Some of the most powerful sermons are never preached from pulpits, they are lived out in everyday moments, in taxis, queues, offices, and homes. This New Year, my sermon came from the front seat of an Uber in Chicago.
I had entered the wrong address, and so was taken to the wrong destination. The kind of mistake that usually invites irritation and a lecture on time and money. Instead, the driver smiled, reassured me not to worry, that he knew Chicago even without a GPS, and happily took me home, though it was a longer route for him.
No complaint. No calculation of loss. Just calm competence and kindness.
We spoke about faith on the drive, and we discussed something and those words have stayed in my mind, ‘That our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.’
And in his patience, he did not preach his religious belief to me. He lived it. And that, more than any sermon, made his faith credible.
We live in an age of loud belief. Faith is announced on social media, stickers, slogans, and angry storming of another’s religious place of worship. Is that what your God or mine tells me to do? We want people to believe in our faith without the discipline of behaviour.
This year, why not reverse that?
Whatever faith we claim in our country, let us manifest it in how we live.
Not by defending God with violence, but by reflecting Him through love. Because the truth is simple and uncomfortable, that the reputation of a religion today rests largely on its followers.
Does your religion teach peace? Then violence carried out in its name doesn’t give it a good name.
Does it teach tolerance? Then hatred and anger are a poor advertisement.
Does it teach mercy? Then cruelty becomes a public embarrassment for faith.
Let every believer be an ambassador this year. And remember that careless ambassadors damage the very cause they claim to represent.
The world is tired of arguments about whose God is right. It is hungry for evidence that belief makes people better. That evidence does not come from quoting scripture or imposing belifes through the state, but from living values.
The Vedic scriptures speak of dharma and right living. The Koran speaks of mercy and justice. The Bible speaks of love that is patient and kind.
Does it work? It all depends on what people see in you.
My Uber driver here in Chicago, reminded me that faith is tested not in churches or temples but in attitude, not in prayers but in kindness, not in sermons but in gracious actions.
This year, let your life preach.
Be patient. Be kind. Be fair. Be tolerant.
Let people encounter your faith before they ever hear about it.
Live your faith and do not let your God down.
If you can do this, let me wish you a ‘ Happy New Year..!’