way they smile and serve the people on board. That is why a particular news caught my attention. The news is about an impending strike called by the crew members of the Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific. The crew members are threatening that if their salary demands which they feel are just are not met, then they would be forced to take industrial action. This form of strike is a form of slowing down of the services offered like reduced onboard services, delaying flights and also not providing non essential items like nuts and alcohol, though they will be offering essential items like water. But the service that they will not offer that caught my attention is that the crew members said that they will not “serving with a smile”. According to a spokesperson of the crew members the basic role of a flight attendant is to take care of the safety measures on the flight and to take passengers from one point to another point safely and that the serving food and beverages were extra services that was required by the airline. As a lay person with respects to the knowledge about the salary and other benefits, I cannot evaluate whether demands of the crew members of Cathay Pacific is just or unjust, but then refrain that “ we will not serve with a smile” is something hard to digest. I think it is not only the crew members, but nowadays personnel from every field is guilty of doing ones work or service just for the sake of doing it. This is also a major allegation even against the clergy, a refrain from the common man and the laity that we have become very professional in our ministry and that we do everything in our ministry more as an act that we are forced to do and not doing it with passion and a sense of enthusiasm. The smile seems to be missing. What cause the smile to be missing?. I believe I loose my smile when I consider my job more as something that I am forced to do. When there are challenges and struggles in my job, I am forced to be bitter and do the job or my ministry more as a job that I have to do, thus forgetting and relegating the element of calling to the back bench. In this advent season let us reclaim the joy and smile element in our work, in our vocation and in every aspect of our life and this is what Mary the mother of our Lord teaches us.
Yesterday as we meditated on the theme “Transformed Living” we learnt from the life of Mary that only when we are ready to bear the cost that follows our commitment does our life become more blessed and meaningful rather than living on mediocre lines. Today we are going to meditate on another aspect of the life of Mary that is found in Luke 1: 46-56. This is one of the most beautiful portions that is found in the Bible. A song that is considered as a Magnificant not only because this young virgin girl praise God but her song of praise is a praise song in a time when she is forced to take upon herself the suffering and the agony for being chosen as the Mother of our Lord. You find in this song, rich theological treatise that may not be found in a Ph.D thesis in the field of theology and ethic. Here is a young girl who affirms her faith in that song of praise. There are few notable aspects about this song. One is the joy that she shares through her song of praise. When Mary sings that “ My soul is glad because of God my saviour, for he has remembered me his lowly servant, from now on all people will call me blessed”. These are the words that come out of the joy that she find in being called to serve the Lord and be a channel of his redemption is something that prompted her to sing this song of praise. The second aspect that you find in the song of praise of Mary is the joy not only in being chosen for serving God but the joy of serving God. There is joy in serving and there is also a greater joy in knowing that I serve the Lord in His ministry. I think that is the greatest message that Mary give to all of us who take our profession, our career or our ministry as another mundane task. Mary teaches us to be joyful, whatever be the demands and stress of the service that we render and also to be joyful of the fact that we serve the Lord God almighty and that is the greatest privilege that God has given to us in this earth.
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla
Travelling in an aircraft is always and experience. The road to the airport, the scare that each one of us have when we go through the security check...thinking whether we have kept any objects or liquids in the bag that is banned and finally waiting at the waiting hall of the gate from where we are to board. Then comes the announcement that flight is about to depart and the mad rush of many passengers to go in front…...don't know for what?. But then as you come to the entrance of the aircraft, that is when you get the first taste of the service that is offered. The flight hostess or stewards announces in a broad smile “Welcome aboard” while those flying in India would be familiar with the greeting “Namaste”. Though nowadays you may not receive those greetings and smiles regularly, especially sometimes in the gulf sector, as some passengers seems to consider the crew members as the maid of their house, asking them to do all sorts of errands. This has caused some of the crew members also to sometimes behave in a rude manner or dealing issues in a very insensitive way [ remember the so called hijacking alarm raise by crew in Trivandrum] and also sometimes considering as a punishment to fly in Gulf-Kerala sector. But even with such isolated incidents the crew members most of the airlines and its crew members are normally gracious in welcoming passengers to the aircraft and thus the crew members of every airline is often evaluated in the way they smile and serve the people on board. That is why a particular news caught my attention. The news is about an impending strike called by the crew members of the Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific. The crew members are threatening that if their salary demands which they feel are just are not met, then they would be forced to take industrial action. This form of strike is a form of slowing down of the services offered like reduced onboard services, delaying flights and also not providing non essential items like nuts and alcohol, though they will be offering essential items like water. But the service that they will not offer that caught my attention is that the crew members said that they will not “serving with a smile”. According to a spokesperson of the crew members the basic role of a flight attendant is to take care of the safety measures on the flight and to take passengers from one point to another point safely and that the serving food and beverages were extra services that was required by the airline. As a lay person with respects to the knowledge about the salary and other benefits, I cannot evaluate whether demands of the crew members of Cathay Pacific is just or unjust, but then refrain that “ we will not serve with a smile” is something hard to digest. I think it is not only the crew members, but nowadays personnel from every field is guilty of doing ones work or service just for the sake of doing it. This is also a major allegation even against the clergy, a refrain from the common man and the laity that we have become very professional in our ministry and that we do everything in our ministry more as an act that we are forced to do and not doing it with passion and a sense of enthusiasm. The smile seems to be missing. What cause the smile to be missing?. I believe I loose my smile when I consider my job more as something that I am forced to do. When there are challenges and struggles in my job, I am forced to be bitter and do the job or my ministry more as a job that I have to do, thus forgetting and relegating the element of calling to the back bench. In this advent season let us reclaim the joy and smile element in our work, in our vocation and in every aspect of our life and this is what Mary the mother of our Lord teaches us.
Yesterday as we meditated on the theme “Transformed Living” we learnt from the life of Mary that only when we are ready to bear the cost that follows our commitment does our life become more blessed and meaningful rather than living on mediocre lines. Today we are going to meditate on another aspect of the life of Mary that is found in Luke 1: 46-56. This is one of the most beautiful portions that is found in the Bible. A song that is considered as a Magnificant not only because this young virgin girl praise God but her song of praise is a praise song in a time when she is forced to take upon herself the suffering and the agony for being chosen as the Mother of our Lord. You find in this song, rich theological treatise that may not be found in a Ph.D thesis in the field of theology and ethic. Here is a young girl who affirms her faith in that song of praise. There are few notable aspects about this song. One is the joy that she shares through her song of praise. When Mary sings that “ My soul is glad because of God my saviour, for he has remembered me his lowly servant, from now on all people will call me blessed”. These are the words that come out of the joy that she find in being called to serve the Lord and be a channel of his redemption is something that prompted her to sing this song of praise. The second aspect that you find in the song of praise of Mary is the joy not only in being chosen for serving God but the joy of serving God. There is joy in serving and there is also a greater joy in knowing that I serve the Lord in His ministry. I think that is the greatest message that Mary give to all of us who take our profession, our career or our ministry as another mundane task. Mary teaches us to be joyful, whatever be the demands and stress of the service that we render and also to be joyful of the fact that we serve the Lord God almighty and that is the greatest privilege that God has given to us in this earth.
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla