Our Country’s Republic Day

Today I would like to remember the day as India Inc was formed. In this day I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart to all the freedom fighters who made this day possible. Its only because of those great fighters we were able to freely what we are doing. All credits goes back to all the people who are involved in the struggle of making India Inc. As today was the republic day, I thought let me look back for some time and see how India has traveled. Where else can i go and find the information? none other than Wikipedia.

Although India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947, it did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935, and the country was a Dominion, with George VI as head of state and Earl Mountbatten as Governor General. On 28 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar as chairman. While India’s Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates the coming into force of its constitution.

To mark the importance of the occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, New Delhi, from the Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Palace), along the Rajpath, past India Gate . Prior to its commencement, the Prime Minister lays a floral wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, a memorial to unknown soldiers at the India Gate at one end of Rajpath, which is followed by two minutes silence in the memory of unknown soldiers. It is a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defence of sovereignty of their country. Thereafter he/she reaches the main dais at Rajpath to join other dignitaries, subsequently the President arrives along with the chief guest of the occasion. First he unfurls the National flag, as the National Anthem is played, and a 21-gun salute is given. Next, important awards like the Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra are given away by the President, before the regiments of Armed Forces start their march past. The President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations.

For more information on Republic day please refer to Wikipedia.

The scandal of grace

‘The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus’ What extravagant generosity!

Mark 2:13-17

The second conflict with the religious leaders is introduced by the story of the calling of Levi. As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee he taught the crowd. He probably encountered Levi(Matthew was his apostolic name) at a tax-collector’s booth on the major international road that went from Damascus through Capernaum to the Mediterranean coast and to Egypt. Employed by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee put into power by Rome, and ritually unclean from his dealings with Gentile traders, Levi would have been despised by his fellow Jews for being a traitor and extortioner. Ostracised from Jewish society, neither he nor his family would be allowed to attend synagogue.

Levi took an enormous risk in responding to Jesus’ call. There would have been little possibility of his returning to his occupation, as tax-collecting jobs were greatly sought after as a sure way to get rich quickly. But it is Jesus that is the big surprise here. He goes against every cultural norm of the day. Surely if he was the Messiah he was going to set them free from Rome, not include among his followers known collaborators with Rome? There is worse to come: he accepts Levi’s hospitality, attending a meal to which all Levi’s friends with dubious reputations are invited. In so doing, Jesus powerfully demonstrates friendship with them. Unconcerned for his reputation, Jesus chooses to spend time with those who need him most. ‘If we dared to live beyond our self-concern; if we refused to shrink from being vulnerable; if we took nothing but a compassionate attitude toward the world; if we were a counterculture to our nation’s lunatic lust for pride of place, power and possessions…the walls of indifference to Jesus Christ would crumble.

Discuss and pray with others how to practise hospitality amongst people on the margins that goes to where they are. And have a go!

Growing Opposition

List the ways in which God is ‘bigger’ than you and anyone or anything else. And then worship him for the ‘big’ God that he is!

Mark 2:1-12

Today’s passage is the start of a separate section in Mark’s Gospel(2:1-3:6), describing five incidents where Jesus comes into conflict with the religious leadership. Those who would have been expected to recognize and welcome him were rapidly moving into direct opposition. Their motives for this are unclear. It seems to be a combination of jealousy and feeling threatened by his popularity, deep concern about what they saw as his blasphemous claims, and prejudice about his background. Whenever Jesus went he evoked strong responses from people–either for or against him–and we see as Mark’s account progresses how Jesus doing good in God’s name increasingly met criticism, resentment, or outright opposition from those who should have known better.

Mind you, Jesus’ words would have sounded outrageous to the Pharisees, or at the very least have been profoundly bewildering. This situation had for them deep theological roots. No one but God can forgive sins, yet this person from an insignificant background stood there proclaiming forgiveness of sins over a paralyzed man. His authority to do this is then seemingly authenticated by the man being fully healed. In addition, Jesus’ reference to himself with the Messianic title of ‘Son of Man’ would have made matters much worse in their eyes. There was no middle way or third option:either he was God, or he was a blasphemer. Part of their problem was their view of God. Their view was incomplete and their minds largely closed, with God reduced to the size of their expectations. Anything that threatened those views and their status as guardians of them was to be resisted at all costs. Sound familiar at all?

Pray for leaders of churches and Christian organisations for faith to risk trusting God to be and do more than they expect. Pray for yourself too.