This and That

Item: Today’s Hindustan Times ran a story that cuts close to home here. It happened in greater Dehradun—a city of several hundred lakh (that’s thousand to you) where this college is located.
Members of the local HVP—a pro-Hindu party with elected officials and substantial support, set upon a priest and some Christians. While the men escaped by fleeing, the mob broke into the church and confiscated literature. The photo of the church showed it unfinished. Just undressed brick walls and a roof, some windows and doors.
As usual the charge brought to the police is “converting Hindus to Christianity,” by promising money and other benefits. The police refused to do anything—the Indian constitution allowing multiple faiths.
So the mob took matters into their own hands, burning the literature and ransacking the church. Ugly—but no loss of life. Not yet.
K.J. Kuriakose, Director of Student Ministries, mentioned this at tea time. He urged students to be respectful when engaging local people, witnessing in discreet ways. He was not saying to mute the Gospel but simply to use wisdom and tact. No one seemed too concerned.
That’s remarkable to this American. Parents are not rushing here to pull their kids from the college and whisk them to safer sites as most of us gutless Americans would do. It’s just a risk you take when you are in the trenches for the King. As Patrick Henry put it, when advocating the much lesser cause of American independence, “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchase at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!” We used to sing “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” But that concept has been spiritualized now. No one of the Christians I know at home is really ready to put life and limb at risk. Are we wimps or what?
Christians here are prudent, of course. But they are not about to cut and run. Run for temporary safety, sure. But they do not quit the battle zone. As said some days ago, we can learn a lot from these believers.
Item: I notice no overweight Indian Christians here. Well, not zero. A few middle-aged women and an occasional man may be 10-15% over ideal weight. No young people or children are, however. I have never seen a single obese person in all my travel in India. So what’s up? Is it genetic? The expense of food here? A social expectation? All of the above? Yet their diet is starchy. Lots of white rice and sauces. Maybe the hot spices in their curry burns the calories. I don’t know. But it highlights something really bad in the USA. Our self-indulgence mostly. We have a hard time “just saying No” to any craving that comes over us. Relate that to my earlier question about why we ignore Jesus’ call to “fast and pray.” We’d rather enter into temptation, it seems. I was struck with this at morning tea assembly here. The students get a cup of chai. The faculty gets in addition a single Ritz cracker. No one goes back for seconds, either. Be content with what you have seems to be the Scripture verse in force here.
Item: Yet this is no paradise, either. K.J. displayed a key ripped out of a keyboard, ruining the instrument. These are hard to get out, so it was no accident. He appealed for respect for the property used here in God’s service and hoped that the person responsible would own up to it.
I talked later with Jacob Joseph, the music professor about it. He said that someone in America had given him gift money when he was studying there. (He has a degree in music from Southern Baptist University in Texas. He is also doing a D.Min. at Gordon-Conwell. I recall his visit to West Church a few months ago, checking out our worship team.) He used the money to buy 3 good keyboards for the use of students here. Naturally he is very distressed.
NTC’s music program is unique among colleges here. And they are attracting real talent that will be a powerful ministry asset for the churches, I’m sure. Music is the universal language.
Item: Professor George Oomen greeted me last morning by the moniker assigned me by Uncle George the first year I came here: Dr. G. He asked if I knew what that conveyed in India. I had not clue other than no one on this continent could pronounce Gustafson. (I recall allowing the youth of our church to call us Mr. and Mrs. G when we came to Haverhill in 1959. It avoided hearing our name mangled all the time!) No, no, he said. “Gee” is a word used here to denote respect. (Maybe it is short for guru or something.) Dr. G has a ring to it here in India!
Hmmm... “Dr. Respect….” Hmmm….
Fuhgedaboudit—it ain’t gonna fly!
Item: Solomon’s Psalm. I had forgotten that the Psalm that closes Book II: The Prayers of David, son of Jesse is attributed to Solomon. It sounds a bit like Solomon. A bit self-congratulatory, bordering on arrogance. He is sure he is ruling for God, bringing justice to the crushed and prosperity to the kingdom—getting tribute from tribes and nations far and wide. Nations will bless the ruler in Jerusalem because he gives the credit to God, “who alone does marvelous things.”
How unlike our nation’s attempts to raise the downtrodden and bless the nations. We conduct our good intentions under allegiance to an abstraction—a humanitarian ideal of liberty and justice for all. Solomon, with all his flaws, did it in the name of Yahweh. “ Praise be to his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory.” Psalm 72:19
As I post this the presidential election is about to be declared. It’s nice to be a continent or two removed. No phone calls! No hoopla! Like the old days when we all went to bed and saw the outcome in the morning newspaper. (You know something, there was life before TV, good life. I was there then.)
No matter who, things are not likely to change much. And most of the changes will only make things worse. Defeats will be touted as victories. Declines declared to be advances. Lies lauded as truth. Depravity masked as liberation. It will be ballyhoo of substance.
I remind myself I am only loosely invested here on earth. I have two clear duties, come what may. One is to trust not in human power, wisdom, or values, only in Jesus Christ, the only King worthy of allegiance. A second is to pray for those in authority over us that we may live in enough peace to get the message of deliverance and hope to those who are seeking a better way than anything this world can offer. This in spite of our leaders, for the most part.
I am rejoicing with great peace of heart. God has everything under control. Everything.