Reflections

  Christ The Great Teacher James  3: 13-18 Vs 17 :  And goodness in the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace. The word 'Teacher' plays a great role in the scriptures. Jesus is the only great and real teacher comparatively to any other teachers on the Earth. Even  in the scriptures, Jesus was addressed as a Teacher directly in the gospels 60 times. This was how the disciples also referred to him. When Nicodemus came to Jesus,  he said, “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God” (John 3:2). The real, humble, honest, loving and non judgmental nature of Jesus makes Him a great teacher among everybody else.  Letter of James, also called Epistle of St. James the Apostle. James wrote the letter to the early Christian churches (“to the twelve tribes in the dispersion”). Some hold that this expression refers to Christians in general, but the term “twelve tribes” would more naturally apply to Jewish Christians. The l...

  Christ The Great Teacher Proverbs 1: 1-10 V.7 : “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and instruction”. The first words of Proverbs are the book’s own introduction to its nature and purpose. The heading ‘Proverb’s of Solomon’ makes a statement regarding the whole book’s authority as a collection of truly Solomonic wisdom. In the V.2-7, we can see various technical term’s used for the word “wisdom”. There are fourteen different nouns used for wisdom or wise sayings in order to show totality. V. 2 -3 are concerned with learning ; V. 4 with teaching; V. 5 with the teacher or sage; V. 6 with understanding wisdom writings and V. 7 with fear of the Lord. The verse (V.7) is the climax of the introduction given in the passage. It means; for the Lord is the source of blessings for the wise. The phrase means, giving to one’s God what is due, knowing and accepting one’s place in the universe. It primarily designates neither an emotion nor general reverence, ...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ St. John 3:1-8 What the Lord says in this passage about baptism and being born again and Paul's teachings give a deeper meaning and understanding of Baptism. Baptism calls us to conform to the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated "baptism" is baptizo. The primary meaning given by most dictionaries is "dip, immerse, sprinkle". Another meaning is "to bring into influence." Baptism into Christ is an identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. 1. Baptized in his death. (Romans 6: 3) We crucify our old habits by uniting with Jesus' death. 2. Buried with Him (Romans 6: 4) Being buried speaks of a commitment to completely erase from our minds any active connection with our old nature. 3. Resurrected with him. (Romans 6: 5) The resurrection of Jesus is the most amazing fact in history. If we share in His death through baptism, the same power that raised Je...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ St. John 3:1-8 V 3: Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.   There is an amazing plant called as Resurrection plant or miracle plant. Its scientific name is Selaginella lepidophylla. Native to desert climates in Mexico and the United States, resurrection plant is a spike moss and will grow as a creeper in rock gardens in mild climates. Faced with lack of water, its leaves will turn brown and shrivel up into a seemingly dead tumbleweed. But once it is watered the resurrection plant quickly turns green and comes back to life. It’s like it becomes born again ones it receives life-giving water. Today’s portion talks about Jesus teaching the meaning of being born again to Nicodemus. St. John says that Nicodemus, the Pharisee, comes to Jesus at night. St. John intends several layers of meaning to be understood here. The night symbolizes that Nicodemus i...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ Genesis  7:11-14   The book of Genesis regards the flood as the greatest dividing point of history. The flood was an immense act of de-creation. It returned the earth to the situation of primeval watery chaos that existed before God started speaking in Genesis (1:3). The writer makes clear that all those specified have indeed gotten on board and were delivered from the flood. God shut the door of the ark; signifying divine care (v. 16) Right on God’s announced schedule the flood begins, with water pouring in from below and above. The great flood was an act of de-creation and the re-creation after the flood illustrates the eternal fact that God will not forsake the world for ever. God controlled the water at the time of the flood. The God who judges with water is also the only one who can save from water. As the days passed, the people forgot God again. Try to get away from God, sin and lose the glory of...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ Genesis  7:11-14   The book of Genesis regards the flood as the greatest dividing point of history. The flood was an immense act of de-creation. It returned the earth to the situation of primeval watery chaos that existed before God started speaking in Genesis (1:3). The writer makes clear that all those specified have indeed gotten on board and were delivered from the flood. God shut the door of the ark; signifying divine care (v. 16) Right on God’s announced schedule the flood begins, with water pouring in from below and above. The great flood was an act of de-creation and the re-creation after the flood illustrates the eternal fact that God will not forsake the world for ever. God controlled the water at the time of the flood. The God who judges with water is also the only one who can save from water. As the days passed, the people forgot God again. Try to get away from God, sin and lose the glory of...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ Psalms 16 Vs.1. Protect me O God for in you I take refuge.   2 Corinthians 12:9 reads “My Grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made in weakness. Therefore, I will boast more gladly about my weakness so that Christ’s power may rest on me “.  It is the authentic and vulnerable sharing of our inner hearts, our human quirks. flaws and troubles that open the door for God’s grace to shine through. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again: How do we get this born-again experience in our lives? We must die with our sins at the foot of the cross and resurrect as a new being trusting our Lord who has defeated death and rose from the grave. By identifying with his death and burial we are becoming partakers of the salvation that is extended to all humanity that believes in His Lordship. He has torn away our debt cards and nailed them at the cross forev...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ EXODUS 2:1-10 VS 10 b. "and she named him Moses and said Because I drew him out of water”   Baptism is a dominical sacrament of the church that physically admits and adopts an individual into the body of Christ, the Church. Mar Thoma church follows the infant baptism while many other denominations go with the adult baptism. Romans 6 :4 reads “we were buried therefore with Him through baptism unto death that like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, so we also might walk in the newness of life”’ Resurrection from the dead is the cornerstone of Christian doctrine and the power of Christianity. All Christians have by placing faith in Him been spiritually immersed into the person of Christ. That is united and identified with him. Gal  6: 27  says “you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ “...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ Galatians 3: 26- 29 You who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ (Gal.  3: 27 ) The focus of this passage is unity in Christ. Jews or gentile; slave or free; male or female, you all are one in Christ. Through baptism every Christian believer is united in Christ. Everyone has put on Christ. Christ is the garment. We are clothed with Christ. So, there is no old identity, nationality, gender, or the like. Baptism functions as the means to put on Christ and to be united in Him. It gives everyone a new body and a new life. 1) Baptism: To Become the Body of Christ:  Baptism is to become the body of Christ. Baptism is not the repetition of Jesus’ baptism. It is the symbol of participating in the death and resurrection of Christ on cross (Romans 6: 3). Baptism is a sacrament. Sacrament is the means that takes us to that real event which happened two thousand years ago. Baptism makes us on...

  Holy Baptism: Identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ 1 Peter:  3:17-22 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit… The text is an exhortation that the writer of 1 Peter gives to a Christian community threatened and distraught by the perils and pain of persecution on account of their fidelity to Christ Jesus. Many among them were enduring torture as they had openly borne witness to their faith through baptism. Reassuring them, the writer conjoins the suffering readers and their experiences primarily with that of their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered and died on the cross. The writer opines that the unjust suffering and brutal death of Jesus Christ at the hands of the Roman Empire was not to be perceived as absolute catastrophe. Christ who apparently failed in the sight of his persecutors was vindicated through His resu...

  Theological Education : For the Strengthening of Faith St. John 12: 20-26 There were three aspects in Jesus' ministry: preaching, teaching, and healing. The Word of God is to know, obey, practice and use and to witness. In many ways, we engage in matters of faith in our daily lives. We strive to nurture and grow in our faith through worship, mission, the struggle for justice and peace, evangelism and education. A proper theological foundation is needed for the church to be strong and grow. Only through a good, comprehensive theological education the Church can realise the truth and correct their mistakes wisely. Theological training helps God's people to read, study, understand and teach the Bible relevantly. Theological consciousness helps to gain a deeper understanding of the Almighty, to work responsibly to perfection, and to recognize heresy. How and where to carry out faith formation and empowerment. 1. Family is the school of faith formation and nurturing. God wanted th...

  Theological Education to Strengthen Faith 2 Thessalonians 1: 1-12 Verse 4: Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. Thessalonica (now, Thessaloniki) was a major seaport of Greece in the northwestern shore of Aegean Sea. It is believed that Paul wrote the very first of his epistles to the church in Thessalonica. The local citizens were all new to this religion. They did not belong to the rich and well-educated of the society. They needed exhortation as well as explanation of the theme and contents of the new-found religion. The second epistle to the Thessalonian church was an appendix explaining the doctrines and clearing a host of questions that the faith community had regarding various parts of the first letter.     The Thessalonian church was confused about Jesus’ second coming. Some of them even believed that the Lord had already come for a second time. Some others believed th...

  Theological education to strengthen faith 1Kings.18:17-40 “The Lord is God; the Lord alone is God”(vs.39) Elijah is the epitome of the prophetic ministry in Israel. Prophets were the spokespersons of God and also the counsellors of Kings. Jewish people in Jesus’ time had the faith that Elijah would come again. At one point we see even Jesus endorses that tradition(Mtt.11:15). The given text underscores the living God over against the idolatry of Baal. Let us ponder on two thoughts from the text: One-Affirmation of the God of life. Elijah’s ministry was always with the living God. King Ahab brands him as a “trouble maker”! Yes ,genuine prophetic ministry is always troublesome to the hegemonic powers. Elijah had the daring mind to speak the truth to the power even at the risk of his life. We have a similar example in India in Fr. Stan Swamy. He had to pay a heavy price for his unwavering stances for the tribals and their human rights. This is the cutting edge of the Gospel of the K...

  Theological Education to Strengthen Faith I Corinthians  4:14-21 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked “Do you understand what you are reading?” (v. 30). How can we recognize the presence of God in our daily lives? To recognize the presence of God in our lives, we need to deepen our piety via meditating the word of God. Meditation helps us to make right judgments about the value and meaning of what we are and to whom we engage with.  To sharpen our inner light and to deepen our faith, in the light of the faith and inner light within us the theological education provides the fuel. Theological education helps us to move our faith from where we are to where we should be in our lives. In this sense theology is the faith in motion in the light of our faith and the contemporary challenges.   The call of God was the inner driving force of Paul to preach the Gospel. “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel” (I Corinth...

  Transformed Perspectives Judges 6:7-16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” (16) This passage reveals God’s intervention amidst the backsliding attitude of His people. The people who were redeemed by the intervention of God from the bondage of Egypt, is now under new bondage due to the rejection of God's word. They faced the chaos of being under the threat of Midian and God explained to them that this was because of their rejection of His word. Here God calls Gideon to lead the people to freedom. But Gideon has some doubts and questions about God’s presence and power. He was not convinced of his own power and strength to lead the people. Here God educated him and strengthened his faith to lead the people. God reminded and taught Gideon two important things that changed his perspectives about this mission. Who is the sender? God said this to Gideon “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand...

  FREEDOM FOR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE Luke 6:20-26 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. As Luke reports the teaching, four times Jesus pronounces blessings on people with these four qualities and four times He pronounces woes on people with the opposite qualities. To be blessed is to have inner joy and happiness because God’s favor is upon you. To have woe is to have sorrow and pain because God is against you. Thus, Jesus is showing us how to be supremely happy or supremely miserable. Due to the blindness of sinful human hearts and the deception of sin, many in the world pursue happiness in ways that will succeed. But Jesus boldly asserts that those who follow the world’s ways will come up empty.  Jesus draws a clear line between two groups of people, so that you must identify yourself with one group or the other. On the one hand are those who are poor, who hunger now, who weep now, and who are despised by men because of their ide...

  The Reforming Church Matthew 13:1-11 “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:8-9) This Sunday  is dedicated as Reformation Sunday. The nineteenth century Reformation in the Malankara Church is an unforgettable ‘memory’ in the history of the Church. The vision of reformation is to Remold, Reconstruct and Re-interpret the identity of the Church as Christ centered and Word centered community. Many biblical interpreters see Matthew chapter 13 as chapter of parables and parable as the basic metaphor of the whole Gospel. Seven parables are told here by Jesus to discover the truth of the Kingdom of God. Today’s Gospel portion is a beautiful farm parable as the farmer holding seeds in his hand that he himself preserved for sowing expecting good yield. The farmer did see seeds fall on the good soil, where it produced a crop of hundred, sixty or thirty times. The seed is the Word, ...

  The Reforming Church: Faith community which has to be reformed by the Word of God Acts  2:21 "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." The Day of Pentecost was a Jewish feast held 50 days after the Passover. It celebrated the first fruits of the wheat harvest. In the Jewish rituals of that time, the first sheaf reaped from the barley harvest was presented to God at Passover. At Pentecost, the first fruits of the wheat harvest were presented to God; therefore, Pentecost is called the day of the first fruits (Numbers 28:26). God-fearing Jews from every nation usually gather together in Jerusalem to celebrate the day of Pentecost. It was ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven, and since Jesus commanded his disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, they were all gathered together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like a powerful wind filled the house where they were sitting and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and they bega...