Genesis 1: 26-31

Genesis 1:26 - 31

I have gone to Mumbai for my practical and thesis data collection last summer vacation. As I have contacted many NGOs working among hijadas before, and they assured their help, I thought it would be very easy for me to reach them. But it was not so easy. My attempts one after another failed. Being desperate, one day I came to an Internet Café and joined in a chat room of transsexuals. I sent a message in the public room mentioning my need and my wish to learn about them. But no one replied, except a boy (or girl) from Aurangabad. He replied me to ask whatever I want to ask.

As my questions and doubts went on, I learned he was facing serious psychological and physical problems. As it reached 10 O’clock, the owner of the Café asked me to log out and leave the place. I sent him the message, I have to leave. Then the boy replied he wants to talk me. He gave me his mobile number and asked me to call him at 10:30 p.m. I called him at that time. He picked up his mobile and said I have come out of my home to talk you openly. Literally he was crying. He said, brother, I am not a boy. I am a girl. But my parents do not know this. I want to become a female, could you help me…..

His cry is the cry of many in our society, who is born as a male but internally with the feelings of a female. They are neither male nor female, the invisibles, the third genders of our society. They have a strong written history of more than 4000 years. The Hindu mythological stories and epics contain the stories of the creation of them.  But we look them with contempt. As they create awe in us through a peculiar life style, we see them as a curse. But whether they have a life given by God?. Whether they are the creation of God.? Whether a hijada can be born in our families?.How will be consider them, How will be treat them?.

I have taken the text from Genesis 1: 26-27. The words say like this…..   

Then God said, : Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have domination over the fish  of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth”

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God, blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living this that movers upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit, you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food”. And it was so. God so everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.                                                                       

The Biblical scholars and the writers put the text into the Priestly Writing (1:1-2:4a) while the other creation account 2:4b onwards belong to Yahwist writing. Both writings together provide the canonical picture of creation.  Both the creation narratives are important to the Christian believer as it fundamentally speaks about the faith of a community engaged in a theological reflection on creation. Here, God is the chief architect of creation, the wonderful potter who gives His/her blessings for the preservation of nature, the Cosmos.

M.M Thomas says this text as part of their liturgy, may be a doxology, sung in responsive manner.  Some others say it as didactic account (or teaching material) shaped by liturgical use and worship interests.

When we analyze the text we see mainly two different characteristics of creation account. One is the celebration of Plurality and the other is of a God who has concern to all.

1.            The celebration of Plurality

Through the six days of creation, we see the creation of entire cosmos. The animate and inanimate objects become part of the world. The one become dependent on the other. The mutuality becomes the backbone of creation. Through the creation God  has shown God’s creative activity by creating diverse creatures. God did not make animals only, but plants. Objects which are animate and inanimate.  Here, we see the celebration of plurality in the Genesis creation account. Giving space of differences and different voices becomes the identity of God. The harmonization of differences, creative orders, multiple communities and cultures gives beauty to God’s creation. This biological system provides different live spaces for creatures. God creates human being as male and female where no supremacy or domination of any gender over other. The sea, light, sun, moon, plants, animals and so on. We see the image of a creator God here. When we go on reading the Bible we can see a preserver, a protector, and a liberator God through Hebrew Scripture. On the other hand a God, who punishes, judges and gives reward to the people. The symphony of theological orchestra we hear.

But in the subsequent verses we see God’s blessing as to dominion over the creation. Human beings become the center of creation. The others are marginalized. The plurality becomes the supplier for human greed. But as far as Israel is concerned, the power rested always with Yahweh, and not with any individual. Psalms 104 depicts an excellent model for harmonious coexistence of all God’s created beings in which human are only one of the various species mentioned in the text. Everything has its territorial domain. In Isaiah’s visions 11: 1-9, 65:17-25, we see the entire living species in a peaceful coexistence. They don’t feed on each other and there is no fear of the other. All share in the resources provided by the creator God, and live in peace as if they were all once again in Noah’s ark. Thus today, the Biblical scholars are arguing that the root word ‘rdh’ does not mean dominion rather denotes traveling around of the shepherd with the flock. It is in the context of shepherding only the term has to be interpreted. Old Testament Shepherd image imparts the idea of a ruler, but a ruler with a difference. The authority that rests upon him in guarding the sheep and nurturing them.

Today, we are living in a world where the existence of one threatens other. We are living in a globalised culture where the existence of plurality is questioned. The main thrust of globalization is the homogenization of culture. It brings a model culture to us, a culture which can be copied in our every day life that is western way of life. That is why we all are attracted to it and very eager to copy it. We are forgetting our root from where we are grown?. Of course, this becomes a threat to the creative purpose of God. It negates the space for others?.

Whether God loves our culture, the Indian culture. Whether God likes Malayalam? Somewhere we are trained in a way that, if our children is not speaking our mother tongue, do not copy our way of life, they are the best?. We want to make ‘saipp children’. Don’t’ forget with this language and culture we are giving them the values of that culture, the life style of that people. That is why we may say why these 2 hours liturgy for us. Like the westerners it can be done with in 30 minutes. A long liturgy is boring to us. Of course there are certain areas where we have to work out. But our liturgy is something that binds us to God. Our traditions are the things that someway make us closer to God.

It was wonderful to hear from Malankara Catholic Bishop, that Catholic Church is thinking to go back to the local traditions. They feel that wherever the church is keeping its traditions and liturgies, there only they can see a life in the church. In other western countries, which negate the traditions, the churches are closing. But here, the western oriented culture is trying to dominate over us.  It is a threat to God’s creative purpose of maintaining the plurality.

Secondly, God’s concern to all

The writer here says that God has made human being in God’s own image. The terms “image” and “likeness” that we see in the creation account is associated with Kingship. In the Mesopotamian and Egyptian monarchies the King was considered to be the “image” or “likeness of” of god. It elevated the monarch above all the ordinary citizens of the land. The Mesopotamian kings were addressed as image bearers either of Bel or of Madruk. It was the symbols of royal language and oppressive connotations. In Hebrew Scripture we see the deconstruction or democratization of the idea.  Here the faith people are loudly proclaims, not the King, but we are the image of God. The image of God gives them a self respect. Under the Persian domination, they have seen a God who created them in his/her own image.

Our problem is that we see the image of God in only human being. Or we cannot see a life in others. Whether nature has a life. Whether we have to preserve it?. The ecological problems that we see today is because of our such attitude that these all things are for my happiness?. How many of us will think about the sacrifice of these creatures for our life existence?.

I have seen an interpretation some years ago which I felt much interesting. When Peter was fishing in the sea , where were the fishes in the beginning. He tried and tried but could not get even a small fish (oru cherumeen polum illa_. But when the creator God said Go and die for me I have to save Peter for me, there was a race. Plenty of fishes sacrificed their life for Peter.

Yes, the nature is doing a mission for us. When we see the image of God in it, then only we can preserve it, respect it.

 If every human being shares the image of God. Whether Hijadas also carry  the image of God?. Whether they can have a respectful life?

Can we read, the creation story along with Matthew 19:12, where we see Jesus saying,

 “For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth’.

And Isaiah 56:3-5  which says

.. and do not let the eunuch say, “ I am just a dry tree”

For thus says the Lord: To the Eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters, I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off”.

God is accepting their creation and role in the society. This is a reality that can happen in anybody’s family.

This Christmas vacation, I have gone and stayed with hijadas for three days. In my research I have seen a man, he is not a hijada. But living as a hijada for his livelihood. He shared his experience with me. Though he was a boy, there was some feminine personalities in him. He walked like girls, spoke like them. So his village looked him with contempt and tried to humiliate him wherever they can. But he said “ Brother, I know now that in Mumbai there are hijadas from the families which contempt them”.

God’s covenant is extended to all. Not only to the sons and daughters but to the outsiders, the hijadas and the foreigners. By including the others into the community of our relationship, only we can experience the celebration of plurality in the creative purpose. When we see the image of God not only in the human being but also in the nature and creation, the glory of God can be affirmed. The Spirit of God who gathers the church as one community is at work in all creation. And just as the Spirit brings forth difference and diversity in the created world, so as the Spirit brings life in tremendous plurality and diversity. In this diversity, whether we can see a hijada, the sexually others from the mainline of the society.? The plurality and diversity of others will not threatening our existence. Rather, it helps us in our growing and faith formation.

I feel proud to call my hijada friends, persons who can understand Jesus and his sufferings more than us. Because they are going through such painful experiences in their life. The society looks at them with contempt. They can see Jesus as a fellow sufferer with them. The families where they are born are not respected in the society. Others consider them as a curse. Hijadas join into their community through the process of castration, a much painful experience. They are imprisoned, though innocent convicted and condemned. The world spits on their face, beaten and they always experience a life of agony and pain. 

Jesus identifies with them by saying “I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was stranger, I was naked and I was in prison”. While looking at each of these persons with whom Jesus wants to identify we see a hijada who is hungry, thirsty, naked, and stranger and a prisoner.

The violence against them is many, brutal and shocking. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberty’s report gives a number of such incidents regarding the atrocities against them such as harassment by the police in public spaces, harassment at home, police entrapment, rape in jails etc. There is no space in which the hijadas move is free from violence or threat of violence.

This experience urges us to see the image of God in them.

Jesus identifies with them on the cross. Yes, his cross was not only for me and you but for the hijadas also. The image of God which gives them space, which demands the justice and participation in the human society. The image of God should be democratized to reach to those who are outside of the existing power structures, not only to the male/female categories but also to the nature, the hijadas, the third genders of the society.

Conclusion

So friends. the plurality is a blessing of God. Whenever the people negated the existence of the plural beings, God actively responds. The absolutization or universalization of any belief in itself is rejecting the spaces of many. We, as the church has to counter it. We should give spaces to those who are outside of the powerful categories. They are the others, locals, little ones, minorities and so on. The creation account should be reconstructed to give space to the sexually –others.  Seeing the image of God in their experiences.

The story of the Francis of Assisi tells like this. Francis of Assisi was afraid of lepers. Whenever he hears the bells that remind the presence of a leper, he used to run from there out of fear. But one day Jesus spoke to him in a vision. After that whenever he sees a leper, he ran to them, embraced and licked on their wounds. The stories say the lepers were healed. Yes, he says he could see the image of God in them.

Dear friends, the image of God challenge us to be with those who are others of this society. Let us make a difference by accepting the plurality and seeing a God who cares them.