SPRINGBOARDS and WALKING STICKS

 There are three intruding questions in the Christian scriptures: Where are you? Where is your brother? Where is your cross? Where are you? Adam and Eve, after they disobeyed, were hiding away from God; God came in search of them. Where is your brother? Out of sheer jealousy and narrow-mindedness, Cain kills Abel. God went after him and asked Cain, "Where is your brother?" "Where is your cross?" is a recent question. Many came to follow Jesus. Jesus asked them to take up their cross and follow him. In other words, they came to follow him to be popular, to have a seat at his right or at his left, or to gain an eternal reward; but Jesus asked them to give up everything, find their daily cross, and join him. The most demanding factor of his call is the cross. You die and others live. What have you done? What have you given up? What have you taken up so that others may live? Many left him sad because they could not take up their daily cross. Cross is volunteerism. Chri...

 Christianity began as a diverse movement of small communities led by women and outcasts who refused to bow to Caesar—until Constantine made it bow to him instead, trading its prophetic voice for imperial favour and transforming a grassroots revolution into the very power structure it once challenged. Far from beginning as a unified religion with clear doctrines, it started as something much more complex and diverse—a collection of small communities scattered across the Roman Empire, each interpreting the teachings of Jesus in their own way. In the decades following Jesus's death, Christianity was not one religion but many. These early communities met in homes, not grand churches. They shared meals, told stories about Jesus, and tried to live according to his teachings. All did not fully agree on who Jesus was or what his message meant. Some communities saw Jesus as a great teacher. Others believed he was divine. Some followed Jewish law closely, while others welcomed non-Jews with...

 One may not hold an official leadership position in a company or institution, but all of us have a sincere responsibility to lead people to goodness, to better knowledge, to a better world, and  to God . The gospels begin with a star leading the magi to the manger. Later in the gospel we have Philip who, after meeting Jesus, finds Nathanael and leads him to Jesus. We have Philip and Andrew who, after having met Jesus, find a group of Greeks searching for Jesus and lead them to Jesus. Christian leading is to lead people to Jesus. We can lead people only as far as we ourselves have go ne; otherwise it would be the blind leading the blind. Or it would be like the one with a log in his eye pretending to remove the speck from another's eye while ignoring the log in his own eye (Luke 6: 39-42). Robin Sharma, author of the books The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari , Who Will Cry When You Die? etc., in one of his writings said that clear vision/spirituality is that we are able to see wit...

 Jesus' call to "love your enemies" reveals his idea of peace (Luke 6: 27-36). First things first, loving your enemies is not tolerating injustice and discrimination. When you are poor and people do harm to you or are disrespectful to you, you must retort. Your exploiters are not your enemies; they are predators, preying on the vulnerable. If you do not speak out against them, you are promoting injustice. Take a deeper look at the person who is called forth to love his/her enemies: it is a dominant person; he has possessions, he has money, he has power to give, power to lend, power to bless or curse, he has the power to do good or to do bad, he has the power to pray or not to pray; yet he chooses to let go of his tunic, give, lend, do good, bless, and pray. It is a deliberate choice made by the dominant one. Stoic wisdom provokingly says, don't call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you are not capable of violence, you are not peaceful—you are h...

  The article, SC being increasingly asked to go beyond text of law: CJI by Dhananjay Mahapatra. Opines that in contemporary India, the judiciary finds itself at a crossroads between traditional legal interpretation and the pressing need for proactive governance. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai’s recent remarks highlight a fundamental shift in how India's apex court perceives its role in addressing the nation's challenges when conventional legal frameworks fall short. The Supreme Court's evolution from a passive interpreter of law to an active participant in governance represents one of the most significant transformations in India's constitutional framework. This shift reflects the Court's recognition that strict textual interpretation of laws may not always serve justice or address the complex realities of modern India. Bhushan R Gavai’s observation that the judiciary is "increasingly called upon to go beyond mere textual application of law...

 If there is one thing that is proved through the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew is that what is said in the penultimate verse of the same chapter, “Emmanuel, meaning, God with us” (Matthew 1: 1-25). At first glance, the genealogy seems an unlikely vehicle for demonstrating divine accompaniment. It's a stark catalog of names spanning forty-two generations, many of whom the text itself portrays as deeply flawed. David, the celebrated king, commits adultery and orchestrates murder. Solomon's wisdom gives way to idolatry. The lineage winds through periods of exile, defeat, and apparent divine silence. If this genealogy proves God's presence, it's certainly not through an unbroken chain of righteousness. Yet perhaps that's precisely the point. The inclusion of figures like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—women whose stories involve deception, prostitution, foreign origins, and sexual scandal—suggests something profound about how divine presence ope...

 The prophet Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah with these piercing and revealing words: "Surely he took up our infirmities and bore our suffering" (Isaiah 53:4). Centuries later, Matthew would echo this truth after witnessing Christ's ministry: "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases" (Matthew 8:17). As Christians we have an obligation and responsibility to assist in the healing process of one another. Every Christian must aught to be a healer. We may not have the divine healing powers like Jesus. But Luke 4: 38-44 gives us a Christian protocol for healing others. Make Time for Others We live in an age obsessed with self-care and personal boundaries. These aren't wrong, but they become hollow when they close us off from others entirely. Jesus, despite having every reason to focus on his mission, made time for Simon's mother-in-law. He didn't schedule her healing around his convenience—he simply showed up. The profound truth is this: Time i...

 Here in the parable of the landowner hiring workers to his vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16) Jesus presents to us a special kind of poor: the unemployed, the jobless, and those who seek and not able to get a job. The unemployed live in a vulnerable situation, they are underprivileged because they lack the capacity to earn a living for a decent existence, and therefore they are poor. What is the use of having astounding gifts and abilities if we are unemployed? What can a man or woman do with a lousy day searching for work; it has no medal for efforts. Though Universal Declaration of Human rights by the UN in 1948 in its article 23 recognises that everyone has the right to work, free choice of employment, just and favourable conditions of work, and to protection against unemployment; most developing economies face a huge unemployment crisis. As a byproduct of this crisis comes cheap labour, underpaid jobs, and workers’ exploitation. As the master walked through the streets, I would think...

 Verse 35, "Be ready, dressed for service, and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet" summarises Luke 12:35-48. On July 25, 2025, two sisters, Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, belonging to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, were arrested at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh by police in connivance with Bajrang Dal, accusing them of human trafficking and forced conversion. Going beyond the false accusations that were leveled against them, we learn that those sisters were caring for leprosy patients. A minor Malayalam newspaper, Jeevanadham , reporting this news had this caption, eni namukku unarnnirikkam , meaning, "now on let us be awake and alert." The gospel and the incident that unfolded recently urge us to be watchful, ready, alert, and prepared. What do they imply? It simply means to continue to speak up, show up, stand up, defend the poor, and so on. Apparent delay, darkness, uncertainty,...

  Camels unlike animals like cats are not so compact: they have big humps, lengthy winding neck, long legs, and heavy flat hoofs. It can’t compromise its body and sneak through any entrance or door. Jesus compares rich people entering the gates of heaven like camels entering the eye of a needle (Matthew 19: 23-30). The doors of heaven are narrow and small like the eye of a needle. Things like money, arrogance, greed, jealousy, need for vengeance, etc. makes someone stiff, unbendable, and not compact like a camel. And their entry into heaven would be next to impossible. But the gospels suggest an ottamooli . Ottamooli is a Malayalam concept referring to a single-dose home remedy for a pestering illness, often based on traditional wisdom and Ayurvedic practices. These remedies are known for their ease of use and the absence of side effects. The ottamooli for a camel size unyielding problem is giving. Giving makes one’s size manageable, adaptable, and flexible; and the grace of...

 Independence Day opens our eyes to the idea of freedom. Every human being, individually and collectively, lives toward his or her freedom. our conscious self makes all efforts to navigate towards freedom. Anthony de Mello, an Indian Jesuit priest and an outstanding spiritual master of 20th century was once asked what would he prefer to be remembered as after his death. De Mellow replayed, if you had asked me this question early on in my life I would have preferred to be known as a learned man, a bit later perhaps as a spiritual master, but today I would like people to remember me as a free man.  Freedom is an abstract faculty, and it is multifaceted. As India's Independence Day coincides with the Marian feast of the Assumption of Mary—a person who is a model of Christian perfection—it made me reflect on what facet of freedom Mary lived. Freedom is the capacity to respond to one's impulse to go beyond self and the compelling factors around us. After Mary said yes to the L...

 Jesus took children seriously (Matthew 19: 13-15). The stories that he must have heard about the massacre of children by Herod when he was born must have left a deep sorrow in him; all Jesus’ would-be friends that were of his age were killed. He realised how cheaply authorities measured and valued vulnerable children, when they become an inconvenience to their power and success. Jesus considered children as Christian models of existence, and spoke of it as a prerequisite for one’s salvation. There could be many qualities in a child, which makes one fit to receive salvation, like, empty, humble, and thus able to receive unconditionally, remember the rich fool (Luke 12: 13021) and the rich man who wanted to follow Jesus (Matthew 19: 16-30) — the wisdom and providence of God had no place in them; honest, open, and has no hidden agendas and hypocrisy, we see people maliciously making plans to trap Jesus with questions (Matthew 22: 15-17). Positively speaking, there was a saint in the ...

  The article, Majoritarian project sees a backdoor opening by Vishal R. Choradiya examines how recent legislative measures in India, particularly the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), represent a systematic erosion of fundamental rights for marginalized communities, especially Muslims. While public attention focused on the Covid-19 pandemic and economic challenges, the author argues that exclusionary policies rooted in Hindutva ideology have advanced through bureaucratic channels. Rather than withering away, these measures have evolved into more sophisticated forms that threaten the constitutional foundations of Indian citizenship and belonging. The NRC-CAA combination marks what Choradiya describes as a dangerous shift in Indian constitutional jurisprudence. For the first time, religion has become a determining factor in citizenship under the CAA, undermining the secular bedrock of the Indian Constitution. This represents a fundamental depa...

 This New York Times article by Peter Baker examines President Trump's systematic approach to suppressing unfavourable information and promoting his preferred narrative, particularly regarding employment statistics and government data. The article begins with an old Washington principle: while officials are entitled to their opinions, they are not entitled to their own facts. However, Baker argues that Trump has consistently violated this norm throughout his presidency, citing his tendency to attack intelligence reports that contradict his views, dispute cost estimates for his policies, and even delete mentions of inconvenient truths from government websites. The central incident discussed occurred when Trump fired a Labour Department official responsible for compiling employment statistics, apparently because recent jobs reports showed economic performance that contradicted his claims of success. Trump dismissed these numbers as "phony" and declared the data was "hi...

 In the theatre of human existence, we have long celebrated the aggressive, the conquering, and the dominant. Society has painted masculinity in bold strokes of conflict and control, crowning those who fight and defeat as heroes worthy of privilege and power. Yet beneath this constructed narrative lies a deeper truth that challenges our most fundamental assumptions about human nature. Bobby Jose Capuchin challenged me into the following line of thinking. Science tells us what ancient wisdom has long whispered: we all begin our journey in the feminine form. For seven weeks in the womb, every human embryo follows the same path, undifferentiated and unified. Only then does the divergence occur, as hormones and genetics guide some toward what we label masculine traits, what remains of the early feminine form in men are his nipples. This biological reality suggests that aggression is not our natural state but rather an overlay, a secondary development that obscures our original nature. ...

 For a person of faith, ‘God comes, ever comes’ is a constant experience; logically, it also means that God goes, ever goes to the other. We read in Romans, “God came to save us when we were still sinners.” At another point of time in history we were the other to whom God came.  Throughout his earthly journey, Jesus demonstrated a radical commitment to crossing boundaries, meeting others. This wasn't merely a strategy for spreading his message—it was a fundamental aspect of his vision for humanity. He didn't establish a comfortable base and wait for people to come to him. Instead, he was constantly moving—crossing territorial boundaries, cultural divides, and social barriers. He didn't try to change people from a distance through arguments or condemnation. He shared meals with tax collectors, conversed with Samaritan women, touched lepers, and welcomed children. Each encounter was an act of radical hospitality that said, you matter and your story matters. Jesus didn't k...

 The shores of the Gadarenes witnessed something unprecedented that day. Two men, so possessed and tormented by demons that they had become legends of terror in their community, encountered the Son of God ( Matthew 8: 28-34) . What happened next reveals profound truths about God’s intervention in our lives. The situation was not ordinary. These weren't ordinary troubled individuals. Matthew describes them as "so violent that no one could pass that way." The parallel accounts in Mark and Luke focus on the demoniac whose condition was so severe that chains couldn't hold him, and he lived among the tombs, crying out and cutting himself; and seemingly beyond all hope of restoration. This mirrors countless situations we face today. Consider the stories that seem impossible: the addict who has been through rehabilitation programs multiple times, the marriage that appears irreparably broken, the chronic illness that has defeated every treatment, or the financial situation th...

 We crave simplicity, don't we? We want things to be neatly categorised, definitively good or bad, right or wrong. But the truth is, life rarely conforms to such clean lines. Life is inherently paradoxical. It’s a tapestry woven with threads of opposing colours, and its true beauty only emerges when we learn to appreciate the entire, sometimes contradictory, design. Containing paradoxes is maturity. What does it mean to contain a paradox? It doesn't mean ignoring the contradictions or pretending they don't exist. It means holding two seemingly opposing truths simultaneously, without feeling the need to discard one or the other. It means accepting that complexity is the norm, not the exception. Life truly is full of paradoxes. Consider our experiences with people. We often know a lot of "bad" things about others – their flaws, their mistakes, their less admirable traits. Perhaps we've been hurt by them, disappointed by them, or seen them at their worst. And it...

 Life is a journey we all embark upon, often without a map, and sometimes without even realising we’ve truly begun. I would not be wrong if I say that being an adult is the goal of one’s life. We often define adulthood by chronological age, by legal milestones, or by external markers like careers and families. But I propose that true adulthood is something far deeper, far more profound than ticking off a list of societal expectations. It's a state of being, a mindset, and a powerful embrace of self. At its core, being an adult is to be autonomous. It is to stand on your own two feet, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It is the ability to make conscious choices, to navigate the complexities of life, and to chart your own course with a sense of purpose and responsibility. This autonomy is not about isolation; it's about agency. It's about knowing who you are, what you value, and making decisions that align with your authentic self. Adulthood, in...

 When we are driven by measurable outcomes, loving is challenging. We often say, "I love you because you're kind," or "I love you because you make me laugh," or "I love you because you support me." These are beautiful sentiments, aren't they? They speak to qualities we appreciate, to comfort we find, to needs that are met. But what if I told you that the deepest, most authentic love lies beyond these reasons? What if true love is not about the "because," but about the "just is"? Love goes beyond likes and dislikes. If I do not know why I love you, that is real love; if I know why I love you, it is business, it has a payoff, could be money, emotional support, etc. If there is a payoff, it is not true love, it is business. This isn't to diminish the joy and value we find in relationships where our needs are met. Kindness, laughter, support – these are wonderful things. But if our love is contingent upon these payoffs, if it...

 There is a very thin line between affection and abuse, therefore one can abuse another in a relationship in the guise of affection, and it happens more easily with children. To understand the purported thin line, it is crucial to first establish clear conceptual definitions for both affection and abuse. Affection , in healthy interpersonal relationships, is characterised by genuine care, warmth, fondness, and positive regard for another individual. Its expression is typically nurturing, supportive, and intended to foster emotional well-being, connection, and security. Key attributes of healthy affection include: Reciprocity: It is often mutual and flows freely between individuals. Respect for Autonomy: Affection does not seek to control or diminish the other person's individuality or choices. Empathy: It involves an understanding of and responsiveness to the other's emotional states. Non-coercive: It is given freely and does not carry manipulative conditions or expectations. B...