Sam

“I have come closer to God. Family matters have not changed much…” came the message on Whatsapp. “I have gone farther away from God. Family matters have not changed much…” the reply went. Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen! (Come, ye daughters, help me lament!)      Johann Sebastian Bach chose to start his masterpiece ‘St. Matthew Passion’ with this apt chorus. The passion narrative from the Gospel of St. Matthew set to music calls on the one who listens to it to gaze beyond this world to the One who is the source of the celestial music and the fountain of all that is good. The grief filled notes recall the day when the sweetheart of heaven was labelled a criminal.      It is said that if ‘Bach’s St. Matthew Passion’ exists, God exists.      This piece of music that is said to give us a foretaste of the beauty of heaven begins with a lament. This is not surprising though, considering the apparent oxymoron by whic...

     The regime had just decreed a new law and as a result, in every town and city that I came across there were long columns of frustrated people. One had no choice but to stand in the line. Many were not particularly fond of those in power or their methods. In fact they would be rather pleased if the rulers left their posts for good. But even thinking such thoughts could prove fatal so everyone simply complied and stood in the queue, even pregnant mothers.     It was a difficult time. Not just for the country but for the entire world.     It was ‘the fullness of time’.     The period in question was Anno Domini the year of the Lord and the country was Palestine, an outpost of the Roman Empire. Caesar Agustus's ‘Census of the World’ was underway.     I left my time-machine in the desert outside Jerusalem and set out to visit the Holy Family. After a change of robes and a neutral headgea...

A man who comprehends what it takes to be a Christian and still chooses by his own free will to continue to be a Christian is a fool. A man who  comprehends what it takes to be a Christian and chooses not to be one is also a fool and how wide the difference between the two! For those who have crowned Him in the run down, constitutional Monarchies of their hearts...              Do you have any idea what you got yourself into? No you don't.      You have made the best decision you will ever make. It is better than the choice of your life partner because now you have chosen a companion for all eternity. And let me tell you that more than being the best, it is the right decision no matter what the world might say. You will not regret it when you get to the end of your multi-Athlon here on dirt.      But, while you are here, do you have any idea what you got yourself into? No, you don’t. ...