The Other Side of The Cross

A few days back I had a short chat with a sister. And the thing that touched me the most was her simple and loving explanation of the hardships and troubles of life that we all must go through. She showed me the cross she was wearing around her neck, she showed the side on which was Christ crucified and then turned over the cross and showed the plain side, that’s the place for us. 

It is on the other side of the cross, that we too must crucify ourselves, as the loving disciples of Christ, and His children. Every time you are persecuted, each time that you are mocked, you are on the other side of the cross. If your master was mocked, betrayed, framed in false charges, beaten, persecuted, harassed, what makes you think that you won’t also be persecuted and mocked and betrayed?

And just look at the beauty of it all, He has left the other side for you. This way you will be joined with Christ in an inseparable way, the lance that pierced His side will pierce your heart too, connecting you and Him together as one. The world may take away all else from you, but you will not be separated from the love of Christ.

Today take out some time, to meditate on the crucifix, look at the Savior who gave up His all, and then turn the cross, see the other side of it, it’s plain, its empty, its a space reserved for you. Not because God wants you to suffer, but because He loves you so much that He does not want to be separated from you in your sufferings. He wants to embrace your suffering self and weave your sufferings into His, taking away all that ails you, and turning it into a love filled gift.

So when the next time you are assailed with hopelessness of your situation, just look at the other side of the cross!

He is...

He is stronger than

He's smarter than

He is more amazing than

He is more magnificent than

He is more beautiful than

And he is much more loving than

He is the LORD

The CREATOR

The MASTER

The GOD

God at the steering wheel

God was at the steering wheel, and I by His side. We were driving through the life road, and there came a steep descend, I said to Him,

“Oh come on God! We really don’t want to go down THAT road, I can’t even see where it ends. And its so steep…”

To which God replied,

“I am driving, you will be safe. It may look very steep, but I know exactly how to drive through this road, and besides you only said you don’t know where this steep road ends, wouldn’t it be fun to figure it out? Just sit back and relax! Let me drive you through it…”

Adamant as I was, I wasn’t going to let go that easily.

“But I just ate you know, I don’t think I am ready for a steep descent, how about we drive through a different way? I am surely gonna puke if we roll down this slope…”

“Why don’t you believe me when I say that it just ‘looks’ steep. You will be safe with me, and I promise that you will find a fantastic place at the end of the road…. And dear muffin, I am GOD, are you really threatening me with a bit of puke???”

He laughed after saying that, but I wasn’t remotely amused. There were so many other ways we could go, why go down that stupid steep road? I had to do something, could not let Him drive through that road.

I cried, I sobbed, I wailed. 

“I don’t want to go down that road! I just don’t, don’t, don’t! Why are you doing this to me? Why won’t you just let me drive through in peace? Why this road Lord, why this road?” 

He just smiled and promised me an amazing ride. So we began our journey, down the steep slope, the panic within me rising…

He began the journey, and I felt the g-force pull me down, I was very frightened, I tried to grab the steering wheel to steer away, the car swirled wildly. All the way down the road I tried to control the steering wheel and take charge, oh the stubborn God of mine wouldn't let me.

In the process I got mildly bruised too. And my anger was rising increasingly, when suddenly the car came to a halt and a beautiful place met my eyes. Oh there were fountains and trees with birds singing in them, the laughter of children playing around the rosemary bushes and the air had a mild fragrance in it.

I was mesmerized. I turned to God to thank Him, when I saw He was looking at my bruises, I realized at that moment that I had made my journey unnecessarily uncomfortable by trying to take control of the wheel.

When God is at the wheel, make sure He has the freedom to steer the way He wants to too, and do trust His driving skills!

Fashinable God...

Fashion! Oh Fashion! How various thy guise, how colorful thy visage, how ardent thy students!!!

It is just impossible for me atleast to always find the perfect match for a garment.There are still a lot of unmatched orphan pieces hidden deep inside my wardrobe, waiting to see the daylight.

Fashion is ever changing, there is a Fashion Week every week it seems, colors, palettes, seasons, collections, cuts and silhouettes and what not. Not even world class fashion designers are 100% able to produce good combinations all the time.

There is always this one piece too big or too small, one shade of color that did not match perfectly enough. Some art works of Fashionable Clothing are admired, others just euphemistically 'hmmmm'ed away.

Fall/Winter collections are coming up next, every season has a color. And I was hunting for a perfect fashion master who can create and merge different hues and cuts: none clashing the other. And I found one!

In our God! So blind was I not to see him. As I sat one evening admiring the sunset, the various colors of the sky astounded me. There was this benign sky blue and a hint of purple, a dash of orange, a queer shade of yellow for which I have no name, and amidst this all a bright orange sun, about to set over Indian skies and preparing to rise somewhere else.

I sat there mesmerized, why doesn't my blue ever match with an orange? The harmony between these different shades was beyond words. I would never dare wear anything that has blue and violet and orange and yellow and bright orange all in one fabric. If I did dare to, I am sure the effect just wouldn't be the same.

God does know how to match colors. the butterflies and the flowers and the leaves changing color according to the season too(din't know trees too had their own fall/winter collection!). Tiny shining stars on a pitch black sky, ultimate night wear! And oh how every tree, every leaf is a different green and still all the shades put together makes one beautiful vista

And those snow capped mountains, well they can give any fur capped model a run for her money. Not to mention the many feathered birds and those exotic sea animals. Reminds me of a verse in the Bible(with a tinge of jealousy)

"And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all  his wealth had clothes as beautiful as on one of these flowers" Mt 6:28,29

So well while human creations(which generally imitate those from the nature) of clothing have become more and more exotic and beautiful, owing to a lot of new fabrics and ways to cut, color and tailor the clothing, it is still juvenile in its attempt to reach the level of our uber cool, ultra fashionable GOD.

But do not be disheartened, that same fashioned savvy God, fashion you and me too. We are all worthy of a ramp walk!

Keeping Our Hearts in Safe Custody

Oh the most fragile organ of the humans, the delicate, easily breakable, highly sensitive, HEART!


From the day one is born till the day they die, the heart is broken, smashed, crushed, bleeding, shattered, rejected, used, misused, stabbed, betrayed, destroyed on multiple occasions, by various people.... And we are left alone to gather the pieces and join them, just to be broken again by someone else.



But, why do we not learn, why are we all still trapped in this vicious circle of heart breaking and resuscitation and heartbreak again? One thing is for sure, as long as this heart remains with us it is bound to get hurt....

So what do we do? Just as banks have safe custody to store and safe guard our most valuable items, we must also find a safe custody for our hearts....


And what better person to give our heart to than Jesus! What better place to keep it safe than in His own heart.

Try it. It works. No more heart aches guaranteed(unless ofcourse if you've had lots of oily stuff to eat!)

Belly Button

No, I am not going to talk about piercing or some other styles and fashion related to belly buttons.
Every human, born out of a woman, has one. It is a 'scar' caused due to the removal of the umbilical cord which attaches us to our mother. And even though right after our birth we are no longer physically attached to our own mother, the belly button remains as a sign to show us once upon a time we were one body one soul with our progenitor.

 And each child loves his/her mother lifelong; irrespective of the distance between the two, no matter whatever age the child reaches.... The physical ties of the umbilical cord maybe broken, but the emotional ties remain intact, and also the 'mark'(read: belly button) that we belong.


Its the same with our spiritual lives, today we may not be able to see Jesus physically present among us, we may not have an overt experience of His presence in our lives, but we do know deep in our hearts, that we belong to Him.

We too are marked, by His Holy Blood, and though our spiritual 'Belly Button' may not be visible to human eyes, there is no denying that each and everyone of us are His.

So dear friends, do not forget to love Him, and to be for His Kingdom, to grow in His presence, to preserve our Belly Button.

PS: For those of us, who are not able to find their Belly Button, ask the Holy Spirit, he'll surely help you find yours.....

The Guide

I walked down the streets of this new city, looking for a guide. I found one too, he was the best guide around everyone said. And so we embarked on our journey to explore the city.

The guide knew every nook and corner of the city. And for a while I just settled and followed his instructions. But after a while, things changed.

"Ma'am, we need to take a left, there is a beautiful lake some 5 km from here.", said he. "No, I think I'll take the right turn, it seems much more interesting than the left one!", said I. And soon after a bit of arguments and disagreements, I began guiding the guide.

It was good in the beginning, I got to see beautiful sites and vistas, but soon my directions took me to uncharted lands and filth and despair. And I began to whine and complain, accusing my guide to have led me into this dismal city.

He listened silently to all my complains, and said finally, "Ma'am, you would not have landed here, if you'd have taken my directions in the first place. I am the guide madam, its not the other way round".

Are we doing the same thing with God, giving Him a set of instructions to work on while we bid our time trying to find what we want in life, or do we get the Ultimate Guide to take the steering and lead the way.......

Reporting or Repenting

I am a regular confessor.... not that I am boasting or anything. But I formed a habit of going and having a confession every month or so. And now I am regretting this habit.

Not that the 'habit' in itself is bad or I do not like it, but for the fact that it became a routine for me instead of a sacrament.

So now, Rujuta goes to the confessional, kneels  down and says, "Father, forgive me for I have sinned...." and goes on a list of the sins.... It is as if I am going for a duty call and reporting the on-goings. This a mere recitation of I did this, I did that, I did not do this, I did not do that, blah blah blah..... and once my well prepared speech is over I ask for absolution.

Confession, is not a report giving ceremony of the wrongs that we have done, instead it is a sharing; a loving come back into the sheep fold of our Father, it is the sweet 'I am sorry' that we say to our loved ones when we know that we've hurt them.... It is the acknowledgment of the acts that we did, that took us away from our Lord, and most of all it is a LOVE OFFERING to our Lord....

Dear readers, I believe that there is nothing more dear to God the Father than hearing this child say, "Sorry Daddy, I was lost, but now I am back!"

It is not the magnitude of your sin, but the depth of your repentance that counts. He forgives.

The Christmas Story

Three days to go....

Everywhere I turn, I see the nativity scene displayed. The great Christmas story retold. And I wonder...

Which Christmas character am I?

Mary: Righteous and meek, she gave her all for God. Submitted to His seemingly impossible plan, risked her life for the love of God.Am I like her? Do I care about the worldly laws or about God's great plan?

Joseph: The man who supported something that he, I am sure, was not able to comprehend fully. Helped the hand-maiden of God, was equally vital in the birth of Our Saviour. Is it me? Do I, like Joseph, help others carry out the Divine plans?

Innkeepers:'No place. No place'. They did not have place to help poor, needy people. They had to run a business, and businesses are not run on sympathy, isn't it? Do I fill my life with such a lot of worldliness that when Joseph and Mary along with the unborn Redeemer come knocking on my heart, I shout 'No place. No place'.

The Magi: The wise men of East. They traveled thousands of miles, carrying gifts with them, never losing the track, ever focusing on the star. Bringing gifts to lay before the King. Do I seek the Lord, ceaselessly, caring gifts of my talents to lay down at His feet?

The Angels:  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The angels, we all know, praise God all the time. And on this particular occasion, they praise and sing and tell all who would hear about the Glory of God, and about peace and good will toward all men. They spread the word to the shepherds, so that they would see the Blessed Babe. Is this me? Spreading the Good News? Giving never ending praises?

The Shepherds: Out of the town, in the cold night, tending flocks, these simple folk were one of the few to leave everything they were doing to go and meet the Promised One. Can I leave aside by daily tasks, to witness the beautiful, marvelous events that God directs...

There are many more, but I do not want to make this post extremely long and boring.....


So what role are you playing this Christmas????

Humble Beginnings

There are a lot of great characters in Bible, Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, Simon Peter, Paul and so many more. All of these were great people, all most all performed marvelous miracles, rescued the Israelis, healed the sick, confronted the evil ones. Reading about their feats and doings makes us feel that these people were endowed with extraordinary powers, full of superhuman strength and will, they were like the super heroes of old.

I am such an ordinary person, for me to read such fantastic stories in the bible means only to marvel at the things that happened in the past and convince myself that all these are the works of the extra-ordinaries, the ones who are cut above the others, with special supernatural powers. But that is what I thought in the past, and I was so wrong.

When I really sat down one day with The Bible, to again read about the great deeds of the great men(and women like Ruth and Esther, not to forget our Beloved Virgin Mary), I found a pattern in these stories, a strange pattern indeed.

Noah - A righteous man, was an ordinary citizen, not a judge, nor a king, nor a rich man living in a big house, just a common man doing common things, until one day when God calls for him, gives him a command (a ridiculous one at that, how many of you would build a boat on the land?), but Noah did it.(Gen 6:22)  Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. We know the rest. Noah ended up being one of the few people alive after the great deluge!

Abraham - The father of our Religion. Actually the father of the three major religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Abraham, who once was Abram, was again no one important in particular, just a regular guy living with his family. And what did God ask of him? Abram leave your land, your father's family, move out to a place I show. If God asked the same of me, I am pretty sure I'd say, 'You are kidding me, right! There is no way I am doing this God.' Well, God did promise Abram that He would make a great nation out of him, but seriously which one of you would move out of the comforts of your home to an unknown place even if the promises are big, oh, and God did not say He would be paying the traveling cost! But Abraham had to do what God asked him to. (Gen 12:4)  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. Wow! Abraham was 75! And I am not ready to do it even at a way more younger age. This dude's got guts! So father Abraham leaves and goes through a lot of unknown countries, lands into trouble a few times, and so on, but does end up being a great nation and father of a lots of people!

Moses - Prince of Egypt. How many of us have had the first journey of our lives, floating in a basket over Nile! A Hebrew child escapes death, is raised up among the royals and practically has lead a really good life in the palace. You'd say he is lucky, he got it easy. Think again. He was a murderer. Despised by his own people, exiled and made into a laborer. God made a wonderful and a little ironic demand from him, go save the people of Israel from the clutches of Egyptians. Yeah right, like I can just walk into the land and bring them out, also these people hate me, come on God why are you trying to get me killed? That would certainly have been my response. Moses was not up for it either. He argued in every rational way possible. What name should I give to people - Say that I AM WHAT I AM, they will never believe I came with God's message - Show them these miracles, I am not a good speaker - I am giving you speech, No I am not doing it - I am GOD, THE GOD, I can do everything, I am with you always, I will directly feed words into your mouth, Nope, I am NOT going to talk to the pharaoh or the people, give me some else to speak - Alright take Aaron with you., he will do the talking fine! When he finally does arrive into the land and meets the Pharaoh, we know that he does a marvelous job and takes the Israelis out from right under the nose of the Pharaoh, causes a great damage to the Egyptians, brings a big number of people to the Promised Land, on the way gets the 10 Commandments and really becomes a great hero.But he does all this only after saying yes to the seemingly impossible plan of God.

David - The shepherd boy, the King. The youngest in his family, only took care of dumb sheep, before killing the giant, Goliath, David expelled the evil spirit which was upon Saul(for more details read 1Samuel 16), a small young boy, with not much skills in weaponry then kills a giant, there was something about him, he pitched himself against the giant, and what a faith he had! 1 Samuel 17:37 David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ We know he was crowned the king, and he fell later into sin, but we also know, he rose again, he repented. David was a great musician and singer too, and he dedicated his skills to glorify the Lord. From Shepherd Boy to King to being the forefather of Jesus, this man had a great journey.

Simon Peter - A middle aged fisher man. Unlearned, simple, poor, ordinary man, who made a living by catching fish. And now he holds the Keys to Heaven. He fell on many occasions, but was ardent in his faith, when Jesus asked him to follow, he left everything and went with him. Did you notice that Peter left everything, right after he got the biggest catch of his life? With the amount of fish he had caught, he would have been a rich man in no time. Yet, he left it all, and ran behind the Son of Man. Ask yourself, will you leave your 5 figure salary job that you just got to follow Christ? A great disciple, martyred for Christ, he is a perfect example of human failures and God's divine love. A great leader, could make a lot of people follow him, performed miracles and gave great teachings. A fisher man who was a nobody become a great historic figure.

Paul - What can I say about him, great man, learned, with a lot of power and political connections, a great Jew, and a great persecutor of the followers of Christ. This man when he heard the voice of Jesus, and afterwords miraculously regained his eyesight started following Christ immediately. He, of all the people knew the most about the persecutions that would follow, for he himself was once the persecutor. He knew how the followers of Christ were ill treated, massacred, tortured, treated like animals, he had seen the worst, he knew that following this group would lead to a life of torture and pain and ultimately an immature death. Yet he knew in his heart, who the Living God was, having encountered Him personally. He followed Christ, through all trials and tribulations and strengthened others to do the same. He knew Christ was worth dying for.

Jesus - Man and God. Born in a manger, lived as a carpenter, died as a criminal. Nothing I can say about this wonderful man and almighty God, will be enough to justify the true character of Christ. Humble, meek, calm, merciful yet firm and rooted. We know He carried no money, did not have a stable address, no lasting shelter, no food stored in barns. And we also know He lived a lot more fruitful life than the whole of humanity put together. He obeyed God the Father, obeyed even to dead, and not just any dead, the most defiled and embarrassing death of that time.

What is common between all these men?

They all had humble beginnings, even Jesus, they all were common people leading common life, but when God picked them for His work, they gave themselves up for the cause. The only thing extraordinary about this people was that they had extraordinary FAITH and extraordinary OBEDIENCE.

We do not have to be bible scholars, we don't have to be fluent in English, we need not be great achievers, we do not need to be rich or handsome or charming or intelligent. We just need to believe in God's power and obey His command (however stupid or unconventional it may sound at first). We need to listen to what God has to say to us, and give up our lives for His cause. Once you give yourself to Him, He will take care of everything.

And so my prayer for today is,

Living God, grant me a heart that desires Your Will continuously, give me the strength to follow You to the ends of the Earth, grant me the Spirit to accept even the most unusual plan that You have laid out for me, give me the courage to face the ridicule for being a disciple. Make my life an instrument for the coming of Your Kingdom. Give me the will to obey You under all circumstances, without questioning.

Amen.

Awaiting the best time of the year

CHRISTMAS IS HERE!

You might say it is a little to early to shout that, but I really can't wait for 25th of December to dawn. I am already under the influence of 'Christmas Spirit'!


It is indeed the best time of the year, the cold winter, bells chiming, carols being sung, Santa and his gifts, friends, family, cakes, sweets, and the loving and innocent Babe in the manger.


The three kings, and shepherds and angels, Our Lord made a real entrance into this world. No other baby boy must have created such a lot of hype and happiness and political upheaval at his birth.


I am preparing for Christmas, I am preparing for the coming of Christ, I don't want to be like the inn keepers who said no to Mary and Joseph, I want to invite them into my home and into my heart. I want to spread the news and the Christmas cheer about His coming. I want to make sure this time the King gets a royal place to be born in. A clean and loving heart is what would be fitting for Him.


I want to know this young lady who took up such a daring task of delivering the Child of God against all odds. I want to know how did Mary get the guts to say YES and how can I get the same conviction to say it. How did she believe in God's plan and stuck to it till the end, when all I do is try to run away?


It is a marvel and a mystery, this birth that took place more than 2000 years ago, the event still makes people to pause and think, it still ignites the fire of God's love in every heart, it still shows that there is good on earth and it will remain forever. God becoming man, becoming a Baby so pure, frail, innocent. I do not comprehend it in its fullness, this act of kindness, mercy and love of God, but I am glad He was born for me, for you, for all who are alive, for all who are dead and gone, for all who are yet to come.

Merry Christmas!

Acceptance

The single most biggest thing we all crave for is ACCEPTANCE. We all need it, well all want it; acceptance is what gives meaning to our lives. We all seek consent, from our parents, friends, lovers, spouses, even from complete strangers!

From infancy till we grow old, we want others to see what we have done, we want them to listen to what we say, to look at what we are wearing, and the list goes on... We are happy with a consenting nod and disappointed by a disapproved frown. A child will first show who he/she is, and if the child feels unaccepted he/she slowly tries to remodel according to the latest convention to fit in with the crowd, to be accepted as one of them. 

Girls going on crash diets, men trying to build muscles, youngsters trying to get hold of the next smart phone, older folk making arrangements to fit in with the younger crowd, westernization of eastern cultures, change in eating habits, changes in language and dialects, body art, hair color(hey stop looking at me!), junk food(I know it is tasty), smoking, alcohol, drug abuse, pre-marital sex ; are all examples of humans taking extreme steps to be 'cool' , to 'fit-in', to be 'hip', to be accepted by others.

But what is even more striking is that most of the above mentioned changes taking place in our society are seen among teenagers and youngsters. It is because they are the ones who need acceptance more than any other age group, full of fear of rejection they fall into folly of 'peer pressure', ending up doing things they would never have done with themselves if they knew they were accepted just as they are.

Dear young boys and girls, even if this material world, even if your friends, even if your own parents do not accept you, Lord Jesus will. He loves you all the way you are, He doesn't care whether your are fat, short, dark, uncool, buck toothed, ill dressed, poor, failure, nerd, stupid or any other worldly standards that make you feel low.

He created you in His image and likeness, He loves you, He accepts you, don't let the world fool you or blind you. You are perfect in His eyes.

Reconciliation - For All Round Peace

Reconciliation is a term that has a lot of depth in it(at least for me). All Roman Catholics know that the sacrament of reconciliation is a great gift from our God. Today, here I would like to explain reconciliation as an act from different levels and point of views, and how it leads to an utmost level of peace, because we all know peace is so very important for a healthy and full life. To be simple there are four types of reconciliation:

1. The Divine Reconciliation: Okay, this is the obvious one. Reconciling with our Creator is being in one accord with Him. Our will and His will need to be the same, our dreams, our actions, our feelings, all should be in sync with the Almighty. It is an empty life if we are away from God, if we have not reconciled with Him. So the Divine Reconciliation is the first and foremost step to attain peace. Our God is a God of Peace and obviously to get peace what could be better than to go to the direct source of never ending, everlasting PEACE.
2. Reconciliation with Fellow Humans: Once thorough with the Divine Reconciliation, most of us already know that we cannot be at peace with God if we hate/dislike/are indifferent to a fellow human being, be it our family, our friends, our colleagues, or a stranger walking down the street. As long as you have something against someone or some community you'll never be able to remain in your reconciliation with God. Removing prejudices helps a lot in this case, also forgetting old grudges; and most important of all forgiveness for others can help us in human reconciliation. When I have nothing against a single person on this planet, I am at peace.
3. Environmental Reconciliation: Oh please, don't call me a green freak! I don't need to say much about the human made afflictions that Mother Earth has to go through. The human greed is stripping away the earth of its beauty, tapping into powers way beyond our control and messing up with the fine balance of the universe, the way it was created. Picture this, a great man totally reconciled with God and fellow beings and sitting in an underground bunker waiting of a freak tornado to pass, will he be at peace? I don't think so. There will be some who will say that nature, weather and atmosphere are not in our control, but I would like to counter, true it is not entirely in our power to avoid certain environmental mishaps, but that does not justify our constant interference in the natural balance of Universe. Reconcile people, reconcile. With the nature around you, before it is too late.
4. Self reconciliation: When was the last time you thoroughly loved yourself and found nothing lacking in you? I am not talking about being narcissist, but we all do hate ourselves fully or partly. 'I wish I was a little taller','I need to lose weight','I don't like my complexion','Why doesn't my hair remain straight!'... The list goes on. Seldom in life do we love ourselves the way we are, we always try to change something in us. Of course, changes and improvements are good and needed part of our growth, but is it absolutely necessary not to like ourselves? How can I give love to others if I don't love myself? How to I be at peace with others if I am not at peace with myself? Self acceptance and positive self image can help us in the long run. Self reconciliation is the toughest of all, but once achieved there is no looking back.

Peace be with you all....