Reflections

  Mission-Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God" Bible portion: St. Luke 15: 8-10 V8: “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  Devotion In today’s reading we are reminded about God’s heart for the lost and our responsibility to find the lost. Through the parable of the lost coin Jesus is highlighting that everyone of us is precious to Him.  The coin was so important to the woman that she looked for it until it was found. When she finds it, she invites her neighbors to celebrate with her, like how heaven rejoices when a sinner repents. The parable is teaching us how diligent Jesus is to keep all those who He died to save. He will see that no one of His will be lost.  The three parables in this chapter: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son is a trilogy about redemption. A valuable asset lost, right steps were taken to look for it/self-realizatio...

  Mission-Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God                                                           (11th Sunday after Pentecost) Bible portion:  St. Mathew 10: 7-16  V16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” Devotion The gospel of Mathew puts more emphasis on the concept of the kingdom than the other gospel writers. He mentions the term Kingdom 55 times in his gospel, preferring the words Kingdom of Heaven over Kingdom of God as the other gospels put it. Probably, this reveals a Jewish influence and Mathew’s respect for the name God. The mission of the church is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God and make disciples throughout the world, teaching them exactly what Jesus taught (Mk.16;15: Mt.24:14; Mt.28:19-20) The work of the Church cont...

  Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God Bible portion:2 Corinthians  5:17-20 V17” Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!  Devotion My dear friends in Christ, I did not know I had end stage kidney disease.  I had no outward symptoms, nor did I feel sick or weak.  In June of 2022, I was infected with covid became sick.  I took a blood test and found out that my creatinine was dangerously high, which meant my kidneys were not functioning the way they were supposed to, not filtering out the unnecessary and bad elements in my body.  My nephrologist wanted me to go on immediate dialysis, but by some intervention, who is God, I did not.  Instead, I went on the strict diet, registered myself for a transplant, when I was told I had to wait three to five years in the tri-state area.  But by God’s grace and miracle, received my transplant in nine months.  Thank you, Jesus! After all...

  The Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God Bible portion: Amos  7:12-17 V17"Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land." Devotion Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29) Amos proclaims God’s justice and righteousness as inseparable components of God’s commandment. He criticizes the social, political, and religious structures of Israel for their failure to uphold ethical responsibility. In particular, the prophet...

Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God MISSION MINDED  Bible portion: ROMANS  1:13-17 V16”For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek”. Devotion It has been infamously quoted by Late Abraham Mar Thoma Metropolitan, “Every Marthomite is a missionary.” This has been taken on as the motto for the Edavaka Mission.  The word "mission" comes from the Latin verb missio, meaning "to send". Although the word itself is not used often in the Bible, the concept of God sending people to announce his work of judgment and redemption on earth is evident. Through Paul’s letters, it clearly states to preach the gospel to everyone, regardless of their background. His mission is inclusive and universal, reflecting the expansive reach of God's love and salvation. Paul not only wanted to bear fruit in Rome, but wherever he was. Wherever Paul went he tried to communicate the Gospel o...

  Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God Bible portion:Acts 19: 8-12   V11” God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them”.    Devotion What is in a name? Are they prophetic about our Character and Calling? A name is a universal phenomenon. A name is a universal phenomenon even for our pets. Imagine you are at an airport, and you hear an announcement “Mr. Thomas, please come to the check-in counter.” Clearly, you will not respond. What if the announcement was a little more specific, “Mr. Thomas Mathew, please come to the check-in counter?” You might hesitate, but most likely you will get up and walk to the check-in counter. At least you want to make sure it is not your name that was just called. Now what if the announcement is very specific, “Mr. Thomas Mathew along with your family name?” Without wasting any time, yo...

    Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God Bible portion: Isaiah 6:1-8 V5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips. V8”And I said, "Here am I. Sent me!" Devotion This scripture is an experience of the Kingdom of God seen by the prophet Isaiah and the events that followed are described. This passage shows us what our worship should be like. From here two thoughts are singled out for our meditation. 1)  Proclamation of the Kingdom of God Here we can see a state where the human heart is humbled before the Divine Splendor and man realizes his insignificance when he sees the sublime, indescribable and delightful sight of the divine glory filling the entire earth. Isaiah realizes his impurity in God's presence, when the seraphim praise God's holiness as 'Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty'. Throughout the book of Revelation, the glory of God is revealed as seen by Saint John. As all creation is filled with God's glo...