UPDATE FROM THE FIELD!!!!

NEWS ABOUT WORK!!! SUCCESS!!!

If you have not already seen it, a report from a recent raid conducted by our office is at:

http://www.ijm.org/newsfromthefield/ijmandlocalauthoritiesrescueeightvictimsfrombrutalmumbaibrothel

(I had trouble setting a hyperlink, so just copy and paste the link, if you are unable to see the full link, the link ends with "mumbaibrothel")

Easter Elsewhere

It's been a week since Easter, but I still want to share some of what Easter meant in India. To be honest, the day started with a very disappointing feeling. I missed the secular parts of Easter: my mom's basket of candy (yes, even through law school), the Easter family feast after church, the bright formal spring clothing, and the large crowds and energy at church. Perhaps for the first time, I realized how detached my disappoints were from the meaning and purpose of purpose of Easter. I woke up early and droned over to my morning cup of coffee, and, mentally grumbling, switched on some worship music on itunes to try and set my mind and heart. It didn't work because my lack of sincerity prevailed. I went into static mode for the next half hour, insuring that my removed attitude settled and solidified, then got up, threw on a t-shirt and jeans and went out to grab a rick for the long ride to church.

The crowd was larger than usual at church, but the unfamiliar faces and lack of followers of Easter dress protocol cast a cloud over my spirit. I prayed for a change of heart and a revived spirit- I didn't want Easter to mean only this to me now, but I received no immediate response. Frustrated, I missed The Walk- I missed Sevier Heights, I wanted to hear hundreds of college students passionately praising God under the direction of talented worship leaders. I missed that energy, and I felt deprived and alone. Just when I was giving up- my answer came. I heard a familiar sound... the worship team was playing “Mighty to Save” by Hillsong- one of my favorites. As I listened to the words, I crumbled:

Everyone needs compassion / a love that's never failing /
let mercy fall on me.
Everyone needs forgiveness / the kindness of a Savior /
the Hope of Nations

Savior, He can move the mountains / my God is mighty to save /
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation / He rose and conquered the grave /
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me / all my fears and failures / fill my life again.
I give my life to follow / everything I believe in / now I surrender.

Savior, He can move the mountains / my God is mighty to save /
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation / He rose and conquered the grave /
Jesus conquered the grave

Shine your light and let the whole world see /
singing for the glory of the Risen King.

This- this was Easter! I looked around at the same unfamiliar faces and my perspective changed, as I saw them with their arms raised doing their best to praise a God mighty enough to save each of them. They got it. The point. Jesus died and rose to life again, and, in doing so, He bridged the abominable gap created by sin between God and man- He conquered sin, He conquered death.... for us... and.... we are given a chance each year to celebrate that victory. They didn't need fancy clothes or feasts or trained worship leaders, just a God who is “Mighty to Save.”

Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters

Before I jump into these two blogs, I want to explain that work kept me especially busy the past few weeks and I neglected to blog. Further, given the recent buzz of activity, the inability to discuss the details of my work is more frustrating than ever. I feel handicapped and deceptive towards my supporters, family, and friends back home. It is a difficult task to explain your experience without the opportunity to discuss the facts of what you came to do- what you spend the brunt of your time doing. Instead, I must ask for and depend on your trust.

Recently, I've seen and heard of deeper pits than I want to imagine. In the past, when “counting my blessings,” I almost exclusively thought about wealth and the opportunities that stem from it, and vice versa. However, being fortunate or being unfortunate continues to grow more distinct and more diverse than being rich or being poor. The reality is, men frequently carry out cruelties far worse than depriving a person of all his possessions. Nevertheless, it remains easier for me to believe in the prevalence of evils that tempt me, like pursuing wealth above all else. On the other hand, I find it difficult to relate to, or believe in the prevalence of, the dark acts of drugging, kidnapping, and imprisoning young girls for the perverse fancies of men drowned by lust. My point is, it isn't always the poorest that fall into this pattern. There is something in addition to money driving this- something else, something evil, something unfortunate.

Fortunately, we serve a God that is bigger than our problems- a God capable of forgiving all of our iniquities... even those I don't want Him to, and a God capable of unimaginable rescue. Still, what bothers me in Scripture is that God consistently calls us to “wait on Him.” It seems fair to someone like me, someone who knows God, capable of exercising faith in Him to overcome trials, but why should a child, who has never been introduced to my God, see so much damage and despair before God acts? I don't want to answer the problem of evil... the truth is, I'm not sure- but I do believe God calls us to act in a different way, and that he calls us to act now. For example, Amos prophesies about imminent judgment on the nation of Israel for their wrongs, in spite of the fact that they are still offering feasts, songs, solemn assemblies, and sacrifices to God. Instead, God finds their religious compliance empty and expresses what He really wants: justice and righteousness in abundance:

I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
Take away from me the noise of your songs
to the melody of your hearts I will not listen.

But let justice roll down like waters
and righteousness like an everflowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24)

Or, like Jeremiah pleading with God for help in a time of complete despair, and finding that God calls him not to fear and takes up his cause.

I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies
by those without cause;
they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me;
water closed over my head;
I said, I am lost.

I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
You heard my plea,
Do not close your ear to my cry for help!
You came near when I called on you;
you said, Do not fear!
You have taken up my cause, Oh Lord;
you have redeemed my life. (Lamentations 3:52-58)

My question is, when God “takes up causes” in the Old Testament, he frequently mobilizes Israeli militia, angels, or judges filled with the spirit; who then sweep across and slaughter the whole of the oppressor. It doesn't feel like God exercises that kind of judgment anymore. As much as I feel like it would satisfy me, we don't march through with assault rifles and demolish these evil men. How does God use us to take up His causes now? I believe God still desires justice and righteousness from us, rather than our equivalent of religious sacrifices and obedience in procedure. God calls us to first practice justice, mercy, and faithfulness. In his rebuke of the Pharisees, Jesus said:

For you tithe and mint and dill and cumin,
and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:
justice and mercy and faithfulness.
These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23:23)

If it is not sweeping, slaughtering judgment, what does this 'justice and mercy and faithfulness' or 'justice and righteousness' look like practically? I believe I am fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to see it in action- in the missions, faces, and words of my coworkers. They make sacrifices, they take risks, they bring justice, all while seeking God's guidance. In short, they reach for righteousness and they bring about justice. In short, they show love. John describes them:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,
and whoever loves is born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God,
for God is love. (I John 4: 7-8)
. . .

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (I John 4:18)

So, God is love, and God showed love by casting down his son; by making sacrifices for others, by humility through mercy and justice. This love, this active, complete, perfect love; this love casts out fear. To me, that is the kind of love that is simultaneously justice and mercy, and I have now seen it in other men and women.

Not the start of a bad joke: A Hindu, A Protestant, and a Catholic Attended Mass

During my time here, a friendship has developed with a local guy around my age. His name is Harish, and I now expect and look forward to his nightly appearances at my door. Harish is my link to the community: he cooks traditional food, takes me to festivals and weddings, reminds me I'm paying more than I should at the market, lectures on how much better cricket is than baseball, and tolerates/disregards the involuntary "watch out" & "you can't pass him..." yelps erupting out of me while riding behind him on the motorbike.

In many ways, we are similar: we love playing sports, eating fried food, and talking about family. In fact, Harish's entire family extends unwarranted courtesies to me on my visits. I love going there. In one roughly 10'x10' concrete/corrogated room, the entire family lives. The ceiling hangs low enough to permit an overhead platform to provide bedding for the entire family, suspended underneath the sloping metal roof. In his home, there is always laughter (often from my butchered attempts at speaking Hindi or Marathi), hot chai, and multiple generations. Yet, in spite of our common ground, from the moment I arrive, I can't help but notice the differences. First, shoes clutter the threshold, in a Hindu home, no one enters without removing his shoes. Second, in addition to paintings portraying Shiva, a small idol and shrine of Ganesh (the city's favorite god of fortune; the elephant man) adorns the corner opposite the entrance. Occasionally, the family insists on placing a ritualistic colored dot on my forehead. He tells me of the world famous golden temple in Punjab where his family comes from, shows me a picture of the cobra that is his god, and categorizes everyone he speaks of by religion. “Only Muslims serve pannicomb chai,” or “Everybody being Catholic in this area,” or “Hindu people never being. . .” On some levels, it is merely a social distinction, on others it is much more. For example, it is not enough of a boundry for Harish to distance himself from me, but I believe it is no coincidence that the vast majority of his other friends are Hindu.

In short, as we get to know each other better, I can feel the religious divide creeping towards the forefront. Further, as a born again Christian who believes Jesus when He says that no one comes to the Father but through Him, I must accept that Harish and his family, kind as they are, are living outside of the kingdom of God- lost.

This thought prompts me to be alert and prayerful whenever the issue of my faith arises. It is a tedious task, however, as Hinduism is much closer to relativism than Christianity. The traditions are oral, imprecise, and, occasionally, untranslatable. There are over 300 million deities and probably as many distinct versions of following them. In short, Hinduism lacks the absolutes of Christianity. Accordingly, I feel like absolute statements of Christian truths often sound presumptuous to Hindu listeners. And so, gradually, we have held more discussions about our faiths.

These minor discussions led to a curious event. One evening, I rode with Harish to see a lady that is helping Harish with the administrative details of his employment. She invited us onto her porch to talk, and while I was sizing up her enormous Great Dane named Stone, Harish introduced me as a Christian. The lady then asked me where I attended Mass, and, upon further questioning, I revealed to her that I am Protestant. She then insisted that Harish and I accompany her the next day to Mass at the only nearby Cathedral. Never having been to Mass, and sensing that this might get more dialogue flowing with Harish, I agreed.

So, there we sat (or kneeled , or chanted, or stood; depending on the appropriate moment), a Catholic, a Protestant, and a Hindu, pouring sweat in the sweltering pew. Expecting that I would attain the equivalent of counterclockwise, I didn't bother trying to cross myself. Additionally, we were both expressly instructed not to partake of the Holy Communion. After mass, as we walked back together the lady went on a short rant about the priest's bland tone, while I contemplated all that I saw and heard. On the other hand, Harish was quiet and dismissive of my attempts to discuss the event with him. Regardless of this one occasion, opportunities continue to arise, and I strive for readiness at each one of them.