The Journey 226: Transformed Living
Read; Luke 7:1-10
Wedding Day is a special day for the couple who decide to get married. A lot preparation is done with regards to the whole event like wedding service, the dress, the reception the food, the music and so on. People want something special that day. But look at this amazing incident that happened in Arizona. Five siblings decided to lay aside their personal desires and dreams and decided to get married the same day. Yes Five siblings ! got married on the same day. News agencies like CNN, abc news have reported this amazing incident. The five siblings who decided to get married on the same day are Emily, 28; Bradford, 26; Sydney ,25; Walker, 24; and Brooke, 20;. and they all belong to a family of Doug Waldie, whose family consists of eight children. Of the five children who got married, four of them met their future spouses only in October last year. Each of them wanted to have a separate and a unique wedding being conducted in a manner they felt would reflect their individual taste and liking . But they soon put aside their differences when they realized that one of their siblings had to report to the Air Force Pilot training. Being brought up in a close knit family, the siblings and the family decided that the best way is have the wedding together. This was a blessing to the father who feels that such a wedding would also be cost friendly and thus paving way for the sibling to come together. They all got married at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Mesa Temple followed by a reception at an Air Force Museum. But each of them saw to it that they had a separate wedding cake according to their likings. I think this incident is unique not because the sibling got married together, but the way each of the sibling decided to lay aside their personal differences but also embrace the need of their sibling. They bring to light a quality in family life which seems to be getting distinct. The quality to rise above personal and selfish interests to the level of community, family and corporate interests.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the Bible portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 7:1-10. This is one of the most unique incidents in the gospel where you find the owner, a Centurion who comes to the presence of Jesus through the help of fellow Jews, so that his servant could be healed. What is remarkable about this centurion is his humility and also his faith that Jesus commends, but I believe more than the humility what leads to such a faith perspective is his willingness to suffer, go an extra mile or rise about his own his selfish needs for the sake of his servant. What makes the role of centurion more worthwhile is when we think that he is doing for his slave. It is fine when one does for ones family member or someone close to us in terms of blood relations or friendship, but to bear discomfort, pain and to consciously seek the goodness and welfare of a person considered least is something that needs to be emulated. In a time when even in the context of family, the spouses and the children have their own selfish interests, the members of Waldie family and the centurion teaches us that in life there will be times when God will be asking us to rise above our selfish needs, to rise above the perspective of just looking into what our needs are, but on the contrary to be willing to suffer and endure so that there is a common good for all of us. It is at this juncture that goodness that is truly corporate and holistic is enjoyed by one and all. Ready to rise above selfishness for common good?
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla,
Wedding Day is a special day for the couple who decide to get married. A lot preparation is done with regards to the whole event like wedding service, the dress, the reception the food, the music and so on. People want something special that day. But look at this amazing incident that happened in Arizona. Five siblings decided to lay aside their personal desires and dreams and decided to get married the same day. Yes Five siblings ! got married on the same day. News agencies like CNN, abc news have reported this amazing incident. The five siblings who decided to get married on the same day are Emily, 28; Bradford, 26; Sydney ,25; Walker, 24; and Brooke, 20;. and they all belong to a family of Doug Waldie, whose family consists of eight children. Of the five children who got married, four of them met their future spouses only in October last year. Each of them wanted to have a separate and a unique wedding being conducted in a manner they felt would reflect their individual taste and liking . But they soon put aside their differences when they realized that one of their siblings had to report to the Air Force Pilot training. Being brought up in a close knit family, the siblings and the family decided that the best way is have the wedding together. This was a blessing to the father who feels that such a wedding would also be cost friendly and thus paving way for the sibling to come together. They all got married at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Mesa Temple followed by a reception at an Air Force Museum. But each of them saw to it that they had a separate wedding cake according to their likings. I think this incident is unique not because the sibling got married together, but the way each of the sibling decided to lay aside their personal differences but also embrace the need of their sibling. They bring to light a quality in family life which seems to be getting distinct. The quality to rise above personal and selfish interests to the level of community, family and corporate interests.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the Bible portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 7:1-10. This is one of the most unique incidents in the gospel where you find the owner, a Centurion who comes to the presence of Jesus through the help of fellow Jews, so that his servant could be healed. What is remarkable about this centurion is his humility and also his faith that Jesus commends, but I believe more than the humility what leads to such a faith perspective is his willingness to suffer, go an extra mile or rise about his own his selfish needs for the sake of his servant. What makes the role of centurion more worthwhile is when we think that he is doing for his slave. It is fine when one does for ones family member or someone close to us in terms of blood relations or friendship, but to bear discomfort, pain and to consciously seek the goodness and welfare of a person considered least is something that needs to be emulated. In a time when even in the context of family, the spouses and the children have their own selfish interests, the members of Waldie family and the centurion teaches us that in life there will be times when God will be asking us to rise above our selfish needs, to rise above the perspective of just looking into what our needs are, but on the contrary to be willing to suffer and endure so that there is a common good for all of us. It is at this juncture that goodness that is truly corporate and holistic is enjoyed by one and all. Ready to rise above selfishness for common good?
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla,