Theme, FOCUS, Jan, 2022: Sustainability of Nature and the Mission of the

A very good place to begin this book after the usual foreword, preface and Introduction is chapter 10, where you will find the answer to the question, ‘should we seek?’ “It is fullness or wholeness that we need to seek. A disciple of Jesus Christ is the one who seeks fullness of everything in his stewardship” (page 120). The author identifies two models of seeking in this chapter: a conformity model of seeking and a transformative model. It is the transformative mode of seeking that helps us to know who we are and what we need to be. The essence of seeking is the love of God. “Jesus seeks, because he is the incarnation of God’s love for the world” (page 126). This seeking leads us to fullness and perfection in Christ. “The hall mark of spiritual perfection is that ‘we seek first the kingdom of God and his justice’” (page127).

We are living through an era of unprecedented socio-economic and cultural changes due to issues related to globalization, poverty, violence related to religious conflicts, COVID-19 pandemic and an undefined ‘new normal’. People and institutions committed to the well-being of our society are often, together with the Church, confused by these problems. The leadership of the Church has difficulty in knowing quite how to cope in an age of conflicts and random changes. As Dr. Sunil Chandy pointed out in his foreword: “The central intent in this book is an invitation to ‘think’, and it does exactly that . . . Revd Valson takes us on a journey of discovery of the fragile-touch points on many biblical experiences, by gently flogging the jaded cells of our faith and intellect.” He went on to say: “‘Thoughts for Trying Times’ – shakes us out of the slumber we have enjoyed hitherto, into thought and action. Chapter by chapter several layers of truth unfold.” Revd Valson strikes all the right notes in harmonizing important pulsating points in resolving problems facing humanity and this book has a quiet but an unmistakable authority. It is often people who struggle with difficulties who have the authority to highlight the issues confronting humanity today. COVID-19 pandemic has given us an important realization and a profound message that ‘we are all in this together’ and therefore, we need to create corporate understanding to solve our problems.

Surely, what we are to seek is a corporate perfection, since we are inseparably related to one another, as the virus is reminding us; and at any moment on our journey the individual self has to accommodate ‘others as a gift from God’ as best as it can –“that they will be all one” – as Jesus had to, during his ministry as Immanuel. Since the author is clearly aware of the overriding importance of thinking – the whole book shows its importance in interpreting spiritual themes in everyday terms. He says: “Basic to our spiritual calling is the duty to think or to see situations not as they are, but as they ought to be, from a Godly perspective.”

In this book, Revd Valson highlights the need for the study of the Scriptures and not just superficial reading. It is important to read the label on the bottle before tacking the medicine. Therefore, the back cover page discloses the thought process which prompted him to write this very important book, it is stated: “It is the depth of the Word, he believes, that we are required to seek. Depth is the seat of spiritual treasures. The depth-orientation that the author advocates, and demonstrates through each of the twenty-one studies included in this collection, is particularly significant, given the growing shallowness and superficiality of life and religiosity at the present time. The reader could be in for a series of pleasant surprises as he or she progresses from chapter to chapter. Old and familiar texts reveal never-before suspected spiritual resonances. True to the teachings of Jesus, the author does not put new wine in old wineskins. The intrepidity of his thought is matched by distinctiveness of style. Here is a work that is not to be read and rushed through, but to be chewed and inwardly digested; reminiscent of the Psalmist’s words, ‘deep calls to deep’.”

In the final chapter, the author talks about the reality of religion: “Reality is about relationships; God, the self and the unknown are three corners of this triangular reality. It was in the recognition of the importance of the unknown that Jesus exhorted his disciples to seek and find. Allergy or negativity to the unknown and the unfamiliar, is a serious spiritual issue . . . In a closed system of thought or reality, seeking seems subversive.” This seeking the unfamiliar and the unknown is a significant part of our spiritual journey for attaining fullness. Such people are often labelled as rebels, revolutionaries or heretics. Revd Valson states his struggles in his searching for the reality in the footnote: “This dilemma becomes more acute in the case of a Christian author. He has to walk the tightrope between being compassionate to his readers and being fair to them. If he goes deeper, he could lose his readers. If he stays shallow, he could fail to cater to their growth and enrichment. From an outlook of misplaced concern for the readers, a culture of shallowness, mistaken simplicity, has come into being. This constitutes a serious hindrance to Christian maturity at the present time” (Foot note 643, page 261).

This book makes us realize that though we are sighted, we do not see; though we are not deaf, we do not hear; though we superficially approach problems facing the humanity, we do not feel for others. Let us thank God for the author for taking the difficult path of going deeper and deeper for clarity and commitment. The excellence of this book is reflected in the 651 foot notes, which is also a mark and depth of the author’s scholarship.

It is quite significant that this book is dedicated to the memory of the late Swami Agnivesh, with whom the author had very many years of spiritual association, distinguished by inter-faith initiatives and ecumenical interventions. Swamiji’s interactions with the kitchen staff of the Maramon retreat centre is a beautiful example of expressing God’s love in everyday living; it is an example of sacrament of sharing and loving (page 15).

This book deserved to be widely read and will be particularly useful in the context of in-depth critical study for students of theology, preachers and discussion groups. It will help readers to reflect on Christian faith from various angles and explore questions relating to theology that help them in their spiritual journey.

I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this muchneeded resource, and I thank the author for his ministry of communication, writing and publishing.

Dr. Zac Varghese, London