Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-

 

The Divine Communion of Love 

Bible Reading: St. John 3:8-16 

Key Verse: 16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)

DEVOTION

The mysterious Holy Trinity is a dynamic communion of love. Before time even existed, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed in a perfect relationship of mutuality, of joy and unity. Yet their communion of love did not remain closed to humanity. Jesus, in His conversation with Nicodemus, revealed that salvation is the outward flow of Trinitarian love reaching down to our broken world. To explain this, early Church Fathers used the concept of “perichoresis,” which described the relationship like a divine dance existing within the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. It is a dance of mutual cooperation and united agency. The communion within the Holy Trinity flows into our world because God desires us to share in that divine fellowship. Thus St. Benedict, when he created the rules for monastics, wrote the rule to welcome guests to the monastery: “Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ. (see Ch. 53; Rule of Benedict)” The monks would always have a meal ready for any visitor. 
By sending the Son into our world, the Trinity extended an invitation for us to sit at the divine table. As part of our salvation, we are brought into the eternal fellowship of the Holy Trinity. This radical hospitality that proceeds from the Trinity allows the perfect divine love to anchor our identity through the life in God and transform how we love one another.


                                           PRAYER

 Most Holy Triune God, we thank You for spreading a table of fellowship in the midst of sinful humanity, and how by the blood of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, cleansed our lives to partake in Your blessed banquet. Empower us to bring the lost to this fellowship table. Help us to experience this fellowship always, with You and the Saints, and our loved ones in the land of the living. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 God calls us today to enter into the Trinitarian dance of love and joy. 

Rev. Jeswin John
Assistant Vicar, Mar Thoma Church of Dallas Farmers Branch, Texas USA

Popular posts from this blog

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
Revelation for Liberation Acts 27:18-26 Sherine Thomas Long Island MTC, NY 20  When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. “After winter comes the summer.  After night comes the dawn.  And after every storm, there comes clear open skies” so said a Scottish clergyman from the 1600s. It’s been said, that hope can sometimes be the most dangerous weapon.  However, it’s sometimes the hardest weapon to carry when you’re living with the loss of a loved one, something that almost feels like a terrible nightmare that’ll never go away.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry when day in and day out no one seems to hear or see those tears that are shed or silent cries that are made during a heartfelt prayer. It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you see your loved one lying on that hospital bed.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you search and seek out answers to tel...
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
  Constant, patient and welcoming love of God   St. Luke 15: 11-32  V.21: And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ The parable of the ‘Prodigal son’ is one of the most frequently quoted parables that Jesus told His disciples. The parable contains the rich mine of human virtues and emotions. This parable is lived and re-lived in progressing civilizations from time immemorial and continuing. It brings out in vivid detail the pathetic depth of human sinfulness and the glorious heights of God’s forgiveness.      As a story of human nature, fathers are generally merciful to their children in any circumstance. They are very protective and are eager to provide for and secure the lives of their offspring. Jesus is telling this parable to underscore the superlative love of God to His children. The nature of such love is reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 7:11. Humankind wh...
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
PRIESTHOOD: THE ANOINTED MINISTRY Exodus 40:12-16 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting... wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest (Exodus 40: 12-13). Priesthood among the people of God was a divine command and initiation. God wanted some people to be separated for the special ministry among his people. God appointed Aaron and his descendants to take up this kind of ministry among the people of God. Priests are always separated and appointed as channels that connect God with his people. All throughout the history of Israel, priests played an important role in connecting people with God and to lead and guide them in the statutes of God. But there are incidents in the Bible where the priests failed in their duties and that led the people to go away from God. So the priests have a special and significant ministry to perform in this world among his people. Two important things...
Read more