Beautiful Feet and Good News!

Good news brings health to our bones (Proverbs 15:30). They are like cold water to a weary soul (Proverbs 25:25). In the Old Testament, we have read about men from the war front who came running to proclaim the good news of a victory. When Israel was under siege and was suffering from a severe famine, God chose a group of lepers to get to know where there was food for all (2 Kings 7). Mordecai sent the good news of salvation for the Jews through mounted couriers who rode fast horses. The royal horses raced out, spurred by the king’s command (Esther 8:10, 14).

The proclamation of the good news of restoration to the exilic Jews has been pictured  by Isaiah as follows: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) Nahum, who prophesied later to Isaiah, visualized the same restoration scene in a similar tone: “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!....” (Nahum 1:15)

There were angels who brought good news both in the Old and the New Testaments. Jesus bringing the good news to the world was prophesied by Isaiah centuries earlier to His coming, as follows: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1) Jesus indeed preached the good news in the villages, towns and cities of Israel. The apostles of Jesus, proclaimed that good news to the rest of the then world.

What is the Good News? It is nothing, but the atoning death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. It comes from the Greek word, “evangelion”. The missionaries brought evangelism, the good news to most of our fore parents. Someone told that good news to us. What are we doing about that “good news” today?

D.T. Niles said, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” God chose most of us, beggars, lepers, lowly people to receive the blessing of Jesus, "The Living Bread" much before the rest of others. Can we now, identify us with the lepers of the Isrealite camp and reflect on their dialogue: "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace." (2 Kings 7:9)

What have we done to the people who have not heard that good news not even once in their life-time so far? Jesus is the Way to heaven. All who believe in the reality of this fact need to shoulder the urgency of spreading the good news fast, spurred by the command of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.“(Matthew 28: 18-19)

The Bible says: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Let’s ask to ourselves: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?  (Romans 10:13-15)

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Do Not Call Anything Impure!

Peter was a special person, personally trained by Jesus with utmost care. He with his few colleagues received the Great Commission from Jesus, to go and make disciples of all nations. They also received the Master Plan of the Holy Spirit, which required them to be witnesses not only in Jerusalem and Judea, but in Samaria and in the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). But Peter, a traditional Jew did not move out of his Jewish boundary of Jerusalem and Judea for quite some time. Interestingly, the revival with the Samaritans, with the so-called low caste people in Acts 8 was primarily because of Philip, the deacon! Apostles Peter and John went to Samaria and only had to confirm it with a “wow!”

Peter was heavily prejudiced to the extent that he had to undergo training of mind through a heavenly vision. The vision was repeated “thrice” to make him understand the simple, basic truth: not to call anything impure that God had made clean. Peter needed the series of visions from heaven to make him move out of his Jewish zone to his so-called “impure” zone, the Cornelius household. By the way, Cornelius, an Italian was a gem of a character according to Acts 10:2 and 4. The Cornelius household became fine believers only after Peter, the  apostle himself was converted.

Peter is termed a ‘hypocrite’ by Apostle Paul in another instance of Jewish arrogance. Fearing the Jews, Peter withdrew himself, not willing to eat with the believers of Antioch, another ‘unclean-clan!’ Barnabas and many other Jews were led astray following the hypocrisy of Peter (Galatians 2:11-13). Peter of the New Testament is more in likeness to Jonah, the disobedient prophet of the Old Testament. The people in the ship, all belonging to the ‘impure’ clan, feared the living God (Jonah 1:16). And the people of Nineveh, another ‘impure’ cluster repented of their sin. But did Jonah ever repent of his racial bias? This small Old Testament book ends with a clarion call for people like Jonah to repent from their racial discords.

Peters and Jonahs today have to undergo a conversion experience. The superiority attitude of the Jews, which is ungodly, unbiblical is seen in many ways in our present context . I know a pastor who uses his ‘high’ caste identity in his name. I also know Christian organisations that are heavily caste and regional biased. And why do Christians still choose marriage partners within their own caste, regional domains? Also try answering the bigger question: How many of us have the heart of God to look beyond our own lingual and ethnic identities and participate in the wider mission of God, to serve ‘unclean’ communities? 

"Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." (Acts 10:15)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Rescue-A Humanitarian Perspective

Moses of the Bible was rescued as a baby by the daughter of Pharaoh from the river. His rescue was master planned by two other women earlier who were none other than his mom, Jochebed and his sister, Miriam. Encapsulated by the love of these three women rescuers in his life, Moses learnt to be one himself. One thing which grabs my attention happens when Moses flees to Median. There he rescued his would-be wife Zipporah and her six sisters from the men who troubled them at the well. Not only he rescued them from the men, but also helped them by watering the flock. This incident makes me consider Moses as the ‘Good Samaritan’ of the Old Testament. His rescue of the girls made Jethro, the girls’ father to have respect for Moses. It looks like Zipporah was a gift to Moses as a gratitude to his rescue work. No wonder God too saw this humanitarian concern of Moses and used him to rescue thousands of fellow slaves from Egypt. He also praises him as one who is faithful in all his house (Numbers 12:7)

There are so many girl children and women who are living at risk today. In this fallen and sinful world, women simply become a prey to inhuman deeds of men. Sometimes these men could be their husbands and dads or other honourable people in their lives like their relatives, teachers, bosses and pastors and  and who not! Years ago I had to counsel a girl rescued from committing suicide. This girl from another religious faith simply trusted in the words of a pastor who was in his final year of study in a reputed seminary. The girl with her meagre income from a garment factory had supported this ‘pastor’ for his studies. The pastor not only sucked the little money she had, he misused her time to time and finally ditched her. I was shocked initially, but then tried my best to counsel her. But the seminary and the church administration ‘safely’ transferred this pastor to a mission field far away.

Think of this: the Churches, Christian organisations and Christian families who ought to be guardians of faith, justice and humanitarian concerns, most of them have beastly behaviours. Can we pause and think about the humanitarian concerns, which the Bible has always taught us to do before we venture out to rescue souls from perishing? As for me, ‘Attitudes’ and ‘Acts’ of ‘Respect for Humanity’- to both men and women is basic in a humanitarian concern. I have just initiated one aspect of that. Why don’t we think of the many ways of correcting our horizontal relationships with fellow human beings to prove our vertical, religious faith as an authentic and convincing one?

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the LORD detests them both. (Proverbs 17:15)