Life, God’s greatest gift

No other creature on earth can value and understand the worth of life as human persons. The Bible goes to great length to bring home the point that the life of the human beings is but an extension of God’s own life. If we look carefully at how the Holy Bible presents the creation of Adam, the first human person, we are told that God “breathed” into Adam, and he came into being. Such was the greatness and privilege that human beings enjoy. We have been freely bestowed this special privilege of sharing in the very life of God, and we have the duty and responsibility to safeguard this life at all cost. We have no right to take it away for whatsoever reason. Doing so would be undoing what God had destined for the human race, and indirectly bringing dishonor to God’s goodness.

All the creatures around us on earth strive hard to cherish this life, and they put no artificial obstacle to bring an end to this life. Look at the animal kingdom, there is no animal which would voluntarily seek to end life; they would allow the natural course of life to terminate, and they would fight till the end to keep life going. That is a wonderful lesson for us, who try to find shortcuts to run away from life, especially when we find the going is tough. Even in the midst of worst adversaries, and threats some animals have devised mechanism to fight untimely termination of life. Such is the case it is said with mongoose, who would look for certain herbs after being bitten by venomous snakes, to counter the venom that might have gone into their system.

How many of the human persons do behold the life they have freely received, is a big question. We have not chosen life, it has been freely lavished on us through the coming together of our parents, and we can ennoble their union (which goes far beyond mere physical), by living life to its fullest. But in today’s world, is it possible to live life to its fullest without being coerced by external forces? It is not difficult to find fault with the social structures in order to blame why we are forced to corners, and find it hard to extend the thread of life go on. Ultimately it is within the power and control of every human person to let life take its own turns and twists, and when the time is ripe (and if it is the will of God, as God-fearing men and women might hold), we may have the humility and generosity to pass into another phase of life, called death.

What can we say of the artificial means of terminating life, such as violence, accidents, murders, killing, assassination, feticide, homicide, to name a few. There is no dearth of means to take human life forcefully, without the consent of the persons concerned. We come across events and incidents where human life is not given its due worth and importance. Even as I write this blog, I see the visuals of the train accident in Uttar Pradesh where several men and women had died. This situation is merely human-made and it is not impossible to prevent such accidents, if only the social structures do their part. These are cases where we have no control, and therefore we may not consider these as ways of forceful and voluntary termination of life.

We have innumerable accounts of men and women who had withstood all attempts made of them to rob their precious life, and they had lived to tell their stories, in spite of torture and cruel pain inflicted on them, just because they had been determined to live life to its fullest. This is one thing that goes beyond all science and human experience. If one wishes to live despite deadly disease throttling one, even if cancer cells are fast spreading, mere will power and determination may prolong the life of the person for a few more days, if not months. I have come across men and women who had been fighting a fierce battle against cancer and had proved medical science incorrect when it came to living life in its fullness.

Every person who lives lift to its fullest brings honor and glory to the creator, who created them to savor life and thus honor his creative power. We can live this life one day at a time, being grateful to God for this greatest gift he had bestowed on us, and live it to its fullest each day!

Ecce Homo

Pilate in the gospels is portrayed as heartless and opportunist who did not mind saving his own skin at the expense of letting an innocent man die on the cross. But it would be injustice if we branded him heartless, just because he understood Jesus was innocent, and it may be hard for us to fathom the inner conflict he was going through to the extent he wanted to escape from condemning Jesus to death. His washing the hands as a mark of disowning the guilt of spilling innocent blood speaks volumes about the man that Pilate was.

But I would like to see in the man, who found Jesus as an excellent pawn to settle scores with Caesar and with Jesus, another quality which stands out in the episode of Jesus’ condemnation. The governor was able to see in Jesus, the perfect image of humanity. His pithy words to describe Jesus as “homo” (man in Latin) have opened up several layers of interpretation. The Son of God and Son of Man now stands before Pilate and the Roman soldiers as a man with no additional attributes, and Jesus is quite comfortable with the situation.

Ecce Homo – behold the man! Every person born in the world is an incomplete product of God’s creativity. There is no one who is the fullness of humanity, endowed and lavished upon him/her. Jesus is an exception. In him we see all the human aspirations finding fulfillment. We try our best to move towards the fulfillment, but without success, to be human, wholly and utterly, is no mean thing, this may be the hardest thing for us, to strip ourselves naked and find ourselves enrobed with the clouds and limitless oceans. That is the marvel of being truly human, and who else could be the perfect human person, but Jesus.

Jesus does not seem to dislike his identity as a man to the least. If he were in a lighter mood, he might have asked Pilate, how he managed to recognize him. The perfect man, who had come to throw the mantle of honor and majesty on the fallen humanity is silently acknowledging his role as the perfect man, and Pilate was just presenting this man to us to emulate, when he said, Ecce Homo. I look at the man with a crown of thorns and a purple robe. This is the man who resembles the first of God’s creation, Adam; it is in him that I can find my perfect resemblance, image and likeness of God.

As I behold the ‘new’ king, who is bleeding, and bearing the violence the world had inflicted on him, and look at my body, which has the potentiality to bear his own likeness. And still how far am I from his nature and intent? Today I too need to be scourged and bear the crown of thorns on my head, and the purple robe on my bleeding body, to bear the likeness of the ‘man’ who is prepared to bridge the gap between the heaven and the earth. Here is an invitation for me to become truly human, for that is where I can encounter my true identity, with the God who had become a man like me!

Daring to say 'No'

Thinking about the Genesis story of the fall of humanity, I often wonder why Adam did not have the guts to say ‘no’ to the forbidden fruit, which Eve offered to him. He had after all known that God had forbidden them to eat it, and he could have just told her to throw it away; instead he too takes it and shares the sin of disobedience with Eve. Was he too frightened to say ‘No’ to her? Or if he was afraid what she would think when he says no to her! It is very difficult to guess what might have motivated him to accept the fruit, and if only he dared to refuse the fruit, probably we would have a different story of the fall of humanity!

Studies continue to show that women have far more stamina and strength than men, and this applies to not only the physical sectors, but also to psychic, spiritual and mental areas. More and more men find themselves at the receiving end, and it is difficult to explain the phenomenon. I had been thinking about this for quite some time, taking specific cases of women subduing their men, and the men keeping mum to all the mental and psychological torture which their wives or loved one’s might inflict on them. Sometimes I ask myself, why are these men so very cowardly in front of their women? Are they afraid of losing something very essential in life?

One may think that I am able to think aloud so much because I am not married, and therefore do not understand what goes on between a man and a woman bound by wedlock! It is true that I am quite inexperienced about what may bind a man with a woman, and what may lead a man to silently bear all torture and mental pain inflicted on him (and I do not say that the reverse is uncommon in our society), and does not feel it normal to walk out of such an existence. Even when things do not work, these men continue to live as if nothing is wrong with them, and pretend to show to the outside world that they make the most perfect couple in the world.

I would be one sided if I were to say that men are most often innocent of what they are accused of (infidelity is one of the most commonly pointed accusation on men by women, especially where there is a definite commitment); some men are so very vulnerable that their boats keep rocking, already from the day of their formal wedding; and probably even after they reach the coffins, the boat may be still rocking. Why are some women so mean, possessive, dominant and suspicious that their husbands lose all sense of self-respect, freedom, and their private space is demolished to the ground, and they cease to live their personal lives!

I have such a man so very closely; he does not speak to me anything about what transpires between him and his wife. I often come to hear about the unceasing battle in his house through third persons, and I feel so sad for him. He had done all that he could do, to make his wife happy; the riches he had accumulated for her (sometimes even through unfair means), the jewelry he had purchased for her, properties in their name, and yet what they lack at home today is peace! Even his only eight-year old son has begun to point an accusing finger at him! He does not live a human existence any more, and I only pray that peace may return to their home in the near future!