The Best of all is God with us

 The "Arrestable" Jesus At the time of writing this reflection, the Sri Lankan Society is debating the arrest of people on various charges. Some seek legal intervention to avoid being arrested. Others flee the country and go into hiding. Those with high connections have got away without arrest. I was moved to reflect on how Jesus faced his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, which I believe will be thought-provoking for us. The arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is recorded in all four Gospels of the New Testament. However, John (the writer of the 4th Gospel) presents the arrest of Jesus from a different perspective (John 18:1–11). He does not mention Judas' betrayal kiss. Instead, he records that "…. Judas brought a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. They arrived at the garden carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons." The opposing forces had come together with Judas for the nighttime arrest of Jesus, the Messiah. Th

                                                                                                       A self-proclaimed prophet who is building up a cult in Sri Lanka has caused a huge uproar because of derogatory comments he made about Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. This is not the only incident of this nature. We have had extremist Buddhist monks with political agendas attack the beliefs of Christians and Muslims. Sadly, the authorities haven't done much to bring them to book. Sri Lanka is a country where Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity are practised by its people. If we allow these irresponsible behaviours, we will be playing into the hands of those who are waiting to destroy interreligious harmony and understanding in our land. The time has come for all of us (of the four religions) to ask, "How could one talk about his faith with a person of another faith in an inoffensive manner?" Sharing what you believe is not easy. There are sacred truths that ar