On a Christmas-eve

I Love You, My Son

After a few of the usual Sunday hymns, the priest stood up,

walked over to the pulpit and before giving his sermon,

briefly introduced a guest-minister who came in for the service.


In his introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest- minister was

one of his dearest childhood mentors and that he wanted him to take a few moments

to greet the congregation and share whatever he felt would be appropriate..

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

He started,

"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast,

when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore.

The waves roared high, and though the father was an experienced sailor,

the boat turned down and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized"

The old man hesitated for a moment,

making eye contact with two teenagers who were

found to be interested in his story for the first time since the service began .

He continued his story,

"Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life:

to which boy would he throw the other end of the life line?

He had only very few seconds to take the decision.

The father knew his son was a believer. And he knew that his son's friend was not.

The agony of his decision could never be matched by the raging of the waves...

And as the father yelled out,

'I love you, my son',

he threw out the life line to his son's friend.

By the time the father pulled his son's friend back to the capsized boat,

his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the deep abyss of gloom.

His body was never recovered."

The two teenagers were now sitting straight up in the pew, waiting for the next words.

"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity

but could not bear the thought of his son's friend losing an ever-lasting life.

Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend."

The old man now turned and sat down in his chair as silence engulfed the room.
********************************

The priest now walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon.

Within minutes after the close of service, the two teenagers

were at the old man's side.

"That was a nice story," politely stated one of them,

"but I don't think it was any realistic for a father to give up his

only son's life hoping that the other boy would become a believer.'

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied,

glancing down at his worn Bible.

A big smile broadened his narrow, wrinkled face.

He once again looked up at the boys and his lips moved,

"it sure isn't very realistic, is it?"

"But,

You see...
I was that father and your priest is my son's friend."

How's that?

Does this ring an echo?

I was skeptic too.. but oftentimes truth is stranger than fiction...

Christmas reminds us of the Heavenly Father who sacrificed

his

only begotten Son so that we would be saved.

Christmas is the message of joy, love, peace, freedom & sacrifice.

With these values as the guiding force,

I wish you & all yours -

no matter whether you be a christian, non-christian, believer, stoic, skeptic,

fatalist, pantheist, atheist or whatever -

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

A REWARDING, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week-end.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil