Reflections

Invitation to Christ's hospitality Psalms 15 Vs 1  “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?”   It is probable that King David wrote this psalm after his failed attempt to bring the Ark of the Lord to Zion (2 Samuel 6). Awed by the holiness and magnificence of the presence of God, He ponders this question, who would be worthy of entering God’s presence and to enjoy a fellowship with Him? David goes on to describe a man who is righteous and blameless in all his ways. One who would never slander others or do wrong to his neighbor. A man who leads a kind of life that seems beyond what any of us could ever accomplish. The good news is that, God provided the answer to this through His Son Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).              ...

Christ’s Invitation to Hospitality Genesis 47:1-12 v12 “And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all father’s house hold with food, according to their little ones”. In the Old Testament, hospitality is closely connected with recognition of God's lordship and covenant loyalty. In  Genesis 18 , Abraham entertains three guests, one of whom is the Lord. And the Lord promises Abraham a son. So hospitality is often associated with promise and blessing. The widow of  Zerephath provides hospitality for Elijah when facing starvation herself in  1 Kings 17 , prompting God to provide food and drink for her during the most difficult time. We can see the importance of hospitality in several places in the Old Testament along with its blessing. Consider Joseph sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. He received his father and brothers with great care and love when they came to Egypt, during the time of famine, for help. Again and again, acts of hospitality or inho...

CHRIST’S INVITATION TO HOSPITALITY Hebrews 13:1-10 Vs  2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers.  The book of Hebrews was written to a group of first century Christians who were in  danger of giving up their faith. Many new converts mainly Jewish Christians were put to test. They were exposed to fierce persecution, physically assaulted and thrown into prison. Some of them accepted this with joy but many were wavering in their newfound faith in Christ. It is to this audience that the author convinces in this epistle not to turn back their backs on Christ and his teachings but to press on with confidence. In this passage for our meditation today the author emphasizes three aspects the early Christians shall be careful and aware of in their lives. Hospitality to others, love or greed for money and our attitude and the solemnity of marriage are the three vices he wants us to be careful. We are created by God for a purpose to be fulfilled in this world. We s...

Christ's invitation to hospitality Romans 12:9-16 Vs 13  Contribute  to the needs of  the saints and seek to show hospitality.                     In this scripture portion, the apostle  Paul  describes different ways  to practice  sincere  love in a Christian perspective, with sincerity,discernment, honoring others,  enthusiasm,  patience, generosity,  humility,  sympathy, kindness and hospitality.  When we are able to mix them together, they form God's love,  which is perfect  and  unconditional.  We  are called to  practice love to the fallen world.                    Hospitality means  a friendly and  generous reception to invite  people into your life situations.  It also ...

Christ's invitation to hospitality Genesis 18:1-10 Vs 3 " O Lord if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant ”. In the winter of 2009, there was a wedding planned in a rural town in Philadelphia. Arrangements were being done in the last 2 years and day has arrived. Guests from far and near arrived and were lodged in a hotel 20 miles away from where the ceremony and reception was supposed to take place.  Unfortunately the wedding day was bombarded with a blizzard and traffic was completely blocked. People were not allowed to leave their hotel as it was dangerous. Since there was no other option other than conducting the wedding in the hotel where they were all staying, the bride and groom approached the hotel managers and sought their mercy and help. They were in despair and told the hotel authorities if they can arrange everything including the reception in their grand ball room. Seeing their dilapidated condition and out of their great hospitali...

Christ’s invitation to Hospitality John 21: 1 – 14 v.12-13. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.  Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This text describes the third appearance of Jesus to his disciples after the resurrection. Here we see Jesus reinstating the disciples with a new emphasis in discipleship. Even in the difficult situation Jesus’ hospitality has been seen here.  It is at the Galilean shore that some of the disciples heard the first call of Jesus. 1. Jesus is seen as seeking his disciples who were a desperate situation. Seven of the disciples were in the disappointments of their vocation. In order to make a possible existence, they opted the easiest way out by going back to their familiar trade. They were commissioned by Jesus to be the catchers of men instead of being the catchers of fish. They were backsliding from their given ...

Christ is the Lord and God for us Genesis 28:10-22  Vs. 13-14: "And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord , the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring."  As we are going through this season of uncertainty and confusion because of the pandemic, there are many questions and doubts which can easily come to one's mind. It is easy because that is the nature of mankind. We see it repeatedly in scripture, God continually blesses His people yet in the times of trial, we lose faith and start to doubt God and His will for us. In Genesis 28, we see Jacob having a vision from the Lord where He reminds him the promise which He made with his forefathers. God promised ...

Christ is the Lord and God for us Revelations 1:1-8 Vs 5, 6  “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” As we continue to navigate life in these historic times under COVID-19, one may wonder if we’re in the midst of the Christian Apocalypse. After all, we’ve seen the disparity of suffering on various socio-economic levels, massive disruptions & inequalities in our economy infrastructure, education & health systems. Our families and friends have experienced illness and death at catastrophic levels, businesses & systems are increasingly stressed, and this pandemic continues to thrust the world to coin a new normal. Could what feels like an indefinite season of world-wide suffering point to a larger...

Christ is the Lord and God for Us Psalms 40 Vs  1-3: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him”. The hardest thing to do during the worst of times is to think of the “blessings”, or to be “positive”. Whenever I’ve heard that said to me, I wanted to say, “Let me grieve, I want to wallow!”. There are a lot of people going through many forms of pain and grief in this uncertain time of COVID-19: depression, sickness, unemployment, loss of a loved one are among the many. I don’t think there is a single human being with the words to offer comfort to any of these individuals. And no, it is not a sin to grieve! Sometimes, God teaches us the most through our afflictions, trials and sufferings; it helps to strengthen our fa...

Christ is the Lord and God for us Colossians  1:15-23 Vs 17  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together We’ve all been traversing through a time of uncertainty and chaos with COVID-19 well over a month now. Everything, whether family and/or friends, our career, all that gave us a sense of identity and worth has indefinitely been placed on hold. We have been confined to our homes, feeling incapacitated. Many of us who call ourselves followers and believers of Christ seem to have lost hope and are questioning God as to why this is happening to people who have been faithfully praying and attending church and seemingly doing the right things. Not one of us, in our wildest imaginations thought we would ever have to observe passion week without partaking in the services, be unable to participate in Holy Communion on Passover before we celebrate Easter with Christ’s elements and then go on to be with our families and friends. The very first Easter was simila...

Christ is the Lord and God for us. Colossians 3:1-11 Vs  3 “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” As Christians we always feel that we’re strong enough to handle all that breaks our spirit. But that’s not the case; I believe our father gives us challenges to make sure our faith is strong. However, we tend to hide behind our sins. The passage also reminds us how when we’re weakest that’s when we are brought to our knees. Verse 2 says, “Set your mind on things above,”. Our God is reminding us to not focus on the negative. Our God knows how weak we become but that our weakness draws us back to him. I’m reminded of the song “Dare you to move” by Switchfoot. The lyrics are as follows: “I dare you to lift yourself up from the floor” Each time I hear these words, I’m reminded that my Father and my God is watching over me. We should be so appreciative of God giving us a reminder he’s watching from above. Despite our sins and how we feel underserving of our Fat...

Christ is the Lord and God for us – The Blame Game Genesis  3:13-17 Vs 13  Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” A few days ago, I noticed my friend had posted the following question on social media: “Three kids, all causing trouble in the house and playing around which leads to something breaking. Who gets in trouble?” The answer, “all three kids.” Growing up, my brother Ryan and I would inevitably do something to get in trouble. It was usually preceded by a warning from our parents which we’d usually disregard. Unfortunately for the both of us, it didn’t matter who started it, who caused it, who was the first one or who was the last one. We would both be punished. As the sons of Malayalee parents, I’m sure you have a very good idea as to what our punishments were. This passage is about the “First Sin.” The serpent approaches the woman and asks about the trees she can eat from in t...