Reflections

Empowering Fellowship   Psalms 146   Matthew George   Carmel MTC, Boston, MA V5. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.   Christian fellowship is an important part of our faith. Coming together as a faith community allows us to support one another, gain strength and reflect upon God’s love for humankind. Being present in fellowship with other believers helps us to build strength in order to face adverse circumstances in life and also reinforces the fact that we are not alone in this world. More importantly, fellowship helps us to grow in our faith. Psalm 146 states that praises are due to God for what He is and what He does. Both Jews and Christians revere this Psalm. In Judaism this Psalm in its entirety is recited daily during their celebration of ‘Pesukei Dezimra’. Also, during the middle ages, this Psalm was recited by Christians during the Vespers on Thursday, according to the rule of St. Benedi...

PROMISING FELLOWSHIP    Genesis 18:1-16 Pradeep John Connecticut Mar Thoma Congregation 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”   In today’s world, unbelief and laughing at God’s promises is what we see all around. Even though we go to church and read God’s word, do we stand firm and unwaveringly believe in God’s promises to us or do we just perform all our spiritual works and rituals because someone told us to?   In this passage we see Abraham inviting strangers by showing proper respect and preparing a good meal. We see here that Abraham was a good host even to strangers. The Bible tells us that “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2).   In the Bible many of God’s promises and miracles are done during a fellowship meal with hospitable people. We s...

Celebrating the Good News St. Luke. 1:39-45 Rev Denny Philip Carmel MTC, Boston Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Christmas is the celebration of people going through intense emotions confronting diverse experience. May it be the pain of Mary or joy of the shepherds; the emotions are at its peak. Meeting of Elizabeth and Mary marks the most meaningful Christian fellowship of human history. It is this fellowship that equipped Mary to give birth to the son of God. The experience of a girl getting pregnant outside wedlock is considered the most wretched thing in any culture. No human brain can explain or comprehend Mary’s experience. No one would be able to understand her. It has never happened in history. Science fails to explain it. For her religion there is no other verdict but to stone her to death. So there is no one in her vicinity, who could understand and be ...

Rejoice in His Love John 15:9-17 Dr. George Jacob   St. Peter’s MTC , NJ John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment just before He went to the cross. They were to love one another as He had loved them. The Bible openly and repeatedly teaches that no Christian can have fellowship with God without fellowshipping with other believers. We know that we cannot walk with God if we do not walk in love with our fellow believers. For example, the cross on which Jesus died had two planks – a vertical and a horizontal one. Jesus came to bring peace not only between man and God (vertically) but also between man and man (horizontally) .We have to understand that the vertical and the horizontal relationship should go hand in hand. We cannot have the former if we ignore the latter. If we cannot love our own brother, how can we love the invisible God? The love of Jesus Christ, we have been seeing is no...

Rejoice In His Grace 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Alex Thomas & Susan Alex, MD Atlanta MTC  9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me .   In Eph. 2:8-9 we read that, "For it is by Grace you have been saved through faith...It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast". We all are sinners (Rom. 3:23). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). God, by His Grace, let His son die on the cross to pay our penalty for our redemption. The fact that we are saved by the Grace is the greatest reason for rejoicing in His Grace. God first turned to us, in spite of our iniquities, not because we deserve it, but because He is good. Grace is the undeserved, unmerited, free favor God gives us to respond to His call. "Grace is the participation of the divine nature into the human nature".  It is by Grace that ...

Rejoice:  We are Blessed with Spiritual Blessings Habakkuk 3:17-19 Daniel Thomas Orlando MTC, Orlando, FL 18. yet I will rejoice in the Lord;  I will exult in the God of my salvation.   Life in this imperfect world, populated by fallen people, gives rise to plenty of heart wrenching questions.  Why does God seem to allow violence and injustice to go unpunished?   Why do so many helpless people have to suffer endlessly? Well, we don’t have to understand or question everything that is happening in the world around us as long as we trust in the One who is sovereign over everything.  We can choose, as Habakkuk did, to trust the Lord regardless of the trying circumstances we, or those we love, are dealing with.  Nothing needs to stop us from rejoicing in God.  C.H. Spurgeon says, “They who love God with all their hearts, find that His ways are ways of pleasantness and all His paths are peace.  Such joys, such brim-...

Rejoice: We are elevated to the Sonship Galatians 4:1-7   Dr. N. P. John Orlando MTC, Orlando, FL 7. So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.   What a privilege and blessed experience it is to be elevated to the sonship and then the heir of Thy kingdom  through Christ because we are all under the bondage of this carnal world. He redeemed us with His blood on Calvary to proclaim His glory and enjoy the bliss of the eternity with Him.   In this passage  St. Paul was trying to dispute and convince the Jews about their wrong  ideas of Christianity, and trying to make a steadfast attempt to rectify their mistakes. Emphatically he claims that the law was given to them only till Jesus; “For Christ is the end of  the law for righteousness to  every-one who believes.” (Rom 10: 4.) Not only that, he gave a comparison of a child to a servant even though the child is the he...

Rejoice: God Dwells in Our Midst    Zechariah 2:10-13 Dr. Thomas Philip & Elcy Philip Orlando MTC, Florida 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. 11 Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.   Our God delights to dwell among His people. That is the reason for us to rejoice. We can see God's desire to be with His people as a common thread in the Bible from creation in Genesis all the way to “a new heaven and a new earth” in Revelation 21. God had visited Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen 3:8). During the exodus God guided the people of Israel in the wilderness as a pillar of cloud during the day and fire during the night (Exodus 3:21). Later on God asked Moses to build a tabernacle (sanctuary) as a place of His dwelling among the people (Exodus 25:8). Prophe...

Thankfulness and Thanksgiving: A Retrospection Psalm 116: 12 - 13 Abraham Mattackal MTC of Los Angeles, CA 12 What shall I return to the Lord     for all his bounty to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation  and call on the name of the Lord   The Diocese of North America & Europe is celebrating November 22 as Diaspora Sunday. This is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. What do these two celebrations have in common?   395 years had elapsed since the early English settlers, “pilgrims” as they are often called, first celebrated Thanksgiving at Plymouth, Massachusetts in the fall of 1621. What were these early English settlers thankful for?  First, they were the same "Separatists who left England for Holland towards the beginning of the 16"century at the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Second, the pilgrims landed at Plymouth at the worst time of the year- in December 1620. The fierce winter of New England ...

ANNUNCIATION TO VIRGIN MARY Luke 1 :26-38 REV SONY PHILIP St. Andrew's MTC NY & Ebenezer MTC NY 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. Mary is the protagonist in the Christmas story. She witnesses the formation of the slaughtering lamb in her womb, and through this lamb, God Almighty is going to take away the sins of world. There is no doubt God has taken great care in selecting this human vessel to be the mother of Jesus. This meditation is focussed on the qualities of Mary that made her an  outstanding woman of God. 1. Humility:The call to take on the prestigious position of the mother of the son of God does not make Mary proud. Instead she considers herself as the servant o...

Revelation: Calling from the Hatred Acts 9:3-9 Jensen Varghese 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. A bombing at a funeral in Baghdad; A double suicide bombing in Beirut, Coordinated terrorist attacks in the city of Paris. Last week was filled with chaos and bloodshed throughout the world. And now in the wake of that horrible violence, the nations of the world are mourning the loss of life, while also trying to grasp how and why these tragic events occurred. Across the globe, people are also demanding that those responsible for these vicious acts be brought to justice. In the aftermath of the violence, with emotions running high, sentiments of fear, intolerance, and even hatred are being directed at people of Middle Eastern descent, as well as adherents of Islam. As Christians, we must realize that this is wrong. God made all humankind in His likeness; therefore we must recognize God in all people. Failing to do so would h...