It was a wet night, and I was feeling my age. I had just been to a lecture at Nottingham University and I was waiting at the campus for a bus into the city.
At the bus stop were twenty or so Hindu students. They were in an excited mood travelling to Leicester that evening tocelebrate Divali.
The bus was due in about a quarter of an hour and it was really miserable standing at the bus stop in the rain. Then a young Hindu woman student in the party sitting under part of the bus stop touched my shoulder and said “please take my seat.” I thankfully accepted her offer.
This small gesture moved me quite deeply. This group of students were from a very different religious background to mine. The incident reminded me of the words of Jesus where he speaks of someone giving a ‘cup of cold water’to a needy person ‘in his name.’ Perhaps the cold water metaphor was not a very appropriate on a night like this, but I felt this student was showing a Christ-like act to me.
There was however another aspect of this situation that seemed significant. They were going to celebrate the festival of Divali, when Hindus remember the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil. To a Christian, their ‘festival of light’ reminds us of Christ himself who comes as the Light of the World. We shall soon celebrate ‘His Coming’ once more.
November is a month of remembrance when we recall not only the sacrifices of others in two world wars, but all kinds of other people who have given their lives and have suffered because they have stood on the side of justice and peace.
We thankfully remember them and pray that the forces of light will prevail over darkness. Our prayer must surely be that all faiths will have good-will in mind when they consider their relationships with people whose outlook and religion are very different from their own. Peace and true prosperity cannot come in the world unless there is a ‘helping hand’ extended to people of all outlooks and faiths
May the peace of Christ be in all our hearts, may we sharehis peace with others, and may we too reach out towards all who are in need.
Every blessing,
David
PS. If anyone wants to make any comments, I will be very pleased to put them on the blog page.D
Leave a comment