Published by This book is dedicated to Saint Peter, whose Faith was sometimes wobbly, Saint Paul who was not so nice before seeing the light, Saint Augustine, who was also not so nice and Saint Ignatius, who was in part responsible for the good education I received and was also not too nice earlier in his life.
This book is for my sons, Jose Marie, Matthew James and for my wife Mui who will soon be baptized as Mary.
My sons suspect that I am almost all knowing and trustworthy. They are young. My wife knows better. Actually I am not particularly good at anything. However I am an expert on God. Now don’t get me wrong. I have only a skimpy knowledge of the Bible. Know next to nothing about theology, made no serious study on religion(or anything for that matter) and have hardly ready any of those books on God, displayed on the shelves at W.H.Smith’s or Borders. Consequently there are only one or two actual quotes from the Bible but many references to the Word of God. Without helpful annotations. Go look up yourself.
I have been acquainted with God since the age of comprehension, which judging by my sons is around three. And since I was often in trouble throughout my life, I have been on constant communication with God on a daily basis. Generally to pull me out of one dark hole or other. As a result of which my Faith is at least as big as a mustard seed. I have found that I am quite capable of miracles. I am very close God. Which again should surprise anyone? After all God’s closest companions, were sinners of all kinds? I qualify.
I know God well enough, if not to write His biography, to at least introduce Him to my sons and yours, if you allow. And since sons will remain immature for 20 years or more, this book is an ABC guide to God and things within His jurisdiction. Which they can, when in doubt or peril, refer to from time to time.
If you think my qualifications can indeed be packed in a mustard seed, you are probably right. But do remember that according to God, that is good enough for me to tell a mountain to go jump into the sea. So here is my book.
No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.”
Samuel Johnson 1776
G IS FOR GOD
Who is God? When was the last you met God? I met God about 15 minutes ago when I asked Him to help me out in a bit of financial strife. I had already exhausted the goodwill of most friends and acquaintances within a realistic radius. God as usual is often my only hope. God is whom we take all our troubles to. Hourly, daily. Troubles and problems that we couldn’t possibly, sometimes even talk about to closest family. It is a very close relationship that we have with God. In fact I don’t know anyone, and that includes hard-line atheists, who haven’t at sometime or other called on God for help.
There are millions of problems being dispatched to Him as you read this. Petitions even from the powerful. Presidents, Prime Ministers, assorted politicians. Even bankers and automotive industry CEOs, who never needed help from anyone least of all God, are on their knees now. These are troubled times.
To many of us supplicants, it sometimes feels as if God has lost His touch. No seas are parted these days. No walls come tumbling down. No burning bushes or fiery pillars. On the other hand evil, never short of spectacle, seems to make prime time news every day.
But God is at work. There is a black president in America. There is enough rice to feed more than a billion Chinese. My son, whose remaining eye was nearing irreversible blindness, now sees perfectly with that eye. Similarly in millions of homes everywhere God’s miracles are healing, providing, changing, forgiving, defending, inviting, rescuing. Elsewhere new mountains are being formed. New seas appear. New islands, new planets, new creatures. Often out of nothing. The universe is still being created in a nice, orderly and disciplined way.
A IS FOR ANGEL
God’s Messenger. God’s soldier? This is a difficult subject to bring up in say, our boardroom with our bunch of directors. Nice group of fellows but inclined to be more cynical than curious at most times.
“Did you say Angels, Mr. Pereira?”
“Er…Yes.”
“Ah. Presumably you also believe in hobbits? Maybe even goblins?”
“Hobbits perhaps. Goblins no.”
“I am somewhat relieved, Mr. Pereira that goblins do not pass your astute muster.”
In spite of what aspersions they may cast on my managerial acumen, I believe in angels because God says they exist. Indeed many of us, if not all, have at sometime or other experienced their intervention in thwarting dangers or impending evil to ourselves.
However you may face some adverse repercussions on your career if you recommend that the Angels replace the firm’s security detail.
B IS FOR BARABBAS
This is the most infamous thug and murderer in history. The mob unanimously voted him freed and Jesus, crucified. The “judge” was somewhat befuddled. Saatchi & Saatchi who ran Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party campaign would have reasoned that it had to do with image; Barabbas was perceived as a sort of Terminator. Jesus as quiet and submissive. In a free and fair election, who wins is a foregone conclusion. As I write there are many “Terminators” in power.
We, me included, used to think that heroes are necessarily of stern stuff. Bold, aggressive men or women of action. Ruthless Rambos blazing bazookas at unfortunates! Until it occurred to me that to be submissive is the ultimate act of courage.
The submission of Jesus to the Truth, that day changed the course of history. In the world constituency His party today holds the loyalty of the majority. A fact we overlook.
What are we to submit to? The first recorded words from God are from the blessing, after the sixth day of Creation:”Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fishes of the seas and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move on the Earth.” I guess He means us to “Enjoy.”
C IS FOR CREATION
Look I really fear treading things best left to Professor Hawkins. But I can’t resist poking my unscientific nose in just a little bit.
Creation seems to be happening right now on a massive scale, right under our noses. Even our noses are being recreated as we write. God is still at work. New trees, new shrubs, new animals, men and women, new islands, volcanoes, meteors, planets, Madonna (the singer), edges of the universe, new universes (perhaps). Even our intelligence is being created and recreated. At a pace that seems to go faster and faster. Rather like the expanding universe. Who can tell?
Maybe 15 billion years from now scientists will conjecture this day (your day of reading this, if you have come this far) as Day One— the day of, someone smarter than the rest would say, the day of the “Big Bang.”
D IS FOR DEATH
It is much on our minds. We see it almost daily on television and read about it. It has become a part of life more than other time in history.
Fortunately the permanence of death was abolished by divine decree some 2000 years ago. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that is dead will live. One that lives, and believes in me, shall not die, forever.” He went on to” wake “up Lazarus. Lazarus was not the only one who He raised. “Young man, I say to you arise!” and a 12 year old sat up on his bier. “Maid arise!” and the maid, who He said was asleep, indeed awakened. Jesus Himself, after a sort of death that would have kept the average fellow dead for good, rose after three days.
Jesus won’t be conveniently around when most of us die. No matter, when we die it is not us that come to an end. It is the merely the world.
E FOR ECONOMICS
In the past, we used to build civilizations. Now we build “civilization” around shopping malls. So that we can shop till, as the advertising says, till we drop. If the world economy were built around this engine surely it leaves a whacking big number of us vulnerable to the greed of the few. The danger signals are when health, education and food are exploited. As they are. Come over here and have look at the slick adverts for those luxury hospitals and the chillingly expensive education that clearly creates a great divide. Today’s economics thrives on exploitation.
God’s economics is not constructed around “shop” but share. It gets more of a punch if it is accompanied by love and humility. He did not pick up the Nobel Prize. It was not sufficiently complex. Nothing confounding.
In Jesus Economics, we have been emphatically entrusted to care for our neighbors, whoever they may be. Economic harmony does depend on the “benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, the baker” and your goodwill to your brother.
F IS FOR FORGIVENESS
We are requested to unconditionally forgive those who offend us, 490 times. Or as much as God, unconditionally, forgives us as for our offences. And in return, in the Lord’s Prayer we do promise to forgive those who sin against us. This leaves us very little room to mess around with.
H IS FOR HEALER
I have observed that if the people in healing are skilled, medical costs can be reduced. If they are compassionate, medical costs can be halved. I have also observed that if people in healing have Faith, costs of medical care can be further reduced. If people who are ill, have Faith, medical costs can be even be affordable.
I think it is time the oath of Hippocrates was replaced with the promise of Jesus:”I am willing.” A Promise of effective, generous and compassionate health care. No conditions attached. No costs.
I IS FOR INTERESTING
God is generally considered boring. It is not often taken into consideration when we think about God; that He created the universe with a Bang that still resounds. Out of nothing. Life out of nothing. Inspired some of finest music in history, poetry, literature, art and sculpture. Pageants, drama, dance, Mardi Gras, joy. Innovations, remedies, learning, discoveries, brotherhood, love and compassion.
J IS FOR JUSTICE
God submitted Himself to our justice system. He was humiliated, tortured and crucified. Immeasurably worse than being electrocuted, lethally injected, hanged or shot. But as God’s Justice is synonymous with compassion He forgave the whole horrible bunch. Don’t be surprised if you meet the Pharisees and Sadducees, the mobs, the Roman soldiers, the followers that fled, Judas(possibly) and anyone else concerned, strolling about blissfully happy, in heaven.
K IS FOR KNOWLEDGE
I have always wondered how we ever learned to make chocolate. I have been in the chocolate business for over 20 years, you see. Three thousand or so years ago the Olmecs found, in their jungle backyard, these trees bearing interesting pods. Inside the pods they found gooey stuff in which were embedded beans. Inside the beans were nibs. Today the stuff from the pods makes millions of people happy. The Aztecs who had a lot to do with the progress of cocoa, called it the “Food of the Gods.”
How did we learn to make baguettes, cheese, and wine? How did we first find out that asparagus tastes good and cauliflower is fun? How did we eventually arrive at Indonesian fried rice?
I mean it is unlikely that one day you (or someone else long, long, before you) woke up and exclaimed, “Hey I know how to make risotto!” Who found the seeds? Who planted the rice? Who sat and waited many moons? Who harvested? Who was baffled and said “Now what?” Do you give all this a thought when you are eating your rice crispies?
Should we have been unguided, I shudder to think what we may be dining on tonight. Prayer before meals is apt, don’t you think? For that matter, prayers before you start your computer.
L IS FOR LAW
God gave us ten laws. As laws should simplified He, when He was on earth, summed them up with two. They were, “Love God”, and “Love your neighbor.” A lawyer will tell you (and perhaps even have the gall to charge you a hundred bucks), that these laws will be laughed out of court. They are absurd in jurisprudence. There are not enforceable. In fact, as if to prove a point, the Giver of these Laws, was executed not long after.
So of course God gets into the Guinness Book of Records for have propounded laws that are most broken in history.
M IS FOR MARY
Mary, mother of Jesus must have had a hard time. I can imagine the streams of people that must have found their way to the home of Mary and Joseph, to entreat either or both of them, to talk to Jesus on their behalf. It must been a terrible nuisance. Strangers knocking at the door at odd times, some camped in your yard trampling the dahlias, annoying Joseph in the middle of making a dining table, and so on. The sick carried on stretchers, the lame, the blind, the troubled, the lepers, the destitute, the debtors and the guilty. I don’t know about you but I would have gone too, had I been around then.
Mary and Joseph must have had to run out frequently on cups of water. Lots more fetching from well. More hurried trips to the baker and the local snack shop. I am sure however the couple did their best even if somewhat frazzled by all the intrusions. You and I would have called out the riot squad and had the crowd hosed.
It is easy to guess what Mary must have said to each one of them. She must have said, “I am sorry He is away. I don’t know where you can find Him right now. But I know that He hears you. He hears you, I know He does. You will be fine.” It must have been awfully comforting, to have her around.
N IS FOR NO
A “No” at the best is disconcerting. At the worst it is crushing. The enormous number of “No’s” I have flung at God must have been crushing. “No I am never going to forgive Cedric!” “No I am never going to lend Budi five bucks. Let the swine starve!” “Boy I am really going to screw Gilbert and make a fortune! Can’t stop and talk to You now!” But He has always waited behind the closed door and asked me out for lunch. I am of course generally open for lunch. God’s lunches may seem to lack the kind of punch we are used to at the downtown Four Seasons, but they are unbeatable in relieving stress. Must remember to ask for the recipe next time. I have emerged feeling a lot better for it. Zacchaeus comes to mind!
O IS FOR OMNIPOTENT OR OMNIPRESENCE.
Is God in Darfur? Is He in Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo, Burma, and India? His absence from these places makes us wonder if He cares. Or indeed if He exists. Wisely I have kept away from these places. So I cannot give first hand information if God was there or not. CNN, nor Aljazeera have not made any reports of the presence of God. Maybe there have been secret visits, who can tell?
Since Creation and to 2000 years ago God was immensely active in the affairs of men. Helping, laying down laws, feeding the hungry, rewarding the righteous and admonishing the wicked. However since Jesus took over it would seem that God have gone somewhat low key. Blending in with common folk. Gentler. Definitely more rewarding and far less admonishing.
A carpenter by training, poor as a church mouse, a healer with a sense unconditional compassion. Brutally executed for sedition. But today He is Head of an Empire that embraces three billion people from every country on earth. His omnipresence is evident in one out of every three persons in the world. At any given moment there are millions around the world pledging their allegiance with the prayer He taught His followers. What an omnipresent (omnipotent?) force for good we can be.
P IS FOR PRAYER.
Of all the gifts we have received from God, prayer is the most used, most frequently, by most people since the beginning of us. It is a SOS call which we use to seek help in despair, for medical aid, for legal aid, for good education for our children, for food and drink, for safety, during war for peace, for love or goodwill, for forgiveness, for Robert Mugabe to go, for help during the global economic crisis or for the most audacious of miracles.
If you think about it, it is the most technologically advanced line of communication known. And costs peanuts. Well actually faith in God. Faith as big (or small) as a mustard seed.
Q IS FOR THE QUESTION
BBC: This is question which everybody asks. The clergy, believers and non believers. You are known as the Compassionate God. Where were You during the war in Gaza, Darfur, where were You when suicide bombers blew up innocent civilians, where were You during the tsunami that raged through the Indian Ocean, where were You during 9/11? Why don’t you do anything about the suffering that goes on at this very moment around the world?
“I am asked questions like these at least a billion times a day. You know best of course, but if I may suggest your question should have been, why didn’t I prevent tragedies from happening?”
BBC: Alright right then, why didn’t you prevent them.
“Well in the very beginning you were given a perfect environment to inhabit. You were given complete dominion over your universe. Which you readily accepted. You were given ten laws to a perfect life. Which you discarded.”
“ Control of every single human action, singly or collectively is detrimental as you know since you have struggled vehemently against it among yourselves. You know Walter Lippmann put it rather well, “It is perfectly true that the government is best which governs least. It is equally true that the government is best which provides most.”
“The incidents you mentioned were results of many individual events, begun by individuals amongst you, which snowballed into catastrophes. They would never have happened if you loved your neighbor as yourself. When you have screwed it up, clean it up Stop shedding crocodile tears.”
BBC: But the deaths, the suffering, where is Your compassion?
“Death? It’s no big deal. There is no such thing. The victims of your catastrophes are safe in My Home. The suffering is solved quickly if you worked at it unquestioningly, unconditionally and with love. You have been given a great wealth of resources to eliminate suffering. But you governance is appalling. When it is beyond your means or your ability, I help.”
BBC: Let me switch track, is there life in other planets.
“Of course.”
BBC: When can we make contact?
“You have more pressing priorities. If you can’t live in peace in your own home, do you really want to let to run loose in the universe?”
R FOR RESSURECTION
I am not amazed that Jesus rose from the dead three days after he was executed. Being God, it was predictable. What I am surprised about is the way it happened. Quietly, discreetly. And with a bit of humor. The authorities were puzzled and thought the best thing to do was to shove it all under their carpets. Only His immediate circle of friends and relative were privy to the incredible happenings.
By 60AD the authorities both Roman, Jew and others of the region were getting uneasy. In the next a hundred year the Christian movement juggernauted throughout the civilized world. Largely headed by a motley bunch of guys. In time, there were schools, universities, hospices, orphanages, homes, refuges, hospitals, groups, associations, art, music, armies, Bono, Mother Theresa and churches. Today one in every three in the world is Christian. Not bad for something that was almost a non-event two thousand years ago. Maybe there is a lesson here: Resurrection not Revolution? Who knows?
S IS FOR SEX
Sex Is I am inclined to believe, after some study, is a tremendous gift so that we may understand the exquisite pleasure of creation and Creation. To mess around with it, we are learning, leads to undesirable and often fatal consequences. Funny, we have also been given the intellect to do possibly an infinite amount of things. Mess around with it and what happens? The equilibrium of the world gets screwed up, often fatally too. Again there is possibly a lesson in it somewhere. “Don’t look at a gift horse in the mouth?”
T IS FOR TRUTH
“What’s the truth?” asks Pilate. He does not stick around for the answer. He knew, having been told less than thirty seconds earlier. I know. Truth is something in your brain or somewhere. Maybe walking beside you. Try as we might to ignore Truth’s presence, it’s there, omnipresent. Even seems to prod you in the ribs when you stray. I know the feeling well. Awkward sometimes.
Truth has remarkable resilience. It never rusts nor deteriorates. Never changes. Never takes holidays.. I don’t know about you, but I find it astounding that I have this Companion for life.
T IS FOR TRINITY
The Trinity confuses a lot of people. The mystery of Three Persons in One God. Personally I have no problems reconciling with the concept. After all I am both father and son and within me breathe a spirit of expansive knowing. One that defies biological laws. God did declare that He created us in His own image.
U IS FOR UNIVERSE
Let’s agree, the Universe is awesome. It is infinite. Ageless. Creative. Unimaginably intelligent. Indestructible. Timeless. Protective. Forgiving. Healing. Inspiring. Beautiful. Awesome.
Now, I ask you, doesn’t that sound like God?
“The Universe,” said Henri Bergson “is a machine for making deities.” Or is the Deity the universe?
V IS FOR VAGRANT
If He wanted to He had the world, if not the Universe too, at his convenience. There could have been lunches with the likes of Donald Trumps of those days, Soros’s and Bush’s too. Motorcades and conferences in Rome. But He chooses instead to be a vagrant among vagrants. The sort, to put it in today’s context, security guards at shopping malls are directed to watch for and turn away firmly.
This Vagrant of two thousand years ago is now acknowledged the most influential Person in history. All I can say is, next time, don’t shoo off vagrants. Or sure as the sun rises tomorrow, you have cooked your goose. They are the chosen people.
W IS FOR WINE
I can never thank God enough for giving us the know-how to make wine. Make grapes flourish not only in Europe and the Mediterranean but also in Chile, Australia, and Africa and indeed even in India and Bali. I can never thank God for giving us the ability to understand that it is even good for us. And the intelligence to create Internet so that we can all learn how to make it at home.
X
X marks where the treasure. But don’t go looking in the hills for it. God has buried it in us. Leonardo da Vinci discovered nearly all of his treasure. He discovered that he had skills in mechanical engineering, architecture, mapmaking, painting, sculpturing, astrology, aerologic, botany, choreographing, paleontology, astrology and anatomy. I know there are many treasures buried in me. But unlike da Vinci I have not been able put any to maximum use or any use. Some, I have been using rather nefariously. I would appreciate if you keep that quiet.
Late in his life da Vinci is reported to have said, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the levels it should have.”
Y IS FOR “YES”
Imagine a day, just one day, when inexplicably everyone of earth, when they wanted to say,” No” said “Yes” instead, for all things of peace on earth and goodwill among men.
Dick Cheney to Osama bin Laden: “Yes of course dear fellow, I will give you one of my kidneys.”
Sr. General Than Shwe to Ban Ki-Moon:”Yes, we will release Aung San Suu kyi immediately! And the junta will push off to Switzerland. You guys take over.”
Hilary Clinton to Fidel and Raul Castro, “Yes we are friends. You are great guys. I have always admired you. Secretly of course. But you need a speech writer. I will send you one.”
Wein Jiabao to the Pope:”Yes since you ask we will convert all the casinos in Macau to free hospitals, free schools and universities, Old Age Homes, hospices, ballet and music theatres. Would you want a church or two?”
I searched the New Testament. Jesus never said “No”. Not even to Satan. He sought instead to enlighten Satan. Not that it did much good for poor Devil. But that’s God. Always willing and ever ready to help.
Z IS FOR ZACCHAEUS
Zacchaeus is one my favorite stories from the New Testament. Let’s get to the story. There was this scoundrel perched on a sycamore tree hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by. The crowd was too dense on the ground and Zacchaeus too short. Then an astonishing thing happened. Jesus turned sharply, walked up the sycamore tree and told the befuddled scoundrel to climb down because He was going to stay at Zacchaeus house that night.
It is something that happens to all of us scoundrels. God takes a deliberate turn to come to us. It is a chance to climb down and go with Him. God did it with Matthew, also a tax collector, and later with Paul. The thing is to be able to hear His call. We all get a clear opportunity, or opportunities, at times in our lives, to lay down our burdens of sin and follow Him.
HOW BIG (OR SMALL) IS A MUSTARD SEED?
In Java, where I have the good fortune to live, it is about 2mm in diameter. The mustard tree can grow to a height of 7 meters with spreading branches of foliage. The tree has an aura of generosity.. We find mention of the mustard seed of not just in our Christian Scriptures by also in Buddhist lore and in the Koran. It has made history by being a valued commodity in trade for centuries. It is an important ingredient in almost every noteworthy cuisine. What it does to a piping hot, hot-dog on a cold winter’s night is beyond words.
English mustard can bazooka a great blast from the back of your nose to your brain. French mustard can tease your palate. You can make good mustard yourself. The recipe is on the net.
