Sunday, August 18, 2013

THE FIFTH GOSPEL

THE FIFTH GOSPEL

                         A pagan king was worried over the rapid growth and wide spread of Christianity in his kingdom. He wanted to end the influence and popularity of Christianity. He decided to declare himself as the only God and start a new religion with himself as the founding father and God. He used all his might to establish the new faith and suppress Christianity. But in spite of all his efforts, he failed to attract people to his new religion. He sought the advice of a great scholar. He told the king that he could eliminate Christianity and establish his own faith only if he could perform the following feats:
1…Allow himself to be seized by his enemies and get killed publicly by them on a Friday and be buried in the sight of all his countrymen.
2…Remain in the tomb till Sunday morning.
3…Come out of the grave alive on Sunday and appear before his people.
                                      The scholar said that if the king could do these three things as Jesus did, people would believe in him. The helpless king abandoned his idiotic idea of founding a new faith as he was not ready to sacrifice his life and had no hope about a life after death.
                                      Christianity has miraculously triumphed over and lived through cruel persecutions imposed by innumerable rulers through twenty centuries. The teachings of Jesus Christ continue to influence human thought and civilization. The blood shed by the millions of Christian Martyrs worked like manure for the growth of the Christian Faith.
                                    “Why were the gentiles furious; why did people make their useless plots? The kings of the earth prepared themselves, and the rulers met together against the Lord and His Messiah” {Acts 4: 25, 26; Psalms 2: 1, 2}.
                                      It is said that there are five Gospels- the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and You. It is the fifth Gospel- the life of every Christian- that exerts maximum influence on others who observe us. The lifestyle of early Christians is summarized in three words – DARING, CARING & SHARING. They had the courage to practice what Jesus taught and they preached. They cared for each other, especially the needy, the sick, the weak and the poor. They were ready to share their assets equitably with those who needed them {Acts 4: 32-37}. They were united in the love of Christ.  
                                    “The group of believers was one in mind and heart. No one said that any of his belongings was his own, but they all shared with one another everything they had” {Acts 4: 32}.  They had imbibed the true spirit of the parable of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho should pass through our home. The distance between me and my God is the distance between me and my neighbour. My neighbour’s pain should become my own agony.
                                     Let us practise love without condition, sacrifice without calculation, service without compulsion and suffering without complaint. Jesus taught, “…Your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven” {Matthew 5: 16}.


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© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Darsana Academy, Kottayam-686001, Kerala, India ( Former Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India), Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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