Ze List v4.0 | Manna for your soul

Yes, it's that time of the year when billions of people around the world, will transcend language, religious faith and borders, to celebrate the end of one year and celebrate the beginning of the next. 

And its time for Ze List.
The world has been changing and so has Ze List. This year, I look at all the ways we survived amidst all the chaos and I hope this serves as a mirror to ourselves and hopefully a way to correct our course for the year ahead.

Our Father..
We clutched at straws of faith for some peace and grace from our heavenly Father.
Since the dawn of time, we have been fighting. 
In the beginning, it was for sustenance and to survive. Today, we fight over perceived hurt and imagined supremacy. 
We fought, killed, plundered. All in His name. Its always a wonderful when we say we are fighting for God, because if someone dares question the supremacy of my God, that qualifies me to eliminate him. After all, nearly all of our religious texts allow us to take an eye for an eye. Do we need a better reason to kill?

Who art in Heaven
We reached out to the heavens, to planets nearby. Our space missions made mammoth strides and we sat back and marveled. It is said traveling, like astronomy, is a humbling activity. It broadens our perspective and makes us realize how puny and futile our thoughts and aspirations are. 
We don't have to search far and wide, because the Heaven of our Father isn't in outer space. It is within you, within each of us. 

Hallowed by Thy name.
Which brings me to why we wanted to kill.
Back in the Middle Ages, Christian armies of the West plundered and decimated populations that didn't share their faith. Ofcourse, they were just doing what was right.
Today, radical Muslims think their brand of Islam should prevail and everyone should be a Muslim. ISIS isn't doing anything that the West hasn't already done in the past. Yet we find this atrocious and alarming. Suddenly, everyone wants to brand Islam evil. Every Muslim is a terrorist and every Christian, the defender of humanity. When did it become evil to be ambitious. 

Thy Kingdom come..
False prophets and doctrines have always tried to predict the apocalypse. The prophets don't want you to read the portion of the Bible that tells us that He will return at a time of His choosing, and at a time when we are most distracted. Major TV networks like God TV have been prophesying the End Times since the last many years. Gullible viewers have been coerced to donate millions because we need to prepare Israel, God's chosen land, for His coming again. I don't have anything against Israel but what about the millions who live in squalid conditions right in our backyards? There are millions who go to bed hungry every single night. There are millions who will die a death that we can prevent within the next 365 days. 

Thy Will be done..
In the many lessons I've learned in the last decade or so, I've realized one truth - We must be obedient to His will, and patient to His purpose.
As sure as we are about the year that just passed, we can be sure that we will all have moments in the year ahead when our obedience and patience will be tested. 
We will have situations that will tempt us to do what we want instead of what He wants. We will have times when we question His purpose and refuse to wait on Him. Today, resolve yourself to be more obedient and patience than the year that just passed.

On earth as it is in heaven.
As creatures that come with an 'Use by' date, we must realize that we will all die a certain death. Not one of us will have immortal lives. Yet, there are people who have walked this earth, whose lives continue to inspire us. People whose lives changed the course of humanity, not by force but by pure inspiration.
So the question here is - What are you doing today that will guarantee you an immortal life? 

Give us this day our daily bread
Many of us are capable of meeting our primary needs of food, clothing and shelter. Yet, as we make our weekend trips to our places of worship, we will drive by people who are less fortunate than us. I find it strange that we are patient enough to sit through a 45 minute discourse on being charitable, compassionate and forgiving yet we can't seem to practice it in our lives everyday. You and I don't pray for our daily bread, but there are people who have been praying for theirs. Are we ready to answer their prayers?

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
'To err is human, to forgive is divine' is a phrase that gave birth to a more popular modern mutant - 'To err is human, to forgive is not mine'. 
We might chuckle at the humor of this, but there is more truth to this than we'd like to admit. 
Our species has turned in to one large village where we are just itching to fight with someone, anyone who dare bump into us in the wrong way. Many Western countries (and Russia) have been waging multi-billion dollar wars that sprouted out of nothingness and their perceived sense of hurt. 
The Americans and their allies have been fighting wars since the last decade and half and I'm amazed how futile all their technology has been in getting the job done. The Russians haven't seemed to learned any lessons here.
Is this a good time to remind them that we must learn to forgive more eagerly and earnestly today than to sign a truce to end a needless conflict tomorrow?

Lead us not into temptation
Billions got hooked to consumerism. We are tempted to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't care with money that we could have used for better causes. 
My parents come from a major city in the southern Indian State of Kerala, where until about a few years ago, people lived simple lives. Honest and laid-back lives. People didn't worry about credit cards and loans were something that only the under-privileged and the over-ambitious took. 
Today, people worry about not having that SUV if their neighbor already has a sedan. Families flock to over-sized glitzy malls to gawk at designer brands and gobble on food like they haven't eaten in ages. 
Back in Europe and the West, people and their governments have been slipping deeper into a debt that threatens to pull in anyone else who will lend an helping hand. 

But deliver us from evil
ISIS isn't the only evil of our times. ISIS is just the collective expression of millions of people who have suffered from oppressive Western governments. Governments that have discriminated and persecuted Muslims for years, because it was the easiest thing to do. 
Today, Western citizens depend on their governments to protect and deliver them from evil. If results are anything to go by, this is but a false sense of security. 
As Indians in India, we don't need to look beyond our shores to understand what discrimination is. Nearly every person living in India would have faced some form of discrimination in their lives and this is true no matter which country you are in. 
We prefer to be cloaked in a false sense of security, rather than in prayer.

For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory
In the last decade or so, millions of people have lost their homes and the livelihood and loved ones, because of wars, man-made conflicts, human disasters and natural calamities. Recent statistics show that there has been a 100% increase in the numbers of refugees, in the year 2015 alone. Governments refused to open their homes and their borders to this exodus of humanity. Countries that were built on immigrants didn't want anything to do with this human crisis. 
These are the same countries who will talk eloquently about compassion and charity. 

For ever and ever..
I don't know about the 'forever' part of my life. I don't know when I will be taken off the shelf because I reached my expiry date. Millions of people who will party to welcome the new year will not survive to party by the end of 2016. Our earth, on the other hand, will outlive and outlast every single one of us. How we treat our earth will reveal our true inner-self. 
Because we can't depend on governments to do our hard work. 
Because unlike us, our politicians won't have to live through the consequences of their decisions. 
Because earth is the only place we can survive on, let's make our stand here and now.

I hope you've all had a wonderful learning experience in the year that just passed and I pray that we all survive to read my post next year. 
Personally, and as always, I have a lot to thank God for this year. 
'Hold the Thought, Get the Point' successfully transitioned into a blog where I write posts on spirituality as opposed to social and political satire. 
While rankings slipped, I am finally glad that I am touching atleast some of you through my interpretation of words in the Bible and I hope to inspire you to touch someone else's life too - in your own unique way.

Amen!

Don't leave me and go | Manna for your soul

When we leave our families, when our loved ones leave us, separation is painful.

This past week, I lost my son. Well, not a human son, but Snoopy was a son in every other way. He came into my life 2 years ago as a month old pup. Fist-sized, he was love at first sight. The little bundle of fur filled a vacuum in my life. 
He taught me invaluable lessons of love, forgiveness and patience.
He would pine for me, when I was away and shower me with love when I was back. As a pup, he would go through separation anxiety when I was away even for a few hours. Through days of conditional training and incentives, I gradually made him feel secure and less anxious when I was not at home. 

But when I lost him a week ago, I went through excruciating separation anxiety. I shuttered myself from the world. Totally disconnected. I simply couldn't grieve enough. I was consumed with guilt and questions of 'What if..'. I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself. 
Many felt the pain I was feeling and then a good friend and fellow blogger said something that rang a bell in me - 'Snoopy came into your life for a reason. What was it?' 
Snoopy came into my life when I was reeling with a failed relationship. People who knew me well, understood how Snoopy filled my emotional needs as a father. 

He was my furry son and for the short time that he was in my life, he changed me in a way that sculpted me forever. 

I realized my shortcomings and my strengths and now as he is no longer with me, I remember the way he would look for me when we would play Hide & Seek, wait for me to wake up so that he could lick me again, wait for me to bathe him so that he could run all through the house and mess himself up, wait to be walked so that he could do his business and then walk me through the neighborhood. 
I still suffer from separation anxiety but I finally understand what the disciples went through when Jesus would tell them about His time to leave. In John 14:15-21, Jesus comforts His disciples by promising to send them the Holy Spirit.

God hasn't forsaken us. We have the Holy Spirit, just the way He promised us. He advocates and champions our cause. He waits for us, when we stray and rejoices when we return to Him. 
We have to trust Him just the way Snoopy would trust me when I would walk him through dark and unknown streets. 

Thankfully, we don't have to feel anxious about our unseen God. The Bible reassures us that no matter what, God is never too far from us. 

Let he who is without sin...

Catholics are a worried lot nowadays.

In scandals that are rocking the highest echelons of the 'purest' form of Christianity with repercussions that could shake the faith of a million.

Rev. Lawrence C Murphy, who is at the center of the latest scandal is accused of molesting hundreds of deaf boys at a School for deaf in Wisconsin.

What rattles the victims more is that Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had received letters about Murphy in 1996 which mentioned that the deaf community "needed a healing response from the Church". The Vatican sat on the case, deliberated but by the time, Murphy died, he died a priest.

The victims are outraged.
They wanted the tainted priest jailed and punished for his sins. And I believe the anguish is genuine.

As a young boy, I have been molested several times over a period of 4 years, and have lived with the agony, shame and trauma. I find it hard to trust people off hand and can't forgive easily either.

Sin is global. Forgiveness is Universal.

Victims of sexual abuse seldom forgive. Child Abuse is particularly traumatic, because the victim is unaware of what is happening to him/her, is incapable of defending themselves and is filled with the shame and hatred after the act.
I remember how I filthy I felt after I was raped as a 11 year old. I spat on my hands and my body to get rid of the smell. My mom didn't believe me when I told her I was raped. I've had nightmares for many years after that. I didn't know what I did wrong to warrant some stranger to take me home and rape me. I felt intense guilt for having gone to that playground that day.
For years after that, I would abuse myself physically to get rid of the guilt. I have grappled with trust and phobias.

As an adult, when I had to visit the locality near that playground I panicked. Memories of the act came rushing back. I vowed to never be back. I wished if I could ask that man why he did that to me, I would have asked him why he took away my innocence. I would have liked to have him behind bars. I wanted closure.

A decade later, I recall the trauma when I read reports about child abuse in the Church. Bibliographically, the Church is the Body of Christ. It is a living monument of how vast and encompassing God's love.

He wants us to live a simpler life. A life that looks up to Him in prayer, humility and gratitude.

Somewhere down the line, the Church has fallen. As guardians of our faith, the priests have fallen. Deep into a sin that defiles something that is supposed to cleanse.

2000 years ago, in the 33 years of His Life, Jesus encompassed love, forgiveness and mercy. He came to earth, to save the sinner. He dined with the sinner, Forgave the adulterer and Had mercy on all who didn't deserve it.

A placard that a lady recently held up as part of the protest read, 'If Jesus was here today, He would be with the victims'. Noble thought. But we are all missing the point. Jesus would have had mercy. He would have wanted us to have mercy on the sinners among us too, just the way He had on the Roman guards who crucified Him. Knowing that they were crucifying a Man who committed no sin, did they ever flinch? Not one stopped the crucifixion. Though Jesus cried out in pain, though He cried droplets of blood and bled water, His compassion and ability to forgive converted the heartless guards into staunch followers of Christianity.

Today, amidst all the cries to persecute the Vatican, all I can hear are a lot of people who have taken the moral high ground much like the scribes and pharisees who brought a woman who was caught red handed, to test Him. They ofcourse didn't really bring her because they were ridding the society of all evil, they just wanted to know how liberal He was in matters of the law of God. Reading their minds, and knowing their hearts perfectly well, He asked the truly righteous and sinless among them to throw the first stone in condemnation. Not one came forward. None could claim to have not sinned. He didn't condemn the woman either but forgave her, and asked her to "sin no more", lest she burn in hell.
Where were the men who committed adultery with her?

I notice it is equally easy to take the moral high horse now. We have self proclaimed guru's and moral policemen who choose to accuse the 'guilty' and endorse the 'righteous'.

'Judge not and you shall be judged by the same yardstick..'
If we were to let God judge us for all the sins and transgressions that we committed, the world would have been a nature reserve with none of us here.

He forgave all our sins.
Imagine the magnitude of the compassion!

By coming down to earth, taking the form of a baby, born in a the lowest form in the most humblest of locations to parents with royal lineage but modest living. Living through trials and temptations for 30 years when He could have easily 'made an entrance' with Angels and Archangels. He could have easily wiped away the people who mocked and ridiculed Him with a thought, but He persevered. He toiled and did things the hard way. He died the harshest way a man could. Yet, He had nothing but the greatest of compassion and love for all of us. He didn't die so that we can have something to fill into the 'Religion' field in forms. He died to pay for all our sins for all time to come. For all the sins of all the people for the last 2000 years and until He comes again. He died so that we can all say: "I am forgiven". He lives because we are not forgotten. He lives because we have an eternity to look forward to.

If as our Creator, who yearns for us to come back to Him and repent for the mess that we do, He is infinitely merciful, why can't we as mere cohabitants of this momentary life, learn to forgive people who falter.

It is not as if sexual immorality and sin didn't exist, it did. But He chose not to wipe us out of the face of the earth, because we are meant to look up to Him. Because we are meant to forgive and love. Jesus came, not because He had less work to do up in Heaven, but because He was on a mission to save us from hell. If we as humans feel obliged to return a favor that another person does, why are we so hesitant to forgive when another sins?

He could have certainly flooded the earth and snuffed out all life. He did that once but His grief of having destroyed something He created with His unending Love and His deep desire to see all His children come back to Heaven keeps us here.

When are we going to look inward? When are we going to see the planks in our eyes before offering to lift the speck of another's eye?

Being called a Christian, a Muslim or a Hindu is meaningless if we don't practice Universal Love and Forgiveness.

While it is true that we need closure, I doubt if true closure will ever come from seeing the perpetrator behind bars. I learnt that you will be able to forgive only when surrender your pain and trauma in humility and forgiving the person(s).

For the rest, 'let he who is without sin, cast the first stone...'
Go ahead forgive that person who sinned against you today, you owe Him.