Anti-Clock by VJ James
Author:VJ James [James, VJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2021-06-24T00:00:00+00:00
18
The Ghost
ââDo not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.â He also told them this parable: âCan the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brotherâs eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?ââ
(Luke 6: 37-42)
Death is nothing, but nothingness.
The pit waiting for death is the same too. By digging deeper and deeper into the fullness of the earth, an emptiness is created. And when you bury the one who has attained emptiness by death, in the void of the earth, he becomes part of the eternal emptiness. Now, Joppan too joins it. Not carrying any secrets with him, having overburdened my heavy heart . . .
Though most of Joppanâs relatives live in Aadi Nadu and neighbouring villages, his brother works in the army and is posted in Assam. Owing to his insistence on attending the funeral, it did not take place the next day. Joppanâs dead body was kept in the morgue at Jubilee Hospital.
Meanwhile, there was another storm brewing. One faction vociferously protested against burying an apostate, who had turned his face away from God, in the cemetery. Why should a renegade, who had never attended the Sunday Qurbana or accepted the Sacraments, sleep in the churchâs graveyard, they asked.
Gracy had never expected such a backlash. She herself was a devout Christian who followed every rite and ritual of the holy church. The opposing faction argued that it did not entail her husbandâs right to salvation! Although Father Gabriel, in his typical conciliatory style, tried to calm tempers, the recalcitrant faction did not relent. In an urgent church meeting, different opinions fought for supremacy. The scales tilted towards those who wanted to deny Joppan a place in the cemetery. When the factions continued to lock horns, Father Gabriel suggested a compromise: âWho are you to judge your neighbour? Whether you bury him here or not, his soul will reach its destined place. However, one should avoid disrespecting a dead body. Taking into consideration that the majority is against the idea, I suggest that at least some space may be given at the back of the cemetery.â
I appreciated that Father Gabriel tactfully abstained from mentioning the words âpauperâs graveâ. Let good befall the one carrying the holy name of the Arch Angel! A silence ensued after Father Gabrielâs proposal. It was soon breached by a voice.
âYes, what right do we have to judge another?â
It astonished me no end that the inspired view was put forth by Satan Loppo. The concession he made was opposed to his core nature.
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