Reflections

Accepting the Unacceptable Philippians 4:2-9 VS.9 "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you". Paul writes his letter to Philippians while he was in prison. Prisons in the days of Paul were not pleasant or healthy. In the mind of the people, prison was equal to death, despair, sickness of mind and body, and humiliation. Through this letter, Paul addresses the disunity in Philippian Church.” Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”(Philippians2:2). The appeal to Euodia and Syntyche(Philippians 4:2-3) is the clear evidence of dissension in the Church of Philippi. Many commentators believe that disharmony was the serious problem in the community and thus interpret these verses as an indication of Paul’s rea

Rejoice in the Lord Psalm 32 Vs.11"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart". St. Augustine said that the beginning of knowledge is to know oneself to be a sinner. In order to remind of his depraved sinfulness and God’s gracious forgiveness, St. Augustine had engraved this Psalm on his bedroom wall as he lay dying in his bed. He read it all the time and when he was too sick, he instructed others to recite it for him. Psalm 32 is considered as one of the penitential Psalm in church tradition and is also classified as a psalm of thanksgiving and wisdom psalm. This psalm contains the heaviness of sin, the happiness of forgiveness and the help from God.  It includes the nature and benefits of confession, as well as God’s character as a gracious and forgiving God. The effect of sin:   The psalmist kept silent about his sin for a while. This silence had affected him physically, emotionally and spiritually. During that time he

Our mission to the Last, Least and Lost Psalm 41 "Blessed is he who has regard for the weak"          While Bobby was waiting in a government office he heard a sad story of a lady narrating her wild experiences about her husband and her three daughters to the officer. Her husband was a head load worker who was addicted to alcohol and drugs. He took a good sum of loan from the bank. He could not remit the loan or its interest in proper time. Later he met with an accident, many months he was in the hospital and died. The whole burden of the family had come on her shoulder. The woman seemed bewildered. Bobby sensed that she did not know what to do or where to turn.            He tried to be silent. Then he heard a quiet voice inside him that was urging him to help, but he could not. Again he experienced prompting from God. He immediately spoke to the woman after she came from the office and said to her “Madam I heard your testimony, I believe God wants me to help you”. H

Experiencing the Mystery of God in Hospitality Genesis. 18:1-15 Vs.2,3 "He lifted up his eyes and looked and behold three men stood in front of him, when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth and said “My lord if I have found favor in your sight not pass by your servant”.  There is a conceptual understanding that God is “absolutely Other”. No one can talk to God that there is an infinite distance between creator and creature.  For Abraham, God is an experiential God who intervenes by his promise in the face of hospitality. “I will surely return to you in the spring and Sara your wife shall have a son”. v10 . It is the reassurance of His great mystical promise “to be a blessing and made of him a great nation”. 12:2 Hospitality is an invitation attached to diakonia. Hospitality is a divine fellowship. Our genuine intensity to receive ‘other’ is very significant in this hospitality. Abraham sincerely invited the strangers who

Creation Proclaims the Glory of God Luke 8:22-25 Vs. 24 They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.              In this passage, creation proclaims the Glory of God not by singing, but by complete and immediate obedience to the voice of its creator. Jesus calming the storm is an example of creation positively responding to its creator.  The wind and the water instantly obey the rebuke Jesus uttered.  A windstorm and raging waves were transformed and immediately become calm.                        There are many humans who proclaim the Glory of God with their lips but not with their lives.  To truly proclaim the Glory of God requires not just words but action. Some people may not pay attention to what we say, but they will pay attention to what we do. The wind and the water underwent a drastic change, which resulted in the disciples realizing the Je

OUR MISSION TO THE LAST, LEAST AND THE LOST MATHEW  25:31-40 Vs. 40 “In as much  as  ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  It is always amazing about the fact that Jesus, son of God and the great teacher, identified with those who are considered the least. This is so radically different from the world standard. The world see  people as resources, as whether you can benefit me or not. The world gathers around those who are great and neglects the marginalized. But Jesus who is truly the most influential and greatest personality that ever walked on the earth identified with the last, least and lost. It is not just people who commit outwardly sins like murder and adultery, who are cursed in to the eternal fire. The people here are guilty for what they did not do. This really causes us to check the reality withi

View this email in your browser CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FORUM Word for the Day " Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a lamp unto my path". Psalm 119:105   Worship the Lord in Truth and Spirit John 4:13-26 Vs. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”    A God who moves is hope for a worshiping Christian Community. We cannot place God in one particular place. Now a days most of

Universality of the Gospel St. John 4: 21 - 26 V. 24 "God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth".             Jesus encounter with the Samaritan women at the Jacob’s well is a unique event in the Gospel of John. This is the story of transformation of a woman and her community. Here Jesus answers her question about worship. During that time the Jews and the Samaritans were in a “worship war” in which Samaritans believed that they should worship on Mount Gerizim and Jews understood that it should be in Jerusalem. Jesus Breaks the Boundaries             Universality starts with breaking boundaries. In this text Jesus openly challenges two boundaries:  the boundary between “chosen people” and “rejected people” and between male and female. Through the answer to her question regarding worship Jesus also transcends the worship boundaries. Jesus directs her attention away from the present to the future and said that the time was coming for a diff

New Vision Luke 18:35-43 Vs. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”  God often uses the most simple and unlikely people to teach us the most profound spiritual lessons.  And the same holds true in this passage where we are able to learn from the blind beggar that Jesus heals as he approached Jericho.  In order to learn from the blind beggar, we must all admit that we are spiritually without vision and spiritually impoverished.  Without Jesus in our lives, we will remain in darkness, in a state of spiritual blindness.  Not only will we be rendered blind, but we will be reduced to being spiritually destitute, left without anything of real spiritual value to bless and enrich our lives In this passage, the blind beggar intrinsically realized his need for both physical and spiritual healing.  Thus, when he heard that Jesus was passing by, he immediately began to shout and cry out for help, for he knew that Jesus was the only one who could provide wha