A Tribute

A cardinal once said "a mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."

When I think back on how Amachie (my mother) influenced our lives I have to start from when she taught us how to eat, to her guidance on reading and studying the Bible. Over the years we have come to love her imagination, patience, and creativity in dealing with the everyday things of life.

When I think of the times she has had to get our house cleaned up after a battalion of kids had gone through it during the day, I can imagine that she could probably only keep her sanity by having her office more organized and in order. At home we strove not for perfection, but to learn to love and care for one another.

Amachie’s a good sense of humor when things go wrong, has helped all of us to cope with life’s ups and downs. Her ability to recount our pranks and laugh about them later has helped us to stay away from trouble and grow up much faster. Another of her ways to make us relax and enjoy the little aggravations of the day is to sing and at times clap our hands. Sometimes in our journey it is good to poke fun at our peculiarities, laugh at the depressing thoughts and tease out our trivialities.

Her strong personality and her accomplished career speak volumes about the number of young minds she was able to influence. The fact that both Thoman and Ansu followed after her in their careers speaks volumes to her ability to transfer her knowledge and skills to her children.

Although her career was second to her family, she was successful in both areas because of her determination to succeed both at home and at work. She opted for a field of medicine that allowed her to keep a 9-5 day so she could be around when we got back from play in the evening. As her children, we were able to observe first-hand that it is possible to successfully run a household with dual careers.

When she was called to serve as a lay reader at St. Johns church she was not afraid of what the traditionalists thought of such a role. She fought her way through the tangled issues of traditions and culture without flinching on an issue that was vital for the future of many women lay readers. She always affirmed the best in the cultural traditions.

She is always looking for refreshing ways to approach prayer. She has a spontaneous yearning in her heart to worship, admire, praise, and exalt God. She has an earnest desire to ask for nothing but to cherish her relationship with God, to focus on nothing but God’s love. She enjoys praying, reading, and reflecting on God’s word. She believes strongly in prayer and acting upon her beliefs.

Nature speaks to our senses without words. The glory of God is revealed to us through the works of His hands. The ears that are open can hear God speaking to us through the things in nature. Amachie loves nature. Picnics at college hill, Palamathi, Kailas, or Toad were an important part of our family life. She saw the greatness and goodness of God the creator in every bird that sings, over every hill, and under every rock. She enjoys a refreshing walk through the forest, or by the lake. Bird watching and planting trees and flowers are her hobbies. Simply lying on the terrace on hot summer nights enjoying the cool nightly breeze staring up at the starry skies above was another of our past times growing up.

Appacha’s commitment to CMC enabled her to channel all her passion and hope into an institution she had grown to love as a medical student. Convinced that in serving CMC she was serving the larger vision of Christ to serve the sick, poor, and needy, she was able to put her faith into action that didn’t come merely from her academic background but more from her love for Christ. There were many times when Appacha and Amachie could have made the decision to pursue careers that would have made them more comfortable and better off financially. Yet they stayed their course, they did not turn back on their love for God and CMC. When we let God open our hearts and minds we find that we can go a long way in accomplishing much both physically and spiritually.

It is hard to explain what it means to be a loving family. A loving family is one where a strong commitment to care for one another is an unwritten commandment. It is a call to sacrifice one’s self for the betterment of others. It is the unselfish act of putting the other first over one’s own needs. It is a love that is indestructible, patient, and forgiving. It is to believe in one’s children even when the world thinks otherwise, to continue to polish them and work with them until over time the rarest and brightest jewel starts to shine forth. It is to go beyond one’s heartbreaks and still love and care for one’s own even when all others have given up all hope. A parent’s love remains a mystery even today. We understand how much God loves us when we compare their love with God’s love for us. They constantly strove to make us not to just look at the things that are seen but also at those that are unseen.

Having children of our own has led us to see and understand the price they had to pay for the years they cared for us. Yes, today is a good time to say our thanks to Amachie for the pain she had to bear when we were born to the additional years of pain that she faced over the years. No matter how much older we have grown, Appacha and Amachie still wait, watch, and hope for signs of improvement in us, their children.

Their lives reflect the humility of not having striven after the vanities of this world. They lead simple yet happy lives with not just material things but also the spiritual. This is certainly the way to grow old, to live in a community filled with family and friends who love and care for you and you can care for.

Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy Birthday Amma!!

Trinity

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20 

 Often God is looked upon as the God of the Old Testament. Do we not look at Jesus as the God of the New Testament and the Holy Spirit mixed up between the Old and the New? There are some who would like to believe that the Trinity is three different stages of God. This view is rendered erroneous by the presence of God at the time of Christ’s baptism. Matthew says that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, God spoke from heaven and declared that Jesus was His son in whom God is well pleased (Mathew 3:13-17). At that time the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in the form of a dove (a symbol of the new creation after the flood destroyed all life on the earth Genesis 8). It is also a prophetic voice of David in Psalm 2:7, where God renews his covenant with the people and declares Jesus as his beloved son (Matthew 3:17), the chosen one, who will continue the Davidic line forever. 

As the old hymn goes, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity”. This is the understanding of the Trinity, where God is three persons and yet one in substance. Universally, to acknowledge God as the creator is easy since many people see God as the divine architect and creator of the world. The Binitarians see God as two deities and Unitarians see God as only one deity. Liberal theology tends towards the theory that Christ was fully human, while Jehovah’s Witnesses envisage Christ as a created angel. What distinguishes us as Christians is our faith that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God who came to redeem us all from our sins. We love and worship Him just as we do God the Father. The Holy Spirit is equally worshipped and glorified because we encounter Him in our daily lives. 

 John had been baptizing people with water and he prophesied that God would send someone who was far greater than John. This great man would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Here was John testifying to the fact that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were different. The Holy Spirit was bestowed upon us by Christ to help us to preserve our commitment to God and to preserve us from the never ending fire of judgment (Matthew 3:11-12). The fire would burn away all those who are worthless because they are proud, unrepentant and do not want to change their ways. Baptism into the Christian faith symbolizes our willingness to obey Christ’s commands and to become His faithful followers. It is representative of the purging of our sins by water and the grace of God (1 Peter 3:21). It identifies us with other believers as being part of the Body of Christ. We live in a culture where we are too scared to let anyone be the center of our lives. A commitment of this intensity, to make Christ the center of our lives, could destabilize our own selfish goals and interests. The gospel of Matthew ends with the Great Commission. The gravity of these words had a tremendous impact on the lives of the disciples as these were Jesus’ last commands to them. This was to go out not only to the Jewish nations, but to all the nations of the world. Christ wanted them to teach all the nations to obey the commands that He has given us. He further expressly commanded them to baptize new believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

 From very early on there have been many who question the concept of the Holy Trinity (Arian Controversy). Christ clearly identified the Trinity as being three different entities, and in so doing clearly identified them as one by instructing the disciples specifically to baptize in the “name” and not “names”. We come to see a God who creates through the wonders of His creation, a God who teaches through the life, teachings, and work of Jesus, and a God who is present with us always as the Holy Spirit through our daily encounters with Him. As we live in His Spirit, walk with Christ, and celebrate the love of the Father, we grow in our understanding of the mystery of the Trinity. 

  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Tongues of Fire

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:3-4 

 It was during the Passover festival that Jesus was crucified. The city of Jerusalem had a gathering of the diaspora of Jewish visitors from all over the world. They all spoke diverse languages. Many believe that it was forty days following Passover that Christ ascended to heaven. It was on the fiftieth day that the Holy Spirit was given to the believers. 

Pentecost (meaning fiftieth) was the harvest festival that was held fifty days after Passover. (Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16) Christians today remember this day as the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given as a special gift from God for the entire world. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of a prophecy by Joel (Joel 2:28-32). From a spiritual dimension this was the day of spiritual harvest of 3000 believers who were touched by the Holy Spirit. 

St. Augustine says,“ Pentecost was prefigured in the Jewish Passover, for on the fiftieth day after the slaying of the lamb, Moses on the mount received the law written with the finger of God.” So for some Jews this day became more symbolic of the day when the Law was given on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-23). It is believed that 50 days after the Israelites left Egypt the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. Just as Israelites saw clouds of smoke rising from Mount Sinai as the Lord appeared to them in flames of fire (Exodus 19:18), the disciples saw tongues of fire descend upon them and they were touched by the Holy Spirit. On that day the believers saw a powerful wind coming upon them. It signified the presence of God in their midst. Then they saw tongues of fire rest upon them as God touched their lives with the cleansing flames of His Spirit. 

Many celebrate the Church's birthday on this day. For us, Christ is the fulfillment of the Law that was given on Mount Sinai (John 1:17). The presence and power of the Holy Spirit renewed the lives of the disciples and empowered them to go and preach and teach the Word of God all over the world. Today we pray that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit that we may do ordinary and extraordinary tasks for God with fervor and dedication. Speaking in tongues has become, in some churches, a very important gift that fosters their growth and understanding of God. 

The story of the the Tower of Babel is still retold as a reminder to emphasize that people should not challenge God through pride and disobedience. It is an encounter with the Spirit of God which has an effect that is the opposite of what happened on Pentecost. It was a time when the whole earth spoke only one language. The people built the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:9) a monument to glorify their own greatness. Some believe that a powerful wind blew or a blazing fire burnt the Tower of Babel down. At that time the rebellious people were scattered all over the face of the earth, as they began to speak in different languages and could no longer understand one another. Pride and disobedience only leads to confusion. However on Pentecost God in his infinite wisdom brought people from different parts of the world to become one great movement of people glorifying God. The same we will all witness when Christ returns we will all gather together from all over the world as we glorify our Savior and Lamb of God (Revelations 7:9-10). 

A sailboat cannot go anywhere unless the sails are lifted up high so that the wind can blow upon them and push the boat onwards. We can see the Spirit of Christ working in our lives only when we are humble and obey the Word of God. It is when we allow the Spirit to work in our lives, and give to others the blessings we receive that we are filled more and more by the Spirit of God. 

Jesus said that He would not leave us alone. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to be our companion, comforter, intercessor, counselor, strengthener, and helper (John 15:26-16:15). He assures us that even when we go through the darkest days of our lives, the light of the Holy Spirit will shine through, strengthen us and enable us to endure the hatred and evil in the world. The Holy Spirit will teach and guide us to be a witness to the life of Jesus Christ and spread the gospel of his redeeming love. What is it that the Holy Spirit can do that we cannot do? By the power of the Holy Spirit our testimony will not only work in our own hearts but also convict the hearts of those who hear our message. Thus the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and minds to reach out to those who are in real need. 

As the lovely hymn goes, "It only takes a spark to get a fire going. That’s how it is with God’s love, once you have experienced it; you want to pass it on". Do you have a spiritual gift or a special gift that can be a blessing to your community? The apostles, once they were filled with the Spirit of God went through a transformation, went out to the entire world to preach the gospel message of love, peace, and grace.

Strangers

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: 

for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 

Hebrews 13:2 (King James Version)

Abraham was stunned to see three strangers standing in front of him when God came to him by the oaks of Mamre. Was Jesus, the Son of God, one of them? Did they have the disposition of travel weary ordinary men or did they have an angelic demeanor? Abraham asked his servants to wash the stangers' feet and he personally served them their food. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,” is how Hebrews 13:2 says we should entertain itinerant Christians who depend on the support of Christian community. Is this not what Jesus reminded us would be His question on Judgment day (Mathew 25:31-46)? There is a profound spiritual dimension to our deeds of kindness and love to those in need, performed in Jesus' name. Abraham's hospitality to total strangers is the heart of the gospel message. 

 The strangers' appearance and their identity have piqued the curiosity of many of God's people for the last thousands of years. When Abraham saw them, he ran to greet them and welcome them into his home. He treated them like visiting royalty and threw them a worthy feast. When they enquired about his wife Sarah, he told them that she was around and in her tent. They then told him that in due time they would return and that Sarah would have a son. Sarah who was listening at the tent entrance, started to laugh. Here they stood, a couple well into their eighties or nineties, and these men were telling them that they would have a child very soon. 

Yet the promise of a child was the greatest blessing the couple had longed for. When the child was born, they named him Isaac, which means laughter. Yet in the midst of the good news, they also conveyed some bad news to the couple. They said that Sodom and Gomorah would be destroyed. The decadent lifestyle and inhospitability of these cities had upset God tremendously. Abraham was shocked and pleaded for the people and the cities. Knowing that his nephew lived there, he prayed to God to spare the city if there were at least 50, later 45, and finally 10 righteous people living there. Listening to God and Abraham negotiate, we are thankful that our God is compassionate and merciful. He is always waiting for us to return to Him and seek His forgiveness. We are glad that we can approach Him with our prayers and petitions. 

 Abraham's nephew, Lot, was probably the only one in the two cities who knew about God. Yet he was so in love with the city that at first he was not willing to listen to the warning of the three strangers. Sin had overrun this city. The men of the city were so far gone that they even craved for carnal relations with the three strangers. Finally as the city was being destroyed the three men had to drag Lot and his family away from the city. The family's love and attachment to the city was so intense that Lot's wife turned to look at the city as it burned down, although the three men had expressly forbidden them from doing so. She was turned into a salt statue for her disobedience. Lot and his two daughters escaped, only to go back into their sinful ways. 

 Do we, like Lot, find ourselves so absorbed in our own lives that we have no time to think and reflect on whether our attachment to our material possessions is greater than our love for God? Are we in awe of God's Word and His commands? Although Lot's behavior was far from perfect, God still delivered Lot. The judgment on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah was probably executed by completely natural means, but it is stunning that Abraham has recorded the incident as God working out His purposes. What do we understand about the nature of God from this incident? When Lot was told of the coming fiery judgment of God why did he continue to linger in the city? He had to be physically dragged away from the city. Do you think Lot feared being consumed by the punishment of God?

Christ in a Stranger’s Guise, 

I met a stranger yest’re’een;

I put food in the eating place,

Drink in the drinking place,

Music in the listening place;

And, in the sacred name of the Triune,

He blessed myself and my house,

My cattle and my dear ones,

And the lark said in her song,

Often, often, often,

Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise;

Often, often, often,

Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise

(A Celtic poem of hospitality)