September visitors

The above were birds, were the common visitors, in our garden in September 2013. They came regularly to their flight stations as a routine or for seeking feed. 

They have their familiar locations and arrive and leave around the same time in the mornings. 

The month of September was a rainy month, with most mornings cloudy and cold. That did not stop them from beginning their day following the routine. 

I noticed that their body did not appear wet even during the rain. Their feathered body has the ability to dispel water instead of absorbing water and soak the feathers. Even when they are soaked, they shake their body and disperse water to dry their body for flight movements.

The feathery coat is their thermal blanket. They attend to keep their coat as their protection. 

The contour of the body and the differently structured and distributed feathers serve them well, whether for flight or for thermal regulation. 

They value their life, live flying and learn to fend for themselves. The avian behaviour is worth studying, to get a sense of the mission in life. 

Jesus of Nazareth was a good friend of some fisher men and chose some of them to be with Him to become His close companions.  I often wondered how they became the people, that  Jesus desired for them to be!  

I came across a passage in Luke's gospel chapter 5 verse 2, which gave me an insight about fishermen and their routines. Jesus 'saw two boats  lying at the edge of the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets'. 

For fishermen, there were three essentials to relate to each day. Their boat, net and sea. 

In the statement above, the fishermen had left their boats at the edge of the lake. That was the place of safety for their boat, till they set out fishing next time. They ensured the safety of their boat. Having watched fishermen at the beach close by to our home, I remembered how fishermen inspected their boat after unloading the fish caught, and applied protective layer of oil on the outside the boat to keep it waterproof. They do a detailed check up of their boat once in two weeks. 

They attended and mended their nets after each fishing trip. Sometimes, we can see the fishermen taking time to examine each portion of the net and mend it to secure it. They do this on the shore. The net is their provider. It catches the fish for them, for which they keep the net ready. 

It was during such times, the fishermen experienced the 'slow time', which in the words of Sue Stuart-smith, in her book, 'The well gardened mind' is 'entering into a living relationship with the present'. The slow time 'is not doing things more slowly'. Quoting from Carl Jung, the author proposed that, 'At times, I feel as if I am spread out over the landscape and inside things, and myself living in  every tree, in the splashing of waves, in the clouds and the animals that come and go, in the procession of seasons'. The sense of awareness or mindfulness is a gift that we can give to ourselves, when we get engaged in different activities,  to grow in the sense of presence. 

I suspect that the fishermen were such people. That is why Jesus of Nazareth could use several illustrations of things seen and experienced around them as truths, which could be spoken in a parable style. The injured man in the Good Samaritan story is one such story, emphasising the neighbourliness that we are to carry with us towards others in need. 

Jesus of Nazareth needed His followers to carry a heightened sense of awareness about themselves and their neighbours. 

The third in the triad of daily experience of the fishermen was  the sea. In the passage referred to here, it is mentioned that they returned from the fishing expedition without catching any fish (v 5). This is beyond the domain of the fishermen. They would get a good catch or none at all! Their livelihood was based on what they caught. There was a daily insecurity that they lived with. They got used to the varying experiences of having plenty as well as the denial of the daily provision. 

The fishermen could take care of their boats and nets. But they were subject to the unknown situations in the sea and the outcome of the fishing trip. 

I presume that Jesus of Nazareth would have been fascinated by the responsible behaviour of the fishermen on the domains that they could be in control and living with hope pertaining to the domains outside their control. 

Life has two realities. 

In our daily living, one reality is that, lot is in our charge and domain. It is in as much as we are able to be stewards in the domains that are in our control, we live with a sense of responsibility. 

The birds that I referred to could keep their body, dry, oiled and groomed. They could not control the wind or the weather! By keeping  their feathers dry and well groomed, they protect themselves from the adverse impact of the wind and weather. 

The fishermen by keeping their boat and net ready to use, ensued their voyage into the sea to become purposeful. 

A parent told me recently, that in her desire to introduce some routines to her six years old son, she was grooming him to  accept responsibility. He would lay the table and help in clearing the table. He could polish his shoes. He unloads the washing machine and spreads the clothes on the line to dry. He attempts to keep the Child's Corner tidy and user friendly. In introducing these tasks, he according to the mother, is learning to be attentive to the needs of others at home. What a commendable way of introducing a child to be conscious of the home and its environment!

This lady went on to share something about her husband in an admirable way. It is he who polishes their son's shoes after supper while she reads to their son in preparation for bed time. During this time her husband would iron the clothes of their son and of her and  her husband, to be ready for the next day. He would then take their dog for a short walk before its bed time. By the time this routine is over it is usually 9 pm, when both of them have a reading time from a book, and a prayer time with Scripture reading. 

As most of the preparations to begin the next day were attended to in the evening, the mornings were not rushed. On some days the family had time for playing Caroms for a short time, before their son left for the school by bus at 7. 30am. 

This story of this family amazed me about the calling of living they practice! They did not surrender the the demands of the day, but weaved a fabric of order, around the chores which they had to attend to each day.  

The other reality in our life is the unknowns of each day. 

I travelled back in the memory lane to recollect the events of the last three weeks, in preparation to write this narrative. 

I slipped and fell, injuring my nose with a small fracture of the nasal bridge. There was a disturbing event in the family, which plunged us into grief. The facility that I was involved in creating for child development,  in the hospital where I worked until recently, was getting dismantled to create another focus. There were leaks from the roof in our 70 years old cottage during rain,  which needed immediate attention. I narrowly escaped loosing control of the car, I was driving, when one front tyre burst. 

The above negative things surfaced as if, they alone mattered in the last three weeks. I wanted to go beyond this one sidedness of my recollection. 

That was when I recalled a longer list of pleasant surprises. A taxi driver whom we know for a while, brought food for an evening meal in order to share the joy of a happy event in his family. The wood cutter came to trim all the trees in the campus, for which a respite of rain was needed. The domestic helpers worked collaboratively to make the barn free of bugs,  which multiplied during the rainy season.  The quiet room where I spend most of the day needed a coat of paint, which was attended to. Two friends called to enquire about Anna and me and offered to visit us. One friend remembering a greeting card I gave after I retired from CMC Vellore in 2019, sent message appreciating that gesture after 14 years. A friend who is looking for an opportunity to study further had a promising response. 

The above is about living the calling, experiencing the events in life as formative and enlarging in nature!

The followers of Jesus of Nazareth were called to be 'with him'.  They were habituated to be responsible for the domains in their control- keeping their boat and net safe and secure. 

What was beyond their domain was the lake and the outcome of the fishing trip. 

This dimension of learning from their calling  happened when the followers of Jesus responded to His suggestion to cast the net into the lake.  

Living has a dimension beyond what we are habituated to. The edge of the lake, where they berthed the boat and the shore where they sat down to mend the net, were safer places to be in. They were probably resigned to return to their homes on that day with no catch of fish.

The turning point in this lake shore miracle, occurred when Jesus occupied the boat owned by Simon Peter and asked him to move beyond the shore, for Jesus to address the gathering, who had throned on the shore. 

After finishing the address, Jesus of Nazareth, said to Simon, 'Put out  into the deep water and let down the net for a catch'(v 4). They gathered a large catch of fish, so much so, their boats began to sink with the load of fish they caught. Their nets began to break; they needed helpers to gather the fish; they were seized by amazement (Luke. 5: 5-9)

The deep is a place where fish hide. The deep is also a place where there are uncertainties of storm, strong current and risk of drifting. Even in such situation, this event Jesus guiding the disciples to find fish would be an indication of God accompanying us into the journey towards the deep.

Anna and I were in deep trouble, about ten months ago. The intelligence officers from the government of India came to verify the details of the charitable trust that we have been associated with for forty years.  It was the time for the renewal of the permission to continue the activities of the trust for the next five years. They apart from gathering documents and information form us, enquired from two institutions, which the trust supported to create facilities of child development. The custodians of both facilities refused to have had any association with the trust or having received any help, in spite of the documents existing in evidence of that. The intelligence agencies were shocked by the behaviour of the people concerned. The officer took more time to enquire and recommend for the renewal of permission to continue for another five years. Anna and I wondered whether the officers would go by what was told to them in the two places, in which case, we would have been termed to be untruthful. The officers who called me from two offices consoled me and commented us for the good work that we have been involved in. 

We would be drawn into deep situations of stress and trial sometimes. That is the place, where we would encounter surprises and affirmation to continue, as the One who takes us to the deep and intervenes to redeem us, is the God of our lives.  God makes us ready to receive surprises, which is inherent to His nature.  

Those months of waiting in suspense made us anxious. The dishonouring behaviour of friends in the two places where the trust made significant contributions shocked us. Out of the crisis of those months, came an awareness that new experience of the goodness of God in troubled times. When we are made to enter the deep, risk and blessing co-exist. 

Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth before she was married, when received the announcement from an angel that she would, '..conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus (Luke 1:31), was moved to say, 'Behold the bond slave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word'(v38)! God would surprise us sometimes by what He plans for us through what seems unnatural ! 

Life is for living and learning. 

We are called to be diligent and responsible in the domains, where we are in control. The call to the 'deep' is worth exploring, because there resides surprises in the domain of God's good purpose for our lives. 

It was while watching the September avian visitors, the thoughts shared above, got assembled into its present state of clarity!

The spectacular sight, in the photo of the Butter cups below,  of the water drops on the petals of the flowers brought a message of hope. The rain drops stayed on the petals.

There is an affinity between water drops and flower petals.  Jesus and His fishermen followers lived in the intimacy of such a relationship.

The fragile flowers received an ornamental appearance with water drops covering the petals. It became a symbol of the grace of God enveloping all those,  who turn to God!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Being ourselves.

In the first of this series, we explored Becoming ourselves, the transition to adulthood by reflecting on the story of Jesus becoming Himself. The wedding at Cana provided us the Biblical overview on this. 

Let us pursue the theme Life, Living and Learning by focussing on Being ourselves.

I watched a five years old boy sitting comfortably on a tree at a height of ten feet and feeling great about it. He needed help to climb and sit in a secure position. His interest in exploration and adventure was truly expressed in that attempt. Later on, on the same day, I watched a medical student making a video of the events of the year in his class. He ensembled serious and light-hearted moments to tell the story of his class. It was a hilarious video and was full of stories that brought out the mood of the class during an academic year. A shop keeper who sells vegetables, gives away curry leaves free with every purchase one makes in his shop. He has a few trees of curry leaves in his home which he cultivated to make it available free in his shop. While talking about it, he mentioned that most families would use curry leaves for every preparation. He thought of it as a way to be connected with all the families who buy vegetables from his shop. 

Let me suggest that all three of them are ‘being themselves’- the five years old child exploring his adventure instinct; the medical student exercising his creativity and the shop keeper practicing his generous and mindful spirit. Each of us is becoming ourselves more and more as we grow older. 

Let me explore this theme, being ourselves from three perspectives. 

1. Human instinct

2.Human dilemma

3.Human metanoia

1 Human instinct

In the story of Joseph, a seventeen years old adolescent boy, we come across two dreams (Genesis 37:1-17). Joseph was younger of all the children of Jacob. The story begins with the narration of Joseph bringing a bad report about his brothers to his father, while he was pasturing the flock of sheep along with his brothers (v.2). There might have been an active tension between him and his elder brothers. ‘Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age and he made him a varied coloured tunic’(v3). It was one of the reasons because of which his brothers hated him and would not talk to him in friendly terms (v4).  

This was the background when Joseph decided to share his dreams with his brothers, because of which his brothers hated him even more (v6). The two dreams were certainly disturbing to anyone who heard them. The first was his ‘sheaf rose up and stood erect’ while the sheaves of his brothers gathered around it and bowed down to his sheaf (v7). This infuriated his brothers and they confronted Joseph with a question, ‘Are you actually going to reign over us?’. Joseph’s brothers hated him for his dream and his words (v8). Joseph was either least perceptive of the reaction of his brothers or did not bother about their reaction. He went on to describe another dream, to his father and his brothers (v10). ‘The sun, moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me’(v.9). Jacob responded to this by saying, ‘What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground’? (v 10). By then, his brothers were jealous of him and his father kept this saying it in his mind (v 11).

I am inclined to think that Joseph by narrating his dreams to his brothers and father conveyed his attitude of self-imposition on them. It was the controlling instinct and rebellious spirit typical of the adolescent years. It was not the dream alone which infuriated Joseph’s brothers but his explicit intention to ‘reign’ over them. His arrogance of belittling the stature and role of his elder brothers was provocative and infuriating. It was this which made his brothers to plot against him to ‘eliminate’ Joseph by selling him to Midianite traders and reporting to Jacob that Joseph was killed by wild animals (Gen.37:18-36).

While we observe this imposing instinct in Joseph, in another similar instance of a dream, Mary the mother of Jesus behaved differently. She responded reverently surprisingly and circumspectly. An angel in a dream said to Mary, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favour with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High; and the Lord would give Him the throne of His father David….’ (Luke 1:30-33). Mary having responded, ‘Behold the bond slave of the Lord; be it done me according to your word’ (v38), ‘treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart’ (Luke2:19).

When we contrast Joseph’s and Mary’s responses to their dreams, it is more or less indicative of the two patterns we encounter when significant experiences come into our lives. One person using it to self-propagate himself and expressing the hidden longing to seek importance or prominence.  And the other staying in a sense of awe and wonder over what might happen till it happened! 

Let me suggest that we as humans might oscillate between these two responses when we feel recognised or acknowledged for who we are and what we accomplish. We might feel sometimes carried away by a personal ambition of wanting to be seen, heard and known widely. When we are more sober and humble, we would nurture the desire to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’. It is important, as health care professionals to stay focussed on our ‘neighbours’ because it is for them, we have been called into the practice of medicine.  I like the call Nehemiah gave to all those who were jubilantly gathered to listen to the public reading of the Law of Moses by Ezra after the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, ‘Go, eat, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared (Nehe.9: 9-12). That call and reminder for service towards others in need, at the height of their achievement of rebuilding the wall is indeed the heart of our vocation as healthcare professionals.  What matters is how we use our plentifulness and abundance for the benefit of others! 

Late Dr A.K.Tharien, after finishing his medical studies at Miraj Medical College in 1949, came to work in the mission hospital at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. During his short term in the hospital it was his desire to work in a least developed place, where there was no medical work. That was what led him to identify Oddanchatram to start the Christian Fellowship Hospital. This place was a rain starved area and was in a state of famine due to failed crops. I remember him talk about this experience on a few occasions. His passion was to offer health care to the disadvantaged in the community so that they would have a chance to access affordable and advanced health care. That was an outstanding example of pursuing a personal dream of service for the most disadvantaged in the community. He developed this openness to God’s call in his life during his time at college, where seven students in training, used to meet together for prayer once a week. Each of them after their training went on to get involved in creative ways to respond to the opportunities to serve the disadvantaged. 

The human instinct is to promote oneself, but this too can change when God becomes the reference person instead of ourselves and our personal pursuit. 

2. Human dilemma  

The apostle Paul shared about the conflict between two natures which he experienced in his personal life in Rom.7: 14-21. ‘For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that I sin my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but the sin which dwells in me’. This too is a conflict of adulthood corresponding to what Erik Erikson referred to in his theory of psycho-social development between 19 and 40 years.

This awareness of a conflict is real and practical, which might land us in a state of anxiety and stress to choose between two options. Dr L.B.M Joseph, a former professor surgery once mentioned to me about a dilemma which he had about revealing a complication which happened during a surgery for removing a malignant tumour. He happened to injure a ureter for which he needed help from a Urologist. Although the patient recovered, he felt it right to mention this to the husband of the patient who was a well-placed person. This person was alarmed by Dr Joseph’s honesty so much so that he invited him to address a meeting that he organised a few months later for all his colleagues. Dr Jospeh was introduced as an honest doctor, who admitted a complication during an operation. It took about 48 hours of personal struggle before Dr joseph was ready to break the news to the patient’s family. While recalling this incident which happened about forty years ago in his life, he mentioned that, it was on one occasion in his life, when he came face to face with a difficult choice. What helped him at that time was, the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), where dishonesty and opaqueness dishonoured God. 

This dilemma is a common experience for most of us. William Barclay while commenting of Apostle Paul’s dilemma mentioned that humans face two inadequacies. The first is the inadequacy of human ability to do the good, however resoled a person is, because the compulsions are too many to practise contextual morality and justify it. The ‘end justifies the means’, has come to stay as an acceptable way to live. The second inadequacy is to resolve to do the right as it might lead to some unpleasant consequences of loss or pain. There are many subtle short cuts we take, which over a period of time would blunt our sensitivity to feel guilty when we do what is not desirable or right. It is the feeling of guilt that helps us to reverse the wrongs we do and revise our position. 

We would remain vulnerable through our lifetime to such snares and temptations. I like the way Jesus comforted His followers with His words which are in John 15: 4, 7, and 16, ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither  can you, unless you abide in me’(v4) If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you’(v7). The hope the words of Jesus brought was that, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the father in my name, He may give to you’ (v16). So, the dilemma we face in different situations is not a final reality. There is something beyond human ability and limitations. God is at work in our lives to ‘will and to do’ what is beyond our normal abilities

I remember hearing an account of the financial integrity of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime minister of India, from Mr P C Mathew ICS, who was his private secretary in the Prime minister’s office. Mrs Indira Gandhi used to use the official vehicle allotted to the Prime minister for household chores. At the end of every month Mr P.C.Mathew was expected to find the mileage covered for private purpose and collect the money from Pandit Nehru to pay for the fuel to the government office. What an example of noble standard in public life! Mr Mathew said that Pandit Nehru carried a New Testament in his coat pocket which he read often. Pandit Nehru, although was an agnostic referred to the moral values in the Sermon on the Mount as gold standard for human behaviour. 

It is when we live with the awareness of this dilemma, we can grow to being ourselves, vulnerable but yet steadfast in our desire to be upright. Once Dr Frank Garlick quoting from the book, Hunger for reality by George Verwer mentioned to me, that ‘to live a dichotomous life is easier and acceptable, but to live a life of integrity is a patient journey in faith, the value of which is not often noticed’.  

3. Human metanoia 

The word metanoia is a transliteration of the Greek word, which means a profound transformation on one’s outlook or change of mind. Having referred to human instinct and human dilemma while on a journey on being ourselves, let me suggest that there is a truth beyond these two predicaments. 

Let me refer to a parable of Jesus in Matt. 21:28-32. A man had two sons. To the older one the father asked if he would go to the vineyard to work for a day. He said, ‘yes sir’, but did not go. He turned to the second son and asked him to go the vineyard to work for a day. He said, ‘no’, but regretted later and went to work. 

The discordance between what the first son said and did and the afterthought of regret we notice in the second son’s attitude are worth reflecting on for further understanding of human behaviour. 

Lawrence Kohlberg developed a comprehensive theory of moral development in 1958 based on Jean Piaget’s theory of moral judgement (1932). His theory was founded on three levels, pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional levels with each level divided in two stages. It is in the later period in life, one moves on to the post-conventional level of moral development based on principles and values. ‘The post conventional behaviour is based on personal ethical values of each person, such as basic human rights as life, liberty and justice and view rules as useful but not as absolute dictates that must be obeyed without question. The post-conventional individuals elevate their own moral evaluation of a situation over social conventions’.  

Both the sons in the parable that Jesus narrated might have been in the post-conventional level of moral development. The first son did not seem to have had any regret for not keeping his agreement to go to the vineyard. This might suggest a low esteem for personal integrity in his life. However, the second son regretted for refusing to go to the vineyard and went to work for the day. This change of attitude we notice in the second son points to the rich inner fabric morality in his conscience. Our conscience can be in a ‘frozen’ state or in an ‘awake’ state. When we read the interaction between Jesus of Nazareth and Zaccheus (Luk.19:1-10), we find how Jesus in deciding to go to the home of Zaccheus became a means to awake his conscience, so much so Zaccheus confessed to Jesus, ‘Behold, Lord half of my possessions I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much’ (V8). To feel regret, express it and indicate an inclination to change a behaviour is a strong indication of the maturing stage of formation of human conscience. 

I want to return to the life of Joseph once more. While Joseph was in the prison, the chief cupbearer and chief baker whom Pharaoh had put in prison had separate dreams. They turned to Joseph to get interpretation of their dreams (Gen.40:1-23). According to the interpretation provided by Joseph to the Cupbearer, his dream meant Pharaoh restoring him to his earlier position in the palace in three days. Joseph requested the cupbearer to ‘keep me in mind when it goes well with you and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house’(v 14). The cup bearer was restored to his job in the palace. However, the ‘chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him’ (v 23). However, after two full years (Gen.41:1), when Pharaoh had a dream, the chief cupbearer mentioned about Joseph, who interpreted his dream, which later came to be true (v12). That was when Pharaoh ‘sent and called for Joseph’(v 14), who was able to interpret his dreams. In return for his wisdom and skill, Joseph was given charge to manage the affairs of the land during the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine which followed.

To me this is an illustration of metanoia. The chief cup bearer failed Joseph in not mentioning to Pharaoh about Joseph. But when his conscience was awakened, the cup bearer did assist Joseph to come out of the prison by introducing Joseph to pharaoh as a truthful interpreter of dreams. 

In our family life, relational life in society, or organizational life, we might recollect situations when our behaviour towards others caused disappointment to us and made us feel awful about our acts of commission or omission. When such an awareness dawns on us, it is the grace of an awakening which is at work in our lives, to which we ought to respond by doing everything to restore relationship and trust. To express regret, to apologise, offer and receive forgiveness are the ways we can choose to live with a changed heart. 

Let me conclude by suggesting that each of us is on a journey to become and be ‘our own person’. That is how we come to a fuller awareness of our life and calling as Apostle Paul experienced: “But when he who had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His son in me, that I might preach Him among the gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood..’(Gal1: 15,16). We arrive at this heightened level of consciousness of who we are, whose we are and how we are to be, when we allow the inner alchemy to progress, by working with all that have formed us thus far and to gain distance from those painful experiences and their interferences in our present. 

According to Thomas more, in his book, A life at work , ‘Dealing with the past is basically a two-part process: you own up to your experience, telling your stories as and fully as possible and then move on, free of its dominance in to the future that you create. You don’t deny the past or try to be completely free of it, but neither are you so preoccupied with it that you fail to make a new life for yourself’ (page 101). Thomas More suggests that, ‘Being a unique person requires strength’. Therefore, reflecting on the past is the first step in the opus (work) of the soul. Thomas More opines that it is one way of ‘clearing the obstacles to seeing your future…You revisit the past now, not to find the roots of your unhappiness, but to be ready as a person to take on your calling. You are looking for identity, strength and culture’ (page 100).  

It is when we move on to ‘become ourselves’, we can arrive at ‘being ourselves’. 

One of the hymns composed by Horatius Bonar, which comforts me while engaged in the opus of my soul, is:

‘I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Come unto Me and rest;

Lay down, thou weary one, lay down

Thy head upon my breast”

I came to Jesus as I was. Weary, worn and said;

I found in him a resting place, 

And He has made me glad. 

 

I heard the voice of Jesu say,

‘Behold, I freely give

The living water; thirsty one

Stoop down and drink and live”

I came to Jesus, and I drank

Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, 

And now I live in Him.

 

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“I am this dark world’s Light;

Look unto me, my morn shall rise,

And all thy day be bright”

I looked to Jesus, and I found

In him my star, my sun;

And in that light of life I’ll walk,

Till travelling days are done’.

 

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Announcement -2

 

A word about Life, Living, and Learning.

A write up was posted in the earlier blog announcing a series of dialogues Anna and I want to restart on themes of contemporary realities and challenges in our life. 

We offer to restart the series on a Biblical view of life, which was regularly held on Fridays when we lived at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. The write up in the earlier post was composed during our time at Vellore.

We are open to restarting a new series from Nov 6th 2020 on a weekly basis which we shall refer to as Friday Forum for convenience. Th idea is to have an hour long session starting at 8 pm, Indian Standard Time on a Zoom platform.

If the write up in the earlier blog interests you and you want to stay in touch or want to be considered for being part of the first series of the weekly dialogue, please get in touch with me in the mail: takingsides1983@gmail.com  

Introduce yourself with a response to what you read in the write up in the earlier blog post. 

Thank you and with regards,

M.C.Mathew