The Pastor had been serving there for just over five months when he heard about the Church’s neighbours. Apparently, the family had been living there for more than thirty years, spoke the local language like natives, and yet, they were still devout Muslims. The Pastor thought it odd that the closest neighbours of the Church had still not accepted the Christian faith. He decided to pay them a visit.
His first impression of the family was one of solidarity and respect towards each other. He was warmly and politely welcomed, and the old patriarch of the family, who looked to be in his seventies ushered him in to the simple but clean drawing room, accompanied by one of his sons.
The Pastor and the old man made small talk, and the old man impressed the Pastor with his humility and quiet strength. The Pastor decided to ask him why he had not converted to Christianity. The old man smiled and said, “Sir, quite a number of your church’s elders and pastors have visited me frequently over the years, asking the same question. I will tell you the same thing that I have told them”.
“I respect Christianity. I have read your Bible, in Hindi and Mizo, and I agree with many of the things that are written there. But what I fail to understand is how the people who claim to live their lives on the basis of that Holy Book has made such a mockery of the words written there.”
“I have witnessed your youth groups make announcements that the church should be respected and sanctified. I have seen them with their banners and slogans. But I believe that one should not be told to respect the church. We respect our mosques. Our children learnt to respect it because we, their fathers, respect it. We learnt to respect because our fathers and their fore-fathers respect our places of worship. We do not need to be told or taught. We saw, and we followed.”
“And I have seen these same youths smoking inside my compound and littering it. I accept that they do not want to do these things within the church’s compound, but does that give them the right to do those things inside my compound?”
The Pastor stammered, “I will speak to them about it. I’m sorry, I was unaware of that. It is just as wrong for them to defile other people’s properties as it is to defile the church.”
The old man shook his head in negation. “Please, do not do that. They will only resent me, and I wish to live in peace with my neighbours. Perhaps, in time, they will learn. And even if they do not, I would rather that they do that here than within your church’s compounds.”
The old man’s son, who up till then, had remained silent, suddenly addressed the Pastor.
“Sir, those same youths, who attend church faithfully with their ties and suits, accosted me a few days ago. They called me a dirty Muslim, accused me of being a Taliban, and one of them even slapped my face. I have been living in this locality longer than some of them, and I am still the outsider. Is that what Christianity means? Attacking someone because their religion and their race is different?”
Before the Pastor could respond, the old man spoke sharply to his son. “Be quiet. This is a man of God, and also your elder. You will show him the proper respect. Attacking him because of what some misguided fools did to you only puts you in the same level as those fools themselves.”
The Pastor interjected, “See, sir, that is exactly what I am trying to say. A lot of people think that the Taliban and the al-qaeda represent Islam, but you and I know that is not so. And in the same way, don’t disregard Christianity just because of a few misguided people. Our religion teaches love, and not hate, salvation, and not persecution”.
The old man wearily replied, “My religion, in fact, all religions have at their core, the message of love. I have been to your camps and your crusades. Your speakers reprimand me from the Pulpit, talking about God’s anger and His retribution. They embrace all of the negatives, enforce every law, insist on all forms of denial, and demand strict punishment for every offense”.
“And yet, they largely ignore the beautiful facets of Christianity that I have seen in the Bible. They ignore Christianity’s compassion and mercy, disobey its ethics of love, and flout the gentle laws laid down by Jesus”.
The Pastor sighed, realizing that what the old man said was true. He recalled the recent Non-Mizo Fellowship, and how they had almost forcibly herded the unconverted towards the counseling halls. Christianity was about free will, and not about forcing one’s beliefs unto others.
As he made to leave, the old man thanked him for his visit.
“Please understand that I am not against your religion. If you think about it, we are the same. We both worship one God, and from Him, we derive faith, hope and belief. I have told my family that they are all free to choose the religion that gives them peace, hope and sustenance. Maybe one of them will find that in your church.”
“And I know that you don’t believe in my God, but I pray to Him for your leaders and your church.”
“As I will,” said the Pastor, “As I will do for you, sir.”
The Pastor walked slowly home, wondering why he felt so humbled and so old. He recalled the zealous young man he had been when he was first appointed by the church. He also remembered what one of his teachers had told him, that the greatest threat to one’s faith is not from outside forces, but within ourselves.
“The greatest threat towards Christianity is we Christians ourselves”, mused the old Pastor.
Then he locked himself inside his room, got down on his knees and began to pray.
*Based on accounts given by various church elders and Pastors who had gone to visit this old man*
5 comments:
Whether fact or fiction, nice story. Recently watched a movie "Agora", when middle-age Christians mocked the Roman God statues, throwing rotten veggies at them and eventually inciting violence. We may be at the brink of such an incidence, unless we learn to look within ourselves, and discover that the gap between religion and being religious is slowing widening.
BTW, glad to see you've started to start the start of a sentence with Caps.. hehe.
I think that's a very important point the old man brought up. While in our Mizo Christian world, we are told to 'not smoke' by older men with pipes in their mouth, and to not indulge in sex by old men who grab your breasts as they do so haha I don't think the Muslims have it that hard. The men who tell them not to smoke or drink most of the time don't drink themselves.
But you know what? I think the Muslims and the Christians pray to the same God. I think it's acceptable for Muslims to marry Christians..because we're all of the same 'faith.' It's just not okay with the Christians. I've even started respecting the Muslim's morning and evening call to prayers more because I feel it's a call to prayer for myself too...
Anyway in this world, it's tricky to say anything that might make you sound like you're siding with the M's :) So I'll end it here.
But nice, insightful post there!
Thanks, both!
Yeah, it's sometimes frustrating to see how the whole religion issue has become so mired up in controversy with all sides vehemently arguing the validity of their beliefs. Stripped down to its core, Christianity is about loving God and "loving our neighbours as we love ourselves". I sometimes think that that basic message has become lost in rituals, doctrines and dogmas.
And like you've said Jerusha, I'm kinda scared to say anything more because I might get lambasted by people who have strong views against mine, and I totally suck at confrontations.
hmmm... tiang lampang hi chu a ril riau a ka thil then zawng a ni ve tlat lo :D
hihi, keipawh tiang lam hi chu ka expert bik lo, mahse he Muslim pa hi kan in piah deuh lawka awm ania, engemawni zawng takin ka ngaisang ru reuh lutuka a, kan phuahbelh vel anih hi. Mahni ah erawh chuan chhuan tur ka nei lo mahse :D
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