“Look at this stone”
“Look at this stone, it has been in the water for a very long time, but the water has not penetrated it. The same thing has happened to men in Europe. For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity, but Christ has not penetrated. Christ doesn’t live within them.”
~Cardinal Lamberto (The Godfather 3)
A few years ago, as I watched the movie remake of The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola (all three of them!), I was struck by what Cardinal Lamberto said in part three. I did not read the original novel by Mario Puzo though. It made me think of the church in Europe, Middle East, Americas and even here in Northeast India.
When a tree is growing, if there are thickets around it, it cannot grow fast. But when it grows over them, it grows fast, spreading its branches over the bushes and thickets that once hampered its growth. When Christians were persecuted during its early years, the number of Christians did not dwindle. But in fact, they became hardened, more faithful and pure.
During the third century, persecution of Christians came to an end with the coming into power of Constantine. With this new-found freedom, Christianity exploded and grew very fast. Though, it was a good thing; during the 10th to the 16th centuries, the quality of Christianity fell so much that it completely lost its purpose and meaning.
Christianity came to us in 1910. We were faced with much hardships and persecution in the beginning. But we were glad to bear it all in the name of Jesus. We did not have much, but we had Jesus.
But now, we have become rich and wealthy. We have grown in numbers too. But just look at the quality of our Christian lives. We hop around different churches with the hope of getting more money for ourselves. We heap criticisms upon our leaders and Pastors at their slightest mistakes. We neglect the church, we do not care to read the Bible, we have wandered so far away…
“Look at this stone, it has been in the water for a very long time, but the water has not penetrated it. The same thing has happened to men in Northeast India. For years they have been surrounded by Christianity, but Christ has not penetrated. Christ doesn’t live within them.”
Could this also be true for us today? I hope not. I pray not.
The Israelites were also under God’s guidance for centuries. But they neglected Him and were punished. Jerusalem fell and they were taken captives. Jeremiah lamented saying, “For vast as the sea in your ruin; who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen oracles for you that are false and misleading” (Lam. 2:13-14).
Let us think again.
Let us “arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord!” (Lam. 2:19).
