Reflections

  Education for Transformation of Life Bible Reading: Proverb 4:1-9 Key verse :    V 5 : “Get wisdom, get understanding. ” DEVOTION We live in an age where information is available at our fingertips. We can earn degrees, master technology, and gain professional success, yet still struggle with broken relationships, anxiety and a lack of purpose. Proverbs 4:1–9 reminds us that true education is not measured by how much we know but by how wisely we live. Today's world often values achievement over character, wealth over integrity, and popularity over truth. However, God's wisdom teaches us to make decisions based on His principles rather than the changing values of society. A student may be academically brilliant, but good grades alone cannot transform a life; honesty, humility, and  self-control are also needed. Likewise, a successful professional who lacks compassion and integrity may gain the world but lose what truly matters. This passage also challenges paren...

  Enhancing the Migrants and Refugees Bible Reading: St. Luke 10:25-37 Key verse :    V 37 : “Go and do likewise ” DEVOTION For today’s devotion let’s meditate on the story of the Good Samaritan. We have heard this story  from Sunday School onwards, but are we following it?  St. Luke 10:25–37 presents us with the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with a story of a wounded man who is ignored by others but cared for by a Samaritan. The Samaritan did not ask about the man’s nationality, religion, background, or status. He simply saw someone in need and responded with compassion.  This Gospel speaks directly to our responsibility toward migrants and refugees. Many people leave their homes because of war, violence, poverty, persecution, or the hope for a safer and better life. Almost all of the Malayalee community left Kerala and came to this country to ...

  Embracing Migrants and Refugees Bible Reading: Ephesians  2:11-22 Key verse :    V 19 : “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. ” DEVOTION It is the sovereign plan of God to bring His children under one Kingdom, under one King. The invitation has already been sent out through Jesus Christ. In order to become citizens of the Kingdom of God, God expects a transition from the kingdom we used to belong to: the Gentile world. That was a place without God and without hope, a place guided by carnality rather than the Spirit. Once we make the decision to accept the invitation into the Kingdom of God, we are shifted into a new world. Our titles are changed, our rights are amended, and our access to His provisions is opened. In the current world, many people have been displaced due to war and socio-political disorder; they are refugees and migrants in every part of the world. L...

  Enhancing the Migrants and Refugees Bible Reading: Acts.  10:30 –35 Key verse :    V 34-35 : “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right. ” DEVOTION In Acts  10:30 –35, we read about Peter’s encounter with Cornelius, a Roman centurion who feared God and sincerely sought to know Him. Cornelius was a Gentile, and during that time there were strong social, cultural, and religious barriers between Jews and Gentiles. Yet God was preparing Peter to understand an important truth: God does not show favoritism. Cornelius had prayed and sought God, and the Lord responded by sending Peter to him. At the same time, God prepared Peter through a vision to overcome his own traditional understanding of who could be accepted by God. When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house, he saw a large group of people gathered there eagerly waiting to ...

  Embracing the migrants and refugees Bible Reading:  Leviticus 19:33-37 Key verse 33 :  When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not ill treat them DEVOTION Lord Jesus during his public ministry, explained the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven to the learned as well as the common people. In one such discourse, Jesus explained to a learned Pharisee that the Greatest Commandment is to “Love the Lord your God…He also added ‘Love your neighbor’ as the second commandment. He went on to say that the whole Law and the Prophets rest on these two principles (Matthew 22:35-40). The history of Jewish community tells the story of a group of people accustomed to a nomadic way of life. In modern times, they assumed a national identity only decades ago. Due to continuous struggle for resources and following God’s Law under persecution, they were alienated from other communities around them. It was justified because this was the only available path for survival. During Jesu...

  Gleaning Grace: A Call to Welcome the Stranger Bible Reading:  Leviticus 19:9-10 Key verse :   10 b "you shall leave them  for the poor and for the sojourner. DEVOTION Leviticus 19:9-10 offers a simple but radical command: "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field... Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you." In an agrarian society where survival depended on every stalk of grain, God asked Israel to build margin into their economy—deliberately, not as charity but as justice—for those without land, family, or status. This is not an afterthought tacked onto worship; it is woven into the fabric of what it means to be God's covenant people. The foreigner is named alongside the poor, reminding Israel that they too were once strangers in Egypt. Memory of displacement was meant to produce mercy, not suspicion. The Mar Thoma Church, rooted in the ancient St. Thomas Christian tradition of Kerala and sha...

  Embracing the Migrants and Refugees Bible reading  Psalms 146 Key verse :   10 Vs9  The Lord watches over the sojourners. DEVOTION Throughout Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments, God repeatedly instructs His people on how they are to treat the foreigner, migrant, and stranger among them. In Leviticus 19:34, the Lord commands: “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among like  you, and you shall love him as yourself.” This mirrors the command in verse 18 to love one’s neighbor as oneself, showing that God makes no distinction between the native and the outsider. His love extends equally to all. Leviticus also includes practical expressions of compassion—such as leaving the edges of the field for the poor and the foreigner to glean—reminding us that mercy is not merely an emotion but a responsibility lived out in action. The prophets, including Zechariah and Jeremiah, echo this call, urging God’s people to show justi...

  Embracing the Immigrants and Refugees  Bible Reading:  Genesis 18:1–8 Key verse :   4 - “Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.” (Genesis 18:4) DEVOTION When Abraham looked up and noticed three strange people near his tent at Mamre, he moved toward them with eagerness and humility. Abraham showed kindness in simple but powerful ways, he ran to meet the guests, bowed in respect, offered water, rest, and prepared a generous meal for them. His kindness wasn’t discriminating, it was immediate, wholehearted, and filled with honor. Abraham and Sarah’s simple act of hospitality became the doorway through which God delivered a promise. For immigrants, this story carries a gentle promise: God sees you, God draws near to you, and God values your journey. In a new land, it’s easy to feel invisible or uncertain, but Scripture reminds us that God often reveals Himself in the lives of those who are traveling, transitioni...

  Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation  Bible Reading:  :I  Corinthians   10:14-22 Key verse :   17 Because there is one bread we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread, DEVOTION   Christian Unity in the Body of Christ Christian unity is one of the essential imperatives of the gospel. When someone is born again, he or she is born into the family of faith for all eternity. This family of God’s people is the Church. Unlike any earthly institution, the Church is not divided by physical boundaries, race, culture, education, or any other human distinction. Instead, the Church is united by the shared experience of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. No member is greater than another, just as no part of the body can boast over another part. The proper response of every Christian is to love and value one another, honoring each person’s service and contribution to the health and well-being of the Church throughout the world. The Lord...

  Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation Bible Reading:  St Mathew 5:23-26 Key verse :   24b 24 b First go and be reconciled to them: then come and offer your gift. DEVOTION In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains that He is the fulfillment of the Law. The Law was never meant to trap people in their own limited strength; rather, it reveals our complete dependence on God. In Matthew, Jesus sets a standard that no human being can fully meet on their own. Through this, He teaches His disciples that obedience is possible only through dependence on the Spirit of God. Jesus calls His followers to obey His commandments fully, yet He also knows the weakness of human nature. Therefore, He gives us His Spirit to strengthen, empower, and guide us forward in our lives. In this passage, Jesus teaches a profound lesson about reconciliation and compassion. He says that if we come to offer our gift at the altar while carrying hatred, bitterness, or unresolved conflict toward a fel...

Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians  5: 11-21   Key verse :   18-19  18-19  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:   that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  DEVOTION A friendship that has fallen apart. A family that once shared life together but now no longer speaks. Communities divided by hurt, misunderstanding, and resentment. Even nations separated by years of conflict. In each of these situations, we long and fervently pray for reconciliation—a word that means restoring a broken relationship and bringing people back into peace, harmony, and fellowship.  But reconciliation is not easy. Someone has to take the first step. Pride has to give way to humility and hurt has to give way to forgiveness. The Bible tells us that we, to...

  The Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation Bible Reading:  Exodus 24:3-11 Key verse :   7-8  And Moses said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you’” (Exodus 24:7-8) DEVOTION The Holy Qurbana is the Table of Reconciliation, where God restores His people to Himself through the covenant sealed in Christ’s blood. Though instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper under the New Covenant, its roots reach back to the covenant ceremony of Exodus 24. In Exodus, Moses offered sacrifices and sprinkled the covenant blood upon the people, signifying reconciliation between God and Israel. The covenant meal that followed expressed fellowship, peace, and communion with God, foreshadowing the greater covenant to come. At the Last Supper, Jesus fulfilled this pattern, declaring, “This is my blood of the covenant” (Mark 14:24). No longer would animal sacrifices be needed; Christ offered Himself once for all as the perfect sacrifice. Through His body and blo...

  Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation Bible Reading:   Psalms 85 Key verse :   10 V 10 ‘Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other” DEVOTION As Christians, we gather around the Lord’s Table on most Sundays, but in doing so, we must not lose sight of what Holy Communion truly means. It is more than a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice; it is the Table of Reconciliation, where God’s mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace meet. Psalm 85 gives us a beautiful picture of this reconciliation: “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.” The psalm begins by remembering God’s forgiveness: “He has forgiven the iniquity of His people and covered their sin”, and then looks forward with confidence to God’s word of peace. Psalm 85 is a beautiful prayer by the Sons of Korah for continued favor and restoration – restoration of the relationship between God and man, and man with his brethren.  The psalm begins b...

  Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation  Bible Reading:  : Isaiah 25:6–9  Key verse :   8  “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove His people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.”-  Isaiah 25:8 (NIV)  DEVOTION Isaiah 25:6–9 beautifully portrays God’s eternal banquet, a Table of Reconciliation prepared by the Lord for all people. This glorious prophecy finds its fulfillment in the Holy Qurbana, where Christ lovingly invites us to His table. At His table, there is no discrimination based on race, nationality, social status, or any worldly distinction. All are welcomed through His grace. We are not worthy to attend this heavenly feast. Yet, it is only because of God’s infinite mercy and amazing grace that we have received this invitation. Every celebration of the Holy Qurbana is a golden opportunity to restore our broken fellowship with God and with one another....

  Holy Qurbana: Table of Reconciliation  Bible Reading:   2 Samuel 9: 1-13  Key verse :   7 And David said to him Do not fear. I will show you  kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." (Psalm 23:5)  DEVOTION After a slew of victories over his enemies, King David asks “is there anyone left in the house of Saul, that I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”. This question was asked out of covenant love, a word given to Jonathan much earlier as we read in 1Sam:  20:14 .  Mephibosheth, we learn, was living in Lo Debar-a name meaning "no pasture," which most likely, was a place of nothingness. Lame, fearful, and belonging to a defeated household, he had every reason to expect judgment, not mercy. When Mephibosheth came before the king, David's first words were "Do not fear." He was not just pardoned; he was given Saul's la...

  Reformation: A Call for Renewal Bible Reading:  Romans 11:1-6 Key verse :   6 Romans 11:6 (NIV): “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”  DEVOTION In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul addresses the profound mystery of God’s sovereign choice particularly how a remnant of Israel is preserved not through their own merit, but by God’s unmerited favor. Verse 6 drives this truth home with crystal clarity: salvation and acceptance with God rest entirely on grace, or they rest on nothing at all. Grace, by its very definition, is a free gift. It cannot be earned, deserved, or supplemented by human effort. If we could somehow “help” God save us through good works, religious performance, moral striving, or spiritual achievements, then grace would cease to be grace. It would become a wage we earned rather than a gift we received. Paul’s logic is airtight: mixing grace with works destroys the beauty and power of both. This...

  Reformation: A Call for Renewal Bible Reading: Luke 5: 36-39 Key verse :   37 Verse: 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.  If he does the new wine will burst  the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. DEVOTION  Through this scripture passage Lord Jesus explained the need for personal and spiritual  renewal  among all who received him as savior. Jesus emphasized that new teachings and movements cannot be  easily stiched into old traditions. The parable here illustrate  the need of embracing a change and the transformative approach to his divine message. Transformation requires flexible  attitudes and mindset to receive the messages received through the holy spirit.  The illustration of sewing a new patch on an old garment signifies that the gospel requires a fresh approach and can't be confined to old traditional frameworks. New wine represents joy and  the holy spirit  and m...