water and flowers

The previous thoughts on the twelve disciples made me recall one of my favourite early apostle stories:

St. Thomas reputedly arrived in India aboard a Roman trading vessel in 52 AD, landing on Kerala, the southwestern region on the Malabar coast. Thomas raised the first cross in India and performed one of his earliest miracles: When he encountered a group of Brahmans throwing water into the air as part of a ritual, he asked why the water fell back to Earth if it was pleasing to their diety. “My God”, Thomas said, “would accept such an offering”. He then flung a great spray into the air, and the droplets hung there in the form of glistening white blossoms. Most onlookers converted on the spot; the rest fled… To this day, no orthodox Brahman will take a bath in Palur.