Reflections

                            Participation in Divine Mission Luke 10:1-10 Once upon a time, a shoe company sent two salesmen to Africa to determine the market potential for their products. One salesman was sent to the east coast of Africa, while the other salesman was sent to the west coast of Africa. Both the salesmen completed a basic survey of the target market and called back to the office. The salesman sent to the east coast of Africa reported: “No one here wears any shoes, there is no market for us here!”. The other salesman sent a message “No one here wears any shoes, there is a huge harvest for us, send more people and inventory fast!”. Dear friends, identifying the harvest is one of the great tasks in a mission.  Jesus often spoke to people ones in agricultural terms. In His addressal, while commissioning the ‘seventy-two’ apostles (the one who is sent), Jesus describes His mission through an allegory of ...

  Participation in Divine Mission Acts 11: 19-26 V.21- “ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to God.” A seed only has potential when it grows. Keeping the seed hidden, not planting it, takes away the potential it has to offer. How large or how much fruit can this tiny seed produce? First, a little background Who is Stephen and what was the persecution about? Stephen was a deacon and the first Christian martyr (29 years old) - he was stoned to death by the Jews for his faith in Jesus. The Jews persecuted Christians. Christians were arrested, imprisoned, tortured and executed for their faith. Why was Barnabas sent to Antioch? Barnabas was sent to Antioch to foresee the movement of Christianity. When he got there he was filled with the Holy Spirit and saw what the grace of God had done. Barnabas saw what was happening and he encouraged them. Why did Saul (Paul) get invited? Barnabas needed Paul's help to spread the Gospel. Finding Paul ...

  Participation in Divine Mission Exodus 3:1-14 One time I was in a Youth Fellowship meeting, and we were discussing if we had a supernatural and dramatic encounter with God (e.g., an angel appeared, or God met us in a storm), and gave us a mission to fulfill, will we obey? One person, without any doubt and hesitation, said, “If we had that type of experience, then Yes, for sure. There’s no doubt about it.” I was thinking afterward that if I ever had that encounter my response would be the same.  In today’s passage, we read about Moses’ burning bush experience. Moses understood that God wanted to use him for his mission to save Israelites from Pharaoh and take them to the land that flows with milk and honey. If it was my friend, he would have readily accepted the mission and would have been on his way. However, it was intriguing to see that Moses hesitated and started reasoning with God. He provided multiple excuses, such as his status (v. 11), asking God’s identity (v. 13), p...

  Participation in Divine Mission Romans 16: 1-16 V.16  “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.” Romans 16 is considered the final passage in Paul’s long letter to the Christians in Rome. Verses 1-16 is his greetings to specific people in Rome. It includes a list of two dozen groups of people that Paul wants his readers to greet him in Rome.  He starts the greetings by directing a servant of the church Cenchreae, Phoebe who is a patron to Paul. Verse 16, states, “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.” Here Paul has concluded his greetings to the people. At the end of his letter he urges them all to greet each other with a holy kiss. Paul was known to end his letters this way.  It was practiced in the early church as a way of confirming the sibling bond of love between believers in Christ. Paul also offers general greetings to the church in Rome from all the Christian churches he has been...

  Participation in Divine Mission Amos  7 :12-17 V.15 “I am not a prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me. "Go prophesy to my people Israel". I am sure many of us have faced a time when we needed to speak up against a higher authority whether it's at school/college or work.  It probably was not an easy task and more than likely nerve wracking.  Amos the prophet was in a similar situation where he had to stand up for God and against the priest Amaziah in Bethel and King Jeroboam II.   During the reign of King Jeroboam II , Israel was in a time of prosperity and relative peace.  During this time King Jeroboam installed a golden calf in the sanctuary at Bethel (1 Kings 12:25-30) and  Amaziah was the appointed priest.  King Jeroboam installs this golden calf in Bethel, so that his people wouldn't have to travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrif...

  Inner Purity - Parents Day Mark 7 :1-13 V.7 “They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." Have you ever been told to wash your hands before eating? In this scripture portion, we read an encounter Jesus had with Pharisees and teachers of the old testament law, whether it was according to the tradition of elders, that His disciples were eating without washing hands. This incident happened two thousand years ago, where Jewish people followed a man made tradition of washing hands whenever and every where. They washed their hands to obey their tradition made by men , believing that they would become defiled and unacceptable to God if they don't do it. Jesus was pointing out to them that, they rejected many God given specific laws and, obeying man made rules, they disobeyed God's rules. Probably you may think this issue is not a matter of controversy in today's context. Jesus here, was trying to bring out the hypocr...

  The Gift of the Holy Spirit given for common well-being St. John  20:19-23 V. 21 “Again Jesus said, Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus identifies Himself with His Father.  This communicated to the disciples of whose authority He did His work.  That work is now passed down to the disciples, the work to spread the Gospel.  Christ had modeled the ministry of love and forgiveness for the disciples to follow and to live out.  That model ministry is a reminder for us that we are also called in the same way, as we are children of God to continue the work of the Gospel, living out and spreading the Good News for all to learn and accept.  Christ had demonstrated through words and actions so that likewise our words and actions can be Christ-like. The Gospel message is the message of love and peace.  In our Holy Qurbana, before and after reading the Gospel portion, the celebrant says, “peace be with you all”, the s...

  The Gift of the Holy Spirit given for common well-being Ephesians 4:7-13 V: 7 But to each one of us grace was given  according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Our gift from Christ is based on His grace. Romans 12.6 reads the gifts differ according to grace. Here the grace is according to the gift, according to the measure of the gift.  These gifts are meant to be used for the building of the church. The gift is based  on Christ's design and will. We do not earn or choose gift from God. It is given to us based on what He desires.                            Jesus redeemed and saved his saints who were held captive by Satan,  through Christ's death and resurrection.  He rescued  them from the  devil's captivity and took them to himself. Jesus overcame  and conquered Satan,  and captured them from sin and death.  Jesus gave special gifts to his captives, ...

  The Gift of the Holy Spirit given for common well-being Haggai 2: 1-7 V:5 This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my spirit remains in you. Do not fear. In 586  BC the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and took most of the Jews in exile.   50 years later the  Persian King Cyrus who took over Babylon allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple of Jerusalem.  Now the prophet Haggai , along with Zechariah  were sent by God to assist the Israelites to rebuild the temple. This book is clearly divided into 4 distinct messages from God. The second message starts with 2:1-9                              According to the first verse, the message came a little less than a month after the people began to build the temple. The workers were discouraged because the memory was still alive of how glorious the temple use...

  Called To Be A Witness St. Luke 12:8-9 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God” vs. 8-9.   As Christians, we are chosen to be witnesses for God. We hear many people reciting this phrase, but what exactly does it mean? According to the dictionary, a witness is “one who publicly affirms religious faith.” There are a multitude of ways we as Christians can display our faith to others. Oftentimes, people wrongly believe the only way to be a witness is to preach about our belief. On the contrary, the most compelling witnessing that we can execute is through our daily actions.  The most prominent witness for God is Jesus Christ. He is our greatest example to follow. Jesus showed people to God through his moral actions, miracles, faith - and ultimately demonstrated God’s love for us through His magnanimous sacrifice on t...

  God’s People to be prepared for Witness St. Matthew  5:13-16   Bible is the story of God’s chosen people more commonly known as People of God. In the Old Testament they are the Covenant community while the New Testament know them as the Church community. They were called to be faithful witness to God. ‘Marturia’ is the Greek word used for Witness which means ‘to be a martyr’. Hence it calls us to reflect the Identity that God gave us in any situation.  In today’s devotion Jesus gives two object models for being witnesses – Salt and Light.  Witness not in Quantity but Quality of Life:  Those who make food know that the quantity of salt that is used in food compared to other ingredients is very less. Also, the light from a little candle is enough to remove darkness in a room. Hence it is not the amount but the quality that defines its character. Similarly, we are called to live a life that projects the quality of a Christian even if we are less in number. I...

  God’s people to be prepared for witness Romans  13:11-14 Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. vs14 As Christians, we are called to be witnesses for God from a young age. In fact, in Matthew 5:14, we are called to let our lights shine so brightly that others will see our good deeds and glorify God in heaven. In this epistle, Paul instructs us that in order to be God’s witnesses in this world, we must clothe ourselves with Christ. However, how are we to do so in the face of secularization? That is the challenge Paul prepares us for today. Firstly, Paul calls us to read the signs of the times. He implores us to “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” In doing so, he is not asking us to willfully ignore the temptations that exist around us or the reality of the world we live in. But rather, he wants us to acknowledge its presence and brace ourselves against its potency so as to not allow it to overpower us. Building this resilient armor requires...

  God’s people to be prepared for witness Ephesians 5:1-21 “and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” V 2 Todays’ Bible portion tells us to walk in the way of love. That means that every step we take should be intentioned with love. Everything we do should be motivated by love. Every decision we make should be directed and steered by love and be free of selfish ambition.  We know the characteristics of Christian love from 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. When we find ourselves at a crossroads trying to make a decision, we need to ask ourselves- is this act kind? Is it patient? Is it self-seeking? The passage goes on to focus our attention on thanksgiving. Thankfulness drives away negativity. It dispels greed and the temptation toward impure thoughts and actions. It helps us to not be self-seeking. Thankfulness or gratitude makes room for light. Verse 8 directs us to “live as children of light”. Light hel...

  God’s people to be prepared for witness Deuteronomy 6: 1-12 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Vs 4-5) When reading Deuteronomy Chapter 5, we can read the presentation of the 10 commandments. But it has always come across our minds one time or another, out of these 10 commandments which one is the most important? You and I are not the only ones who has thought that! Famously, we know an expert of the law came and asked Jesus the same question in Matthew Chapter 22: 36-40. Jesus responds by citing the verses in this meditation. How can we use this simple command in our arsenal to be a faithful witness? Let us delve right into the passage and read the 3 ways that we are called to love the Lord. Heart:  The first call to love the Lord is with the heart. At first thought we might be thinking, we really think with our brains, why does He mention our heart? In most versio...

  God’s people to be prepared for witness 2 John: 1-13 “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” (Vs 6) As Christians, we have been hand-picked and divinely selected to witness and share the Gospel to those around us. All throughout the Scripture, we can see God’s people responding to the call to be a witness in order to declare and spread the redeeming power of Jesus and the salvation we can receive through Him. Our everyday lives should be a testimony of God’s grace and portray that we are God’s children- we are set apart, saved and purified because of who we are. 1 Peter 2:9-10 depicts our calling by saying, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not receive...

  God’s people to be prepared for witness Zephaniah  3: 17-20 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing (Vs.17 ) The book of Zephaniah describes God’s fiery anger against Jerusalem due to the people’s reliance on idol worship and infidelity to God. However, this fiery anger is not merely a flame of destruction, but a flame of purification to refine the people’s faith. God intends to let Jerusalem be destroyed but promises to watch over the remnant that remain faithful to Him. In verse 17, we see that this remnant of good witnesses, are promised a reconstructed Jerusalem where they will be honored and praised by God. The verses we meditate on today describe the reward of being a good witness. But what does it mean to be a witness, let alone a good one?  In court, a witness is someone who testifies about a case based on their experiences. Th...

  Priests called to be imitators of Christ Galatians  6: 11-18 Gal.  6:14  - “may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…”. The 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, once welcomed folks from his hometown to join him for dinner at the White House. Those who were invited were immensely excited but, were not entirely sure on the proper etiquette over dinner with the President. They discussed among themselves and believed the safest approach would be to simply do what the President himself did. They were first served some coffee and carefully began to observe President Coolidge. The President began to pour the coffee into a saucer. Likewise, the guests did the same. Then the President poured some milk to the coffee in the saucer and they also did the very same. Then the President called the cat and placed the saucer with coffee on the floor for his cat to drink. The guests were surprised and a bi...

  Priests called to be imitators of Christ St. John  21: 15-19 Pastoral ministry has got a different connotation. Today church has become an institution and pastoral ministry has become a paid office in the church. It has become a more or less profession and the church politics made it an established one. After the denial, Peter was unhappy. Though he ran to the tomb, he led the other disciples to fishing. Jesus did not want to leave Peter in a powerless state. Therefore He singled him out for a personal talk.  A gentile question:  Jesus asked Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than all this?" Jesus addressed Peter in an ordinary name and not as Peter or Cephas. By his denial Peter showed that he is an ordinary man and not a solid rock. The question and the answer are interesting. Jesus used the word Agape for love and Peter answered the Philio love. Agape is unconditional love and Philio is friendly love. Jesus did not want Peter's love when ...