He was "a holy man," I was told, ever seeking to draw near to God. As a young boy I would watch him in terror from behind a barred window. He was a lanky figure with piercing eyes, his voice bellowing from the streets as he literally rolled the full length of his body under that torrid sun. My earliest encounter with "holiness" was watching a sunburnt mystic with matted hair and coarse skin soiled by the dirt on the road. I like to think that the missionaries gave the new surname Zacharias to represent and honor her priestly background. Only many years after coming to Christ did I learn, from a grand-aunt, the backdrop to our ancestral story: Several generations ago, through the work of German Swiss missionaries of the Basel movement, a young woman was the first from our branch of the Nambudiris to profess Christ as Lord. I attended more Hindu festivals and celebrations than I did Christian ones. My family and I went to church, celebrated Christmas, and observed certain rituals on Good Friday, but I was never taught the gospel or its significance for my life. Growing up, I knew nothing of this tradition. Despite the fact that only 6 percent of Indians today identify as Christians, the gospel arrived in India very early in church history. In Chennai stands a memorial to Thomas, and Kerala hosts other landmarks of his work. When we read of the apostle Thomas going to India, he seems to set out with the goal of reaching the Nambudiris, since reaching the priests would reach the people. My ancestors belonged to the highest caste of Hindu priests called the Nambudiris. My father was from Kerala, located in the deep south, my mother, from Chennai. I was born in the southern city of Chennai and raised in the northern city of Delhi-more correctly New Delhi. To be born in India is to arrive into the world swimming in religion. In other words, total immersion deprives the mind of a counterperspective and, for that matter, an honest evaluation. "If you want to know what water is, don't ask the fish." So goes an old Chinese proverb.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |