The early church is constructing a defensive theology, which is portrayed as historical events in the last chapters of the gospel of John! Obviously, the church is offering answers to the doubts raised by the early Christians or their opponents; not necessarily with exact chronological events but propositions soaked in faith! For example, the empty tomb and the apparitions of Jesus don't directly prove anything about the resurrection. Empty tomb says that it is the same body of Jesus! Jesus appearing in different places including a closed room indicates that it is not the "same" body! Is He body or spirit? Their answer is, "It is both"! He is a spiritual body now, they try to prove!
I have a very keen interest in the historical events around and about Jesus! I am ever open to thinking beyond the faith narrations of the gospels. Because we don't get the exact historical events from a love letter!
Thomas the apostle figures in the gospel today. He seemed to have got out of "their room" and was moving around for some reason! Probably looking for "Jesus" dead or alive! Because there was news that the tomb is empty and there is a message leaking that Jesus is alive! He finally reached Mylapore in Chennai where he was killed by a fanatic!
Pilot or any ruler for that matter don't easily succumb to people's pressure as narrated in the gospels! The execution of Jesus was handed over to Roman soldiers and that too for the forenoon of Friday. Potius Pilot knows that the entire place will be empty and deserted for nearly 36 hours due to the Sabbath observation. It makes it easy for "their plans". Jesus had followers and well-wishers even among the Romans and Jewish hierarchy. I leave it to your imagination, logic, and research.
That was a time when there was a huge infiltration of Brahminism in Southern India, which was refuted by Tamil intellectuals called Siddhars including Thiruvalluvar! Though the articulation methodology of the gospels and Thirukkural are different the theme is much similar and Thriukural is crystal and cryptic whereas the parables of the gospels were elaborate and cryptic. Both are eastern ways of communication.
I stop it here; for though it is highly interesting, that is not the purpose of my writing. I am more attracted by the spirituality of Jesus than the religiosity of any religion!
There will be peace when you forgive is the only theme of Jesus that I pick up in the gospel today. The disciples of Jesus were terribly upset and angry with what happened to Jesus in the last few days. Blaming each other, blaming the government, blaming the temple authorities, and even maybe blaming Jesus himself. Inner agitation, outbursts, tears, emotions for revenge, feeling of helplessness fills the room! Dejection, sadness, and hopelessness prevail in the atmosphere. Because he was not just one among them but their leader!
He comes in, offering peace!
Thousands of people including little children massacred in Srilanka in 2009, the merciless ways in which the Gujarat Muslims were slaughtered in 2002, the killing of Jews under the Nazi regime, the carpet bombing in Vietnam, the atom bombs that killed several thousand in Japan and so many such ruthless crimes against humanity passes through my mind. Should we forgive the perpetrators of such violence and bloodshed?
My nerves get agitated when I think of such crime perpetrators or those who destroy peace in the community for selfish ends. They make use of caste feelings, ethnic emotions, nationalist sentiments, historical events; to motivate, support, instigate and justify violence and injustice!
The sister of Sr. Rani Maria, Sr. Salomi, and their mother forgave her assassin! Steward Stein's wife forgives the killers of her husband and two children! Mrs. Sindhuthai Sapkal forgave her husband who almost killed her and thrown into a cowshed to be stamped by the animals, On the cross, Jesus forgave his killers.
Forgiveness comes from a courageous heart but appears to be weak! On the other hand, Revenge appears to come from a bold personality but actually, it comes from a very weak mind!
Un-forgiveness creates scars and harms; first in you and then it spreads!
Forgiveness unfolds Peace within and around!
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