Our First Jisu Christo Puja

For a long time we have spoken to each other, amongst our team and others in the city of our desire for a contextualised ministry. While good work is being done and has been done to reveal Jesus to nationals here, many expressions of faith mimic those of the West. Much of the meaning and depth of spirituality available as a bridge between believers and non-believers can be wasted as the potential for redemption of worship forms is dismissed as ‘non-Christian’. By discarding certain aspects of culture as idolatrous, or simply failing to recognise their capacity for redemption to become meaningful ways to worship Jesus, a barrier has sometimes needlessly been placed before those seeking to know Jesus.


To choose to embrace a new God as only saviour can bring with it a perceived need to denounce all forms of previous devotion, and that has been prohibitive to those who would know Jesus. It can mean ostracism from family having huge ramifications for believers. It can mean hiding faith or just being too fearful to pursue it. One simple way we have chosen to bridge a gap is by referring to ourselves as Jisu Christo Boktora (devotees of Jesus Christ), due to the number of connotations Christianity can bring with it in our context.



Being surrounded by many and varied pujas (expressions of Hindu worship – for a recent example see http://www.everyaffliction.blogspot.com/  ), we chose to share our Easter ‘puja’ with our neighbours. It was our first public foray into what it means to be a Jisu Christo Bokto. It was a simple affair. A mix of us foreigners with local neighbours. A service of scripture and prayer in Bangla and English celebrating the resurrection. We used incense – a common element in worship here – as a symbol of the fragrance of our prayers moving beyond ourselves and into the presence of God (Psalm 141: 1-2). A candle symbolised the life death and life again of Jesus.Our landlady and her family offered flowers and mishti (sweets), also a common devotional practice. I and others with me felt the presence of God in a way I have not previously experienced in our community. And then we ate a massive amount of chicken curry and rice – true Bengali style!

And as has become the norm, in the midst of me sharing the good news of new life with my neighbours, they began to teach me also. As I watched Aunty approach our devotional area, and ‘our’ God with such reverence, bringing flowers and sweets to offer, I was struck by her demeanour of respect. I’m still figuring out what it means for her to give offerings to her gods (want to vs. have to?). I’m struck by her continuing to come to our Jisu Christo prayer area everyday bringing incense and flowers. I’m wrestling internally with what it means to bring offerings to Jesus, when I know that He Himself is the final sacrificial Lamb. Once again I am reminded of the awareness here of the need for someone greater than ourselves, and the elements of spirituality which means that even in a ‘closed country’ I am much less fearful about being open about my faith than I am back home.