A social revolutionary, he was someone that
I admired not just for what he had achieved in his short life but how he overcome
prejudices even before he was born. For his mother was a young teenage
girl who became pregnant whilst unmarried. In their very conservative traditional
society, this would have meant being stoned to death. But her fiancée saved her from such a fate by marrying her even though he knew that the baby was not his.
Born into poverty, the child was forced to
flee with his parents from their homeland to escape certain death at the hands
of religious extremists. The
refugee family later returned to their village and lived quietly for many
years. But later in life, the son became a target for the political and
religious establishment when he started to travel around the country as a
leading advocate for pacifism, religious tolerance, women’s rights, respect for
children, and for a egalitarian classless society in order to end the economic
exploitation of the masses by a wealthy clerical and political elite. Women and
men flocked to open air rallies to hear him speak. His exploits were legendary:
he once through his words saved a woman accused of adultery from being stoned
to death by a group of fundamentalists. He befriended criminals, the sick, the
poor, social outcasts, peoples of different faiths as well as members of the hated
occupying army and their compliant state officials. He condemned the hypocrisy of the all-powerful religious
establishment who felt threatened by his ideology. They constantly harassed
him, tried to break up his meetings, planted spies amongst his followers. Ever
the pacifist, even when he was physically threatened, he never allowed his
followers to use physical force to defend him. But his enemies finally got him arrested on trumped-up
charges of being both a blasphemer and an enemy of the state. He was condemned
to a slow agonising death by a jeering crowd whipped up into a frenzy by
clerics saying he had insulted their religion.
During his lifetime and since his death, some people have referred to him as a prophet, others say he was the son of God and there are those who
think he was mad and delusional. I though over the years have been inspired by
the radical progressive teachings of love, respect, liberty, equality and
justice that were taught by this poor Jewish man from Galilee. Though I never
met him, I would like to think that Jesus was a friend of mine.
May I extend New Year greetings of peace
and goodwill to all my friends who are Muslims, Jews, atheists, Pantheists, Hindus, Buddhists, Druze, agnostics, Bahai’s and
Christians. The cultural diversity and religious differences that we share strengthens
our friendship.
Áthbhlianfaoi mhaise daoibh.
Áthbhlian
