Reflections

  MTVEA: Do the Work of an Evangelist 2nd Timothy 4:1–5  Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction…do the work of an evangelist, and discharge all the duties of your ministry. (vs 2, 5b) In his second letter to Timothy, Paul is concerned about the welfare of the churches during a time of persecution, and he admonishes Timothy to guard the Gospel, to persevere in it, to keep on preaching, and, if necessary, to suffer for it. Paul gives us a look into the five ‘W’s’ and one ‘H’ of preaching the Word.   What is to be preached?  Paul exhorts Timothy and us, as members of the church, that the preaching of the Word should continue to remain the principle and primary and pivotal focus of the ministry and the mission of our local Churches.   Who should preach?  The word ‘preach’ in Greek means “to proclaim as a herald.” During Timothy’s time, rulers and kings had heralds who made public announcements. T

  Luminous Gospel that lights up the faithful. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 The God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers.......made his light shine in our hearts to give us light. Vs 4-6  We live not by means of life, but by the light of the Gospel burned up in Christ. St. Paul loved the Church at Corinth as he did with all the other churches he founded. Corinth had a mixed, cosmopolitan populace, and more religious shrines than any other city-states where St. Paul preached.  But those religious shrines had more permissive provisions than formative teachings. With its cultural diversity, wealth, paganism, and infamous debauchery, Corinth was perhaps not the place onlookers would have expected the Church to flourish.  Yet it was precisely here that St. Paul enjoyed one of his most successful ministries - and here that he experienced some of his greatest challenges (NIV- Cultural background study Bible). It is not necessary that we enjoy our life in our most comfortable contexts, bu

  MTVEA:  Do the work of an Evangelist 2 Kings 7:3-11   “Then they said to each other.  “We are not right.  This is a day of good news    and we are keeping it to ourselves.  If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us.  Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace” (v. 9) We can see that so many people, inside and outside the Bible, who were afflicted with various kinds of infirmities were tools in the hands of God for His divine purposes.   Discouragement, hopelessness, despair - so many situations in this fallen world can make us feel sad.  Problems and struggles can wear us down physically, mentally, and spiritually, and can even erode our faith in God.   William Cowper, though a Christian, had sunk to the depths of despair.  One foggy and dark night, he called a carriage and asked to be taken to the London Bridge on the famous Thames River.  He was so overcome by depression that he intended to commit suicide.  After few hours of driving through the mist, Cowper’

  Inauguration Day of the Church of South India  Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer for All Believers (Jn 17:20-26)   “. . . All of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that world may believe that you have  sent.me ” (Jn  17:21-22 )  Today is the 74th anniversary of the formation of the Church of South India by bringing together different churches of Episcopal, Congregational, Methodists, Presbyterian and other traditions, which had been established in India by foreign missionary endeavours. Let us thank God for all those who were involved in making this ecumenical vision come true. Let us also thank God for the further unity in the formation of the ‘Communion of Churches in India (CCI)’ with CSI, CNI and the Mar Thoma Church.     When we study the Bible, we see the work of God is to form a faith community, fellowship, in which the will of God is done and through which one finds both union with God and communion with others for the common g

  Inauguration Day of the Church of South India  Ephesians 4: 1-6  “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Eph 4:1b(NIV)  Paul writes to the Ephesian Church telling them about the qualities that a believer must have. It is humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love, endurance, and peace, (v2 & v3) which is necessary to maintain the unity of the Church. Now, this does not mean uniformity. No two people can be the same, nor think and act alike. Rather, having the seven qualities mentioned above, helps individuals to be of the same mind and spirit inside of the Church.  CSI Formation  - As we remember the inauguration day of the Church of South India, we are reminded of the sacrifices, the prayers, and the spirit of unity which led the Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Methodist churches in coming together to become a single church on September 27, 1947, after 28 long years of discussion of various possibilities. Today, the CSI is one o

  We believe in the Lord who will come again 1 Thessalonians  4:13-18 Vs 17 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever”. Every believer in Jesus Christ has this glorious hope that one day Jesus is coming back, and we will be caught up in the air to meet Him. This was a promise He gave to His followers while He was in this world. All the prophecies in the Old Testament about the first coming of Jesus into the world were fulfilled. So, everything written about His second coming will also be fulfilled at the appointed time. We don’t know the exact date and time. About 2000 years ago, the Word became flesh and lived among us. He became an atoning sacrifice for the sins of His creation. Those who believe in Him will be saved. He will come again to receive those who are dedicated to Himself. There are two parts to His second coming. In the first part, Jesus will come in the cl

  Jesus is right behind you Matt 25:31-40 In Wales, there was a significant renaissance about 150 years ago. To share the gospel, several missionaries traveled to northeast India. There were numerous savage and violent head-hunting tribes living in the Assam region. A team of missionaries from the American Baptist Missions entered these violent and antagonistic villages and preached the gospel of love, peace, and hope in Jesus Christ. They were obviously unwelcome. A man, his wife, and their two kids were all converted, by one missionary. Many locals started to convert to Christianity because of this man's contagious faith. The village chief got angry and summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith publicly or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man said, “I have decided to follow Jesus.” The chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. Then, as both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “W

  We believe in the Lord who will come again Acts 1:1-11 “----- This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Vs 11-b) Believers take great comfort from our Savior’s promise that He will come back with glory. The scriptures clearly teach us the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will return to the earth, in the same way, He ascended into heaven.  At Christ’s second coming, He will fulfill the remaining promises/prophesies found in the Word of God. Jesus came the first time to suffer and die on the cross so that we can be saved from eternal condemnation. But death could not contain him; he rose from the dead and He is Alive and will come again as the King of Kings. That is His Promise and our living hope. In Matthew chapter 16 we read “For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done” (V 27).  Yes, he is going

  We believe in the Lord who will come again Exodus 3: 1-15 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” – Exodus 3:15 NIV The account of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt in the Bible places Moses, a seemingly ordinary person, at the forefront of God’s escape plan for His people. At the beginning of Exodus 3, we find Moses busy tending to the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. While this may sound rather uneventful, little did he know that the scene was set for his life’s true mission and purpose to unfold. In the midst of a burning bush, God appeared to Moses. He appointed Moses, an 80-year-old at this point, to lead the oppressed Israelites out of hand of the Egyptians. Moses, mired in uncertainty, expressed his uncertainty with respect to his new task. God quickly reassured Moses that he will not be going alone. This is a story that we are all too familiar with. However, what we may fail to recognize is that God’s peop

  We believe in the Lord who will come again Hebrews 9:24-28 Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” ‘Life after Death’ is one of the axioms of Christian faith. Lord Jesus Christ during His ministry on earth declared it clearly to His disciples. When there was an argument between Sadducees and Pharisees with regard to ‘life after death’, Jesus absolutely cleared their doubts by declaring “..For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him.” – Luke 20:38.     We can see in many places in the Old Testament, the evidence for the theory of the resurrection of the dead. The Book of Daniel is considered parallel to the Book of Revelation with respect to prophecy. Daniel prophesied that the angel declared to him “…and will rise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” -Daniel 12:13. So there is no room in Christian faith t

  THE PHYSICIAN FOR SINNERS  Matthew 9:9-13 Matthew 9:13b “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:9-13 begins with Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him as His disciple. Soon, Jesus and His disciples are having dinner in Matthew’s home with many tax collectors and others labeled as “sinners.” In answer to a question from the Pharisees about why Jesus would eat with these people, He responds that the sick need a doctor and not the healthy. Jesus declares that He has come to call sinners and not the righteous.     Jesus did not only call Matthew to follow him and be his disciple, he actually sat at a table with men and women like Matthew – tax collectors and sinners and ate his meal. Tax collectors had a poor reputation among Jews.  They were considered traitors because their occupation aligned them with the hated Roman Empire.  Tax collectors were known for exacting taxes beyond the required amount so that they could pocket the excess money. T

  THE PHYSICIAN FOR SINNERS  Matthew 9:9-13 Matthew 9:13b “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:9-13 begins with Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him as His disciple. Soon, Jesus and His disciples are having dinner in Matthew’s home with many tax collectors and others labeled as “sinners.” In answer to a question from the Pharisees about why Jesus would eat with these people, He responds that the sick need a doctor and not the healthy. Jesus declares that He has come to call sinners and not the righteous.     Jesus did not only call Matthew to follow him and be his disciple, he actually sat at a table with men and women like Matthew – tax collectors and sinners and ate his meal. Tax collectors had a poor reputation among Jews.  They were considered traitors because their occupation aligned them with the hated Roman Empire.  Tax collectors were known for exacting taxes beyond the required amount so that they could pocket the excess money. T

  St. Mathew. The apostle day 1 Thessalonians 1:3   Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God our Father.       The Gospel according to Matthew is considered one of the three synoptic Gospels. Matthew, a tax collector by profession, heeded the call of Jesus (Matthew 9:9) and became one of the twelve disciples. They were all hand-picked by Jesus from various strata of the contemporary society of Galilee and Judea. Some Bible scholars have expressed their view that Matthew wrote/recited the gospel in Aramaic, yet some others are of the view that it was expressed in Greek. The scholars, however, agree that the Gospel according to Mark preceded Matthew's version of the Gospel.     Unlike Peter, James, and John, the gospels are almost silent about the involvement of Matthew in the ministry of Jesus. We may infer that the Pharisees were complaining about Matthew when they remarked that Jesus was eat

  St. Mathew. The apostle day Isaiah 4 :1-6   Jerusalem restored. Mathew was one of Jesus’s chosen apostles who was called to serve and follow him. They left their livelihood jobs and followed Jesus blindly. He is also called the Levi. He was born in Nazareth and belonged to Galilee. Since he was a tax collector the people of his neighborhood looked upon him with contempt. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained of Jesus’s act of drinking and eating with the downtrodden of the society. But Jesus’s reply was “it is not the healthy who needed a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. The people who considered themselves righteous did not see the need for a savior. The wretched and the poor who accepted themselves as sinners flocked around Jesus for salvation. Mathew authored the first gospel of the New Testament. History says Mathew became a missionary and was arrested in Ethiopia. He later became a martyr for Christ. He is consi

  Senior Citizen Day – Care to the Elders Mark 7:6-13  V10- “…Honour your father and mother… ”  The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor, The book written by  Eddie Jaku is one of the authentic and credible historical writing on the persecution that happened in the concentration camps of Germany during the Second World War. In the book, Eddie Jaku explains the beauty and blessedness of human life. After experiencing the worst that human history has ever witnessed he passed away at the age of 101 in 2021. In spite of all that life gave him, through his book, he defined himself as The Happiest Man on Earth. Jaku says “ Life won’t be happy always. Sometimes we may have to go through tough times. But remember one thing:  You are alive! We are all lucky and blessed enough to be alive in this world. Every breath that we have is a gift. If you are ready you can make life beautiful. Joy and happiness of your life are at your hand on how you face it…”. The life of

  Senior Citizen Day – Care to the Elders 2 Timothy 4:9-18     Throughout Paul’s letters, there are at least 100 different names listed as a part of his circle of friends and co-workers. But towards the end, all his friends and confidantes forsake him and he is only left with few of his close friends who he wants to see as his end is nearing. Paul knew that his death was imminent, and what he requested makes us think seriously about our values, hopes and needs. He wanted the young Mark and Timothy to come to see him as he feels that they are very useful for the ministry and share his same spiritual wavelength and faith. Also, Paul valued certain objects like his cloak, his books and the parchments. This tells us that he needed warmth, intellectual support and spiritual nourishment from the books and parchments even in his final days. We can find similar references in the bible about final hours, one such was Christ’s final hours as he approached his inner circle of Peter, James, and Jo