“He broke the coconut!” an Indian pastor said in disgust. He was referring to a former fellow-pastor who had blatantly abandoned the Lutheran practice of church fellowship. The man was running for public office, and while campaigning in a Hindu community, “He broke the coconut!”
Among Hindus the coconut is a sacred fruit. To break one open during a worship service (like a wedding) or in celebration of a special event (like ground-breaking for a house construction) is to acknowledge that one’s prideful ego must be broken and one must humbly submit to a Hindu god. For a Christian, especially a pastor, to perform such a ritual publicly is a practical denial of allegiance to the one true Triune God, and an acceptance of one or more of the many false Hindu deities.
Christians acknowledge that we are sometimes tempted to deny our Savior by the way we act or speak. During the Lenten season we are reminded to repent of all sin. Seeing again the faithfulness of our Savior despite his suffering is a sharp rebuke for every failing. But still we can sing, “Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee. On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, #561). God promises that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (I John 1).
Note: Drinking coconut juice on hot days is thought to naturally lower body temperature!
Coming mid-summer: on-line World Mission Souvenir Bible study material.
The ELS relationship with the Lutheran Mission of Salvation-India is conducted by the Asia Committee of the Board for World Outreach.
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