THE LOST COMMANDMENT
About five thousand years ago, the mighty Egyptians tried mercilessly to destroy them. Then, just in the last century, an even more merciless dictator - Adolf Hitler - tried to wipe them off, completely. Now, the oil-rich Arabs and their allies are hell-bent to eliminate them. But, they have survived.
They are Hebrews, the Jews. Israel is their nation. They believe, that they are the Jehovah's chosen people... and, their land is the 'promised land'. The Old Testament is packed with stories of how their God - Jehovah - spoke to them directly. He gave them the Ten Commandments to live by... Abraham, David and Moses are their heroes... and, they believe that the Messiah is still to come. To them, Jesus is not the Messiah... not the 'son of God'. So, their hardcore high priests found Jesus's preachings sacrilegious, blasphemous. So, the merciless clergy cried for his blood. They got him nailed to the cross, along with the condemned criminals.
It is Lent for us, the follower's of Jesus. Jesus was a Jew, a Hebrew. The Lent is the time we contemplate on the short, yet passionate life He lived. We term His last days as - 'the Passion of the Christ'. We fast, we pray and we mourn. For forty days, we do that... and, comes the Easter - the day of resurrection, hope. We go back to our old ways of living... till one more Lent comes. When that comes, we, once again, fast, pray and mourn.
Last week end, we had visited one of our aged uncles who lives with his wife. They live on their own and they are sick. Yes, they have lived their eventful life... and now it is just whatever time left... they try to live that with great dignity. As I was talking to my fragile uncle, I was thinking aloud: Is not the life of my uncle and aunt a passionate one? Is it not the kind Jesus would have wanted us to live? Is it not the real 'way of the cross'?
"I like what the Jewish people believe in. Just three words... and, I truly feel that is the most powerful and effective code to live by," uncle told us in his frail voice. "Humble, Helpful and Tolerant," he concluded.
"Jesus Christ," I exclaimed in silence, and told my uncle, "What else do we need to practice? Those three words contain everything."
GERALD D'CUNHA
They are Hebrews, the Jews. Israel is their nation. They believe, that they are the Jehovah's chosen people... and, their land is the 'promised land'. The Old Testament is packed with stories of how their God - Jehovah - spoke to them directly. He gave them the Ten Commandments to live by... Abraham, David and Moses are their heroes... and, they believe that the Messiah is still to come. To them, Jesus is not the Messiah... not the 'son of God'. So, their hardcore high priests found Jesus's preachings sacrilegious, blasphemous. So, the merciless clergy cried for his blood. They got him nailed to the cross, along with the condemned criminals.
It is Lent for us, the follower's of Jesus. Jesus was a Jew, a Hebrew. The Lent is the time we contemplate on the short, yet passionate life He lived. We term His last days as - 'the Passion of the Christ'. We fast, we pray and we mourn. For forty days, we do that... and, comes the Easter - the day of resurrection, hope. We go back to our old ways of living... till one more Lent comes. When that comes, we, once again, fast, pray and mourn.
Last week end, we had visited one of our aged uncles who lives with his wife. They live on their own and they are sick. Yes, they have lived their eventful life... and now it is just whatever time left... they try to live that with great dignity. As I was talking to my fragile uncle, I was thinking aloud: Is not the life of my uncle and aunt a passionate one? Is it not the kind Jesus would have wanted us to live? Is it not the real 'way of the cross'?
"I like what the Jewish people believe in. Just three words... and, I truly feel that is the most powerful and effective code to live by," uncle told us in his frail voice. "Humble, Helpful and Tolerant," he concluded.
"Jesus Christ," I exclaimed in silence, and told my uncle, "What else do we need to practice? Those three words contain everything."
GERALD D'CUNHA
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