'Church must see God in the oppressed'

Church must see God in the oppressed because "their brokenness forms the body of Christ," says Rev. Dr. V Devasahayam, Bishop of the CSI Chennai Diocese and President of the Tamil Nadu Christian Council.

Speaking at the opening of a three-day conference on 'Justice for Dalits', Bishop Devasahayam implored Church to shun polarisation of people on caste and be concerned and committed for the marginalized "in whom God reveals himself".

"The Indian Church is in a sorry state. Church will fail if it does not weed out caste within and outside. Both cannot go together as Christianity is life giving while casteism is a sin and scandal," he said, adding "Christ must save us from the abominable sin of caste. If He cant, then the Gospel is powerless."

Chiding Church for doing less for the liberation of Dalits, Devasahayam remarked, "God stands with the lowly against lofty and with powerless against powerful. He manifests his glory through the oppressed."

Pointing how God appeared to Moses in an ugly burning bush, he exhorted Church to see Christ in the suffering of people. "God is present in the afflicted and we must develop a new way of perceiving it. They are the messianic people," he said.

Commenting on the plights of Dalit people who form 70% of India's Christians, he continued, "85% of agricultural labour is done by the Dalits, but the end of the day, they go hungry. They build houses but they themselves have no place to lay their head. They clean the surrounding but later they are called 'polluting people'."

"Church must alleviate their suffering and focus on integration than expansion. We need a community like the disciples who lived as brothers and sisters in unity. In Christ, there is no master or servant, Jew or Gentile," he declared.

Close to a hundred church leaders and representatives of ecumenical organisations gathered in the capital Delhi to take efforts to eradicate caste and persuade Church to practice zero tolerance towards caste-based discrimination.

During the inaugural address on Friday, Rev. Neethinathan of the CBCI Commission on SC/BC, said justice is being on the side of the oppressed and fighting for them. "God is never neutral and takes sides in the context of oppression. Church should do the same. Supporting Dalits is not optional but mandatory."

Also addressing the gathering was Dr. Geevarghese Mar Coorilos, moderator of the WCC's Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, who exhorted Church to be inclusive "as discrimination of any nature is not part of the body of Christ".

"There is no room for subordination or subjugation. Church must boldly cast out caste. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross has brought reconciliation to all mankind," he said.

The Oct 22-25 conference is organised by the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI).