"If you have the courage to step outside of your comfort zone, you will not only be amazed by the marvel and sights of the world, but also with the wonders that lay deep within yourself." - Rosanna Ienco

We find new ground, new territory as the year begins, moving on from some of the more commercial aspects that have accompanied this journey, and finding ourselves in very complex and distant territories. Tonight, for example, the BBC radio broadcast a program about the plight of the Devadasi in India. When we think of reaching the whosoever's of the world, the outcast, those that society and castes disregard and abuse, it gives rise to a serious question: How do you bridge this distance, and communicate the liberating message of Christ? By what means?

After all, Jesus is the one who reintroduced the poetic words of the prophet Isaiah to his time, dramatically, and with equally dramatic response. These words became the foundation of the message that he brought to his time and to ours.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners." (Isaiah 61:1)

 
Recently, we began a project in Pakistan and this has provided at least one concept. Seraphine Shabaz (photo above) and her team have completed an Urdu and Punjabi translation of The Words. Here in the United States, we are producing Bhangra music that will then be mixed with vocals from Pakistani singers. The final results are being released in the market places on cassette and CD.

This is one means of sharing a message that crosses the bridges between the words of Jesus and Islam. Certainly not a facile transition, but promoting peace and the idea that we are all part of God's family, and that grace and forgiveness can take place, regardless of the culture. Mercy, liberation, concepts that human minds often resist, can happen as the spirit gives life to the words and message that Jesus brought to this world.

Seraphine said this about the project in an email from Pakistan: "Bhangra Music project will be a wonderful tool to share the words of Jesus for Urdu, Punjabi, Sareikie and Sindhi illiterate people and that will be very interesting for them. Our leaders and potential leaders already shared with the people about Bhangra project. The audio is a great opportunity, to spread The Words when many can't read."

In closing, a comment from a friend tonight, a suitable close to this blog, in a paraphrase of my own: "We should stand up for one another, give counsel, help in adversity, safeguard reputations, refuse to hear ill, share triumphs, and ignore faults."


- Lee Cantelon
Hollywood, California