Category Archives: Arts

Arts, Books, Culture

Book Review: The Covenant of Water

REVIEW & SYNOPSIS

FROM the bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial new epic of love, faith, and medicine. It is set in Kerala and follows three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.

The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new historical fiction novel by Abraham Verghese. His previous work, Cutting for Stone, published in 2009, became a literary phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast. It follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person perishes from drowning – and in Kerala, water is everywhere. The family is part of a Christian community that traces itself to the time of the apostles, but times are shifting, and the matriarch of this family known as Big Ammachi – literally “Big Mother” – will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life.

On display in this new work are all the great writing gifts of Verghese: there are astonishing scenes of medical ingenuity, great moments of humour, and the characters are imbued with a sense of life. It is a surprising and deeply moving story.

The Covenant of Water is a shimmering evocation of a lost India and of the passage of time itself. It is also a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding: a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today.

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Arts, Christianity, Culture

Tough guy weighs up the risks

OLD TESTAMENT

A narrative on Ezekiel 2,3 –

FROM John Wayne to other characters like James Bond, the tough guy who wins through is a familiar figure of fiction. We need heroes like that, even if they are make-believe. We all face challenges, and we need the inspiration to overcome them.

Ezekiel is among the Old Testament prophets and belongs in the Babylonian exile. It is known that Jeremiah worked in Jerusalem at the same time (between 597 and 573 BC) and his message is similar to that of Ezekiel’s in places.

Ezekiel is the biblical tough guy more than the strong man Samson (Judges 13-16). Ezekiel is the dogged, never-say-die guardian of truth who sticks to his spiritual guns. Samson was like a grunting Sumai wrestler performing tricks, but whose personal and spiritual life was a mess.

It seems from this passage that Ezekiel was temperamentally independent, not easily swayed by others. But he still needed to be prepared for his assignment. He is warned that it will be hard, that he will face opposition, and that he will be ostracised (2:4-6; 3:4-9). Ezekiel must count the cost.

And so do we. We will know of many people offering themselves for neither a sinecure nor an ego trip. That is often rewarding, but it will also be tough. People called to witness in the secular world through ordinary jobs, for instance, find it no less demanding. Ethical issues can be fudged easily when we do not wish to rock the boat. We should count the cost from the beginning.

Ezekiel is given God’s word to sustain him in a vision and finds it “sweet”. (So did John, but it turned his stomach because God’s word is hard as well as nourishing; Revelation 10:9,10). Tough guys need the correct diet. We will not survive the battle without God’s sustenance; giving time to his word can be as enjoyable and is certainly as essential as a good meal.

(Podcast ends)

MODEL SHEPHERD

Later, in Ezekiel (34:11-31), we come across what can only be paraphrased as the Model Shepherd. This is the Old Testament root of the familiar teaching of Jesus in John 10: “I am the good shepherd”. It tells us both about God and life.

In biblical times, sheep grazed on open hillsides and wandered over large distances. Flocks could get split up, and mixed with others. Rounding them up was not easy. Judah has been scattered, so God promises to “round them up” and bring them home to Jerusalem from Babylon.

This is a promise for people who belong to God in any age but who drift from him. He organises a rescue mission to bring us back to himself. He may use our conscience, other people or circumstances. Thank him for his love and patience; but mourn that it is ever necessary.

Notice, too, that punishment is reserved for those who led the sheep astray (v 16). Jesus also warned us of the peril of being the cause of other people’s spiritual divergences, whether by word or by example (Luke 17:1,2).

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Arts, Christianity, Culture

Claiming prophecy doesn’t make it true

OLD TESTAMENT

A narrative on 1 Kings 13 –

THE opinion polls suggest that people in the West are highly sceptical about the truthfulness of politicians and journalists. Yet, at the same time, they believe what they see and hear to the extent that even if an alleged scandal is subsequently found to be false, belief in its truth remains.

Christians can be as gullible as anyone else. Rumours about leaders or organisations are seized on and circulated with vigour and often persist for years despite regular denials.

Anyone hearing anything about anyone ought perhaps, as a spiritual discipline, read this chapter of the Bible before passing the information on. It is a tragic story of a well-meaning, earnest believer who is duped by an apparently well-meaning and earnest believer, and as a result loses his life.

The tragedy is greater because the first prophet correctly heard God’s word, and boldly confronted Jeroboam. He was brave, obedient and faithful. But then he failed to discern the lie (v 18) from the old man who was also a genuine prophet at times. Like most people, however, the older man was not above misusing his gifts.

Today, millions of messages flash around the earth at the speed of light. There was never a time when discernment was more needed. If the prophet could be deceived by just one message, we could be deceived by hundreds. The moral of the tale is that we are to listen carefully to those who suggest that God may have changed his mind. He never has, but evil – as we so frequently see and witness – is often disguised as deception.

Prophecy, or any alleged “word” from God is to be tested not only by leaders (1 Corinthians 14:29) but also by Scripture. It should be taken so seriously that it is never believed until it has been checked; and should never be removed from its original context. Scripture will certainly give you the answer.

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