WILL THEY STOP BOMBING ON THE SABBATH DAY?

 



“You must not lean on a tree on Sabbath;

if the tree might be dependent on you for support.”

Ovadia Yosef


If Sunday is ‘Sabbath’ – the day of rest and prayers -  here in India and many other parts of the world, it’s Friday in many Arab counties… and, it’s not so in Israel, the land of Moses, where the concept of ‘Sabbath’ was first introduced… For the Jews, Sabbath starts at Friday sunset and ends at Saturday sundown…

I think, whether Arabs and Jews are endlessly are at war with one another, and whether how a day of Sabbath - or the ‘Lord’s Day’ -  is observed is not at all important. To me, it has nothing to do with God. For, He will never ever ask whether or not we keep your tools down and rest on a Sunday or a Friday or any other day. What difference does it make to God… as long as we have rested, reflected, rejuvenated – sharpened the saw as Stephen Covey said? Yes, why fuss about - which day is ‘Sabbath’?





When most of us rest, there are so many around us work all day long, so that we rest well - the shop keepers, the vendors along the streets and markets, the fishermen, the cultivators, the clergy, the hospitals, the policemen, the firefighters, the armed forces at our borders, the security guards at our gates, the cooks and maids at our houses… the list is long…

Come on, the rest day is just a rest day – regardless of on which day it falls…

When I was a child, back in our native village, barbers rested on Tuesdays… In local Tulu, the Tuesday was known as ‘Angara’…

Here in Mumbai, it’s not so… It can’t be.

It’s nice, that on the rest day, most of us prefer to spend time going to a church, a temple, a mosque, a gurdwara or a synagogue and, spend some quiet time in prayers, thoughts of love, gratitude and community service…

But, even that so-called rest day can end up becoming a ‘stress day’ if we go overboard in doing what we assume to be ‘God’s work’…

Beware… Be watchful!

Look, remembering God can happen best when we are quiet and reflective – and worst in the midst of our frantic running around…

“It’s okay, it’s okay, if you quietly remember me, honey,” I hear God’s gentle whisper, “It’s okay if you simply spend time in contemplation.”

Fanatism – the kattarpan – existed from the time God let man form religions in His name… Man began to follow God’s commandments  like a fanatic forgetting the essence of the commandments…

God made Laws for man… Man was never made for the Laws!

Let’s remember the time when the hardcore Pharisees tried to trap Jesus. When they saw Him healing the sick on the Sabbath Day, they asked him: “Is it not against the Moses’ Law to work on the Sabbath day?”

And, how did Jesus reply?

“Which of you, when his son or ox falls into a well on a Sabbath day, won’t pull him/it out immediately?”



 

To me, therefore, a restful heart is the true abode of God…

The rest around the rest day is manmade…


With that, I am resting my case…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s:Pixabay

Video: The Dire Straits/Tristan R.        

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...