My Views – Dr.Chris Anthony MBBS,MS,FRCSEd,AM

drchris March 30th, 2007

Washing of feet, sign of extreme humility

Very soon we will be observing the Holy Week which will culminate in Easter commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. On Holy Thursday we will witness the priest washing the feet of his 12 “apostles”.

This act of Jesus was a revolutionary one which would have been scorned by those in power. By Jesus washing the feet of his apostles he has demonstrated the most extreme form of humility and love for man and this love resulted in the ultimate sacrifice of His life for us on the cross. 

As the followers of Jesus, we are asked follow Christ, to humble ourselves, to wash the feet of others especially those under our care. In real life are we willing to demonstrate that humility and love for those below us? Are we willing to sacrifice whatever we can for the betterment of others? These are the questions we must pose to ourselves and ponder over them. 

If only we had that humility a lot of troubles would never have occurred. If only George Bush ,Tony Blair and other prominent and respected leaders including our Pope, had that humility of Christ, to go down to meet with Saadam Hussein, the Iraq war might have been averted. Similarly lack of this humility was the cause of violence and war throughout the history of man. 

On a smaller dimension if only each one of us had that humility, divorce and family break up with “orphaned” children will be minimal. Our families would be happy and intact. 

Every year our priests make it a point to wash the feet of their twelve “apostles”. To many it may be just a ritual and they do it as an obligation. In fact the act itself is reminder that they are the servants, not masters, of their parishioners. 

The washing of the feet is a lesson not only for the priests but for of us as well. It is a lesson for us in our relationship with those we encounter daily – our spouse, our children, parents, priests, friends and particularly our subordinates. Do we treat them with respect and love? 

The washing of the feet is a clear demonstration of Christ’s second great commandment to us – love your neighbor as yourself. Mother Teresa had this great virtue of humility in abundance as she fulfilled this commandment to the fullest. 

Let us ask God to also give us this great virtue of humility so that we can in our own small ways, bring about the peace and harmony in our own surroundings.

Dr.Chris Anthony

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drchris March 26th, 2007

Is our faith founded solely on miracles and the supernatural acts?

Barely the dust from the controversy of the DaVinci Code had settled, we have another,  The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which attempts to cast doubts on the very foundation of our faith, the resurrection.

There is going to be many more such attempts trying to create doubts in what we believe regarding Jesus – his divity,his birth, his relationship with Mary Magdalene, his miracles, his crucifixion and even his resurrection upon which our faith is founded. There are many out there to prove wrong what has been believed to be the absolute truth over the centuries. The Church had taken great pains to preserve and safeguard these truths at all costs.

Modern man is so advanced in science and technology that he insists on evidence before he accepts anything as the truth, including those that are supernatural. He is not going to accept anything based just on faith and tradition. Modern scientific advancements may even succeed in proving certain of our established believes wrong. Man will not rest until he gets the truth and to me his inquisitive mind coupled with his intelligence, are the gifts of God. We know that the truth will finally prevail. If so are we prepared to accept the truth however bitter they may be?

Is our faith based solely on miracles and magic that is said to have occurred 2000 years ago when man had little or no understanding of science and nature? If these miracles and supernatural events are proven to be false by modern evidence-based techniques, is our faith still relevant?  

Miracles and magical events can be proved wrong but not Christ’s teachings. These will stand the test of time. His two great commandments, love God and love you neighbors as yourself, are relevant throughout the ages and would never become obsolete. If we understand and practice these two great commandments, we need not be too worried that our faith will be proven wrong.

Why should the Church be so easily perturbed by these allegations that are merely external? Has it lost faith in the essential teachings of Jesus? Is our Church leading us in the direction as taught by Christ or is it being hijacked by some quarters for their vested advantage?

As an ordinary layman I do not have the resources to challenge the proponents of these allegations. I do not know for certain whether Jesus was divine, born to a virgin, married and had a son, worked miracles or even resurrected, but I know for sure that he came from God, committed no sin, his teachings were never flawed and  ultimately he gave up his life as a symbol of self-sacrificing love for us. These actions of his are enough to find a secure place for him in my heart from where no amount of force would displace him. He continues to be the symbol of inspiration and guide in my daily living.

It is our misdirected focus from the real essence of the teachings of Christ that has resulted in a world that is plagued by materialism and immorality? Hate, selfishness and greed have become the way of life, replacing love, hope and charity which were the hallmarks of Christianity in the yesteryears.

Dr.Chris Anthony

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drchris March 26th, 2007

Is Christ for all or an exclusive few?

Recently I came across a report in a Catholic weekly trying to explain in detail why Protestants cannot receive Holy Communion at a Catholic liturgy. In fact of late in many of our Churches there are announcements and LCD projections reminding the congregation that Holy Communion is reserved only for baptized and practicing Catholics. To me this is quite disturbing as I see it as a discriminating act.

Who is a practicing catholic – one who observes strictly all the rituals of the Church at any cost or one who genuinely carries Jesus into his daily living and in the process ignores some of the rituals?

What about a Catholic politician who abuses his power to subdue his people and amass large amount of wealth? What about glamorous celebrities who live immoral lives against the teachings of the Church?

This discriminatory action of our modern Church poses one important question in the minds of many liberal thinking Catholics – Is Christ for all or is He reserved for an exclusive few?

Holy Communion,I admit, is not a trivial matter and the Eucharist is not to be toyed with, but denying our separated brethren the Eucharist because of their dispute with Catholics is definitely tantamount to revenge especially when this dispute is as ancient as the Church itself. If this is not a spiteful policy then what is it?

The practice of excluding some people from Communion may be Biblically based, and it reflects the mind and heart of the early Church, as they were taught by the Apostles. Wouldn’t it be morally wrong on our part to carry the ancient animosity created by our ancestors onto the present generation of Christians who had no part whatsoever in that ancient dispute?

None will deny that there must be conditions for receiving Christ in Holy Communion. These should be based on the condition of the heart of the receiver and not rituals he performs or group to which he belongs. The fundamental requisite should be faith and a sincere eagerness to welcome Christ into his life.

In a world torn apart by hate and revenge, Christ should an instrument of unity and peace among not only Christians of the various denominations but of the whole human race.

Christ belongs to all, including sinners, not to just a chosen few. He is not the founder of an exclusive club called Christianity or to be more specific Catholicism. Let’s not confine him to this club by imposing man-made rules and rituals. As his faithful we have a far greater obligation, to bring His love to all mankind.

Dr.Chris Anthony

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drchris March 19th, 2007

Is our faith founded solely on miracles and the supernatural?

 Modern man is so advanced in science and technology that he insists on evidence before he accepts anything as the truth, especially those that are supernatural. He is not going to accept anything based just on faith and tradition.

Of late a number of controversies have cropped up that have resulted in our church resorting to all available means to rebut them. Of the latest among these were the DaVinci Code, The Gospel of Judas and now the Tomb of Jesus. There have also been numerous scientific studies to explain the various miracles performed by Jesus.

Tremendous controversies have also been generated regarding Jesus – his birth,his relationship with Mary Magdelene, his miracles,his crucifixion and even his resurrection upon which our faith is founded. There are many out there to prove wrong what has been believed to be the absolute truth over the centuries. The Church had taken great pains to preserve and safeguard these truths at all costs.

Over the years the very foundation of the Catholic Church and in fact Christianity is being challenged by various quarters, some genuinely to find the TRUTH others in an attempt to ridicule our faith. 

This is not going to be the end of such claims and allegations. As long as man exists, his egoism and curiosity will continue to rule him and he will persist in his attempts to disprove our long accepted believes. Man will continue to cast doubts on our faith and believes that are so dear to us. Modern scientific principles may even succeed in proving certain of our established believes wrong. 

The various churches, in particular the Catholic Church, have embarked on extensive counter measures to rebut these allegations. We contend these allegations are baseless and malicious.

What if they are true? What if science can prove our long held beliefs to be wrong? Isn’t human intelligence a God’s gift to mankind? We must be prepared to accept the truth however bitter it may be. 

Is our faith based solely on miracles and magic that is said to have occurred 2000 years ago when man had little or no understanding of science and nature? If these miracles and supernatural events are proven to be false by modern evidence-based techniques, is our faith still relevant? Doubts may have been created in the minds of even the most ardent follower of Christ. 

Man being curious and egoist as he is, will not rest until he gets the truth and to me that, coupled with his intelligence, are the gifts of God to him. We know that the truth will finally prevail. 

 Miracles and magical events can be proved wrong but not  Christ’s teachings.These will stand the test of time. His two great commandments, love God and love you neighbors as yourself, are relevant throughout the ages and would never become obsolete. If we understand and practice these two great commandments, we need not be too worried that our faith will be proven wrong. 

Why should the Church be so easily perturbed by these allegations that are merely external? Has it lost faith in the essential teachings of Jesus? Is our Church leading us in the direction as taught by Christ or is it being hijacked by some quarters for their vested advantage?

It is this ignorance of real essence of the teachings of Christ that has resulted in a world that is plagued by materialism and immorality? Hate, selfishness and greed have become the way of life, replacing love, hope and charity which were the hallmarks of Christianity in the yesteryears.

Where do we go from here?  Can we rely on the Church take us to our final destiny? These are the questions that we must reflect on and find the answers to. 

Dr.Chris Anthony

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