CHRISTIAN IDIOT – IX

I come from a Christian home steaped in Indian traditions! They are very strict about lent observances. They attend all worships including the Friday evening worship. They don’t eat meat; or go to cenema; and the women do not wear flowers or silk during lent. (TV serial is a different matter – once you miss it, it’s gone for ever!) One wonders if their joy on the Easter day is the resurrection of Christ or the completion of lent! The women glitter in silk and wear more flowers than usual. Chiken roast and Mutton Biriyaani lunch ends with paan and gelusil. The rest of the day is spent watching pirated DVD of the films released during the lent. They all go back to square one in their spiritual journey. When I try to tell them about the spirit of lent, they think I am an idiot living in the past. Please tell me: Is there any difference between the Iyyappa devotee who has completed his pilgrimage or a Muslim who has broken his Ramadan fast with the iftar meal and us, Christians who have observed lent until the Easter day? I think lent is our spiritual refresher course to upgrade our Christian attitudes, appreciations and behavioral skills just like professionals having refresher courses to upgrade their working skills. What is important in lent observance is not what we temporarily give up until Easter but what we acquire and learn to live with even after Easter! What is the good of tuning up your guitar if you are not going to play it? Lent is a time to tune up our spiritual instrument! And after Easter your life with the resurrected Christ is the music you play with it. “If music be the food of love (life)… play on”