Reflections

Gospel for all People Acts 10:34-43 Reji Valiyakala, Long Island MTC, NY “Peter opened his mouth and said ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality but in every nation the men who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to him’”. “For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more” Jeremiah 31:34. If we believe and trust in the Almighty God we will see the Glory of God revealed. God showers His blessings to all His peoples, and shows no partialities towards them. The people, who fear Him and do what is right, is welcome to Him, and again He promises to us that to know the Lord is forgiveness of our iniquities and sins. We know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with the power and how He went about doing good and healing all that were suppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. All these passages give us the reassurance of God’s promises once we trust in Him, love Him and fear ...

Gospel for all People Isaiah 55:1-5 Leena A. Mathew  Long Island MTC, NY "Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God,    the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” The full portion of this Scripture is from the time when God’s people were under Babylonian exile. During the beginning of the chapter, the prophet addresses the thirstiness and hunger of his people. He is referring to a spiritual hunger and emotional thirst, even though the people were also needy for food, drink and material items. The prophet is alluding to feasting on God’s Word for free and receiving salvation. He also mentions the everlasting covenant between God and David which is still relevant to His people. It demonstrates how His steadfast love endures forever. According to our covenant with God, it is our responsibility as Christians to witness...

Gospel for all People    Luke 4:16-22 Rev Anil T Thomas  Vicar Atlanta Hermon Mar Thoma Church  Charlotte Mar Thoma Congregation  North Carolina Mar Thoma Church, Raleigh “He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Vs.21 This text tells us about the mission of Christ. His mission was to reach out to the poor, to deliver the captives, to restore sight to the blind, and to lift the downtrodden. In His first sermon delivered in the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus gives some detail to the nature of His mission. He tells us why He came to earth. Jesus stood to read in the synagogue, and read from Isaiah 61:1-2. After the reading Jesus said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." I. Preach the Gospel to the Poor  Jesus is deeply concerned about poor people who are impoverished economically. It does not mean that He is not concerned about the wealthy or the common people who a...

Repentance Leads to God’s Forgiveness. Jonah 3 Philip Manuel & Laila Anie Philip Carmel MTC, Boston When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:10) The Book of Jonah tells the story of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh but he tries to escape the divine mission.   1. Jonah’s second commission to Nineveh. God sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn them of the impending judgment because of their evil ways. Jonah obeyed the Lord the second time and proclaimed the message to the people.   2. Call for Repentance Jonah’s proclamation resulted in a real repentance and this repentance began from the bottom up. Though the Ninevites were Gentiles, they believed in the Hebrew God and heeded the warning. By the time the word reached the king, the city’s repentance was already well under way, but beca...

Equipping The People of God: Faith Hebrews 11:1-16   Roshan Varughese Epiphany MTC, NY v.13 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” Do you know what path you are going in life? Do you have a set goal or plan for the future? Are you at the end of your road and now just going on cruise control for the rest of your journey? Well the reality is, as long as you have breath in you, God’s not finished with you! There is always work for you to do. It is our Christian obligation and mission to spread the Word and be always ready to serve God. In order for us to be ready for our mission, we have to be mentally, physically and spiritually ready. The first aspect is having Faith. We should ask ourselves, what is faith? According to the dictionary, “it is the complete trust or confidence in someone or...

God is faithful to all the generations Psalm 99 Rev. Sonu Varughese Cross Way MTC, Dallas While I am pilgrim here Let your love my spirit cheer Be my guide, my guard, my friend Lead me to my journey’s end   Psalm 99 falls into three sections, the first two (1-3, 4-5) ending with the refrain, “Holy is He,” and the third (6-9) with, “Holy is the Lord our God.” Throughout the Psalm, the writer continually emphasizes the pervasive nature of God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness permeates to all generations. V.2 “ The  Lord  is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.” V. 6 “Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the  Lord , and he answered them. Are we able to understand the faithfulness of God in our life? Recently I read an article by Psychologist Mihalyi Csiksent Mihalyi on his research where people are asked to set their alarm on a random time when t...

Equipping the people of God Ephesians 3:1-13 Shaji Thomas Jacob Salem MTC, NY 5  In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6  that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Paul wrote to help his readers better understand the dimensions of God’s eternal purpose and grace. One of Paul’s theme is that of unity – all Christians are one family in Jesus, and they should act with love toward each other. The Jewish community believed that salvation belonged to them who strictly followed the testaments, but not the Gentiles. Paul clearly explains that the Gentiles are included in the God’s plan of salvation. The mystery has been revealed to the apostles, Paul has been charged to give this great news to the Gentiles and explain to the churches their new role and identity. ...

Equipping the People of God Deuteronomy 6:1-17 Betsy Mathew Epiphany MTC, NY “When the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to give you … be careful that you do not forget the Lord…” Deut 6:10-12   Have you ever felt overwhelmingly blessed?  That feeling that washes over you when you realize that you have so much more than you deserve?  Maybe it was the day you found out you got into the college you wanted to go to! Maybe it was the day you realized someone wanted to marry you and spend their life with you! Maybe it was the day your baby was born and you saw his or her tiny face and fingers for the first time! Maybe it was the day you when you stepped into your new home! Maybe it was the day you got that job you always wanted! Maybe it was the day you really realized you were loved by God – truly forgiven! This passage was written at a time like that.  The Israelites had finished wandering in the desert for 40 years and were abo...

Theological Education- Equipping the People of God John 12:20-26 Rev. Manoj Idiculla Vicar Carmel MTC, Boston “ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Vs.25 This passage is a turning point in the John’s gospel. Jesus performed all sorts of miraculous signs, which led the people flocking to see him. He fed the five thousand, gave sight to a man born blind, raised Lazarus from the dead and later He was anointed by Mary and given a king’s welcome as He rode into Jerusalem.  Jesus is predicting His death and giving this advice to His followers and hearers. There are three words used for life in Greek - Psuche, bios and zoe. By our natural birth, we human beings possess the soulish ( psuche ) life and the physical ( bios ) life. But when we believe in Jesus Christ, we experience the divine life ( zoe ).  This brings us back to God’s original intention for us, which is tha...

People of God: Ambassadors of Christ 2 Timothy 2:1-13 Joann Johnson St. John’s MTC, NY 18 “Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”  Do you ever feel like you need God to restore your life at times? If you do, know that you’re not alone. We may have this need of restoration because something has been missing in our lives. There are moments where we feel that our life is complete but it can be quickly overshadowed by the thought that we have a greater purpose that has yet to be accomplished. When we feel that something is missing or diminished in our life, it triggers different thoughts in our minds. We begin to feel restless, lost and helpless and try to come up with solutions to get rid of this feeling. As I was reading the Bible passage, the verse mentioned above, “Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved” stood out to me the most. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s mentioned ...