| When he heard that his grandmother in India was sick, he was overcome by a deep sadness. He couldn’t afford to let her go before he sees her again. So, hastily he plans a short trip to India from the US. This time he is also filled with an overwhelming desire to offer her the redeeming message of Jesus, as a true homage. |
| Hailing from a Brahmin lifestyle, his family was deeply hurt when he articulated his newfound faith in Jesus a decade ago. In spite of that, both he and his wife have been praying that his family in India would have an opportunity to understand and receive the greatest gift from God. He was willing to take the risk in articulating the controversial message of Jesus, one more time. When he reached India, he was glad to hang out with his grandmother and see her health improve over the next few days. As she recovers, he attempts to explain to her the good news about God’s plan to redeem humanity. Unfortunately, he is not able to articulate in a manner that she can comprehend. He was using terms that did not make much sense to her and matters are made worse by her faint hearing. Out of sheer frustration, he utters, “Jesus died for our karma”. Immediately she responds back, “How is that possible?” That’s the highlight of their conversation that night. That night he recollects how his grandmother was the first one in his family to introduce him to spirituality, during his early childhood. He was saddened that he was not able to connect with her and wondered what else he could have said to make the connection. His wife continues praying that perhaps God would help her understand this message in a dream. The next day as his grandmother wakes up; she pulls him to her bedside and says; “I had a dream yesterday. I saw a man (dressed in dhoti, a formal Indian outfit) standing at the doorway offering a thamboolam to me”. Thamboolam is a tray with beetle leaves, nuts, fruits, and coconuts. It is usually offered only to special guests when they are invited to a wedding. The wedding party honors the guest by coming all the way to their home to offer them this special invitation. By doing so, they also emphasize the importance of having this guest at the wedding. He asks her who this man was. To his amazement, she smiles and responds, “The same man you said died for our karma”. Obviously, being a Brahmin, she was hesitant in mentioning the name Jesus. He asked her, what she did with the thambool. She said, “I accepted it” |
