Christmas comes with a ray of hope…

Harsha Mary

“Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy”. (Proverbs 31:8-9) Christmas is finally here… welcome it with open hearts, join the celebrations, settle yourself near the chimney for Santa might soon land with a muddy face and a hefty sack! Pray for a joyful Christmas this year. Forget the sorrows that came along and hounded us with their cursed songs. Sing the carols and make merry, and this Christmas especially remember those who celebrate it up there with the Lord – the souls we buried. Walk away from the destructive land of howling goons so that you witness peace from within. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” (Psalm 37:23,24) After witnessing a terror-filled year I wish to open myself to sights of joy. But my memory often replays the ugly episodes that took place a few months back in Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and several other places. Many were slaughtered to death, women and nuns were raped, and several reduced to ashes in their burning houses. No one had a clue about their identity. Were they of friends or foes? All this in the name of religion… Some accused the missionaries of forceful conversions, while only a few spoke for them. I do not wish to condemn those allegations, but tell me of a man who does not wish to speak for his creed? Christians in particular were hunted down and thrown to death, and many who helped them met a similar fate. The mindless macabre events that took place in Orissa can never be justified. Needless to say, crime doesn’t have religion, it worships no God. One can never forget the gruesome day when Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others, members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s central advisory committee were slain to death. Activists accompanying the body of the slain leader defied curfew and held processions, attacking churches, houses and vehicles. Without waiting for a probe or a law to take its own course. The activists targeted Christians. Over a dozen churches and prayer halls were torched, police outposts attacked and several vehicles damaged in the communally sensitive Kandhamal district. No sane person can justify such actions? So much violence, bloodshed - where does the law stand? What importance does it hold? Punish the criminals, not the religion. No religion preaches violence. In fact, every religion of the world condemns and prohibits violence of any kind. Then why react against religion - punish crime, not faith. Men of such depraved beliefs never really considered any religion, they slaughtered all those who came in their way. The butchered were not only Christians, they were human beings, who never knew what really the difference was? Who often wondered if it was the colour, flesh or the smell that validated their religion. And, we thought it would all be washed away with time… But the intensity of these clashes kept increasing, and shifted from one religion to the other. Many more succumbed to the dreadful religious rationale. But, does it really imply that they fought for a particular religion or community? Of course, not. The recent attack on the financial hub of India, Amchi Mumbai, dispirited the hopes of many who trusted their democracy and its leaders. Where was the security system when hundreds were held hostage and several others shot to death? It was most horrifying, horrendous, sickening, and gruesome attack on our nation. Was the attack at any point directed towards a religion? The bullets and bombs didn’t make difference between a Hindu and a Muslim and a Christian and a Jew. Those men thirst for blood and destruction. They relish the ruin of mankind. Evil is their religion and Satan their idol. But, their souls shall perish with no resting place. “They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.” (Habakkuk 1:9) Now when the Orient Kings bring incense and myrrh we stand stoic before the evil deed. We wish to gather ourselves away from all the miseries and wish to surpass the pain of such atrocities. We wish to relish our Christmas eve in complete peace and harmony. So, for you my friends, I leave this message: fight terror with the sword of faith. Let’s celebrate this Christmas remembering those who now eat their meals in heaven’s golden plate. Come one, come all, the Christ is born, Merry Christmas is the season’s song! I hear a cry of pain and its louder everyday. I dare ignore the sorrow it sings, But guilt crouches from within. It comes from a woman I don’t even know, It bites me with fear and agonizes my soul, I follow it every now and then, It seems it would never end. I resolve to wipe the tears of her face, And sing to her of a melodious place, Where there’s no cry of pain. Stars would guide us night and day, Angels and shepherds would walk our way. I wish to take her to Bethlehem, Where the little babe was laid!