Jesus Youth Movement & More (BJMM***)

  How did commitment and recommitment start in JY? Commitment was understood as a personal characteristic or quality, and members of the Movement were always advised and exhorted to have that quality. This has often been understood as being regular in spiritual observances, present in community and life, and eager and active in leadership duties or missionary activities. In connection with our discussions on membership, this idea slowly evolved and took shape. Even from 1985, there was a question: who is a member of Jesus Youth? A person who was part of Jesus’ community or prayer group was presumed to be a member. In 1985, we started saying that anyone part of a Jesus Youth Cell was a member. Thus, in 1987, the conference (Jesus Youth 87) was limited to Jesus Youth alone, so only those who were part of a JY cell were allowed to participate. But, again, there was no formal form of commitment in use but an implied commitment, with an understanding of the leaders who had a list of peo...

  Let us not forget the poor (Gal. 2:10) (Edward Edezhath for OSC in 2023) Christmas is beautiful with many beautiful images. The most prominent among these is the manger, where a poor child is born to a homeless couple who have almost no one to help them. But that humble cow shed becomes the focal point of heaven and Earth. There, angels sing glory to God, shepherds rush there, and even wise men from far away come to that place of poverty guided by a particular star. The central message of Christianity is that God opted to be humble and poor and challenged humanity to see God‘s presence in poverty and suffering. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me,” said Jesus (Mt. 25:39). So, on the final judgment, the question will be whether or not we reached our hands and helped those in need. Jesus Youth and option for the poor One of my early memories in my youth work journey is our regular visits to a poor colony in Cochin. That began as a response to a...