Reflections

Old age: with hope in God Luke. 2. 36-38 “..and then was a widow until she was eighty- four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying”. Luke 2; 37 Many times people in their old age find that they cannot do as much as they did in the past, and they feel as if God cannot use them in their old age. In this meditation we will see of the many blessings the aged can expect and believe God to do according to His word the part the old people can play in God’s plan. We are going to look through the life of an extremely old widow named Anna. We are told that Anna was a prophetess, indicating that she was unusually close to God. Once, Anna was a beloved wife in a sweet home. But her husband died all of a sudden. She had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. When she lost her husband, she could have spent her life as a sorrowful widow. But she overcame herself and made a decision of faith to...

Small acts of faith: Participation in God's Plan Exodus 2:1 – 10 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. (Exodus 2:3) This passage describes a simple event in Moses' life, and yet is so very important for Christians. It is important for us, not only because the line of Abraham, Jacob and all others before Moses is preserved by the Lord, for he had promised great works through them. It shows us also how seemingly small acts by ordinary people assume great importance in hindsight, and can have great consequences.  In those days, the Hebrews were a proud race who were recently enslaved by the Pharaoh. He had crushed their souls by taking all that was rightfully theirs, and put them to work for inhumanly long hours and nearly impossible work. The Pharaoh knew that if left unchecked, the Hebrew populace could grow large an...

Nurturing our Children 2 Timothy 1:1-10 “I am reminded of your sincere faith,  which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” Children are God’s precious gifts to us.  We as parents have been given the greatest responsibility to nurture our children in Godly ways.  Even though we name our children and give them our family name(s), we do not own them.  We have to dedicate them back to God, so that God can use them to further His Kingdom here on earth.   In this day and age of moral corruption throughout the world, where the media is full of filth, immoral conditions in our schools, and thousands of temptations across the world where our previous generations never knew, it is only by God’s grace that our children can grow up in the fear of the Lord.  We as parents need to be on our knees praying fervently for our children that Jesus be their light every step o...

Motherhood:  Participation in God’s Plan Ephesians 6: 1-9 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord” (Ephesians 6: 7) The first person to place their eyes on you, the first word you say, the one who watches/nurtures you daily to see you grow into an adult is none other than your Mother.  Amongst the all the individuals that are placed in your life, a mother personally knows their child’s strengths and shortcomings. Mothers are essential in instilling in us basic life principles to include our spiritual growth as well as nurturing us to become our full potential as individuals.  God has handpicked each individual in your family for a reason.  Mothers serve in so many different ways, not only within their family but also in their community and career. God has designed mothers with unique characteristics and qualities that no one else can replace. God has created this role to mold us to become strong in our faith as Christians. Eve, Hannah, Joc...

Barren Churches in Light of the Cross Luke 23: 26-31 “ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” –Luke 23:31 Luke does a beautiful job in presenting the accounts of the Gospel while bringing forth theological significance of the history. In this passage Luke does a beautiful job bringing forth an eschatological meaning among the significant event of Jesus’ death on the cross. Women followed Jesus to the cross and they mourned and wailed because of the pain and suffering that were placed on Jesus. Jesus then turns to the crowd and addresses them as the “Daughters of Jerusalem” which is not just addressing women, but metaphorically addressing the universal church. Jesus states “do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed”. This statement is metaphorically significant to the C...

Motherhood: Participation in the Divine Plan 1 Samuel 1:20-28 “So now I give him to the Lord . For his whole life he will be given over to the  Lord .” And he worshiped the  Lord  there.” A mother is a significant person in one’s life.  Especially as we look into today’s meditation, we can see through Hann ah’s life that throughout the struggles she was going through by not being able to have children, she was very depressed.  Hannah was eager to become a mother.  She prayed to the Lord with tears and she vowed that she would dedicate her child to Him.  As a result, God blessed her with a child. Hannah was a person who submits to the will of God.  Since her child Samuel was born, she waited till he was weaned and dedicated him to the service of God.  Samuel grew humility and obedience.  Through that, God uplifted Samuel to be a judge and a prophet to Israel with a privilege of being able to appoint two kings of Israel: Sau...

T he Social Vision of a God-fearing Family Psalm 128 “You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your ha nds….” The musical rendering of Psalm 128 in Malayalam - a beautiful melody, especially when sung by a choir - with its specific focus on family, is a popular number at wedding services in Kerala. There have been criticisms, however, in recent times on the appropriateness of this song for the occasion. The entire psalm is addressed to a man and his blessing is that “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.” (v. 3). Our vision of the family today, however, is one of a place where the members are guided by mutual respect, love and shared responsibilities; not one lording over another.  In the American context especially, Indian women have long ceased to be “fruitful vine within your house,” but many spend long hours outside the home, often as the primary bread winners of the family, necessitating men...